Not much happening lately. After discovering that the outboard cores were cut wrong, I ordered new cores and have been waiting for them. In the meantime, I've cut out all twenty layup plies, and also set up the table with the alignment rails that I use to glue the core sections together. So when the foam gets here I'll be all over them.
In the meantime, I've taken up indoor rock climbing as sort of an evening recreation for when I'm stuck in the silicon valley during the week. Rock climbing shares a lot of the same foundation philosophy with soaring. Both share an intense fascination with ascension. Both involve the total application of mental and physical resources towards integrating one's intentions into the landscape of natural phenomonae. The big difference between the two is that you can practice rock climbing to a reasonable degree of fidelity in the comfort of a local gym. To practice soaring, on the other had, you must go to where the soaring is.
It's too bad that all of the suburban soaring sites have been swept away. In the California bay area: Fremont, Vacaville, Calistoga, Hummingbird Haven, all gone. Without sites like those, soaring more rapidly and completely fades from the collective consciousness. It would be nice if there was some sort of soaring outpost you could bring into urban areas. Maybe with simulators. Maybe it can't be done. But I notice that at the climbing gyms, they talk about big walls like El Capitan enough, and with enough fervor, to make me think that there's still hope for the real world.
page updated 29 January 2004 all text and graphics copyright (c) 2004 HP Aircraft, LLC