A month ago, I posted how Kevin had given me a landing lesson on my Sport 2, and raved about how my glider slammed to a halt with my new, higher hand position and earlier flare. Well. I just counted. That was 68 tows ago. Not counting the 7 or so that day. I am not kidding, and many of the days this month have not been flyable.
Each new gain in my knowledge and feel seemed to reveal another of my faults.
For instance, when I was initially able to slide my hands high, it was because I had gained time to do so by ballooning up, and then could finish the flare before the glider began to sink. However, if I was caught by a crosswind -- hands high above me, floating along like an unfortunate leaf -- the glider would spin to the side and throw me into a downtube.
I switched back between the Sport and Litespeed many times. The Sport would suggest I might be making a mistake and hint at tiping forward. The Litespeed would slam into the ground. Whack! You're late, bitch!
I finally decided I would fly the Sport until I got it right-- after a particularly nasty wreck on my Litespeed that cut my shoulder on my bare wires and bruised both legs the ugly shade of liver. I forced myself to fly the night after I had the nasty spill on my Litespeed, setting up my Sport and nabbing a pattern tow.
The next day, I flew 5 patterns or so in the morning, climbed up off of a few hundred feet and took off XC. Great. Until I landed. I piled in the Sport, pretty much like I had the Litespeed the day before. I resigned myself to wearing jeans for another few weeks, until my legs looked presentable.
Bo told me I needed to forget landing and go fly and have fun, but I was terrified after that. Bob told Paul that everyone was to leave me alone as far as landing went. That I had too much advice from everyone. Pete L., Sky God and buddy, said he agreed with Bo. Go have fun. Sugested I might be missing the point of how wonderous it is to defy gravity without a motor. But it's hard when you know it will hurt like hell when you land.
So. I disagreed. How can I improve if I don't try? And I need to fly without fear, which means, to me, that I need to land well.
I forced myself to fly every day I could. I didn't want to. But I did, a zillion times.
Paul -- he was so great-- filmed almost every landing I made (although he complained that I nearly bankrupted us this month, hey, better than a hospital bill). I watched each landing in slow motion, again and again, and tried to figure it out. When I woke up at night, I would be grinding my teeth, pushing my arms out to flare.
So I'm sure you don't want all the boring details. But I finally got it. My Litespeed sets me down with ease now, so softly. I can't even believe it. It seems so easy. How could I have been so thick? Many thanks to my wonderful husband, Paul, and to Kevin, and Bob, and Bo, and Jim, and Dustin, too. And to myself. I don't know why I thought this would be easy. I have had to earn it, the right to fly this glider and to be confident. The good news is that if I can do it, anyone can.
The other bonus is that my towing and approaches are MUCH better after all that work. I can set the Litespeed down right on the cone. I am grateful for my initial inadequacies because they make me appreciate the end result so much. Now I gotta learn how to fly, too. But the Litespeed is easy in that regard. Gawd she is fabulous.
The gossip? Aw, I can't tell you too much of that. I WILL mention there has been some discord on the women's world team. Which, BTW, I am no longer on (damn, I wanted those batten boys). CIVL, the international HG association, has denied my exemption to compete in the world championships. Most of the women need exemptions, and CIVL is not inclined to grant them, since they want the US competitions to be sanctioned by them. The only meet sanctioned in the US last year (by CIVL) was the Flytec, and neither Paul or I competed in it, on the advice of Steve Kroop, who wanted us to be safe and fly at a smaller meet initially. Paul didn't get his exemption either. I am the only woman who didn't get the exemption, though. I just don't have bragging rights yet, and am the logical choice to exclude. Steve loyally argued that I am quite safe, but the point is political.
Anyhow, I am friggin' competing. Either we will have to go to Australia for the Bogong cup (and fly well there) or Quest will have a small, but sanctioned meet in the next couple of months. It needs to have 2 tasks and at least 16 competitors with FAI licenses, which I would be inclined to buy (25 bucks apiece, cheaper than flying to Australia). Paul and I need to be placed in the top 2/3rds. Anybody want to come? I will talk to David Glover tommorow. Steve K has enough to do with 2 major competitions coming up.
Tomorrow we will have great flights. And great fun. And great landings.
