Daniels weekend 3/7 - 3/8

[XCanytime]

Looks good and warm. Might be a bit breezy on Sunday, and less sun. I'm banking on one of the days. Bacil

[Joe Schad]

I am thinking it is Blue Sky Saturday and maybe Dickey's on sunday.

Joe

[Joe Schad]

Scratch Blue Sky from the weekend flying. I just talked to Steve Wendt and he has 6 inches of melting snow on the ground still. It will probably be sunday or monday before the road dries enough to do any truck tows.

Joe

[markc]

On the plus side, the forecast is looking a little bit better for
Daniel's than it was earlier today: SSW@10-15, partly cloudy
by noon, and an increasing SW cast at 3k MSL, cranking by 7pm.

Still a gamble given the light surface winds and Daniel's
inverse 'Woodstock-effect'... But with a temp of 70, it
might just be worth it!

If things still look decent tomorrow AM, I'll probably give
it a go, and I think Janni and Carlos will too.

MarkC

[lbunner]

What's everyone thinking?

[markc]

Looks like the cloud cover has been bumped up a bit, but
J, C, and myself are still in. ETA : around noon.

MarkC

[dbodner]

I'd love to go, but I'm nursing a bad cold. In the prone position, my sinuses clog up causing me to become a mouth breather. I've few enough reserve IQ points to risk that.

[markc]

What a day at Daniel's!!

(And damn, that drive seems longer every time we make it!)

We got off to a bit of a late start, not arriving at launch until about 1:00pm. During
the entire drive the sky was completely cloudy, so our spirits weren't exactly high.
Still, there were flags blowing, and they didn't pull the usual trick of going limp once
we were within 15 miles of the site!

Conditions up top were initially quite good, 10-15, mostly straight in, with some
occasional cross-right. PGer's Ellis, Noah, Elizabeth and Ben (?) decided to
head back down and do some kiting for a while after seeing a full-speedbar flight
by Tom Cuenen. So we hustled to set up and get in the air while the getting was
good....

Janni was first off, and of course conditions had lightened. But he was patient, and
rewarded with a great cycle. Just after he was off the PGer's returned, plus Matthew
and Karen, so Carlos and I dove off with their help. Thanks everyone!

It was brain-dead soarable. I got 2k over a couple of times, which is about the best
I've ever done at Daniel's. High enough to look OTB and wonder about an XC... But
it's not exactly inviting. I think I'd want a solid 4k over and a cloudstreet downwind
before giving it a try.

I flew for, oh geez, close to three hours? Later in the day the conditions got nicer
and the PG pilots dove off, must have been about 7 or 8 of them up at once.
The HG crowd was rounded out by Nelson Lewis who arrived late in the afternoon.

Everyone had great flights and great landings, and then a bunch of us headed to
an Italian/Pizza place on Rt 29 for dinner. I'm beat, time for some ZZZZzzzzs.....

MarkC

PS: "Inverse Woodstock Effect" at Daniels?? Uhhhmmm. Yeah. Don't know what
dyslexic corner of my mind that one came from!

[lbunner]

Awesome flying guys! I chose to fly 501. It was the first time to the site and only took an hour and 20 minutes to get there versus 3 1/2 to Daniels (if not more). It was mostly cloudy and very hazy all day. The winds were coming straight in at 10-15 mph. It was easily soarable for us (Bob, Doug, Joe and Tom) as well. Cu's were rolling through but couldn't quite get up to them. Great fun was had by all. I ended up with 2 1/2 hours and some muddy knees on a slider landing. Each day is looking better and better! Can't wait for next weekend!

[Danny Brotto]

Hey Larry

What designated LZ were you guys using? We used to use the Christian Campground to the right, a horse farm out front, or a farm field by a road to the left. The field to the left is a bit of a glide away but it makes for the best turn-around and you can usually hitch a ride back to the top.

Can you fill us in on the latest protocol?

Haven't flown 501 in years. Bit of a carry in, great launch, south facing. For us “northern boys” it beats the long drive to Daniels (or even Fischer’s when it was active.) I’ve had many nice flights at 501 but it can get unexpectedly pretty turbulent there.

Glad to see people sneaking out for some good air. Highland should be opening soon! Winter in the mid-Atlantic is one and a half months too long!

Danny Brotto

[pnadams]

Where is 501?

[hepcat1989]

.

[lbunner]

Landing fields at 501 have remained the same. I chose the one to the left by the road up to launch. It is a bit of a glide to the LZ's but doable. If you choose to fly there make sure you are a member of the Hyner Club before doing so.

[Matthew]

Winter is not long enough. I enjoyed soaring at Daniel's in 72 degrees in March. But there is something wrong with that when it should be in the 40s. More snow PLEASE!!!

Matthew