I live 10 miles west of the 'big town.'
I am the direct center of all the local pilot training GPS coordinates. Daily, I get new pilots practicing with their tutors 500-2000 ft directly above my house. They think that since it looks like forest, surrounded by corn fields for miles, that it must be a safe spot to practice. I once called the head of the local school and expressed desire that they move a few miles from my epicenter, they agreed, but nothing changed.
This morning I was offered a cool personal acrobatics show with a biplane doing vertical circles right over the house! Neat! I normally don't get the biplanes but every 2-3 weeks. This guy did real swell, probably a dozen flips!
But I degress....
So 3pm I decide to fly. Get to 200ft and moving back and forth over about a 1/4 mile area and notice a plane directly overhead! NO sound! What? It is a Glider! My guess 1000ft altitude, doing circles right around my P2V3! Cool! So up I go to meet him - I stop at 400ft - well below him. He keeps circling me. I guess his wingspan was a good 50ft. No sound.
I thought they got thermals UNDER cumulus coulds! We had 'em, dispersed all around the clear sky - but this guy kept doing HIS circles to gain altitude BETWEEN them. Hmmmm... Was he enjoying wacthing ME?? Or did he find a good thermal BETWEEN the clouds? NO idea.
So my question to everyone: Would YOU have gone UP to be closer to his altitude to get a good video??
Not doing so, I studied my video closely but did NOT get him on film! It is not fair!
I am the direct center of all the local pilot training GPS coordinates. Daily, I get new pilots practicing with their tutors 500-2000 ft directly above my house. They think that since it looks like forest, surrounded by corn fields for miles, that it must be a safe spot to practice. I once called the head of the local school and expressed desire that they move a few miles from my epicenter, they agreed, but nothing changed.
This morning I was offered a cool personal acrobatics show with a biplane doing vertical circles right over the house! Neat! I normally don't get the biplanes but every 2-3 weeks. This guy did real swell, probably a dozen flips!
But I degress....
So 3pm I decide to fly. Get to 200ft and moving back and forth over about a 1/4 mile area and notice a plane directly overhead! NO sound! What? It is a Glider! My guess 1000ft altitude, doing circles right around my P2V3! Cool! So up I go to meet him - I stop at 400ft - well below him. He keeps circling me. I guess his wingspan was a good 50ft. No sound.
I thought they got thermals UNDER cumulus coulds! We had 'em, dispersed all around the clear sky - but this guy kept doing HIS circles to gain altitude BETWEEN them. Hmmmm... Was he enjoying wacthing ME?? Or did he find a good thermal BETWEEN the clouds? NO idea.
So my question to everyone: Would YOU have gone UP to be closer to his altitude to get a good video??
Not doing so, I studied my video closely but did NOT get him on film! It is not fair!