Flying in the great white north (mostly a PG story)

[Flying Lobster]

Went to Blue Hill today, our local training hill, for a little excercise in the melting slop. Because of all the slush and mud, I decided to take my old beater Allegra and spare my Summit 2 from getting wet and dirty.

Although the cast was for ESE to SE in the afternoon, when I got there it was WSW to calm. I figured that if I hiked to the top that conditions might get better as the day goes on. Unfortunately, the winds didn't cooperate and it never did straighten out.

The top was covered with melting snow banks and little running streams. I layed out as best I could, but I just couldn't get the glider up due to the light cross winds. Every time I pulled up the glider would flop off to one side or the other.

A few days before I had come up and encountered similar conditions, and hiked back down--nearly breaking my neck on the descent when slipping in the deep snow/slush. So, I was a little more determined than usual to avoid having to hike off. I figured if I could just get off I might get lucky enough to glide back to the parking lot.

I finally got an OK cycle--almost 90 cross, but I started from the east corner of launch so it worked out. I made one pass to the west maintaining launch level, and when I turned out in front of launch I headed to the field immediately below launch. About half way across the upper bench I hit a bump--and a quick mental calculation confirmed I probably had enough room to do a 360. Well, I gained enough to be able to do another 360, but I was already at the edge of the field and had to decide whether to go with one more or not--figured what the heck, I think I had enough to pull out and land.

But I gained more, and started getting some breathing room--and eventually took that thermal to 2,500 over--3,400 msl. I couldn't believe it--a training hill on the ocean in winter conditions on a stable blue day.

Well, as far as I know nobody had ever got that high there--nor tried going xc--so off I went. Things didn't look very promising to the NE--nothing but bare trees and frozen bogs, so I decided to try tracking straight east along rte 1. Got another thermal over the gravel pit operation near the town dump, but only topped that one at 2,700 msl. I started a long pucker glide towards the town of Surry--but I started sinking fast over the ocean of trees, so I chickened out and turned back to the west to land at a construction equipment business for just over 4 miles.

OK--not much of a flight distance-wise, but a real opener for what is possible even in what we may normally think of as a site impossible to get up and go from. Hopefully a sign of good things to come for flying in Maine this year.

Marc