Outdoor Adventures

[ksquared]

ksquared’s great outdoor adventure...

Ditched work at noon Tuesday and went for a...

GLIDER RIDE!!!

Never thought about this in any way, shape, or form until about three weeks ago when a friend and I were partying on the deck... she looked up and pointed out a plane towing a glider (my town has a tiny airport)... we watched the release and then watched the glider travel back and forth above us... never noticed them before because they are quiet... interesting.

Last week coming home from work, I saw a sign by the airport road that said “Glider Rides Today”... after a couple of days seeing the same sign, I decided to drop by the airport before going home... it really is the cutest little venue... has a rundown diner type “restaurant” in the same building that houses the office for the helicopter rides... walked in and was directed to the gray shack on the other side of the parking lot... there was an older gentleman in there who filled me in on prices and said that the best days involved northwest winds... the pilot can run the Kittatinny Ridge along the Delaware River... he also said the cheapest way to do this was to go for a pilot’s license... they have a club you join at which point the rental fee is waved... you just pay for the tow and the lesson... once you get your license (think it takes 30 hours)... you just pay for the tow... hmmmm.

I started watching the weather reports... Monday and Tuesday predicted NW winds... Wednesday the direction changed to West... At lunch Tuesday, I called the airport to see what they thought Wednesday looked like... I was going to call in... Bob said... today is perfect come down this afternoon... but I’m at work... tell them what we tell our bosses... I just talked to my doctor and he said to go home and elevate my feet...

I thought about it for all of five minutes... cleaned up my work... told the boss there was something I had to do at home and flew the coop!

When I got to the airport, Bob was taking off... there was a woman about 10 years older than I watching... I asked if she was next... no... that was her husband going up... something he had always wanted to do so the kids got him a gift certificate for Christmas... she was not about to try it... we started chatting... he had taken her point and click camera (the “cabin” is tiny) and left his 35 mm with her. He wanted her to take shots from the ground but she didn’t know how to use the camera... I set it up for her and gave her a quick lesson... 40 minutes later we saw a glider approach for a landing... she started shooting... glider looked like it was coming down perfectly, got to about 5 feet above the ground then... whomp... we looked at each other then looked at the glider... no movement... a man who was watching with us said don’t worry that wasn’t your husband and pointed out the other glider coming in... perfect landing... Found out later that the “crash” pilot was Bonzai Doc... Bob says doctors think they’re good at everything but usually make lousy pilots... this guy was no exception... he bought a glider that had the letters “BD” on it so they named him... Bonzai Doc... too funny!

Finally my turn... climbed in and took my seat... Bob strapped me in and adjusted the belt before taking his place behind me... pulled the cover over us... I felt a slight wave of claustrophobia then quickly adjusted... I was given my instructions... I had two jobs... first one was to pull the tow line release knob... “When I tell you” and the other was to adjust a lever to my left per his instructions... it was used to help him maintain his speed... also told me to keep a tight grip on the camera during take off... two reasons... so it didn’t smack me in the face or go through the bubble...

Was told to use my left hand to give the pilot the thumb’s up signal... and off we went... the tow was jolting... as we were bouncing around, Bob said “oh... the down side of having a good day for flying is a rough take off, I suppose I should have told you that...” must admit there were a couple of times that I started to wonder why I thought I was going to enjoy this... could tell the hardest part of flying the glider was keeping it in line behind the tow plane... what a fight.

When we got to 3000’ Bob gave me the word to release the tow rope... we smoothed out instantly... he found a hawk circling in a thermal and followed suit... so freakin’ cool... climbed to 4300 feet and cruised the ridge... Bob let me handle the controls for a bit... a joy stick and two peddles... I can tell a man invented this thing... joy stick requires a delicate touch but you have to push hard on the peddles... amazingly responsive... I think I am hooked.

Enthusiastic George was flying along with us... George got his start flying radio controlled model airplanes... Bob said he was the fastest student he ever had... George found another thermal and was circling... we followed suit... Bob said in deference to the pilot who finds the thermal you circle in the same direction... I wanted to know if that was because we were below him and if that disturbed the air... no the air is bigger than that... we go in the same direction in case we reach the same altitude... avoids head on collisions... LOL

Got back up to 4300’ and took off toward East Stroudsberg then back across the Delaware... saw the Water Gap from angles I never thought possible... we were going to do a course but first he took me back to town so I could see my house from the air... took awhile to find it... we are very heavily wooded... so cool... I hope the pictures come out... by this time we were down to 700’... Bob said, “We have a choice... land or try to find another thermal.” “I vote for another thermal.” and dang he found one... brought the glider up to 1700’...

Finally it was time to land... Bob brought it down smooth as silk... he’s been flying for 21 years...

What a sensation... so quiet up in the air we could talk in normal conversational tones... loved riding my element... I was so relaxed by the time we got on the ground I was goofy... think I like this better than sex... what a trip.

I was told that a standard ride is 1/2 hour and if no one is waiting they’ll stretch it to 40 minutes... I was an enthusiastic passenger... we were up for 55 minutes... Bob kept telling the guys I “got it” and started giving me ideas on how to do get my license economically... they have a 13-year-old boy who works on weekends hooking up the glider to the tow plane... for every day he works, he gets a free lesson... Bob told me to quit my job, come to work for them, and get free lessons... we laughed... I said I couldn’t pay the mortgage that way but if the 13 year old got a job that paid money could I have his??? LOL

Bob was great... we hung out for about an hour after the flight... the tow plane was Army surplus... I asked the pilot if the Army knew it was missing... he said no... don’t tell anyone... big grin!

The plane was the kind used in the Korean and Vietnam Wars... because it is quiet and can fly low it would scope out the enemy villages... fire smoke bombs from the wings... then get out of the way so the heavy artillery could go in and annihilate them... you cannot buy surplus planes, but you can buy the parts... a guy in PA bought enough parts for 4 planes, assembled them and sold them for $10,000 a piece... now they are collector’s items... if restored to mint condition the plane would bring about $800,000 now. Parts are very hard to come by so they are modifying an old crop duster to act as the new tow plane... Bob says it is a work horse... just like a tractor... parts are easy to come by... should serve them well...

What fun! And the coolest thing... you cannot do this in Manhattan... I finally found something interesting to do in the hinterlands of NJ... they fly all year round weather permitting... looking forward to the four seasons views of the house! Immediately took the film in for processing... sure hope something came out... must confess I was so excited I was not concentrating.

I’m going to wait a few days... then go back and talk to Bob... I’m going to see if there is work I can do to pay for the lessons... if I join the club that should eliminate the rental fee... then I just have to pay for the tow... he also said if I hang out there enough there are guys who would take me up for the price of the tow... because I am a good passenger ... gotta tell you that was the fastest 55 minutes of my life... I could have stayed up there forever... a mini vacation... better than any vacation I have ever had.

I got a hold of my mother and one of my sisters that night... they were laughing... my mother said she was glad I did not tell her ahead of time and to not tell her about the next time until AFTER I land... LOL... my sister said... Well we all thought you needed a hobby, but this was not what we had in mind...

Yay me... I've done it again... This is a far cry from church which was everybody's first suggestion for a way to meet people... puhleeze... been there, done that... know the 10 commandments and the Golden Rule... remember my Bible stories...

This is more interesting.

airborne.ksquared