Pulpit Sunday 2/20

[XCanytime]

Looks like a nice day is shaping up after a windy post frontal day on Saturday. Still a bit cool in the mid 40s, but should be easily ridge soarable most if not all day. If the outlook holds, I'll be there early. Bacil

[g.sessa]

I'm definitely interested in joining if the forecast holds...

[Danny Brotto]

Another super windy, NW day on Saturday (gusts to 45!) but the HGR forecast is showing Sunday to be a light SSW.

Let us know how it goes...

I do like that the temperatures are becoming tolerable!

Danny Brotto

[XCanytime]

Looks like there will be plenty of leftover NW winds for the majority of the day Sunday at the Pulpit after the big blow on Saturday. Come on out and celebrate the homecoming of Larry Bunner. There may be a migration of some Hyner club members to the Pulpit as well since Elizabethville's access is probably still dicey, since a good bit of the access road is on the north facing side of the mountain. I'll be there early. Bacil

[cthornberger]

I'll be there as well! What type of velocity are you seeing; ~9mph? I hope to pull Rich Hays out there for a first flight if its suitable for H2.
Anyone thinkin of camping out on Saturday /Sunday? I am. Some celebration in order?
In any case, I'll be up there for wire-assistance and morale boosting.
..Unless things look like High Rock.
-Chris H.

[pch]

Looks like a nice day is shaping up after a windy post frontal day on Saturday. Still a bit cool in the mid 40s, but should be easily ridge soarable most if not all day. If the outlook holds, I'll be there early. Bacil

Hey Bacil, you have an ETA yet? Looks like only morning flights to me.
Peter Humes

[XCanytime]

ETA 8A. Hopefully flying by 9A. Bacil

[pch]

Thanks Bacil. Not sure yet if I'll be there tomorrow. At this point the forcast is looking pretty good. Waiting till morning to decide.
Peter Humes

[XCanytime]

Got to the Pulpit at 8:10A. Crankin' in the setup area (north cross at times out front) and 12 to 18 MPH on the pad. Put in the spinner windsocks at the bottom of the pad, set up quickly, and waited for Daniel to arrive. He got to launch just before 9A, and helped me take off from the pad at 9A. Had a good launch and flew to the NW into a nice up cycle and gained 100'. Spent the next 20 minutes orbiting between the power lines and just south of launch, maintaining and gaining up to 150' over launch in a pronounced north cross. Fun flight. Flew over the ramps a few times yahooing at Daniel. Landed after 25 minutes on purpose to help him launch. A nice breeze from the north made the landing in the main field low stress and easy. BTW the treeline closest to the road at the south end of the main field has been cut down. Daniel came and got me just before 10A. Back at launch it was still happening, with the sounds of the wind in the trees bordering the setup area. Greg Sessa had arrived previous and set up his brand new U2 160. Greg and I assisted Daniel in his good takeoff from the pad. He headed to the south in some bubbles of lift, and had a nice flight of 10 minutes or more before succumbing to the pull of gravity and having a good landing in the main field to the north. Now it was Greg's turn for the maiden flight on his new U2. Daniel and I assisted Greg in taking off from the new ramp, as the conditions had died to nil by this time (11:45A). He had a stellar takeoff in light puffs of wind, made the main field, and had a nice approach and landing. Congratulations Greg. As Daniel drove Greg's vehicle down to get him, and I followed, we found 7th street closed a mile north of the field. We went out to 522 and went south a few miles before connecting up with Crossroads road to link us back up with 7th street just below the main field. Along the way I saw folks eyeballing the sky for some reason. I looked up, and a helicopter was orbiting an area just across the street from the main field. As we got closer to 7th Street, we saw cop cars parked along the side of the road and officers searching the woods. A truck was coming the other way and I flagged him down and asked what was going on. He said the cops had his cousin at gunpoint and shots were fired, and that the cops were serious since they had AR-15s searching for his cousin. We quickly headed to the 7th Street intersection. It was closed there, and some fire and rescue guys were manning the checkpoint. We let them know that a pilot was in the field with his equipment. I called Greg and told him he'd have to hike his equipment out to the south where we were. Daniel was able to assist when Greg was spotted at the top of the rise in the LZ. Greg told us that while he was breaking down he noticed lots of cop cars at a house across the street, and he overheard "Put that away or you will be dealt with accordingly". Then 3 shots rang out. Then the fugitive fled into the local woods. Glad he didn't decide to head east . We then departed the scene, me heading south to I-70 and Greg running Daniel back to the top for his car and glider combo. The early bird flight was well worth it. . Pics follow. Bacil

[XCanytime]

View of the launch pad.

Heading out to land.

Looking north along 7th Street.

[XCanytime]

Police chopper casing the area.

The scene at the south end of the LZ.

Greg and Daniel hauling the equipment away from the battle zone.

Police chopper skimming the treetops.

[A0213]

WOW! What a day!!!!

Sounds like you all had some nice fights... must have felt good to fly in warmer weather conditions! I enjoyed looking at the photos- and the lack of snow on the ground... awesome

That is so crazy about that guy... thankfully he didn't run into the LZ... that would have made for an interesting landing approach!!!

[XCanytime]

At 9A it was around 30 degrees on launch. 'Twas not warm by any means. But every day is getting 2 to 3 minutes longer, and it will be warmer SOON . Bacil

[sailin]

Way to go guys, sweet you got some flights in!!I wish I could have been there with you. Congrats to Greg on the maiden U2 flight! Bacil that is a cool shot of the launch area...neat perspective.
That's crazy about the police activity!!! Never know when you'll run into to some serious drama........

