Pulpit Sunday 9/23

[XCanytime]

Looks like another stellar day at the Pulpit is shaping up this coming Sunday. I will be driving eastward from Morgantown, WV, and won't be getting there until the afternoon, when it will probably be honking out the wazoo and probably blown out. Hopefully it will not have any north in it. Early birds should get the worm. Charlie, another ridge task beckons. Bacil

[callen]

If the weather is good i may come out either Saturday or Sunday (my glider and car is still in Chambursburg). I think John Simon may be up for an XC as well. I also fixed my radio so we could do a simplified group task. Could even leave cars at my in laws.

[FlyingFelix]

I'd love to join in the flight if possible!
I'm an H-2 (AT, FL) - I'm guessing I need an observer to fly The Pulpit - I also need to become a member of the Baltimore-DC club. I flew the Ellenville, NY site last week-end and I'm blown away by mountain flying - I'm hooked. Is a flight in the books for me tomorrow? Any observers present? I'll get the beers...

[callen]

I'll be there tomorrow and am trying to rope in 5-6 others for an XC flight. However it's going to blow hard and though it may be ok in the AM and late afternoon it'll still be on the rowdy side. Also the main LZ is much further away then Ellenville and if you fall out of the ridge lift the bail out field is very small. With that said you'll definitely have company if you come out but I wouldn't be optimistic about flying.

I believe you need an observer as an H2 at the pulpit but will let someone else who knows better confirm. Regardless of tomorrow you should take care of all the waivers/dues etc.

What are you flying? Any interest in driving for some pilots? My in-laws live about 15-20miles OTB and I'll be trying to fly there and others get roped in we may try and have a little BBQ there.

[DanTuck]

I'll be there tomorrow. ETA 1000-ish

[heaviek]

Am I the forum idiot? It doesn't look that windy tomorrow at all where I am getting info.....and that coming from the guy who bashes wind chasers no less.
Charlie, are you carpooling out tomorrow to get your car?
Cantesanu, what kind of glider rack do you have?
I am doing some glider tuning but maybe I am close enough to go XC.

Kev

[XCanytime]

I should be there around 3P. Bacil

[XCanytime]

Kevin, I guarantee that it will be honking midday. It is a function of the local topography. Early or late is the ticket. I will be on the late side. Bacil

[heaviek]

Bacil, I am going to hold you to that Gusty I can see, but Honking I have trouble buying into.

Kev

* I define Honking as wind that never drops below the high teens.

[FlyingFelix]

Hi everybody.
I fly a Sport 2 155, I have a car rack that can support 2 or probably 3 gliders. Is the road up to the launch really bad? I have a sedan car and if the road is something you wouldn't go up but with a big truck or SUV (like the Ellenville site, that road is nasty) that might be a problem...I realize I might need to look into getting more appropriate transportation for mountain sites.
I've done only a couple of mountain flights but have numerous high altitude soaring flights at the airpark (just had a 2 hour flight yesterday at Ridgely).
Is an observer going to be there tomorrow by any chance? I'd love to go if there's a strong chance of flying, but time is very precious these days and as much as I'd like to just come and help out if it's not looking like flying I might just stay home and work instead (self-employed, already behind...). Also, I did not pay any dues for membership yet, is there a chance I can do that tomorrow? (probably not...)
I guess unless I'll get some extremely lucky answers it's looking like not flying for me tomorrow...
I'll keep checking the page and see if it's a go or not for me.
Thank you for all your help!

[silverwings]

Re:Felix Cantesanu (sport 2), he has minimal foot launch experience. He went to Ellenville for a couple of days last weekend and may have gotten fl sign off but that was his only fl experience/training. He is a competent AT pilot but unless conditions are perfect it might be risky. IMHO

[FlyingFelix]

I guess my FL could be called minimal, but I did have 3 lessons/sessions before mountain flying - I was fortunate to have had 3 practice sessions (with about 15-20 foot launches each) in 3 very different conditions: strong wind up the slope,no wind and cross-wind. The trainer there (Bryon with the Fly High school,great guy!) said I was the best cross-over (AT to FL and mountain flying) pilot he's trained yet (excuse the lack of modesty). I'm not some crazy dare-devil looking to throw myself off a cliff without being positively sure I'm up to it - I do not intend to put myself or a willing observer at risk. I do intend to be flying for the rest of my life and I do expect (hope) that to be a fairly long time.
Beside the (short) foot launching training I do have numerous soaring flights (84 flights so far), from my research I see that pilots of traditional foot launch training usually have much less experience before mountain flying.
Yes, there's still much to learn, I'll be hitting the training hills as much as I can but I do think I'm ready.
Sorry for the long rant and I do appreciate the concern.

Still looking for an observer tomorrow! Any takers?

[callen]

Unfortunetly I likey won't be able to come out (about 5-10% I'll make it). If I do make it jenn won't be able to drive and landing at the in laws is off the table.

