This weekend Ben showed Mele an incredible tandem flight off Mission Peak. After gearing up and receiving some basic instruction, they had a flawless launch followed by a 45 minute flight thermalling to 1,500' over launch (3,400' alt.).
They had a crystal clear view to the bay and San Francisco and circled above a pair of juvenile Golden Eagles over Mission Peak. The weather was perfect and the lapse rate created abundant lift. I was really surprised how at ease she was waving down to us during her first pass back over launch.
All that and a perfect landing. Thanks again Ben! Mele, you rock too!
Sunday we headed out to Waddell. Brian Foster came down to try out our little gem and got the full service. It was a really challenging day that started out with a low inversion that slowly raised from 500' or so to 1800' for the pilot with the most stamina (Ben). The "convergence" was shifty and hard to follow but the ceiling wasn't hard to find. Notice the whitecaps/wind direction below on the water, nearly parallel to the cliff face? Waddell is the most confusing and exciting place that I get to fly regularly (15 minutes away).
Ben (above) and I found the North slide area very soarable and went clear to the end. I was flying my new-to-me Litespeed S and I could go on and on about it, but I'll just say it does everything better, faster, and better, oh and faster. I think I'll dump the VG and slow down a bit before my next top landing though (
John got a series of me smoking in through some turbulent wind gradient at 2/3, whoops). (
Ben's photos this day) What a weekend!
This weekend Ben showed Mele an incredible tandem flight off Mission Peak. After gearing up and receiving some basic instruction, they had a flawless launch followed by a 45 minute flight thermalling to 1,500' over launch (3,400' alt.).
They had a crystal clear view to the bay and San Francisco and circled above a pair of juvenile Golden Eagles over Mission Peak. The weather was perfect and the lapse rate created abundant lift. I was really surprised how at ease she was waving down to us during her first pass back over launch.
All that and a perfect landing. Thanks again Ben! Mele, you rock too!
Sunday we headed out to Waddell. Brian Foster came down to try out our little gem and got the full service. It was a really challenging day that started out with a low inversion that slowly raised from 500' or so to 1800' for the pilot with the most stamina (Ben). The "convergence" was shifty and hard to follow but the ceiling wasn't hard to find. Notice the whitecaps/wind direction below on the water, nearly parallel to the cliff face? Waddell is the most confusing and exciting place that I get to fly regularly (15 minutes away).
Ben (above) and I found the North slide area very soarable and went clear to the end. I was flying my new-to-me Litespeed S and I could go on and on about it, but I'll just say it does everything better, faster, and better, oh and faster. I think I'll dump the VG and slow down a bit before my next top landing though (John got a series of me smoking in through some turbulent wind gradient at 2/3, whoops). (Ben's photos this day) What a weekend!
2 comments:
What fun! Thanks for the intro and perhaps the most mellow, stress-free, pleasant flying I have ever experienced.
Brian had so much fun, in the placid, delicious air, he did not even notice he was breaking down in sand! Lovely...
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