At the moment, I'm thinking it might be worth giving Highland a try on Sunday, though I guess it will depend on whether the easterly winds predicted for Sunday will stay fairly light. Maybe head out on Sat and camp overnight?
Any other ideas based on what you're seeing with the current 'casts?
MarkC
Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Re: Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
Or maybe High Rock on Sunday? The surface 'cast is now claiming NNNW@10, and sometimes the Rock can be pretty good on a North day....
Conditions for today still aren't tempting me anywhere very much... Sigh.
MarkC
Conditions for today still aren't tempting me anywhere very much... Sigh.
MarkC
Re: Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
Same here Mark. Doesn't look good enough to get me to move.
Re: Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
Highland was ok today (saturday). Got a little over an hour and 3300.
Re: Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
Good job Steve! Must admit that there was a lot more sun than most of the forecasts were predicting (grrrrr!). Glad that it worked out for you today.
Sunday: Hmmm.... The thermal forecast is supposedly better for High Rock than Highland, but OTOH, Highland is supposed to be sunnier. Looks pretty darn north for both sites. The 3k forecast looks pretty mellow. I suppose I could be talked into giving either site a try. Anyone else at least considering the Rock?
MarkC
Sunday: Hmmm.... The thermal forecast is supposedly better for High Rock than Highland, but OTOH, Highland is supposed to be sunnier. Looks pretty darn north for both sites. The 3k forecast looks pretty mellow. I suppose I could be talked into giving either site a try. Anyone else at least considering the Rock?
MarkC
Re: Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
NW@7 as of 8:53 at Hagerstown; got a breeze blowing in the window.... But we'd definitely need a few people who want to gamble on the Rock for it to be worth a go. If not, thinking Highland.
Re: Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
Sounds like HR to me. I'll be there around 12:30P. Bacil
Re: Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
I think I'll wander up that way too.... Maybe to fly, maybe just to hike and enjoy a nice day.
MarkC
MarkC
Re: Sat Jul28 and Sun Jul 29 : HG options?
Well.... Maybe I zigged when I shoulda zagged.
I heard that conditions at Highland were pretty marginal around 10am... And then I looked at the satellite loop, which appeared to be bringing in lots of clouds from the NE as that Low spun. So I decided to give High Rock a try.
Many thanks to Bacil for coming out : I don't think he was seriously thinking of flying, and was just there to help wire. Very much appreciated!!!
On arriving at 12:40, conditions were light, with occasional cycles coming in. I hung out, set up streamers, watched things for a while (Bacil was selling the sport to several spectators). And then there was a 10+ NW cycle straight-in, and it blew for a good 3 or 4 minutes. That was enough for me to pull the glider off the truck, and a good reminder that High Rock really *can* make it's own conditions, even with very N forecasts.
As I finished setting up, none other than Jimmy Long drove up. I haven't seen him in *years* ! He's hoping to get back into flying, and kindly offered to help me launch (bumping spectator Greg off my left wing; a good guy who really seemed interested in learning more about flying).
My launch was ok/fair (not many HR launches recently, probably should have had a bit more energy when I ran off), and I made a couple passes, initially below and then at launch level. But I couldn't pull it off : A north-cross day at High Rock can be unforgiving, and a couple of my passes were in the wrong-place/wrong-time. Adding to the frustration, in spite of great looking clouds, I couldn't seem to grab any of the bubbles that I encountered on the way to the LZ. Bummer! I suspect that if a handful of pilots had been there today, one or two would almost certainly have gotten up.( That's based on the conditions in the LZ after landing, and a look at the HGR winds after I flew. Unfortunately, HGR was reporting NE during the hour that I launched.) Tried tracking lift in a variety of directions, but never straight out into the valley. If I'd done so that might have made the difference, who knows?
Bottom Line: A sledder. Oh well.
Hiked back up (forgot the cell phone in the truck), and later found out that Bacil had tried to find the keys for my SUVie, and then went down to pick me up. Apologies for the disconnect Bacil! I was worried that the winds would go NE, and failed to coordinate things with you in my rush to get into the air, sigh.
Visited with Emma-Jane and Randy after driving down and packing up. They seem to be doing well, and it was fun to hear about some of the wild-and-crazy flights of the early days.
Heading back home, the Q's were towering, and the skies looked pretty darn good. Maybe Highland was the place to be after all?
MarkC
I heard that conditions at Highland were pretty marginal around 10am... And then I looked at the satellite loop, which appeared to be bringing in lots of clouds from the NE as that Low spun. So I decided to give High Rock a try.
Many thanks to Bacil for coming out : I don't think he was seriously thinking of flying, and was just there to help wire. Very much appreciated!!!
On arriving at 12:40, conditions were light, with occasional cycles coming in. I hung out, set up streamers, watched things for a while (Bacil was selling the sport to several spectators). And then there was a 10+ NW cycle straight-in, and it blew for a good 3 or 4 minutes. That was enough for me to pull the glider off the truck, and a good reminder that High Rock really *can* make it's own conditions, even with very N forecasts.
As I finished setting up, none other than Jimmy Long drove up. I haven't seen him in *years* ! He's hoping to get back into flying, and kindly offered to help me launch (bumping spectator Greg off my left wing; a good guy who really seemed interested in learning more about flying).
My launch was ok/fair (not many HR launches recently, probably should have had a bit more energy when I ran off), and I made a couple passes, initially below and then at launch level. But I couldn't pull it off : A north-cross day at High Rock can be unforgiving, and a couple of my passes were in the wrong-place/wrong-time. Adding to the frustration, in spite of great looking clouds, I couldn't seem to grab any of the bubbles that I encountered on the way to the LZ. Bummer! I suspect that if a handful of pilots had been there today, one or two would almost certainly have gotten up.( That's based on the conditions in the LZ after landing, and a look at the HGR winds after I flew. Unfortunately, HGR was reporting NE during the hour that I launched.) Tried tracking lift in a variety of directions, but never straight out into the valley. If I'd done so that might have made the difference, who knows?
Bottom Line: A sledder. Oh well.
Hiked back up (forgot the cell phone in the truck), and later found out that Bacil had tried to find the keys for my SUVie, and then went down to pick me up. Apologies for the disconnect Bacil! I was worried that the winds would go NE, and failed to coordinate things with you in my rush to get into the air, sigh.
Visited with Emma-Jane and Randy after driving down and packing up. They seem to be doing well, and it was fun to hear about some of the wild-and-crazy flights of the early days.
Heading back home, the Q's were towering, and the skies looked pretty darn good. Maybe Highland was the place to be after all?
MarkC