Little Florida Mountain, Deming NM (USA)

[RobinHastings]

Wednesday, November 13, 2019:
We had yet another beautiful day in the Southwest today. Temperatures in the 60's, clear skies, light winds. Maybe lighter than we wanted. When Tony Conger and I launched at the Little Floridas, with Bill Cummings our driver, we did not blast upward as we have in recent times. Tony took off in his Wills Wing U2-160 at 4:05 pm MST, about an hour before sunset. He went straight from the ramp, turned left, and cruised into the Bowl, all at just about ramp height. With winds coming in around 10 mph, his flight was an extended sled run - fortunately with no anxiety, as the LZ is only a 4-to-1 glide from the launch. I took off at 4:30 pm in my Sport 2, and hit little puffs of lift, which I worked in one pass after another, gaining about 10 to 20 feet each time. I worked my way up to about 200 ft over the launch, and eked out about 30 minutes of airtime, before heading straight out into the setting sun and a reasonably good landing (for me) where Tony was taking down his glider. Bill arrived in my truck just as we were finally zipping my glider into the bag. With plenty of good stories and advice along the way, we were all back in Las Cruces by 6:30, in time for supper and a pleasant evening all around. A lot of the country is in a deep freeze right now - how can we keep on being so lucky? We'll have to ponder that one for a while. Thanks to Bill for making it all happen!
-Robin Hastings

[RobinHastings]

Tony Conger is more than willing to pay for his flying - and, one assumes, his other debts to society. "Hard labor" on the road to launch...

A little road work on the way to launch, November 13th.

[Bill Cummings]

Wednesday, November 13, 2019:
We had yet another beautiful day in the Southwest today. Temperatures in the 60's, clear skies, light winds. Maybe lighter than we wanted. When Tony Conger and I launched at the Little Floridas, with Bill Cummings our driver, we did not blast upward as we have in recent times. Tony took off in his Wills Wing U2-160 at 4:05 pm MST, about an hour before sunset. He went straight from the ramp, turned left, and cruised into the Bowl, all at just about ramp height. With winds coming in around 10 mph, his flight was an extended sled run - fortunately with no anxiety, as the LZ is only a 4-to-1 glide from the launch. I took off at 4:30 pm in my Sport 2, and hit little puffs of lift, which I worked in one pass after another, gaining about 10 to 20 feet each time. I worked my way up to about 200 ft over the launch, and eked out about 30 minutes of airtime, before heading straight out into the setting sun and a reasonably good landing (for me) where Tony was taking down his glider. Bill arrived in my truck just as we were finally zipping my glider into the bag. With plenty of good stories and advice along the way, we were all back in Las Cruces by 6:30, in time for supper and a pleasant evening all around. A lot of the country is in a deep freeze right now - how can we keep on being so lucky? We'll have to ponder that one for a while. Thanks to Bill for making it all happen!
-Robin Hastings

https://youtu.be/G2RuDiQ8cJI

[RobinHastings]

Beautiful, Bill! And what a lovely, clear day it was. I hope Tony enjoys this viedo as I did. You really edited it well.
-Robin

[Nate]

Nice to see Robin, Tony, and Bill even if only on video looks like fun. U2? Moving on up!! Fingers crossed already for good Guads wx come February!!

[RobinHastings]

November 19, 2019:
This was Bill Cummings' day to take to the air. If we could beat out the approaching rain front (which is almost as welcome as airtime out here) then Bill could get a pretty good flight at the Little Floridas. So there we were, after some roadwork engineering, at the launch ramp at 12:45 pm MST. It was a pleasant 65 degrees. There were still some blue skies around us, but more and more dark gray coming from the west. Winds were 10-15 mph from the southwest - just about ideal for a launch right there, though maybe light for soaring. No matter - Bill took off perfectly, at 12:52, and started rising as he headed south on his first pass. He was well above launch when he came overhead a minute later. I got some pictures, then returned to the truck and started down the road. Bill soared for an hour and a quarter in smooth ridge lift and a few light thermals, as the sky got darker (but never threatening). Really, if you're going to have a day of peaceful soaring, this was the one. I made it down in an hour (it used to take 45 minutes) and was there in the LZ in time to plant a flag for Bill and maybe get some video as he came in for a really smooth approach - right to the truck! He landed about a wingspan away from it. (See enclosed photos...) We had the glider packed and were soon on our way back home, looking forward to some blessed moisture to cap off an exemplary day. Man, it was good to see Bill Cummings do some soaring!
-Robin

Soaring the Little Floridas, about a minute after his launch. Nov. 19, 2019

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Bill Cummings and the Big Florida Mountains to the south.

