See ya dad!

Well today both Josh and i went to Tambo for a fly on our own. Jay was busy playing bare foot lawn bowls with a friend he hadnt seen for some time, he was so nervous not to be coming along that he called us on the highwy to give some last words of advice. What he didnt realise however was that by calling us while we were driving on a busy highway is probably the most dangerous thing that happened to us all day. He meant well though and after telling us that he felt like a nervous father he was on his way. I think his nervousness had more to do with Josh having never flown Tamborine before. I on the other hand have flown Tambo many times, i learnt at Tambo and have also flown without Jay being around on a few occassions. Also, this was to be Josh's first solo flight after being signed off. So i think Jay really wanted to be there. Now that i think of it, my first solo flight after recieveing my licence was also without Jay. I think its actually good in some ways. It makes it all seem so much more real. Besides, there are many eager pilots on launch willing to lend a helping hand and give out sound advice.

I played Jays roll a little in regards to Josh. Telling him where to fly, where not to fly, and how high to fly before leaving for the bombout. I also explaining the different launches needed between Tambo and Beechmont and finally helped him up to the edge of the mountain.

At about 11 oclock pilots started launching and after helping Josh off found myself almost last on the hill. Josh launched and could have had a little more speed on for my liking. He instantly went out to the far shelf but couldnt core any thermals that would see him get high. He ended up going straight to the bombout and overshooting his landing in the tall grass at the end of the field. I hear he did land on his feet so thats great. He was pretty pissed that he bombed out staight away but i did explain that it was probably a good experience for him. Till now he has only flown Beechmont and ridge soared (which is easy). At least now he knows how difficult thermaling can be.

After seeing Josh off i jumped into my harness picked up my glider, swung it around, hit some poor spectator woman in the head and walked to launch. My Launch felt solid and i flew staight along the shelf and immediatley found the lift. Straight after launch however i got the shock of my life when the zipper on my harness failed and split open all the way. After shitting my harness i tried best to compose myself thinking that i still have my buckles holding me in and i should just enjoy the flight, besides what the hell is my emergency chute for? I thermalled like a pro, doing nice coordinated turns and following the thermal stream perfectly. I actually thought i did so well i compared myself to the great Jonny Durand Jnr. I love watching him thermal. He does it better than a bird. And after my nice smooth thermalling today know what it's like to get it perfect.

After climbing well above launch to almost 3 grand i found it hard to concentrate due to my busted zipper. What if my buckles failed, one things for sure my chute would be useless because its connected to my harness. If i fell out, what would happen? Id be dead! so after about 10-15 minutes of flying i headed to the bombout. On my way out i got pretty low and thought how cool it would be to scratch up from this height, i'd be a legend!! I found a thermal and accidentally started to work it. Once again trying to forget about my zip delemer. I cored it nicely but didnt work it long thinking how stupid i must be without one of my main aids to keeping me attached to my wing. This time i flew straight for the bombout, did a nice approach and came into land. On this approach i tried something different, i tried to come in with less speed. Unfortunately for me in the middle of final the wind dissapeared completeley to nil wind and with little airspeed on my behalf pretty much landed on my wheels, AGAIN!!

That was the only downer on my flight however and i'm stoked with my thermal coreing and my ability to control the wing.

I got a lift back to launch and was about to get in my car when Lee came up to me shook my hand and said with a huge smile on his face what an awesome flight i had had. Felt great to have been noticed by someone who knows what they're on about. One thing he did mention though was that my glider seems to be flying awefully fast and that it may need bit of a trim. I think this may be a contributing factor to why ive been landing on my wheels so much, especially considering when i was learning in the training glider i nailed them all the time.

I then jumped in my car and had a race with a quickly approaching storm. On the way down i encountered hail and hard rain. I also called Jay who had been trying to call my mobile to let him know all was good. I Picked Josh up and went to the 'Bearded Dragon' on the way home for a couple of beers, some lunch and to reminise on the days events.

You rock Ant!!

All up about 25 minutes