Dogfighting Hawks & Spanking Vultures

Thurday night the buzz started.  Weather forecasts were still changing so making a fixed decision on where we were going was not going to happen, but West Rutland, VT seemed to be the place.  Many pilots were planning to be there the next day.  I loaded my car and put all the equipment on chargers.  Tom was interested, Kip was in a holding pattern in Peterborough (from Maine) waiting to hear where we were going in the morning, and Jeff said he was interested as well.

The issue with West Rutland is the need for a 4WD vehicle to get to the top.  Since most of the people who have said vehicles, want to meet early at the base, those with long drives have to leave super early in order to get a ride up, this puts some pressure to get out the door at a reasonable hour in the morning - by 8am at the latest.

7am came quick and the cat herding began.  By 7:19am, Tom said he was going but no one else had sent word.  He couldn't reach Jeff and I couldn't reach Kip.  By 7:37am I asked Tom if he was committed to going, or if he was still talking to everyone else about why THEY didn't want to go.  He sent word back that HE should be 'committed'.  To what institution I'm not sure.  :-)

3 Minutes later he was trying to load his glider to meet me but everyone kept interrupting him, making the job difficult.  I stuck to text messages to keep things simpler.  Tom asked me to call Jeff -  No answer.  "We got to go" I said.

John Sillero

Tom responded and said Peter Judge wanted to go but he was still at home close to Boston.  He didn't want to hold us up.  I offered to meet them enroute in Keene but Tom opted to meet me off Route 2 and ride up together.  We met at 8am and hit the road.  About an hour into our trek, Jeff finally woke up and called us as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.  He overslept thinking he was going to be towing closer to home.  Jeff said he would meet us there.  Kip got in touch and said he was enroute to Rutland.

Tom and I spent the ride talking about our plans to fly XC that day, and try to get to the Canadian border.  We noted the lack of clouds in the forecast and talked about flying on Blue Days.  He drove and I looked at google maps to scout out the route he wanted to go.  We had a lengthy discussion about Lake Dunmore and having to pass that spot which would come in handy later in the day.

The Sport 2 Squadron

We arrived at the pit to find everyone loaded up and ready to go.  We threw on with Kip and headed up the mountain.  After setting up the wings and cramming down lunch, things seemed pretty good.  John Sillero jumped into the air along with a couple other pilots soon to follow.  We watched from launch noticing how slow John was flying in order to milk the lift.  Things didn't look good.  John managed to squeeze out an hour or more from his flight as the other pilots ended up on the ground. I felt like waiting so I closed my eyes and rested a bit from the short night's sleep and early rise. 

As the valley heated up, and 3:00pm was fast approaching, I decided to suit up and go.  I climbed in my glider and went out to launch.  I waited, watched, and waited, for some sign of lift.  There were no birds, no trees moving in the valley, nothing.  The sock was blowing in but it was light and insubstantial.

Suddenly the wind picked up and the air started to move with purpose.  I picked up the wing, setting it back down a few times before finally getting the wings level.  Once level, I charged forth and leapt into the air.  My left wing started to drop on my run so I had to do a little zig zag on the ramp to try and keep under it.  All worked out well but when I went into the air I had a heading I didn't want.  I shifted around to the right correcting course, and headed toward the higher ground.  I wasn't losing a ton of altitude, but I certainly was gaining.

I passed by launch about 50' below and felt my wing lift and heard my vaio chirp.  I cranked it around and banked up in a nice thermal taking me up and over launch to 3000'.  Tom had launched quickly after me and started to climb, and then Jeff, and Kip.  I saw people struggling as I climbed but Tom made it to the bowl and seemed to be well established.  My thermal topped out at an inversion layer at 3000' and I was looking for something else.

I cranked on the VG and started heading for Tom, who was doing the best of everyone else.  I passed through a ton of sink and by the time I reached the bowl, I was below the ridge again.  I scoured the hillside looking for lift but didn't find anything.  I went back toward launch where I could see trees rustling in the hopes there was another climb there.  No luck.

I turned back along the ridge and proceeded to the bowl.  As I entered, I had small amounts of lift, nothing major, but certainly better than sink.  I looked ahead and saw a Red Tail Hawk coming toward me, head on and at the same altitude.  I expected her to veer off, but we kept drawing closer and closer.  I continued forward in the lift band and she still did not waiver.  She was just about to collide with the nose of my wing when she suddenly, cast open her wings, and beat the air into submission, climbing above my airship.  For a brief moment, I thought she was going to land on me.

