Hello,
Taking a family trip to Highland, Saturday, August 30. Primary for wife and our kids to explore the airport and it's surroundings. Will be bringing bikes, fishing poles and hang glider and will fly but not attempting any XC flying. Planning to arrive at noon.
Knut
Highland, Saturday, August 30
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Re: Highland, Saturday, August 30
See you there!
Tim Bowen
Finksburg, MD
four-four-three 821 five-0-one-5
MHGA Treasurer
Finksburg, MD
four-four-three 821 five-0-one-5
MHGA Treasurer
Re: Highland, Saturday, August 30
If anyone is willing to host an aspiring photographer, who wants to photograph hang gliders, please let me know.
krista
krista
Re: Highland, Saturday, August 30
HI Krista,
What do you mean by host????
We'd be happy to help out someone that wants to join us on a hang gliding day.
Matthew
What do you mean by host????
We'd be happy to help out someone that wants to join us on a hang gliding day.
Matthew
Re: Highland, Saturday, August 30
...a mediocre day at Highland. Strong SE winds on the ground made for exceptionally rowdy tows by mid-day.... when we arrived! Charlie and a few others had already done a bunch of tows by the time we got there. No one was getting up. I took my first roller coaster ride up at around 2:30 and found a few bubbles that were quickly taking me to the North. On the return trip to the LZ I found nothing but sink for an 18 minute flight. I went up again for my most rowdy tow ever and had little better luck... climbing back up to 2500 a couple of times and catching one at 300 that took me to 500. It was drifting fast with a glacially slow climb. So I bailed to make sure I could land at the airport after a half hour. Greg Sessa also got up for a bit around then and also found bupkis when coming back to the field.
Third times a charm I hoped. Jim M. and John Simon were finding a little bit of lift. I launched and followed the bucking bronco tug into the sky. Then the tug just plummeted! I thought about releasing and I could see the Jim Rooney was hard at work keeping the tug going. It seemed like forever, but was barely seconds, and Jim got the tug to climb again. Then it bounced like a leaf in the wind. I hung on for what I expected to be severe rotor... and nothing! We started to climb together again and BAM.. my weak link broke at about 400 feet. I landed and then discovered that it wasn't my weak link that broke-- it was the loop of nylon that acted as my connection point to the keel had broken. This has happened before. I have a piece of nylon parachute cord that is tied through one of the adjustment points for my control frame on my glider. There are sharp edges where the cord is attached. The line had cut itself on one of the sharp edges. I made a new connection point with some cord, and like an idiot, went for another tow.
Jim said that if things were as bad as last time that he would put the tug away. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad. The tow was a little skatey coming above the tree line-- and fine after that. Jim took me to 3000 feet! I found a few nice climbs, again with a strong drift, for a 32 minute flight.
Jim decided to shut down operations after my tow due to the threat of an approaching front. After I landed things slowly began to mellow out. About a half hour later with no signs of any strong winds, flight operations resumed. Bob took a tow in a Falcon followed by Karen and then Heather Simon, who took two flights-- all in late day buoyant air.
Karen and I finished the day with dinner at Rustico in Stevensville on their outside patio with live music and fantastic food and wine.
Yep--- another mediocre day of hang gliding.
Good thing we had some excitement the night before on the flying trapeze.
Matthew
Third times a charm I hoped. Jim M. and John Simon were finding a little bit of lift. I launched and followed the bucking bronco tug into the sky. Then the tug just plummeted! I thought about releasing and I could see the Jim Rooney was hard at work keeping the tug going. It seemed like forever, but was barely seconds, and Jim got the tug to climb again. Then it bounced like a leaf in the wind. I hung on for what I expected to be severe rotor... and nothing! We started to climb together again and BAM.. my weak link broke at about 400 feet. I landed and then discovered that it wasn't my weak link that broke-- it was the loop of nylon that acted as my connection point to the keel had broken. This has happened before. I have a piece of nylon parachute cord that is tied through one of the adjustment points for my control frame on my glider. There are sharp edges where the cord is attached. The line had cut itself on one of the sharp edges. I made a new connection point with some cord, and like an idiot, went for another tow.
Jim said that if things were as bad as last time that he would put the tug away. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad. The tow was a little skatey coming above the tree line-- and fine after that. Jim took me to 3000 feet! I found a few nice climbs, again with a strong drift, for a 32 minute flight.
Jim decided to shut down operations after my tow due to the threat of an approaching front. After I landed things slowly began to mellow out. About a half hour later with no signs of any strong winds, flight operations resumed. Bob took a tow in a Falcon followed by Karen and then Heather Simon, who took two flights-- all in late day buoyant air.
Karen and I finished the day with dinner at Rustico in Stevensville on their outside patio with live music and fantastic food and wine.
Yep--- another mediocre day of hang gliding.
Good thing we had some excitement the night before on the flying trapeze.
Matthew