HR Fly-in Weekend: Nov 20-21

[heaviek]

Ditto. Heading bt smithsburg. It has been breezy in the fredrick watershed but seems like under 15
Kev

[Matthew]

Soarable all day long at High Rock! We went to Smithsburg first and I did a few flights in my HG followed by a flight in Karen's PG-- Karen did a couple of flights in her PG. Hugh was there playing with his new PG and helping Steve C. out with tandems-- Hugh as the passenger this time. Kevin C. also flew and Richard Hays had 7 students.... one of the best days at Smithsburg I can remember-- straight in 5-10 all day.

Got to HR about 2:30-- lots of gliders in the air-- Pete S., Steve K., Kevin Carter, more-- I helped launch Greg S. and Matt Wilkens. David Churchill and Karen followed-- then Hugh, taking Ann Marie for a tandem. I launched last at 4pm for a 45 minute 1100 over flight.

Great party to end the evening with a cookout over the campfire. Mark. C, Dan Tuck and Carlos showed up for the party after flying Woodstock.

Big thanks to Daniel and Danny for wire crew.

Matthew

[DanTuck]

When we first got to WS, we were thinking we made a big mistake. It was totally cross and light but the forecast had it swinging towards the NW as the day went on. Standing in the slot I saw a few launchable cycles and we decided to go ahead and set up. Before long the cycles got better and straighter and Carlos convinced himself to give it a shot. He was off with a good launch and up he went. Chuck was up next amd he did the same. Mark and I flipped a bottlecap and I lost so after we got my glider positioned, Mark was up and he had a nice launch as well. I got on launch and by then cycles were more straight than cross and I didn't have to wait long for a nice one. I had a good launch and easily got above the ridge. There were lots of raptors out there with us and I topped out at 1,900' over. Others got higher than that. The air was a little bumpy but mostly pretty smooth and lift was everywhere. We all landed after a little more than an hour so we could get up to HR. Ended up getting there at dark thirty and enjoyed the party under a bright full moon. Great day!

[chuckok]

Fantastic day at Woodstock! I did make a tactical error and made a call to my wife on the way up I 81 ... put the kibosh on my joining the High Rock festivities in the evening.

I arrived at Woodstock launch about 11 to find Mark debating if the day would turn on. It was cross and light. Carlos and Dan arrived, and with one light cycle coming in straight ... Dan took off to load in. We all followed.

The day picked up, and the cycles were starting to look good ... Carlos stepped out to launch ... everything died off. 10 min or so later, there was just enough to have him yell CLEAR, and start his run. Up and out!

I was next ... Didn't need to sit at launch long before a nice straight cycle came in ... off and away! Had to do quite a bit of scratching on the ridge to get up, but eventually made it to 1K over, then caught a few thermals to turn in to ride up to 2,400' over, and an hour fifteen!

Thanks to all of the air pigs

[chuckok]

[Richard Hays]

Great day at Smithsburg...even with the late start for me. Not as crowded as I expected but that worked in my favor. Training went well and we flew till sunset. Chris Hornberger got 9 flights from the top in on my Falcon ( he left his at home )
Later; Leigh, Chris and I drove over to High Rock. Leigh had made a lasagna for Emma and the attending pilots. Definately need to work on getting some lighting for the pavillion. Community lantern maybe....suspended from the rafters? Hard to prep food in the dark. Anyway....lots of fun.....especially watching those funny lights in the sky. Must be swamp gas. Thanks to Tom Allen for supplying the fuel for the fire too. Always nice to have good wood. ( there's a joke in there somewhere....).

Richard and Leigh Hays

[uplandann]

Decided to go to Long Hill on Thurs. and Saturday. Got 14 flights total (150-220 ft up the hill; 8 on Thurs, 6 on Sat). Cleared a sticker bush at the top on Sat. and got four flights from the very top (220 ft.). Great training day. Sorry couldn't make the HR party. Nice Vid. Chuck. Looks like a good weekend for everybody.

Ann

[DanTuck]

Video from my flight at Woodstock -

[A0213]

I really enjoyed reading the accounts of the weekend and watching the videos that were posted. It sounds like you all had a nice time! I am sorry that I couldn't be there to join in on the festivities.

Hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend ahead!

-Amy

[brianvh]

Re the lights at the pavilion: I used to always bring my tiki torches. Put that on the assignment list for next time, you should be able to scare up at least half a dozen.

[dbodner]

I used to always bring my tiki torches

Last time we nearly burned down the pavillion with the tiki torches. Still, it was worth the entertainment value.

I'm really sorry I missed the fly-in. How many people did we get?

