Pulpit Launch: Revised Proposal

[RedBaron]

David. H. Martin Excavating, Inc. are a family business and have been in business for over 30 years. Their reputation is beyond doubt. I met Jeryl Martin on site to implement concerns, objections and additions as transpired through our discussion to put together a new quote, priced at $ 5,475.00

-Remove rock as per job meeting with Jeryl Martin
-Use small track hoe to downsize rock and level runway area
-Provide additional breaker time to downsize rock
-Build a small retaining wall as per meeting on April 22, 2009
-Furnish 3-4 loads of slate to backfill behind retaining wall
-Furnish and grade 85 ton of 2A Mod stone on new takeoff area
-The existing dirt runway to be covered with new stone
-The new re-graded area on North and South will match the existing takeoff area

Not included: Permits, fees, seeding, mulching

We can get the ditches in the road leading to the setup area filled with slate for an additional $150.

The use of equipment will take a toll on the setup area. Grass will be torn up and we recommend organizing a work party to restore the site upon completion.

Last, the current retaining wall is leaking and needs to be worked on, anyway. Our plan will take care of that and replace the current wall with one that's by far superior.

Please find pictures and explanations at http://picasaweb.google.com/JPapakrivos/PulpitLaunch#.

[brianvh]

Nice. And for a reasonable price.

I thought the 'drop off' area was steeper, but 2:1 isn't bad.

[Spark]

Janni,

Those pictures and captions really help to explain the plan. Extending the ramp to the stump will improve the launch significantly. I've taking steps off that stump several times

Thanks for all of your efforts on this project.

[pink_albatross]

I ditto what Sparky said on both the stump as well as the THANKS on all the effort!
-- ellis

[jimrooney]

Nice work Janni.
Pics, diagrams and solid numbers from a reputable contractor.
Spot on bro.

Does look like it'll make a fine launch pad in the end.
Jim

[Dave Proctor]

First I want to thank Janni for putting together his presentation. I have a couple of points and then I will shut up about the project.

1) someone at the meeting mentioned that this will bring more paraglider pilots into the club because many currently don't pay dues because they don't fly 'our' sites. The PG pilots do fly Bills Hill. The insurance for bills is paid by.. you guessed it.. the pulpit treasury. One of the major reasons for improving this launch is to make it more PG friendly. So we are basically going to spend a lot of Pulpit funds to improve launch for a group of individuals, many of whom haven't put anything into the kitty, but have been enjoying the benefits.
2) Janni's said that his slope values were not measured, but were from his eye. Slope is an easy thing to measure and we should have real numbers before we proceed. When we did the previous pulpit ramp project I measured the slopes of many of the other launches in the area to come up with the slope for the new ramp. We should do something similar here. Not to determine slope of the launch, this will be determined by the terrain. The Sac is very similar to what is proposed for the pulpit (slope launch with treeline below). I would like to see the slope from the launch to the tops of the trees below measured and compared to the Sac. The Sac is what I consider one of the most challenging launches in the area. It would be an extremely valuable data point.

regards,
DaveP

[RedBaron]

20+ people at the meeting, 1 no vote, all others voted in favour of this project. Thanks everybody, looks like the vast majority in this community wants this done. That's great.
The BOD wants three more things before deciding on this. A quote/contract including a detailed diagram of the work to be done, including measurements and dimensions, an insurance certificate and the assessment of possible road damage due to use of heavy equipmet. I will provide all these this week and send copies to the decision makers.

[Flying Lobster]

First I want to thank Janni for putting together his presentation. I have a couple of points and then I will shut up about the project.

1) someone at the meeting mentioned that this will bring more paraglider pilots into the club because many currently don't pay dues because they don't fly 'our' sites. The PG pilots do fly Bills Hill. The insurance for bills is paid by.. you guessed it.. the pulpit treasury. One of the major reasons for improving this launch is to make it more PG friendly. So we are basically going to spend a lot of Pulpit funds to improve launch for a group of individuals, many of whom haven't put anything into the kitty, but have been enjoying the benefits.
2) Janni's said that his slope values were not measured, but were from his eye. Slope is an easy thing to measure and we should have real numbers before we proceed. When we did the previous pulpit ramp project I measured the slopes of many of the other launches in the area to come up with the slope for the new ramp. We should do something similar here. Not to determine slope of the launch, this will be determined by the terrain. The Sac is very similar to what is proposed for the pulpit (slope launch with treeline below). I would like to see the slope from the launch to the tops of the trees below measured and compared to the Sac. The Sac is what I consider one of the most challenging launches in the area. It would be an extremely valuable data point.

regards,
DaveP

Good point Dave--but enforcement of the flying policies is no different between HG and PG pilots (as far as membership and permits are concerned). More to the point--will the efforts be recognized and help the local pg community? That is the hope--I see no downside to this. Maybe a club pg member--with advanced standing--could step up to the plate and volunteer to be a "liason" for pg pilots, as I have been asked to do in TN by the TTT. The real problem arises when new pg pilots show up and only hg pilots are around who may not understand the qualifications and safety parameters pertinent to paragliding. Just a thought.

marc

[Flying Lobster]

20+ people at the meeting, 1 no vote, all others voted in favour of this project. Thanks everybody, looks like the vast majority in this community wants this done. That's great.
The BOD wants three more things before deciding on this. A quote/contract including a detailed diagram of the work to be done, including measurements and dimensions, an insurance certificate and the assessment of possible road damage due to use of heavy equipmet. I will provide all these this week and send copies to the decision makers.

