Winds even more favorable for Chilean ridge soaring today with Iquique reporting due west at 11 knots, so I tried the two seater DG-1001E this time.
Launched from Arica again. You’re ridge soaring in under two minutes after take off.
Upslope lift was so intense I was red lining it on the speeds just holding level on the rim of the ridge. You could fly off the ridge, swoop over Iquique and steep spiral a dozen times and easily make it back.
Didn’t have time for another epic 500 km flight, so decided to call it at SCDA just south of Iquique. It was a good thing too. The winds started shifting to southerly, paralleling the ridge and I could tell I was losing my lift.
