Cold Smithsburg/Pulpit 11/22

[XCanytime]

Looking good for a training hill/mountain day in the Hagerstown Valley this Saturday. Warm weather types need not apply.

Bacil

[dbodner]

Smithsburg could be fun. I could stand to knock some rust off.

[Flying Lobster]

I was there a couple of weekends ago--had a great day with the PG and only Eddie Miller and one other rc'er showed up. Despite reports to the contrary, the place was dry and well-trimmed with corn stubble only at the very top.

marc

[Richard Hays]

Hopefully the liquid manure that was ever so fragrantly placed upon the hill has diminished in its capacity. My god...it was horrible a few weeks ago! Dry but......really stinky! Unless you like that sort of thing....

[Matthew]

I think Marc likes to roll around in it like a dog.

That's how he maintains his Fink-Stink!!!



Matthew

[Flying Lobster]

Karen warned me about your strange fantasies.

marc

[XCanytime]

Looking more like Woodstock Saturday. Smithsburg should offer excellent ground handling practice only. Hope the road doesn't get closed by the clipper system passing thru tomorrow.

Bacil

[RedBaron]

I'm up for a cold WS day.

[XCanytime]

Gary Smith and I plan to be there at the backside entrance at 12 noon. Bacil

[carweill]

Is that because you know the road is closed or
because it might be closed?


Carlos

[XCanytime]

Because it might be closed. Hank, do you know if the road is still open?

Thanks,
Bacil

[eggzkitz]

You guys are hard core. I'll be at REI buying heat packs for my gloves for tomorrow!

[hankh2rbc]

Roads open. I'll post if and when that changes.

Hank

[Danny Brotto]

Off to a late start. Stopping by the glider port first to scope things out. Got a hankering for some FL so might head up to Smithsburg if sitting in carbon fibre and plexi-glass in cold, honking wind at altitude dosen't suit me better today.

Danny Brotto

[carweill]

Janni and I are going to Woodstock to check it out

Carlos

[dbodner]

Bacil called us polar bears. We showed up at Woodstock and flew for as long as we wanted, generally until our fingers got cold. A good day; no broken aluminum, carbon, or calcium.

[dbodner]

Oh, and many thanks to Gary for wiring everyone off and giving us body rides afterward.

[XCanytime]

As Dave said, it was COLD. Got there at 12 noon to nice smooth cycles in the slot. 7 other polar bears arrived: Dave, Carlos, Janni, Gary, Nelson Lewis, John Harper, and Randy Weber. I launched in light conditions at 1:45P and struggled to get up in the west cross on the ridge. It took 3 to 4 passes between the parking lot and launch to get above. Once above, lift was a little ratty but manageable. Flew down close to the Edinburg Gap before turning around to see if I had any company by launch. Nobody had launched yet, so I headed north to the reservoir. Fearing the west cross, I didn't go any further. By this time I was cold, the sky had decked over with a thick cirrus layer, so I headed back and landed in the main LZ, buzzing a few cows on final. On the way out to the main I saw a glider struggling way low but not giving up. Carlos was not going to let gravity win, and his perseverance was rewarded with a soaring flight. After landing, everybody else launched (it had picked up a good bit) and had no trouble getting up immediately. Dave and Carlos landed in the main while the rest of the pilots were spread out, landing in alternate LZs along the road towards Rt. 11. Mucho thanks to Gary Smith for giving 5 pilots body rides back to the top; nobody had dropped a vehicle at the main.

Bacil