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Hangola March 18-19, 2000

Big crowd at Bill's on Saturday. By the time we arrived at 12:45, Bacil had already flown down to the turnpike, landed out, returned and was set up to fly again. After Bacil's second launch, Bruce Engen lept and got right up and stayed up for about 20 minutes. I think it may have been his flirst flight at Bill's. Larry Huffman went soon afterwards and reported a strong South cross and gnarly air. So Tom, Christy, Doug, Dan and Craig all bailed to Fisher Road. Just after they left, it straightened out a great deal and really turned on. I got 1:45, 2300 over. But after working my butt off to get above Gardinator, he reversed the situation and then pimped off of me for the next 45 minutes. It was still about 45 degrees cross in the air but the thermals were big and solid. The mid-day thermalling crew also included: Brian Hardwick, Mike C. Pete. L., Paul from Pgh., Larry Strom, Marc, Sparky and Marvin for his first time soaring at Bill's. And Bacil made it down to the same LZ as his earlier flight. The day was marred though when an Ohio Pilot turned back into the slot just after launching and ended up with a probably broken wrist and a few cuts and bruises. But he seemed to be otherwise okay. Later, Dave Johnson and BVH took sleds even though I had told them it would go magic at the end of the day. And it did! But it was crankin' on launch when it was Karen's turn. After about 15 minutes of cold, howling wind she found a nice cycle and went right up. But her fingers were already frozen from waiting to launch so she only stayed up for 10 minutes. It mellowed out a bit later and Paul flew again. Jeff Harper and Alana also enjoyed the late day magic.

Matthew (any potatoing stories from Fisher??? of Karen and Matthew)

A recap of Skunk-boys last four outings: sitting around at Bill's Hill for five hours while the wind honks and honks, sitting around at Ridgley with the wind 90 degree cross and honking, sitting around at Wallaby in a thick, damp fog that won't burn-off.

So, at the prodding of another pilot, Skunk-boy decides to head for the training hill. Hey, it's blowing NE; Richard Hays is sure to be at Oregon Ridge and Skunk-boy needs all the help he can get.

Richard is at OR but he's cancelled class because, guess what, the wind it 90 degrees cross and honking, for Oregon Ridge, anyway. Not to be deterred, Skunk-boy sets up and hopes for the best. Hey, first time out of the bag in six months has to count for something. Things just go downhill (so to speak) from there. After shooting the breeze for a couple of hours, Richard shakes his head and suggests that Skunk-boy call it quits.

Richard takes Skunk-boy to a local ethanol-dispensing establishment to ease his pain with multiple doses of Sam Adams. All-in-all, not a bad day; I could have been home working. Skunk-boy is still trying to figure out how to enter this outing in his log book.

The only other pilot (other than the Manquin principals) at the airpark when I arrived at 1100 was Terry Spencer, and he was the only pilot there when I left at 1540. In-between, I believe Terry flew three times by truck tow, and I flew twice behind the tug.

When I arrived the wind was switching between ENE and ESE, 3-8 mph and it was just too cold to set up - maybe 40-45 degrees, what can I say, I'm a wuss. Despite the high looking cu's to the east, the sky was crystal clear overhead, so I donned all my warm clothing and stood around in the sun talking, while my driver, Chris read her book in the truck.

Around 1220 wispy cu's started forming above Manquin and the day had warmed to where it was comfortable to assemble my glider. Shoving ribs, ALL the clouds in the sky dissipated (I was amazed by my awesome powers) but began to slowly return after I completed the task. As some clouds grew impressively, Terry also constructed his glider.

The clouds were mostly small and ethereal, forming slowly over a period of several minutes, then vanishing quickly, in what I guessed to be very dry air. Those thermal markers' only redeeming qualities were in their numbers and that they appeared to be between five and seven grand above the ground.

Roland drug me through considerable sink at 1348 to under a cloud that was forming about a mile SE of the park and I released at 2000' with my vario showing 900 fpm. After freeing the tug the instrument went silent, and I searched the zero sink for a core. A couple minutes later I found, and worked the broken but comfortable lift to 2600'. Leaving the fading lift, I continued SE to another cloud that had already enjoyed most of its life span, arriving at 1500'. At 1800' I started experiencing the increased tug of gravity and without any other lift markers around, I dove for the flight park with my tail between my legs.

The air was punctuated by lots of bubbles, none of which I managed to exploit. I thought I could just clear the trees at the SW corner of Manquin when I entered sink and was on perfect glide for the tops of the oaks. When I arrived at the last exit without a change in glide path, I turned towards a field to the west. At treetop level, I hit a strong thermal. I danced with her for two or three spins and thought that I might just haul myself up by my boot straps, when she spat me out like a watermelon seed.

