tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33303104849247878442024-03-12T18:53:32.605-07:00Williams SoaringDuo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-33753722078878483832014-01-20T14:35:00.000-08:002014-01-28T00:19:20.922-08:00Oops! I Missed The Bend In The Road - Twice!We've been hearing a lot about record breaking weather recently. The mainstream media is full of stories about the "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge" off the west coast being responsible for not only the lowest annual rainfall totals ever recorded in California, but also the new high temperature records that are being set almost daily recently. Then there was the dreaded "Polar Vortex" last month that was responsible for the lowest temperatures that the eastern United States had seen in fifty years (beware, it might return this week!). And even in the <a href="http://www.williamssoaring.com/news/forumdisplay.php/6-News-Discussion" target="_blank">Williams Today Forum</a> we are reading about such things as "Backside Slider Lows" producing record breaking east to west winds. All this talk about the weather reminds me of that famous quote:<br />
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<i>"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." - Mark Twain</i></div>
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Well, that's not true with glider pilots. They talk about it, and then they try to exploit it! For whatever reason, we seem to have been experiencing an increase in the number and frequency of fantastic wave days at Williams in the past few months.<br />
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The most recent fantastic wave day coincided with the <a href="http://www.valleysoaring.net/" target="_blank">Valley Soaring Association's</a> Annual Holiday Dinner and first Winter Seminar on January 11, 2014. A few weeks before the big event, Peter Kelly and Kempton Izuno started discussing the weather for the day <a href="http://www.williamssoaring.com/news/showthread.php/495-RSVP-VSA-Holiday-Party-and-Winter-Seminar-1" target="_blank">here</a> on the Williams Today Forum. And as the day got closer and closer, it became apparent that it was going to be another extraordinary wave day.<br />
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I was scheduled to fly the <a href="http://www.williamssoaring.com/fleet/asw24-oj.html" target="_blank">ASW-24 (OJ)</a> and I took off at about 13:00. The following map is from the <a href="http://www.valleysoaring.net/pk/wx/rasp-next-plus%201%20and%202.htm" target="_blank">RASP Blipmaps for Williams</a>. It is a topographic map that shows the Mendocino Mountain Range in the vicinity of Williams (which is located at the small white #1). The map depicts the forecasted wave lift at 10,000' (700mb) at 13:00. There are two distinct red bands of very strong lift depicted on the map. I have put a straight blue line next to each area and labeled them 1 and 2. To give a perspective of the scale of the map, each blue line is about 35 miles long. That's nearly a 70 mile line of great lift!<br />
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I intended to tow out to the southern band of lift (blue line #1) and run north and south in it and, like my <a href="http://williamssoaring.blogspot.com/2013/12/first-solo-cross-country-wave-flight.html" target="_blank">flight on December 2</a>, see how many "laps" I could do. This time the answer ended up being two!<br />
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Towing out to the area proved to be very slow going, as we were towing directly into a 50 mph wind for a good portion of the tow. It took about 35 minutes to get there. I had hoped to release in the primary wave, but we had not yet found the lift when the folks back on the ground were starting to inquire about the whereabouts of their tow plane! So I released at 10,200' and began searching for the lift upwind and to the north of the release point in the belief that we had not yet traveled far enough west. I found it after about five minutes of searching at and it was strong. I encountered it at 9,200' and it was briefly 10 knots (1,000 fpm) up!<br />
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Here it was a solid 6 knots as I began climbing and working to the north.<br />
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This is looking out the left side of the glider. Snow Mountain is in the center of the photo and the southeast flank of Saint John's Mountain is in the lower right of the photo. The edge of the line of clouds marks the beginning of the Foehn Gap. (Looking into the wind)<br />
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This is looking straight ahead in the direction of orientation, not the direction of travel! Black Butte is somewhere in the distance under the clouds. (Direction of travel is L to R)<br />
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And this is looking out the right side of the glider. There would be no nice lenticular clouds to mark the upwind edge of the lift on this day. And the lower level scud clouds in the rotor areas were not even formed into nice wave bars. (Looking downwind)<br />
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I continued north until the lift just started to drop off. I decided to stop and retrace my path through the area of solid lift in order to gas up before exploring farther north.<br />
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As I returned to the north, I knew from the 13:00 10,000' (700mb) forecast map to expect a "bend in the road" at the location of the red arrow I added to the map.<br />
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The hard part is finding where that bend in the lift is while you're flying and you are not intimately familiar with the landscape in relation to the ClearNav map. So I took at stab at where I though it should be and started to alter my course to the left.<br />
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You can see in this photo that I was leaving the lift (green trace) and entering sink (black trace).<br />
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With the benefit of post-flight analysis, I think I may have not been too far off the mark. As you can see in the photo above, I was just over 17,000' and in zero lift. Well, the areas of lift at 10,000' are not the same as the areas of lift at 17,000'.<br />
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This map depicts the forecasted wave lift at 18,000' (500mb) at 13:00. I put a red arrow at the same "bend in the road" and you can see an area of decreased lift there. I think I may have been in that area. (See <u>Update</u> at the end of this post.)<br />
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Regardless, the views at 17,000' are always awesome! So I took a few photos before turning around to head south.<br />
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This is looking out the left side of the glider. (Wind is R to L)<br />
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And this is looking out the right side of the glider. (Wind is R to L)<br />
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I made my turn near Alder Springs and then began my first run to the south. My intent was to stay in the lift until it started to drop off and then return north. Based on the maps above, I expected this to occur in the vicinity of Goat Mountain's latitude.<br />
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I took these photos just after beginning the southbound run. (Wind is R to L)<br />
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As I made my way to the south, I tried very hard to maintain a proper airspeed and crab angle to stay in my desired cruising altitude band of 17,000' to 17,500' while also maintaining my desired flight track. This was something that I had learned from my flights with Kempton. I succeeded, but not nearly as smoothly as Kempton had demonstrated. I still need more practice with that.<br />
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I went a little farther south than Goat Mountain and then turned to return to the north. The going was pretty smooth as I just had to retrace my southbound track, and again be mindful to adjust my speed and crab angle accordingly.<br />
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But then I made a huge mistake! When I got back to same northernmost area that I had been at before, I once again started to experience sink. I was thinking that maybe I was too far upwind. So even though I am well aware that you should normally make your beat reversing turns into the wind while wave flying, I decided to make a quick turn downwind to simultaneously move a little downwind and reverse my direction of travel. Well, the 6 knots of sink I was in rapidly became 10 knots! I increased my bank angle from 45 to 60 degrees and sped up. The sink kept getting worse and maxed out at 22 knots down! (I was not aware how bad it actually was during the flight. I only learned this from post-flight analysis on SeeYou.) In the approximately 3 minutes it took me to make the turn and get back into the lift I lost 2,500'!<br />
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Sometimes the signposts in soaring are subtle. Other times they will whack you over the head if you just look outside the cockpit for them! As I was breathing a sigh of relief after leaving the area of enormous sink and was again flying to the south in the lift, I looked out to the west and noticed an area of clear air over the valley between Black Butte and M6. I thought to myself "I bet that's a Foehn Gap at the bend in the road." My first thought was that I'd fly up there on my next northbound leg. But then I thought "Wait a minute! Nothing says I have to go all the way south and back north before attempting to go up there! I'll just hang a right turn now."<br />
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This is looking out the right side of the glider at the Foehn Gap at the "bend in the road". M6 is under the clouds at about the center of the photo. (Wind is L to R) <br />
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Looking out the left side of the glider at the upwind edge of the "bend in the road" Foehn Gap. (Wind is L to R)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylPLTVhHa3Ii3ZYbhxFnFMPEquUiUsdG6VimjwM-W4up13sQd0-FOuFlROq4kH-mIFMRsoxAhRwu4zrCVuPrMhYnow60Y8-AvMm9aw2a_6HVYpvB18rCLPLyq6Pe3v75NV7jWCabnv_4/s1600/Soaring+14-1-11+18a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylPLTVhHa3Ii3ZYbhxFnFMPEquUiUsdG6VimjwM-W4up13sQd0-FOuFlROq4kH-mIFMRsoxAhRwu4zrCVuPrMhYnow60Y8-AvMm9aw2a_6HVYpvB18rCLPLyq6Pe3v75NV7jWCabnv_4/s1600/Soaring+14-1-11+18a.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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I had finally found the bend in the road!<br />
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In this photo you can see an aircraft depicted on the ClearNav display to the north of me. It had been detected by the Flarm (a collision avoidance device) and the information was transferred to the ClearNav display. It was a 747 passing at 28,000' and moving very fast!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RMAacmp5cGp-IE6JdMVYuHLqS02bFyTvU5hqPNjvbHOKZCsU1E7ZKVVL4CoWGAL1J41q8ng_1Z01CZwIt2NJyPXcSl4IHFpNqMI3gkY8L3Bup9AGPzS1mjqOKWjRk0R7-I_wsBs38ds/s1600/Soaring+14-1-11+19a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RMAacmp5cGp-IE6JdMVYuHLqS02bFyTvU5hqPNjvbHOKZCsU1E7ZKVVL4CoWGAL1J41q8ng_1Z01CZwIt2NJyPXcSl4IHFpNqMI3gkY8L3Bup9AGPzS1mjqOKWjRk0R7-I_wsBs38ds/s1600/Soaring+14-1-11+19a.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here I had progressed almost the farthest I went before turning to head southbound again.<br />
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By the time I returned as far south as Goat Mountain, I had been continuously above 16,000' for about an hour and a half (if you don't count those few minutes of shear horror!). I was freezing cold and decided not to go back north. Instead, I decided to just continue to the south for awhile and see how far I could go before returning to Williams while keeping an extra safe margin of altitude in reserve. I wanted no more unpleasant surprises on this flight!<br />
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This is looking northwest at Clear Lake as I headed south in the vicinity of Gold Mines.<br />
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And this is looking south at Lake Berryessa in the distance from the same point.<br />
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This shot is looking east at the Capay Valley from Berryessa Towers. You can see by the shadows on the ground that it was getting late in the afternoon.<br />
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And lastly, here is Lake Berryessa just before I turned to return to Williams.<br />
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I returned to Williams and was eager to get the glider secured and get into the hangar for the nice ham and turkey meal that awaited! As I was walking in, I looked to the east towards the Sutter Buttes and noticed how beautiful the sky was as the sun was setting. <br />
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<span id="goog_1268889253"></span><span id="goog_1268889254"></span><br />
Here is my flight trace in SeeYou.<br />
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<span id="goog_1268889253">I posted the flight to OLC (On-Line Contest). It can be seen here:<br />
<a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=3458843" target="_blank">http://www.onlinecontest.org - Pat Alford 14-1-11</a><br />
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Total time of the flight was 3.8 hours and OLC scored the distance at 328.5 km.</span><br />
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<u>Update</u><br />
As the regular readers of the Williams Today Forum are aware, Jim Darke has been doing some pretty fancy things with maps recently. Jim was a professional cartographer in a former life and has been tinkering with overlaying the RASP Blipmaps onto topographic maps that depict the Williams turnpoints. I asked Jim if he would work his map magic and add my flight trace to the 10,000' and 18,000' 13:00 forecasts overlaid onto the map of Williams turnpoints. Here are the results.<br />
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You can see that indeed I was close to the "bend in the road" on my first turn from the north to the south and way out of the lift on my second turn to the south. Thanks Jim, I really appreciate your efforts!<br />
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Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-58435551965778913162013-12-07T22:32:00.003-08:002014-01-20T12:58:24.468-08:00First Solo Cross Country Wave FlightThough far less spectacular than the epic wave flights I recently shared with Kempton Izuno (<a href="http://williamssoaring.blogspot.com/2013/10/extreme-wave-flight-in-fnx.html" target="_blank">Extreme Wave Flight in FNX</a>, and <a href="http://williamssoaring.blogspot.com/2013/11/wave-flight-to-pacific-ocean.html" target="_blank">Wave Flight to the Pacific Ocean</a>), I experienced my first solo cross country wave flight on Monday, December 2!<br />
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After those two incredible flights, I was eager to put what I had learned into practice. So I started watching the forecast winds aloft charts, and on Thanksgiving eve it appeared to me that the winds might be favorable for a wave flight on Monday, December 2. By Friday night, the RASP BLIPMAPs (a regional soaring forecast) were supporting my theory so I reserved Williams Soaring Center's <a href="http://www.williamssoaring.com/fleet/asw24-oj.html" target="_blank">ASW-24</a> for the day.<br />
