Amusing - I just saw this entry on Paragliding Forum's Leonardo:

9th July, Racon. Pilot 'ert' (?). Distance 16.7km. Yiğit knows who it is. He flew pretty well exactly the same flight I did - the same mega thermal - except he was obviously not wearning shorts since he got to 3,875m asl. If he was he was hardcore. He landed almost exactly at the spot I landed. He was flying on a Swing too and probably experienced the same sort of physical forces under the wing. Maybe he also had a tea and a chicken kebab at the petrol station there? And maybe he had to keep a watch out for flying stones, churned up by lorries, as he tried to get a hitch on the road-side back to Racon?

a thermal - just ONE that stretched on for miles

For more heroic news, Basat Okay flew 180km from Rajon this last Sunday. Now this METU pilot is obviously experienced, having over 500 hours, etc, but looking at the altimeter-trace it just shows what's possible from Racon. Or MAYBE from just up the hill here in the METU grounds? I'm more motivated to risk getting electrocuted by the pylon cables than ever now - just to catch that perfect thermal to get away and on to Konya.

disappointing not to have reached Konya

notice how our thermal was actually bigger than any of his

Fantastic day soaring in METU today with Ozgun - first at the N site at the top of the hill, and then on the N closest to the apartment. It was a NNW I think, and the weather report Ozgun looked at said 17 kph and dropping in the evening. We went up there at 6pm, and later evening conditions (7.30-8pm) were possibly better. Both Ozgun and I had quite a hard time at the top - getting blown back at points. I had to do a C line landing. I also did a Mitsos launch, which I want to practice given the experience from the other day of getting dragged. Here were the soundings for 12pm today. (Looks like it would have been a good xc day for Racon - but no chance of that right now with summer school and baby duties.)

Definitely my best day's flying in METU today. On the closer site I couldn't get down over the bowl and had to do lots of wingovers to lose height! And the air was smooth. Wonderful.

9th July: Racon

Much needed day's flying at Racon, with Yiğit and his sister. After a couple of ventures into the air in the hottest part of the day, and after lunch in the company of a chatty shepherd under the shade of the tree by the water trough, some Gazi University pilots turned up, and joining them on the hill, I was lucky to connect with a good thermal and circle my way up to 2000m above take off (approx. 3200m asl), my averager recording over an 8 up! It was around 4.30pm. I was wearing shorts. As Yiğit says, when you wear a flying suit - as I did earlier in the day - you end up on the deck overheating, not getting away. When you just want some fun, you wear shorts and find yourself at 3000m with the potential of an epic flight in front of you. I started getting cold at around 1,600m ato, and kept flying straight, trying to drop out of the thermal. But the vario just kept beeping - 1,700, 1,800, 1,900, 2000m - and the sky above me was blue! I was freezing. When I finally got some sink, I cored it for a few hundred metres to warm up again. I followed the main road, sinking at a steady 2 m/sec. I was trying to be smart about finding another thermal - over dark fields with tree-line triggers, over small towns, but nothing. I landed 16km from take-off, by a petrol station where I had a delicious tavuk and salata meal, and tea on the house. I hitched back to Racon with a lorry driver on his way to Istanbul, not realizing as I bid him goodbye that I had left my wallet on the seat. Luckily he reported it - an honest man - and it's being sent to sent to Bilkent. I trekked from the main road to the hill where by now there were a lot of pilots enjoying good soaring conditions. I had a go on Yiğit's proto Skywalk Poison which had a notable glide.

Yiğit couldn't fly xc that day. He had students to teach. One other pilot got away. I wonder where he got to? If he was dressed for it, he could have made a big distance. Conditions seemed excellent.

skew-t for the day at Racon

Ridge soaring at METU

3 different sites within a 20 minute walk (fast pace!) are soarable in the METU grounds behind our apartment - two Northerlies and a NE. This is the original N site below. I'm pretty sure that the thermic air is too rough for safe flying after the last two experiences. The air is too turbulent. Walking to these sites on a regular basis with a 20kg glider is a good way to get fit. I lost 2kg doing it.