Soaring Opportunity Lost
Well, today was a better day.
Thomas and I hiked up Prairie Mountain out in Kananaskis Country, just to check out where some paraglider pilots like to fly. The hike was about an hour and 15 minutes, and pretty steep about 3/4 up. I figure that with a glider on my back, it would take me an extra half hour.
The top of Prairie is almost meadow-like, so launching shouldn't really be difficult. The valley winds from almost all 4 directions seem a bit tricky, but the flying out there looks good. The LZ is a bit narrow, but regardless, should be pretty landable in most wind directions. I'm looking foward to my first flight out in K-Country!
After that, we headed out to Cochrane, where it surprisingly turned ridge-soarable. My soaring skills are still much to be desired, so I really got in a sled-run, with a side hill landing while the winds were still around 20 k's. Some of the other pilots got some great flights in with airtime past the 15 minute mark, so it was definitly a good day for some.
When the pilots who racked up the airtime were flying, the wind was coming in, at I would say, somewhere around 25 k's an hour, with stronger gusts. I didn't feel comfortable launching again, although I think once in the air, things would have been ok. My instructor seemed occupied with other students, so I didn't want to bother him, although it would have been interesting to see how he would have felt about me launching with winds that strong.
Today's conditions felt like a roadblock: were these conditions I should be expected to fly in normally? They were on the stronger side, but I guess technically, my glider could handle it without major difficulty. The bigger struggle came within - I didn't feel confident playing around in such strong winds today without instruction, but maybe I should have seized the opportunity, in what was a somewhat supervised environment. Then again, who wants to get dragged, blown back, or popped up while practicing? Hmmm...tough call.
*Sigh*, better flying is just around the corner, dammit! Hopefully over the next month I'll be able to accumulate more airtime, and improve my flying skills. It seems like there are a good number of people who are taking flying vacations over the next few months, and it looks like I will have to plan something out on my own. I of course want to fly with my pals, but lately politics seems to be getting in the way of things. I'm hoping to hook up with a school somewhere in North America, and go down south to fly for part of the winter. I guess that means I'll have to start saving!
Darn it, I should first prioritize pushing hard in the next month to get as much flying done while the season is still flyable here in Alberta. Sled runs, or not, practice is practice. I will have to watch the winds over the next while, and fly when I can. I'll definitly do a big trip this year, but that costs money. Driving out to nearby flying sites costs gas, but that's about it.
Less procrastination, and more flying!!!!!!!!!!!
Thomas and I hiked up Prairie Mountain out in Kananaskis Country, just to check out where some paraglider pilots like to fly. The hike was about an hour and 15 minutes, and pretty steep about 3/4 up. I figure that with a glider on my back, it would take me an extra half hour.
The top of Prairie is almost meadow-like, so launching shouldn't really be difficult. The valley winds from almost all 4 directions seem a bit tricky, but the flying out there looks good. The LZ is a bit narrow, but regardless, should be pretty landable in most wind directions. I'm looking foward to my first flight out in K-Country!
After that, we headed out to Cochrane, where it surprisingly turned ridge-soarable. My soaring skills are still much to be desired, so I really got in a sled-run, with a side hill landing while the winds were still around 20 k's. Some of the other pilots got some great flights in with airtime past the 15 minute mark, so it was definitly a good day for some.
When the pilots who racked up the airtime were flying, the wind was coming in, at I would say, somewhere around 25 k's an hour, with stronger gusts. I didn't feel comfortable launching again, although I think once in the air, things would have been ok. My instructor seemed occupied with other students, so I didn't want to bother him, although it would have been interesting to see how he would have felt about me launching with winds that strong.
Today's conditions felt like a roadblock: were these conditions I should be expected to fly in normally? They were on the stronger side, but I guess technically, my glider could handle it without major difficulty. The bigger struggle came within - I didn't feel confident playing around in such strong winds today without instruction, but maybe I should have seized the opportunity, in what was a somewhat supervised environment. Then again, who wants to get dragged, blown back, or popped up while practicing? Hmmm...tough call.
*Sigh*, better flying is just around the corner, dammit! Hopefully over the next month I'll be able to accumulate more airtime, and improve my flying skills. It seems like there are a good number of people who are taking flying vacations over the next few months, and it looks like I will have to plan something out on my own. I of course want to fly with my pals, but lately politics seems to be getting in the way of things. I'm hoping to hook up with a school somewhere in North America, and go down south to fly for part of the winter. I guess that means I'll have to start saving!
Darn it, I should first prioritize pushing hard in the next month to get as much flying done while the season is still flyable here in Alberta. Sled runs, or not, practice is practice. I will have to watch the winds over the next while, and fly when I can. I'll definitly do a big trip this year, but that costs money. Driving out to nearby flying sites costs gas, but that's about it.
Less procrastination, and more flying!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by Veronica at 12:49 AM
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