I spent Labor Day weekend at Morningside. I got there Saturday afternoon hoping for a tow or two, but it was too windy for any kind of flying. Some people went to West Rutland, and it was pretty windy there as well. A few people who launched earlier did fly, but reported rather rough conditions and high winds. Not a good weather for flying, especially for a "Falconer" like myself ... so I hanged out at Morningside, just relaxing, socializing, taking photos. A welcomed break from my daily office routine no matter how bad the weather could get.
- Having non-flying fun
Sunday wasn't flyable either, so I spent more time doing nothing. Well, and Ilya promised to cook steak tips for all hungry pilots Sunday night. He is an excellent cook, I wouldn't miss it.
- Steak Tips Sunday Night - Thank you, Ilya!
Here are a few photos from Saturday and Sunday -> Labor Day Weekend 2014 At MFP - having non-flying fun at a flight park :-)
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Monday (Labor Day) forecast was much better though. West Rutland looked particularly good. I had only one flight from West Rutland this year, and it was a sledder. I wanted something better, and I was really happy to see a possibility of a great weather.
Ideally, we try to get to the pit (parking place on the other side of route 4 across the launch site) around 11AM. This way we can minimize amount of cars going up, and get ready to fly around 1PM. People also were looking to carpool from Morningside. I was going home after West Rutland, but it's only 20 minutes detour for me if I swing back to Morningside, so David Baxter and David Park joined me on the ride up.
When we got to the pit, things got hectic. I got there last, and people were already leaving. We still managed to get a ride up though. I didn't have to take my truck up this time.
Paragliders started to launch around 1:30PM and a couple of hang gliders launched as well. They all soared, and went north, to the bowl. I geared up, and got in line behind Tom Lanning. Tom was on launch for a few minutes. Then he finally saw what he wanted to see, and ran off. I moved into position on the ramp, observed Tom slowly climbing up above the ridge line. Good sign. I looked for a consistent cycle and launched. Just a minute behind Tom.
I launched and turned north along the ridge. No wild lift, but I was slowly climbing. and when I turned around I was flying 200' above launch, looking at all pilots lining up. This was going to be a good day.
In the next 10-15 minutes I was simply trying to stay up. Ridge lift was there but it wasn't very strong. I managed to get 500' above the launch though and maintained it comfortably.
- Above launch. Observing other gliders ready to launch.
In the next half an hour, I relaxed and started to explore farther north. I lost altitude each time I got too far, there were no thermals there that I could find. But exploration was a fun thing to do, stretching my comfort zone a bit. I kept enough altitude to turn around, come back to the main ridge and recharge, sometimes scratching very close to the ridge, though. I definitely got more comfortable flying close to the terrain. My tree landing memory was wearing off, I guess. I had to remind myself to keep airspeed up.
On one of the passes, a hawk crossed toward the ridge right in front of me. He flew in the same direction as me for a few seconds, glancing back at me. I guess, he didn't feel comfortable with a big "bird" on his tail. He started to "fake" me, pretending he would turn left, but kept flying straight. I got it on the video below. When he realized it didn't work, he just turned around and went about his business. It made me smile. I felt just like another bird! :-D
After some time, I managed to find a really good thermal that took me to 3000' MSL. I saw gliders higher than that, and I couldn't figure out how they got there. I couldn't find anything going that high.... as I was explained later, there was an inversion layers at 3000' and it was possible to go higher after breaking through it. I still have much to learn....
- Someone is always higher than me
Oh well, I enjoyed what I had. Exploring in different directions, along the ridge, on the other side of the ridge - it was all fun.
- Everyone is enjoying a perfect flying day
At some point I lost all altitude I gained previously, and I couldn't recharge. I found myself below launch ramp... it was time to head out to the LZ. I have flown for an hour or so by that point, and I wasn't too happy I would have to land that early. But...
While flying away from the ridge, halfway between the mountain and the road, vario started to beep gently. Since I still had altitude to make it to the LZ, I started to turn - beeping continued. A few minutes later I was back at 3000' MSL. I was so damn proud of myself. I was already in landing mode, and I saved it. That was first time for me.
Time flies when you are having fun. At some point, I noticed that most of the gliders had disappeared from the air. Tom Lanning was still flying though. A thought to outfly Tom did cross my mind, but lift was getting really light, and very soon I started to lose altitude on every pass. When I got to the launch level, I called it a day. This was the longest flight I had so far already, no need to scratch the ridge when tired.
I landed and Tom landed a few minutes after me. Great day. The best flying day I had so far. No pressure to go anywhere, almost no problem to stay in the air, just relax and take in the scenery. Over three hours of pure joy.
- End of the day. Last gliders being packed in the LZ.
And here is my video of that flight:
Flights: 1; Duration: 03:38