Just a mellow evening flight over Ellenville NY. It seemed like it was too late in the day to soar, and the other pilots stayed up a little but eventually had to land. There were small bubbles of lift they found, but they weren't in a good strategic spot for the other pilots to make use of it. At Ellenville, picking the best launch cycle you can find and launching right into lift often makes all the difference between a great flight and a short one. I was lucky to get a nice cycle, but when I saw it coming I was sure to capitalize best I could.
I did see that my right tip was folded over as I pulled up, but it was not a cravat (tangled in the lines) and I was confident it would pop right open once the wing was pressurized with airflow... I chose to continue the launch because I really wanted that cycle. I did weigh the "what if I'm wrong" on that choice, and as I launched I felt the wing was still be safely controllable even with the tip like that. And you can see in the vid it does pop right open with a brake pump on that side - negative reinforcement or experienced judgment call? I dunno...
I do know my dad has flown this mountain a lot, and he did a great job of teaching me lots of little nuances about working the lift when it's very challenging to stay up nevermind gain altitude. I'm not an expert paraglider pilot, but I did well enough at flying the wing and maneuvering that I was actually able to climb to about 3,000 ft. I saw a Diamond DA40 from the flight school where I'm taking lessons, and gave a small crowd at Bear Cliffs a wave before heading out into the valley to descend and land.
The wind was W-SW on launch which helped with a side-hill landing, being careful to judge the glide in and to avoid getting into lee-side rotor as I approached. I kited a few steps up the hill and dropped the wing, packing up in the evening light feeling satiated with my flight. Magical...
15 сен 2024