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I set a very modest goal (by Kempton standards) to get in the wave near
Goat Mountain and run as far north as Alder Springs' latitude and yo-yo between the two
points and see how many "laps" I could do. Well, the answer ended up being just one!<br />
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I took off at 11:30 and towed west towards the mountains fully expecting to encounter wave on the way out. But the only lift
we encountered during the tow was right near the airport just after
taking off! The tow pilot took me to an area between Goat Mountain and Snow Mountain. I got off tow and started searching for the wave. After searching for almost ten minutes and thinking I might have to return, I finally connected with weak lift near Goat Mountain at about 8,500'. After mapping the area I started my initial climb.<br />
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The day started off void of any tell-tale lenticular clouds to help find the lift. This photo is looking to the north as I neared the top of my initial climb. The eastern half of Snow Mountain is on the left and Saint John's Mountain is in the center of the photo. You can also see the cloud deck of the approaching storm in the distance. (Wind is L to R)<br />
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The ClearNav display shows my initial search efforts and the small area I was working (the green tracks are in lift and the black tracks are in sink). The straight green track above my current position was while I was still on tow and I released where the track makes a 90 degree turn to the right. The black line that extends from the glider to the lower right of the display depicts the path back to Williams.<br />
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I climbed to 14,800' and then departed to the north. I went to Snow Mountain and attempted to find lift in an area relative to where I had found the lift at Goat Mountain, to no avail. Then I noticed that a well defined lenticular cloud had formed to the northeast of Saint John's Mountain and headed for it.<br />
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I entered the lift at about 11,000' and by the time I had climbed back up to about 14,000' I started north to my goal of Alder Springs.<br />
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This is looking north. You can see that the cloud deck had advanced, bringing moisture into the area which allowed the formation of the lenticular cloud at my "gas station". (Wind is L to R)<br />
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This is looking back to the the area of my initial climb. You can see: 1-Goat Mountain, 2-Clear Lake, 3-Mount Konocti, and 4-the Pacific Ocean.<br />
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This is essentially the same picture taken later in the flight during my third climb in the same area. I like the starburst effect of the sun reflecting on the canopy!<br />
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The lift continued as far north as Sheet Iron Mountain and then became not so insignificant sink! I had got as high as
15,500' when I encountered the sink, so I continued north thinking I
might reconnect with the wave. I stopped my northbound progress when I
got down to 13,000' and returned to the last known area of lift. I
hadn't quite made it as far north as Alder Springs.<br />
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When I turned back to return to the gas station, I could see that classic lenticulars had developed high in the valley to the south of me. I did not consider trying for them as they seemed far away and I had not yet achieved my northbound goal. (Wind is R to L)<br />
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The combination of a cap cloud and lenticular clouds that were forming at Hull Mountain were quite interesting. They grew, evolved, and merged into a giant blob of cloud that completely obscured Hull Mountain. In my mind I was referring to it as Cloud Mountain. These shots were taken on my return to the gas station and during my second climb. All are looking into the wind.<br />
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When I got back to the gas station, I decided that I would climb higher before attempting another northbound run. Here is my ClearNav display during the second climb. You can see that my first northbound track was all in black after passing Sheet Iron Mountain. You can also see the the winds in the lower left corner showing 302 degrees at 60 knots! At one point during this climb, the entire view on the ClearNav display flipped 180 degrees as though I had turned around, even though I had not! I quickly realized that this had happened because I was being blown backwards over the ground. I pushed the stick forward to speed up and the display instantaneously flipped back to the "proper" orientation.<br />
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I climbed to 17,000' before beginning my second attempt to get as far north as Alder Springs. I decided to try a path more upwind this time in the hope that I would find a solid line of lift all the way to Alder Springs.<br />
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As I began north, Cloud Mountain had taken on a sort of a wind-swept, marshmallowy, cream puffy appearance. It reminded my of something that you might see in an advertisement for an air conditioning company or an ice company!<br />
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The sink I encountered on my second northbound attempt was even stronger than on the first attempt. So I aborted it earlier so I could return to the gas station and climb back up to 17,000' quicker. I had decided that I would try one more attempt to reach my northern goal and that this third and final attempt would now be downwind of my original attempt.<br />
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As I climbed and began my final northbound attempt, a lenticular cloud formed above Cloud Mountain as though Cloud Mountain was itself a physical, solid mountain.<br />
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I finally had success! I had gone north as far as Alder Springs and a little farther. I still did not find a solid lift line north of Sheet Iron Mountain, but I did encounter less sink on my final attempt. I decided I would go back and climb back to 17,000' before returning to Goat Mountain to complete lap #1. I also knew I would not be attempting a second lap as it was getting late in the day and the upwind runs and subsequent climbs were so time consuming.<br />
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Here the ClearNav shows that I'm heading back to the gas station and you can see all three of my attempts. The winds were now 300 degrees at 64 knots. Just like on my first flight with Kempton, the farther north I was, the higher the wind speed was. The highest I saw during the day was 70 knots. It appears that I am flying straight to the gas station with the nose pointed directly at it. But in actuality, I was crabbing into the wind almost 90 degrees!<br />
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As I climbed back up to 17,000' something interesting was happening to Cloud Mountain. It was flattening out. As though someone had took a pin to a balloon, Cloud Mountain was settling down to join the relatively uniform surrounding cloud deck.<br />
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As I headed back to Goat Mountain, Cloud Mountain continued its collapse and appeared to have imploded upon itself.<br />
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I arrived back at the area of my initial climb near Goat Mountain at 15,000' for the completion of Lap #1! But I still had time before I needed to return to Williams, so I decided to fly south out to High Valley. Once there I opted to continue to the east shore of Clear Lake, which is obscured by clouds in this photo.<br />
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As I approached Clear Lake, I noticed a lennie forming downwind of Mount Konocti. Since I still had plenty of altitude, I decided to fly over to it and check it out.<br />
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The Mount Konocti wave was clearly displaying 3 of the 4 elements that make up a textbook wave system. 1-a cap cloud on the wave generating obstruction, 2-a Foehn Gap, and 3-the downwind lenticular cloud formation. The only thing not visible is a rotor cloud, which would be directly below the lenticular formation. But don't be fooled into thinking that just because there isn't a visible rotor cloud that there isn't rotor! (Wind is R to L)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLVPWTY1qAnzljed0J5qKeqeKASE6uW0kz-dfBES0BYL61jICVFAkDyL3pjoXUSVYyAN96hWCIkwe_e4Eeq5Z5iwmLoOdKvq_8GYkB_paRXFB8w1wzs2LsLKIAR1zRX_vHb-TLypIstL8/s1600/Soaring+13-12-2+67b.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLVPWTY1qAnzljed0J5qKeqeKASE6uW0kz-dfBES0BYL61jICVFAkDyL3pjoXUSVYyAN96hWCIkwe_e4Eeq5Z5iwmLoOdKvq_8GYkB_paRXFB8w1wzs2LsLKIAR1zRX_vHb-TLypIstL8/s400/Soaring+13-12-2+67b.bmp" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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I flew out in front of the lenticular until I encountered the anticipated lift. I did not attempt to map the lift and climb there, as I was already plenty high to return to Williams. Instead, I just topped of my tank by flying into the wind until the lift started dropping off and then began my return to Williams.<br />
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I was still at 5,000' when I arrived back at Williams. So I just oriented the glider into the wind and relaxed for about 5 minutes, contemplating the flight, warming my hands, and organizing the cockpit before I descended to land.<br />
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Here is my GPS flight trace from SeeYou.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRzrNvVMdfQcUiuoWRz0-DJSrODM04mio9NE8YhJ4obBHjlampzA0JJqb87u4rZCOy-6XBnpvPziHNu4L5Fm71ej8cfY9ktmP1f6qbg7qJBCyTkNuCkShN1t-SbZ-qZ6BAhn4ofgES8Y/s1600/Soaring+13-12-2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRzrNvVMdfQcUiuoWRz0-DJSrODM04mio9NE8YhJ4obBHjlampzA0JJqb87u4rZCOy-6XBnpvPziHNu4L5Fm71ej8cfY9ktmP1f6qbg7qJBCyTkNuCkShN1t-SbZ-qZ6BAhn4ofgES8Y/s400/Soaring+13-12-2.bmp" height="320" width="400" /></a></div>
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I posted the flight to OLC (On-Line Contest). It can be seen here:<br />
<a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=3431387" target="_blank">http://www.onlinecontest.org - Pat Alford 13-12-2</a><br />
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Total time of the flight was 5 hours and OLC scored the distance at just under 200 km. I'm still trying to figure out the whole OLC thing. I'm not sure why I wasn't scored from the time I released until after my first climb east of Saint John's Mountain (second climb of the flight). Maybe I should read their rules!<br />
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As I stated at the beginning of this post, this was not an epic flight by any stretch of the imagination. But it did give me a great feeling of accomplishment in achieving a number of goals on my first attempt at a solo cross country wave flight. Those goals were to 1) correctly interpret the weather conditions in advance, 2) set a reasonable goal for the flight based on the forecast, 3) adapt the flight to the conditions, and 4) arrive safely back home.<br />
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It's easy for me to do post-flight analysis and see where I made mistakes, or where I could have done things better. But hopefully those will become lessons learned that I can build upon for future flights. I can't wait to try it again!<br />
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Thanks again, Kempton, for the mentoring flights!Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-51712227574971406172013-11-25T19:51:00.000-08:002013-11-26T23:41:54.698-08:00Wave Flight to the Pacific Ocean<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In my <a href="http://williamssoaring.blogspot.com/2013/10/extreme-wave-flight-in-fnx.html" target="_blank">last post</a> I stated "But nothing can compare to what I experienced there (Williams) on Sunday, September 29, with Kempton Izuno". Well, that is no longer a true statement. What could compare to that flight? Answer: Another phenomenal wave flight with Kempton at Williams! This one occurred on Friday, November 22.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kempton started a thread on the <a href="http://www.williamssoaring.com/news/forumdisplay.php/6-News-Discussion" target="_blank">Williams Today Forum</a> on Sunday, October 17, entitled "Wave Alert: Nov 21-22 (Thu-Fri)". In his post he announced an approaching "backside slider low" that was forecast to arrive Thursday night and persist all day Friday. He explained that this is a type of cutoff low that produces strong ENE winds because of its location on the "backside" (east side) of the coastal mountains as it "slides" south. The forecasted wind strength for this particular event was up to 50 knots at 18,000'. Kempton speculated that if the forecast was correct, it might be possible to fly west from Williams to the Napa Valley, then fly south and cross the Delta near Suisun Bay or the Carquinez Straight, fly to Mount Diablo or other points in the San Francisco Bay Area, and then return to Williams.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was out of town and not scheduled to return until Saturday, so I read the posts to the thread with nothing more than great interest since I would not be able to fly Friday. But then my plans changed and I returned home on Wednesday! I immediately contacted Kempton to see if he had already made arrangements to fly with someone else since his ASH-25 (FNX) was in the shop. As
I suspected, he was already tentatively planning to fly with Pete
