The Skydog Report

I am starting WW Demo Days a little early

Wednesday March 28, 2012 and I take a United Airline flight leaving London, Canada at 6 am and I'm at Wallaby at 12:30 after a hop to Chicago. We set up and get in line with another five pilots. What a great day and Jim McNamara and I fly close to the clouds for two hours and base is at 6,300 feet. Today was my first airline flight in forty years so exciting for me and then HG too. I got low twice and dug out to six grand again. Went to the clover leaf at 27 and hyw 4 but got back too low to save it again. I flew for 2 hours and 10 minutes.

I hope to do better Thursday.

Skydog Lovin It !!!!

The Skydog Report

Thursday March 29, 2012

Sure enough, it was a stellar day and Fin from Norway took off first then me and Paul dropped me in a good thermal at 1,700 feet and I immediately took it to cloud base at 5,300 feet and I had to work to stay out of the cloud. Cruising around was easy with lots of lift in most areas. Dave and Celesta Alford from my home site in Michigan are here and Dave had a great day also along with about twenty other pilots. George, a local pilot loaned me a pair of gloves and I sure needed them as it was cold at base but at 3,000 feet the temperature was comfortable. I flew with the GoPro mounted on my keel today and I am sure that I have lots of great video and I will get to it as soon as possible. After two hours there was a big flush and all but three of us were left in the air, Scott, Fin and myself and at that point I got down to 1,100 feet but eventually worked a small thermal that grew into a monster that took me to 5,835 feet and my total air time was 3 hours and 40 minutes.

A really wonderful day and that's my first two being great on this trip.

Hawk Upper Left

The Skydog Report

Friday March 30, 2012

Wow!! another great day up to cloud base numerous times and travelling all over the place. I got in line late as Jim and I were getting the brake job on Oded's car finished off and so by 2:10 pm I was in the air with about  fifteen other pilots and for the first fifteen minutes I could not get above 2,000 feet and even got down to 1,600 feet for a bit but then I saw two other HG pilots turning in something so I slipped in under them and soon was at base cruising around at 5,000 feet. I had a sailplane join a thermal that I was in but he stayed a grand below me and in five minutes took off away from the Ranch toward the sailplane field on 33. I worked thermals with other pilots and soon went for a run south along 27 about ten miles and still made some great climbs to base. On my way back just above the cloverleaf at 4 and 27 John joined me on his Phantom and stayed with me for about three minutes and headed west and I lost sight of him. I had the GoPro on so I hope to have some video of John thermalling. I headed back to north of the Ranch and found great lift all the way and flew over the sand pits for a while. It appeared that all but one other pilot had left or landed so I was feeling lonely but then came a pilot flying a U2 and we thermalled together for ten minutes and then he headed north and I wondered where he was going and later on I talked to Saskatchewan John at Quest and realized that it was John who had flow to Wallaby and back to Quest. Nice flight Saskatchewan John.

After John left I was alone for another hour and finally landed at a bit after 5:30 for a flight of 3 hours and 22 minutes and I topped out at 6,400 feet. A wonderful day again 

Bald Eagle Coming In Close

# 1

 # 7

# 16

# 25

Eagle To Close So He Does a Flip Right in Front of Me

The Skydog Report

Sunday March 30, 2012

Wow!! Sunday is super up to base again many times and flying all over the place. Picked up my son Bobby at the Orlando airport and Bobby has not seen me fly in 35 years so he was impressed with the great conditions. I got off second while the first pilot sunk out and later came up again. My first twenty minutes at two PM with the clouds being a little far away from the Ranch but Paul towed me over to them near Hyw. # 4 and I got a good one to 6,075 feet with the wind being 17 mph and from there the lift filled in and the rest of the day was a blast with about ten of us having some great close thermalling and I have the video to prove it. The wind dropped off throughout my 3 hour and 32 minute flight to about 8 miles per hour at 5 pm. Later in my flight I was getting down to 2,500 feet and then noticed a pilot a way off to the west near Dean Still road so I cruised over him and I was at 2,200 feet while George was down at 1,400 feet and I was sure that he would not make it back to the Ranch but George found a beep and slowly worked it up to cloud base and I followed. I was ready to land at four hours while watching two others land when I saw a buzzard over the warehouses so I cruised back there along with four other buzzards and we took a good one to cloud base again at 5 pm and six grand. It was an exciting flight. You All get on down here for Wills Wing Demo Days and the weather is great. See Ya, Bob

The Skydog Report

Monday April 2nd is another great day at Wallaby and I get off after about five others and Paul puts me in a decent thermal and I stay with it ten minutes and I watch all but two others sink out and the three of us boat around always searching for something better and usually staying around three grand. The sky was blue with cumulous far away so we struggled in the blue using one another to spot lift. Martin from the Nederland gets in one with me an we take it up to 4,600 feet. Bob Roth comes up with his Atos Vx and stays to the north for a while at about 3 grand while I stay to the south of the Ranch near the clover leaf and get up to 4,600 a few times. After 90 minutes I get down to 1,400 feet and most others are landing when I find a small thermal half way to the warehouses and it grows so that I can drift with the buzzards below me up to 5,530 feet. I decided to land after two hours and one minute and my son Bobby and I went to the R/c Helicopter field and watched some professional heli pilots do amazing tricks.

