[Nj-ny-paragliders] finally got some air!

[Andrew Crowe]

Mike, I loved your flight story! It reminded me a lot of a flight I had about a week ago. 
It was the end of the day and I thought I might be leaving home too late to fly. (It seems a pretty bad idea to rush setup.) But takeoff was easy, the view was fantastic, the sunset was rich, the leaves were at their peak, I flew around near a kid on a four-wheeler in the middle of a wide open field who seemed to enjoy my company, etc. I was only in the air for about twenty minutes before my hands were getting cold and the light was getting dim but it was enough to put a big smile on my face "appease the urge" for the next day or two. 
About me:  I have been a part of this mailing list for several years now, a long-time wannabe pilot, longing for my own chance to fly. This summer I finally bought and trained on a new Fresh Breeze and Power Atlas. (I know, I know, free-flight is supreme but I travel too much to guarantee proximity to a launch site). This mailing list kept me inspired in the meantime and I've thoroughly enjoyed all pics, videos, and stories. I now have about 25 flights and I'm loving every minutes of it!
Happy Fall flying, everybody!~ andrew


From: msoborski at hotmail.com
To: nj-ny-paragliders at lists.omnistep.com
Subject: [Nj-ny-paragliders] finally got some air!
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:10:15 +0000








After a long string of rainy/windy/otherwise crummy weekends, I finally was able to sneak in a last-few-minutes-of-the-day motor flight.  Winds were NW 11+mph all day right up until 5pm when it slowed to 4-6mph.  Seizing the chance, I threw my gear in the car and drove around the corner to the field.

 

Take off was easy; the new motor is working great, this being only it's second 'break in' flight.  I quickly climbed to a comfortable altitude and got a good look around.  Visibility was amazing!  I could see the Philadelphia skyline perfectly, not a hint of haze.  The northern horizon revealed a distant low mountain range (Watchungs?).  Sunset was shaping up to be a beauty.  All this plus the foliage is peaking around here so, once I hit 1000 feet or so, I grabbed my camera to take what I anticipated to be some very nice pics.

 

Dead batteries.  That's what I get for rushing out of the house without checking.  Anyway, boated around/parked in strong wind until my hands got cold (vario read 50 degrees at 1700 feet - brrrr), killed the motor and had one of the nicest glides down in recent memory against a sunset that painted the sky with unimaginably beautiful hues of red, blue, amber and violet.  By the time I landed in the deepening shadows near the tree line I was feeling pretty good; amazing what even a short flight can do for one's mood!

 

Mike S.  
 		 	   		  
Windows 7: I wanted more reliable, now it's more reliable. Wow! 		 	   		  
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