I had a slight inkling this might be a half way good idea. Boy was I
wrong! It was freakin' AWESOME! First.. My apologies to those who
cannot get a day off this week. But for those who can, wow is this a
good deal. Relatively inexpensive training by a 4 time National
Champion... Very one on one.
A little John Simon XC history. I was at Ridgely Sunday and Monday.
Did my spot landings (lots of them) and Sunday I joined a few guys who
were going XC for my second attempt and my first one intending to land
out. Turns out I'm not good at this sort of thing... I decided to
"go".. Ha! Saw a glider circling at 2500' down wind and on course and
flew over there kissing the LZ goodbye. Damn the torpedoes I'm going
XC... Got there with 1000' or so and promptly found zilch. At 700' and
figuring I'm going down I decide to get closer to Ridgely and maybe a
quick retrieve and relaunch. Got 2.1 miles and a nice landing.
FAST FWD to Tuesday. XC clinic with Paris. He's very laid back and
obviously very knowledgeable. He has been an HG instructor for many,
many years (8-14 or so???). An hour plus or so of ground school and we
decided a down wind run would be our goal... Distance. Launched in a
perfect sky. Blue with beautiful puffies and streets heading southeast.
Pinned off at 1400' and climbed right up to 5800' like I knew what I was
doing. Off we went with an almost certain chance of beating my imposing
2.1 mile record from Monday.
The lift was strong and abundant. Saw nearly 800 on the averager and
many and 6-700's all day. Dolphin flying, airspace skirting, team
thermalling and learning all the way. Got 10 out from OC. From there
Paris asked what I wanted to do... Continue or "go to the beach". I
like beaches... But the clouds in that direction were nearly nil. We
went for it and scratched our way to about 2.5 miles from the beach and
landed near Hwy 50 in Berlin. Wow!
Long story short... Flew all day with Paris Williams giving me tips
over the radio (loaner, thanks Jim Rooney as always). Got 4 new
firsts... 3 of them good. Highest altitude: 6500+ feet, Longest
flight time 3:20, Longest flight 58.2 mi, and first downtube
slightly bent up like a pretzel.
Ended up coming into the LZ behind Paris and it turns out we got it
wrong... We both had interesting landings in a 5-10 mi crossing
tailwind. I got pounded a few times on my approach and was working it
all the way in when I flared quite hard and landed in a run... Dropped
the glider and was very surprised to see the downtube fold up... And
then as I stopped and scratched my head... My glider "auto whacked"
softly and in slo-motion into the field. I could not stop it or bring
it back. The tailwind was fairly strong and had blown it over onto it's
nose. It was north at 300' and SE on the ground (seabreeze effect).
The southeast wind spilled over the tree line and mixed with the north
flow above and made my downwind base and final very sporty. Still just
an amazing flight. Thanks to Jim Rooney again for the long drive
pickup. Wow again... 58 miles for me today! (well Paris but I was
there).
This is an amazing opportunity... I went from 2.1 miles to 58!!!
Sure I cheated but you can too! Come on out and fly with us.. I'm going
again tomorrow. Paris will be here until Fri or Sat... Incredible
training opportunity. It's too good to pass up, really.
Take care,
John
58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
-
John Simon
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:33 pm
58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
I'm doing the Paris seminar on Friday. Who else?
Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149
Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149
John,
What an awesome flight for your second XC, I'm thrilled for you! I'm sure you learned tons of information out of this flight, especially the "watch the winds near the coast" part. Wind drift indicators are good to keep with you in this situation. Now just don't get spoiled by this and complain when you get a "sled ride"
Paul (wondering when I will fly again)
What an awesome flight for your second XC, I'm thrilled for you! I'm sure you learned tons of information out of this flight, especially the "watch the winds near the coast" part. Wind drift indicators are good to keep with you in this situation. Now just don't get spoiled by this and complain when you get a "sled ride"
Paul (wondering when I will fly again)
Paul Adamez
58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
John and I were the students today (Wednesday) with Paris and Sunny
flying top cover. Lift was chopped up by a strong wind shear. Paris
had launched first and had to come back for a relight. John, too.
(Everybody had rowdy tows.) I found some ratty zero sink at 16-1700
and Sunny joined me above. We were drifting down wind (to the west)
but never got ahold of anything. Sunny made it back home, barely.
John went back on his second tow after he saw Paris and me on the
ground 2.3 miles west of the field (found out where Sparks Road goes
after it turns to dirt). Didn't feel too bad since Paris pronounced
the day unsoarable. Learned how to set up my GPS and the secret of how
to remove the tip wands without getting them stuck behind the cam
hinge. Thanks to Jim and Drew for the retrieve. May try again
Friday... - Hugh
On 1 Jun 2005, at 01:54, John wrote:
>
flying top cover. Lift was chopped up by a strong wind shear. Paris
had launched first and had to come back for a relight. John, too.
