Marshall 8/19

From: Hesham
Activity_Date: 8/19/01
Remote Name: 32.102.145.242

Comments

andall and myself (Hesham) went to Marshall on Sunday. We arrived at 3:15 and we could see hangies 2-3K above launch. We hitched a ride up and were at launch at 4:30. Some PG's were starting to take to the air and some were reaching 2K above launch. We waited for things to calm down a bit. Randall launched at 5:20 and I followed 15 minutes later.

Randall got up quickly in front of launch and then headed east for a XC attempt. He crossed the antena with only a few hundred over. He continued on and landed in a large field by Hwy 18 past the foothills.

I got up in front of launch and decided to head west. My flight plan prior to launch was to get to the last ridge before the water reservoir as I have often observed that late in the day this area works best to stay up. I got on the speed bar and used my altitude to cross the first canyon which is in the shade at that time of day. I found some more lift over the 750 and hung out there for a bit then continued on to the last ridge. I fished for lift there and there were some small thermals but nothing big. After hanging out there for 5 minutes, I was getting low and it was time to turn downwind and head back to the LZ.

After I landed, there were still 11 wings soaring in front of launch and no one to the west where I was. It seems that in front of launch was the place to be that day for lift. Nevertheless it was a nice flight and I am re-gaining my comfort flying in thermals. Different flight plans for different days !