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Hangola February 8-10, 2002

Hey. While you were arguing. It was prolly 60 on launch, 65 in the LZ today. Rowdy, SPRING air. Didn't get very high --1300 over -- blasting out of the west higher. Sparky and Bruce and Me. (Terry actually had to work if you can believe it.) Spark entertained us for apre fly by repeatedly crashing his Zag Zigg or whatever at the overlook attempting to land it.

Joe, Karen, Matt, Jeff and myself all flew and soared. Gains to 1.2k over launch. Soarable until dark. WNW when we got there and then it turned slight SW for the rest of the day.

The wind was around 5-10 on launch. After I launched I was told that it picked up to about 20MPH. In the air we were parked. Later on, the wind backed down to safe operating conditions.

Shawn

Friday - Lizzyville: When I got on launch the wind was straight in at 10-12mph. There were no indications that an hour later the wind would suddenly pick up to 30mph @ 600 over. Noticing the parked HG not far away, I quickly made my first top landing saving the long drive back up to launch. Getting out of the tree was another story. Putting that climbing rope in my harness was a very good suggestion by many wise pilots. Would you believe it was the first time I ever flew with rope in my harness?

Saturday - Kirkridge:

A perfect day! Wind was straight in @ 10-12mph by 1:45pm. It only got better as the day went on with several pilots soaring for around 2 hours. One PG flew out past the lake and back. I had many climbs to 1,200ft over. No top landing this time. :)

Jeff Shriner

Went up to Jacks first. Got there around 12:10P to find Allen Sparks, Bob Gillisse, Doug Henderson, and Tom McGowan present. We all started setting up our gliders. Conditions were very light. Some puffs were coming in. Later arrivals from down south: Danny Brotto, Brian Vant-Hull, Paul and Lauren Tjaden (her first mountain flight, hope everything went OK), and another Hang II. From the Windriders: Bob Beck, Shawn MacDuff, Joe and Karen Gorrie, Jesse Fulkersein, Lenko Kovach, Doug Rogers, Bill Buffam, and Jim Carroll. I imagine there were others. Some spectators arrived, fathers with their sons after hiking up Jacks Mountain. I did my usual sermon on the great adventure of hang gliding for them. I felt obliged to show them a flight, so I took off around 1:15P in light conditions. Didn't expect much, but darned if I didn't gain around 300' just out in front of launch away from the ridge in small bubbles. Left the area to investigate the rockpile left of launch. Wrong move, bozo! Sink city, turned back towards launch, flew by launch at their level, and waved to the spectators, knowing that the flight was probably going to be over shortly. It did, and I landed. Bob Gillisse had an extendo. His wife came down and picked us up. Joe Gorrie launched just as we were heading back up. Back on top Joe was getting high (as he ALWAYS does), as Jim Carroll was sinking out (like he FREQUENTLY does on light days). Conditions picked up, and Bob Beck and Doug Rogers launched and got up right away. At this point I saw the 10+ gliders set up, and said to myself, I've rolled the dice, let the others have their turn.

I decided to head south and check out Fisher Road . Got there around 4P. Nobody home, it's blowing good in from the SE. Head over to Bills . Find Karen Carra kiting her paraglider. Set up for a flight at Bills. It's blowing good, and cross from the south (duh!). I said WTF, let's take another hop. Joe Brauch, Matthew Graham, Mike Chevalier, Ben and L.E. Herrick arrive from the LZ. Extendos for the hang glider types, don't know how the paragliding flights went. Took off, turned right, and bounced around in the expected rotor. Headed out and landed. While I hoofed it up Sideling Hill to retrieve my truck, Matthew takes another hop on his paraglider for an extendo.

Just talked with Shawn MacDuff. He and Bob Beck (1.2K' and 1.9K' gains respectively) flew up to the Rt. 322 gap, went OTB and landed at Mifflin County Airport (they've done this before).

Bacil

Arrived at Jacks around 4pm launched at approx 4:25. Wind was straight in. flew for about an hour, landed... poorly (bad setups make for bad landings). Live and learn I guess. I was a bit surprised how stiff my legs got. anyhoo; sure beats sledders. had some time in the air to fully stall my wing, do a couple360's and 'S' turns. I know I know... "big deal" you say. Was for me, I had a blast. Stuff that fly's is cool!!

The wind switched around and conditions became glass smooth and bullet proof: 3 new mountain pilots, 3 soaring flights over an hour each! I'll let them tell their own stories (can't wait to hear them).

