GlideStone News

2011 Review

2012-01-19T13:05:00.001-05:00

2011 granted me 13 flights, with almost half those at the training hill, with a total of 6 hours and 47 min.

I had a very rough start this season, not getting my first flight until 6/22, when I tried Aero-towing behind a trike. Those flights will leave me spooked for quite a while and I'm not looking forward to trying it again anytime soon though I'm sure I will this year if RAF has a tow operation this 2012 summer. From then on I had some very nice flights with cloud base opportunities which is what I live for. I only made it to cloud base once, but it sure was nice trying and getting fairly high.

I was most please with my efforts at the training hill with my video camera. It showed me a couple major flaws in my technique that I'm able to know focus on that have proven to make a pleasurable difference. My U2 is getting close to being dialed in with a couple adjustments made. It's taken a while, due to my lack of flying each year, but I feel as though we're finally getting to know one another.

As always, I'm hoping to do a little more flying this year, taste a cloud or two, and I look forward to flying with all the great people who enjoy this obsession of ours.

Heaven at Harris

2011-10-31T12:29:00.004-04:00

Harris Hill 10/30/11

The colors must have been near peak and Katrin and I enjoyed the sights on the way down to Harris Hill. There was melting snow at the top of the hill that made the drive up a little muddy, but the road remains in great shape.

Wind was a little cross from the North, and maybe a little milder than we would have liked to stay up on the ridge. We had around a dozen people show up eager to get a great flight but no-one wanted to be first off in iffy condition. Dan went first fought hard and sank out. Katrin in her PG went next and was able to get 400 over but followed the lift too far back over the ridge and almost didn't make it back to top land but it all worked out. Ron and Ed launched and stuck on the ridge so the rest of us figured it was time to work what we could.

Then the sun came out and the line formed at launch. I got in behind Bill and George and both picked a good cycle to launch in and were climbing steadily. I waited for launch to clear and launched in a great cycle that picked me right up to 400' over. After a few passes on the ridge I could feel thermic activity around and it wasn't long before I hooked one that brought me up to 2500' over. It was fun to boat around between 2500 and 3000' while looking down on all the sailplane activity. The buttery lift above seem to have the area saturated mellow lift. It was magical to float around with so many friends searching around for the next elevator up (to where Bill and George were). Before long we were working our way to the cloud street above.

Cloud base was at 4000 and I was giddy the whole time I was up there. Bill, George and I played around with the fluffies and at one point we were at a cloud where the bottom was domed. We were higher than the outside of the cloud but not IN the cloud. SWEET!

I made the mistake of taking off my glove to take some pictures and my fingers paid the price. So it didn't hurt my feelings too bad when I lost the lift and headed back down to the ridge. I boated around for a while in the warmer air and let George go in and land before me.

I've been working on my landings the last few weeks to the point where I was excited to come in and show everyone in the LZ my improved technique. As it turned out my set up was fine but my execution was poor and I had to run it out. But at least I didn't whack like I normally do. Always something to work on...

Afterwords a bunch of us went out to Tag's (my first time). I had a great meal and fun conversation about the day.

Flights: 1

Duration: 1 Hour 34 min.

Height: 3,993 ATO

Temp at Cloud Base: 27 F

Padgham Practice.. again

2011-10-05T10:00:00.001-04:00

Met Doug Fien this morning for a little more landing practice. Confirmed that bending the knees is key for setting up the flare. My first flight I came down through some switchy lifty and unsettling junk. Even with one wing high and in a bubble of lift, I still ended up on my feet and not my face like normal.

My second flight had much mellower conditions. I would have liked to flare a bit sooner and had my hands lower, but it still worked out okay.

Flights: 2
Duration: 30 sec. each, 1 min total

It was nice to see Doug out flying again too...

Landing Practice at Padgham

2011-09-14T09:00:00.002-04:00

Alex was nice enough to meet me at Padgham, the training hill, for some landing practice. My landings have been terrible lately and I wanted to try some things to make them better. I brought the camera to video my landings so I could 'see' what I was doing wrong. I learned early on that what it feels like you did doesn't always match up to what you actually did.

My immediate focus was to make sure my knees were bent and try to 'kick the keel' while flaring. I figured my lack of flare must have something to do with my body position and not my hand position so I wanted to focus on my feet. Immediate success with the first landing and it carried through all four landings. Even when my form was still poor my landings were better than ever so I know I'm on the right track. It's funny to see the video's of how it looked and how much different it felt.

It was a good day out, a good start to making my landings better, and good piece of mind that I can do this.Flights - 4Duration (30 sec each) 2 min.

Harris

2011-08-03T08:52:00.005-04:00

First flight lasted only 5 min. Wind was strong as were the thermals but the lift was well formed and the air made you work for every inch of height you could get. Bill and Ed managed to get above the ridge for an hour or two and make it look easy.

I went back up the hill for another shot and conditions were mellowing out just a bit. Ron took off, had a steady climb, and stuck around 400 over. I followed and with the same result.

Ron and I then has some luck. Something like a 6:30pm wonder (but not that big) brought us up to 3,000' over launch for about 1/2 hour. It was pretty sweet cruising around the ridge in the cool 70 degree air. I was having trouble moving forward into the wind with full VG. Ron seem to cruise through it with his much faster wing.

Harris Hill 08/02/11 3k up from Todd Sheehan on Vimeo.

Ron went in after taking a tour of the valley and really stuck his landing. I stayed on the ridge for a little while longer stuck at around 800 over.

Still having trouble with my landings. Ron and Ed were telling me I'm not rotating to a nose up flair... and that's what it feels like. Now I need to FIX IT! A trip to the training hill should be in my near future. Thanks guys.

A trip worth while.

Flights 2
Alt: (1)sledder, (2) 3,200' over launch
Duration: (1) 5 min, (2) 1 hour 45 min.

Big Party at Hport

2011-07-30T23:18:00.004-04:00

You could see all of Keuka Lake from around 4,000 feet over launch.

Joined 12 or more pilots today at Hammondsport. Took off in a good cycle that got me up and comfortable quickly. Nice thermals took some pilots to cloud base (6k' over) but I only made it to 4300 over where it was a nice cool 60 degrees. I had slow climbs in smooth lift, and fast (800 fpm) sink that was also pretty smooth. Had a belly landing up top that was pretty smooth as well... maybe I should land that way all the time?!

Cloud base was still about 1,500 feet higher. I didn't make it but many did

Mark on his way to the Windmills and back!

There was some excitement with one of newer pilots flying into the trees above launch. Lots of emergency people and even a helicopter added to the excitement.

Flights: 1
Alt: 4,286' above take off
Duration: 1 hour 30 min. 3 seconds

Great day with lots of company!!

Pictures from the day

Height at Hammondsport

Rock and Roll at Hport

2011-07-03T15:14:00.000-04:00

My first Mountain flight this year was an exciting ride at Hport. A front went through taking all the clouds away and left us with a slight West cross and strong cycling winds. I was the last of three HG's to launch after Klause from Ontario, and Rick Brown.

Stong lift and sink left with with that Over the Falls felling all too often, and two wire twangers. The first hour of flight was not a lot of fun with heights from ~200-1400 over launch. I was lucky enough to survive a flush cycle that had Klause and Rick land near the Church LZ. After that the thermals seemed to mellow a bit and allow for higher climbs in cooler air. I stayed between 1400 and 2000 over launch for around 40 min in much more pleasant conditions. I ended up top landing giving myself lots of room if I needed it (and gave me a long walk back to the road.) Broke down in the shade and enjoyed my easy walk back to the car.

Link to today's Pictures

Flights :1

Duration: 1 hour 40min

Max Alt: 2017

Not Pleased

2011-06-22T20:03:00.000-04:00

My first flights of the year were not fun, and very memorable. I towed up behind the clubs new Trike with Steve (from TX) doing his best to keep me on the rope.

First flight I was a mess with PIO and when it came time to make a turn I was way too outside, trying to dive to catch the Trike, and unable to control the wing. I released the rope as I did a nice wing over and short dive from ~500'. It was nice and smooth off tow and I headed back to the south end of the strip with my tail between my legs. At about 300' over the end of the strip I found a little lift that I played in for a few min until it died. I landed pretty close to the cart and the boys, Rick and Oded, convinced me that I was way too wired, needed to relax, and try it again.

So I did.

I was more relaxed so much less PIO, but it all fell apart again when we got to the turn. Once again too far outside on the turn because I wasn't thinking. The trike dropped, I tried to dive and turn, lost all control and finally released the rope with my nose past vertical and the most over the top of the wing I have ever been. Just an everyday wing over for some probably, but it had me gritting my teeth and filling my pants. A steep dive to a smooth recovery had me taking my first breath in probably 1 or two minutes. I couldn't wait to land and get out of this thing. My approach wasn't very nice either. It could have been thermic stuff coming off the knoll in the middle of the runway but it was probably me messing something else up. Things settle out and I ended the flight with a so-so landing.

I couldn't wait to pack up and the hell out of there. I was filled with all kinds of thoughts from needed someone else fly and trim the glider, to going back to a single surface, to getting out of flying all together. More proof that HG pilots are great people when so many came over to me and tried to relax me, then reason the situation and finally leaving me with hope that I can work through this.

Flights: 2 (ea. ~5min.)

Height: 500'

Words just cant discribe Hang Gliding

2010-11-09T08:19:00.002-05:00

I. C. You, and You, and..

2010-10-09T10:01:00.000-04:00

Great to see so many at IC today! Something like twelve pilots showed up to enjoy the textured air. Not sure anyone broke a grand over launch but many came close. I think everyone took their turn at being top of the stack.

Highlights for me: Thermaling with Frutiger at the same elevation climbing together. Had an immature Eagle inside my wing tip of which I literally scared the crap out of as he dove away. Flying with so many at one time. Great fall scenery. Comfortable landing

Flights: 1
Altitude: 950 over launch
Duration: 1:41:41

DNF - Dansville Not Flown (by me)

2010-09-18T22:53:00.000-04:00

Got to Dansville too late. The wind was too much for the pg's, though Florian had a short rowdy flight. By the time I set up, the wind mellowed to almost nothing for over an hour. After I packed up and put the wing on the van, the wind picked back up. I wasn't going to mess with mother nature anymore so headed home. Picked up a BBQ chicken dinner at a small town church on the way home.

Short Successful day at SOGA

2010-08-01T22:32:00.000-04:00

A few fixes were in order before flying. I found out the markings on my VG rope were not right. The 1/2 way mark was really only about a third. I was also able to move my tow point a couple inches further forward to a spot in front of the king post (instead of behind where it was originally). My arms were so sore from towing I didn't know if I could do another without a change.

The day was starting look like a repeat of yesterday where clouds were coming in early before conditions would really turn on. The pilots that launched early had a chance to stick around for a thermal or two. Dan and Mark went XC getting around 15 miles. Shortly after that, the conditions shut down leaving the rest of us with extended sledders. The only one to stick was Ryan in his Atos who launched early, went upwind to stay in better conditions, turned around and came back after the sun came back out in the afternoon.
I got set up knowing I would take a sledder but really wanted to another tow to see if my setup was better. As soon as I came cleanly off the cart I knew this was going to be a good tow. The wing felt solid and predicable with little or no PIO from me. It was also immediately obvious that the new tow point was much much better. I had to pull back on the bar a little, but that's fine with me. The load was less than half of what it was and easily manageable for my tired and sore arms to deal with. Steve gave me a great tow, once again, searching the area for lift but found nothing. The sky was overcast now and left me with a baby bottom smooth glide back to the tow park. When I got to 4oo' directly over the flight line I found some lift that I tried to work. It was pretty strong, but much too small to stay in. I kept falling out of the lift and getting back in only gaining 100' before I had to give up and head in (I think I was holding up the launch line as they were waiting for me to come in and clear the space before launching). I was going to try and go for the spot landing, but I came in way too high and overshot the mark. My flair was okay and ended the flight with a good landing. All around, and very nice and successful flight.
I needed to leave in the early afternoon to get back home so even though the sun was coming out I wasn't going to stick around to see if the conditions were going to get better. As it turner out, the sky looked fantastic as I left the field, but was told that no-one was sticking so I didn't miss anything.
Flights: 1
Alt: 2,600 (released off tow)
Duration: 26min.

SOGA Saturday Sledders

2010-07-31T22:18:00.001-04:00

A bit of a surprise today. A slow moving front came through that blocked out the sun and for a bit, brought rain. That didn't seem to dampen spirits too much. There were winch launch lessons in the morning, tandems while the front was coming through, a pilots meeting for the fun/comp and a fair number of tows which all turned out to be sledders.
Dan and George, from Syracuse, came up and said they drove through some rain on the way here. But the forecast was good enough for the next couple days that they came anyway and set up. Dan got a flight in on the Atos and wasn't able to stick in anything either. Chuck got towed up and did the first leg of a triangle task and set down at a grass strip close with 3 others.
I changed my hang point a notch forward and took a tow in the afternoon. I also pulled on more VG as was recommended by others. Both helped quite a bit and I was so pleased. The tow was much better and easier to handle. Off tow the glider trimmed out the way it should, without stalling at trim, and turns were much easier and cleaner to enter. I still had a lot of bar pressure on tow so I moved the tow point forward about an inch and hope to check it tomorrow if the weathers good.
There was a bbq at Keith's (one of the founding members) place on the lake after the flying was over. Great food (and lots of it), company, stories, and beautiful place on the lake.
Dan, George, and Chuck all gave me stuff to make my camping experience tonight a little more restful. Last night I didn't get much sleep because I froze and was very uncomfortable. I know things will be better tonight!

Flights: 1
Alt: 2,500
Duration: 20min.

Fantastic Friday at SOGA

2010-07-30T21:30:00.004-04:00

The drive up to the SOGA club in Canada was pretty much a breeze with only a couple stops to get gas and pay tolls. Once at the flight park in the middle of nowhere (which is most excellent for Hang gliding) I met some of the locals and set up the glider. The sky looked fantastic and as soon as Steve showed up to tow a line formed pretty quick.
By the time I launched people were starting to land after an hour of flying. I haven't aero towed in a while, and I've never towed this glider before so I was little nervous and taking extra time with my set up and watching other pilots launching to see how they were doing. Conditions were active which didn't help me, but It was still my lack of experience that made things much worse then they needed to be. Next to the word PIO (Pilot Induced Oscillation) there should be my picture. I was totally over controlling and I didn't start to relax until I was about 700 over. The air smoothed out and I relaxed until just before Steve found a nice thermal for me. We worked it a little until suddenly the tug shot up, then I hit the lift and I released into nice smooth lift at about 3,000' over.
I worked the lift for a little while until it dissipated. Then I headed over to a cloud and worked up to cloud base at 4500 and stuck there a while. I LOVE being at cloud base and it's always my ultimate goal when flying. I stayed with the cloud until the lift died and I found myself down wind of the airport. There was a cloud street to the South west that the sailplanes were playing in. It was my closest option for lift so I pulled the VG and shot over there. I was please with how fast and stable I could fly at full VG and enjoyed the speed for a while. By the time I got there I was at 2000, the gliders took off, and the bottom fell out of the cloud I was hopping to work. I searched around finding little bumps, but nothing strong enough to work. It was time to head back to flight park.
At 300' I unzipped and flew over a barn with a nice garden that gave me a short burst of lift. Knowing I was close enough to lz I circled around to see if I could work the lift at all. It was small and hard to work but I was able to get up to 450' after falling in and out of the lift for about 5-10 min. Then there was nothing but sink, so I headed in to land on the strip. On final I hit about 20' of sink which put me a foot off the grass going pretty fast. Rather than float back up and try a flare to land on my feet, I just stayed there and had my first? belly landing. I was smooth easy and definitely the right move! I watched a couple other pilots land after me and they were having difficulty with the rowdy conditions.
I took a second flight in the evening when conditions mellowed hoping to improve my performance from the first launch. This time I had trouble with the cart and after talking with Terry, who watched me and was going to fly next, I think we've figured out a couple of the things I messed up. I though I was lifting the cart off the ground when I got dropped back on to it. Now we think it was a bounce, not lift, that brought the cart off the ground and it's a good thing I had enough speed to deal with it. When I dropped back on the cart again, I'm told my left hand had released the grip on the cart and is probably part of the reason I came out of the cart at an angle. Once again I was wild and over correcting trying to fix my mistakes. I was able to fix it much quicker this time and the rest of the tow to 3500' was smooth and beautiful. The flight down was fairly relaxing and scenic. I think I may have some issues with my glider as it doesn't fly hands off and I can get to a slow stall on it's own. I'll have to have someone fly the glider that has more experience and see what they think. My landing went well, and on my feet, in light to no wind conditions.
Chuck Stoner showed up for a quick evening flight before we went into town to pick up some food.
When we got back Ryan had students winch towing. Nice system that 'looks' strange but very effective.
Tomorrow the weather looks very promising. I'm hoping to improve my launch and get some good flights in.

Flight 1: Alt: 4500' over Duration: 48 min.
Flight 2: Alt: 3500 over Duration: 20 min.

Long Day, Short Ride

2010-07-03T21:19:00.004-04:00

Started off the day at Hammondsport waiting for the conditions to figure out what they were going to do. There was a small group gathered and we were all hoping for something more than what we had. Light wind, some nice cycles, crossing directions from the North had most of us thinking other locations couldn't be worse. Linda looked at Mossy, but it didn't seem much better there either, so the call was made to head down to Indian Cliffs.

Bob Roth, Dave Brien, Florian, Linda, and a couple other guys from Canada all headed over. I stopped in Bath to meet Gingher and Jim visiting from Arizona and they followed me down to IC. The conditions looked better with a slight breeze blowing straight in which had us all setting up fairly quickly. As we were about ready, the breeze died and everyone took a seat waiting hours for something better. The Stoners, Ed, and Steve all showed up hoping for some action, but no luck. The talk shifted to the probability of a Wonder, so we hung out, got to know each other a little better, and waited some more.

Around 7:15, the wind started picking up a little and a few pg'rs gave it a go. They just got slow sledders so we waited some more. Then the wind started to die, and it was clear that you had a choice to make. Did you want to break down at launch, or sled and break down in the lz (next to a rotting deer carcass). Many chose to break down at launch. A few others ran off the hill and floated down into tall grass.

I was last to go and wasnt sure I was going to get off as the winds started going katabatic. The best I could hope for was no wind and when the chance came I took it. It was a hard run and a less than perfect launch but it work out well enough. It was so nice to be in the air again and I savored it knowing it wasn't going to last long. The air was smooth and far lz, close to the cars, was easy to make. I mixed it up a little with a lazy wing over and little spin before setting up for final. I misjudged my dissent and came in a little shorter than I would have liked but had a nice flair that set me down in the chest high grass with only a soft step or two.

The break down was quick as the smell of a deer that didn't make it was pretty strong and I wasn't looking to hang around that any longer than I had too. The goodbyes were short too as the long day had people eager to start there long drives home.

Flights: 1
Duration: 5 min.
Height: 0' ATO

Wow at Mt. Washington - Hammondsport

2010-05-29T21:59:00.005-04:00

Met a bunch of super cool pilots at Hammondsport today. When the good weather lines up on a weekend day, pilots come out of the woodwork! Rick has a list of names on his blog report

PG'ers were already in the air when I got up to launch. The report was that it was pretty punchy. I stepped off into a good cycle and was shot up pretty quick. Punchy was right and after holding on to it for a little while I found myself getting cold and heading towards a bank of dark clouds. I got spooked when I was getting thrown around, pulling in, and still going up. Relief was found out in the valley away from lift where I could recompose myself and look for smaller clouds to play with.

I spent most of my hour and forty five minutes flying from cloud to cloud, sometimes getting low in between then up to cloud base a couple times towards the end of the flight.
The flight had everything: Strong lift, strong sink, junk at every elevation, heat down low, cool up high, smooth cycles, and flying friends all around (some with feathers). The highlights for me were getting high, picking out the next cloud, getting there and having it pull me back up again; getting to cloud base; and a no-stepper top landing (first top landing for me at Hport). Magical.

Special note: Florian changed the oil in the mower and got it running, Doug ran a 8K race in the morning, showed up and mowed for hours then didn't fly. Florian had an 'interesting' flight.

Flights: 1

Duration: 1 hour 45 min. (1,100 f/m up - 800 f/m dwn)

Max Altitude ATO: 3,527 ft. (Cloud base)

Pleasure at Padgham

2010-03-20T11:32:00.006-04:00

Hooked up with a couple of the greatest guys on the planet, Doug & Lon, to test out my wing after putting the sail back on the day before. Doug wasn't planning on flying, but brought his wing out to give Lon a kiting lesson. After I took a flight though, Doug couldn't resist and took a couple flights himself.

