First Flight

Thursday John and I went to Tarkio for John first flight on his new glider. It is a bit more demanding to fly so we thought it would be wise to wait for conditions to mellow out in the evening. After taking our sweet time to set up, we checked launch and realized the conditions weren't easing up. It wasn't strong, but it wasn't butter smooth either. John hooked in to his wing and approached launch. At this time Ron showed up with his wife Tammy. Ron was concerned about a slight South cross, but cycles were coming straight up launch. When a good lull presented itself, John launched. He flew away from the hill nice and smooth. Suddenly, with about 100' of clearance above the trees, a strong thermal nailed John. This intense blast of air caused John to stall and turn 180 degrees back toward the hill. When he realized he could not correct the stall, he went with it. Pulling the control bar in and diving to regain speed, John turned 90 degrees, avoided the trees, and flew away from the hill. After PIOing for a moment, John regained control and flew the glider nicely across the face of the mountain. When it was time to land, he had a wonderful approach and landing. Right on John. You survived your first flight in the T2.

After waiting sometime for conditions to mellow out more, I finally launched. Thermals were small and punchy, but plentiful enough to allow me to soar for about and hour. I flew with a Red tail hawk for a moment and then landed.

The evening was exciting and I'm thrilled that John flew the glider without causing damage to himself or the glider.

Sunset over Tarkio