Another wonderful day in Florida.

Steve Barnes - Tow Pilot

 # 45

# 47

Seth & Sara

 The Line Up of Wills Wing Gliders

The Nederlands Group of Pilots

 Steve & Sara

Family Hang Gliding at Wallaby Ranch

John Pinnato Coming in Close

The Skydog Report

Tuesday April 3, 2012 Bobby and I took a trip to Quest and I flew Mark Frutiger's T-2 for 2 hours and 10 minutes and got up to 7,755 feet. I thought that I had the height record for 2012 but later on the same day Tipp Rogers and Mark Bourbonais reported that they got up to 8,600 feet at about 4:30. Awesome day.

The Skydog Report

Wednesday April 4, 2012 Looks quite windy by 11 am and by 1 pm pilots were wanting to get up and finally a few started a tow line and were getting airborne. The Wills Wing demo gliders are all set up and pilots are trying them out. I got into the air at 1:20 and hit a good one right away and took it to 5,000 feet and saw Bob Roth working his Atos Vx to the North of Wallaby Ranch so I headed over his way and we stayed together for ten minutes having some good climbs. I finally thought that I would try to the East over the subdivisions and after working small stuff for fifteen minutes I bumped into a nice thermal and took it up to 6,620 feet. The sky was all blue but thermals were here and there and this turned out to be a good flight of 2 hours and ten minutes and I figured that I would land and start my GoPro which I had forgot to turn on for the flight. After the lunch break I started a new line and got off first and on take off my GoPro hit the cart bracket and Paul later told me that the camera hang on until we were at 1,800 feet and dropped off into the orange grove so no video on this day. This tow was a Rasty one but I hung on to 1,700 feet and Paul put me into a good thermal over the orange groves and I took it up to six grand and finally after an hour or so I did get up to 6, 650 feet again. I had about six other gliders thermalling with me so it was great fun in the sky. I finally had enough so I headed back toward the Ranch and burned off 5,000 feet of altitude with steep turns and wingovers landing close to the Demo Gliders for a flight time of 1 hour and 32 minutes. Tom Lanning who was thermalling with me landed a few minutes later. Activity here at Wallaby Ranch is very high and so exciting. The weather and lift has been splendid.

The Skydog Report

Thursday April 5, 2012 is another sunny day and the morning tandems and demo flights total up to sixty four tows before the breakfast bell sounds. The wind is on the edge of too strong and we try to get a line going but the wind keeps us on the ground through out the day. Terry Ryan has a traction kite so we give it a go.

The Skydog Report

Friday April 6, 2012 and the line up at eight AM is long with pilots trying out the new Wills Wing gliders and tandem flights too. Paul and Ryan Voight along with Ryan's wife, Desiree are doing a tandem clinic so there is lots of fun in the landing area with many pilots participating. I take two tows and wing on down to be filmed on landing. I caught some tree line lift for a few passes as the wind was already around twenty miles per hour at ten AM when the breakfast bell rang again.

Friday's forecast was for strong winds so Bobby, my son and I took a look at the Ifly parachute wind tunnel and later we checked out the R/c helicopter field where there were about twenty guys flying in the strong winds.

I-Fly Wind Tunnel Skydiving in Orlando and Soon Coming to Niagara Falls

 Milco Anglo - Canada

# 69

Aric and ?

Wow

The Nederlands Group

Roger - Tug Pilot

 Simon

# 78

 # 79

Ranch Action

 Paul Towing

# 80

The Skydog Report

Saturday April 7, 2012 and pilots are anxious to try out the new gliders and they get going at 8 am again but by 9 am the wind is too strong again so towing is stopped. Bobby and I noticed that our Canadian friends are heading to Quest for the day so we pack up my T-2 and head out for Quest Air. We are set up by 3 pm and another pilot has taken off and gone XC and late we find out that he has landed at Wallaby Ranch. I get Mark Frutiger to haul me up and on my first attempt the weak link breaks at 400 feet high so I land in the strong winds and take another tow to 2,500 feet and search for lift. I find a good one after a few minutes and take it with the drifting clouds to 5, 200 feet and head back into the wind toward the Quest field and when I get to the Water Ski trenches I find another boomer and I continue this trend for 1 hour and 10 minutes having a nice landing in the strong 20 mph wind. A couple of others tried the wind but found only little lift. Sunday looks to be great so anticipation reigns.

