First good thermal flight for me :)

[Blythe]

Today was hot weather so I flew my sp400 electric sailplane:) I used up my 2 battery packs but only caught 1 thermal in one of the flights. I was not very pleased that I did not have longer flights as it seemed that there should be good thermals. I had taken a small 4cell 270mAh NiMH pack along so I replaced the big 8 cell motor pack with the small reciever battery and started giving the plane some tosses. I got bored and went to a tiny slope to fly but there was not enough wind to stay up :rolleyes: I was about to go home but gave it another toss and it started going up :eek: I was only like 5m high but I started circling and it slowly went up and I kept on working the thermal until I was way downwind but quite high then I started cruising around and kept finding lift :) . The flight lasted about 25 mins off a small javlin hand launch :D
flight=good

Blythe

[evan]

Congratulations and welcome to the fold. That's similar to how I experienced my first thermal and it has dominated my mind since :)

[dephela]

GREAT flight!
The first thermal assisted flight is always Sooo sweet.

Dennis

[mr_frogdude]

"GREAT flight!
The first thermal assisted flight is always Sooo sweet."

I second that!

Have fun,
Mark

[BrianSmith]

Bravo my friend !!! I remember too..It was long ago, but still fond memories...Brian Smith

[aeajr]

Ourstanding. Well, see, you need to get rid of that motor and big heavy battery. Get a hi-start for launching. You will find more lift with a lighter plane.

Congratulations on a great flight.

[dee-grose]

Cool beans, Blythe. Thermals are so much fun!

My very first flight (May of last year) with my Oly99 was about 30 minutes or so. Flying with the NASF guys here in Huntsville. Rob Glover took the plane up on the winch and flew it for a minute or so and then handed the transmitter to me. He left me in a humdinger of a thermal that I rode up till I had to ask how to get it down. Stick in the bottom corner and down she comes. Did that a few times that flight. Couldn't believe it.

As Evan suggested above, it is really weird how you can't get it out of your mind!

dee

[John_R_C]

Way to go!! :)

I've flown over Turkey Buzzards here is SE USA and found good lift that way. A week ago I got in a dance with a hawk and we both thermaled out of sight - him for sure, me almost ;) . I quit after we both went quite a ways downwind. That was with a 70" span Skimmer

John C

[kingbee]

The first thermal assisted flight is always Sooo sweet.

Yeah, and so is the second, and the fiftieth, and the five hundredth. It never gets old.

Cheers,
Dave