I finally got enough confidence in my Combat flying that I took combat to another site. Still aerotowing, but different.
Excellent day! A lot of flying and thermalling practice. I was thinking to write something about it, but ran out of steam. Instead, I offer this video with short sub-titles style commentary...
A few snapshots from the day
Climbing in a nice thermal while enjoying a magnificent views of Western Massachusetts
Labor day forecast was looking very good. A hurricane was making its way toward New England, creating some calm-before-the-storm sort of weather. It is often the best days for free flying. Plus, the hurricane was pushing air from east - that meant a few east facing sites were possible, including Mount Washington. Hey! I am an H4 now, I can fly the tallest mountain in New England! But... forecasts is one thing, reality is another.
To be ready for awesome flying, I took Friday off, and came to Morningside on Thursday evening. Gotta practice flying that Combat. She is a fiddly princess...
Nick Caci was towing. He doesn't have a lot of experience towing (started just this year), so we both were figuring things out. As a result - one snapped weak-link, one early pin off due to heavy PIO, and one solid tow. It was a bit windy, and I was glad to see that - I needed to try conditions that were closer to midday air. I didn't want to fly this glider in calm air forever.
After those three flights, I declared myself ready for the next step - midday tow. I left the glider set up... But Friday was blown out. Oh well, as I said - reality vs forecasts.
...
Crystal, Ilya and I decided to spend Saturday at Tanner-Hiller. Finally I could fly there with my friends. I didn't mind driving for such occasion either. I picked Green Sporty as my aircraft of the day. I was not ready to fly Combat at a different site yet.
As we started driving south toward Massachusetts, we saw cirrus clouds moving in. That didn't look promising. After a brief discussion, we decided to continue the trip. A change of scenery was welcomed anyway.
As far as flying was concerned that was actually a good call. Blue hole over Morningside didn't let pilots to fly away that day.
Takeoff at Tanner-Hiller
Tanner-Hiller, on the other hand, yet again, surprised us with some decent air. Even though sun couldn't warm the ground at full power, there was enough air moving to soar for long time. Lift wasn't strong for a good XC flight, but everyone had soared. I enjoyed an hour and twenty minutes in the air. It was a challenging day, but rewarding at the same time.
Low save
On a fast glide back to the airport
Flare!
Ilya breaking down his glider
....
Forcasts for Mount Washington was right on the money. But we couldn't fly there this weekend anyway. Apparently, park rangers didn't want people to stop on the auto road to watch hang gliders fly, creating traffic problems. Even though it was just a few of us ready to go - they wouldn't have any of that. No flying on holiday weekends. Period.
.....
On Sunday winds were blowing east at Morningside. 5-10 mph. I figured, I could give Combat a try. Not an XC flying, just to boat around in midday conditions.
With that mindset, I made a decision to leave glider bags in the truck. Mistake... Never leave ground without them, eh... Then I forgot my phone in the truck. Huge mistake. Not sure how that happened as I don't go anywhere without my electronic leash.
I launched around 2PM. PIO-ed a couple of times, but got it under control. When off tow, I tried to find me some thermals, and see if I could make Combat to go up.
Takeoff
PIO
It took a while, and I got low, but eventually I found something that was slowly pushing up. It was over the hill on the west side of airstrip. The drift wasn't bad, and I slowly climbed to 4K MSL inching toward Connecticut river.
Getting low
Soon Ilya launched. As he pinned off, I excitedly reported my good climbs. I saw him flying full speed to get right under me. The thermal was still working.
Actually, we started finding thermals everywhere. Not a single cloud in sight, but plenty of lift. After an hour of this, I felt much better working with Combat, and I started gliding around Morningside just to keep myself entertained.
On top of the world
After flying back and forth got old, I figured, why don't I make a triangle around Morningside? I had no problems finding climbs, my confidence got a very good boost, and I completely forgot that I didn't have XC bags with me, or a phone.
The first part of the triangle I picked was upwind. That was a good cautious decision as I could easily glide back with downwind help. I set on a glide SE over some forest toward a big farm. While on course, I found myself in a lift line. It improved glide dramatically. My goal was just 4 miles away. I made it there and back with some altitude to spare.
Next target - Claremont airport. It was just 3 miles crosswind. I found another climb and set on a glide. It wasn't too hard at all, and I again flew back to Morningside to recharge.
Soon, I was back at 4500' MSL, and damn ready for more! Springfield airport was 6+ miles away.... I could do it! I could! ... a few minutes later I was at east side of the airport at 3K MSL. Not bad. Not bad at all!
I found a climb right next to the airport, but it was slow, and I was getting tired. I gained 200 feet and decided to leave. My reasoning was - I flew over some lift on the way here and I can make it back the same way... I completely forgot that I was flying downwind, and return leg was upwind. It was a mistake to leave that early. Airport was a much better LZ anyway. But my tired and excited brain made a decision...
From where I was I could barely see Morningside. As my glide progressed, vario was bouncing between - "you are not going to make it" as I was flying through sink, and "no worries, plenty of altitude" as I was going through zero sink.
As I realized mistake I made, I tried to take any weak thermal I was passing through. I released VG rope and... WHAT THE HELL? VG got stuck! I pulled it back, and I had VG rope in my hand, completely disconnected from the glider. Nice... I shook the control frame to check if VG was in off position. It was. Phew! At least I can land with this.
Now my glide was diminished significantly, and while I was distracted, I lost that weak thermal. I pressed on. It wasn't the best decision either. In retrospect, I should have turned around toward the airport, or at least tried coming back to that weak thermal...
I saw a couple of farms below me with large fields. Low save is possible! Keep working it! But as I approached the last large field before much longer "no LZ" glide, I found myself pretty low over the terrain. My vario was still showing 1800' MSL, but my brain was throwing TERRAIN-TERRAIN alarms. It felt like I was at 500' AGL! I made a few attempts to find lift over that last field while trying to figure out the best approach. The field was recently mowed but it was slopped. Fortunately for me, uphill-upwind, and I couldn't see any movement on the ground anyway.
I didn't make the best approach for the topless glider, but I made my turn as wide and as shallow as I could. Landing went well. I didn't flare, but ran it out. Safe on the ground.
That's when it occurred to me that I didn't have either glider bags or my cellphone. Ilya was still flying and could hear me on the radio. He relayed information to a willing rescue driver (Thank you, Kevin Webb!). Kevin suggested that I would use GPS coordinates from the vario. Smart! I passed the GPS info to Ilya, and he repeated it to Kevin. Sounds pretty ridiculous, but it worked.
I hiked assembled glider toward a farmhouse, there I found farm owner with a kid. I apologized for landing on her property. She was rather welcoming and offered to use her phone. All was going pretty well considering how unprepared I was for an XC flight. ... I know it sounds obvious, but always take your glider bags, and especially your cell phone, with you. You never know when you might need them.
Kevin brought my truck 20 minutes later and even helped me pack the glider. Thanks again, Kevin. And big thanks to Ilya for helping organizing the retrieve from the air. You guys are awesome!
And so, unexpectedly, I got my first XC flight on a topless glider. This glider still intimidates me, and landings need a lot of work, but I certainly see how far it can take me, too. This flight was my longest distance (triangle) flight. 19+ miles. Just like that. Me likes it.
Everyone had great flights as well. Ilya had the longest flight of the day - over three hours. Crystal won the highest altitude "competition" - 5266 MSL. She beat me by 2 feet!
....
The next day, with Eric's help, I installed a new VG rope, and test flown the glider. All went well. Can't wait for the next Combat adventure!
