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Hangola
Tuesday November 17, 1998
Saturday November 21, 1998
Sunday November 22, 1998

Steve K agreed to meet Doug and me in the Woodstock LZ. On the drive out the sun disappeared behind lots of clouds, but there was some wind and the direction wasn't bad. When we got to launch it was blowing in about 12-15 so we set up. By the time we were set up there were some 25 mph gusts going through. Doug finally launched around 2:30 and got a little under 2 hours. Steve launched around 3 and got a little under an hour and a half. I launched (with the help of Tex and Terry) around 3:30 and got a little under one hour. I needed that.
Christy

Woodstock : 11/21/98 : 1.25 hrs, 1500' over

Nice flight at Woodstock today! Chilly up there, but well worth the drive. Played around at the bottom of the wave that Ed found, but didn't think it would be a good idea to get high given a slow right wing and gradually fatiguing arm. Good to be back in the air after that knee sprain!

Tom M, Mike B, Doug Rogers, Christian, Nelson L, Rich L, Scott S, Adam, Ed, Chuck, Raymond, Karen, Matthew, and at least 5 others whose names I'm blanking on all flew. Don't think anyone got less than an hour.

--mark c.

Many thanks to Joe G. for his invaluable advice to be sure to go to Woodstock today because it would surely be awesome!!-- Or maybe it was Joe that said don't go because it would be terrible -- don't remember which now.

At any rate, I got a little over an hour -- as much as my frost bitten hands could stand! (memo to Chuck -- bar mitts!). I also got into the wave lift near the north point, which made for a very exciting flight as my windspeed increased to almost 50mph in order to make headway back into the valley.

Just to make do-what-I-say-and-not-what-I-do Sheila feel really good, we all called her from the LZ to tell her what she'd missed. I couldn't quite make out how she responded but it sounded something like #@$%!!!&*# Joe, Marc and Mark!!!! And then she said "I'm really happy for you guys" -- hmmm, content good, sincerity - I'm not too sure.

Chuck

Yep, we almost didn't make it to Woodstock either. Karen and I were just leaving the house at 10:40 when we got a call from Sheila on her cell phone saying (in the saddest voice ever) "we're on 66 and the winds are really strong... the senior pilots have determined that it will be blown out at Woodstock" She also told me Chuck was almost there and I got his cell phone number and gave him a call. Chuck reported that it was light in the valley and said he'd give us another call from launch. Mike and Tom were already there-- having arrived at launch at 9:00am in an attempt to catch wave lift. About 25 minutes later, Chuck called again and reported Tom, Mike and Bacil in the air and winds 8-12 at launch.

So, what the Hell, sounded good to us. Plus, we need to stop at a saddlery store in Haymarket to pick up some riding gear and accessories for Karen's new saddle.

We finally got into the valley at about 1:30 and radioed the LZ to see if anyone needed a ride. Doug was on the ground and needed a lift, as did Adam from Winchester. Conditions were so "light" that Adam had sledded. Now who said it was going to be blown out????

At launch, conditions couldn't have been much better. Straight in the whole time at 5-10. While setting up, we got a radio report from Nelson Lewis saying, "I'm 4000 over in Wave at the North point and there's some guy in a Falcon up here and the glider doesn't appear to be moving... I hope he understands what's going on." Hmmmm, must be Ed!

I launched at 3:20 and boated most of the way up to the North point at 1000-1500 over. Great air-- easy to stay up in and not turbulent. I occasionally found a thermal and climbed to 1800 over before I bailed so that I wouldn't get too far behind the ridge. Just when I had the reservoir in sight, I started to sink. I pulled in continued forward..sink, sink, sink, sink, sink. Hmmm, maybe I'm in the down side of the wave? So I headed out into the valley, and sure enough, up I went. The wave wasn't as strong as it had been earlier and the most I could get was 2000 over. I continued on up to the resrvoir then turned around and played in the wave for a while. If I went upwind I'd fall out, downwind the same. It was actually very narrow and just like being on the crest of a wave... hence the name.

I then headed South to again try to take a look at the gap, but it was getting late and I was cold so I turned around at no man's land again and landed at about 4:40. (1:20 flight) A lot of pilots flew for about an hour and landed because they got cold. Karen got just under an hour and Scott Smith had his first soaring flight (4th high flight) and got an hour and 1000 over and landed right at sunset. Adam had another flight and got an hour as well. Tom and Mike (the early birds) each got 3.5 hours but were never at the right location when there was wave. I guess the early bird doesn't always catch the wave. Other pilots there were Ray Mitchell, Marvin, and a bunch of CVHGA guys.

It was the best "blown out" day at Woodstock I can remember!

