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Posted by Leibniz
on 6/17/2009, 6:30 am
69.205.81.50
Yesterday turned out to be the best of all possible weekday flying days, but it would have been a bust if Ted hadn't driven down from Brockport to tow us. And, for a variety of reasons, us, which originally was supposed to be the usual clutch of weekday flyers, was just Jack and yours truly. And since Jack and I decided to go play together in the 21, and we got away, there was only ONE tow. That's right folks, Ted drove from Brockport to Dansville to give a single tow! Talk about dedication to flying. Jack and I tried to compensate Ted somewhat by offering some filthy lucre, which he refused. Take this as a warning Ted: we WILL get even with you.
And play we did. Off tow and right up to the CCL toute suite. The next cloud to the north also worked, so recognizing the conditions I decided to show Jack some real estate. Off to SONYEA (State of NY Epileptic Asylum), then my favorite 30 mph zone Mt.Morris, best town by a dam site, to which we proceeded to evaluate the Genesee River water level (almost dry upstream of the dam), but the gorge is SO gorgeous. Continuing north, we arrived at the Leicester speedway, which at altitude looks a lot like an airstrip and you could possibly land there (not recommended during a drag race). We were well on the way to my farm in East Bethany, but the next cloud, a few miles west of Wadsworth, was punky, in fact the clouds were getting weaker on the way. My sixth sense kicked in. Couldn't be Lake Ontario shadow...no northerly wind component. In fact, the opposite was the problem: winds aloft had shifted already to the south in advance of the low coming up from PA (which is causing today's crappy weather), and whenever that happens the convective field starts to break down. So we did an "about face!" and went for home. After flying thru prodigious sink and losing over 3,000 feet, we picked up a good one over the flats between Mt.Morris and Geneseo, then came back home along the east ridge. Still, we were able to fly locally till almost 6:30, landing after 4 hours 20 minutes. Cy and friend Lindsay were on the field and helped up put the ships away (thanks guys!). Then it was off to the Big Sky for sustenance of body and mind.
In almost four decades of flying, one of the most relaxing and delightful soaring flights I've ever had. My only regret is that more members weren't able to join us.
Ray
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