Flying Tomorrow (7/30)? HR?

[A0213]

Just wanted to check in and see if High Rock would be a possibility for tomorrow? Specifically, how much north can HR take?

Thanks!!!

Amy

[mcgowantk]

High Rock looks pretty good to me for tomorrow. I am either heading there or to the Pulpit for an afternoon flight. High Rock takes WNW to NNW pretty well. You can soar in a west, but the LZ is more challenging.

Does anyone know the status of p-40?

Tom McGowan

[A0213]

Hey Tom,

Would you be willing to observe me tomorrow if weather holds out?

Thanks,
Amy

[Matthew]

No NOTAMs.

Have fun!!!! I'll be in a basement all day.

Matthew

[mcgowantk]

I will be available to observe. Call me in the morning.

Tom McGowan
703-501-9532

[CraginS]

I'm thinking I'll drive to HR first, stay there if crowd and winds arrive, otherwise move to Pulpit. I want to see the new steps, and also would love to fly HR and see Emma Jane, again.

Amy and others - have you met Emma Jane and signed her waiver? Need to do that before flying there. You will also see the LZ when at her house.

I'll probably leave home around 9:00 (it's 7:45 now)

Cragin Shelton
703-772-6660
Still an Observer, too.

[sailin]

I'm in for High Rock. Pulpit looks really north........weather station has it already blowing from due north in McConnelsburg and Hagerstown. Looks like there might be a sweet spot between 2pm-5pm at High Rock for it come back NNW enough to be flyable ?????

I can be there by 1pm

Jon

[markc]

I'll head that way, either to fly or just to help wire, depending on conditions.

MarkC

[carweill]

I plan to HR launch today.

I'll try to be there around noon

Carlos

[A0213]

I am with Jon...heading out now. Hope to get my first HR flight today!!!

[markc]

High Rock was working very well when I arrived around 11:00am. Straight-in, good velocity, and it stayed that way for several hours. The new steps are *really* nice, and we (Craig, Carlos, and myself) threw Glen off for the first flight of the day to show our appreciation of his work. I went next, and found some very spring-like conditions in the air: strong lift, but much of it blasting through, not really organized into solid thermals. Equally strong sink at times (1200+ fpm down). And in spite of conditions at launch, the winds were actually NNW, without the solid ridge lift one would expect looking at the streamers. Glen and I were both sinking out after I'd been in the air for 30 minutes or so, heading toward the LZ, when I found a great thermal that saved my flight. From that point on it was a lot easier, and I topped out at 3k above launch. Played in the valley over the LZ at 2k above for a while, burning altitude and just having fun. Put it down after about 1:40, then hiked up top, and helped wire Jon, Amy, and Tom off. Then some much needed cold beers in the LZ.

Very fun day!

MarkC

[sailin]

First off want to say thank you to Tom M. for everything yesterday, including some good cliff launch technique talk. After we got Craigin and his glider back up to the top........ I got suited up and headed up the new steps (super nice steps by the way!!) to launch. The conditions were pretty light with no real ridge lift present. Glenn, MarkC, Carlos and Pete S had already flown and landed by the time I got up to the pad and I knew it was going to be "scratching" conditions for me.....which I am not that great at yet I had a nice strong launch and turned left heading for the rock pile and hopes of something lifting off of it.....NOPE. turned back around and headed back past launch looking for something else.....couldn't find anything taking me up. Did a couple passes and then resigned to my fate and headed out. Hit a bump a long the way but by the time I turned it seemed to have vanished Had a nice landing in the hot, dry, LZ. Fun day, fun flight (wish it was longer but still really enjoyed getting in the air). BIG TIME CONGRATULATIONS to Amy for a first High Rock flight!!!! Way to go!!!! Thanks again to Tom! Thanks to MarkC for the refreshing cold ones in the hot LZ....I owe ya.

Jon

[carweill]

Good conditions at High Rock. It was on and off, light and strong during my flight.
Early in the flight after working hard to stay on I was heading for the LZ, unzip and got ready to start the approach, the vario had something to say about it and took to over 3K eventually. After that a followed Pete most of the time and that worked well.
Lost almost to ridge level and saw Cragin getting on the cube, tried to stay out of launch. When I came back the glider was gone but didn’t see it in the air, thought he backed off the cube. A while later a saw the glider off the rock, headed to the LZ to land. Something was kicking off decided to ride it. After that I went back again and landed, called on the phone got Mark he told me the good news that Cragin was fine and the glider on the top.

Carlos

[A0213]

Well, I have wanted to fly HR for a long time now... and finally got the opportunity to do so! BIG THANKS to Tom for observing me and offering SO MUCH insight into the site, and flying in general.

