It was really a tough decision to leave to Beziers immediatly the next day... Decision in the evening, booking a flight, packing everything and the next day leaving after work. Flight to Dublin, London, sleeping 4 hours in an airport hotel, 6:30 leaving to Beziers, landing at 9:20. Then reassembling the glider for 2 hours, clarifying the special procedure for taking of with a glider from a traffic airport with the handling agents, having lunch and ... taking off...
But actually at this moment I made the only mistake at this day. Thinking without a flightplan it will save up time was naive. The controller let me fly 20 km under 1500 ft, not an altitude for a glider. Probably because I was not part of "his system". He asked me thousands of questions and always gave me the feeling, that I am a stranger. I more had to focus on him than on flying. Totally the opposite compared to flying with a flight plan. In my experience with flight plan it is the opposite: The controller is always kind of a "Co-pilot" or your best friend in the air...
But after leaving the coastal region it started to be real glider flying. And when I was free of the controlled airspace suddenly two gliders appeared. I was really glad to see them. And the cloud base was climbing up to 2000 m, so that I really could fly to the mountains. Great flying! It was perfect weather! But when I reached Orange, my missing flight plan was again causing problems... Many questions, 4 or 5 squawks, 3 or 4 frequencies within 5 minutes, no concentration on gliding possible and finally a controller who wanted me to stay below 4000 feet... Not good... So I was fighting to stay in the air always with one eye watching the approach altitude to Aubenas, which I could see clearly for a long time. The clouds were good, but as I didn't want to loose my strategic advantage at the next day to decide passing Lyon left or right, I decided to land in Montelimar as I planned before, much too early at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
I always wanted to see Montelimar once. It is the best and maybe the only point to cross the Rhone valley without problems. I noticed the power plants of Montelimar many times when flying for car testing to Barcelona. And in Google maps simulations these power plants had been my orientation points many times. When I saw these three towers fuming in reality it was a gorgious scenary for me.
People from Beziers told me that the airport of Montelimar is pretty good for gliders. And it is. It is Grass, grass and again grass... 1400 m. When landing on the ground I lost orientation and turned too early to the hangars. I could not see the markings of the taxiway clearly inside the grass. Flight in the OLC.
But the people there are really friendly, helpful and openminded. They came along with a mowing mashine which looked like a formula 1 car to pick me up. Probably you need a formula 1 mower at this huge aerodrome ;-)
Montelimar I did't visit, because all hotels were booked out, so I stayed again in a very nice hotel in Rochefort called "Medieval", with concern to the big castle directly over the village. In the evening I was going with Thomas, another guest in the hotel for dinner, as all restaurants in the vicinity were closed. Thomas had a rental car, so it was nor problems to reach restaurants further away. The owner of the hotel organised this, what was really nice from him. The good evening, and the new insights in french culture and people were worth every minute. In the morning Jean-Paul picked me up to the airport, because the second problem for me after the many closed restaurants in small villages in france is always the (non) availability of taxis.
In the morning I took a short look at the planes at the airfield - there were almost only helicopters. The guys here are really helicopter orientated, they even building new ones. The one prototype I saw was really fascinating. With a parachute rescue system, and a self designed double 2 zylinder engine in one crankcase. So if one engine is not working anymore, the second 2 zylinder engine in the same crankhouse is still keeping the helicopter in the air. I liked the features.
But then I had to take off. Jean-Paul towed me to the holding position with the grass mower and I took off - to one of the most special flights I did in my life right now.
Who cares about 270 km? Under this conditions it was the maximum I could get out of this day. I made only one mistake at that day: I didn't put an alternate in Switzerland in my flightplan. But I will tell about that later...
The Mistral was terribly strong blowing along the Rhone valley against my flight direction. And the mountains which are crossing the Rhone valley at Montelimar were in Luv. So I tried to reduce problems of climbing while searching for Lee-waves. And it worked! I was climbing with 2 - 2.5 m/s with half engine power- terrific. But then controllers told me to stay clear of Valence, so I lost again 200 m with fully running due to the wave downdrafts! Not so nice, because I knew I would need my fuel urgently today.
Problem was, that they prognosed 0 thermals till Grenoble, means 100 km flying only with the engine. The PFD-chart of TopMeteo was fully white till Grenoble. I think every glider pilot knows the meaning of that. But I had no choice, when I wanted to reach Germany at saturday, I had to reach the good weather in the Jura today. Prognosis for the other days in the Jura were much worse. O. k. Really no thermal at all. But I could use some nice lifts, produced by wind and mountains to save a lot of fuel. I needed my engine till 30 km before Grenoble. And I used almost 6 Liter fuel, till I was almost on reserve. So it was clear, if I had to use my engine again, I had to cancel my flight, not to run the risk of an outlanding. Very good motivation for perfect flying!
It was really hard to stay in the air. Cloud base 1400 m, mountains 1500 - 2000 m, strong headwind with 20-25 km/h, not funny at all. Clouds, although looking good, were not working at all. Even the nice lady of Valence control was worried. She asked me if I had problems with the weather, when I again was under 1000 m along the 1800 m high mountains... I said "no, everything o. k.". Actually it was o. k. I was fighting till I passed Chambery.
Then the weather changed. I was happy and thought "cloud base is climbing, good looking Cummuli, what do you want more?"
But what a surprise! After 20 km the sky was totally blue, no clouds anymore. I was in a plain, which looked like no thermals at all, and I was in 450 m over ground. Not good...
Again I thought, that this will be the end of the flight-. Fuel will not be enough to Oyannax not to think about Pontarlier. So I had to go back to Chambery. But patience, McCready 0,2, and searching for every little chance to find thermals helped. Got out of the misery, climbed over some hills always with the possibility to escape towards the big plain with it's various outlanding possibilities.
But the perfect way I could not go. At the right side of the lake geneve were crazy good thermals. And a cloud street probably with maximum lift and speed. I would have been in Lausanne within one hour... But I could not go, because I did not have a swizz destination or alternate in my flight plan! The controller said it is not possible even if I am filing a modified flight plan in the air, which I could have done with my skydemon... Next time I know better and put an alternate to each country.
When I slowly reached the Jura I again thought "now I made it".
But what do you think? No chance, again I found myself 500 m under the ridge of the Jura. The clouds were below the ridge on the windward western side. 1800 m cloud base sounds good for the aerea outside the ridge, but over a wide, not landable area at 1200 - 1400 m it is absolutely not enough. So after 30 km very cautious flying I left windwards to the lower aereas. The controler didn't understand this manouver and asked twice if my desination still is Pontarlier.
Finally with a lot of patience I reached Pontarlier without using my engine since Orange. For me - I could not have done better! Flight in the OLC.
I was very happy reaching Pontarlier. That the landing strip was covered with markings and I had to land very carefully in between and pull my glider by hand to the apron so not to destroy the wings while taxiing didn't spoil my mood. Also not that the people there were busy with themselves. I found a perfect hotel (Ibis) with good dinner very close to the airport, opposite to a fuel station. And so everything was o. k. :-)
This day I liked a lot! So many different landscapes, situations, and weather conditions, not to tell about the wide variaty of air traffic conversations in Germany I never had...
