High Rock Late Thursday

[Matthew]

Can't get of for Pulpit today (Wed)-- but might be able to get of early for High Rock tomorrow (Thu). Could get there by 4:30.

Anyone else?????

Matthew

[Kurt Kemerer]

looks like a good day - I'm in should get there about the same time between 4:00 & 5:00

[mcelrah]

I'm in with tandem if there will be wirecrew. Gotta see if my duty rated pilot passenger/victim Chris Hornberger can make it. Any other volunteers? - Hugh

[markc]

I'm a semi-firm-maybe for an evening High Rock flight.... Will throw the glider on
the truck and try to clear things at work so that I can hit the road by 4-ish.

MarkC

[Matthew]

I'll cal Eddie Miller and tell him to come out... also arm-twist Cavanaugh. How about Kelvin and Steve??? You guys gonna join us?


Matthew

[XCanytime]

Daniel and I are going to be at the Rock by 2PM. Bacil

[lbunner]

Should be good for you guys. Cloudbase over 7000' again today. Winds at about 320 degrees and 10 mph. Have fun, be safe.

[Matthew]

Checked NOTAMs. High Rock is clear today, July 1. Flight restrictions for Thurmont Airpsace in effect tomorrow through Sunday (July 2-4). Come on out and play this afternoon!!!

Matthew

[carweill]

OK I surrender.

Planning HR today. ETA maybe 3PM

Carlos

[markc]

Although things look generally north-ish, the winds are supposed to switch
back to more NW later in the day. So I'm probably going to give it a go too....
Only burning a couple hours of leave, so no biggie!

MarkC

[XCanytime]

Mixed bag at the Rock today. Got there just before 2P to find Tim Hurlinger and Steve Kinsley setting up, and a huge gaggle of AT hikers resting. Daniel showed up after 2:30P and helped Steve and I launch Tim. Tim soared away from the ridge for a while before succumbing to gravity. Carlos showed up and we launched Steve before 3P. Steve got up and was climbing behind launch in a thermal. Glen Hardy showed up, so a wire crew of 3 was available to help me launch around 3:15P. Had a good launch and found some lift towards the rockpile. Turned back and passed by launch around 100' over. Waved to all the AT hikers who were gathered on the cube. The air was just as crappy today as it was yesterday. Worked hard to get up in the cross to the north of the launch. Found some lift away from the ridge and climbed to a max of 1200' over. Got flushed and went past launch just below it before getting scraped off to land. Should have turned out to land to the north of launch, because I had a quartering headwind all the way to the LZ. Made me concentrate more than usual on S2F on the way out. Found a pop of lift at the RR tracks that gave me some more altitude, and some more just over Emma Jane's house that allowed an abbreviated Figure 8 approach into the LZ. Had a nice spot landing at the orange cone. Steve had landed previous. Got a ride up with Hugh to fetch the truck. While breaking down my glider Carlos landed after a sledder. Daniel, Matthew, and Glen launched, with Daniel and Glen getting up and Matthew getting an extendo. Took Matthew back up to help launch Karen, and she was on the cube with Eddie Miller and Mark C. as wire crew. Good to see Eddie out at the Rock, though not flying. Karen launched and got up, as did Kurtis Kemerer and Mark C. Things had gone magic, though still cross from the north. Mark C. strafed launch repeatedly. As I was leaving, Hugh was setting up the tandem to take Carlos on a tandem ride off of the cube.

Bacil

[mcelrah]

Incredible run of weather these several days: highs of ~80, low humidity, sky full of cumulus clouds. Flying my ass off. First tandem off High Rock late yesterday (Carlos Weill my willing victim/rated pilot/passenger - he has a "nice mass"). Launch felt good, landing (on big Finsterwalder wheels) was "perfect". Much thanks to him, as well as Eddie Mitchell, Daniel, and Matthew for wiring us off and shuttling vehicles below the gate (turned out the MPs didn't shut the gate??). This was number 17 in the series of 25 required flights with rated (H1 and up) pilots. Having an experienced HR cliff launcher like Carlos was obviously helpful the first time. Other volunteers?

I had a 25 minute solo flight (in the Kinsley/Janni/Ellis memorial Sport 2) earlier with a climb to 600 over, but lost it all penetrating back out front, then got scraped off.

Emma Jane was glad to see us out there - says she's lonely, misses Harry terribly. Only 14 flights so far this year before yesterday. Lotta cats around - wonder if they are all Dr. Ellis' patients (neutered) or are there more...?

Carlos/Glenn/Matthew placed large rocks to augment the eroding steps up to the block. Need to execute the new launch plan!! Dan, would it help to make a cash offer to your co-worker to finish the plans?

It was great to have a crowd at HR - we need to fly it more. Who says you can't go cross-country from there? How come the XC guys launch at Pulpit, then get up someplace not far from HR and go on east?

- Hugh

[hang_pilot]

I flew for 2:30 yesterday – from 5:30 until 8:00.

The first half of the flight was hard work but fun and then it went magic and it was just plain fun.

Cool memory: Mark, Karen, Kurtis and me, formation flying into the setting sun, each of us in our own lift line.

Thanks, Matthew, for the ride and for coaching me on the launch timing (ditto, Kurtis).

Hope everyone enjoys the three-day weekend.

Blue skies,
Daniel