Alexander in Pete's Arcus (98). But Pete had a schedule conflict that he was trying to resolve. So Kempton agreed to fly with me in Williams Soaring Center's Duo Discus X (MG) as a backup plan.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">You may have guessed, since I am writing this post, that Pete couldn't make it. On Wednesday night, the forecast winds were not looking too good for wave at Mount Diablo. So Kempton postulated that instead of the earlier plan, a flight to the north and west following subsequent downwind ranges and arriving at the Pacific Ocean might be possible. Additionally, Ramy Yanetz would be flying his ASW-27 (TG) out of Byron and attempting to fly north. So we would keep our options open and not rule out the original plan.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The potential fly in the ointment was that the surface winds at Williams were predicted to be from the north at 20-25 knots and gusting to 40 knots. Winds that strong could prevent us from even taking off! We arrived at Williams Friday morning and the winds were as predicted. But thankfully, Rex and Noelle agreed to tow us anyway. Noelle performed the tow and took us to the wave on the west side of Goat Mountain. We released at about 8,100'.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We contacted Ramy while we were still on tow. He had already climbed in the Mount Diablo wave and crossed the Delta to the Napa Valley and was heading north. Having an actual data point from Ramy tipped the scales in favor of the original plan to fly to Mount Diablo and return.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here we are on our initial climb behind Goat Mountain at about 11,000'. Goat Mountain is to the left and not in the photo. The shot is looking to the south. The southeast portion of Clear Lake can be seen at the right in the photo. Kempton noted that the lift was farther downwind than normal, but this was not unexpected since the winds were so strong. (Wind is L to R)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhunyRMYA2BSGCq3F3bMi9zZYBxyPI5RWRqk49z2U6E8B7CV0WV8YJcVtjHebhrguWws6E8vOXX69GduOG3hxf_akDNANrXS3F-YnYUxjcE9gymz3izaCCrJ_QBu9XqGJqIj6-0iKz8tgc/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+01a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhunyRMYA2BSGCq3F3bMi9zZYBxyPI5RWRqk49z2U6E8B7CV0WV8YJcVtjHebhrguWws6E8vOXX69GduOG3hxf_akDNANrXS3F-YnYUxjcE9gymz3izaCCrJ_QBu9XqGJqIj6-0iKz8tgc/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+01a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once we got above 17,000' we started heading southwest to Mount Saint Helena and the Napa Valley. The north and west shores of Clear Lake, Mount Konocti, Mount Saint Helena, and a large fire can be seen in this photo.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ8s5F1wT4-0KZ1DIzuVMulmJ6EXRHKRxtpWQr1IFIbCn3ep8jhoE5931xyLP-x-GaWjNwJxQc6sgiS9b8ii_phWdL1TqXPRBr80XmfnLjwZxxH5L7_S_8X-e1b1IUda0F1AavZZGSjg/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+08a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ8s5F1wT4-0KZ1DIzuVMulmJ6EXRHKRxtpWQr1IFIbCn3ep8jhoE5931xyLP-x-GaWjNwJxQc6sgiS9b8ii_phWdL1TqXPRBr80XmfnLjwZxxH5L7_S_8X-e1b1IUda0F1AavZZGSjg/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+08a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Several times during this flight we noticed very short-lived rotor clouds at high altitudes, like this one near the fire.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkYE79OgHxeJzHhAmjcDKqCLHdbEYnkXCo3q8Rqu31tQw8kLhZvh8BmP1JKQuFMEL5h6BlXA6pentZFmtf7PI3Si3qeRU-yEuzFjV_oqGT-fQc96aEp5lRShhSIjS4fLoUAe5CmxV27M/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+13a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkYE79OgHxeJzHhAmjcDKqCLHdbEYnkXCo3q8Rqu31tQw8kLhZvh8BmP1JKQuFMEL5h6BlXA6pentZFmtf7PI3Si3qeRU-yEuzFjV_oqGT-fQc96aEp5lRShhSIjS4fLoUAe5CmxV27M/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+13a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The fire became named the McCabe fire. It started that morning near a series of geothermal power plants in Sonoma County. As I write this (Monday night, November 25) the fire is 75% contained and has grown to 3,500 acres.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We contacted Noelle to find out if a TFR had been established near the fire. She informed us that none had and that she would monitor the situation and let us know if one was established.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E1sD8LNhRFtyTX8FiAW6rL9InsmuowF11M76gbJFTD1BxzBf53RM-mjP-WAx8Qv5QJrAZmXRS5XQ9N3rMinErcDGjhxkNdbMS4WC3TuqLGqp36eg5P_oRtsSNqpgaNVR-omVjh4xeD8/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+14a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E1sD8LNhRFtyTX8FiAW6rL9InsmuowF11M76gbJFTD1BxzBf53RM-mjP-WAx8Qv5QJrAZmXRS5XQ9N3rMinErcDGjhxkNdbMS4WC3TuqLGqp36eg5P_oRtsSNqpgaNVR-omVjh4xeD8/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+14a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_ZQIFSCFUL15LxyIaljVVwYLrrJCpGjZRj0zhZikmyAscqS_Qv8qZ9s8sJ5GmPePZb9cZ4JkkqSwBPKmAZ7OsxDJxtl2aMLZa6NITA7Jkiv48zIwqd6yTjUJ-oYil0HHs7YE8VU6QpA/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+16a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_ZQIFSCFUL15LxyIaljVVwYLrrJCpGjZRj0zhZikmyAscqS_Qv8qZ9s8sJ5GmPePZb9cZ4JkkqSwBPKmAZ7OsxDJxtl2aMLZa6NITA7Jkiv48zIwqd6yTjUJ-oYil0HHs7YE8VU6QpA/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+16a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">As expected, we found great lift near Mount Saint Helena and climbed back up to our cruising altitude of 17,000' as we headed south in the Napa Valley. The views of the Pacific Ocean to the west of us were magnificent! Point Reyes can be seen in this photo. It is the promontory that the sun rays from the reflection of the sun on the canopy appear to be shining down upon.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZPSB4j-_9movuXCWtwNCUKX7BB63Y6WPwUBI_uL8lWKSJQVhGsY-ccnGBwNRe7Zl8ez7Cc2l_7c3Sn4VhCQCY8HKw4TKQlPnyqzVIag2lwn03v6G2fWVIVXkphOghetJoK418RQc5Eo/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+20a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZPSB4j-_9movuXCWtwNCUKX7BB63Y6WPwUBI_uL8lWKSJQVhGsY-ccnGBwNRe7Zl8ez7Cc2l_7c3Sn4VhCQCY8HKw4TKQlPnyqzVIag2lwn03v6G2fWVIVXkphOghetJoK418RQc5Eo/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+20a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And here is the San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Carquinez Straight. The Marin Headlands, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the city of San Francisco are also visible in the distance.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAAEWwFBDK4JmbUW6tiJwLIwfGCsLtQ87GEcS0qDpDyl67nFcHbTj4WEL-WeiT9RRgFQ3ykf1Cg0FGC-dplUvaoVMpW1pGpXwf6uJUpdiiHKlgkb9QmMaM2HunVmPdhBF1L7luO_SC7U/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+34a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAAEWwFBDK4JmbUW6tiJwLIwfGCsLtQ87GEcS0qDpDyl67nFcHbTj4WEL-WeiT9RRgFQ3ykf1Cg0FGC-dplUvaoVMpW1pGpXwf6uJUpdiiHKlgkb9QmMaM2HunVmPdhBF1L7luO_SC7U/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+34a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We struggled to find good, solid lift at the south end of the Napa Valley in order to climb high enough to make the crossing. We finally decided not to cross and instead return to the north. Ramy had reported that he had made it up to Ukiah in solid lift, so we set that as our new goal before returning to Williams.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I took several photos out the vent window as we turned back to the north. Suisun Bay, Grizzly Bay, and Mount Diablo can be seen in this photo.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ix7Saf_LYyw3dNOTfMFOvcu-6XWzoDy39tDUa58TJY-BZNwSDyjo7RKBFCsO8Ql3eabHhLIXBQT__c765UB6sVVo0b39W_ejRVHWrCvt6WFvDBW3zOEE_UtAR0veD0e1CaAilvsdzbE/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+41a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ix7Saf_LYyw3dNOTfMFOvcu-6XWzoDy39tDUa58TJY-BZNwSDyjo7RKBFCsO8Ql3eabHhLIXBQT__c765UB6sVVo0b39W_ejRVHWrCvt6WFvDBW3zOEE_UtAR0veD0e1CaAilvsdzbE/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+41a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another shot of the San Francisco Bay Area.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELVshIrdRIY5xRLnemRqZ0pJhhLep89g7ElXeajrrB2M9fYmgJ2fuN8hCWTu3NQoE9Ze7VpIUmp_2kNWrcaooCd91H-84i1IMAujrVf7F7Qj4LbJj19t-LDcy693T2NL6tNf6TLABAIg/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+45a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELVshIrdRIY5xRLnemRqZ0pJhhLep89g7ElXeajrrB2M9fYmgJ2fuN8hCWTu3NQoE9Ze7VpIUmp_2kNWrcaooCd91H-84i1IMAujrVf7F7Qj4LbJj19t-LDcy693T2NL6tNf6TLABAIg/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+45a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I zoomed in for this photo to capture the Golden Gate Bride and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nQl_cQhXkA4pyFgzidcQzHlAb5Rcsqam1HiZEAUKFERLzi-j3ye-4C12YhW7ScWtvNkmWVv4mmrwEefv1Xh-7jX7pTP8m_Fgj3JqoERmvlnfWqrZxo-2cyrazMxwoFG_L1Pt7-SD6RU/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+45b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nQl_cQhXkA4pyFgzidcQzHlAb5Rcsqam1HiZEAUKFERLzi-j3ye-4C12YhW7ScWtvNkmWVv4mmrwEefv1Xh-7jX7pTP8m_Fgj3JqoERmvlnfWqrZxo-2cyrazMxwoFG_L1Pt7-SD6RU/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+45b.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is the city of Napa.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvN2-PLRRk_mh48JWyy6fbmpg0QVuQ7xGRtNL5t3Je1ERN-cwq8SU7k89YgwF5JlSqlTY492ahDp1wPaKEGIPcR5lRTs2Zh15DxYiJnyy3dmnY2dxuusdROck8qLiaP6syAlWt6Q99Lxk/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+48a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvN2-PLRRk_mh48JWyy6fbmpg0QVuQ7xGRtNL5t3Je1ERN-cwq8SU7k89YgwF5JlSqlTY492ahDp1wPaKEGIPcR5lRTs2Zh15DxYiJnyy3dmnY2dxuusdROck8qLiaP6syAlWt6Q99Lxk/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+48a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">As we continued north in the Napa Valley, we could see that the smoke from the McCabe fire was now clearly showing the contour of the wave as it streamed toward the ocean.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkieVpB57Qn3bYsjwCL40V9a_lAZwkVDCrafDZfgETRo5W7isSN52D_VNEcxEyCsqkuaaQSLzoqmVb8HbpO6T9Pe85HbkBn8xpR_XY-h_i93lBCJk70kDdPNgu7zdwH1i2WWnQ8KPV4A/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+51a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkieVpB57Qn3bYsjwCL40V9a_lAZwkVDCrafDZfgETRo5W7isSN52D_VNEcxEyCsqkuaaQSLzoqmVb8HbpO6T9Pe85HbkBn8xpR_XY-h_i93lBCJk70kDdPNgu7zdwH1i2WWnQ8KPV4A/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+51a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIekm31Py7eUnHG7ooAzaitYJvgGFEfBcNe66w1_qtC8WWKnLzzxxMsQGpr7_0HBj74Dqvz7IwAQ4csbKhoiP1C49KwUPHndwz8amYD97vfLQQknbKa9E-FQWhXXjDdnUg9yuMFAlfbk/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+52a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIekm31Py7eUnHG7ooAzaitYJvgGFEfBcNe66w1_qtC8WWKnLzzxxMsQGpr7_0HBj74Dqvz7IwAQ4csbKhoiP1C49KwUPHndwz8amYD97vfLQQknbKa9E-FQWhXXjDdnUg9yuMFAlfbk/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+52a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We found really strong lift as we approached Ukiah and had to fly fast and upwind out of the lift in order to avoid going above 18,000'. With a known good source of lift marked, we decided to try flying west towards the ocean and see if we could connect with the next wave crest. Success! We found the next wave near Boonville and climbed again. We could now fly farther downwind while keeping the two previous sources of lift within glide.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This shot is looking northwest as we left Boonville. Point Arena is on the left and we were heading for the coastline just south of it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwiWQBp5MGDspYzvQtakOqXpYwsmVNL9o77ZSQCeQ59ecmrePlkJH-B-aJT7OP3AkH-M5TIGsZ6PytHFMaPEbYvASdwEOoIfZC5DlLmTCtO240EPlDPwRwWWJsLTunaepJddGXexOom0/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+54a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwiWQBp5MGDspYzvQtakOqXpYwsmVNL9o77ZSQCeQ59ecmrePlkJH-B-aJT7OP3AkH-M5TIGsZ6PytHFMaPEbYvASdwEOoIfZC5DlLmTCtO240EPlDPwRwWWJsLTunaepJddGXexOom0/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+54a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is looking south as we approached the coastline. The San Andreas Fault is clearly evident.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXqrQO-KlG1cu8nDGqrljkwwyY3WqRjv9fohxsHIhcP_y1I_a9Ufpm2qRgINoE8aNfNltDNCoEgxlJeQN9PhKBo-lwi3i9vyca7NDJ0EN9fo3fMzKcqsT2sjSKgwaZDOU2u1LaauYGp4/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+65a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXqrQO-KlG1cu8nDGqrljkwwyY3WqRjv9fohxsHIhcP_y1I_a9Ufpm2qRgINoE8aNfNltDNCoEgxlJeQN9PhKBo-lwi3i9vyca7NDJ0EN9fo3fMzKcqsT2sjSKgwaZDOU2u1LaauYGp4/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+65a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The smoke from the McCabe fire extended out into the Pacific Ocean as far as our eyes could see.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bZrIIZidx5gES9jktSVz3upEB4pQ1KHthPFnuJuArugTWPqxnwUaeTU4VgLoRiyEtOssueoaOu6FpZX1YcS5kMNh9FUDoddkDM-oSFXLR5qypiZCUNLUFfS-EETRWLVa3WA4S_89LSU/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+66a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bZrIIZidx5gES9jktSVz3upEB4pQ1KHthPFnuJuArugTWPqxnwUaeTU4VgLoRiyEtOssueoaOu6FpZX1YcS5kMNh9FUDoddkDM-oSFXLR5qypiZCUNLUFfS-EETRWLVa3WA4S_89LSU/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+66a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is Point Arena as we neared the coast.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCUK2pU8anTRIuEmqCgACQ3lVw9lYRCQq-s7CXBoieFYFfCffWN1Z92TG4VyTe9DwE-xNYZX1VD8UR5sjYXDYOtjqazD4xQ4PrzPYoJpU0_ATvPk4lz2oRjSS-dHPqUVUz_AQ98-Necw/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+67a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCUK2pU8anTRIuEmqCgACQ3lVw9lYRCQq-s7CXBoieFYFfCffWN1Z92TG4VyTe9DwE-xNYZX1VD8UR5sjYXDYOtjqazD4xQ4PrzPYoJpU0_ATvPk4lz2oRjSS-dHPqUVUz_AQ98-Necw/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+67a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We stopped and circled once in good lift to gain a little more altitude before making the crossing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XioP46-_dh3t9JhANDWHBlrhmbS9ccPonW9Jf9v97f5VcEvKeDWKVEyWYQbuyGFNlZPaAH691bLvyWCyeXb9ySeQcJxFmu43f3d1OfMT86Fn9mFKWHQ5WvJSRS30VOwSuEqIM0qXQ-0/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+68a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XioP46-_dh3t9JhANDWHBlrhmbS9ccPonW9Jf9v97f5VcEvKeDWKVEyWYQbuyGFNlZPaAH691bLvyWCyeXb9ySeQcJxFmu43f3d1OfMT86Fn9mFKWHQ5WvJSRS30VOwSuEqIM0qXQ-0/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+68a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Looking out at the Pacific Ocean.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fOpbsZ7eixVsXu8Sl3lSun9kbJqtzTCme0HoMgqnACrA3ZgDEc6gi_VQdOvMwY_lt7bYmiX0FK2shSxppjFxucNJvqeebyPHIo3H-FY4HKhvK8GW4jcdbWdTt1WPoVs9Jc96jP450EQ/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+70a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fOpbsZ7eixVsXu8Sl3lSun9kbJqtzTCme0HoMgqnACrA3ZgDEc6gi_VQdOvMwY_lt7bYmiX0FK2shSxppjFxucNJvqeebyPHIo3H-FY4HKhvK8GW4jcdbWdTt1WPoVs9Jc96jP450EQ/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+70a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Looking down at the coast.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Uk2kK1HCGOE9DEWm65NxwPAlAyXRWmvkYN1T0U-gXRYpHATr0f13NkVik2jcb_E0TjBSYoda6BRcvv-zXmbnEboQH2JNwTt5OMbqSB-wRY4Ss-UlGYU6WizbEsMfjVFxWgjrGm4EmN8/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+73a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Uk2kK1HCGOE9DEWm65NxwPAlAyXRWmvkYN1T0U-gXRYpHATr0f13NkVik2jcb_E0TjBSYoda6BRcvv-zXmbnEboQH2JNwTt5OMbqSB-wRY4Ss-UlGYU6WizbEsMfjVFxWgjrGm4EmN8/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+73a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And looking north as we went out over the ocean.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6H2BAujKvuW6IfXQDDkfLFVv0SLHfeFRFPNPblA5jYJF5ucCoEsEc6Wqyhujs4BelIT1hjkK5fPoyo3FIVEIf5NICkpD9fyo-4A7ij_sfmxOAvy9xIhyZsbzzSkA_Xgy-mN1nGLkZB0/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+76a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6H2BAujKvuW6IfXQDDkfLFVv0SLHfeFRFPNPblA5jYJF5ucCoEsEc6Wqyhujs4BelIT1hjkK5fPoyo3FIVEIf5NICkpD9fyo-4A7ij_sfmxOAvy9xIhyZsbzzSkA_Xgy-mN1nGLkZB0/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+76a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can see in this photo that the ClearNav display is showing our position across the coastline. We were officially out over the Pacific Ocean! Now all we had to do was get back to Williams, a mere 85 miles away. Sounds easy enough until you turn into the 45 knot headwind and it appears that you have become stationary!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwMKzjf1lid62OOLvR3YwMYd1xfB5v4-PDOzXznTlQXnoZgvQUyP9fCCfbmDqUvPFnPycPGQv3vT34Eqfk6C7j5poL6eFAsZiVQ4cOwWh88oCu-c3bkAmI_ALOQry-3dn0F4wGHOZHVo/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+79a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwMKzjf1lid62OOLvR3YwMYd1xfB5v4-PDOzXznTlQXnoZgvQUyP9fCCfbmDqUvPFnPycPGQv3vT34Eqfk6C7j5poL6eFAsZiVQ4cOwWh88oCu-c3bkAmI_ALOQry-3dn0F4wGHOZHVo/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+79a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kempton took this short video as we turned around.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz3UxwX_WV6SJg0JqEvjvKMGXrv-NWvDKX0iMZ83863nEr5LiMi1d_Mszhp7wIBN7GpRENUcPBT70oEWWAl5A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I took a few more shots from over the ocean as we began our return journey. This is looking north up the coast.