Dickey Ridge flight report for Sunday 7/19

[mingram]

I finally got to fly! It feels like it's been a few months with all the rainy weekends and cloudy skies.

It was a soupy kinda day that got better later than expected. Thermals were pretty light all day and you had to stick with what you got. If you tried to search for something stronger, or even left the area you initially found lift you would lose enough height that would put you on the ground.

I had 3 flights. The 1st was short with a landing near the winery. Tom was a little higher and was able to climb in the same thermal, but I was lower and only got pieces of it. Tom flew past Front Royal, but reported weak/difficult conditions. I was able to get two quick rides back to launch.

George, Dan, and Syrus all flew and found similar weak conditions. The sky still looked good with clouds working in the valley. On my second flight I was determined to stick to the ridge and found increased base wind and was able to maintain at launch level fairly well. I noticed a sailplane under a cloud in the valley and flew underneath it and got a little lift back to launch height, but lost it. The sailplane flew off and clouds seemed to dry up over launch and I was getting lower. I flew out into the valley and found a decent thermal that got me above launch and enough height to drift to the visitors center and then to the school. There were big clouds across the river that I tried to get under, but it felt like the lift was drifting past me. After landing at the school I got a quick retrieve by Dan and Syrus.

It was a hot day and I was kinda ready to go home, but was glad I stuck around for a 3rd flight. There were no clouds on the ridge, but there were nice cycles coming in and I found a boomer to the right of launch that took me to cloudbase. I wish I had found it sooner because George who launched first was already at road height and couldn't catch it. The thermal was smooth and didn't drift much. From there I easily glided downwind over tiger country to the east side of Front Royal where there's a smaller school that I saw birds and clouds over. I was getting low, but I stuck with the weak climb and drifted across 66 short of Linden. Another hike to an intersection where the sign got me a ride to the Linden exit perfectly timed to meet Jim for a fast ride home.

Big thanks to Tom for the caravan and coordination. I hope to do more coaching next time to help others follow.

Oh, and we saw a young bear on the trail to launch, but luckily no momma bear! We also ate some blueberries growing on launch.

Matt

[markc]

Any photos or vids to share Matt? Sounds like you had a great day, your persistence sure paid off!