Pulpit Thursday 2/12

[Matthew]

Where are the weak link guys posts when you need them?

************

Now that's funny!

Matthew
PS to Janni and Craig, next time we're together at dinner I'll tell you the Big V story and an even funnier story that I can't mention due to established forum protocols.

[markc]

People complained that a more active moderator role was needed.....
Well, that's what they've now got. If I go overboard and am seen
as an impediment to pilot enjoyment of these forums, then I'll gladly
resign from the role when the BOD appoints someone else to the task.

Matthew, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm unfairly singling you out. That
is not my intent. Your post just happened to be made at the wrong time,
wrong place.

But your post is instructive:

- no indication of a joke
- scary-lookin' all-caps NWS weather report about 60 mph winds
- two pilots singled out, with the implication that they might
be just crazy enough to fly on such a day

And sorry, it *does* get on my radar, particularly after one of the
pilots involved complains. Like he said, why wasn't the tagline
"Let's all go fly!" ?

Yes, right now, the forum rules don't have much by way of
specific examples of frowned-on behavior. That will change,
I hope, if/when I can find a big enough block of time to assemble
a bunch of thoughts from the past 6 months.

Ya know, if you had perhaps just made a two-line post
to the effect of :

"Oops, sorry, that really was a joke, I'm just yanking the chain
of a couple pilots who always want to fly the Pulpit"

rather than railing about how everyone should be able to understand
your humor, then this whole thread would have been over 10 posts ago.

MarkC

[deveil]

hey brian, i was a little skittish about checking the forum this a.m. - in that you were the first neutral party ballsy enough to stick your nose in, i took advantage of your post to jazz around and riff a bit to sort of 'cover some additional ground'. i realized, was worried, that some of my stuff may acTually have come across as a little too pointed or specific to how you presented things in your post. i was hoping you'd have come on and thrown some s*it back at me - though i realize that that itself might be perceived as a foolish act, given how over the top and manic My post probably appeared. okay, Was.
Please Please know that my love for and admiration of you is undying and forever (you ignorant new york city know-it-all slut)

gary ;D

[Matthew]

OK. Let's be completely honset here! If someone would have cut and paste the ALL CAPS text forecast about 60mph winds and said "Hey Matthew, you gonna fly your paraglider?", I would have had a good laugh and responded with something along the lines of ""You bet'cha!" or "Glider is already packed and loaded."

End of story.

And if I had responded with "Hey, that's not funny!", what would've happened?

Well, everyone would've have told me to lighten up. Even Mark C. would've told me to lighten up.

And don't try to deny it. I know you all too well.

Anyway, bored now and this is no longer any fun.

Well, maybe a little fun.

Look at all of these smiley faces---




Matthew

[Matthew]

OK. Just realized a flaw in my logic. I guess I don't know you all to well because I never expected anyone to be upset by such an obvious joke.

I stand corrected on this matter.

Matthew

[RedBaron]

GAWD, Matthew, your location has been identified and what do you do? You cry and defend yourself. You need to find a new rooftop/tower/tree stand and get your old form back. This is pathetic. And take some shooting lessons for crying out loud.

[deveil]

yeah, bored as hell.
i hung my ass out there when i didn't need to, but if anyone else needs another pound of flesh. . .

garyDropitwouldya

[deveil]

and btw, for the record, i myself thought mark's last post was saintly, generous and on point.
garyD

[Matthew]

Alright. This has gone on a TAD too long.

I'm out.

Matthew

[deveil]

'haven't read anything since my last post and i don't intend to, because it just dawned on me. . . i let myself 'get got', now didn't i. 'realized that i didn't really need to step over into that bellicose territory - could have handled it another way.
so i'm just going to go ahead and absent myself from the rest of this.
garyD

[deveil]

hey matthew, i hung in with you as long and as much as i could. ' hope you end up seeing it that way. . .
peace out,
garyD

[XCanytime]

Oh my goodness! What hath I wrought?

And maybe the other one is always making plans to be in the air before the winds GET TOO STRONG TO LAUNCH, bought a small glider to be able to fly in strong conditions... and half of his flight reports are "it was the most turbulent flight of my life!!!!"

Sorry Larry, I ain't done yet.

Matthew is correct with his first statement (specific to the Pulpit), correct in his second statement (although I also bought the small glider for more stability in turbulence due to the heavier wing loading and also for greater L/D in a headwind versus a larger glider of the same model), but the third he is incorrect. About .48 of my flight total have been turbulent.

