The PG community flew Dickey's and Daniels yesterday. I know the Daniels guys had some good flights but I don't know the details. Four of us flew Dickies. Three of us had XC flights. I had a nice OTB to just beyond the Front Royal city limits on the NE side of town. My best one in a PG.
Dan
Dickey's yesterday
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Re: Dickey's yesterday
I had my personal best XC in VA!
The best way I can describe flying cross country by paraglider is that it's a sense of childlike exploration combined with the closest thing to flying like a bird that humans have managed to achieve. I just can't get enough of it.
The day at Daniels had it's ups and downs. All four of us wound up in the weeds at one time or another except Justin who used all the airspace available in the slot without actually contacting any of the vegetation. I'm exaggerating of course. He flew very well. And while it wasn't dangerous, it wasn't necessarily the kind of day for easy, clean getaways. You had to be willing to give up early if things weren't going right, something I tend to push too far at times. And as the day got more west, the launching became sketchy. Paul wisely opted out of a last flight. Unbeknown to us the team of pilots at Dickies Ridge would experience their own launching problems within the Shenandoah National Park.
The launch for the XC was the only one I recorded and Bless His Noodly Appendage it went textbook. I had waited through two cycles and was able to time a good launch on the third. The first thing I noticed was my right riser connected 180 degrees out from where it should be. Not a huge problem and certainly not stopping me from going anywhere but the thing is, when I hooked in I had it right but got talked into changing it. Conditions were the same as previous flights. A combination of punchy thermals and monster scary sink. The idea was to work the lift the best you can and hang in there so you don't get flushed in the next sink cycle. I was doing a little better than the previous flights when I hooked into something serious right over launch and started turning. It was a big fat one and I got several thousand feet over launch with it. At dinner with Tom and Austin a couple evenings earlier Tom gave me the low-down on Daniels. “It's not a good XC site because if you go over the back there's little landing options; you're in tiger country from the start. Instead, work toward the East end of the ridge before committing and then you have better options”. I did. And I did! My fondest dream at Daniels for going on three years has been a very modest desire to land at the football field at the school in Stanardsville. I'll have to hold onto that dream because I was still quite high when I arrived at the school on speed having found lift lines and thermals along the way. And I caught another good thermal from the big black roof of the primary school. Happy to get the tank-up I moved downwind which was distinctly SW now. Outside of town I got high on another boomer that got me as close to cloudbase as I was going to get at over 5,000 feet ASL. Absolutely had to be an inversion spoiling my fun for it to happen again and again like that. Back on speed I took off up 230 toward Wolftown. Somewhere along the way I got a clear as a bell radio transmission from Patrick all the way up by Frong Royal! I was getting low and thought I'd land at the Sheetz. I was hungry so I figured “perfect”! I was scanning for power lines and picking a nice safe LZ when I found ragged lift over some farm houses. I worked and worked until it smoothed out and got more coherent and eventually followed some birds around who looked as though they knew what they were doing. It's one of the big benefits of flying like a bird. The other birds don't recognize you as a threat since they don't really know what you are. It's a disarming effect of novelty that allowed me to kettle up with the buzzards. I then caught a final big thermal over the warehouse at the corner of 230 and 29. Nothing for it but to take off North on Bar and see where I could make it. Sometimes I was hitting 35mph on glide! I found some lift but nothing to get me back high again and got low heading for a little cemetery that I hoped might work but had to land in a nice hay field about a mile north of Madison Va.
A big gust as I was landing provided me the elevator descent, step on earth landing. I'd picked a good field with a really long run up wind to anything that could rotor me. Just a perfect way to wind up my favorite foot launch flight ever.
After I landed I packed up and found the gate to the field and let myself out onto the chiprock road. I walked toward the house and the man walked briskly out off the porch to meet me. He couldn't have been more welcoming and charming. While they are simply good people, this is also an area where that disarming effect of novelty comes into play. They offered me hospitality, even though I learned later they were in the process of moving in and still unpacking. I glanced about a little bit looking disoriented and asked for directions for the quickest hike to Hwy 29 while pointing in the wrong direction. “Oh that's a very long walk, I'll drive you up there”. And off we went. I made mention about the graveyard across the street from his house and learned that it's actually quite old. I'd hoped for maybe a thermal trigger but he relates that they love it for a different uplifting effect. It's an eternal reminder to them to live each day to the fullest. Some of the graves there are from the 1830s! I'd whined to Paul on the coconut telagraph for a retrieve and he was on his way. I got to sit in a Subway sandwich shop air conditioning sipping a soft drink and munching a samich waiting for him. Meanwhile back in the Park Krista took off running to retrieve her car from the LZ. Running. Awesome hero style.
