Cloud Base addict

(Amazing picture above by Sam the aerial photographer)  Saturday was epic at Lookout!

Went all over the place, but my goal of Boulder had to get put aside after a couple low saves over this quarry and ultimately, a lack of sack.

Below picture is Fred working above Lookout Launch.  I think Sam had almost a 5 hour flight!  My video quit by the time I was around other pilots in the air.  Leif and I did courtesy sacrifices early in the day so everyone could get all the airtime they wanted.  But we got back up to launch again and the sacrifices were adequate.

After giving up on Boulder, I tucked tail back towards Lookout but got sidetracked by a cloud line out East.  That made a first time flight over both table mesa’s and East of the Coors plant.  Then back to launch and a group of us cruised South to Heritage square and back. 

Above, another keeper of a photo from Sam.  Finally, airtime….

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Then, Sunday was happening at the Aerotow Park.  I was moving slow today, but made it out there in time to scarf down some brat’s and reinstall my modified tail section.  JY helped install a new aluminum roller wheel for the slider thing which is nice.  The winglet still doesn’t go all the way down when I let the flap cable all the way off but I’ll call Jim Lamb to see if there’s anything else I can do.  Maybe the bungee is weak or something.  Maybe I should just get a VRQT like JY’s (below)

Poetry in motion.

Tim thermaled with JY and Alex, but he climbs too fast!  “one of these things is not like the others, one of these just doesn’t belong”…  I got to watch this craziness as I blazed over to partake…  You can see half of JY’s wing at the top in the above picture.

Above, Alex and I are talking about the 8kft TCA from 7999…. in the best thermal so far that day…  He didn’t have a radio but I could hear him just fine.

We left the thermal and goofed around some. 

After this, we headed NW to get out from under the TCA and JY found another good one out there.  Craig offered to chase and JY and I worked our way West around the TCA. 

Through smokey fire thermals and one enormous cow poo thermal off a processing plant, we made it past Greeley, then Longmont, and finally to Lyons!  Getting some team flying experience with him is going to help a bunch when we try to tag team the world record (410 miles) in Zapata.  I fly pretty slow, and him FAST, and I think somewhere in the middle is the answer.  It was a top 3 flight so far this year because of the teamwork involved.

By Lyons, Jim was in a weak thermal over a lake and I was in a weak one over the Longmont airport.  He went on glide to make the foothills and it didn’t work out.  I started to do the same thing and it turned out that I met the stronger part of my thermal on the way and got up enough to make the foothills where I could bank up to 10k-ish before turning south.  A Cu-Nim was over the divide and it’s mushroom got blown out to shade my path.  I found another few weak thermals trying to connect the clouds.  It was a problem solving kinda flight here b/c I could choose to fly over the foothills and associated ridge lift and thermal triggers, or under the clouds forming East of the hills.  I chose the flats because I was high enough to give the clouds the authority and because the extra distance from the drifting Cu-Nim made sense.  The storm eventually cut me off by the South end of Boulder and I had to land.  HUGE thanks to Craig for chasing us around the state!  What a great day!

Weekend Flights:  3

Airtime:  3 hours Saturday, 3:45 hours Sunday

XC Miles:  20 miles Saturday, 60 miles Sunday

Brats:  2