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWUfsaCxeKwAJTGrc5Vr7127dfs8XrE1hgcOHX2jTV7GR-u65CEbrL9K6QgtyzZeZVuOdtnOXHZefiDD0JwB9Mk5tX7UnEtJWL6mwFmiIN-91ddZYEJVY_lDA5sTgwGurjicsdwmMcHA/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+80a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWUfsaCxeKwAJTGrc5Vr7127dfs8XrE1hgcOHX2jTV7GR-u65CEbrL9K6QgtyzZeZVuOdtnOXHZefiDD0JwB9Mk5tX7UnEtJWL6mwFmiIN-91ddZYEJVY_lDA5sTgwGurjicsdwmMcHA/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+80a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is zoomed in on Point Arena.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA96Tdx_tzmusCcDqC5wUHGQL7XpRPCZKLG8l7FwY8rPqpvhyG7HvKuD5ylnRY6etJUEOcjYZu_rKIDQRtK7fRUhXzD5SbJ63DFCixwXKHvyqGvwt7N7dPa0IYDg1qT8uM40rjZAEgqgY/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+81a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA96Tdx_tzmusCcDqC5wUHGQL7XpRPCZKLG8l7FwY8rPqpvhyG7HvKuD5ylnRY6etJUEOcjYZu_rKIDQRtK7fRUhXzD5SbJ63DFCixwXKHvyqGvwt7N7dPa0IYDg1qT8uM40rjZAEgqgY/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+81a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And this is looking south.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXe1xOHWFdZHwO1ucn4Ipi1XD-IcIVDlZm_5zvRu0DZ5zB17JLQSQY8D7iYZm3G3LKXGIsRa4WuC7o18QKpaKChDIY_o8OT2LWtG7mbhyphenhyphenY1GRDExgilis9L2BMSPh2T7DmPd69e7FhuE4/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+82a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXe1xOHWFdZHwO1ucn4Ipi1XD-IcIVDlZm_5zvRu0DZ5zB17JLQSQY8D7iYZm3G3LKXGIsRa4WuC7o18QKpaKChDIY_o8OT2LWtG7mbhyphenhyphenY1GRDExgilis9L2BMSPh2T7DmPd69e7FhuE4/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+82a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This jet was climbing out of SFO. We saw quite a few jets on this flight as the Napa Valley is a major corridor for SFO arrivals and departures. A Mode C transponder is a must for flying in this area!</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiC61Nq-eHAao3_8z8ZrZUOWKvqXCj2t8oRTyECzvh6bt6lIhwYEFFONTHvHRRQJZ-Ic0Znx-UxmFXAppe2S2a1x3hlbZ_tlmNQ1TP2CFbCbcOLuCDnvrsXSoF80D37TCVkGt3v9WRyo/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+84a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiC61Nq-eHAao3_8z8ZrZUOWKvqXCj2t8oRTyECzvh6bt6lIhwYEFFONTHvHRRQJZ-Ic0Znx-UxmFXAppe2S2a1x3hlbZ_tlmNQ1TP2CFbCbcOLuCDnvrsXSoF80D37TCVkGt3v9WRyo/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+84a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We retraced our path out to the ocean back to Boonville and the wave was still working at all of the previous locations. But the going was slow as we progressed against the strong headwind. We used the terrain contours on the ClearNav to predict where the lift would be based on our earlier experiences in order to find a more expeditious path back home. We worked our way to 41 nm away from Williams and allowed our altitude to climb to 17,900' for the final glide home.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">While we were making good progress and it appeared that we would make it back, we were now racing against the impending darkness. When we were still 25 miles out from Williams, we assessed our situation. We were just below glide to Williams, but in slight lift. In addition, we expected that the winds would decrease as we got lower and that we would get back to a solid positive glide. The problem was that we were only achieving a groundspeed of about 30 mph and it would take us almost another hour to get back. It would be completely dark by then. So we made the decision to return to Lampson Field near Clear Lake and await a ground retrieve.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here we are at the decision point.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbDE7lkkk_ztPKUHjsXc9yNgKh9MjZxfl1pPFltRIcMDEKhu3_TuGDuglRbvqw_T0hV3aonnuIMdmo7RmL6WqxHHdqyrO4UK5F2LYmO1CBppcA6fSEGy95OWkfKOfCmgjoD-MQQRlKqo/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22+85a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbDE7lkkk_ztPKUHjsXc9yNgKh9MjZxfl1pPFltRIcMDEKhu3_TuGDuglRbvqw_T0hV3aonnuIMdmo7RmL6WqxHHdqyrO4UK5F2LYmO1CBppcA6fSEGy95OWkfKOfCmgjoD-MQQRlKqo/s400/Soaring+13-11-22+85a.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
flew back to Lampson Field at 120 knots. With a 45 knot tailwind we were traveling at close to 200 mph over the ground! We were on the ground in a
little over 5 minutes.</span></span><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here
we are crossing Clear
Lake on our way back to
Lampson Field.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kempton
took this photo just after we landed as I was preparing to get out so we could
push off the runway.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here
is our GPS flight trace from SeeYou.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVL85tDdllhmo9FyZQM1uHtVbVXMifd17YxOaJxYJuFVgaEr0SKi0mtRlZXbMO2u4saKpX5_cYzg6zMRHsE9qf3SXOe-1MGLD6cMtyHw2e5UO6f-gXWweE4pTwSj0zyUJ8iOje3i1Ais/s1600/Soaring+13-11-22.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVL85tDdllhmo9FyZQM1uHtVbVXMifd17YxOaJxYJuFVgaEr0SKi0mtRlZXbMO2u4saKpX5_cYzg6zMRHsE9qf3SXOe-1MGLD6cMtyHw2e5UO6f-gXWweE4pTwSj0zyUJ8iOje3i1Ais/s400/Soaring+13-11-22.bmp" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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</xml><![endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
an incredible experience this was!</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Thanks to Williams
Soaring Center
for making this flight possible, and especially to Nick and Danny for
retrieving us! Kempton and I definitely owe you a nice dinner soon!</span></span></span>Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-13313913297481181562013-10-02T00:33:00.001-07:002013-11-24T12:42:28.728-08:00Extreme Wave Flight in FNX<span id="goog_1018485159"></span><span id="goog_1018485160"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been having a lot of fun flying at Williams Soaring Center this year.</span> I've had quite a few solo flights in their ASW-24, ASW-27, and even a few in their Duo Discus. But nothing can compare to what I experienced there on Sunday, September 29, with Kempton Izuno.<br />
<br />
Kempton is a renowned glider pilot known for his long cross country flights. His accomplishments include having twice flown from Williams to Crater Lake and back! Kempton is also an extraordinary weather forecaster. So much so that SoaringNV enlists his services to forecast wave conditions for them at Minden, NV!<br />
<br />
Kempton and I had been trying for several months to get our schedules in sync to go on a long flight in his ASH-25. The contest letters on his ASH-25 are FNX (pronounced Phoenix, after the mythological bird that rises from the ashes - but that's another story).<br />
<br />
The ASH-25 is a high performance open class glider. I had flown a different one (25H) at Williams with Kenny Price on a half dozen or so occasions. Several of those flights were the subjects of earlier posts on this blog. See <a href="http://williamssoaring.blogspot.com/2010/02/blog-post_20.html" target="_blank">First Flight in the ASH-25</a>, <a href="http://williamssoaring.blogspot.com/2010/04/asjdllaldslk-asldsdflasd-askdafsdfa.html" target="_blank">Third Flight in the ASH-25</a>, and <a href="http://williamssoaring.blogspot.com/2010/05/blog-post.html" target="_blank">In-Flight Shots of 25H From 98</a>.<br />
<br />
On Friday night Kempton inquired about my availability to fly together on Sunday. He was predicting that an extremely long cross country wave flight could be possible out of Williams. I eagerly accepted his invitation and agreed to meet him at Williams Sunday morning.<br />
<br />
We took off at 09:30. (Note: All times are given in local military time and all altitude references are MSL.) We had just taken off and I was still getting situated in the cockpit when we contacted the first bit of lift. Kempton immediately released us at just 2,000'. He figured we were in the secondary wave and that we would gain some altitude and then push into the primary wave. Here we are at 8,700' just before heading west to search for the primary. (We later realized that we had actually released in the tertiary wave.) (10:04)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnE-R4rpP7teRy6MY_u73zyNiWkKh7XLJtDRtseMtjxZ1YakksBKbidjn42L9azk90NySLyg9uEDBTbqKnbUIRkVlpIf40bhLkKOceqm1Myz7a2JMnaFJwourtkXiquioNb32peJ_DKzQ/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29+04a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnE-R4rpP7teRy6MY_u73zyNiWkKh7XLJtDRtseMtjxZ1YakksBKbidjn42L9azk90NySLyg9uEDBTbqKnbUIRkVlpIf40bhLkKOceqm1Myz7a2JMnaFJwourtkXiquioNb32peJ_DKzQ/s400/Soaring+13-9-29+04a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ramy Yanetz, another accomplished glider pilot, took off just after us in his ASW-27 (TG). Here he is below us as we began to push west into the wind in search of the stronger lift we expected to find in the primary wave. (10:04)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvjSo_2dVzHD4jCJfSQijVZyZPqwaH1JJNKp0_n146mKNzpa0XLTPsk6Zd758DYn7cM-KEgOyfZA6U5jDcEt0ritD_9deX9dMsmyxY0T0jLGtxUCzS8D3MOE1UJjiibAe6qSzY1lMhHc/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29+05a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvjSo_2dVzHD4jCJfSQijVZyZPqwaH1JJNKp0_n146mKNzpa0XLTPsk6Zd758DYn7cM-KEgOyfZA6U5jDcEt0ritD_9deX9dMsmyxY0T0jLGtxUCzS8D3MOE1UJjiibAe6qSzY1lMhHc/s400/Soaring+13-9-29+05a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The day started off with a high shelf of clouds void of the classic lenticular clouds, or lennies, that typically mark the presence of the wave. We expected to find the best lift just in front of the leading edge of the cloud shelf. (10:05)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9FCE4ZVu1cZolg1nicmCYFIccOGgCIC6usEuKxkwAGOLrAIhaAz6Dn_5-8KFqEjryOhPqmL5R9g4d0ZvBvQjRbqnsfB6wDbWFHuWSs7fZVZkcc2m43ccaj0E4bQ1aJW9ZVxy4V79VDY/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29+07a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9FCE4ZVu1cZolg1nicmCYFIccOGgCIC6usEuKxkwAGOLrAIhaAz6Dn_5-8KFqEjryOhPqmL5R9g4d0ZvBvQjRbqnsfB6wDbWFHuWSs7fZVZkcc2m43ccaj0E4bQ1aJW9ZVxy4V79VDY/s400/Soaring+13-9-29+07a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
We continued west until we contacted about 2 knots of lift and then began our first southbound leg. We had traveled about 20 miles south and had climbed to about 12,000' when we encountered slightly stronger lift. So we halted our southbound progression to climb higher. We pushed a little more west, flew north and south a little, and climbed to 16,000' before continuing the first southbound leg. (10:49)<br />
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We noticed that a distinct lenticular cloud had formed below the cloud shelf and ahead of us on our course, so we headed for the leading edge of it. (Wind is R to L) (11:01)<br />
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As we approached the leading edge of the lennie, another started to develop right in front of us. We had to alter our course to avoid flying through it. (11:04)<br />
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Before the flight, I had asked Kempton what my role in this flight would be. My primary role would be that of Chief Winds Reporter! I would periodically give him wind readings from the ClearNav display. I would also adjust the radio volume, report battery voltage, report our position relative to landmarks, take control of the glider periodically to free him to do other things, and of course I would also be ballast!<br />
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Here we have just made our first turnpoint near near the Lake Berryessa Dam and are proceeding on our first northbound leg. The winds were 258 degrees at 43 knots (lower left corner of the ClearNav display). (11:19)<br />
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Ramy was still beneath us at this point and nearly matching our flight path.(11:21)<br />
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This is looking back to the east (downwind) as we progressed north. The parallel rows of clouds are commonly referred to as wave bars and they form in the rotor area underneath the wave crests. They are aligned parallel to the upwind obstruction triggering the wave, the Mendocino Range in this case. You can tell from the right wing in the photo how much we have to crab into the wind to maintain our northerly track and not be blown downwind. Our flight path is actually parallel to the clouds! (11:44)<br />
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It was really easy to be drifted downwind on this day. Partly because of how strong the winds were, but more so because we were flying in relatively clear air in our immediate vicinity for a good portion of the flight. Therefore, we didn't have a nearby reference point to maintain our flight track against. Ground references are almost useless at the altitudes we were flying at because you could easily drift several miles before noticing any appreciable change in the picture below. And as the day progressed, the cloud cover beneath us was pretty much obscuring the ground anyway. We were really relying heavily on the ClearNav display to monitor how our flight track was progressing. FNX is only fitted with a ClearNav display in the front seat. Kempton has a Garmin GPS tracking display in the rear seat. But it doesn't display wind data or as many landmarks. This became an issue later in the flight.<br />
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More lenticulars started to form ahead of us to the north. In this series of photos we are maintaining our flight path to arrive in front of the clouds. Kempton pointed out that we needed to vary our crab angle depending on our airspeed in order to maintain a constant flight path. Notice in the first photo how our nose is almost pointed at the front of the lennies (faster airspeed) and notice in the third photo how our nose is pointed more into the wind (slower airspeed). (Wind is L to R) (12:02, 12:06, 12:15)<br />
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The ClearNav display is now warning us that we are approaching 18,000', the highest we can legally go without clearance from Air Traffic Control. In order to remain below 18,000' we had to fly progressively faster in areas where the lift was stronger (and remember to change our crab angle accordingly). The winds here are now showing 272 degrees at 47 knots. The farther north we progressed, the faster the winds became. They maxed out at about 65 knots and we sometimes had to fly as fast as 110 knots (Kempton established this as our Vne (never exceed speed) for our altitude) in order to maintain a constant altitude and flight path. (12:21)<br />
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The view outside the cockpit was in a constant state of flux as the day
progressed. Lennies would form, change size, shape and color, and
disappear right before us. The constantly evolving sky was a feast for the eyes. This series of photos
depicts my favorite views of the day. In my opinion, an artist couldn't
have painted more awesome pictures! (12:27, 12:33, 12:43, 12:45, 12:45, 12:46, 12:48, 13:00)<br />
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The last photo above was taken just about the time we made our second turnpoint, just east of Eagle Peak. At some point during our ensuing southbound leg my ClearNav display suddenly went blank. Kempton asked me to reach around the back of the display and try to make sure that the connections were firm. They were. Damn! In an instant I had been battlefield demoted from Chief Winds Reporter to Chief Ballast Provider!<br />
