With some strong Northerly winds at high altitudes over Europe lately, we got the chance to see those massive clouds forming in mountainous areas. Their impressive shape is the result from high altitude waves and they are a sign of exceptional soaring conditions for glider pilots.Two...
Glider towing was a very good experience.Figures-wise, this represents some 1300 tow flights, on a 6 days on / 1 day off pattern, up to 14 consecutive flying days on some occasions.I had the chance to do tows up to FL120 (12,000ft) for the National Test Pilots School (EPNER in France,...
As summer is approaching, we get busier and busier, hence the lack of posts on this blog lately.Towing-wise, I've been checked out on a newly designed aircraft, the MCR-180. This basically is a small and very light aircraft (450 kg / 990 lbs) powered by the classic 180 hp Lycoming...
Flying towards the bright side of the mountain ridge, I'm expecting the kick in the seat that will give me a hint when I reach the rising air.The speed looks stable, the glider 200 ft behind me is following my path nicely, and I can now clearly spot the dozen of gliders already flying...
Roughly 40 hours in the tow planes, 12 hours of soaring, nearly 300 tow flights, not bad for a quiet month.It's actually getting a lot busier now, and the nice weather does help a lot. We've reached 32°C (90°F) last week, way above the average for this time of year.The airfield is...
As well as building my flying hours, I get to fly gliders every now and then and got the chance to do a 7 hr flight across the French Alps, flying a circuit of just over 300 km (160 nm), and a total flown distance of 660 km (350 nm).We reached an altitude of 15,000ft in a very cold...
