South Side 6/9/08Dangerous Dave.I was hoping to get some wing mounted ph...

South Side 6/9/08

Dangerous Dave.

I was hoping to get some wing mounted photos, so I got to the south side around 8am and set up the T2C.

The wind had picked up just as I got there and it was strong enough to send all the paragliders packing. I jumped in the harness and took a flight. Having the T2C on the south side is like driving a Ferrari in a parking lot, but there are still some pretty cool things you can do with a Ferrari in a parking lot. :) A few PG pilots came to the edge to watch me skim back and forth, so I kinda let loose a bit.

I went skimming back and forth on the ridge with the VG on, and did a few downwind passes in ground effect. The downwind passes with the high ground speed are my favorite. After about 20minutes, my shoulders were flamed, and I landed to laugh with the PG guys on the edge. I realized I had been showing off a bit, but the intense flying was really good soul medicine for me at the same time.

I fooled around with a camera mount, and eventually decided to scrap photo plans due to complications. Cody had showed up along with Dangerous Dave, so I had some company to thermal with. We flew with a couple of out of town pilots trying to out thermal one another and making the most of the small ridge. I also got a flight on Ryan's U2 160.

Back in the T2, I goofed up one of my downwind swoops and knew when I pulled up that I wouldn't have enough energy to glide back to the edge. Rather than mess with unzipping and letting my VG off, I pointed my toes and flew the glider toward the edge, eventually plopping down on my belly. I rolled on my side, unzipped, and dusted myself off before launching again. :)

Airtime: 1:45. Flights: 8.