Today, the smoke from the many wild fires lifted. At least a little. The layer of ash on our truck was not as thick, and I ventured outside with only the aid of Advair and 2 other asthma medications. And we got to fly! But the big deal is THIS. I actually made it home from the course we set today.
Paul, Jason, Rebecca, Fiona (can you BELIEVE all these girls were flying???), Fred, Ray and I launched around one. Others tried it earlier and bombed out. We flew this little 32 mile triangle. But not even all of it, because the storms started brewing in an evil stew to the east, and to the west, it shaded in, the color of SINK. I made the 1st turnpoint and then got home, about 25 miles total. I was SO pleased. For, like, the last 5 tasks we've flown, I've landed out. In fact, the flight before this one Paul was joking on the radio (when I was saying SH** I'm going to land, this is my location) that all the cows in a 40 mile radias know me. Suffice to say, he made no brownie points. Never-the-less, his humour was based in truth.
So today's flight was fun. I got to gloat and be condescending to those who landed out (the spiel goes something like this -- oh, I am SO sorry, it was tough out there today).
Fiona tried out my Litespeed late in the evening. She wants to buy a topless glider and it's impossible if you're a woman to find a little one to fly. And I have thought about backing off to a Sport. But I don't know if I want to get rid of my current glider.
I want to have fun, of this I am sure. I am just not exactly sure of how to go about it. I don't want to fly with fear. I DO want to fly where there is social interaction. I don't want to feel pressured to fly when conditions are radical. It is hard to balance my conservative nature with the side that wants to accomplish things, the side that says I will be too old to do anything to eat Pablum in 20 years anyhow.
So these are my deepest thoughts (when being vunerable, it is best to resort to sarcasm).
Lauren
wonder of wonders (as the music plays), miracle of miracles
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Lauren Tjaden
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Lauren,
I don't know if this is the place to say this or not but here goes any way. My thoughts are that the fear that I have with flying is not the launch (because I decide when I want to launch) or the flying (because I'm away from the ground) it is the landing and if I want to fly midday there may be conditions that it maybe very difficult to land in on any glider at least for me and I think maybe a few others. I have witness some of my friends who have almost impeccable landings and at times have had some interesting landing on a few occasions when conditions were very active in the chosen lz. So I think if the fear of landing is what bothers you the most then I think you must also consider the conditions that one may have to land in. Although if the lz is pumping off that well why can't we just stay up for a while and let it calm down before we land.
Just a thought but I know very little, alas I do enjoy the challenge this sport brings with it though I enjoy as well as the people in it and the attitude they bring to this sport. As in let’s go after life and enjoy every minute of it to the fullest as well as to be there for each other when we each need it.
Bruce
I don't know if this is the place to say this or not but here goes any way. My thoughts are that the fear that I have with flying is not the launch (because I decide when I want to launch) or the flying (because I'm away from the ground) it is the landing and if I want to fly midday there may be conditions that it maybe very difficult to land in on any glider at least for me and I think maybe a few others. I have witness some of my friends who have almost impeccable landings and at times have had some interesting landing on a few occasions when conditions were very active in the chosen lz. So I think if the fear of landing is what bothers you the most then I think you must also consider the conditions that one may have to land in. Although if the lz is pumping off that well why can't we just stay up for a while and let it calm down before we land.
Just a thought but I know very little, alas I do enjoy the challenge this sport brings with it though I enjoy as well as the people in it and the attitude they bring to this sport. As in let’s go after life and enjoy every minute of it to the fullest as well as to be there for each other when we each need it.
Bruce
The best decision I've made in the past 5 years was to step back to the U2. I've had more fun flying this year than I've had in a long time. I loved the performance my Talon gave me, but it was a bear to stay current. Now I'm back to just enjoying the flying and the social aspect of our great bunch of pilots. This sport is about having fun and I've rediscovered it this year! Thank God for the Bat-Wing!
Yeah, that can be a tough one.
I'm curious what your thought's on the U2 are. One of the big markets for that glider is the people that like the performance of a topless, but don't want to give up the ease of handling/landing, but wouldn't mind losing the weight (I'm thinking hike-ins).
I'm not a get high go far type, but I do like flying upside down. This places me back in the performance seeking relm (lest I wouldn't care). Now I'm not exactly what you'd call an "uncurrent" pilot and I'd like to think my landing skills are up to par... but notice which glider I chose to fly at Quest... the Sport 2. I had so much "fun" on that Stealth, that I decided maybe it's had enough UV for the year. I just had more fun on the Sport... I didn't have to fight the damn thing all the time... I didn't have to plan out my landings... I could just relax, have fun and fly.
$.02USD
Chris... you are a posterchild for the U2!
Not only do I love the Batman wing, I'm happy that it suits your needs so well. Can't wait to see you in the air.
Jim
I'm curious what your thought's on the U2 are. One of the big markets for that glider is the people that like the performance of a topless, but don't want to give up the ease of handling/landing, but wouldn't mind losing the weight (I'm thinking hike-ins).
