Aug 6, 2006 - approx
2:45pm
Sod Farms,
Pine Island
,
NY
The Soaring Experience - Bob Crane
LSF 186
There are certain events in your life which are filed in our subconscious to
be reviewed again and again. It’s
like watching a video that you can rewind.
Today I experienced such an event.
The sky was highlighted with white puffy
clouds and that intense blue that only God can create.
Winds were light, 4 -5 mph, the perfect soaring day.
It’s about
2:45 pm
at the sod farm and we are watching some hawks thermal in the distance.
There are only three pilots at the field, Rich Behrends, Kurt
Zimmerman and myself.
Rich is preparing his Fox sailplane for
launch. Rich has converted the
Fox to electric assist. Rich
uses a dolly to cradle the sailplane during the launch.
The plane is ready and Rich is doing some last minute checks with his
transmitter. The electric motor
is turned on and the Fox leaps into the sky.
The climb out is fast and furious.
Rich reaches about 500 foot altitude in the blink of an eye (really
about 20 seconds) and begins that ever elusive search for a thermal.
Thermals have to be the coolest
phenomenon. Rising currents of
air, where your sailplane can hitch a ride.
How many of you have driven down the road and seen a hawk thermaling
in the distance and wished you could do that?
I know I have. While Rich
is thermal hunting I’m preparing my Allegro –E for a flight.
I install the battery, turn on the transmitter, wiggle the sticks and
off I go to the flight line.
Kurt is resting under my E-Z up,
listening to Rich and I discuss thermal activity and sipping iced tea..
One last stick wiggle and I jam the throttle to full.
The AXI motor roars to life, straining the Allegro in my hand.
A quick toss of the plane and off it goes.
Twenty seconds later, I’m at “hunting altitude,” which is about
500 feet.
Rich, who has been flying for about 15
minutes, is encountering some light lift and is really working the Fox,
which by the way is an aerobatic sailplane.
Rich has fabricated some wing tips which greatly assists the Fox when
thermal hunting. I walk over and
stand by Rich. We are the only
two pilots in the sky.
I start to work some light lift and that
dissipates quickly. Rich is
encountering some sink and has to turn the motor on for a short burst to
altitude. After about 5 minutes,
I need another “shot of altitude” and the AXI blasts me up to around 500
feet. Now I encounter some
really good lift. Seeing the Allegro transition from the clouds to blue sky
is beautiful. Rich and I are now standing shoulder to shoulder, facing
opposite directions.
He is working lift to the right of the
field and I’m doing the same on the left.
My thermal is really strong and Rich is having some problems with
his. So, like a good neighbor I
invite him to join me in “my” thermal.
He is reluctant at first, but finally comes around and “wouldn’t
ya know”, sink!
We now both head over to the left and
find some light lift and work that. Now
comes the cool part. The lift
intensifies and we are climbing at a good rate.
We’re following the thermal down wind and both of us are chatting
up a storm.
“Rich, fly over by me, the lift is
stronger.”
“Bob, more to your right, that’s it,
you got it.”
We spot two hawks in a thermal and join
them. All 4 of us are working
the same thermal. Rich and I are
standing side by side, flying with the hawks.
This is amazing. This is
pure, sharing a thermal in a perfect sky with 2 hawks.
One of us would find better lift and the other pilot would join him.
This is what soaring is all about.
It’s a spiritual experience.
It’s you, your plane, the hawks and the thermal.
You are totally focused on the moment.
It’s like your mind and soul are cleansed.
This to me is the total flying experience.
I have to land as my transmitter battery
is getting low. Rich continues
to thermal enjoying this moment in time.
When Rich lands we both agree that this was one of those soaring
experiences that we will fly again and again.
I was glad to share it with Rich.
