Kevin's exercises

If you've ever found yourself overhead without a clue or a plan, or if you want to practice your cross-country skills on a day when you absolutely must be home for dinner, Kevin has developed a task just for you.

He has defined four visually identifiable turnpoints surrounding Post Mills. They are Mud Pond, Miller Pond, West Fairlee Center, and the I-91 overpass. Each leg of this quadrilateral is about five miles long. You can fly laps or take the longer diagonal legs, which go right over the airport.

What's the point? The point is that you can practice leaving thermals on course, rounding specified turnpoints, judging the value of a detour, and seeing how far your glider can go between climbs, all while staying within gliding range of home. And you'll be surprised at how many miles you can actually achieve.

Kevin's exercises are a lot more interesting and instructive than circling all day at the top of one or two thermals.

Here's the master himself demonstrating a 2-lap version of the exercise last weekend:

75 km without leaving home. Not bad, 6Q.

Name that Sailplane

From the shameless self promotion department: There is a photo of a glider at the top of page 12 in the January, 2009 issue of the Atlantic Flyer. Can you name the aircraft? Bonus question; where is it based? Not sure what the winner will receive but I can assure you it will not be expensive or coveted by others. Then again, it might be beer. In the case of a tie, the winning answer is based solely on my discretion which is questionable at best. Bribes considered.

Wave

Looks like a big wave day today. I can't take advantage but someone should. I might be available for retrieves.