Cloud Hopping
cloud|PG|Wilotree Park|XC
After a great day of flying on Thanksgiving the forecast for Friday was similarly spectacular with light winds, 500+ fpm lift, cloud base at 4,200'.
I called a task going south to the round about at Dean Still and highway 33 and back to Wilotree Park. After our too short of a task yesterday I wanted to be sure to call one that was long enough for short days, but allowed us to actually get back to the park before the lift quit.
We were off again a little before 1 PM with cu's in the sky inviting us to join them. They were fewer and more widely spaced than on Thanksgiving. Still I was able to pin off earlier than yesterday and climb at less than 200 fpm to 3,200'. Mick was pulled up and climbed up under me.
We noted a large blue hole to our south and as we weren't getting to cloud base we decided to head southwest to the cloud over Bay Lake (not a lake but an intersection).
Our climb rates on multiple thermals on the way were between 100 and 200 fpm on average and we climbed to 3,700' at Bay Lake before heading south east toward the next line of clouds. With no predominant wind direction and very light winds, there were still various lines of clouds a few miles long.
We continued working weak (less than 200 fpm) lift until we got to yesterday's turnpoint at the intersection of 474 and 33 where we were finally able to find lift that averaged over 200 fpm and took us to cloud base at 4,200'.
There was a blue hole to the south but Mick felt that it wasn't that long of a glide over it to the next east west cloud street and since he was at cloud base he wanted to try it to see if we could make it. I could see a very small fire, or at least some smoke in that direction so I also headed south.
I joined Mick in a thermal about two kilometers downwind of the smoke and we climbed out at almost 400 fpm to 4,300'. Mick went south to the next cloud but for the first time he didn't find lift under it and turned to make the turnpoint at Dean Still. Hearing that there was no lift in that direct I headed straight to the turnpoint and met up with Mick. We headed north to the next cu.
The lift was over the radio towers that are astride highway 33 on a little hill. We worked 70 fpm from 1,900' back to 3,200' as the day got later and later. It was almost 3 o'clock and I was concerned that the lift would soon stop.
I asked Mick what he wanted to do and he said, well, that we could meander around in this weak lift or head east to the good looking line of cu's. I said I'm heading east and Mick agreed to also. 250 fpm average up to over 4,300'. We were just getting up to the bottom of the black cu's. Now we had a chance to make it back to Wilotree.
Unlike when we headed south there were now cu's over highway 33 with their shadows far to the east. We climbed to 4,400' just south of 474 and then headed for a vertical cu over the glider port.
That cu didn't work and Mick was off to my east over 33 as I continued on the west side of 33 over to a north south set of cu's over a large grove that I often use as a good spot to find thermals. Down to 1,900' I found 174 fpm 10 kilometers from Wilotree and called Mick over. We climbed to 3,900' which got us easily back to the flight park at ten minutes to 4. We were very happy to make it back as tomorrow looks soarable also and we could leave our gliders set up.
Everything basically just worked out. We had to be patient when things were tough and had to take weak lift, but the lift kept showing up when ever we needed it. We chose to follow the clouds and not try to rip through blue holes without the assurance that we could make it with enough altitude to get up at the next cu.
https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:davisstraub/2020-11-26/17:47
https://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/2684571
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4 topics in this article: cloud, PG, Wilotree Park, XC
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