Oded Trying The Electric Bike

Mick Robson Trying The Electric Bike

The Vulture Video

Malcolm Jones -Wallaby Ranch

Fons Ready to Fly Solo

Fons

Kate

Kate Has Lift Off

Fons Solo

Fons on Approach

Fons and Malcolm

Kate

Fons

Kate on Approach

Kate Touchdown

Crystal Wolfe

Malcolm and Student

Captain Mick Robson Towed by Mark Johnson

Tandem Landing with Big Smile

Oliver and Student

ILYA RIVKIN

ILYA

Cory - Michigan

Malcolm and Student

ILYA

Bob Landing

The Skydog Report

 Sunday April 01, 2018 and finally a day with light winds and some cumulous to help. Many pilots showed up early and at 12:30 a line was forming at the northwest edge of the field. I was rushing to get in line and I was thirteenth to get into the air. I was not able to stick although about seven pilots were clinging to the clouds and getting high. I landed with a 15 minute flight. By now it was the 3 pm lunch break so we had to wait until after lunch. Brian and Matt Jackson were anxious to get a flight in so they were first off with me third. Mark towed me about three miles to the south east just to find some lift. Sure enough it was there and I got up to over four grand. I could not see Brian and Matt anywhere but Rick Bremer was next off and Rick worked his way up to me and finally blew me away with his Atos VQ. Rick Mullins joined us at four grand in his sailplane. Rick Mullins and I were thermalling together near the end of my 1 hour and 55 minutes that took me up to 4,650 feet ato. Easter Sunday was good to us.

The Skydog Report

 Monday April 02, 2018 and the morning tandems and solo flights go from 8 until 10 am. I start getting ready earlier today with two GoPro cameras on board. I am ready by 12:30 and a line of pilots heads down the driveway. I get out there and hustle down the driveway to the north end launch. As I get in line the first tug is getting there and Oliver says get your harness on and be ready and he puts me in line to be off first. Fay Barber tows me up to 2,200 and waves me off into a good thermal. I work it to the north and get up to four grand soon. I am looking down at the take off area and I count another 15 gliders waiting to get airborne. I see that there are four Atos gliders waiting to go. Looks like Lee Silver is off next and after Lee cuts loose I see him thermalling along to the north and it looks like Lee is heading to Quest. My buddies from Cloud 9 in Michigan Brian Ridder, Tom Niblick, Trevor Glidersleeve and Chris Bratsis are here now and get into the air quickly. We also have Rick Mullins and Mick Robson in line with their Carbon Dragon sailplanes. After an hour or so most everyone was in the air and boating around. I saw Miller Stroud disappear into the clouds and Sebastian came in close for some filming action and a little later Chris Bratsis thermalled with me as we got up close to five grand and base. I went off into the blue and landed after a 2 hour and 16 minute flight. Many pilots took flights after four pm. and the lift was really great until 6:30 when a black sky appeared from the north and the wind picked up. Mick and Rick landed late just before the front came in. It was another great day at Wallaby Ranch.

The Skydog Report

 Tuesday April 03, 2018 and Maureen and I take Finnegan to the beach in St Petersburg Fl. and we have wonderful day swimming, Biking and bike riding. When we return in the evening we hear about many of the great flights that everyone had here at Wallaby Ranch. Rick Bremmer did the longest flight of the day at four hours and fifteen minutes landing at 7 pm. Most everyone got up to cloudbase at over 5 grand. Steve, Dave and Kendricks from Wills Wing arrive as we are leaving so Demo Days begins.

A good flight was also had by Canadian pilot Mark Bourbonnais who flew 155 kilometres from Quest Air. Congrats Mark.

The Skydog Report

 Wednesday April 04, 2018 and Lots of tandems this morning and lots of pilots setting up gliders. By 1:30 the sky is looking amazing with big cummies forming everywhere. I get my gear together and see Mikey Barber is ready to go and on a cart looking at the sky. By the time we are ready there is a large blue hole over Wallaby Ranch with cummies in the distance so Mikey say let's wait a half hour and see if the cummies form overhead again. We do that and sure enough the sky fills again but the wind has picked up considerably and Mike backs off. I take my glider to a launch are half way down the driveway and get towed up at 2:30 and Wow what rasty air this is. The tow was very bumpy and after to the thermals were  screaming up and blasting down on the way out so I was not enjoying that and landed with a 16 minute flight. Reid Sparks on his Gecko was the only other pilot to attempt a flight here today and he also was happy to be back on the ground and safe. We hope to fly Thursday but the forecast says likely too windy and Friday looks better and Wills Wing Demo Days 2018 will be great.

The Skydog Report

Our Final Trip This Spring

 Sunday April 29 th Oded and I fly to Wallaby from Rochester to retrieve Oded's van and when we arrive at Wallaby Ranch the local pilots have been flying all day and one of the visiting pilots from Japan has flown for 8-1/2 hours so we jammed our glider together and we took off at 5 pm. I was off first and did not find any great lift and sank out after 23 minutes. By now Oded was in the air and doing great so Oliver towed me up again and this time right into a big fat thermal that took me to four grand. Oded was up there too and we all over the area with Oded flying to Walmart and back. Both of us got up to 7, 490 feet. well, I was a bit lower at 7,450 feet so it was a spectacular day. We both landed with 2 hours and 20 minutes around eight o'clock and hurried to pack up or gliders and head off to Lookout Mountain flight park for Monday flying as the weather looked perfect for Lookout.

Sunday April 29 th o and we arrive at Lookout Mt. at 3 pm hoping for a tow from the landing area but when we arrive Dean Funk is setting up along with about ten other pilots and Dean say Hi Bob and get your glider set up as it is a great day. Well, I checked conditions on launch and the wind appeared to be coming from the left at 45 degrees and only in little puffs so I encouraged Oded to drive to the bottom for some towing. We watched as four pilots took off the ramp with only Heckman staying up and we were off to the bottom. Rushed our gliders together again and got in line for a tow from Dave Miller. I went first again and the tow was pretty smooth and Dave took me above the upper launch pad maybe a thousand feet and I was soon in a good thermal chasing Dean and others a bit to the south of launch. Wow, it was cranking by then and I circled up to Dean and we to some video or so I thought but later discovered that I has set the camera to single shots so I have 10,000 photos of my flight. Dean had three cameras on so He should have some great video. Soon Oded was up there with us and it was like we could fly anywhere and there was abundant lift. We flew until the sun was getting low and I followed Oded in for smooth landings. We both had great flights up to 6,500 asl and mine was 1 hour and 30 minutes and Oded was up for one hour and fifteen minutes. This was the first time that I had flow at Lookout in twenty years so it was very exciting for me and we could not have hit it better for lift. We noticed that many of the pilots flying at Lookout were younger ones like under forty and a few likely 25 year olds so that was refreshing to see. We had a great time and hope to get back to Lookout Mt. real soon.