As I continued on, she rose up above me and started to dive at my glider.  Now I was concerned.  Normally we fly with hawks and they actually enjoy it and get close to us, but sometimes people have irritated them on purpose and I have heard stories of them diving down and shredding their sails with their talons.  I wanted no part of that, and figured if she wanted the lift that bad, she could have it.  I turned around further up the ridge and she was gone, the air was clear.  Of course, by this time, Tom, Kip, and Jeff were all on their death glides to the LZ.

I turned again and decided to head across the first gap in the ridge.  As soon as I passed over and started to turn back, I hit a climb that took me through the first inversion (3000'), then the second at 4500'.  As I was climbing, PK launched and climbed out as well.  I kept getting stuck at 4500' and PK caught up to me.  Minutes later, we rose up through the inversion and eventually merged into the same climb to 5700'.

Launch Ramp

I thought PK wanted to go XC, as that was the plan earlier and he mentioned he had found us a driver.  He headed off North along the ridge and I went after him thinking we were going.  We barely left Hanley Mtn. before I passed by him and kept on going.  I saw him take a turn, thinking he just wanted to top off before we went, nope, he left me by myself and watched me fly off into the blue all alone, to what he thought was my imminent doom.  Bastard!  ;-)

I made it to the end of the ridgeline in Pittsford and needed a climb.  The terrain dropped off ahead of me and I was in a position where I was going to have to cross the valley, but didn't have the altitude to do it on one glide.  I was not doing well, now back down to 3000' and losing.  I looked for landing options in the valley as I scoured the hillside for lift.  Suddenly I felt a bite.  A lee-side thermal that was a broken and gnarly, but I was able to stay flat and milk it for a few hundred feet while slowly drifting out into the valley.  This brought me close enough and high enough to get me the glide I needed.

Lake Dunmore - where I came from.

Pulling on the VG and the CG, I left the lift I had and shot for a small ridge at the foot of the greens on the east side of the valley.  My path was taking me right over the field Tom landed in on our flight from Equinox, so I had a huge bailout field if things didn't go my way.

As I reached the foothills, I found no lift where I expected it.  I looked for fields to the north and went on glide to try and get further north before landing.  As I passed along the ridge, I felt another burble and picked up a decent enough climb.  It didn't take me very high, but it gave me enough altitude that I could work a little further north on the ridge.  I stumbled into another weak thermal close by and took that for all it had as well.

The Greens

Gliding crosswind, and moving north along the hillside, I tried to conserve as much altitude as I could on glide.  Roughly every 1 mile, I would find a climb and take it up in it's WSW drift.  After doing this 3x, I finally found a more substantial climb and took that up a little further into the greens east of Brandon.  This climb brought me to 4800'!  I now had Middlebury Airport on glide by 300'.  I wasn't too happy about that small margin, especially given that what lied between myself and my destination, was two lakes and a HUGE amount of trees.

Again I reached for the VG and CG and took off on my glide right between Goshen and Leicester, keeping ample room to bail into fields if needed.  As I approached Lake Dunmore, I recalled the conversation I had with Tom on the ride up.  He had talked about passing the lake on the east side and how it was a bit of a nail biter.  I still wanted one more climb to get me to the airport, my goal for the day.

Sugarbush to the North

I crossed the gap south of Fern Lake flying through a small burble of lift.  It was barely enough to register on my instruments and I decided to pass it up.  As I glided away, something in my entire body screamed at me to go back.  I fought the notion, not wanting to give up my precious altitude taking a turn in crap.  Intuition eventually won out and I cranked around to go back to the burble of lift, resigning myself to the fact that I wasn't going to make the airport now; since I would lose precious altitude in the maneuver.

I approached the burble I had so eagerly left behind and, BOOM!!! up I went like smoke in a chimney.  I took one turn and then spied a hawk slightly below me in the climb.  One turn later and it was gone.  I grinned from ear to ear as I climbed back out to 4200', giving me ample altitude to make the airport (now 1300' after glide according to instruments).  I cranked on the VG/CG and headed north toward my destination, my course taking me behind Lake Dunmore and directly over the cliffs above the lake.  

Bristol to the north.

