Hull is back

Last weekend a car of 4 headed to Hull. We were joined by a few of our own and a few Sonoma pilots. I had two great flights. Launch was cycling nicely and I headed towards Lower Launch. Making a few passes between the two launches, I found consistent, mellow up. Barry launched after cookiegirl and I migrated to where he was finding lift. I was able to follow him up a few thousand, getting above the peak - I topped out at 8400! He kept going, maxing out at 8993. I played around up there for a while, then started slowly drifting down the ridge. After an hour and 15 minutes or so, I happily touched down at the lakeside.

Due to logistical issues on Sunday, only three pilots flew. Most of the sky seemed to be going up. I found my first thermal around the hairpin, and spent the next two hours (!!) going back and forth between launch and the house. I hit 1100 fpm a few times but only got to 6780 - still about level with the peak. I was the only one in the air for a good while, and I was feeling like the king of the sky. Eventually my arms grew tired and so did the lift, so I attempted to head for the lake. With a report of whitecaps on the lake, I decided not to try the glide and instead went for the airstrip. After turning off the vario in preparation for landing, I realized the strip was thermally and tried a few last turns, hoping to get up enough to make the lake. No such luck, and I set down by the sock. Great fun.

Hang-4 spot!

Log: 7 pilots, 10 flights. Two each for cookiegirl (hour total?) and clayble (over three hours).