https://airtribune.com/play/2180/2d

Only Mick and I show up in the replay above for the short task today. Larry and
John Simon somehow didn't get their Live Tracking working.

My first flight since the Santa Cruz Flats Race in September.

Larry is just behind me in line and mentions that the back cradle on the cart is
low. I am aware of that as I had used the cart to haul from glider over from the
Oz Report World Headquarters to the staging area. I don't mind a high angle on
the cart as I pull in to get my chest over the base tube as the tug starts to
pull me forward, and the keel automatically comes off the back cradle right from
the get go.

I'm off the cart and in the air in what seems like no time and without any time
to think I'm doing exactly what I've done so many times before, pulling in,
concentrating on my position with respect to the tug, feeling the air for any
turbulence, ready to react if I get out of whack.

April is driving the tug and the air is smooth and we climb at a moderate pace
until we get just past the end of the runway. I'm looking down and seeing the
results of all my landscaping and grounds keeping and it looks good. There is
lift at the south end and my vario is reading 1000 fpm at 700' AGL. April knows
to turn the tug in the lift and I decide to wait for one turn for her to come
back into the thermal a little higher.

She makes a smooth turn (not Bobby Bailey style) and when she comes around the
lift isn't there any more. Ooh, that would have been bad to get off at 700'. A
few seconds later at 1,600' I feel some more lift and pin off. Oops. Not much
there. I go searching.

It's 400 fpm down no matter where I go. Where was that lift? I head east out
over the swamp and down to 500' AGL I find zero sink instead of 400 fpm down. I
keep turning and it turns on. As I climb up to a respectable altitude Larry
Bunner comes in underneath me and we continue to climb up together.

I'm flying the latest Wills Wing T2C with a purple under surface. It has full
carbon leading edges. I'm finding the handling light and it turns easily either
left or right with no favoritism. Larry is very slowly climbing up on me in his
full carbon T2C. He's just a tiny bit lighter than I am.

We top out together at a little over 4,000' and head north toward Grass Roots
airfield. I had set up a short task for the day when the outlook wasn't that
great but now it seems too short. I head toward some brush clearing fires while
Larry drifts further east to other fires.

Before the fires I find 300+ fpm on average to 4,200'. Larry comes in under me
and again we climb out and head north. I lose track of Larry as he heads
easterly a bit and I find lift south of the turnpoint. The lift is not as strong
as the first few thermals so I'm slowing down and working what I can.

Heading southwest I realize that I made a mistake on the task call, using a
turnpoint east of the the north/south highway through the Green Swamp and not
going to the lumber mill. I come in over the large nursery down to 1,400' AGL
and work 100 fpm to 2,700' before heading to the turnpoint where, of course,
there is 300 fpm and John Simon joins me.

It's an easy glide back into the goal at Quest Air. Everyone makes it around the
too short of a task. Sara Weaver calls too short of a Sport Class task also, but
this is her first time going cross country and I assigned her the task of
calling the Sport Class tasks.

Looks good for Sunday.