Pulpit Weekend 6/29 - 6/30

[XCanytime]

Well it's about damn time that a decent weather pattern coincides with a whole weekend! Don't
look now but it's looking like a twofer could happen at the Pulpit this coming weekend. I am planning to fly both days. WNW and good velocities are predicted. Hope the forecast holds true and doesn't ping pong back and forth all week. Bacil

[krryerson]

I am available for Sunday-Monday XC- flying and if forecast looks good, will definitely be at Pulpit on Sunday 6/30.
Knut

[jimsmess]

What does a non-club member have to do to fly the pulpit

[Dunegoon]

Looking good. ETA 12.

CF

[Ward Odenwald]

Looks like launch was hammered by at least one storm. Can't remember if the weather station ever experienced a 60+mph wind gust during a summer thunderstorm.

Hoping that no one was in the air or had their glider setup.

Ward

[XCanytime]

5 pilots showed up at the Pulpit today between 10A and 1P. Jim Messina, me, Ric Caylor, John Simon, and Charley Fager in that chronological order. All except Charley set their gliders up. There was a cell to the north of us that was building that prevented us from launching. Then Jim, John, then Ric started breaking their gliders down. I hesitated, then the 1st storm struck. I took shelter under my glider, which worked quite well until the storm became violent. A lightning bolt struck in the parking lot of the bar, which prompted John and Ric to leave the shelter of the pavilion and come out and help me roll the glider on the wheels up to the edge of the pavilion in the torrential rain, gusty winds (the 60 MPH gust recorded on the Holfuy), and pea-sized hail that was pelting us. Luckily that storm lasted only 5 minutes or so. The break allowed me to break down my glider to propped up on the control frame and bagged before the next storm hit. It was not as violent but lasted much longer, and produced more pea-sized hail. After the 2nd storm we loaded up the gliders and it was beer thirty for a few as we stood around and chewed the fat for a while before departing. Thanks for the showing of concern for our safety, both on the forum and by phone. Bacil

[silverwings]

Wow 60 mph gust!

[Dave Proctor]

I was in Hicksville yesterday around 2:15 to pick up a load of my lumber from the kiln. Hicksville is between Hagerstown and the Pulpit. The sky towards the Pulpit looked ugly. I was hoping nobody was flying. Glad to hear everyone dodged the bullet.

[XCanytime]

https://ayvri.com/scene/z15y60z0jx/cjxj ... 734ba8218c

[John Simon]

Nice flight Bacil, landed quite late! I was hoping you'd jump the river and fly to Charlie's.... something I failed to do coming down that ridge despite much trying. I hope we can try again soon.

John

[XCanytime]

Thanks John. After the excitement we experienced Saturday it was good to get a flight in yesterday. Spent the night at the Comfort Inn in Greencastle in anticipation of going for "The Mission" early Sunday at the Pulpit. Got to the Pulpit around 7:15A and had 3 wire crew lined up for a 9A arrival, but I did not want to fly alone. So I scrubbed "The Mission" and spent a couple of hours chewing the fat w/ Rich Bloomfield while the staged glider dried out from the drenching and hail pelting from the previous day. It was launchable at the Pulpit until after 10:30A, much later than the 9A I had predicted to be the launch time to attempt "The Mission". Arranged for Anthony to accompany me by 3P to the SAC (his 1st time there) since it looked flyable late in the day. So what to do w/ a couple of hours? Drive along Tuscarora Mountain from the Pulpit to Honey Grove and enter checkpoints in the GPS. And the sky looked magnificent. It was a day to attempt "The Mission". After tagging Honey Grove I drove to Anthony's house in Thurmont, MD and picked him up at 2:30P. 2 hours later we made it to the SAC to find Ed Messina, Jim Carroll, Joe Gorrie, Ric Caylor, and Eric Kriner w/ his family in tow. Conditions were strong, but there were launchable cycles. Set up and was ready to go by just after 6P, but was cautioned about the conditions. So I waited another 15 minutes. Went up to launch and found launchable cycles. Went back and waited another 10 minutes. Went back up to launch and same result. So it was time. Had a good launch in a moderate cycle around 6:40P+ and experienced some chop in the slot on the way out, and went up. Turbulent air, but plenty of lift. So since I had a driver, a river run was in the cards. Went down to the Klingerstown Gap and spent a good half hour trying to get up in disorganized lift that was drifting due east. Finally flew upwind at 1700' MSL and angled over to jump the gap. At ridge level on the other side, but found enough lift to get a few hundred above the ridge all the way down to the Pillow Gap. There I was just above the ridge and went out to land in a field just upwind of the gap. As I flew out I noticed I wasn't losing any altitude so I jumped the gap, knowing there was a field just west of the gap that I landed in in September 2017. I was below the ridge after jumping the gap, but slowly I was inching my way up to above the ridge. By the time I hit the "saddle" gap I was a few hundred over and shot across it. Flew to the river at ridge level and searched for a nice field. Found a large flat field with young soybeans in it so I put down there with a nice landing around 8:10P. Anthony was there in 10 minutes. He had been shadowing me along the ridge the whole flight. Some nice folks came out to check on me to make sure I was OK. Packed up and got home after midnight. Phew! Bacil

[Dave Proctor]

Nice flight Bacil. Tenacious to go to the Pulpit, then break down and drive to the Sac. Glad it paid off.

[XCanytime]

Thanks Dave. It was quite an exciting weekend, to say the least. Happy to have made an 18 mile leg of the 90+ mile "mission". Bacil