The Wednesday afternoon slackers showed their respect for our chief towpilot and were ready to go right on time at noon. Andy towed everybody and went back home to finish his workday. Other than a brief pause when we thought we had lost the towrope (false alarm), Andy made nine tows without shutting down.
It was indeed the best weather of the week, as Tim predicted. However, it wasn't all that straightforward. And it was hot and humid. There were clouds over the mountains, with a westerly wind aloft. Some of the clouds got out of hand, causing rainshowers and blowoff. The wind down low was from the south, which put us square in the middle of weak valley conditions, with the cloudfields to the east and west, just out of reach.
The trick was to leave town early, and Greg (JD), Tom (2W) and Tim (BU) did just that. They made it to the clouds on the Vermont side and followed them all the way to Island Pond, returning via the clouds on the New Hampshire side. You could not have done any better than that.
Evan (T8) and Rick (LEL) struggled to get away, with Evan making at least three desperate returns to Post Mills before climbing back up. At least he didn't land. Rick needed a relight. They both headed for home when the lightning started.
The day ended early with a ten mile diameter shadow due to blowoff. Luckily everyone saw it coming and we made long smooth glides into the darkness to land by about 1600. Evan managed to stay up the longest of all. After that the sun came back out. Typical.
Keith (BA), Dennis (DC), and David (505) were all trapped at Post Mills by the big shadow. Dennis set a record for circling, and David got his first flight of the season in the 1-26.
Showing posts with label 2W. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2W. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Franconia Encapment - Ridge, Thermal, Wave
The weather could not have been better for this year's 4th of July encampment. We had hot days, cool nights and not a drop of rain. Soaring wise we had strong ridge, thermal and wave lift all happening at the same time. There was so much flying and other activities that I am sure I will miss a lot of highlights. Please feel free to add the this report in the comment section.
The weekend started off right with Lane and Don ferrying the Blanik from Post Mills. Andy acted as tow pilot as he did for the entire weekend. They release over Kinsman and Lane gave Don an introduction to ridge soaring in the 25 kt wind. Don later put the knowledge he gained to solo 3J in the ridge lift for a couple of hours. Next it was Tim's turn to take Ann for an introduction to sailplanes. Ann is a hang gliding friend of our former hang gliding members but had never been in a sailplane. They were able to ridge soar/thermal right off tow into wave only stopping at 14,000' for lack of oxygen. Karl (PM), Evan (T8), Dan (EA), Tom (2W), Andy Lawrence (PM), Tony (in the Blanik with Tim) and maybe others, were able to connect with wave. Evan (T8) flew over to the Mount Washington primary and reported he had 18 kts of wave lift at times. He had to stop at 18,000' for class A airspace. Tom (2W) had a really cool flight. He was able to hop wave crests up wind towards the Green Mountains to Hardwick but was finally stopped by the undercast.
The annual BBQ at the Kinsman lived up to its reputation as being fantastic. Thank you Judy, Ann C. and Marsha for doing the heavy lifting and to Karl for grilling.
I was not at the airport Sunday but I heard Dan (EA), Tom (2W) and Evan (T8) all broke off climbs at 18,000' in the Mt. Washington primary. Back at Franconia the ridge and thermals were also working well all day. There were many good flights.
That evening the club was invited to Phil's house on Sugar Hill for fireworks and more BBQ. Phil puts on an amazing fireworks display.
The wind died down on Monday and so did the ridge, wave and thermal lift. People stayed closer to the airport for a more relaxed day.
And while we were all in Franconia, Moshe (RU) was representing PMSC at the Region 1 Contest in Springfield Vt. Please give us your impression of your first contest, Moshe.
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| Lane and Don on the Franconia Ridge |
The weekend started off right with Lane and Don ferrying the Blanik from Post Mills. Andy acted as tow pilot as he did for the entire weekend. They release over Kinsman and Lane gave Don an introduction to ridge soaring in the 25 kt wind. Don later put the knowledge he gained to solo 3J in the ridge lift for a couple of hours. Next it was Tim's turn to take Ann for an introduction to sailplanes. Ann is a hang gliding friend of our former hang gliding members but had never been in a sailplane. They were able to ridge soar/thermal right off tow into wave only stopping at 14,000' for lack of oxygen. Karl (PM), Evan (T8), Dan (EA), Tom (2W), Andy Lawrence (PM), Tony (in the Blanik with Tim) and maybe others, were able to connect with wave. Evan (T8) flew over to the Mount Washington primary and reported he had 18 kts of wave lift at times. He had to stop at 18,000' for class A airspace. Tom (2W) had a really cool flight. He was able to hop wave crests up wind towards the Green Mountains to Hardwick but was finally stopped by the undercast.
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| Evan at 18,000' on Saturday |
The annual BBQ at the Kinsman lived up to its reputation as being fantastic. Thank you Judy, Ann C. and Marsha for doing the heavy lifting and to Karl for grilling.
I was not at the airport Sunday but I heard Dan (EA), Tom (2W) and Evan (T8) all broke off climbs at 18,000' in the Mt. Washington primary. Back at Franconia the ridge and thermals were also working well all day. There were many good flights.
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| Evan at 18,000' on Sunday |
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| Dan Mac at 18,000' in wave, upside-down, and wearing shorts - doesn't get much better. |
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| Dan crossing Franconia Notch |
That evening the club was invited to Phil's house on Sugar Hill for fireworks and more BBQ. Phil puts on an amazing fireworks display.
The wind died down on Monday and so did the ridge, wave and thermal lift. People stayed closer to the airport for a more relaxed day.
