Mitch Shipley <<elektratow>>
writes:

We have had really good days (i.e. 3-4 hour flights, 4-700 fpm
lift and 4-6K foot bases/top of lift) fairly often. Leap Year Day (29FEB12) was
a good example supporting a five hour flight. Launching just after 1 PM, the
first hour was drifting downwind (~10MPH south wind) to a turn point over my
house on Lake Dora – very cool! Although the clouds looked awesome, the climb
rates were modest (2-300 fpm) and I actually managed to be patient and not race
myself to the ground expecting better lift so early – exactly what I did chasing
Dustin to New Smyrna Beach last year in similar conditions or following you
early that one “epic” looking day.

The drift was toward Leesburg airspace and required jumping streets to the East,
taking me directly over Little Lake Harris and Lake Dora. The glides over the
lakes were straightforward and very scenic when starting them at with ~ 4K AGL.
After marking my house turn point and getting back to base under a conveniently
placed cloud coming over Lake Dora, the 3 ½ hour upwind leg began just after
2PM.

The first upwind glide jumped streets and left me at the low point for the whole
flight, 1K AGL, but under a nice street. The cloud street worked, got me back up
to base (now near 5K feet) and supported a 5 mile glide near base to get me
halfway back to Quest before the next climb. Now after 3 PM, the day really
turned on and the next climb was 600 fpm to base at the 5K high point of the
flight. Tagging the Quest turn point at 3:30 marked the first time I completed a
long standing goal of mine to fly home and back – failing on two previous
attempts. With a bunch of my buddies flying around near base at Quest and the
day still looking great, the only thing I could do was keep going, so off on the
upwind leg to Wallaby I went!

The Quest to Wallaby upwind leg was good technical flying in the best part of
the day. Climbs were now 4-600 fpm to 4K under predictably good looking clouds,
although the drift in each thermal was around ¾ of a mile NNE, the wrong
direction. Conveniently the clouds took me near Seminole glider port giving me
the landing and retrieve options that make us bold (and as it turned out low)!
With our sailplane buddies around, it wasn’t too hard to dig out from that low
point.

Then it was the long crosswind glide into Bronson Ranch territory to get to one
of those great looking convergence streets that often set up out there in the
middle of hostile territory. The street worked as hoped, with 400fpm to a 4800
foot base and a mile long glide under it toward Wallaby. From there it was a
reasonable 8.5 to 1 glide in and after a little 200 foot climb two miles out for
fun (and trying to see if I could jump back to this thermal and maybe fly back
downwind to Quest!) I got to Wallaby at 1500 feet at 5 PM.

An 1:15 to go the 20 miles downwind home in light and building conditions. 1:30
to fly directly upwind back to Quest in building conditions. Another 1:30 to fly
the 23 miles to Wallaby in a 10ish MPH crossing headwind in the peak lift of the
day. Once Arriving a Wallaby, there was a rigid at base and two single surface
gliders playing around near my altitude. With it being after 5 PM, a weak last
climb and the cloud streets rapidly drying out, I bailed on the idea of flying
back to Quest. Rather I spent a very enjoyable 45 minutes climbing a thousand
feet in the light lift of the diminishing day with my buddies at Wallaby. All in
all, a supremely enjoyable 65 mile flight, especially for February. If there had
been two or more of us we would have made it back to Quest!