I had my first flight at the Sac in Sacramento, PA today. I drove out about 3 hours to get there with very good soaring potential in the forecast. It was blowing straight in at about 10 when I got there and met Bacil but by the time I launched it had backed down to 2-5, maybe. The falls colors were quite nice. My launch was good and I flew clean out of the slot. I hit some very small bumps and immediately starting to sink out so I made my turn for the LZ. The LZ at the Sac is very small and technical. It is very wide but very short lengthwise. It's also set on the middle of a pretty steep uphill slope. The slope actually helps deal with the lack of length but it makes judging your altitude on the different phases of approach very difficult. When I was headed out from the ridge I ran right into a strong thermal. I could have turned in it and tried to climb but I didn't feel comfortable. Joe Gorrie had told me that a thermal he had caught earlier had scared him a little because it was quite strong. So I decided to stick to my flight plan and just go on out to the LZ. When I got out over the orchards I encountered some pretty serious sink. It was pretty steady down at 200fpm with pops of 3-400 fpm down. With that happening and the uphill slope of the LZ and surrounding land, it appeared that I was sinking very fast! So I turned onto my downwind leg, rolled out of it and right into my turn onto final. Because of the slope, there is also a significant wind gradient near the ground so I pulled in for speed, rounded out and nailed my flare for a no-step landing. There is nothing like a sweet landing!
I'm kind of bummed that I didn't get to soar, again. But fall is here and we should be getting a lot more NW days.
http://www.vimeo.com/2015339
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