At the beginning of the season I decided to participate in a very interesting local competition at our airfield, called Coppa Villa Pavesi (CVP). There are several competition days throughout the whole season, typically during the weekends with AAT tasks for pilots with different level of skills: the circles around the waypoints are quite large - so experts can fly long distances but also those pilots can participate who do not have much experience & older gliders (like me:)). This competition allows us to learn to set the tasks in our instruments, follow a pre-defined task and compare our progress to other pilots. Especially because not only the gliders have their handicaps, but also the pilots!

Both days we had a task in the 'pedemontana' region: this is that area where the mountains meet the flatland - but it's difficult to find a good English translation for this Italian word, and Google Translate could not help me either :)

On Saturday I took off late, just before 2 pm. I wanted to start the flight in Lugano CTR (Mt. Martica - Mt. Piambello) but as said many times, there is too much traffic recently so it is nearly impossible to move around without limitations. One of the big learnings of this year was "don't stick to an idea if it does not work" so I left the area of the CTR and continued the flight on the traditional way to the east. And even though the sky was blue and the temperatures were very high, I found some nice thermals! At Mt. Generoso I climbed until 2100 m, pure happiness. I knew that from here it won't be so easy to throw myself in the dirty air without cumulus but I did... what can happen if everything goes wrong? I had plan B, Alzate Brianza airfield is close from here so I could even land there. But it was not the case! Though the thermal was very broken at Mt. Bisbino, Mt. Bollettone did not disappoint me (as usually): here I found again a nice lift. I reached the first waypoint at Mt. Cornizzolo (with some paragliders around me) and then returned to Campo dei Fiori. For the second time it was sufficient to go until Mt. Bisbino and then home: I did it, 150 kms, task completed and valid because three of us did it that day!

I knew that the forecast predicted similar conditions for the next day: so why not to leave my glider rigged and fly again on Sunday? (Well, the temperatures were around 35-36°C - it was super exhausting, but my passion for gliding did not let me to waste a flyable day.) And what a good decision it was! On Sunday in the morning I followed the weather forecast appointment from home so I arrived to the airfield quite late, around 11 am. But my glider was already rigged so it was comfortable and quick to prepare. I took off around 12.30, before the E-glide competitors. And the forecast was not so correct, the conditions were even better than the day before! Nice cumulus clouds, strong lifts, what else we need? The daily task was slightly longer, I went until Corni di Canzo (most eastern point for me) and then back to Mt. Nudo (though it would have been sufficient again to touch the western point of Campo dei Fiori). 

The most difficult part of the flight was exactly here: I knew that I need to return again to Mt. Bollettone to complete the task - but the air was really on fire, my necklace, my earrings and the seat belts were burning my skin. I tried to gain some energy for the rest of the flight by eating some Haribos and drinking but it was a weak help. (Did you know that even gummy bears start to melt at a certain temperature?! :) This was that temperature!)

The task completion was guaranteed when I reached the super altitude of 2050 m at Mt. Uccellera... final glide! I had nearly 650 m above Calcinate but I knew that I will go through some strongly descending zones. I was right, when I arrived home, my instrument gave me the arrival altitude of 350 m above the airfield. It was fun to accelerate close to Calcinate until 150 km/h - I was happy that I successfully completed the task two consecutive days. After this flight I needed to de-rig my glider and then I needed to drive home (50 mins from the airfield, so a bit of energy was still needed:)). What a great flight anyway: 180 kms, a bit more than 3 hours, 55 km/h. I wish to have more weekends like this also in July!

If you want to see my flights on OLC/weglide, you can find them here (competition classification available on weglide (without the correction of personal handicaps - but I was too slow to win:)):

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 28.06.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 29.06.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

153 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 06/28/2025 (weglide.org)

178 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 06/29/2025 (weglide.org)

As we arrive to the first summer month, the weather conditions in North-Italy are getting worse for gliding... but the days are also longer, so it is possible to take-off quite late and land around 6-8 pm in the evening so it has its own magic. 

Before this flight I was working in the morning, I had a quick lunch at home and started to rig the glider around noon. Needless to say how heavy it's to rig the glider in this very hot weather, but I am not made of sugar so I did not completely melt under the sun. :)

Just before 2 pm I was ready for take-off. 39 degrees on the runway under the canopy of my ASW15... let's go! The tow was a bit unusual (I am usually towed by the least powerful towplanes because I am very light with my glider, but this time I was towed by a stronger airplane) but finally I arrived to Campo dei Fiori. After the first thermal I headed to Mt. Nudo to see if I can get higher than 1650 m... and the answer was NO! Xctherm was a bit optimistic again about the reachable altitudes, but I thought anyway that it will be difficult near the airfield as it's typical in summer. 