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Subsequent troubleshooting isolated the problem to a short in the connector at the remote control. If I wiggled it just right and power cycled the ClearNav it would sometimes power back up, but more often not. And if it did power up and the cord was moved at all, it would power back down. So we were pretty much without wind data the rest of the flight. I say "pretty much" because we were getting reports from other pilots of the winds they were experiencing. Besides Ramy, Buzz Graves (BG), and Luke Ashcraft (SD) were also flying long distance flights in the wave. In addition, Kempton's Garmin displays ground speed data. So we could roughly calculate the wind speed from our ground speed versus our airspeed.<br />
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Here we are at our third turnpoint, near Guinda. You can see that the clouds below us and to the east have almost completely filled in at this point. (13:50)<br />
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The next northbound leg started off a little rough. We were having a tough time relocating the sweet spot in the wave. We ended up losing about 5,000' of altitude as we progressed north before getting back into the good lift northeast of St. Johns Mountain. But once we did, it was like getting on the freeway. Kempton realized that our track was now back on top of our previous southbound track, which we had said we would try to do when we passed through an hour and a half earlier.<br />
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As we approached the north for the final time, the lennies were getting fatter, with less defined edges. They kind of reminded me of the heated globs of wax inside of a lava lamp! (14:44, 14:54, 14:55)<br />
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The next photo is about as far north as we progressed. The lennies in front of us were creating canyon like formations. We were monitoring the cloud situation to the east of us closely in case we had to dive out into the valley. We knew we were getting close to our goal of T-16, but without the ClearNav display we couldn't know for sure where it was. We had our maps out but there was so much moisture in the air that the whole sky beneath us was covered in clouds which prevented us from getting any visual reference to our location. We heard Ramy report that he had turned T-16 and a few minutes later he passed underneath us as he headed southbound. Based on that information, Kempton said we would fly north for a few more minutes and then make our turn. He practically nailed it! (Wind is L to R) (15:19)<br />
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We were southbound here when we saw this stack of lenticulars. Kempton had me take control of the glider just after I took this photo so he could take a short video of it. (Wind is R to L) (15:41)<br />
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Here is Kempton's video. Notice how much the lennies have grown together in the short time between my photo and his video (~20 seconds). If you watch closely, you can even see them growing! <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwi-kbVLOLMUoPx44hOaoPMyR7MssIBMvaaf9DvzFnzwuLq9VH7cnWnhfbz9KXyzzkQLGiQ32p_0NCYKp39jw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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In this photo, we witnessed the white streaks at the bottom of the lenticular forming. They first appeared at the leading edge and nearly instantaneously extended the entire length of the lenticular and then got brighter. It was like a special effect in a movie! (15:46)<br />
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Looking back to the north one more time. (15:49)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsDMYZMg67M-x2vFiRc_KBWmxeLBh38TpihFUjj7MUOJvH1gf2ARgcTCRxK0GLhZSt6fwNar-WIDksstllLhiihSo9AOsr1ve-uP-TN6FU1BCW4LeoRmDX7L8PNWyN8FB5NgAaark4LI/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29+86a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsDMYZMg67M-x2vFiRc_KBWmxeLBh38TpihFUjj7MUOJvH1gf2ARgcTCRxK0GLhZSt6fwNar-WIDksstllLhiihSo9AOsr1ve-uP-TN6FU1BCW4LeoRmDX7L8PNWyN8FB5NgAaark4LI/s400/Soaring+13-9-29+86a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We progressed south to Williams uneventfully. But then we encountered 2-5 knots of sink. We still intended to fly down to Vacaville for our final turnpoint, so we needed to find some lift if we were going to make it. We altered our course east into the valley as Buzz was reporting that the secondary and tertiary waves were working quite well. Then we altered back to the west in the hopes of finding the "kind air" that Luke had reported on the way into the Capay Valley. Finally we worked our way to this lennie near Esparto. Notice how the lenticular cloud bends as it extends to the south. If you look at our flight trace you can see how our track followed this curvature. (Wind is R to L) (16:36)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTL9MaIH2cjU4kqzi_ILT-GBXfYfoGxWjXprtsHjoF3HDyu5gxXla5C1fLLF2SD4nNXMXikNogbZ00SygeUrkPiEDu8U4T147HXHn4Hokcs18Kv37j3LLrIKn1Q41R6wXVtanxL4XR-B4/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29+90a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTL9MaIH2cjU4kqzi_ILT-GBXfYfoGxWjXprtsHjoF3HDyu5gxXla5C1fLLF2SD4nNXMXikNogbZ00SygeUrkPiEDu8U4T147HXHn4Hokcs18Kv37j3LLrIKn1Q41R6wXVtanxL4XR-B4/s400/Soaring+13-9-29+90a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The lift was mostly zero sink. But Kempton worked it with such finesse
that we only lost 300 feet in the next 10 miles. We were achieving a
175:1 glide ratio! Some quick mental calculations confirmed that we
should be OK as long as we could arrive at Vacaville at 11,000' or
higher.<br />
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Here we are arriving at the Nut Tree airport in Vacaville. We were still at 12,600' so we progressed a little further south to the edge of the Travis AFB airspace before turning and heading back to Williams. (16:57)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_eeccwE91JPXTEH4ZkdptIBO7Y8Ix8BEvrhKbmmQcDnWEy9F-JOYIT6dFAQK64ORd_zZG5Ir7juIEFAHRHzdqJ9xHDUKWAWVgqM8TQnUdcqR6nHt52KHubT8GXSF-SRXe01dB1M2VifY/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29+93a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span id="goog_185119889"></span><span id="goog_185119890"></span><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_eeccwE91JPXTEH4ZkdptIBO7Y8Ix8BEvrhKbmmQcDnWEy9F-JOYIT6dFAQK64ORd_zZG5Ir7juIEFAHRHzdqJ9xHDUKWAWVgqM8TQnUdcqR6nHt52KHubT8GXSF-SRXe01dB1M2VifY/s400/Soaring+13-9-29+93a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span id="goog_185119896">As we returned to the north we were descending to the top of the clouds that had filled in beneath us. We needed to find a hole to descend through. (17:26)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrQJxybGBCj6mob9aShI_nvZjOgRpQuRVPqrK0QzpKYjql93RNse-ODd5cY4_c6nHsC5fFQO2gEukYh3TF3grGTkuuLLHk7lFy2btX8WMBQGNugiTLLybYX12iLzgIOQhzj_XQCh9aNY/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29+102a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrQJxybGBCj6mob9aShI_nvZjOgRpQuRVPqrK0QzpKYjql93RNse-ODd5cY4_c6nHsC5fFQO2gEukYh3TF3grGTkuuLLHk7lFy2btX8WMBQGNugiTLLybYX12iLzgIOQhzj_XQCh9aNY/s400/Soaring+13-9-29+102a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span id="goog_185119896">We decided on a hole that we could see north of us near the Rumsy Gap. The plan was to descend through the hole and then run the Cortina ridge back north to the Highway 20 gap abeam of Williams and then head east for home. I took this video as we got onto the Cortina ridge. I apologize for the shakiness, but we were flying at 120 knots in turbulent air! (17:50)</span><br />
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<span id="goog_185119896">As we approached Williams we could see evidence that the tertiary and subsequent waves were still working. (17:59)</span><br />
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We arrived at Williams and were preparing for a high speed pass down Runway 16 when we noticed shafts of sun rays emanating from the clouds above Three Sisters. It was the final spectacular sight that Mother Nature conjured up for us on this flight. (18:02)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTpr_xicY7n0j0RQZS8JqXTr25nkyDjcY29OxcMC7-5_PgoQx3NFJ5BKtALycGrPIac45ywtLUl6Rba39u1eG7rgjmBECfKz2y0P2AdLMFWtbBdKchUwx4R6oX7gMK7bv9-hc6FS4WmI/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29+115a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTpr_xicY7n0j0RQZS8JqXTr25nkyDjcY29OxcMC7-5_PgoQx3NFJ5BKtALycGrPIac45ywtLUl6Rba39u1eG7rgjmBECfKz2y0P2AdLMFWtbBdKchUwx4R6oX7gMK7bv9-hc6FS4WmI/s400/Soaring+13-9-29+115a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Kempton and me. (18:21)<br />
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The FNX tied down at the end of a long day! (18:55)<br />
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What an incredible once in a lifetime flight! Total flight time was 8.6 hours and we covered 859 km (534 miles). This flight was the second longest flight in the world posted to the Online Contest (OLC) website for the day. Here's the OLC link.</div>
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<a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=3393485" target="_blank">http://www.onlinecontest.org - Kempton Izuno 9-29-13</a></div>
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And here's our flight trace.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmHit4gGcjpyPsE38vCirvKAHgcGde4shshicUMXkolpi7nWVyv7waQr6T-W8rJVsTAOVljhjK2N6LX_6KnoJ207N2PMrHdbFlAuWi4hpz9S8UUYrrnZ-B3LvEGTXSeZ9dip-CXJ_sqU/s1600/Soaring+13-9-29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmHit4gGcjpyPsE38vCirvKAHgcGde4shshicUMXkolpi7nWVyv7waQr6T-W8rJVsTAOVljhjK2N6LX_6KnoJ207N2PMrHdbFlAuWi4hpz9S8UUYrrnZ-B3LvEGTXSeZ9dip-CXJ_sqU/s400/Soaring+13-9-29.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The main lessons I learned, re-learned, or had emphasized from participating in this flight are:</div>
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1. Managing your flight path on wave days is difficult.</div>
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2. Judging distances on wave days is difficult.</div>
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3. Try to plan three lift sources ahead of your current position.</div>
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4. You must adapt to changing conditions (have a Plan B, and ideally a Plan C as well!).</div>
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5. You must be prepared to respond to in flight equipment malfunctions (again, have a Plan B).</div>
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6. Use all information available.</div>
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7. Fly an open class glider at all times!</div>
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In short, in order to achieve this type of flight you better bring your A-game. Fortunately for me, Kempton Izuno doesn't have a B-game!</div>
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A very special thanks to Kempton for sharing this wonderful experience with me! And thanks also to Williams Soaring Center for making the flight possible!</div>
Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-24041209145934894572012-05-24T16:13:00.000-07:002012-05-24T16:13:04.875-07:00Annular Eclipse Soaring<div align="center">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I had been eagerly awaiting the availability of the "new" Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus X at Williams Soaring Center for several months. I say "new" because it is a rebuilt salvaged glider that the insurance company totaled after the previous owner put it through a fence during landing. It took its maiden flight on May 5, 2012 and I got on the schedule at the first opportunity, which for Kenny Price and me ended up being Sunday, May 20, 2012.</span></div>
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What I didn't know at the time I scheduled the flight was that it was also the same day as the annular eclipse. As the day approached and the eclipse started to get mentioned in the news, Kenny and I discussed it and the fact that we would have to be mindful of the eclipse during our flight. After all, we were going to be partaking in an activity that relies heavily on the sun's ability to heat the surface of the earth. Any blockage of the sun's rays, whether it be by clouds or the moon, would in theory have an effect on the lift. This is evident on classic thermal days that "OD" (over develop) as the clouds become so large that they block the sun's rays from reaching the ground and effectively shut down the thermal activity locally.</div>
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We weren't too concerned though as the eclipse wasn't scheduled to begin until around 5:15 pm when the day is typically winding down anyways. But regardless, if we were still flying we would want to make sure we were poised for a safe return to Williams. The more I thought about this as the day approached, the more I realized what a wonderful opportunity this was to create a laboratory experiment in a real-world environment. I felt that if we could be flying in lift when the eclipse began, we would be able to observe how it effected the lift, if there still was any. And if we were lucky enough, there would be clouds to filter the sun so that we could look at it, albeit briefly, and see the moon crossing in front of the sun. I decided that we would take off later in the afternoon to maximize the probability that we would still be flying when the eclipse began. The plan was set. The only question was, would Mother Nature cooperate?</div>
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The day arrived and I felt like a kid on Christmas morning! I arrived at Williams to find the beautiful ship ready to go.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswEEI-Aw3VBXzkZORLtF1nPvoM1SvnNXff-CuxnCKC30byfaiMz4ydC1ZHWogGeHRSwcEuGPDQGuAPVExZpJvnf35U60vs9z-LixcAHXpfnzPYXnMfJl9aU_C41HAnI8D_xzq1KSPPZU/s1600/Soaring+12-5-20+04a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswEEI-Aw3VBXzkZORLtF1nPvoM1SvnNXff-CuxnCKC30byfaiMz4ydC1ZHWogGeHRSwcEuGPDQGuAPVExZpJvnf35U60vs9z-LixcAHXpfnzPYXnMfJl9aU_C41HAnI8D_xzq1KSPPZU/s400/Soaring+12-5-20+04a.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div>
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Its cockpit is outfitted with all the latest avionics equipment that I have become familiar with in the previous Duo Discus at Williams (GPS, flight computer, transponder, ClearNav display) and the layout is almost identical. No surprises here.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQ92BS80tI_gPNA9mdL9pgv49IvXmlVsuHBvHkZnc4Dmtq6amJNnJXuGfI-3_U6lMwZSIszg2ELLu98HFVBY-C2IYdxHJwKQtdWyB6VM7SvCRlbAclJ9KkaQ0nI_HCGbER1pn3MPAhlw/s1600/Soaring+12-5-20+08a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQ92BS80tI_gPNA9mdL9pgv49IvXmlVsuHBvHkZnc4Dmtq6amJNnJXuGfI-3_U6lMwZSIszg2ELLu98HFVBY-C2IYdxHJwKQtdWyB6VM7SvCRlbAclJ9KkaQ0nI_HCGbER1pn3MPAhlw/s400/Soaring+12-5-20+08a.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div>
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The surprises began when we took off. This is without a doubt the nicest flying glider I have ever flown! Its controls are light and the glider is quick to respond to pilot inputs. But what really sets this gilder apart from the others I've flown is how quiet it is! It is the closest I have come to experiencing the "silent" flight everyone thinks that soaring must be.</div>
