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Now we know what HDH stands for: the last two leeside launches out of there were far from guaranteed, but Allegra and Vin were determined to avoid the ignominious downward trek. It turns out that yesterday’s vaunted postfrontal north flow was MIA at Dillingham. Instead we got the most leeside air ever: barely wafting up the front, but streaming over the back. We made the most of it, thermaling in the offshore drift up to 2,500 feet between clouds, and exploring the leeside convergence between the point and the drop zone. I spent three hours figuring out how to work that stuff. For the first hour I just wanted to land, but once I had some company I relaxed and started to enjoy it, and by the end I was reluctant to come down.
Funny stories: my car door left wide open for all the spiders to move in; Kevin and Vin's launches; JK's foray to the other side; praying mantis at the LZ; Allegra's flat tire; Thom and Jack flying the lighthouse. But I don't have time to tell them all right now. Maybe we can get some first person details in the comments!
Sucker roll: CO Kevin, me, Ike, JK, Jorge, Allegra, Vin, Drew. Plus Thom and Jack.
my story is longer than the flight as well. it was my first time reverse launching a catabatic (technically i think rotor doesn't count as a true catabatic cycle, but regardless, wind was coming straight from the cliff behind me). I had my wing basically draped over the cliff on one side, the ball of my foot on the cliff edge of the other side. the strongest cycle I got was enough to bring it up and walk towards it by about 9 inches, but as soon as it was overhead the whole wing started to come down in the zero wind. so i just sort of fell backwards to keep it loaded, while turning to face/fly directly towards the wall. one of my wingtips was either tangled or uninflated, but it was my outside one so i didn't care. then i landed.
made alex late, sorry about that! was probably slightly less sketchy than hiking down
Vin you didn't make me late! I was having too much fun to leave on time. And actually I made it to school in record time. Great job on that launch, in those conditions it is no joke.
I gotta say, having extra hands to help makes all the difference! My first launch, I used Jorge, JK, and of course my BFF Magic Bush - and the second, Vin held up the left half the my wing while North Shore Brian literally threw the right half in the air at the perfect moment. Thanks, friends! Changing that tire was an easy solo mission after that!
6 comments:
Funny, I got up this morning with full intentions of supplying some kind of ink, but I saw that Alex had beat me to it, so I figured I would top him.
He saw me scratching something in the log and put his story in the future, so when I logged mine in it was below this one.
Deserving of course thanks for the read and glad you all got long flights, my story was longer than the flight.
my story is longer than the flight as well. it was my first time reverse launching a catabatic (technically i think rotor doesn't count as a true catabatic cycle, but regardless, wind was coming straight from the cliff behind me). I had my wing basically draped over the cliff on one side, the ball of my foot on the cliff edge of the other side. the strongest cycle I got was enough to bring it up and walk towards it by about 9 inches, but as soon as it was overhead the whole wing started to come down in the zero wind. so i just sort of fell backwards to keep it loaded, while turning to face/fly directly towards the wall. one of my wingtips was either tangled or uninflated, but it was my outside one so i didn't care. then i landed.
made alex late, sorry about that! was probably slightly less sketchy than hiking down
Vin you didn't make me late! I was having too much fun to leave on time. And actually I made it to school in record time. Great job on that launch, in those conditions it is no joke.
well I am glad. I appreciate you guys waiting regardless!
I gotta say, having extra hands to help makes all the difference! My first launch, I used Jorge, JK, and of course my BFF Magic Bush - and the second, Vin held up the left half the my wing while North Shore Brian literally threw the right half in the air at the perfect moment. Thanks, friends! Changing that tire was an easy solo mission after that!
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