I got to the park at 10:00 meeting up with Bob Gill. The sun was shining and it was surprisingly warm. Winds were moderate. There were several people at the field. Two people flying quads and a couple working on “kite boarding”. They were using a kite and a purpose built skate board to traverse the field.
Bob had his Viking which is a balsa/film gasbag. Using a highstart he got some huge launches. He flew out west towards the Muny and found some ridge lift that took him waaaay up. One of his flights was 7 minutes and he only came down because his fingers got cold.
I flew a Stobel with an ounce of ballast. There was a lot of pockets of lift that quickly would dump me into pockets of sink. Flights usually only a minute or so but was great fun. I got a couple of really nice rides that took me past the treeline on the east side of the field. I didn’t ride them too long even though I got some good altitude. Just a chicken about getting back in the wind. I’m too old to be climbing trees.
We only stayed an hour or so but were both glad we made it out. I hope our fun portends a great soaring year for us all.
Robert