OK then.. there's a very good chance that I'll be flying up that way, late summer / early fall. With any luck, the weather will permit some gliding (or do you call it soaring ?)
It depends on conditions... if there's lift, we're soaring. If there's no lift, we're gliding.
By all means, let me know if and when you might be in this area. I'd be happy to take you for a ride and let you try your hand at flying the 2-33. It can be a little frustrating at first with no glider time, but you'd quickly appreciate its ability to perform. For an older, heavy, draggy design, the 2-33 performs well and is pretty easy to master.
When you fly in, if your descent and approach into 47N is a horrific, headliner-bumping terror ride, that means there will be good soaring.
Surprisingly, though, once you're off tow and actually "coring" a good thermal, it's usually a pretty smooth ride. Other than the near-constant turning, the only thing that's ever bothered me is in gusty conditions, when the wind is tearing up thermals and trying to upset the glider.
A "sleigh ride" on a cloudy calm day is a nice intro to gliders, but on a good soaring day, despite the physical effort and strain (it's called a "sport" for a reason), it's still fun, in the long run. I wasn't sure how much I'd like this soaring thing until the first time I gained a couple thousand feet and made it to cloud base... it's pretty amazing.
Even if we can't glide, you should definitely visit 47N... cheap fuel for this area, and just a cool airport to hang out at.
Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 12:39 pm