Chelan

Big conditions on the flats (Chelan Butte, WA, USA)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBCC/message/12459

From 7000 feet I began to wind my Boom 5 up tighter than I have ever spiraled before.  With its long lines it only took about 20-30 seconds before I couldn't handle the G's any more so exited and looked at my instruments again to notice I was now at 7100 feet.  This is when I began to realize the seriousness of the situation I was in and needed to get down fast.

I went straight back into a hard spiral holding it for twice as long, pulling massive G's and descending at over 2000 feet per minute.  Eventually I had to stop to avoid blacking out, I noticed my altitude was now 7400 feet.  I couldn't keep doing spiral after spiral so smashed my speed bar pulling big, big ears trying to fly away from our blue corridor that had suddenly turned black as the two cells took over the sky.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBCC/message/12462

According to Sunny Jim, he thought he had the brewing OD behind him and was returning from a triangle to land at the soccer fields.  Over the high tension transmission lines all hell broke loose and he was tumbled not once, but twice, and as he hung on for dear life he dislocated his shoulder.  His wing was pitched into a steep wingover and somehow with just one arm he managed to regain control and land safely.  After he landed he did start walking looking for a road, but felt on the verge of passing out, and thought better of it and returned to his glider.

I spoke with Ben Dunn here in Lakeview in the hot pool.  He was in Chelan and said that there was a tornado on the rim after cold air flooded out of the Cascades.  That the town of Chelan was under a tornado watch.  This is the day that the incidences above occurred.

He said that Sunny Jim ran into a wall of rising air at 3000 fpm and the glider tumbled twice, near this tornado area (south of McNeal canyon).  That Jim was over the high tension lines when he tumbled.

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