I launched the formula and climbed up amazingly fast. Think I was on top much of the time, but maybe the haze (which was responsible for the smooth conditions) obscured the halo of gliders above me. Not much to report from my flight except the mind bending experience of being in a double surface glider while Lauren passes me in her target at the same level. I may be light on the formula, but hell. Guess she was in stronger lift so could go faster. Did my typical overly long final when I landed early, convinced Chris and Hugh had sunk out based on the multiple passes they made below launch before I lost track of them. Was planning to run them back up top for a second flight. Found Chris's wife parked at the LZ wondering when he was planning to come down. No sign of Hugh either. Dammit. Last time I attempt a good deed. Guess the combination of aerotowing and foot-launch instruction we are blessed with in this area is paying it's dividends to the new pilots: such a thing would never have happened a few years ago.

Celebratory dinner at the white house (no kidding) then heading home. We all stopped at the pulpit where Paul and Lauren showed off the launch to their up and coming pilot neighbors - I know I'll screw up the names so I won't attempt it - and I planned to take a little nap before continuing home.

A few minutes into the nap my eyes flew open: I had left the windsock at Jacks! It was getting dark when we had pulled out of the LZ up there, so I doubted anyone else had noticed it. Headed back up the road spewing curses. Arrived an hour later to find it just where I had left it, ramrod straight and doing its duty. It had its orders, and until I returned to rescind them would keep to it's post, all alone on a dark, empty field, stolidly indicating the wind till the end of days. Still brings tears to my eyes to think of it.

I gathered it up lovingly in my arms and took it home. If it's loyalty you want, ditch the dog: get a windsock.

-Brian.

Me and Deb arrived at the LZ at about 3:30; having gone out there in separate vehicles as she was continuing on to her mom's for the rest of the week. We thought we had blown it arriving so late, but it doesn't appear we missed too much after all.

We both flew and got about 1:15 in the smooth late-day air, landing at sundown. A long ridge-run would have been easy if it wasn't so late. Deb was on top as usual, often without even trying. She got an 1100' gain (I managed only 900'). The old Sport AT (Deb's glider) is still pretty much a top-notch glider with regard sink-rate and thermal-climb, but the pilot also deserves credit...

After finishing breakdown in the dark, (and noticing a red windsock still in the field) we went to the "Jacks Mountain Restaurant and Brewery" On Hwy 22/522 on the southern outskirts of Lewistown on the east side of the road. It is worth the detour for the real beer and food. It appears that few non-local pilots know about it since we were the only HG pilots there.

Paul D.

