Summer flight

At last the weather is favorable for a flying afternoon, and I have free time (well, the garden will just have to wait patiently). I meet Eric at the landing in Orcier and, together with another three accomplices, we drive to the take off in Très-Le-Mont. The weather beacon has been chiming Westerly since lunchtime, and there's a fairly steady air flow. I let Eric take off, at the last minute he swings widely to the side, counter-balances and narrowly avoids the pine trees on the other side. What a show!



I quickly layout my wing, and promptly miss my first attempt. On my second try I get cleanly airborne. It's good to be flying again. I do a couple of passes in front of the take-off, but the dynamic flow is not strong enough, and I go to the front to chase thermals. That results in a bumpish ride, as the thermal activity is quite small. There isn't any great thermal to exploit, and after fighting all over the place for half an hour, I land with a few other pilots that seem to feel the same.

Technical data: Flight duration 0:38, Take-off altitude: 1550m, Maximum altitude reached: 1650m, Total climb during flight: 480m, Max rate of climb: +3.6m/s, Max descent rate: -4.6m/s, Landing altitude: 640m.