Roscoe was hell bent on flying a glass off Sunday evening. I thought it was going to be blown out, but I hadn’t spent any time with Ross or been out to Box in a while, so I figured it would be an opportunity to catch up with a friend and see a special place.

We left Tucson at 4 PM. Hiked up to the first knoll. Ambient temp = 104 deg F. That mountain is getting steeper and the dirt looser. Or maybe I am getting older.

On top, strong gusty winds, apparently out of the north.

Leisurely setup. I pulled up, canopy turned west, I flew it back north and stepped off for a pretty effortless launch. The wind was much more west than it appeared on launch. Lots of lift. Thermal bubbles coming off the rocks. Pretty easy to ramp up to the top.

Above the top of Box, the wind was just ever so slightly less than the trim speed of my glider. So I pointed straight into the NW wind and inched down the spine.

Ross launched and boated up. That Gin is a pretty wing and fast. We floated around, explored back toward the HG launch, watched the sun set – spectacular – reminded me of a song called “Straight Into The Sun” that Arjan’s brother sent me nine years ago.

After sunset, we flew out to the LZ, did some mild spirals and wingovers, and gently landed right next to the wind sock and Arjan memorial stone.

A lovely evening. Thanks for getting me out of the house Ross.