Ozone Alpina 5 - Speedy Milk Run

Ozone Alpina 5, AirDesign The Sock harness January 15, 2026 Paragliding Franklin Mountains State Park, Nelson's launch Launch conditions at Nelson's we're just about perfect. Slightly cross from the south but I found a cycle that was straight in. It was a little bit thermic, Lows were down around 4 mph tops around 10 - I found a really good one to bring the wing up, managed to walk up to the top , stood there, kited for a few seconds and took three steps and was flying. Not much ridge lift. I made four or five passes and then headed out towards the flats. I caught a nice thermal and rode it all the way to 6500. Headed across the Dragon's Mouth. I lost about 400 ft during the crossing but found some lift along the way. Never made it above 6500. Finally pushed towards the triangle on bar. It was weird being in the triangle - was like launching from Agave in poor conditions for the triangle. Decided to push out towards the visitor center and see if I could find anything; only weak thermals though - turned in some zeros for a while. A bit thermic on the landing, popped me a few times but I'm learning that shorter brakes makes it easier to land in weird conditions. The A5 brake length minus 4 cm lengthening is just about perfect. That knowledge has helped my landings on the Lyght also. Taking double wraps on the Lyght gives me the same feeling of flare authority that I have on the A5.