Managed to get in three full days of flying this past weekend...off to a good start for 2012!
Saturday (1.14.12), we headed to Ed Levin for sledder conditions. Brian and I started out the day by setting up the speed gliding course for Ed Levin Speed Gliding 2012. Needless to say, the course is set up, now all we need is people to show up for the event. Afterward, Urs, Pam, George, Brian and I drove to the top, set up our birds, and had fun flights. I decided to see how far I could glide south over the golf course and head back. I seem to have a 500 foot margin of error on my glide judgement, so next time I'll extend further south to see how low I get on the way back. There is always a hillside to land on, of which I've been practicing lately.
Sunday (1.15.12), Funston was the call. I was at the Fort setting up the T2C at 9AM with the winds already soarable. After a couple 1/2 hour practice flights to taste the air, conditions finally developed and I enjoyed a nice 1 hour flight in super buoyant, but building, conditions. By around 2PM, it was time to consider landing, so I did. The conditions continued to build toward being blown out, so Brian, JT, and I headed to the Boulevard sans Ben Dunn for a beer and a bite. Ben will be back soon, though. I mentioned him just to see if he is reading this!
Ha!
Monday (1.16.12) was a day off for me, so I headed back to the Fort for a nice late PM mellow northwesterly COLD shear. I decide to fly the Sport 2 this day and really enjoyed the smooth northy conditions. John Simpson and Firefighter Quinn joined me in the air. The golden light at the end of the day bouncing off the cliffs is still dancing in my head.
A nice weekend with over 3 1/2 hours of airtime set my head right for the work week!