...very nice.
On a business trip last week in Salt Lake City, took a little downtime – or should I say “up time” – to get reacquainted with my paraglider which I carried out with me.
Had the chance to fly the two launches at Point of the Mountain. Original plan was to fly Wed, but winds were gusting to 22 from the SE in advance of a cold front. Bah.
Thursday PM. Cold front passed, winds shift to the North. Flyable in the PM. Point of the Mountain, North Launch. Spine of the top ridge, about 1250 ft above the valley floor. Soared for about 75 minutes before the sunset with 300-500 ft altitude gain. Winds were 12ish. Although carrying my old glider with me (see below), the good folks at Cloud9 Soaring provided a chance to fly a virgin canopy from an Austrian mfgr Team5 (the "Blue"). Very nice DHV 1-2 in its handling and turning character.
Friday morning, before my 11am business meeting; Point of the Mountain, South Launch: Very nice launch from a flat ridge top with a nice set up area. Got 25 minutes of soaring in SE light winds. About 30 gliders in the air over the ridgeline. Dont these folks have jobs? Or like me - fly instead of coffee to get the blood flowing. dont know. This day, flew my own glider: ProDesign Challenger-C (a "vintage" glider that happens to fly great, turn flat and soar nicely) Note to Mathew: the "flour sifter", was completely competitive with the wings in the air that day - I think you will enjoy the airtime when we have a chance. That said, I have received quite a few "wow, I haven't seen a wing like that in years" comments. ditto for the excellent scorpion harness. But, Vintage does not necessarily equate to obsolete, it turns out.
The local club has some nice shots posted of the Point:
North:
http://www.uhgpga.org/FlyingSites/ThePo ... fault.aspx
South:
http://www.uhgpga.org/FlyingSites/ThePo ... fault.aspx
Back in the air and "The Point" is...
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Back in the air and "The Point" is...
Aaron Bills
Para-Relic
USHPA 54401
BirdWing (aka BrickWing)
Comet CXA
ProDesign Challenger-C
Team5 Blue
Para-Relic
USHPA 54401
BirdWing (aka BrickWing)
Comet CXA
ProDesign Challenger-C
Team5 Blue
Weekend Flying
Hi Aaron,
Still looking forward to trying out your flour sifter.
I flew the bag a the Pulpit on Sunday morning. When Karen and I arrived at 10:20, it was blowing straight in at 8-10. It ramped up to 10-15 by the time I got ready and I launched in a lull. The air was a bit ratty... but I could penetrate easily.... for the first 15 minutes anyway. Then it started to ramp up and I needed my speedbar to move back out front. The thermals were moving too fast for me to climb out with enough altitude to safely get over the back. It continued to become stronger and I got pinned and started thinking about landing in that guys yard to the south of launch on top of the mountain. I went full speedbar on my tippy toes and easily flew out over the secondary. I kept working lift still hoping to core a big one. But it was just too choppy. So I landed after a 35 minute flight. 600 over.
Matthew
Still looking forward to trying out your flour sifter.
I flew the bag a the Pulpit on Sunday morning. When Karen and I arrived at 10:20, it was blowing straight in at 8-10. It ramped up to 10-15 by the time I got ready and I launched in a lull. The air was a bit ratty... but I could penetrate easily.... for the first 15 minutes anyway. Then it started to ramp up and I needed my speedbar to move back out front. The thermals were moving too fast for me to climb out with enough altitude to safely get over the back. It continued to become stronger and I got pinned and started thinking about landing in that guys yard to the south of launch on top of the mountain. I went full speedbar on my tippy toes and easily flew out over the secondary. I kept working lift still hoping to core a big one. But it was just too choppy. So I landed after a 35 minute flight. 600 over.
Matthew