David's New Site - FIRST FLIGHTS

Last fall, Rachel and I purchased a gorgeous 4-acre brow lot on the back side of Lookout Mountain (about 18 miles southeast of Lookout Mtn. Hang Gliding Flight Park). It is an East-facing site that overlooks the beautiful McLemore Cove and historic Mountain Cove Farms. I hoped the site would be a good hang gliding launch, but even if it turned out not to be, the land and view is so breathtakingly beautiful, that I knew my family would treasure the place and enjoy it for years to come. Rachel and I got to work on clearing trees and brush, and we also brought in several truckloads of dirt to create a gracefully shaped launch mound. I wasn't in a huge hurry to fly the site. Rachel couldn't believe I didn't launch as soon as enough trees were cut in November, but I wanted to wait until some grass was growing on launch, and I was a bit apprehensive about launching a totally new site anyway (especially considering the fact that I hadn't flown a hang glider in almost A YEAR!!) I also didn't have a "designated LZ" and I figured I'd probably go XC on most flights, or land "bandit" style somewhere in the valley below and just hope whatever landowner I encountered would be friendly (as most are after an unexpected landing in an unfamiliar field). But then about four weeks ago I got permission from a very nice landwowner (Mr. Jimmy Underwood) to land in his pasture. The field is a 5:1 glide from launch and slopes uphill to the east-northeast. PERFECT!! Then on Sunday May 4th I went up to Henson's launch near Dunlap Tennessee and flew with Ollie Gregory and James Stinnett. We had an awesome flight where we all three flew from Henson's back to Lookout's LZ (about 32 miles). Sunday night I spent the night on my land so that I could do a little work the next day. On Monday morning I cut the grass and did a few other odds and ends. The wind was blowing pretty good but was crossing from the left most of the time. But buzzards were soaring the ridge and I got the itch to launch there so bad I couldn't stand it. I called Ollie the weather guru and asked about the forecast. He said the wind was expected to be too north-northeast all day Monday, but that Tuesday showed lots of promise. Sunday's flight had given me confidence that I hadn't actually forgotten how to launch, fly, and land a hang glider. So I cancelled my plans to head home and get back to work, and I called Rachel and told her to bring Carter and Rayce up so they could all see my inaugural launch off the new site on Tuesday. I also called James Stinnett and Terry Presley and invited them to fly with me. James brought Jono Fisher along to fly and four other people to help launch us if needed (Pedro, Matthew, Katherine, and ????). Unfortunately my good buddy Ollie had to work or he would undoubtedly have been there as well.Tuesday morning the wind was blowing pretty hard and crossing from the left a bit. Kind of scary. But by the time we got ready to launch around 1:00 CST, the wind had calmed to almost nothing at times, and when it did blow in lightly it seemed to be crossing more often than coming straight in. So I stood on launch for probably 25 minutes waiting for a cycle that seemed perfect. Probably more picky than I would have been at a well-known site, but first I wanted to have a good safe launch, and then I REALLY didn't want my first flight to be a sled-run. Finally a cycle did blow up the side of the hill that looked good and I took it. Couldn't have asked for a more perfect first launch! James followed closely behind with another good launch and we both got up over launch pretty quickly. Jono stood on launch for awhile waiting for a decent cycle and had a good launch. Unfortunately he didn't find any workable lift and was officially the first pilot to land in Mr. Underwood's pasture/LZ. Then Terry launched and found some lift that got him up. James and Terry and I played for about 2 hours, flying well out into the valley, which we found to be working even better than the ridge. The lift was a bit punchy when James and I first launched, but by the time we all landed the air was gloriously smooth and seemed to be going up everywhere. We could have flown for two more hours I'm sure but we all had places to go and things to do. James and Terry were nice enough to let me have the longest flight of the day and went in to land ahead of me, and Rachel got down to the LZ with the camera just in time to catch my landing. This day was a dream come true, and I still can't believe I own such a beautiful chunk of paradise that I can play in till I'm old and gray (or at least a lot gray-er). :-)

Channel: Sports
Uploaded: December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Author: davgiles

Length: 05:48
Rating: 4.20
Views: 2155

Tags: David  Georgia  Giles  Gliding  Hang  Lookout  Mountain  Tennessee  

Video Comments