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Calm at the surface with a 10 mph Westerly breeze at 100 feet.  There were two nasty thermoclines at  5800 and 6300 feet MSL.  Over 200 feet it was at lease 10 degrees warmer. First flight with the balloons and then a short one for practice.  On the second launch a slight wind dad come up and when I powered up to launch the wing was popped up and overhead before I even started rolling.
Taxi practice went well until I hit one of the sand pits and slowed enough for the glider to stall

No Drama … The only real moment of interest was after landing.  The Eden III had laid down nicely and just after I I stepped out of my seat it inflated and decided to fly.  I think that soaking and fluff cycle at the field brought back some life to that old wing.   It felt so good that I hung around another 20 minutes and did some good kiting by 8:00 the wind had built to a nice steady 10 mph.

Chip,  it was good talking with you yesterday.  Here is a picture from THAT flight to Red Rocks.

Lots of flights over the week.  One notable event was when I ran out of gas trying to get one more lap around the patch.  Glad it ran out when it did.  5 seconds later and it could have been very bad

Arrived at 6:00 and the sun was already up.  Someday soon I’ll beat it!  This morning I flew the PowerPlay 250 because the Eden II has a broken line.  The first launch was good and after tightening the A Assist lines the second launch was even better.  I’m building a wall without the chevron or pulling the center up to the leading edge and it seems to improve inflation.  The wing flys through the prop wash and as soon as it is out of the was the trike begins to roll.
Problem solved ?  I hope so.

Problems adjusting to the A Assists.  The wing is coming up slow and I think it is partly because I am using the chevron style of set up.  Next time ill build a conventional wall and see what happens.  If there is a healthy breeze maybe go back to the chevron.
I cut a Main D line and not really sure how except that I may have not organized the lines properly before launch.  No biggie I tied a square knot and relaunched.  The wing seemed to pull a little to the right which I countered with a little trim and some left brake.
Nice flight

Another short bumpy ride.
When I got to the field a little later than usual I thought it might get ratty and it did.  The conditions were consistent with what my friends the balloonists called last week.  It had been hot yesterday and stayed hot over night.  I have no doubt that if I had got out earlier the conditions would have been stable but because of the latent heat and the normal morning down slope of cool air the conditions degraded faster than normally.
The a assists worked better with a little more tension but it makes the inflation feel different and the wing comes up slower.  Also….  It might be a good idea to slack the assists after take off so that if I land into a good breeze I won’t have to worry about getting the wing down.  Next time I’m going to try a conventional wall instead of the chevron.  It might be why the wing is slow to come overhead.

After the flight the dog and I went to Carter Lake and watched them raise Duane’s Santana.  Very cool…. First divers went down to 140 feet, one with a rebreather and the other with nitrox.  They attached 4 lines to the boat and a crane barge brought her to the surface.  Once up they muscled her upright and pumped her out.  

We finished the day with a visit to the Spirit of flight Museum with Mike and Marsha.
Very cool …. I will return.

Good morning.

This was fun.  I was going to hook up with Egil who was launching from a private airstrip closer to Boulder Res. but when I got to the LZ thee were 4 balloons.and … well… there you go.

Two great long flights out to Boulder Reservoir.  Lots of activity on the lake Video to follow.