Well Ventilated Pants
Last weekend the pilots of the Valley ventured out to Woodside again for some spring flying.
After waiting for a while for a ride up, the Mog picked us up and off we went. The drama began a few minutes after putting chains on the tires (still snow up there) and almost falling to our deaths on a corner where one wheel of the vehicle hung precariously close to the edge where a creek below lie. After getting out of the vehicle (not before getting hit in the head by some tree branches!) we all climbed out at which point I noticed my ripped pants!
Now to my horror, this rip was not of ordinary sort. It started half way up my thigh on the front, and ended, well, let’s say, towards the direction of my belly button. Thankfully, my winter jacket was long enough to hide the, er, interesting part of the tear however, it was still quite large and very noticeable.
Somehow, the Mog made it all the way up to launch while us pilots hiked the rest of the way up. After getting to the top, I realized again, to my horror, that I did not have my sunglasses on my head. First thing first though! I put on my flightsuit so that the hole in my pants was no longer visible. Frantically, I searched my gear, and myself, and then the Mog for my sunnies – nothing. I figured I must have dropped them on the Corner of Doom, so I hiked back down to the spot where we all climbed out of the Mog. Still nothing.
Trekking back up to launch with a heavy heart, I thought about my sunglasses and how much I missed them already. Upon arrival at launch, the sun was shining and my eyes hurt. Everyone asked if I had found them, to which I sadly replied I had not. One last desperate attempt at searching my gear yielded results: there they were, staring back at me from the bottom compartment of my flight deck. Joy!!!!
Ok, granted, that is a rather dramatic account of what happened, but I was pretty bummed; ripped pants and lost sunglasses are not a great start before flying.
Shortly after composing myself, I launched and followed another pilot around the knob to have my go at some light thermals. Nothing spectacular, but any bit of thermalling I can do these days is great.
I flew around for about 25 minutes and decided to fly over the river for fun. Did that, turned around and landed at Riverside among the brambles (they’re everywhere!!!!), which I ever-so-carefully picked my precious glider out of.
After packing up, walking back, etc. we all went down to the local pub for dinner, me of course, still in my flightsuit. How hardcore! Definitely an interesting day where I was reminded again of how sometimes the drive up can be more exciting than the flight itself.
Another adventure awaits...
After waiting for a while for a ride up, the Mog picked us up and off we went. The drama began a few minutes after putting chains on the tires (still snow up there) and almost falling to our deaths on a corner where one wheel of the vehicle hung precariously close to the edge where a creek below lie. After getting out of the vehicle (not before getting hit in the head by some tree branches!) we all climbed out at which point I noticed my ripped pants!
Now to my horror, this rip was not of ordinary sort. It started half way up my thigh on the front, and ended, well, let’s say, towards the direction of my belly button. Thankfully, my winter jacket was long enough to hide the, er, interesting part of the tear however, it was still quite large and very noticeable.
Somehow, the Mog made it all the way up to launch while us pilots hiked the rest of the way up. After getting to the top, I realized again, to my horror, that I did not have my sunglasses on my head. First thing first though! I put on my flightsuit so that the hole in my pants was no longer visible. Frantically, I searched my gear, and myself, and then the Mog for my sunnies – nothing. I figured I must have dropped them on the Corner of Doom, so I hiked back down to the spot where we all climbed out of the Mog. Still nothing.
Trekking back up to launch with a heavy heart, I thought about my sunglasses and how much I missed them already. Upon arrival at launch, the sun was shining and my eyes hurt. Everyone asked if I had found them, to which I sadly replied I had not. One last desperate attempt at searching my gear yielded results: there they were, staring back at me from the bottom compartment of my flight deck. Joy!!!!
Ok, granted, that is a rather dramatic account of what happened, but I was pretty bummed; ripped pants and lost sunglasses are not a great start before flying.
Shortly after composing myself, I launched and followed another pilot around the knob to have my go at some light thermals. Nothing spectacular, but any bit of thermalling I can do these days is great.
I flew around for about 25 minutes and decided to fly over the river for fun. Did that, turned around and landed at Riverside among the brambles (they’re everywhere!!!!), which I ever-so-carefully picked my precious glider out of.
After packing up, walking back, etc. we all went down to the local pub for dinner, me of course, still in my flightsuit. How hardcore! Definitely an interesting day where I was reminded again of how sometimes the drive up can be more exciting than the flight itself.
Another adventure awaits...
posted by Veronica at 2:56 PM
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