Uncharted: Sword Cutting the Sky

There have been some flying days that have come and gone over the past month that I was either uninterested in due to the cold weather, or working. Saturday looked like a great day, but I was unable to go since it was World Tai Chi/Qi Gong Day and my school was doing a free class on the town common.

View of the convergence line. Quabbin Reservoir in the distance.

Sunday was looking fairly promising and I thought I'd get a nice day at Morningside Flight Park doing some pre-season launch and landing practice. By Saturday night I knew that wasn't going to be the case as the winds had shifted and were then predicted to run from the South. Which is bad for Morningside foot launching.

Since we are seriously lacking South facing launches in New England, and the primary ones we have are still under snow, the only logical choice was aero-towing out of Tanner-Hiller Airport with Hang-Glide New England. Aero-towing my Combat as my first flight since November was not my first choice, but it would have to do.

Mt. Monadnock

I asked if I could hook a ride with Tom Lanning, since I'm currently without racks on my car to transport my glider. He was kind enough to keep me in the loop and drag me along. Since we live only an hour away from the airport (we reside in the same town), we were in no hurry to get anywhere.

Jaffrey, NH

As Tom loaded up at home, and I wrestled with the dysfunction that is FlyChart (still had my waypoints loaded in my 6030 from Big Spring), Jeff piped in that he wanted to join us. John would meet us there as well as Peter - The Grey Ghost. We now had a small force assembled.

On the drive out, the usual second guessing took place in the car as we looked at the sky and the lack of clouds anywhere near where were going. Everyone had an opinion on whether or not we were heading in the right direction. We stayed the course however, and arrived at Tanner-Hiller around 12:30.

Franklin Pierce University Rindge, NH

Some quick hellos and we proceeded to setup and have a quick lunch. More pilots began to show up as the sky started to erupt with cummies. The air was full of smells of smoke from a local fire, spring springing, and Tom's pickle juice that he had all over his hands stinking up the setup area.  Don't ask.

Since I spent last year in some drier climates ripe with the meteorological phenomenon known as 'Dust Devils', I made a comment to Tom that it was nice to setup somewhere that we didn't have to yell 'DUSTY!!!!!' and run for our wings to hold them down while a small twister tried to rip them to shreds.

Western line of the convergence.

I finished setting up my wing, triple checked everything after the long winter, and decided to grab a sandwich and prep my harness. Next stop - the porta-potty. Half way there I saw the wall coming toward me, and became painfully aware of the line of gliders behind me. I yelled - 'DUSTY!!!!' and started running back to try and hold my wing down. So much for my relaxed mannerisms.

Nick Caci was the first in the air followed closely by Nolle, and the Grey Ghost. Nick and Peter, stayed up without issue, and shortly Tom was chomping at the bit to get airborne in his shiny new T2C. So shiny, we were convinced he bathed it in sail-cote just to get everyone's attention. I crewed Tom into the air, and John shortly behind him. I was up next.

As I loaded onto the cart with Jeff and Max's help, I noticed Tom coming in on final; John wasn't faring so well either. Not promising. Rhett pulled up with the Dragonfly and hooked me up to the tow rope. I waited for a few minutes before giving the go signal, watching carefully for any signs of dust devils or switchy winds. Go Go Go!!!

Rhett pinned me off at 3300' in a nice smooth thermal and I was getting a steady 600 fpm climb rate for the first couple thousand feet. Around 6000' my variometer maxed out and I was climbing like a rocket. Spring had sprung!

I quickly arrived at cloudbase - 8600 feet. Oh, this was good. A cracking day! I had previously mentioned to others that I wasn't going anywhere if we didn't get high. The terrain around this area is full of large swathes of trees that stretch for tens of miles with no LZ's, making XC flying a bit sketchy if you are low. Max had asked where I was going and I replied Newport, NH, or Hillsboro. I had ideas, but that is all they were, no real plan.

