Tuesday, March 21st 2006
Got about an hour at Hammondsport, in really great air, with HG Bob, PG Sean (yeah he really does fly gliders!) and PG Dave. What a blast! Dave flew first, landed a bit short. Sean had a scary launch (but I think almost all PG launches are scary- especially at H-port!), and flew around a while. Bob launched and got up pretty quick, and I just had to wait til he was out of my way to launch. I chose the Litespeed to fly (the old one, not the new one) and it felt great to fly a "real" glider again. Heavy little bitch, but so nice in the air. I got some really good climbs in big boaty thermals, topped out due to the cold at 2300' over, tried to stay lower to thaw my thumbs. But there was easy lift everywhere and Bob was marking it really well. We flew all over the place with impunity! Dave and Sean came back up again and Sean launched while I was trying to decide if I should land on top. That decided it for me, and it looked real simple, but I did beak the nose a little in the downhill slope. I had no wheels like I usually have so I think I psyched myself out a little. Then I got to writhe and moan while my fingers came back to body temperature while Bob was landing. His looked really interesting! I walked back to the parking area and watched Sean just flying around easily at 500' over. He went back and landed on top as well so retrieve was really easy. Plus he was all packed up and ready to help me pull battens so I was home in time for dinner.
Awesome awesome day!