So, guys, it's always that easy, right? Glass smooth, effortless lift, stay up as long as you want? A year and a half after taking a couple of sled rides at Lookout Mountain, I finally got there. The main obstacle was deciding to commit the $$ to buy a glider, harness, helmet, and rack (thanks, Tex!). (With a kid starting college, I was being cautious.) After a failed launch at Bill's back in September, I knew I needed hill work, which was accomplished last weekend at Smithsburg and Long Green (thanks, Richard!). Thanks also to Brian for agreeing to observe - and calling the wind/location perfectly. I had a special choir rehearsal Saturday AM (Alexandria Choral Society - all Purcell concert 9-10 March), but by the time I got the car loaded with rack, glider, etc., I arrived late for rehearsal - so had to leave early to make up for it... The directions to Jack's were from McConnellsburg, so I stopped at the Pulpit just to peek over from launch - can't wait! Boy, it's a haul all the way to Jack's! Since it was my first time to Jack's, I was taking the directions Matthew had casually dictated over the phone on faith - wasn't even sure I could find the place (thanks, Matthew, the directions were perfect). Arrived at 2:00 to find a gazillion pilots setting up, including Paul and Lauren. Chris Snow had his whole family with him (cute toddler). Brian led us down to the LZ for the shuttle and set up the faithful wind-sock. An early launcher arrived after sinking out and joined us for a body ride back up. I set up - and discovered I had left my wheels at home. Brian was not happy with this, but let me launch on my promise that I always land perfectly (hey, Brian, I got a bridge to sell ya). Some obviously experienced pilots took a long time on launch, but to this inexperienced one everything looked perfect, and Brian confirmed it. Paul was on my left wing saying he felt a lot of lift. Two steps and I went up instead of down. So this is what all the excitement is about! I have no radio, so Brian and I had agreed on a flight plan for me to stay fairly close to launch on the north (slightly upwind)side where he could keep an eye on me and know where to look for me if I crashed. The choice of the Falcon 195 for my weight (170) was great for these conditions - no vario, so I just concentrated on relaxing the bar whenever I felt lift. Tried to remember to clear my turns, but there must have been something screaming "newby", cause everyone seemed to stay out of MY way. I got way above (my guess: 500-800) the ridge within a few minutes and stayed there for an hour and a half (kept looking at my watch and setting new time goals - it became immediately apparent that as long as I stayed in the lift band, I could stay up as long as I wanted). I set myself some landmarks for limits north and south of the line from launch to LZ - trying to be conservative the first time out. Within ten minutes, my neck was feeling the strain from holding my head up - gotta adjust the shoulder lines on my harness. Hands with light gloves got cold too. Could've used the visor on my helmet, which I had removed when I was steaming up while hauling the glider back up at the training hills, but no biggee. Appreciated the view over the back toward Belleville (I seem to remember there's a VOR there from taking my private pilot exam 25 years ago - but maybe that's a Belleville in Kansas...) Saw Lauren with the lime green Target, but couldn't identify anybody else. Noticed Brian's car wasn't at launch - where did he go? Finally, I noticed that the LZ was in shadow even though the sun still looked pretty high at altitude. The number of gliders in the air was going down and the number at the LZ was growing. Had to wait for a couple of gliders to get ahead of me - needn't have bothered: the Falcon took a long time to get over the LZ. I felt like I was really high and could circle for a while to set up the landing. Got confused by divergent readings from the two wind-socks (guess that means it was light and variable, huh?) and discovered I was lower than I thought. Got wrapped up in a turn low and slow and didn't have enough control authority to pull out of it while upright in the harness. Landed on my feet but whacked the glider. Bent a downtube and a washout tube. ("Wheels? wheels? Don't need no stinking wheels!") Some guy came out and yelled at me to get my glider out of the middle of the LZ and to show some motion so people wouldn't think I was hurt, then grabbed the glider and ran off with it. I was cold and zoned out from the long flight. The same manic guy straightened the down tube for me on the spot (thank you, kind sir!). Got more impromptu advice from strangers about not landing slow, etc. Also, to inspect my leading edge since the washout tube was bent. I want to do some more aerotow to practice setting up landings from altitude... Also need to get one of those hunter's suits to stay warmer - I wasn't uncomfortable while flying, but I think hypothermia may have slowed my thinking some... Warmed up as I broke down. No beer allowed at the LZ (lot's of Bible verses on signs around here). Everybody went to the White House tavern for dinner. Enjoyed meeting Paul and Lauren's friends who are in the aerotow training pipeline. Got to meet Chris's family. For the drive home I'm listening to a recorded book of Will Durant's "Story of Civilization" - you know: the 12 volume shelf of books. Given the amount of driving you do in this sport, should be no problem getting through it. But one of the charms of hang-gliding for me is getting out in the beautiful countryside on gorgeous days like Saturday. Also, I didn't realize when I started what a communal activity HG is... Anyway, got out to Richard's Sunday for a new washout tube and a leading edge inspection. George, Frank and Connie were over at Long Green so Richard encouraged me to set up and take a test flight to make sure the glider was straight. My wife and younger kid are starting to think I don't love them anymore...

Hugh McElrath

Jack's was great. A good day to be patient and wait. We had 23 gliders in the landing area when the day was done. Everybody soared. It was good to see Bob G. get a great flight before he moves.

Douglas Henderson

Well, that was pretty cool! Even though it wasn't my first soaring flight, I know I will remember my first mountain flight. Although the lack of running room at launch made my wife nervous, it looked pretty good to me, especially after watching a bunch of pilots launch with no trouble. Walked the LZ with Brian V-H and Tom McGowan and the other new mountain pilots, and then headed back up.

Launched sometime around 4:00 with the help of a great wire crew and Brian on the keel. Made a few passes back and forth in front of launch, while figuring out where the lift band was. Luckily there was no one waiting to launch immediately behind me. I wasn't worried though, since there seemed to be lift all over the place. After just a few minutes I blundered into a thermal south of launch and was up 1000 in no time. Very cool. Then just more runs than I could count up and down the ridge, mainly between 300 and 600 over. I hope I didn't cut anyone off or anything, but people seemed to be staying away from me. A wise policy, if so.

Left the ridge at 2100 msl at about 5:30, as everyone seemed to be heading out to land. Arrived at the LZ with about 1450 and did slipping turns to lose altitude. Set up too high, I think, at about 700, and took up a lot of the field getting down, then rolled in on the wheels. Oh well.

