Pre-Practice at Llano

Today was the unofficial practice day here.  We got rigged early before it got too hot and I launched right around 1 PM.  I had it in mind to run down to Fredericksburg and then maybe somewhere else with a 3 hour time.  I managed to find a decent thermal off tow and started to head south immediately.  Wind was light out of the south/southeast.  For the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the trip to Fredericksburg I was topping out around 5000 or 5500 MSL.  Ground rises from 1100 at Llano to around 2000.  I did get down to 1000 AGL over a private paved strip and then caught a great thermal cloudbase about 7500.  From there I made it to Fred and back out about 10 miles before I needed to climb again.  It was only a few more good thermals to make it back to Llano. 

Forecast was for the lift to die down in this area by 4 PM so I wanted to be back in the area before then.  I got back just over the 2 hr mark, didn't find a great thermal near the airport and decided I might as well just land.  It was a good flight, I was pretty happy with my speed and it was nice to get a look at the area out to the south.

Landout options definitely aren't as great as Kansas or Iowa but I was pretty happy with how many options there are.  Of course the acres and acres of trees and hills aren't too comforting but I was able to find enough pastures, fields, and private runways to never be too concerned. 

Tomorrow is the official practice day and the contest starts on Tuesday.  More pilots were arriving today and I suspect more will show up tomorrow morning from Uvalde. 

OLC trace: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-892854180


Internet is too slow for pictures.  Supposed to be hotter tomorrow and steady over 100 with light south winds the rest of the week, good news!