So after taking butch out to go flying first, i wanted to go on an aerobatic flight, and naomi decided she would go up for a glider ride too.
so, naomi and my dad got in first to get towed, and i followed with the instructor giving me the aerobatic ride.
here are erik and naomi checking out the plane
naomi in the back seat
ready to take off
me getting into my chute
ohh yeah, im ready
lets get going
on the towline
on tow overhead
naomi and my dad landing while im still on tow. not much thermal activity in the winters, so short flights
high speed pass
and us landing
the five of us with the captain cook
so, first and foremost, let it be known that since i was participating in all these activities, the primary photographer of the day, was noa, who did very well, i must say. she defiantly captured the spirit of glider flying, and its especially nice to get some pictures of me in a glider for once.
so, i would have to say naomi definitelyenjoyed her ride. ask her yourself next time you see her, but after being somewhat intimidated by it initially, she had a great time.
as for myself, well. we released from our tow, and i flew some lazy circles around for a few minutes, since i had not been up in quite a while. then, i handed it over to the instructor, and right off the bat, he asked if we should fly inverted. heck yeah, i said. so, over we went. i had strapped myself in pretty well, but forgot to tighten my shoulder straps enough, so, immediately, i dropped an inch, and was hanging there, upside down, with all the rocks in the plane falling down to my head, staring straight down at the ground. it was awesome. we probably spent about 45 seconds inverted, then righted ourselves.
the rest of the flight was loops, hammerheads, spins and spirals. it was epic. i had done some of those maneuvers before, but never inverted and multiple loops. i had a great time. we finished it off with buzzing the airfield with a high speed pass, and came in for a landing. i just had a blast.
at some point within the next year, i need to start flying more again, and get my license, as coming up soon is the 50th anniversary of my grandfathers glider being built, and i need to fly it solo that year.
well, that about wraps it up for our arizona coverage!