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Tim and Michael rock polishing Mt. Lafayette |
And while we were all in Franconia, Moshe (RU) was representing PMSC at the Region 1 Contest in Springfield Vt. Please give us your impression of your first contest, Moshe.
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| Chris tells Moshe how to get to Starbucks - the girls are not impressed. |
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Weekend Report April 30
We had another one-day weekend, as it rained all day Sunday.
The best part of an eventful day on Saturday was the cookout, a party that lasted until flying was called off on Sunday morning. We had plenty of food and beverage, and 21 attendees:
The cookout was in full swing when Karl and Trent arrived in the Cub. Evan (T8) showed up overhead even later, having spent the entire day in pursuit of some New Hampshire state records. The other usual suspects, 2W, DC, EA, JD had good flights as well, but they were back well before Mary lit the grill. Tom, Dan, and Greg went to southern Maine, nearly to the coast. That's probably a first for PMSC.
Tim and Andy kept the towplane running, and Moshe spent his first full day as a CFI in the back seat of the Blanik.
The best part of an eventful day on Saturday was the cookout, a party that lasted until flying was called off on Sunday morning. We had plenty of food and beverage, and 21 attendees:
Andy, Annie, Dan, Don, Dennis, Evan, Greg, Henry, Jeff, Judy, Karl, Lane, Laurie, Mary, Mike, Moshe, Rick, Skip, Tim, Tom, TrentIf you weren't there, you missed a very good party, thanks to all the chefs and contributors. Someone even brought flowers for the table!
The cookout was in full swing when Karl and Trent arrived in the Cub. Evan (T8) showed up overhead even later, having spent the entire day in pursuit of some New Hampshire state records. The other usual suspects, 2W, DC, EA, JD had good flights as well, but they were back well before Mary lit the grill. Tom, Dan, and Greg went to southern Maine, nearly to the coast. That's probably a first for PMSC.
Tim and Andy kept the towplane running, and Moshe spent his first full day as a CFI in the back seat of the Blanik.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
NAM, RUC, GFS, HRRR, WYSIWYG
Analyzing the weather and coming up with a local soaring forecast is always interesting, and usually fun. The hard part is choosing which computerized "weather model" to use. The available weather models, identified by strange acronyms, are so numerous that at least one of them is usually right.
Not so yesterday. All of the models were wrong, and we were fooled by the actual weather twice in one day.
Moshe or Greg (not sure which) called a Slacker Day earlier in the week, and both were optimistic that we would be able to get an early start on Friday.
The optimists showed up at 0900, and it was immediately apparent that the day would be a bust - solid overcast at 6000 feet. We resigned ourselves to doing errands and maintenance, and trying to figure out how we could be so wrong about the weather.
But we were wrong about being wrong. Around noon, the sky cover started to break up, and as the blue areas got bigger, the gliders began to line up at the end of the runway, competition style. We launched ten gliders in 90 minutes: one flight each for 2W, 3BA, AT, DC, EA, HG, JD, PM, RU, S1, and most of them stayed in the air until the unpredictable overcast moved in again. Paul reported a 9 knot climb toward the end of the day.
I've gone back to looking out the window for my weather forecasts.
Not so yesterday. All of the models were wrong, and we were fooled by the actual weather twice in one day.
Moshe or Greg (not sure which) called a Slacker Day earlier in the week, and both were optimistic that we would be able to get an early start on Friday.
The optimists showed up at 0900, and it was immediately apparent that the day would be a bust - solid overcast at 6000 feet. We resigned ourselves to doing errands and maintenance, and trying to figure out how we could be so wrong about the weather.
But we were wrong about being wrong. Around noon, the sky cover started to break up, and as the blue areas got bigger, the gliders began to line up at the end of the runway, competition style. We launched ten gliders in 90 minutes: one flight each for 2W, 3BA, AT, DC, EA, HG, JD, PM, RU, S1, and most of them stayed in the air until the unpredictable overcast moved in again. Paul reported a 9 knot climb toward the end of the day.
I've gone back to looking out the window for my weather forecasts.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Weekend Report April 23 - 24
Another brisk, blue and breezy April weekend with good participation and some great flying conditions. The air has been so clear that, from the ground, you can see the tow rope dangling behind the towplane shortly after release.
Saturday was a bit difficult, due to a moderate crosswind, but that didn't keep Eric from getting two hour-long flights in the Blanik, with climbs to 6000 feet. Henry, Don, and Dakai each gained experience taking off and landing in wind, but we decided to call it quits after one flight each.
The early end to flying allowed us to get an early start on the cookout, which took place indoors and drew 11 hungry members.
Sunday surprised us a bit by starting out as windy as Saturday. This was initially discouraging for those of us planning to fly the trainers, but it didn't stop the hotshots from getting off the ground early. Andy towed 9 single-seaters in a row (one of them twice) before the first instructional flight of the day.
Evan (T8), Greg (JD), Tom (2W) and Dan (EA) were in the air for over six hours and flew all over northern New England. Moshe (RU), Tim (AT), Doug (PM), Dennis (DC), and Mark (HG) had shorter, but just as impressive flights. Dennis missed his 5-hour Silver/Gold duration by 4 minutes!
Meanwhile, back at Post Mills, Andy Lawrence*, Gregg, Henry, Dakai, Lane, Don, and Rick flew locally and discovered that the house thermal went to 7000 feet.
Iron man Andy towed, without relief, both days.
The 1-23 and the yellow golf cart are out of service, hopefully not for long.
*Our duplicate name situation is getting out of hand. We have a Greg and a Gregg, 2 Bills, 3 Andys, 2 Ricks, 3 Annies, 2 Marks, 2 Sams, and innumerable Petes and Sues. Any suggestions about how to keep everyone straight on the logsheet and in PMSC News will be appreciated.