I'm not a get high go far type, but I do like flying upside down. This places me back in the performance seeking relm (lest I wouldn't care). Now I'm not exactly what you'd call an "uncurrent" pilot and I'd like to think my landing skills are up to par... but notice which glider I chose to fly at Quest... the Sport 2. I had so much "fun" on that Stealth, that I decided maybe it's had enough UV for the year. I just had more fun on the Sport... I didn't have to fight the damn thing all the time... I didn't have to plan out my landings... I could just relax, have fun and fly.
$.02USD
Chris... you are a posterchild for the U2!
Not only do I love the Batman wing, I'm happy that it suits your needs so well. Can't wait to see you in the air.
Jim
I knew I'd end up being the poster child for something ... thank God I never ended up on the side of one of those milk cartons!
My thoughts on the U2, hmmmm. I've had more flights in April than I had all of last year. Given that weather sucked on the weekends and I was planning a wedding, but since I took posession of my U2 <prepare> I've landed on my feet every flight. I rolled in more flights on my Talon than I landed on my feet last year!
My amateur assessment of the U2 is that it is the perfect glider for people wanting a high performance glider and know they aren't going to compete in it (other than maybe a Sport-class comp, or a local fly-in). The biggest drawback to my Talon was weight, tiny flare window and you had to fly it a lot to know how to land it. When I flew it a lot, I nailed my landing patterns and flares. When I didn't fly it, it was often hard to put it down in the LZ and if in fact I could find the LZ, I sure as hell couldn't land upright in it. Knowing that I was stepping back in my flights, I wanted to maximize my fun, but also my safety. The U2 is a dream to land, with one of the easiest flare windows I've ever had. It seems more stable than even my Ultrasport, but then again I've got a lot more time under dacron than I had back then. With the Viper harness, I really don't see much loss in performance from my Gen 1 Talon. The Talon had the folding basetube, standard downtubes, and the pneumatic wheels, etc. The U2 has the streamlined downtubes, slipstream basetube and integrated wheels kit so the points on glide that I lost to the toprigging was probably made up for with the more streamlined design of the U2. The 20lbs weight difference makes all the difference as well. It was really nice flying Woodstock a couple weeks ago and not having to lug that extra weight to the launch area made my shoulders feel much better later in the day.
Now given that I haven't spent any time upside down in my U2 (or any other glider for that matter), I can't honestly say how it would handle, but since Adam looped the Discus, I'm sure the U2 would hang right in there and you're smile would be beaming as you pulled over the top! In the flight envelope that I have enjoyed flying, which is minimal turbulence, good thermals with the potential to go XC on any flight, this glider has been everything I ever dreamed of. It has quickly brought back my confidence in being able to put it in any LZ and do it safely and on my feet. The only thing that would make it any better is if it glowed in the dark!
C
My thoughts on the U2, hmmmm. I've had more flights in April than I had all of last year. Given that weather sucked on the weekends and I was planning a wedding, but since I took posession of my U2 <prepare> I've landed on my feet every flight. I rolled in more flights on my Talon than I landed on my feet last year!
My amateur assessment of the U2 is that it is the perfect glider for people wanting a high performance glider and know they aren't going to compete in it (other than maybe a Sport-class comp, or a local fly-in). The biggest drawback to my Talon was weight, tiny flare window and you had to fly it a lot to know how to land it. When I flew it a lot, I nailed my landing patterns and flares. When I didn't fly it, it was often hard to put it down in the LZ and if in fact I could find the LZ, I sure as hell couldn't land upright in it. Knowing that I was stepping back in my flights, I wanted to maximize my fun, but also my safety. The U2 is a dream to land, with one of the easiest flare windows I've ever had. It seems more stable than even my Ultrasport, but then again I've got a lot more time under dacron than I had back then. With the Viper harness, I really don't see much loss in performance from my Gen 1 Talon. The Talon had the folding basetube, standard downtubes, and the pneumatic wheels, etc. The U2 has the streamlined downtubes, slipstream basetube and integrated wheels kit so the points on glide that I lost to the toprigging was probably made up for with the more streamlined design of the U2. The 20lbs weight difference makes all the difference as well. It was really nice flying Woodstock a couple weeks ago and not having to lug that extra weight to the launch area made my shoulders feel much better later in the day.
Now given that I haven't spent any time upside down in my U2 (or any other glider for that matter), I can't honestly say how it would handle, but since Adam looped the Discus, I'm sure the U2 would hang right in there and you're smile would be beaming as you pulled over the top! In the flight envelope that I have enjoyed flying, which is minimal turbulence, good thermals with the potential to go XC on any flight, this glider has been everything I ever dreamed of. It has quickly brought back my confidence in being able to put it in any LZ and do it safely and on my feet. The only thing that would make it any better is if it glowed in the dark!
C