It’s the first contest day at Montague and JOY is racing! Much more inside…
Day -1 at Montague: Team JOY takes it easy
Little to report today from team JOY, which decided to recover from long travel days by skipping this practice day, doing some errands, and taking it easy. The actual contest starts tomorrow. Some pictures inside…
Day -2 at Montague: #throughglass
Today was the first official practice day of the 2014 US Open Class Nationals at Montague—by all accounts, a fine, clear soaring day with high cloudbases and great views of Mount Shasta and the southern Cascades.
So, let me tell you all about my computer programming project.
And… we’re back!
For a few hours at least, there will still be some JOY left in Nevada… Continue reading
Three and a half hours of unedited JOY
Being back in Pennsylvania doesn’t mean that I’ve seen the last of JOY. A week ago I went back to Ridge Soaring Gliderport on a fantastic looking day. Mike and I reassembled the Nimbus-3DM and headed out on a flight to points west (see flight track here). Continue reading
A brief history of India
Meet i (pronounced “India”), or N824T, our Schempp-Hirth Mini-Nimbus HS-7. Since construction in 1978, India has had several notable owners. Here are the ones I know about:
Decaffeinated camera mounting systems
In between waiting for good weather and tows, I thought I’d try to invent something.
(Not a decapitated rubber duck.)
July, and epilogue
It’s been ten days since the end of the Nationals, and a little over a week since I stumbled out of Mike’s van at Grove City and drove myself back home. In that time, I’ve managed to shake off the bug-eyed wandering prophet’s stare that I had going for a few days—oh, you think, these people in this grocery store parking lot, the wonders they will never comprehend in their lifetimes! A good night’s sleep and a week back at work do wonders to set your feet back on the ground.
With that, it’s well past time for:
Acknowledgements
Heartfelt thanks to Mike Robison for allowing me to join him on this amazing adventure, and to his brother Joe for his excellent crewing and good companionship. Thanks to John Godfrey (QT), Tip Russell, Reba Coombs, and the rest of the Nationals personnel for running a fantastic contest; thanks to John again and the task advisors for great tasks in a variety of weather conditions; and thanks to Doug Armstrong and Stewart Tattersall for describing those conditions in such thorough detail. Thanks also to Laurie Harden of Soaring NV and Bobbi Thompson and Mountain Mike Harbison of the Minden-Tahoe airport for their seemingly effortless operational support.
Last but not at all least, thanks to the contestants for a great contest and for the fun times we enjoyed when we weren’t flying.
Cross USA nonstop
Check the SPOT/APRS links, folks. Looks like we’re set to make this cross-USA trip a nonstop run (except for gas stops, and a trailer tire that went flat just west of Evanston, WY).
Hours ago:
Now:
PS: Special thanks to Big-O Tires of Evanston, WY for getting us back on the road so quickly.
Also: had a chance to look at the Day 9 video, and it looks cool. This one captures the flight all the way from task start to landing (although the lens is obscured a bit at the beginning—ah well!).
Day 9 update delayed…
…since we’re driving home! Please stay tuned—day 9 was a blast!