Flying possibilities

[RobinHastings]

Well, I got some airtime in today. I went to High Rolls, NM, a little uphill from Alamogordo, and picked up my driver, Jamison Mott. He didn't know how to drive a stick shift car (well, neither did Julia Morgan a few weeks back) but what better place to learn than the Cox Field LZ? Now he can drive one - and drive it up to Dry Canyon launch, too! I took off with his assistance at 2:15 pm MDT. I shot up about 50 feet, right off launch, but it was bumpy and I went west down the ridge to find some lift. Conditions eastward, over the Sacramentos, were darkening, but over Alamogordo things looked fine - some high clouds, some cumulus, but mostly clear. Over the West Face I got a thermal I could really work, at last, and rose from 6000 ft MSL to 8000, and then 9000 (about 2000 ft above launch). By then I'd drifted back almost to launch. Going out to the West Face I lost some altitude, but then gained it all back as I circled up to 10,000 ft MSL. Nice! A little threatening in the east by this time, and the darkening clouds seemed to be expanding towards me, so I cruised over towards Cox Field. Just east of the field I got another good lift, up from 5000 to 6000, and easily hung out until Jamison arrived in my Tacoma and told me the landing conditions looked pretty steady. At that point I headed right over, dumped some altitude, set up a southwest approach and landed perfectly. (Yes, I said perfectly! Sometimes I do these things...) Jamison was a great help as we packed up the glider, and pretty impressed with the sport. I took him to lunch at Memories, before helping him and his dad build a chicken coop up in High Rolls. Hey, you gotta pay your way in life!

Lee Boone is thinking of attending the Mingus Mountain Fly-In in Arizona this weekend, while Mike Ellsworth and I just might try to fly Dry Canyon on Friday, if the conditions stay nice. (My wedding anniversary is Saturday, so staying home is being wise, politically.) Life is good in The Land of Enchantment.
-Robin

[SamKellner]

Way to go Robin

[RobinHastings]

Saturday, September 5th - my anniversary (and that of another RGSA club member!) How did I spend it? Flying Dry Canyon, of course. With Mike Ellsworth, and George Woodcock our driver. (I did take Nancy out to dinner that night - I'm not THAT politically inept!) We got up to Dry Canyon launch by 11:00 am, and it looked good enough to set up and take a try - a little light, but thermals were coming in. I was off first in my U2-160 at 12:35. Not much lift right at launch, so I headed down the ridge and finally found a thermal I could work at the West Face, just at the end of the Bowl. I took it from 6500 ft MSL up to 7200. Thermals at this time were light and tight. I worked another one out at the West Face, before finally finding myself running out of altitude and opportunities. I set up a SW approach into Cox Field with wind speed approximately 1 mph. I flared too early this time, but came down OK despite that (no broken bones, at least) and took it to the edge of the field to tear down. I had 25 minutes of airtime. Things got light up on launch, so Mike waited awhile, and that paid off; he launched around 2:00 pm in his T2C and was rewarded with about 2 hours of airtime, and lift up to 10,500 ft MSL (3500 over launch). Definitely the flight of the day! He even had a decent, no wind landing. Well, I had a great time being in the air yet again, and seeing both Mike and George. Autumn is here at last (or at least fast approaching) so flights with my friends could get more and more common. Not a bad Labor Day weekend...
-Robin
PS - The Columbus Day Fly-In is only a month away, October 9-12. Put it on your calendar!

[RobinHastings]

FLYING TOMORROW! (MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14.) Mike Ellsworth and I plan to be in the Cox Field LZ tomorrow at 11:00 am. Jesse Cone said he would drive for us. Winds should be gentle southwest all day - pretty much perfect. Come and join us, if you can!
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