Jon

[uplandann]

I didn't know there were two (or is the one in the middle three) ramps at launch...cool. Do they face in slightly different directions?
Glad you got some pics to record the day. I think I would have been a little freaked out hearing shots! I hope no one was hurt...

Ann

[XCanytime]

The "new" ramp (far left in the picture) faces more westerly. The "old" ramp (far right in the picture) faces about 10 degrees more northerly than the other ramp. The pad in the middle is a nice graded slope below the ramps. The pad is usually used in situations where higher winds make it more difficult to launch from the ramps. When things get pretty light, like yesterday for Greg's flight, the ramps are usually used because of the increased clearance from the slope.
Bacil

[uplandann]

I think it could make a good addition to the site guide...

Ann

[Ward Odenwald]

A bit of Pulpit history - If memory serves me right, the “new” ramp as mentioned above (the north ramp) is actually a rebuilt, enlarged original “old” ramp. Back in the day (circa late 70s - when Seagulls ruled the sky) we flew from the north ramp which was about the same size as the “old” or new ramp (the south ramp). The south ramp was built in the 80s to accommodate dueling competition pilots.

Ward

[g.sessa]

I guess I am a bit late with this posting, but better late than never…right? Bacil summed up the day’s activities very well! I arrived at launch to find Daniel just finishing setting up and Bacil already in the air. The early launch definitely paid off for Bacil who ended up with the longest flight of the day. Daniel had a nice launch into decent conditions, and a good flight. After we picked up Daniel from the LZ, I prepared to launch. Although conditions by this point had backed off significantly, I still prepared myself for the inaugural flight in my new U2. I opted to use the new ramp, and launched into light winds. I turned toward the primary, and found no lift, realizing the flight would turn out to be nothing more than a nice sled ride. It did, however, give me some time to get a feel for the inputs and the glider response (which is much different from the Falcon..as one would expect). I pulled in over the primary and prepared to land. Knowing the glider would have a lot more energy to bleed off as compared to the Falcon, I started to turn toward the far south side of the primary, giving myself plenty of room to land and avoiding the downhill sections of the field. It became evident as I prepared to land that there is no down button like flying in the Flacon…I pulled in on the bar during the downwind section and noticed I was flying faster, and not sinking. I turned out quickly just to loose some altitude then headed back toward the field. I used a bit of a slipping turn to loose altitude as I headed in on final. I was just a bit late on the flare but was able to land on my feet with a few quick steps. Overall I would say it was a good first flight on the new glider! Video attached.

As stoked as I was for landing the first flight in my U2, the excitement for the day happened after landing, as I was certainly not prepared for the “war zone” I had just entered. After landing in the back section of the LZ, I walked the glider over to the car loading area. I then noticed a swarm cop cars at the house just north of the LZ, past the tree line, on the opposite side of the road. I did not really pay much attention to the house until I heard an officer yell on the loudspeaker “Put that down or you WILL be dealt with!”. Shortly after, I noticed several cars start to scramble around the area. Meanwhile, I just continued packing up my glider. I heard gun shots, but to be honest, I just thought it may have been hunters in the nearby area. Then I heard rumbling and saw the chopper heading my way from behind the mountains. When it started circling overhead, I knew something was wrong. None the less, I just continued to pack up my stuff hoping not to get caught up in the action. I then received a call from Bacil telling me to gather my stuff and to start walking toward the house south of the LZ. He explained that there was a fugitive on the loose and the cops had the area locked down! This is when I learned of the exchanging gun fire I heard earlier. I of course started moving as quick as I could! By the time we got packed up and prepared to leave, it appeared that they must have had the guy in custody. The chopper left and the cops started to mobilize. I’m just glad the guy decided not to run to the primary, gun in hand!

Thanks again Daniel and Bacil for the help on launch, and for your help getting me out of the war zone!

[jyoder111]

nice one, greg!

[RichH]

Very nicely done!! nice choice in music too..enjoyed it!!

[sailin]

Way to go Greg on the maiden U2 flight!!! Sweet video!

Jon

[bustedwing2]

Domestic dispute,killed his former girlfriend and then himself,those were the shots you heard. RichB

[DanTuck]

Nice pics Bacil. That's a great shot of the ramps.

And congrats on the new bird, Greg! She looks great!
Nice landing as well, it took me a few times to get the flare timing right also. I think the U2's flare window comes just a bit sooner than a Falcon's. You really have to feel trim on the U2 and since the bar pressure at any speed is so much lighter than a Falcon, it can be difficult to detect the difference between trim and almost trim. But once you lighten your grip enough to really feel trim, the flare window is a mile wide. I honestly think it's easier to land than a Falcon. Jim Rooney's video finally drilled that one into my head. Thanks again, Jim. And to be clear, Jim is not advising letting go of the downtubes before you flare, he's just illustrating the point that trim (or maybe a second after) is the exact moment to flare. Worked for me... I like the saying - Airspeed tells you when to flare, ground speed tells you how hard to flare. Anyway, you land very well, I'm sure you'll start nailing it faster than I did. And if it might help, here's a write-up I did when I first went from my Falcon to my U2. Again, congrats. I know she'll bring you much joy and get you very high.

[g.sessa]

Thanks for the advice Dan (and Jim)! Your insight is very helpful, and that was an excellent write up in the link. Hope all is well out in Cali!