Iron man Andy towed, without relief, both days.
The 1-23 and the yellow golf cart are out of service, hopefully not for long.
*Our duplicate name situation is getting out of hand. We have a Greg and a Gregg, 2 Bills, 3 Andys, 2 Ricks, 3 Annies, 2 Marks, 2 Sams, and innumerable Petes and Sues. Any suggestions about how to keep everyone straight on the logsheet and in PMSC News will be appreciated.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Wave Flights - March 12
Saturday was a warm, cloudless, wave day. Tim (AT), Tom (2W), Dan (EA), Evan (T8), and Jerry and Larry (i1) flew out of Springfield VT (VSF) with the assistance of Andy L. in the Pawnee. Evan found the highest climb to 16,000'.
I (Tim) took the first tow around 11 AM followed by Tom. We found week wave to 8,500'. I was in the primary and Tom in the secondary. At 12:40 the wave shut off and sent us scrambling to find lift. I hung out by ridge soaring the west face of Okemo until the wave lift returned about 20 minutes later. Tom never fully recovered and landed about an hour later.
I found the Okemo wave to have a very short wavelength. My climb was only 2.5 nm from the summit and I found lift as close as 1.6 nm (over the base of the ski lifts) from the summit. Evan and Dan's climbs were about 3.5 nm from the summit. Once I topped out at 9,000' I headed for Killington. Thinking the wavelength for the day was short I stayed to the west of Rt 100. I was rewarded with sink all the way. At 6,000' I was just about to head back to VSF when I found the Killington wave. Evan and Dan followed a line further west to Killington and did much better.
Dan topped out at Killington at 12,500' and lead the way to Sugarbush. Evan stuck around a little longer and got to 16,000'. Dan, Evan and I found our climbs 4 nm - 4.5 nm from the summit, so it looked like the wavelength was longer than Okemo.
At Sugarbush we all found climbs right over the airport at 5-5.5 nm from the summit to about 15,000'. We all continued north but Dan was the only one brave enough to hop the I89 gap at Waterbury. Dan made it up to Mt. Mansfield but could not find the lift and had to land at Morrisville. Evan and I stuck our tails between our legs and headed for home.
The wind was a bit out of the north and made the return to VSF easy. From Sugarbush to Killington I gained about 500'. From Killington to VSF I flew as fast as 120 kts IAS which worked out to 153 kts TAS or 176 mph. With the quartering tail wind the ground speed hit 216 mph! Evan and I landed about a half hour after Dan. We packed everything up quickly and I was off to get Dan.
My new theory about wave in the Green Mountains is that the best lift is at the major ski areas (Okemo, Killington, Sugarbush and Stowe). The best terrain for skiing (tallest peak, moderate steep slope, bowl shape) is also the best terrain for wave. As an added bonus 3 of the 4 ski areas have airports near by.
Tim
I (Tim) took the first tow around 11 AM followed by Tom. We found week wave to 8,500'. I was in the primary and Tom in the secondary. At 12:40 the wave shut off and sent us scrambling to find lift. I hung out by ridge soaring the west face of Okemo until the wave lift returned about 20 minutes later. Tom never fully recovered and landed about an hour later.
I found the Okemo wave to have a very short wavelength. My climb was only 2.5 nm from the summit and I found lift as close as 1.6 nm (over the base of the ski lifts) from the summit. Evan and Dan's climbs were about 3.5 nm from the summit. Once I topped out at 9,000' I headed for Killington. Thinking the wavelength for the day was short I stayed to the west of Rt 100. I was rewarded with sink all the way. At 6,000' I was just about to head back to VSF when I found the Killington wave. Evan and Dan followed a line further west to Killington and did much better.
Dan topped out at Killington at 12,500' and lead the way to Sugarbush. Evan stuck around a little longer and got to 16,000'. Dan, Evan and I found our climbs 4 nm - 4.5 nm from the summit, so it looked like the wavelength was longer than Okemo.
At Sugarbush we all found climbs right over the airport at 5-5.5 nm from the summit to about 15,000'. We all continued north but Dan was the only one brave enough to hop the I89 gap at Waterbury. Dan made it up to Mt. Mansfield but could not find the lift and had to land at Morrisville. Evan and I stuck our tails between our legs and headed for home.
The wind was a bit out of the north and made the return to VSF easy. From Sugarbush to Killington I gained about 500'. From Killington to VSF I flew as fast as 120 kts IAS which worked out to 153 kts TAS or 176 mph. With the quartering tail wind the ground speed hit 216 mph! Evan and I landed about a half hour after Dan. We packed everything up quickly and I was off to get Dan.
My new theory about wave in the Green Mountains is that the best lift is at the major ski areas (Okemo, Killington, Sugarbush and Stowe). The best terrain for skiing (tallest peak, moderate steep slope, bowl shape) is also the best terrain for wave. As an added bonus 3 of the 4 ski areas have airports near by.
Tim
Friday, May 22, 2015
Quadrilateral
Dan (EA) and Greg (JD) avoided the entire Kancamagus wilderness yesterday by flying around it. Good call.
They turned at Chocorua, Lancaster and somewhere over the trees on the way to Morrisville, where they got separated for a while. We look forward to the video.
Meanwhile, Tom (2W) got low early, recovered, and elected to go south instead, making it to Mount Okemo. The tower controllers at Lebanon had two chances to spot him.
They turned at Chocorua, Lancaster and somewhere over the trees on the way to Morrisville, where they got separated for a while. We look forward to the video.
Meanwhile, Tom (2W) got low early, recovered, and elected to go south instead, making it to Mount Okemo. The tower controllers at Lebanon had two chances to spot him.
