Larry Bunner <> writes:

Aaaaahhhh, I love the feeling after a long flight. The next morning my mind is still churning over the good and not so good decisions from the previous day as I soak in the hot tub to ease the soreness in my traps, lats, delts and triceps. The ache isn't enough to diminish the feeling of walking a little lighter nor is it enough to remove the satisfied internal smile as I mull over the details. Some learnings emerge from my self critique and a plan develops should there ever be another opportunity to do it again. Enough self reflection, here are the details.

On Tuesday, Bacil predicted another good day at the Sac for Saturday. The long range forecast looked promising. Dave Proctor called on Friday stating he was in and would get us a driver. On Saturday July 21st morning the blip maps looked very good with north winds from 10-15 mph and expected cloud base over 6000' with a strong convergence line setting up on the Delmarva peninsula.

The day looked epic as I drove north to Harrisburg to meet up with Dave. On the drive to Sacramento we discussed retrieval strategies with our driver Judy (first timer) and also on flight strategies. We would have a good wind aloft so the key to the day was to stay in the air and not push too hard downwind. We discussed pushing to the east to get around the tip of the Chesapeake Bay. Dave also called flight service regarding a vector coming from the mainland to Salisbury. The vector was to be hot after 2:00 so we would need to head to the east toward Ocean City.

At the mountain (Mahantango) just north of Sacramento, PA, Bacil was already set up. The conditions looked very good with what appeared to be a little west in the strong wind and cu's starting to pop upwind. We told the group (including Tom and Pat) of our intended goal and Bacil asked me if I was going to keep going once I reached Highland Aerosports. The answer was easy because my sights were on the site and state record. I believe 200 miles is a possibility on the right day. So, no I was not going to stop there.

We scrambled to get ready and Dave soon was off around 12:30. Dave's launch left a little to be desired and as I stepped up onto the ramp I was nervous but focused on getting a good takeoff. Bacil, and Joe and Karen Gorrie gave me good feedback (thank you!) On what to look for and after waiting through a couple good cycles I finally pushed off around 1:00. My launch also was not that great and when I turned left along the ridge I notice my radio and PTT dangling underneath. This was no time to screw with it so I concentrated on getting up first and worry about it later. Dave was already heading downwind after hitting a strong thermal to the right of launch. I caught one there as well and was soon climbing at a steady 700 fpm.

The Mahantango Mountain ridge is pointed at the top so when you thermal over the peak you can immediately see down into the next valley. I spotted a large fire on the lee side that appeared to be feeding my thermal. It took less than 10 minutes to get to 7000'. On the downwind glide I managed to get my radio back in the pouch and the connectors back in the PTT. Fortunately, I had an excellent street down wind and only stopped to thermal twice at ~5500' before I was out onto the flats heading to Lebanon.

Just north of town I met up with Dave and could see him thermaling to my right. I could hear him on the radio but he couldn't hear me. Soon I gave up on the communications and just concentrated on flying. I figured Dave was heading in the same direction and he could talk with the Judy as we headed south.

Northwest of Lititz I caught another boomer at 4600' and in 4 minutes was back at 7000'. To this point the streets were well defined and the glides between were long without losing much altitude. It was apparent however that we needed to push further east as our track was going to pinch us at the confluence of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay where it is just too big a distance to cover to get to the Delmarva Peninsula. I crossed streets and for the first time got below 4000'.

The next three thermals petered out around 5500' so I kept pushing to the southeast trying to get lined up for the crossing. At this point I was eyeing the best line to take over the tip of the bay. It looked possible to cross over the North East River onto the Elk Neck peninsula then across the Elk River south of Chesapeake City (one of the waypoints we were using) however I took the conservative route and pushed east to Elkton and then southeast onto the peninsula.

It was now 4:30, the convergence was definitely happening, the clouds were well defined and set up on the west side. I went on a long glide under the clouds but didn't find any lift until I was west of Middleton and below 3500' for the first time. I managed to climb back up to 5000' but lost the lift and my patience and continued on south. My next glide was down to 2500' near Massey.

I hit a ripper here and fought hard to stay in some very strong turbulent lift. I was tossed out several times before I found some smooth 400 up to 5400'. The drift was to the SSW paralleling Rte 301. At this point I was calculating best options, my current track was taking me toward the vector, the convergence line ended a few miles to the east and I didn't know where Dave or Judy were. I thermaled up to 5900' north of Ridgely and headed across a blue hole to the next line of clouds. I was only three miles east of the airport and could clearly see gliders on the ground.

 I made the decision to fly to the next line of clouds and if I didn't find lift to turn tail and go land at the airport. Sure enough there was no lift and the lure of landing with like minded souls became too much. I circled the field and watched as gliders were being towed up. I slid in on my landing and hustled the glider over to the tie downs. Jim and Adam came running over asking where I came from and when I told them from the Sac they were as excited as I was. My straight line distance was 124.7 miles! This was not the site or state record but it definitely proved to me the awesome potential of this site.

I called Judy immediately; she had picked up Dave and they were only 25 minutes away! Later I learned that she had no contact with Dave the entire time. When Dave landed at ~70 miles out she arrived just minutes after he had the glider packed up. What an outstanding driver!

Some lessons learned from the flight:

1. Get to the site and be ready to launch when the conditions first get good. We missed at least an hour on the front end of the day.

2. Set several waypoints along the course line to keep on track.

3. Fly faster between thermals early in the flight. Even with the push, I only averaged around 25 mph.

4. Devise a better retention system for the radio.

5. Get a new PTT for the radio. I seem to go through one Motocomm each year. Is there something more reliable out there?

6. Hydrate better starting the night before. Although I drank water throughout the flight, I was dehydrated late and this affected my energy level. Put a power bar in the harness for an energy boost later on.

The Motocomms are by far the best I have ever used. I have only had one main cable ever go bad. Never the PTT.

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