I flew the LS6C for the first time in 9 months last Saturday, and it was just as wonderful as I remembered. Having passed all of my check flights back in February, it was quite frustrating waiting for the weather to improve. But finally, the forecast for Saturday looked good, and our glider was back on site and ready to fly.
We rigged on Saturday morning (heavy work after 9 months off), polished the glider and got it to the launch point. Hubby was first to have a go, with the promise that I could fly later in the day. The weather looked great to begin with, but it soon began to overdevelop, quickly cutting off the sun. However there were still thermals around, and the conditions were cycling so all was not lost.
By the time Hubby landed and we got the glider ready for me to fly, the sky had opened up somewhat. I strapped in, and sat waiting for my launch with a little trepidation. Why is hard to say, it’s not like the glider has changed, but I suppose there’s always a nagging doubt in the back of my mind that I’ll have lost my abilities. I think a little fear is healthy – it stops me becoming blase.
However once the glider left the ground, my fears melted away, as they always do. The grace with which the glider leaps into the air, the harmony of the controls, the whisper of the wind over the canopy… all serve to put my mind at ease. We released from the tow and turned immediately into a thermal, which went to cloudbase at about 4000 feet AMDL. The next hour or so was pure joy, just remembering the feeling of flying my own glider, and soaring in the early spring thermals, just brilliant.
Enough waxing lyrical. The rest of the flight was uneventful. A speedy de-rig due to the complaints of a hungry and tired baby boy, was followed by a takeaway curry for dinner, and I was asleep on the sofa before 8pm!