[chuckok]

Video from my flight at Woodstock -

Nice video Dan; and especially the music track! Made my ol' Falcon look like a buoy ... but, it was still one hell of a day.

Great bird shots too!

[deveil]

and that approach and landing could be stashed somewhere and used as an introduction of sorts and a primer for anyone new to the site.

gary

[deveil]

yeah, i know, i seem to always be trying to make work for someone.

[deveil]

maybe just put them in a separate forum of their own(?)
yeah, i know, i seem to always be trying to make work for someone.

[hang_pilot]

Richard and Leigh - sorry about the the lighting situation, that was on me. I signed up to bring and brought my lantern...with no mantles. Thanks for contributing the lasagna to the cause. Mark and I dropped off the rest of the leftovers with EJ Sunday morning and she seemed pleased.

David - around 20 people in attendance.

~Daniel

[Matthew]

There shoulda been a lot more people there considering that the good flying weather had been predicted the previous weekend.


Matthew

[brianvh]

"and that approach and landing could be stashed somewhere and used as an introduction of sorts and a primer for anyone new to the site."

I dunno, seemed more like a U-turn than a base. Most people keep the center of the glider just inside the treeline on downwind. Not criticizing Dan, but it wasn't the classic approach to show newbies.

[deveil]

yeah, it appears that his helmet might have been a bit askew, as well.

gary

[markc]

There shoulda been a lot more people there considering that the good flying weather had been predicted the previous weekend.

I have both attended, and helped organize, a few Fly-Ins that have had turnouts well in excess of 50+
(including non-pilots). In my opinion, there are several requirements for getting numbers like that:

a) A motivated organizer
b) Selection of the Fly-In date WELL IN ADVANCE of the event (eight months, minimum! preferably 12)
c) Selection of an alternate weekend, WELL IN ADVANCE of the event
d) A concerted effort to publicize the event: Phone calls. Emails. Forum posts.

Oh, and for (d), did I mention WELL IN ADVANCE ?

It's just a fact that people's lives are busier than they used to be. The only way to get a high level of
participation is to provide a lot of lead-time, so that weekends can be reserved on people's calendars,
arrangements made for travel and family, stuff cleared at work, etc.

It also helps if there is a cause that the Fly-In supports: Donations for the McConnellsburg Rescue Squad,
or a donation to EJ and her family. I'm not referring to the customary stuff, but something above and
beyond. People like to feel that they are contributing something, which can often encourage turnout
even if the flying prospects aren't all that great.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a slam against those who helped make the High Rock Fly-In possible this year.
Heck, I didn't do a damn thing, shame on me!

But my point is that large turnouts don't happen by magic, they require advance planning and some effort.
And you know what? I think we could EASILY get those turnouts next year, esp. given that a lot of new pilots
have come up through the ranks recently.

Maybe one of them would like to take the lead, and make 2011 a truly memorable year for our local Fly-Ins?

MarkC

[Danny Brotto]

Baude Litt snapped this photo from his LS-8 of hang gliders soaring at the end of the day on the HR ridge. Link below. Look like a couple of Falcons.

Danny Brotto

http://home.comcast.net/~dbrotto/LBLandHG.jpg

[deveil]

imagine, having a pair of hang gliders right in front of him, mere feet in front of his wing. must of been soooooooo cool!

gary

hey, i couldn't help myself, it was right there for the taking !

[deveil]

editor's note: that wAs danny's joke of course (eagles?…falcons?)
i just thought i'd provide text for the yuk yuk impaired. (yuk, yuk)

gary

[mcelrah]

I, for one, was pretty pleased with the turnout - after all, it's not the middle of summer anymore! The best (Richard and Leigh cooking up a storm for everybody and exhausting themselves in the process) is the enemy of good enough (an impromptu pot-luck where at least we were able to fly at High Rock itself). Now, one point of the fly-in is to provide our generous hosts with some much-needed income, so I hope everyone made their way up to Emma Jane's, signed her book and left cash on the counter! If not, make a mental note and be sure to leave extra next time. Also, I have made 25 more copies of the waiver since EJ was running out of blanks. All the new pilots getting their first High Rock flights, please make sure you have a waiver on file with Emma Jane. It's the right thing to do to make sure we fulfill our agreement with the Carbaugh family, who have made so many good times for us possible.
- Hugh

[Matthew]

Also...

...you need your cliff launch sign off to fly High Rock-- even if you are a H3. So if you have a H3 and you don't have your clif launch sign off, you still need an Observer to launch there until you get your CL sign off. You should also work towards your assisted windy cliff launch sign off to fly High Rock in stronger winds as nearly every flight there is an assisted windy cliff launch (AWCL).

Matthew