Gliding over the cliffs, with mountains and trees, a small lake, and more mountains and trees on my right, and trees and a large lake on my left, I was very much aware of the 2.5 mile glide I had to my nearest LZ's.  I cruised over the cliffs and hit some ridge lift, but nothing substantial enough to make me want to give up my glide.  I took one 360 in something on the north end of the lake, but carried on after insubstantial gains.

A mile north of the lake, and 3.6 miles south of my goal, I found a nice climb that brought me back up to 4400'.  Topping out the climb I passed over the gap in East Middlebury, and right south of the airport on the high ground I found another late day thermal.  A group of vultures were flying in this thermal, but they are rather dumb birds.  I was climbing like a rocket compared to them, while watching them struggle in meager lift.  In a phrase - 'I spanked em!'  :-)

This climb gave me enough lift to take some pictures and boat around, something I had little luxury for the whole flight.  I snapped some shots and scouted out the airport, planning my approach.

Adirondacks in the distance.  Lake George, Lake Champlain.

After some consideration on heading further north to Bristol, I decided to park it at the airport where I knew they had some services if I had a lengthy wait for my ride.  On my approach, I had a long final set into mid field but hit a ton of lift on the north end of the runway.  I had to take a couple 360s in sink to bleed off the extra altitude.  I finished out the final and landed with a nice flare at the close end of the runway.

The post flight workout began, with hauling my gear across the field to a spot I could break down.  I climbed out of my harness, looked around taking in the scenery, and then retrieved my cell phone from my storage pocket.

Goal!!!  Middlebury Airport.

Knowing Tom would not be too enthused to hear how great my flight was after he landed shortly after take-off, I sent a text saying - "Middlebury Airport." "I promise not to talk about my flight on the way home if you buy me an ice cream and give me a ride...not in that order."  He was a good sport and congratulated me on a great flight.

He arrived 25 minutes later and we loaded up the glider and talked about what happened to everyone else on the mountain.  As we passed through Brandon, we found a cool little ice cream place and I treated to a pre-meal dessert.  This place is definitely worth stopping at if you are going through Brandon, VT - The Inside Scoop.

We managed to get back home at a decent hour after stopping for some dinner in Keene, NH.  All told, an extremely challenging flight but rewarding and highly educational in the end.

Total Distance: 33.7 miles (26 miles straight line)
Total Airtime: 2hrs 22min
Max Altitude: 5700'

Thanks Tom for chasing after me! 

The Guantlet

Unwelcome weather forecasts that included high winds, scattered T-Storms, and high cirrus clouds moving back in (block the sun from heating the ground), along with many pilots not being around for Mother's Day, kept me from wanting to invest my day in any of our New England flying sites except one - Hang-Glide New England (which is a little over an hour from my house).  If it didn't work out, it was easy to recover the rest of the day for other activities.

Kip and Matt setting up.

I need towing practice on my new wing for the comps this summer and the conditions were predicted to be a little rowdy on the runway so I thought it would be good practice.  My friend Kip was coming down from Maine to fly, and my friend Allen wanted to go along to get some much needed aviation exposure after a week in Florida having a series of extensive root canals...for fun.

Worcester

Allen and I met up in Leominster at 11:30am and headed south to Tanner-Hiller Airport sharing stories and catching up.  We met up with Kip at the local sandwich shop and arrived at the airport to be greeted by the friendly airport manager (Bob), who was excited to see us return again this weekend.  Kip and I unloaded gliders with Allen's help and we started to set up for Rhett's 2pm arrival.

Mount Wachusett

As we setup the gliders, some heavy thermals started lighting off as the afternoon heating started to really kick in.  I was conscientious of the wind conditions and a little hesitant that I wanted to be launching in such.  The only thing that convinced me to keep setting up, was the large lulls in the wind that would take place for 10 or 15 minutes in between.

Clouds were starting to form everywhere and the sky was opening up to allow the beams of sun rays to roast the ground.  The airfield was HOT and definitely did not feel like May in New England.  After finishing my pre-flight, Matt Carr and Tom Lanning pulled in.  Tom quickly started rigging his glider as I prepped for launch.  I looked at Tom at one point, and looked at the fleece pullover in my hand, and asked - "Think I need this?"  Tom's classic answer was - "if you don't, it will be because you'll be back on the ground with the rest of us."  I decided to wear it and was glad I did!

