I'm teaching on Skillshare: www.skillshare... Filmed on GoPro 3+: amzn.to/1ruNuoB This is about a 22 mile roundtrip, the battery died before I got back - use the annotations on the left side to jump around to interesting bits.
Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. The Point was always my favorite destination. I made that trip 78 times during the 10 years I lived there. I really miss Lookout, and flying itself!
Nice job! Myself and 2 of my friends attempted that trip in the mid seventies. I was on an Oly 160. We got to cloud base and felt it would be an easy glide to the point. After we left the launch area we hit nothing but sink and barely made it over the power wires at :17 minutes in your video. Thanks for bringing me back about 45 years. Great memories!
Made that trip many times back in the '70s&'80s! Commuting from the Gulf coast of Louisiana when I worked 7&7 as a helicopter mechanic on the Gulf Coast! Used up a coupla Celicas making the weekly drive!
Been there Done that. He really worked for that one. I have been flying over that ridge the morning after an ice storm with a bright blue sky and mist coming out of Lookout valley. Covenant College was covered with ice like a fairy castle on a cloud.
On another trip later that year I made it to the point and had a 5.000' altitude gain from ridge level at the point. First time for that in the same SS Kestrel. And sat up there over Moccasin Bend watching jets come in on approach to Lowell Field below me. Contemplating the airworthiness of 6061 1.5" x .049" tubing with no parachute. That led to the next 10 years of teaching myself aeronautics and building models and prototypes. I heard later that the airline pilots had seen me and had concerns. That led to a hang gliding zone being put on the sectionals.
I see you got low near Covenant. And several other points. My first trip to the point was in a Sky Sport Kestrel A in "76" and got low thereon the way back. Dropped below the ridge and was staring at the power lines. Really scary! But thermaled back to the ridge to make the distance.
Great video, what an awesome soaring site. You've got balls Lucas, I would want more altitude than you had to keep going all the way to that point. Shame the battery died, would love to have seen the concluding trip to LZ.
Thanks - yea, it was definitely an iffy day to make that trip but it's fun to go into the unknown especially when it works out, that's why I was taking my time getting out there to constantly assess the situation.
It was about as light as it could get and still make it - I only got a few hundred feet over maximum and spent most of the time around 100' over so it wasn't ideal conditions for the trip but I wanted to try and it worked out. It wasn't blowing very hard on the ramp, barely enough to ridge soar.
Dave B Yep! Sure was, click the second annotation and you can watch me turn in a thermal, you can hear the vario just barely over the wind beeping. Can't remember what the temp was like that day, I don't think it was warm
(No hang gliding experience at all here). What is the purpose/purposes of the rope on the right side. Is it to show air/wind direction? He seems to grab it during the flight and seems to keep checking to see that it is straight back.
VG cord (variable geometry) - it makes the tail edge flatter so more effecient during glide with the con being stall speed is higher speed , occurs faster, and its harder to turn
