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.![Fcross :fcross: :fcross:](/community/styles/poa/poa_smilies/fcross.gif)
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.
![Fcross :fcross: :fcross:](/community/styles/poa/poa_smilies/fcross.gif)