Saturday was a pretty day at Ave. S, 15 pilots and a fair breeze and the desert spread out like a welcome mat.
I rode over with Dustin, a young comp pilot and Wills Wing demo-driver who was flying our area for the first time. He had flown the comps in Brazil, and just come back from Ecuador, cruising an ocean ridge that went on for 15 miles out and then back, a paradise, he said.
From the LZ he looked admiringly at Kagel, glowing in the north wind. He thought our LZ was pretty slick, and an easy glide. We headed for Avenue S and coming down the grade he saw the Mojave for the first time. We were there in 35 minutes, which amazed him. In Phoenix, where he lives, it's 50 minutes to the nearest hill, which is low and not reliable. And this was our back-up place to fly.
How far's the ocean, he asked. When he heard it was only 40 minutes from the club LZ he was amazed. He flew Ave. S and top-landed. How was it? "Pretty good," said enthusiastically. "Too bad about those power lines though," he added, because you never want to lose your cool.
It's easy to forget what we have here, sometimes, when it;s winter everywhere else.
Ave. S Jan. 21--A Visitor's View
Moderator: Chip