I had brought beer, as instructed, and managed to slip Brian one before he remembered that the LZ at Jack's is a beer-free zone and put it in his car for later. Had dinner at the white house with everyone, as Brian and Hugh mentioned, but didn't notice that everyone had stopped at the Pultpit later and drove right past.

Anyway, much thanks to Brian for throwing us all off. Sounds like he was the last one home. I can't wait to fly the other sites!

Chris Snow

Hi Everybody,

Friday night, Paul and I solidified our plans. Saturday would be my first mountain flight, and the wind was right for Bill's Hill. I dreamed about Bill's and flying all night. In my dream, the hill was rich with grass, and the valley stretched below, bejeweled with small ponds that reflected the sun. When I sprinted down my dream slope, the air was perfumed with clover, and the clouds were tinted gold. But then, events don't always turn out the way you imagine they might.

Saturday morning, Brian - our observer - insisted that Jack's mountain, in Pennsylvania, was a better bet for the anticipated conditions. I protested to Paul that I was fated to fly at Bill's, but as he pointed out, it wasn't our decision.

Jack's didn't bear much resemblance to my dream slope. The launch was so steep super glue couldn't have clung to it. And it was gravel, not grass. Further, it ended in a trash pit. Skeletons of dogs and deer - some with bits of hair clinging to them - littered the mountain, along with a refrigerator and an old chair. No flat spot existed at the top of the launch, where you could balance your glider and collect yourself. You had to step over a guard rail, and then plaster your rear end against it, leaning back so you didn't tumble off the mountain and end up with the decomposed dogs.

As soon as I saw the launch, my stomach began to chew on itself. I worried that I would pause in my run, or stumble. Worse, if I tensed and held my glider on my shoulders (a trick I had favored during early, practice launches), I might not make it into the air before I cleared the trees. I glared at Brian. "I'm not going to buy you dinner tonight, because I'm going to be dead. I've never run down anything this steep."

Brian laughed. "Intimidating, isn't it?" The first time I was here, I asked where the real launch was. I thought they were joking when they showed me this." He assured me that the launch was safe. He said I should watch a few pilots take off, and I'd see how easy it was.

But no one was flying yet. The experienced pilots brooded, waiting for the wind to increase; to shoot up the ridge so it would boost them high and then hold them in the sky. My concerns weren't theirs. I didn't want to crash; they didn't want a "sled ride" (the derogatory term for a flight with no lift, where the pilot merely coasts down to the landing area).

Nearly thirty gliders graced the parking area, colored so bright you could have spotted them at midnight. Pilots and wuffos rested on the guard rails and rocks. I chatted with Sparky and Bacil, and met Gary, Spoons, and lots of other folks. But I wished nobody was there. If I decided to slink back to Virginia without flying, I wanted to do it without an audience.

Brian guided Paul, Hugh, Chris, and I to the landing zone, so we could figure out our approaches and plant his wind sock. The field was bigger than Nebraska. I liked that lots, though I wasn't thrilled about the power lines strung across the road. Brian promised that I would have the altitude to clear them, though, even if I had plummeted a couple hundred feet from the launch before I decided to soar to the landing.

When we returned to the top of the mountain, the wind had intensified. An experienced pilot launched, to test the conditions (this human guinea pig is called a "wind dummy" - very apt). Instantly, he was pulled towards the clouds, not earth. It was what the serious pilots had waited for. Hang gliders lined up for their turns. I helped "crew", holding the wires of the gliders of those launching. Those that waited until the flags blew directly at them all escaped the launch easily. Even the pilots plagued by bad habits, like "stepping" into the glider before it was flying, or holding their glider's nose at the wrong angle, flew safely away. However, those that launched when the wind was crossing were more frightening to watch. Their gliders dove sideways and their wings scraped close to the trees, though nobody even skimmed a wing tip on them.

I was engrossed watching and helping. Pretty soon, though, the parking lot was almost empty of gliders. Paul mumbled about wanting to fly soon. I hiked out to the bushes to potty and think. I practiced dashing down the hill a few times. If I could hold my downtubes lightly, focus on the horizon, and run fast, I should be okay. I climbed into my harness, a Chinese puzzle of a thing, and Paul stuck my verio - a device that tells you how high you are - on Ms. T (my glider). My new radio got stuffed into my harness pocket, and Brian gave me a hang check. My time had arrived. My 'biner was locked, my lines were straight, and all my excuses had evaporated. I climbed over the guard rail. Ms. T was animated by the wind and considered catapulting of the cliff without orders, so Brian and Paul and John wrestled with her while I stood. Ignoring the pitch of the hill, I stared at the silo in the distance. But the flags blew crooked at me. Ms. T crept to the side of my shoulders disobediently, smelling the air like she always does.

