They say any landing you walk away from is a good one, and if you can reuse the balloon after, it's a great one. That equation doesn't take into account the accessibility of the balloon after the landing, so last night, I made a great landing after an interesting flight, all near Pinnacle Mountain.
I met passengers Lee (Leigh?) and Dick, crew members Dudley, Allison, and Heather, and photographers Paul, James, and Lilly in West Little Rock, and we caravaned to Roland, AR. We started assembling the balloon, when two co-workers appeared to watch and lend a hand (actually a foot, thanks, Joy!)
The wind was calm from the West, and we had a very nice inflation and launch. The balloon headed straight for my intended landing site, and I thought, "this will be terrific!" Then, as we got over the river, the wind stopped. Lee asked "what would we do if the winds don't pick up again?" To which I replied that if Sully can land in a river so can I! I also told her I was confident we wouldn't have to land in the water. My confidence was rewarded when the wind picked up again, this time from a different direction, though.
Our new wind blew us back to the south side of the river, over some fields and farm land, much of which looked pretty wet from the air. Someone was burning brush, and the smoke was blowing to the west. The wind it indicated would allow us to fly right to a great landing spot, with good access, right behind the Pinnacle Mountain State Park Ranger Station! I descended to take advantage of that wind, and discovered that just a short distance away from the smoke, the wind was going to the east. It still gave me a big, flat, and open landing spot, but that spot was pretty tough to get out of.
Passengers Dick and Lee had to drag the balloon through a muddy field for quite a distance, while my crew put a park ranger on the phone so I could describe where I was, and she could tell me "You can't get there from here." She went on to explain that while we landed on park land, the only way into that spot was through private property. She agreed to direct the crew to that property so we could ask permission.
About the time we got to the balloon to the edge of that private property, the crew showed up, asked the landowners if we could use their lawn (the cows in the adjoining field didn't seem to mind the balloon a bit), and we had a nice deflation on beautiful, short grass. The landowners enjoyed our traditional toast and we were on our way.
It was a nice evening for a nice flight. I always get nervous flying here with few landing sites available, but with a little planning, a little patience, and a little effort, it's provides for some beautiful flights!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Trees Trees Trees
The weather for the middle of last week looked really good for a flight. David and I both had Thursday evening free, so an instructional flight was in order. After checking the weather, I suggested with War Memorial, or Burns park as options. David advised that War Memorial gave us a better chance for our preferred landing spot (Two Rivers Park) so that's where we launched. As soon as we were in the air, David said, "Maybe Burns Park would have been better!"
The winds were a little high during inflation, and they were pretty variable (once we were in the air, we watched the windsock at the helipad at Baptist Hospital rotating 45 or 50 degrees), but after a good inflation, we popped out of the small launch field for a good flight west.
There are lots of trees to the west of town, and the variable surface winds made it difficult to line up on the few good landing sites we saw. One of our favorite launch sites was right in our flight path, and we tried to steer for it, but I missed by about 30 feet. Finally, as we flew low over the treetops, a big hay field came into view. It was wide, and we were headed right for the center of it.
It was a bit of a bumpy landing, as I still haven't mastered the size of David's balloon or the feel of the vent, yet, but a good, safe landing. David pulled the balloon into a neighboring yard (that had a clothesline running through it) and he and I deflated the balloon.
Roads are few and far between in that area, most of the roads parallel each other, with few connecting roads, so it took our chase crew a little while to find us. But, they found us. We packed up, and headed for home.
It was a long evening, and a good lesson. David has shared lots of good tips to fine-tune my flying skills, and I really enjoy learning from him. It's comforting to have his experience when flying in this new territory. All the trees and the relatively few landing sites make flying in Little Rock so different than in the pastures and prairies I'm accustomed to. I'm getting better and more comfortable, though, and I can't wait to try it again! My plan is to fly David's balloon next weekend. Hope for good weather!
The winds were a little high during inflation, and they were pretty variable (once we were in the air, we watched the windsock at the helipad at Baptist Hospital rotating 45 or 50 degrees), but after a good inflation, we popped out of the small launch field for a good flight west.
There are lots of trees to the west of town, and the variable surface winds made it difficult to line up on the few good landing sites we saw. One of our favorite launch sites was right in our flight path, and we tried to steer for it, but I missed by about 30 feet. Finally, as we flew low over the treetops, a big hay field came into view. It was wide, and we were headed right for the center of it.
It was a bit of a bumpy landing, as I still haven't mastered the size of David's balloon or the feel of the vent, yet, but a good, safe landing. David pulled the balloon into a neighboring yard (that had a clothesline running through it) and he and I deflated the balloon.
Roads are few and far between in that area, most of the roads parallel each other, with few connecting roads, so it took our chase crew a little while to find us. But, they found us. We packed up, and headed for home.
It was a long evening, and a good lesson. David has shared lots of good tips to fine-tune my flying skills, and I really enjoy learning from him. It's comforting to have his experience when flying in this new territory. All the trees and the relatively few landing sites make flying in Little Rock so different than in the pastures and prairies I'm accustomed to. I'm getting better and more comfortable, though, and I can't wait to try it again! My plan is to fly David's balloon next weekend. Hope for good weather!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)