Just to be different, Moshe (RU) took off and flew clockwise. He went to Barnet, then over to Mount Jefferson where he peeked into the Great Gulf before turning around.
He was so high on the way back that he was able to thumb his nose at the wilderness and proceed directly home from Twin Mountain.
All in all, a great day to go flying, with 864 kilometers credited to PMSC. It would have been 1144 if if it weren't for some misplaced loyalty. Even more if Paul (S1) and Jim D (US) had recorded their flights.
Thanks to Tim for towing!
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Weekend report May 16 - 17
Ballooning and gliding were both rained out on Saturday morning. The flying weather didn't improve much during the day, and neither did the pandemonium associated with the balloon festival, so we never got off the ground.
On Sunday, the weather was mostly blue, with decent lift to 6000 feet. We had ten flights, all towed by Susan. We operated from the south end of the field, so there was no conflict with the leftover ballooning crowd.
2W, JD, EA, and T8 all flew together, up to Morrisville and over to Franconia. It looked something like this:
When they were in the Franconia area, they might have seen Tom Hopper (TH), out in his LS1.
The local flying at Post Mills was relaxed, with Willy, Dakai, and Bill enjoying flights of respectable duration in the trainers. Karl test flew the newly rebuilt mechanical vario in 3J.
Both golf carts are running!
On Sunday, the weather was mostly blue, with decent lift to 6000 feet. We had ten flights, all towed by Susan. We operated from the south end of the field, so there was no conflict with the leftover ballooning crowd.
2W, JD, EA, and T8 all flew together, up to Morrisville and over to Franconia. It looked something like this:
When they were in the Franconia area, they might have seen Tom Hopper (TH), out in his LS1.
The local flying at Post Mills was relaxed, with Willy, Dakai, and Bill enjoying flights of respectable duration in the trainers. Karl test flew the newly rebuilt mechanical vario in 3J.
Both golf carts are running!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Five gentlemen in blue
We had a very civilized soaring day on Wednesday. Five gentlemen of distinction helped each other assemble their gliders and stroll with them down to the south end of the field. No one appeared to be in a hurry, as there was no indication of lift in the deep blue sky.
Finally, Tim (AT) took off and soon reported 8 knots right over the field. The remaining gentlemen hurried to get into the air, taking lowish tows as a courtesy to those still waiting. Dan (EA) nearly regretted his decision to release low, but he was eventually able to get up to join the others.
Dennis (DC) was able to achieve his goal of summiting Mount Moosilauke and really enjoyed his long glide back home from there. Greg (JD), Tom (2W), and Dan (EA) chased each other up to Gorham and back. All five pilots reported variable conditions, with good climbs interspersed with uncenterable thermals and sink.
Without clouds, it was not a day you wanted to be caught out when the lift quit. The gentlemen were all back home by 5pm, and they took their time disassembling, telling their stories, and watching the sun set on another beautiful day in Post Mills.
Very civilized.
Finally, Tim (AT) took off and soon reported 8 knots right over the field. The remaining gentlemen hurried to get into the air, taking lowish tows as a courtesy to those still waiting. Dan (EA) nearly regretted his decision to release low, but he was eventually able to get up to join the others.
Dennis (DC) was able to achieve his goal of summiting Mount Moosilauke and really enjoyed his long glide back home from there. Greg (JD), Tom (2W), and Dan (EA) chased each other up to Gorham and back. All five pilots reported variable conditions, with good climbs interspersed with uncenterable thermals and sink.
Without clouds, it was not a day you wanted to be caught out when the lift quit. The gentlemen were all back home by 5pm, and they took their time disassembling, telling their stories, and watching the sun set on another beautiful day in Post Mills.
Very civilized.
Weekend report May 2 - 3
We had two great days of flying this past weekend, the first one of the year in which the club turned out in full force.
On Saturday it looked like the launch grid of a competition at the north end of the runway. Nine high-performance single seaters came out and kept Evan and Andy busy in the towplane starting at 11 am.
The first one to take off was Tim (AT), and the second one was Dan (EA). If you measure by time instead of kilometers, they had the shortest and longest cross-country flights of the day. Tim declared a long Task and made good time up to Mount Madison, where the rug got pulled out from under him, proving yet again that Gorham is a sinkhole in the thermal soaring season. He landed in the mud at the still-closed airfield, and Rick retrieved him before anyone noticed. In the meantime, Dan, Greg (JD), and Tom (2W) team-flew a terrific flight that went right over Tim and encompassed all of northern Vermont.
This is what team flying looks like:
Dennis (DC) flew out toward Moosilauke a couple of times and made another nice landing at home base.
Moshe (RU) had a late start, but was able to fly a big quadrilateral around Post Mills for 200 kilometers.
Paul (S1), Mark (HG), and Jim (US) probably had a good time on Saturday, but they weren't brave enough to post their flights on OLC, so we'll never know.
When they weren't towing, Andy and Evan joined Lane to give some flight instruction. They flew with Nancy, Sonny, Henry, and a new prospective member, Tommy. All of them took the opportunity to shake off the rust on this beautiful day. Tommy is already a glider pilot. We hope he joins.
Sunday was interesting, with only seven flights, as compared with the nineteen the day before.
It was mostly overcast the entire day at Post Mills, with very little lift. Occasionally, the sun would break through, and as soon as it did, a thermal formed immediately. Nancy figured this out and timed her flight to coincide with a patch of sun, getting an hour in the Blanik.
Meanwhile, the Three Musketeers followed the good weather south to Mount Greylock, then followed it back north and made it home with plenty to spare (JD, EA, 2W). Those of us who were standing around in the shade all day long were very impressed.
The best news of all is that the green golf cart is back in service and running like a Swiss watch.
