Be prepared! I've been flying for ten years and flying cross country for the last eight. I should have learned these lessons years ago.
John Jensen had a couple of students that were doing their first truck tows and asked if I would do a couple of tandems with some other students. He was considering starting a little later than Saturday but I suggested that we start early as the soaring forecast was for the day to turn on early. We got out to the tow site about 8:30 and got towing about 9:00. After we got the guys off on their first tows I set up the tandem glider to do my tandems.
The wind was out of the east with an occasional south breeze. The forecast was for north winds on the ground and upper winds from the west. I got a low tow with my first passenger but managed to find some lift and climbed out to 7000' at 11:00am. The lift was smooth and I had no trouble staying up with my light passenger. It was time to land so I could get going on my own. After another short flight with my second passenger I was anxious to get my glider set up and get going.
The wind was now out of the south. Mike and Steve towed up first. I had a chat with John and Moore before to make a plan for the day. I suggested Empress as a goal for the day with the upper winds forecast to be straight out of the west. John questioned the wisdom of this goal as the pilots in air were drifting north. The area from Bassano to Medicine Hat was supposed to have very poor lift. We were on the edge of it and it looked good if we went straight east or better yet head north a little. I was confident that the west winds would kick in and empress would be a good goal. I suggested going north with the drift and head east when you hit the west winds as conditions should be even better a little north of us. The last thing I mentioned was you should get 8000' to 9000' over the tow road and upwards of 14,000' later as you head east.
Considering this last statement I don't know what I was thinking as I suited up to go. I dropped one layer and wore just my cutters instead of my heavy winter gloves. I looked at my camel back in the back seat of my truck opting not to bother taking it with me. It would have been a good idea to have something to eat before taking off too.
I towed up to 1500' under pressure I was sure was going to break my week link. The guys are just learning to tow and I'm happy if I get towed high enough to get away. I found some scrappy lift and started drifting north. I wasn't getting up and just getting further away so I headed back to the tow road for a relight. I found solid lift 700' off the deck and climbed out to 7000'. The lift wasn't great and I wasn't getting very high. I went on glide and almost landed at Standard. I hung on over a ridge just north of town. I finally got a good climb as a huge dust devil started forming just below me. I topped it out and was on my way.
I was just south of the Red Deer river when the wind turned west. I headed east and got high just before crossing the river. The lift was strong up high but tough when you got low. I was climbing over 11,000' and freezing my ass off. Glides were great up high but I was dropping like a stone once under 8000'. At least I would stop shivering. Their was plenty of broken lift down low which I used to stay off the ground in order to find the good lift to get me back to cloud base. I was heading on glide at 11,000' as I couldn't stand the cold. I left one thermal and flying at trim climbed over 12,000' at 1200 ft/min. I wasn't worried about cloud suck as the clouds were spread out and not very big. I think cloud base was around 14,000'.
I was starting to feel a little air sick. After four hours in the air the cold and dehydration was taking over. I'd had enough and started scanning for a good place to land. When I went on glide I spotted a little town to my north east. I headed towards town thinking I could just make it. I was about eight km out when I his some lift. I took it up 1000' to give me enough height to scope out the best place to land. I scanned the town looking for some place I might be able to get something to eat. I spotted the golf course and figured they should have food in the club house.
I landed right next to club house exhausted and frozen. Before I was unhooked I had a glass of water and ordered something to eat. This was definitely the right place to land. The people in Oyen are some of the most hospitable I have meet any where. They did every thing they could to help warm me up and feed me. Every one was interested in hearing about my flight and kept me company until my ride arrived.
I have to thank Moore for picking me up once again. This is not the first time he has picked me up after a long XC flight. No one knows the country better and he's always great to visit with on the long drive home. Not only did he make a six hour round trip drive to pick me up he also brought his own vehicle so it didn't cost me a fortune for gas in my truck. Thanks again Moore your the best.
The friendly staff at the Oyen golf club. I really recomend landing there.
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