Good times! My neighbor Susie came out for a tandem, Sunny took her up, let her fly, did some stalls & high angle of bank turns. Ended up getting about 20 minutes. I think shes hooked, she bought a 3 pack of tows and Sunny said she would be on the bottom on her next tow which really perked her ears up. I was taking pictures for her so I didn't get to start setting up until around 1:30. I took off at about 2:25 to a pretty bumpy tow out of the park. Winds were crossing from the North at about 10, but it was pretty turbulent as the winds rotored over the tree line. I was happy to see my altimeter pass thru 100' as a few people had weak link breaks trying to get out. Once clear of the park, the turbulence calmed down, but it was pretty thermally still. I released and worked some pretty tight, quick drifting thermals, but they were only giving me about 100 up. I got down to 1200 and decided to head back towards the field. I popped a fatty and took it back up to 2000 and flew until about 3:00. I had to land so we could get on the road by 4:00 as Susie had plans that night. I ended up with just under 45 minutes. Nice day to be airborne!
C
Saturday @ Ridgely
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
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drice21037
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Annapolis, MD
Saturday @ Ridgely
Saturday was fun even though it showed me that I can only thermal well
when there's no drift and the lift is very wide. I towed three times
and only got above launch altitude on the third flight and then only for
a few minutes. When I did momentarily get everything to work on that
third flight I was banked up much higher than I usually do. In
retrospect, I don't think I usually bank nearly enough and I wait too
long to begin turning. I'll try to fix that next time.
Looking back I also noticed how comfortable I've become with towing.
There was a lot of turbulence coming from the tree line to the north and
each tow required a lot of correction during the first 100'. I thought
it was fun! Of course I do fly a Falcon so my adjustments on tow don't
require the same level of effort that a Talon pilot's would.
Dave
when there's no drift and the lift is very wide. I towed three times
and only got above launch altitude on the third flight and then only for
a few minutes. When I did momentarily get everything to work on that
third flight I was banked up much higher than I usually do. In
retrospect, I don't think I usually bank nearly enough and I wait too
long to begin turning. I'll try to fix that next time.
Looking back I also noticed how comfortable I've become with towing.
There was a lot of turbulence coming from the tree line to the north and
each tow required a lot of correction during the first 100'. I thought
it was fun! Of course I do fly a Falcon so my adjustments on tow don't
require the same level of effort that a Talon pilot's would.
Dave