Pulpit Monday April 5th

[XCanytime]

Allan, John Dullahan, me, Rich Heigle?, and Jon Brantley? are going to the Pulpit tomorrow. Rich Bloomfield has so graciously volunteered to come out and help launches. Looks great, w/ WNW surface winds of 8 MPH max fcsted for HGR. John M., c'mon out. Bacil

[silverwings]

I am coming to the Pulpit today Monday.

[XCanytime]

Arrived at the Pulpit at 10:30A. PG pilot Jean Chiotti was on the ramp steps w/ binoculars checking out the skies. Conditions were moderate, and no cumies. As I set up Jean launched and found a valley thermal to get a few hundred over the ridge. He had a 15 minute or so flight before landing in the PG main. Rich Bloomfield showed up as I finished setting up. Then John Dullahan, w/ wife JoAnne and daughter Laura, showed up for John's planned last hang gliding flight. Then Dave Proctor showed up after a Hagerstown errand run. Full wire crew present. As one would have it, conditions got strong enough to convince me to launch around 12:20P. Had a much better launch than Saturday, and found lift right off of launch and escalatored up 100' or so before turning left. Had a nice half hour flight to 500'+ over before getting flushed to the secondary LZ. As I was coming in, John M. was driving up the gravel road to place a windsock in the secondary. The US flag by the house was limp, so I committed to a landing to the north. Smoked it in and w/ no headwind haulin' ass over the ground. Turned towards the mountain for a slight uphill landing. Snapped a good flare a second too late and tried to run but tripped and belly flopped. The left DT caved inward towards me cuz the wheel(s) didn't roll? I shouldn't have tried to bend it straight cuz it broke. John asked me if I was OK, and I replied I was, but it was a bitch to get the glider over to the treeline with a DT broken in two. While breaking the glider down, I found the right (VG) DT was dented significantly near its junction w/ the basetube. While I carefully packed the glider up, taking off my socks to put them over the jagged edges of the DT pieces, John launched for his final flight. He cruised down the ridge to opposite the main LZ, then went in and landed. Rich gave me a body ride, and back at launch Allan and John M. were set/setting up. Soon John D. appeared w/ his family and a 6 pack of beer from an Alexandria VA brewery. John and I shared stories from our 1st meeting at the Clear Spring,MD training hil in April 1992 to flying at the Warfordsburg training hill to the mountain flights over the years. 29 years of flying w/ John. I'll miss him in the air and on the ground . John and his family soon departed, while John M. broke down. John, Rich, and I helped Allan try to launch off the ramp, but up there it got extremely strong and cross from the north. Allan backed off, and John left. A young fellow who showed up interested in hang gliding was hired to wire crew for a 2nd attempt by Allan from the ramp. But up on the ramp it went completely solid north cross. So Allan bagged it around 6:15P. Off to Blue Sky tomorrow for glider repair. Bacil

https://ayvri.com/scene/z15y60z0jx/ckn5 ... 6h7qd2ai3e

[John Dullahan]

When most hang gliding pilots I have known for years stop flying they just “fade away,” and don’t appear at launch sites again. Only after months and sometimes years do other pilots notice their absence and finally realize they have stopped flying.

After making good friends and enjoying many happy hours in the air, not always ending uneventfully ☹, I just wanted to let fellow pilots know I won’t fly hang gliders again. I hope to turn up occasionally to help as wire crew or drive retrievals. Vicarious flying also has its rewards.

After many years my long-suffering wife finally prevailed, and I agreed to stop flying, provided I had one last flight at the Pulpit. Yesterday forecasted favorable conditions, so wifie JoAnn, daughter Laura, and I arrived to see Bacil and Alan set up, while John Middleton starting, and Dave Proctor and Rich Bloomfield ready to lend a hand.

Dave and Rich gracefully helped to overcome a few glitches as I was setting up, and shortly after Bacil launched, John M, Dave, and Rich acted as wire crew. I had enjoyed many flights “over the back,” and though many were short, the large open fields provided many safe landing options. I had hoped to get one last flight over the back, but it wasn’t in the cards. I got a brief bump after launch, and the weak and brief thermals as I went down the ridge petered out as I turned. I hung out for a while in bubbles over the main LZ before having a decent landing (no crops there; so the whole field is available).

Hung out at launch sharing a bier and hang stories of times past, and wondering if the Pulpit would ever experience its former glories when dozens of pilots met for camping fly-ins, ample libations and music around the bonfire. Those were the days.

An aspiring wire crew member and retrieve driver.
John D.

[1otIII2007]

Yes I really wanted to fly but it just got too crossed and strong at launch. I was there to try out a U2 for the first time and ended up not getting to fly. But on Tuesday I went to the Sac and got to fly it for just under an hour and a half. I like the U2 145.

Allan B.