Fly safe, my old friends,
Lauren
Finally, not too embarrassed to post, plus latest gossip
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
-
Lauren Tjaden
- Posts: 371
- Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:27 pm
-
John Simon
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:33 pm
Finally, not too embarrassed to post, plus latest gossip
Wow,
It's good to hear your flying stories again Lauren, I missed them. I am
jealous of all your flying, even if it is just working on landings. Mine
have slowly deteriorated and I need to spend some time late in the day
getting my basics down again. Gonna do some patterns this weekend or next
and work it out. They aren't aweful but then they aren't good either. My
approaches are still pretty solid and I land where I want so that's nice but
want to work my way back up to average on the last part of it all. I sure
would be interested in a comp this year, and would consider flying down
there to do it but getting the time off may be tricky. Still, I'd give it a
go if it worked out with my schedule. Either way, Heather and I will be
down to FLA a couple times this winter to mess around.
Take care,
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Lauren Tjaden [mailto:Giddyupandglide@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 7:58 PM
To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
Subject: Finally, not too embarrassed to post, plus latest gossip
A month ago, I posted how Kevin had given me a landing lesson on my Sport 2,
and raved about how my glider slammed to a halt with my new, higher hand
position and earlier flare. Well. I just counted. That was 68 tows ago. Not
counting the 7 or so that day. I am not kidding, and many of the days this
month have not been flyable.
Each new gain in my knowledge and feel seemed to reveal another of my
faults.
For instance, when I was initially able to slide my hands high, it was
because I had gained time to do so by ballooning up, and then could finish
the flare before the glider began to sink. However, if I was caught by a
crosswind -- hands high above me, floating along like an unfortunate leaf --
the glider would spin to the side and throw me into a downtube.
I switched back between the Sport and Litespeed many times. The Sport would
suggest I might be making a mistake and hint at tiping forward. The
Litespeed would slam into the ground. Whack! You're late, bitch!
I finally decided I would fly the Sport until I got it right-- after a
particularly nasty wreck on my Litespeed that cut my shoulder on my bare
wires and bruised both legs the ugly shade of liver. I forced myself to fly
the night after I had the nasty spill on my Litespeed, setting up my Sport
and nabbing a pattern tow.
The next day, I flew 5 patterns or so in the morning, climbed up off of a
few hundred feet and took off XC. Great. Until I landed. I piled in the
Sport, pretty much like I had the Litespeed the day before. I resigned
myself to wearing jeans for another few weeks, until my legs looked
presentable.
Bo told me I needed to forget landing and go fly and have fun, but I was
terrified after that. Bob told Paul that everyone was to leave me alone as
far as landing went. That I had too much advice from everyone. Pete L., Sky
God and buddy, said he agreed with Bo. Go have fun. Sugested I might be
missing the point of how wonderous it is to defy gravity without a motor.
But it's hard when you know it will hurt like hell when you land.
So. I disagreed. How can I improve if I don't try? And I need to fly without
fear, which means, to me, that I need to land well.
I forced myself to fly every day I could. I didn't want to. But I did, a
zillion times.
Paul -- he was so great-- filmed almost every landing I made (although he
complained that I nearly bankrupted us this month, hey, better than a
hospital bill). I watched each landing in slow motion, again and again, and
tried to figure it out. When I woke up at night, I would be grinding my
teeth, pushing my arms out to flare.
So I'm sure you don't want all the boring details. But I finally got it. My
Litespeed sets me down with ease now, so softly. I can't even believe it. It
seems so easy. How could I have been so thick? Many thanks to my wonderful
husband, Paul, and to Kevin, and Bob, and Bo, and Jim, and Dustin, too. And
to myself. I don't know why I thought this would be easy. I have had to earn
it, the right to fly this glider and to be confident. The good news is that
if I can do it, anyone can.
The other bonus is that my towing and approaches are MUCH better after all
that work. I can set the Litespeed down right on the cone. I am grateful for
my initial inadequacies because they make me appreciate the end result so
much. Now I gotta learn how to fly, too. But the Litespeed is easy in that
regard. Gawd she is fabulous.
