Arizona Task 4
Made goal today- with 11 or 12 others- but hey! It is great to not have to break down and wait for a retrieve! Oh and I wasn’t dead last into goal either!
The flight started slow. I watched as most of the pilots towed up and scratched around. The few that were on the ground didn’t look anxious to go seeing what was NOT up. When I finally launched, things got better. I was in an easy climb and near the gate when I took the second start. I think I actually glided through the gate at two seconds past the second start- way good! Today that would matter. I got low at first, on the edge of town, but heading towards the lead gaggle I found something really good. I was in it alone for a while, and outclimbing the lead gaggle and one behind me, then others joined and everything melded together. At 8K Mark and I went on glide together- a long really sweet glide. We matched glides pretty well (neither of us is gliding very well) and the next few climbs were reliable. I tagged the TP first and hit the second leg, caught up with Mark Dowsett and then dicked around looking for a climb below him and Dustin, then the 2nd TP I was alone for a bit and then my Mark showed back up. We flew together in some really light lift for too long- we’d go to leave, hit what seemed better and start turning again, then waffle in light lift only to repeat it several times. We wasted so much time there but I was not going to bomb out again today so I was staying too conservative. A huge climb on the way to goal got my numbers positive and Mark missed the meat of it, so I flew off and took a few turns with Armand over the mountain. He ditched me and I got a couple hundred more feet of insurance and went on a LONG glide. My numbers were good the whole way and I stayed just over and behind Armand- he didn’t know I was there. When we came into goal I pulled in harder and tagged it just before he did. Pretty funny. Now I know how the big boys feel on final. Mark came in just after and the whole place was just relaxed and smiling. A hop in the pool, dinner, Grey’s Anatomy… slept like a baby for the first time since I have been here. No giant iced teas for me before bed anymore.
Made goal today- with 11 or 12 others- but hey! It is great to not have to break down and wait for a retrieve! Oh and I wasn’t dead last into goal either!
The flight started slow. I watched as most of the pilots towed up and scratched around. The few that were on the ground didn’t look anxious to go seeing what was NOT up. When I finally launched, things got better. I was in an easy climb and near the gate when I took the second start. I think I actually glided through the gate at two seconds past the second start- way good! Today that would matter. I got low at first, on the edge of town, but heading towards the lead gaggle I found something really good. I was in it alone for a while, and outclimbing the lead gaggle and one behind me, then others joined and everything melded together. At 8K Mark and I went on glide together- a long really sweet glide. We matched glides pretty well (neither of us is gliding very well) and the next few climbs were reliable. I tagged the TP first and hit the second leg, caught up with Mark Dowsett and then dicked around looking for a climb below him and Dustin, then the 2nd TP I was alone for a bit and then my Mark showed back up. We flew together in some really light lift for too long- we’d go to leave, hit what seemed better and start turning again, then waffle in light lift only to repeat it several times. We wasted so much time there but I was not going to bomb out again today so I was staying too conservative. A huge climb on the way to goal got my numbers positive and Mark missed the meat of it, so I flew off and took a few turns with Armand over the mountain. He ditched me and I got a couple hundred more feet of insurance and went on a LONG glide. My numbers were good the whole way and I stayed just over and behind Armand- he didn’t know I was there. When we came into goal I pulled in harder and tagged it just before he did. Pretty funny. Now I know how the big boys feel on final. Mark came in just after and the whole place was just relaxed and smiling. A hop in the pool, dinner, Grey’s Anatomy… slept like a baby for the first time since I have been here. No giant iced teas for me before bed anymore.
posted by Linda Salamone at
Friday, May 11, 2007
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