When we finally made it to Oslo, we met up with the grandparents. Elisabeth and I drove an electric car too Bergen and the grandparents took the train with two very jet lagged kids. We had a wonderful stay for a couple nights, and there is an aquarium there that the kids loved. We were able to do some shopping and experienced some of Bergen's bread, coffee, art and many nice restaurants. I got my haircut and the barber asked “what are you doing in Norway?”

He said “did you come for cheap beer and sunshine?” I said to him “I’m here to see my family and friends. And, I came to Norway to fly a Sail Plane in Sandane".

We pushed the Arcus M to the starting point of 08, and watched the tow plane hook up another glider that departed in front of us. The Arcus's carbon fiber is stiff compared to a fiberglass glider, and it has beautiful lines and amazing winglets. I think what I noticed most was that the cockpit is sleek and comfortable.

It was a bonus that the airport environment is pretty calm, with only a few Widerøe flights and some general aviation traffic through out the day. We took off around 11:00am and climbed above tree-line, which is about 600 meters heading slightly north and west. We could see some clouds forming above the inversion and above the mountains, but there wasn’t much wind as we went searching for thermals. There where some clouds below the inversion that Jo Inge thought were developing from previous rain evaporating, possibly creating some kind of fog.

We took off a bit early to get stronger thermals, and the rain from the day before was absorbing the suns energy. The lack of wind was allowing the inversion to sit and kill any potential for wave lift. We fought hard with smooth inputs and clean flying in the Arcus, but eventually we had to restart the motor. So, we picked out a place to land in case the motor didn’t start and extracted the motor and propeller. We kept heading west along the fjord over Stryn and at this point, you really start to feel like you are in the mountains. Above 800 meters, you start to see less green, more rock, and the beautiful but inhospitable glaciers.

We had enough fuel for a few starts after are initial climb. This was the first sail plane I have flow with flaps. Slow down with flaps, grab onto the rising air.... sounds simple, right? This sailplane was complex, but Jo Inge's calm demeanor removed any stress I felt with the flows of the Arcus. There is a lot of drag when you pull the prop out so the first thing we did was discuss landing options if the motor didn’t start. Heading west, Unable to climb above the inversion and hanging onto weak thermals..... we restarted the motor.

 There is a summer ski area west of Stryn. We climbed over the top of it and were over the glacier above the grass-line. We could see some virga (evidence of rain) to the west, and there wasn’t much lift.... but we were luckily maintaining our hard-won altitude. We could see that there was lift developing; thermals producing clouds to the east, but if we flew further.... the terrain dropped out and we may not have been able to make it back to Sandane.

Jo Inge wasn’t worried..... I assume he has some friends over there with a fresh cup of coffee;-) But, the girls and I had plans to head northwest today, so "landing out" wasn’t in my best interest.

We had been flying for a couple hours at this point, and the breathtaking beauty had me in awe. The vast glacier and the green glacial lakes are something out of a dream. The efficiency of the Arcus and feeling of flying is beyond words. Most of my flights have been less than two hours, and I was feeling like I was pushing my limits of circling while not climbing much. I told Jo we should try to fly back to Sandane.... that "my girls would appreciate that". On our way "home", the terrain drops away dramatically and I was flying perhaps too near the ridge. Jo warned me to watch out for these little clouds! “They are rocky” he said.

 Jo Inge coached me on ridge flying technique. “If you are headed toward rising terrain then keep your speed up.” This is not intuitive and takes practice but it gives you the energy you need to turn and avoid a stall near the ground. If the terrain is dropping away you can be flying slower because you have the potential energy available.