2012—how fast, how far: soaring the sierra wave

WHAT THE SIERRA AND GREAT BASIN OFFER US FOR MAXIMIZING MILEAGE IN

MOUNTAIN WAVE

STARTED FLYING AT 13Wave fascination early onNAVY PILOTAIRLINE

MD11 PIC

EXPLORATION OUT AND RETURN YO-YO TRIANGLE DOWNWIND SPEED

UNKNOWNS CAN COVER GROUND WORKS DAY/NIGHT NEEDED FOR RECORDS EXPLORE NEW ARENA GOOD SUCCESS RATE

3 2000K + 3 1500K +3 1200K +5 1000K +

What’s within your experience level What do our geography and wx offer How much are you willing to risk Do you have the right equipment Do you have the time Are you fit

CANOPY ICING

NOW WE CAN SEE

Minden looking North

Bishop Looking South

THE REWARD

Mono Lake looking South

BISHOP LOOKING SOUTH

O/R, YO-YO, TRIANGE NEED SAME WX DOWNWIND MORE COMPLEX

Susanville looking South

OUT AND RETURN

PROS- Can stay in primary wave system- Fairly well known terrain and easy retrieve

CONS- Somewhat limited based on terrain

and wx- Typically a headwind component on one leg

- North and south sectors can be tough

NORTH SECTORSUSANVILLESOUTH SECTORIYK-GORMAN

DISTANCE~1250 KM

Pros Covers many miles in relatively confined area Same as O/R Having multiple legs gets you used to wxCons Same problems as O/R Winds can change on very long flight

DAYLIGHT (UNLESS LIT) NORTH/SOUTH DISTANCE UP TO 3000 KM (OVERNIGHT

FLT) WX CAN CHANGE OVER DAY

20 April 2011 – 2200 KMGordon Boettger/Hugh BennettDuo Discus

PROS GREAT GEOGRAPHY 2 LEGS AT HIGH SPEED STRONG LIFT ON LONGEST LEG LIFT WORKS ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHTCONS BRUTAL HEADWIND ON FINAL LEG MOISTURE DOWNWIND NEED HVY WINGLOADING

TERRAIN ADVANTAGE OVER ARGENTINA HARDEST TYPE OF TASK UNEXPLORED

Sample 1500 KM Triangle

Looking East

PROSTAILWIND COMPONENTLONGER GLIDESSLOWER SPEEDSFULFILLING A DREAMCONSLONG RETRIEVEMOISTUREAIRSPACE RESTRICTIONSTOUGH TO FIND RIGHT DAYDIFFERENT CONTROLLERSDIFFERENT AIRMASS POTENTIAL

Minden

Salt Lake

UT

CO

WY NE

WY

NE

SD

UTCO

ID

LAST 500 KM FLOWN IN 2 HRS 2 MIN = 153 MPH

•HIGH WING LOADING•GOOD GLIDE•ROOMY•SPACE FOR BOTTLES/BATTS•STRONG

THE PERFECT PLATFORM

HUMAN LIMITATIONS SAFETY EQUIPMENT LIMITATIONS

MY WIFE MELISSAHUGH BENNETTDOUG ARMSTRONGRICK WALTERSATCROLLIN HASNESSKEMPTON IZUNOSOARING NVRICK ANDERSONTOM STOWERSALL OF YOU