The gossip? Aw, I can't tell you too much of that. I WILL mention there has
been some discord on the women's world team. Which, BTW, I am no longer on
(damn, I wanted those batten boys). CIVL, the international HG association,
has denied my exemption to compete in the world championships. Most of the
women need exemptions, and CIVL is not inclined to grant them, since they
want the US competitions to be sanctioned by them. The only meet sanctioned
in the US last year (by CIVL) was the Flytec, and neither Paul or I competed
in it, on the advice of Steve Kroop, who wanted us to be safe and fly at a
smaller meet initially. Paul didn't get his exemption either. I am the only
woman who didn't get the exemption, though. I just don't have bragging
rights yet, and am the logical choice to exclude. Steve loyally argued that
I am quite safe, but the point is political.
Anyhow, I am friggin' competing. Either we will have to go to Australia for
the Bogong cup (and fly well there) or Quest will have a small, but
sanctioned meet in the next couple of months. It needs to have 2 tasks and
at least 16 competitors with FAI licenses, which I would be inclined to buy
(25 bucks apiece, cheaper than flying to Australia). Paul and I need to be
placed in the top 2/3rds. Anybody want to come? I will talk to David Glover
tommorow. Steve K has enough to do with 2 major competitions coming up.
Tomorrow we will have great flights. And great fun. And great landings.
Fly safe, my old friends,
Lauren
It's good to hear your flying stories again Lauren, I missed them. I am
jealous of all your flying, even if it is just working on landings. Mine
have slowly deteriorated and I need to spend some time late in the day
getting my basics down again. Gonna do some patterns this weekend or next
and work it out. They aren't aweful but then they aren't good either. My
approaches are still pretty solid and I land where I want so that's nice but
want to work my way back up to average on the last part of it all. I sure
would be interested in a comp this year, and would consider flying down
there to do it but getting the time off may be tricky. Still, I'd give it a
go if it worked out with my schedule. Either way, Heather and I will be
down to FLA a couple times this winter to mess around.
Take care,
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Lauren Tjaden [mailto:Giddyupandglide@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 7:58 PM
To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
Subject: Finally, not too embarrassed to post, plus latest gossip
A month ago, I posted how Kevin had given me a landing lesson on my Sport 2,
and raved about how my glider slammed to a halt with my new, higher hand
position and earlier flare. Well. I just counted. That was 68 tows ago. Not
counting the 7 or so that day. I am not kidding, and many of the days this
month have not been flyable.
Each new gain in my knowledge and feel seemed to reveal another of my
faults.
For instance, when I was initially able to slide my hands high, it was
because I had gained time to do so by ballooning up, and then could finish
the flare before the glider began to sink. However, if I was caught by a
crosswind -- hands high above me, floating along like an unfortunate leaf --
the glider would spin to the side and throw me into a downtube.
I switched back between the Sport and Litespeed many times. The Sport would
suggest I might be making a mistake and hint at tiping forward. The
Litespeed would slam into the ground. Whack! You're late, bitch!
I finally decided I would fly the Sport until I got it right-- after a
particularly nasty wreck on my Litespeed that cut my shoulder on my bare
wires and bruised both legs the ugly shade of liver. I forced myself to fly
the night after I had the nasty spill on my Litespeed, setting up my Sport
and nabbing a pattern tow.
The next day, I flew 5 patterns or so in the morning, climbed up off of a
few hundred feet and took off XC. Great. Until I landed. I piled in the
Sport, pretty much like I had the Litespeed the day before. I resigned
myself to wearing jeans for another few weeks, until my legs looked
presentable.
Bo told me I needed to forget landing and go fly and have fun, but I was
terrified after that. Bob told Paul that everyone was to leave me alone as
far as landing went. That I had too much advice from everyone. Pete L., Sky
God and buddy, said he agreed with Bo. Go have fun. Sugested I might be
missing the point of how wonderous it is to defy gravity without a motor.
But it's hard when you know it will hurt like hell when you land.
So. I disagreed. How can I improve if I don't try? And I need to fly without
fear, which means, to me, that I need to land well.
I forced myself to fly every day I could. I didn't want to. But I did, a
zillion times.
Paul -- he was so great-- filmed almost every landing I made (although he
complained that I nearly bankrupted us this month, hey, better than a
hospital bill). I watched each landing in slow motion, again and again, and
tried to figure it out. When I woke up at night, I would be grinding my
teeth, pushing my arms out to flare.