Louie (tandem pilot/instructor) helped me get set in the cart and Rhett came over to go through our pre-flight checks on the cart.  We finished up and Rhett fired up the plane and tightened up the tow rope to prepare for take-off.  3/4 up the runway I saw a bird circling about 50 feet up and climbing, I was concerned the next thermal was coming through so we waited a couple minutes to see what he did.  I did NOT want to be taking off in some of the thermals I had seen come through.

Quabbin Reservoir from Wachusetts

As I surveyed the field and the trees, I didn't see anything lighting off that would cause me to get rocked everywhere on the initial climb out down the runway.  I gave the go command and Rhett cranked up the engine and we rolled down the strip.  Everything was going smooth until we flew over the trees to the southwest end of the runway...that was why the airfield was calm.  There was a thermal kicking off over there and things got a bit rowdy for a few minutes.  I stayed on the bar and tried to relax.

Merrimack River and Nashua Airport in the distance

After 1500' Rhett circled in the lift and we started to really climb.  After one full circle I pulled my release and disconnected from the tow plane.  I turned into the thermal and started to try and center on it.  I cranked it up and found the thermal core, immediately ascending at a rapid pace - 800 feet per minute. 

At 6000' as I worked my way toward cloudbase, I noticed Rhett was back down but no one was coming out to launch.  I called Allen on the radio and said - "Hey Allen, tell everyone the lift sucks and they should just stay on the ground."  He passed the message along laughing heartily as Rhett added to the sarcasm and told everyone that it wasn't soarable yet. 

Steck Farm Airport

I hit base at 7700' and was already heading downwind from the airfield.  I didn't want to get too far ahead of Kip and Tom so I shot upwind to the next cloud and hovered under there waiting.

Tom was next up.  He pinned off in a climb and started to ascend toward me.  I noticed him struggling and couldn't figure out why but tried to offer help to better lift.  Little did I know that he was in the midst of dealing with a harness malfunction and trying not to turn his hang-gliding adventure into a skydiving disaster. Tom's blog post: http://skyout.blogspot.com/2012/05/slipping-out.html?spref=fb

I continued to cruise around watching for Kip to get in the air and waiting for Tom, I was drifting downwind again, and my cloud started to fizzle out.  Tom was still having problems that I didn't comprehend, and there was no sign of Kip.  The day was calling and all these beautiful clouds lay there in the sky waiting like cotton candy.  I had to go.

I turned and headed downwind toward the next cloud over some rather 'forested' terrain.  I knew I had Gardner airport on glide if the next cloud didn't work out so I continued on.  As I came in under the next piece of candy, I immediately found a climb and started to regain my altitude.  I went to base, which was now 8300' and rode the cloud over Mt. Wachusset heading toward Fitchburg.  Right over Wachusett, a white sailplane with black tips passed under me by 2000' and headed off to the East. 

Shortly after that I noticed the cloud growing overhead and tried to get out from under it.  As I shot for the blue sky, the cloud grew in front of me as I started to get sucked up and in.  A few moments later I popped out the side of the cloud to an amazing view.  I looked up, and there was another layer of the cummie growing 300' over my head.  I turned the glider climbing up next to the cloud.  AMAZING!!! 

After that, I rode around the perimeter of the cloud to position myself for a glide toward Fitchburg Airport; I didn't want to pass under the cloud as the cummies were starting to tower.  The last thing I wanted was to get sucked up inside and pop out at 12 to 14,000 ft. 

Paul and Linda Steck

As I moved to position, I took note of the obvious lack of LZ's to put down in; Leominster/Fitchburg is nothing but a large sprawl of concrete, asphalt, and buildings, in the midst of a sea of trees.  Fields are non-existent or too small to land in.  At least that's how it looked from 8000'. 

I knew I could make Fitchburg Airport and started to head for a cloud over Leominster which was slightly away from the airport but still easy reach, and on my course line.  As I raced forward, the cloud behind me kept growing and growing, the shadow followed me across the earth below as if I were being chased by a giant leviathan in the sky.

Steck Farm Airport

I hit the next cloud and sure enough there was another climb.  I went back to base and looked down on Allen's car that we had left earlier in the day in Leominster.  With the lack of landing fields available, and still having tons of altitude, I headed back on course to Devens (Moore Army Airfield) where I took my first flight physical before entering the Army.

