rottydaddy
En-Route
A terrific flying weekend for me in general, but today worked out well with the glider.
CAVU and fairly cool, but the wind was very light, and by the time I got my first tow, the sun was right overhead, creating moderate lift in the usual places. Expecting nothing and feeling what I figured to be minor bumps enhanced by the speed of the tow, I stayed on tow to 3000... good opportunity to box the wake once, my first time doing that alone, and it went pretty well.
After release, I lost almost 500 just turning and scooting over to the brickyard or whatever it is ( I call it the "dirt pile"). Got just downwind of that spot and found myself in a tight thermal that was delivering 600 at one point. Dug in, got to 3000 again, flew out of it or lost it, ran straight for a bit until I felt another tug, then turned the other way towards the nearby warehouse complex, and got another ride to 3500.
A few people waiting for the 2-33 today, so I started thinking I was being hoggish with the glider (and the midday lift!), so I got out of that and headed towards the field, in more or less zero sink for a mile or so... then I caught another good one very close to the airport at about 2000, and after checking the time, decided I could milk that for a while. Got back to 3000, and it sort of petered out there... so I just had some fun to lose the altitude again: a dive to about 80mph with a pullup and sort of half-wingover just for the heck of it, and another dive to pull up into a full stall just because it's always a good idea to practice stall recovery. And, it's... um... fun. :wink2:
Getting near an hour, so I started working my way down and towards the field. Of course, I had another strong thermal tug one wing as I prepared to hit the crosswind leg... oh well. Good pattern and landing.
Anyway, that won't impress the experienced glider pilots here, but that was a big deal for me- almost an hour aloft by myself, and some respectable thermaling. And I felt pretty consistently PIC-ish up there today, in every phase of the flight. Last few flights, I was disappointed in my ability to find and work lift.
Made another hop later, from 2500 this time... things were shutting down, so it was basically a sleigh ride. Even Andy, who'd been up for some time in the 1-26, had given up and come back just as I was launching.
But still fun- awesome vis today, and the sun was not too brutal due to the lowish ambient temps. I cracked the canopy for a moment at one point, for a good lungful of that crisp almost-autumn air.
Got a hair low entering the pattern, but it was zero-sink over the field, so the rest worked out fine, with an easy landing in a faint breeze right down the runway.
That was my 8th solo flight- should rack up the next two next Sunday, and maybe I'll be able to do the check ride this season.
CAVU and fairly cool, but the wind was very light, and by the time I got my first tow, the sun was right overhead, creating moderate lift in the usual places. Expecting nothing and feeling what I figured to be minor bumps enhanced by the speed of the tow, I stayed on tow to 3000... good opportunity to box the wake once, my first time doing that alone, and it went pretty well.
After release, I lost almost 500 just turning and scooting over to the brickyard or whatever it is ( I call it the "dirt pile"). Got just downwind of that spot and found myself in a tight thermal that was delivering 600 at one point. Dug in, got to 3000 again, flew out of it or lost it, ran straight for a bit until I felt another tug, then turned the other way towards the nearby warehouse complex, and got another ride to 3500.
A few people waiting for the 2-33 today, so I started thinking I was being hoggish with the glider (and the midday lift!), so I got out of that and headed towards the field, in more or less zero sink for a mile or so... then I caught another good one very close to the airport at about 2000, and after checking the time, decided I could milk that for a while. Got back to 3000, and it sort of petered out there... so I just had some fun to lose the altitude again: a dive to about 80mph with a pullup and sort of half-wingover just for the heck of it, and another dive to pull up into a full stall just because it's always a good idea to practice stall recovery. And, it's... um... fun. :wink2:
Getting near an hour, so I started working my way down and towards the field. Of course, I had another strong thermal tug one wing as I prepared to hit the crosswind leg... oh well. Good pattern and landing.
Anyway, that won't impress the experienced glider pilots here, but that was a big deal for me- almost an hour aloft by myself, and some respectable thermaling. And I felt pretty consistently PIC-ish up there today, in every phase of the flight. Last few flights, I was disappointed in my ability to find and work lift.
Made another hop later, from 2500 this time... things were shutting down, so it was basically a sleigh ride. Even Andy, who'd been up for some time in the 1-26, had given up and come back just as I was launching.
But still fun- awesome vis today, and the sun was not too brutal due to the lowish ambient temps. I cracked the canopy for a moment at one point, for a good lungful of that crisp almost-autumn air.
Got a hair low entering the pattern, but it was zero-sink over the field, so the rest worked out fine, with an easy landing in a faint breeze right down the runway.
That was my 8th solo flight- should rack up the next two next Sunday, and maybe I'll be able to do the check ride this season.
