Woodstock/Pulpit weekend

[XCanytime]

I'll be out of town but Saturday is looking good at Woodstock and Sunday is looking west and breezy at the Pulpit. Hope some nice flights occur whereever the pilots end up. Bacil

[W89rnr]

I'll be coming from Lynchburg this weekend after thanksgiving, I'll be bringin my U2 back from Richmond for the holidays and maybe some flying?
Anyone else keen to keep an eye on the weather?

[Lostgriz]

I may be up for Woodstock on Saturday.

[callen]

If it's not too cold i could potential be convinced to fly Woodstock.

Charlie

[jyoder111]

I'm available this weekend. Either day but not both.

Jesse

[FlyingFelix]

I'll go out one day this week-end as well, hope for Woodstock on Saturday but we'll see what happens.

[Matthew]

Looking like Woodstock to me on Saturday!

Matthew

[Dunegoon]

Saturday @ WS

Partly cloudy in the morning, then clear. High of 39F with a windchill as low as 23F. Breezy. Winds from the NW at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

What say the WS aficionados?

[jyoder111]

Gonna be blown out. IMHO

Jesse

[Matthew]

What???

You've gone out every other time when the forecast was calling for gusts to 30.


Matthew

[jyoder111]

10-15 with gusts to 30 is one thing. Just pick your cycles. 15-25 is something else in the Woodstock slot. Right??

Jesse

[heaviek]

All of the above are a crap shoot. If you want a sure thing, go when it is unstable and only blowing 10. You wont get blown out, the air wont be rat shit, and you are much less likely to end up in the trees.
But....if you don't like to turn in circles any of the forecasts will definitely be soarable.

Kev

[mcgowantk]

I am bailing on saturday because I think it will be too strong, but I am interested in Sunday.

Tom McGowan

[Dan T]

For all you new guys, when two of the three best pilots in our area decide it's going to be too strong you should be paying attention.

[Matthew]

Well, they upped the text forecast on gusts to 35-- but got rid of the gust forecast on the wind barbs-- ugh!!!

My gut feeling, from the last few times the forecasts have been similar, is that the winds will back off at the end of the day and it will be OK at WS after 3.

As usual, gonna have to wait till Saturday morning for a final determination.

Matthew

[Joe Schad]

Looks like Friday is a Dickey's day. Any takers.

Joe

[hang_pilot]

Looks like a great day at Smithsburg. I assume if there were any updates, we'd have them. Any chance of a drive by tomorrow morn to check out the sign?

~D

[FlyingFelix]

So I decided no to go out to Woodstock after seeing the crazy winds....turns out it's pretty much perfect for flying out there today - wish I went.
Looking forward to seeing if anyone went out and had a good flight.
Is anyone flying tomorrow anywhere?

[XCanytime]

I would hope that some head to the Pulpit quite early tomorrow to enjoy the soarable conditions before it turns SW. Bacil

[Matthew]

Ya'll didn't miss anything at Woodstock. Got a call from Brian VH at 1pm while we were visiting Ellis at her dacha. He reported winds 20-25 at launch with higher gusts. So we hung out with Ellis for a while and traipsed around the woods on her property. We headed over to WS at around 2:15, arriving at 3. Winds were 10-15 with occasional freight trains. So I set up. Brian and Jim (from Ellenville) were starting to set up. Jim's friend Kenny left his glider in the bag and Karen did not bring her glider because she thought it would be too cold. She was right. It was bone-chilling. I had to go full metal jacket with my old ski suit, balaklava and hand and foot warmers just to set up. At about 3:50 things seemed a little more mellow. A few minutes later, however, a sustained 35+ mph gust blew in for a good couple of minutes. Yikes!

I considered breaking down. After another 15 minutes it remained more or less mellow and Jim decided to launch. He went straight out and up and up and up. I launched next so I could radio down a condition report to Brian, who had his Falcon. At first things seemed OK for Brian-- lots of lift and relatively smooth. But at 1K over and still climbing I hit a wall-- I had to go full VG to keep moving forward while pulled in and still climbing. So I radioed down to Brian not to launch. The flight was mostly just trying to go forward enough to find some down air-- I landed in the field across from the bridge filed after a half hour. I came in hot and was dragging my feet on the ground thinking I missed the flare. I eased out slightly expecting to roll in on my belly and got popped up 20 feet and turned 45 degrees. I pulled in quickly to correct the turn and then flared again as the ground came up. However, I came down on the right wheel and took out the right down tube even though the landing felt gentle. It was honking on the ground and I had to hold the glider down for about 5 minutes before I could turn it tail to the wind. Jim came in a few minutes later and landed well.

A forecast for gusts to 35 can be believed.

Matthew