Nice work Janni for stepping up to the plate and working hard on seeing this through. I'm sure the results will justify the efforts.

marc

[Matthew]

First-- I think all of the active PG pilots in the area are members of the club--

Lazlo
Ellis
Jim Kaplan
Charlie
Stephan
Ben Brooks
Jeff Eggars


And don't forget the ever growing bi-wingwal bunch-- me, Karen, Hugh, Carlos, Dan T. (when he returns from Iraq), Daniel B., Steve K and Christy.

Second-- the current pad is already launchable for HG an PGs. How can making it longer and wider not be better?

Great plan Janni- Thanks for stepping up to the plate.

Matthew

[Spark]

Good stuff Janni, well done..
Peace, Shawn.

[brianvh]

Ah, slope "measured by eye". I was wondering how my estimations could have been so far off...we've got different eyes!

Anyway, the typical way to measure vertical is to have a yardstick with a plumb bob and a sliding sighting tube perpendicular to the yardstick. You start at the bottom, sight a point, move the stick to that point and sight the next point, add it all up. You can make your own for about $15 if you cruise a hardware store and are a little creative.

I wouldn't trust a vario over this distance.

After you have the vertical, stretch a long cord along the slope to measure the diagonal run. Do some trig and you've got the slope plus everything else. I think it would be a fun project.

[RedBaron]

Obtaining exact data on the slope is not necessary since changing the slope is out of the question. I have made sure to err on the conservative side of things so nobody can say I lied about the steepness. I also believe it's steeper than I said it was. I'm confident the new pad will be no more technical to launch from than WS.
A new diagram can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/JPapakrivos/PulpitLaunch# explaining the job in more detail. I am right now waiting for the contractor to sign off on it and send us the insurance certificate.
I'll post again when I know more.

[brianvh]

but more accurate slope measurements done side by side with places like oregon ridge that people feel comfortable with may help us assess the safety of the new pad. Doesn't have to be done immediately, but would be nice to have. Definitely not encumbent on the pad designers since we are already moving ahead on it. And yet, it would set a lot of minds at ease if someone does it over the next few months.

On account of the rocks I wouldn't take a wing I'm still getting used to off the pad without a close to 10 mph wind...I just ran my XC nearly to the bottom of the Ellenville launch.

[markc]

Should we approach the Foundation for Free Flight to see if this
project would be considered a candidate for funding support?

MarkC

[Dan T]

By all means let's contact them. If they consented in principal would we want to design so that we could say increase the height and the slope later?

Dan T

[RedBaron]

I am particularly pleased to announce that the two clubs' boards have cast their final vote in favour of this proposal. The contractor has without hesitation signed the diagram and submitted a rock-solid insurance CERT. Picking up on Cragin's question, the trucks will definitely leave marks on the road but won't do any significant damage to it.

I'd like to thank everyone for their support as well as much appreciated criticism. Unfortunately I had to fire Glen and Gregory for lack of commitment and would therefore like to use this opportunity to recruit one or two volunteers to help supervise the contractor. Work will commence next week (provided Dave will mail the checks this week) on a day that has yet to be determined. If you can take a morning or an afternoon off please email me to make schedule arrangements. Thank you.

[hepcat1989]

.

[brianvh]

After the work is done I would recommend a work party to loosen up compacted soil in the grassy areas, otherwise the grass will not grow back. We never did this when the original pad was built and the grass hasn't returned to where the gravel was dumped.

[brianvh]

amendation: I actually did break up the compacted soil going up the hill, which I believe had an effect on how fast the grass returned, but I didn't touch the gravel dump site.

[mcelrah]

Many thanks to those who have pledged contributions to the Pulpit launch improvement fund! The window is now open to receive your checks in care of:

David Bodner
Pulpit Treasurer
3208 5th St. North
Arlington VA 22201

You don't have to have pledged in advance - we'll accept your money anyway!

- Hugh McElrath
CHGPA President-for-Life

[mcgowantk]

I think we need a goal for the fund raiser. Given the project was supported by so many pilots, I suggest a goal of $2,000. Who knows, we may be getting close all ready. Thanks to everyone who contributed either directly on the project or thru the fund raiser.

Tom McGowan

[carweill]

Good idea,
Hugh has posted the address above.
I imagine checks are made payable to 'Pulpit' correct?

Carlos

[dbodner]

I imagine checks are made payable to 'Pulpit' correct?

Sure, that'll work.

[RedBaron]

Estimated start date this Wednesday.

Looking for help for Thursday and Friday, weather permitting of course. Please help us ensure the job is carried out according to our standards. Jeryl will try his best to get stuff done he couldn't make any promises on, like slightly making the slope steeper and destroying rocks at the far bottom of the steeper section. He welcomes supervision to make sure we're happy with the job.

Thanks