Dunlap May 24

Me in the air over Dunlap launch.
Photo courtesy of Guy Herrington.

After a long drive down from Vancouver to Dunlap (just east of Fresno) we are now in sunny California!  Such a change from yesterday, where it was pouring rain all the way from Seattle to just north of Medford.  And apparently we will have to find an alternate way back to Canada after one of the I-5 bridges fell into the river ;)

I had just changed the lines on my IP6 so I wasn't sure if the funkiness was the new lines, the air, or me.  Turns out it was the air as many other pilots reported snarly conditions and multiple wind directions depending on how high you were and what mountain you were over.  The flying here looks to be quite technical with many different routes, multiple valley systems (all with their own micrometeorology), and low-ish hills with potential long glides out.  I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at this type of flying in a comp situation with lots of other like-minded pilots!

A bunch of us landed in Squaw Valley in thermic conditions, and we had one pilot with a suspected broken wrist after sticking his hand out upon landing.  We've got about 30 pilots here so far for the Nats so it looks to be a nice intimate comp (for a change!).

Not sure where the comp results will be, but the Nationals website is here.