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We towed out to the Mendocino mountain range and got off at the Tree Farm in a nice area of lift. I was in heaven flying this glider (literally and figuratively)! In no time we were above the crest of the Mendocinos and we progressed north. He we are thermalling with another glider from Williams, an ASW-27, which I hope to become acquainted with soon!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JevPS9g6FHDxKVcYaZw8t4azcs9iBZVJgdQ1R8uf9HmxiQEs5yt64M3GTOgU6dqVcZKrHqQFoyDxQV8v7gr1g3FOPpLMJoCiCh5_F7R6MuPg3YcrgDU7GhpFeHAZezsaX0RR2z7Ab6c/s1600/Soaring+12-5-20+14a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JevPS9g6FHDxKVcYaZw8t4azcs9iBZVJgdQ1R8uf9HmxiQEs5yt64M3GTOgU6dqVcZKrHqQFoyDxQV8v7gr1g3FOPpLMJoCiCh5_F7R6MuPg3YcrgDU7GhpFeHAZezsaX0RR2z7Ab6c/s400/Soaring+12-5-20+14a.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div>
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Before I knew it, we had progressed to Black Butte Mountain, the farthest north I had been. Kenny wanted to go to Yolla Bolla Peak, something we had wanted to do for a long time but the conditions never cooperated. But between us and Yolla Bolla was a big blue hole. And since we started late, we knew we would be taking a chance to get to Yolla Bolla and connect with the lift we could see there and still get back. We decided it was a risk worth taking. Here we are almost to Yolla Bolla Peak.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPObW-91yAGOhxa3sGIF-rsS26NBAgWX7CV3otpGoZRYCDRw8pkOBaiRGH4ecXrnkZcFSyEqx5Cc1TBgmRQjubbqXi-OZheUsoGK6cYaRgo6pOctEgQHJ1aa2TW1Nlu5EJh9lW6y5FIw/s1600/Soaring+12-5-20+22a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPObW-91yAGOhxa3sGIF-rsS26NBAgWX7CV3otpGoZRYCDRw8pkOBaiRGH4ecXrnkZcFSyEqx5Cc1TBgmRQjubbqXi-OZheUsoGK6cYaRgo6pOctEgQHJ1aa2TW1Nlu5EJh9lW6y5FIw/s400/Soaring+12-5-20+22a.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div>
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You can see it on the ClearNav display (129 Yola P). Also note the relationship to Mount Anthony (9 Antny) on the display.</div>
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Mount Anthony is the closest of the two peaks with a little snow still on them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMXIlM690_UukrQNRnIhGCt5jdzu3irQd6QJw9M9i6nXyPNwNS23xNk7Ka9iFydRG6Vwj1XESDL1c9_uNYXFr85GPrnTZZZN_vy2cm0r6BhYyG-Buq1a5nd_ltav1wFXxpakwQ9GOkqs/s1600/Soaring+12-5-20+24a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMXIlM690_UukrQNRnIhGCt5jdzu3irQd6QJw9M9i6nXyPNwNS23xNk7Ka9iFydRG6Vwj1XESDL1c9_uNYXFr85GPrnTZZZN_vy2cm0r6BhYyG-Buq1a5nd_ltav1wFXxpakwQ9GOkqs/s400/Soaring+12-5-20+24a.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div>
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We turned Yolla Bolla Peak and started our return to the south. Here we are looking across the Sacramento Valley and the lift line on the Sierras is evident. The snow capped peak in the center of the picture is Mount Lassen, which I visited last summer out of Minden with Rick Walters. See my post of that flight on my Blog chronicling my Minden flights at: <a href="http://mindensoaring.blogspot.com/2011/09/fourth-minden-flight-of-2011.html" target="_blank">Minden to Mount Lassen Flight</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJetOtyaf3TVLNefsd52u9rvwsecogCKJy1EsBgiv5OBET0m8XhoRJSPwpv_WuzP4JYh4FpxL4fow7_lOtVhW17ka3jl1U7lcivTn3DLFCu2jwkTRo00HFnf6_ExG35eFN2BHF-ASaf0Y/s1600/Soaring+12-5-20+31a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJetOtyaf3TVLNefsd52u9rvwsecogCKJy1EsBgiv5OBET0m8XhoRJSPwpv_WuzP4JYh4FpxL4fow7_lOtVhW17ka3jl1U7lcivTn3DLFCu2jwkTRo00HFnf6_ExG35eFN2BHF-ASaf0Y/s400/Soaring+12-5-20+31a.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div>
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We arrived back in the vicinity of Black Butte Mountain and there was still good lift there. And there was evidence of good lift at Alder Springs just to the southeast of us. But beyond that, nothing but blue all the way back to Williams. Hmmm, what to do? The start of the eclipse was still more than 40 minutes off. If we continued south, the flight would be essentially over and we would have to return to Williams. So we decided to see how long we could just "hang-out" at the Black Butte gas station and see if we could make it until the eclipse began.</div>
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This flying was incredibly fun. We explored the entire area of lift trying to stay as close to cloud base as possible. It was good practice to try and read the ever changing clouds and to repeatedly climb back up to cloud base. But the day was getting weaker, would we be able to last until the start of the eclipse?</div>
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The answer, of course, was yes! I was so engrossed in the flying that I lost track of time when all of a sudden Kenny said "look, it's starting". The next series of photos were the best I got in the first half hour of the eclipse. The sun is very small in the photos, but the bite taken out by the moon gets larger as time goes on.</div>
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Whenever I take photos while flying, I never know for sure what I have captured until after the flight and I have downloaded the pictures to my computer. It is truly a point and shoot and hope endeavour. Knowing this, I took about 30 pictures of the eclipse. Timing was crucial. Wait until the cloud cover was enough, but not too much and shoot. I knew that many would not turn out. But I was quite surprised by how visually striking some of the "bad" photos were. Here are the best of the worst!</div>
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After a half hour into the eclipse there was still no appreciable degradation to the weak late afternoon lift. I was flying and noticed some roiling wispy clouds just beyond the clouds that had been serving as our eclipse observation base. I went out to explore them to see if they would develop into full blown lift. Nothing. I turned 180 degrees to return to our safe zone and.... uh oh! It was obvious that the lift was shutting down. We could actually see the clouds disappearing right before our eyes! They had turned from beautiful milky white to a darkening grey and they were collapsing in on themselves. We knew it was time to go!</div>
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At this point we were still near Black Butte Mountain, more than 50 miles away from Williams! We made our way over to the Alder Springs gas station and put the last few drops of gas in the tank that that station was dispensing as they were turning off the lights and locking up. From there we began our 46 mile final glide back home.</div>
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We couldn't just fly back to Williams as the proverbial crow flies. We knew we had to stay as high in the mountains as we could where the sink was minimal. Here we are passing Saint Johns Mountain. At this point we were at about 7,000 feet MSL and still about 35 miles out. But with a glide ratio approaching 50:1, we knew we were home free at this point.</div>
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Once we entered the Sacramento Valley, we started increasing our speed to set up for a high speed pass at the airport before landing. It was amazing! We were doing 120 knots and Kenny and I could communicate in normal conversational tones without having to yell at each other. We performed the high speed pass and landed just as the eclipse was reaching its maximum, a little more than four hours after we took off. Much to my surprise, Noelle had videotaped us!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxctO9uW7x6orzT23v-cSGGtF4Hxh_oMYHpA5aA6VQp-LmtuVQ0DeusDLH9DayCKDQATZhL2mwC6hxrPuiohA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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What a great first flight this turned out to be. A special thanks to Rex and the rest of the crew at Williams Soaring Center for making this glider better than new! I look forward to many more great flights in it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vFtJzYR09CRhuF60l5vUgwZ0o-MCmEOG6kcql3SNGGMDcQ8u_Cl7SifDWivqyosVCXZRJQpMCv9zNzAgu4LVjYHkGMePNKYWLdfynMdGmVRVplDpYQBvl6FwQpva7io1YnHghaDAiFU/s1600/Soaring+12-5-20+75a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vFtJzYR09CRhuF60l5vUgwZ0o-MCmEOG6kcql3SNGGMDcQ8u_Cl7SifDWivqyosVCXZRJQpMCv9zNzAgu4LVjYHkGMePNKYWLdfynMdGmVRVplDpYQBvl6FwQpva7io1YnHghaDAiFU/s400/Soaring+12-5-20+75a.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div>Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-84604426130384646222011-01-26T20:50:00.000-08:002011-01-28T13:28:37.631-08:00First Flight of 2011Kenny Price and I had scheduled several attempts to fly this year, but weather (rain and fog) forced us to cancel those attempts. We finally got a break in the weather on Saturday, January 22, 2011 and flew the Shempp-Hirth Duo Discus (MG). I drove to Williams that day expecting that we would have several gliding flights before I returned home. It was late January after all, and thermals aren't expected until about mid-March. But, much to my surprise, Saturday turned out to be quite the fantastic wave day!<br />
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I was completely unprepared for an extended wave flight at high altitude. I had not brought thermal underwear, warm socks, gloves, or anything. In fact, when I arrived it was 71 degrees F on the ground and I was wishing that I had brought shorts! Then I heard that Kempton Izuno and Matt Epperson were in the wave and that they had been up for over an hour already. That changed my thinking completely. Kenny was wrapping up a BFR with another pilot and I asked him if I should bring something warm. He said yes, of course. All I had was my Patagonia pullover, but it would have to do.<br />
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We took off shortly after 2:00 PM, and after a 20 minute tow we were in the wave southwest of Goat Mountain. We released at about 6500' MSL and were climbing quickly in 6-8 knots of lift. Here we are approaching 14,000' MSL and I witnessed something I had never seen before from a glider, the Pacific Ocean. I had previously seen where the Pacific Ocean should be, but it was always under the cover of a marine layer. Clear Lake is in the foreground, and the Pacific Ocean is in the distance illuminated by the sun.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU93XVnw4_5wH5ni4HWMo0Sv5BvUderxBy6XLumVHMCqqOKW_LGlsYZSEx6VnegR5Qa1xl807CFmkY4TMd49tzZtRHTvY00wsaqmyzWXQchcEq-tSpcB8KxcrNbRDwJUBsubsSmZ2AWWU/s1600/Soaring+11-1-22+01a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU93XVnw4_5wH5ni4HWMo0Sv5BvUderxBy6XLumVHMCqqOKW_LGlsYZSEx6VnegR5Qa1xl807CFmkY4TMd49tzZtRHTvY00wsaqmyzWXQchcEq-tSpcB8KxcrNbRDwJUBsubsSmZ2AWWU/s400/Soaring+11-1-22+01a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a shot of our instrument panel taken right after that photo. (I apologize that the glare and reflection on the instrument panel is bad!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1qXlQRpEBfgCtFwc_GzKyXgkIFGNZfnxvy-lkO6RwpKNXKNPBguSIxOzRnuLGdwe1coIJgyuCnFrecWxiPhEDxv9K9fDXAFB5p0BfKzVjz7E4znQtg6xJ8xaNdSqiC9Kwja79nrNo80/s1600/Soaring+11-1-22+03a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1qXlQRpEBfgCtFwc_GzKyXgkIFGNZfnxvy-lkO6RwpKNXKNPBguSIxOzRnuLGdwe1coIJgyuCnFrecWxiPhEDxv9K9fDXAFB5p0BfKzVjz7E4znQtg6xJ8xaNdSqiC9Kwja79nrNo80/s400/Soaring+11-1-22+03a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>We did not have oxygen with us (in hindsight it would have been nice, but we realized that if we spent a half an hour setting up for oxygen we might miss the wave altogether), so we were limited to an altitude of 14,000' MSL. As we reached that altitude, we flew at over 100 knots to stay at or below 14,000' MSL. First we flew downwind into the secondary wave to lose height. Then we flew flew back into the primary and climbed again back to 14,000' MSL. Here's another photo of the Pacific Ocean from the secondary of the Goat Mountain wave.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvsWvU-SeKSxZvObbduDMZ1M3D39X4BC6q3H3oQrkAQWCFEvZigk3KfhO9wiwepqYuRmcsATc-PEh3V38lVVaJsC-6_aThyphenhyphenAa5Wp54St_OrJnxJ7viBdbZkENhprvEVhcrcTTMG0OcEA/s1600/Soaring+11-1-22+07a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvsWvU-SeKSxZvObbduDMZ1M3D39X4BC6q3H3oQrkAQWCFEvZigk3KfhO9wiwepqYuRmcsATc-PEh3V38lVVaJsC-6_aThyphenhyphenAa5Wp54St_OrJnxJ7viBdbZkENhprvEVhcrcTTMG0OcEA/s400/Soaring+11-1-22+07a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was a great day to explore the structure of the wave and to predict where it would be found. We flew to the north, where we would expect to encounter the wave off of Snow Mountain. Sure enough, it was there! Then we continued to Mt. St. Johns, and it wasn't there. Probably because Mt. St Johns is more of a peak than a range. So we retreated to the Snow Mountain wave, where we climbed back up close to 14,000' MSL before flying to Hull Mountain, just north of Lake Pillsbury. This photo is out of sequence, to show where we were. Lake Pillsbury is evident in the photo, just below the snow on Hull Mountain to the left of center in the picture. For those with a keen eye, the snow-capped peak of Mount Shasta can be seen in the distance to the right of center.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We didn't find much at Hull Mountain, so we returned to the predictable Goat Mountain wave and again climbed to 14,000' MSL. Kenny then suggested that we try to fly to the west to Ukiah. I said sure, why not? We flew far enough to the west, and we were still high enough, that we were able to see the beach of the Pacific Ocean (although I did not take a picture). We did not quite make it to Ukiah, but we were close. The next few photos were taken on our return to the Goat Mountain wave. Here's Clear Lake looking from the north to the south. Mount Konocti is the predominant feature of the largest natural lake entirely in California.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjAG5XMI2qi2LICk8T2CHHniTvMjFjh6Cfwsf5QTTMfyt_oftY32qYy9era-LC7YoMTIkPg5r3XSUxIGYwRKvg4nQp8_h_THH2IxzJfp41690p_dvAFUEUzQl4ybzwEYo952TFqK4cUs/s1600/Soaring+11-1-22+17a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjAG5XMI2qi2LICk8T2CHHniTvMjFjh6Cfwsf5QTTMfyt_oftY32qYy9era-LC7YoMTIkPg5r3XSUxIGYwRKvg4nQp8_h_THH2IxzJfp41690p_dvAFUEUzQl4ybzwEYo952TFqK4cUs/s400/Soaring+11-1-22+17a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXE1pgMESt39qjYO6YFtAroqgUDyDAZ-EYW_UUQgXRY8qkaVwKtLn-Ge_NDWr-UPpjrEWQmPYd0jMmJtRgelvA0rG6NeqeIU_eN57xug-mIDt2dGeD90aYJEUTQWXkUmHdjr1Ck96Pc_4/s1600/Soaring+11-1-22+20a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXE1pgMESt39qjYO6YFtAroqgUDyDAZ-EYW_UUQgXRY8qkaVwKtLn-Ge_NDWr-UPpjrEWQmPYd0jMmJtRgelvA0rG6NeqeIU_eN57xug-mIDt2dGeD90aYJEUTQWXkUmHdjr1Ck96Pc_4/s400/Soaring+11-1-22+20a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DOIPlVG-h7HmKLN92MD4gCcMCtVY25sMiVwFbnFlGfwo5baVUZYVzdgUzG-8nZCTBl9uxlgZUu1gfrt6rAWse3Dos6QWmFEVSGlxyPyIK5HP6Ka8ahKrmGkDjYU_38AnwOiXumZ6DyE/s1600/Soaring+11-1-22+27a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DOIPlVG-h7HmKLN92MD4gCcMCtVY25sMiVwFbnFlGfwo5baVUZYVzdgUzG-8nZCTBl9uxlgZUu1gfrt6rAWse3Dos6QWmFEVSGlxyPyIK5HP6Ka8ahKrmGkDjYU_38AnwOiXumZ6DyE/s400/Soaring+11-1-22+27a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We re-encountered the Goat Mountain wave and made one more climb to 14,000' MSL before returning to Williams as fast as we could as the sun was setting on the ground, even though we were in full sunlight at altitude.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The winds on the ground when we returned to Williams were 13 knots out of the north, so we had to perform the tricky north Williams landing. It is always good to have Kenny in the back seat on those days to guide you and monitor your airspeed as you descend through a very strong wind gradient!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Total flight time was exactly 3 hours and we covered about 200 miles even though we were never much more than 50 miles away from Williams. The strongest winds aloft we encountered were about 42 knots, and the strongest lift we encountered was 8-10 knots. Outside air temperature at 14,000' MSL was -2 C, which wasn't too bad when we were flying at 50 knots in the climbs and the outside air wasn't rushing in. But when we were flying at over 100 knots, it definitely got uncomfortably cold.