Well, as with 1650 m I do not cross Lago Maggiore, I decided to try to the east. I wanted to try also the peaks in Lugano CTR but because of IFR traffic it was not possible again. A good thermal close to the CTR finally let me to go to Mt. San Giorgio and I reached a fairly good altitude here (1800 m). I crossed Lago di Lugano and I arrived to Mt. Generoso. Here I caught the best thermal of the day: I did not stop until 2200 m, wonderful! 

Okay, but where to go now? I do not see any nice clouds in the east, the first little cumulus is very far... let's try to the north. Nothing. I returned to Mt. Generoso to try to reach again 2200 m but for the second time it was not possible anymore, the thermal disappeared. 2000 m...okay, let's try to the east, nothing to do, let's face the blue horror. I went to Mt. Bisbino, did some circles, but I did not find any good thermal. 1700 m... it might be wiser to return. That was also frustrating that the wind direction and strength was often changing and sometimes my instruments indicated important wind as well (20-25 km/h). 

I tried again Mt. Nudo but I remained relatively low so it was not possible to go more to the west. When I reached Mt. San Giorgio for the second time that day, it was already late and some high clouds from the west covered the sky. The thermals got much weaker, I was circling in calm air and did not find strong values. But it was also magical to return to Calcinate after 6pm... I could do some experiments, try a small final glide with higher speeds. When I landed, there was only one more glider in the air. I needed to find help quite urgently to take back my glider to its trailer as they were cutting the grass on the runway. 

It was strange to look at the sky after 6 pm because it was nearly fully covered so it seemed like it was impossible to fly some distance that day. And even though it was not a great distance what I did, I was happy, I missed flying so much... fingers crossed now for some instability and nicer days in June!

If you want to see my flight on OLC/weglide, you can find it here:

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 20.06.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

130 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 06/20/2025 (weglide.org)

In North Italy the best months for gliding are March, April and May. In the past years the season started a bit later so often we had the chance to fly cross-country in June as well - but unfortunately this year June was not very generous so far (and indeed it was possible to do some nice flights already in March). High temperatures, extreme humidity, dirty air, strong inversion - these are the typical summer conditions if you fly from Calcinate - and the blue sky of the high mountains is often unreachable. 

But it cannot stop a determined pilot who dreams about flying during the week... so on Sunday early in the morning I was driving on the highway in the direction of the airfield. It was important to listen to the weather forecast of our 'meteoman', Piero (always at 9.30 am) because there were some NOTAMs for an area very close to Calcinate because of the World Hang Gliding Championship. After this we started to rig the gliders: first a JS-1 and then my ASW15b. Even though I do not like this very hot weather, my glides does: the rigging was very smooth and quick. 

As we knew that we need to wait for the good weather, we had an early lunch together at the airfield's bar: they know that pilots like simple & light food before flying so while some of us chose the classic ham-cheese toast, I ate a salad with mozzarella. Hours of waiting might be frustrating, but we had a good time together under the wings of our gliders, we laughed a lot.

After 1 pm the director of the airfield arrived to tell us that one of the towplanes need to return to its home airfield (Masera - this is where I bought my glider) so we should take-off. Well, it was already late so there was no point in waiting anymore. The conditions were not the ones promised to us by xctherm: the max. altitude was only around 1350 m and the thermals were very-very weak. After a while I decided to try the peaks in the CTR of Lugano but that was a mistake: I did not find anything and I got very low. To make things worse, there was SSW wind (10-15 km/h) which was disturbing the thermals. I found myself again just 250 m above the airfield together with a Discus b in a very weak thermal. But who am I to give up?! And as usually, the determination paid off, that thermal got stronger, I increased the banking angle and I succeeded to reach the top again. What a pity that in the meantime the clouds started to disappear and with that low altitude in the blue it was more and more difficult to catch good lifts. 

I completed the shortest flight distance of the season - but some little pieces of satisfaction were mixed among my feelings for the day. The "never giving up" attitude gave some power and a shy smile on my face after landing. Expectations were clearly much higher than the reality - 2-2.5 m/s lifts with 2000 m cloud base were just a dream for most of us. 

