Thanks to a good volunteer effort, we were able to squeeze a three-day weekend into one day of flying.
The weather was disappointing for the first two days, but on Monday Tim made 15 tows, Evan made 9 instructional flights, and Dennis manned the golf cart all day. The beneficiaries were the students, David, Nathan, and especially Kim, who had five lessons.
Meanwhile, Kari flew the Blanik solo, in preparation for his transition to the 304.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Saturday, May 26, 2018
A couple of weak days
Sometimes weekday operations don't pan out as expected. We gave it a shot Thursday and Friday this week.
On Thursday, we had a nice airmass, but the day started with a discouraging amount of altostratus. Karl, Dennis, Peter, and Rick took their time waiting for heating to start. Karl showed off his new ID (KH) which is now displayed on his fin and trailer. Eventually, the sky cleared and trigger temperature was reached. Karl took off first and stayed in the air for about an hour. Dennis (DC) crawled up to 5700 feet once and spent the rest of his 90 minute flight practicing low saves. Peter, who is getting really good at unassisted takeoffs, flew the 2-33 while thinking about getting a flight recorder.
There was only one slacker on Friday, Tim. He and his guest took a wave tow in the Blanik (3BA), but didn't connect. They had a nice flight in thermals and were able to reach their tow height a couple of times.
Thanks, Karl for fixing the green golf cart again. It's running like a switch watch.
On Thursday, we had a nice airmass, but the day started with a discouraging amount of altostratus. Karl, Dennis, Peter, and Rick took their time waiting for heating to start. Karl showed off his new ID (KH) which is now displayed on his fin and trailer. Eventually, the sky cleared and trigger temperature was reached. Karl took off first and stayed in the air for about an hour. Dennis (DC) crawled up to 5700 feet once and spent the rest of his 90 minute flight practicing low saves. Peter, who is getting really good at unassisted takeoffs, flew the 2-33 while thinking about getting a flight recorder.
There was only one slacker on Friday, Tim. He and his guest took a wave tow in the Blanik (3BA), but didn't connect. They had a nice flight in thermals and were able to reach their tow height a couple of times.
Thanks, Karl for fixing the green golf cart again. It's running like a switch watch.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Weekend report May 19 - 20
The weather was nice for ballooning on Saturday, which ruled out soaring for the day. Sunday's weather precluded flying in all categories. A Slacker Day was called on Monday, but that fizzled out, too.
The only event of note was Dan's (EA) flight from GBSC that ended up in a field somewhere in Massachusetts.
The only event of note was Dan's (EA) flight from GBSC that ended up in a field somewhere in Massachusetts.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Weekend report May 12 - 13
The forecast for Saturday was "first half cloudy, second half drizzly." In reality it was "first half clear, second half cloudy."
A good collection of members showed up, including Thomas (yay, Thomas, come back soon!). But it turned out that most them came to drop off their parachutes for repacking. The only person serious about flying was David, who was able to get four lessons, including one of most of an hour in duration.
David returned on Sunday, to better weather, and had another soaring flight. The tow was "interesting" (he might tell you the story if you ask), but the rest of the flight was quite enjoyable. He is making terrific progress, due to his enthusiasm and willingness to show up at every opportunity.
Also on Sunday, Skip (JS), Don, and Henry made local flights while Mark (HG), Tim (BU), Moshe (RU), Greg (JD), and Evan (T8) all headed for Mount Washington. At the end of the day we had only two retrieves to do.
A good collection of members showed up, including Thomas (yay, Thomas, come back soon!). But it turned out that most them came to drop off their parachutes for repacking. The only person serious about flying was David, who was able to get four lessons, including one of most of an hour in duration.
David returned on Sunday, to better weather, and had another soaring flight. The tow was "interesting" (he might tell you the story if you ask), but the rest of the flight was quite enjoyable. He is making terrific progress, due to his enthusiasm and willingness to show up at every opportunity.
Also on Sunday, Skip (JS), Don, and Henry made local flights while Mark (HG), Tim (BU), Moshe (RU), Greg (JD), and Evan (T8) all headed for Mount Washington. At the end of the day we had only two retrieves to do.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Hammerwetter
The word is German, but it has become an internationally recognized term for the best possible thermal soaring conditions. I can remember about half a dozen such days in the 29 year history of our club. Yesterday was probably the second best day ever at Post Mills.