After only 25 minutes in the air, I wanted to fly again, so I started walking my Fusion back to the flight park. I walked some more. I walked around obstacles I hadn't anticipated, through the soft earth of freshly plowed fields, around stands of trees. Lyman came with the ATV and a launch cart but with bushes along side the road, it was even slower going than walking. I was no longer cold.

Conditions, according to the clouds, had weakened, but having expended so much effort transporting my kite back to launch, all set up, I wasn't about to tear down now. At 1541 I was again at the end of my rope, separating from Mother Earth. I followed the tug to 3000', at about the same location SE of the air park as I had been on the previous flight, where I released in lightly ascending air.

The thermal persisted and I climbed to 4000' while drifting slowly west. The thermal continued somewhat subdued as I maintained at 4000' and drifted even further west. I radioed Chris to fire up the truck and follow me, figuring that this short XC would be just the ticket to give her, her first chase experience. I was thinking that I was in the only rising air around, the last vestige of lift as the day wound down, when I noticed a couple of wisps forming a mile to my west.

Arriving under the wisp that barely smudged the sky, I climbed slowly to 5200'. I communicated with Chris, trying to explain where to go as I looked down at the completely unfamiliar territory slowly scrolling by. To the WSW I could see congestion, so I instructed Chris to follow the sun and I would be somewhere near the city that was in that direction.

Lift was plentiful and I only gave up altitude slowly while flying towards what I now recognized as an airport along, what must be interstate 95. I was down to 3500' now and seemed to just barely have a sure glide to the field, when I encountered another weak but large thermal. I climbed to 4500' and drifted north of the airport as I watched four or five planes circle in the left-hand pattern, obviously practicing touch and goes.

There was no tower, so I wasn't worried about the legality of landing there, but the area surrounding the runway and taxiway was small, and with all the traffic, I considered getting in the way of the students practicing. I looked to the west from my vantage point now NW of the landing strip, and it seemed very congested and I contemplated my convenience and Chris' ease of retrieval, so I dove towards the midpoint of the runway from the right side, opposite of where the aircraft approach was organized.

I was at 2500', watching a plane approach, touch down then take off again on the sole NW-SE runway. I spiraled down over the hangers and the tiedown area to the west, while watching the wind sock on the far side of the runway switch around then point straight towards me. I looked left and there was no plane on close final. I pulled in hard aiming for a small grassy area that adjoined the taxiway west of the runway. I figured that even if I overshot the grass, I would land on the taxiway, well short of the runway.

I found myself a bit high over the hangers - fine, for there was no place to land short - and burned off the altitude with two, quick sideslipping "s" turns. As I prepared to flare over the grass, my left wing began to drop. I looked for traffic and since it was clear, I pulled in half an inch and ran my landing in, overshooting a couple of steps onto the taxiway, but otherwise in control, at precisely five o'clock. As I started to walk the few feet to the tiedown area, I stepped on my vg cord. "Oh," I thought to myself, "that's why the tip stall started just before flare." In my preparations during approach, I overlooked releasing my vg.

As I tied down my glider alongside the other aircraft at Hanover Airport, several groups of pilots and passengers did the same with their aircraft without even a glance in my direction. I slid out of my harness and walked to the pilot's lounge to use the facilities the cold at altitude had conspired with my anxiety to create a considerable need. Upon entering the lounge, a number of pilots politely asked where I had come from, how I was going to leave. They wanted to see how I was to become airborne again, how high I got and if I needed any assistance. As all my experiences at landing at airports has been, these guys were very friendly.

Chris parked off the tiedown ramp when she arrived and then was informed by an airport employee that she could drive, as had other vehicles to their respective aircraft, right up to where I was tearing down. Within half an hour of landing after my 13 mile, hour twenty flight we were on our way to nourish ourselves and head home.

Had a nice weekend at Fisher Road. Showed up at Bills on Saturday and set up only to see Larry Huffman and the next 2 pilots launch into a strong cross from the south. It looked particularly ugly since the trees were howling yet there was little wind in the slot, so I bailed to Fisher.

At Fisher, the direction was somewhat cross from the left at launch and the wind was around 20 mph. Had a nice 2 and 1/2 hour flight 1400 over and landed at Richie's Knob.

Mike Balk, Cragin Shelton, and I went back to Fisher on Sunday to find the wind was from a little better direction but even stronger. Mike and I both were able to launch and flew for about an hour. I topped out around 800 over but Mike got higher. Mike landed in the main LZ and I landed at Richie's Knob again.

Marc Fink, Ellis and Larry Strom stopped by Fisher on Sunday - how did you guys do at Bill's?

Tom

It was blasting as hard at Bill's, I just didn't have any desire to jump into it untill later, though Larry S. got to do a test flight of Rob Milman's Laminar ST--flew great. Ellis and I got extended sleds right before dark, but on the way out we noticed Craigin's van parked at the "Exotic Girls" txtty bar.

We definitely should get a detailed site report from Cragin on his experiences.

Marc

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This page last updated March 20, 2000