As I flew over Devens I found another climb in the blue.  I climbed for a bit as I surveyed possible landing fields in Ayer, Groton, Shirley, and then I looked down on my apartment.  I flew off course to a cloud that was nearby and positioned myself for the next climb even though I didn't need it.  I thought about landing in a bunch of places around here to make an easy retrieve; Allen last heard me say I was approaching Fitchburg Airport before we lost comms, I was on my own.

As I soared around Groton, I pulled up Tom's house on my waypoints...5 miles away.  I eyed Littleton looking for places to land.  From 7 to 8000' and 5 miles out, I didn't see too many that I liked but I remembered driving by fields day after day that I thought were big enough to land in.  I went for it. 

Clouds still winding down

As I came into Littleton I then thought of landing at Kimball's Farm in Westford where I could get an ice cream while I waited for my ride.  I was in another climb though, practically over Tom's house, and still getting 7000' and climbing.  I rode the thermal into Westford and right over Forge Pond.  I was looking for LZ's but having trouble finding any downwind if I wanted to keep going.  I looked at Lowell and Chelmsford and saw NOTHING!!!  I looked toward Nashua and again, saw nothing.  I then spotted a field 17 miles out that was in Pelham, NH - Steck Farm, I had my goal.  There was a large opening in Dunstable that I could land in if things didn't work out so I went for it.

As I approached Tyngsboro on glide, I wasn't losing any altitude to speak of.  I was following a good line and still climbing most of the time.  I snagged another thermal and circled in that as I drifted downwind over Route 3.  I looked down and noticed the backup field I had chosen in Dunstable was actually a landfill...that wouldn't have been good.  I didn't even come close to needing it.  I went on glide toward Steck Farm Airport in Pelham, NH and arrived with 6200' altitude and in the midst of another climb. 

As I surveyed the land further downwind, I was eyeing the coast and the Atlantic Ocean.  I saw it within my grasp, less than 30 miles away, but I didn't see much in the way of places to land on the way there.  I decided to give up the idea of going further as it was now 6pm and even though there was lift everywhere, the clouds were getting fewer and starting to fall apart.

Nate and Paul coming in for a landing

I boated around trying to get down but couldn't, everything was lighting off.  I'd find sink and fly through it, try to turn in it and the damn glider would go up; she wants to FLY!!!! :-)   I knew Jon Szarek lived near here and hoped he was around to see that I landed in his neighborhood and accomplished the flight he said HE wanted to do from Tanner-Hiller Airport a few days before. 

I set up my approach and enjoyed the sunset as I slowly descended to the earth.  As I approached 700' off the deck, I spied two shortwave radio towers in the trees east of the runway, and right in my approach pattern.  I decided to extend my glide out and around them and completed my downwind leg.  I turned on base and saw I was cutting it close over the tree tops.  I turned on final and came over the trees by about 10' and found that the beginning of the runway was actually a fairly steep downhill...Uh Oh!! 

I now thought I was going to take up the entire runway and hit the other downhill portion.  I popped out of the harness to create more drag and went from the prone position to upright.  I pulled the base bar in and flew fast into ground effect.  The air in the field was smooth as glass and blowing 5mph down the runway.  I smelled hay and flowers as I slipped through the air wisping toward the ground.  I transitioned to the uprights, let the glider go to trim, waited for the flare window, BAM!  Nailed it.  Best landing yet in the Combat - no stepper! 

I walked the glider off the grass runway as the owners noticed I was there and came out to greet me.  Paul and Linda Steck (brother and sister) that both own planes and fly, and their father John who was riding his vintage Harley Davidson three wheel golf cart.  They were extremely pleasant and full of questions.  We chatted for a while till their friend showed up to take Paul and himself up for a sunset flight.

I continued to pack up and wait for my ride.  I called Jon to let him know I was in his town, he thought I was at home on Google Earth looking up fields and pulling his leg.  He and his wife Toni and daughter Sienna showed up 30 minutes later to say hello on their way back from Mother's Day festivities and give their congratulations.  Thanks!  

Jon's daughter Sienna is quite the up and coming photographer...at 4 years old!

Allen, Tom, and Kip showed up after picking up Kip from Dunstable for his 38 mile flight.  Allen was our gracious driver for the day (THANKS!!!) but Tom was excited about how things turned out and decided to tag along too.  We loaded my glider and headed off to dinner in Nashua and shared stories as I soaked in the glorious day.  After dinner I drove Allen back to Leominster to pick up his car, then proceeded back to Tanner-Hiller Airport in New Braintree to get Kip back to his truck.