I remembered the gliders that had nearly scraped the trees, and set Ms. T down again. Someone mumbled about me missing a good cycle, but I waited, envisioning my take off, until I noticed both flags reaching towards my face. And then it was really time.

I yelled "clear" and ran. Ms. T knew just what to do, though. She was never confused. She flew straight and high and missed the trees by a mile. I could hear the crowd cheer behind me like I had just won gold in the downhill.

I smiled, and turned to fly parallel to the ridge. I was concerned about being too close in and smacking the mountain, but I was overly cautious. Brian warned me on the radio that I would have to land if I didn't push closer and find some lift. However, my vario was there, my new best friend, telling me I hadn't descended too much. I pivoted back towards the launch, so if I had to high tail it towards the landing I would make it, and in the meantime, squeaked closer to the ridge. There, the air ripped upwards like the tide over a rock, and Ms. T felt it. She wasn't waiting for instructions from me, and rocketed upward. In seconds, I was a couple hundred feet over my launch height (my vario later reported I was getting lift of seven hundred feet per minute). Brian yelled over the radio to work it, baby, but when I wasn't worried about bashing into trees it was easy.

Ms. T flew still higher. I could have cruised down the ridge forever. It was like fishing on a Sunday afternoon. We climbed six hundred eighty feet over launch, and held there, as easily as if we'd been suspended in Jell-O. For over an hour, Ms. T soared, and I remembered why I love to fly. The training hill is a recipe made of mud, sweat, and bruised knees. Flying the mountain was another animal altogether. Sometimes I banked Ms. T hard, so she screamed around the turns, and then I let her whisper around others. I stalled her a few times for fun, pushing her nose high until she quit flying and dived. I watched cows eat and the other gliders float. Paul zoomed by, screaming and waving. My sweet fifty four pound kite - an amazing machine - seemed to move with no more effort than my thoughts. Finally, the sun crept lower, and my back began to ache.

Still five hundred feet higher than I had launched, I coasted towards the landing zone. I had planned a perfect approach, but like I said before, things don't always happen the way you think that they will. Brian radioed that another glider was close on my tail, and I couldn't see the wind sock. I was distracted from concentrating on my final angles because I was worried about drifting out and frying myself on the wires. I had lots of speed, and my wings were level, but I landed on my wheels. I stripped my harness off quickly so everybody wouldn't see the mud smeared on it.

And then I got hugged and congratulated, and had my picture taken. As I disassembled Ms. T, I noticed how green the pasture looked. I couldn't detect a whiff of clover, but the clouds were tinted gold.

Lauren Tjaden

.. and in Pennsylvania. We had a nice 50 degree day last Saturday with 10-15 mph SE winds. That meant Jack's Mountain, a 1000 ft. high ridge in central PA near State College. Jack's is fairly central to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Maryland and Virginia, so a large number of pilots showed up, probably over 25. When I was setting up, I counted 20 gliders already up and others arrived later.

Some folks went for a short XC, while most stayed local on the ridge enjoying the hazy sun illuminating the beautiful valley. I myself flew for 1.5 hours and landed before the late afternoon flock of new H2's invaded the LZ. There were even some thermals to be had, surprising considering the haze, and gains of around 2000 feet over launch were had by some.

A nice winter surprise for this area...

john wiseman

Big crowd on hand with ALL available set up area used. Big DC/MD group. Early conditions were lite STFI with some lite cycles. After some earlier sleds launches began in earnest about 1430 into rapidly improving conditions that provided nice air till dark. Area pilots included in no particular order Joe/Karen, Shawn, Bob, Kramer, Doug, Lenko, Bill B., Jesse, John W., Ken S. I not sure what everyone did but I think everyone got a belly full. My top was 1900 over (3900 MSL) M/L. .........Bob.

The Curse of Brauch continues. Everytime we show up at a site and Joe Brauch is there, Karen doesn't fly. We didn't hit the road from Karen's office till 1:00. Tried to get a hold of lots of folks up at Jack's to no avail-- left a couple of messages to call us back with a conditions report. It was still showing NE and East when we left. Drove through Frederick with dead flags everywhere. Finally got a hold of Mike C. just before I-81 and he reported that it was soarable at Bill's. ETA Bill's 3:15, Jack's 4:00. And no calls back from Jack's. Continued onto Bill's to find Ben and LE, Mike, Ellis and Joe Brauch. Joe had an exendo earlier and Rick Holtz had soared for 20 minutes. Ellis also extendoed in her bag prior to our arrival.

