WEATHER
Visibility: Clear all day.
Wind: North at 3-5 knots.
Altitudes: 4700 msl.
Time Aloft: Sixty-six minutes.
Max Lift: 6-8 knots.
Temperature: 96 deg.
Comment: Excellent thermals all around.
HIGHLIGHTS:
1.The Teel Family, Patriarch Oren Teel, his daughter, Toy (Teel) Marlette, Edgar Teel, Alexandre Teel, and Marshall Marlette all arrived at Avenal determined to not only fly in a glider, but experience weightlessness for the first time. And with one exception, all did just that. The real eye-opener is that Toy Marlette, who as you may recall from past stories, is Hanna Marlette's Mom, not only went aloft again but this time insisted on going weightless. A great sport, that lady. In addition, and perhaps even more amazing, is that Oren Teel took his very first glider ride, and first small aircraft ride in more than 20 years. I was shocked when he said he'd like to experience weightlessness just like the three others before him. Now that's incredible because he is undoubtedly the most senior passenger ever to experience that sensation. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE TEEL FAMILY MEMBERS ON THEIR FLIGHTS AT AVENAL ON JULY 19, 2007.
2. After the flights, we all adjourned to Debbie's for the World's Greatest Hamburgers, and then headed back to Fresno. Edgar and Alexandre are from Virginia where Oren's son is located. The boys are originally from the Dominican Republic and were adopted by Oren's son. So, along with their cousin, Marshall, they were enjoying 10 days here in California before returning to Virginia. You wouldn't believe the itinerary that was developed by Oren for the boys visit. Probably more structured than any of the current Presidential candidates campaign trail, listing events, days, times, etc. Nothing like a little structure to bring joy into one's life. Heh, heh, heh. Or as Hanna would say, LOL. Both Edgar and Alexandre are wonderful young men who anyone would be proud to have in their family. And I was most proud to show them around the gliderport and introduce them to the world of gliders.
3. It was so slow on Saturday, July 21, that only one member showed up. Artur Hernadi decided he wanted to go flying again after a long layoff. We did two flights, separated by a nice patio break. The first flight lasted 1.0 hours, the second lasted 1.1 hours. As each flight progressed, Artur improved his thermaling skill. On the second flight, it looked like we were going to have to land, but just nearing the IP, Artur snagged a nice thermal and got us back up to over 3000 msl. He enjoyed the day and so did I. It was too bad others didn't show up because the thermaling was excellent everywhere in the area. At times we experienced thermals of 8 knots.