I finally made it to bed by 3:36am.  GREAT DAY!!!

Total Airtime:  3hrs and 15min.
Total Distance:  55.4 miles.  47miles dead reckoning.
Max Altitude:  8300'

The lowest I got the entire flight was 4100'.  It was a get high and stay high day where every cloud was working.

Tracklog Image courtesy of Tom Lanning

Equinox Rising

After getting home from Tanner-Hiller Airport and spending an afternoon Aerotowing with Hang-Glide New England, I decided to check the forecast for Monday.  It still looked good for Mount Equinox in Manchester, VT, one of our Easterly facing sites in New England.

Tom had already spoken up about going and was asking who else was interested.  I was interested but still skeptical as it was 12 hours out from the morning forecast; things could change dramatically in that time.  I finished my blog update and headed to bed.

Morning came a bit too quickly and I awoke with anticipation, but also no regret if it meant I could go back to sleep.  Tom sent me a message asking if I was going, I turned on the laptop with groggy eyes to spy the weather forecast for the day.  Things looked good but the RUC was showing winds over the back which completely conflicted with the NAM.  After some discussion as to this fact, Tom, Pete, PK, and I had all half-decided to go.  Time for breakfast!!!  We need to be there early on East facing sites in order to get the best conditions so I rushed.

Halfway through cramming down my food, Tom sends a note with some hesitation due to a lack of drivers and getting the car down from the mountain.  He began sending garbled texts about picking up some stranger at the base of Equinox to drive our truck down.  My retort was short and sweet - "I just want to fly!  I'm not interested in picking up strange men!  Let's go!"

We were finally all committed (like herding cats), and ready to meet up off Rt. 2.  Peter Judge and Tom Lanning arrived at the meeting place and I threw on with them and we were off.  John Beckley called as we entered Rt. 2 and said he was about 15 minutes behind us.  We were already pushing the clock so we decided to keep on and have him try and catch up to us so we could all ride together.  Through the construction stops we never ended up doing that and met him at the base of Equinox.

PK arrived fashionably late along with a driver (Thanks Ron!) to get the truck down once we were up top.  We still had no driver to get us back to the mountain but we'd manage.  After we all crammed in to PK's truck like sardines (5 pilots, 1 driver, 5 harnesses, PK's closet and kitchen sink, and 5 gliders,  we headed up the mountain.

The setup area was a little tight, mostly due to Pete Judge's king post (joke), but we managed to get our wings assembled.  At one point Peter and I were grumbling about the size of the setup area, brush poking up everywhere, and he made a comment - "why do we come here?"  We ate crow for those comments later in the day!

As we set up, we noticed a complete lack of lift anywhere.  No signs.  There were amazing clouds 50-100 miles off in the distance (as usual) but a blue sky over our heads with fast approaching cirrus which would shut down our day.

After seeing a hawk soar by, Tom suited up and stepped up on launch.  After PK kept trying to rub wings with him, he was finally able to take off first.  He turned left and maintained, turned back and was now below launch.  He quickly found a thermal off the saddle and climbed right out.

Launch

PK went next.  I slightly offended him with a comment that when a glider is climbing fast off launch, we should go!  He reminded me that my internal monologue was actually external and that he wasn't ready yet.  :-) 

PK took off and climbed right out after Tom.  John went next and climbed like a rocket!!! My turn was next.  I climbed up on the ramp, felt something strange snag my shoe, and looked down to find my boot untied.  CRAP!  Luckily there was no wind so I was able to set my wing down on the ramp and get my footwear situated.  I was soon back in action but missed turning my video camera on for the launch.

I turned right off of launch, and shot right for the saddle even though I was in a steady but meager climb off launch.  I hit the overlook and found my bus out of there.  I entered the thermal and started cranking and banking, ignoring the desire to zip up my harness, adjust my VG, etc.  I wanted to establish myself first.  As I gained a few thousand feet, things started to get cooler and cooler.  I finally found a moment to zip up my harness and get situated for what was to come.

Looking back on Mt. Dorset and Equinox beyond.

The thermal was going straight up, and I was getting lift averaging 800fpm but finding 1300fpm  cores in the midst of it.  Within minutes I was passing 7000' but still far below Tom, PK, and John.  Peter Judge was in the air below and snagged his climb and was in pursuit.  I heard Tom come across the radio saying he would follow PK if he had a direction he wanted to go.  PK didn't respond and two turns later Tom said - "we've got to go".

