Sunday (Feb 26th, 2017) @ WS

[wmelo]

It is too early to call, but hopefully next Sunday we may have again a nice WS day.
Early thoughts?

[XCanytime]

We will. Guaranteed. Bacil

[krryerson]

I am interested in flying on Sunday at Woodstock.
Knut

[Eric]

I plan to come out if it's looking Falconable. I need an observer.

[wmelo]

Unfortunately, WS has become a challenging landing site for Waltables and Falconables. The "new LZ" is far. The bridge field was already trick due to its distance, but the "new LZ" is even more challenging not only due its distance but also its approach (fences, power lines, trees, etc). Last Sunday, the only Falcon in the group did not land there. I also did not due some bad decisions of my part (as I said, Waltables would have issues

I would strongly recommend that you investigate potential landing fields with your observer before flying in case you do not make to the "new LZ."

I would kindly request our fellow pilots to recommend a few alternative LZs one could use in case s/he runs out of air.

thoughts?

Walt

[Dave Gills]

The "new LZ" is even more challenging not only due its distance but also its approach

Bridge field was uncomfortably far for me.
Launch looks nice but WS is out for me.

[Eric]

I agree, Walt. As an H2, I've loved all two of the soaring flights I had there on my WW F4 195 and had no issue making it to the bridge field. Granted, on both occassions, it absolutely had to be soarable, and I definitely needed the altitude provided by the ridge lift to make it out to land. There are bail out options... as long as it is recognized early enough that the altitude is not in the bank. That spine to the left of launch acts as a kind of fork in the road in that respect. Perhaps due to the LZ concerns, WS should be an H3 and above site only until the LZ situation is sorted out, if ever... Maybe that's a topic of discussion for club leadership and senior hangies or bi-winguals? The added anxiety of not having friendly options is certainly a distraction.

I have spent considerable time with my instructor looking at all options there, and I do trust the judgement of the observers in the club, along with my own.

[A.Lloyd]

I'm interested.

[markc]

If I remember the dinner conversations last Sunday correctly, the owners of the 'Pond Field' have been very positive about hang gliders landing there. Now, I don't mean we should land there routinely.... But a few pilots on one of those less-than-braindead-soarable days? It sounds like it might be ok!

So Eric and Dave, I would urge you to check it out prior to flying. It's totally landable, and just a tad further than the old primary.

There *is* a "$100 turnaround fee" sign on the way in. Possibly a joke..... But if not, like I said, the LZ owner has been welcoming. So if anyone asks, you have a plausible reason for travelling that road.

[Eric]

Understood. I believe he's the gentleman that John and I talked to last year who said under emergency conditions he's accepting that if we need to land, well... I think he mentioned taking some lessons or free flying at one point too.

[XCanytime]

All well and good but I don't think we should land there 2 weekends in a row. That being said the Pulpit doesn't have LZ issues and it statistically has more soarable hours in the day than Woodstock due totally to it's generally higher wind velocities. Bacil

[silverwings]

To get to the pond field, you should go North on Rt 11 from Mill Street and turn right on 663 and follow that back to the field/home. The gravel/dirt road that runs close to the mountain sometimes will have a cable or other obstruction to prevent vehicles from using it. Walt walked along it to get to the bridge field. The owner of the pond field (Harrold Morrison) indicated that we could land there when needed but not as a regular landing zone. If it is reasonably soarable, making the grass field is attainable if you leave with adequate altitude above launch and when the wind is not real strong allowing penetration. I have heard there are other fields to the south and probably to the north that have had pilots landing without issues.

[XCanytime]

That would be Rt.663, Artz Road, that runs past the former River'd Inn to the "pond" field. Bacil

[markc]

There is also a back way in, Google Earth will show it.

[markc]

Wow, quite the day.

After seeing extensive wave clouds on the satellite, and given that the ADDS 3k forecast indicated some 'filling in' (20+) by mid-afternoon in northern VA... I changed my plans and headed out to 66 & 81, where I would re-evaluate. Once there, given that the Hagerstown 11am reading was G31, I headed to WS. Walt swung down so he could drop his vehicle in the LZ and then we headed up to launch. *VERY* light. Hauled in some gear. Checked conditions again (G28 at Hagerstown at noon). Climbed the tower..... And there was a great cycle, STFI. That convinced me to haul the glider in.

Even so, I was still watching the clock and thinking of hitting the road for the Pulpit. Could have been there by 2:30. But stuck it out, and the winds were promising... Until the 3/4 setup point, when it got WAY light again. Randy W flew his PG. Gary and I were already making noises about hitting the WS Alehouse if things didn't improve within an hour.

Then *bam*, a switch was thrown and the winds picked up noticeably. Walt was the first HG off : Perfect cycle, up and out! John McA arrived. Gary S and I decided to finish our setups. The winds held, and I was next off (not sure of the time, maybe 2pm?). Couple of steps and I was already in the air, pulled-in and burned away from the mountain. Lots of lift, no problem getting up.

But there was a problem.....

Before I get to that: John (smurfsky) had an early PG flight, but decided that it wasn't the right day for his new T2C. Randy had a great PG flight, ultimately landing a couple fingers north after the winds picked up. Walt had a great flight too, landing in the new primary LZ without incident. I heard that Gary decided to bail because his back was giving him major problems, that sucks! And John flew later in the afternoon, sounded like he had fun!