The day began with a royal blue sky and a light southerly breeze. Cumulus clouds were slow to develop and never got to be more than 3/8 of the sky. Every one of them marked a good thermal, and the old ones evaporated quickly, leaving no doubts about where to go. The best achieved climb was 9.8 knots to 10800 feet.
The usual suspects - Dan (EA), Greg (JD), Evan (T8), Dennis (DC), and Tim (BU) - were able to take full advantage of the day. The first three were towed aloft by Tim, beginning a few minutes before noon. The backup towpilot arrived just in time to launch Dennis and Tim. After that, it was very quiet at Post Mills for a long time.
Dan, Evan, and Greg went over to Stockbridge and flew down the Green Mountains to Mount Greylock in Massachusetts. Then they turned back north and flew the whole length of Vermont up to Camel's Hump. At some point, Dan fell behind and flew by himself for the rest of his flight.
While this was going on, Dennis and Tim had their own plans. Dennis declared a 314 km triangle with turnpoints at Gorham, New Hampshire and Springfield, Vermont. Tim went the same way at first, although he did not see Dennis. Tim continued on and turned at Old Speck in Maine and Pittsburgh, New Hampshire, which is well north of the Vermont/Quebec border. He made a long straight glide from there to Topsham, where he picked up another street and headed NNW to his final turn at Barton, on the way to Newport. When he got home after this W-shaped flight, he had flown 508 km.
Dennis, who did not have the luxury of following the streets on his declared task, made it to Gorham without too much trouble and retraced his steps back to Post Mills, and then on to Mount Ascutney and Springfield. He was high enough at his second turnpoint that he was able to make an 80 km final glide back home. His flight qualifies for the Gold Distance and Diamond Goal badge legs. Congratulations Dennis!
So with Dennis, Tim, and Dan back home, it was apparent from the lowering sun and the freshening southerly wind that we might have some retrieves to do. Sure enough, Evan phoned in from Dean at about 7:15pm. We called him back from the clubhouse phone (a first!) and while he was talking with us, we could hear him talking on the radio to Greg, who was still in the air. During Evan's 3-way conversation, Greg decided to turn back and land at Dean as well. He was actually closer to Post Mills than Dean, but with the wind, it was a prudent call, especially after 7h40 in the air.
In no time flat, Dan and Tim were on the road to fetch them.
The day's OLC results were nothing short of spectacular:
EA 640
T8 636
JD 622
BU 508
DC 345
Hammerwetter indeed.
The day began with a royal blue sky and a light southerly breeze. Cumulus clouds were slow to develop and never got to be more than 3/8 of the sky. Every one of them marked a good thermal, and the old ones evaporated quickly, leaving no doubts about where to go. The best achieved climb was 9.8 knots to 10800 feet.
The usual suspects - Dan (EA), Greg (JD), Evan (T8), Dennis (DC), and Tim (BU) - were able to take full advantage of the day. The first three were towed aloft by Tim, beginning a few minutes before noon. The backup towpilot arrived just in time to launch Dennis and Tim. After that, it was very quiet at Post Mills for a long time.
Dan, Evan, and Greg went over to Stockbridge and flew down the Green Mountains to Mount Greylock in Massachusetts. Then they turned back north and flew the whole length of Vermont up to Camel's Hump. At some point, Dan fell behind and flew by himself for the rest of his flight.
While this was going on, Dennis and Tim had their own plans. Dennis declared a 314 km triangle with turnpoints at Gorham, New Hampshire and Springfield, Vermont. Tim went the same way at first, although he did not see Dennis. Tim continued on and turned at Old Speck in Maine and Pittsburgh, New Hampshire, which is well north of the Vermont/Quebec border. He made a long straight glide from there to Topsham, where he picked up another street and headed NNW to his final turn at Barton, on the way to Newport. When he got home after this W-shaped flight, he had flown 508 km.
Dennis, who did not have the luxury of following the streets on his declared task, made it to Gorham without too much trouble and retraced his steps back to Post Mills, and then on to Mount Ascutney and Springfield. He was high enough at his second turnpoint that he was able to make an 80 km final glide back home. His flight qualifies for the Gold Distance and Diamond Goal badge legs. Congratulations Dennis!
