I don't know about "amazing" but it was pretty great for us last Sunday in Garlock!
After the BBQ/Meeting and so-so flying Saturday, Alex Wright and Adam started discussing a visit to Garlock... Of course my ears perked up as my last flight in Garlock was my first XC and awesome (3hrs+ and 25-30 miles). But Jacquie was nearby and had already spent the day at the LZ with me flying and we had some plans on Sunday together... Well, she could clearly see I was excited to go and not only did she give her approval, she eventually decided she wanted to go along and help out with the driving! Can't beat that!!!
We met Adam (first to arrive as he lives pretty close) and eventually Alex and Malury. Malury decided he wanted to try XC and brought Irwin along to drive chase if needed.
We had all been watching clouds pop in various areas as we traveled to the LZ and were excited by more in our area as we arrived at launch!
It was over 100 degrees up there and we were slow at setting up. We had a few thermals blow through giving us some problems due to the lack of tie-downs. We all managed with Jacquie's help to get suited up and off to launch.
First to launch was Adam (who brought his Falcon to keep things on a bit more even footing with Alex and I in our Falcon's) Adam had trouble right away and found himself out front low and scratching over the LZ which made the rest of us nervous...
I launched next and although there was initial lift at launch I felt it was too close to the hill for me to try to work it. I headed out over the small shed that usually has something to keep us aloft. I found what Adam had found, nothing. Since Alex did not launch right away (probably not excited about seeing our lack of success) I attempted to work some lift off the ridge. I was only managing to stay near launch altitude and left to look for lift.
I hear Adam announce he had a good thermal and was able to see him spiraling up. I headed his direction and before I could get there found a little lift and worked it slowly rising above launch.
Alex decided to launch. The winds were beginning to change direction and left Alex with little to work with and he ended up running quite hard to get what he needed to leave launch. Alex headed my direction after not finding much around launch and eventually was working the thermal with me.
With some assistance from Jacquie, Malury had to move to an alternate launch area due to the shift in wind direction. He was eventually in the air and headed toward me into the thermal with Alex.
As we gained some altitude the thermal became stronger and easier to manage. Allowing larger circles instead of those tight turns needed to stay in the core.
We hear a choppy transmission from Adam; and Irwin in the LZ replies that he needs to fix Adams wires because it sounded like he said he was at 15K feet! Adam replied that he was at 15K and waiting for us to meet him...
Well, we were able to do quite well but not 15K. Adam decided it was time to head in a northerly direction along the 14 and toward the Inyo-Kern airport or beyond.
As Alex, Malury and I passed through 12K and soon to push into 13K plus Malury announced his intention to follow Adam. I was trying to keep in contact with Alex who had a radio but no PTT making communication difficult. Once I was comfortable above 13K feet I announced I was following Malury and believed Alex was right behind me.
Alex had other ideas after hearing Malury announce that within a few minutes he had lost 3K feet near the 14 freeway and was headed toward a friendly looking cloud in hopes of finding lift. Alex caught a nice thermal and headed toward the radio tower??? Giant Ping Pong ball on the hill near the 395. We had intermittent contact with him and tried to relay any news to our chase vehicles.
I found just what Malury had and dropped as much as 1600fpm at one point and getting discouraged. Malury suggested I look for a new path in hopes of finding more lift before continuing on toward the airport.
Adam had skied out and we heard from him from time to time and it seemed he was keeping an eye on us from above before he headed further down the 14.
The chase team finally got out of the LZ and were on there way to find a good intercept point with us near the airport.
Malury and I worked hard in a few minor areas of lift just to stay aloft. He finally hit something good and got back to 13K I believe. I managed to work my way back up to 7K+ and felt I would get close to the airport but not reach it without another thermal...
Malury and Adam seemed to want to move further beyond the 395/14 intersection but Irwin commented that is was getting late in the day.
I found another thermal on my way to the airport and was able to reach the airport and had the rare opportunity to choose to land rather than be required to land... Nice
Irwin and Jacquie had some difficulty locating the airport but got some last minute guidance from Malury who was flying high above. Irwin was able to give me a reading on the wind direction and I proceeded to land. As it turned out the wind shifted as I turned to final but was so light that it didn't cause me much trouble as I ran out my landing to the conclusion of a fine afternoon of flying.
Malury decided he would also land at the airport and did so reluctantly when he found another thermal on his way to staging.
Ironically, Adam had found himself a bit too far from the Airport when he decided he would join us there to land. Not having his Sport 2, he realized he was going to have to work to get back to the airport. He made it and landed safely.
We heard from Alex that he landed safely near the 395 and was looking for a ride. Irwin made a run to get him and we all shared a couple of cool drinks and highlights of our flights before saying goodbye!
Although our flights were under 3 hours, I traveled over 60 miles (in circles of course) and about 16 miles fron Launch to the Inyo-Kern Airport landing area! Malury and Adam traveled a bit further and I am still waiting to hear from Alex and see if he was able to determine in Google Earth just how far he went on his XC flight!
We had a great time and look forward to doing it again soon!
Thanks to Jacquie and Irwin for their support!!!
And Jacquire thanks a lot for driving me home, that was great!
Flying Fun at Garlock 6/28/09
That was a fine "Pilot Report" Bill. I have little to add except to thank you and Alex and Adam for initiating the adventure, and inviting me to it.
Also a special thank you to Jacqie for helping us on launch and assisting me on the long carry to the western launch. It was too late to be on the ground by then and if she wasn't there I would have had to break it down.
Honorable Mention goes to Irwin for contributing his time and wisdom to success and scouting a suitable LZ and providing wind reports.
My maximum altitude: 14585 MSL (my best ever!)
Adam's maximum: 16500 MSL
Alex: similar elevation.
Also a special thank you to Jacqie for helping us on launch and assisting me on the long carry to the western launch. It was too late to be on the ground by then and if she wasn't there I would have had to break it down.
Honorable Mention goes to Irwin for contributing his time and wisdom to success and scouting a suitable LZ and providing wind reports.
My maximum altitude: 14585 MSL (my best ever!)
Adam's maximum: 16500 MSL
Alex: similar elevation.
