After spending a "wonderful" three weeks in New York, I was more than ready to leave the ground for some aviation. I got skunked twice last week (once at Sylmar, and the next day at Marshall) and was ready to tear my hair out with the persistent northwesterlies.
With the forecast of rain for Saturday and the return of northerly winds behind the front passage on Sunday, Friday was shaping up to be the best day for flying. All week I was checking the forecast and the conditions were shaping up for some decent weather (finally). One last check Thusday night showed the wind trend was moving in a favorable direction.
Friday morning I walked the dog to the LZ to check the direction and velocity. When I arrived the wind was from the NW around 10, but it was weakening and it looked like the conditions were favorable to switch around 10:30.
When I arrived home I checked the Camp 9 data and the webcam and both had wind from the SE and light. I quickly lined up a ride and a glider (Phill let me borrow a LS4). Arriving at the LZ it looked more like a weekend with more then 3 truck loads of pilots loading up. I was already on so no worries there. As we approached Kagel launch, we were a bit surprised pilots were not already setting up. Once we got closer we could see why. Breezy conditions (18 - 20 mph with gust above 28 ). I thought things would be OK and decided to setup.
Although some launches were less than perfect, most pilots got off and were rewarded with good flights and lift just about everywhere. Drift was out of the SE around 13 - 15 and made for some slow tracks when going east. The Moyes LS4 was flying well but a little stiff especially when pulling in (I think the sprogs could go down a bit). I did a few runs with the crew (Phill, Ron, Gregg, Dave, and Sebass). Although I could stay with them most of the time, all of them would get me as we passed 45mph. Nobody braved the easterly wind and crossed to Big T with the exception of the se-bastered. Overall it was nice to be back in the air after being out of it for a month. Landing was a nice no stepper thanks to the steady breeze from the SE. Thanks for the ride.
See you in the sky soon.
Chip