There was a fairly steady wind making the trip up the hill more difficult as it feels like the glider weighs another 30 lbs or more. Lon and Doug both grabbed a wing tip and helped me up the hill every time. Thanks Guys!!

All three flights had very similar launch and flight. The first two landings were great and my first no steppers ever with this wing. It had to do with holding my flair through the stall and I've been thinking about all winter. My last landing was a two or three stepper and I think it had to do with not keeping my head up and eyes on the horizon (a bad habit I need to get out of).

My shoulders and neck are sore, but my thoughts are full on the fun I had at the training hill.

Flights: 3

Time: 2 min. total.

2010 New Years Flight

2010-01-02T16:46:00.005-05:00

I hooked up with Mark, Linda, Karl, Katrin & Doug Stoner for the first flights of the new year. Mark and Linda were the only ones able to drive to launch. The rest of us that tried only made it partially before sliding down backwards on the hard ice.
The walk up was nice with Doug and sailplanes already in the air welcoming us.

Mark and Linda were about set up when I got up top.
Conditions looked light, but good and soon everyone was in the air, but Mark and I. Most everyone was between launch height, and a few hundred over. A dark wall of snow was on it's way so flights we wrapping up in short order.

Mark was able to launch just before the wall got to us. He shot up quickly in the good lift but was a little uncomfortable with the low cloud base and headed for the lz. Just as Mark landed the snow squall hit with some howling winds preventing me from taking off.

I waited for the front to pass and had Linda, Doug, and Katrin brush the snow off the wing just before launching. I took two steps and went right up in the smooth lift. I got a little nervous as it was climbing faster than I wanted to, and I knew the cloud base was low. When I finally cleared the lift band I noticed I was higher than the bottom of the clouds to the East and was relieved to be making progress towards the lz. Mark was very generous in letting me fly his Freedom as my wing is being repaired. On the way into the lz it was great to play with the glider a little enjoying the instant 'turn on a dime' and effortless flight characteristics. All I had to do was 'think' about what I wanted to do and it happened. My two step landing was icing on the cake.

Thanks to Doug for taking me back up to my car, and to Mark for letting me fly his wing. It was great to see everyone as always, and a fun way to start the year.

Hang'n at Harris

2009-11-15T21:28:00.007-05:00

Katrin and Doug Hang'n out

Doug Fien and I were meeting Karl, Katrin, and Doug S. Down at Harris this afternoon. We arrived to find all three in the air hanging out around 3-400 over. Great news since I thought it might be too light today and I was only going to get a couple sledders at best.

Doug threw his bag out, strapped in, and hit the sky, getting up easily joining the others. While I was setting up a front was coming through and the wind was picking up. Karl, Katrin, and Doug S. headed in to land about the time the clouds covered the sun bringing some strange haze to blanket the area.

Doug F. chasing Doug S.

I launched into a great cycle that took me up quickly and smoothly. Doug and I cruised around the with sailplanes & hawks staying most the time between 400 & 600' over launch. About a hour later it was like a small wonder came through creating a wider lift band and about twice the lift. Doug and I were getting up between 600 & 1000' over launch quite easily. I was over 700' up and the temps were in the 60's. Hard to believe this is November!

I've had a another good landing and was happy to see all smiles in the LZ. I was also psyched that Karl and Katrin brought down my car from launch while they hung out making sure Doug and I had safe flights. You guys rock!

Flights: 1
Max Alt: 1,256 Above Take Off
Duration: 1 hour 33 min.

Happiness at Harris 10/10/09

2009-10-10T09:57:00.000-04:00

The trip down to Hammondsport was scenic with the leaves changing color and the cloud streets developed out carrying off the morning rain.

I arrived at launch to find everyone had left to Harris. The wind was strong and blowing fairly straight in so I was confused why people left. I wasn't going to fly alone, so I headed down to Harris to join the party.

I arrived at Harris to find only sailplanes in the air. Everyone at launch was waiting for the conditions to calm down as the gusts were pretty strong. Just as I was setting up Bill in his topless took off, shot straight up to 300 over, then headed down the ridge. He reported the air was good but no one else grabbed their gliders. By the time I was done setting up, Linda grabbed her glider and got in the slot. After she launched, Karl managed to get his stuff on and into launch just before me. The air looked smooth but the lift wasn't getting anyone very high.

My launch felt good and it took me a pass or two to get above launch. Everyone was working the area in front of launch staying pretty close to the ridge. started to get real cozy as the wind was dieing and the people that launch next had a hard time staying up and a few ended up sledding to the lz.

I pulled on some vg to help stay up as long as I could. Everyone was dropping off the ridge about the same time and I wanted to avoid a landing gaggle. I watched Linda go in and have the best flair ever. Karl, Katrin, Doug, were all heading in or down and I was coming in right after them.

My landings have been junk this year and I think a lot of has been due to me looking down at the ground instead of the horizon. Giving myself this simple reminder left me with my best landing of the year.

The PG's came in shortly after I landed and we were all together again. Some had sledders, some flew about and hour, and I was in the middle surviving about 1/2 hour. No one got high, but everyone flew.

Flights: 1

Time: 33 min.

Hight: 425 ATO

Opposite Day at Harriet

2009-09-16T12:35:00.011-04:00

The day was unusual, backwards at times, but not all bad. Started things out with a rainbow on the way to work on a day there was forecast sun with 10% chance of rain. I traveled through the rain before getting to work, washing the junk off my glider bag and onto the van.

The Sky was overdeveloped at 10am, but started thinning out. Concluding that if I don't try to fly, I definitely wont, I left work and met Lon, Karl, and Doug Sone at Harriet. Wind was blowing straight into launch around 10mph, clouds still big but letting more light through, and the birds were flying smoothly. Looked like good conditions.

Looking North to Honeoye Lake

Karl launched first, not having any measurable lift in the bowl headed around the ridge to the East side and disappeared. We figured he was done and headed for the LZ until we saw him cruise by a couple hundred overhead.

Karl getting up

Doug launched next following the same pattern and getting similar results with Karl now about 500 over. When Lon launched and disappeared around the corner low, I was doubtful he was going to get up, but was really hoping he managed to stay up. I wasn't going to launch until I saw someone flying by and a few minutes later I saw Karl, then Doug, still scratching but maintaining a few hundred between them and the trees. A few minutes after that I saw Lon pop from behind the ridge and I couldn't have been more pleased! Lon was getting a soaring flight and I was finally going to get a chance to fly with him.

I had a nice cycle come through launch and grabbed it gaining 30 ft or so, then just staying steady through the rest of the bowl. I headed for the other around the ridge and found small amounts of lift around the North end of the East facing ridge. We all scratched around there for about 20 mins. not getting very high, less than 500 over. Once in a while Karl and Doug would break through getting a grand over or more, but it wouldn't last too long then all were scratching again. Key was go scratch long enough to find, and stay in, a small thermal that would break your through the low inversion that would get you a little breathing room around 1K over. Then if you were lucky enough to stay up there you could find a thermal that would take you to cloud base which Karl and Doug did about the time Lon was landing. I didn't make the window and ended up scratching again.

Just when I found a nice thermal taking me up to cloud base, Karl and Doug where heading in. Because our radio's weren't working too well the communication was broken and unclear. I wasn't sure why they were heading in so I left the lift, had to hunt for sink, and headed in to land. Conditions were improving and we were heading in to land.

The weeds in the LZ are tall and after seeing a couple whacks, I was a little nervous about coming in. My landing wasn't perfect but much better than they have been lately.

Lon 'bent' a down tube, and needed some help breaking down the glider. Afterwards Lon and I had a good meal at Moe's before heading home.

Started with Rain, over development gave way to good conditions with the wind settling down as the day went on, finishing with clear blue sky around dinner time. I have never flown Harriet with more than one person at the same time. Lon flew where he would have normally sinks out on light lift :) .... It was opposite day.

Flight: 1

Time: 1 hour

Altitude: 2,014 ATO

Indain Cliffs

2009-09-05T22:02:00.006-04:00

Doug F enjoying a preflight peach

Doug F & I took a short cut down to Indian Cliffs and arrived around 12:30. We met the Stoner brothers & Florian at the LZ piled in the van and headed up. IC has the best launch I've been to with it's park like setting it's a privilege to be able to fly here. Karl & Katrin showed up at launch right when we did and Jim showed up with his Falcon a couple minutes later.

I wanted to get a trim flight in as early as possible as Mark, Lon and I did some tuning over the last week trying to take out a left turn, right tip flutter, and improve handling. I was really nervous leading up to the flight but all that worrying was put to rest as soon as I was in the air.

Looking North - Harris Hill to the right - Jims Glider near the road

The flight went well and even though the air was a little textured, I was able to check trim, stalls, and high speed flight all with good results. Even the landing was okay.

Doug and Karl greeted me in the LZ and Florian arrived shortly after. Before we were packed up we saw Katrin heading into the LZ when she caught something at about 500 over and started working it. After watching her go up for about 10 minutes we figured this voided her right to a ride up and we left.

Katrin heading back up

By the time we got back to launch Katrin was at 1700 over. It was funny how quick all the pgers got ready, and one by one they popped up, with Jim in his Falcon, establishing themselves around 2-400 over.

I was able to watch a Bald Eagle cruise across launch while I was setting up.. very cool to see. I joined the group about ten minutes later using the intermittent bubbles to stay around 300' over for most the flight. I was able to work a couple of the bigger ones to get up to 700' but never got as high as the pgers. Still the view was great, the glider was flying wonderfully, and I was more comfortable in the air than I have been since flying this glider.

Karl and Florian always looking down on me

After 1-1/2 hours, and consistently losing height, I thought it was a good time to head in. Shadows were starting to cover some of the valley fields and I enjoyed a very smooth flight down playing with speed, stalls, and even a few mild wing overs. The glider felt great! I saw that there was no wind coming in but brought a little extra speed anyway with my decent. As I went to level out over the field it felt like I was in dead air, or down wind. I'm not sure I ever level out. I ended up pushing out to the flair position just to round out and ended up hit the ground fairly hard. I didn't break anything but I was (am) very disappointed with what happened. I'm not sure I could have, or should have, done anything different and Doug Stoner who watched, said the same thing happened to him the day before getting dropped out of the sky from just before applying his breaks. I'll have to think about this one for a while, and maybe change my landing style.

All-in-All a very good day for me. Good flying, good friends.

Flight 1 - 10 min, - over

Flight 2 - 1 hour 40 min. 738' ATO

Got Dinged at Dansville

2009-08-01T22:34:00.005-04:00

Nice turnout today... Lon, Doug Fien, Stoner brothers, Matt, Doug Sone (new student), Mukrim, and Marlin. Moritz showed up later.

After doing some maintenance (needs a lot more!) we set up and watched the Pg'ers pop off. They all seem to get up fairly quickly, some with interesting launches, and some getting to cloud base. The air looked textured so some pgers decided to wait.

I was the first HG off. I had an okay launch until my first turn to go along the ridge. Before I knew it I was looking down my wing tip right at the trees. Luck would have me level out and continue on looking for lift. My roller coster ride continued for almost 25 min only getting 300' over launch. After getting below launch I headed over to the large LZ West of the pond/appartment buildings.

My setup was so-so but I was surprised to find myself going so fast for far too long. Coming twards the end of the LZ, I flaired hard and ended up lifting up higher than I ever had. Then everything went wrong. My feet went forward, the noes dropped, and the wing started moving forward again. Far to fast for me to run the cross bar hit the dirt, then me, then the nose. I buised my elbow, but didn't seem to break anything on the glider. I'll pull it out this week and check it over again.

Doug & Marlin had short HG flights with much better landings in the main lz. Moritz wasn't able to find much lift on the ridge, but did find some over the appartments near the lz.

Lon, Doug, and Chuck came down and picked me up. We took a couple loads of people back up top to get cars and continue with the brush cutting. Pg'rs came back from their xc to get anothe flight. They stayed close to the ridge for at least 1/2 hour

Clearly a day for the bag's! (And the sailplanes - enjoying most the day but low)

Best part of the day for me was having dinner with everyone in Dansville. What a great group of people!!

Flights - 1

Time - 24 min.

Alt: 318 ATO

Hookie at Harriett

2009-05-22T22:27:00.004-04:00

Lon and I took a half day from work and head to Harriett for some sledders on a light day. The wind was NNE and light, but steady for the most part.

Lon took the first launch which was a little reminicent of one of Linda's launches. I wasn't sure he was going to pull it off but he made an excellent correction and made his way out into the bowl. He found some bubbles of lift, but with nothing to turn in, made his way to the huge Southern LZ where he had a good landing.

Watching Lon's takeoff reminded me of all the things I needed to do to successful and I was thankful for that. When a stronger cycle came through I grabbed it and had a nice launch. Once in the bowl I tried turning in some small, roudy, lift going from 45 feet below, to 13 feet above launch. I hit some 300 up and 700 down along the way, but the battle didn't last long, and I ended up getting way too personal with the trees, so headed down to the LZ with Lon.

We headed back up to get another sled ride in and got some help from some local ladies getting our car back down to the lz (and a ride back up). They were so thrilled that we 'let them watch'.

Lon picked a good cycle and had a very strong launch for his second flight. He found a little bit of lift in the bowl but didn't have the height to make any turns in it so headed around the ridge to the LZ.

I had another good launch into some lift and turned maybe a little too soon after clearing the slot. It felt like I was going over the falls, and into the trees, only to hit 600 up and get me out of there. I headed to various part of the bowl averaging between 0 and 0.4'fpm up in some disorganized lift. As long as I was averaging up I stayed in the bowl. I was thrilled when I finally go 50' over launch and was able to explore a broader area. When I got over to the ride I was happy to find nice steady lift that took me up to 200' over before losing it. Going back and forth between the bowl and the East ridge I was able to work myself up to almost 1600' over. The air was still textured, but not as bad as when low to the trees.

After almost an hour, my arms were spent, and when I went over ther fall again, I figured it was time to come in. Before setting up on final, I got to play in some lift over a tall tree in the middle of the field below.

Lon and I packed up and stopped for some dinner at the twins diner in Bloomfield before heading home. It was great to be out again!

Flight 1 - 10min, 13' ATO

Flight 2 - 55min, 1594' ATO

Harriet

2009-03-15T13:45:00.005-04:00

I was to meet Ryan at Harriet Hollister around 2pm, but by the time I got to launch he was gone. I would have been quicker, but I wasn't able to drive in. I forgot it was seasonal access, so I 'enjoyed' the hike in. Had I known I would have skipped the 5 mile run before hand.

Conditions were light with some nice cycles coming through launch on occasion. You had to be patient and wait for a good one for fear of catching some trees on the way down. I was in no hurry as I knew I wasn't going to hike in again after this flight. Doug Stoner showed up shortly after Ryan was set up for his second flight. There was a no wind cycle that lasted a while so we hung out and waited for things to improve. When they did, Ryan shot off and had a very nice launch. Unfortunately he took all the wind with him and Doug and I were left waiting again. It got to the point where we were looking for just enough wind to give us a safe launch and no longer being greedy. A nice puff came though giving Doug a nice launch but too short to get me off the ground.

I was getting worried things were going to go catabatic if I didn't get out of there soon. But I waited, and sure enough another nice cycle came through that got me off nice and high above the trees.

There were a couple little bumps on the way down, but nothing big enough to turn in. It was nice to be in the air again if only for a short sled ride. I misjudged my landing spot as there was a nice steady wind in the valley that left me short. I tried to stretch things out too much and flared late landing on my knees but without whacking.

We figured the wind was coming too much out of the north causing shadows at the NE launch, and wind in the valley. Mossy would have been the place to go (and Doug confirmed later as he drove home).

Michelle (Ryan's wife) was sweet enough to come down and pick us all up (Ryan go another sledder in after my flight).

It was a nice day to be out (even got too much sun on my bald head) and enjoy the company.

Flight #2009-1

Hight: Launch

Duration: 5 min.

Condition: N l&v

2008 Review

2009-03-06T21:30:00.002-05:00

Not my best year as far as Hang Gliding goes. As I look back on 2008 my mistakes seem to come to mind much quicker than any accomplishments. I know I need to spend a lot more time with the U2 before I'll get the feel for thermalling and that is frustrating after getting to know the Sonic so quickly. I know they're not the same wing, and my expectations were out of place. In the future I hope to be able to relax a little more and enjoy the experience instead of driving my expectations with such narrow vision. I'd also like to get a few more hours in this year, but I'll take what I can get.

Since I've been running and trying to lose weight over the last couple years, I've noticed a loss loss of strength as well. I've been working to change that this winter in hopes of being stronger, longer in the air along with having safer landings.

Flight Review:

Flights: 25
Total time: 6hours 42 min
Max duration: 2 hours 38 min (at Dansville)

Harriet Hollister Happenings

2008-11-06T21:29:00.006-05:00

Lon and I got to Harriet early and started giving launch a little over due TLC. It still needs some work with something stronger than plastic line on the weed eater.

As Lon, Linda and were setting up at Harriet, the wind was pretty nice blowing more or less straight into launch. When we got in to our harnesses the wind stopped and our boots grew roots waiting for a good cycle to last more than 10 seconds to come through.

Linda saw a good cycle coming up the bowl in front of launch and decided to go for it. Things didn't go as planned with Lon, a couple of spectators, and I helping Linda back up the hill. I'm sure she'll have more to say on her blog.

The delay worked out perfectly because now the wind was blowing straight in again and pretty consistently. I hopped in my harness and took off into the bowl. There was some little bubbles of lift here and there but my averager was still negative. I was able to play in the bowl a little bit and found a good source of lift over a ravine to the left of launch. After playing in that a bit I was above launch which gave me a little breathing room to explore the East side of the bowl. Just on the other side of the bowl, the NE ridge was working great with smooth consistent lift getting me up between 400 and 600 above launch for most my flight.

It was the first time I've been able to soar Harriet. All I've had before were sledders, but they were some of the best sledders ever. Soaring Harriet showed even more of her spectacular scenery. It was a hazy day so visibility wasn't perfect, but it was great none-the-less.

Looking South

While I was up, I had my first HAM radio contact from WA2SSJ. Lon and I met John at a HAM club meeting in Canandaigua a month ago when we starting getting info on getting licensed. Lon, Doug F. and I passed out Technicians exam last month and received our call signs a couple weeks ago. The communication was extremely clear and easy to use. It's going to be a great tool.

Lon informed me that just before he was to launch he snagged his wing on the guard rail putting a tare in his new sport2. Not having any thing to repair it, his day was done too.

I boated around for a while until the lift gracefully settled down and I headed to the LZ for a nice landing in a field the size of Rode Island.

Flights: 1

Time: 38 min.

Max Alt: 880 ATO

Conditions: almost wonder like with light wind from NE.

Heavenly Hport

2008-08-30T22:04:00.000-04:00

I didn't get down to Hammondsport until late in the afternoon and wasn't sure if there would be enough wind left for me to get a flight in or not. When I got to the hill there were a few Hang Gliders in the air so I had hope.

By the time Scott Wise and I were set up and ready to go, the sky seemed to be void of anything flying. But Scott soon remedied the situation by stepping off launch and smoothly climbing up above the ridge. Lon gave me a hang check and helped me with one of my better launches, which isn't saying much lately. Shortly after getting above the ridge, I could see PG's setting up all over the place getting ready to join us. Before long there were at least eight of us sharing the ridges smooth almost glass like air.

During the flight I was able to stretch my legs a little by heading to the next point on the ridge to the North, and South down to the Mexican restaurant. Pathetic really, but I've never ventured very far on this ridge and hope to start changing that with future flights.

I had a dinner date with the family, so when I saw them pull into the Church LZ, I cruised over their heads and spiralled down and set up for a decent landing. Just as I touched down I guess conditions shut off and everyone came in to land at the same time.

After packing up we had a nice dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.

Flights: 1

Time: 44 min

Glass smooth air at 6:30pm

Happy Hammondsport

2008-08-17T21:23:00.004-04:00

I didn't see this view of Moritz very often. He liked me searching for him while above me.

When I showed up at Hammondsport Mark F, and Katrin and just top landed, Rick was skying out, Marlin was hanging on around 300 over, and Linda was on her way back from who knows where, heading down to her LZ. Lon helped me carry my stuff up to launch where Mark S. was setting up, and the PG crowd of Doug and Chuck Stoner, Ryan, Matt, and some others where hanging out. Dan showed up a little later with his new T2C, and Karl L. set up his glider as well. It was a great turnout for what looked like a good day.

Lon was telling me about some interesting launches today so I needed to pay attention so I don't pop my nose. After Ryan and Dan launched like rockets, and getting to cloud base after about 15 min. I decided it was time to get into the slot. My launch must have been text book... of what not to do. I was too far back from the edge, popped my nose, and I wasn't able to drive my shoulders forward to get any speed. Other than that, I was perfect.

