Flying 11/18/06

[mikel]

Well, here's the news,
Great day for the Paragliding folks and Mark C.
I believe that the rest of us had sleds down to the primary,
and few to the secondary......
all-in-all, not a bad day ( for learning the weather ).....
I hope the guys headed for HR did well......


BTW Bacil, please keep your head down.........Don't
you know that it's deer season...lol

'til then, M

[CraginS]

Got there early. Bad news: Lots of clouds. Good news: crops are all down, and the entire main LZ is available.

Six HG flights. I was one of the five sleds. (Two to secondary, three to primary.) I made it to the primary, mostly due to truck-suck (mine was already down there). Mark C wasn't one of the sleds. Dang, he did good. He should tell his story.
Several PG pilots flew, even soaring a bit on a couple of the flights.
I had good launch and landing, and pleasing day. Much longer version of the story on my blog, including names and other details, link below.

[XCanytime]

Yeah, it was a day for the paraglider pilots, that's for sure. Tom Cuenen had at least two, maybe three soaring flights. When I got to the Pulpit at 9:45A it was blowing in good with some north cross in it at times. Maybe just on the edge of being ridge soarable. Conditions got lighter as the day went on, but there was a nice window from 1P to 2P that Mark C. took advantage of and had a nice long flight. I sledded the secondary around 12:30P and decided to hike up the mountain for some exercise. I heard some shots being fired somewhere in the woods close by, but did not expect to be close to the gunfire. Boy was I wrong! I found a old path and followed it towards Rt. 16, and I heard more shots, this time very close by! Sounded like a .22 rifle. Next thing I know, I hear more shots and also bullets whizzing through the forest directly in front of me. I hit the deck, crawled the other way for a while, then slowly walked out of range (I hoped!). Found my way safely to Rt. 16 and the clear cut. Another adventure to remember from the Pulpit. Got back in time to see the 2nd half of the much ballyhooed Michigan-Ohio State game, which lived up to its billing.

Bacil


Bacil

[John Anderson]

Well, the hangsters have chronicled the day, but no one in the PG contingent ever cares to mention events, so I'll comment minorly. Not a great day, with a sharp north cross, went from light to strong and back down again. But we did hang out the laundry and mostly out-airtimed the hangsters (though I think Mark Cavanaugh stayed up a good while). Also, Bacil, Dave, Cragin, Shawn, Mike Lee, and maybe other hangies present, who mostly flew, I think.
Of course, Tom Ceunen soared for over two hours, it seemed to me, and Ellis & I even watched him 'parked' at 200-300' over for a long time and wondered if he was on speedbar. For the rest of us, nothing to gloat about (for me, 00:28 and 00:12-- for #2 launch, only thanks to Ellis para-waiting with me for 25 minutes in the cold!!), but I think all the bagsters (Tom, Stephen, Laszlo, Charlie, and Paul, maybe not Ellis) each each flew once or twice, and I watched Laszlo below me scraping the trees for a gawdawfully long time.
It had been maybe 8+ years since I had flown the Pulpit, and this time I got about 100' over the Tuscarora ridge for awhile, flying underneath a pair of gigantic dacron underpants, for a great view of both sides. I guess I had forgotten that I do like the Pulpit and that it can be worth the drive. Kudos to the club for putting in the PG launch, and a new ramp I'd never seen. I think I 'll come back sometime when it's a decent flying day.
--- John

[bustedwing2]

Small game season came in a while ago,deer starts the monday after thanksgiving,lots of hunters out on the weekends,lots of people sighting in their artillery pieces,some target shooting(cans etc.) just for fun.Try to remember the locals enjoy hunting as much as you enjoy flying,it's not a good idea to be out in the woods this time of year without wearing the requisite orange vest,don't wear anything with fur on it,brown(deer,coyote) and black(bear)dogs would be safer tied or left at home.A shout to announce your prescence and an acknowledgement would have stopped the shooting until you were clear.Glad you didn't become a casualty. RichB

[Matthew]

Damned poachers! The woods around Pulpit are very clearly marked. Bacil Season does not begin until Dec. 1.

Aim for the Duct Tape.

:)

Matthew

[mcelrah]

Fly armed; shoot back! - Hugh