Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
So, what am I bid for this weekend? I'm seeing south and a bit strong Saturday and light NW Sunday. Towing Sunday? - Hugh
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
Going sailing Saturday. - Hugh
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
Pulpit/Woodstock/Ridgely Sunday. - Hugh
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
I hate deferring to Sunday based on a Friday night 'cast.....
But it _does_ look like a decent NW day shaping up on Sunday.
I'm thinking I might get stuff done around the house tomorrow,
and then cross my fingers that the forecast won't change
dramatically.
High Rock? XC from the Pulpit? XC from Highland? Would be
nice to have such a dilemma.
MarkC
But it _does_ look like a decent NW day shaping up on Sunday.
I'm thinking I might get stuff done around the house tomorrow,
and then cross my fingers that the forecast won't change
dramatically.
High Rock? XC from the Pulpit? XC from Highland? Would be
nice to have such a dilemma.
MarkC
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
The forecast for Sunday looks promising to me too. I would love to go xc but am undecided on where to start. The ADDS page and isobars suggest light winds, but the other forecasts are showing 10+. I am leaning to Cumberland or the Pulpit based on the 10+ forecasts. Any other thoughts?
Tom
Tom
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
I'm thinking the Pulpit at the moment, given the current light 3K ADDS forecast.
Guess we'll just have to see what the timing of the front's passage is, and how
much of a punch is behind it.
MarkC
Guess we'll just have to see what the timing of the front's passage is, and how
much of a punch is behind it.
MarkC
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
I'm heading to the Pulpit...maybe a nice evening flight awaits.
Hope to see some of you out there.
Hope to see some of you out there.
Dan Tuckwiller
My HG Videos - sorted by site
My HG Videos - sorted by site
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
Good day for flying.... 
The gang was there, the gang flew, the gang LEFT......
I was trying out my latest aquisition, Gary Smith's former Ultra Sport, and WOW.
I finally had the penatration and solid feeling glider needed to maintain a 2+ hour flight,
and at the pulpit no less. I only wish Shawn were here....None the less, who ever launched
got in a good flight, I'll leave the rest of the details (flight stories) to those of you who wish
to post...
Get high, Fly far,
Mike
The gang was there, the gang flew, the gang LEFT......
I was trying out my latest aquisition, Gary Smith's former Ultra Sport, and WOW.
I finally had the penatration and solid feeling glider needed to maintain a 2+ hour flight,
and at the pulpit no less. I only wish Shawn were here....None the less, who ever launched
got in a good flight, I'll leave the rest of the details (flight stories) to those of you who wish
to post...
Get high, Fly far,
Mike
Mike Lee
How 'Bout That
How 'Bout That
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
"March of the Jellyfish". (In the spirit of the combined HG/PG flying forum.)
Tamas, Ben B., Tom C., Lazslo, Ellis, Luis and I all flew twice at Woodstock. First flights yielded XCs over the back to south of Dickey's for Tom, Ellis, Tamas and Ben (congratulations! second XC and longest distance for him). Sallie and her friend Mary Anne showed up to watch and instead got pressed into service to retrieve (including for a group of Asian women who had taken a wrong turn on the Signal Knob loop and ended up at launch). My first flight was only about half an hour - west cross made lift spotty early - at one point I was losing altitude and not penetrating, so I concentrated on making the LZ, Everyone else flew for ~2 hours. Mid-afternoon it got too strong for PG and Randy Weber showed up to fly his U-2 - went all the way down the ridge and came back to land in the LZ. By 6:15 it glassed off and we all launched again. It was a bit strong at first, but we gradually gained confidence we could make the bridge field (since all the cars were up top) then discovered it had backed off and we gaggled up for a squadron XC ("March of the Jellyfish") to Strasburg. Luis demonstrated proper response to launching with risers twisted and pilot facing backward: hold the risers together with one hand and use controls one-handed with the other until clear of trees, then spin to correct orientation. Impressive coolness in an emergency! At ~1000 over launch, I risked taking off a glove and getting out my Blackberry to take a couple of photos - no hands on controls - it was that smooth! At Signal Knob, we had a "spirited discussion" over the radio on how to proceed, arguing the merits of various restaurants in Strasburg (threatening to become an academic discussion as it was getting late). Tamas, Lazslo and Tom finally flew back to the LZ to assist in the retrieval of vehicles. I was below ridge height by then (staying too far out front over the ocean of trees?) and led Luis and eventually Ellis (who had plenty of altitude - did her trademark wingovers to get down) to a huge field on Strasburg Reservoir Road (couldn't