https://youtu.be/-GLoK1S4VoA
RobinHastings wrote:Sunday afternoon I looked at the weather forecast for Monday, and said to myself (and Bill), hey, this could work! Ground winds were forecast to be southwest, starting at 5 mph at 8:00 am and increasing to 25 by 2:00 pm. If we caught it at the right time... Mike Reedy agreed to drive for us again, and by 9:30 we were all standing at the launch at Magdalena Rim. Only one glider (mine) was on the cart, however; Bill didn't like the direction of the strengthening winds, and chose to leave his glider on the truck. He sure helped in setting mine up, though! Mike took a hike to explore the Rim, and returned in time to be the nose man when I launched at 10:55. Just like Friday's, the launch went off like an elevator to the sky. I made several passes across the ridge, mostly staying to the left (southeast) of launch, and gaining about 50 feet each time. I found some good thermals around the bend, near the highest points of the ridge, and worked those up to a couple of hundred feet over, but (also like Friday) they were a bit unreliable. I could have stayed up longer (where have we heard that before?) but decided to head to the Arroyo LZ before the winds got much stronger. The red, white and blue of the flag was easy to spot, and winds were coming right up the slot. I set up a southwest approach again, pulled in for speed, cleared the flag and, in winds of 10-15 mph, set the glider down like a feather on a table. Perfect! (And no witnesses, again... Rats!) Mike came by with the truck as I was pulling battens, and we got the glider loaded before noon. Bill was busy with a shovel, clearing out a rock that makes for a bumpy path into the landing zone; we picked him up (and the rock) and reached Las Cruces well before 2:00 pm. Another good day in the desert southwest - and I STILL owe Bill the next one. Happy Christmas, everyone!
-Robin
