David Whittle <<david.whittle>>
writes:

Http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/1123899

Three of the Florida Ridge team attempted cross country flights that day, Dave
Epner managed an out and return to Labelle followed by an extra hour in the air
over the flight park. Leo Siqueira and myself decided that the conditions were
right to attempt the large square going anticlockwise from the park. The first
turn point was east to the orange factory at the junction of 80 and CR833, then
south to the antenna at the junction of CR833 and CR846, then west onto the
airport at Immokalee, then north to the Airport at Labelle and then back to the
ridge, over 100km.

Conditions were great from the first release and made the flight a classic cloud
to cloud all the way to the antenna, the going started to get hard on the way to
Immokalee with thinning cloud and an indication that the sea breeze from Fort
Myers had pushed inland, once at the airport the conditions to the North were
totally shadowed with small clumps of low level cloud. With 100% shaded ground I
was able to get unexpected, if not slow climbs that enabled me to work my way
north, about five miles south of Labelle the sky opened up and gave some heating
to the ground, however arriving later than anticipated the best I could hope for
was a low level glide back to the park, it was not to be, landing about six
miles short of goal. While I was in contact throughout the flight I was never
able to see of fly with Leo, who landed a little south of Labelle. Really great
day was rounded off with a fast retrieve by Denis.