Had a lot of firsts yesterday... first time at HR, first cliff launch (closest thing I have had to a cliff launch is Lookout's radial ramp), and.... first time having an outlanding... (Uhh ohh... read on....!)

To keep this part short (and since others have already described that part)- we got there, walked the LZ, set up, launched a few pilots, helped Cragin out, launched Jon, then I launched (around 5:00ish).

I got up on the ramp and was a bit of a "ramp potato". I picked up about 3 times before I actually launched! Thank you to Tom, Mark, and Cragin for being so patient with me while I took time to "feel" the ramp... I think this contributed to my great cycle-choice and launch. So, I launched (dang that was fun!!!) and went straight out to the LZ. The air was a little bumpy, but not too bad. The LZ is sweet... but really is a glide for my falcon with the north cross. So, when I arrived at the LZ, I didn't have much room to play around... I needed to have gone right into my approach pattern and land the glider. The guys were standing in the middle of the LZ- they were at a 45 degree angle, then a 40 degree angle, then a 35 degree angle...SHOOT! I am getting low, I am not where I thought I would be, I am not in the right orientation to start my downwind... PANIC set in. Next thing I know, I turn the glider into the field, pull in, and try to land. 0.00001 seconds after I did this, I realized I AM AN IDIOT...I JUST TURNED DOWNWIND... and I am pulled in as if I think I can put the falcon down before the trees. Well, I was flying fast, the trees were getting closer, and I was not loosing as much altitude as I wanted. So, my instincts kicked in (THANK GOODNESS... where were you earlier in the approach???!) and I turned my glider to the right- making it though that cutout on the tree line. So, next thing I know, I am zipping across that other field... with that particular crop... that sounds like "horn" and tastes good with butter and salt (I don't want to incriminate myself here). I remembered a conversation earlier in the day about landing in tall grass- that you are to pretend the top of the grass in the bottom of the ground, so flare accordingly. I thought about this as I was flying over, tried to flare, but those 10' horn hrops got me before I could flare, reduced the energy, and beaked my glider. I radioed right away to the guys that I was okay, and moments later my knights in sweaty armor arrived and helped me break the glider down and get the heck out of that field! No damage done to the glider, and I walked away with just a few scratches.

So... several thoughts:

1- First, I always think about 'what if's' when I walk the LZ or think about landing approaches... this time I didn't. While I was walking it, I was thinking, "this is so big, I've got this, no big deal... I will stage over there, start my downwind here, base there, final there... land before the cone...". If I had pre-planned/ had a quiet moment with myself to examine the OTHER options (what if the wind changes, what if I come in too low, what if there is another glider landing at the same time, etc.), then maybe I would not have been so panicked when I was presented with the situation I found myself in.

2- I got so stuck on what I had planned to be my DBF, that when I found myself in changing conditions, I panicked, rather than correct…causing me to make an error of judgment. In addition, I was pretty tired from the workweek and the day’s previous events, which may have been a contributing factor

3- As soon as I landed, I knew exactly what I should have done… One, maybe two S-turns at the end of the field and then burn it in- forget the D and B. My falcon would have easily been able to get down before the trees on the other end. Perhaps this is what frustrates me the most… I know what I could have/should have done… but I didn’t do it. And, it wasn’t but 3 weeks ago when I was spot landing on a towel at Highland… so I know I CAN do this… UGGHHH.

4- Our flying community is awesome. Really…. The support is unbelievable. Although this post is a little more light-hearted, I was pretty upset after the incident… any everyone had encouraging words to offer… even when I stood there repeating, “I am such an idiot… I can’t believe I did that… I hate landing!!!”. Carlos even told me that he would do everything he could to make landing fun for me again… so next time there may be clowns, balloons, and cotton candy in the LZ

5- I feel good that I made the right decision after the wrong, and I “flew the glider” all the way down to the ground.

So… once again I find myself posting about an event that I would have preferred NOT have happened. BUT, I am thankful that I am OK, that the glider is fine, that I have such a GREAT group of supportive pilots (including a very supportive boyfriend!), that I got to fly HR (and I want to fly it again…soon), and last but not least, that I got to meet Emma Jane (who told me she saw the funniest looking yellow and white deer prancing through the other field ).

[davidtheamazing1]

Congrats on your first HR flight! There's nothing quite like stepping off the rock and into the sky.

I have seen other folks decide to land in that field, for various reasons. Being aware of your situation and making a last minute decision to avoid what probably would have been a much worse landing is commendable. I had a similarly bad approach where I was coming in too high at the LZ and did a 180 to land the other way. It was pretty exciting because it was a flush cycle so I had 3 or 4 gliders behind me. One had just turned onto final as I landed facing him... another pilot to avoid the congestion and bailed into the field you landed in.