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.

Weekend report June 1 - 2

The weather on Saturday was a little bit strange. An optimistic view of Friday's forecast said that we could expect good conditions as long as the temperature stayed above 90°F, which didn't seem likely at the time.

The airmass turned out to be slightly less stable than predicted, and Mark (3J) was able to stay in the air for over an hour, beginning just after noon.  Steve (PM) and Evan (T8) followed with a couple of flights of over 2 hours.  They both reported variable conditions - 2 to 4 knots at middle altitudes, tapering off to nothing near the clouds.  Steve, by being patient, was able to reach 8500 feet (which was above cloudbase) over  Thetford Hill.

In the meantime, the 2-33 got a good workout, with Andy towing all day.  Bill and Greg flew some rides, John and Rick watched a rain shower barely miss the field, and Dennis (67) made his first OLC flight of the year.  Tim took our newest member, Dakai Zhu, for his first flight lesson.  Welcome, Dakai!

We had about a dozen people at the cookout, and way too much food!  Thanks to all the contributors for another good party.

We lost Sunday for two reasons.  The towplane's left brake line sprung a leak, which grounded it for the day.  The line was eventually replaced by Keith and Andy, just in time for the afternoon thunderstorms.  So we called it a day.

Some good weather at last

With only five days left, the month of May made a belated attempt to redeem its reputation today.

We had 5 knots to 6000 feet, and at one point Andy (PM) saw 7 knots on the averager during his 150 km flight. Tom (TH) had a similar report when he landed after his 2.5 hour flight. Bill disappeared in 3J, landed when nobody was looking, and disappeared in his truck, so I guess we'll get his story later. Moshe (RU) got a late start at Morrisville, but had a nice flight.

But the best flight of the day was Tim's (67). He found a climb above cloudbase, cruised up to Bradford, then back to the Elizabeth mine, and basically raced around the local area, getting the most mileage possible from a 2-33.

Here's hoping that June's weather will be true to May's reputation.

Good flying, mediocre reporting

PMSC operations in Vermont got off to a great start today, according to my source (whose identity is withheld to protect his reputation as a reporter).

Steve, Evan, Thomas, Skip, Rich, Andy, Tom, Christopher, Bill, Skip and Lane (yes, that Lane) put on an old fashioned flying show at Post Mills, while the southern auxilliary squadron (Sonny, Doug, Paul K) chose to fly at Springfield.

That's all I know since my source neglected to say anything about the weather, the runway conditions, the nature and strength of the thermals, the number of flights, or where the gliders went.

My source did send me this picture, and I gather from it that there weren't many cumulus clouds today:


(This photo almost qualifies as a "Name that sailplane" blog entry, but I'll give it away by telling you it's an ASW-24).

The quality of the reporting is forecast to improve.

Weekend Report September 4 - 6

Our Labor Day weekend featured fun flying, fine food, and familiar faces.

The conditions were suitable for local soaring and barely adequate for modest cross-country attempts. Sunday was slightly better than Saturday, with 2 knots to 5000 feet or so.

On Saturday we had 12 flights. Tony (7H) flew the farthest, beating Andy (PM) by only 1 kilometer. Skip (JS), Sonny, (KX), and Tim (PM) had local flights. It was nice to see John Marshall, who flew with Andy in the Blanik and appears not to have lost his touch, despite a summer-long layoff. Andy also gave a ride to our new friend David McGaw who used to fly a 2-22 back in the seventies. David and Carol joined us for the cookout Saturday night.

We had 11 flights on Sunday, and we all forgot to thank Bob for making the trip here, spending his day with us, and doing all of the towing. And here's a personal plaudit for Thomas, for doing the rides and instruction on Sunday, allowing this reporter to indulge in a bit of aerial weedwhacking.

On Sunday, the regulars (Tony (7H), Skip (JS), and Andy (PM)) were joined by Rick (S2), Evan (T8), Christopher (67)^*, Andy Lawrence (3J), and Janet (89). Yes, Janet! She set her bicycle aside and took a nice hour long flight with Thomas. Has it really been six years? Welcome back!

While Tony and Evan were battling it out for first place, Andy made up for his 1 kilometer shortfall the day before, by beating Rick for second place, by the same margin.

Since it was a long weekend, we had another cookout Sunday evening. The following diners:

Andy, Andy, Andrew, Charlie, Christopher, Emma, Evan, Hans, Jane, Janet, Jill, Judy, Kevin, Mike, Nathan, Olivia, Rick, Sue, Thomas

enjoyed the leftovers from the previous day, along with the usual abundance of contributions. It is notable that the parents of public school pupils are beginning to get out a little bit more these days.

We got a late start on Labor Day due to the traditional blocking of the runway by cars, fire engines, and other strange vehicles. Monday's weather, if not soarable, was perfectly cromulent for landing practice, rides, and public relations. Following the parade, quite a few spectators showed up to watch us, and at least one took a ride.

Tim (PM, 89) can claim the distinction being the first club member to make two OLC flights on the same day, and Christopher (89) kept the Blanik in the air for as long as humanly possible.

Evan towed, Andy flew the Champ, and Rick blogged. The times, they are a'changing.

^*First solo in the 2-33, and first OLC flight by the 2-33.