The training part of the day did not end at this point, we needed to de-rig my glider - each wing weighs 71 kg so it is a nice exercise under the sun with extreme humidity. And even though the conditions seem to be similar again for this weekend, I have an eye on the forecast - because I already miss flying!

29th May was a fantastic day for Alpine pilots: strong wind above 2500 m, good thermal conditions under it. These are the days which give the chance to experienced pilots to complete record flights and 750-1000-1250 km FAI diplomas.

As with my ASW15b it is quite difficult to enjoy and use efficiently these "extreme" conditions, I was happy to be the co-pilot in an ASH25, thanks again to Stefano! We took off around 11.30 am when some pilots were already in the air for a few hours. The self-launch nearly took the same time as a classic aerotow and we started our flight at Campo dei Fiori. We quickly did the max. altitude here and continued to Mt. Nudo. The conditions were not excellent, the max. altitude again was only around 1750 m. But with such long wings you can try to cross Lago Maggiore and see the thermals on the other side.

After reaching 1900 m at Albergone, we continued our way in the direction of Mt. Limidario. The thermal was quite weak at the south side of the mountain but I would have stayed there for longer...well, Stefano did not decide like this so we went to the northern side of Mt. Limidario in the Cento Valley. We were quite low here (under 1800 m) but we found a good thermal and did it with a DG300 above us. We did the ridges on the southern side but we did not cross the Valley at the end because we heard that some people got low and did not find wave as expected. 

We returned on the same way and crossed again Lago Maggiore to try some spots near Mt. Tamaro....well, not so good again. Before doing the ridges of the Garzirola (to continue to Valtellina), we stopped near Locarno and gained some altitude (from 1800 m to 2200 m). The Garzirola was great with the wind, we gained again 200 m just gliding and not stopping anywhere. We tried to do a thermal at Mt. Bregagno but here we did not succeed. We crossed Lago di Como and arrived to the entrance of the Valtellina, Mt. Legnone. Very close to us there was a lenticular cloud so we tried to figure out how to enter to the wave. Near the mountain, in the middle of the valley, in the direction of the lake.... no success! We got stuck here for 1.5 hours!

Finally when we reached 2700 m, we decided to continue on the ridges. We stopped only 3-4 times and did the major part of this valley above 3000 m till reaching Passo del Tonale (1884 m). I have never been here before, finally, I have seen how is the end of the Valtellina. Snow, ice, frozen lakes, incredible rock shapes everywhere and a lot of lenticular clouds on the northern side of the Valtellina. 

From here the return to home was quite smooth except for a little turbulance (downwind of Mt. Legnone). We arrived too high near Calcinate so we could glide with high speed at the end of the final glide (180-200 km/h). Long wings take you really far without any problem! For me it was a new experience to circle with 110-120 km/h and glide with at least 130 km/h, but even around 150 km/h-200 km/h. The only missing part of this flight was the wave: why we could not take it? We were too low for it when we were searching? The wind was not strong enough there? We did not find the right spot? Nevertheless it will be a flight to remember for a long time. Hopefully next time I will reach Passo del Tonale with my ASW15b :)

If you want to see our flight on OLC/weglide, you can find it here:

OLC Flight information - Stefano Ghiringhelli (IT) - 29.05.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

399 km · Stefano Ghiringhelli · Calcinate del Pesce 05/29/2025 (weglide.org)

The day after my declared 300 km also seemed to be promising so I left my glider rigged and even though I was quite tired, I decided to fly again. The weather should have been similar to Saturday - but we'll see very soon that it was not true at all. 

I took off around 11.30 and I spent nearly 2 hours very close to the airfield and very low as well (500 m QNH, I opened the wheel already to get ready for landing...) but miracles do happen (or is that my persistance?) so finally I had the chance to start my flight to the east. The weather was really strange because north and south wind met on some ridges so it was normal to be above some little clouds that day. 

The max. altitude in the "pedemontana" region was around 2200 m, and that is a good height, I feel confident with such a cloud base. The difficulty of the start is always the airspace near (Lugano CTR) because they have so much traffic so they often send us away from the best working thermal hotspots because of arriving IFR traffic. 

