. Too cold of a day fcst for Woodstock Saturday. Switching to the SAC on Sunday. Who can fly? BacilSacramento Sunday Jan. 15th
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Sacramento Sunday Jan. 15th
Looks like the weekly pattern is in sync w/ the weekend . Too cold of a day fcst for Woodstock Saturday. Switching to the SAC on Sunday. Who can fly? Bacil
. Too cold of a day fcst for Woodstock Saturday. Switching to the SAC on Sunday. Who can fly? BacilRe: Sacramento Sunday Jan. 15th
Arrived at the SAC launch at 1P. Strong to blown out conditions on launch. Other arrivals were Allan, Aron, Will, and old timer Danny Koch (helping launch). Waited for an hour before setting up, cuz it was breezy in the setup area as well. Sure enough, just before 2P "lulls" started occurring, convincing me to start the setup. Joe Gorrie visited for a few minutes, then went back to his house.
With Danny, Allan, and Will's assistance I had a good launch just after 3P in moderate conditions. Turned left and stair stepped my way up above the ridge. Headed towards the Klingerstown Gap, 4 miles to the west. Along the way climbed to 1K' over. As I approached the gap, I lost down to 1700' MSL (400' over the ridge). Hesitated a bit over jumping the gap, but w/ plentiful LZs on the other side, I committed to jumping the gap at 1800' MSL. Lost a few hundred but was at ridge level on the other side, and found some lift to get back up above the ridge.
The 6 mile stretch of the ridge from the Klingerstown Gap to the Pillow Gap was quite turbulent. Suprised me to say the least. At the Pillow Gap I was only 200' - 300' above the ridge. I tried to get higher but didn't find anything. So w/ a bit of a gamble I committed to jumping the gap w/ not a lot of altitude. Lost that cushion and was at ridge level on the other side, but again found some lift to get up above the ridge. This stretch of ridge was quite smooth compared to the last stretch. Interesting.
As I approached the "saddle" (gap) where the high voltage power lines cut through, I thought about turning around and trying to make it back, but my GPS was reading NNE winds at 20 MPH. And it was after 4P, w/ sunset at 5:06P. So I decided to continue heading towards the river and land out there, since I could break the glider down before it got dark. The air was bouyant and I beelined it for the familiar fields I have landed out in since 1999. This time I decided to put down in the field right next to the river. Easily made it over the field, entering the base leg and turned final into a stiff headwind. Had a floaty touchdown and gentle plopdown.
Carried the glider over to the west side of the RR tracks, and said hello to a pair of folks in front of the house across River Road. Pinned my location on the WhatsApp group so Allan could find me. Left Allan a voicemail and text message, asking for a retrieve. The owner of the house, Charlie, offered me a warm garage if I was cold. I nudged him gently towards giving me a ride back to my truck, and it worked. Took over a half hour to drive from Paxton to my truck at the launch. Drove the half hour back to get my glider and basetube, which I stashed behind overgrowth taking over an old abandoned building across River Road from Charlie's house. Then I drove a half hour for a quick visit w/ Joe, Karen, Doug, and Natalie at Joe and Karen's house.
The flight itself was comfortable. Followed the template for minimizing the cold: don't fly long, don't fly fast (except on final), and don't get high unless you need a climb to jump a gap, or go OTB to land at an airport. Had 4 light layers above the waist, 3 light layers below the waist, a full face wool toboggan tucked inside my TG flight suit collar, and bar mitts w/ sheep wool inner lining. The temp at launch when I took off was 36 degrees. Bacil
With Danny, Allan, and Will's assistance I had a good launch just after 3P in moderate conditions. Turned left and stair stepped my way up above the ridge. Headed towards the Klingerstown Gap, 4 miles to the west. Along the way climbed to 1K' over. As I approached the gap, I lost down to 1700' MSL (400' over the ridge). Hesitated a bit over jumping the gap, but w/ plentiful LZs on the other side, I committed to jumping the gap at 1800' MSL. Lost a few hundred but was at ridge level on the other side, and found some lift to get back up above the ridge.
The 6 mile stretch of the ridge from the Klingerstown Gap to the Pillow Gap was quite turbulent. Suprised me to say the least. At the Pillow Gap I was only 200' - 300' above the ridge. I tried to get higher but didn't find anything. So w/ a bit of a gamble I committed to jumping the gap w/ not a lot of altitude. Lost that cushion and was at ridge level on the other side, but again found some lift to get up above the ridge. This stretch of ridge was quite smooth compared to the last stretch. Interesting.
As I approached the "saddle" (gap) where the high voltage power lines cut through, I thought about turning around and trying to make it back, but my GPS was reading NNE winds at 20 MPH. And it was after 4P, w/ sunset at 5:06P. So I decided to continue heading towards the river and land out there, since I could break the glider down before it got dark. The air was bouyant and I beelined it for the familiar fields I have landed out in since 1999. This time I decided to put down in the field right next to the river. Easily made it over the field, entering the base leg and turned final into a stiff headwind. Had a floaty touchdown and gentle plopdown.
Carried the glider over to the west side of the RR tracks, and said hello to a pair of folks in front of the house across River Road. Pinned my location on the WhatsApp group so Allan could find me. Left Allan a voicemail and text message, asking for a retrieve. The owner of the house, Charlie, offered me a warm garage if I was cold. I nudged him gently towards giving me a ride back to my truck, and it worked. Took over a half hour to drive from Paxton to my truck at the launch. Drove the half hour back to get my glider and basetube, which I stashed behind overgrowth taking over an old abandoned building across River Road from Charlie's house. Then I drove a half hour for a quick visit w/ Joe, Karen, Doug, and Natalie at Joe and Karen's house.
The flight itself was comfortable. Followed the template for minimizing the cold: don't fly long, don't fly fast (except on final), and don't get high unless you need a climb to jump a gap, or go OTB to land at an airport. Had 4 light layers above the waist, 3 light layers below the waist, a full face wool toboggan tucked inside my TG flight suit collar, and bar mitts w/ sheep wool inner lining. The temp at launch when I took off was 36 degrees. Bacil