High Rock History

[Spark]

The following was captured from the old list, to ensure that it stays around, in case the old list gets clobbered. Thanks to Mike Balk for transcribing it.

Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 17:14:07 -0400
Author: "Mike Balk" <mbalk@erols.com>
Subject: chga High Rock History

Body: {I originally sent this out 2 years ago, but Joe asked for information, so I'm sending it again.}

Going through some old issues of Skyline, I found an article by Vic Powell
and the first flights from High Rock. Thought I would share some of it with
you, since even though I've been flying 9 years, I didn't know most of this:

November 1975 Skyline
Evans Fleming had been saying for several months he recalled a mountain
cliff area in Maryland that might be good for hang gliding. But it had been
years since he had seen the site so he wanted to check it out. . . . Early
one weekend in September foul weather made flying impossible. . . The
weather improved somewhat Sunday morning, not enough to fly but good enough
to look.

Evans, Lindsay Fleming, and I [Vic Powell] arrived at High Rock and walked
the paved road to the top. A gate has been placed across the road to keep
unauthorized vehicles out, but hikers are welcome. The road is a gentle
climb and is nearly one mile to the cliff.

The bare rock has a series of square pillars that at one time served as a
foundation for a three story building. The structure has long since been
removed, and the only remaining evidence is the four-foot square stone
piers. The cliff rock slopes down and back from the edge, and the rear
piers are therefore taller than those at the edge. An eight-foot gap
separates the front and rear structures.

The piers are wide enough to allow three steps at takeoff. The cliff is 80
feet high, and the landing area is 1000 feet below in a wide valley. The
upwind mountains are 20 miles away. The closest cleared area is 3.8:1.
Definitely flyable.

After checking the takeoff area we decided to scrutinize the landing spots.
We had noticed power poles and wanted to be sure to locate all obstacles.
Taking what we thought was the correct dirt road marked on the topographic
map, we soon discovered the road quickly deteriorated and found ourselves on
a very rocky, click, seldom used, lost-in-the-sticks, steep path that just
barely accommodated Evans' Volvo. . . .

We stopped at a red-roofed house in the first clearing available to flyers
and told the people we were hang glider enthusiasts and asked if we could
land in their field.

"Hey George, come out here and listen to this," the man said. Humm, maybe
we hadn't reached civilization yet. We explained our purpose; that we
proposed to leap from the mountain cliff and fly down to the valley, and
perhaps land in their field if it was alright. They listened and didn't say
much., The lady of the house appeared in the doorway smiling and said yes,
it would be just fine, but just don't hit the house. It may have been a
matriarchal society because the men then nodded their heads in agreement.
[This kind of sounds like Emma Jane, does anyone know if they used to have a
red roof?]
. . .
[on their way to check out another field] Getting directions to the owner's
house we pulled into the paved driveway to the greeting of a barking dog.
The owner came out and Evans went through his routine one more time. . . The
owner listened and told us the history of the mountain and the three story
wooden building built by the railroad when it ran excursions from Baltimore.
At one time the cliff had been a big tourist attraction. . . .

The next weekend was preceded by a huge cold front that swept the region
Friday afternoon and was offshore by Saturday morning. The sky was clear
with NW winds forecast at 10 - 20 mph. As it turned out they were 10 at the
lower end, but later during the day gusted up to 45. We arrived early in
the AM and carried our kites to the top.

Jerry Lanham set up his Chandelle 17' and before the winds got too high ran
the three steps and made a beautiful takeoff. He maintained constant
altitude well out from the mountain and then began a descent down the
invisible slope of air. About halfway down he hit an area of down air which
cost him much altitude. In fact it looked as if he might make a tree
landing. But he squeaked across the tree line, and approaching a row of
small trees, hit one with his left wing tip which spun him into a briar
patch. He couldn't move without ouching himself. Other than scratches, no
damage. . . .

Returning to the top the wind was hitting 45 in a bright blue sky. The
mountains across the valley were clearly in view. It was too nice to leave,
and as it was early afternoon we decided to wait and see if the winds would
die later.

To kill time we built a ramp connecting the cliff and rear piers which would
allow eight to ten steps for a running takeoff. It was constructed of
one-million pound boulders which we carried at least 100 miles from the
mountain to the cliff site. Some were large enough that five of us were
needed to carry it.

There is something extremely satisfying about building an object out of
stone. It touches hidden basic drives, fulfilling an instinctive urge. I
found myself smiling from deep within as we spent the afternoon giving
ourselves hernias. On placing the first stone it looked like an impossible
job, but as each filled more space it became a challenge and soon the
capstone was in place.

The wind failed to drop to flying speed so we packed up and drove home,
Jerry being the first and only flyer that day. But now there is the High
Rock ramp, courtesy of the muscles supplied by CHGA members. It was a great
site when it was found, but now it is pure fantastique.

There is a picture of Jack Young running off the piling (where we currently
have our wind streamers). A picture of a dirt bike and trailer to carry the
gliders up the road (cost of 50 cents). Gliders weighed all of 40 pounds
back then didn't they?

I noticed also that in the old Skylines, there are a lot of ads and
pictures. They are also 20 pages! (We currently have 8 pages, and very few
photos and ads.)