After Mt. Generoso I chose to remain a bit more to the north so I went to Sasso Gordona and then Mt. San Primo. At San Primo I was the lowest among 3-4 other gliders when I arrived, but the thermals worked well so I also reached the cloudbase quickly. I was a bit disappointed to see that it was again not possible to arrive to the top of Grigna because it was covered with clouds. I went to "Corni di Canzo" and then I crossed Lago di Como again to try the southern region under Grigna... it did not seem very good and indeed it did not work so I returned to "Corni di Canzo" to play with the clouds again. I did the max. altitude and I did not stop until Mt. Bollettone, I just slowed down under the cumulus which was above Cornizzolo. Mt. Bollettone always works well, so as usually, I stopped here to enjoy some strong thermals. The next stop was Monte St. Giorgio as I decided that I will cross the CTR of Lugano in order to go to the west. I needed to wait 5-10 mins to have the authorization but it was not difficult as there were some enormous clouds above these mountains and they let me to wait around 0 m/s. 

In the CTR I chose a nice cloud close to Lago di Ghirla and I went to Sette Termini. Here I met Daniele and while circling together he took some super photos of me in the air! After this I crossed Lago Maggiore and I tried the spot "Albergone" but I need to admit that I was already quite tired at this point. Furthermore, Daniele warned me to be careful with the South wind on the way back to home (20-30 km/h around 1500 m). 

I lost quite a lot of altitude coming back home but I landed without any problem. My persistance paid-off again, I did a nice little flight so I was happy with the results. Though in my head I had another thought: I could have done the 3000 m altitude gain for the gold badge this day among the higher mountains?

If you want to see my flight on OLC/weglide, you can find it here:

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 18.05.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

157 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 05/18/2025 (weglide.org)

On Friday in the afternoon we prepared (rigged) the gliders for the weekend: we knew that the weather will be very nice both days so it was obvious that this great occasion shall be used. As expected, a lot of pilots had the same idea and there was also a competition (Coppa Cittá di Varese & Campionato Italiano di Classe Open) at our airfield so finally I decided to take-off before them, around 11 am in the morning. I was worried about the initial conditions: well, it was a bit difficult to find the first thermal but the other gliders helped me to find the first lift. 

As I knew that high cloudbase and finally no wind was expected, I decided to try a declared 300 km task with the following waypoints: Orino Chiesa - San Domenico - Corni di Canzo - San Domenico - Orino Chiesa. After reaching the max. altitude at Campo dei Fiori, I went to Mt. Nudo and I started the task. It seemed to be a really strange and not so wise choice: I heard that everyone went to the east, and not to the west so I was searching alone for a thermal. The conditions were not very good yet, I was around 1250-1300 m. But that weak thermal got stronger with time and I found myself at 2100 m. I crossed the lake and a nice cumulus was expecting for me at Albergone: 2720 meters! It was not a bad choice to go in this direction?!

At Mt. Limidario I usually get blocked a little bit because this is the point where I make the decision to enter to the Cento Valley. After crossing the valley I was around 2400-2500 m, but I was quite positive: I will find good lifts here! And it was like that, I was searching for those spots where I saw the sun and I reached the wonderful altitude of 3000 m. And even more! I was nearly at 3400 meter when I turned at the first waypoint. I was as careful as never before: I zoomed well in the map in XCSoar and touched in the FAI quadrant. Let's go to the next waypoint which is 100 km far from me, and already two hours passed. I started to feel at this point that this could be THE DAY when I really do the declared 300 km task: excellent conditions and as I took off very early I had the time to do this distance with an average speed of 50 km/h. 

I was quite fast until Mt. Lema because I knew that I can lose altitude going in the direction of the 2nd waypoint: Corni di Canzo is situated in the "pedemontana" region, near the city of Lecco where the cloudbase for sure won't be around 3300 meter. At Mt. Lema from 2200 m I went to 2700 m to cross above the CTR of Lugano and arrive near Mt. Generoso. The cloudbase was 1000 m lower than in the high mountains, around 2300 m. But that is fantastic for this zone! Mt. Palanzone, Cornizzolo, Corni di Canzo: 3 hours passed and I touched the 2nd waypoint. 

This was the moment when I realized that I really have the chance to do it and I need to be careful now to avoid mistakes. It was a good choice to search for a thermal at the north of Mt. Generoso because I nearly reached 2700 m and I crossed again the CTR to arrive to Mt. Lema. This mountain always functions very well: I did 2550 m and returned to Mt. Limidario and tried the spot which was recommended to me by other, more experienced pilots. Good idea, it worked well. 

