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Hangola March 3 - 11, 2004

Flight Reports

Paul is so cheap. When I suggested flying Wednesday, he protested that he had only returned to work for one day. However, he was easy to convince. I just pointed to the raindrops on the weather forecasts for the rest of the week, and he agreed there was no other possible action except flying. Good man. I know we could use an adult in the house, but it's much more fun this way.

Winds looked weak and kinda south but perhaps doable for HR. The other interested pilots suggested Dickeys, but we have neglected to get permission to fly there yet, and winds looked even lighter down south, and then there's the walk-in. Paul spent awhile convincing people we should try HR instead, but I voted against it. The plan had been to get a couple of the guys to launch me, and then Paul and whoever would flip a coin to decide who had to self-launch.

I know, it was light, woulda been OK but I didn't want Paul perched on that cliff without someone hanging onto him. I think it makes odds worse to not have wire crew. I know I am paranoid but I hate accidents, I like conditions really right.

I called John, our neighbor, before we left for Manquin (can't believe I won this battle about where to fly) and told him his glider was strapped on the truck and he had 10 minutes to arrive. He has never truck towed, and he owns a Doodle Bug he hasn't flown for ages. The time was right to browbeat him into action.

Forgot to throw in John's harness, had to turn around and scurry home, took an extra half an hour. Started to feel frantic watching little cummies form. Paul told me to run an extremely yellow light, well kinda red, on the way, which I did and John said OH Christ! but I'll bet he shows up quicker next time we go flying. Arrived alive, just barely.

Paul had the flight of the day with 22 minutes, so I guess you'd have to say conditions sucked. But I wore a tank top and my nose got sunburnt and John learned to truck tow just fine. Gene showed up 'cause we did. Met a guy named Jim who owns a huge Winnabago and is transitioning into a Lite Speed. He events his 18 year old horse. I tried to sell him on the idea of a younger mount but he said he spent all his money on gliders, what a loser. I hate pilots.

I flew 6 times. The first time I pulled off a great landing. Since the first of the year, I have only lightly set my control frame down twice as the worst thing, in 25 landings, but mostly I run too much. Steve suggested that I throw my hands up, not out, to find greater pitch authority (Sunny has told me the same thing). It worked.

Nevertheless. I have been practicing short field approaches constantly, because I long to fly XC this year, and I think that my landings and approaches are the most important aspect of the whole thing. Anyhow, my approaches progressed fine, but my 4th landing I bellied in. Arrgghhh! My record was screwed.

Instead of instantly analyzing my flight, I marched over to try another. Nothing like not using the info you have to improve. Ha! Steve told me this story about a bird that tried to land on his tow line. The bird tumbled, but then it tried a second time, with the same results. I said that it must have been trying for a Darwin award. Same goes for me, friggin' sparrow brain.

Bellied in another landing. Now, one in 25 isn't terrible, but two in a row ... double argghhh! Steve noticed I wasn't as upright on my approach, and Paul and John thought that I let my speed bleed off instead of increasing it on my final. Steve said it was probably because I was trying to pull off short approaches, and that everything happened so fast.

Was SO pissed, had to make another flight. Forgot the short approach and gave my self tons of time with a big approach. I remembered all the basic lessons I should know, that I should produce in a millisecond. Managed to land OK, my usual few steps, but needed to stick my arms up. Finished at the starting point of my flights. Sh#@, next time I will be perfect.

John flew his Doodle Bug late, when the air rested in the evening. Figured out how to land again, got the whole thing right, was unbelievably stoked. The whole trip was worth it just to see him laugh on the drive home. I sung in the back seat with the CD player while Paul drove. John just kept saying how he flew his Doodle Bug, how he flew his Doodle Bug.

Steve was great, many thanks to him. Apparently we all plan to learn to fly the machine (The DB). Steve said he had a Falcon I could fly the thing with; I'll be damned if the boys are going to have fun without me. Well, what the Fu*^, I might as well have a few more sports I am marginally competent performing.

Lauren (Madam-President-Dictator-Sky-Goddess) Tjaden

Never found it, Steve. There is reportedly a three dogs cafe which is literally a cafe for dogs.

Anyway--flew numerous new sites--including Moore Mesa and the Eling's training hill, as well as venturing off into the biggest conditions I've ever been in on a paraglider yesterday at the Altenator. 900 up thermals--some pilots got all-time personal altitude records for the site at 7000+ msl--though I managed only 5000 msl. Awesome mountains! Got slammed running into a huge west wind (rotor) passing Westbowl and ended up eating a huge collapse. Took me awhile to settle down from that one. Moore's is quite cool--sorta a minature Torrey Pines.

Marc

Oh well, discretion won over valour, and there was no flying to be had today at Woodstock :-(

Got there around 3:15 with Karen & Matthew, figuring that there'd be some rain until at least early PM. Even so, drove through some heavy downpours on the way.... One of those "what, am I crazy?" kinda trips :-)

Arrived to find Hugh, Steve K, Adam, Craig, Bacil, Gary, Hank, and Chris, who had weathered at least 3 rain squalls on the top of the mtn. Can you say "been a long winter!" ?

