Ratty Flying
Boooo, the weekend is over!
Despite the less than ideal flying conditions, the weekend was a blast. The first annual Golden Glass-off (and masquerade party) was great fun, and I'm already looking forward to next year!
I arrived Friday afternoon in Golden, where I managed to squeeze in two flights. On the first flight the wind in the valley was pretty strong, and I wasn't penetrating much. I stuck on the speedbar and made it to the LZ fine. The second flight was nicer, but only a sled run.
The next morning, all the pilots gathered for the meet, which unfortunately never really happened. The wind was very strong all day at launch, and only a couple hang glider pilots flew. It wasn't all bad though - the sun was shining, and the winds were light in the LZ. I think we all caught up on our socializing.
That night, John and Cathy-Anne McIssack, the organizers of the event, fed us an awesome supper with free booze! The partying lasted into the wee hours of the morning at which point I offered to sacrifice the fake rat which was part of my witch's costume, in order to appease the wind gods. Who knew a $3 fake rabid rat could bring so much joy.
Slightly hungover the next morning, we drove up to launch, waited a bit, and ended up getting a flight in. The wind gods accepted my unique offering. The winds were fine at launch, but over the LZ, maybe 800 feet up or so, it was kind of dodgy. There was a lot of lift and sink, as the winds were gusty. Our goal was to hit a target with a 20 foot diameter...most of us landed about 100 feet away! How strange it was to see the target on final approach, and feel yourself sinking straight friggen down without it getting any closer! It was a good learning experience, that's for sure.
I accomplished a couple things this weekend: good launches, being mentally comfortable in the air, and using my speedbar for the first time, outside the SIV course. I've still gotta tidy-up those wingovers, and master the secrets of finding lift. I think I've gotta stock up on those freakish looking rats too!
Despite the less than ideal flying conditions, the weekend was a blast. The first annual Golden Glass-off (and masquerade party) was great fun, and I'm already looking forward to next year!
I arrived Friday afternoon in Golden, where I managed to squeeze in two flights. On the first flight the wind in the valley was pretty strong, and I wasn't penetrating much. I stuck on the speedbar and made it to the LZ fine. The second flight was nicer, but only a sled run.
The next morning, all the pilots gathered for the meet, which unfortunately never really happened. The wind was very strong all day at launch, and only a couple hang glider pilots flew. It wasn't all bad though - the sun was shining, and the winds were light in the LZ. I think we all caught up on our socializing.
That night, John and Cathy-Anne McIssack, the organizers of the event, fed us an awesome supper with free booze! The partying lasted into the wee hours of the morning at which point I offered to sacrifice the fake rat which was part of my witch's costume, in order to appease the wind gods. Who knew a $3 fake rabid rat could bring so much joy.
Slightly hungover the next morning, we drove up to launch, waited a bit, and ended up getting a flight in. The wind gods accepted my unique offering. The winds were fine at launch, but over the LZ, maybe 800 feet up or so, it was kind of dodgy. There was a lot of lift and sink, as the winds were gusty. Our goal was to hit a target with a 20 foot diameter...most of us landed about 100 feet away! How strange it was to see the target on final approach, and feel yourself sinking straight friggen down without it getting any closer! It was a good learning experience, that's for sure.
I accomplished a couple things this weekend: good launches, being mentally comfortable in the air, and using my speedbar for the first time, outside the SIV course. I've still gotta tidy-up those wingovers, and master the secrets of finding lift. I think I've gotta stock up on those freakish looking rats too!
posted by Veronica at 10:13 PM
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