So I'm sure you don't want all the boring details. But I finally got it. My
Litespeed sets me down with ease now, so softly. I can't even believe it. It
seems so easy. How could I have been so thick? Many thanks to my wonderful
husband, Paul, and to Kevin, and Bob, and Bo, and Jim, and Dustin, too. And
to myself. I don't know why I thought this would be easy. I have had to earn
it, the right to fly this glider and to be confident. The good news is that
if I can do it, anyone can.
The other bonus is that my towing and approaches are MUCH better after all
that work. I can set the Litespeed down right on the cone. I am grateful for
my initial inadequacies because they make me appreciate the end result so
much. Now I gotta learn how to fly, too. But the Litespeed is easy in that
regard. Gawd she is fabulous.
The gossip? Aw, I can't tell you too much of that. I WILL mention there has
been some discord on the women's world team. Which, BTW, I am no longer on
(damn, I wanted those batten boys). CIVL, the international HG association,
has denied my exemption to compete in the world championships. Most of the
women need exemptions, and CIVL is not inclined to grant them, since they
want the US competitions to be sanctioned by them. The only meet sanctioned
in the US last year (by CIVL) was the Flytec, and neither Paul or I competed
in it, on the advice of Steve Kroop, who wanted us to be safe and fly at a
smaller meet initially. Paul didn't get his exemption either. I am the only
woman who didn't get the exemption, though. I just don't have bragging
rights yet, and am the logical choice to exclude. Steve loyally argued that
I am quite safe, but the point is political.
Anyhow, I am friggin' competing. Either we will have to go to Australia for
the Bogong cup (and fly well there) or Quest will have a small, but
sanctioned meet in the next couple of months. It needs to have 2 tasks and
at least 16 competitors with FAI licenses, which I would be inclined to buy
(25 bucks apiece, cheaper than flying to Australia). Paul and I need to be
placed in the top 2/3rds. Anybody want to come? I will talk to David Glover
tommorow. Steve K has enough to do with 2 major competitions coming up.
Tomorrow we will have great flights. And great fun. And great landings.
Fly safe, my old friends,
Lauren
Awesume to hear from you girl! It's been far too long (damit!).
So glad to hear you're landing well. I've always admired your conservative yet downright tenatious approach to flying. I wish the CIVIL people knew you better. I think if they did, they wouldn't even consider NOT letting you compete. I hope you can find a way in anyway and show them your stuff :)
Hey, if you do come over to this side of the planet, lemme know.
Cheers,
Jim
So glad to hear you're landing well. I've always admired your conservative yet downright tenatious approach to flying. I wish the CIVIL people knew you better. I think if they did, they wouldn't even consider NOT letting you compete. I hope you can find a way in anyway and show them your stuff :)
Hey, if you do come over to this side of the planet, lemme know.
Cheers,
Jim
-
Flying Lobster
- Posts: 1042
- Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:17 pm
Re: Finally, not too embarrassed to post, plus latest gossip
[quote="Lauren Tjaden"]A month ago, I posted how Kevin had given me a landing lesson on my Sport 2, and raved about how my glider slammed to a halt with my new, higher hand position and earlier flare. Well. I just counted. That was 68 tows ago. Not counting the 7 or so that day. I am not kidding, and many of the days this month have not been flyable.
Each new gain in my knowledge and feel seemed to reveal another of my faults.
For instance, when I was initially able to slide my hands high, it was because I had gained time to do so by ballooning up, and then could finish the flare before the glider began to sink. However, if I was caught by a crosswind -- hands high above me, floating along like an unfortunate leaf -- the glider would spin to the side and throw me into a downtube.
I switched back between the Sport and Litespeed many times. The Sport would suggest I might be making a mistake and hint at tiping forward. The Litespeed would slam into the ground. Whack! You're late, bitch!
I finally decided I would fly the Sport until I got it right-- after a particularly nasty wreck on my Litespeed that cut my shoulder on my bare wires and bruised both legs the ugly shade of liver. I forced myself to fly the night after I had the nasty spill on my Litespeed, setting up my Sport and nabbing a pattern tow.
The next day, I flew 5 patterns or so in the morning, climbed up off of a few hundred feet and took off XC. Great. Until I landed. I piled in the Sport, pretty much like I had the Litespeed the day before. I resigned myself to wearing jeans for another few weeks, until my legs looked presentable.