quite make the Middle School). I have long wanted to fly HG to Strasburg and walk in to Joe Schad's for a beer - now I know a great field to land in! So that was a second ~2 hour flight for everyone (Ben stayed local and helped retrieve vehicles - thanks!). We "enjoyed" hiking in the dark to the Strasburg Inn, which graciously allowed us to clutter their reception area with our gliders and reopened the bar kitchen for a reduced menu (everyone ordered the Portobello-burger). Afterward, I had to go back to launch to get my car keys, which I always leave on top of the left front tire - but Sallie didn't know that. The electronic key fob survived getting run over just fine! Long drive over the back and up Fort Valley Road in the dark, but I was bored with route 11. Unloaded and in bed at 1:30 - now that's summer flying! - Hugh
Tamas, Ben B., Tom C., Lazslo, Ellis, Luis and I all flew twice at Woodstock. First flights yielded XCs over the back to south of Dickey's for Tom, Ellis, Tamas and Ben (congratulations! second XC and longest distance for him). Sallie and her friend Mary Anne showed up to watch and instead got pressed into service to retrieve (including for a group of Asian women who had taken a wrong turn on the Signal Knob loop and ended up at launch). My first flight was only about half an hour - west cross made lift spotty early - at one point I was losing altitude and not penetrating, so I concentrated on making the LZ, Everyone else flew for ~2 hours. Mid-afternoon it got too strong for PG and Randy Weber showed up to fly his U-2 - went all the way down the ridge and came back to land in the LZ. By 6:15 it glassed off and we all launched again. It was a bit strong at first, but we gradually gained confidence we could make the bridge field (since all the cars were up top) then discovered it had backed off and we gaggled up for a squadron XC ("March of the Jellyfish") to Strasburg. Luis demonstrated proper response to launching with risers twisted and pilot facing backward: hold the risers together with one hand and use controls one-handed with the other until clear of trees, then spin to correct orientation. Impressive coolness in an emergency! At ~1000 over launch, I risked taking off a glove and getting out my Blackberry to take a couple of photos - no hands on controls - it was that smooth! At Signal Knob, we had a "spirited discussion" over the radio on how to proceed, arguing the merits of various restaurants in Strasburg (threatening to become an academic discussion as it was getting late). Tamas, Lazslo and Tom finally flew back to the LZ to assist in the retrieval of vehicles. I was below ridge height by then (staying too far out front over the ocean of trees?) and led Luis and eventually Ellis (who had plenty of altitude - did her trademark wingovers to get down) to a huge field on Strasburg Reservoir Road (couldn't quite make the Middle School). I have long wanted to fly HG to Strasburg and walk in to Joe Schad's for a beer - now I know a great field to land in! So that was a second ~2 hour flight for everyone (Ben stayed local and helped retrieve vehicles - thanks!). We "enjoyed" hiking in the dark to the Strasburg Inn, which graciously allowed us to clutter their reception area with our gliders and reopened the bar kitchen for a reduced menu (everyone ordered the Portobello-burger). Afterward, I had to go back to launch to get my car keys, which I always leave on top of the left front tire - but Sallie didn't know that. The electronic key fob survived getting run over just fine! Long drive over the back and up Fort Valley Road in the dark, but I was bored with route 11. Unloaded and in bed at 1:30 - now that's summer flying! - Hugh
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
There were already a couple a gliders in the sky when I got to the Pulpit. Almost everyone who launched early got up and out. I set up and crewed for some time while the wind on launch increased to beyond falconable. I stuck it out hoping for some evening mellowing on launch which finally came around 6:30. Unfortunately, conditions on the ridge had mellowed to barely soarable by that point. I didn't have my vario on for this flight and managed to stick for about 20 minutes, though I never got more than 100' over the ridge. It's actually kind of easy to fly without a vario when you're that close to the trees! Still, it was a nice flight, with a nice landing in the primary, for an overall nice evening.
Dan Tuckwiller
My HG Videos - sorted by site
My HG Videos - sorted by site
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
Ridgely was very good. Good lift, good climbs. Headed downwind making good decisions and never getting low. A mature bald eagle showed me the way to a massive thermal that took me to base a few miles East of the river, he was at times so close I thought I could get to touch him. Very cool. Then I saw water and I was like yipieeee, I'm gonna make the beach today. Then I got to see big massive C5's take off (or land) and I was like sh*t, that must be Dover. Turned on my 76S and sure enough, I was right on course, damn. Turned S and cross wind into an area that was almost decked over. Landed 5 miles SW of Dover.
