When I was forced off the hill side and out into the main valley
near Belluno I had to find a place to land. There were a number of options, but
the country side was hilly, the fields a mixture of corn and grass and electric
wires, and a semi dry river bed. I had time to check out four or five possible
fields and to make a decision. It was unclear what the direction of the wind
was, but I decided that it was light and that I should not consider it in my
choice.

I decided on a field that was up on a hill and therefore a bit higher than the
others. It was not the longest but had a nice dog leg in it and was the one with
the least obstacles. I knew that I had to come in low over the houses and power
lines so that I could make it into the field and not into the trees at the end.
I had been concerned about my landings from the three previous flights, so I
wanted to nail this one.

I came in without excessive speed so that I could relax coming over the trees
and the three houses. I wanted to bring the glider down as low as possible
first. I pulled in over the houses and rocked up at about ten feet AGL. Now the
idea was to just wait it out. Wait until the glider was ready to stop flying
then flare. I ignored that fact that the trees were coming up quickly.

When the glider said that it was running out of steam I flared and had a
wonderful one step landing with the glider resting nicely on my shoulders. The
trees were still a ways away and there was no wind in the field or around it.
Now I can have some confidence that if I have to land out next week it won't be
a disaster.