Flight to Trinity Alps

Flew a 460km OR to Trinity Alps. This flight broke my personal record of longest distance from Williams (previous record was Hayfork). There were lots of clouds, so going up north was easy, but coming back had a challenge. Some clouds overdeveloped, and had rain and sink underneath. A couple of experienced pilots landed out after hitting by the sink. I managed to get around the rain, and made it back to Williams.


On tow at 12:15pm. There are already line of Cu's going north.

At 2:09pm. Keep pushing to the north. Clouds worked pretty well.

Turned Trinity Alps at 3:04pm.


Flying over Trinity Alps. You might worry where the hell I land out if I lose the lift. Actually, there is an airport within the glide range, near the lake seen in the last frame. Besides, with all these clouds, it is very likely that I can catch another lift easily. But you must have a solid confidence on your thermaling skills.

After flying through the rain. What's wrong with this picture besides nasty clouds?

Yaw string is gone with the rain! I had to fly the rest of flight (~200km) without the yaw string (or ball which gliders don't have in the first place).

Flew 460km in 5.5 hours.


More photos can be found here.