looking for a very smoothly day in High Rock

[wmelo]

SUNDAY
SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.

I am looking forward to flying again at High Rock. It has to be a very nice and smoothly day for a lousy H2 pilot with a falcon.

Thoughts?

walt

[Danny Brotto]

Latest forecast has HR a bit on the sporty side. Woodstock would be a better bet for you.

Good luck,
Danny Brotto

[jyoder111]

Sunday does look nice. Danny where'd you see it strong at High Rock? I'm seeing 8-10mph all day.

I'm back in Arlington, btw. Looking to knock the rust off.

Jesse

[Matthew]

Hmmm--- maybe Danny thought Walt said Saturday not Sunday.

Looks good to me for High Rock on Sunday.

Matthew

[Danny Brotto]

Friday am casts showed HR as looking good for Sunday. I then saw a Sunday post-frontal NOAA-cast bumping up the NW gusts into the 20's! This morning, it's back to being a very promising HR day with no gusts to speak of.

OTOH, Dr. Jack sez 400 to 500 ft/min to 5K MSL, NNW at 15 with a BS ratio of 5 to 6 (anything lower than 5 means thermals may be ripped up due to the wind.) So Dr. Jack is still calling for Falcon-sporty although the typically end-of-the-day backoff will likely be in play.

Hope HR works for ya'll!

Danny Brotto

[FlyingFelix]

Yeah, looks great tomorrow at HR. I'm in.

[Dunegoon]

Interested in HR for Sunday.


Charley

[bowen.tim]

If conditions are still good in the AM, I am looking forward to coming out to HR. I will need a mentor/observer, so Mathew, if you are willing, I would appreciate that. I will call you in a little while to talk.

[markc]

Thinking of jumping on the the HR wagon, provided that the forecasts continue to claim mellow-post-frontal tomorrow morning.

MarkC

[mcelrah]

I'm in. What time? - Hugh

[kcarra]

11ish.

Checked flight services. No NOTAMs,

Matthew

[jyoder111]

heading to HR. Gonna be a party!

Jesse

[krryerson]

Jesse,
Good to have you back in Arlington.
In any case, I assume High Rock will be the place to go today and will be heading to HR in a few min.
Est arriving at 11 AM.
Knut (703)-967-8277

[g.sessa]

I'm in. ETA 11ish.

[jyoder111]

Welp. Car trouble. I'm out. Middle pipe where it connects to the catalytic converter came apart. Too loud to drive so I'll spend the day trying to fix it.

Have fun everybody!

Jesse

[krryerson]

Came to High Rock around 11:15AM and the parking lot was full of Hang gliders, Pilots and Spectators. Walter was first. I think I was 4th out and did not wanted to wait, despite mellow conditions. It was perhaps ~5 MPH wind on the rock when I launched around 12:45PM. I had a great 1 hrs flight and topped out 2500 ft above landing. But, it was also a lot of work and perhaps some luck also.
Perfect landing zone, landing and great weather.
Did Hike back up to the mountain with Karen and Matthew.
What a great day. Thanks!
Knut

[Matthew]

Eleven Pilots Flew at the Rock!

It was like the good ol' days.

We launched Walt in some early mellow conditions. He got up for a little bit and then landed. Tim B. followed with similar results. It was kinda light and cross and I somehow got Greg Sessa to launch next. Greg got up out front and I followed-- getting up by going North. Knut went next and the three of us flew together for about an hour. It was really sporty-- about a 7 out of 10 on the turbulence factor. I had multiple uninitiated turns and lots of tight little thermals. Karen went after Knut and got up for a bit-- then went out to land and had a low save back up to launch level. But she landed after not liking the air. Not sure who went next. Felix had a sledder. Dennis Scheely got up for a bit. After Knut and Greg succumbed to gravity I think Hugh launched. He also had a a low save and got a half hour flight. I started to sink out as Hugh went out to land.. I lucked into a bubble at about 400 agl. It wasn't gong up fast and I gave up on it... only to blunder into a nice big fat one that took me back up to 2500 over launch. I flew another half hour by myself and then went out to land having made the 2 hour mark. Lots of sink on the way out to the LZ. And then on my base I hit a wall of sink and a head wind that forced me to come in low at the cut out. I've never done that in all my years of flying. I made a 45 degree turn once into the field, got the wings level, but missed my flair timing and had a belly landing. Got 2 hours 5 minutes and 2800' over launch.

Cavanaugh landed shortly thereafter after a sledder.

Karen, Knut and I hiked back up. We got lost on the trail and had to call Steve Kinsely for directions.

Felix was in the air for his second flight when we got back up to the parking lot-- having gotten above launch for a few minutes. Winds were light and straight in at launch, despite the WAY NORTH cross in the air. So we convinced Charlie to take a flight. He had a great launch and made a couple of passes before landing. Walt and Tim also had good launches.

Big thanks to Dan Tuck. for hanging out and helping crew-- his glider is in California. We also met a MHGA guy who has been flying for 5 years, (Howie?), that we have somehow never met.

Emma Jane showed us some old issues of Skyline from 1976 that she had stumbled upon. They had cartoons, and articles and classifieds and letters to the editor. Those were really the good ol' days.

Matthew

[FlyingFelix]

It was a beautiful day, not sure if "smoothly" as requested but very much fun.
I took a 10 minute sledder then a 21 minute sledder...first flight I got back up to launch level from very low over the train tracks, second one from about the same spot got back up over launch, flew on top of launch briefly then went back down. Some cool thermalling, lauch/landing practice, even if I didn't have long flights I'm totally satisfied.
Many thanks to Hugh and Matthew & Karen for the rides back up top, with glider and all!