On Saturday it looked like the launch grid of a competition at the north end of the runway. Nine high-performance single seaters came out and kept Evan and Andy busy in the towplane starting at 11 am.
The first one to take off was Tim (AT), and the second one was Dan (EA). If you measure by time instead of kilometers, they had the shortest and longest cross-country flights of the day. Tim declared a long Task and made good time up to Mount Madison, where the rug got pulled out from under him, proving yet again that Gorham is a sinkhole in the thermal soaring season. He landed in the mud at the still-closed airfield, and Rick retrieved him before anyone noticed. In the meantime, Dan, Greg (JD), and Tom (2W) team-flew a terrific flight that went right over Tim and encompassed all of northern Vermont.
This is what team flying looks like:
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| JD in red, EA in blue, 2W in green |
Moshe (RU) had a late start, but was able to fly a big quadrilateral around Post Mills for 200 kilometers.
Paul (S1), Mark (HG), and Jim (US) probably had a good time on Saturday, but they weren't brave enough to post their flights on OLC, so we'll never know.
When they weren't towing, Andy and Evan joined Lane to give some flight instruction. They flew with Nancy, Sonny, Henry, and a new prospective member, Tommy. All of them took the opportunity to shake off the rust on this beautiful day. Tommy is already a glider pilot. We hope he joins.
Sunday was interesting, with only seven flights, as compared with the nineteen the day before.
It was mostly overcast the entire day at Post Mills, with very little lift. Occasionally, the sun would break through, and as soon as it did, a thermal formed immediately. Nancy figured this out and timed her flight to coincide with a patch of sun, getting an hour in the Blanik.
Meanwhile, the Three Musketeers followed the good weather south to Mount Greylock, then followed it back north and made it home with plenty to spare (JD, EA, 2W). Those of us who were standing around in the shade all day long were very impressed.
The best news of all is that the green golf cart is back in service and running like a Swiss watch.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Weekend report June 7 - 8
One of the advantages of having over fifteen hours of daylight is that you don't really have to hurry to squeeze in a good flight. If you do use the available time efficiently, however, you can accomplish some amazing things.
On Saturday, Evan was the first to take off, at 1130. Cloudbases eventually reached 6500 feet, but the thermals became strangely difficult to work below 4500. With a limited height band, Evan stopped often, averaging less than 10 km per glide. But if you do that for seven hours, you wind up with a remarkable 508 km! He flew to a spot just south of Alton Bay, then to Mount Equinox and Mount Mansfield before coming home.
In all, we had six cross-country flights (T8, JD, 2W, EA, JS, US), for a total of 28.5 hours and almost 1500 km. This had to be a club record. On the way by Springfield, Greg spotted Dennis (DC), who was enjoying a nice three hour flight in the Ventus.
After towing the XC fleet, our towpilot Andy retreated to his hangar to work on the Champ. Henry, Moshe and Dakai coaxed him out to do three more tows of the Blanik and 2-33.
The only glider that stayed in the air later than T8 was the Blanik, with Moshe and Annie, who enjoyed a 1.6 hour flight. Annie was the only person smart enough to send her photos to the editor.
Later, Evan broke into PMSC News to add this photo taken while tanking up at the Hungries (near Morrisville) for the ride home. View of the sky is roughly down the course line to Post Mills, a little over 40 miles away.
If we set a cross-country record on Saturday, we broke it on Sunday!
At first the lift was weak, and after Tim (PM) fell down at noon, nobody was in a hurry to go next. Finally, at 1230, Dan (EA) took off and reported that the day had finally started. Suddenly there was a rush, and five more took to the air (T8, JD, PM, RU, S1), and they were joined later by JS. The seven of them flew 1845 km. Paul and Moshe flew up to Catamount, and Skip made it to Black Mountain and back, despite a late start.
The other four headed north together, initially:
Identification of the 4 tracklogs above are left as an exercise for the reader.
While all this was going on, Karl got his Blanik checkout, fixed a golf cart, and then flew the Blanik for an hour. Bill Swartz, who will have his CFI any day now, flew with Willy and Dakai and helped them get their logbooks up to date. Rich, who never seems to get rusty, showed up and gave Rick a ride in the Blanik for about an hour. Lane, who never seems to fly, put his 1-26 together and took it apart again. Henry, who never downloads the flights recorded on his iPhone, reinstalled the variometers in 3J and took it for a test flight. Dennis (DC), who is welcome to come back to Post Mills any time, flew with NESA again. Doug, who finally got to fly PM last weekend, was trapped in the towplane all day and made 16 tows.
On Saturday, Evan was the first to take off, at 1130. Cloudbases eventually reached 6500 feet, but the thermals became strangely difficult to work below 4500. With a limited height band, Evan stopped often, averaging less than 10 km per glide. But if you do that for seven hours, you wind up with a remarkable 508 km! He flew to a spot just south of Alton Bay, then to Mount Equinox and Mount Mansfield before coming home.
In all, we had six cross-country flights (T8, JD, 2W, EA, JS, US), for a total of 28.5 hours and almost 1500 km. This had to be a club record. On the way by Springfield, Greg spotted Dennis (DC), who was enjoying a nice three hour flight in the Ventus.
After towing the XC fleet, our towpilot Andy retreated to his hangar to work on the Champ. Henry, Moshe and Dakai coaxed him out to do three more tows of the Blanik and 2-33.
The only glider that stayed in the air later than T8 was the Blanik, with Moshe and Annie, who enjoyed a 1.6 hour flight. Annie was the only person smart enough to send her photos to the editor.
Later, Evan broke into PMSC News to add this photo taken while tanking up at the Hungries (near Morrisville) for the ride home. View of the sky is roughly down the course line to Post Mills, a little over 40 miles away.