My flight had everything. Strong lift, buoyant conditions, and strong sink. I had a hard time getting above 600 over launch and only made it above 900 a couple times. Dan, Rick and Ryan made it to Cloud Base, but I heard those opportunities were rare. During my time in the air I was feeling more comfortable with my glider and really enjoying the flight. There were a few cycles of strong wind but no lift that would periodically send a glider to the LZ. Moritz and I were having a fun time working thermals together fighting to stay up as long as possible. I was fortunate to be high enough to outlast these cycles a few times, but as the day went on these cycles would become stronger and my prevalent and send me to the LZ.

I'm glad my flight was so enjoyable because my landing performance (yes I'm watching Olympics while I write this) matched my launch. The LZ was full of turbulence and I was getting thrown all over the place. After ballooning up about 20 feet, and thinking I was going to stall into the ground, I settled in nicely to much relief.

Big thanks to Katrin for coming down and picking up Lon, Marlin and I.

Once up top, Marlin broke out some fantastic fruit, bread, and beverage. Whenever you go flying, make sure Marlin is there. His energy and tailgating are top notch!

Flights: 1

Time: 1 Hour 40 min.

Height: 1,000' ATO

Short but sweet at Hammondsport

2008-07-29T22:10:00.001-04:00

I rode down to Hammondsport with Bob in his sweet ride. The day was looking sweeeeet with a nice NW breeze and clouds popping all over the place. When we got up to launch we were awe struck with great views of the surrounding clover field and beautiful sky.

Too good to be true I guess because when we stepped into the slot conditions actually were slightly catabatic. The clouds were big enough that the air in front of the cloud shadow would get sucked back off the hill for a bit before turning into a nice in cycle that would last about 5 min. until the cloud passed. This would continue while we set up and got ready.

Chuck S. walked up a while later with his pg, set up and launched into a very nice cycle. Chuck went up like a home sick angle in very smooth conditions. This motivated Bob and I to get our stuff set up a little faster! About 15 min later, Chuck top landed and I was ready to go.

I launched into a nice cycle and quickly got up to about 300 over. I looked around for a sweet spot to get me higher but didn't have much luck. The air was so smooth and stress free, like a wonder. Then the cycle ended and I tried to stay up, looking for anything, but found myself below launch fairly quickly. I hit a few bumps along the way to the LZ, but nothing big enough to even think about turning in.

After my last few landings, I wanted to make sure I set up for a good one here where I wasn't rushed or making adjustments every second. I was reserved to taking my walk like a man if that's how it worked out, and after a nice flair and few steps ending a nice landing, that's what I did. Took a nice walk out to the church parking lot and started breaking down. It was a short flight, but it had almost everything I was looking for. Relaxing, smooth, a little lift, and a very nice landing.

Bob on his way to the LZ

I watched Bob launch and work a nice cycle for a while. A couple times I thought he hooked one and was on his way to cloud base. But like my flight it ended all too soon.

We packed up and had a nice ride home and enjoyed Bob diverse range of excellent music and the views of the Canadiagua, Naples, and Bristol valleys.

Flights: 1

Time: 10 min.

Dansville

2008-07-25T21:39:00.005-04:00

Met Mark (sky stud) at Dansville launch around 12:15. Mukrim and Ryan showed up in time to give me a hand dragging the rest of my stuff down to launch (thanks guys!).

We all liked how the day looked, wind blowing straight in at launch, clouds popp'n like crazy, and some nice cycles coming through. We were all talking XC and Mark was letting us know what land marks to hit, and what roads to follow. As I was finishing putting my glider together I pulled a muscle in my back making it difficult to get my harness on. Like I needed another excuse to be ready last.

Mukrim on his way up.

Mukrim launched first with Mark going shortly after. They weren't blasting up to cloud base, but there looked to be stable lift keeping them up around 300 over. Ryan had a nice launch a few minutes later and quickly joined the others. Once I got my harness on and radio hooked up I made to the slot only to hear Mark telling me they're climbing in a good cycle right over my head! I had to wait for the wind to balance out in the slot before going, and when it did, I had a nice launch.

Mark in his Freedom before going XC without a vario.

Ryan getting up again after top landing.

It took a while to get up to 500 over and when I did, I could see Mark on his way to cloud base. He waited up there for a while but I just couldn't get past 1300 over. Mark wasn't able to tell me how high CB was because he didn't have a vario! After a few more minutes he took off. Mukrim (also high) wasn't able to get to CB and came back to the ridge. We found out later Mark made it to Hemlock, Honeoye, had a low save over the town of Bristol, and set down near the Canandaigua airport.

The rest of my flight was spent trying to get to CB of which I never came close. It was pretty frustrating trying to work a bunch of small powerful thermals only to have them leave me a 6-800' over. It was a nice day though and it gave me a chance to get to know my glider, and fly with friends. Moritz showed up for about a nice hour long flight before top landing.

Moritz heading way out looking for lift.

After a while I was getting beat. My neck was soar (to say nothing of my back), my arms had little strength left and I was very parched. Mukrim, Moritz, and Ryan had all top landed (and the pg'ers took off again) and they made it look easy. I figured it was my turn to try a top landing (had never done one before) and picked a nice big field a little ways behind launch. I thought I had set up nice before hitting the rotor. It was like being in a blender. I'm not sure my wing was ever level from the time I hit the rotor until 5 feet off the ground. I was thrown down so quickly I was a little worried about a fence post only to be picked back up again carried into a bean field and dropped back down again. Just about the time I was going touch down with what looked like a no stepper, the glider shot forward, while in a flair. Joy. I didn't even have time to step forward before my knees and cross bar were in the soft soil. I expected a fast whack, but instead it was like mother nature was just playing with me and set my nose down slowly and softly. I'm hating this landing thing lately!

Flights - 1

Time - 2 hours 38 min

First top landing (maybe my last)

U2 at Bristol

2008-05-25T21:51:00.005-04:00

Met the gang down at Bristol and headed up top with Bob and Ron. Katrin, Linda, and Karl were already setting up went we got our first load into launch. By the time we returned to launch with the rest of our stuff, and set up, the cycles coming in were nice, but too far and few between to rush off the hill. We all waited for a while hoping this would get better, and they did, but very slowly.

Bob getting pushed off the hill by Linda

Bob working the Grapevine technique

Bob and Linda finally launched and struggled to stay up. The thermals looked strong, but too small to turn in. Their flights didn't last too long dropping them off in the LZ after 10 mins or so. After they landed, it seemed like they took all the air with them as it was dead on launch for the next 15-20 min. When a few cycles started coming in again I got ready and set up in the slot. After a few more minutes the cycles seemed safe enough for my first mtn launch in the U2 so I took it. The launch seemed fine and I started looking for lift and staying fairly close to the hill.
I hit some lift here and there but really didn't find anything to keep me up until I was about 300' over the LZ. I worked the lift as long and hard as I could averaging 20 to 40' /min up at times. Just when I would gain a 100', I would loose it all and have to start over again at 300' over the LZ. This continued long enough for Ron to launch, find almost nothing but sink and land while I was still 300' over the LZ. But as soon as he flew under me and landed, I couldn't find any part of the thermal and had to come in. My setup was so-so and I was long on my mark, but put down for a safe landing. Worth the walk back to the break down area.

After I landed Dough Fien launched his PG, quickly got up, and got stuck between 1000 and 2000 over for about 45 min. While watching his flight, we couldn't pack our stuff fast enough to get back up top and get some of what Doug got.
Wind looking good, as is my color coordination :)

By the time we were set back up again, the wind and cycles were pretty nice. Bob and Linda took off shooting almost straight up. I didn't wait as long this time and took off in part of the same cycle also taking me up in a hurry. By the time I topped out I was about 500' over but couldn't find Bob or Linda anywhere. When I did find them, they were about 1000' over me back behind the mtn. I was able to find quite a bit of lift all over, but nothing that would take up to where they were. With lift pretty easy to find, I spent some time getting to know the U2. Lots of turns in the lightest of lift, tight turns in the strong stuff, and a bit of bushing out playing with stalls. After about 10 min, Linda, Bob and I were all about the same height searching the mountain for another sweet spot that really never happened. Linda went searching a little farther out and tried to work something but it never get her back up and a short while later she headed in to land. Bob and I ended up having an absolute blast flying around each other in the light thermals we could find. It was so much fun trying to catch up to one another, or stay on top. One of my best times in the air for sure. While Bob and I were playing around, I wasn't thinking about the glider or how to control it. It did what I wanted it to do without any struggles or thought.

After about 20 min, the lift diminished to the point it had me heading for the LZ and this is where the fun ended for me, more ways than one. I was doing some figure 8's to loose altitude when I decided to make my last turn in front of a large tree onto final. Everything was setting up fine until I went to turn left in front of the tree and nothing happened. I tried turning harder but the the wing was determined to go straight for the tree. The things that go through your head in such a short time is amazing! I seriously wondered if I would be able to grab the side of the pine tree, then wondered if I'd be strong enough to hold myself and the glider up there, then decided I would try to go around the tree and in front of the house that was next to the tree. When I got around the tree I was faced with some bad options. Now I was trapped. I had the tree on my left, the road underneath me, the telephone lines on my right and just enough room to squeeze through.... until I saw a service line going from telephone pole across the road and to the house, right in front of me. At one point I had to decide if I should try to go 'under' the service wires, or over them. As soon as I decided to go over the wires, I brought my head up and focused on the LZ, now right in front of me. I'm not sure how close I was to the wire, but I'm glad I was still in the prone position! After clearing the wire, the tree, the windsock and the road, I actually had a pretty decent landing.

I don't ever want to be in that situation again! Basically I believe I wasn't carrying enough speed on my short downwind base leg to make a quick turn. I wasn't stalling, but I wasn't going as fast as I should have. Making more of a 'J' style turn (pulling in before swinging the bar over in a J pattern) might have helped, but I didn't think to try that in time. Linda also said she had trouble in the same area, trying to make the same turn, just before I came in. So there could have been 'something' weird in the area too that wasn't helping. Bottom line, I need to keep my speed up and don't try to thread the needle so I can land in the break down area. Land in the open area and take your walk like a man!

Flt: 1- 15min

Flt: 2- 35min

Day in the Sun

2008-04-27T22:27:00.002-04:00

Woke up to the realization of another birthday... and got my birthday spanking at Ultimate when we played a great (young) team and got creamed.

Came home had a bite and decided to take advantage of the light, warm conditions to get a few more test flights on the U2 at the training hill. I took my time setting up and checking everything over a few times. Eventually I made it up the hill and took in the surrounding view with the wind blowing, more or less, straight in. It had been too long since I'd been up here!

I made two flights before Karl and Katrin showed up with their PG's. My flights were excellent! I focused on the Grapevine grip through the entire launch. Usually, I go to the bottle grip when the glider starts to lift and I had to fight the urge the first flight. The second launch I didn't have to fight it, but I did have to thing about it.

After watching Karl and Katrin have a couple of the smoothest most graceful flights and I couldn't help it and took anther launch. I forgot to remind myself about the grip, but realized, after putting my feet in the harness, that I had carried the grapevine grip all the way through.

The flights and landings were fine. I was a little nervous about landing the U2 the first time but it work out very well with a nice easy two stepper. The second landing was a nice and soft no stepper and the third was the worst (but still good) ending with a slight run 4 or 5 steps in little wind. I actually think the U2 lands easier, more consistent anyway, than the Sonic.

A great night at the hill! I need to get to a high site now for a soaring flight... and to give my shoulders some time to heal. Carrying that thing up the hill isn't something my shoulders care to repeat every week.

Ellenville to Italy

2008-04-20T10:11:00.004-04:00

Lon picked me up at 5:30am, loaded my stuff and headed down to Ellenville to pick up his new Sport2. Once we were at Paul's place (Fly High), he took Lon through the setup and take down of the glider, and made sure the hand strap was the right length for his harness. Paul took his time with us and made sure Lon had all his questions answered.

Lon under his crunchy new Sport 2!

After loading the gliders on the van we took off in search of a place to try them out. I still haven't flown my U2 and was eager to get a flight too. We drove by Hancock only to see the wind was way too cross, so he headed up to Italy where we knew there would be pilots.

Hancock Launch

When we pulled up top of Italy we got out of the van just in time to see Chuck launch and rocket up high. With our increased motivation, Lon and grabbed our stuff and ran out to the set up area. About the time we were set up, Chuck had a very 'interesting' top landing behind launch.

Chuck setting up for his top landing

Rick took off shortly after, but had a tough time getting up. The wind was strong and must have cut off the lift at the top of the ridge giving Rick a textured ride down to the LZ.

Doug, Matt, and Bob getting ready to send Rick off

Everyone watching Rick feeling out the wind

After that Bob, Doug Stoner and Matt all decided to call it a day. A little while later, Lon and I decided it wasn't the best conditions for a maiden flight and that there would be better days ahead. Doug helped us pack out and the three of us ended up at the local tavern for a bite before heading home.

Now that's soccer's going to go into full gear in the next week or so, my kids will have me tied up most every day until the end of August. My chances of flying are slim until then, but I'll keep trying to see you guys our there.

Chute Clinic

2008-04-05T22:28:00.003-04:00

Karl and Katrin did a great job organizing the chute clinic this year. Our club, Rochester Area Flyers (RAF), sponsored the event leaving us with only the expense of paying the packer to fold our sheets after we found out what color they were.

Doug Allen getting ready to ride

Bob Roth sets up a system where we hang from one place and then get pulled up from another. At any time you can get released and you can find out how quick you are about getting your chute out. Then when the time is right you give it a throw. The self extraction when you're done swinging is pretty entertaining and also good practice.

Doug Allen getting ready to scream like a girl!

A few people took off to try and max out the day by going to Hammondsport for a flight. Lon, Doug F., and I hung out for a while then went to Padgham to get a few flights off the training hill.

Doug Fien Flying the East side

Lon Showing us what "WEEEEeeeeeeeeeee" looks like

It was a great day to be outside, up on a hill, and watching gliders. Next time, it's my turn!

Fun in the snow

2008-03-13T22:41:00.003-04:00

Had fun with the kids this weekend. The highlight was making a small luge run in the back yard. I took the snow blower back there and threw the snow in a ridge. Then I went down the middle of it cutting a swath just wide enough for our sleds. Of course, there's a jump at the end. Our slope isn't very steep, so it's not the best sledding hill, but it really worked out great this year. The kids have been out there every night getting as many runs in as possible.

The sun was out while I was making the run and couldn't help notice the tops of the trees. With the ice build up on all the branches they looked like they were covered in bright lights.

Give 'em the boot

2008-02-28T12:54:00.003-05:00

The ladies could use support in representing the US at the 2008 Women's World Hang Gliding Championship held in Italy. Click on the link or send Linda an email to get your shirt.

Updating Blog

2008-01-07T14:14:00.000-05:00

I'm transferring my blog host back to Blogspot. I hope to have the picture links update in the next week or two (as my lunch hours allow).

I wouldn't mind getting some flying in either, but that's a little tough to do during a lunch hour :)

2007 Reflection/Review

2008-01-01T15:25:00.000-05:00

2007 was an amazing year for me in more ways than I can count. I thought turning 40 this year was going to be the beginning of the end and that many of my personal bests were behind me. I could not have been more wrong.

I picked up running as something to do at lunch hours (and a means to losing some more weight). My duration increased, speed increased, and weight fell. I ran my first 5K race on the 4th of July and averaged 7:21/mile. My wife also started running and is getting new personal records almost weekly.

My kids have grown in every way imaginable. Accomplishments in School, Sports, Art, and decision making have made me extremely proud.

Professionally last year was also the best ever. Full of many new challenges and success.

Oh.. and there was some very memorable Hang Gliding for me too. It was great fun reviewing my log book, reliving the excitement and fun. I'm looking forward to the possibilities of more personal best next year. If there is one thing I've learned from turning 40, it's if you try hard, really try hard, your goals can become reality.

Flight Review:
Flights: 25
Total time: 16hours 32 min
Max duration: 3 hours (at Cloud 9)
Max Height: 5,896 AGL (at Cloud 9)
Acquired a new (to me) Harness (Contour) and Glider (U2) and they just happen to match :)
Lost a friend (Chad) and had a potentially dangerous close call during a launch that I don't want to forget.

U2 test flight

2007-11-04T22:14:00.000-05:00

I finally had a small window of opportunity to run out to the training hill with the U2, and I jumped at it. This time of year the sun sets so early I was racing to get set up and up the hill. Lon was with me, helping set up, double checking my work, and making sure I didn't mess up anything. It was my first time setting up the U2 for a flight and I was a little nervous.

I had forgotten how long a hike it is up the hill. The control frame of the U2 is longer (taller) than my Sonic so I had to lift it higher to clear the ground. I'll need to find a better way to do this to keep my arms from getting bruised like they did.

Once on top of the hill it was all to obvious there was only time for one flight as the sun was just off the horizon. Not much wind on top, so I knew there would be little or no wind at the bottom. What wind there was, was blowing straight in so after a few hang checks I gave a 'clear' and started running.

The run didn't seem much faster or longer than what I'm use to with the Sonic. I was lifted off the hill nice and easy. My plan was just to fly straight, find trim, maybe make a slight left and right turn, then land. After letting the bar out, farther than I thought I could, to trim it was obvious I was going to have to make a couple of real turns before landing or fly into the road at the end of the field. I was much higher and not sinking as fast as I'm use to. My turn to the North took a little effort to initiate but nothing at all like the Fusion I flew before. Coming out of the turn was almost effortless (not quite like the Sonic, but close). I was now trying to judge how long to fly to the North before turning West again to land. I was very impressed with how well the glider just kind of stayed up taking it's sweet time coming down. After what seemed like too long (probably less than 10 sec) I turned West into the wind direction (but without the wind). Again, to turn the glider it was heavier than I'm use to, but it was predictable.

Pulling in the nose and leveling out I was impressed with how fast it seemed like I was going. I wasn't sure about how the landing was going to go. I kept letting the lose out, trying to feel when the glider was close to stall. When I got to the point the glider didn't lift me, I bushed out hard with a very nice 3 or 4 step landing. I was very pleased!

Lon helped me pack up the glider in almost pure darkness and drag it back to the van. I'm very excited about flying it off a high site next and getting to know the glider a lot more. When that will be is anyone's guess.

U2

2007-10-04T14:35:00.000-04:00

My harness and helmet just happens to match

I picked up a used U2 last weekend. I had to change a couple things to get it ready to go and I plan to go to the training hill as soon as possible. Once the U2 checks out, I'll be selling my trusty Sonic.

My test pilot wanted to swing in the harness all afternoon. When I asked if she wanted to go flying, she said, "as long as I don't get any higher than this".

Mossy Mishaps

2007-09-01T13:52:00.000-04:00

Mossy first timers, Doug (PG) and Lon, making it look easy.

Doug F. and I meet Lon and Bob R. at the Mossy Banks LZ around 1. It was very gusty and quite a few strong cycles would come through. No-one was interested in flying in that, so we hung out and talked for a while. 1/2 hour later we notice the clouds were breaking up, the strong cycles were being replaced with dead cycles, and the sun was getting stronger. Time to head up.

After setting up I got into the slot. I wanted to try a more text book style cliff launch and got right up to the edge and waited for a good even cycle to come through before stepping forward. I made a bad move and didn't request any help on my side wires. This became a major problem when a gust came through and grabbed my left wing, spun me to the right, and lifted the back of the wing up. I was at the wings mercy and didn't know if I was going to turtle over the top of the wing, or step off the cliff first. I called out "HELP!" and the guys were right there securing my bleak situation.

After a couple minutes of straighting me out and getting settled down, I got back to the ledge to try it again. I wasn't going to give in to a bad situation. This time I had Doug and Lon on my side wires, and they were used a couple times, before I gave the clear and stepped off. I'm not sure what it looked like, but my launch felt fine and I banked to the right trying to get up. On my return trip to launch I was still below and only finding small pockets of lift.

I made maybe 4 passes on the hill never getting above launch, so I headed out over the LZ in a desperate attempt to find a thermal. About 400 over the LZ, I found a little something to circle in, but it wasn't big enough to stay in and soon found myself setting up to land.

