Eventually, all considerations fed into our thinking caps, a route will be chosen.............
We get to the airfield at about 9.30, and then it's the laborius, but intense task of preparing the TUG and the gliders....
First thermals start popping at about 10am, with workable thermals starting at about 10.45.....then it's rush hour to get all 4 guys up and away.
Mostly I tow them up to about 1 500ft AGL, but sometimes up to 2000ft AGL. On the way, continually on the look-out and feel for a good thermal. After release it is a rush down to collect the next glider......I love this part immensely....it's where I get to put the tug upside down, point it vertically at the ground, spin it, spiral it, just plain have fun
tomorrow I'll take some pictures while I am on the way down.........Don't know how they'll come out, but I'll try...George Brink stopped by yesterday, with his young son, on his way while ferrying the bush-baby ( a topic elswhere on Hangar Talk ).......nice to meet a fellow pilot from microlighers.co.za
How was the rest of your flight George?And then, all gliders off on their journey, and it's pack up time. TUG and dolley back into the hangar, tow-line packed away, and me off to snooze the day away in an air-conditioned room........drinking copius amounts of liquid to cope with this intense dry heat..
Man, it's a slick machine - the ATOS rigid wing
After release, continuing in the thermal, the vastness of the karoo landscape awaits...
perfectly positioned, within the triangle formed by the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and the support cable.......now if only they would stay there
Here you can clearly see the difference in wing shape and planform of the ATOS rigid wing hang glider compared to the standard flex-wing types
Round and round we go, up and ever up...
