Saturday Afternoon

[Matthew]

It's beginning to look a lot like...

High Rock.

Matthew

[markc]

Yup, looking like a 'Rocker, at least as of Friday PM. Count me in!!!!

MarkC

[RedBaron]

Yeah, me, too. Mark Carlos, wanna carpool?
I can't find my cell, so 301-986-8680. I've improved my rack so we shouldn't lose Carlos' glider on 270 again.

[Danny Brotto]

Rain "should" be wrapping up in Hagerstown ~noon; later in the DC/B-more parts. The drive out may be a bit wet. Planning on being at the Rock early afternoon (unless the forecast falls apart) with Harrier in tow. Any other HR takers planning?

Danny Brotto

[markc]

Sorry Janni, can't carpool today because I've gotta be somewhere late
this afternoon. Hoping to fly relatively early if/when it clears out, then
hit the road...

The Low moved from mid-WV to northern VA in a span of 3 hours, so
the odds for partly cloudy skies at the Rock after another 3 or 4 hours
seem pretty good. Planning to be there by around noon.

MarkC

[carweill]

Was out out-of-power in the morning

Heading out ETA 12:30PM

Carlos

[markc]

Last Saturday at The Rock wasn't all that bad!

The roster: Janni, Carlos, myself, Danny, Matthew, and Karen.

Since I had to leave early that afternoon, I was first off, at maybe 2:15 or so.
Promising sunny breaks at 12:45 had given way to re-developed clouds and
very gray skies.... I wasn't optimistic.

But with Danny and Carlos' help I picked what turned out to be a decent
cycle, and was above launch immediately. The flight was short, a bit over
30 minutes and 600' over. But I was very glad to get it : between recent
travel and an upcoming business trip to Japan, it would have been a looong
stretch 'til my next airtime fix.

Conditions were initially pretty good, then the winds swung more and
more to the North. Janni was in the air at that point (on a Falcon), and
succumbed to the cross after a short soaring flight. I was able to last a
little longer, but pass by pass I gradually sank out.

Days like that, you really need to be careful about the VG. When I was
down at ridge level and struggling, I got knocked around a bit by the
north-cross rotor. You want as much roll responsiveness as possible
in those conditions... So when scratching, be very aware of your VG
setting. Perhaps pull it for an upwind pass, but then be sure to
release for the downwind! Ditto when you are in the downwind shadow
of the cube, regardless of whether headed up/downwind.

Not a puff of lift in the valley during the trip to the LZ. Landed ok,
but was still more surprised than I should have been by the gradient.
Probably should have had more speed during the approach given the
nature of the day.

Familiarity breeds complacency.... It's tough to maintain an appropriate
level of vigilance when you've flown an approach a gazillion times. I
should have been going in hotter, given what was happening on the ridge.
Good reminder/wake-up call!

I visited with Emma Jane and Randy after the flight, then headed back
up top with Janni. The skies had cleared, and the winds were coming
straight in (or so it seemed). I was bummed to have to hit the road,
but happy to have had at least a brief flight.

MarkC

[hang_pilot]

It's tough to maintain an appropriate level of vigilance when you've flown an approach a gazillion times.

Mark,

I wanted to compliment you on something but forgot until I saw this post. The approach you flew at Bill's Hill on the day of the site clean up looked textbook good to me. Do you remember it? You flew a perfect aircraft approach, fast, with a long final glide. Disciplined is the best one-word description for it.

~Daniel

[markc]

So there you are, on yet another approach into a familiar LZ...

Ah, landing at High Rock again. *Yawn*. Wake me up when I've landed James.

And then after you're on the ground, you say to yourself: "Hey! I coulda/shoulda
done x, y, or z better than that!" .

Familiarity and repetition can really sneak up on you. Maybe you don't fly as crisply and
deliberately as you should. Maybe you take longer to recognize that something is different,
and needs attention. But it all works out, no big deal.... Until it IS a big deal of course.

Yeah, I remember that approach at Bill's . Given that I don't fly there very much and
that I've never been totally thrilled by the LZ (with its variety of sloping directions),
I'm not surprised that I was on my game. Glad to hear you liked what you saw.

Don't want to make landing seem all scary or anything : Heck, I really enjoy a good
landing, long as it's after a soaring flight. But I've been thinking lately that
I need something to combat "Routine Landing Syndrome".

Hmmmm.... RLS. Haven't I seen commercials about that on TV? Maybe there's a pill
that I can take!

MarkC