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's our flight trace from See You.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqiBlscQzLP1i1QKHdS3e5AWKaULm0Z3oHQin4W1A5Nh3Dxry9dD7A52HIMG8KXmO9koIG6DePIzNFcnmgzSyOnGkEeKPHEjUpr3tka7OVn_Pe1oRwQ7govZIEu6mVN3srKzUwSOiT-es/s1600/Soaring+11-1-22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqiBlscQzLP1i1QKHdS3e5AWKaULm0Z3oHQin4W1A5Nh3Dxry9dD7A52HIMG8KXmO9koIG6DePIzNFcnmgzSyOnGkEeKPHEjUpr3tka7OVn_Pe1oRwQ7govZIEu6mVN3srKzUwSOiT-es/s400/Soaring+11-1-22.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And here it is in Google Maps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PewBRbmGn9v_PdPfKzj8wKjqHLjTjRCXlq-dPxBy4-jsgyLpHMzAJ4pDAE8GZQ-lO8KpGCa_rALKvjBwZWIMrss25MHV7qyl6BOEo-GGaXCmCJj28PFO60Hw7RTyS_igaY2CDYDacRs/s1600/Soaring+11-1-22a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PewBRbmGn9v_PdPfKzj8wKjqHLjTjRCXlq-dPxBy4-jsgyLpHMzAJ4pDAE8GZQ-lO8KpGCa_rALKvjBwZWIMrss25MHV7qyl6BOEo-GGaXCmCJj28PFO60Hw7RTyS_igaY2CDYDacRs/s400/Soaring+11-1-22a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was my first true wave flight at Williams. I had been there a couple of other days when the wave was kind of working, but not really in the full-up classical way. Thanks Kenny and Williams Soaring Center for a fantastic day!</div>Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-86854612369805373352010-05-02T14:13:00.000-07:002010-05-03T12:16:42.842-07:00In-Flight Shots of 25H From 98<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In my last post I included some in-flight shots of Pete Alexander in his ASG-29 (98). I commented that I looked forward to seeing the shots he took of us in the ASH-25 (25H). Well, here they are.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here we are sharing a thermal before we set up for the photo opportunity. Can you say wings?!?!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLsvGYvb9zmkof43zJLSsEwAsoppac12SRsVt2uobBj9TnPpOM6xQlH1FtjjnheRAoQpUWWP_CzttxbdVkYDGOeWt5Dn4fOTfVWZ-3bmQaByuTXBiwTc5UOmd0co_uOXIniwTgONf4tQ/s1600/ASH-25+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLsvGYvb9zmkof43zJLSsEwAsoppac12SRsVt2uobBj9TnPpOM6xQlH1FtjjnheRAoQpUWWP_CzttxbdVkYDGOeWt5Dn4fOTfVWZ-3bmQaByuTXBiwTc5UOmd0co_uOXIniwTgONf4tQ/s400/ASH-25+(1).jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWdPA4W6fVQGukMg93NNz1287dOUakT7tTT_SDeIJjerO1xEZw01zdGM9vSHFqJNbJWif4hXzwH48eyHk9YtntgU-XRgd2oc9-tjW0JZ-wonAtUepdcTRTZVYvGTnNbX_tHqHsX44WrU/s1600/ASH-25+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWdPA4W6fVQGukMg93NNz1287dOUakT7tTT_SDeIJjerO1xEZw01zdGM9vSHFqJNbJWif4hXzwH48eyHk9YtntgU-XRgd2oc9-tjW0JZ-wonAtUepdcTRTZVYvGTnNbX_tHqHsX44WrU/s400/ASH-25+(2).jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here we are coming up on his left side.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKx7FKzZ7aMUbdsAgKXNqgqAhCjpZQFc9ChkG0V-W-zqUwtMo7sP3Dx3pKBGi4LoM86p0LJ6pXLtc_iFjGfLqmkKauVXvFr4h0RLs5-xyktuSE2O6z21WGbT50tUj-egueipBfvH5UDtQ/s1600/ASH-25+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKx7FKzZ7aMUbdsAgKXNqgqAhCjpZQFc9ChkG0V-W-zqUwtMo7sP3Dx3pKBGi4LoM86p0LJ6pXLtc_iFjGfLqmkKauVXvFr4h0RLs5-xyktuSE2O6z21WGbT50tUj-egueipBfvH5UDtQ/s400/ASH-25+(3).jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is my favorite.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqs4-LLl7fbNyq57ipjddMA3dcKECNCxccy8O6C0uVxagsRy-F_8PAJ3BZCvjiGFwmyZlMTYvJwqUGwXWcID825etRQ3_k4hSVM1u9JvZ-QqQC9mZOMEoe-7gx_UtHKLj-YtW82PwNT-g/s1600/ASH-25+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqs4-LLl7fbNyq57ipjddMA3dcKECNCxccy8O6C0uVxagsRy-F_8PAJ3BZCvjiGFwmyZlMTYvJwqUGwXWcID825etRQ3_k4hSVM1u9JvZ-QqQC9mZOMEoe-7gx_UtHKLj-YtW82PwNT-g/s400/ASH-25+(4).jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And here we are separating to go our own ways.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSAtbxQgnoqiR6UpImfiIHnWr3npyzBa7RxDjEjfLbUnHRC5_rDaH4C_spefCOLz6jezP_nVaFW4Sl6vDSs5TKwMLMyRGVuYJzKgy82ax0OzuToigW_lCK6sGbsD9h-KyluJMpW0SDJc/s1600/ASH-25+(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSAtbxQgnoqiR6UpImfiIHnWr3npyzBa7RxDjEjfLbUnHRC5_rDaH4C_spefCOLz6jezP_nVaFW4Sl6vDSs5TKwMLMyRGVuYJzKgy82ax0OzuToigW_lCK6sGbsD9h-KyluJMpW0SDJc/s400/ASH-25+(5).jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Great shots Pete! Thanks for sharing them!</div>Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-27882046460287341632010-04-22T22:39:00.000-07:002010-04-22T22:49:14.461-07:00Third Flight in the ASH-25<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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! </div><br />
This turned out to be my second longest flight out of Williams, trumping the flight South to Lake <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Berryessa</span> 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 <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Rumsey</span> Gap before we returned to Three Sisters and finally Williams. Another incredible fight out of Williams!<br />
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Here, we are heading North after leaving Mount St. Johns. There were plenty of clouds to mark the convergence line.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwe1qVgz09KPZPE0od_Pq8OVYJ08YW9KaIe8RdlaKmhPjX4vSsg9HcJjiZHJ8sifDeWncaKGa4A-tNFvRODGSHlZayZnqW6kn9f83FTFbQrGk6JVwhOPLBpn_Fk3qLMf4E2G7IOgc-j7g/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+05a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwe1qVgz09KPZPE0od_Pq8OVYJ08YW9KaIe8RdlaKmhPjX4vSsg9HcJjiZHJ8sifDeWncaKGa4A-tNFvRODGSHlZayZnqW6kn9f83FTFbQrGk6JVwhOPLBpn_Fk3qLMf4E2G7IOgc-j7g/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+05a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next two shots are of Black Butte Mountain, the farthest North that we progressed that day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKIitWD_vGiO2bIoljNGozPVRyTn3IG-zPVi0oCfU7-FkzHTa9zv4vdNR7udAjzocTGpPeG0rHVVyLb7raXWH6LL72ImiQ2rRQO18AUp0XpPSGXq5ZOhekrOYdwRYl2OUfG8z4l7UwfM/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+11a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKIitWD_vGiO2bIoljNGozPVRyTn3IG-zPVi0oCfU7-FkzHTa9zv4vdNR7udAjzocTGpPeG0rHVVyLb7raXWH6LL72ImiQ2rRQO18AUp0XpPSGXq5ZOhekrOYdwRYl2OUfG8z4l7UwfM/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+11a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqyOXnTirCPMCw3nUUhhepM2E66T8z3cPjmgKohjXCPHfWaAFmOxnVIGbMkg8cgSYKihEhQn88iiIqMqMYa7GebmkAmf8T4miamITTM91mlHg2-nWN2rFJH7m9786mmARPyYqlP3DwHsE/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+13a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqyOXnTirCPMCw3nUUhhepM2E66T8z3cPjmgKohjXCPHfWaAFmOxnVIGbMkg8cgSYKihEhQn88iiIqMqMYa7GebmkAmf8T4miamITTM91mlHg2-nWN2rFJH7m9786mmARPyYqlP3DwHsE/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+13a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here, we are still in the vicinity of Black Butte Mountain. Again, the wings of the ASH-25 just seem to go on forever!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedFKuWDKuClVpT1qLrmAnxSY0rj3l_VIVh68mXywmO5IHq8HUfybmHE1GHq9ae57ipM-NjtkAOJrfoBnPFaaV1vNf1cquFu07kjDLI9wChfC3K_Hm46MXkfUzkbBfln36ol1cRZmBKOU/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+18a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedFKuWDKuClVpT1qLrmAnxSY0rj3l_VIVh68mXywmO5IHq8HUfybmHE1GHq9ae57ipM-NjtkAOJrfoBnPFaaV1vNf1cquFu07kjDLI9wChfC3K_Hm46MXkfUzkbBfln36ol1cRZmBKOU/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+18a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqjuc1CfLJ99KYfwjFwV6czy6qZuiNAkIeQsTlvZy-Rmp7hZdLTou5FQPAphAttYkfSk8FNFbU-Z0K8kRp6xWC9BWRIkS7_AfYX2IDMwB7Y120PaXOkSmCeNnYJLjHJa1vKmUznQ4ibA/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+22a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqjuc1CfLJ99KYfwjFwV6czy6qZuiNAkIeQsTlvZy-Rmp7hZdLTou5FQPAphAttYkfSk8FNFbU-Z0K8kRp6xWC9BWRIkS7_AfYX2IDMwB7Y120PaXOkSmCeNnYJLjHJa1vKmUznQ4ibA/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+22a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WKZFA9_gWLJ8WdrgYH5gdz1zqN3G9Isg5JkWcOga3KtAkFMwhcplpl_BgGwL46P-A9AIraMOghtypyAg5q9VjSnrvmquQd6oP-Cy0gBE15jDrUwd0wtc-X5e_BBSsnrRqvAJbZHucnA/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+24a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WKZFA9_gWLJ8WdrgYH5gdz1zqN3G9Isg5JkWcOga3KtAkFMwhcplpl_BgGwL46P-A9AIraMOghtypyAg5q9VjSnrvmquQd6oP-Cy0gBE15jDrUwd0wtc-X5e_BBSsnrRqvAJbZHucnA/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+24a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ObvePj-KCKdOxrwZ_FfAnTuD1G23Qch8U4O0ah1zX7XQH-h6bAH6G2QMUOUaBvkqpCTGU-iGB-PCeWr2NjgdJOFEQfJgTbh7BfWUroHZKbWOgCivEgFzm7YR-hAnzULKX_ckXXfrJWU/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+26a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ObvePj-KCKdOxrwZ_FfAnTuD1G23Qch8U4O0ah1zX7XQH-h6bAH6G2QMUOUaBvkqpCTGU-iGB-PCeWr2NjgdJOFEQfJgTbh7BfWUroHZKbWOgCivEgFzm7YR-hAnzULKX_ckXXfrJWU/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+26a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The sun burst reflection off the canopy made the cornice of Snow Mountain appear to be the recipient of divine intervention!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OPbm5YWEcUuroYKhRw-fSM36AZplHIj5lZUa4aEtV0Ae-qYrmL3V3tOu4ZSVs0RrlwKn5p0n4zB_TbEfTPTAu3Uju2MgFjJGAg019bFE2iEAzsDRhAWyhxHRf26k3uyfx9UCroLM9MQ/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+29a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OPbm5YWEcUuroYKhRw-fSM36AZplHIj5lZUa4aEtV0Ae-qYrmL3V3tOu4ZSVs0RrlwKn5p0n4zB_TbEfTPTAu3Uju2MgFjJGAg019bFE2iEAzsDRhAWyhxHRf26k3uyfx9UCroLM9MQ/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+29a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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 <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">thermaling</span> 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!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcht5Rem3icWIdkqTxUVfT4925mubURyIGV8Kpi__DZ9OYmFyTmr0X2f-te_7H4rM5NVPFBL84sidgHZYIrUNi7lIAW4Y-KkU0MzPDcaG1r86dy_ncoVTFMn4My87O-CFarXCHsC4M-E/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+42a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcht5Rem3icWIdkqTxUVfT4925mubURyIGV8Kpi__DZ9OYmFyTmr0X2f-te_7H4rM5NVPFBL84sidgHZYIrUNi7lIAW4Y-KkU0MzPDcaG1r86dy_ncoVTFMn4My87O-CFarXCHsC4M-E/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+42a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gMYnsd9DmgnuKtDmonw4Af7MDGbMpGcRC5733mOrmvSbRA-1MzN0yU-A7xSQz-jR4Q__6q2lPa9PC72WDV8cA9qmfdu_iBk1pLCoxVeKkYuvjL2Bu9Gwjij3hHXxQLHzGdi0BKKEvqM/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+43a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gMYnsd9DmgnuKtDmonw4Af7MDGbMpGcRC5733mOrmvSbRA-1MzN0yU-A7xSQz-jR4Q__6q2lPa9PC72WDV8cA9qmfdu_iBk1pLCoxVeKkYuvjL2Bu9Gwjij3hHXxQLHzGdi0BKKEvqM/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+43a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtsD1Zrw6IXmQ8QmYCPG0Q9F-bu3P_AiAS3A03MmL1ld1VdHk_56-uZ4oKEIVzHQ0m84AO2e3u59zPTpDJ1PuMok6PnNQLyiS0T1OTGPt52tvYsn7D6b1hDrKGRtEHCeHm9ER_1iO_YVs/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+45a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtsD1Zrw6IXmQ8QmYCPG0Q9F-bu3P_AiAS3A03MmL1ld1VdHk_56-uZ4oKEIVzHQ0m84AO2e3u59zPTpDJ1PuMok6PnNQLyiS0T1OTGPt52tvYsn7D6b1hDrKGRtEHCeHm9ER_1iO_YVs/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+45a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We left Pete and headed South to <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Rumsey</span> 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!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2OXZ6nCbYG4DreKzMsQjBzvpjI0lliEeJzZa-w-VfZcEb8QLXD6YRhWYquTw-8NazmU_y1OttKD3Id1k7hUlQc98o029YdEOwLdvF7avFsN79ChJeOyjGKpR361JXiX0QTI5b7FzIEk/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17+49a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2OXZ6nCbYG4DreKzMsQjBzvpjI0lliEeJzZa-w-VfZcEb8QLXD6YRhWYquTw-8NazmU_y1OttKD3Id1k7hUlQc98o029YdEOwLdvF7avFsN79ChJeOyjGKpR361JXiX0QTI5b7FzIEk/s400/Soaring+10-4-17+49a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is our GPS trace from the flight.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEUYZO1r_qetxbeD07IN1is84IQhQtH28XlGwsysQfo9tnHaxRIgTkusZMIqcfeJTb0dpIwry4MYn8z4Itogn0OtaGGnWe9PaslnNBb9tsr0ZKTEaeYlUkeVcfuXWPWKhPaNJKvrYr8c/s1600/Soaring+10-4-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEUYZO1r_qetxbeD07IN1is84IQhQtH28XlGwsysQfo9tnHaxRIgTkusZMIqcfeJTb0dpIwry4MYn8z4Itogn0OtaGGnWe9PaslnNBb9tsr0ZKTEaeYlUkeVcfuXWPWKhPaNJKvrYr8c/s400/Soaring+10-4-17.jpg" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Flight time - 3.4 hours, Distance covered - 203 miles</div>Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-44059816456611150362010-04-18T17:24:00.001-07:002010-04-22T22:47:20.527-07:00Great Flight in the Duo Discus<span style="font-family: inherit;">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 <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Schempp</span>-<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Hirth</span> 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.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">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 <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Berryessa</span>, 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 <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Colusa</span> before returning to land.<br />
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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!</div><br />
Here, we are returning to the North after almost making it to the dam at the South end of Lake <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Berryessa</span>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYrkrdr2-35Ykh_ScO-cgTkJlqoWLrqYUT88otYpKYkAuhfPt0KUnRLQqUDEspBlOopUBdi5zpQ-qXlh4zUXqp0BZYoyOWEnhq8cbSl04VvYj-x_NRt1UaG-aoWLYng-0D7Q3jSOJwZU/s1600/Soaring+10-4-3+02a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYrkrdr2-35Ykh_ScO-cgTkJlqoWLrqYUT88otYpKYkAuhfPt0KUnRLQqUDEspBlOopUBdi5zpQ-qXlh4zUXqp0BZYoyOWEnhq8cbSl04VvYj-x_NRt1UaG-aoWLYng-0D7Q3jSOJwZU/s400/Soaring+10-4-3+02a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The clouds show what and incredible post-frontal day it was!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE0jpVW2u73nNesONPzZ5aVJNEZAvh7k_YvAOf1J7nhUqc1aRM1setVAMRO59F72wdJOMU21iwFFIKTxd8lqkaxMOn5RdZ9VTj0yLw6F4uvhNfjkhTBbrB7bqm_j-x0GKAnXPTrGsiYM/s1600/Soaring+10-4-3+03a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE0jpVW2u73nNesONPzZ5aVJNEZAvh7k_YvAOf1J7nhUqc1aRM1setVAMRO59F72wdJOMU21iwFFIKTxd8lqkaxMOn5RdZ9VTj0yLw6F4uvhNfjkhTBbrB7bqm_j-x0GKAnXPTrGsiYM/s400/Soaring+10-4-3+03a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDoChU4q02-ZSApQ6qYQ-16cqRbqhuRaH1udLJFhyphenhyphenoTRgRpCOqeDrSv14o7BFzOlke7DDP4Jnv2M8aC1MSiRsx52jxLk8V5pjDBooNzbPM_c3cc330Ez2CMmWZdXg5qWmU3peaZXPCHI/s1600/Soaring+10-4-3+04a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDoChU4q02-ZSApQ6qYQ-16cqRbqhuRaH1udLJFhyphenhyphenoTRgRpCOqeDrSv14o7BFzOlke7DDP4Jnv2M8aC1MSiRsx52jxLk8V5pjDBooNzbPM_c3cc330Ez2CMmWZdXg5qWmU3peaZXPCHI/s400/Soaring+10-4-3+04a.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is our GPS trace from the flight.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPeoJDTNhPQ4_9kQM9jQZ1DOOsFLDtGFia7Pnoh4SV_HQMvsuOh6-sTZC-csCM4l-vb_clfCFaq30W3B_Sjo_Mx3-qH4CebP7cHioFDfuHbOdMOvsnCKu0ESZUngGnHTQnEXJQmBgqUww/s1600/Soaring+10-4-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPeoJDTNhPQ4_9kQM9jQZ1DOOsFLDtGFia7Pnoh4SV_HQMvsuOh6-sTZC-csCM4l-vb_clfCFaq30W3B_Sjo_Mx3-qH4CebP7cHioFDfuHbOdMOvsnCKu0ESZUngGnHTQnEXJQmBgqUww/s400/Soaring+10-4-3.jpg" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lake <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Berryessa</span> 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.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We never got above 7,000 feet <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">MSL</span>, 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!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Flight time - 3.6 hours, Distance covered - 178 miles</div>Duo Discus Driverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842486362704149247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330310484924787844.post-39260011870121741192010-02-23T19:55:00.000-08:002010-02-27T09:58:12.063-08:00First Flight in the ASH-25<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A new year and a time for new soaring experiences! This was my second flight of the year and my first in one of the highest performance gliders in existence. I flew the Schleicher ASH-25 with Kenny Price at Williams, CA on Saturday, February 13, 2010. Kenny and I had been attempting to fly this glider for a year, only to have weather, scheduling, and availability thwart our attempts. The owner of this glider typically relocates it to Ely, NV from June through September each year. So the window of opportunity to fly it at Williams is somewhat limited.<br />
