Back to Main Page Back to Archive 2002

Index to weather maps

Hangola January 10-14, 2002

Steve, Bruce and I met at the SNP gate hoping to do Dickey's but found that the road was closed. Next best option was Daniel's. Got there, Drove up the ratty road and found conditions a little cross w/launchable cycles. Bruce took the first good cycle and received 20min. of airtime with a max. altitude just barely over. Steve and I were left on the Mtn. top with the winds increasing and growing even more cross. Steve invited me to go next, then dissapeared on an hour long hike. I enjoyed watching the Red Tails and Vultures thermalling. Their climbrates were impressive and tempted me to launch in the 90 cross winds. Bruce hiked back to the top to find Steve and me stuffing our gliders into the bags.

So far this year... Three attempts.... two sleds and a Skunk!

Terry

Saturday, January 12 - my first flying day in 2002

I found the ground too wet at Manquin down near Richmond for Steve to drive his truck. He said if I waited an hour or two it might get dry enough for us to truck-tow launch. Tex had just aerotowed Roland when I arrived, but there was not much lift working. I thus backtracked northward to Taylor Farm at Fredericksburg to join John Middleton and his students.

I found John there with students Chris McKee, Steve, and Rich. Also along was Christy Huddle, keeping Rich company by practicing ground handling her paraglider all afternoon. As I was finishing my glider set up, John Claytor rolled in. He had been at Manquin and when he heard there would be pilots at Taylor, joined the crew.

I got 4 flights today, all from the top of the training hill, and John C shared my glider for three. This saved him a bunch of time, avoiding setup and breakdown time with his TRX, all 34 battens worth.

All three students got in a bunch of flights, John Middleton took three flights, and Christy finished her day with one Falcon flight. She told me it had been 13 years since she had flown at Taylor. See what a good influence Rich is on her?

Forecast had been S 5 turning to SW at 8. What we saw all afternoon was more like S at 8-12, and we never did see the SW component. We were able to get in some nice cross-wind launch practice.

Cragin S

Strong, 45 cross until late when it backed off and allowed a couple to launch for rowdy extendos. A little later, it backed off more and became 90cross and allowed a couple more to receive smooth sleds

Terry

First ones off were Brian vH and John McAllister. Brian on his big formula took an elevator ride up and then parked for most of the time and both had some rock 'n roll on approach into the LZ after which they experienced a killer gradient. But they pulled off their landings very nicely. I think they both had flights of about 20-30 minutes each.

From launch it looked as if they had headed out to land on purpose which gave the rest of the pilots some food for thought. Gary Smith and Joe Schad decided to not complete their glider set up, but to reverse the process, while Tom McGowan and Terry Spencer, who were all set up, hemmed and hawed a little, especially since it had started to get really cross (trees on the right moving, but trees on the left not). Both of them took two reasonable cycles and extendoed into the LZ. LZ conditions had become much better by then and no heroic efforts were required.

I didn't fly due to finding some weird glider damage (Wills Wing Spectrum 144) on set up. The aluminum plug connecting the downtube to the keel had broken off inside the downtube at the pin. Only by chance did I notice that. Both pins intact and secured. Would have never found it on preflight. Spooky. No clue what would have caused it to break. And how the heck do you preflight for something like that? Disconnect the downtubes?

-- ellis

Showed up at woodstock around 1 pm, and it was just on the verge of howling. So me, Ellis, and my room-mate headed down for lunch. Met several people coming the opposite direction of our plans, and for the next hour and a half the valley was strewn with pilots who came to the same conclusion.

Went back up to find Homer waiting in his car, but it sounded lighter than before, so tromped up to have a look-see. Talk about a slot effect - fortunately I had been down in the LZ and knew the wind was at least 45 deg cross, but you wouldn't know it from watching the slot unless you ran some statistics on the bottom streamers. Everyone eventually showed up and began setting up, except for an exremely lucky Ellis who spent 10 minutes trying to unjam her base-tube from her downtube before she discovered the horrifying truth about the opposite downtube. Might never have found it if we didn't decide to take it off to use as a lever to twist the basetube. I swiped her wheels (left mine at manquin).

But conditions in the slot started looking pretty damn launchable, so I gave it a shot. It was a little squirly sitting on launch, but when the wings felt nice and balanced I started my run, only to discover my nose was a bit too low and creeping forward. With visions of bumping down the rocks on my ass I pushed out, but popped the nose in my haste. BOOIING! In the strong winds I shot up like a bungee jumper, legs flailing away. Worked my way out of a bumpy slot, then more or less parked.

Homer radioed for a conditions report, and I guess things felt pretty good compared to the launch, so I said it seemed pretty good once you climbed up and away from the ridge. Then my wires slapped and I issued a correction. A few minutes later he launched anyway, but spent his time closer to the ridge, probably having even less fun than I was a few hundred yards out.

After twenty minutes I'd had enough, so worked my way in to land. I knew the bridge field would be less turbulent, but would have to deal with a perhaps a 90 degree cross with no windsock and no windbreak. I opted for the main LZ, but once I was low enough to be past the point of no return, I discoved my windsock had been blown over. Life gets rough at times.

Lots of turbulence down low, so I opted to hover near the edge of the field rather than misjudge an aircraft approach. 'Bout the time the turbulence quit, it handed my off to a killer gradient. Chose to come in on the wheels (thanks Ellis!). Bounced once.

Set up the windsock for Homer, who got caught by the gradient in the middle of a slipping turn; disappeared below the hill line still at an angle of about 45 degrees going sideways. Have to take his word for it that he landed on his feet. Tom and Terry waited awhile, and had beautiful approaches without any molestation from the windgods. Good choice.

Then my room-mate drove up. "Man, you had the BEST launch!" he gushed. I eyed him suspiciously: "you're kidding, right?" But he was wide-eyed and serious. "everyone else swooped down before going up, but you took a few steps and shot right up! It was great!"

It's nice for us dumb-asses of the world to get mistaken for a hero every once in a while. Explaining the meaning of a clean launch seemed like too much of a chore.

Brian.

I finally found someplace that was soarable yesterday. Three others and myself found great pleasures soaring the windy/ratty conditions! I received 1:20hr so outa my 6 attempts for the year that brings my total to 1:25hr.

Terry

	previous page	back to top	next page

This page last updated January 15, 2002