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Hangola January 23 & 24, 1999

Even though most of us left the Washington area while it was still raining as we got farther west it stopped and we ended up getting pretty nice flights at Woodstock. Included were Pete Schuman, Tom McGowan, Mike Balk, Mike Chevalier, Bacil Dickert, and me (john Middleton). The road was closed so we had to hike up the back! Ugh..... Wind at launch was pretty straight in and varying between 7 - 15. We started launching about 3:00 PM and flew until close to Sunset with the best lift being early in the flights with most of us getting to cloud base approx 2600 above launch. We even go some periods of sunshine and blue sky as we cruised North and South along the ridge. I think Tom got the longest flight approx 2:15 while all off us except Bacil landing in the primary. Bacil landing in a field a few fingers North where the owners had invited him to land on their property whenever he could. Mike C's new Stealth sure looks nice in the air and seems to have a great glide and speed range. After flying and retrieving vehicles we had dinner at Mighty Fine in Front Royal. You all should of come!

Any one fly else where?

- john middleton

Mike Buckley and Judy flew at high Rock on Sunday. Ed and I watched. It was blowing strong. Real strong. I'll let Mike and Judy fill in the details.

We had a nice dinner afterwards, with Judy as Senior pilot presiding over the conversation in her usual wonderful way to ensure we youn'uns learned all we could from the day. I felt I had a satisfying experience even if I didn't fly.

I spoke to flight services yesterday at 12:30 and was told to expect NW winds at 12 for the remainder of the afternoon. This prompted me and Brian to head to High Rock. I arrived first and the winds were strong with extended periods of 20-25mph out of the NW. I stood around until Ed arrived and we just hung out, not optimistic about flying. Judy arrived, walked up to launch, and said, "Will you help me launch?" The winds had miraculously calmed down! So, we all set up. Judy launched into what seemed to be reasonable, but strong conditions around 4:30pm. She reported that the launch would be the toughest part of the flight, as the air above wasn't bad. I decided to go next since I have maximum wing loading on my Pulse. I radioed to Judy asking her about conditions in the air before I launched, but didn't receive a reply. I launched at 4:45pm. My launch wasn't good, but I climbed out ok. I aimed into the wind and gained altitude for a while as I tried to get zipped up. Conditions strengthened somewhat and I sped up to penetrate. I flew about 30mph and got about 150 yards short of the railroad tracks when the winds picked up even more. I flew 35mph and was going backwards! My glide angle degrades above 35mph, so I wasn't pleased with those conditions to say the least. This was the first time I've ever really wished that I was on the ground instead of in the air. IT SUCKED! I was able to begin penetrating again after a while and was fine until I passed the RR tracks. There was lots of sink and still lots of headwind. I flew straight to the LZ without any turns. Even on the ground, it was blowing strong. (Very cross from the West) Anyway, thankfully, I had a good landing.

Judy said she actually enjoyed her flight! Her glider can fly a lot faster than mine. That makes a huge difference!

So, I learned several things yesterday including: Don't trust the weatherman. It doesn't necessarily calm down near sunset. Don't push your limits too far. And, always bring an extra pair of underwear. Glad everyone at Woodstock had fun. I wish I'd been there!

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This page last updated January 25, 1999