MOUNTAINEER AIRTIMES eastern edition

Doug Wakefield I haven't done much flying since last report. Flew Woodstock for 1:55 on November 11, making it to +2100 after getting turned almost sideways in the slot during launch. The air was challenging at first, but gradually smoothed out. Had a better launch there on the 21st, and got about an hour before losing it after having to turn away from the ridge to avoid a pilot who launched without a traffic check. Had some more fun at Woodstock on the day after Thanksgiving, the 27th. Launched and started north, but relatively soon turned and headed south. Nearing Edinburgh gap I kept watching two gliders taking turns thermalling up and starting across, only to get low and head back. I worked the ridge lift and broken thermals just short of the gap for a while, and then caught a beautiful thermal up to +2100, jumped the gap and headed down Short Mountain. Got back up to +2100 at the far end, but didn't feel comfortable trying the jump back. Hung around waiting for another thermal that didn't turn up, so dove off the end of Short Mountain and landed for a flight of 15.1 GPS miles. Got 15.1 minutes at High Point on December 6. Went to Wallaby Ranch with Christy, Dan Tomlinson, and Mike Chevalier for the Christmas to New Year's week and got a few tows in, but our trip was clouded by a fatal towing accident. I was in the air when it occurred and so didn't see it, but I had talked briefly with the pilot, Charly Schmadderer, earlier that day. He seemed like a very nice guy.

Judy McCarty A few firsts for me these past two months. I flew Dickey Ridge for the first time! Fortunately there were near perfect launch conditions so it wasn't so scary. Winds were light and my flight wasn't lengthy, but it still seemed like full day. On 12/27 I ran the ridge at Fisher Road down to Ritchie's Knob for the first time. That was actually my first xc from Fisher Road. Pete flying his Falcon was the first to venture down. With the crops down the fields along the way looked pretty accessible. A fun flight! Lastly was my first xc from the Towfarm on 12/6 for 8.57 miles. One interesting facet of that flight was how scary it was to leave the home turf even though conditions were ideal for going xc--tons of places to land, smooth air, a driver in place. Even with all that I was trepidacious! Of course, it turned out great and I had a blast, and can't wait to do it again!

Mike Chevalier I've done mostly towing since the last newsletter, in fact all of my flights in December were tows. On November 28th I went to Manquin Flight Park near Richmond and did some truck towing which I hadn't done in two and a half years. Two tows were uneventful sleds from 1200 ft. On one tow the nose bridle slipped and I floated off the truck too early and drifted off to the right. I released, dropping a wingtip which some said hit the ground, but straightened out and continued the tow. The line was jerky and I was a bit concerned about it but was climbing so I stayed on the tow. At about 200 ft. the tow pressure jumped way up and the weak link broke. I landed and found out from Tex that there was a loop on the drum which snagged every time it went around, eventually stopping the drum. That's what weak links are for. On Dec. 6th at the Towfarm, a warm, light day with no lift, I towed to 3000ft and turned downwind landing 7.2 miles away. On the flight I found what felt to be light wave bars, in one I turned and went crosswind for a while. Had I kept going in that direction I probably would have been able to go farther. As I was breaking down Judy cruised over at about 1000ft. At Wallaby Ranch I did 6 tows plus one lockout at 200 ft in a rowdy cycle. Maximun gain to 3350, lomgest flight 55 minutes. No cloubase, no XC flights, just mediocre flying this trip, unlike the boo wah flying I had last time down there. You can't win em all. My new glider finally came in and I got to fly it at Fisher Rd. Jan. 17th for an hour. It's a Stealth 2-151 with carbon crosstubes, available for demo by qualified pilots. I weighed it on my bathroom scale, 76 lbs. in the bag vs. 73 in the bag for my K5. Aluminum crostubes are available, saves you $300 but weighs 4.5 pounds more.