The flight.

http://flyingjochen.blogspot.com/

http://skyout.blogspot.com/

Yesterday, we were presented with an unusual forecast and morning conditions. It
was brisk out of the southeast around 8 AM, and the forecast confirmed that
condition, but the forecast for later conditions said it would come out of the
northeast and there would be some strength to it. It wasn't just a case of light
and variable.

Also the forecast showed over development and lack of lift just to the north of
Quest late in the afternoon, but not at all to the south. Perhaps whatever was
causing that was also causing the winds to shift so dramatically.

The winds did die down as the morning progressed. Mitch, Jochen and I lined up
at the north end of the field a little after 1 PM. Mitch broke his weaklink at a
few hundred feet so he had to get back into line a bit later than he wanted.
Jochen was next and then I was pulled up to the south to find weak lift than
Jochen came and joined me in. It turned on.

The cu's were just beginning to form and we had a four mph northeast wind. We
had launched heading into the south, but with the wind changing launch stopped
while pilots tried to figure whether to go to the south end of the field to
launch or not. That put later pilots, including Jamie and Tom Lanning, way
behind us.

Mitch came in low to our thermal and Jochen and I headed south. We found much
better lift, 400 fpm, to 5,400' and then went on glide for the Seminole glider
port. Mitch was following us but below and we lost track of him south of the
glider port.

Our goal was to head south southwest and land on the beach at the pier at
Venice. I had set up a route that guided us between the Barstow and Lakeland D
class airspaces with a turnpoint of the intersection of Dean Still and 33,
Wachula, and then goal at the beach. The idea of the route was to give us a way
of staying just west of the course line to stay out of the Barstow airspace (top
of the airspaces was 2,600').

Five kilometers north of Dean Still and 33 I searched to the east while Jochen
just below me found lift to the west. I had to go under him and get in that
lift, and I was to stay just below or behind him for the rest of the flight.

There were plenty of cu's. We climbed to 4,600' just south of the Fantasy of
Flight over I4 and then went on a twelve kilometer glide in the blue down to
1,600' over urban areas to find the next lift at 250 fpm. The Winter Haven air
field was just a few kilometers off to our east. We could hear Jamie launching
with Tom Lanning launching to the north a bit later.

Climbing to 5,300' we headed southwest right between the airspaces plenty high
to be above them if that was necessary. It wasn't long before we had left the
suburbs behind and were flying over phosphate mines and open lands with few
roads.

The clouds were better to the south and Jochen was thinking about getting to the
turnpoint at Wachula which was only in our route to help us get through the
airspace, which we had already accomplished. Climbing under him at 300 fpm, I
saw a crescent on a pond just to the southwest. It looked like a swirl to me. I
decided to leave the moderate lift and check it out. I found 700 fpm and almost
caught up with Jochen.

After that I headed southwest and told Jochen that we didn't need to keep
heading south and that Wachula was not a turnpoint for our flight. He turned and
headed southwest getting low. I found scattered cu's and came in under them. I
happened to glance down to a rectangular thin east/west pond. Right in the
middle of it was a distinct swirl filling the north/south dimension. I hit the
lift and climbed quickly.

Getting down to 2,200' I worked weak lift at 56 fpm before moving further
southwest to 225 fpm about sixty kilometers out from the beach.

After climbing to 5,500' I headed south west and joined up with Jochen again. We
could hear Mitch ten to twenty kilometers behind us. The cu's were about to stop
for us as the sky was clear to the west. The on-shore flow was undermining the
thermals. Jamie and Tom had landed. Belinda picked up Tom and continued chasing
the three of us.

I charged ahead and went to the convergence zone under the darkest cloud. It was
250 fpm to 3,600' but I left when it got weak. Jochen stayed there and got to
6,000'. I pressed south to the net clouds as there were no clouds to the west.
I kept finding 100 fpm under the cu's, but not enough to get high.

I kept moving south along the edge of the cu's but the Myakka River State Park
was now between me and the goal. I was just southeast of Lake Myakka and there
were thirteen kilometers of the park to the west of me and much more to the
southwest. I was in rougher air as I searched for the convergence having to
drift back to the east to get in it. Finally I found 200 fpm to 3,600'.

After I lost the convergence I headed west southwest seeing if I could get to
the cultivated fields on the other side. I started with a twenty one mph tail
wind and light sink. There were wispies out ahead of me to the west and I went
under them straining to stay up and make it across.

The further west I went the lower the tail wind component became. As I
approached the end of the park and down to 800' the tail wind had turned into a
seven mph head wind. The ranch below me was huge, with no roads and no
buildings. I was twenty kilometers out from goal and there was an east/west main
road to my right.

I decided that I didn't want to land in the middle of a huge green area with a
long walk out so I circled back and landed next to the road at the east end of
the ranch. Jochen landed on the same road two miles to my west having stayed
away from the park and over cultivate lands to my north.

Mitch caught up with us when we stopped at the convergence. He came over me
having climbed out to 6,000'. He didn't quite make it to Venice, but felt that
he could of having landed on the east side of I75 at Laurel street. We drove the
rest of the way to have dinner at Shary's on the Pier.

We had a great time and it was a lot of fun flying over these areas.