Sunday, 12/28 / Parma at 10:30

[sd]

Sunday looks more vertically stable. The lapse rate has deteriorated, but the lower level air mass is still cold so it should work below about 3500 feet. I have to pick up my car from Saturday, so I'll be at Parma about 10:30 to crew. May need to wait until almost noonish for it to be soarable, but there is a little west wind, so it could scruff off in the afternoon. May have a few high clouds to contend with, but they look thin.

[gracecab]

After drooling on Friday and Saturday, I got up to Skyport this morning with about 7 other pilots with the Eagle van and had a great flight.

35 minutes. Skyport to Parma. light S winds everywhere. gentle/medium thermals, great for novices.

This was my 5th Skyport launch...so my commentary and expectations are commensurate with a recent mountain pilot.

I went first expecting a sunny sledder, and got picked up by a couple nice thermals for a more interesting flight than I've had in the last few turns. It was not too bumpy, but enough to keep me alert the whole time in the crisp air. I got up a couple hundred feet over launch, which was great for me, since last time I missed my opportunity... so I made a point to hit it harder left off launch and was rewarded by a nice couple hundred feet over thermal right off...

Then decided to take my altitude to the antenna farm, before I got greedy and lost more than gained. Made it to the ridge easily and as soon as past the bldg. I got lifted.... and stayed in that one as long as possible. For the next 20 minutes went up a couple times well over roundhouse/antenna height thanks to finally staying over SPINES and thermal triggers. Oh...so that's how you stay up... stay over spines! ;-) Sometimes I'm kinda dense, and try to invent something that doesn't need to be invented...like physics and nature and geography... ;-)

Anyways, nice buoyancy all the way home, and landing at Parma, with a bitty headwind... nice... Since I launched first, I got to watch everyone else above, and the last 4 folks were really staying up well, I left and went to Bates for a couple attempts to stay up and hikes back up.

Soooo fun! And glad to be able to go step by step up the learning curve, at a really nice pace, for me at least.