Saturday's rides

My first passengers were from the Monterey peninsula for the 9am Silver Hawk ride.  We stay on tow until we reach 4750' above sea level.  Kevin pulled the release when instructed, we have dual controls because we use the same glider for flight instruction.  Kevin was not a small man but Annie dealt well with any discomfort the seating arrangement caused.  A one hour ride might have exhausted them but they sure enjoyed the view and the "maneuvering"!

Steve wanted a Mile High Mountain Ride.  Because he was solo, he could sit in the big front seat with the unobstructed, by my head, view while I flew from the rear seat.  We remove the control stick from the rear and attach a cover plate over its mechanism when we have two passengers.  After releasing at 6250' over Fremont Peak we were above the "foglets" over the Salinas Valley with Mt. Toro and the Santa Lucias to the left and the Monterey Bay to the right. We spent the rest of our 40 min ride just flying around the Hollister area.

 Bill, a power pilot, who got his license in this area but hadn't flown in 10+ years had a gift certificate for a Monterey Bay Adventure ride where we release at 8250'.  We put on parachutes and flew a loop just for fun after which Bill flew saying it was very different from what he had experienced in the powered aircraft.

Mariam, a local woman who had seen gliders overhead, and her sister-in-law, Lorrie, who was visiting from MN, arrived without a reservation but we were able to get them in the rear seat of the Schweizer 2-32 and off we went on a Mile High Mountain Ride to the Diablos east of the airport.  We watched another glider work the ridge lift below us and then flew around Mariam's homestead where she pointed out her barn and the horse paths upon which she rides.

After landing they wanted to thank our tow-pilot Allen in the Pawnee for getting them "high"!

 The last ride of the day was a Silver Hawk for Jessica and Alexander.  Neither had any small plane experience so even "the ride of my wife"(smooth) would have been impressive.  They were such an ebullient couple,  I couldn't resist a few fun maneuvers.  They have now been initiated.

After changing the oil in the towplane, sleeping in the hangar to save the commute gas-money and getting up early to clean the wings of our towplanes and gliders, I was tired from such a quality dose of aviation!  When I got home to Monterey for a bowl of home-made soup, my wife was still at work on her computer.  Aren't we supposed to slow down as we age?  Every day is a gift!  Haven