Home again :(

So, after one last leisurely driving day of about 16.5 hours and 1,420 km (880 mi) I’m back home again. I think that’s probably the furthest I’ve driven in one day. Despite arriving home at 2:30 am, I was surprised that I never really got tired.

All things considered, I’d say everything went very well on the trip. Quest Air was fantastic and a lot of fun – thanks to Mark, Spinner, Jonny, Jim, April and Kim for helping to get me flying solo again! The only downside is that despite taking a lot of photos from the ground I didn’t actually get any from the air. My GoPro mount didn’t fit the keel of my glider and holding it by hand really wasn’t an option. Another pilot (and new friend) Robin, who was pretty great by the way, offered to let me use her GoPro attachment. Unfortunately the weather turned and I didn’t get to take one last flight and take her up on her offer. Hopefully I’ll get another chance.

And while things didn’t go exactly as hoped at Lookout Mountain – I still can’t control the weather – I’m glad I had a chance to do some launches off the small hill and I feel confident that a launch off a mountain is in my future.

So, some final numbers from the trip:

Official distance (as per map): 4,577 km (2,844 mi)
Actual distance (as per odometer): 5,194 km (3,227 mi)

Tandem Aerotows: 4
Solo Aerotows: 9
Foot landings: 1 for 1 :)
Hill launches: 6

And if you REALLY want to know what the 16.5 hour drive was like, well, here’s a very basic, no-frills, five minute version of the drive.

Oh, and this is entirely unrelated to anything but, as you may know, when you stop for gas in the U.S. and try to pay at the pump you often need to enter a zip code to continue. Well, I confirmed that if you use the numbers from your postal code and then add two zeroes you’ll be able to pay at the pump. Handy trick!