I called out that I was at 7700' and climbing.  A few minutes later I had joined the three of them at 9600 feet!!!!  I was ecstatic!  This was the highest altitude I have been yet and it happened in New England!  We rarely get days like this so this was very special.  After hearing all the long time pilots talk about hitting 10,000ft at Equinox, I had finally joined that small and specialized club.

After I arrived at the top of the thermal, Tom called out that he was leaving and took off on glide.  PK and John followed and I was right on their tails.  About a 1/2 mile into the glide, PK stops to turn in lift in front of me.  The others stall up and I decide that I'm going on my own as I didn't want to stop for every bubble of lift on such a high base day.  I took off toward NY border with a rough plan of following the ridge line to the Hudson Valley and then trying to jump to Birds Eye peak and then our launch in West Rutland.

Tom called out that they were following but he headed North up the route 7 valley thinking I was just going wide.  As the gaggle started moving again I rejoined them on the same course line and we headed north toward Dorset Mountain.  Dorset was firing off another sweet thermal and we went from 7700' back to 9800'!!!  Now my new personal record.


After topping out, we went on glide heading north up the valley again.  I could see that I had Rutland Airport on glide from here, and decided that was where I was going to be landing today.  Still feeling new in my wing, I wanted to keep things throttled back a bit and a 30 mile flight with 10,000ft. climbs was satisfactory to me.

We fanned out through the sky (a common tactic to see who can find the best lift line and it increases our chances of finding a thermal, especially on a blue sky day when there are no clouds marking the lift.  I flew to the left of PK, and Tom took the far right, I lost sight of John as we glided north.  I was gaining on PK and planning to pass him on the left by about 200 yds.  As I approached, he started slowly banking left on a direct intercept course with me.

I assumed he saw me and kept heading forth but as I got closer, so did he.  I quickly realized he wasn't going to look and we were going to hit.  It was too late to initiate a turn.  I had one option left, I pulled the bar in and dove under him as he passed over my head by maybe 10 feet...maybe!  He yelled loudly as I startled the hell out of him and we passed by each other in what would be a really cool maneuver had we planned it.  Ahhhh, what am I saying, it was still really cool!!!  He later told me he was trying to zip up his harness and had no idea I was coming up on his flank.

Do Not Land

With that catastrophe averted/thrill ride completed, we continued on glide but now I was out front, with Tom on my right heading for the high ground on the east side of the valley.  It was the smarter move and I drifted toward there but kept on a more northerly course finding a good line and sticking with it.  I kept watching for him to snag a climb off to the right so I could shoot over to it but it never coalesced.


As Tom started losing more and more ground, I drove forward maintaining my line and heading toward my LZ still 12 miles out.  I saw Tom begin taking turns but it didn't seem like anything I wanted to turn back for.  I later found out he stopped in light lift to take some pictures.  As I reached 5 miles short of Rutland Airport, I had 7000' of altitude.  I found some light lift and began to turn in it scanning for something stronger.  As I turned back to the south, I noticed I was all alone and that no one had followed me.

I saw PK and John lower than me about 7 miles to the south, and Tom over their heads at 9000' watching them.  I had no idea what they were doing but I decided that I was content to keep at it on my own.  I started traveling to different parts of the terrain that I considered possible trigger points and seeing if I was right.  I found lift but not much that I liked.

As I sniffed around like a dog in a pee park, I finally found an 800fpm climb.  Tom called out on the radio asking where I was - altitude and location.  "I'm at 6200' about 4-5 miles south of the airport and climbing.", I replied.  He was heading toward me but about 2000' above and 4 miles out.  I continued to climb for 5 turns or so and lost the core.  I tried widening my circles looking for it but never found it again.  In hindsight, if there were more of us there, I think we could have centered on that and took it back to 9000'+.

Tom came by at about 7000' and said he was landing at Rutland Airport as well.  He started poking around the area and found a few climbs to carry him past Rutland.

Phase II
I worked my way toward the airport arriving 3000ft over it and spent the next 40 minutes just boating around climbing and gliding.  The day had changed and the thermals were now substantially weaker and only getting me to 4600' max.  I realized later that the cirrus had socked us in and blocked all the sunlight shutting down the lift.