I set up and was thinking pretty seriously about it (there were launchable cycles after all ;-) . But the nasty looking sky and thoughts of trashy LZs finally convinced me that there will be better days.

A trip up to the tower around 5:00 proved that this was a wise choice; it starting _crankin'_ !

Checked out some of the LZs over the back in Fort Valley, then stopped off at a mexican place with M&K on the trip back, in Fairfax.

Speaking of better days.... Monday has the potential to be a good WS day! I know John M. is thinking about it, as are Hank and Joe S. If things still look promising tomorrow, I'll do some work tomorrow so that I can have a shot at disappearing from work. Anyone else????

--mark c.

Woodstock today was launchable at times, but the sky was too angry-looking for much of the day, and the frequent rain squalls across the valley produced gust fronts that buffeted the launch area throughout the afternoon. Met up with Hank in the parking lot at 12:30P. Blue skies over the Shenandoah Valley. Ugly looking skies just over the WV border across the valley behind Great North Mountain. Conditions were medium to a bit strong, but launchable. We started setting up. I commented to Hank that I would hate for rain squalls to develop over the WV border and head our way. Joe Schad, Steve Kinsley, Chris McKee, and Cragin Shelton showed up. Meanwhile, the sky looked worse over the WV border, and rain squalls started developing to the north across the border. Soon squalls started developing upwind of us (to the west), and nearly everybody got their gliders folded and bagged (some never progressed from that state) except for me. My glider became the umbrella for Gary Smith, Wesley (student of John's), Chris, and Cragin when a major rain shower/squall made the whole valley gray. It lasted maybe 10 minutes before blue skies appeared again over the valley. This brief respite enabled Mark Cavanaugh to set up. With the help of Chris, Wesley, Hank, and Gary, I broke my glider down and cruised.

It was a gamble today, especially with the front moving through during the day. We were in a race with the sun, hoping that the drier air would move in quick and the pressure rise enough to settle things out. There must have been an upper-level disturbance moving through Pennsylvania today. In fact I believe I heard on the NOAA weather station at some time during the afternoon that there was thunderstorm warnings for York County, PA, etc. due to a quick-moving disturbance. Bingo!! If the doggone front had moved through 12 hours earlier, we all would have been in fat city. Oh well, timing is everything.

Bacil

It is good to be back in the desert. I got to Goodsprings this morning and the winds favored another nearby site named Tabletop. After an hour at Tabletop and 650' over, we stopped by another ridge (Jean) and got another hour (500' over). Winds at Jean were baby-butt smooth so I practiced no-hands weight-shift flying and talked for awhile on the cell phone.

Much fun today. Tomorrow is looking even better and Sunday too.

http://community.webshots.com/album/123286670ejBPhh

'Spark

Vegas winds today were predicted to be NE, but were actually SW, so we flew Jean Ridge. No giant altitude gains but it was still fun. I made two top landings.

http://community.webshots.com/album/123557424czreFa

'Spark

Just got back from Skyline Drive, where Gary, Hank, Bruce and I had a blast flying Zagis at Gooney Manor overlook. Weather was beautiful and clear, barely a cloud in the sky. Lift was on/off, but when it was on, everyone got 500+ over and good long flights. Some sudden shutdowns sent people into the brush below the overlook, but no lost or severely damaged wings.

A great time!

Scott

Well, you should've been there at Daniel's yesterday.

Great flying to be had. Base wind around 8 mph, thermal cores at 300 fpm to 800 fpm (no averager). Inversion at 1800 msl, but you could punch through and get to 3000 msl. Only two PG pilots to take advantage of the conditions. Tom Ceunen (Belgian comp pilot) and me. Nyah nyah nyah nyah!

Hours of fun. :-P

-- ellis

I met Hank at 2:15 while driving thru sunny weather only to find snow covering the west ridge as we arrived at launch.I Hank suggested a Latte at his home which we did to wait out the snow. At around 3:45 we were back to view the snow showers to the west. We waited and found that few snow showers ever made it all the way to launch. I decided it was time to set up and see if conditions would permit a launch. Winds were launchable nearly the whole afternoon. John Middleton showed up with two folks to have their first mountain flight. At about 5:30 I finally decided to launch. Conditions were slightly choppy low but mostly nice and smooth. Should have launched an hour earlier. I topped out at 700 over and forty minutes of flying. Darkness prevented a longer flight. By the way the two hang 2s did great. Ken and Wesley are their names if my memory is correct.

Lesson learned: Snow and overcast - good flying for a geezer.