Took a bunch of evening tows on the Falcon170, which is way too tiny for me, for my H4 training. Sunny evaluated my spot landing performance and flare technique. Switching back and forth between different size and different performance class gliders is actually very challenging. I'm certainly not there yet.
Took a bunch of evening tows on the Falcon170, which is way too tiny for me, for my H4 training. Sunny evaluated my spot landing performance and flare technique. Switching back and forth between different size and different performance class gliders is actually very challenging. I'm certainly not there yet.
#1 Rogue Pilot
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
My experience pretty much echoes Dan Tuck, except I had a vario. In the LZ I released I hadn't packed my harness bag or my vario bag. Did anyone pick these up in the set-up area?
David Bodner
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
Goo flying everywhere on Sunday. Heard towing was good at Redwing, NJ and at Ridgely. Did anyone fly High Rock? I got 3:24 and 2800 over launch. Thought about going over the back a couple of times. However, the big guns were only making it to I-81. So I decided to stay local. Karen had a nice end of the day flight, spanking David B. and Dan Tuck.
Matthew
Matthew
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
I'm a driver, so hope I'm not intruding too much here. Thought I'd write a small piece on Sunday's flight at the Pulpit. While I have driven for Tom for about a year now, this was my first time at the Pulpit. Tom picked me up at 8 in the morning and Pete was there too. We picked up Dave at Federick. The clouds looked less than pleasing and there wasn't much wind. We were, I think, the first to reach. It was an unusual day at the Pulpit (or so I was informed) as it was extremely light, barely anything to fly out of, and the wind was also Westerly. Larry (the pilot who flew 200 miles to NJ) arrived next. He was the first to launch, but due to the light conditions, could landed in the LZ. I went to pick him up, but since it was my first time, I went right past the LZ, not having caught sight of him. Eventually, when we came back, Tom, Dave and Pete had already launched and Larry went for a second shot and this time, as the conditions had improved, got away nicely.
The wind really picked up around 2, and by 3 it was blowing pretty hard. There were a good number of pilots, in total, approximately 10. I was hoping to drive to New Jersey, but alas, the garden state has to yet await another visit. Larry, Dave and Tom (and I heard Mark) all came down just south east of where 30 meets 81. Pete got a little unlucky and did not get too far, but I think still had a great time.
Overall, a great day, and the weather could not be better. We took the inroads back home through some very pretty countryside with perfectly manicured lawns fresh out of post cards and just wild, scenic beauty, rolling hills, farmland stretching as far as the eye and see, simply beautiful.
The wind really picked up around 2, and by 3 it was blowing pretty hard. There were a good number of pilots, in total, approximately 10. I was hoping to drive to New Jersey, but alas, the garden state has to yet await another visit. Larry, Dave and Tom (and I heard Mark) all came down just south east of where 30 meets 81. Pete got a little unlucky and did not get too far, but I think still had a great time.
Overall, a great day, and the weather could not be better. We took the inroads back home through some very pretty countryside with perfectly manicured lawns fresh out of post cards and just wild, scenic beauty, rolling hills, farmland stretching as far as the eye and see, simply beautiful.
Goo flying everywhere on Sunday
I was very happy with my flight. However, the beginning of my previous post is obviously a typo. I meant to say--
GOOD flying everywhere on Sunday.
Matthew
GOOD flying everywhere on Sunday.
Matthew
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
Woohoo! Driver posts most welcome! I think the pleasures of hang- and para-driving are under-rated. This may merit it's own thread someday... - Hugh
-
pink_albatross
- Posts: 599
- Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2005 12:20 pm
- Location: Ellis from Arlington
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
Alright! I enjoyed the driver post. Keep it coming and keep your posts in the flying tread!
Maybe we can hear from our Woodstock driver as well?
This jellyfish had an awesome day at Woostock. Two XCs in one day. Okay, they were baby XC and I was spanked by newbie XC jellyfish Ben, who had all kinds of personal bests on that flight, but I've never been over the back at WS (well not on purpose) and definitely not into the Luray valley. Had a relatively low save over Fort Valley. Eventually had to find a field to land. Picked a nice big field. When lower down realized that there were bunch of junk cars around the perimeter. Hmm.. junk cars => junk yard dogs => nasty owners with guns? Well, maybe I've seen too many movies. Decided to put it into a backyard instead. Knew it was going to be turbulent: high trees, in a gap... Yep. Made it though, only to narrowly avoid a clothes line.