[heaviek]

Felix,

Here is the pulpit protocol
http://chgpa.org/SiteInfo/pulpit.info.html where it references "pay a board member"
http://chgpa.org/ClubInfo/chgpa.info.html#Officers
Bacil is going out and I think Matt is going to try to fly tomorrow but maybe Woodstock. For any of those sites I would guess anyone observing would be more comfortable seeing new pilots introduced to the site in benign conditions (ie 6-9 mph straight and smooth) to get over the unfamiliarity. One way to look at your options is to realize that might be a hurdle that needs to be overcome regardless, and so chasing the wind/searching for an observer could very well be money in the bank.

Don't take it personal if people question your skills and treat you like you don't posses a rating that you have qualified for (like the FL rating you hold), It is kinda the Capitol way

I don't think tomorrow is going to be very windy, but my opinion is by far the minority.
Kev

[FlyingFelix]

Kev, I appreciate you taking your time and sending me to the correct links!
I also do appreciate another pilot's concern and opinion and am not offended in any way by the earlier post - I am new to the flying community and definitely do not want to make anybody uneasy, just want to join in the fun!
I'll plan on trying to come out tomorrow, if I don't make it there early I might show up later in the after-noon and hope for a willing observer to help out for a later in the day flight. Also, perhaps I can pay in person Mr. Matt Ingram or bacil Dickert if they will be there. I'll be checking the weather...
Hope to make it out there tomorrow and meet some of the local pilots, should be fun!

[callen]

Looks like I'll be able to make it after all but not till around 11:30 and with no driver.

[Dan T]

Felix,

All of our foot launch sites in the Capitol area are relatively technical slot launches that can be very unforgiving of mistakes that would be non-events at other locales. That is the reason that the observers are fussy about past foot launch experience.

Conditions that Bacil calls honking and Kev calls gusty can be difficult for even the most experienced pilots and downright dangerous for the less experienced ones. Having said that, conditions can and often do change rapidly in the late afternoons. The day can quickly go from too rough to fly to baby bottom smooth glass off in 30 minutes or less. You will never know unless you are there and ready to go. In the mean time offering to wire crew will give you a good introduction to the mid-afternoon site conditions and a chance to meet the pilots including the observers.

Most observers prefer that you give them a call the day before rather than simply post on here.

By the way Kev is a former world class competitor and will teach you a great deal just by hanging out and watching him.

Dan

[markc]

I'm thinking about the Pulpit too.... But there might not be a lot of sun up there, based on the satellite loop. Looks like there's some fairly persistent lake-effect cloud cover blowing out of the NW. Hmmmm.....

MarkC

[callen]

Looking out the window from Chambursburg at the mountain and there is sun and nice looking clouds. Heading out in 30min.

[markc]

Cool! And the latest satellite image looks better too. Still think it will be strong, but worth the trip up.

MarkC

[callen]

it's windy in Chambursburg so i would expect it to be blowing at launch

[DanTuck]

Blowing about 5-15. 50% cloud cover. Lookin good.

[DanTuck]

Ramping up already...

[mcgowantk]

Well, I had an awesome day at the Pulpit. It may have been my best day there ever (but not my longest flight) due to the strength and smoothness of the lift and the cloud streets. A number of pilots were there and everyone soared. Dave Proctor and I left a car at the Gettysburg Airport 38 miles or so to the East, so making that airport became our goal. Dave, Charlie, Matt, and I went over the back. The cloud streets were epic and provided consistent strong lift. They were, however, more north/south than our task so we had to jump a number of streets to get the Gettysburg. My best thermal of the day was in the 850 up but we had numerous 600+ thermals. My max height was 6,600 msl just as I crossed the Michaux Forest. Charlie got low and landed SE of Chambersburg and Matt landed at the western end of the Michaux after searching in vain to find a final climb to attempt the crossing. The best cloud street had us crossing the forest at one of its widest points but what the heck - go where there is lift. Dave scrapped me off at the Michaux and crossed first. I finally saw a thermal marked by corn husks and climbed to base over the Michaux and chased him a few minutes later. Dave and I both made the airport easily.

Too bad I couldn't find a driver. It looked like we could have gone a long way just flying downwind.

However, just a real fun day. I will let the others tell their stories but it appeared to be good day for everyone.

Tom McGowan

[heaviek]

It was epic at HR as well. John, Kelvin, and Tom Allen were there when I arrived. Very light on launch but it was obvious that the air was going up. The crown of spectators was even larger then usual. I waited for a building cycle but didn't go up much right in front of launch. Spotted some action south of the ravine south of launch and climbed out in one of the strongest thermals I have ever flown on the mid Atlantic. I don't have an averager but it had to be over 1000fpm. It couldn't have been a half dozen turns before getting close to the top. A cloud super highway had set up from HR straight to the Pulpit. I didn't have time to go the whole way but drove to Greencastle in about 30 or 45 minutes. I really wanted to fly all the way to the Pulpit on a "Honking" day . Alas a Hiking date with my girls capped my airtime. Coulda, woulda, shoulda..... Everyone flew, everyone soared. I don't want winter to come.