The wind socks were dead so I picked a nice spot to set down and pulled in. I don't think I've ever gone so fast so close to the ground! I found a little sink that pushed me right to the ground while I was really going fast. I ended up dragging my feet, from what I'm told about20-30 feet, on the ground before lifting back up again and getting more upright. Getting more vertical in the harness is good because you can land on your feet if you like. It also allows you to see more of whats in front of you because your head if upright as well. YOu can see things like, oh say, Lon's van right in front of you!! After a small correction I knew I wasn't going to tag the van, but how far was I going to go before flaring, the creek? I kept making small tests by bumping out the bar, and when I didn't get any lift I pushed out hard to land. Problem was I didn't know if my feet could move fast enough to carry this kind of ground speed. Once again, I'm happy to have wheels on my base tube as they were put to motion by my lack of foot speed. The excitement only lasted a few seconds (freak'n PLENTY) and I came to rest next to Lons van on the mowed grass, as if I won a spot landing contest and didn't want to walk a step to break down.

10 mins later, Doug would launch at the right time and get about launch for a good 1/2 hour. Lon had his first flight from Mossy, and also got some brief lift making over launch, then coming in for a no-stepper after a15+ min flight. Bob R. launched his PG and had the sky to himself for a while before top landing.

Lon setting up his no-stepper.

Doug touching down after a 1/2 hour.

It seemed there were lazy cycles that would provide enough lift for about a 1/2 hour. If your timing was right, you'd get a piece of that. If not, you were getting a sled ride, as I demonstrated.

Flights: 1

Time: 12 min.

Alt: 0 (sledder)

Bristol

2007-08-12T22:36:00.000-04:00

There were a lot of pilots down at Bristol today. I only had a couple hours before I had to leave so I got up to launch and met Bob R and Lon who were already set up.

Bob R in the T2

Bob got to fly his T2 for the second time. He had a nice launch but ended up below for the first few minutes. But as always, Bob found some lift and worked it for everything it had to get up over the ridge. He ended up going near the valley to the South West and came back. Bob would have the flight of the day (at least while I was there) with about an hours time.

My wife, Jean, was came along today to enjoye the view from launch. She also took all the pictures today and helped me set up.

Lon's Launch

Lon had a real nice launch and ended up 1500 over in no time. The air was rowdy with there being as much strong sink as strong lift. Lon ended up putting down about 15 min later.

My Launch

I was happy with my launch and also had some good lift right from the start. But after only a few minutes, the strong sink got the better of me and put me in the LZ all too soon.

Nice to see so many friends out today. I wish I could have stayed longer. Doug F. and Oleg showed up as I was leaving hoping for some better conditions as the afternoon went on.

Flights: 1

time: 13min

Alt: 980 ATO

Wx: WSW-SW 10mph. Very Turbulent.

Last Flights at Cloud 9

2007-08-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

The day didn't look like it was going to be great, but we kept hoping. Around 3:30 Lisa, Chris and I decided to give it a shot even though it looked like we might get sledders. Lisa put up the best fight, and got about a 1/2 hour. Chris and I took sled runs, but the air was smooth and sweet. I went for the spot landing and hit just before the circle by about 6 inches, and I stopped just about in the center. Sooo close!

Chris is trying to sell me his 2000 Fusion SP and let me take it for a spin. The glider looks like new! He says there's about 70 hours on it, but I would have guessed there was only 5. It's in superb condition! Tracy towed me up in the very stable air and dropped me off at about 2600, same as my first tow. Right away I noticed the sink rate was much better than my sonic (2.2 vs 3.5 ft/min down). The turning was going to take some getting use to, but I'm told that's the way it is compared to my Sonic. I was also very impressed with how much area I could cover with it. I can only imagine the opportunities this would open up when seeking the next thermal. When it finally came time to land I focused on flying it to the deck and putting my hands up a little high for the flair. Once low, I would give little pushes out on the tubes until I got to the point where the glider wouldn't climb anymore. Then I pushed out all the way and had a decent flair with a three step landing in no wind conditions. Very predictable.

What was really nice, was the flight time difference in the two gliders. Same conditions, same day, almost the same height.... Sonic - 12 min.; Fusion SP: 21 min

Flights: 2 (#1- Sonic; #2 - Fusion SP)
Max Alt: 2650
Wx: 0 wind, overcast and stable
Time: 33min (#1 - 12; #2 - 21)

Another First

2007-08-01T22:21:00.001-04:00

Tracy watching Lisa tow a returning student.

My son flying his small r/c plane at cloud 9. (hmmm is the field big enough?!?!)

Today was very similar to yesterday, 97 and hazy. I launched first followed by Jim and Paul. Lisa dropped me off into some nice steady 200 up which took me to over 4000'. From there I went looking around and found nothing but sink when I saw Paul getting dropped off. Figuring he got dropped off in lift, I headed over to him. By the time I got half way there, Paul was heading right at me, and back to the field. It was clear there wasn't any lift between the two of us, so I turned around too, figuring we were going to land. I looked back at the park to see Jim was setting up for a landing too. I was behind Paul by a hundred yards and about 150 above. Just as Paul was about to enter the LZ area, he hits some nice lift from the farm next door. Within half a turn he's at my height and I turn out of his way so he can continue up. I enter the lift a few seconds behind him and find the same broken lift. We fall in and out of lift for the better part of five minutes but we're going up from around 1200'. We stay with it and work together for what seemed like 20 min or so. The reward.... Cloud Base! Yup.... my first CB! And I must say... it freaked me out.

The lift was breaking up, with some strong little cores, but for the most part the lift was consistent at around 3-400 up. It wasn't until the lift turn to 6-700 up that I realized I was pretty close to the cloud I was under. I pulled in and headed for the edge of the cloud. Problem was, I was still going up, so i pulled in as far as i could not wanting to mess around. I was STILL going up, but only for a few more seconds until I reached the outskirts of the cloud. Letting the bar out again, slowing down, and losing a couple hundred feet felt good.

Paul was to the south of me and heading away, so i figured he was going XC and I would follow. Nope.... ha ha... he's just looking for more lift, turns West and shoots almost out of sight. I can't keep up so I keep my course and start looking for lift on my own. Getting down to 1500 I find some lift over a small village and farm, but I only get to 3500 with it. I head over to the next farm finding 600 down for over a minute and no real lift after that. I find a nicely cut wheat field next to a 'main road' (it means it's not dirt). I try to work the heat coming off the house, but the chicken the guy is cooking on the grill isn't hot enough to help... but boy did it smell good!

I ended up with a very nice landing and walk the glider over to a large shade tree next to the road and break down. The guy cooking the chicken comes over and greats me. The nicest guy you ever want to meet. Keeps me company while i pack up and offers me everything you can think of (help, drive back, directions, beer - but no chicken). My wife picks me up and head back to Cloud 9 for a steak dinner. How freak'n great was that?!?! i love this place!

Cloud'>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=35668">Cloud 9 Cloud Base short xc

http://www.everytrail.com/main.swf" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="100%" height="100%" name="main" align="middle" FlashVars="tripId=35668&picDim=250&includeElevation=&mapType=Terrain&units=&isWidget=true" play="true" loop="false" quality="high" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="Widget" go www.adobe.com A div>Widget<> powered by EveryTrail: http://www.everytrail.com">GPS Geotagging

Flights: 1

Max Alt: 5570 agl

Time: 1 hour 34 min.

Distance: 6 miles

Temp: 97

Wind: less than 5 out of the north

"3 Times"

2007-07-31T22:33:00.000-04:00

Cloud 9 was pretty quiet today, so Lisa decided she would keep me company and do some flying with me. Tracy gave me a great tow again and dropped me off in some nice steady lift. While I was boating around, Lisa came up and soon was working another thermal to the north. When the lift I was in died, I went over to where Lisa was now a few hundred above me and was rewarded with a nice climb.
The lift was fairly light, and I was really trying to focus on finding the core to stay with it as long as possible. We flew around for about an hour. Lisa would take off in her LiteSpeed once in a while and check out the area from time to time. I would stay with what was working as long as possible before looking for other lift. Whenever I would start sinking out, I'd find Lisa turning, and head over to her and sure enough there would be lift.
It was a cloudless day and hot on the ground (low to mid 90's). But it was soooo sweet when we found a thermal south west of the field that took us up to 5000' where it was 68 and nice. It was a new height record for me and i was hoot'n and hollering to myself. It didn't last long though as all i found was sink after that, and Lisa was too far North for me to catch so I started looking for some brown fields in hope of more height.
Reaching a cut wheat field to the West at 2500, I hit and hook at nice one that took me all the way past 5000, past the 1 mile mark to 5896! Bring out the hoot'n and holler'n again! What a great experience! once I can't describe, so I wont bother trying. From here I figured I would try branching out again to the next brown field and was once again rewarded with lift. Hey... lets try this again. I see a little r/c field to the west surrounded with beautiful fields of cut wheat, lets go there.
On the way there I find 500' sink for a while but make the field at around 2000' (which seems REALLY LOW after being over twice as high a few minutes ago). The problem was, I couldn't find any lift once I was there. I start flying the perimeter of the field without any luck. There's a park nearby and when i fly over that I get bounced around a little, but I'm still sinking. I stretch out my pattern a little more and find more sink. I notice the flag in the park for wind direction and pick my LZ. Down to 1200 I start thinking about unzipping and get ready for landing when I get a couple bumps and a beep from my vario. I'm over some telephone lines that seem to be working and I start turning. I'm in and out of broken lift but am averaging 20'/min lift and stick with it. After 10 turns in this stuff I find myself in lift for complete 360's. Then it turns on and I'm averaging 600-800 up all the way to 5600. From there I wanted to see if I could work my way back to Cloud 9 and headed East. I never hit the sink I was in before and never got below 3k again. When I get to the first wheat field that took me to 5k, I find it working again. The lift takes me back up to just over 5500 and I know I've got Cloud 9 made.
I'm starting the feel a little uncomfortable in my neck and back, so I rest my head on the bar for a little while on my way back to the park and it feels great. I can see my wife on the deck when I fly over and we wave to each other. After a little cruising around I set up to try and hit the landing spot. I was really happy with the approach and the closer I got, the better in looked for hitting the bulls eye.... until I hid some sink. I tried to stretch it out a little but there's not much I can do and still land on my feet. I flare as late as I dare, and end up touching down about 5' in frond of the mark with a light run that takes me into the spot. No good, but I'm getting closer.
Flights: 1
Max Alt: 5896
Time: 3 hours (and 8 seconds)
"3 times" I got above a mile up!

Getting better

2007-07-30T22:05:00.000-04:00

We didn't launch until after 4pm today. We kept waiting for clouds to start pop'n, but really never got any. When the barn swallows started taking thermals up out of site, Bernie and I decided it was time to go.
Bernie went first, and I was right after. Tracey was doing the work on the tug today and got us up quickly. When I was waived off, I was in 200' up taking it to around 3k just North of the field. When the lift fizzled out, I saw Bernie working something nice to the South, so I headed over to join him. I'm glad the lift was still working when I got there because I was down to around 1800 when I finally hooked up. It was steady light lift all the way to 3400 and that would be about as high as I would get. Bernie was able to stay at least 500 over me (and managed to top out over 5k once).
Once the lift petered out I went back to the North side of the field and found 300' again, at 1500'. It took a long time, falling in and out of lift, but managed to get back up near 3k before heading back to the South where Bernie was high. Once over the same Southern spot as last time, the lift was back, light, and steady.
It was becoming a nice relaxing pattern until I went back to the North and found nothing but 500 down. It took a while to get out of the sink, and never found any lift again, so I headed in to try and hit the landing spot.
My approach was okay and I though I had a good chance of making it, when I went through some sink leaving me a good 25' short of the mark but with a nice landing.

Flights: 1
Max Alt: 3422
Time: 52 min.

First flight at Cloud 9, MI

2007-07-29T20:17:00.000-04:00

Davis took off first and was planning on doing some XC. I watched him spiral up, not real high, then take off to the West. The clouds were pop’n nicely and the rest of us were eager to fly.
Tracey briefed me about many things, including the tow position they’re looking for. It’s different from what I’m use to so I was focused on that when Lisa towed me up. My tow didn’t last too long as I over corrected, pushing out to meet the rising tug, and popped my first week link at around 500’. Tracey came and got me, tied a new link for me, and got me set up again. Lisa got me a little farther along this time before hitting I nice thermal. I tried to push out and catch up, but it was too late, and I over corrected again, breaking another link somewhere near 1,000’. I got down to around 450 when I started working an area at the south part of the field. My efforts only granted me another few minutes until I was on the ground again. I was getting frustrated and bummed thinking I couldn’t do anything right, and I was going to lose the day. Tracey came and got me again and asked me if I was going up again, or wanted to take a break. I decided if I was ever going to figure this out, I was going to tow again and again until I got it right. I got some feed back from Lisa and took off again, this time focusing on smoothness. I was surprised I never got in the prop wash at times, but I was able to stay on (through some wicked nice thermals) to 2500’ to where I was waved off for a change.
Turning back I found the thermal and managed another 500’ before losing it. The East wind was taking me down wind of the field, so I headed back into it making sure I would be in easy reach. Unfortunately I ended up in a blue hole that had nothing but 500+ sink almost all the way to the ground. I was able to set up for an attempt at the landing bulls eye in an attempt to save a few $ (you can save $10 if you landing completely in the circle). Everything was looking good for hitting the spot, until I hit some more sink about 40’ off the ground ending me with a nice 1 stepper, 20’ from the spot. Oh well, we’ll try again tomorrow.
Davis managed 20 miles on a marginal day…. Someday I hope I can do that!
Cloud 9 is an amazing facility! Pictures don’t do it justice. (um… yeah, that’s why I didn’t take any today).

Flights: 3 (#1- 12 min weak link break 600'; #2- 10 min weak link break 800'; #3- 21 min)
Max Alt: 2982 AGL
Total time : 43 min
Wind: Turblant from the NE

Timing

2007-07-22T22:20:00.000-04:00

All the locals showed up at FLAP today. There were tadems going up in the morning and then those looking for some AT training (like Lon who got his sign-off today!) got up before noon. When a few started to show some promise of lift, the rest of us headed to the South end of the runway.

Bob R. launched and showed some promise, so Marty put me next in line and got me ready to go. Just before I launch though, Bob had landed and that's never a good sign. I figured conditions weren't quite ready yet, but I was hooked up so I'd just give it my best shot.

Chad put me in a nice spot, dropping me off at just over 2000, in 200 up. I was able to take it up to around 2700 or so and boat around for a while. I saw Jamie was up in his tandem working the same lift below me. Bob was getting towed up again at the same time I was having a hard time finding any lift. I slowly sank out landing sortly after Jamie. Rick and Dan were working good lift up high and Bob was circling, so I figured I just got unlucky and I'd give it another shot.

Chad gave me another nice tow and dropped me off in the same spot with the same lift. This time I was able to take it up to around 3500. I notice the clouds to the North were being pushed to the south and I figured if I was going to stay with the lift I would have to move South as well. I knew I wasn't going to take another tow anyway, so I might as well try a littl XC. I very little lift as I was heading South, and by the time I 'crossed the canal' (or XC as they call it) I was down to around 1500. I tried to work some lift over the new Walmart and Lowes on Rt31, but basically only got knocked around and eventually lost the battle. The field I landed in was very nice cut hay complete with a driveway right to where I landed (and a very nice one at that).

I gave Lon a call, and he came right over, picking me up as I was zipping up the glider bag. We loaded up and were back to the Flight Park in no time. After Lon broke down his glider, we headed over to Long Acre Farms for some Ice cream and talk about our flights. It turned out to be a good day as Lon got his AT sign off from Marty, and I got my second XC (cross Canal) flight (whopping 5 miles).

Flights: 2 (#1 – 30 min, #2 – 30 min)
Best Altitude: 3500’ AGL
Wind: Less than 5 out of the North

Lots of people went XC today: Bob to Victor, Dan to Dansville to Canandaigua to within a mile of the flight park, Mark to honeoye, Scott R. to Bloomfield, Linda from honeoye to Dansville. Gliders all over Upstate NY!

Low Rider - Raven Style

2007-07-03T12:48:00.000-04:00

Looking South to Canandaigua Lake

I called Chad to see if he'd be willing to tow today. Right from the beginning he was eager to go. I told him I'd call around to see if I could get anyone else to come out also. Within 15 min., he calls ME back to say he can be there around 12:30 and to just come out. Here we have a tug pilot that's itch'n to go and can't wait to get in the air.... sounds like HG pilots I know.

I showed up first and set up. Doug A. got out his glider from the barn, and Bob R. showed up a little while later with his Atos. Chad showed up on his Grandfathers 125 enduro with a big smile on his face eager to go. The sky looked great with CU's popp'n all over the place and very little wind at all. Looked like a good recipe for Cloud Base flying!

I took the first tow. It had been a while since my last tow, and it showed. I had some PIO, and poor corrections behind Chad, but he compensated for my bad work. The tow was rowdy, and I was looking forward to some good lift off tow. When Chad waived me off I started turning, looking for the lift we were just in, but found nothing but sink. I made a bee line for another area and found worse sink. Pulled in and headed to another area to find 800-1000' sink all the way to the ground! I almost beat the tug back down. I was soooo bumbed! I think the flight lasted 15 min, and most of that was on tow. Bob and Doug were wondering why I was down so early, and so was I.

After a few minutes, Doug went up. It looked like he was having a rowdy tow too, but when he got off tow, he managed to stay in a couple thermals. Every time we looked up he was circling, but seemed to be gradually getting lower. After 30-45 min, Doug landed in no wind conditions. Chad and Doug both said that conditions had improved a lot since I went up and though I should give it another shot. Bob went up next and it was pretty clear that when he got off tow, he was going up so I got ready to go again.

By the time I got off tow, Bob was nowhere in sight. I figured he was on the ground because all I could find was 1000-1200' DOWN AGAIN! I wasn't happy! I was beginning to wonder if my wing was attached. How else would the ground be coming at me so quickly?!?! Through 600' I was starting to get ready to a landing approach and the last time I looked at the vario I was below 530. I was really low when the coolest thing happened... huge Ravens came from every direction and started circling 'below' me right over the high point of the runway. I figured since I was right over the runway, I'd give the birds a shot and if it didn't work out I'd still be okay to land. I ended up circling with the birds for what seemed like 5 min., in zero lift, but at least I had stopped falling. A few minutes later, we all started lifting like one group all stuck in the same spider web. It was a slow climb, but it got me up to over 700' before I lost it. I searched a little north toward the hanger and found some more lift that took me over 1500'. From there I could search around a little and found some good lift nearby that took me over 2500. I would stay between 2500 and 3200 for the next hour.

Chad ready to tow Doug after I get up.

Doug couldn't take it anymore and jumped back in his glider for another flight. He released early to the East of me and in no time was up around 3000'. It was about the same time the lift got good and I found my self climbing past 4000'.

Doug coming up to join me.

The temperature got cool, and I looked up to see the clouds still a good 500' above me. I wasn't able to get any closer for the rest of the flight, but it was great up there!! And who should I find up there flying at me but Bob coming back from a tour of the area.

Bob coming back from who know's where.

We flew around for a little while then he headed North on another tour. It seemed like a good idea, so I decided to venture out a little as well. I worked my way over to the Recycling company, figuring it would be a good place for lift if I got low. I lost about 500' by the time I got there and didn't find much lift (or sink). So I turned back to the flight park and lost another 500 or so. When I got back to the park the lift was getting light and hard to gain much altitude. Bob was scratching for a few turns underneath me and eventually landed on the runway. I boated around for a few more minutes until I had been in the air for about all my neck and shoulders were going to take. I cruised around over the hanger and landed close to the set up area. Doug and Bob were both there to greet me with big smiles.

SWEEEEET DAY!

2 Personal Bests - Height 4170' AGL, Longest flat land flight (almost 2 hours).

Flights: 2 (#1-19 min) (#2-1 hour 58 min.)
Max Alt: 4170' AGL
Wind: L&V

RAF party at Hammondsport

2007-06-30T23:11:00.000-04:00

Moritz had a great idea of putting on a graduation party for this years students at Hammondsport. Lots of people showed up! But no-one was in the air when I got there. It seemed a little strong at times, and people were waiting for more consistent conditions.

I set up, with a few others, and watched Ron L. become the wind dummy. I was a was back of launch so I couldn't see over the edge, so when Ron took off and disappeared over the edge, it took my breath away. He popped back up into view a second or two later and got to the business of scratching. He scratched for at least 15 min. never getting more than a couple hundred over. The others in line to launch just hung out and watched with the rest of us. No-one really wanted to work that hard and stayed put. Ron finally hit a bad cycle and landed down at the Church LZ.

A little while later, Bob R. had to give it a go (he can't go too long without flying... it drives him nuts!). He also had an 'interesting' launch that got my attention, then popped up and put my worries at ease. Bob had a little more success, hooking a couple small thermals and was able to get at least 3-500' up. Good enough for me!

