Strong Randolph Day in Early April

Launching!

Flying the new Wills Wing Sport 3

                                                        

The forecast looked too strong for Randolph initially, but Kevin talked me in to driving out despite the possibility of being blown out. Cal and Dave made us a foursome. Early April can definitely be iffy flying anywhere in Utah, especially Randolph. The snowpack can hinder access. We have had a marginal year snow wise, so there was no problem driving up to launch. 

Cal launched first in his new single surface Falcon. He immediately climbed out to a grand over and was parked facing southwest, which indicated the upper wind was a lot more strong and cross than it appeared on launch.  I followed cal and soon Dave and Kevin joined us. Even though the thermals were exceptionally strong, no one got above 9500 asl (2000 ft above launch). When you have strong upper winds, the drift in a thermal can take you too far over the back. That makes it difficult to penetrate back to the windward side of the mountain. The wind in the LZ was consistently strong and gusty, which provided some entertaining landings and breakdowns. However it turned out to be a great spring opener.