For me though? Not so much. My glider had a wicked left turn in it, immediately obvious and very concerning. I'd noticed a bit of turn on my last two flights (did the obvious, checked battens, etc), but this was another level entirely. What to do? Land immediately? But it was prime-time, strong W cross, spring thermals. Decided it would be better to fly for a while to see what options the day might bring.

Very difficult keeping the glider on a given heading. But I needed to figure out how to fly the thing, *AND* to give the winds and thermals some time to mellow out. So it was a 2 hour flight. Found an amazing lift line out into the valley, to 5800MSL. Fingers freezing, right arm tiring. Got out over I-81 and scoped-out fields at WS High School, and then a big dairy field further north, across Rt 11. But ultimately decided that it would be better to bail back to the normal fields, where at least I knew there would be someone around when I cratered in.

Boated around in the valley gradually losing altitude. Found a period with consistent and smooth sink near the new primary, circling down on a left approach, relatively under control. Thought I'd give the field a try..... Then some thermals started busting off again, and I was pretty darn low. Wouldn't have been an issue to ride them out for a while in normal circumstances, but this was not that. After a near-final pass I was popped up and decided I just couldn't handle it. Bailed to the verbotten bridge field, lined up with a high and long final, got lower.... Damn, another thermal pop, gusty, and it was a huge handful trying to prevent a left turn onto the lines along the road.

Once I was close to the ground and knew that I would be within the field, I threw everything I had into a last right correction, and then let go. Pounded in, blew through both downtubes, but no major damage other than some scrapes and bruises.

Whoa. Nothing like knowing that the landing is going to suck for the entirety of a 2 hour flight. I suppose I could/should have stuck it out for another hour or so, to land in more benign conditions. But there were just so many variables, fatigue, etc.

My guess is that the tip twisted just a bit, after being borderline for a while.

Walt, many thanks for your help with the breakdown!

MarkC

[smurfsky101]

Ouch on the downtubes! Glad you're ok

I was under some time constraints today, figured would pull out the bag for a quick flight down - which was nice, very W (almost S) cross

On the drive down 81 afterwards a lot of the flags were blowing from the east!

[smurfsky101]

I can't wait for spring weather / big booming thermals. Today was a taste of whats to come!

[wmelo]

It was a odd day. Although I arrived earlier at WS, I did not decide until 1:00pm when the conditions improved. "Smurfsky" arrived with his adorable GF earlier a little bit after I arrived. Given the zero wind in the LZ he wisely decided to not fly his new T2C. He set up his PG and had a quick flight. Mark arrived a little bit after we rescued "Smurfsky." Mark and I debated about hitting the road and going to the Pulpit. However, all the weather forecast we checked indicated too strong winds and gust winds until 6:00pm.

Motivated by some good cycles, we decided to set up at WS. I was more motivated when I saw Weber and Garry arriving. Weber set up his PG, took off and was able to climb after finding a few thermals. We got a little bit more excited about Weber's flight.

I zipped up and took off in a good cycle. I was able to soar a little bit then got a very good thermal above the left finger. Unfortunately, my harness gave me problems: I could not close it! My back started hurting by flying and thermalling with an open harness. When I saw I was climbing for 30 min above the ridge (1,400M ASL), I decided to move to the front of the ridge to make sure I could reach the "main LZ." I got strong head wind and although I found good thermals again I decided to land. I arrived safety in the main LZ after flying over strong thermals in the bridge field, did a single 8 to burn altitude and landed gracefully up hill in the main LZ.

When I setting up my glider I saw Mark taking off. Sometime later John from Winchester (forgot his last name again ). However, I saw that Gary did not take off.

I went to the mountain and I found Garry trying to recover from his back pain. After helping him break down his glider I saw something that looked like a glider in the bridge field. We called Mark and he told me about his issues. I went down to help Mark and I was glad to see he was ok. Minutes later John from Winchester landed in the bridge field and quickly moved his glider out of it.

We tried to hit the brewery but I was closed again for a private party.

It was a very difficult decision to stay at WS instead of going to the Pulpit. Weather forecast was border line in both sites. Normally, weak W (NW) winds should not be an issue at WS if we had a LZ close to the ridge. I hope we will be able to fix that issue soon, since it is not evident that one can reach the "main LZ" if s/he is unable to soar and gain some altitude. The good news is that even in a sunny day with mild West cross, WS is still a reasonable choice.

I am sorry if my dual posts in the forum about Pulpit and WS have created any confusion among the pilots: it was not my indention.

[XCanytime]

Normally, weak W (NW) winds should not be an issue at WS if we had a LZ close to the ridge. I hope we will be able to fix that issue soon, since it is not evident that one can reach the "main LZ" if s/he is unable to soar and gain some altitude.

I drafted a letter and sent it to the lady who owns all 3 fields (bridge, new LZ, and field abutting new LZ) via US mail on Saturday. In the letter I proposed entertaining the idea of leasing a lower section of the bridge field for landing privileges. Hope to hear something from her after she receives the letter/invitation. Bacil

[silverwings]

Thanks Bacil for sending a letter.