30-31 May 2009 - Pulpit XCs

[mcelrah]

Pete

These pale by comparison with Bunner's 71-miler on Saturday, but they are my entries so far for the 2009 Region 9 XC report

Saturday, I had to wait until 1650 (4:50 PM) to launch from the new pad - with full wirecrew in the strong conditions. Immediately got in a nice fat thermal near the towers and monkey-see-monkey-do followed Matthew, climbing to 6000 as I drifted over the back in the thermal. Worked crosswind down 995 just for familiarity with the landmarks, found another thermal north of Upton - and enjoyed watching Matthew struggling below me for quite awhile (I know: one shouldn't have these feelings...). Crossed 81 north of Greencastle and landed on the south side of 16 beyond the big Grove factory for 18 miles and 55 minutes. Thanks to Rick Holz for picking me up, along with Matthew and Daniel.

Sunday - Sallie and I, Ellis, Peter Adams, Sheila,Bridget and all the dogs took a walk along the Tuscarora trail to the pipeline cut. When we got back I suggested to Ellis that it might be OK for launching paragliders, but she wasn't interested and suggested I set up my hang-glider. (Ellis had the first and only successful assisted PG launch from the new pad at sunset Saturday. She used speed bar to penetrate, then I saw her doing wingovers over the primary LZ...) Daniel launched first in a lull, but by the time I got up on the new pad it had already ramped up and there were no such lulls. With Peter, David Bodner, Dan Tuckwiler, and Mark Cavanaugh crewing, I got off in not much of a lull and caught a gust elevator up a hundred feet right above the pad. Daniel and I worked the ratty ridge lift/sink and the clouds were working, but I saw him dive away from a big dark one and I did too after a wire slap. He got right back up and took the cloud over the back, but reported afterward that it was turbulent under it, so he ended up landing near Upton. I stooged around on the ridge for an hour waiting for a prettier cloud (maybe I just got used to them), finally found one near launch and took it to 5500 as I drifted over the back. Repeated my 995 and 16 strategy - there did seem to be a good deal of north in the wind - found another thermal north of Upton and hopped from cumie to cumie till I was thermalling at 1000 or so over Waynesboro (constantly looking for suburban landing fields). I was blowing directly toward Emma Jane's but the thermals down low were shredded in the wind and I landed 2-3 miles short. 2 hours/24 miles per Google Earth. When I turned into the wind to land, I was just hovering down, pulled in to clear the fence (with plenty of altitude) to my chosen pasture near route 997 south of Waynesboro, and flew the control frame right to the ground. It was a struggle hauling the glider upwind to the road, where the homeowner kindly opened the fence so I could break down in mowed grass right beside the road. He and his wife were excited that I had flown from Cowan's Gap and offered me a hamburger because it made such a good story that I had just dropped in for a burger. Thanks to Daniel for coming to pick me up.
- Hugh McElrath