Wed (3/18/2015) @ Woodstock

[krryerson]

ETA at the Bridge field 12:00.
Knut

[theflyingdude]

Early reports from Woodstock indicated a PG pilot in the trees near launch. Weather.com shows northwesterly winds gusting into the low 20's at Woodstock. No indication of any injuries to the pilot in the trees.

As an update, I heard it was a good day at Woodstock and the early report of mild carnage was not an issue. Wish I had gone as it was blown out in Cumberland until the end of the day.

JR

[krryerson]

Great day at Woodstock. We all flew as long as we wanted. Good thermals and good ridge lift. To the best of my knowledge, all HG pilots had great flights and landings. Sure there will be more to come later.
Two PG: One flew to the Water tower on I-81. The other PG aborted his launch, tangled his wing into the tree on the right side. No drama in my opinion and to the best of my knowledge, he was never airborne. Knut

[dbodner]

Yep, it was a great day. I probably had one of the shorter flights at 1:10, and nudging past 2K over launch three times. I came down because my fingers were getting cold. Conditions were Spring-like, but not full-on Spring wildness.

And I think Knut had it right about the PG. No big deal.

[mcelrah]

I think I counted ten hang-gliders and two paragliders. Ward, Chris, Matt, Knut, Homer, Dave Bodner, Walt, John Middleton, Gary Smith, George Huffman, Thomas Moosdorf, Jesse. A great start to the spring season. We used the bridge field. The air was textured, with good lift all afternoon. - Hugh

[darbbb]

I got there early with Ward, who kindly gave me a site intro. Great day, great flights for seemingly everyone. I got 1:40 and came down because my hands were cold. Very sporty conditions, but lots of lift everywhere.

Brad

[darbbb]

Sorry for the multiple posts. Computer fart.

Brad

[Lostgriz]

Great to be back in the air. Fun spring day at Woodstock. Great to see so many gliders out. Topped it off with a killer Stromboli at the Fox's Den and some good post flight conversation with Roger.

Good Times!

Matt

[Roger]

I agree with all Matt said above. Great day at Woodstock. And thanks Matt for all your help and George for a ride back up. This was my first flight on Freedom and unfortunately it ended in a whack and a muddy nose cone.
I really liked the Glider (first flight) and blame the landing on myself flaring too aggressively in a crosswind. The right turn it has didn't help either.
4914' and 1:28 flt time.
I think George had the flight of the day, 3500' over and landed north of 81. He had no problem penetrating on his paraglider!

[wmelo]

wow...it was my best day at Woodstock.
It was a beautiful day, sunny, and not too cold.
David and I shared the ride and arrived by 2:30 at the bridge field. After assisting a few pilots, I took off on very mild conditions.
Like everybody, I landed at the bridge field after flying 1:30m and getting 2K above the LA several times.

Specially thanks to my wire crew: Jesse, John, and John M.
BTW, my day could be very bad if John M had not saw my harness was not bucked THANK YOU!!!!!

I am looking forward to flying again with this amazing group of people.
Cheers, Walt

[George]

What a great community of pilots we have and what an awesome flight I had! Just luck of the draw that I got off just before it went cross. There was lift everywhere! Landing just to the west of I-81 at the water tower was a real treat having fought my way up wind. I have some video to get up. I had a great flight but I am more determined than ever to get some hang gliding lessons this summer. Days like yesterday were made for them. I probably could have had a second flight as I arrived at launch just in time to be wire guy for Gary, the last hang glider to launch, but I was tired, and happy and it let me drive Hugh's car down.

See you in the air soon.

George

[jyoder111]

Great to get back in the air! Good to see everyone again. Lots of happy pilots. For me it was the first mountain flight on my new Falcon 4 and first mountain flight at all in about a year!

Got to christen my new glider with some nice mud on the leading edge from the bridge field due to a wandering gust on landing. Should have ran it out or held the flare. Now at least I don't need to worry about keeping the glider pristine.

Jesse

[Ward Odenwald]

It felt really good to be in 2015 air for the first time! My flight to the north end of Massanutten and back lasted just short of 2hrs with its highest climb to 5,455 ft MSL (according to my “trusty” FlyTec set at 1,659 ft MSL before takeoff). All significant climbs were in strong blue Spring-like thermals complete with sharp boundaries that triggered wire slaps and several “over the falls” zero G experiences. Except for the two that allowed me to rise above 5K, most thermals (that I struggled to stay in) transitioned into “down-right” violent/turbulent events at or near 4,500 to 4,800 MSL. The two that got me above 5K were found just south of the north end reservoir, both coming and going. No wave activity detected. Here are three sets of photos highlighting its beginning, north end of the ridge and landing.

Ward

[Ward Odenwald]

Next set of five.

[Ward Odenwald]

Last set of pics.

[George]

https://vimeo.com/122813501

A couple of highlights.

George

[darbbb]

Ward,

These are great pictures! Thanks for posting them.

How does one attach pictures to forum post?

Brad

[krryerson]

You might get a kick out of this video, published on Mar 22, 2015.

Flying at Woodstock on Wednesday, March 18, editing the video with Hans (10) and using free music and the soundtrack: "nostalgia of an ex-gangsta-rap deef" from Beat Scene Routine by deef.

Special thanks to Hans (10) for assisting in the track.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/3V-YTB8XkEY

Knut

[mcelrah]

Way cool photos and videos - gotta get me a camera rig! - Hugh