Sun Jun 20 : Gotta be good somewhere!

[Matthew]

So is the plan for next time to come swooping out of a cloud and do a running touch and go on the top of the airliner-- YEE HA!!!

Matthew

[mingram]

My heros Tom and Ellis! I was at cloudbase out front waiting for them to launch, but the cycle ended and I didn't fly far enough back to the ridge so I landed early. Always keep the high ground! I also didn't have a good working knowledge of the route to feel comfortable attempting XC...

When I was in Brazil learning to XC we studied laminated, google maps showing landmarks along the route like towns/quarries/antennas, good landing zones, and thermal trigger points. We memorized the town names along the road to make communication easier. It'd be nice to also mark hazards like Dulles flight paths and the Smithsonian wildlife reserve. This made flying without a GPS pretty easy. I'd like to try to put something together for Woodstock starting with the GPS track from Tom or Ellis' flights.

In Brazil we weren't worried about retrieval because we followed the road and hitched or caught a bus, but GPS coordinates were essential for easy retrieval this weekend. I plugged in their coordinates into Tom's Garmin Nuvi and had no trouble finding them quickly, once they landed. I think this is an important part of the XC plan. It would have been nice to have known their locations in the air to chase them but radios weren't working very well. I plan to try out this app for the iPhone which interfaces with Leonardo to transmit GPS data at a specified internal. This would be useful for anyone flying solo as well.
http://www.xcmag.com/2010/03/livetrack2 ... s-tracker/

Ellis suggested some sort of reflector ball to make it easier to spot each other in the air. Anyone have any suggestions on this?

[pink_albatross]

maybe something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Disco-Ball-2 ... 773&sr=8-6
(search on mini disco ball)

[brianvh]

I think you should wear rhinestone jumpsuits.

[brianvh]

sorry, forgot to attach image.

http://howcool.com/product_info.php?products_id=51740

[mcelrah]

Well, that *is* the paragliding ethos... - Hugh

[DanTuck]

Video from Sunday's flight.

[Matthew]

Hi Dan,

This is right up your alley!!!!!

http://www.davisstraub.com/OZ/1277301931

Matthew