The following is a synopsis of my study of the Pulpit and the weather and peculiarities specific to it. It is rather long, but it will explain Matthew's first statement, and a bit more.

"The Pulpit is our most friendly mountain XC site that we have. I have been flying/observing weather there since 1994. I go there as often as I can because of the XC friendliness and potential, so I have a huge database that covers the site year-round. So here goes:

1. The first thing that you should do when planning to fly the Pulpit is to get there early. What I mean by early is arriving at the site early enough to be set up and ready to fly between 10AM and 11AM. I know that's asking a lot, but it makes the difference between soaring for hours while the late-arriving pilots are stuck on the ground with strong/blown-out conditions on launch. The Pulpit tends to be blown out a lot in the fall/winter/spring more so than any other mountain site we fly. The times that tend to be launchable on those midday blown-out days are in the early morning or the late evening. So getting to the site early or getting there late in the day is your most efficient use of time. Getting there after 11AM on any day during the fall/winter/spring often guarantees that you will be standing around for hours waiting for it to calm down, or driving back to High Rock. Been there, done that too many times (waiting around all day).

2. To get to the Pulpit early means you should have already decided the night before to go to the Pulpit. This kind of decision-making comes easy after years of weather predictions and actual observations at the Pulpit. Or what the heck, just go ahead and make your call the night before. Take a chance. You will always be able to log a data point for the Pulpit (i.e. what time of year it is, predicted launch conditions, actual launch conditions, conditions aloft) to help you either avoid making the wrong call in the future in going to the Pulpit or get rewarded with a long soaring and possible XC flight at the friendliest XC mountain site that we have.

3. The Pulpit is the windiest launch site that we have. This is due to the local topography. Visualize the cut in the mountain where Rt. 30 passes over the spine as a venturi tube, an "escape valve" of air if you will. Couple this escape valve with the fact that the mountain to the right (north) of launch sticks out in the valley further than the launch ridge like the curved bottom of a thumb. This "thumb" portion of the mountain compresses the airflow and speeds it up around the Rt. 30 cut and launch area even more, just like putting your thumb over a garden hose to speed up the water flow. This highly energized airflow scares some pilots into thinking that the air aloft is the same. More often than not it is completely benign compared to the conditions on the ramps. The strong flow on the ramps is usually only a local phenomenon. The air is often fine aloft (no strong headwind).

I spent many years training at Smithsburg in fresh winds (and still do!). I would slowly increment the wind speeds I would launch in between the years of 1991 to 1997 before I ever tried launching in the higher velocity winds at the Pulpit. These wind speeds were always commensurate with the rating I held at the time.

Now let's all go flying at the Pulpit tomorrow!

Bacil

[hepcat1989]

.

[deveil]

Oh my goodness! What hath I wrought?

Yeah. you're All apparently a bunch a d*mn drama queens!
(and i think i Earned that 'liberty')
garyD

[deveil]

here's a suggestion for the future: if any two guys are indeed buddies, or otherwise on speaking terms, why not pick up the phone or exchange private emails and work it out between themselves. Then make a joint announcement as to the resolution.
you know, as opposed to overworking and abusing the services of a volunteer moderator and "anyone else" who harbors sympathies for his plight and then declaring either that one is bored or "oh my goodness! what hath i wrought?" in feigned dismay.
"hey guys, sorry about all the hoohah, i didn't see it coming" would be an example of something that wouldn't come across as feigned dismay. you know, since we're all being so particular about phrasing and smiley faces and all.
ya know, just a humble suggestion.

garyD

[Flying Lobster]

Where are the weak link guys posts when you need them?

Over on the OZreport. Just sign up if you miss those tirades.

marc

[deveil]

well, to be thorough, it doesn't escape me that i've had the easiest 'role' in this 'drama' (to state the obvious). whereas i've attempted to be an 'equal opportunity' pain in the butt (to put it mildly) and tried to be expansive in exploring various viewpoints (to put it grandiosely), being a gadfly ain't all that risky of an occupation. well, except for the risk of alienating an ever increasing portion of the populace until Nobody's talking to me (to put it overstatedly ). which is of course a risk that none of yous guys should/can afford to take. but since you're all a bunch of dolts* and drama queens* anyhow, i guess . . . dang, 'guess i better quite before i'm even fuRther behind.

*

[gadfly: "annoying person who stimulates or provokes others esp. by persistent irritating criticism."]

". . . don't intend to (read anything since my last post). . . i'm just going to go ahead and absent myself from the rest of this." - i lie a lot also.

garyD