I’m an early post-solo student, and I plan to practice my launching, landing, and soaring skills during my eighth solo flight in the K21. My instructor, David Williams, suggested that I could stay up longer in the afternoon as the weather improves.
After releasing the cable at around 1500 feet, I soared through the thermal at 6 knots and noticed I was getting closer to the cloud base. I didn’t dare to fly too far from the airfield, so I stayed in the high area, even though I was around 5200 feet.
After enjoying the soaring for a while, I decided to land because I was concerned that someone might be waiting for the glider. Chris Skyes informed me that I had achieved silver height and helped me retrieve the IGC file from the FLARM. Everyone in the computer room was excited, and they mentioned that I could achieve bronze duration if I flew for just four more minutes. It was a day full of surprises!
