vontresc
En-Route
Well some of you know that I purchased a new to me Standard Libelle (Lucky S/N 13 
). I've been having a lot of fun with my new toy, and Friday was a pretty good day as well as my every other Friday off. Good weather and a day off like that almost never happen to me so I decided to make the best of it and declare a 300km (186miles for the metrically challenged) triangle goal flight.
http://skyvector.com/?ll=42.8736829...&plan=A.K5.KHXF:A.K5.7WI5:A.K5.3LL4:A.K5.KHXF
As usual I was putzing around, and got launched a bit later than I had hoped at 12:44, but the Cus were already pretty well defined.
The first thermal took me right up to 6000' an things looked great. Clouds were popping along my first leg, and I was on my way. I had some initial trepidations, but once you are out of gliding range of your home airport things get much more relaxing ironically enough.
My first leg took me to the south of Madison, and I had to pass up a few nice clouds in the class C, but I got a few nice shots of Madison along the way.
After hitting the first turnpoint (65 miles from home) I turned to the second turnpoint, and the clouds were still there, so on I go fat dumb and happy
Mainly because the sky still looks like this.
So onwards I go to the second turnpoint Just south of the WI state line near Fox Lake, IL. I'm still doing pretty well, but it is getting kind of late nearing 5pm by the time I get close. I completely forget about the mini seabreeze front that comes off Lake Michigan, that kills the lift. So here I am making my turn wondering why I am not seeing any thermals anymore. I finally figure this out at about 2500 AGL realizing that the last cumulus clouds are too far to reach. I then realized I am right over Westosha airport (used to belong to the club there), and make a nice landing at an airport this time after 4:21 in the air.
Great now I need to get home to get the trailer. Thankfully Charlie our tow pilot came down to get me in his Super Cub (probably should have had him bring the Pawnee to tow me back). Best part of that deal was getting another .7 in the cub being Charlie's autopilot. So by now it's 7:30 by the time I get the trailer hitched up, and there is no fast/direct route back to the airport the glider is at. Long story short, I call a friend up that lived down in IL we meet up de rig the glider, and by the time that is done it's 10:30, so I ended up staying in IL overnight. Finally got the glider back to Hartford the next morning around 10 am the next day. Fun but LONG glider flight.
As my friend Matt Michael quipped sometimes it's fun because you didn't make it home.
Here's the Flight trace.
https://www.skylines.aero/flights/33793/
). I've been having a lot of fun with my new toy, and Friday was a pretty good day as well as my every other Friday off. Good weather and a day off like that almost never happen to me so I decided to make the best of it and declare a 300km (186miles for the metrically challenged) triangle goal flight.http://skyvector.com/?ll=42.8736829...&plan=A.K5.KHXF:A.K5.7WI5:A.K5.3LL4:A.K5.KHXF
As usual I was putzing around, and got launched a bit later than I had hoped at 12:44, but the Cus were already pretty well defined.
The first thermal took me right up to 6000' an things looked great. Clouds were popping along my first leg, and I was on my way. I had some initial trepidations, but once you are out of gliding range of your home airport things get much more relaxing ironically enough.
My first leg took me to the south of Madison, and I had to pass up a few nice clouds in the class C, but I got a few nice shots of Madison along the way.
After hitting the first turnpoint (65 miles from home) I turned to the second turnpoint, and the clouds were still there, so on I go fat dumb and happy
Mainly because the sky still looks like this.
So onwards I go to the second turnpoint Just south of the WI state line near Fox Lake, IL. I'm still doing pretty well, but it is getting kind of late nearing 5pm by the time I get close. I completely forget about the mini seabreeze front that comes off Lake Michigan, that kills the lift. So here I am making my turn wondering why I am not seeing any thermals anymore. I finally figure this out at about 2500 AGL realizing that the last cumulus clouds are too far to reach. I then realized I am right over Westosha airport (used to belong to the club there), and make a nice landing at an airport this time after 4:21 in the air.
Great now I need to get home to get the trailer. Thankfully Charlie our tow pilot came down to get me in his Super Cub (probably should have had him bring the Pawnee to tow me back). Best part of that deal was getting another .7 in the cub being Charlie's autopilot. So by now it's 7:30 by the time I get the trailer hitched up, and there is no fast/direct route back to the airport the glider is at. Long story short, I call a friend up that lived down in IL we meet up de rig the glider, and by the time that is done it's 10:30, so I ended up staying in IL overnight. Finally got the glider back to Hartford the next morning around 10 am the next day. Fun but LONG glider flight.
As my friend Matt Michael quipped sometimes it's fun because you didn't make it home.
Here's the Flight trace.
https://www.skylines.aero/flights/33793/
