Flying on Sunday March 5th
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Flying on Sunday March 5th
Super-dynamic system blowing through, so perhaps a bit too early to get hopeful.... But it looks like WS could be pretty good on Sunday. Would love to see a NW 10+ish 'cast with a bit of color on the 3k map.... Crossing fingers!
Re: Flying on Sunday March 5th
I am interested in flying at Woodstock on Sunday.
Anyone else?
Knut
Anyone else?
Knut
Re: Flying on Sunday March 5th
Looks like we’ll be a handful of HG pilots.
ETA noon.
Knut
ETA noon.
Knut
Re: Flying on Sunday March 5th
What a turn up yesterday! 8 hang gliders and 6 Paragliders! It was amazing!
Re: Flying on Sunday March 5th
Quite fun day up there! I was able to complete the entire circuit in just about an hour and 20 minutes.
https://youtu.be/UxFLuzw4vqU
https://youtu.be/UxFLuzw4vqU
Re: Flying on Sunday March 5th
Thanks for sharing!
Nice ridge run.
Knut
Nice ridge run.
Knut
Re: Flying on Sunday March 5th
Got to launch around 10A. Very light on launch, and a bank of cumies were approaching from over the border into WV. Set up and waited for pilots to arrive. Allan arrived around 10:20A, and Will was close by. At 10:30A the initial release of thermals occurred, and the winds picked up to moderate to strong. Strong cycles blew thru the trees, w/ a good amount of noise. Allan went down to pick up Will at the LZ, and I completed setting up. There were plenty of launchable lulls in between the occasional strong cycle blowing thru either side of the slot.
With Allan and Will's assistance, I had a fair launch just after 11:30A in a light cycle. Ran hard and got airborne, but the slot wasn't completely filled, and the glider did not have sufficient airflow to climb. Let the glider build up speed, and traded airspeed for altitude near the bottom, clearing the tree line w/ plenty of margin. Turned left and got up easily. Headed down towards the Edinburg Gap, bucking a strong west X at times. Finally made it to Waonaze Peak and climbed up to near 3K' MSL. Turned around and headed quickly NE. The sky did not have lots of clouds, so my plan was to go up and stage up by the Strasburg Reservoir and hitch a ride to KFRR (Front Royal Airport).
Made it up to the reservoir, and trolled back and forth looking for the ride. On the run up from Waonaze Peak, I experienced the worst turbulence in my entire 30 year career of flying off of mountains multiple times. It was downright nasty, and I hung on and tried to keep the glider stable and flying efficiently to minimize the pitching and rolling of the glider. Up at the reservoir, I struggled to get to 3600' MSL. I couldn't find anything to get higher, which was similar to my last flight at Woodstock 9 days earlier. So I was resigned to fly back to launch and land at the main LZ.
As I turned around and started headed back to the SW, I was hit by a wall of wind from the west that made my groundspeed slow down to 2 to 3 MPH. What the heck is this stuff? After a few minutes of this, and making it a mile or so back towards launch, the venturi effect subsided, and my groundspeed reflected this. The groundspeed kept increasing w/o me increasing the airspeed, which indicated to me that some strong lift was nearby, sucking me towards the lift area. Sure enough, I found some good lift and stuck to it like glue. Drifted over Little Fort Valley as I climbed past 3600' MSL. My bailout was Fort Valley Airport, where I have landed multiple times. Climbed up to 4200' MSL as I drifted towards the spine of the SE rim of Massanutten Mountain. Went on glide toward Front Royal Airport.
As I crested the spine, did one 360, and continued on. Sinking down to near 3000' MSL, I saw that I may not make the airport, and picked out potential LZs that I could easily reach. As I advanced closer to the airport, I flew over some lumpy wooded terrain. I found some strong lift, so I slowed down, still on a direct path to KFRR, and ended up gaining a couple hundred feet. I now had KFRR made! What a good feeling that was. Now I could just relax and fly the appropriate pattern and land safely at the airport.
I monitor the Unicom frequency of the airport on my radio, and during my flight I heard a lot of chatter about lotsa landings by sailplanes. As I entered the right hand pattern for unpowered aircraft for the active runway 28, nobody was announcing their positions. Good! No contention, so now it's time to nail this approach and landing. I saw the windsocks indicating nearly straight down the runway, and I heard the current wind conditions as 310 at 13 kts gusting 23 kts. This is gonna be sporty, so I flew very fast on the downwind leg and made sure I did not drift too far downwind when I turned onto my base leg (so I would not land short w/ the strong headwinds). Went on final and kept my eyes on the target landing spot, the grass strip between the taxiway and the runway. As I got around 50' above the ground, the right wing dipped dramatically. Corrected that quickly, and oriented the glider towards the direction of the winds switched (to about 320). I barely cleared the asphalt taxiway, and decided to wheel it in on the grass. Touched down as light as a feather, thanks to the strong headwind that reduced my groundspeed to 2 to 3 MPH.
Quickly parked the glider and unhooked. Hugh McElrath came out to greet me. Hugh helped me stage the glider in the wind shadow of the airport building in order to break it down. The sailplane club had just shut down operations before I landed. The sailplane pilots said the air was too rough for them. I concur. Bari came and retrieved me. Thank you Bari! Back at launch Knut, Homer, Allan, and Will were soaring effortlessly. PG pilots were showing up, and Bari and Doug Rogers staged their gliders. Mark Cavanaugh had shown up as well. Doug, Mark, and I helped Bari launch. Bari's left wing unloaded and his glider was turned left and parallel to the mountain. Bari's extra airspeed came in handy, and he quickly corrected the induced turn w/ a 180 degree change in direction as he climbed up above the ridge. Doug had a flawless launch as conditions mellowed dramatically. Mark chose not to fly. Doug's wife Natalie and I drove down to the LZ w/ Bari's 2 kids to await the arrival of Doug and Bari at the LZ near the end of the day.