I got to the edge of launch, and after seeing the last two guys, was trying to prep myself for something similar. When the trees in front and around launch filled with motion, I went for it and was rewarded with a nice elevator ride out. I'm not sure I lost any altitude at all.

I was scratching for a while, trying to get up to where Bob was, and it must have looked poor enough that no-one launched after me for a while. Every once in a while I would hook a thermal and get up above 500' but the glory never lasted long. Bob eventually got a good enough cycle to top land. It was around that time that Paul S. came up and joined me for a while. The lift band was tight to the ridge, so we had to work together to share the small ridge. I thought we worked well and stayed together for probably at least an hour. Scott W. and Mark S. came up and joined us a little later. Scott's able to stay up away from the lift band some how, and always seemed to be higher than Paul and I.

There were some pretty dark clouds around, and a couple times, we got a light sprinkle. Right behind the dark clouds were some open sunny skies that we were all hoping would bring some more lift. When the sunny skies arrived, they had nothing for use but tinny bullet thermals that were unusable, and it killed the rest of the lift all together. Everyone on the hill was flushed at the same time, down to the Church LZ.

The wind indicators in the LZ showed there wasn't any real wind. What they didn't show was that conditions were going katabatic and there was a slight breeze following us in. I was a little shocked when I levelled out to find the 'ground' was moving much faster than normal. I flared as hard as I could and I started running as fast as I could. I'm soooooo glad I have wheels on my base bar!!! The wheels did there thing when they touched the ground and prevented what would have been a painful whack for sure! As it was, I'm not sure my nose touched the ground, but it wasn't pretty. Misery loves company, and from what I could see, the other guys had similar experiences, without anything getting too ugly, or broken.

Paul gave us a ride back up to Launch where Moritz had the party in full swing. It was a great way to end the night!

Thanks to Paul for the ride, and Moritz for all the work & cooking!

Flight - 1

Duration - 2 hours 09 min.

Max Alt: 817' AGL
Wind: ~12mph NW

Happy at Hport

2007-06-23T12:43:00.000-04:00

The View North

When Lon and I got to launch, after checking the 'new' LZ, we were greeted by a bunch of pg'rs including Doug and Gary S. Conditions were a little too strong for them, but then looked okay for Mark (flying his new Freedom) and Linda who was up nice and high. Doug said they had been in the air for a couple hours already, and that Dan and Jack got up high and took off to do some XC.
The Church LZ - getting smaller

Lon and I started setting up while Rick B., Tom I., and Scott W. were getting finishing there set ups. By the time Rick and Tom launched it looked like there was a lull in lift and everyone was below 400' over. By the time I was ready to launch, Mark and Linda were still flying around but not as high, and Rick and Tom were still up but only around the 300' range.

Rick Launching

Rick trying to catch up to Mark (in the Freedom)

I took off and was staying around 100' over for a few passes when I caught some good lift, though small. After a few tight turns I made it to around 700+ over in a hurry, then lost it. Scott launched a little while later, when I was back down to around 300 over (most of my flight was around there). The lift turned back of and we both got up to around 1000 over. The only trouble there was that I wasn't able to get any higher (and Scott was). It was fun to fly with Rick, Tom and Scott though it didn't last long. Rick gave me a wide birth and ended up finding some nasty sink the flushed him to land. Tom landed a short time after, then Scott and I had the sky to our selves until Lon joined us.

Scott W. - always seemed to be above me

Lon launched and also worked the ridge for a few passes before finding some nice lift. He must of got 4 or 5 nice 360's and climbed right up, and above me to what looked like 5 or 600 over! We flew around most of the time around the 300 mark, and enjoyed the views of the valley and lake. After 35 min or so, Lon went in and had a very nice landing. Right after he landed another nice cycle came through getting me back up to 1050'. Too bad the cycles were so infrequent because it's so much nicer looking around at 1000 vs 300'.

After a while my neck and arms were getting really tired and for the first time ever, I started feeling nauseous. I was able to change my layout position to a little more head up, and that made an immediate difference, but the feeling never completely left. I guess I'm out of practice and weak. Flying once a month just doesn't cut it! I'll need to start doing my push-ups again at a minimum.

I took my time coming in, flying down the ridge, then over the hospital, then back over to the LZ. The only thing I could think of after unzipping was hoping for enough strength to flair. When the time came it wasn't an issue and the landing worked out just fine.

After packing up the glider I decided to hike up the hill back to launch. I'd never done it before and have always wanted to but never had the time. Rick took Lon up for another flight and I decided it was time for a hike. And a great hike it was! I loved going up the dry gorge and following the dear trails under a full canopy of trees. I'll try to bring a camera next time.

When I got up top, Lon had just launched and joined Moritz and a bunch of PG'rs. I went over and spoke with Mark, Linda and Adam for a few minutes before heading down to pick up Lon (short flight).

A really good day where everyone got there fill.

Flight - 1

Duration -1 hour 50 min

Max height - 1460 above launch

Flapp'n Fun

2007-05-23T21:48:00.000-04:00

I was able to leave work early today (tougher than thermaling a bug fart in February) and meet Joe and Doug A at the flight park. I got there first, took forever to set up, and ended up last on the cart. Marty showed up to tow and we all got in line ready to go.

Joe took off first with a very nice launch. Doug and I watched the tow from the ground and it looked pretty uneventful. Then when Joe got off tow, Doug, Rick (just showed up to help) and I were hoping to see Joe spiral on up. But it looked like he was kind of searching around. It didn't look like he was climbing. My heart sank. I've only caught one thermal before at the flight park and the flight didn't last long. I was hoping for a great day, one with stupid thermal everywhere. Oh well, suck it up. I hadn't even had a tow yet this year. There were more pressing matters to think about and Marty just landed the tug.

Rick hooked me much, checked me out and sent me on my way. I was pretty nervous about the tow and probably ended up staying the cart longer than I needed to, but I wanted to be sure I was going fast enough. As soon as I lifted out of the cart, my nerves settled down. I don't think I did a very good job staying right behind Marty, but I don't think it was horrible either.

Marty dropped me off in a very nice thermal in the SE corner of the airfield. Too bad I was only able to make one turn in it before it completely disappeared. I searched the area a little to no avail. I looked around for Joe to find him a little below me at the NW corner of the field circling. I didn't know if I was going to make it over there with any kind of height, but I figured I start searching in that direction. By the time I near Joe, I was down to 750 and I figured my flight was about done when I felt a little bump, then another. Since I was within reach of the field I figured I'd give a couple turns and see what happens before heading in. After about 3 turns my averager reads 0. After a couple more I get 0.5. I'm falling in and out of lift, but at least I'm climbing. I can see Joe near by circling about 1,000' above. I search the area a little bit and find a place where I don't fall out of lift anymore and stay there until I get back up to 2300'. I'm catching up to Joe but he's still got me beat by a couple hundred.

Doug had launched after me and looked like he was having a similar flight, getting off in a short lived thermal, then looking around for lift. I'm stunned when he starts circling below me at what looks like a couple hundred over. He stays there for what seems like 20 mins to be rewarded with ever increasing altitude.

There was a really cool time when Doug and I were fairly close to each other working the same thermal. He was able to work the area around better (faster) and eventually got above me for a few minutes. Now that I was low man on the totem I was looking up and looking for Joe. Only to find him somewhere over the South end of the runway, WAY up (guessing around 4k). I thought for a split second about trying to go over to where he was, but I didn't want to leave the security of my thermal that kept coming off the West ridge. Unfortunately, the thermal didn't have the same feelings towards me and disappeared for a while. I was searching the area again, this time getting lower and farther away from the flight park, and starting to get a little nervous again when I got a few more bubbles again around 800'. I grabbed onto them, took them up as high as I could (1400) and got back to within easy reach of the flight park.

Doug had landed, not finding enough lift South of the flight park, in the middle of the runway. I was able to stay around the 1200' mark for a few more minutes, then my lift was gone. Once I got down to 800 again, I headed over to the park. I landed a couple minutes later in what seemed like a slight down wind condition. Luckily I was able to run it out without whacking. Joe stayed up for another 20 minutes or so, 'complaining' he couldn't get down and that he had to search for sink. I didn't have that problem :)

I was (am?) very pleased with the flight!! It ended up being almost an hour and I was able to hit multiple thermal and fly with some friends.

Doug Fien dropped by to see how we were doing. If the flight park had towing for PG's, I bet he would have gone!

Flights: 1

Time: 55 min.

Conditions: Light and Variable

Personal Best: Duration and Elevation (2800') at a Flight park

Check It Out at Padgham 2007

2007-04-22T21:36:00.000-04:00

Amazing weather saturated the day for the Check It Out (CIO) program. We had 7 people show up, and two or three that were scheduled didn't make it. Karl and Katrin, Rick, Ron, Karl F., Lon and Henry were all set up when I got there around 12:30. I set up my glide to do a demo flight for the students, while Lon walked his glider out to the hill. Ron had his glider already set up on top.

While Karl F. and Rick spoke to the students I got my stuff together and hiked up the hill with my new (to me) harness. By the time I go to the top of the hill and got ready to go, Karl and Rick (and everyone else there) had everyone running with the gliders on flat ground. Ron, Lon and I thought we'd just go straight out and go for distance, trying to land in the middle of the field, closer to where the students were practicing.

The wind was blowing NNW at around 10mph...very nice! I went first into a very nice cycle which I believe put me above launch. I decided to stay in the lift for a little while, and make a couple gentle turns before heading straight out to the field and set up for a nice no stepper. Ron went next in his U2 and also had a nice flight getting above launch. I could see him playing with his VG so I figured he'd crush me in distance but, for whatever reason, he only beat me by about 20 or 30 feet. He also had a very nice landing. Lon came down shortly after. His flight was just like Ron and I, getting nice lift off launch, hanging around for a while, and making a great landing. I thought it was a very nice show for the students and I could see most of them drool when Ron and Lon were in the air.

After that, the students were doing well enough to have the Eaglets taken over to the training hill. There, if they had a good run, were just high enough to skim across the ground and miss a few steps. To Fly. Ron and Lon took there gliders back to the cars to break down. I had such a good time on the first flight, it was worth the effort to hike back up the hill to do it again. Besides, I wanted to have another go in my harness.

I was able to pick another good cycle at launch. This time I made a couple turns, right over the students below, and came in for a landing closer to the hill.
The ground effect was interesting as it didn't seem to ever let me down. Just when I thought I was going to flare, I was lifted up, so I brought the nose back down and waited. I went to flare again and was lifted again. In the end I just did a full flare, a little high, and floated down gently. Too fun... I had to do it again! Up I go.

Right after I launched on this flight, I was shot up fast in a great thermal.

I was pulling the bar in and still going up when I decided to turn. If I stayed in the turn and did a 360 I would have cleared the hill and probably gotten way up. But if the lift died suddenly, I could have been in some trough with the top of the hill. I wasn't going to risk it, so I turned back around. I stayed in the lift for a quite a few seconds allowing me to make 3 or more short passes in front of the North face. I didn't have my vario (why would you on the training hill) but I figure I got around 40 seconds or more (which is about 50% more than you normally get). The landing was a little weird, having a wing lift during my flare, but it was okay.

By this time some of the students were cruising 3 or 4 feet off the ground going 7 or 8 yards. Excellent stuff! The CIO was rapping up and Karl L, Andrew, and a couple others got there gliders out to take a flight. I watched a couple nice flights while I helped take down the training gliders with Moritz, Ron and Henry. The weather was still great at the end of the day, and I think everyone had a good time at a great CIO. We're lucky to have people in the club that give so much to help others. Specially on a very flying day (and we don't get too many of those around here)! I heard that down at Hport people were getting between 5000 and 8500' over launch!

In the end, I'm very pleased with my new harness. Getting in and out is a breeze, and one in, very comfortable. Next time I hope to spend at least an hour in it to see how it really feels.

Thanks to Lon for taking all the pictures.

Flights: 3
Time: 2 minutes
Wind: NNW-NNE 5-10mph

New (to me) Harness

2007-04-06T12:07:00.000-04:00

I was able to locate a Moyes Contour harness on the web. The guy was really great about answering all my questions and sending me some pictures.

I received the harness on Tuesday and have been hanging around in it as much as possible. I spent an hour hanging in the basement the other night, watching a Flytec DVD. I'm very happy with the way the harness fits. I'm also pleased with the additional room this harness has over my old harness.

I'm looking to us the harness at our "Check It Out" program on the 14th.

We had nice weather last week, 50's and 60's. We're going through a rough 'contrast' this weekend with high temps in the 20's and snow on the ground. Happy Easter everyone, and welcome to Spring.

Mossy Memmories

2007-03-31T09:44:00.000-04:00

Took a half day from work to meet Doug Stoner down at Hport. The flags in Rochester said we had a North wind blowing over 10mph, but the flags the rest of the way down had a very nice NW(I figured it was just lake effect in Rochester). It Looked like a perfect day. When I got up top of HPort, Doug was all set up at the lower launch but there was virtually NO wind at all. He said it had been blowing straight in but had just stopped. I walked to the upper launch to find the wind was coming out of the North, most the time, putting the lower launch in shadow. Jamie and Jack showed up and looked things over. At one point the wind was actually blowing down hill. Hport was definitely NOT the place to fly. We decided to give Mossy a look, knowing that after we got in there, we'd be committed as there wasn't going to be time to get out and head over to the Cliffs.

Linda met us over at the LZ and was convinced we should go back to Hport. It was tough to put up an argument, but we were just there and it was North. When we got to launch the wind had a lot of West (almost 90 degrees cross) in it and not blowing very strong. Very frustrating! Linda was giving us the ole' "I told ya". Oh Well, we're here. Let's wait it out and take our sledders like men.

By the time we were set up the wind was coming around to the North, and hand a few stronger cycles in it. Bob R. showed up in time to see Jamie get ready and into the slot. A brief wait and he shot off the edge, turned to the East and slowly started climbing. I couldn't get into my harness fast enough. Bob gave me a hang check while Linda got behind me. The gust was still good so I launched, holding my wing up high enough to tug on my hang strap. No way do I want go off a cliff not knowing I'm connected! Because of that, my wing dipped when I got in the air, but it was easily corrected and I headed East, also getting some slow lift. By the time I turned back towards launch I was a 150 over, and Jamie looked like he was 6-800 over.

Soon Linda, Jack and Bob came up too. Everyone in the topless gliders seem to stay up around 6-800 over, while Bob and I were hovering around 500. The wind would switch direction every now and then to the ENE, but for the most part it stayed around N-NNE. It was fun trying to keep track of everyone, not just because it's a small ridge, but to see who found a thermal and seeing them work them. Jack had a couple of below launch saves that were really cool to watch. Jamie had some fun doing some over the top wing-overs out over the valley. I played a little with wing-overs but don't think I even got my wings vertical. Even though we weren't able to get very high, the lift was stable enough to be able to play around and not worry about being able to get back up again.

The whole time we were flying, Doug was trying to get his bag filled with air so he could launch. He give try after try to get the bag flying, only to have to stop at the very edge without any luck. Launch was nothing but a pocket of dead air that just wouldn't help Doug at all! It didn't seem fair. Doug had a long hike in, tried for an hour just to launch only to have to hike back out again. Hopefully he'll get some time tomorrow.

After a while the air started to change again and people headed to the LZ. I was starting to get cold and my arms were getting tired but I was having too much fun to quit. Soon it was just Linda and I, and it became my goal to outlast her. Thankfully it didn't last long. About 5 minutes after I set my goal, Linda headed in. As soon as she landed the lift shut off which sent me into the LZ too. I was happy with my landing, though it left me with a walk to the cars.

After we broke down, we headed over to Bin Bin for some food and to give Linda a hard time about the choice of sites. It turned out to be a great day! Good long flights, good people, good food... tough to beat.

Flights: 1
time: 1.5 hours
wind: ~North ~10

Pretty day at Padghams

2007-02-18T20:26:00.000-05:00

It looked like Dansville was going to be a risky call with the wind being a little too west (and could have been a long hike in with 2' of snow), so Lon and I chose Padgham for a little well needed exercise.

Ron L. showed up on the hill a little later while Lon and I set up. He brought his glider, but left it on his truck. The wind was a little cross from the South but not bad.

I waited for a strong cycle to come through and took a few steps. I was picked up so nicely, I was able to turn to the south and gain a little more altitude. I had never been so high above the bushes to the south. As I turned away the ride became one of a roller coaster ride with big lift and big sink. The snow at the bottom of the hill was about 1-1/2' in a few spots... the spots I happen to land in. Breaking news... snow is hard to run in if you have a lazy flare! Is it called a whack if the nose of the glider touches the snow, but not the ground??

Lon had a very nice flight complete with a no-stepper landing. Ron took the video.

The hike up the hill was a tough one! Lon and I both took a long time to get through the snow. When we got to the top the wind had switched around a little more to the South. This time I waited a little while for a more westerly cycle. I was granted a regular, no frills, sledder, and another snowy landing. Lon had another nice flight and landing too.

As we packed up, we watched the snowmobiler's drag their friends around the field on snowboards and sleds. Now...Those guys are crazy!!

Flights: 2
time: 1 min total

3 Me!

2007-02-11T22:06:00.000-05:00

I passed my H3 test today with Brooks. I missed a few answers but Brooks and I talked about it later so I had a better understanding. I'm a very happy guy!

Another step higher.

Trade the Hang Gliders for Ice Boats

2007-01-15T15:39:00.000-05:00

While Jeff OB is in Australia flying 100 mile races in 100 degree (F) heat. We're just counting icicles, not flying at all.

Here's a picture of Lon's van during our ice storm today.

Jeff is doing GREAT! Make sure to check out his blog!!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

I was able to meet Mark, Linda, Bob, Lon, Matt, and my good luck charm Doug S. down at Italy today. When I got there, Linda and Bob were already in the air, Mark and Landed and the PG'rs were getting ready to fly. Lon and I rushed out to set up.

Just about the time Lon and I were ready to go, we saw Linda, Bob, and Matt all sink out and head towards the LZ. The wind had all but died leaving the rest of us on the hill twiddling our thumbs. When a slight breeze came back, Doug launched and gave it a try. After a pass or two it was clear there just wasn't enough to stay up and he headed to the LZ.

Doug found some bad sink along the way that almost had him put down in the creek. Fortunately, he came out of it just in time to clear the trees and set down nicely in the middle of the field.

Lon and I waited a while longer until the wind came back, and it did, though with some East in it. I was able to get a nice launch and head East for a while. I hit a few little bursts of up, but was only able to get about 20' over launch. When I turned around it was obvious I was going down wind because it felt like I was going 40mph (ground speed). I passed launch, turned back and all but stopped. I headed way WAY down to the East where the slope faces that direction a little more thinking it would help. But the hill also gets shorter. So even though I was above the hill, I was below launch by 100'. There was a hawk that came over to me for a bit. I think he thought I would be able to help him spot some lift, but we were both disappointed. I headed back towards launch but quickly realized I wasn't going to make it. The "old" (small) LZ was close by so I set up there and had a very nice landing.

Doug came down, gave me a hand crossing the creek and gave me a ride back up. Thanks Doug!!

It was a short flight, but nice to be out in January in near 50 degree temps.

Flights: 1
Time: 0:15
Wind: SE ~7

Damn Good Day At Dansville!!

2006-12-03T19:37:00.000-05:00

A small group of Lon, Bi-Bob, Bi-Katrin, Mark & Linda showed up before noon and got ready to fly. Bob and Katrin decided to wait to see how the HG's did before setting up, and it was a good thing they did as it turned out to be a little on the strong side.

I launched first and don't remember having an easier time with one. A few steps and I enjoyed an elevator ride that required almost no input. The air was a little rowdy, but the lift prevailed and got me up to 800' over. Linda launched about 5 minutes after me, and Mark a few minutes after that. Lon had a nice launch about 5 or 10 min. after that. By the time Mark and Linda caught up to me, we were around 1500 over. Mark and Linda were able to take the lift higher, and farther behind the ridge. The wind at times was a little stronger than my cruising speed and I was able to fly backwards if I pushed out a little. Mark and Linda seemed to come back to the ridge without any problem, from what seemed like a mile back.

Lon and I hung out for a while on the South part of the ridge. Lon would get to 1000 over and I was lucky enough to stay between 1500 and 2000 for a good portion.

Linda and Mark eventually headed to the Glider port. It looked like they took a nice long trip North before coming in. It was about that time we had some Sailplanes join us on the ridge. This was my first experience flying with them. It was FANTASTIC!! Mainly because most the time, I was above them and I could look right down into there cock pit as they flew underneath. It wasn't at all never racking because they're very steady in there patterns and it was easy to tell where they were going to go. They also did a great job of giving us room if we needed it.