Tom and I got a ride out of the valley to Dickey's, thinking it might be flyable there. But although there was a west, maybe even a WSW cross at WS, it was definitely NW at Dickey's. We were retrieved by Sallie (YEAH, SALLIE!) and made it back in time for the magic run to Strasburg with all the other jellyfish. Even stay-around-launch-until-the-cows-come-home Laszlo came along! While Tom (sheez, his wing is fast!), Laszlo and Tomas flew back to launch to retrieve cars, I hung out at the point and eventually landed in Hugh and Luis's field (closer to the Strasbourg inn), practising my not-quite wing overs
What a day
-- ellis
Maybe we can hear from our Woodstock driver as well?
This jellyfish had an awesome day at Woostock. Two XCs in one day. Okay, they were baby XC and I was spanked by newbie XC jellyfish Ben, who had all kinds of personal bests on that flight, but I've never been over the back at WS (well not on purpose) and definitely not into the Luray valley. Had a relatively low save over Fort Valley. Eventually had to find a field to land. Picked a nice big field. When lower down realized that there were bunch of junk cars around the perimeter. Hmm.. junk cars => junk yard dogs => nasty owners with guns? Well, maybe I've seen too many movies. Decided to put it into a backyard instead. Knew it was going to be turbulent: high trees, in a gap... Yep. Made it though, only to narrowly avoid a clothes line.
Tom and I got a ride out of the valley to Dickey's, thinking it might be flyable there. But although there was a west, maybe even a WSW cross at WS, it was definitely NW at Dickey's. We were retrieved by Sallie (YEAH, SALLIE!) and made it back in time for the magic run to Strasburg with all the other jellyfish. Even stay-around-launch-until-the-cows-come-home Laszlo came along! While Tom (sheez, his wing is fast!), Laszlo and Tomas flew back to launch to retrieve cars, I hung out at the point and eventually landed in Hugh and Luis's field (closer to the Strasbourg inn), practising my not-quite wing overs
What a day
-- ellis
Re: Flying this weekend (11-12 July)
The Pulpit was pretty nice on Sunday! Launched sometime around 2:00 or so from
the new slot/pad, into fairly strong conditions once again. Things were tough on
the ridge, major sink at times, but I finally caught a good one that took me to about
6200 MSL. Figured I had a valley-crossing in the bag, but decked it a little east
of I-81, for only 16.8 miles. Was pretty bummed out, until hearing that all the
big guns were in the same boat. No 200-milers yesterday...
The landowner where I broke down is a DC-9 pilot for Northwest and was keenly
interested in learning more about my wing. Very fun and friendly conversation.
Big thanks to Judy for chasing after me!! We got back to launch in time to help
crew the last launches of the day.
Nice sunset, then a trip to a Chinese place (open late, 10pm) in Mercersburg
with Matt, Karen, and Judy, for dinner. Looonnnngggg day, though not as late
as Hugh's!
MarkC
PS: The website downtime on Sunday was caused by problems that occurred when
our web provider's DNS cluster was moved in their datacenter. Not a planned or
expected downtime, and they claim they are working on a solution to prevent any
recurrence.
the new slot/pad, into fairly strong conditions once again. Things were tough on
the ridge, major sink at times, but I finally caught a good one that took me to about
6200 MSL. Figured I had a valley-crossing in the bag, but decked it a little east
of I-81, for only 16.8 miles. Was pretty bummed out, until hearing that all the
big guns were in the same boat. No 200-milers yesterday...
The landowner where I broke down is a DC-9 pilot for Northwest and was keenly
interested in learning more about my wing. Very fun and friendly conversation.
Big thanks to Judy for chasing after me!! We got back to launch in time to help
crew the last launches of the day.
Nice sunset, then a trip to a Chinese place (open late, 10pm) in Mercersburg
with Matt, Karen, and Judy, for dinner. Looonnnngggg day, though not as late
as Hugh's!
MarkC
PS: The website downtime on Sunday was caused by problems that occurred when
our web provider's DNS cluster was moved in their datacenter. Not a planned or
expected downtime, and they claim they are working on a solution to prevent any
recurrence.