[Amigo] > [Ron's flight index]

Ron Meyer

Saturday, 6/18/05
Skyport to Casitas Pass Road (1/2 mile short of Bates)

I launched around 11 AM, part of the second wave of pilots off of Skyport.  The first wave of pilots who got off earlier in the day had lighter lift, lower clouds, and overall tougher conditions to contend with.  Many of those pilots chose to stay local or land in Carp... cloudbase was just too low to think of making a run for the Pass.

Conditions seemed pretty reasonable when I launched and I found plenty of weak lift over the AF.  Soon, I found myself thermalling over the TF with about 4K when I spy two identical yellow and red wings in tight, fighter formation at my 8 o'clock coming from the R & R.  For a split second I imagined I was over the Pacific and two Japanese Zero's were on me and gonna take me down.  They had mean looks on their faces as they arrived and poached my thermal.  They surrounded me and chaos ensued.  One waked me.  The other turned in front of me and made me dive.  They both cursed and sneered.  Bullets were flying all around and I heard screaming on the radio.  Just as I panicked I snap to reality and realize it's just Dean and Bo on identical looking wings... friendly as a couple of puppies.  lol

They smiled and waved and we all headed downrange.  Let me tell you, that was a kick.  It was great because we all hung out together... working every ridge... working every spine... helping each other.  We'd arrive at each point in tandem and then spread out in search grids.  We were spotting thermals left and right... like a well oiled machine.  It was amazing.  We soon found ourselves downrange in what seemed like a few minutes.  It was effortless and super fun because we were all sharing the same air.

How often does that happen?  We tag teamed the SB range and just killed it.

About a mile east of the Power Lines I took a peek at White Ledge.  It was hazy and cold over there... just shrouded in clouds.  No sun holes... cold and dark and completely shaded in.

Even if it weren't shaded in I'm not sure I would have taken a stab at it.  I really didn't want to find myself bushwhacking or on a hike out so I raised Bo on the radio and we all agreed to bolt for Bates.

I beelined straight out to Bates from my position in what I later would find out was a poor line.  I was fat and high when I left but then hit a tremendous amount of sink on glide.  I came in maybe a couple of hundred over Snowball?  ridge... perhaps short of Bates by a mile and a half.

I found a nicely organized thermal at the ridge and climbed about 1000 feet with it and put Bates within possible reach again.  Bo and Dean had left the ridgeline higher and in better position and had already landed there.  They were goading me to land there too.  But after a mile of gliding I found myself setting it down in a nicely plowed field 1/2 mile north of Bates on Casitas Pass Road.

Flying down the SB range isn't as unusual and special to me as it might have been a couple of years ago, however flying so closely in a gaggle of friends to the Power Lines made the experience extraordinary.  It made the day pretty magical.

For that reason I'd rank the flight in my top ten of most fun flights.  Thanks for sharing it with me Dean and Bo...