Ben launched his bag and soared a few hundred above launch. But he had a knot in one of his lines. After 15 minutes he executed a beautiful top landing. LE launched and soared for a while followed by MIke C. who scraped out at least ten minutes. Ben went again as Karen and I kited around in the set-up area. I took my sled like a man in my bag. Ellis followed for a second flight.

Returned to find Bacil there setting up his glider. He had an extendo. I took a second ride in my bag and actually got above launch and then maintained for about 20 minutes before being flushed. By the time Karen was ready, it had switched completely to the South and was now gusting at launch.

I sure hope the curse is lifted when Joe B. gets his new glider.

Matthew (heard it was fantabulous at Jack's, of Karen and Matthew)

Arrived at noon. No one else there. Coming straight in at 5. Ellis shows up 5 minutes later with Damian. Damian is expert Hang Driver and Dog trainer. Set up and watched Ellis fly the Paraglider. Rich Holtz and driver show up and set up. Conditions improved a bit. Maybe coming in at 8. Took a chance in the hopes of a little ridge lift. Ended up with 120 above twice for a extendo sled, 10 minutes. Rick probably had better conditions because he stayed up for 1/2 hour. He may also be a better pilot, but we will go with the conditions because this is my version of the day. Later Hanggliders were Mike C and Bacil.

See Matthews post on paragliding.

The curse lives on. I flew and Karen did not. Its not my fault. I arrived and flew before Karen even arrived. Anyway,it was probably a good Fisher afternoon. I can not wait for more sunlight in the PM.

joe

PS Mike, do I owe you a new antenna or did you notice it flipped upside down on your roof before you drove home?

Pretty nice day. Blue skies, reasonably warm and east at 5-10. Tex was towing. Still too wet for the truck. Not a lot happening but enough for some gains here and there and some reasonably decent flight times. I got the bubble of the day with a 1000 ft gain to 3160 which allowed me to hang on for 40 mins. Lotsa folks. Largely a meeting of the Fla bound before the real thing. Glad all you snow bunnies had a good time up there in the frozen north.

Great job! Paul,Lauren,Chris and Hugh..After trying to call every relative in the area to see if they would/could keep jessica for me so i could sneak off to Jacks...But no luck!So then i thought about taking her with me,knowing i wouldn't feel right leaving her with strangers so i opted to hang out at the training hill,which turned out to be a great day.Bill Garrison showed up and had wonderful flights great job bill now head for the mountains,And Frank of Frank and Connie got his Hang two sign off today..

Congrats Frank!!Hopefully next weekend will be more promising

George Tutor

I took my paraglider to Oregon Ridge Saturday since Rich was taking a lesson from John and we had a commitment that night and I couldn't get to and from Jack's in time. Did some more ground handling, competing for the space a bit with a golfer lobbing balls from the parking lot. He came over to ask about paragliding - he'd done quite a bit of jumping in the service.

Rich had a most interesting flight at the end of the day. It was probably tailing slightly when he launched from about a third of the way up the slope. The glider got ahead of him and he bellied in and slid about 20 feet through the leaves before reaching a steeper part of the slope. At this point he pushed out a bit and went airborn for the final half of his flight. Pretty funny.

Sunday I drove down to see Mr. Fishburn.

Christy

Congratulations to all who had their first mountain flights this weekend!!! I am sitting here reading all the emails and the green slime of envy is flowing in my veins! Patience is a virtue right?.....NOT!!! I had a good training day on Saturday at Oregon Ridge. Flew John Middleton's Vision MkIV and got my first experience with a Pseudo-Slot launch with a 90 degree cross outside the slot. My one flight from the top before the winds starting blowing from behind was the longest and highest of my HG career. Can't wait to be thrown off the Big Boy's Hills....

P.S. Although I said congratulations, I secretly despise you all!!! I hope I'm not too far behind you.

Christopher McKee

Steve and I arrived at Woodstock to find the flags indicating very strong conditions. So we went to Walmart. Fifteen minutes later we returned and declared it to be "doable"

We drove to the top, set up, and flew!! We found it to be very enjoyable. Steve topped out at 2,000 over. I bailed at 1500....... it was COLD!

We got about an hour or hour and a half, landed at sunset, and threw the gliders on the truck in the dark!

Terry

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This page last updated February 11, 2002