It's been only one year as I started flying my Sport 2. The last year was amazing - learning new glider, really learning to thermal, taking all the skills I learned on my Falcon to a new level... But as far as cross country flying was concerned - I had not done much. I landed out once while doing a triangle. And that was it.
So a "sudden" abundance of cross-country flights, especially in New England, really makes me happy. It's like if, very slowly, I was building something, and then they came, eh?
I got a lot of help from other pilots, of course, and this makes the whole experience even more gratifying. We all share something very special, and having too much fun in the process.
Ok, now, with self reflection out of the way, I got another awesome cross-country flight. Again from Tanner-Hiller airport.
Another high pressure weekend. On Saturday, Nick Caci, Jeff Curtis, and I were at the airport, ready for some XC action. Very good forecast for the day (if you believe those things) and cummies were popping up above our heads around noon. The winds were SSE so after a brief discussion, Jeff and I decided to attempt a flight to Morningside - 67 miles away. The wind was very light, below 10mph, so we wouldn't get much help, but if thermals were good - it was doable. The first goal was to get to Orange Municipal Airport (Orange, MA), and then make our way to Connecticut river. After that we could follow the river all the way up to Morningside. There are more landing options (fields) along that route.
Mike Abdullah, who wasn't going to do any XC this day, launched first. When Rhett came back from that tow, he was like "A lot of lift up there. What are you waiting for?". We didn't need anymore encouragement. Jeff launched first, and pinned off rather low, so my wait wasn't long. Very soon I was in a booming thermal myself, pinning off at 1600' AGL.
I saw Jeff getting into my thermal above me. Vario was excitingly beeping at 700 FPM, and clouds were getting closer and closer. Around 6K MSL, I asked Jeff if we were going as planned. Jeff enthusiastically confirmed that he was at cloudbase at 6500, and he was going.
I was still climbing, but decided to fly after Jeff anyway. I left the climb at 6200' MSL and went on a glide slightly below Jeff.
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| Leaving the cloud. Jeff is ahead of me and 500' above. |
Initial glide was still in a climb, but that didn't last long. After losing a couple of Ks, Jeff "stopped" to recharge, and I also stumbled into a climb just a mile into a glide.
My climb was very weak, but it was there. On the other hand, I saw Jeff climbing much better just a quarter mile away and another 500' above me. I pushed in that direction, hoping that the thermal was still there at lower altitude. And it was there, good and strong. This time I took it all the way to the cloudbase. Jeff left that climb a few minutes before, but I could still see him.
When I left that climb everything was lining up really well - I had altitude, good non-sinking line, and a cloud far ahead.... A few miles later, I had 3000' less of altitude, no lift, and some stretch of forest to cross. While on a glide, I felt a few bumps and my vario beeped at me. I tried to turn in those bumps, but only lost altitude. So when time came to decide if I was up to the task of flying above that forest, I was really hesitant. While there was a bailout field to the right of my course, it would leave very little safety margin if I took that option.
Jeff however, at about the same altitude, was pressing forward. Hm... So be it, I kept going as well. I was really relieved when I stumbled into a weak climb. I was drifting toward fields on NW side of that forest and my safety margin was where I wanted it to be.
I didn't gain much, maybe 600' or so, but combined with slight drift it was enough to get my confidence back. As this climb reduced to zero sink, I set on another glide going NW. It took me over some small town (Petersham, MA). I mentally marked a farm as my potential LZ, and started searching for lift.
Jeff was above me and too far away. I couldn't get into his climb, and had to find something else. However, nothing was working for me. The cloud above didn't have enough oomph to pull me up. Potential ground triggers weren't working. I was fighting until the last turn for the final approach, but it was inevitable - I was landing. Of course, the last 500 feet of my "fight" were above the farm I picked earlier. Easy to reach landing zone. Safety first.
I picked the direction for the final based on my vario information. It didn't look like there was any wind on the ground, so probably any direction would work. I landed with a perfect flare, let Jeff know that I was on the ground, and then did a little XC dance.
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| Happy XC dance |
By the way, this time, I picked a really good field. Flat, big, recently mowed, no obstructions, easy access to a public road. At least I got that going for me.
Jeff reported that he was at 6K MSL, still flying NW. Sigh... I yet again had a 2-3 climb XC flight that felt more like a short race - 55 minutes airtime. Jumping from a cloud to a cloud is a hard skill to master.
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While I was considering where to break down, an owner of the farm came out to greet me. She yelled from a distance - "Are you stuck?". Hm, I never thought of out landings that way. Yes, yes, I guess, I was stuck. Stuck on the ground while others were still flying :-)
The property owners, Abby and Charlie, were very friendly and welcomed me to land at their farm anytime. I chatted with them for a bit, thanked them for their hospitality, but hopefully, I fly a bit farther next time. It's nice to meet friendly people though. It makes the whole experience so much better.
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I picked a spot with some shade to break my glider down. There was a nice little pond too:
The next order of business was to arrange a retrieval. It is never an easy task when you don't have a prearranged driver. I called Rhett and he found a willing individual. This time it was Noel. Much appreciated!
Noel picked me up in about 40 minutes, and drove me back to Tanner-Hiller. I got into my truck, and picked up Jeff (who landed just 2 miles down the road from me) and then Nick Caci. Nick had XC flight of the day. He landed at Gardner airport, which was another 5 miles farther north. My flight was just under 10 miles. I was joking that there is a magnet installed at 15 miles mark from any launch I take, it pulls me down to the ground before I can cross it.
In any case, it was an excellent day. Not all goals were achieved, but a lot of fun has been had and in a good company too.
Till next XC time...
Flights: 1
Time: 55 minutes
Point to point distance: 9.3 miles
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