Bo told me I needed to forget landing and go fly and have fun, but I was terrified after that. Bob told Paul that everyone was to leave me alone as far as landing went. That I had too much advice from everyone. Pete L., Sky God and buddy, said he agreed with Bo. Go have fun. Sugested I might be missing the point of how wonderous it is to defy gravity without a motor. But it's hard when you know it will hurt like hell when you land.
So. I disagreed. How can I improve if I don't try? And I need to fly without fear, which means, to me, that I need to land well.
I forced myself to fly every day I could. I didn't want to. But I did, a zillion times.
Paul -- he was so great-- filmed almost every landing I made (although he complained that I nearly bankrupted us this month, hey, better than a hospital bill). I watched each landing in slow motion, again and again, and tried to figure it out. When I woke up at night, I would be grinding my teeth, pushing my arms out to flare.
So I'm sure you don't want all the boring details. But I finally got it. My Litespeed sets me down with ease now, so softly. I can't even believe it. It seems so easy. How could I have been so thick? Many thanks to my wonderful husband, Paul, and to Kevin, and Bob, and Bo, and Jim, and Dustin, too. And to myself. I don't know why I thought this would be easy. I have had to earn it, the right to fly this glider and to be confident. The good news is that if I can do it, anyone can.
The other bonus is that my towing and approaches are MUCH better after all that work. I can set the Litespeed down right on the cone. I am grateful for my initial inadequacies because they make me appreciate the end result so much. Now I gotta learn how to fly, too. But the Litespeed is easy in that regard. Gawd she is fabulous.
The gossip? Aw, I can't tell you too much of that. I WILL mention there has been some discord on the women's world team. Which, BTW, I am no longer on (damn, I wanted those batten boys). CIVL, the international HG association, has denied my exemption to compete in the world championships. Most of the women need exemptions, and CIVL is not inclined to grant them, since they want the US competitions to be sanctioned by them. The only meet sanctioned in the US last year (by CIVL) was the Flytec, and neither Paul or I competed in it, on the advice of Steve Kroop, who wanted us to be safe and fly at a smaller meet initially. Paul didn't get his exemption either. I am the only woman who didn't get the exemption, though. I just don't have bragging rights yet, and am the logical choice to exclude. Steve loyally argued that I am quite safe, but the point is political.
Anyhow, I am friggin' competing. Either we will have to go to Australia for the Bogong cup (and fly well there) or Quest will have a small, but sanctioned meet in the next couple of months. It needs to have 2 tasks and at least 16 competitors with FAI licenses, which I would be inclined to buy (25 bucks apiece, cheaper than flying to Australia). Paul and I need to be placed in the top 2/3rds. Anybody want to come? I will talk to David Glover tommorow. Steve K has enough to do with 2 major competitions coming up.
Tomorrow we will have great flights. And great fun. And great landings.
Fly safe, my old friends,
Lauren[/quote]
I'm no comp pilot--but if all I have to do is fly in with a harness and snivel a glider from somebody--heck--I'll come on down. Is this going to be the "Lauren T-Bird" open?
marc
Each new gain in my knowledge and feel seemed to reveal another of my faults.
For instance, when I was initially able to slide my hands high, it was because I had gained time to do so by ballooning up, and then could finish the flare before the glider began to sink. However, if I was caught by a crosswind -- hands high above me, floating along like an unfortunate leaf -- the glider would spin to the side and throw me into a downtube.
I switched back between the Sport and Litespeed many times. The Sport would suggest I might be making a mistake and hint at tiping forward. The Litespeed would slam into the ground. Whack! You're late, bitch!
I finally decided I would fly the Sport until I got it right-- after a particularly nasty wreck on my Litespeed that cut my shoulder on my bare wires and bruised both legs the ugly shade of liver. I forced myself to fly the night after I had the nasty spill on my Litespeed, setting up my Sport and nabbing a pattern tow.
The next day, I flew 5 patterns or so in the morning, climbed up off of a few hundred feet and took off XC. Great. Until I landed. I piled in the Sport, pretty much like I had the Litespeed the day before. I resigned myself to wearing jeans for another few weeks, until my legs looked presentable.
Bo told me I needed to forget landing and go fly and have fun, but I was terrified after that. Bob told Paul that everyone was to leave me alone as far as landing went. That I had too much advice from everyone. Pete L., Sky God and buddy, said he agreed with Bo. Go have fun. Sugested I might be missing the point of how wonderous it is to defy gravity without a motor. But it's hard when you know it will hurt like hell when you land.