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Bill Cummings in Sport2-155, at his landing spot. (Whew - that was a close one!)

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[RobinHastings]

Saturday, January 25, 2020:
A return to the Little Floridas! With 4 pilots and their gear (3 PG's, 1 HG) we toiled up the road in my new(er) Tacoma. It was a clear day to start, but some thin clouds began to arrive from the west by afternoon. Temps were about 60 degrees F. Winds were west, starting out light but increasing through the day. At the very top we stopped at the PG launch. There Wyatt Lines, Lee Boone, Steve Crye and Matt Hayes prepared for flight. Wyatt was first off in his PG, in a wind of 12-15 mph, followed shortly by Lee. They had excellent soaring flights, getting up to some 3000 feet over launch. Unfortunately, by the time Steve had his PG ready, and Matt his Wills Wing Eagle, the winds had increased to 15-20, with rotors and turbulence, and both made the wise decision to bag it for the day. We packed up and headed down the mountain, reaching the LZ about 2:00 pm. Lee was awaiting us there, and after leaving Matt to chat with him Steve and I went in pursuit of Wyatt. He had landed about 8 or 10 miles downwind to the east, along the frontage road by I-10, where we found him waiting cheerfully. It didn't take us long to get him back to his car at the LZ. We all then headed off back to Las Cruces and the RGSA January Meeting. (Which was quite a festive, potluck evening.) For the day, two up, two in the batters box, and everyone safe and well fed at the end. Not a bad time at all, for January.

[RobinHastings]

Today, March 24, 2020, didn't involve any flying (though it could have!) But just look at the poppies we saw, after this extraordinarily wet winter! The best views are not always from the air - though as you can see, any launch at the Little Floridas would have put you right above a field of yellow down below. What a beautiful place New Mexico can be...
-Robin

The Little Floridas, from the west. Launch is in the middle of the saddle, right above the distant poppy field.

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The Dragon's Back in the Big Floridas, on a beautiful spring day.

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The Big Florida Mountains, with plenty of poppies (and one pilot...)

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[Bob Kuczewski]

Beautiful pictures Robin!!

Thanks for continued sharing of your flying (and non-flying) adventures.
I read and enjoy every post.

[RobinHastings]

Saturday, March 28, 2020:
Well, the Little Floridas are just as beautiful from the air as from the ground this year. Green Bay Packer (or Mayfield High School, Terry) colors were abundant - green hills everywhere, with bright yellow fields of poppies among them. Jim & Marzena Gibson and I got to the Little Floridas launch about 2:30 pm MDT. Skies were cloudless, and winds at launch were WSW, 20-25 mph with higher gusts. But when Jim launched at 6:00 pm he went right up with not a wing waggle at all. Marzena was superb as both launch crew and driver, and I had no trouble joining Jim in the air at 6:20 pm. We soared effortlessly in beautiful, buoyant air, spending the flight (with Jim always a bit higher) between 6000 and 6300 ft MSL (500 to 800 feet above the launch). With all that greenery, the rugged Big Floridas and the Dragon's Back, a crescent moon and Venus and a clear, golden sunset, it was certainly a feast for the eyes. I landed at 7:05 pm, just before the sun went down, and Jim set down 20 minutes later. An hour and a half here, an hour and 15 minutes at Dry Canyon - he's certainly racking up some airtime on their vacation trip. Marzena loved doing the 4WD work - not much call for that in Frankfurt, Michigan (which is just digging out from the the winter's snow drifts, I think). She was entranced by all the beauty, too, including several fields of poppies on the lower stretches of the road. They will return to Michigan on Tuesday, I'm afraid, with all the worries attendant upon this time of plague - but we have hopes of a reunion down here next winter. It's been a great visit by two great people, and I'll surely be missing them. (I enclose a picture, so you'll see who I'm talking about.)
-Robin

Jim & Marzena Gibson, at Dry Canyon on March 20th.

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