Or maybe Pulpit Sun 17 June ?

[markc]

Everything I've seen is calling for W@10 in southern PA
tomorrow. Provided that the 'Pulpit Effect' is in evidence,
that's usually a great forecast for the site.

Anyone up for a day out there? Could be sweet!!

MarkC

[hepcat1989]

Yeah, i'm in.
Shawn.

[hanging3]

Me too!

[mcgowantk]

I am thinking about it. I agree the forecast looks promising.

Tom McGowan

[markc]

The surface 'casts still look pretty good:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... =graphical

http://weather.unisys.com/mos/meteogram ... t_PIT.html

And the ADDS 3k indicates increasing winds by Sunday night
for southern PA. So I'm still pretty optimistic.

I've heard that Dan T and Bacil are also in the maybe/probably
corner... Been forever since I've been able to get out
for a mtn day, really hoping for a good one, let's fly!

MarkC

[markc]

I'm hitting the road for the Pulpit early, so I can swing
through Breezewood, making some purchases at a
certain store outside town

Forecasts still look pretty good!

MarkC
301-807-5414

[mcgowantk]

I am heading there too, but will arrive early afternoon.

Tom McGowan

[mcelrah]

Gone whoring off with the PGers to Woodstock (left HG at Ridgely for an annual). ETA 120r 1. - Hugh

[XCanytime]

So how was the Pulpit? Bacil

[hepcat1989]

1000 over., 1 hr. 50 mins.
Some bent aluminum on landing.(3pm) I had my left wing severly lifted on final and got it close to level , but wound up sliding it in sideways. Keel bent , wheel broke, speedbar bent and downtube trashed, hardware at bottom up downtube trashed, kinked side wire. Not a scratch on me!
I had fun though......
Shawn.

[RedBaron]

Shawn, you're kidding, right?
If not I'm finally convinced that I'm not gonna fly at this time of the year anymore unless it's very late in the day. Sure it's fun to rise to cloud base in that kick-ass thermal but landing these damn things in a cooking field is just beyond me. Sorry to hear Shawn but glad you're okay. That nice-looking pulse of yours, what a shame.

Janni

[eggzkitz]

Sounds like it was a lot better at Pulpit than at Dickies...

[mcgowantk]

Bruce Engen and I had nice XC flights. We went about 17 miles to a couple of miles east of I-81. My altitude max was around 3,200 over. Lift was on the light side and thermals seemed to be broken up a bit. Still, I made a classic mistake and left an area of lift to go to a very close by dark building cloud. It wasn't working and I never recovered despite trying to go back to the area I had just left. Several cummies were forming over me as I landed.

Sorry to hear about the tough landings back on the ridge.

Tom McGowan

[markc]

I had a blast on Sunday at the Pulpit: 2.5 hours in the air, multiple
strafes of both launch and the biker crowd at the Mountain House,
flew out over McConnellsburg, and down the ridge a few miles and
back.

Got 2500' above launch at one point, but elected to stay put and simply
enjoy a fun-flying day. I'm still dialing into the new harness,
figured it would be a good day for that.

Only five pilots out there though... WHERE WAS EVERYONE on a
day with such a great forecast????

Although it was strong-ish from 2 until 4, it was totally PG-able
late in the afternoon. Also would have been good for first HG flights
from the ramp at that point in the day.

The upper portion of the primary has just been hayed, and is practically
a pool table.

FYI Janni, landing mid-day at ANY site can be a challenge. And smaller
fields like the secondary can sometimes be even more of a handful.
But on days like Sunday there's an easy solution:
just stay up and don't land until things have calmed down a bit!

We were lucky to have a couple of bystanders (Matt and Adam) who
helped us fly. We worked them into the process during
several launches, and they were kind enough to stick around for my
own launch, the last of the day at around 2:00 or so.

Really nice day to be at our 'home' site, flying with the redtails.

MarkC

[Pete Schumann]

There I was 2000' over, behind the ridge. Tom M. was below me and Bruce E. was above me. I didn't want to go XC so early in my flight. I thought I could get higher too, so I headed back to the ridge losing altitude all the way. I banked on hitting some lift but didn't. At approximately 100 yards short of the top and behind the launch area I was 20' above the trees. I then made the decision to do an emergency landing in the somewhat cleared yard that's slightly southeast of the launch. I was looking good for a possible decent landing. However there was one small tree I thought I could squeeze by. I was slow out of necessity to make it in the yard so I could not maneuver. The last 1.5' of my right LE made contact with the tree. At that point I was about 7' above the ground and almost ready to flair so rather than whack the tree the glider just swung around and went in. I bent the base tube, one down tube and broke the other down tube. I didn't get a scratch.

I made a poor decision to go back to the ridge especially since I was loosing altitude all the way and I was pretty far behind the ridge to start.
Another mistake was thinking I would get some lift at some point.
I haven't made any flying mistakes or even bent a down tube in years
this one could have cost me. I have learned from this.

I did one thing right during that flight at the point I had no other options I made a quick decision to focus and land my glider in that yard!

[theflyingdude]

There I was 2000' over, behind the ridge. Tom M. was below me and Bruce E. was above me. I didn't want to go XC so early in my flight. I thought I could get higher too, so I headed back to the ridge losing altitude all the way. I banked on hitting some lift but didn't. At approximately 100 yards short of the top and behind the launch area I was 20' above the trees. I then made the decision to do an emergency landing in the somewhat cleared yard that's slightly southeast of the launch. I was looking good for a possible decent landing. However there was one small tree I thought I could squeeze by. I was slow out of necessity to make it in the yard so I could not maneuver. The last 1.5' of my right LE made contact with the tree. At that point I was about 7' above the ground and almost ready to flair so rather than whack the tree the glider just swung around and went in. I bent the base tube, one down tube and broke the other down tube. I didn't get a scratch.

