Flying 3/19/08

A good tuning day on the south side.

It was supposed to be a somewhat warm, pre-frontal day on the s. side, and I showed up at 8am to find Jon Lindberg, Shadd, and Jim already enjoying the sky. It was too strong for the PG's, and after setting up, I took a hop with my cocoon harness taking advantage of the smooth early morning conditions.

Mark and Rob showed up and I landed to install my bolt in main and switch harnesses. It had been a long time since I'd donned a "body cast" of a race harness, and my new one fits like a condom on John Holmes' unit. I landed and joked that I'm going to have to follow a calorie restricted diet to make the new harness work.

I took a few rounds to tweak the shoulder straps, dangle angle, and change the sprog settings on the glider a bit, and after another hour of flying, I think this new harness is the body glove I've been waiting for. I can feel the pads hugging the contours of my body and the harness allows for minimal layers of clothes. Not a good choice for a rec. pilot, but just the ticket to go fast.

I took a few more flights and blazed around with the VG on. With the sprogs in between stock and comp. settings, the glider feels very fast. With the bar between my chest and navel, the sound of the wing slicing through the air sang in my ears. I'm looking forward to getting more hours and tuning back in to a fast flying mentality. So far, so good.

Airtime: 1:30. Flights: 7.