Hawethorne Feather Airport Hillsboro, NH

Now that I was orbiting at 8600', I knew it was a day to lay some miles and I wasn't going to sit and watch it go by. I briefly considered waiting for Tom to get back in the air, but after looking down and seeing the line of gliders waiting to tow up, that thought quickly disintegrated from my mind. He'll catch up. ;-)

I kicked it into gear and shot for the next cloud to the north. The lift was consistent in strength, location, and I was quickly back to base - another good sign! The itch was taking over. About this time I noticed the giant cut in the cumulus filled sky, formed by a sharp sword slicing the ether. A convergence was taking place, and I was going to take advantage of it, if I could figure out how.

I started connecting the dots from cloud to cloud on the edge of the convergence, making my way toward Mt. Monadnock to the North. As I approached Winchendon, MA (a.k.a. Toy Town), I contemplated heading toward Keene, NH to try and run up the Connecticut River Valley. That wasn't a good idea though, it was the exact line that the bare blue sky was heading. No clouds. I opted against it and carried on toward Rindge, NH to the north.

At this point my hands were frozen solid and it was all I could do to feel them. I thought for sure I was going to have to land in Jaffrey just to keep from getting frostbite. A short sip from my camelback quickly confirmed the temperatures - a slushy.

Some unknown ski area south southeast of Hillsboro

Clouds came and went, and occasionally I would have to orbit under a cloud for a bit, waiting for a new cloud to start forming between the cloud I was under, and the next giant white monster miles ahead. I circled and circled, the blade above my shoulders slicing the air like a hot knife through butter. The side wires whirred and screamed as the air shredded around them. 

My next climb was the best of the day. Another full peg on my variometer and as I hit base, I was passing 9000'!!! The sky was my playground and I was a lucky little boy flying the coolest toy in the world. (Hang-Gliding is about 50% skill and 50% right day, right time, right weather, right situation/luck. All the skill in the world does nothing for you on a bad day, and on a good day, a lack of skill means you get nowhere.)

Ascutney and Kearsarge in the horizon.

I passed over my alma mater in Rindge - Franklin Pierce College and took a few pictures from almost two miles up. I was now enroute to Silver Ranch Airport in Jaffrey, NH; another potential landing place if things went bad (and right next door to Kimball's Ice Cream). But things were anything but bad. I was having one hell of an enjoyable flight. All the things I enjoy, high ceilings, beautiful clouds/sky, flying solo, never getting low, exploring unfamiliar territory, and forging a new XC route that no one in a Hang Glider had flown yet. A finer moment in life.

I flew by Jaffrey spying ahead for possible LZ bailouts to the north. I took in the amazing view of Mt. Monadnock with a descending Sun in the western sky behind her. I punched in Hawethorne Feather  Airport on my GPS in Hillsboro off on the horizon. It was buried in some trees and difficult to spot and I had to ensure I had alternate landing fields. As I scouted the area to the north, I watched 737's flying across my route into Manchester at my altitude. The pucker factor increased - I couldn't be dilly dallying around in that area without being on high alert. Not at these altitudes.

I jumped to the next couple clouds but found the day waning. Lift was weaker now. It was taking longer to get to base and the sun was dropping. Up until this point, I don't think I ever went below 6500' to 7000' on the entire flight. Most of it was above 7500'. Now I started leaving early instead of waiting to top out. Afterall, Hillsboro was a good place to put it down, and the day was getting late.

I approached Hillsboro Airport watching a paraglider with a motor buzz around the fields playing in his own little kingdom while soaking in the setting sun. I intended to land there, but after hitting another climb, and considering the difficulty a retrieve crew was going to have picking me up there, I decided to try to get closer to I-89, a major artery further to the North and North East.

My LZ

I picked out a nice airfield in Henniker, NH (Intervale Airport) that I landed at last year coming from Mt. Ascutney, pulled the bar in, and went on glide for a 10 mile stretch. This would put me a bit closer to the highway, and ice cream; which I now convinced myself I deserved. Getting down to around 3500' over Intervale, I hooked another climb and started eyeing where I could go next to put me closer to a ride.