If we set a cross-country record on Saturday, we broke it on Sunday!
At first the lift was weak, and after Tim (PM) fell down at noon, nobody was in a hurry to go next. Finally, at 1230, Dan (EA) took off and reported that the day had finally started. Suddenly there was a rush, and five more took to the air (T8, JD, PM, RU, S1), and they were joined later by JS. The seven of them flew 1845 km. Paul and Moshe flew up to Catamount, and Skip made it to Black Mountain and back, despite a late start.
The other four headed north together, initially:
Identification of the 4 tracklogs above are left as an exercise for the reader.
While all this was going on, Karl got his Blanik checkout, fixed a golf cart, and then flew the Blanik for an hour. Bill Swartz, who will have his CFI any day now, flew with Willy and Dakai and helped them get their logbooks up to date. Rich, who never seems to get rusty, showed up and gave Rick a ride in the Blanik for about an hour. Lane, who never seems to fly, put his 1-26 together and took it apart again. Henry, who never downloads the flights recorded on his iPhone, reinstalled the variometers in 3J and took it for a test flight. Dennis (DC), who is welcome to come back to Post Mills any time, flew with NESA again. Doug, who finally got to fly PM last weekend, was trapped in the towplane all day and made 16 tows.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Weekend report May 31 - June 1
Saturday started out as forecast, which probably explains the low turnout. The first to arrive on the field was Sonny, who figured it would take an hour or two to replace the 1-23 skid. He got to work right away and was later joined by Lane. The project took all day!
Here is a picture of the two of them taking a break to pray toward Mecca.
Meanwhile, we were able to accomplish some instructional flights under the low ceiling, with Andy towing. A passing rain shower shut down the operation for a bit, but we resumed and were able to finish Moshe's flight review and Dennis's Blanik checkout. Late in the day, the sky opened up and Dennis was able to stay up for a while, on the only soaring flight of the day.
Sunday started off great. Evan (T8), Greg (JD), Tom (2W), Dan (EA), Tim (PM) took off early. Evan headed north to Stowe where he spent an hour communing with the trees when high cirrus clouds moved in (a good lesson in not giving up). He still managed to put in 499 km by the end of the day. The Flock (JD, 2W, EA, PM) made a quick trip to Killington via a cloud street with bases to 7K'. At Killington Tim turned around to give Doug (PM) a chance with PM and the rest of the Flock continued south of Jamaica (that's VT) while avoiding the worst of the high clouds. Their round trip was about 240 km. Moshe (RU) put in a nice flight "tip-toeing around areas shaded by thick cirrus" and visited Peacham and Williamstown. Nice local flights were had by Henry in 3J, Dakai and Andy Lawrence in BA, Ben and Tim in BA, Andy Lawrence (PM), and Skip (JS). Thanks for towing Doug!
Also on Sunday, Rick and Dennis visited NESA at Springfield where we hung out with Phil Stoddard, Alasdair Crawford, Lee Blair, Larry Perry, and Walter Striedieck, all of whom had opinions about how to fly a Ventus B. After waiting for the advice and the wind to die down, Dennis hopped into his glider, gave the thumbs up, and took off.
After twenty minutes of flying around with his gear down (intentionally), he made a smooth touchdown on runway 23 and rolled to a stop. His towpilot and instructor had the pleasure of being the first to congratulate our newest high-performance sailplane pilot!
Here is a picture of the two of them taking a break to pray toward Mecca.
Meanwhile, we were able to accomplish some instructional flights under the low ceiling, with Andy towing. A passing rain shower shut down the operation for a bit, but we resumed and were able to finish Moshe's flight review and Dennis's Blanik checkout. Late in the day, the sky opened up and Dennis was able to stay up for a while, on the only soaring flight of the day.
Sunday started off great. Evan (T8), Greg (JD), Tom (2W), Dan (EA), Tim (PM) took off early. Evan headed north to Stowe where he spent an hour communing with the trees when high cirrus clouds moved in (a good lesson in not giving up). He still managed to put in 499 km by the end of the day. The Flock (JD, 2W, EA, PM) made a quick trip to Killington via a cloud street with bases to 7K'. At Killington Tim turned around to give Doug (PM) a chance with PM and the rest of the Flock continued south of Jamaica (that's VT) while avoiding the worst of the high clouds. Their round trip was about 240 km. Moshe (RU) put in a nice flight "tip-toeing around areas shaded by thick cirrus" and visited Peacham and Williamstown. Nice local flights were had by Henry in 3J, Dakai and Andy Lawrence in BA, Ben and Tim in BA, Andy Lawrence (PM), and Skip (JS). Thanks for towing Doug!
Also on Sunday, Rick and Dennis visited NESA at Springfield where we hung out with Phil Stoddard, Alasdair Crawford, Lee Blair, Larry Perry, and Walter Striedieck, all of whom had opinions about how to fly a Ventus B. After waiting for the advice and the wind to die down, Dennis hopped into his glider, gave the thumbs up, and took off.
After twenty minutes of flying around with his gear down (intentionally), he made a smooth touchdown on runway 23 and rolled to a stop. His towpilot and instructor had the pleasure of being the first to congratulate our newest high-performance sailplane pilot!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Weekend report May 24 - 26
Our long weekend started off rather slowly with a cool, cloudy Saturday. Paul and Sonny showed up to work on their gliders, and Evan made the long drive to Post Mills to tow. In the end, there was no flying. Dan and Greg made a fuel run, and Dennis spent the day getting more familiar with his glider and trailer. At the end of the day (just before we got the Ventus back into the trailer) we were soaked by a passing storm.
