Woodstock Sunday April 17th
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Woodstock Sunday April 17th
Looks like a better wind direction, albeit quite cool again! Who's interested? Bacil
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
Forecast for Sunday is looking promising. 335 degrees at 10mph on the ground at 2pm with a low gust factor. Lift Index 500 with cloud base projected to be between 5-6th feet. Hope we can get some interest..Rich
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
Shane Moreland and I are definitely going. Mark C. expressed interest. Bari may bring the younguns and assist launches. Bacil
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
Definitely interested. Come on fcast, let it hold!
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
It's holding rather it has improved therefore I'll be flying too now. My aim isn't as extravagant as Bacil or Shane as I plan to stay local. Head North to Strasbourg first and then down to short mountain and plan to (hopefully) land in bridge LZ so I could head back before 3:30 PM.
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
Shane and I aim for a 10A arrival and an 11A+ launch. Greg Mick expressed interest in coming. It's an early day before the surface wind goes N in the mid to late afternoon. Bacil
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
Wandering out to WStock today... Will check the various airport readings midway, just to be sure it isn't swinging N earlier than forecast.
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
Timing was everything today. Maybe if I had gotten my gear in 30 minutes earlier, 10:15? Might have made a difference....
But nope, I had the glider in by about 11:00. Then the usual/annoying T2C setup. We got Bacil in the air. Then a trip back to the vehicle for layers/water. Then finally (really) watched conditions for a bit, given that Joe S was sole wire-crew. There were still odd gusty/unpredictable cycles. Didn't actually get into the slot until almost 1pm. Sigh.
Winds were hard-cross left, and hard-cross right. And there were completely quiet lulls. I really didn't have a good feel for what the heck was going on.
After 10 minutes of potatoing, I took a cycle that was decent and had a good launch. But the flight was basically an extendo, with a landing in the old primary LZ.
Joe drove down with my vehicle and was willing to wait for me to get the glider packed-up and on the rack. THANK YOU JOE!
Back up top Joe and I waited/watched, hoping that the gusts would moderate so he could get a PG flight. We were joined later by Bacil and Bari, and Bari's kids. But after an hour, the gusts were still a bit too strong and Joe pulled the plug.
It was odd: North and even occasional NE cycles while I was breaking down in the LZ. But back at launch, the winds were (seemingly) still coming in pretty good. Strange day.
But nope, I had the glider in by about 11:00. Then the usual/annoying T2C setup. We got Bacil in the air. Then a trip back to the vehicle for layers/water. Then finally (really) watched conditions for a bit, given that Joe S was sole wire-crew. There were still odd gusty/unpredictable cycles. Didn't actually get into the slot until almost 1pm. Sigh.
Winds were hard-cross left, and hard-cross right. And there were completely quiet lulls. I really didn't have a good feel for what the heck was going on.
After 10 minutes of potatoing, I took a cycle that was decent and had a good launch. But the flight was basically an extendo, with a landing in the old primary LZ.
Joe drove down with my vehicle and was willing to wait for me to get the glider packed-up and on the rack. THANK YOU JOE!
Back up top Joe and I waited/watched, hoping that the gusts would moderate so he could get a PG flight. We were joined later by Bacil and Bari, and Bari's kids. But after an hour, the gusts were still a bit too strong and Joe pulled the plug.
It was odd: North and even occasional NE cycles while I was breaking down in the LZ. But back at launch, the winds were (seemingly) still coming in pretty good. Strange day.
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
I also should have mentioned that I swung by the Woodstock Brew House after flying. They now have an additional indoor space toward the back, and a nice deck beyond that. Looks like they can even pour from the deck, given enough customers. The menu has also been expanded, and I tried the fish tacos. They were excellent! On an Easter Sunday, around 3:30pm??? I was kinda impressed. Very fun place to hang out after a flight. Even if the flight was a sled 
Re: Woodstock Sunday April 17th
I arrived at the launch at 9A. Light to moderate cycles, and definitely more clouds to the NE than the SW. I definitely noted the scarcity of clouds towards my goal of landing out at Mt. Jackson. The direction was mostly STFI. Casually set up and waited for Mark C. to arrive around 10:30A, and Joe Schad at 11A.
After Mark and Joe arrived, I had a good launch around 11:10A and got up pretty easily. Seeing the sky dried up to the SW, I changed plans and headed NE. Found a nice climb to 3600' MSL, pulled out, and decided to try for Front Royal Airport. Cruised up to the Strasburg Reservoir, and found myself sinking down to ridge level (the mountain rises all the way up to Signal Knob from the reservoir). I turned around, and now I'm below the ridge. Drat! Flew out away from the ridge towards a nice LZ and hit some good lift. Slowed down, climbed a good bit, and dove back at the ridge (now above it).
Loitered around the area, trying to find a climb up to at least 4K' MSL before I would even consider diving downwind towards KFRR. The clouds looked great upwind, but when they got to the middle of the valley, they started drying up and breaking apart. Got up to 3200' MSL, but couldn't find any climb higher. Decided to bag it and head home.
Now I find myself barely above the ridge. I dolphin fly the whole way back, spending most of the trip just above the ridge. Flew back by the launch slot at launch height. Decided to bag it and head straight out to the main LZ. Hit some lift along the way along the SW face of the spine, allowing me to easily reach the bridge field w/ over 1K' of altitude. Once again executed an accurate DBF approach into the field, and flared into a stiff headwind and gently landed on my rump at 12:30P. My legs collapsed under me; I guess the glider went a little backwards causing the gentle collapse. Quickly parked the glider, unhooked, and carried over to the breakdown area.
Bari and his adorable children came down to the LZ and gave me a ride back to launch. Thanks a bunch Bari. I went and visited w/ my new buddy Derik and his sons Spencer and Trent at their house in Mt. Jackson, the XC goal I had had for the day. There will be a better day to try to land out by Derik's house. Looking forward to that happening soon. Bacil
After Mark and Joe arrived, I had a good launch around 11:10A and got up pretty easily. Seeing the sky dried up to the SW, I changed plans and headed NE. Found a nice climb to 3600' MSL, pulled out, and decided to try for Front Royal Airport. Cruised up to the Strasburg Reservoir, and found myself sinking down to ridge level (the mountain rises all the way up to Signal Knob from the reservoir). I turned around, and now I'm below the ridge. Drat! Flew out away from the ridge towards a nice LZ and hit some good lift. Slowed down, climbed a good bit, and dove back at the ridge (now above it).
Loitered around the area, trying to find a climb up to at least 4K' MSL before I would even consider diving downwind towards KFRR. The clouds looked great upwind, but when they got to the middle of the valley, they started drying up and breaking apart. Got up to 3200' MSL, but couldn't find any climb higher. Decided to bag it and head home.
Now I find myself barely above the ridge. I dolphin fly the whole way back, spending most of the trip just above the ridge. Flew back by the launch slot at launch height. Decided to bag it and head straight out to the main LZ. Hit some lift along the way along the SW face of the spine, allowing me to easily reach the bridge field w/ over 1K' of altitude. Once again executed an accurate DBF approach into the field, and flared into a stiff headwind and gently landed on my rump at 12:30P. My legs collapsed under me; I guess the glider went a little backwards causing the gentle collapse. Quickly parked the glider, unhooked, and carried over to the breakdown area.
Bari and his adorable children came down to the LZ and gave me a ride back to launch. Thanks a bunch Bari. I went and visited w/ my new buddy Derik and his sons Spencer and Trent at their house in Mt. Jackson, the XC goal I had had for the day. There will be a better day to try to land out by Derik's house. Looking forward to that happening soon. Bacil