Sunday, August 29, 2010

Evening Soaring at TBS Sea

We have to get into the habit of actually capturing the weather data, and then comparing it with our actual flying experience. (Alternatively, we should build a small weather station at the radar station.)

It was a usual day, where at some point you get a little frustrated with the Tbilisi Sea launching site, since it's just too inconsistent. However, Irhan K. did at one point catch a thermal and managed to get up 700 m above the launching site, which probably would have put him on track for cross-country flying, but unfortunately he decided to come back to us.

At any rate, at 6:15 PM in the evening, the wind, which had been coming too much from the east, turned, and suddenly came straight from the south. Everyone else had left, I was the only one still up there. Flying until sunset! Remarkable: within three or four minutes of the sun going down, the wind slowed down, and I sank into the valley. I was surprised, since it had appeared to me that the wind was dynamic, with no thermal component. It could be that the drop was coincidental, but clearly we are still learning about this site.
One day, when we really have it figured out, and maybe if we do a little bit of landscaping, there will be better flights. More generally, a good illustration to how small sites can hold positive surprises.
One particular surprise that evening was that once I had hiked back up to the launch site, to the belongings scattered around my car, I encountered six Georgians having a feast, on the occasion of the date of Holy Mary. They had a campfire, which we later heard people saw in Tbilisi, since it's at an elevated spot. I stayed with the group until almost midnight.


After dusk, the launch site is totally magical: you see all of the city, you see the planes coming in, and reflections on the lake. The stars are clear, and there's a nice breeze.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Flying with an Ultralight

Yesterday, Alexander N. took me out on his ultralight, on a glorious day, from the Natakhtari Airport. The runway in itself was an experience (there was no runway). Flying in this ultralight felt incredibly immediate, and fun. The only thing that you crave is turning off the engine as you're approaching a big cloud and beginning to feel how it draws you in. But that is not what this toy is designed for.

Cloud base somewhere above 2200 m, which would be plenty for flying over land, even if it's on the low side for the foothills of the Caucasus. Again, we were thinking that the one thing we need is either a winch (the first thermals start 200 m above the ground, or less) or eventually one of the electric motors.

On a day like yesterday, after three days of strong wind from the Northwest, the Northwest wind breaking down around noon, there would be plenty of potential for epic flights -- to be sure, only in one direction, since the wind is pretty zippy up there (around 50 km/h above Mtskheta), but distance nevertheless. There is so much potential that's waiting to be explored...

[Pictures/film to follow soon.]