About the time Lon was heading in, I could see Ron L. setting up his Falcon. Lon left the ridge at what looked like 800 over. When he got over the LZ, which took a while to penetrate the head wind, he radioed me to let me know he was 1000 over launch. Then he calls back and says 1100, then 12. He was taking a tour of the valley and called back again with 1400 over launch, a new record for him. By the time he landed he had an hour flight, also a record.

Ron had a nice launch about the time I was getting cold and tired. So I decided to try and make the glider port for my first landing there. The wind had switched slightly from SSW to SW (or maybe even W at times). I started heading over at 1500. By the time I was 1/2 way there I was down to 400 over and I wasn't making any more head way. I was pretty sure I could make the bail out LZ (which is HUGE), but I didn't want to push it and figured it would be safer and easier to make it back to the primary LZ. And it was. I made it back to Launch in no time flew around with Ron a couple minutes, then headed out to the LZ. I was just about to the edge of the field, over a pond, and hid some big sink. Going from 1500 over the LZ down to 500 in just a few seconds. I pulled in and was able to break out of the sink in time to do a couple passes before setting down. Katrin was nice enough to act as a wind sock for me during my approach which helped a lot. My flight lasted 1 hour 35 min.

Ron K, Ed, and Doug S. showed up and gave Lon and I a ride back up to get our vans. THANKS GUYS!! The sailplanes were still in the air when Ron launched. I was able to get a few pictures of them, but nothing else. I tried to take some pictures during the flight but had a programming issue (needed to set the time) and I didn't figure it out until after I got on the ground. Major bummer as I had tons of opportunities to get pictures of the sailplanes and friends up close.

Thanks for the great time guys! Definitely a memorable day!

Ellenville Sledder

2006-11-26T21:13:00.000-05:00

I was visiting family down in NJ for Thanksgiving and had the day free on Friday to go flying. Alex, who lives in the same town in NJ, and I hooked up in the morning and we headed up to Ellenville from what looked like a good day. I was able to check email and found out Linda was coming down from Rochester to Ellenville also, which works our great for me as I needed an Observer in order to fly there. When we arrived two hours later, I checked out the huge LZ, met Tony, signed the wavers, and headed up top. We noticed the wind to be out of the North in the LZ and no-one was in the air, so it didn't look like ideal conditions. When we got up top, Linda and a bunch of other pilots were setting up. The wind sock was hang'n low, and the little wind there was, was very cross. Everyone was hoping the wind would come around so we waited...

A couple people launched and the rest of us had our hopes of extended flight, squashed while watching their almost direct sled rides to the LZ. As the rest of us waited around Linda's dog Misha found some fun with one of the locals... a very prickly local. I had never seen a porcupine in the wild before (can't say that now). I think both animals will be fine, but not without going through some healing first. Linda had to go find a Vet, and a way to get rid of a little extra money she had laying around.
When Linda came back we jumped in our harnesses and took our sled rides. It's been a long time since I've run that far on launch, but it worked out fine. The flight was very smooth and scenic with a good landing very close to the flag.

Linda came down a short while later.

It was nice to talk with everyone at launch and the LZ while breaking down. It was a long trip (not 1/2 as long as Linda's) for a sledder, but a great day to be outside with friends.

Another nice day at the Training Hill

2006-11-18T21:57:00.000-05:00

Doug Fien and I met out at Pagham for a little exercise this afternoon. The winds were light, starting from the WSW and ended at NW, at less then 5 mph most the time. You know the winds are light when a PG'r has to run to get off launch.

Every once in a while, a little puff would come alone and extend the sledder. My best flight was when I had almost two complete passes without any sink (I may have even climbed a little at one point). I really believe the hill is soarable with the right conditions (WNW and steady 12mph should do it), and someday I'll do it!

Doug had one more flight than me, five, with some success at trying his new speed bar and meeting landing goals.

Hard to beat a day of flying with friends, even if it's at the training hill.

Bristol turns into Padgham

2006-11-04T22:50:00.000-05:00

Bob Roth, Lon, Doug Stoner & Karl & Katrin all met down in the Bristol LZ around 11:30 or so. Bob and Doug got out there PG's and started kiting while waiting for better conditions.

Karl & Katrin, and Lon and I headed up to launch. When we got to the camp where we drive through to launch, the owner said there were a bunch of guys Bow hunting up there and the drive up was a mess. Long story short, there is no more flying at Bristol during all of deer season, bow included, so we turner around. On the way back we found Mark and Linda heading up so we told them the news. Back at the LZ we all agreed to head up to the Padghams, the training hill, to get some exercise.

One the way to Padgham, Mark and Linda picked up Ron L along the way to make the total outing at the training hill nine pilots. It's hard to get nine pilots anywhere, let alone the training hill in November (38 degrees and WSW ~15mph).

The PG'rs looked like they had there hands full with the wind but they kept working it. Lon and I took a while to set up out Hang Gliders, and others didn't like the cold so didn't set up. Bob had the first flight off the hill and found some lift and sink along the way. I went shortly after and enjoyed the 3 step launch and 3 step landings. The flight was fun with some pockets of lift with some areas of sink and all together too short.

If only the wind was WNW, there may be a chance of soaring this hill... ahhhh someday! Lon took flight that looked good too. Dragging a HG up the hill on a windy day sure does stink! The extra weight of the glider pushing down on you while climbing the hill doesn't make the trip any more desirable.
Bob managed another flight, and Doug S. had an interesting flight. Doug launched and looked like he could have just stayed in one place, hovering a few feet off the ground, forever. It was pretty funny. He eventually made headway and probably had the longest flight of the day (probably near the minute mark!).
I got 4 more flights in before packing up, while Lon let Ron take a flight on his Falcon before calling it a day.

A fun day, had some fun flights, hung out with friends, and got some exercise in too.

Bristol

2006-10-13T12:49:00.000-04:00

Doug F., Karl L., and I hooked up in the Bristol LZ around 11:30, and just before we headed up to launch we could see someone standing at launch. The wind was all over the place, but for the most part looked good enough for an extended sledder so we headed up.
My van was not up to the task of climbing the steep part of the path, so I parked just below it and the three of us packed up and started in on foot. That's one long hike! It's times like this I had a PG! As it was Doug helped Karl and I out a ton by carrying our harnesses in for us!

When we got to launch, the conditions looked okay with the wind coming almost straight in. At times a strong cycle would come through and as we set up, the strong cycles were longer in duration. We found out the other person on launch was Mukrim but we couldn't find him when we got there. He had launched, flew over the back, and landed near the gate, where some of the campers picked him up on there ATV's and brought him back to launch.
Dough Launched first and ended up getting low after a few minutes. We thought for sure he's end up landing, but he found a small area of lift and worked it hard. He ended up 1,000 over launch and had a real nice flight.

Mukrim launched just before me and didn't seem to have any trouble getting above launch.
Karl gave me a hang check, then I had a nice little three step launch. I was almost above the hill when I hit tons of sink. It didn't seem to matter where I went, I couldn't get out of it. When I did, I was 500+' below launch, and in a little cycle that was just keeping me up. It got better and I made up some height, but would never get back up to launch height again. That was frustrating because I could see Mukrim well over. Between having a time restriction, and not enjoying the constant mind battle of whether I should go land or stay and fight for lift, I decided to play it safe and head in. When I got over the south end of the LZ, I found myself stuck there. Not climbing, or sinking about 100' off the ground. Too close for me, so I pulled in and drove through it. I ended up having a nice mediocre landing (something I shoot for now).
Karl launched after I landed and was able to get up with Mukrim and stay there for about 45 min. Mukrim's flight lasted about 1-1/2 hours. After they landed they went down to Hport and got a nice 2 hour glass off.

All in all, a very nice fall day of flying with the boys! Hopefully we'll get a few more before snowboarding season starts.

FLAP 10/07/06

2006-10-07T12:47:00.000-04:00

What a day! 70's and sun. Too bad the High pressure chased every cloud away :( It didn't keep the pilots away though... what a turn out! I think there were 4 rigids, and something like a dozen other gliders. Marty had his hands full towing non-stop.

When I first got to the park, I saw Bob Grant boating around so I got the camera out for a couple pictures. By the time I was set up, Bob was setting up for a landing. I didn't realize I had set up right in the middle of Bob's approach until he was right on me. The only thing I could do at the last minute was to lay down on my back and let Bob fly over the top of me. Not the best move on my part, but it sure was cool! Check out the video..

I was able to get one flight in. I didn't think it would be very long, but wanted to get some practice in as it had been about a month since I last flew. It was my first tow behind Marty so I didn't know what to expect. Conditions were pretty mild and the tow went fine so I had nothing to worry about.

Marty found a thermal at the SE corner of the field and cored us around it. If I had the experience, I would have released at 1300'and taken the thermal up, but I decided to stay with the tow until Marty waived me off at 2200. At that time/height, the thermal was about gone and after a minute or two of not finding any lift, I went looking other places. At 1300' I found a thermal at the SW corner of the field, and with a little luck and some time I was able to stay in a sweet spot of 600 up for a little while. Everything seemed to die out though when I just got over 2,000'. I managed to find another little bubble when I was down around 900 that took me up to 1100 but I lost it. I didn't have much hope after that but was able to stick in 0' sink for a few minutes at 500'. I stuck with it as long as possible watching Bob Grant at about the same height working another thermal to the North of me. Bob was able to stick with his and took it back up to what looked like 1500' over or so, while mine died and had me setting up for a landing.
My landing was good and was happy with my 30+ min. flight so I called it a day. It was great to see so many people and tons of gliders in the air at one time.

Harriet again

2006-09-10T22:27:00.000-04:00

I picked up Andrew on the way to Harriet and met Lon around 12:30 at Launch. We were disappointed to find little to no wind at all, but we set up anyway. We took Lon's van down to the big LZ, looked things over down there an headed back up. It was nice to see my Aunt and Uncle at launch. They live close by and have never seen hang gliding before. We knew it was going to be a sledder as nothing that came through was very strong, so I got my stuff on and got into the slot anyway.
Eventually a little puff came in and I went. The only real thrill of the sled ride came when I went around the ridge where two young hawks were perched. As soon as they saw me make a 360 in some lift (zero sink was the best average I got)they flew up to join me. They must have thought I was in something good because they came right over to me only to make a loud screech, roll 180, and dive straight down back to his tree. The other hawk did manage to find something and maintain altitude while I sank out and headed for the LZ. The North wind in the valley was much stronger than on the hill (too bad), so I ended up landing in the middle field instead of the last field (where I wanted to be).
I put down my glider and started packing up when I look up and saw Lon cruising down the ridge. He made the LZ with TONS of height and took a leisurely tour of the valley before coming to land in the first field. He had a nice no stepper and was just trilled to have gotten a flight in.

Andrew radioed down and said there was no longer any breeze at launch and was going to wait a while before flying. So Lon and I packed up and headed back up to launch. We came across Katrin driving out of the park as we were pulling in. She said she that both Andrew and Karl had launched and she was going down to pick them up. Lon and I were all ready to head home at this point when we pulled up to launch only to find the wind blowing in nicely around 8-10 and within a few minutes of thinking about going again, we spot Karl still up, around 500' over. Decision made!

We set up as fast as possible, and in the middle of it all my mom showed up to watch. She said she would drive down and pick us up which sweetened the deal even more. Mean while, Karl was at least 1,000 over and looking good. By the time Lon was ready to go the wind died a little to around 6 or so, but that was still better than our first launch. Lon had a real nice launch and looked even with launch for about 30 sec or so, then slowly, but steadily started sledding. I got into the slot only to have the wind die again, and I noticed Karl back down to a few hundred over. I waited about 15 min (seamed much longer)for something, anything, to blow in again. There was a slight breeze blowing in a few minutes later and when Katrin and Andrew showed up again they were asking me what I was waiting for. I told them I wanted to fly, not sled. But alas, it looked like things weren't going to get any better, so when the next little puff came through, I went. It was an okay launch and I was able to make a couple passes in the bowl before heading off around the ridge to the LZ.
It wasn't long and I flew over Karl and Lon, had some fun with a tight turn or two and came in to land fairly close to my target.
Andrew showed up a few minutes later. We joked later that here he is flying over one of the biggest landing zones around, and he uses it all. He had a nice landing at the end, using every bit of real estate available.

The only depressing part of the day was that when we got back up to launch to pick up Lon's van, the wind was stronger than ever! I figured Harriet had played enough games with me and decided to call it a day. It was nice to get home early enough to have dinner with the family, laugh while watching funniest videos, and do some reading before bed. All in all, a great day!

Harriet Hollister Park

2006-08-31T12:58:00.000-04:00

Lon and I took 1/2 days from work and get down to Harriet around 1:30. Scott Rowe, and Karl L. met us there shortly after. After setting up and inspecting the two LZ's we got ready to fly. I was ready first and got in the slot with Scott right behind me. The wind was light and not very steady so I waiting for a good cycle to come in hoping to get up quick. I had a good launch but never got any real lift. I scraped around for a while and finally went around the ridge in front over to the East slope. I found a little lift there and was able to maintain my height for a while but just couldn't stick in a good thermal to get me up. I landed in the big LZ right next to Lon's van. I was surprised to find out Scott didn't launch, and later he told me I got the last cycle and the air was dead after that.

When I got back up to launch the wind was picking back up again. I was almost set back up again when Scott launched into a good cycle. We didn't know it at the time but he had a bad right turn in his glider that he had to fight the whole time. He really worked every little bubble for a while and made slow steady progress up to above launch. It turns out he got a 1/2 hour flight in but had to land because he got tired of fighting the trim problem. When I was done setting up the cycle was gone, and the air was dead again.

Linda Showed up and got in the slot waiting for anything to blow through. A light cycle came through and she went for it. It was an "interesting" launch! She was running as fast as she could but the glider was going faster, to the point where she was almost face down in the dirt, but still going. The glider finally did drag her off, slowly, only to give her a nasty little ride down the bowl and around the ridge. We were all shocked to find out after getting 400' below launch, she found something and worked it to 600 over and had a 19 min. flight! Unbelievable. Watch the video... looks like it should have been a 5-8 min. sledder never getting more than 50' off the trees.

Doug Fien shown up and threw his PG out in the slot. He managed an "interesting" launch in a very light breeze. He ended up getting a nice sledder with a couple little bubbles of lift here and there. I launched right after him, had a nice launch, and had a similar ride down to the small LZ.

I was happy with my launches and landings today. Frustrated with my lack of ability to stay in any of the thermally bubbles, but LOVED the view from here. This could be an amazing place to fly (hopefully I'll find out someday).

Thanks to Lon for letting me drive his van back up for another flight. Thanks to Karl for driving Linda's car down to pick us up and to Linda for the ride back up to get my van.

2005 Flight Log Video

2006-08-29T13:28:00.000-04:00

I had a chance to play with Windows Movie Maker and came up with a video log of my Hang gliding start in 2005. If you read my Blogg then you've seen most of the stuff before. This is just another (much quicker) way of looking at it. I'll be doing one for 2006 when I'm done flying for the year.

FLAP is having there annual fun fly again this weekend. Hope to see a bunch of people out there!

'Rock and Roll' or 'Shake n Bake'. Your choice

2006-08-13T21:19:00.000-04:00

Pictures: Towing during the Ultra-light fly-in

Today I realized the true benefit of being able to fly at the flight park. It was 2:00 and my wife said if I could be back by 5 that I should go flying (I love my wife!). So I put down the brush (I was staining the deck), shot out of there and was at the flight park by 2:15.
As I arrived, the high cirrus clouds came over and shut down what looked like a perfect afternoon. Gliders were dropping out of the sky one after another (except BobR. He just got low for a bit and floated back up in some bug fart). Dave, Rick, Joel, and Tom were all done for the day, but with some very nice high flights. I spoke with Mark and he said I should wait for a bit to see if the cirrus clears out and the lift comes back.
45 min. later, the cirrus got light and a few small cu's started popping again. Mark said, it's not going to get any better, so I hooked up and we took off.
Off the cart was fine, but before too long we started hitting some wicked stuff!! It was already as rough as when Mark left me off in a thermal yesterday, and we just got started. Before we made our second turn I saw Mark hit something nasty and I knew I was next. That's when I got my first of two wire twangers, and we weren't even half way up yet. Oh boy, this is going to be fun! The rest of the trip was more of the same with another wire twanger and at one point I thought I was on my way out of the box. I reached for the release, didn't feel it so turned my head to look for it and put my hand on it. When I looked back at the tug I found myself right back in line, so I went back to flying the glider. I wasn't ever nervous, but I wasn't in the mood to find out what a lock-out might feel like. Another weird thing happened. It looked like Mark just stopped moving forward all of a sudden, and the rope went slack. Everything worked out (or I just got lucky) and I didn't snap the weak links. Then I got pulled (pushed??) into the same thing and I no longer felt any air moving on my face and I thought I would stall. It only lasted a second, but it felt like longer. The rope went slack again, then I came out of it, and we continued on with our dance... Mark leading, I doing a poor job of following.
We flew North West of the flight park and Mark waived me off. It was so weird. All that thrashing around on tow, and nothing but nearly smooth air off tow. I was only able to find a couple little blips of up, and for the most part avoided any amounts of big sink. The flight lasted all of18 min. but gave me a flight that I won't forget anytime soon :)
Afterwards Mark came over to me laughing a apologizing at the same time. Then he told me I did well and if I can tow in 'that' then I can go up in anything. That's a compliment, or he's calling me stupid for staying on so long, I'm not sure which :)
I packed up and was home by 4:30 to the suprise of my wife (and myself). It would take me that long to get a 30 second flight in at the training hill.

XC (Xross Canal), Cliff Launch, and Soaring with Eagles

2006-08-12T13:04:00.000-04:00

I had an amazing day!
Flight Park
It started out at the flight park around 10 and the clouds were pop'n. I had never towed in thermic conditions so was a little nervous when Mark was talking about what to do and what to look out for. Doug A. went first and I could see he was bouncing around a little, but it didn't 'seem' too bad from the ground. Mark dropped him off then came back for me.
Joel hooked me up and sent me on my way. The tow off the cart was fine and smooth til about 200' over, then I started getting bounced around. Things got quite a bit busier the higher we got. During training we played a game called "chase the ace". When Mark finally found a thermal and started circling it, I thought that chasing the ace during training was child's play compared to what we were doing now. I never felt out of control, but I was very busy trying to stay behind the tug. I was thankful when Mark waived me off at 2300'.
I was able to stay in the thermal, just south of the flight park, up to just over 2800' before I lost it. I looked up to see where the cloud was that should be above me only to notice that the front from the north was pushing the clouds farther south. There were no longer any clouds above me, so I went to the south to chase. I lost quite a bit of height when I caught another thermal that took me up a couple hundred when I lost it.
Now I had a decision to make. Head back to the flight park (Doug was just starting his second tow), or try to chase the clouds and the next thermal. I looked around the area for landing options and notice a few possibilities, but headed north back to the flight park anyway to see what lift I could find there. All I got was a lot of sink, so I turned around to chase the clouds again, realizing I would probably land out if I didn't catch anything.
I cruised around for a few minutes getting low. I found a little broken bubble here and there when I was near the canal. I circled around it for about 4 or 5 times just kind of maintaining. Not gaining, not sinking. Mark Dropped Doug off and came over to help me find some lift. Mark said later that if I had been able to stay with that thermal it turned into some nice lift. But I didn't trust it, and didn't want to get taken over a small village with no place to land close by. So I left the bubble early enough to make it over to Bullis Park with plenty of altitude. I boxed the field checking out the wind direction and landed in the middle of a few soccer fields with a nice landing. Mark came down and circled me a few times, like the Red Barron trying to confirm a kill, just to see if I was okay. I called Mark a few minutes later and he came and got me in my van. He congratulated me on my first XC... Cross Canal :) It was a whole 3 miles. Oh well, it was a great trip!
Hport
Then I dropped Mark off and headed down to Hport, and that cloud line followed me the whole way! When I got the Hport the wind was blowing out of the North so everyone went to Mossy Banks insted. Bob Roth, Karl and Kartin, Andrew, Doug S. (my good luck charm), Mukrim, luis, and some other guys from Canada all got down to lanch and started setting up.
Mukrim threw his bag down and was off the hill withing a few minutes (those darn PG'rs!). He was maintaining and climbing slowly at first, then got up to around 800' and seemed to stick there. The rest of us were stuffing battens as fast as we could. Then the wind got light when Bob was ready to launch his HG. He ended up taking a few steps back and jogged off the hill with about 20 spectators wanting to see the action. Once he cleared the lip of the cliff he dropped a good 20' or more which looked like it was 'fun'. Bob looked like he really had to work to get up, but he did! I was next. When I was ready it seemed like the wind had died again so I waited for a better cycle to pick up. When it did I took a step back and pushed as hard as I could. When I took the step off the cliff it was like trying to dive off a diving board into a pool, but I don't think I went down much or at all. My wing picked me up in the middle of my dive and I had a good cycle that took me up over launch quickly to around 600'. Andrew went next but didn't have much luck find anything. It seemed to be at a time where the whole hill was going through a bad cycle as we were getting low too. Andrew had a nice landing shortly after. Then things got better and we started getting high again. Thats when Karl launched at got up too. The PG'rs didn't seem interested in staying around and found out that the wind was blowing nicely at Indian Cliffs (south of Harris) and decided to head there. It was only after 20 min, that another bad cycle came and flushed us all to the LZ (all but Mukrim).
Cliffs
So we packed up and headed down to Indian Cliffs, another new site for me. And what an amazing site it is! Just perfect! Huge launch that looks like a park itself, overlooking the river with people fishing and having fun, and you can see Harris hill right in front of you with tugs pulling up sailplanes one right after another. Jim(?) was set up and launched shortly after we arrived. At first he was having trouble getting above launch, but within a few minutes he was getting up quite nicely around 800-1000' over. I couldn't stuff battens fast enough and when I was ready I got in the slot, waited for a good cycle and started running down what seems like the perfect training hill launch. In a few steps I was off and heading up. It wasn't long and Andrew, Katrin and Karl were ready and launched. Doug S. and the other PG'rs launched shortly after. We had an amazing time flying with a Bald Eagle and its two offspring. The two young ones were so much fun to watch!! At one point one of the young broke off a small branch (longer than it's wingspan) and started flying away with it. When it's sibling flew out of nowhere and dive bombed the one with the stick he dropped it. I wonder what it was going to do with that stick?!?!?
There was a lull in the wind for a while that flushed out half of the group to the LZ's (yes there are more than one). I thought I was done too as I found myself 75' below launch and scratching. I found I could work a couple of the small ravines in the side of the hill, though I had to be careful I didn't get sucked into the trees. After a few minutes I was lucky enough to find myself above launch, then the wind picked up again and the few that were left (me, Karl & and another HG'r) got another 20 min or so of smooth flying. We all got flushed at the same time at the end of the day with me being the last to land by maybe a minute behind Karl. What a great place to fly!!

