One hundred thirty flights over a thousand Km !

Back to Paris (a flight of more than 9000 km, but in an Airbus 340…), I can now speak of my “winter season” without the press of events pouring into my everyday life ! Phew ! That was another record season. The pilots in Bitterwasser flew 130 flights of over a thousand km ! Not bad for gliders using the sole solar energy… For my part, I flew five of them. Two flights will stick to my memory. The first, a 1200k flight with Woody, my american friend, this being my, and his, longest flight ever. The second being my 1000K FAI Diploma, as well as my “Palm-Tree flight”. One gets a palm tree in Bitterwasser, when one flies one’s FIRST 1000. Well, now that it is done, I can say that I missed it on better days, and that I made it on a marginal day ! No speed record, only 124,9km/h; which is not extraordinary in these regions. Nevertheless, a first is a first. And it taught me so many things. One, you are never prepared well enough. Two, it’s better to know the rules BEFORE the flight, than to discover about them after the flight. Three, once you’ve obtained your goal, it’s a real relief !! And four, I am now ready for further attempts….

1000 km sans s’en rendre compte

Hé bien, devinez quoi ?? Ça y est !! J ai fait mes 1000 ! Et encore sans le savoir !! Je dois être le seul pilote qui ait jamais réalisé ce vol sans s´en rendre compte !! Voilà comment ça s´est passé :
Le 6 décembre 2006, je fais une première tentative (que je regretterai longtemps !) avec l´ASH 25 de F***. Sur 750 bornes, je fais une moyenne de 156 km/h. Puis tout s´écroule avec un très fort vent d´ouest qui tue tous les thermiques. Je fais quand même 1155 km.
Le 4 janvier, j´en refais une seconde. Avec le nimbus 3DM de W***, cette fois-ci. Juste avant, nous avons eu une super période durant laquelle, un tas de pilotes ont fait leurs 1000. Moi pas, pour diverses raisons…

Mouillé, très mouillé

La pan est trempée et les vols très limités. Aujourd hui, il n’y a
que moi qui vole, pour un test !!
Joyeux Noël à vous tous.

A day unlike any other !!

Montag, 18.12.2006 12:54
Two days before yesterday, december 14th, over 35 flight above 1000 k were made and registered on the OLC in Africa.
Seventeen, no less, of these flights started from Bitterwasser ! Two were over 1300 k (1368 and 1352 to be exact), and one was a 1250 FAI pre written triangle, the noblest of all tasks…

Waiting for splendid skies

I’ll tell you about the skies here, and fabulous soaring conditions, night falling all of a sudden and sometimes rain, rain all over the “pan”.

I am not yet at ease with this new blog, but as soon as I can handle with, you’ll see (and read) a lot more.

Letter from somewhere

Dear friends,
from now on, you’ll find news about fabulous flights and ventures here. You’re welcome to add comments and stories about your own experience. JRF.