(Everybody had rowdy tows.) I found some ratty zero sink at 16-1700
and Sunny joined me above. We were drifting down wind (to the west)
but never got ahold of anything. Sunny made it back home, barely.
John went back on his second tow after he saw Paris and me on the
ground 2.3 miles west of the field (found out where Sparks Road goes
after it turns to dirt). Didn't feel too bad since Paris pronounced
the day unsoarable. Learned how to set up my GPS and the secret of how
to remove the tip wands without getting them stuck behind the cam
hinge. Thanks to Jim and Drew for the retrieve. May try again
Friday... - Hugh
On 1 Jun 2005, at 01:54, John wrote:
>
-
John Simon
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:33 pm
58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
Hi Christy and Paul,
Looks like this was a somewhat familiar gotcha to those who fly to
the coast regularly. Ric Neihaus told me it happens often. I had
thought about it while we approached but didn't know it could switch so
low. We really did have North at 300' and SE on the ground and somewhat
strong. Circles over the LZ aren't too good in this instance, but I did
learn a good lesson. I must search much harder for better wind
indicators especially near the coast.
Today at Ridgely we didn't fair nearly as well. The sky looked a
bit tattered and the wind was much stronger than the forecast I had
seen. Some OK looking puffies off to the East maybe 5-10 miles but
overhead was basically nothing. Paris launched and then me... Followed
by Hugh and Sunny. Ratty tows. By the time I got off at 2000' in light
broken lift Paris was scratching really low... I took this as a bad
sign. My Radio and GPS failed at this point and I got off tow and tried
to hang and fiddle with my stuff. Hugh came up and stuck above me and I
think we both slowly settled. I finally figured I couldn't stick anyway
and why not head back for an equipment fix and a quick relight.
Meanwhile Sunny launched. The relight was not so quick but I got
everything working and went up. By the time I was off tow everyone was
on the ground. Headed back to the Ridgely for a gusty little approach
and landing and we called it a day.
One interesting observation... While I worked some small ratty
unworkable slowly losing battle lift pockets and stayed very near one
area... Paris zoomed all over the sky and sunk out. He covered a ton of
area... He's not content to just cling onto the same stuff I am (and
others I often see are) and slowly die... He goes to mega search mode
and would rather sink out that way than do an extendo by clinging onto
ratty crap. He's not often satisfied with the lift he's in. Very cool
to watch him fly, much to learn.
It's good to know Paris can't just flap his wings and fly anytime he
wants... I was beginning to think that because he just looks up and says
"OK so we'll launch and climb up and head out on course... Yada yada"
and I'm thinking I'll be lucky to get any climb at all while looking at
the sky. Very positive attitude. Short day out there today, but still
had good ground school and learned something in the air as well. Good
to see Sunny fly too... Even if briefly. Friday if we can get any
weather there will be a decent group out there. Might be quite fun but
Wx iffy now.
John
Looks like this was a somewhat familiar gotcha to those who fly to
the coast regularly. Ric Neihaus told me it happens often. I had
thought about it while we approached but didn't know it could switch so
low. We really did have North at 300' and SE on the ground and somewhat
strong. Circles over the LZ aren't too good in this instance, but I did
learn a good lesson. I must search much harder for better wind
indicators especially near the coast.
Today at Ridgely we didn't fair nearly as well. The sky looked a
bit tattered and the wind was much stronger than the forecast I had
seen. Some OK looking puffies off to the East maybe 5-10 miles but
overhead was basically nothing. Paris launched and then me... Followed
by Hugh and Sunny. Ratty tows. By the time I got off at 2000' in light
broken lift Paris was scratching really low... I took this as a bad
sign. My Radio and GPS failed at this point and I got off tow and tried
to hang and fiddle with my stuff. Hugh came up and stuck above me and I
think we both slowly settled. I finally figured I couldn't stick anyway
and why not head back for an equipment fix and a quick relight.
Meanwhile Sunny launched. The relight was not so quick but I got
everything working and went up. By the time I was off tow everyone was
on the ground. Headed back to the Ridgely for a gusty little approach
and landing and we called it a day.
One interesting observation... While I worked some small ratty
unworkable slowly losing battle lift pockets and stayed very near one
area... Paris zoomed all over the sky and sunk out. He covered a ton of
area... He's not content to just cling onto the same stuff I am (and
others I often see are) and slowly die... He goes to mega search mode
and would rather sink out that way than do an extendo by clinging onto
ratty crap. He's not often satisfied with the lift he's in. Very cool
to watch him fly, much to learn.
