Flying R10 in Stanwell

It was my first experience flying non-certified wing. Mitsi owned R10 and I really wanted to have a go on this one for a long time.

The wind was not strong enough to stay up at this time of the day so I decided to do a couple of passes along the ridge and land on the bottom. Light wind reverse launch and I am in the air. First thing which came to my mind - 'wow! this is what you call performance!'

Turning radius is pretty wide and I didn't want to spin the wing so I was playing with the brakes gently. After the last pass I ended up pretty low over the trees. If I would be on my Sigma 6 I would probably end up in the bushes. This time I put my faith into the wing and I arrived to the landing zone with the altitude to spare. 'Wow!' again. A second after smooth landing I felt that my back and palms are sweaty...

Thanks Mitsi for letting me fly this glider!

Windy and bumpy Blackheath

Last Saturday of August I went to fly Blackheath despite the forecast was pretty windy.

When I arrived to the site a couple of guys were already there including Andy and Jan. We took off as a bunch of 4 pilots. Andy as usual went forward on his Icepeak 5 and I was trying to find the core of punchy thermals. Because the wind was pretty strong it was not easy. After each circle I was on the lee side of the thermal. Eventually I gave up since the wind picked up and I could hardly go forward. All of us landed safely but it was good practice of early morning thermaling.