always remember...

[Lauren Tjaden]

Things to always remember:
1-- It doesn't matter if it's totally overcast, or if everyone else has sledded. Prepare to be up for hours. Last night, well lubricated by wine, I agreed to fly with Greg Dinauer and John Hope today at Quest.
However, this afternoon, the grey sky looked uninviting. I only trekked over to the airport because I had promised I would. The air was so smooth I almost fell asleep on tow.
When the tug dragged me into a thermal I was sure it was the only one in 20 miles. I was wrong. It was brain-dead soarable. I was FREEZING, and landed on purpose an hour an a half later.
2 -- Always be ready to go XC (see above). You could have flown to friggin' Georgia today. The sky had cleared by the time I landed, except for streets of perfect cumulous clouds.
Me and Greg thought we were inspired to even fly. Ha.
3-- It's never over until it's over. A nasty little thermal was forming over the field when I landed. It was too small to stay up in, but had violent edges (even when landing on purpose, if a thermal is right over the field, I'll stay up if I can until it passes). I fought the little bastard and won, gliding into ground effect with perfectly level wings. Only, when I tried to transition my second hand to my downtube, it slipped right off like it was coated in Crisco!(Turns out since I have been keeping my glider in a hangar it has a small layer of dust on the metal. Yes, I'll wipe it off next time.)
I quit breathing and grabbed for the downtube again,flaring as soon as I'd nabbed it. Thanks to the stiff breeze, I only had to run a little. You haven't landed safely until you've landed safely!
We DID all have a great time -- even though we were not prepared. John and Greg are leaving; is anybody going to come down and play with me? (Paul has been laid up with back problems and now is flying out to visit family for a few days, though he should be back in action soon.)
Lauren

[Flying Lobster]

Hey Lauren--I'm at Mitch's up in Tavares doing the Mt Dora show this weekend. Is Greg D. going to be there also? If the weather is good I hope to spend a few days flying at Quest--I also need to spend some time at Wallaby with Mikey B. Then it's on to Boca Raton and then Coconut Grove.

marc

[Lauren Tjaden]

Hey Marc,
Greg is leaving today. Come fly, though. You can't get me by phone since I left it in the car that Paul took to the airport, so just email me. I need to go to Wallaby this week, too.
Lauren

[Flying Lobster]

OK PM'd ya--just talked to Mikey and he'll be around too. Mitch asked me to look after his dogs 'cause he got called out of town--so I agreed to stay til Wednseday. Maybe we can hook up for the commute?

marc