Tuesday (4/19/2016) @ WS

[wmelo]

I will keep trying

Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 82F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph

Bacil showed interested as well.

What about you?

[rlweber]

Eta 4:45 for a late day flight.

Randy

[wmelo]

TUESDAY
MOSTLY SUNNY. SCATTERED SPRINKLES IN THE AFTERNOON.
HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S. NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS
UP TO 25 MPH.

It looks promising!

[mcelrah]

I'm in. - Hugh

[wmelo]

Great day at WS today!
I arrived by 12:30pm. Bacil and Hugh were setting up their gliders. Then, 3 HG pilots from NC jointed us.
Bacil was the 1st to take off and rapidly climbed thousands of feet above the ridge.
The winds got stronger (15mph, gust of 20mph), so we waited a little bit before flying.
The wind speed improved and the 3 pilots from NC took off one after other and like Bacil quickly moved up.
I took off after then with Hugh help on the wire. I had not problems to ascend and moved north.
Bacil flew for 2 hours and safely landed in the bridge field. He communicated via radio that a potential thunderstorm were forming in the valley, so I decided to move back and landed in the bridge field after flying for 1 h and reaching 1400 m (4,593ft) above the tower.

Our fellow pilots of NC continued to fly: one of them flew for 3 hours and finally landed in the bridge field.

Concluding, we had a great spring day!

[XCanytime]

Got to launch at noon to an overcast sky and light conditions on launch. As I set up a few strong cycles blew through but most of the time it was blowing sweetly straight up the enlarged slot. Hugh and Walt showed up in the next hour followed by Alan, Andy, Rich, and Andy's girlfriend from Kitty Hawk Kites. I led the charge at 1:30P and launched in a nice light cycle and found lots of lift in front of launch. Headed NE again to stage for another attempt at the winery. However this time I noticed a stiff headwind as I headed NE at 1K' over. Found some good lift and climbed to 5300' MSL and poked slowly out into the valley. Made it to just shy of Rt. 11, but a stiff headwind and sink sent me scurrying back to the ridge. Arrived at just 500' over the ridge and headed towards Signal Knob since some cumulus clouds were forming under the overcast. Ran into some real nasty air on the way. Got yanked around good before it settled down somewhat by the reservoir. Tried to climb back up to the altitude I had earlier but the best I could manage was 4200' MSL. Was worn down by 1.5 hours of active flying so I went in and landed in the bridge field into straight NW winds. A large gradient existed but extra speed carried the day. Walt was next to land, then Alan in an 11 meter Pulse. Hugh came down and landed, followed by Andy. Rich boated around over Woodstock while Randy Weber arrived for a late afternoon flight, giving the locals the needed body rides to fetch the vehicles. All pilots convened at the Strasburg Hotel bar for food and drink. The NC gang was looking at a 6.5 hour drive back to Nags Head, but the 3 pilots got their tanks pretty full, with Rich flying for 3 hours. Bacil

[Lostgriz]

Thanks for the write-ups, sorry I missed another nice Woodstock day.

Matt

[rlweber]

Launched around 6pm, smooth lift out into the valley, max msl 6200. I encountered the same headwind and lack of "up" as Bacil around rt 11. Instead of heading back to the ridge I forged westward and landed west of 81 and north of the water tower. Strong "down" and a brisk headwind do not make for a long glide. A cheerful farmer greeted me and offered a ride back to launch! A very enjoyable after work flight.
Randy

[mcelrah]

I measured the wind with a Halls Brothers meter from noon till 3 when I launched. When Bacil, our high wind specialist on his Sport 2 135, it was 16-20, gusts to 24; it declined steadily - by the end of the day to paragliding conditions. Izzy, the dunegoon (a term of affection) girl, helped me into position, as I was last until Randy after work. I was able to traverse slowly on my Falcon 195 all the way to Signal Knob. Wind was perfectly orthogonal to the ridge: little difference in crab angle going back to the bridge field. Flew well above a bald eagle making big circles on the ridge: his brilliant white head and rump were like twin headlights glaring up at me. Slow penetrating to beyond the LZ. Got turned by a burble low and missed my flare, bellied in comfortably. 1 hour, 2300 above launch, 10-12 miles up/down the ridge. - Hugh