Casselton, North Dakota.

This week, North Dakota Wing Civil Air Patrol’s gliding activities included one glider pilot’s annual check ride and several training flights. I was the tow pilot for the nine flights. The wind was directly across the runway but fortunately not strong enough to be a problem for our operations. Crosswinds, indeed winds in general are often the first level of weather issues that shut down glider operations in North Dakota.

The late afternoon and early evening flights started out with partly cloudy skies but as the hours progressed, the sky became more and more overcast. As sunset neared, we called a halt to our  operations and got ready to put the glider away for another day.

About the photo: With sunset in progress, the sky started to take on those characteristic colors as the sun’s angle slipped below the cloud layer and solar light reflected off the bottoms of the clouds. The glider is resting on its left wing awaiting reinsertion into the hangar. I was originally going to just capture a photo of the glider itself, but as I approached and saw the lighted windsock, I decided to include it in the shot. In editing, I darkened the sky somewhat to bring out the shadows at the base of the clouds. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple. The image must be captured and edited on a mobile device. Taken with a Samsung S7 cell phone and edited on an iPad.

John Steiner