Blanchard Puts Out Late..

I got off work a little after 2:00 and the wind appeared to be right for Blanchard.. Jammed the pedal down and made my way north through an excellent breeze out of the west; especially in the Skagit Valley..

But, as is the way it is many times, the breeze on launch was less than adequate.. Hurry up and wait..

The afternoon launch was further delayed by the huge crunching sound of a once beautiful ATOS.. The hapless "pilot" blew the launch by stalling off the hill, dragging a wing-tip and getting spun around right into a stump-field.. WHACK...!

Russ..

Russ (also shown in the previous image) and I eventually had a pretty nice evening flight.. We floated around for a while in the freshening air waiting for just one thermal..

Then, we got it.. A decent climb drifting back over the hill toward the rock.. We were lucky to have blundered into it and it took us to around 3,500 feet in solid lift..

Real Soaring Pilot..

This particular pilot proved to be the better of us.. He lazily circled through the air hardly giving me a chance at a decent shot of him..

I think he was just a little camera shy..

Classic Blanchard Hill..

This season has been a tough one for those classic evening flights.. True spring flying is well behind us now.. Those low freezing level days just never seemed to fall on the same days as my available time.. 

I was glad to have had at least this opportunity to have seen it once again..

But, it ain't over until it's over..

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