Untitled Document

THE TROPHY IS BACK IN TOWN (continued)

Click on the picture for an enlargement!

I went to the clubhouse and got the trophy off the fireplace mantle and hurried back to my glider and prepared for launch. It took 30 minutes before I got back in the air with my precious cargo.

On tow the weather did not look promising, as the photo will show while I was crossing over the field looking at the western sky. The real challenge ahead of me was making it home in this hazy soup. The tow pilot had to divert us south around a big cumulus cloud because we were climbing to the customary 5000' tow; (cloud base was 4000agl or less).

Once I released I had to immediately head to the northwest to get away from Cincinnati airspace and more importantly, get in some sun where I'd have a fighting chance of getting home. I didn't find lift till I pasted to the Northwest of Hook about 5 miles where I thought I'd have to turn around and land if I didn't get away but I got a 4 to 5 knoter that saved my bacon.

Click on the picture for an enlargement!

Back up to cloud base at 5000msl I got back on course and was making good time with a 10kt tailwind. Passing Richmond off my right wingtip I felt better about my chances of getting home but still had a long way to go. Unfortunately my luck ran out passing Newcastle and things went flat. I was cruising at 2500msl with -1.5 on the averager. Now looking for fields to land in but all I could find were cornfields.

At 2000msl I found a young bean field that was accessible from a country road and was connected to a home where I could roll up in, Perfect! Now to make the big save. After two circles searching for lift around trees and wires I dropped the gear and flared out between the rows of beans and rolled out of the field onto the side yard of a country home.

Some local neighbors arrived in their cars as I came to a full stop. They were very nice to me and they got the homeowner out to show her what had landed in her backyard.

Click on the picture for an enlargement!

Edna Hunt and her friendly neighbors kept me company while we waited for John Dittrich to arrive with the trailer. John finally arrived and we quickly derigged the glider as the folks stood around curiously watching how we were going to get that plane in the trailer.

John and I made our goodbyes and we were off by sunset. All in all, A very good day!