Concord was a good option for a pickup, but it was a 20 mile glide and there was nowhere to land in between. After seeing some BIG sink along my flight, I didn't feel comfortable in taking a 15 to 18 mile 90 degree crosswind glide from 5500' with no bailouts, and a giant bag of wishful thinking that I'd find a late day climb in between.

Penacook, NH

I looked at Bradford, Warner, Mt. Kearsarge, New London as options if I wanted to continue, but all were going to put me further away from transportation. I decided to head crosswind over to Boscawen/Penacook north of Concord and try to put it down in the farm fields. I had seen the surface winds while circling around Intervale and knew I was in for a rowdy landing. The bigger the field the better.

I pulled on the VG, slid my CG forward, and tucked in for a long 20 mile glide. As I cruised through the air I noticed things were relatively bouyant and I was having no trouble keeping altitude for this over the earth stretch. I soared over my brother-in-laws shop off I-93 right next to the Merrimack River and a long farm field that was facing right into the wind.

Concord to the South

I snapped some pictures for him from various heights while I bled off altitude. I kept finding lift everywhere and contemplated continuing on toward Tilton, NH, again, further from a ride. It was now after 6 PM, no one knows where I am, I don't know if I have a ride home, and I can't decide if I want to land, or go forward.

Eventually logic won out and I decided to land in the nice field I had in front of me and end an already fun flight. I soared around over the river and adjoining fields trying to get down. 20 minutes later I was on final and hoping to get through this landing in one piece. The LZ was ripping with 16 to 20 mph winds and tons of turbulence.

LZ getting closer. Wondering if I could land in that dirt pile...

I think my approach landing went something like this - Bounce, bounce, bounce. Whoa!!!- I don't want to turn that way, nope. No. Ok, here we go. Pull in, pull in. Get speed. Oh boy, now were coming in fast. Let it out. Easy. Easy. FLARE! Then kiss the ground. Well, not quite. Had the field not been filled with cow shit for fertilizer then I may have 'actually' kissed the ground, but I was happy to be in one piece none the less.

I contacted Tom and Jeff to let them know I was down safe and to find out their positions. Tom wrote back that he just landed back at Tanner-Hiller and was picking up Jeff nearby. I was discouraged to hear this for two reasons - 1) no one else was able to enjoy the awesome sky and new route out of Tanner-Hiller going XC, and 2) my odds of getting a ride were in serious jeopardy - my friends were going to be pissed that I landed 3 hours away from them.

With a little help from Eric at MSFP and my early flight instructor Dave Baxter, I managed to get a ride from Ilya and Krassi coming back from Morningside on their way home to Boston. They were kind enough to drive out of their way to pick me up and throw my glider on with theirs for a cramped ride back to Chelmsford where Tom met us for dinner. While I waited for them to pick me up, I was able to get an ice cream with my sister that lived relatively close by. Good day!

Flight Time: 3hrs and 50min
Total Distance: 72.2 miles
Max Altitude: 9000 feet.

Sunset

Thanks to all that assisted in this endeavor - Tom, Jeff, Rhett, Max, Dave, Eric, Ilya, Krassi, and my sister Sara for the warm vehicle to wait in instead of a cold ass field.

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

Aerotowing in Massachusetts

Aerotowing has been a rare thing in Massachusetts, but now there is an operation in New Braintree, MA at Tanner-Hiller Airport.  It's only been up and running since yesterday but a few of us decided to try it out today.  Rhett and Louie weren't going to arrive till after 2pm so I was in no rush to get over there.  After seeing Ascutney's forecast go bust, I went back to bed and then made a good breakfast and relaxed for an hour or two before leaving to fly.

Beckley, who decided to try Ascutney anyway, sent me a text around noon asking - "have you finished breakfast you lazy bastard?".  I replied with - "This tow park bunny thing is quite the life...sleep in, make a nice breakfast, relax a few hours, then head to the field to get towed up." "How's that 1/2 mile hike to launch?"  :-)

I arrived around 1:30pm and after getting a sandwich from the local store, I set up my glider.  Rhett and Louie arrived around 2:30pm and pulled out all the equipment.  After my pre-flight, I started fishing around for a piece of wood to use on the cart so my tail wouldn't get stuck on take-off.  I found some scrap in a wood pile and pulled into the launch line.

