With two record-breaking flights under his belt this spring, Gordon Boettger is a pioneer exploring the topography of the air above the Sierra Nevada.The 37-year-old Minden resident is probing the Sierra lee wave in a 33-year-old sailplane and in the process has, in the space of two weeks, set and broken the distance record for North America.On April 3 he flew 1,212 miles in 13 hours and 17 minutes. The only limitation he faced was the setting sun.The same storm that generated 60 mph winds in the Carson Valley also drove the remarkable phenomena that not only allowed Boettger to …