Hull

So, flying Hull was pretty scary.

Standing up on launch, after hearing all the stories (and the flight plan, for that matter, which made it sound like I would be picking pine cones off the tops of trees on my way down), made me slightly concerned about whether or not it would be possible for me to make the glide down to the LZ. I had to watch both cleanpants and boy wonder launch and make it safely down before I even felt like flying at all.

Although everyone on the ground told me I had plenty of clearance over the trees, and I stuck to the flight plan and had a good launch and landing, the first ten minutes of that flight were spent thinking frantically back to previous ground schools teaching us about how to best crash into the types of trees I was looking down on (flare over them? fly into them?). That, as it turns out, was not necessary.

Even in my worst bouts of anxiety, I was determined not to let my panic get the best of me and fly the straight flight to the LZ in sink though, if I was going to crash into the trees it was going to be while following the flight plan down to a t.

The trip was not all traumatizing flights however, as our instructors got a good couple of hours of airtime, the weather was great, the lake was warm, the food was good, and we got acquainted with a large part of Hull's classy locals. Some of these locals, wearing the hell out of their trucker caps, wife-beaters and tribal tattoos were very much helpful after cleanpants managed to blow two (!) tires on his way up to launch, and also give the Subaru a couple of attractive battle scars (officially inducting it into the line of worthy hang gliding vehicles). Also, since the next sledride we have from hull will have to be exponentially less scary, I think it would be safe to call this a successful trip.

cleanpants video:

Log: helmet girl (1 flight), cleanpants (1 flight), boy wonder (1 flight). All sled-rides. All scary.