After watching our NE winds turn to a tail wind on the runway, and seeing Matt take-off and then Peter, and going for LONGish rides in the cart before being able to get airborne, I decided to hike my glider to the opposite end of the runway and launch in the other direction.  It turned out to be a good call as there was a fairly strong breeze coming in.

I launched at 3:50pm and I had a good tow out of the field; nothing drastic happened, which was good.  Rhett towed me up expertly as usual and I was soon at 3000' in a thermal.  I was a bit nervous as this was my 5th time towing the Combat and 1st time in thermic conditions. Rhett left and headed back to the runway to get the next pilot.

Shot of Kip in his sweet LZ.

I climbed out to cloudbase and tried to raise Kip or Peter on the radio.  Kip fired back after I called 'cloudbase' and said he was 2 miles to the west and coming toward me.  We were under a sweet cloud that had air going up everywhere.  The thermals were fairly large and smooth although I went weightless once and later in the flight I went over the falls twice.  There were some hidden dragons inside some fairly mellow but strong thermals.

Tanner-Hiller Airport

Once Kip and I met up we started heading upwind toward Worcester.  The clouds kept building over our heads and we just followed the streets.  Most of the flight was spent dodging clouds and losing altitude off to the sides to go back in and climb up.  I thought of trying to go somewhere but I'm feeling so new in this wing that I was quite content with a short out and back and just soaring around this new terrain while getting a lay of the land.

Quabbin Reservoir

Kip did good in his Sport 2 and stayed right along with me.  We came within 8 miles of the Worcester Airport and the cloud street came to an end.  Kip asked where too and I decided to head back toward the Quabbin and see about exploring that direction.  On the return trek things started to go soft and you could feel the day winding down.  Kip started getting lower and lower as we retraced our steps but fought hard to stay up and get within 1.5 miles of the runway before succumbing to gravity.

As we came back to North of the runway by a couple miles, I noticed Matt back in the air and Peter had relit as well.  Rhett pulled Peter into the thermal I was using as I ascended to cloudbase again.  I saw him circle around and below me and then peel off about 200 yards to my south before waving off Peter.  I headed over there thinking the lift was better.  Rhett later told me he was watching me head toward the clouds and was trying to keep them out of it.  :-)  Oops on my part, should have stayed where I was at.

Peter

I fussed around at base for a while realizing I wasn't going much further and decided to get some pictures before it was too late.  As I haphazardly handled my glider with one hand and decided to skate all over the sky, I finally retrieved my camera from it's pocket and began clicking away.  I lost about 1500' during this whole process but was able to at least get some stills for tonight's post.

Here's me, looking at me.

I flew around for a bit longer and saw Peter go in and land.  I headed toward the runway and found a small thermal down low right near Kip in his LZ.  I circled for a bit and then headed in behind Matt.

After Matt landed, I hit the downwind leg around the field and then went to base.  I was still a bit high so I boxed around the far end of the runway one more time.  As I made my turn I cut too steep in front of a tree line and ended up with some adverse yaw as I went on final (thanks for the tips Tom).  I started over correcting and finally leveled the glider out abotu 25-30' off the deck.  As I rocked up about 15' off the deck, the nose popped and the bar flew out.  I reached in to pull speed and recover the glider.  I was able to get enough airspeed back in for a good flare and runout but was disappointed in my approach.

Days end.  Back at base.

Tom and Amy headed out while I started to break down.  There was an ultralight pilot preparing for take-off on what I later found out was his first solo.

Taxiing out for his 1st solo.

I broke down my glider and then met up with the other pilots to talk about the day.  Rhett and Marilyn came by to see how things went at the new park.  This is a great little field and it is FULL of lift, very different than towing out of MSFP aka 'The big blue hole'.  I had a great afternoon with some awesome flying with friends.  Looking forward to future flights and laying some new XC routes out of there.

Great way to end the day.

Max Altitude: 4700' MSL
Distance: 14 miles out and back.
Airtime: 1.55 hours.