Well, it turned out to be a pretty good day. Mike Ellsworth and I and our driver Jesse Cone arrived at Cox Field almost simultaneously. Conditions were very nice, with a southwest wind all day, some cumulus over the mountains, and a few small cumulus out front and to the west. We're getting into the autumn now. With Jesse driving my truck we were soon at Dry Canyon launch, where winds came in at 15-18 mph, and I was first off in my Wills Wing U2 at 1:15 pm MDT. (Mike followed in his T2C at 1:40.) I shot up from the launch, cruised around there and soon got up to 9000 ft MSL. I found more lift along the ridge. Some of it got me up to 9500 ft (2500 over launch) and I finally worked a thermal at the north end of the West Face that took me from 6700 ft to 9500. By the time I topped out in it I was obviously too far to the northeast to make Cox Field, so I headed over to La Luz. No lift there, unfortunately, and I finally had to set up a southwest approach, which finished with a perfect touchdown. I walked the glider over to the road and reached Jesse before he turned towards Cox Field. He picked me up and it was a fine ending to an excellent flight, about 55 minutes in the air and a few miles cross country. What excellent flying I had today! Jesse was really pleased with it, too. Congratulations all around... Huh? What's that? About Mike? Oh, yeah. He flew almost four hours, spent most of the flight between 9000 and 15,000 ft MSL, and landed at the Carrizozo Golf Course, for about 50 miles of distance north. Jesse and I chased him. But I mean, really! Are you going to pay attention to HIM, after all the great things that happened in MY flight? Ha!
All things considered, this may have actually been a GREAT day. Congratulations, Mike! You surely had the flight of the day.
-Robin
Sept. 14, 2015

[Bill Cummings]

Hey Robin,
I haven’t looked at the weather for the near future but I’m no longer hanging with the granddaughters and daughters so next on my list is to hang with you.

Is your teaching schedule giving you any hang ups? Or are you ready to hang glide?

This hot summer had me hanging out in the house and I really lost MY wind.

I’ve dropped close to ten pounds with diet and walking lately but I need to do some strength exercising before I go hang gliding.

I’m good for driving, chasing, wire assisting, and all that other logistical stuff.

Terry is busy this weekend so ---------

[Bill Cummings]

RGSA/Hawks,
Sunday,
Ten thirty at the Cox Field LZ the truck ride up Dry Canyon will be departing.
Be there with your gear.
Light southerly winds 6 to 8 mph at LZ altitude, 11 to 13 at the ramp. (7,000’)
Partly Cloudy.

[RobinHastings]

Everything went according to plan - except for the part where I was soaring 3 hours and flying past Carrizozo. Nope, didn't happen. With Bill Cummings as our driver on Sunday, Mike Ellsworth and I launched at Dry Canyon in light southwest winds at, respectively, 1:30 pm and 2:06 pm, MDT. I flew my WW U2, Mike used his WW T2C. I launched well, then hit a few gnarly thermals, with blue sky above and some undistinguished cumulus off to the east. A high pressure day, was my impression. Plenty of sink available. I felt myself fortunate, after 12 minutes of airtime, to have reached Cox Field and made a successful touchdown there. Mike, on the other hand, worked the thermals much more effectively. He reached 10,500 ft MSL (3500 over launch), and made a scenic tour of Alamogordo in the process. By the time he was ready to set down, though, after an hour and twenty-five minutes, the winds had switched to the north. No problem, he made a fine, carefully calculated north approach to the LZ - and that's when the winds went to light southwest, just as he turned onto final approach. He made a decent landing despite that, though - where "decent" means that he could limp away, no bones were broken, the glider appeared intact and the dust cloud dissipated rapidly. It could have been worse... He had a solid hour and a half of good airtime. Bill and I helped him get his glider onto the truck, and away he went, back to Ruidoso; after visiting some friends in High Rolls, we reached my house in Las Cruces in time to pull out the telescope and get a good look at the total lunar eclipse. Quite a show - and isn't it nice to get a few clear days and nights, at last. (More rain, during the week, would certainly be welcome, though!)

Keep the Columbus Day Gathering on your calendars, folks - just about 12 days from now. See you all then!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

Correction to the above post: It was I, Robin, who foolishly launched earlier, at 1:30 pm. That's why we call them "wind dummies," right? Mike waited patiently until the GOOD cycle came up, at 2:06 pm, and made the most of it. A mark of intelligence is learning from the mistakes of others...
-Robin

[Bill Cummings]

We may have missed out on a morning soaring at Mag. Rim.

9-29-15 Mag Rim..PNG (14.17 KiB) Viewed 3451 times