The Cambell Problem Persists!

[lbunner]

On Sunday, Dave P, Tom M, Charlie A, Carlos W, and Chad ? decided to fly XC to Campbell Airfield. Blipmaps showed good conditions; NNW wind at 10 mph, lift at 400 fpm, climbs to 6000’ with cumulus clouds to mark the way. Unfortunately they weren’t as good as predicted with climbs to 5000’ on occasion and blue skies most of the day. We all took off around 1:00. I managed to work my way to the bottom of the stack and ended up on my own SE of the airport while the others had topped out and headed back to the airport to wait for some more heating to break through the pronounced inversion. I groveled for quite awhile trying to climb out over some turkey vultures who I am sure were yelling “Sucker!” from down below. Eventually I found a core to 3800’ and radioed that I was leaving. Rich from New Jersey had volunteered to chase and responded that he was heading out as well. Meanwhile a strong sink cycle flushed Tom and Dave who had to relight. Climbs were soft initially until SE of Federalsburg I hit 500 fpm to 5200’. Several climbs to Seaford and Laurel put me just north of Salisbury where I realized that the waypoint we had entered that would keep us west of Salisbury Airport actually was to the east of the airport. I diverted to the SW on my next two glides to keep west of the town and eventually hit a nice climb at 400 fpm to 4700’. Tom and Dave were back up with Charlie after a strong climb at the airport and headed out as well. East of Denton the three hit another strong climb to 5000’. Charlie took a line further to the west and was separated from Dave and Tom. Dave ended up going down near Seaford and Tom as well near Laurel. The entire day we could see good cu’s far to the south. They now were just a couple climbs away. At this point my progress had been fairly slow, I envisioned getting stronger climbs under the clouds and expected to pick up the pace as the clouds were oriented down the peninsula into Virginia. Two nice climbs to 4000’ east of Eden and Princess Anne respectively put me on a good line to the first cloud. I slowed down in some good lift short of the first cloud but continued on glide thinking the good stuff would be under the first cu. I hit nothing so continued on to the second and then the third before realizing I just flew through the convergence! I turned back to the north to try to reconnect but finally bailed to the south after losing 1000’. I picked a field south of Pocomoke City and threw my streamer to get a good read on the wind. At the same time I spotted some flags at a school and found the wind to be coming from the SE! I landed in a small development and walked the glider to a house to tear down in the shade. Charlie also identified that the waypoint was incorrect and flew to the southwest out of Salisbury before landing near Fruitland. Charlie ended up with over 50 miles. My flight was just over 70 miles and 4hrs 12 minutes. Rich, Dave and Tom pulled up just as I finished packing up and we headed back north to pick up Charlie. Nice job Rich!!
Several lessons learned are worth noting: 1) once we identified that the area west of Salisbury wasn’t hot we should have selected Pocomoke City as the waypoint. This would have shortened the route, eliminated the concern about the controlled airspace at the Salisbury airport and set us up to head southwest down the peninsula. 2) I should have recognized the convergence clouds and realized that the lift was on the north side. Reviewing the flight on SeeYou, I actually gained over 300 feet (3500’ to 3850’) on the glide to the first cloud. I thought the lift would be better under the cloud so didn’t turn. Next time I’ll not get greedy and just keep thermaling like I had been the entire flight. All in all it was a sweet day, we learned some good lessons that will be put to use when we tackle the Campbell problem the next time.

[mcelrah]

Thanks for the write up. Congratulations to all on your flights! - Hugh

[John Simon]

Sweet flight Larry and all Cambell assault troops! I've had 2 runs at it this year and it's a tough nut. The convergence is the answer when you get far enough south. Last year you flew almost 100 miles by staying West.... maybe that is worth thinking about? From what I see, the convergence is often more to the east but we've not had much luck with that. Time to start exploring a bit more. Between all the pilots making a run this year, we have 4 major attempts with a total of 10 or more pilots and 60 or 70 +miles has been our best run. What do we need to do differently? You had a great flight last year, what is the difference?

Nice write up Larry.


John

[Dave Proctor]

One of the things I have noticed with convergence near the shore is that the lift is actually to the side of the clouds. I have flown due south climbing all the way, with the convergence clouds to my east, and about 1200-1500 feet below (maybe a 1:1 to the clouds). I think that if you are gliding towards clouds and you hit smooth lift, maybe just slow down and fly around a little. I think rather than thermal, try to explore the bounds of the lift.
My $0.02

Dave

[John Simon]

I*ll give you much more than 2 cents for your experience Dave. I'm thinking one cold Bud per gem. Could cost me a lot but worthwhile.. and I value my Buds!

See you Sunday.

[lbunner]

A couple more thoughts on what it is going to take. 1) We need to get on course earlier. Ideally we should be at the turn (where the peninsula begins to run southwest) by 3:30. This will allow us to take advantage of the convergence on the thin part of the peninsula and maximize the probability that the convergence will still be over ground rather than over the Chesapeake Bay. On this day, we left as early as we could. The conditions just didn't support leaving earlier as we weren't getting high enough. We need a day following a stronger cold front where we can get off at 12:00 2) I agree with Dave that the lift isn't necessarily directly under the convergence clouds especially if you are down low. I should have recognized that the clouds running parallel to the Atlantic coast about 10 miles inland were due to convergence. The lift along the convergence is caused by the sea breeze air colliding with the warmer air over the land. On this day the north winds weren't strong enough to overcome the sea breeze and as a result the moist air from the ocean migrated inland and marked the convergence by condensing into cumulus clouds. The interesting part is that the colder sea breeze undercuts the warm inland air such that the warm air is riding over the cooler air at an angle. I believe this is why I found no lift directly under the clouds even though I was still at 3500'. At my altitude the lift was further north of the clouds. As mentioned earlier I gained 300' on glide just north of the clouds. Looking at SeeYou again, the peak lift was 350 fpm! Next time I'll be more observant and take advantage of these conditions.

[John Simon]

One other thing I'd like to postulate. As the cold air moves in from the East or more often the SE, you'll have to take care not to descend into it. Larry and I did this a couple weeks ago. Once you're in that air it's all over. It's generally smooth and pleasant and you'll need to take care regarding your soon to occur landing as the winds will have likely shifted.

Because it's essentially a wedge of air moving inland from the E or SE, it's higher (taller) near the coast and lower inland. I've entered it as high as 2500' and as low as 300'. So, as you move further east the altitude at which you'll descend into this air is greater, which reduces your workable altitude band. This might mean it would be wise to bias your glide to the W or NW if you are getting low?

One other thing, I've noticed a certain texture or turbulence to the air as you near the boundary between the two masses. It will feel "different" than the nice thermals you've been in prior to reaching this boundary. It is generally more turbulent but not violent although it can be quite punchy. (Day one of this years Race and Rally had this just North of the swamp). It's small and unworkable thermals where before they were very coherent and gentle. You may be getting very weak lift or zero and not full circles. I wonder if this is not the point at which you should run NW? Running NW may or may not help but staying is likely approach time. Worth a try maybe?

John

[lbunner]

Yeah John, I agree with you. It is clear (now) that the conditions I was flying in under the clouds should have been a good indicator that I needed to fly back upwind to get back in the uplifting air. By the time I did recognize it, I did fly back upwind but not far enough to get back in the good stuff. Perhaps Pete L. would like to weigh in on this discussion.

[Dan T]

Very interesting discussion. I'd sure like to join you in your attempt.

Has anyone spoken with the Campbell pilots? How far north have they gotten? Perhaps they have figured out how to deal with that part of the country.

Dan