HGFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 9 January | February 2019 was obviously in the lee sinking at 6m/sec! Lucky wind conditions on this day were very mild and allowed me to go deep and risk making this error. I jumped on bar to get the hell out of there, sinking lower into this narrow valley, dropping like a stone, trying to out glide the narrow bottom down into the main valley, massive pine trees towering around me on all sides. Scraping over a dam wall, I threaded the needle out into the glorious open space of the epic Val di Fassa, for a very active landing in a little meadow outside of town. Feet back on the ground. What an amazing flight – three hours of pure adrenaline. A flatlander from central Queensland in the big mountains of Italy, I had an incredibly smooth flight, made mostly good decisions and had seen the most incredible views of my life! I packed up beside a few foreign pilots who were all to exhausted to talk much, but I could see by the glow in their faces that this had been a special day not just for me. Exhausted I chowed down on a banana, tipped out my excess water and made a short walk through beautiful meadows and pine trees into the picturesque town. My flying buddy had made it to the car just before I landed and was on the way to retrieve me. A gelato and an espresso later, we had enough energy to reminisce over the amazing flight, pack up our little Citroën Berlingo, and slowly make our way out of town, while watching the sun set over the valley behind us and gazing longingly at the sky. Not for the last time, I’m sure! Five Fingers Over Five Fingers At launch