Glider Flying Utah's Wasatch Mountains

Enjoy an hour of gliding and soaring Utah's spectacular Oquirrh and southern Wasatch Mountains with pilot Bruno Vassel IV (B4) flying an ASW-27B 15 meter high performance sailplane sailplane. This was an October day with very stable air so no thermals, however, the winds were from the west and I was able to fly the lift created from the wind hitting the western-facing mountain ridges.

The mountains shown in this video starts with the very south end of the Oquirrh range. The next shot is near the base of Mount Timpanogos where I need to ridge soar back and forth a few times before reaching the peak which is over 12,000 feet high. I then head south past Provo Canyon to Y mountain. I head back up north until I fly in the mountains above the city of Alpine, Utah and finish off flying over Lone Peak sitting above Draper and Sandy Utah. The last scene is landing back at Cedar Valley Airport near Eagle Mountain City Center. This fantastic little private airport is where I call home much of the soaring season and where I keep my glider in a safe hanger in between flying contests.

The camera used is a Contour+ HD camera and it does a pretty decent job of capturing the amazing October colors and mountain rocks zooming by the glider at 100 miles per hour. Thanks for watching.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• gliding
• soaring
• glider
• sailplane
• Utah
• Mountains
• flying
• Bruno
• Vassel
• asw27
• asw-27
• Timpanogus
• Lone
• Peak
• Mountain

[avoterinmo]

Bruno: My Husband fly's the Logan map in Condor, Do you as well?

[bviv]

@avoterinmo Yes I do. I haven't flown Condor much in the last few years but it is a wonderful program for seeing what a new place is like. The Logan Condor is very much like the real thing. Bruno

[gbvb79]

It seems to me that a proficient glider pilot works with nature rather than against it and thus maximises the flying experience. It's simply amazing to watch you fly with such grace and confidence. Wonderful video, thanks for sharing.

[bviv]

@gbvb79 Thanks so much for the kind words. Sharing what we experience up in the air is a real pleasure. Regards, Bruno

[kangasl]

I told you this last winter too but it's worthy to repeat: Your videos are the key factor for an eager glider pilot to survive trough the no-flying season. And the quality keeps getting better too. Thanks again for these.

[bviv]

@kangasl Thanks for the encouragement. It keeps me motivated to keep making these. Spring is just around the corner...well I wish it was. :) Take care, Bruno

[bviv]

@6btl6 Yes, at 8:47 it shows the mountain I was trying to go back and forth and ride up to the top. At 24:18 I speed up the video to 6 times speed to get across a boring stretch. No turbulence, just the sped up video. The tube in nose is oxygen that is fed from a computer that delivers the right amount depending on altitude. The mouth tube is drinking water to stay hydrated. Thanks for watching. Good questions. Take care, Bruno

[bluesshayman]

Thanks for letting me fly along. I enjoyed the flight!

[bviv]

@gliderklajdkl I was not far from where you live just a few weeks ago, in Amsterdam. I love your part of the world! I hope to fly with you in Condor some time and best of luck in your own 20 once you complete your license! They really are amazing ships. Take care and thanks for commenting. Bruno

[bviv]

@pyrokylehatch Thanks so much for watching. We fly out of Cedar Valley so you have no excuse to not come over and say hi when we are flying in the summer. The airport opens back up in May 2012. Come pay us a visit. Most power pilots have no idea how much lift there is up in the sky most days. The turbulence you try to fight through is our lift. As you can see it is not bumpy since we ride the lift instead of fighting through it. Come fly with us next summer. Take care, Bruno