Matthew (anyone up for flying on Thanksgiving, of Karen and Matthew)

A most awesome day for yours truly. About 3pm after rolling on every piece of warm clothing in my arsenal I got into position to launch. I decided to launch into a lull as much as possible. Apparently I did not take the proper cues from the winterized trees. Two steps down I met a gust coming up and I am not sure that I made three steps. I don't remember ever taking that long to fly out of the slot. Turbulent too! 7 or 8 on a scale of 10. It smoothed out around 500' over and I was able to take a moment to straighten my glasses. Winter air is sure different.

There was a little cross from the left but I had no trouble penetrating. So after about 20 minutes I decided to head for the north point in search of thermals. The sun was shining almost parallel to the ridge with the cross from the same direction so I decided to concentrate on the left side of the fingers. About 4 or 5 bends down I went over a wide treeless field with a abrupt cresent shaped slope on the north eastern side. It has a pond that looks like the cross section of a fat airfoil right next to the river.

As I went over I was able to pick out 3 or 4 seconds of trashy lift from the chaos. I figured "What the heck, lift is lift!" I stumbled around in it until I was 1500 over and it smoothed out. I hit the talk button: "I am at 2000' over and going up!" I wound up pointing straight ahead and watching the vario oscillate between 500 fpm and pegged. "I am past 3000' over and it dosen't look like I am stopping!" It was starting to be a call for help. "How high did you say you were?" said a voice over the radio. "3000 feet!", "Are you SURE?!", "That's what my altimeter says!"

I was still in front of the ridge but things were looking smaller than I had ever seen them before and the air had gone perfectly smooth. I expected to discover I was in a tandem flight with Rod Serling. "Where are you? I'm coming over!" said the radio.

Still in front of the ridge I noticed I was looking across the bottoms of the clouds. I knew I wasn't supposed to yell on the radio but what the heck, it's the first time: "WAAAWHOOOOO!!! CLOUDbase!!!!" Tom McGowan on the radio: "Hello launch, we're in the LZ, we're headed back up." The air had suddenly gotten clearer, the high white cirrus clouds turned brownish orange, and I realized that I was looking down on a hazy inversion layer. I also noticed that I was drifting backward over the ridge.

My headwind had picked up. Not good I thought. I pushed in, hmmmm... more, hmmm... more, hmmm.. MORE! I brought the bar up and spun the vario to the bottom of the tube facing forward. I was doing a finger stand on my speed bar and dropping at about 100 fpm. Yikes! I glanced over the back. Oh, that's not bad, those fields look very reachable.

After a ten minute finger stand I was back to 2000' and penetrating again. "This Falcon just won't do any more." I thought. "Let me see if I can ride the front of this thing." I rode up the fountain of air like a swirl of icing on the edge of a birthday cake. Within 5 minutes my head was poking through the inversion layer again. If I stayed with it I would be going for my first XC.

To the radio: "I am at 4000' over and still going up, I am not real sure about this!" "You're in WAVE man! Your going to go ABOVE THE CLOUDS! ABOVE the CLOUDS!" He made it sound like the most incredible thing possible and it was.

Unfortunatly I had to be back in DC by 7:30; my son had the lead in his high school play. WOULD he understand? I thought very hard...................................................................................................... no. He wouldn't.

I stuffed the bar again. "What a DAD you are!" I thought. Far below I could see Nelson racing up the ridge. "A little more to the right." I radioed. "Oop now you've gone too far." At 2500' over we passed each other like a couple of high speed elevators. A few minutes later he said "I am at 7100' MSL and going XC!" I circled a couple of times to try and spot him but never did.

I rode the fountain up one more time, just for the heck of it. I made cloudbase 3 times in the same day. Max Alt: 4260 over launch. Just over a mile above the LZ. IN credible.

Ed

After a bummer day on Saturday where I wanted to keep going to Woodstock but the two people I was driving with didn’t - (the day was saved by a nice dinner and movie with good friends) - I had an awesome day yesterday. Mark and I decided to try to pull a "Karen and Matthew" by horseback riding the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in the morning then high-tailing it over to the eastern shore where I got two wonderful non-eventful tows. Unfortunately there wasn’t any lift so they were sled rides but the view was great all the same. Afterwards it was to the Hillside for dinner. Very nice day!

Sheila

On Saturday I went to Greg DeWolf's Launching, Landing and Ground Handling Clinic at Smithsburg along with Christy, Dave Z, Randy Webber, Gary Campbell, Ched Hudson. Kevin and Kelly were also there part of the time.

I signed up for the clinic because I am painfully aware that I have a lot to learn about launching, ground handling, and especially landing. What I got was actually a whole lot more than that. It was tremendously valuable.

Eddie Miller soared his Vision, Greg soared his Fusion, others got some passes in. Steve Padgett was there flying up a storm (go, Steve!), plus another pilot I don't know.

Judy

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This page last updated November 23, 1998