From This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Thu Jul 7 10:55:38 NZST 1994
Last week was an interesting one for the Carbon Dragon. I had been doing some work on the glider for about 3 weeks and hadn't flown during that time. When everything was finished, I wanted to get one XC practice run done in preparation for last Saturday's XC meet. Sooo... on Monday I loaded up my wife and three kids and we took off. Faithful, enduring Mary gave me a tow to 800' at 12:15 PM. I located lift right away, took the first one to 3500' and turned downwind with about a 5-10 knot component. Although there wasn't any streeting, things were somewhat organized and I covered the first 38 miles from Sunflower Aerodrome S. of Hutchinson to McPherson in 45 minutes. Conditions at McPherson were strong with some 1300/up. The next 15 miles clicked off pretty fast but then conditions started to change. The cum's which had been marking my course split off to leave a huge blue hole as far as I could see from 5500' and the tailwind dropped to about 5 or less. The next 25 miles were tenuous and it was necessary to veer off course 90 degrees and several miles twice to work something which seemed to be developing. It seemed to take forever, but I finally made it to Abilene and found some reasonable development with a few cum's, one of which took me to 6000' AGL. From there several more successively weaker cycles with no cum's allowed me to just make it across the Nebraska border W. of Pawnee City, then turn and head back into Kansas about 15 or 20 miles more for a smooth landing in a soy bean field at 6:45 PM. Total flight about 190 miles, 70% of which was not in good conditions. Five days later the 174 mile flight in so-so conditions which won the Kowbell Klassic allowed me to log 364 miles in two flights that week. I'm still waiting for a day with good conditions when everything else can be coordinated logistically. 350 to 400 miles on a good day should be a reasonable goal. On the rare and truly exceptional day, I think the Carbon Dragon is capable of 450 to 600 miles in a long, long flight.
As I think about all these things, it strikes me that Larry Tudor's 300 mile flight from Hobbs, NM to Elkhart, KS must be the soaring accomplishment of the decade, given the glider performance, length of flight, etc.
Marvelous stuff.
Here's to a safe and long XC season for all to enjoy!
Best Regards, Gary Osoba This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Wichita, KS