Rick's Ghostbuster

The Skydog Report

Sunday April 8, 2012

This morning I take my son Bobby to the airport for a flight home and I'm back to the Ranch by 11 am and the Demo gliders are still set up and ready for pilots to give a test run. Tandems go smoothly and breakfast at 10 am and then I set my glider up as we were at Quest on Saturday. I get the new GoPro on and I am ready to launch by 12:20 and Paul tows me into a good one again and I take it up to over five grand in less than ten minutes and from there it was an easy day. I should mention that the Wills Wing party was a great success and Dave Aldrich showed his new trailer which was great and Seth had a cool Wallaby promo video featuring the lovely Sara Close ready to show and it was also fantastic and then a really great six piece band that was unbelievable and we did not get to bed until 2 am so most of us are quite tired on Sunday morning. Thanks to the folks at Wills Wing and it was a super evening.

Ok, back to the Sunday flying. I watch as lots of demo gliders slide into the air along with many privately owned ones. Those dog gone new Wills gliders are giving me a run for my money and tempting me to buy one. Oh and the new sails are so pretty with the see through space age top fabric. I'm not sure who was flying what but in a hour we have about twenty gliders flying in close formation and my GoPro is capturing the moment. Cloud base was again just over six grand and for most of my 6-hour and 12 minute flight I easily stayed well over four grand and often between 5 and six grand so it was an easy day for me and I was totally wiped after the long flight and lack of sleep Saturday night. My friends from Ontario, Canada were there to greet me upon landing and Ken Kinzie and Mark Bourbonnais, both flew to Wallaby from Quest and they were very excited with there accomplishments. They both flew for over five hours in the mostly cross wind and had nice landings at Wallaby. I have met so many wonderful people here at Wallaby and one couple Martin and Mickey from the Nederlands are enjoying the weather and Martin tried out a demo T-2 today and his wife took a soaring tandem with Steve Prepost.

What a blast.

If any of you other pilots that were flying on Sunday would like to do a write up, just send it to me by e-mail and I will be happy to insert it here.

Skydog Bob

 Paul Voight Gave me Streamers to Try Out and They Sparkle in the Sun

The Skydog Report

Monday April 9, 2012

Monday morning dawns sunny again and the forecast is for another wonderful day of thermal activity at the Ranch. I am awake early and get my things together as Moritz and I will be leaving for home today after flying. After clean up I shoot lots of photos of the morning tandems and solos and then I get ready to fly and I am in line at 12:40 with my new GoPro mounted on the nose plate. Ok, so I signal for launch and Paul tows me into a nice one at 1,700 feet and within eleven minutes after lift of I am at 5,700 feet above the Ranch and in the cloud. Oh Ya, just after lift off I remembered that I had forgot to turn on the GoPro so from 5,700 feet I spin down just to turn it on. The decent took eleven minutes fighting great lift all the way down. Ok, so let's go again and this time Steve Burns from Texas lifts me up to 2,000 feet and into a good one that takes me to over five grand and this time the GoPro is active and I go on search for other pilots that will let me fly close enough that the film will be worth while. After twenty minutes I find another glider just west of Wallaby a few hundred feet above me so I scoot over to them and get into their lift and come in close and bank up so as to catch them on video and finally after a few turns I get above them and can shoot down at them. I don't recall who it was but they were very co-operative and I hope the shots will pan out. After this encounter I fly around for a while staying above 4,500 feet and needing to keep from going into the clouds at 6,000 feet. Believe me, it was a struggle to stay down. At the one hour mark I see someone turning and going up so I head over to them and come in under them again and bank up for video and then get above them and it turns out to be Seth, the expert video maker and I expect that Seth had his camera on as well as he kept coming in close, I expect that Seth got a shot of me also and for about five minutes Seth let me fly directly above him so I think we will have some great footage. I have been posting lots of photos here but the videos will have to wait until I get home so that I can go through the 16 hours of footage that I have taken in the last ten days.

OK, so the day was superb with pilots getting all of the air that they could stand and after I had had my fill I circled down from six grand and was getting ready for my approach and getting warm after being very cold at base when I hit a nice thermal just to the south of the Ranch at 1,100 feet and I was again tempted into going up and took the bait and took the thermal to 6,600 feet which was a 5,500 foot gain in what seemed like 5 minutes and into the mist Wow, what a day. I circled down again and landed after a nice 2 hours and 52 minutes plus my 22 minute camera off flight. Moritz was down and packed up so I packed up and of we went to Rochester where my friend Patrick will pick me up and Patrick wants to go fly the Finger lakes. Well now after all of my wonderful 32 hours and 22 minutes in Florida in the past two weeks, I am not to excited to fly in the 40 degree temps in New York but I will go for it just so that Patrick O'Donnell can have some fun. On our way though Pennsylvania we ran into snow and what a disappointment.

Hope you all had fun following my latest adventure. Bob

Shadow From Cloud Above Us

 Tyson and Sara

 # 97

Jenn, Gabriel, Milko and Lee in Front - Moritz and Mark -Right Rear

# 112

# 116

Bobby, Mike, Bob and Steve

 Gabriel and Milko Angulo

Breakfast at the Ranch

 # 128

 Milco Angulo - Canada

 # 136

 Milco Angulo

 Jim and Malcolm

 # 145

 # 150

 Moritz and Student

 # 160

 Mick Robson

 Mick Flies His Homebuilt Carbon Dragon Glider

 Mick Sailing Away

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