As I tooled around I noticed John and PK squeak into some nice farm fields to the southwest of the airport.  I was pleasantly surprised they made it after seeing how low they had been down the valley.  Peter "Grey Ghost" Judge was on the radio not too long after that calling out his location just south of Rutland Airport.  He did an awesome job getting there in his Sport 2 on his own after we had left him behind back at Equinox.

I saw Pete pass by and keep heading up the valley so I keyed my mic and asked where he was going.  He wanted to land a bit further up but realized he wasn't going to make it so he picked the field next to the airport to land in.  I still had my eye set on the airport and figured if I landed there, I'd have a better chance of finding a ride back to Equinox to get the truck.

As Peter landed I began the long downind leg of my approach.  I noticed a truck driving down the runway with it's yellow lights on, which I figured was just standard procedure for moving vehicles around the tarmac.  We did similar stuff in the Army where vehicles on runways had to have their hazard lights on.  As I turned on base I noticed the truck still coming but he was only halfway down the runway.  I finished the base leg of my approach and turned on final glide.

I transitioned to the downtubes with plenty of altitude (50ft.) and had no trouble getting on the uprights.  Landings in this glider has been my biggest challenge yet, so this was my attempt at trying to do everything right...that truck was still coming toward me.  I picked the grass strip on the side of the runway to keep the tarmac clear for any other faster traffic that may be coming in.  As I approached the ground I had good speed, rounded out, let the glider go to trim, and when the time was right - FLARED!  Perfect one or two step landing!  I was a happy camper...that truck was now looking at me.

I surveyed my surroundings trying to locate the best place to exit the field...that truck was now getting REALLY close to me.  I turned away from the truck and began to walk toward some hangers...the truck was now slowly moving up beside me on the right.  I could see it staring at me from the corner of my eye.  That's it, I've had enough!  Stalker!

I stopped and put the glider down and looked at this harassing vehicle.  The human enslaved inside this metal 4 wheeled contraption politely asked - "Where are you going?"  I said - "I'm going to put this down and take it apart."  He responded - "You can't land here."  "Oh. Really?" I said.  "Well it's too late now."  (Just kidding, I didn't say that.  I kept the inner monologue inner.)  I told him "I'm sorry, I thought this was an airport and we could land here as we've landed here in the past with no issue."  (not me but other pilots)

He was nice about it and told me that it is a commercial airport and there is no way in or out as there are locked gates.  He explained that I scared the hell out of one of the other trucks (good, those rude devices need a bit of a scare).  I wasn't sure why, so I asked.  He just told me the guy didn't know where I was going to land.  Seemed pretty obvious to me...

After we chatted for a bit, he asked if I could squeeze through the gate if he opened it up for me.  I said yes and he let me out while telling me how cool Hang-Gliding is.  You could see the joy in his eyes as well as a couple of mechanics working in the hanger; that childish glimmer at something free and exciting.  I told him where he could take a tandem flight not too far away, and that he should try it out.  I also mentioned that I would pass the word that we are not welcome to land there and for all HG pilots to please avoid doing so in the future.

I packed up on the lawn next to the terminal and soaked in the awesomeness of the day.  As I finished packing up, I contacted Tom before looking for a shuttle bus I had heard about and asked if anyone had found a ride yet.  He said PK secured a ride back to Equinox and they were already on their way to the cars.  I wandered into the terminal (airport is like a scene out of Wings) and found some cozy chairs to relax in while I waited for a ride.

I was picked up a while later and we were off to pick up that pie eating tosser Lanning.  He managed to warfle his way north of Rutland and land another 17miles away in Pittsford, VT - completely ensuring that he would not be the one to have to get the vehicle.  ;-)  We snagged him and headed off for a quick dinner in Rutland and shared stories of the days great flights.

Total Flight Time: 2 hours
Total Distance: 28 miles straight line.  33.7 miles course-line.
Max Altitude: 9760 ft. MSL

Just hit 13.5hrs in the Combat.  Another 50 hours and I should feel about right in this wing.

**I was very busy and focused on this flight and forgot to take pictures.  Thanks Tom for sharing some of your photos.  I did get video of the climb out from Equinox up to the entrance of our first glide before my battery died.  I'll post the video once it has been edited.

Here's Tom's account of the day - http://skyout.blogspot.com/2012/05/high-day.html?spref=fb