I was near the airfield of Masera when I met the first real difficulty: probably the valley was too covered and the thermals got weaker - and also the N wind did not help at this altitude (20-25 km/h). I was at 2600 m and I did not want to cross the valley with this altitude because my distance from the waypoint was nearly 20 km. I saw an other glider circling above a very low mountain - but the cumulus was nice there so I followed him. I reached 3080 m and I crossed the valley. Pizzo Diei (2900 m) was beautiful, covered with a lot of snow - well, less beautiful the downwind. But anyway, I cannot give up now, even if I lose a lot of altitude, I swear that I will touch the waypoint and if needed land at Masera airfield. I found myself under 2500 m after reaching the WP but in the middle of the valley a great lift helped me again. 3000 m, and then at the end of that little valley: 3250 m. Done! 

I wanted to pay the maximum attention during my return also, I could not make any mistakes, the goal was so close. I did one more thermal at Mt. Limidario (reached 2700 m, the cloudbase got lower here) and I crossed Lago Maggiore. That was the moment when I let myself to believe that I did my first 300 km with my ASW15, I let myself to cry some tears of joy. I was so nervous when I closed the task at Oriono Chiesa: I did circles above the last waypoint in every direction. 

6 hours 30 minutes, landed after 5 pm at Calcinate: I could not feel my feet from the cold and the long time spent in my glider. But how much resistance, determination, passion behind this achievement, what a long journey to arrive here. But this is not the finish line - only new targes to reach!

If you want to see my flight on OLC/weglide, you can find it here:

335 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 05/17/2025 (weglide.org)

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 17.05.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

On Saturday it was still unclear how the weather will be on Sunday, but I had the gut feeling that we'll have fun... a lot of cumulus, mild temperatures, sun, some storms late in the afternoon, but the kind of weather which I like. No blue horror, no wind, no 30°C. 

The preparation for this flight was a bit more difficult than usually: Saturday we went out for a sushi & wine evening so on Sunday in the morning I was not as fresh as a rose. I struggled to find someone to rig my glider so I was ready quite late, around 11 am. There was a competition at our airfield (Coppa Cittá di Varese) which means that I could take-off only after the competitors, around 2 pm... but better late than never!

This time I did not start the flight from Campo dei Fiori, but above the city of Varese (and the aerotow was not 1000 m, only 750 m). The first thermal was not bad (around 1-1.5 m/s) so I started immediately the task of our local weekend competition (Coppa Villa Pavesi). The cumulus were around 1600-1800 m, and I found better conditions going in the direction of higher mountains. The max. altitude for the first part of the task was around 1900 m, but I was not worried because I knew that the clouds function very well!

I reached the first waypoint (Mt. Cornizzolo) around 1600 m, I did again the max. height and I went for the 2nd waypoint (Mascioni, 10 km radius circle). When I returned to Mt. Generoso for the second time, the conditions were even better, I reached the super height of 2050 m! It would have been sufficient to touch Mt. Bisbino for the second time, but I went until Mt. Bollettone because the thermals worked really well. I went up a bit to the north here (Mt. Palanzone) but there I found rain. 

I returned above the flatland to home and I thought well to leave margin for the final glide: there was south wind, around 15-20 km/h and it was from the side - against the nose of my glider. I touched again the most western point of Lago di Varese and then I landed at home.

Happiness! I completed the daily task with a quite good speed as well and all the flight was really enjoyable, I had fun! These are the conditions where an ASW15b flies well, without major difficulties. 

If you want to see my flight on OLC/weglide, you can find it here:

186 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 05/11/2025 (weglide.org)

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 11.05.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

April said goodbye with a strangely hot, summer-like weather: around 30 degrees on the ground (31.3 °C just before take-off in my ASW15b), 0°C at 3700 m, just like in July. The problem with this weather is the position of Calcinate del Pesce airfield: we remained in the dirty air with very strong inversion. So in this case once you arrive to the high mountains, you can reach the good weather, the cumulus and the high cloud base, but... once you arrive. If you do so. And I did not succeed for two days. 

I did the first attempt on 30th April: I found a good thermal on Campo dei Fiori so as usually, I went straight to the next mountain, Mt. Nudo. During this glide I needed to face some technical problems on board: my navigation instrument turned black for an unknown reason and even the other navigation instrument (a Kobo with XCSoar on it, I wear it attached to my left leg) was nearly not visible, the screen had some problems because of the sun. Well, not a nice situation to start the flight: two navigation instruments on board and none of them work properly. And even Mt. Nudo did not work properly, what a strange situation! I got low, and under the ridge it was impossible to find any thermal. 

