I really didn’t expect to fly today. Yesterday was brutal. Surveys, kids sailing camp and processing mangos wore me out. I fell into bed at 11:00p and set the alarm but I also expected to turn it off and roll over when it went off at 5:00a. Big surprise…. I was feeling good and so….. “what the heck”.
It was much like the last flight. High clouds, nil wind and 100 percent humidity. I wasted time obsessing about finding a runway that lined up with the scant breeze eventually opting to launch in the same place as two days ago.
The wing came up clean but the runout was long with one touch and go before finally getting up. I tooled around the patch for 30 minutes and greased the landing. The landing was great. I started the final from 1/2 mile out, landed 100 yards short of the truck and taxied the last stretch. I was surprised and abashed when the left wingtip clipped a tree 100 feet from the truck. The gap looked big enough to easily clear the trees on either side of the road. Lesson learned … no damage.
It’s taken far too long but I’m finally getting the feel of the rig and wing. The throttle is still a little too touchy but at least I’m not bumping between 2800 and 3800 RPM every time I change hand positions.
Powered Paragliding. A most Personal form of Flight 