Memorable Soaring Stories

This was my second trip to the annual Marfa Wave Camp organized by Dick Johnson. The last time was 1998. The humidity was typically 12%, it was always very windy and very dusty. The real reason for going was to fly with Dick Johnson and Tom Hardy again while they were still at it. Also, I was looking for Gold altitude, but that was not to be.

I met Tom on Friday (3/22) in Jackson, MS and we drove together to Midland. Saturday morning we drove the last 3 hours, arriving at Marfa Muni around 9am. We assembled, launched, and I took a relight. It was a poor day. This time I got a 2 hour, 18 minute practice flight. Maximum altitude was 10,200' msl (field elevation 4847'). There was an extreme crosswind for the launches that day.

Sunday Dick cautioned people about the high winds, so I decided not to fly. Only three or four did fly that day. One was Rich Shaefer (photo below) who reached 23,800' for the high altitude of the camp. Certain that I had made the right decision, I rode with Dave and Jan Raspet about 20 miles North to see a potential landing strip. Driving back, we listened to Rich on 123.3 announcing his good fortune. After that, the words "never don't fly" kept rattling around in my head.

Monday we were primed to go. Winds were 20 kts from the Southwest. The thermal I released in wasn't much, so I ventured a bit West to some knobby terrain where a skinny, bumpy thermal was good for 11,000'. That was encouraging, so I headed West on a cross-country jaunt over the Livermore foot hills to Valentine where a radar observation balloon keeps watch on the border. Arkansas conditions are much like early Spring on the Marfa plain, except the winds are weaker and the sink is not as good. It got tense crossing the foot hills and the last half of the 37 miles to Valentine was spent studying the terrain for landing spots. However, there was a little lift near the turnpoint (SEValentine). Heading home, I followed US 90, using every scrap of lift I could find as the wind drifted me South, closer to the balloon than I was supposed to get (photo below). But the balloon was on the ground and my encroachment was marginal at most. I wasn't eager to search of other lift while so low. Finally, I had to head Northeast, away from the balloon. To my surprise, the lift improved as the ground rose. Back on the Marfa side of the foot hills, I hit a real boomer that averaged 5.5 then 4.5 kts. It was good for 10,800'. After 3 hours and 38 minutes I landed and learned that nobody else had left Marfa. In fact, many took relights and couldn't stay up at that. At the pilots' meeting the next day I reported the best distance, altitude and duration. That was my day. The high point of the flight was being joined by a Hawk in a thermal. He came in low, I lost him, then I saw him again a few turns later above me, then he was gone. That's always a thrill.

Tuesday was 3 hours and 15 minutes of very windy local flying, max alt. 10,000'.

The next three days were spoiled by too strong winds and/or cloud cover. Dick launched Wednesday at about 3 pm when a slight break appeared in the cloud cover 15 mi West of Marfa. Others, but not me, followed and flew for about three hours. (Never Don't Fly.)

Thursday was incredibly windy. Before the pilots' meeting, five of us, including Dick Johnson, moved our gliders to the staging area. Within a few minutes of leaving mine, the wind picked up to 35 kts. Luckily, two pilots who were nearby caught QZ when the tail began to weather vein (I had left the tail dolly attached.). They raised the upwind wing and put the chute on the downwind wing. It was looking really bad, so, ignoring the pilots' meeting, I quickly drove my truck to the glider, installed a tie-down ring under the upwind wing and roped it to the bumper. Others used weights like O2 refill tanks to hold down their wings. DJ had a young boy sitting on his upwind wing. When the winds continued to strengthen, I drove some rebar rods into the ground, and tied Dick's wing down with rope. We had gusts over 50 kts that day. You could see them coming as huge dust clouds. The clouds looked great, despite conditions on the ground, and it would have been a good day for a downwind run to Hobbs. Nobody flew that day.

Saturday looked good for thermal and wave. Some people took relights and I thought I would too, but I fought a scrappy one up to 10,000' and stuck for a 4 hour flight. There were little lennies here and there, but the problem was getting to the inversion where they began. Tom Hardy succeeded and got over 13,000'. Another pilot took one to 14,500'. I never found wave, but was happy with 12,300' and a long flight around the NE periphery of the Marfa plain. At one point there were four large dust devils between Marfa Muni and Marfa. A Genesis II ventured into one and the pilot related his harrowing experience over dinner that evening.

It wasn't a banner year for Marfa, but it was good to get reacquainted with Dick and Alice and learn some interesting things about Dick's professional life. Also, it was a great privilege to meet Gus Raspet's other son Dave; I already knew Richard from graduate school at Ole Miss and working with him at the National Center for Physical Acoustics. All together, the Mississippi contingent (photo) amounted to seven people. Some now live elsewhere, but still have their hearts in Mississippi.