When we arrived, Homer, Knut, and Will had already landed. Then Allan landed. The PG pilots all launched and soared effortlessly. It started raining PGs after Doug executed a flawless approach and landing. Bari came in and did the same after a few PGs had landed. What a nice day at Woodstock it was! Bacil
With Allan and Will's assistance, I had a fair launch just after 11:30A in a light cycle. Ran hard and got airborne, but the slot wasn't completely filled, and the glider did not have sufficient airflow to climb. Let the glider build up speed, and traded airspeed for altitude near the bottom, clearing the tree line w/ plenty of margin. Turned left and got up easily. Headed down towards the Edinburg Gap, bucking a strong west X at times. Finally made it to Waonaze Peak and climbed up to near 3K' MSL. Turned around and headed quickly NE. The sky did not have lots of clouds, so my plan was to go up and stage up by the Strasburg Reservoir and hitch a ride to KFRR (Front Royal Airport).
Made it up to the reservoir, and trolled back and forth looking for the ride. On the run up from Waonaze Peak, I experienced the worst turbulence in my entire 30 year career of flying off of mountains multiple times. It was downright nasty, and I hung on and tried to keep the glider stable and flying efficiently to minimize the pitching and rolling of the glider. Up at the reservoir, I struggled to get to 3600' MSL. I couldn't find anything to get higher, which was similar to my last flight at Woodstock 9 days earlier. So I was resigned to fly back to launch and land at the main LZ.
As I turned around and started headed back to the SW, I was hit by a wall of wind from the west that made my groundspeed slow down to 2 to 3 MPH. What the heck is this stuff? After a few minutes of this, and making it a mile or so back towards launch, the venturi effect subsided, and my groundspeed reflected this. The groundspeed kept increasing w/o me increasing the airspeed, which indicated to me that some strong lift was nearby, sucking me towards the lift area. Sure enough, I found some good lift and stuck to it like glue. Drifted over Little Fort Valley as I climbed past 3600' MSL. My bailout was Fort Valley Airport, where I have landed multiple times. Climbed up to 4200' MSL as I drifted towards the spine of the SE rim of Massanutten Mountain. Went on glide toward Front Royal Airport.
As I crested the spine, did one 360, and continued on. Sinking down to near 3000' MSL, I saw that I may not make the airport, and picked out potential LZs that I could easily reach. As I advanced closer to the airport, I flew over some lumpy wooded terrain. I found some strong lift, so I slowed down, still on a direct path to KFRR, and ended up gaining a couple hundred feet. I now had KFRR made! What a good feeling that was. Now I could just relax and fly the appropriate pattern and land safely at the airport.
I monitor the Unicom frequency of the airport on my radio, and during my flight I heard a lot of chatter about lotsa landings by sailplanes. As I entered the right hand pattern for unpowered aircraft for the active runway 28, nobody was announcing their positions. Good! No contention, so now it's time to nail this approach and landing. I saw the windsocks indicating nearly straight down the runway, and I heard the current wind conditions as 310 at 13 kts gusting 23 kts. This is gonna be sporty, so I flew very fast on the downwind leg and made sure I did not drift too far downwind when I turned onto my base leg (so I would not land short w/ the strong headwinds). Went on final and kept my eyes on the target landing spot, the grass strip between the taxiway and the runway. As I got around 50' above the ground, the right wing dipped dramatically. Corrected that quickly, and oriented the glider towards the direction of the winds switched (to about 320). I barely cleared the asphalt taxiway, and decided to wheel it in on the grass. Touched down as light as a feather, thanks to the strong headwind that reduced my groundspeed to 2 to 3 MPH.
Quickly parked the glider and unhooked. Hugh McElrath came out to greet me. Hugh helped me stage the glider in the wind shadow of the airport building in order to break it down. The sailplane club had just shut down operations before I landed. The sailplane pilots said the air was too rough for them. I concur. Bari came and retrieved me. Thank you Bari! Back at launch Knut, Homer, Allan, and Will were soaring effortlessly. PG pilots were showing up, and Bari and Doug Rogers staged their gliders. Mark Cavanaugh had shown up as well. Doug, Mark, and I helped Bari launch. Bari's left wing unloaded and his glider was turned left and parallel to the mountain. Bari's extra airspeed came in handy, and he quickly corrected the induced turn w/ a 180 degree change in direction as he climbed up above the ridge. Doug had a flawless launch as conditions mellowed dramatically. Mark chose not to fly. Doug's wife Natalie and I drove down to the LZ w/ Bari's 2 kids to await the arrival of Doug and Bari at the LZ near the end of the day.
When we arrived, Homer, Knut, and Will had already landed. Then Allan landed. The PG pilots all launched and soared effortlessly. It started raining PGs after Doug executed a flawless approach and landing. Bari came in and did the same after a few PGs had landed. What a nice day at Woodstock it was! Bacil
Last edited by XCanytime on Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:28 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Flying on Sunday March 5th
Bacil,
Thanks for the write up.
If interested, the link is my launch on March 5 https://youtube.com/shorts/JYz5lmw3bSc?feature=share
This is some sweet thermal flying on March 5
https://youtube.com/shorts/eT9UHTUMIko?feature=share
Knut
Thanks for the write up.
If interested, the link is my launch on March 5 https://youtube.com/shorts/JYz5lmw3bSc?feature=share
This is some sweet thermal flying on March 5
https://youtube.com/shorts/eT9UHTUMIko?feature=share
Knut