No worries, let's retry it the next day and solve the technical problems on the ground. At this point it was clear that the best way to follow is through the mountains of Lugano CTR: Campo dei Fiori - Mt. Martica - Mt. Piambello - Sette Termini and then Mt. Lema. Well, the idea was good, the reality was again very different: Lugano CTR had IFR traffic like if it was Heathrow Airport! Needless to say how disappointed I was at the end of the day: I flew 3 hours above Campo dei Fiori and Varese city, I felt like I had the time to see the faces of each tourist on Campo dei Fiori! Low and slow all day, as mamma prefers...

I knew that my last chance is Friday, 2nd May - after this day the weather will get worse. I was as determined as never before. I won't give up! The first part of the flight was very difficult again: even though I entered with a good altitude to Lugano CTR, when I reached Mt. Piambello, they sent me out of the CTR because there was IFR traffic arriving to Lugano Airport. Noooo... 

But the strong determination finally paid off: I decided to follow the classic way so I went to Mt. Nudo and slowly I found myself at Sette Termini and Mt. Lema. At Mt. Lema I already knew that I did it: I reached the good weather zone, even though it was late, around 4 pm. Too much happiness, I did it, I cannot believe!

Well, the tiredness at this point did not give me a good advice for the next part of the flight: I should have gone to Mt. Limidario when I crossed the lake, but I chose Albergone and I did not find any thermal here. It was too late? It was too close to the flatlands, so to the bad weather zone? 

That bad decision left a bittersweet feeling in my mouth even though I decided that I will celebrate the resistance and the hard work of this day. I could have done it in a different way? Sure. But that was anyway a little moment to enjoy, I learnt from the mistakes of the previous days and I succeeded in leaving the area near Calcinate.

The day did not finish at this point, we needed to de-rig the gliders because from the next day the weather forecast predicted rain and thunderstorms. After driving home, I enjoyed a well-deserved pizza and beer combination, typical of gliding days. 

If you want to see my flight on 2nd May on OLC/weglide, you can find it here:

109 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 05/02/2025 (weglide.org)

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 02.05.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

Right after Easter, 25th April was again a day off in Italy (Liberation Day) - so no surprise where I spent this day again. :) The preparation for this flight was not smooth: after rigging the glider, I found out that the security pin with its spring does not work well so it was very unsure if the problem can be fixed in time... finally, we've done it but I missed the morning weather forecast and that was a pity as I knew that it will be a complicated day because of the ~20 km/h N wind.

The weather indeed was very strange, thermals did not work perfectly - but I need to say I spent some nice moments in the smooth air at Mt. Nudo doing the ridges without losing any altitude. I was warned that the wind will arrive also to lower levels so I decided to land quite early this day - and it was already a bit complicated with 5-6 knots of NE wind (the orientation of the runway is east - west). The wind continued to change all day so I landed in the direction 10 left circuit, but I have seen every type of possible landing at Calcinate this day! (10 right circuit, 28 left circuit)

I did not de-rig the glider in the evening because I knew that I will fly also the next day. I was much more optimistic about the weather but it did not go like I imagined... the strategy was not bad, but the results seemed to be catastrophic: I gained altitude at Campo dei Fiori first, then I entered to Lugano CTR and did the "classic way" (Mt. Martica, Mt. Piambello). I left the CTR and tried Mt. Orsa: NOTHING! I got low and I needed to suffer above the city of Varese for the next two hours to be able to reach 1676 m. What a shame: there is this beautiful day to fly and I can't even arrive to the next mountain! Needless to say how desperate I was, especially because I was convinced that this day will be much better than yesterday.

Finally I did it and I went rather to the north-west where the mountains did not make me disappointed. 2200 m at Mt. Nudo, 2300 m at Sette Termini, nearly 2400 m at Mt. Tamaro in Switzerland. I crossed Lago Maggiore and went to Albergone where I arrived even to 2700 m! At Mt. Limidario I found it a bit difficult to circle well in the thermals and I was already very tired after the disastrous beginning of this flight. I still regret that I did not continue from here in the direction of the airfield of Masera...

