cwyckham
Line Up and Wait
Wow, wow, holy cow!
I had one heck of a glider flight a couple days ago. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Omarama is a world reknowned gliding location just East (downwind) of the highest part of the Southern Alps on New Zealand's south island.
I had allowed 3 days to try to get a flight in as I travelled through, but the conditions were perfect when I drove up to the airfield. I've never seen so many lenticular clouds in my life. I was informed that this was an average day, but we could give it a go.
I took a dual flight in a duo discus (one of the highest performance two seaters available, L/D of about 44:1). We were dropped off of tow over a small ridge at about 3000 MSL or 1500 AGL and scraped our way up on thermals before making a dash for the wave. They always say that the wave is dead smooth, and it really is. Smooth like silk.
I was surprised to find that wave is actually quite challenging to fly, as each hill is setting up its own little wave pattern and they interact in funny ways. However, we managed a 2.3 hour flight near Mt. Cook with a max height of 13,500'. That's certainly a new personal best!
Part of the joy of it that I hadn't anticipated was that the lenticular clouds are just so absolutely beautiful.
I'd never seen a vario (like a VSI) pegged up or down. Now I've seen both, and in quick succession. What a fantastic ride.
Chris
I had one heck of a glider flight a couple days ago. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Omarama is a world reknowned gliding location just East (downwind) of the highest part of the Southern Alps on New Zealand's south island.
I had allowed 3 days to try to get a flight in as I travelled through, but the conditions were perfect when I drove up to the airfield. I've never seen so many lenticular clouds in my life. I was informed that this was an average day, but we could give it a go.
I took a dual flight in a duo discus (one of the highest performance two seaters available, L/D of about 44:1). We were dropped off of tow over a small ridge at about 3000 MSL or 1500 AGL and scraped our way up on thermals before making a dash for the wave. They always say that the wave is dead smooth, and it really is. Smooth like silk.
I was surprised to find that wave is actually quite challenging to fly, as each hill is setting up its own little wave pattern and they interact in funny ways. However, we managed a 2.3 hour flight near Mt. Cook with a max height of 13,500'. That's certainly a new personal best!
Part of the joy of it that I hadn't anticipated was that the lenticular clouds are just so absolutely beautiful.
I'd never seen a vario (like a VSI) pegged up or down. Now I've seen both, and in quick succession. What a fantastic ride.
Chris
I just came back from some spin training. After the sign-off, I want to continue with upset recovery training. Jimmy advised me I may want to lose some weight. he say's I'm "just about at the edge of most aerobatic planes" with my being at 235. I suppose I could make a glider feel like a rock.
