Third Flight in the ASH-25

I paid my fifth visit of the year to Williams Soaring Center on Saturday, April 17, 2010. And this time Kenny Price and I flew in the ASH-25 once again!

This turned out to be my second longest flight out of Williams, trumping the flight South to Lake Berryessa described in the last post. This time we went North. We towed out to Walker Ridge and climbed in thermals to the Tree Farm Gate. From there we made our way to Goat Mountain and got into convergence lift. Then we flew North to Snow Mountain, Mount St. Johns, Sheet Iron Mountain, Alder Springs, turned Black Butte Mountain, returned to Walker Ridge and flew South to Rumsey Gap before we returned to Three Sisters and finally Williams. Another incredible fight out of Williams!

Here, we are heading North after leaving Mount St. Johns.  There were plenty of clouds to mark the convergence line.

The next two shots are of Black Butte Mountain, the farthest North that we progressed that day.

Here, we are still in the vicinity of Black Butte Mountain. Again, the wings of the ASH-25 just seem to go on forever!

We are heading back to the South here and that is Mount St. Johns to the East of us.  If you look closely, you can see another glider heading North just to the right of the summit.

In the next two shots we are approaching Snow Mountain. The trees have been destroyed by wildfire and they cast long shadows in the late afternoon sun.

 

The sun burst reflection off the canopy made the cornice of Snow Mountain appear to be the recipient of divine intervention!

We progressed back down to Walker Ridge and united with Pete Alexander (98) in a thermal at the South end of the Bear Valley near the 16/20 Intersection.  After thermaling with him for a brief time, we decided to set up for a photo opportunity. Here he is in the next three shots. I look forward to seeing the photos he took of us!

We left Pete and headed South to Rumsey Gap before returning North to Three Sisters and heading back to Williams. Here we are heading for home at 120 Knots, which is about 140 MPH!

This is our GPS trace from the flight.

Flight time - 3.4 hours, Distance covered - 203 miles

Great Flight in the Duo Discus

I paid my fourth visit of the year to Williams Soaring Center on Saturday, April 3, 2010. Once again to fly with Kenny Price, but this time not in the ASH-25, but rather the familiar Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus. Based on the morning conditions, we decided that the day would not warrant the effort of assembling the ASH-25. Boy, were we wrong! Besides, the Duo Discus was already conveniently assembled for flight and available.

This turned out to be my second longest flight out of Williams, and it was the farthest South I had ever flown there. After towing out to the first mountain range, we flew South to Lake Berryessa, returned and made an attempt at Gold Mines, got low at the HWY 16/20 Intersection, got onto the Walker Ridge, made an attempt to Goat Mountain, returned to Williams, and then went most of the way to Colusa before returning to land.

What an incredible flight! No regrets that we weren't in the ASH-25, but I can only imagine that our "attempts" may have been more successful if we were!

Here, we are returning to the North after almost making it to the dam at the South end of Lake Berryessa.

The clouds show what and incredible post-frontal day it was!

Here's a good shot of Kenny working hard!  I love the reflections of the wing and the tail surfaces on the canopy! Not to mention Kenny's furrowed brow!

This is our GPS trace from the flight.

Lake Berryessa is at the bottom of the map, Clear Lake is at the left edge of the map, and Indian Creak Reservoir is in the upper left quadrant.

We never got above 7,000 feet MSL, and it was cold that day! The Duo Discus' temperature gauge indicated that it was +3 C outside most of the flight. By the end of the flight my feet were frozen!

Flight time - 3.6 hours, Distance covered - 178 miles