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Kenny and I were scheduled to fly it in December, 2009 and January, 2010 only to be "weathered out" by fog and rain on four attempts. However, I did make the trek to Williams on our first attempt in December, knowing that I would not fly it that day, and sat in it in the hangar for almost an hour getting familiarized with the cockpit and the layout of the controls. The endeavor was completely worthwhile as the ASH-25 was a totally foreign ship to me. Not only was the layout of the instruments and avionics different than what I was accustomed to in the Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus, the ASH-25 is also equipped with performance flaps and therefore has an extra control handle.<br />
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Here it is as we are preparing to move it to the launch point. It has an 83 foot wingspan, only 10 feet shorter than a typical Boeing 737. The "unicycle" wheels you'll see attached to the wings in the next few photos are only used to support the long wings in order to facilitate ground handling. They are removed before flight.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUiN9xraxsFRwJH_oQn4O_4LLkJO-Ey3qAisUsWORmAurcE_beGqkYHXLA6kwV1Frzf-KmKx9OMVuVPHi5XiV6AhIz3tunjkeRL5mRtz8HsgQf8XdTzK-DmdHJpzJwe0oSssgnnzoN7w/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+01a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUiN9xraxsFRwJH_oQn4O_4LLkJO-Ey3qAisUsWORmAurcE_beGqkYHXLA6kwV1Frzf-KmKx9OMVuVPHi5XiV6AhIz3tunjkeRL5mRtz8HsgQf8XdTzK-DmdHJpzJwe0oSssgnnzoN7w/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+01a.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's Kenny backing it out of its parking space with a golf cart for the trip to the launch point.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPooViv-BaLtoKwumqCw5pNXjcGDpOjr6ki-YalAAzFWji-OzapyW3e3Vh9F-m4p20n4KyA35LtvDIOdvmQOPzqhlUpOTbMt2_bgKEOMotZDEyBZVvfEdIkWeLmPFBHyyo1NGXOQX8N4/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+02a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440530677618778850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPooViv-BaLtoKwumqCw5pNXjcGDpOjr6ki-YalAAzFWji-OzapyW3e3Vh9F-m4p20n4KyA35LtvDIOdvmQOPzqhlUpOTbMt2_bgKEOMotZDEyBZVvfEdIkWeLmPFBHyyo1NGXOQX8N4/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+02a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The performance provided by the long wings of this glider give it a 57-to-1 glide ratio (commonly printed as 57:1). This means that it will go forward 57 of anything from a height of one of the same anything. For example, it will go 57 feet forward from 1 foot of height. Or, it will go 57 miles forward from 1 mile of height. That is, in calm air of course. In air sinking at a rate of 1,000 feet per minute, all bets are off!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHS_AdKNdv0BAjR3W332j15AySDBoY6CcJlR3hFWRvZX-On2eer4jTIGvGXr_CutJPLTGiLdj_9gvk0lnRz9Q8CXvLkct6D_JS_wVcA65RBxs1dee4Jgdns93lVeYJVA6tKR5ljQcSGdU/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+08a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440530567416975586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHS_AdKNdv0BAjR3W332j15AySDBoY6CcJlR3hFWRvZX-On2eer4jTIGvGXr_CutJPLTGiLdj_9gvk0lnRz9Q8CXvLkct6D_JS_wVcA65RBxs1dee4Jgdns93lVeYJVA6tKR5ljQcSGdU/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+08a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a busy day at the glider port as this was one of the nicest days of the year and pilots were anxious to get out and fly. Notice all the open glider trailers and assembled gliders ready to go.</span><br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCnBk9lvQQ1dJm6L2_soAWoAHi8cwloVC5c_irfwRmjmD994Gi3_lv704I7xkcPQimfelmgByqY3PwN73pgabc4_tt8yaNyG700vWfnVmdLSXFmf9D953q1z3RMjhe0Sfkuwt1bKV5JI/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+10a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440530397977890098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCnBk9lvQQ1dJm6L2_soAWoAHi8cwloVC5c_irfwRmjmD994Gi3_lv704I7xkcPQimfelmgByqY3PwN73pgabc4_tt8yaNyG700vWfnVmdLSXFmf9D953q1z3RMjhe0Sfkuwt1bKV5JI/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+10a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the front instrument panel. It is outfitted with state of the art avionics. Unfortunately, we didn't get much use of them as the computers were still loaded with databases for flight in Ely, NV! But that didn't matter much as we knew the conditions weren't right for a long flight where we would really be relying on the information they provide. We had all the basic instruments needed for safe flight (airspeed indicator, altimeter, variometer, and the all mighty yaw string!). And besides, the purpose of this local introductory flight was just to get familiar with how the ASH-25 flies.</span><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbZBzy_AF3JC9rBfMasKziib6nfL100BFuKul-2Rhlf3AEkdOl1c6lQcg-xiZSIA3P_bHk9XWXBFqXK8OLXzRKg3EgWIx9ivrg-LLdnO2Dc-sUkyxaotBim4NRzsFbJG_Vvzx7Miq-rg/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+11a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440530317772321330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbZBzy_AF3JC9rBfMasKziib6nfL100BFuKul-2Rhlf3AEkdOl1c6lQcg-xiZSIA3P_bHk9XWXBFqXK8OLXzRKg3EgWIx9ivrg-LLdnO2Dc-sUkyxaotBim4NRzsFbJG_Vvzx7Miq-rg/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+11a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the front cockpit. The black handle on the right is the landing gear control. The blue handle on the left is the dive brake control. And the black handle on the left controls the flaps.</span><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wH1jadKIn3dmV9bbNqHmFXZTlLKX2aqsvzH2bQ0KwAkJvsZTJkdajCUrecxRuRp7KMjwNw0VSi2l_CzFsolhXk0aW5h9p-MqtAxt6hJIectOJIa9yotAsFKZVBAhdlNT_yDmB9kC2OA/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+13a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440530224329603282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wH1jadKIn3dmV9bbNqHmFXZTlLKX2aqsvzH2bQ0KwAkJvsZTJkdajCUrecxRuRp7KMjwNw0VSi2l_CzFsolhXk0aW5h9p-MqtAxt6hJIectOJIa9yotAsFKZVBAhdlNT_yDmB9kC2OA/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+13a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We decided to take a high tow out to Goat Mountain so that we would get a decent amount of flight time. Here, we are on tow approaching the first range of foothills at the Western edge of the Sacramento Valley. The wings seem to go on forever! </span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjU_GRsR0cKDd5d_1l4x3e6KZ85OcKuUrkabj2iCR6qMZIvp0Zz6edMgBi3ZS8iqlEd9h2VgqBLPiSfFAE8JEMQL1cZpbGGLk-48bSQ80meSD3JvLD3RkOOUCYhDUuhD55OBQ3BOU6JGE/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+14a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440530116001485570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjU_GRsR0cKDd5d_1l4x3e6KZ85OcKuUrkabj2iCR6qMZIvp0Zz6edMgBi3ZS8iqlEd9h2VgqBLPiSfFAE8JEMQL1cZpbGGLk-48bSQ80meSD3JvLD3RkOOUCYhDUuhD55OBQ3BOU6JGE/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+14a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking right.</span><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswBs4aPpUDA8VKp4p-RDI4uJYFYqu-4amytWMwZJDgo6pVdc5ogdRas68cjWeC90VshSnmuY9FYRGXFgpqRT79-5er4y7lbffNRnW_Lxg8SqUru79Ak7QnRFVps-OJ3ZAN8dPTygW5iI/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+15a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440530008042544722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswBs4aPpUDA8VKp4p-RDI4uJYFYqu-4amytWMwZJDgo6pVdc5ogdRas68cjWeC90VshSnmuY9FYRGXFgpqRT79-5er4y7lbffNRnW_Lxg8SqUru79Ak7QnRFVps-OJ3ZAN8dPTygW5iI/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+15a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We towed to 7,000 ft. MSL and got off tow just East of Goat Mountain, which was covered in a fresh layer of snow. The air was perfectly calm. Good for an introductory flight, but not good for a soaring flight. The plane flies like a dream, and with a glide ratio of 57:1 your decent is nearly unperceivable. However, I quickly found that flying this glider is unlike any I've ever flown. It was like learning to fly from scratch all over again.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We made or way back down to the Walker Ridge searching for any signs of lift, to no avail. I did not take many pictures during this flight as I was selfishly reluctant to turn the controls over to Kenny. But I didn't feel too bad because by his estimation, Kenny has nearly 700 hours in the ASH-25. That's almost twice my total flight time!</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After no luck on the Walker Ridge, we made our way back into the Sacramento Valley where we did find some weak thermals which extended the flight.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The road beneath us in this photo is Highway 20 as it crosses the first range of foothills West of Williams. The three peaks in the upper right of the photo are called Three Sisters.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7h_k3nGLCa1EzxhjlKsWu-NZK22R0arHKnNWR3W1ftyGvhNystvmFRG4-hF7YwVoB7vCB1QL1eFHgvZhEAjHwkqOn4WkTkTQ_oG4wGqS4-LP78saqFw4wKHmBVZFGXdXO4wWxCRjc-Jc/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+20a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440529917098370930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7h_k3nGLCa1EzxhjlKsWu-NZK22R0arHKnNWR3W1ftyGvhNystvmFRG4-hF7YwVoB7vCB1QL1eFHgvZhEAjHwkqOn4WkTkTQ_oG4wGqS4-LP78saqFw4wKHmBVZFGXdXO4wWxCRjc-Jc/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+20a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The recent heavy rains had turned the foothills a rich emerald green. This won't last for long as the scorching heat of the Sacramento Valley will turn them brown in short order.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGCk3TJVNj_h6AXcIiFE1CqnPyaeZkldsxK2pupf4ZWOcFph7AwlPhJglL59XfJyAZaITirLEu7GxjetPkAndKoBHtapRzJ8sHYX7zrwHPkn4iqyRpSUXWaWg1nn3mzlpuHDb_5iZKGc/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+21a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440529815465917538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGCk3TJVNj_h6AXcIiFE1CqnPyaeZkldsxK2pupf4ZWOcFph7AwlPhJglL59XfJyAZaITirLEu7GxjetPkAndKoBHtapRzJ8sHYX7zrwHPkn4iqyRpSUXWaWg1nn3mzlpuHDb_5iZKGc/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+21a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several gliders that were flying to the East of us noticed that we had found a decent thermal. Here's one of them coming over to join us.</span><br />
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<div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEJ0Gv2UBm0UZ7pIbBq8_2cT-pgRpZ9tanMlrsKxthlnIZP8hzxn24cseeseHecDXRebvX9rhONCu6QbSI_9q_VcXrhj7KdbOApl9olH-TS3XAYBxtyJmaaNdJcZebGKMM3nd6o6DO2E4/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+22a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440529589209888242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEJ0Gv2UBm0UZ7pIbBq8_2cT-pgRpZ9tanMlrsKxthlnIZP8hzxn24cseeseHecDXRebvX9rhONCu6QbSI_9q_VcXrhj7KdbOApl9olH-TS3XAYBxtyJmaaNdJcZebGKMM3nd6o6DO2E4/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+22a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this point we were only at about 2,000 feet MSL and still about 10 miles to the West of the glider port. That is just about the minimum height required to arrive back at the glider port and still have 1,000 feet to perform a normal pattern entry and landing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The glider beneath us is being flown by Sergio Colacevich, a renowned pilot and one of the winners of the Barron Hilton Cup in 2002. It is my understanding that seeing him below you is a rare occurrence!</span><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoPujjckmE45DpO4rMNnEEPiAiMQiDbJfvgNYA5HMiXPLGJ57ItIRdX7mIddv-rek3sxrAabGBVq1OrldPvzczJvnhYuzPrX0UDHCpWE_ptOt6LZd-krM-U7JZ7zzE8Z3C1ZTcR08BEU/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+23a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440529474693017906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoPujjckmE45DpO4rMNnEEPiAiMQiDbJfvgNYA5HMiXPLGJ57ItIRdX7mIddv-rek3sxrAabGBVq1OrldPvzczJvnhYuzPrX0UDHCpWE_ptOt6LZd-krM-U7JZ7zzE8Z3C1ZTcR08BEU/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+23a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What an incredible experience this introductory flight was! It was a 1.6 hour flight in an incredible glider. I look forward to many more great flights in it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A very special thanks to Kenny for continuing to come out of "retirement" to fly with me. And more importantly, to his wife, Suzanne, for letting him continue to do so!</span><br />
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<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Z0JQS41IlhsOzxq7qyNatJO7J08PIx5XpUvjNvuYgu59rVnvm6MeuymPK8SqpFSVkeBV6aznQ7rEYChkyc4GDUrXXrd41h1VJ4QBkoDrteKXWhYZfQAhhvIzzbgjiJH-sqkn798IyJs/s1600-h/Soaring+10-2-13+25a.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440529328224932434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Z0JQS41IlhsOzxq7qyNatJO7J08PIx5XpUvjNvuYgu59rVnvm6MeuymPK8SqpFSVkeBV6aznQ7rEYChkyc4GDUrXXrd41h1VJ4QBkoDrteKXWhYZfQAhhvIzzbgjiJH-sqkn798IyJs/s400/Soaring+10-2-13+25a.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Epiblog</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several days after this flight, I learned of the untimely passing of one of my many soaring mentors, John Campbell, PHD, of Mile High Gliding in Boulder, CO. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John encouraged me to take my first steps into the world of high performance gliders in May of 2007. After a number of flights with him in their Grob 103C, he suggested that I was ready to take my first flight in the Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I eagerly agreed to his suggestion as we scheduled the flight, only to find that when the day arrived, I was completely at unease by my unfamiliarity with this new glider. He obviously sensed my discomfort and with a reassuring voice said "Pat, let me demonstrate the takeoff". Shortly after takeoff, he turned the control of the glider over to me and I never looked back. He had ushered me across the threshold into a new realm of motorless flight.</span><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For this, I am eternally grateful and I would like to dedicate this flight, my first in the ASH-25, to his memory.</span><br />
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