Joe

John Middleton was nice enough to take the day off yesterday to push Wesley and I off of Woodstock. We met at and walked the LZ at around 4 P.M. then put my glider on his truck and headed up the mountain. Upon arriving at the top, we found Joe setting up and Hank watching the wind which was somewhere between 8 and 14 and NW. While we were setting up Joe launched and began climbing. Once I was set up, I moved out to launch with help from John and Hank. I was a little nervous because of the weather and because I wasn't used to my harness being fully packed with my parachute and glider bag. Despite that, once I deceided to run, all of my nervousness left me and I had a nice launch. Once clear of the trees, I turned right and began to regain some of the altitude I had lost. After going down the ridge for a bit John told me to come back so I turned around and headed back towards launch. I wasn't losing much altitude, but, I wasn't gaining much either. I think if I'd flown closer to the mountain and a little slower I could've gone up to join Joe who was now probably a few hundred feet over, but, since it was my first mountain flight I was giving the mountain a little room. I managed to get back up to launch height, but, no higher. After two or three passes John told me to head out to the LZ so I headed out and did two or three circles of the LZ prior to starting my approach. On landing, I underestimated the lack of wind and the slope of the hill so I ended up taking two steps then letting the nose come over in slow motion. Not my best landing, but, not my worst either. Total flight time, about 7 minutes. Wesley also had a good flight, but, I'll let him tell his own story. Overall, all of those training hill days were worth it and I can't wait til my next mountain flight.

I'd like to thank John for all of his training and patience and Hank, Joe and Wesley for moral support. I'd also like to give the observers a heads up that I'll be calling them sometime soon.

Ken Swingle

I launched after Ken and turned left into the lift band. On an overpass, Joe had shouted down to expect light chop off of launch. I was bounced a bit and my first few turns were sloppy, but I think that it had smoothed since Joe's pass. I turned right and, staying in front and level with launch, made three LZ-centered passes before John instructed me to land. My last few turns were smooth.

I was very nervous until I picked up to launch, and I calmed even more after a few minutes in the air. My turns smoothed out after I relaxed in the harness (Thank you, Dan T., for the loaner) and relaxed my grip. This flight more than doubled my total flying time, and I think that the air-time left me headed for the LZ in a calmer state than had I sledded. [I promise that I'll be out to execute launches and landings.]

I arrived with altitude for one circuit. The downwind leg felt predictably awkward--I had never flown downwind--but I turned to base in good shape. Knowing that I had clearance but never having turned final from altitude, I stuffed hard and lined up, easily breaking my personal speed record. I was fully prepared to run out of field and fly down on to the wheels. I ended up less than one-half of the way in--so far down the flaccid-socked hill that in the breakdown area, Ken and Joe couldn't see my roundout or landing--a two-stepper with the right wing low but not dragging. It was an easy walk. Thank you Joe and Hank for your help at launch and to all of the Saturday huddlers under Bacil's expensive umbrella for the site advise.

John was already in the air and we could hear him cursing (from a mile away) about how his students had burned all the daylight. Sorry about that, John, and thank you.

--Wesley

Just wanted to comment that both Ken Swingle and Wesley Comerer had good launches, nice soaring flights, and good landings at Woodstock yesterday. I only allowed them to soar for a short time because of running out of daylight! Wish we had gotten there a hour earlier. Also, thanks for Hank's assistance.

- john middleton

Marc F., Lauren and I officially opened Highland Aerosport's season yesterday. Winds were a little strong early but backed off to a reasonable strength by 1:30 or 2:00 and I had the honor of being the first to tow behind the new Dragonfly the guys have been building all winter. Wow, it climbs like a rocket! We were averaging somewhere around a thousand fpm. When Adam waved me off I thought he was kidding. I couldn't believe we were at altitude until I checked my altimeter. Tow only lasted about Three minutes.

There was some bouyant air but the cores were tight and difficult to work. I got 23 and 24 minutes my first two flights and climbed to 3,000 on the second flight. I think Lauren and Marc had similar luck. Marc flew his new Talon for the first time. I'll let him give the Pilot Report if he wants.

All in all it was a pretty mediocre day but it was great to be flying there again and fun to see the guys. You should all go check out the new tug soon. It's really kind of exciting to be hooked on to a space ship like that!

Paul

I only got flights of 16 and 20 minutes, but was happy to finally get a ride on my new Talon. Nice glider, but handles quite differently from the Icaro topless gliders that I have become accustomed to over the past 7 years. Don't have enough airtime on the Talon to give an accurate assessment.

The new tug ("the great pumpkin," I heard it called) is one bad boy machine, looks like a custom street rod with the extra chrome fittings and custom work. Schweet!

Marc

<snip> P.S. Dickey.s was nice today, although the air was a little strange. Below 500 over it was a little choppy. From 700 to 1500 it got rather rough. There was a north cross on launch and a definite south cross above 400. Maybe the chop was shear but I.m not sure. At any rate I was the lone geezer in the sky.

Also, there are a lot of sheep in the LZ. Beware. They were all over the lower half of the LZ. I tried to make them move by yelling as I circled but they did not begin to move until I was turning base. I planned a landing half way up the field which turned out to be a good idea. A large group of sheep came running from the south side of the field over my normal approach and touchdown point as I came in. I would have nailed a couple sheep if I had done my usual setup.

Joe

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This page last updated March 13, 2004