Flight Report (4/9/15)
Arrived at Waddell today around 3:30 or so - JT was already there with his glider set up analyzing the conditions like a hawk - or maybe a humming bird - it was hard to tell. We waited for conditions to get better then suited up.
JT launched first at 4:40 as the winds picked up nicely - I was up soon after around 4:45.
JT had about a 5 to 8 minute lead on the point across the highway and was working it nicely - I joined him as he started gaining some serious altitude, but I could not get any higher than 500' - pretty soon JT was a speck almost kissing 1700' - he can explain that part of his flight. All I can say is it was impressive, that's for sure. JT grabbed hold of the dragon's tail and had him some Owen's Valley training.
Then the lift got lower and lower and lower and more crappy until it was simply time to land - 16 minutes...JT was soon to follow, happy to be on the ground as the dragon flew back into the canyon.
After about 20 minutes, the birds were making everything look good again - Having a very short-term memory, I launched and had a nice (very smooth) 44 minute flight. JT was convinced the dragon had left the sky, so he joined me - renewing his faith in the fact that Waddell can be nice to us once in a while. It was amazing how within a 1/2 hour there were two completely different air masses delivering polar opposite conditions and completely different flights.
Colin showed up to catch what the end of the day had to offer, as well.
Tacos and beer afterward at the Whale - good time, but the dragon definitely made an appearance at the bluff today, that is for sure!
Time: 1 hour (two flights)
Altitude: 500' msl