Heber XC!

Saturday was looking like a good late August, pre-frontal cross-country kind of flyin' day. Cody called early, and the consensus was that Heber would be our best chance for BIG air and BIG miles. We picked up Bruce H. and Greg B. in Park City, and headed up to launch via the backside Deer Valley ski areas.

Steve R. was already at launch. *(Pic. by Bruce, H.)

Heber is a shallow, flat slope launch (8,850' MSL) at the head of a 3.5 mile-long south-facing canyon, which begins near Midway, UT, about 3,100' below. In lighter winds it requires a strong, sometimes extended launch run. In higher winds it can be a bit rowdy, as some brush on the hillside in front of and below launch can create some turbulence soon after takeoff.

Once you get away from launch, there is a spine to the left with a series of peaks which can be soared in search of thermals to allow a climb-out high enough to go over the back and on your way! In August of last year Jeff O'Brien launched here and set the current Utah State record of 220 miles, flying NE to somewhere near Lander, WY!

The potential of the day ahead of us, along with my second flight on my new U2 and a nice breeze blowing straight in at 15 mph had my anticipation level rapidly rising! I did, however, keep my excitement in check, as Cody helpfully walked me through the U2 setup and pre-flight.

Today, one by one, (Bruce first!) we launched between 2 and 2:30 into very nice, building conditions, although a layer of high cirrus clouds seemed to be suppressing very much cumulus development. I worked a number of different thermals until I found one to take me to 16,850' directly over launch. The view over launch is breathtakingly spectacular in all directions, including Mt. Timpanogas, Jordanelle Reservoir, the backside of the Wasatch Mountains, and all of the Park City & Deer Valley ski areas, including some Winter Olympic venues. After topping out, I headed over the back in a north, northeasterly direction. A few miles out, I found myself down to 8,000' feet, looking for a place to land by Silver Creek Junction. I still had 1,000' altitude, so I came in over the big shopping area, hoping to catch a thermal releasing from the parking lots. Sure enough, I hooked a good one that eventually took me to 15,000', allowing me to continue on toward Rockport Reservoir. After getting no response from my radio traffic, I realized that my batteries were dying. I had to decide if it was worth it to try to change out batteries while in-flight and lose precious altitude, or just push on with no radio contact. I decided that communication was key, and attempted the change while in 500 fpm lift at about 14,000' over Rockport Reservoir - which required removing my gloves and ignoring my flying for about 5 minutes! The change was successful, and I was still over 14K! I was back in the game, now able to talk to Dorothy in-chase and everyone else still in the air - but not for long...

Greg and Steve were ahead of everyone, but they got low and had to land near Hoytsville, about 22 miles out from launch - not a state record, but very respectable, and safe flights! By now Bruce was between Coalville and Evanston, WY, and Cody and I were going East up Chalk Creek - after Cody had an awesome low save, just before unzipping to land by Greg & Steve! Being unfamiliar with the route, I made a tactical error a few miles up Chalk Creek. I turned NE at Upton on Huff Creek Road, thinking it was Chalk Creek, but the road below turned into a trail, and I didn't think I was high enough to safely cross some un-retrievable area between there and I-80 to the north. Cody showed me the right way to go, but in order to get back on track and stay within glide of good LZ's, I had to fight a cross-wind route, which burned all of my altitude, bringing me in about 150' over the East Chalk Creek Refinery,

which sits exactly where the UT border makes a 90 degree corner. I tried to make a low save as I drifted just into Wyoming, but soon crossed back into Utah for a nice landing just south of the refinery, about 18 miles south of Evanston and 36.8 miles out from launch. I quickly broke down in the fenced & posted field, and Dorothy and Greg arrived about 30 minutes later to pick me up. I was slightly dissapointed that I didn't go farther,

*(Pic. by Bruce H.) but very happy about the fun, safe flight - and way excited about how this U2 flies!

The last radio traffic we heard, Cody was just passing Evanston near 15,000', and Bruce was near 18,000' going toward Kemmerer! Sometimes there can be a half hour or more between radio transmissions, due to the need to focus on staying in the lift of an elusive thermal. Once you get some basic cross-country hang gliding skills, the difference between flying 20 miles or flying 100+, can come down to one or two key decisions regarding route, lift, strategy or flying speed - especially on a day with marginal lift. Anything which causes you to lose concentration (radio, batteries, camera, cold fingers, hypoxia, etc...) can be the difference in landing early or going far.

Before we came to Evanston, we made phone contact with Cody and found out he had landed on highway 189, just past the wind farms, about 71 miles out from Heber, as the approaching cloud cover put an early end to the lift. Nice flyin', Cody!

"No s*%#! - There I was!"

We then found out that Bruce had landed by the Diamondville Chevron, but we weren't sure if he had broken 100 miles. I watched my GPS count the miles as we got closer,

but he was half a thermal short, landing at 95.6 miles out, but still an awesome, flight of the day!

Way to go, Bruce - you get the gold star for the day -or at least the Cody Cup! (Check out Bruce's 'blog at this link: http://hibbyblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/83008-xc.html) Overall it was a great flyin' day adventure, each one of us getting some nice airtime and some hard-earned XC miles and experience. Thanks for the great day, guys, and thanks for your excellent hang-driving Dorothy!

Airtime: 2 hours 30 minutes. Miles: 36.8!