I returned to the east and this time Mt. Orsa gave me some lift with some really important S wind (hey, why there is wind every day to make my life more difficult?! :)). When I arrived to Mt. Generoso, the sky was already quite covered and it seemed that there might be a storm near Varese in the evening. But I had fun in the air - made some nice photos, compared the glide performance with a Lak17a at different speeds, tested my new battery and I completed my longest flight ever, 6 hours 40 mins!

Though at the end of the day I was exhausted, these 2 days reminded me again of the most important message: you need to RESIST even when it is hard as hell, and you need to BELIEVE even after a lot of struggling. And I did not know yet how this message will be important even during the next week...

Because if you want to become a good pilot, you must see challenges as opportunities to grow, not reasons to stop.

If you want to see these flights on OLC/weglide, you can find them here:

74 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 04/25/2025 (weglide.org)

151 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 04/26/2025 (weglide.org)

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 25.04.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 26.04.2025 (onlinecontest.org)

Easter Monday finally gave us a good day for flying, but Tuesday seemed to be even more promising. On Monday morning I wrote to my manager to ask for one more day-off and as usually, he replied very quickly and there was no problem with my request. I was ready to attempt the 300 km flight for the FAI gold badge!

I found the first good thermals in Lugano CTR (Mt. Martica - Piambello) and tried to head to the east immediately. I encountered the usual problem: I did not find any lift at Mt. Orsa which made it impossible for me to complete the first leg. I decided to try the other direction: Mt. Nudo and Sette Termini were much more generous, they gave some really good lifts and hey, I found myself at 2700 meters at Mt. Tamaro! At this point I thought that it is still possible to reach the first waypoint and complete the 300 km so I did a long glide until Mt. Generoso. The idea worked because then I found a thermal at Mt. Generoso but that good height (2700 m) was wasted like this. I should have gone to Mt. Gazzirola and remain really high.

I know why I try to avoid the Gazzirola: 1-2 years ago on a bit windy day I took there some really bad downwind a got freaked out above Porlezza. The outlanding opportunities are a bit limited in this zone, of course there is Locarno and Lugano airport near (if you reach them...but to outland in Switzerland, well, that is not so easy...) and Porlezza field - but it is really bad (with big stones and cows!) which would let a pilot survive the adventure but it is very likely that you damage your glider.

But let's get back to the flight: from Mt. Generoso I went to Mt. San Primo and then I crossed again Lago di Como to reach Grigna. Unluckily I knew that I won't be able to push more in this direction because the top of the Grigna was covered with clouds. This is a really impressive, beautiful wall - I was happy to fly here, but the thermalling was not that easy as I was under the ridge. The max. height here was only 2150 m so I decided to return to the west. 

I felt myself slightly low (1700 m) when I found a good lift at Monte di Palanzo and I did not stop here until the cloud base (nearly 2200 m). I did a long glide back to my "home mountain" (Campo dei Fiori) where the max. height is 1676 meter because of Malpensa Airport. Mt. Nudo - Sette Termini: 2400 meter, I am ready to cross Lago Maggiore to reach Albergone spot on the other side of the lake. The classic places to find the thermals worked well, I am nearly at 3000 m when I enter to the Cento Valley. I cross the valley and I continue on the north side. But why not to try something new this time? I won't return to home the same way where I came, I decide to reach Mt. Togano and I go in the direction of Gravellona Toce. 

I've always heard that these mountains do not work very very well, you can do the final glide here, and it was true: I found only one thermal. Nevertheless, the experience was nice, new landscape, those cities and mountains under me that I knew only from the car when passing in this valley. I flew above the city of Verbania: I was here just 2-3 weeks ago with car, but it is so different from above, so calm and beautiful. 

When I returned to Mt. Nudo, I found again some lift so I went to Campo dei Fiori - Mt. Orsa - Mt. San Giorgio and Generoso. (At this time, quite late, the tricky Mt. Orsa worked well.)

The sky was covered with some high clouds when I finally landed. I knew that this flight will be special for me, but I did not know yet that it will be my new personal best to date: 320 points OLC, 258 km with my ASW15b. It might be not so much for the great pilots, but for me it was an important step forward. I hope we will have many more days like this!

If you want to see my flight on OLC/weglide, you can find it here:

258 km · Adrienn Kiss · Calcinate del Pesce 04/22/2025 (weglide.org)

OLC Flight information - Adrienn Kiss (HU) - 22.04.2025 (onlinecontest.org)