Maybe it'll be blown out, or maybe it'll be rained-out.... But d@mnit, I'm driving _somewhere_ tomorrow!
Planning on Woodstock at the moment, given the casts, ETA around 10:40 unless things radically change
by tomorrow morning. Give me a call if you want to rendezvous in the LZ, or for a conditions report.
MarkC
301-ATE-OHhhhhhhh-Sevn, 5I've for uno 4 (301-807-5414)
Well..... It looks to me like there might be a window of some hours without rain in northern VA, so I'm still thinking of giving it a try. ETA pushed back to around 11:30. Hey Dan, are you still game?
A fine day at Woodstock. Thanks to Mark for the gentle push on the telephone this morning!
Mark went first and I followed at around 2:40; Randy a bit later. Thanks to Dan T for crewing and running shuttle. Made the milk run up to reservoir in the company of three playful bald eagles. Flew for 1:52 landing because of rain.
And major thanks to Dan T for being willing to come out, even though I suspect he thought that the prospects for PG were about 0%. I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't had company, and then Daniel and Randy might not have given it a shot without some crazy pilots already on the road .... So three soaring flights thanks to Dan!
The drive out was a huge PITA; stuck on I-66W for about 40 minutes due to an accident that had all but one lane closed. So got there way later than planned.... Met up with Dan, we dropped his vehicle, than up top to find fairly strong conditions and cloudy skies. I hustled to set up, figuring that I would get to launch only to see the rain start. But not so! Conditions stayed reasonable, there were good launch cycles, and I was off with the help of Los Tres Amigos. Thanks guys!
Very smooth in the air. Hands-off flying, lots of diving and spiraling, buzzing the tower. Headed north, but returned because I found some raindrops. Then did so again after Daniel and Randy were in the air, and this time things stayed dry, so I tagged Signal Knob. My highest was maybe 1700' over and I was in the air for about 2:20. Believe it or not, there were thermals out there!
After watching a three-way dog-fight among bald eagles on the return trip from the Knob I started to feel raindrops, so I pulled VG and hightailed it back to the LZ. Landed just before Daniel, and we got our harnesses packed up and in the truck before it started raining in earnest. Very satisfying to have been able to fly on such an iffy day. Ya never know!
Congrats guys! I ran through the same traffic on 66 on my way to Virginia Tech. I was happy to see Randy's truck driving north on 81 to Woodstock. Glad to hear it paid off!
Matt
Matt Ingram
CHGPA President
P4 Observer
804.399.5155 mingram@vt.edu
(301-807-5414)