Sunday was a different story altogether. The day showed every indication of overdeveloping, with low fat cumulus clouds in all directions at ten o'clock in the morning. For reasons we don't understand, the air dried out, the clouds rose, and we got an outstanding soaring day with very little wind. The four horsemen (EA, JD, 2W, S1) galloped off together on a 260 km triangle with turnpoints at Lake Willoughby and Mount Washington. They flew the whole course as a team and arrived back home together at the end of the day. Moshe (RU) and Skip (JS) went their separate ways.
Back home, Sam accomplished his field checkout and then flew the 2-33 for an hour, reaching 8300 feet in the process. Henry took the 1-23 for a short flight and vowed to fix the variometer. Yay for that!
Moshe took this picture of the scene at the end of the day:
Evan, who had volunteered the night before to tow again, brought his glider just in case he wasn't needed. That didn't work out for him at all. He spent the whole day in the L-19 and didn't complain once. I like this club.
At one point during the day we met one of our neighbors. This guy came out of the woods by the creek, marched diagonally across the runway, and accosted Dennis. The neighbor, whose name is Andy, was not happy. Apparently he has been listening to airplane noise for 15 years and has decided he's had enough. He chose this weekend to tell us about it. Dennis has a lot of experience with public relations. He listened to Andy's complaint and politely asked him where his house was. Andy's reply was classic: "Ask your towpilot. He knows exactly where it is!" And stomped off.
Andy, if you're reading this, please get back in touch and tell us who you are and where you live. We promise to try to work out a solution with you. We're sorry that nobody told you there was an airport here 15 years ago.
Once again, the weather changed dramatically overnight. Monday's leaden sky did not inspire any optimism. Nevertheless, Skip (JS) and Tim (PM) took off, struggled, and managed to connect with the elusive Post Mills Wave. They made it to a respectable height (around 6000 feet) right over the field. It was fun to watch them flying together, standing still.
Henry and Andy Lawrence combined to fly the 1-23 four times, and they are now both volunteering to improve the instruments in that glider. Yay, again!
Our towpilot on Monday was Doug, who, like Evan, drives a long way to enable the rest of us to fly. Doug wants to get back into the 304. Let's help him do that.
Altogether, a good weekend with good weather, good flying, good stories, and good volunteerism. The only thing NESA did better this weekend was dining. We'll do better in that category next weekend, I'm sure.
Sunday was a different story altogether. The day showed every indication of overdeveloping, with low fat cumulus clouds in all directions at ten o'clock in the morning. For reasons we don't understand, the air dried out, the clouds rose, and we got an outstanding soaring day with very little wind. The four horsemen (EA, JD, 2W, S1) galloped off together on a 260 km triangle with turnpoints at Lake Willoughby and Mount Washington. They flew the whole course as a team and arrived back home together at the end of the day. Moshe (RU) and Skip (JS) went their separate ways.
Back home, Sam accomplished his field checkout and then flew the 2-33 for an hour, reaching 8300 feet in the process. Henry took the 1-23 for a short flight and vowed to fix the variometer. Yay for that!
Moshe took this picture of the scene at the end of the day:
The only glider missing in this picture (besides the photographer's) is the Blanik. Dennis had a nice 2.5 hour flight, making a perfect landing at 6:15, thereby missing his chance to volunteer to help de-rig the other gliders. Clever guy.
At one point during the day we met one of our neighbors. This guy came out of the woods by the creek, marched diagonally across the runway, and accosted Dennis. The neighbor, whose name is Andy, was not happy. Apparently he has been listening to airplane noise for 15 years and has decided he's had enough. He chose this weekend to tell us about it. Dennis has a lot of experience with public relations. He listened to Andy's complaint and politely asked him where his house was. Andy's reply was classic: "Ask your towpilot. He knows exactly where it is!" And stomped off.
Andy, if you're reading this, please get back in touch and tell us who you are and where you live. We promise to try to work out a solution with you. We're sorry that nobody told you there was an airport here 15 years ago.
Once again, the weather changed dramatically overnight. Monday's leaden sky did not inspire any optimism. Nevertheless, Skip (JS) and Tim (PM) took off, struggled, and managed to connect with the elusive Post Mills Wave. They made it to a respectable height (around 6000 feet) right over the field. It was fun to watch them flying together, standing still.
Henry and Andy Lawrence combined to fly the 1-23 four times, and they are now both volunteering to improve the instruments in that glider. Yay, again!
Our towpilot on Monday was Doug, who, like Evan, drives a long way to enable the rest of us to fly. Doug wants to get back into the 304. Let's help him do that.
Altogether, a good weekend with good weather, good flying, good stories, and good volunteerism. The only thing NESA did better this weekend was dining. We'll do better in that category next weekend, I'm sure.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
F.O.A.M.S
Sometimes F.O.A.M.S. (fear of missing something) is good.
Well I am not much of a writer, and I am definitely not a blogger, but yesterday definitely had some moments worth sharing. So here goes.
Epic days like last Sunday with great conditions and terrific flying for all can have two very different effects on me. They can scratch the itch and momentarily satisfy the need to get out, allowing me to settle into work and the other crap I have to do, or they can get me psyched to seize the next opportunity to get after it ASAP. Seeing Evan's ridiculous flight on Sunday put me in the latter mode, so I began to look for the best slacking opportunity the week had to offer. Tuesday and Wednesday had the most potential. Alas the need to work, high forecast winds, and Sawyer's lacrosse game (which was awesome) forced me to pass on Tuesday. That night, reading about the Lone Slacker and Tim's great flight, as well as the XC Skies forecast made F.O.A.M.S. kick in big time. I knew 2W and EA were also very susceptible to this disorder so we rallied Rick for a Wednesday Slacker Day.
