akite
Pre-takeoff checklist
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2007
- Messages
- 293
- Location
- Ogden, UT
- Display Name
- A. Kite
- Home Airfield
- KLGU, KAIO, KAMW
Ok here we go again,
I wrote this up once but it didnt post as I messed around too long.
Last Saturday I had a great flight with four of my friends since I was actually home during great wave conditions. The email chatter had been going around all week with constant weather updates from Tim, Ron, and Lynn. The only questions was the cloudbase was projected to be 2k below ridge top. We were optimistic like always and planned on a O dark thirty assembly time just in case we could get a good 10 hr flight in.
Saturday morning came and it was evident that the cloud base was about 3 k below ridge top height but so we pushed back the launch time hoping for a one o'clock launch as the cloud deck was forcasted to rise. Dan, Bruno, Tim, and I met around 10 am to assemble with some extra help from Jenny! We were gridded up at one just in time for a heavy down pour that laste about 30 minutes. Most of the powered folk were coming out to the edge of the runway asking if we knew what we were doing as we were squegeeing out wings off. Noah decided to join in the fun with the Blanik too. Jenny went to help tow out the Blanik while we started to launch.
Tim was the first to launch with our trusty tow pilot Lary in the lead. Tim got off tow around 7200 and began to sustain so we decided to "Launch The Fleet". Dan was next to go, then me. Dan and Tim connected with some wave and tried to make a run west to find better wave only to come back with their tails between their legs and back down at 7000. In the mean time I had managed to stay west of the clouds and connected with fairly strong wave and was climbing through 10000. It was getting colder and I had to keep the front vent open to keep the canopy from fogging. I was glad that Dan had talked me into wearing a long sleeve T-shirt ( A Dick Johnson Marfa wave camp shirt, very appropriate), long underwear tops and bottoms, jeans, wool socks, a fleece ski jacket liner, ski gloves, and a stalking hat. As I approached 18k I started to take steps to arrest my climb rate to prevent an airspace violation. I ended up with about 95 knts and half airbrakes to maintain a zero climb status. Slowly the others got near me but not quite as high ( I like to show them my belly as Burt would say). It was -5C at 17.8K and my ailerons were noticeable stiffer due to the cold. We all headed west about the time the winds began to switch. On our way across the valley we noted some singe digit ground speeds in the group even though we were all flying around 60 knts. Three of us encountered some massive sink that required a few minutes over 100 knts to penetrate. I ended up about 1.5miles east of gunsight ridge around 11k while Bruno was scratching around on the west side of the ridge at 9k and Tim was in the lead about ten miles north working some lift near Oxford Peak. Dan passed me headed north and we both ran into some 5 knt lift that he bumped through and I stayed to work for a bit. Tim called No Joy to the North so three of us headed back east across the valley towards our "home ridge". After getting some altitude with Bruno over the cheese ponds I managed to run into the ridge down around 7k. The winds had switched to the north and the wave had gone but flat top mountain had an elevator of ridge lift on the north face. I promptly climbed to 10k and headed north to chase Dan up the ridge. We went about 20 miles up and headed back south as sunset was approaching. Then we hear from Tim again and after calling No Joy he connected with the new wave and had went back up to 17.5k and was on a 50 mile final glide to home. Tim and Bruno landed first, followed by me and then Dan. I should note that Noah stayed local to the airport for 2.5 hrs in the Blanik and his longest solo flight to date.
Landing Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuizbqtj5GU
Flight trace
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-1979561843
I wrote this up once but it didnt post as I messed around too long.
Last Saturday I had a great flight with four of my friends since I was actually home during great wave conditions. The email chatter had been going around all week with constant weather updates from Tim, Ron, and Lynn. The only questions was the cloudbase was projected to be 2k below ridge top. We were optimistic like always and planned on a O dark thirty assembly time just in case we could get a good 10 hr flight in.
Saturday morning came and it was evident that the cloud base was about 3 k below ridge top height but so we pushed back the launch time hoping for a one o'clock launch as the cloud deck was forcasted to rise. Dan, Bruno, Tim, and I met around 10 am to assemble with some extra help from Jenny! We were gridded up at one just in time for a heavy down pour that laste about 30 minutes. Most of the powered folk were coming out to the edge of the runway asking if we knew what we were doing as we were squegeeing out wings off. Noah decided to join in the fun with the Blanik too. Jenny went to help tow out the Blanik while we started to launch.
Tim was the first to launch with our trusty tow pilot Lary in the lead. Tim got off tow around 7200 and began to sustain so we decided to "Launch The Fleet". Dan was next to go, then me. Dan and Tim connected with some wave and tried to make a run west to find better wave only to come back with their tails between their legs and back down at 7000. In the mean time I had managed to stay west of the clouds and connected with fairly strong wave and was climbing through 10000. It was getting colder and I had to keep the front vent open to keep the canopy from fogging. I was glad that Dan had talked me into wearing a long sleeve T-shirt ( A Dick Johnson Marfa wave camp shirt, very appropriate), long underwear tops and bottoms, jeans, wool socks, a fleece ski jacket liner, ski gloves, and a stalking hat. As I approached 18k I started to take steps to arrest my climb rate to prevent an airspace violation. I ended up with about 95 knts and half airbrakes to maintain a zero climb status. Slowly the others got near me but not quite as high ( I like to show them my belly as Burt would say). It was -5C at 17.8K and my ailerons were noticeable stiffer due to the cold. We all headed west about the time the winds began to switch. On our way across the valley we noted some singe digit ground speeds in the group even though we were all flying around 60 knts. Three of us encountered some massive sink that required a few minutes over 100 knts to penetrate. I ended up about 1.5miles east of gunsight ridge around 11k while Bruno was scratching around on the west side of the ridge at 9k and Tim was in the lead about ten miles north working some lift near Oxford Peak. Dan passed me headed north and we both ran into some 5 knt lift that he bumped through and I stayed to work for a bit. Tim called No Joy to the North so three of us headed back east across the valley towards our "home ridge". After getting some altitude with Bruno over the cheese ponds I managed to run into the ridge down around 7k. The winds had switched to the north and the wave had gone but flat top mountain had an elevator of ridge lift on the north face. I promptly climbed to 10k and headed north to chase Dan up the ridge. We went about 20 miles up and headed back south as sunset was approaching. Then we hear from Tim again and after calling No Joy he connected with the new wave and had went back up to 17.5k and was on a 50 mile final glide to home. Tim and Bruno landed first, followed by me and then Dan. I should note that Noah stayed local to the airport for 2.5 hrs in the Blanik and his longest solo flight to date.
Landing Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuizbqtj5GU
Flight trace
http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-1979561843
