Pulpit anyone this Wednesday 03.31.10?!?!

[POLISH EAGLE]

It looks very prommising for Pulpit tomorrow. I could be there around 1:30 PM. Call me!
Krzysztof.

[XCanytime]

Krzysztof,
I am heading to Woodstock. I believe a few others are going to do the same. It will be too strong at the Pulpit until very late. Come to Woodstock.

Bacil

[Batman]

I might come out if I can get my schedule clear. Who else is making the trip down South tomorrow?

[DanTuck]

I'm gonna try to leave work tomorrow and get out there around 1:00.

[XCanytime]

Gary Smith is showing up at 1PM. Nelson Lewis is thinking about it. Tom is thinking about it. I'll be there around 12:30P. It's going to be very sweet after 4PM. Bacil

[POLISH EAGLE]

Woodstock it is. ETA 1:00PM.

[mcgowantk]

This is my second attempt at posting on this. The current forecast is promising and looking better than earlier today (ie, NW at 10 all day). therefore, I am planning on getting there earlier than 12:30, like maybe 11:30 or earlier. Of course, I will check the weather in the morning.

Tom
703-501-9532

[Batman]

Still blowing hard here in Alexandria. Gusts up to 28 on the weather bug. Going to continue to watch!

[mcgowantk]

I am watching the weather too. The forecast is a little stronger than last night.

Tom

[mcgowantk]

I think it will back off later but I was hoping to fly earlier in the day. I will go to work and save the day off.

[Batman]

It's staying pretty strong here in Alexandria, we just had a gust to 34. I think I'm going to bail on Woodstock unless major changes soon. Too much gust factor so far today ...

[Batman]

I think I'm bailing. Woodstock is showing winds at 23 gusting to 30 right now, at best that will still make the primary LZ pretty gnarly. If people wait until later in the day, be aware this is the same kind of Spring forecast that ended up with Joe Gregor's nasty crash. Winds were supposed to die down but ramped back up after we launched. Gust factors were pretty strong and the LZ was trashy as hell, typical early Spring day. Bridge field was doable (I did), but I wouldn't bank on it. Weekend looks good, I hope to fly on Saturday.

[DanTuck]

Good ol' Woodstock Effect, baby. I had wanted to get there early this time but ended up pulling into the parking lot at 2:45. As I walked up to the slot, Krzysztof was hooking in so I helped him off. But.....he didn't really need me because it was LIGHT in the slot. Completely self-launchable. So I set up and right as I was finishing up Gary landed, and hitched a ride up to help me off (again). Thanks Gary! But as I made my way to the slot, I noticed that there were no more cycles coming through. There was a light breeze, maybe 3-5 mph, wafting in pretty constantly but there had been good 10-12 mph cycles until then. I waited and waited and nothing was happening. I let 10 minutes pass by with nothing more than an 8 mph West cycle. And I'm not the type to wait around on launch. Then, at about 3:45, Bacil got on the radio and told me there was a thermal to the left of launch. I figured what the hey. Maybe I'll find it, maybe I'll sled. Whatever, it wouldn't be the first time. Plus, this is probably the best chance I've got. I launched, turned left, and got a couple beeps. I turned in closer to the ridge and got a couple more. I made one turn and then I saw two vultures turning about 100' below me and a bit further out over the spine. So I flew out there over them and hooked into their thermal, the one that Bacil saw, climbing out 1,800' right over launch. Man, that was cool. I drifted back with it halfway to the second ridge, then scooted back out front with ease. After that it was good spring time thermal flying. Strong lift, strong sink, sharp edges and lots of birds! The highest I got was 2,100' over. I decided to cruise South and got down to the last big fat finger with lots and lots of trees and then turned back. I didn't find much lift in the Southern most part and got down to 500' over, but still easily made it back and found more good thermals closer to launch. Sometime a little after 5:00 conditions went magic. It was the first time I've been able to stuff the bar on the U2, just haul ass and not lose a foot of altitude. I screamed past the tower and banked it up a few times to the delight of the waving spectators. I played around in the butter smooth lift for some time and then headed out for a nice landing in the bridge field where Gary and Bacil were waiting. I flew for just under 2 hours. Thanks for the ride back up Gary and thanks for the thermal Bacil! Video later.

