Big Walker July 4th

[XCanytime]

The Dublin forecast couldn't be any better: NNW at 13 MPH. Heading down after work tomorrow. Another assault on the XC to the VT Airport. Bacil

[Roger]

Appropriate attire a must. (Hookies)

[XCanytime]

What an interesting day at Big Walker. Got there at 9:30A to a plethora of cloud types in the sky. Wave, cumies, and stratocumulus filled the sky. Andy Smart and I were stoked about heading XC to the east. I led the charge into the strong air at noon and got up easily. The sky starting drying up as I was staging to head east. Got to cloudbase at 5700' MSL a few miles to the east but a few miles shy of the Rt. 100 gap. Andy launched a half hour plus after me so I forged ahead. I looked to the east and the sky was blue. But being at cloudbase I went for it. Got low near the Rt. 100 gap but found lift and jumped it w/ ease. Headed toward the New River Gap and found some broken turbulent lift that got me to 4700' MSL. Still no clouds to the east but I went for it again. Jumped the gap and headed towards the planned staging spot. Unfortunately Spruce Run Mountain is only 1.5 miles upwind from Big Walker, it is higher and steeper than Big Walker, and it overlaps Big Walker for 6 miles east of the river. As I headed east I lost altitude but still maintained around 500' over. As I got a few miles I got drilled down to ridge level and all hell broke loose. The worst turbulence (either thermal or rotor) slapped me square in the face and shook me bad. There does not need to be a structural test run on the glider. It survived hellacious shock loads and stayed intact. I headed as best as I could out and luckily made it to an uphill field that is part of Spruce Run Mountain. Rolled in on the wheels. My XC buddy Andy made it about a half mile further and had a turbulent landing that resulted in broken aluminum but thankfully no damage to the pilot. We were welcomed by the locals with open arms and retrieved by Tommy Thompson and Mike Jernigan. Back at launch Wayne Baker and Paul Sydor were soaring in the still strong conditions. Steve Sexton launched near to 8:00P and soared for a half hour in the now butter smooth conditions. A roaring campfire and roasted hot dogs capped the evening. Mr. Arthur made his presence felt thruout the day with a north cross in the air aloft and on the ridge as we headed east. Bacil

[markc]

Glad your flight worked out OK Bacil! Have you flown that portion of the ridge (with Spruce Run upwind) previously, but *without* the major turb? Curious if the strong day was the cause, and if so, the point at which the wind speed becomes a concern.

Checked out your route on Google maps, would indeed be awesome to land at the VT airport!

MarkC

[XCanytime]

Mark,
That's the 1st time I have made it past the New River Gap. I found it strange that I didn't encounter any "rotor/thermal" turbulence until I had gone around 4 miles down the ridge (just 2 miles shy from the end of Spruce Run Mt.) and hit massive sink that put me at ridge level. The formula says 1K' AGL mountain x 10 MPH perpendicular wind = 10,000 ft (2 miles) downwind is where the turbulence damps out to ok levels. I'd approximate the distance between the spines of the 2 mountains to be 1.5 miles, so there is a danger when it is truly NNW and windy on the windward side of Spruce Run Mountain. I was aware of the potential danger of rotor turbulence from studying the relief map closely the last 2 years. Later when we went to pick up Andy's stuff where he landed we watched a sailplane heading east a few hundred over Big Walker Mountain and he looked like he wasn't getting trashed. Of course he's hauling ass compared to us so he doesn't spend as much time in the crap air, slicing thru it at probably 90 knots. Bacil