It's good to know Paris can't just flap his wings and fly anytime he
wants... I was beginning to think that because he just looks up and says
"OK so we'll launch and climb up and head out on course... Yada yada"
and I'm thinking I'll be lucky to get any climb at all while looking at
the sky. Very positive attitude. Short day out there today, but still
had good ground school and learned something in the air as well. Good
to see Sunny fly too... Even if briefly. Friday if we can get any
weather there will be a decent group out there. Might be quite fun but
Wx iffy now.
John
-
John Simon
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:33 pm
58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
Hi Brian,
I may try and Paris mentioned there will be a "few" guys on Friday
so if the Wx can get decent I think there will be a good group. If I
can get the day off I'll head out but not looking great for that right
now. If it's anywhere near decent I'd GO!
Have Fun,
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Vant-Hull - Brian [mailto:brianvh@umd5.umd.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 9:08 AM
To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
Subject: Re: 58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
I'm doing the Paris seminar on Friday. Who else?
Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149
I may try and Paris mentioned there will be a "few" guys on Friday
so if the Wx can get decent I think there will be a good group. If I
can get the day off I'll head out but not looking great for that right
now. If it's anywhere near decent I'd GO!
Have Fun,
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Vant-Hull - Brian [mailto:brianvh@umd5.umd.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 9:08 AM
To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
Subject: Re: 58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
I'm doing the Paris seminar on Friday. Who else?
Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149
58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
I'm wondering if I should bail if friday continues to look bad. Do you
think the ground school and chance to just hang out and chat with Paris is
worth the price of a clinic? I guess I'll call Ridgely and get Paris's
call on things.
Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149
On Wed, 1 Jun 2005, John wrote:
>
> Hi Brian,
>
> I may try and Paris mentioned there will be a "few" guys on Friday
> so if the Wx can get decent I think there will be a good group. If I
> can get the day off I'll head out but not looking great for that right
> now. If it's anywhere near decent I'd GO!
>
> Have Fun,
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vant-Hull - Brian [mailto:brianvh@umd5.umd.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 9:08 AM
> To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
> Subject: Re: 58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
>
>
>
>
> I'm doing the Paris seminar on Friday. Who else?
>
> Brian Vant-Hull
> 301-646-1149
>
>
>
>
>
think the ground school and chance to just hang out and chat with Paris is
worth the price of a clinic? I guess I'll call Ridgely and get Paris's
call on things.
Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149
On Wed, 1 Jun 2005, John wrote:
>
> Hi Brian,
>
> I may try and Paris mentioned there will be a "few" guys on Friday
> so if the Wx can get decent I think there will be a good group. If I
> can get the day off I'll head out but not looking great for that right
> now. If it's anywhere near decent I'd GO!
>
> Have Fun,
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vant-Hull - Brian [mailto:brianvh@umd5.umd.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 9:08 AM
> To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
> Subject: Re: 58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
>
>
>
>
> I'm doing the Paris seminar on Friday. Who else?
>
> Brian Vant-Hull
> 301-646-1149
>
>
>
>
>
-
John Simon
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 12:33 pm
58 mile long Paris Williams Clinic (long post)
Hey Brian,
Haven't checked the wx myself yet but I'm not sure it's worth the $$
to go just for the Ground school. Don't get me wrong, it's great and I
learned a lot but you don't know what you might get on any day... Each
is different and if a lot of guys are less experienced than you it might
be tuned a bit more for them? There might be a reduced rate just for
the Ground school?? I'd look into that too if you're serious and the wx
is crap.
Yes "hanging out" with Paris and hanging around while he and Adam
and Sunny tear down gliders and chatting and telling stories is pretty
interesting and you can learn there too.. Just not sure it would be
"worth" it. Flying with him is really good, especially for a guy like
me who is just getting into XC. Is he doing the clinic Saturday?? Not
sure but it'd be worth a call. I've already done 2 days and would leap
at the chance for a 3rd or 4th. He told me he normally charges $300 a
day down in Quest as a minimum...which could be split between a few
students.
John
Haven't checked the wx myself yet but I'm not sure it's worth the $$
to go just for the Ground school. Don't get me wrong, it's great and I
learned a lot but you don't know what you might get on any day... Each
is different and if a lot of guys are less experienced than you it might
be tuned a bit more for them? There might be a reduced rate just for
the Ground school?? I'd look into that too if you're serious and the wx
is crap.
Yes "hanging out" with Paris and hanging around while he and Adam
and Sunny tear down gliders and chatting and telling stories is pretty
interesting and you can learn there too.. Just not sure it would be
"worth" it. Flying with him is really good, especially for a guy like
me who is just getting into XC. Is he doing the clinic Saturday?? Not
sure but it'd be worth a call. I've already done 2 days and would leap
at the chance for a 3rd or 4th. He told me he normally charges $300 a
day down in Quest as a minimum...which could be split between a few
students.
John