Magdalena Rim NW of Las Cruces NM (USA)

[RobinHastings]

Thank you, Bill. Considering the launch I made, that was a very valuable piece of work to me. I'm glad I survived! It was cool to see that hawk go by, as well. I sure hope I get to launch YOU next time!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019:
It's another beautiful day in the Southwest. It was a lovely day at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, too, 78 years ago. Aircraft filled the air that morning; I think we had two filling the air today in our area, me at Magdalena Rim and Steve Crye in the Franklin Mountains. We both landed safely. I went to Mag Rim with Bill Cummings driving for me, and by 2:00 pm MST I was ready to launch. Winds were 10 to 15 mph, and conditions were warm and clear. It took a while to get the Sport 2 balanced, but the launch was perfect when it happened at 2:01. I soared the area just south of the launch, gaining a few hundred feet while Bill packed up and hiked back to his XTerra. I was a great pilot - and then the light lift went elsewhere, and 5 minutes later I was over the Arroyo LZ. I came in on a southwest approach into light winds, and had a pretty good two-step landing, for 13 minutes of airtime. It was calm and warm as I packed up and Bill and I loaded the glider, and we were back at Casa de Hastings by 4:00 pm. Tomorrow will be windy and cool, but this sure was a great day to be soaring in the great outdoors.
-Robin

[Bill Cummings]

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019:
It's another beautiful day in the Southwest. It was a lovely day at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, too, 78 years ago. Aircraft filled the air that morning; I think we had two filling the air today in our area, me at Magdalena Rim and Steve Crye in the Franklin Mountains. We both landed safely. I went to Mag Rim with Bill Cummings driving for me, and by 2:00 pm MST I was ready to launch. Winds were 10 to 15 mph, and conditions were warm and clear. It took a while to get the Sport 2 balanced, but the launch was perfect when it happened at 2:01. I soared the area just south of the launch, gaining a few hundred feet while Bill packed up and hiked back to his XTerra. I was a great pilot - and then the light lift went elsewhere, and 5 minutes later I was over the Arroyo LZ. I came in on a southwest approach into light winds, and had a pretty good two-step landing, for 13 minutes of airtime. It was calm and warm as I packed up and Bill and I loaded the glider, and we were back at Casa de Hastings by 4:00 pm. Tomorrow will be windy and cool, but this sure was a great day to be soaring in the great outdoors.
-Robin

[url]https://youtu.be/VfGQrTyDx5
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[Bob Kuczewski]

Nice fling Robin!!!

Bill, are my eyes deceiving me, or have you dropped a few pounds?

Either way, you guys are the flyingest duo I've known.

[RobinHastings]

Another great video, Bill! Nancy was noting how nice the light looks - the shade of the glider provides a natural scrim, shielding the camera. So cool to see the shadow on the hillside as I flew! What a great, late autumn day that was - and today, following the rain, is just as nice. We live in the Land of Enchantment, for sure.
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

Thursday, December 19, 2019:
A beautiful day in the Southwest, if somewhat chilly. Bill Cummings and I reached the Mag Rim launch at 2:50 pm MST. Steve Crye launched his PG just after we arrived, and had a nice soaring flight. He landed on top, nearby, and video'd my own launch at 3:50 pm. The sky was cloudless, the winds were coming in at 15 mph, and the launch felt perfect. I rose up, turned left, and spent the next 45 minutes making S-turns and passes along the ridge. Well, OK, I put in a few 360's when I got up high enough (500 feet over launch height). It got cold up there, and as the sun approached the horizon I headed out to the Arroyo LZ. I had a fine, straight-in landing into a 10 mph southwest wind. Steve got a photo, from a vantage point by the road, then took off for home in El Paso - maybe we'll be flying with him tomorrow at Volcanic Peak. Bill and I stopped in for dinner at Golden Corral (after almost hitting a cow on Corralitos Road) and I was home by 8:00 pm. Hard to complain about a day like this!
-Robin Hastings
PS - Here is a link to a video of my landing that Steve Crye took: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CRGMn1 ... p=drivesdk

[Bob Kuczewski]

Sounds like a beautiful day!!

Robin_Landing_2019_12.png (305.46 KiB) Viewed 5407 times

[RobinHastings]

Here is a bit of footage from the launch, courtesy of Steve Crye. (Who next day pioneered a PG launch site we found, up at Volcanic Peak - it may be cold, but airtime is airtime...)
-Robin

https://drive.google.com/file/d/182Yk1a ... p=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/182twmC ... p=drivesdk

[RobinHastings]

Jim Gibson, in Michigan, is hoping to visit us with his wife Marzena and their dog Kleeya in March. Here is a short clip of his flying this week, above Lake Michigan. I'll bet that air is laminar - and dense! I understand that the powdery white substance seen is NOT white gypsum sand, but a form of frozen water, that precipitates from the sky. What an odd concept... Enjoy the contrast, folks! As they say in the Midwest, "It could be worse!" (And, as well, the old saying, "Many are cold, but few are frozen.")
-Robin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhrGz0A ... e=youtu.be

[Bill Cummings]

Thursday, December 19, 2019:
A beautiful day in the Southwest, if somewhat chilly. Bill Cummings and I reached the Mag Rim launch at 2:50 pm MST. Steve Crye launched his PG just after we arrived, and had a nice soaring flight. He landed on top, nearby, and video'd my own launch at 3:50 pm. The sky was cloudless, the winds were coming in at 15 mph, and the launch felt perfect. I rose up, turned left, and spent the next 45 minutes making S-turns and passes along the ridge. Well, OK, I put in a few 360's when I got up high enough (500 feet over launch height). It got cold up there, and as the sun approached the horizon I headed out to the Arroyo LZ. I had a fine, straight-in landing into a 10 mph southwest wind. Steve got a photo, from a vantage point by the road, then took off for home in El Paso - maybe we'll be flying with him tomorrow at Volcanic Peak. Bill and I stopped in for dinner at Golden Corral (after almost hitting a cow on Corralitos Road) and I was home by 8:00 pm. Hard to complain about a day like this!
-Robin Hastings
PS - Here is a link to a video of my landing that Steve Crye took: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CRGMn1 ... p=drivesdk

https://youtu.be/KH4qs4FhHiw