This is the view of the plateau looking north, from Henson's Gap. You can see launch in the bottom right of this picture. I think I was at 3,200 ft. when I took this. Have to take my buddy's word for it, because for the second flight in a row, my batteries were dead, and I had to fly without a vario. Oh well, doesn't seem to affect my flying much. I was the top of the stack for a while.
I believe this is Johnny, in his sailplane, buzzing Henson's radial ramp. Gotta love being this high over a sailplane !

My buddy Dub, on the nose wires, brought his sister & niece with him yesterday so that his niece could get a tandem with Clark Harlow. Here's a look at them getting there hang check.

Clark always has a great launch.

Their climb-out, after a perfect launch. As you can tell, it was a great cycle !

Clark doesn't fly with a vario either. He had an extra 100 lbs on his glider,or so lol, and he still was able to soar for over an hour. He is that good, however, I will ensure that my darn batteries are full charged next time, with some spares. I have proved to myself that I can do it,,I just like having it, to maximize the lift. Of course, it could be that I just chose to fly on 2 NO brainer kind of days, lol. I like to think it was allll me.

Some folks out there will understand what I'm about to describe, others,,,may only dream about it. I had my first flight this year, last Saturday. I was able to pull off an hour 1/2 before I had to head out and land. It was calm, buoyant ridge life, and the end of the day glass off. Yesterday, was a very challenging day of over 2 hours. Wore me OUT ! But, in a great way. I felt like one of those cars on a track toys we had as kids, that you had to recharge every 4 minutes. I felt worn out, exhausted, and energized at the same time. It is really good to be back in the air after so many problems. Wonder what the weather is going to be tomorrow??? haha.

Well, this broke the "Happens in 3's" saying. Really, kind of scarey. He was 50 years young.

Billy Mays was found dead by his wife in his Tampa, Florida home on June 28, 2009. The Associated Press reported that there were no indications that the house had been broken into, and that police did not suspect foul play.

Mays had been aboard a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at Tampa International Airport on June 27, the day before his death. None of the 138 passengers and five crew members were reported to be seriously injured immediately following the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises from falling objects. Mays told the local Tampa TV station that some of the objects "hit me on the head, but I got a hard head." It is unclear whether Mays' death was related to the incident.

They say that bad things happen in 3's. Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and now Michael Jackson.

This is not a debate on what kind of man he was,,I didn't know him. I have, however, danced many many hours to his music back in the day. Many hours of great entertainment, until things went south for him. I am sorry for the loss of a great entertainer !

Farrah Fawcett,,, what a shame, sorry Ryan. She was the heartthrob of every American male during her prime. She fought a valiant fight.

At least Mr. McMahon had a full, and an unblemished life!

Hope we don't loose anymore ! But, the longer that we live,,,

the more of these we will see !

This is just a post about some new pictures that I took. I think they turned out Great ! I may enter a couple of them in a contest or two?!

I really love the timing on the one below. I call this one,,," Taking Flight".

The shadow is what makes this one unique.

I'm hoping that tomorrow may be a flyday! ! ! ! And, in a perfect world,,,Friday would rain all day,, the flyable all weekend, lol.

It's been 7 months since I've flown. Between my health issues, and a crappy spring season,, just hasn't worked out. I was cleared to go back to some sort of a normal life from the Dr. on Wed., and flying is part of my normal life. As strange as that may sound, to non-hang gliding pilots. For us pilots, living without flying, is like other people not being able to "take a dip in the swimming pool".
I'm going to go join those 8 other pilots.

A view of the Flight park shop, from over Scenic Highway, looking north.

Looks like the party is started below, and it's about 45 minutes before dark. Of course, who hasn't broken down in the dark?? and a little bit of dew on the sail?

Breakdown area,,and you can see the Pool Party going on in the background.

Let the jousting begin ! Supper table in the background. Menu for the night,,,,Hamburgers, hotdogs, baked beans, and all the trimmings,,,,along with a keg of beer,,,all for $5.. what a country.

Diana was crowned the Queen of the joust ! Pablo went Down ! haha

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday about the human body. If you spend however many years in a disabling state,,and you take measures to fix it, you get better. After you get better, the rest of your body that has been put on hold,,,,doesn't get better along with it. It takes time,,,careful, slow, deliberate time. And, if you over do it,,,,, you will pay ! I over did it a bit in the heat yesterday,,and today,,,between the heat & flying for an hour 1/2, lack of food, etc... I am paying for it a little today. Lesson learned,,,back to getting busy !

