Cloud Base addict

It was a blustery day by Lookout standards.  This history of Lookout Point shows gusts to 25 between 2 and 7pm when I was flying.

My airspeed (bottom chart) indicates > 30mph until the late day smooth flying.  I just didn’t know when the bottom was going to fall out.  After bouncing less than a minute off launch and a rocket ride for the first 200ft, I was flying with my guard up (among other things). 

The clouds were helping except some of them I just fumbled around in punishing sink.  Even when I’d get to one in it’s wispy-infancy.  The sink was stomach turning at times.  With the vigorous base wind and the solid lift, the lee side of these thermals was an unfortunate place to be.  More than a few times, I’d approach a cloud, hoping I got my aim right to connect with it’s lift and would just have a trap door open below me.  I spent a good 2kft just trying to define thermal drift to overcome my floundering of the first 1.5 hours.  I guess it’s like a free roller coaster though. 

On the return trip, I was in marginal lift over Coal Creek peak and a sailplane came smokin by maybe 100ft below me.  He banked hard and hooked a good 600fpm so I jumped in right at his altitude.  He didn’t flinch a bit and I could see him looking up at me through the window.  Pretty cool and I was wondering if it was ex-HG pilot Bob Ferris.  This thermal, and the huge cloud over Ralston Butte got me back to Lookout.  While I was able to out climb the sailplane, his glide performance left me in the dust.  Huge highlight of the otherwise lonely flight.

Great adventure of a day! It took about 2hrs to get to Lyons, and 2 more to get back.

Wing:  Atos VR

Miles:  75ish

Airtime:  5hr 22min