Who Doesn't Like a Drought?

What can I say? It's been dry. There's no snow. And flying has been great this winter.

Flew over 5 hours last weekend. Started on Saturday with a fun day at Mission Peak. Loaded up with Chris Valley and crossed the bay for a noon arrival at the site. It looked foggy and windy as we drove, but by the time we arrived at launch conditions had cleared and the wind was moderate.

Dropped my glider in the mud while setting it up, but the sweet conditions made me not care. Launched smoothly into some cold air. Lift was turbulent at time, but abundant. Aside from one small flush cycle it was easy to stay up, coring wide thermals which could be found both over the peaks and out away from the hills.

Ventured half way to Ed Levin, but mostly stayed around Mission, just enjoying the day and the glider.

After a little more than an hour I got cold and came in for a nice smooth top landing by the car, broke down my glider and had a beer. Chris and others flew for another hour or so and we ended the day with food and drinks at a local watering hole.

Sunday I was thinking Ed Levin was the call. But a fortunate conversation with Tom Low keyed me in to the improving conditions at Fort Funston. I changed my plans and headed to the coast, arriving at the site surprised to see only one glider set up.
Got my glider together quickly and launched into very North conditions. It was nice to fly conditions like this without stress. My new glider gives me a lot of confidence.

Getting Sideways Over Westlake
I played around at the fort for a while, flying fast, doing some energy climbs and mild wingovers, then I headed down to Westlake to play with the paragliders. Had a nice flight, and felt content after an hour+ so I landed back at the fort. I was going to break down, but then my friends Tom and Chris showed up and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to chase them around the sky.

CRV

We all met up at Westlake, flying close, getting video and photos, doing some mellow aerobatics and just boating around in the super smooth lift. I didn't want the flight to end, and flew till the sun was setting. As the day got later, the cliffs lit up with red light and long shadows. Amazing.

Westlake

Horsies!

Sunset

Chris put together some video of the day, chasing me around the sky



What a weekend!

Flights: 3
Airtime: 5:07

Big Fat McClure

A spectacular weekend at McClure. 3.5 hours of flying, topped out at 4,500', and many tours of the valley were had.

Met up with CRV Saturday morning for a day trip, with camping gear along just in case. Picked up Ryan Goebel and Chad in Dublin and continued on. There was a big turn out unexpectedly with around 16 glider on launch.

Saturday was sweet. The winds were light, sky was clear, thermals were smooth, and lift was everywhere. It was easy to get up and stay up. We cruised around in the sky until we got tired. I made an attempt or two at Horseshoe, getting about half way there, but mostly hung around the main hill.
Finally started to sink out and headed to the LZ before the 3 other gliders at my hight. Tried to dive it down, but found lift over the LZ at about 500'. Decided not to fight it and took a slow, pleasant clim back up to almost launch height. After letting the other two gliders land I brought er in for a no stepper.

Sunday was more of a challenge and a lot of fun. KM and CRV launched first and got up. CRV made a fateful launch buzz and continued the buzz right to the deck. It was hard down low with tight, weak thermals. Once you got up, things got a little easier. The lift was scattered and seemed to move away from the hill, upwind, as we got higher. It was definitely a day where it paid to be curious. Leaving the crowd and exploring the valley repeatedly rewarded me. I would find a thermal, scattered and weak like the others, but without crowds could core it easily. Top of lift was about 3,300'.

Flights: 2
Airtime: 3:30

Bang!

Our morning view from camp

Just 3 guys in the back of a truck...

This is his tough look...

CRV calls it

Brian Horgan's downtube. Starting the smack talk for Ed Levin Speed Gliding 2012!

ACP, ready to dominate

CRV Slayin' It

KM. 70 years old. Gets higher, and flies longer than all of us, every time