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Fin des Vacances
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This morning's briefing included a request by the audience
for a short presentation by yours truly on yesterday's events. This was
followed by a team meeting at Jean's house with the CFI, the tuggie, Ariane and
myself, to record the facts as we each saw them in order to identify lessons
to be learned. And then we had a 220 rigging session, lunch and, at last, a
place on the grid with the knowledge that if I was still airborne after two
minutes the day will already have been a vast improvement over yesterday.
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Happy camper
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It was a surprise to learn that a retracted undercarriage
with one door missing is more off-putting than a lowered undercarriage, due
to the presence of a loud, low-frequency rumble which made listening to
wind-noise (a major feature of my flying technique) rather a challenge.
There was also a slight vibration under the rear seat, of which Ariane
remained contentedly uncritical throughout our flight.
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Mt Pelat & le lac d'Allos
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We made our way towards the Trois Eveches and popped behind
to the Grande Seolene on our way into the Barcelonette valley. We passed Mt
Pelat (a mountain I have had my eyes on for some time with a pair of walking
boots in mind) and, having reached the sensible altitude of 10,500ft,
crossed over to the tete de Ciguret for a rather bouncy climb away
from the Barcelonette valley, past the col du Larche, and into the Queyras.
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Col du Larche
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The rest of our flight met traditional expectations for a
southern French Alpine excursion. A long glide towards Briancon was rewarded
with a good climb which enabled us to reach the Plampinet valley without too
much drama. Although the Maurienne looked achievable, we decided to take a
scenic route past the Glacier Blanc, Pelvoux, the pas de la Cavale and onto
the parours. We did not require another thermalling turn until we reached
the key point of the Montagne de Coupe, near Dignes, on our passage towards
the lac Ste Croix. We turned the Pont d'Aiguines and, mindful of our earlier
difficulties in returning home from here, we took great care in seeking out
a good, 8000ft climb to get us home. Interestingly, our route took us
through flocks of more than several hang-gliders, each intent on returning
to Laragne in order to gain extra World Championship points. Our final
landing of the holiday was followed by a glider-cleanup, a derig and a last
pizza-salade at the Janus.
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Pelvoux
Lac de Serre-poncon
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