Joel Froehlich: Launch Boss for King 2008
Route 1 was chosen today due to anticipated gusty & strong wind conditions from the south. Caution was urged to those who flew today. I was primarily concerned about the anticipated gusty surface winds more so than the upper level winds, so I decided to break down my glider and not fly. This made Driver Wendy happy, too. I'm glad I stayed on the ground as there was a fair amount of over-development resulting in gust fronts and precipitation north of Mackay. We did go on chase for one of our team mates, however. Heather did well and eeked out about 15 or so miles. But, there were some good flights with a majority of the pilots landing at the Mackay Airport.
We then had lunch at a deli in Mackay and met up with Wayne M., The Ben's, and Carsten (Driver Extraordinaire!) to hear about their flying / chase day.
I spoke with a pilot named "Sparky" today at launch. He was breaking down his glider having decided not to fly. Sparky has been flying hang-gliders since 1979 and attributes his longevity in the sport to the days he chose not to fly as much as the days he had spectacular flights. Today was one of those days...
SSW winds are expected for Wednesday...I bet Route 1 is picked again. King will be a great primer for Lakeview.
Joe "The Edge" Jackson surveys the weather...