The Flight Home
Sports Class Nationals in Uvalde were over. The contest had been called off early. Instead of flying the final day, we were hooking up the trailer in the rain. We were headed north to Ulysses, KS. The drive through the Hill Country was wet and cloudy.
Spirits in the car, however, were high. Bob Whelan was on his third stint as my crew. His first tour was chasing me on a downwind dash from Dalhart, TX to Goodland, KS. Next was the 13.5 Meter Super Regional in 2013 at Moriarty, where I flew Greg Cole’s Sparrowhawk. This time I was flying the Silent 2 Electro—with its electric self-launching capability, there was one more glider chase in Bob’s future.
The forecasts the night before looked like we might be able to get to sunshine at Winters, TX. As we drove through the rain, our necks started aching looking for a ray of sunshine. An hour out, the rain stopped. Good sign! Cloudbase was steadily rising and pretty soon only high cirrus remained. Within 20 miles of Winters, we could see sun breaking through and faintly see cumulus to the west. Hooray!
Winters, Texas
It took about 15 minutes to have the Electro assembled. The cumulus field to the northwest of the airport was rapidly developing and there was no time to waste. The runway at Winters is advertised at 50 feet wide and the lawnmower man was working the other end, but I held the centerline and was sort of happy I didn’t have a 15-meter glider.
I caught a weak thermal over the airport while Bob walked back to the car. My official declaration was from Winters to Oakley, KS, in case it turned into a good day. Otherwise I was hoping to reach Ulysses, where Bob needed to go anyway to retrieve his car from before the contest.
North Through Texas
The first couple hours were dicey. With ground elevation averaging about 2000 feet, several trips below 4000 and one down to 3000 kept things interesting. The terrain was rough, lots of wind turbines, and the clouds were thinning north of Abilene. At one point I noticed a paraglider thermalling just south of me—at least I wasn’t the only one enjoying this soaring day.
As I continued north, top-of-climb rose to around 8000 feet and the low points got higher too. I was flying along the eastern edge of the Caprock escarpment. To the west I could see the flat mesa of the Texas Panhandle with cumulus clouds building. The wind finally shifted from an easterly crosswind to a southeasterly tailwind. Hallelujah!
By 3:00 PM I was at the 200-mile mark, halfway to Ulysses. The average speed was ticking up as I enjoyed a 10–15 mph tailwind. The only big obstacle was the Canadian River.
The Canadian River
I had observed the Canadian from the air in gliders before, both times unable to get enough altitude to be comfortable crossing. On this day I had a much higher performance glider and a tailwind. I caught a climb to 10,000 feet, stayed high over the rough ground, and the LX Zeus said I had plenty of altitude to make it all the way across. Jerry Boone had also texted to let me know that the Mesa Vista Ranch along my route—T. Boone Pickens’ private airfield—was 6000 feet long with its own ILS. Good to know.
With the Canadian behind me, wind straight out of the south, and clouds ahead, I was on cruise control. After sweating all summer in Wichita and all week in Uvalde, the cold air at 11,000 feet was a welcome relief.
Kansas at Last
The flat expanse of the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, and southwest Kansas was a welcome and familiar sight. An easy glide to Hooker, OK, then another climb to 11,000 had Hugoton made. With glide to Hugoton, I knew I had enough electric power to reach Ulysses if needed. A few more weak thermals allowed me a long, smooth glide. Landing was at 7:06 PM, 7 hours and 50 minutes after leaving Winters.
I had been in touch with Bob very occasionally during the flight. By the time he was near Liberal I knew I would make Ulysses and told him so. As I landed, Ed Neidert greeted me on the runway. Fifteen minutes later Bob arrived. If not for a brief detour to Liberal, he might have caught my wing on landing.
I had exceeded 400 miles just before turning base leg. Thanks to Bob, I had a great flight home.