11.09.2006
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Alpine/Jackson Hole Wyoming
Two Cowboy Up (www.cuhanggliding.com)
students were at the landing zone when I got there around 11. Michael would soon
have his first soaring flight on his ninth solo and his friend Jerrod, would be
taking a tandem with Bart (Tiki pulled them up in the Dragonfly). The winds were
light south on the ground but 13 mph out of the northwest up above at 8,500'
(3,000' AGL).
Bart said that there was a house thermal just south of the runways (mowed areas
in the grass) indicated by two lone pines. Sure enough it was the most
consistent thermal I have ever seen. Time after time, I would fly out over the
flats next to the water (see Google Earth) then come back time after time to
catch the same thermal. The goal was to see how low I could get and still catch
the thermal.
First Tiki took me up to 8,500' over the Teton range to the east. It was raspy up
there with punchy thermals, so I went out over the flats by the reservoir for
flatland flying instead.
When I launched Bart said stay on the cart a lot longer than I would be used to
as we were launching at almost 6,000'. Bart wanted me to take the cart two feet
off the ground.
I got off when I pulled the cart off the ground, but it wasn't enough. There was
a side wind and when I let go of the cart I was going side ways low. I
fortunately pulled it off as I was flying so fast. The air continued to be quite
turbulent all the way up. I was also flying in Tiki's prop wash at one point as
it is hard to gauge the proper position with all the tall mountains around.
Tiki pulled Michael up after I was centered in the thermal next to the launch
area and had him join me. He had an audio only vario and that was enough to let
him enjoy his first soaring flight. I finally landed after I tried getting into
this house thermal at 200' AGL.
We're here for another week, so maybe I'll get used to this raspy mountain (real
mountain) air (haven't seen this, well other than 43.6605,-114.404,Sun Valley, since
46.7725,13.1495,Greifenburg). Bart mentioned climbing at 2,000 fpm on the averager over Grand
Teton in his Falcon. Turbulence in the mountains comes from wind and nasty tight
thermals coming off sunny hillsides. I'm hoping for the later (if that is the
choice).
http://OzReport.com/10.182.3
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