3 flights
Flight park 20 min
Mossy 20 min
Cliffs 1.5 hours

Thanks to Mark for the help, the tow, and the retrieve! Thanks to Karl & Katrin for the rides to launch and to pick up my van!

AT training

2006-08-09T22:34:00.000-04:00

Went up to the flight park tonight to get some practice in. When I got there Doug Fien was taking some tandem lessons. He wasn't very pleased with his efforts but Mark said he was doing well and did great on his last flight. It wont be long and Doug will have his wings, then we'll have a Bi-Bob and a Bi-Doug.

There was a meeting at the field to discuss the fun fly coming up. While that was going on I mowed part of the field until the meeting was over. Then Doug A, towed me down to the far end of the field to meet Mark in the tug.

I was a little nervous the first few seconds after takeoff, but told myself to relax, then everything was fine. The air was smooth as glass, and if it wasn't for the constant bar pressure (which we're going to fix next time) I think I could have flown hands off most of the tow. And what a tow it was! I was the last tow of the night and Mark took me up to 3900' (thank you!!) I've never been up that high before and it was fantastic. I really enjoyed just cruising around lazily until I was around 2k over. Then I played with some wing overs and stalls. I ended the 28 min. flight (including tow) with an okay landing, not quite hitting my mark.

A great night and flight had to be finished with a great treat... Peanut butter chip frozen yogurt!

AT Rating

2006-07-23T15:02:00.000-04:00

On the way to the flight park (FLAP) I turned on my radio and gave a call out to see if Bob was in the air. From about 5 miles out he came through loud and clear. He said he was having a good flight and that, "it sure is cool up here at cloud base". When I got to the park Bob and Doug were floating around and Rick was setting up for a landing.

I hooked up with Mark and set me and Dave up with our written tests. Dave Stookie had completed his and was on his way up, towing in his own glider. It took me a while to complete the test but I got it done and we reviewed it afterwards. Then I set up my glider and with Rick, Doug A., Mark and Marty's help we had it rigged up for towing.
(Bob Roth took these pictures...)

I was really nervous about launching out of the cart for the first time, and with my glider. Everyone was reassuring and helpful in giving tips and trying to calm my nerves. Rick hooked me in and got me lined up, checked my gear and asked if I was ready. I took a deep breath and Rick wound up the tug (Mark).

It seemed like I was only rolling for a couple seconds when the wheels on the cart got light on the ground. I didn't want to let go too soon, but I figured in the wheels are coming off the ground then I should be going fast enough, so I let go. I popped up a few feet off the ground and found myself to be very stable. That was it?!?! That's what I was all worked up about?!?! What a weenie! It seemed to be very easy to stay there and wait for Mark to lift off, and then easy again to match his climb rate. The rest of the tow was so much easier than any of the others. I think Mark made it particularly easy on me to the point where all I had to do was control my pitch (which got a little tiresome). It didn't take long to figure out my tow point was too far back. About half way up to 500' I was trying to find a more comfortable position. My elbows where somewhere between locked (pushing down) and just shy of locking for most the tow. When Mark waved me off I was grateful to get back to trim speed and relax.

I was happy with my landing and quickly set up for another tow. After getting the glider back in the cart Marty came over and adjusted my tow point about 2 inches forward while the group made me feel good with a lot of nice things to say about the flight. The second flight went a lot like the first but with a lot less bar pressure. After getting off tow I went to the north west corner of the field and kept hitting some lift every now and then. I wasn't able to get more than 1/2 a circle in it, but was able to maintain my height, at 700', for about 4 circles. My second landing was not as nice as my first, but okay. The fun part was when Bob R. came out into the middle of the LZ to take a picture of me. I guess he couldn't see me through the view finder, and when he look up to see where I was, he saw me pulled in aimed right at him. I'll tell you what.. Bob can move pretty fast when he has too, but not without a funny look on his face :) BTW Bob, nice picture of the ground on that one :)

I wanted to take one more flight up high so I set up again. Something weird happened while leaving the cart. I let go of the handles but I didn't come out like before. I wondered if I was stuck, just when it let go and I shot up to 6 or 8' over. The rest of the tow went well. Mark waived me off and I boated around in the smooth cool air. I found some spotty lift south of the runway that I tried to work but was only able to stay even for a few circles when I lost it. The rest of the flight was nice and smooth and I set up my landing near the break down area, which went well.

It was great when I saw Mark and he said I was all done. I got my AT rating!!
Before going home I squared up with Marty and picked up a new secondary release, and bridal. I wish I had some money left as I wanted to treat everyone to icecream across the street. Next time.

Hammondsport Party

2006-07-15T23:11:00.000-04:00

As it turned out there was quite the party at launch today waiting for the conditions to mellow out a bit. Lon, Karl & Katrin, and Doug Fien were already there when I arrived. Before we flew Doug and Chuck Stoner and Mukrum showed up too.
I think it was about 5:30 when I had enough of watching the wind and decided to become a part of it. My launch felt good and had 600'/min up right away, to 100' over before making my second turn. The wind was strong and I could actually fly backwards if I wanted to at around the 300' mark. There was some spotty thermals that I wasn't able to get more than a turn in, and some pretty strong sink that I couldn't turn out of fast enough. (Doug Fien took the video)

Karl joined me after a few minutes and quickly flew up past me. I think he stayed above me for the whole flight. I've got to lose some weight! Most of the time we were hanging around the 300' mark, but once I got to 600' over (maybe more but I'm not sure my vario is right).

After about 10 min. we could see Lon getting set up. He waited a cycle or two till he was comfortable and then took a step off. It looked to be a very good launch but he flew straight and level for a while, then it looked like he was heading for the LZ. I was talking to him through our radios telling him to come closer to the trees hoping he would get in the lift band. After a few passes and a lot of coaxing, Lon got above launch and stayed for 17 min shattering his goal of 9. He did great in the bumpy air and with the traffic.

Katrin launched shortly after to join the mix. The lift was only working right in front of launch and when the PG's started launching Katrin thought if might get too crowded and decided to give Lon some company in the LZ. Both had nice flights and Landings.

The PG'rs shot off the hill almost one right after the other. It was pretty cool to see them pop up so quickly and hang out in front of the hill.

I did bring my camera, but because it was a little rowdy I didn't take very good pictures at all. I need to come up with a keel mount so I don't have to hold the camera in my hand, take the picture, and grab the bar every time I hit a bump. It may take me a while, but I'll figure something out.
When it was all said and done, I had a 1 hour and 40 min. flight. Much nicer than staining the deck (which I was suppose to do today).

2006-07-08T12:15:00.000-04:00

After a day at the fairport soccer tournament with the kids, I headed over to the flight park so see if I could get another tandem lesson in. Mark and Jamie were there and it looked like they had there hands full with students so I didn't know if it was going to work out, but it did.
Jamie said he didn't want to do any work and didn't want to be scared either. He just wanted to go for a ride. One out of two aint bad (it aint good either). When we left the ground of the first flight we were oscillating from side to side for a little while until I was told to relax. As soon as I did, it ALL went away. It was all me being too tense. The rest of the flight was okay and we released at 500' for a nice little flight down to a nice landing. Jamie wanted me to take another flight to make sure I was going to relax and handle the take off better. And that's what we did. After landing, Jamie said that my next flight would be in the Falcon 195, solo! Mark contacted Marty and everything was a go.
There was another student going through the same thing I was, and I got to ask him about his flight before taking mine. Then I strapped in, Mark came by with the tug, and Jamie hooked me up and checked me out.
Once I lifted off the ground I had some oscillations again and quickly told myself to relax and everything smoothed out. That Falcon is a WORLD easier to fly then that tandem! Mark was very nice to me and gave me a nice easy tow. He didn't make many turns and when he did they were pretty big and easy to follow. Half way up I was able to relax and enjoy the tow in very smooth conditions.
When Mark waved me off, and I released, the falcon slows down to a crawl and lets you totally relax. It's the first time I've flown a falcon and I really really liked it! Very hard to stall, turns on a dime, and is extremely predictable. I really enjoyed the time in the smooth air looking all around, watching the previous student take off in his Cessna, and looking for the training hill, Rochester, Doug Fien's farm and my house. What a flight!
I set up for landing, boxing out the field, missing my landing spot by about 100' short (next time I'll nail it).
I spoke with Mark later and he said everything looked good from his end. I'm really excited! Thanks to Mark, Jamie and Marty for all the time and training!!

2006-07-05T23:03:00.000-04:00

It was such a nice day with CU's all over! So why was it when we got to Hammodsport that Matt, Doug F, Sean and I could only squeak out 15+ min flights?!?! It was a nice flight but way too short. None of us could find any lift big enough to circle in and the wind on the ridge wasn't strong enough to keep us up. We came to the conclusion that we were just too dumb to be able to take advantage of the conditions.
We all packed up and headed up to try it again.

Doug was ready to go again in no time but waited a little while for the cycles of almost dead air to pass. At times he couldn't even keep the wing overhead. Then, slowly, a cycle of wind would come through that looked good. Doug pulled up in one and took off.

He just maintained height for a pass or two and we thought Doug was in for another sledder when he disappeared over the tree line to the north and that payed off good for him... Real good!! It was a nice looking flight and Sean went and joined him while Matt and I stayed on the hill to check things out a while longer. In the end the lift left them again and they were down in the LZ after another 15-20 min flight.

Matt and I noticed that every once in a while the wind would get strong and smooth so we figured a Wonder was coming. And after about an hour of waiting I thought it looked good enough to try so I went for it. I picked a good cycle that got me up about 80' over launch on my first pass, then up to 200' over on my next. Doug had made it back up to launch and took off again shortly after me, with Matt right after him. We all boated around for about an hour when those two guys went to the south of launch and couldn't stay up anymore. I stayed up for another hour staying right around launch, but staying up!

I had a great time chasing hawks, enjoying the views, and practicing wing-over. In the end I had a poor landing in no wind conditions but that didn't take away the pride I had of a two hour flight... my longest flight yet!

2006-06-25T22:43:00.000-04:00

Got the flight park at 8 to meet Mark and Jamie for some AT training. Mark was towing and Jamie was with me in the tandem. Jamie had me doing all kinds of stuff like "My glider, your glider" where he puts the glider in a weird position and then you have to make it right again. Then we did some really nasty stuff where you have to follow in the tug... Like you were the red Barron in a dog fight. It was a tough thing for me to do so we did it a few times which turned out to be very tiresome on my wimpy arms.
After 4 flights (totaling 10 tandems) Mark and Jamie thought I should have a flight with Marty. Unfortunately, there was a major problem at the field (non-flying related) and no-one was in the mood to do any training (including me) after that.
I'll take a couple tandems next time and try to be ready for Marty the next time I get out.

2006-05-29T22:24:00.000-04:00

Huge News!!!

Lon got signed off today with a good flight at Bristol. Then headed down to Hammodsport for his first flight there. All is well!

Congratulations my friend!

2006-05-27T22:31:00.000-04:00

Doug Fien was able to take some in air pictures while flying his PG. Here's a couple of me, as the Green Hornet, trying to give Doug and the other PG'rs at Hport a little space.

Thanks for the pictures Doug, maybe next time I can return the favor.

2006-05-27T21:43:00.000-04:00

I called Doug Stone around 11am to find out how conditions looked at Hammondsport. He had just finished a 2 hour flight because he wanted to get some lunch. So I headed right down and was set up and ready to go around 12:30. Cloud base looked to be about 600' over launch (I was actually driving through them on the way).

Conditions were light enough that I didn't know if I would stay up so I waited for the PG'rs to show up. And show up they did. There were a couple guys from Cleveland, Stoner Brothers Doug and Chuck, Sean, Doug Fien, and Mukrim. Mark Schedev showed up a little later. Once the first couple PG's went up and stuck, I thought I'd give it a go. What a great cycle!! It was the only time during my 43 min. flight that I found 700'/min up. It shot me up to 300' and left me there for most of my duration. The lift was all ridge and it came in cycles, some of it too light to stay up so you hope you were high enough between cycles to survive. It go real busy for a while with 6 PG's and me in the air. My head was on a constant swivel! There were some very interesting moment.

In the end I wasn't high enough to survive one of the light cycles and headed for the LZ and I wasn't alone, Doug F. and Chuck? were right behind me. I wanted to make sure we all had room to land at the same time so I changed my landing pattern a little, a little too much. I ended up landing in the tall grass and just able to prevent a whack by about 2". I didn't mean to give them "that" much room! As it was Doug F was short and landed in the tall grass too :)

As we were packing up, Bob Roth showed up, so I went up with him to take another run. When we got up there the wind had all but died but we set up anyway. Bob launched in his PG, just to prove that he is still "bi", and looked like he had a very steady ride to the LZ. The wind was so light (2 mph?), that I started my run back near the field and ran as hard as I could, lifting off just before the edge. Even though it was a total sledder, it was one of the nicest flights I've had! Very smooth, relaxing, and predictable. The Landing was a perfect mediocre in no wind. Mukrim came down after us and told us that sled run was the best flight of the day (I think he had 3 totaling around 4 hours).

Doug F. and I are using FRS radios with PTT systems. They're working great for communication, but Doug noticed his Vario goes a little bonkers when he uses his mike. Maybe we'll try another channel. So bring your FRS cheap-o radios next time. they're great for soaring the ridge!

2006-05-24T21:14:00.000-04:00

Jack ready to launch at Harris

Ron on final, Sean chasing him down

Sean nicely avoid a long walk back to the car

I was finally able to take a day off work AND have nice weather (after like 7 days of doom and gloom). I headed down to Harris for the first time as the wind was from the west. When I got there I took out my weed eater to kill some time until someone else could show up before trying to fly. I was able to trim the launch itself before running out of gas. After putting down the trimmer, I barely had the strength to pick up my lunch. There's something about the weight and the vibration of that thing that just sucks the life out of my arms. Doug Stoner (my good luck charm) showed up a few minutes later and took out his TWO mowers from the back of his blazer. He cleared a nice area behind launch taking care of a lot of knee high grass.

Jack showed up just as we finished mowing and set up. The wind was a little light but coming pretty straight in. Every 5-10 min. or so a nice thermal would come through. The fields in front of the hill had been plowed and were brown and dry. It looked like it could be a very nice day! Dan showed up just before Jack launched. I was ready to go a few minutes after.

Jack looked like he was working the small thermals pretty hard with some sharp turns, nice lift, and some nasty sink. He put up multiple fights all over the ridge and in the valley, the whole time not getting much above launch. I'm not sure of the time, but after something like 15-20 min. He made a landing close to the cars in huge green LZ.

Figuring the Jack would want to come up again, I figured I'd go ahead and take my sledder and come back up with him. I had a strong cycle come through that I launched in and before the lift ended I was 200' over. That was high enough, that could survive until the next one came along. A couple times I was able to get to 600' over, but I also found myself below launch more than I liked. The thermals seemed to be strong but very hard for me to stay in (not that I know what I'm doing). I was very excited the few times I was able to make a few turns in them and that's what got me up. Most of the time, I would just get bumped around by them which gave me a great workout :) Dan launched about 10-15 min after me and looked like he was having a similar flight to min. Though he did a great job from down low more than once and was able to work it up over launch again.

When I came into the LZ I was loving how huge it was. It's used as a reserve runway for the sailplanes they launch nearby. I was very pleased with how well my FRS radio (channel 4) was working with my PTT head set. Doug S. had another radio and was able to talk with me during my flight, and gave me the heads up on some wind direction changes during my approach to the LZ. I set down a little far away from the cars but it was okay other than that. I had to run a little after the flare, which was tough in the high grass. Dan came down about 15-20 min later, though I think he could have stayed up longer if he wanted. My flight lasted 43 min.

After that I headed up to Hport for hopefully another flight. As I pulled into the LZ I saw Ron, then Sean launch and land within 5 min. As they were packing up and loading my stuff onto Ron's truck, Bob Roth launched and looked like he was going to come right down too. But then he found some little bug fart and worked it above launch. It looked like his flight could end at any time, but he kept working the little lift he could find here and there until finally he was able to get what looked like 800-1000 over! So we got up top and set up as quick as possible, all the while Bob's throwing shadows on us just to rub it in. Just as we go set up, Bob went back and top landed.
Ron launched and was up over the trees in just a few seconds. I launched a few minutes later and had the same result. It was tough to get more than a couple hundred over and the lift band was very narrow which kept Ron and I close... too close a few times. Ron was able to fly all the way over to the south end of the ridge and find some lift over there. I didn't think I could make it so I stuck it out. During the flight I was able to work some thermals for a while (which I was VERY happy about) and that allowed me to get upto 800' a few times.
Ron landed nicely a 1/2 hour later next to the van. I stayed up for another 15 mins until the junk I had in my pockets was causing me such pain I couldn't take it anymore. I flew over the valley, got some more lift over the hospital and continued to float around (the beginning of the wonder I think), and take my time coming in. It was so nice coming in and getting my weight off my cell phone and wallet (why's my wallet so fat.. there's never any money in it)! 47 min.

Doug and Sean launched a while later getting 20 min. in the wonder before sun set.

2 flights total 1.5hours. It's better than work anyday. Now... If I ever get any strength back in my arms, that would be good too!
It was a great day!

2006-05-14T18:09:00.000-04:00

Warning!!! Content contains a "dirty" picture!!

At the parachute clinic it was discovered I had a sub-standard reserve chute and if I wanted to be as safe as possible, I felt it would be best if I got a current design. I ordered a Quantum 330 through Marty and I was able to pick it up on Saturday.

On Sunday (mothersday), while my wife was enjoying a message, I went to put the new chute in my old dirty harness. Upon opening my harness bag an all too familiar smell illuminated the room. It was then that I decided it was time to clean the Green Hornet (if you saw my harness you'd know why it was called that).

I got out a storage tube and through the harness in there and started filling it with water. I found some laundry detergent that was void of bleach (per Betty's instructions) and I put just a small amount in the tub. I had a soft brush and tried to work every inch, inside and out. My arms are very sore!

After I was done I hung the harness up and hosed it off until there were no more soap suds forming on the driveway. After it dried, which took like 24 hours, it smelled so good. Spring time fresh! And it's no wonder! Take a look at what was left behind....

