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!