I wanted to let everyone know, that my month of behaving myself is over. I got back from the Dr. yesterday, with a 100% report. The only restriction that I have is that I take aspirin, for the rest of my life. As long as it isn't plavix,,,I can live with that. I can't cut myself shaving in the shower, tho' !
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes, and prayers, as they helped me through this very trying time. I was able to mow the grass today for the first time today,without having to stop every 3 1/2 minutes to let the feeling come back in my leg. I had to stop only once during my "therapy" today. After years of not being able to exercise, you can imagine how bad of shape that I'm in. Actually, not That bad, but still.... in time I will be back where I need to be, for a 50 year young man, and I will continue to act accordingly,,,HA !
Thanks again !

A bunch of the instructors, and students from Kitty Hawk Hang Gliding, came up to Lookout this week to get some mountain flying in, brush up on their foot launching skills, and some first time mountain launch sign-offs done. Bunch of falcons floating around everywhere. Lot of good guys, and gals. Being a mountain pilot, and somewhat of a flat land flyer,,,I just find it hard to imagine spending hours over the dunes,,,15 feet off the ground. Just cant wrap my mind around it. Don't get me wrong,,,I plan on trying it, and maybe I will have a better appreciation for it. Plus, flying where the Wright brothers started, would be a trip in it's self.
I'm working on some new coupons for Doris, and her Saturday nights feasts, and I think this below pic will be the one I will probably be using.

Yesterday was an awesome day for flying.

Denny Pistoll was driving the retrieval cart for the discovery/students yesterday afternoon.

All lined up, with places to go !

Eric Donaldson showing everyone a textbook landing, and within the landing ring. Yesterday was very hard on me, not being able to join in on the fun. The velocity, direction, and thermals, is exactly the type of rodeo air that I love to fly in ! It won't be long before I can get back in the air, and get my fix ! ! !

I do love this time of year. The flowerbeds start filling out, all the little creatures start coming out to play, and the garden starts coming to life. This little guy below was a ham,,loving the camera ! He was about the size of a quarter, and bad to the bone !
This male hummingbird was getting an early start this morning. This was before the sun rose, and he was already at the breakfast jug. I love how the valley looks at this time of the morning, sometimes.

This female was getting in my face, telling me who was the boss of this feeder ! What a little beauty,,,in my best Steve Irwin voice.

The pictures below are just some of the plants that are blooming in the flower beds around the house. Hope they all come out, when the hot weather comes to bear down on us.

A partial view of the front flower bed.

A red rose knockout

I really enjoy these. So delicate, and fragile looking.

Update on my physical condition,,,,, Walking as much as I can to get myself back into shape before bikini season is over. Take that how ever you want to, as long as you smile, and enjoy the humor.

The reason for this evenings party, was a Full Moon drum circle, and Rick's annual bonfire. The picture below is of that full moon coming over Lookout Mountain and the flight park. I especially like this one because it has the amber glow of the bonfire on the trees.
Just down the road from the party, is a great yard, with half of it native. Should be more places like this one !

Doris was serving deli sandwiches & all the trimmings. We also had a keg, for everyone to enjoy.

Rick's band also played the evening away. They sounded great outside, like they were.

I just love fire pictures at night.

I thought I saw a putty cat, in this one.

Rick owns Liquid landscapes, and there are some big koi in his artifical ponds that he built. He really does pretty work.

Mike thought this was a hot party !

A good time was had by all. It was great to see friends from Atlanta, last night.

Rick Sr. and I were out on the deck watching the day finish, and enjoying the sunset when I captured this one. Love the color mix on it.
The male and female enjoying a late supper.

Close up of the male

45 degree angle to the right,,due northwest from this shot, the area was getting pounded with over 3.5 inches of rain, while I was taking this picture.

If you enlarge this one below, you can see a trike taking an evening glass off. Or, perhaps they were with a student taking a class. Either way,,someone had a great evening flight, while I was sitting drooling on my deck.

FYI, I am still behaving myself, and getting better all the time. My time on light duty is half over, as of today, woohoo !