More Excellent Iowa Soaring

Holy Smokes!

I was scheduled to tow today but after looking at the sky and checking
the weather I scrambled for a backup and thankfully found one. Matt
Michael helped me get set up. The Ames weather was reporting Few
clouds at 9000 AGL. This was at 1 PM! I quickly realized that Matt's
state altitude record was 10200 AGL and there was a possibility it
could fall today. I had him prepare me a barograph and quickly got
ready to launch.

The Cherokee and this kid launched at 2 PM on one of the fastest tows
Ive ever had. I had to look twice to make sure I hadnt hooked up to
a Bird Dog or a Pawnee. sure enough, our trusty old 150 hp Super Cub
was still at the front of the rope. A mere 4 minutes after starting
the roll I released at 2200 AGL, notched the barograph, and started
climbing. Fast.

Vario showed 4-800 fpm up. Not too shabby for June in Iowa. 1st
thermal took me to over 6000 AGL, second put me over 7000. Finally
got up over 8000 AGL. Second time in 3 days! I spent the next three
hours working between 6000 and my max altitude of 8800 AGL. Clouds
were streeting and there was a significant wind out of the northwest.
Dr. Jack had it forecast in the mid to high teens and was probably
right.

I had to fly with a student in a Cessna this evening so no downwind
dashes were in the cards. My challenge was simply to stay upwind. At
one point in the flight I was about 5 miles upwind of the airport but
by the end I was about 6 miles downwind. I wasnt pushing particularly
hard, just doing what I could. I mostly focused on staying high and
seeing how long I could stay up.

After 3 hrs crammed into the cockpit of a Cherokee the pilot really
stops feeling any pain. In fact you dont feel much of anything. This
did wonders for my flying (seriously!). My last thermal of the day
was at 6:45 PM in a boomer which averaged 100 fpm! I rode it for
about 1500 feet, topping out at 6700 AGL at about 7 PM. The lift was
small but smooth and I was able to core it with a finesse that I have
never had before in the Cherokee. Even the string stayed straight! I
checked twice to make sure it hadnt somehow gotten stuck in that
position.

I have a really convenient hole in my panel where a Vario used to be
that made for a great water bottle holder. As I thrashed around the
sky my water bottle came unwedged in the hole and fell back behind the
panel. I could still see it though, and cool enough, I could see my
reflection in the bottle back through the hole. This reminded me of
those great in panel camera shots from the Sunship Game, so I gritted
my teeth in the next thermal and stuck out my chin like I was Gleb
Derujinkski. It worked pretty good too.

Matt got ahold of me on the radio and was kind enough to meet me by
the runway with a small crane and a wheelchair to escort me to the bar
and debrief the flight. Probably should go get that glider off the
runway pretty soon...

Killer conditions here uncharacteristically late in the year. Iowa is
transitioning from floods (last week) to drought (next week). crops
are still incredibly short. knee high by 4th of July may end up being
a goal. Lots of places to landout, and the air is still dry so high
thermals! I am sure I couldve done 200 miles downwind If I wouldve
tried.

oh and as a side note to RAS:

Wash your gliders! it makes a big difference. Ive been flying my
glider with the typical grease/grime from rigging/derigging and the
dirt and dust from sitting in the hangar, along with the patent
pending Avian Turdulators all over it. Before yesterdays flight I
scrubbed the whole thing down with some wash/wax soap. The fabric was
shiny! Amazing the difference it made in the handling. The glider
flew a lot queiter and I was able to thermal about 5 mph slower than
before. Amazing!