Double Header Weekend - November 8 & 9

What a fantastic weekend. It was one of those rare flying weekends that came out of nowhere. No one was even really expecting fly on Saturday but Friday night, a pilot posted that he was thinking about it. That got everyone interested and we ended up with 6 or 7 pilots coming out to High Rock. I launched second and immediately got up above the rock. It was Tony's first time out there and I showed him a good example. Anyhow, the flight was great. I shared the air with a bunch of friends and a sailplane. Again, I got good practice thermalling and I am gaining confidence in that skill. But the coolest part about the flight was that I finally broke the 2 hour mark. I'd been looking to hit that for awhile now and as soon I did, I headed out to land. My hands were freezing! Time to order some barmits! I did some high speed stuff to burn up altitude, then I dive bombed launch and headed out. My approach and landing were great and I touched down with 2:05 in the air. Woohoo! Altitude gain was nice at 1,200'. So the next morning I got up and got some coffee when John M called. He had read about my flight the day before on the forum and then told me he was going to head out to Woodstock. Alrighy then! Still packed up from the previous flight, I left the house and met him and Tony in the LZ. I launched about 2:30 into smooth air. Lift was abundant and I was soon looking down on launch and the other gilders and pilots getting ready to go. The thermals were a bit more punchy than Saturday but it was good to get some practice in a variety of thermic conditions. We were pretty decked in with cloud cover so gains weren't as high. I only got to 800' over but staying up was no problem. Eventually I got tired and it seemed like everyone else did too. Every time I would think about heading out to land, someone else would peel off the mountain and head out first. Not wanting to interfere with anyone's flight plans, I would stay in the lift and cruise around for a few more minutes. Finally, when there were only a few of us left, I went to land. My approach and landing were great and earned compliments from other pilots. Alright! Total flight time was 1:55. So, in two days, I racked up 4 hours of air time. Can't ask for much more than that. I talked to John for a little while afterwards about my next wing. He thinks a Sport2 is well within my skill level but suggested that I wait a few more months, fly the hell out of my Falcon, and then think about getting a U2. Plus, Shawn says I'm ready for my Hang 3 test! Well, all of that sits with me quite nicely and sounds like a plan.
High Rock Saturday - http://www.vimeo.com/2191705
Woodstock Sunday - http://www.vimeo.com/2207089