So. I disagreed. How can I improve if I don't try? And I need to fly without fear, which means, to me, that I need to land well.
I forced myself to fly every day I could. I didn't want to. But I did, a zillion times.
Paul -- he was so great-- filmed almost every landing I made (although he complained that I nearly bankrupted us this month, hey, better than a hospital bill). I watched each landing in slow motion, again and again, and tried to figure it out. When I woke up at night, I would be grinding my teeth, pushing my arms out to flare.
So I'm sure you don't want all the boring details. But I finally got it. My Litespeed sets me down with ease now, so softly. I can't even believe it. It seems so easy. How could I have been so thick? Many thanks to my wonderful husband, Paul, and to Kevin, and Bob, and Bo, and Jim, and Dustin, too. And to myself. I don't know why I thought this would be easy. I have had to earn it, the right to fly this glider and to be confident. The good news is that if I can do it, anyone can.
The other bonus is that my towing and approaches are MUCH better after all that work. I can set the Litespeed down right on the cone. I am grateful for my initial inadequacies because they make me appreciate the end result so much. Now I gotta learn how to fly, too. But the Litespeed is easy in that regard. Gawd she is fabulous.
The gossip? Aw, I can't tell you too much of that. I WILL mention there has been some discord on the women's world team. Which, BTW, I am no longer on (damn, I wanted those batten boys). CIVL, the international HG association, has denied my exemption to compete in the world championships. Most of the women need exemptions, and CIVL is not inclined to grant them, since they want the US competitions to be sanctioned by them. The only meet sanctioned in the US last year (by CIVL) was the Flytec, and neither Paul or I competed in it, on the advice of Steve Kroop, who wanted us to be safe and fly at a smaller meet initially. Paul didn't get his exemption either. I am the only woman who didn't get the exemption, though. I just don't have bragging rights yet, and am the logical choice to exclude. Steve loyally argued that I am quite safe, but the point is political.
Anyhow, I am friggin' competing. Either we will have to go to Australia for the Bogong cup (and fly well there) or Quest will have a small, but sanctioned meet in the next couple of months. It needs to have 2 tasks and at least 16 competitors with FAI licenses, which I would be inclined to buy (25 bucks apiece, cheaper than flying to Australia). Paul and I need to be placed in the top 2/3rds. Anybody want to come? I will talk to David Glover tommorow. Steve K has enough to do with 2 major competitions coming up.
Tomorrow we will have great flights. And great fun. And great landings.
Fly safe, my old friends,
Lauren[/quote]
I'm no comp pilot--but if all I have to do is fly in with a harness and snivel a glider from somebody--heck--I'll come on down. Is this going to be the "Lauren T-Bird" open?
marc
-
Flying Lobster
- Posts: 1042
- Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:17 pm
-
Lauren Tjaden
- Posts: 371
- Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:27 pm
Finally, not too embarrassed to post, plus latest gossip
You guys are so sweet. Marc talking about coming here to help us by competing choked me up (Marc, you can fly my Sport 2 if you need a glider) Your kind words and good wishes?mean much to me.
We are having a little XC comp at Quest over the weekend (flying a course around the airport, so even novice pilots can share in the fun), with about 30 pilots. Everyone can practice with their instruments and making waypoints. Lots of folks showed up today.
I flew with Greg Denaier and Paul; others were in the sky but?the three of us?shared thermals. The lift was weak and low. I stuck with them but couldn't outclimb them. Then?I ventured off trying to find something better, and damn, they were the ones that made the better decision.?It was?great fun to be out on a perfect day with them.?We all landed within ten minutes of each other so I didn't feel too bad.
Nailed the landing again ---sweeeuuut! I am still kind of astonished to find myself quietly standing on my feet after I flare, but?I?will get used to it. I think the Litespeed may slowly be losing her?fear of me now that I don't bash her into the ground anymore.?
The comp will be wonderful though Paul must fly out on Sunday to tend to a sick family member. Ah, enough babbling!
Fly safe, speck out.
Lauren
?
Flying Lobster <in_a_cloud@hotmail.com> wrote:
We are having a little XC comp at Quest over the weekend (flying a course around the airport, so even novice pilots can share in the fun), with about 30 pilots. Everyone can practice with their instruments and making waypoints. Lots of folks showed up today.
