Weekend report June 9 - 10

We realized how spoiled we'd become when we lost the previous weekend to weather, and our mood didn't improve as it continued to rain into last week. By Wednesday, however, the forecast for the weekend took a turn for the better, and so did our mood. We are so fickle.

The weather on Saturday was even better than forecast, and it actually caught us by surprise. We weren't prepared for moderate lift to 7000 feet, and in the end, no one tried anything ambitious. There's a carpe diem lesson in there somewhere.

The big event was Greg's first solo in a real aircraft. He accomplished this in less than a month, and it would have been even quicker if it weren't for the delays he encountered getting his Student Certificate from the FAA. Anyway, he put on his lucky magenta-purple-orange flying shoes and took the Blanik up for an hour.

The 1-23 spent much of the day in the air, with Steve and Bill taking turns. Bill went farther, but Steve got higher. Skip, Thomas, and Karl also had local flights.

Moshe (RU) finally brought his new glider to Post Mills, and flew it 124 km. He came very close to landing at a deserted airport, but Greg and our new friend Dan stuck around long enough to help him tie down.

Sunday's weather was almost as good as the day before, but this time we were slightly better prepared. Evan (T8) took the prize with a 317 km flight down to the south. He did a nice job of touching down gently after we told him that his tailwheel had come apart on takeoff. Moshe, Paul, Rick, Andy, Andy, Skip, and Nancy took second place with a total distance of 533 km. Thomas came in last, as usual, because he had no flight log. This time his excuse was equipment failure, if you believe him. Sonny (LT) had a similar problem, but we believe his stories more than Thomas's.

Our newest member, Dennis Cavagnaro, flew with Rick and Tim in the Blanik (separate flights, duh...). Dennis is another highly experienced hang glider pilot. They seem to be everywhere these days.

Finally, the 2-33 saw some action with Karl (solo), Sam (2 lessons), and the best ride passenger, ever.