George
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rhgy ... s-xc_sport
The best way I can describe flying cross country by paraglider is that it's a sense of childlike exploration combined with the closest thing to flying like a bird that humans have managed to achieve. I just can't get enough of it.
The day at Daniels had it's ups and downs. All four of us wound up in the weeds at one time or another except Justin who used all the airspace available in the slot without actually contacting any of the vegetation. I'm exaggerating of course. He flew very well. And while it wasn't dangerous, it wasn't necessarily the kind of day for easy, clean getaways. You had to be willing to give up early if things weren't going right, something I tend to push too far at times. And as the day got more west, the launching became sketchy. Paul wisely opted out of a last flight. Unbeknown to us the team of pilots at Dickies Ridge would experience their own launching problems within the Shenandoah National Park.
The launch for the XC was the only one I recorded and Bless His Noodly Appendage it went textbook. I had waited through two cycles and was able to time a good launch on the third. The first thing I noticed was my right riser connected 180 degrees out from where it should be. Not a huge problem and certainly not stopping me from going anywhere but the thing is, when I hooked in I had it right but got talked into changing it. Conditions were the same as previous flights. A combination of punchy thermals and monster scary sink. The idea was to work the lift the best you can and hang in there so you don't get flushed in the next sink cycle. I was doing a little better than the previous flights when I hooked into something serious right over launch and started turning. It was a big fat one and I got several thousand feet over launch with it. At dinner with Tom and Austin a couple evenings earlier Tom gave me the low-down on Daniels. “It's not a good XC site because if you go over the back there's little landing options; you're in tiger country from the start. Instead, work toward the East end of the ridge before committing and then you have better options”. I did. And I did! My fondest dream at Daniels for going on three years has been a very modest desire to land at the football field at the school in Stanardsville. I'll have to hold onto that dream because I was still quite high when I arrived at the school on speed having found lift lines and thermals along the way. And I caught another good thermal from the big black roof of the primary school. Happy to get the tank-up I moved downwind which was distinctly SW now. Outside of town I got high on another boomer that got me as close to cloudbase as I was going to get at over 5,000 feet ASL. Absolutely had to be an inversion spoiling my fun for it to happen again and again like that. Back on speed I took off up 230 toward Wolftown. Somewhere along the way I got a clear as a bell radio transmission from Patrick all the way up by Frong Royal! I was getting low and thought I'd land at the Sheetz. I was hungry so I figured “perfect”! I was scanning for power lines and picking a nice safe LZ when I found ragged lift over some farm houses. I worked and worked until it smoothed out and got more coherent and eventually followed some birds around who looked as though they knew what they were doing. It's one of the big benefits of flying like a bird. The other birds don't recognize you as a threat since they don't really know what you are. It's a disarming effect of novelty that allowed me to kettle up with the buzzards. I then caught a final big thermal over the warehouse at the corner of 230 and 29. Nothing for it but to take off North on Bar and see where I could make it. Sometimes I was hitting 35mph on glide! I found some lift but nothing to get me back high again and got low heading for a little cemetery that I hoped might work but had to land in a nice hay field about a mile north of Madison Va.
A big gust as I was landing provided me the elevator descent, step on earth landing. I'd picked a good field with a really long run up wind to anything that could rotor me. Just a perfect way to wind up my favorite foot launch flight ever.
After I landed I packed up and found the gate to the field and let myself out onto the chiprock road. I walked toward the house and the man walked briskly out off the porch to meet me. He couldn't have been more welcoming and charming. While they are simply good people, this is also an area where that disarming effect of novelty comes into play. They offered me hospitality, even though I learned later they were in the process of moving in and still unpacking. I glanced about a little bit looking disoriented and asked for directions for the quickest hike to Hwy 29 while pointing in the wrong direction. “Oh that's a very long walk, I'll drive you up there”. And off we went. I made mention about the graveyard across the street from his house and learned that it's actually quite old. I'd hoped for maybe a thermal trigger but he relates that they love it for a different uplifting effect. It's an eternal reminder to them to live each day to the fullest. Some of the graves there are from the 1830s! I'd whined to Paul on the coconut telagraph for a retrieve and he was on his way. I got to sit in a Subway sandwich shop air conditioning sipping a soft drink and munching a samich waiting for him. Meanwhile back in the Park Krista took off running to retrieve her car from the LZ. Running. Awesome hero style.
George
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rhgy ... s-xc_sport
Re: Dickey's yesterday
Great story George. Was your flight on Sunday or yesterday? Thanks, Bacil