-Mike Balk
Talisman Enterprises, Inc.
(703) 354-6882
http://www.TalismanEnterprises.net

[Spark]

The following 'First High Rock Flight" story was provided by Richard Hays

"I began flying with Jerry Lanham and Ron Higgs of Sail Flight Inc.
located in Finksburg, Md. in 1976. My lessons were almost always at Oregon Ridge, with a jaunt to Lineboro now and then or to Stine hill. I was flying a homebuilt, cut keel standard with a all mylar/plastic sail called a 19/15 which meant the leading edge was 19' long and the keel was 15 feet long. The glider sported one deflexor per side and no battens. She was my first true love.

I was getting pretty good at my training hill stuff, and was feeling
pretty full of myself until Ron and Jerry and Tim Rice took me up to see High Rock for the first time. I remember standing on a rickity wooden ramp pilots used to launch from which was about 4 feet wide and about 15 feet long, complete with a hole in the middle of it. It was spectacular! But I also remember thinking: "no way....Oregon Ridge is just fine for me right now".

Several months later....I was taken back to High Rock for my first
flight. I was terrified. But like a moth drawn to a flame, I just had to do it.

I couldn't use my "plastic" sail homebuilt, so I borrowed Ron Higgs'
18/15 homebuilt that Jerry had manufactured. It had one of those "fancy"
dacron sails. Although the wing was a bit on the small side for me, they said it was ok to fly.

I remember standing on that little ramp, preparing to run off. Jerry
and Ron got really serious looks on their faces and cleared me for launch.
I remember running...and hearing my feet pound the wood underneath them, but I was in a tunnel vision mode and honestly don't remember much until I got out to about the Rail Road tracks...halfway to the LZ.

I flew over Emma and Harry's house and made the field with about 50' to
spare. I pulled in even more and dove into the field and....landed softly.

I was shaking with excitement! Rod Bynaker, a local High Rock hot shot
pilot, sauntered over and told me I was flying too fast. Boy! What a kill-joy!! But....in fact I had been. Eye witnesse's later confirmed contrails coming from my tips as I sped away from launch and zoommed into the LZ. So much for technique.

I ended the day with the usual stop in with Emma. What a doll she is!
She was as excited for me as I was for me! And that.....was my first
flight from High Rock. And my life was forever changed by the experience.

Richard Hays
USHGA Member 22764
Advanced Instructor/Examiner
Pres. Maryland School of Hanggliding, Inc.
http://www.mshg.com"

[Spark]

The following 'First High Rock Flight" story was provided by Bill Scott

"My first High Rock flight was October 6, 1984 in a Pro Air Dawn. I got 10 minutes.

No great story to go along with it.

Bill Scott

Salt Lake City

[Spark]

The following 'First High Rock Flight" story was provided by Doug Wakefield:

"My first flight at High Rock was on March 18, 1995, when I was a Hang II
flying a 10 meter Pulse without a vario. It was my 8th high flight, and the
first time I ever got above launch. My log book says it was "turbulent,
squirrelly and rowdy" - which probably means there was plenty of good lift
<grin>. I got 20 minutes, and an introduction to a unique site which has
provided many exceptional days and outstanding flights. Say Hi to Emma Jane for me!

Doug Wakefield
Burnaby (Vancouver)
British Columbia
Canada

"

[markc]

Continuing with the HRH (High Rock History) theme....

A friend of mine happened across a circa-1910 postcard
featuring the observation tower that used to stand
at launch. He scanned it for us, and I've just uploaded
the images:

http://chgpa.org/PhotoGallery/hrock.p_card.1.large.jpg

http://chgpa.org/PhotoGallery/hrock.p_card.2.large.jpg

Pretty cool huh?

--mark c.

[Scott]

That's a great card! I've actually seen photos of the tower, as well as the surrounding area (Pen Mar) in a picture book of Hagerstown history I found at the Borders Books in Hagerstown. Can't remember the name of the book, but I'll see if I can track it down...

Scott

[brianvh]

It's all in the exhibit at Pen Mar park just down the road from High Rock.
I'm surprised at how few people have stopped by there.

Brian Vant-Hull
301-646-1149

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005, Scott wrote:

>
> That's a great card! I've actually seen photos of the tower, as well as the surrounding area (Pen Mar) in a picture book of Hagerstown history I found at the Borders Books in Hagerstown. Can't remember the name of the book, but I'll see if I can track it down...
>
> Scott
>

[Richard Hays]

There is also a book about Pen-Mar and I think they ( might ) sell copies
of it down in the Park.
Lots' of great pics of launch !!

Rich



>From: "markc" <markc@chgpa.org>
>Reply-To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
>To: hg_forum@chgpa.org
>Subject: High Rock History
>Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 01:04:42 -0400
>
>Continuing with the HRH (High Rock History) theme....
>
>A friend of mine happened across a circa-1910 postcard
>featuring the observation tower that used to stand
>at launch. He scanned it for us, and I've just uploaded
>the images:
>
>
>
>
>
>Pretty cool huh?
>
>--mark c.

[mcelrah]

Sallie found a picture of the observation tower and the big Victorian
resort hotel that used to be up there - at the library down in the
old train station in Sabillasville.

http://fclspa.org/brs/postcards/web_ima ... 651_29.jpg

Also, there's apparently a nudist camp at Pen Mar (viewable from the
air?) - Hugh


On 18 Aug 2005, at 01:04, markc wrote:

>
> Continuing with the HRH (High Rock History) theme....
>
> A friend of mine happened across a circa-1910 postcard
> featuring the observation tower that used to stand
> at launch. He scanned it for us, and I've just uploaded
> the images:
>
>
>
>
>
> Pretty cool huh?
>
> --mark c.
>