And so the day began. The long drive from Sterling, Massachusetts and my need to work in the morning forced a lateish start, about 90 minutes after the sky looked great: AAARRRRGGGGHHHH! Since you miss 100% of the shots you do not take, and even though we were late, we decided to declare a 500 km task (Post Mills to Jeffersonville, Vermont to Mt Equinox to Mt Mansfield to Post Mills). A bold declaration for 2W in his second season flying and only his second ever XC flight. Again you miss 100% of the shots you do not take.
First launch was at 11:45 and we were all in the air by 12:15. (Thanks, Rick.) After a bit of trouble hooking up, we were able to team fly in nice conditions to the first turnpoint. From there it was 169 km south to Equinox. Overdevelopment forced us west into strong conditions, allowing long, fast glides (no comment Evan) to the south. We rounded the second turnpoint and headed east to lennie-capped clouds hoping for some wave to make finishing the task easy. No dice, so northward we went, thermaling in deteriorating conditions.
5:20 PM and 25 miles south of Mansfield with clouds coming fast from the west and home within gliding range. What is the smart decision? Of course, stay on task, round the TP under a crappy sky and try to race back southeast to the sunny area. Shocking, but this is where the game changed.
The lift completely shut down, 100% shade on the ground and 6:20 PM. Not looking good for the home team at this point. We decided to take what we had and glide back to Montpelier airport. On the way I found a scrap of texture, dug deep into my hang gliding days and remembered that you do not need lift to climb if you just will the glider higher; it had nothing to do with my landing flap setting and long wings. At this point 2W and EA were on the ground at Montpelier, and after a torturously slow, inconsistent barely working climb, I gained the 1000 feet I needed to comfortably (sort of) make it back to Post Mills. By now it was very shady, almost dark and the air was flat, so I was confident that the likelihood of big sink was low. I landed at 7:15, for what I think is a Diamond distance flight. I am sure some technicality will disqualify it, but who cares?
By this time EA had talked to Rick, and Rick and Henry had the trailers ready to go. By the way, Henry flew 3J yesterday, congrats Henry. Rick and I went to retrieve EA and 2W and had a great (not) Chinese dinner in Barre on the way home. We pulled into Post Mills at 11:30.
Days like that make me thankful I am a member of a club like the PMSC. This is a great sport, but it takes help and support. We have a special thing here.
Team flying rules!
JD
Greg
Well I am not much of a writer, and I am definitely not a blogger, but yesterday definitely had some moments worth sharing. So here goes.
Epic days like last Sunday with great conditions and terrific flying for all can have two very different effects on me. They can scratch the itch and momentarily satisfy the need to get out, allowing me to settle into work and the other crap I have to do, or they can get me psyched to seize the next opportunity to get after it ASAP. Seeing Evan's ridiculous flight on Sunday put me in the latter mode, so I began to look for the best slacking opportunity the week had to offer. Tuesday and Wednesday had the most potential. Alas the need to work, high forecast winds, and Sawyer's lacrosse game (which was awesome) forced me to pass on Tuesday. That night, reading about the Lone Slacker and Tim's great flight, as well as the XC Skies forecast made F.O.A.M.S. kick in big time. I knew 2W and EA were also very susceptible to this disorder so we rallied Rick for a Wednesday Slacker Day.
And so the day began. The long drive from Sterling, Massachusetts and my need to work in the morning forced a lateish start, about 90 minutes after the sky looked great: AAARRRRGGGGHHHH! Since you miss 100% of the shots you do not take, and even though we were late, we decided to declare a 500 km task (Post Mills to Jeffersonville, Vermont to Mt Equinox to Mt Mansfield to Post Mills). A bold declaration for 2W in his second season flying and only his second ever XC flight. Again you miss 100% of the shots you do not take.
First launch was at 11:45 and we were all in the air by 12:15. (Thanks, Rick.) After a bit of trouble hooking up, we were able to team fly in nice conditions to the first turnpoint. From there it was 169 km south to Equinox. Overdevelopment forced us west into strong conditions, allowing long, fast glides (no comment Evan) to the south. We rounded the second turnpoint and headed east to lennie-capped clouds hoping for some wave to make finishing the task easy. No dice, so northward we went, thermaling in deteriorating conditions.
5:20 PM and 25 miles south of Mansfield with clouds coming fast from the west and home within gliding range. What is the smart decision? Of course, stay on task, round the TP under a crappy sky and try to race back southeast to the sunny area. Shocking, but this is where the game changed.
The lift completely shut down, 100% shade on the ground and 6:20 PM. Not looking good for the home team at this point. We decided to take what we had and glide back to Montpelier airport. On the way I found a scrap of texture, dug deep into my hang gliding days and remembered that you do not need lift to climb if you just will the glider higher; it had nothing to do with my landing flap setting and long wings. At this point 2W and EA were on the ground at Montpelier, and after a torturously slow, inconsistent barely working climb, I gained the 1000 feet I needed to comfortably (sort of) make it back to Post Mills. By now it was very shady, almost dark and the air was flat, so I was confident that the likelihood of big sink was low. I landed at 7:15, for what I think is a Diamond distance flight. I am sure some technicality will disqualify it, but who cares?
By this time EA had talked to Rick, and Rick and Henry had the trailers ready to go. By the way, Henry flew 3J yesterday, congrats Henry. Rick and I went to retrieve EA and 2W and had a great (not) Chinese dinner in Barre on the way home. We pulled into Post Mills at 11:30.
Days like that make me thankful I am a member of a club like the PMSC. This is a great sport, but it takes help and support. We have a special thing here.
Team flying rules!
JD
Greg
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