Pulpit 5/17?

[XCanytime]

Notice the question mark? Still not convinced. Bacil

[XCanytime]

And I hope Woodstock is not WSW either. Bacil

[RedBaron]

Please, let's err on the side of velocity this time. I'd rather take 20 mph on the ramp than another bug fart WS day.

[Matthew]

Hmmm. Didn't Bacil soar and John M. stayed up for hours and John D went XC that day, etc., etc.???



Matthew

[XCanytime]

OK Janni I'm going to hold you to it. The Pulpit right now looks doable in the AM. The downside is the PM. Possible showers and wind rampup. We'll see how it shakes out.

Bacil

[RedBaron]

OK Janni I'm going to hold you to it

Let's do it.

[mcelrah]

Sooo - whaddaya think? Too west? - Hugh

[XCanytime]

I will be at the Pulpit at 10AM to check out the conditions since I'm staying in Cumberland Saturday night. West is fine at the Pulpit.

Bacil

[mcelrah]

Yessir. Can't promise to be there by 1000, but will try for an early start. - Hugh

[John Dullahan]

I will join the small Pulpit contingent. ETA 10.00.
John D.

[Danny Brotto]

So how was it at the ‘burg?

Front blew though at Fairfield about 4:00 am with lots of wind. Woke to a lovely, crystal blue sky and surface winds cooking gusty out of the west at 15.

Lennies, low clouds, mid clouds, some blue, and a general weather mish-mash by mid-morning . Managed 1:30 in the sailplane before being overtaken by gravity gusts. Rather turbulent and windy (30 knots @ 3K MSL @ 2 pm) out of the SW and switching more S as the day wore on. Rain showers to the N and E were reported and it was overcast into the Hagerstown Valley. The 18 Meter Nationals are being held this and next week at Mifflin and they were scubbed due to weather today so it was ugly there too.

Poor soaring his season thus far but lots of interesting weather for sure! Long range for next weekend is not optimistic either . Let's hope that things coalesce for the ECC!

Danny Brotto

[RedBaron]

It sucked. Doing a lot of SW. Grass stands hip-tall in the primary at places, not cool. This entire season has indeed sucked thus far. What's going on? Climate change? Natural variation? What does Bacil's extensive database say? Is this usual or unusual? I mean you can't even evade to the tow parks since they are blown out. I hope you guys are going to have more luck when the ECC is on. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Batman]

Really its business as usual from what I've seen for the past 6 or 7 years. Also the main reason my wife decided that hang gliding wasn't in her future. Loves the flying, but hates wasting all day to chase the wind. After spending 5 days (over the course of the Summer) at Ridgely 2 years ago and not getting to fly because the winds were always too strong or wrong direction, she decided that it just took too much time with a low percentage chance of flying. Try to look at it optimistically .... Really we just LOVE to hang wait ... and sometimes we even get to fly!

[mcelrah]

It's like the lottery: ya gotta play to win. Or: the more I fly (or try), the luckier I get. Also helps if you can take weekdays and not have to settle for what you can get on 29% of the time - hold out for the really good days. So you see, it's not hang-gliding that's the problem; it's regular employment. So go fix your employment problem and the hang-gliding will take care of itself. - Hugh

[mcelrah]

In addition the joys of hang-driving and hang-waiting, don't forget setting up and breaking down - who needs flying if you get to do that?! - Hugh

[Dan T]

I get to hang around with some of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know. That counts for a lot, flying or not.

Dan T.

[hang_pilot]

This entire season has indeed sucked thus far. What's going on? Climate change? Natural variation?

Not business as usual, it has been an extremely wet spring: April's rainfall totals were the 2nd and 3rd highest on record for Dulles and National. If it doesn't rain again, May will be top 5.

It sucks, but there'll be some good days soon enough, just hopefully not when I'm working, spending time with my girlfriend or nursing a hang-over.

~Daniel

[XCanytime]

This spring season can't hold a candle to the time from mid April to early June 2003. 7 straight weekends of getting rained out. It had a hand in at least one new pilot to the area to forego the mountains and tow only. My logbook shows that 3 weekends in March I flew Woodstock twice and the SAC once. Jacks was working 4/19. Woodstock was working 5/4. So it has not been that bad.

Bacil

[RedBaron]

SAC and Jack's don't count, I might as well say Hyner worked 4/12 and Lookout did 5/7 let alone the great flight I had at King's Mountain 5/25
So you had 3 good flights in 3 months, that's a major HG crisis in my book, sorry.