I made a poor decision to go back to the ridge especially since I was loosing altitude all the way and I was pretty far behind the ridge to start.
Another mistake was thinking I would get some lift at some point.
I haven't made any flying mistakes or even bent a down tube in years
this one could have cost me. I have learned from this.

I did one thing right during that flight at the point I had no other options I made a quick decision to focus and land my glider in that yard!

Glad you survived your top-landing, Pete. I seem to remember you doing the same thing in Cumberland a few years back (getting low and having to land on top of the mountain). Unless you lacked the option, it's almost always better to turn downwind and run from the ridge once you realize you won't make it back across the top. You may have to deal with the rotor if you're low when flying downwind behind the ridge, but that would be preferable to dealing with it trying to land on top, IMO.

JR

[mcelrah]

Sorry to hear about your bent aluminum, Shawn and Pete, and very glad there's no broken calcium. If you don't fly at this time of year, when DO you fly? I'm beginning to realize that we often fly in challenging conditions - maybe not like the Owens Valley, but way different from coastal and flatland flying, too. - Hugh

[hepcat1989]

My keel is perfectly straight!
Parts are on order.
Still very much worth it!
Shawn.

[mcelrah]

Hey, Shawn! Anything to report on getting a truck to transport a load of gravel to Emma Jane's driveway. We're down with paying for the material - maybe even the transport (how much?). The meeting on Wednesday the 27th would be a good time to pick a date and recruit volunteers to spread the material. Do we need to be able to roll it? Can we use the truck to compact it? Or does Randy have a piece of farm machinery that will do? - Hugh

[markc]

Hey Pete, although it probably doesn't help with how you're feeling
about getting into a jam in the first place... I gotta say that was
a fine piece of piloting to put it down where you did!

I remember a flight at Woodstock on my Pulse, when I drifted back
just a bit too far on a day with lots of lift and sink. I managed to squeak
back out front with just a few 10s of feet to spare. I was lucky,
basically 'along for the ride', rather than evaluating and making good
decisions.

Sometimes we are faced with a choice between two alternatives,
one of which seems obviously risky, and the other a fairly safe bet.
I'd like to think I'd say "F--- this, I'm outta here!" in those cases,
and just do the right/safe thing.

But things aren't always that clear-cut: "I'm pretty sure I can do Xyz" .
If you make that Xyz choice, and it isn't obvious that the decision was
wrong until you've committed to it... Then you can end up in a
heap of trouble, with no good options available anymore.

Remember that there is a level of risk associated with all flying
decisions that we make. If you find yourself in an especially
uncertain situation, it's important to take a moment and ask "Do I
_really_ want to take this chance?"

Maybe the answer is 'no'. Maybe it's 'yes', and things work out. Maybe
it's 'yes' and things do not work out. But the important thing is to ask
the question.

MarkC

[hepcat1989]

Hugh, Yes, a truck from Valley Quarries will deliver a load of crush and run and tail gate it out for 155 + tax i'm sure. It will just run out again is what i'm thinking, soooo Randy suggested we try and get a load of millings, which is the stuff when a road is taken up. Concrete could be used on the deep patches as well. It will have to be discussed I guess
Shawn.

[mcelrah]

Shawn,
I defer to others on how best to do this. I once helped someone put down a load of "crusher run" and he used a small tractor with a front loader bucket to spread it and used the dump truck to compact it. This can definitely be an agenda item at next Wednesday's meeting. Whatever the details, the BoD will authorize any expense in the range you mention, so that's not an issue. Can you make it to the meeting?

- Hugh

[deveil]

Hugh, Yes, a truck from Valley Quarries will deliver a load of crush and run and tail gate it out for 155 + tax i'm sure. It will just run out again is what i'm thinking, soooo Randy suggested we try and get a load of millings, which is the stuff when a road is taken up. Concrete could be used on the deep patches as well. It will have to be discussed I guess
Shawn.

here's two cents. randy's experience coincides with mine. in the mountains (hills) of western penna. , crushed shale was used pretty effectively. of course there were natural deposits and as coal mining refuse, it was readily available and cheap. it's flattish, irregularly shaped, has some oil content (dust control) and crushes and packs into place with use. in fact, it's a bit crunchy to drive over 'til it packs down. the stuff that had some iron content was called "red dog" and was pretty highly thought of for surfacing dirt roads.

heck, even the grad level course i once took in gas chromotography column packing and the effects of particle shape, size, size-range, blah, blah, blah as regards the problem of channeling by the passage of fluids under pressure - confirmed the wisdom of them ole timers. But - "ya don't need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind blows" (or how the water flows ffor that matter). just ask a farmer.

[deveil]

Randy suggested . . . Concrete could be used on the deep patches as well.

here's a blue light special - four cents for the price of two, a 'two-fer' - i sort of got stuck in this rut and wanted to fill in a layer before i got stuck again.

the RUTS. the road is in a state of repair such that addressing the deep ruts becomes a serious consideration. if filled and packed conscientiously - to the same level of firmness as the adjacent soil - the extent this is possible will delay the reappearance of the depression, as the overlay is compressed and subsides, or is pushed out.

or, the whole top surface is loosened to the same degree so that it repacks more evenly, regardless of whatever top coating is used. with a long term perspective, regrading the road prior to resurfacing might be considered.

[deveil]

yeah, me again. does randy have any farm equipment, plow or harrow or something, that he could use to rework the surface before it is recoated? i had a flash of farmers doing this kind of thing all the time.