I flew with Greg Denaier and Paul; others were in the sky but?the three of us?shared thermals. The lift was weak and low. I stuck with them but couldn't outclimb them. Then?I ventured off trying to find something better, and damn, they were the ones that made the better decision.?It was?great fun to be out on a perfect day with them.?We all landed within ten minutes of each other so I didn't feel too bad.
Nailed the landing again ---sweeeuuut! I am still kind of astonished to find myself quietly standing on my feet after I flare, but?I?will get used to it. I think the Litespeed may slowly be losing her?fear of me now that I don't bash her into the ground anymore.?
The comp will be wonderful though Paul must fly out on Sunday to tend to a sick family member. Ah, enough babbling!
Fly safe, speck out.
Lauren
?
Flying Lobster <in_a_cloud@hotmail.com> wrote:
Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.Been there done that--narrowly avoided getting arrested for helping her last time I was in FLA driving her red beast (with its annoying engine auto shut-off when driving under 5 mph).
marc
-
silverwings
- Posts: 1243
- Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:29 pm
- Location: Bethesda, MD
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Lauren Tjaden
- Posts: 371
- Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:27 pm
Finally, not too embarrassed to post, plus latest gossip
OK, Brian asked for the details. You know where the "delete" button is.
Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.For the landings, I just needed to simplify. Trying to get into ground effect, stay there, transition to both hands on the downtubes when the bar pressure allowed without allowing the glider to climb, testing the glider by pushing out a little, sliding my hands up, and flaring (all while I looked at the horizon)?-- was just too much.
If I tested the glider and it was almost out of energy, by the time I slid my hands up and flared it was almost impossible to be early enough, and if I ballooned up, I had to?flare the hell out of it to make sure a wing didn't stall and drop while I was high. So I just eliminated a step. I do not test the glider by pushing out. I figure by the time I transition to both hands up (if I am not fighting bar pressure) I am damn close to time to flare. In fact, initially when I actually began to figure it out -- 60 landings into it, when I was like, I am SO retarded, I need to make this lots easier?--?as soon as I transitioned to both hands on the downtubes, I would just slide my hands up and flare as hard as I could. It put me a little early, but at least the glider would end up behind me and if I flared hard enough it would only climb a little and mainly act as an air brake.? It would sometimes yank me to my knees or I would collapse on landing but it wasn't painful or dangerous like beaking.
Now, as soon as I get both hands on the downtubes, I just assess what it feels like for a split second. If?the glider?isn't doing much, I flare. No need to ask her a second time;?Angel gets mad. If?I wait for?her to sink I am WAY too late. I know it will all happen pretty quickly.
Like Kevin says, the whole time you are in ground effect is really a test. Dustin says to keep it right there at one level, too. I used the 2 step method for so long I think it was hard for me to abandon it. Some of the things I do, like stay fairly close to the ground while in ground effect, with my feet just a little off the ground, is NOT what Mike B says to do (he wants you a couple feet higher) -- but it works for me.
Having my hands in a higher position really helps me to get my Litespeed's nose up, which I never really needed to do with my Sport to get a decent flare. I just never bothered to learn it because?I figured it was unnecessary. But the timing is the most important. If I am late or early I need to turn inside out to get the flare, but if I am right it just does it.
Hopefully this makes some sense; this is just my own journey.
Lauren
flare timing
Lauren;
It is great to hear your description and your method. I am working on the same thing (albeit on the sport2) and I am waiting just that bit too long to flare. I know that I am afraid of popping too high into the air by flaring too early, but I need to advance the flare timing from what I am stuck on. I'm gonna try your method next time. Cross your fingers! - Linda
It is great to hear your description and your method. I am working on the same thing (albeit on the sport2) and I am waiting just that bit too long to flare. I know that I am afraid of popping too high into the air by flaring too early, but I need to advance the flare timing from what I am stuck on. I'm gonna try your method next time. Cross your fingers! - Linda
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Paul Tjaden
- Posts: 398
- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:28 pm
Finally, not too embarrassed to post, plus latest gossip
In a message dated 11/8/2005 9:50:41 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, lbaskerville@wba-arch.com writes:
My toes are crossed, too. Yeesh, don't get hurt using my methods.
Lauren
Cross your fingers! -
My toes are crossed, too. Yeesh, don't get hurt using my methods.
Lauren