Saturday, July 3, 2021

Westerly

WEATHER
Visibility: Unlimited - we could watch the OD build in the Sierras
Wind: All around the clock
Altitudes: 7,200' msl and more directly over the airport
Time Aloft: Several hours
Max Lift: 10+ knots in the sweet ones
Temperature: 103 at 5 pm
Comment: All Good
Tow pilot: Logan S.

The forecast was for a "nothing special" day around Avenal, except that the westerly push in the afternoon would actually arrive at the airport.  Here was the picture at 4 pm:

Sure enough, through the heart of the soaring day, the ridges and mountains to the west were not really working, but up and down Hwy 33 and over the Kettleman Hills there was nice soaring to be found.  The winds started out right down Runway 12, then shifted to Easterly and then after 3, shifted 180 deg to a direct crosswind from the west.  I can't say it was a "cool" breeze, but we did notice it seemed "cooler".

Joe A, Richard W. and Eric R. each had multi-hour flights in their birds.  Not a day for long distances, but just good fun.

Kyle D. worked on prep for his upcoming checkride.

Gordon is getting the hang of the pattern, and we are slow exorcising all those old power habits.

Quinn focused on mastering the pattern, and then showed us how its done crusing energy lines in a 2-33!

Thanks to Logan for getting us into the air.

Happy Independence Day to all!