So with Dennis, Tim, and Dan back home, it was apparent from the lowering sun and the freshening southerly wind that we might have some retrieves to do. Sure enough, Evan phoned in from Dean at about 7:15pm. We called him back from the clubhouse phone (a first!) and while he was talking with us, we could hear him talking on the radio to Greg, who was still in the air. During Evan's 3-way conversation, Greg decided to turn back and land at Dean as well. He was actually closer to Post Mills than Dean, but with the wind, it was a prudent call, especially after 7h40 in the air.
In no time flat, Dan and Tim were on the road to fetch them.
The day's OLC results were nothing short of spectacular:
EA 640
T8 636
JD 622
BU 508
DC 345
Hammerwetter indeed.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Eight aloft
It was a great day for slacking on Tuesday, and we had eight flights. The conditions were blue with good lift to 7500 feet, and you could get to 9000 if you were lucky or patient.
Karl (HK) finally recorded a flight, and here it is:
You can see that he flew around for a whilc, and then went up to North Haverhill. Good flight, Karl!
Peter (67), who doesn't need any instruction on thermalling, flew for a couple of hours, and Henry (3J) was up for almost as long.
Meanwhile, Dennis (DC), Mark (HG), Moshe (RU), Greg (JD), and Dan (EA) combined for a grand total of about 2000 kilometers! Dennis and Mark went to the White Mountains and got sort of stuck there for a while. Moshe went his own way (south, mostly). The others went west to the Greens and had a great time running up and down the ridge over there.
Eight flights on a Tuesday, more than either of the previous weekend days. Perhaps we should rename ourselves the Post Mills Slacker Club.
Our crack weatherman, Moshe, predicts that tomorrow will be even better.
Karl (HK) finally recorded a flight, and here it is:
You can see that he flew around for a whilc, and then went up to North Haverhill. Good flight, Karl!
Peter (67), who doesn't need any instruction on thermalling, flew for a couple of hours, and Henry (3J) was up for almost as long.
Meanwhile, Dennis (DC), Mark (HG), Moshe (RU), Greg (JD), and Dan (EA) combined for a grand total of about 2000 kilometers! Dennis and Mark went to the White Mountains and got sort of stuck there for a while. Moshe went his own way (south, mostly). The others went west to the Greens and had a great time running up and down the ridge over there.
Eight flights on a Tuesday, more than either of the previous weekend days. Perhaps we should rename ourselves the Post Mills Slacker Club.
Our crack weatherman, Moshe, predicts that tomorrow will be even better.
Lone slacker
Karl worked on his trailer all day, then took his glider out and flew it for a couple of hours. He says he went all over the place, but he still doesn't have his flight recorder working.
The ASW-15B he shares with Henry will have "HK" on the tail someday. This will help us not to confuse that glider with "HG." That's the one with no markings at all on the glider or the trailer.
The ASW-15B he shares with Henry will have "HK" on the tail someday. This will help us not to confuse that glider with "HG." That's the one with no markings at all on the glider or the trailer.
Monday, May 7, 2018
Weekend report May 5 - 6
Saturday was blue all day, with enough wind to make us shy about instructional flights.
Toward the end of the day, David Lysy had a nice flight in the Blanik with Evan for an hour and a half, and Moshe showed Rick a few thermalling tricks over the copper mine.
Dennis (DC) and Mark (HG) flew around the neighborhood, while Greg (JD) and Tim (BU) stretched it out a bit with modest cross-country flights. They worked three wavelengths upwind to some nice altitudes (Tim reached the legal limit). The OLC machine didn't give Greg credit for the second half of his flight for some reason. Perhaps it thought he started his engine, or something. [Update: Moshe speculates that his groundspeed got too low, and the algorithm gave him a virtual outlanding. That sound right].
At the end of the day Karl (HK) got his first flight in his new glider and did a great job. He is still sorting out his flight recorder, so there is no flight log for this flight,
On Sunday, it was overcast and not raining for the first half of the day, and overcast and raining for the second half. Henry and Peter took a bunch of instructional flights, Peter went solo, and Keith Merrick, who claims to be back into it, got back into it.
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