Category: Uncategorized

#175 A Beautiful Sunset Flight ( 3 Flight Day! )

Almost a Full Moon…


Stopped by the lake at 6pm because the wind was blowing too hard to fly. The dingy fleet is going at it but no sing of any on the shore …so I headed out to Simms and Kip. When I got out there I took my time setting up because it was still blowing.. At 7:30 I was ready to go, the wind had come down and was blowing 2 or 3 mph from the south. The wind sock was farther infield than normal and I had set up so that I would be running right at it. I smiled at the image of running into my own sock. I was pretty sure I would be able to avoid it ….if not fly right over it. The air was great! I headed over to the golf course and flew a low power glide down the slope toward the clubhouse. Someday I’m going to fly to a CSYC board meeting !

So I flew for 45 minutes not getting much over 800 feet and not too far from the field. Before I landed I’d tossed the parachute and watched it glide to my stuff bag, taken a few pictures and danced with Marek who showed up late. The landing was a nice floater. Most of the flight was with the trimmers out and I noticed that I flew almost the whole time with both hands on the controls. I’m liking the feel of a little brake pressure especially with the trimmers out.

There was a guy named John waiting when we landed…Guy had never seen PPG before and was blown away. I’ve had people waiting at the LZ before but this guy was certainly the most enthusiastic. I think Marek gave him the flock website which is a good thing because he put me off a little bit. I just want to enjoy the moment. So I let Marek talk while I kited the wing. There was just enough breeze to do a nice reverse for the spectators.

#173 & #174

Smooth Air Morning!

Very light variable winds. Blew the first launch when the wind did a quick 180. The second and third were smooth as glass. I caught some weed in the left wing tip which cause me to turn but with a little yanking on the brake line it shook loose.
I let the trimmers out and immediatly started to get swung and bounced. Pulled trimmers back in and it smoothed out. Whats that about? Probably just the patch I was flying over but I kept the trimmers in for the rest of the two flights. I did a couple of fly by passes on the second flight and called it good.

#166 to 169

June 30th # 166 Simms ….Short flight very windly aloft

July 1st # 167 Simms …Short flight very windy with mixing air…BUMPY

July 2nd Simms …No Fly Day …Too Windy

July 3rd #168 & 169 Beautiful ! Smooth as butter. Marek and I.

Practiced landing under power and was able to cruise about 1 foot above for as long as there was room to fly.

No issues what so ever

#163 $ 164

Simms 6 am

Much better. Same conditions same wing but this time I used some power on landing and it was much better. There were some issues. First the motor is bogging at full throttle, it runs fine up to 5900 rpm but anything over that causes the motor to stutter and lose thrust. The left side brake toggle has a half twist which looks to have been there since it was last tied. I don’t know how I’ve flown it this long with out noticing, it’s not really a problem as long as I’m careful when I’m setting up..

Flights 151 to 154

All at Simms.

The 153rd was special because I finally made it all the way to Red Rocks Park without getting blown out or beat up. On the way back I flew into a bank of low cluds and finally got my shadow picture.

The last day when I spent 50 minutes flying against the wind to get back to the field. Ten minutes after landing a balloon came in for an emergency high wind landing in the field to the north.

5th race Chatfield Spring Series CSYC

Great wind! Steady 8 kts with gusts to 15 and more. We started with the Jib and changed to the heavy weather Genoa during the starting sequence. John Seib and I got a great start 2nd behind Tireless. Our tacks were a bit ragged but we got into clear air and sailed within a couple of hulls of Norm & Gerry till the last reach. We widended our lead on the run and finished first by a little over 60 seconds. The PHRF wan’t kind because we corrected to 4th.

Lost the LCR Beanie that I had just modified with a snazzy little red propeller. Jim Stark got a chuckle out of it before it got knocked into the lake so it served it’s purpose….Ah well it just wasn’t meant to last.
Since the results were not available Sunday after the Regatta. Trophys were distributed during the Jack Lowe Memorial hamberger feast. I’ve a prety silver second place pickle dish. Still searching for that elusive first place at a S.A.I.L. Regatta.

Spring Sailing

Paradiso is tied for first place after 3 races.

Today I went out single handed in gusty winds. Two reefs in the main and the #3 Jib. Only Rick and I were on the lake and he saw the weather comming in before I did. I was down by #5 and he was up by #2 I could see that he was getting his sails down but I didn’t see that he was in a blow. I must have sensed the weather was approaching because I went below and put on a jacket and PFD. Within 90 seconds the wind was on me hard from the N.W. I spent 40 minutes beating into the blow at the point of broaching the whole time. When the wind started to come down Rick and Stan motored out to make sure I was OK. Nice of them.

The sails got a bit of a flogging and my joints are a bit stiff but no damage done. I have full confidence in the standing rigging after that work out.

#142 & #143 Simms

Dan & John Sieb showed up. Very light and variable winds made it hard to get the wing stable overhead. I launched to the east and the climb was very slow. Dan said the breeze had shifted at the last minute and I made a downwind take-off.
The air was very similar to the last couple of times I have flown Simms. Areas where the air is strong and weak. I also noticed some very sinking air. It’s not the kind of flying where I’m comfortable using the foot steering.
Landed beautifully with the trimmers out. The wing does feel much more sporty and I’ll have to fly trim out more often.
Once again two quick flights.