Sunday, January 15, 2012

With the birds I'll share...

It has been over 5 months since my last flight, and just over 5 years since my last January flight. The road to launch is usually snowed in, and the valleys are usually socked-in with inversions and near zero temperatures. This has been an unseasonably warm, dry winter, and yesterday Cody & I took advantage of a favorable forecast to bag an hour and a half of rare January airtime!

(Matt S. on Vimeo)
Conditions on launch were sunny, about 45 degrees, with a smooth 20 mph breeze coming straight into launch. After launching, we explored the narrow lift band, and took turns finding the tops of the regular soft-edged thermals. The lift seemed to top out about 300 feet over launch, not quite high enough to allow us to bench up. Although we did not have any record-setting climbs, it was a great January gift, getting 2012 off to a great start!