Santa Elisabetta (Belice)

Yesterday (for the first time this year) I met my Italian friend Ennio. Actually we had wanted to fly in Piossasco, but as the shuttle was not operating there, he took me to a site called 'Santa Elisabetta' (a little NW of Torino, Piemonte, Italy). We met (Pier)Andrea (Patrucco) the local 'No.1' in this region.

Ennio, Andrea

Unfortunately the sky was much more cloudy than predicted, because it would have needed only a little sun to make the thermals strong enough to be able to stay up.
But I could clearly see that this site (even from this lower take-off called 'Belice') has really good potential for cool flights.
The launch has been recently enlarged/ improved and as you can see in the pix it could be called a perfect PG (and HG) launch: large, grassy, no stones, ideal exposure against the wind, ideal slope, paved road to launch, parking just 20m above launch - what else does one need?

TO 'Belice', Ennio

Ennio landing at LZ 'Salto'

The 'Salto' LZ is a little small for HGs and has a (good visible) powerline going across at its northern end. But more than big enough for PGs - but still people manage to hang themselves into the powerlines...

Oli

My friend Oli sent me this selfie during a flight he made last week; I'm very impressed about his level of acro-flying.

AirDesign RISE-2 (XL)

After several talks/ mails with Martin from AirDesign (AD), I have finally decided to order this wing.
Tipping the scales was the promise to build a special riser, which will allow me to reach the A-lines with my damaged left shoulder.
It will look something like this: (left: original, right: modification)

For making 'B-ears' (Big ears by using the outer B-line) and B-stall (should I consider this necessary) there are some ideas how this could be eventually achieved - you just have to talk to André from Flugsau!

In therms of colour I have choosen the following:

The reason for this is, that I hope this colourscheme will make for good visibility of the wing in flight, especially as there are no other options than 'white' for the undersail.

more info about this wing can be found here.