[XCanytime]

Very nice day at Woodstock today. Got there at 12:20P to moderately strong cycles in the slot to it backing off nicely to 4 to 8 MPH right up the slot. Gary Smith and Krzysztof both got there at 1P, and helped me launch around 1:30P into a smooth cycle. Turned left and got up easily in a west cross on the ridge. Headed down to the Gap, thermalling up to 3700' MSL a couple of times. Saw Gary high above launch. I made it down to the rockpiles but not much was happening, so I headed back towards launch. Got in a ratty one halfway back to launch and got to 5400' MSL. Visibility was great. Headed back to launch and saw Krzysztof take off with Dan's help. Decided to run north to Signal Knob. Ran into a north cross just above Southfork, and dolphin flew up to the radio tower. Shared some air with a bunch of black vultures for a little while, then headed back towards launch with a nice quartering tailwind with the still north cross. Just before Southfork lost to 100' below the ridge and thought I would be landing out. Scratched my way back up above the ridge in a now west cross. Headed back to launch and found Gary and Dan in the slot, with Dan waiting for a puff of wind to get off in. It was about 4PM and the winds had died to nothing. I found a light thermal over the spine to the left of launch and radioed down to Gary to let Dan know that there was some lift just to the left of launch. If he could get off safely then he had a ride waiting for him. Luckily the ladder didn't get pulled up and darn if he didn't find the same elevator that I was climbing in. Dan took that thermal to 1800' over behind launch. I pulled out early and waited for Gary to head down to pick me up, then headed out to a nice landing at 4:30P in a mellow main LZ. Gary got me and we drove back to the bridge field and watched Dan execute a perfect approach and landing into light NW winds in the bridge field. Dan said that near the end of his flight it went magic. He had the bar stuffed and still his sink rate was ZERO . Krzysztof apparently got scraped off the ridge near the gap and had to land out. An elderly couple gave him a ride back to launch. Gary, Dan, and I went back to retrieve the vehicles, deciding to check out launch conditions. It was blowing in like a FAN at 6:15P, a steady 6 to 10 MPH. A sunset flight would have been in magic air.
The conditions today were a carbon copy of last Wednesday, and in no way comparable to that very unstable day in late April of 2007. Two entirely different days. Today we surfed the back side of a departing LOW, just like we did last Wednesday. The temperature rose almost 20 degrees from yesterday just like it did a week ago between last Tuesday and last Wednesday. Same pattern. Same isobar map. Same predicted throttleback by the late afternoon. That late April day in 2007 was post-frontal, the temperature dropped 15 degrees from the previous day, and the lapse rate was phenomenal. Tom flew an awesome 143 miles that day, getting to over 8K' MSL in thermals.

Bacil

[Batman]

Good to know the difference Bacil, between post-frontal and a passing low. I will chalk that up to memory! Stayed pretty gusty here in Alexandria until sunset. Hopefully this weekend gets me airborne to knock the rust off. I want a baby's butt smooth day to give me some friendly air so I can remind my body how to do this flying thing.

[XCanytime]

Chris,
Ya don't know if ya don't go Taking a look at the predicted isobar map for midday and the evening for the Woodstock area from weather.com is all you needed to see that it would back down to almost nothing by like, 4PM. The conditions were perfect after 5PM, as Dan expressed in his post, with the magic air conditions. Next time give it a go. You'll at least have a data point in your storehouse of weather observations versus weather forecasts, temperature drops/rises, predicted surface pressure map, etc. for the Woodstock site for late March.

Bacil

[XCanytime]

Forest Route 1702 running up past Waonaze Peak.

Gary thermalling behind launch.

The roads through Mine Mountain Estates.

The radio antenna at Signal Knob.

Dan as he zipped back out front after his first thermal climb.

[DanTuck]

Video from that day -