Slayin' It

The day has finally come.

After months of championing the ACP revolution, myself and Ace Comp Pilots Chris Valley, John Taylor, and Ryan Goebel are proud to announce the first edition of the ACP Newsletter "Slayin' It"

At long last a medium has been created that is large enough to hold our bloated egos. At long last our big talk, exaggerated stories, and mediocre flying skills will be archived for all time.

We bring you "Slayin' It" on the official ACP website

http://www.acecomppilot.com/

Yosemite-On Board

Typically when I post a video, I have spent countless hours editing. I've usually secured several advertising contracts, spoken to the major networks, talked with Quentin Tarantino about the proper placement of scenes, what to leave in, what to leave out, etc. This time I'm breaking from tradition and posting a flight through yosemite in it's raw, uncut form, from start to finish.

I know my sponsors will complain. They'll say I'm giving away the goods without properly promoting their wears. But sometimes you just gotta say screw it to the million dollar deals. You have to say "No, I don't care about the fame, the groupies, the money."

So here it is, Yosemite!


Link

It Didn't Happen If It Isn't In Your Blog!

I was feeling very pleased about reassembling my glider and successfully test flying it without falling out of the sky. So pleased that I forgot to blog it. Aerochris was kind enough to inform me that it didn't happen if it's not in my blog. So there it is...

Another Kind of Soaring

Ace Comp Pilot Extraordinaire, Matt, has been slaying the sailplane scene the last couple years. See his blog here http://mattsoaring.blogspot.com/

I was prepared to launch a full on begging assault to get a ride with him some day, but that proved unnecessary. On Tuesday I asked Matt if I could take a tandem ride with him sometime, and Friday afternoon we were out at Williams Gliderport ready to go.

Our Ride For The Day. Slippery...
Ready To Go!
We towed towards St John Mountain and pinned off in a small convergence line east of the peak. We flew here for an hour or so, flying around the clouds. It was odd to be above cloudbase. You can almost never get there in a hang glider.

On Tow
Instrument Panel Of the Duo Discus
After about an hour we decided to make a move to another, better looking convergence line to the south. It was far away and we thought the attempt might deck us. But we made the move and happened to stumble into a wave forming on the backside of the mountain range. Flying in the smoothest air I’ve ever felt, we climbed. Passing 13,000’ we reminisced about our conversation earlier in the day at Matt’s house. “Are you taking your oxygen system?” “No, there’s not going to be any waves today…”.

Climbing High Above The Clouds In The Wave
The next hour is a bit hazy, but I remember staying diligently under our 14,000’ limit…

Just Under 14,000' With Clearlake To Our West
Boating around in the wave, Matt did some lazy 8s and a couple negative G pushovers. Too much fun!


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After leaving the wave we flew out over Cash Creek, cored a couple thermals, and hit another convergence line. This second convergence had to be one of the best flying events in the history of flying. Cool cloud formations, lots of dynamic flying, and despite the banking and diving and spinning, I didn’t even throw up. Bonus!

13,500', looking East To The Second Convergence We'll Hit Later

Cash Creek

Cockpit Of The Duo Discus

Way Above Cloudbase, With Mt Diablo In The Distance

Matt, Focused On The Controls As We Approach The Second Convergence
The gliderport radioed in to say there were shutting down and leaving. We stayed in the air for a while longer and then Matt brought it in for a perfect landing after 4.5 hours in the air.

Goose, I'm going to hit the airbrakes and he'll fly right by
This day was a real treat. Matt was a great pilot and guide and the 4.5 hours went by far too fast. Can’t wait to do it again.


Total Airtime: 4:30
Max Altitude: 14,000'
Type of Air: Convergence, Wave, Thermal, Convergence

Going Big

Today was truly epic. Yes, I know "epic" is totally 2008, but I'm still saying it.

Today was a flying day in the northern central valley.
In the air over Saint John, it looked like maybe the day wouldn't be so great. Couldn't have been more wrong.

I'm tired now and will write more tomorrow, but here's the teaser.

4:30 hours airtime
~80 mile triangle (haven't looked at the track log yet)
Got in a wave and had to leave lift at 14,000'
Zigged and zagged through some unbelievable convergence

Epic!

What's Wrong With Waddell?

Dirk picked me up and we headed down the coast to Waddell today. I've had mostly a love/hate relationship with Waddell, but it does tend to put out. Just not always in the way I had hopped.

Today it was on. As usual, we could have been there 1 hour earlier, but despite the mean looking ocean it was steady and smooth. We set up quick and were soon airborne.
+ Looking North. Wind lines on the water.

There was a fair amount of moisture in the air and fog would form, swirl, and dissipate at about 4-500 feet.
+ Cloud line forming to the South.

+ Flying the fog.

I was on the Pulse since the T2 is in the shop. It's a nice glider to fly, but slooooooow. Dirk was literally flying circles around me.
+ Dirk zooming below me

After about an hour I had had my fill and landed to say hello to ACP John Taylor who had arrived to see the action. Packed up the gliders and headed home. A nice day at the coast.

The Glider Repair That Wasn't

Had some serious glider work to do and waited patiently for my much needed parts to arrive. Finally picked them up on Thursday and got to work replacing the leading edge on Friday.
Leading Edge Off

I have an old Moyes Lightspeed sale which I use as a floor covering for all my glider work. Don't let anyone tell you that lightspeed sails aren't good for anything. They make great tarps and working surfaces.

Unfortunately I found that my new leading edge was damaged before it got to me. The machined cross-bar bracket was bent out of shape.
Somethings not right...

So, after weeks of waiting, it's back to waiting...