(I really need to get some flying in!! This is the closest flying related event I've had lately. Sorry to share it with you)

2006-05-07T12:55:00.000-04:00

Lon and I got up early and went to Padgham to get a couple flights in before training started. We both only got two flights in because we spet a fair amount of time waiting for the wind (all 4 mph of it) to at least NOT blow DOWN the hill before we started our run. And run we did!!! I didn't know if I was ever going to get off the hill on my second flight!
Lon had his best landing EVER (a no stepper to boot) on his first flight. He did everything right. I wasn't able to see his second flight because he went off the East slope, but I heard is was very good also.
Now we just got to get Lon off Bristol one more time and He'll be good to go! We're watching the weather now for light W-WSW day and we are there!

2006-04-19T13:02:00.000-04:00

Lon and I got together tonight after work for a little exercise at Padgham. It was a great night with 5-7 WNW when I got there. It died to nothing at the end of the night.

Lon got 4 flights in tonight!! I think that's his all time record. He was an animal. His flights were fantastic making great launches and coordinated turns (concluding with his infamous Lon style landings).

I got 5 flights in clinging close to the hill and making some sharp turns. I was happy with all my flights, and all my landings. It was a really great night to be out!!

On our last flight we decided to shoot straight for the car and see how far we could make it back. Lon had an excellent glide making it about half way back. I only bettered him (as a dual surface should) by a little, not much. It was a much easier carry back at the end of the night!

2006-04-15T12:43:00.000-04:00

I went to Padgham for the "Check It Out" program for the sole purpose of giving a demo flight to the new prospective students. When I got there the club was setting up gliders & students, and enjoying the nice warm day.

I unloaded and dragged my stuff out to the hill with the help of Lon and Josh. Ron L. also decided to come out and take a flight. While we were setting up, everyone was talking about shooting out of there. The clouds were popp'n and you could feel the thermals blast through at regular intervals. The cloud streets were forming too. I've never been in a thermal for more that a minute, so I knew that even if I hit one, I wouldn't be skying out from the training hill.

It was a little breezy, so setting up, and getting up the hill were a struggle. When Ron was ready he launched and at first looked like he was going up nicely. Then he came out the other side. He fought for everything he could find, but in the end had a roller coaster ride down the hill with a very nice no-stepper. I launched shortly after Ron landed, barely able to move forward before lifting off the hill. I had a bit of a roller coaster ride too and also had a very nice landing.

I had run out of time to take another flight so I packed up and headed home. What a great day to be out though!

2006-04-09T09:04:00.000-04:00

(Pictures by Bob Roth)

After a pitiful Ultimate game in Greece, I hooked up with Doug Fien after lunch and headed down to Hammodsport for what was sure to be an excellent ridge soaring day. Though when we arrived at the hill we didn't see anyone in the air and6 or more pilots standing at launch. We drove up to launch and found out why everyone was standing around... almost zero wind! There would be thermals that came through ever once in a while, but even they weren't very strong. So the wait began.

I wasn't driving down here to just turn around and head back without a flight, even if it would be a sledder, on a very nice 60 & sunny day. Bob Roth was already set up for flying and was looking to get a sledder in too. The concern we had was at launch. Normally we stand at the edge and push off the steep bank to get into the rushing air. If we did that today, we would have never cleared our keel post, forcing our nose down, and probably into the trees below. Our only choice (other than not fly at all), was to stand back, get a running start, and be ready for anything coming up (or down) the face of the ridge.

The wind was getting a little better, and we didn't want to wait too long for fear of the conditions going catabatic. A couple PG'rs launched and got extended sledders, so we knew the HG'rs weren't going to get anything better. After the PG'rs landed, Bob got ready to go. He set up way back in the slot waited to see a little puff and ran. He was off the ground a good 10 to 15 feet before he got to the edge and soared out along the ridge. Bob found some thermal pockets here and there, and he fought for every one including one down low in the valley near the LZ that he worked for at least 5 minutes. It was great to see.

After Bob landed I got ready to go. I launched the same way as Bob leaving the ground before the ridge and flying out into smooth air. I turned North for a little looking for lift, but found little or none. As I was turning left to go back along the ridge, something picked up my right wing even more which was throwing back towards the hill. I was trying to turn to the right now to avoid going into the hill, and I just had to hold it until I was able to turn away. After that I figured I wasn't' up for scratching too close today and headed towards the LZ to the place Bob was working a thermal earlier. Not only did I NOT find the thermal, I found so good sink and ended up wondering if I was going to make the open LZ. As it turned out I had enough height to make a very nice landing in almost the same spot Bob made his landing.

We missed the ride back to the top with the PG'rs, and we missed the glass off that happened about a 1/2 hour after we landed. But it was nice to see so many PG'rs flying close together with the moon in the background. A HG did manage a flight during that time and wasn't able to stay up either, so that made me feel a little better that I didn't miss anything. It was a day for PG'rs only.

2006-03-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

I met Lon at Padgham around 8am for a little "exercise". Conditions were very light. Forecasted to be NNW at around 5-8mph, but while we were there it was mostly WSW at around 5 or less. After Lon and I got a few flights in, Doug Fien showed up with his bag.
Lon got 4 flights in all with excellent results from start to finish. He tried a few things like different hand positions for flares, and different speeds for approach.

Doug had his share of fun and experimentation. Not all was fruitful, but how do you ever know unless you try. In the end everything worked out fine (Fien?) with Doug getting 4 flights in. On his last flight he attempted to better my direct flight to the cars. It was looking close for a while until the bottom fell out leaving Dough just a weeeeee bit short of my mark. I was able to get 5 flights in without any trouble, though Lon noticed a slight nose pop on one of my launches. I was extremely happy with all my landing! My last flight was a best glide attempt at getting as close to the van as possible. The less I have to carry the glider the happier my shoulders are. I cut the distance roughly in half which was great!
Ahhh... March flight in!

2006-02-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

I had the day off and want to get some flying in. I had yet to get my February flight in and knew my days were numbered. The direction looked good for a couple different sites, but the strength looked like it was going to be a little on the strong side.

So I decided to wait things out by going to Padgham in the morning and doing some trimming with my weed-eater. I wanted to widen one of the trails so that when we hike up the hill with the gliders, the wing tips don't drag in the weeds. Some of the weeds are a little too thick and nasty for the weed eater and eat a lot of line. I was able to clear a few spots hear and there before my line ran out, way before I ran out of gas. Standing of top of the hill without the vibration in my hands, and ringing in my ears, I noticed the wind was very smooth at around 10mph. I decided it was time to go home and get my wing.

After I returned, the wind was a different story! The wind-talker was saying gusts up to 22mph. Not for me. I knew the winds were suppose to die down as the day went on so I spend some time Geocaching instead. After my second cache I notice the wind was dying at times and went back to the hill. There were a couple red tailed hawks flying, so I took that as a good omen. I set up and took a looong time getting up the hill. The wind was still strong enough to create a problem getting up the hill. Once I got to the top of the hill the wind seemed to shut down and let me get a flight in before picking up again.

The flight was a little bumpy but manageable. I don't think I have ever been so high at the training hill before! It was nice to look so far down and get a new perspective of the hill. One thing I love about a little wind during landing.. soo easy to make a smooth no-stepper.

While I was packing up I couldn't help but notice the cloud streets that went on forever. Someday, I hope to be driving on one of those for a while...

2006-02-04T22:32:00.000-05:00

Doug called and wanted to do some flying this morning at the training hill. I didn't have time to fly but had time to bring my r/c slope glider and do a little flying that way. I hadn't flown my r/c glider in at least a year (maybe two), but all went well with three flights, on weak batteries, totaling around 15-20 min. or so.
Doug had three flights as well, but totaling around 9 mins or so. He tried to do a little ridge soaring on the east side of the hill, which he had never been on before, and all went very well.
Next time a nice day in February comes along, I need to go and get a flight in too!

2006-01-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

Saturday stunk where we were!! The direction was good for Bristol, just way too strong!!! The wind was suppose to die as the day went on, so we waited, like 9 of us or so (Linda, Joel, Bi-Bob, Me for HG's. Mark, Doug S, Mukrim, Florian, Matt for PG's. Dave Brien and Ron L showed up later and help us carry out). The wind did die for about 15 min. with 3 people launching (Toronto boys in pg's and Joel Spano in a HG), then the wind came back shutting the rest of us down. We were all hooked in and ready to go! It really stinks to unhook, pack up, and hike out of Bristol. Better that than wishing we had never launched! Some of the flying didn't look pleasant.

I found out later, around the souther teir that the flying was excellent with pilots get between 2 and 2-1/2 hours.

2006-01-22T22:29:00.000-05:00

Very light conditions today. SSE at around 3 mph max at Padgham hill this morning. Lon met me out there a little after 9am. We set up and hiked the hill. We were watching the cycles to see if there was any consistent patterns, and noticed one which had us waiting a while before launching off the East side of the hill. My last couple launches have been lazy, so I kept that in my head before giving a hard run with my nose down. I had a nice easy flight with another nice landing into a 1 or 2 mph south wind.
Lon set up and had to wait a few minutes before a good cycle came through. He had a very strong run and solid launch! He played with speed a little before coming in. He ended up with his signature landing, safe and sound.

After that we came home and picked up Doug F. before heading down to Italy to give things a try. We knew because of the light winds we may just be going down for a sledder but thought it worth the try. Doug showed us a short-cut to launch that took us an extra 10 minutes. No, we didn't stop and ask for directions, we weren't lost, we are real men!

As we pulled up to launch, Doug S was launching and just maintains tree height. Conditions were light, but he was holding. We got up to launch to find Mark, Linda, and Bob Roth setting up. Matt took off in his pg next and went up nicely. Doug F. set up quickly and was off maintaining tree height. Mark F. had his PG too and launched next not wasting any time getting above all.

Then the line of HG were set up. Bob went first. He had a great launch and was able make a slow steady climb above the trees to around 100' over. I couldn't believe he could fly in such little wind (probably 7mph at the top and 4 or 5 at the LZ). Linda went soon after in her Sting also climbing slowly. The sky was busy but some pilots were heading over to the LZ, I thought because of lack of lift. I found out later that it was because fingers were getting cold.

I quickly got in my Sonic and got ready to go. Lon was half way down in the launch clearing helping me out, letting me know when it was okay to go. After I got the all clear I gave a hard run only to find myself lift off in a few steps. I got nervous so I tried to pull in so I could take a few more steps, but I was going up too fast. I made my turn to the South as soon as possible so I could stay close to the hill, and before I made my 2nd turn I was above the tree line and still climbing. I ended up flying all over the hill with HG'rs and PG'rs scattered all over the ridge. If was great fun! I tried to get up with Mark, Bob, and Linda but just never made it.

I stayed up for a half hour and was last to land. I would have like to stay up longer, but by fingers on my right hand were in pain from being soo cold. I would have liked to stay up longer so next time I'm wearing thicker gloves!

I had a nice landing in the middle of the field. It was so much fun flying with everyone. Here's a few pictures...

2005-12-30T12:43:00.000-05:00

I met Doug Fien Friday at Padgham (the training hill) for some fun, exercise, and so I could get my December flight in. I got to the hill before Doug to set up, but Doug was first up (and off) the hill. I had a tough time getting up the hill as I'm much more out of shape than I would have thought!
On my first flight I took a few steps, got in the air, and then settled down again just clearing the top of the hill. Doug even said my foot touched the grass before I got clear. The rest of the flight was smooth with a couple spots of what felt like sink, but nothing major. I've been disappointed with my last bunch of landings. They seem to be excellent, or horrible, nothing in between. I thought about the approaches I made in the tandem while down at Wallaby Ranch, and thought I'd give that method a try. The plan was to come in more smooth, rather than dive at the ground and not pull up till my feet would drag along the ground. This worked out well and I was granted my first mediocre landing, of which I was very happy with! I wanted to get up the hill and give it another shot, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke.
Doug managed another very nice flight with a bunch of kiting before and after.
I brought my camera along and wanted to try a new mount I picked up for the Hang Glider. Mounting was pretty simple, and with a click of the button I was ready to record my first movie of one of my flights. I waited for a stronger cycle to come up the hill and started my run.
I was only able to run a few steps when I was lifted off the quickly to about 10 feet up. The lift was short lived and I started sinking rather quickly. I found myself so close to the ground that my left wing started dragging in the weeds. It wasn't long before the weeds pulled me in and I spun and dorked in. For seeming like a very gentle "landing", I was surprised to see all the carnage. Broken down tube, a couple battens twisted up, and worse of all.. .the rear of the keel was bent! I was okay (thanks for asking), not a scratch.
After reviewing the video, I can only conclude that I didn't get enough airspeed before lifting off, got into a mushy stall, dropped the left wing, and ground looped. My takeoffs have always been my strong suit, so the fact that I crashed on takeoff really hurts. I guess I took it for granted, and was lucky to only have this gentle reminder not to ever get lazy!

2005-11-19T14:26:00.000-05:00

Another amazing day in November. 50 and sunny with a light SSW. I went down to meet the party down in Dansville and when I got there I saw three in the air (Andy, Jack, and Linda) with Marking getting ready to go, and Bob and Matt thinking about it. I watched for a while. Looked like people were up, would get low, struggle back up, and repeat. Andy was the first victim of the light winds making it to a large soy field for a nice landing. Then Mark launched and had a tough time staying a launch height, finally landing down near the school about 10 min. Later. Then Matt, PG'r, launch. He wasn't able to stay up either, so I knew it was light... too light for me. Matt was a little unlucky in judging the LZ and ended up getting his wing stuck in a tree. Matt and the wing are just fine after a long struggle getting the wing down. Jack and Linda landed a short while later, where, I have no idea. Jack was flying his big Falcon and got up real high (for the day) a couple of times. Linda, as usual, was high too.

I figured I had gotten there too late, but what the heck. I was there, might just as well get a sledder then no flight at all. While I was setting up I noticed the wind picking up and almost straight in. When I was ready to go I had a night light breeze coming in. Jack was up there with me helping me validate my thinking. My launch only took about 6 or 7 steps before slowly lifting off into smooth air. I turned south once over the trees and got close to the ridge. Ever so slightly I was able to climb upto 200' over. Within about 10 min I was between 500 and 600' over and stayed there for the rest of the 1/2 hour flight. I needed to leave around 4:15 so I planned on being on the ground around 3:30 and at 3:33 is when the lift on the hill was about gone. I sank to 250' over launch and headed to the LZ making it there with plenty of height. It was one of my better set ups for landing, but I still had to run it out. Since I was already running, I figured I just keep running until I got to the edge of the field where Andy was breaking down. It worked out great.

2005-11-04T21:08:00.000-05:00

Being it November and the temps near 70, winds out of the SW, I just HAD to get out of work early to head down to Dansville and go flying! I had never flown there before so was waiting for Linda and Dave P. to give me a tour. I didn't really like the looks of the LZ as it was a little small, surrounded by trees, and slopes down into the wind. If you go too far you run into an apartment building. Other than that it looked perfect.
Dave and I loaded up his truck and headed up top where we looked things over and then started setting up. Linda showed up before we were done. I was ready and eager to go, but wanted to see someone else fly out of there first before giving it a go. Linda got ready, gave me some things to look out for, and too off. Everything she had warned me about was brought to realism as she made her way down the hill. The glider nosed up suddenly after only a few steps, then she brought it back down. A few more steps later it looked like she left the ground only to be put back down again. The trees in front were quickly approaching. It was starting to look bad because if she tried to stop the launch she would crash into the trees, and if she didn't get off the ground in the next step or two, she would crash into the trees. From where she left the ground, it's beyond me that she cleared the trees at all. And once she cleared the trees hit a major elevator that took her up what looked like a hundred feet in no time. After which she turned down the ridge and came back over launch to tell us to be care on launch (duh), and the air was good.
So I hopped in my harness, Dave gave me a hang check and helped me to launch. I waited a few minutes for the wind to look uniform, and to let a few gusts pass by before running hard. The separation from ground was slow, but smooth and I got up fairly quickly, compared to Linda, and cleared the trees without issue. I got a little lift, but nothing like what I was expecting (hoping for). As I turned down the ridge I hit some sink and started focusing on that small landing zone when suddenly I hit some big lift. I was able to get back to the launch slot with about 300 over and continued to climb. Linda was much higher than me and was never really able to catch her though coming close once or twice. It was great to see so many birds flying with us over all the fall colors on the Dansville valley.
Dave launched shortly after me and explored the Southern area of the ridge quite a bit. The three of us flew for a half hour before landing to get to our other commitments. I was able to land in a much bigger, flatter, soybean field. I was fairly happy with my set up and it was one of my best landings ever! My landings have been really rotten lately so I was really happy to end a good flight on a great note. Linda top landed, and Dave chose another nearby field.
Next time I fly, there could be snow on the ground!

2005-10-29T20:55:00.000-04:00

I went down to Hammodsport today in hopes of getting a nice fall flight in with all the colorful foliage below me. I called Doug and he said a few PG'rs were down there giving it a try. Seemed to be a little too strong for them as the flight reports were or very rough air and multiple collapses. Everyone made it back safe and was waiting for the wind to die down and conditions to improve. When I got out of the van I couldn't believe the PG'rs would even give it a try! It looked to be blowing between 25 and 30mph. Too much for me! Doug said it wasn't this bad when they had given flying a try. So I waited for an hour and watched the wind slowly die down but change direction while doing it. By the time it looked like it was maybe flyable, the direction was looking a little too cross, so I called it a day and drove home. 3 hours in the car with no flying to show for the effort. All was not lost as I enjoyed all the colors at the hills, and pick up a grape pie too! mmmmm..... grape pie

2005-10-22T21:46:00.000-04:00

I was down in Orlando with the family for a little vacation. We were mainly there to see Mickey and visit family and friends, but I was also able to take a few tandems at Wallaby Ranch.

Showing up at Wallaby around noon, I parked and looked around. Other than a few cars in the parking lot, there was no-one around. I looked in the office, then looked in the mess hall, then looked around camp a little. I couldn't find anyone. Then I saw this old school bell mounted on a post with a sign that read, "Service". I gave it a couple rings and waited. People started coming out from every which direction. It was like something from a movie (If I were to scream like a girl, no-one would have heard me).

Linda greeted me with a smile, took me into the office and had me fill out some paperwork. In no time she had me set up in a harness (side by side) and ready for a tow (wish I could remember the instructors name). The conditions were smooth and I was able to take the last 500' or so of tow. After release we boated around a little, played with small wisp of a cloud, and set up for landing. The next flight he let me take a little more of the tow, then boated around for a few minutes before setting up for landing again. This was okay but the conditions were flat. I almost didn't go for another one because I was really hoping to find a thermal, or get to cloud base or something fun. But the oncoming hurricane, Wilma, put an end to all that. I decided to go for the third flight and chalk it up to experience in an attempt to get my AT rating a little faster next year. I "think" (because you never really know) I did most the tow. There were a few bumps in the air, so I think things were improving, but not enough for me in a tandem glider to find any lift. We did a spin, and played with a buzzard for a little, then set up for landing.

I spoke with the instructor a little, paid, and left. Kind of a weird day.

2005-09-24T20:05:00.000-04:00

Jean and Meg took me down to Italy Valley and dropped me off up at launch before heading back to Naples for the Grape festival. When we got there we saw two gliders in the air (Linda and Moritz), Andy was setting up, Karl L was ready to go, and there were a bunch of PG'rs (including Doug S, and Ziggy) waiting for the wind to die. I set up as quick as possible. Before I was finished Karl hand launched and was going up, Linda and Moritz were top landing, and we weren't sure why. Finally Andy and I were ready to go, and Karl had set up for a top landing. Andy launched, went up, and I launched a few minutes later and went up also.

I flew over the to the SW and found a nice thermal that was taking me up at about 600 ft/min. It was good enough that I was able to make a few circles in it going up and behind the ridge. Any saw what I was doing and came over to join me. It was very cool seeing him circle below me while we were climbing. I got to a point where I had to make a choice. Continue climbing and head behind the ridge, or go back to the ridge. Being chicken and inexperienced, I chose the latter. I never really had a better chance to get high than that thermal. I found a few others, but I didn't know what I was doing so I didn't get to use them well enough to get high. Andy found one and took it up to around 1500 or so over launch.

For the most part it was just Andy and I flying back and forth on the ridge trying to stay up, which became more and more of an issue as time went on. The wind was shifting around and getting very rowdy! Once I saw Andy's left wing get lifted more than 60 degrees and get thrown towards the ridge. It was about that time we had had enough and wanted to get down. Problem was I was getting below launch at times and I wasn't sure I had enough height to make the LZ. I had to make a couple more passes to get high enough to feel comfortable. I had to get close to the ridge to get some more height, or risk landing in the trees below. I got lucky and started going up on my track back to launch getting about launch height. Then I turned back to the SW and continued to climb. I was just about to start another turn hoping for a few more feet of altitude when I got SLAMMED! The came down fast enough that my hand strap went lose and I almost lost grip of the cross bar. Then I came slamming back down casing the glider to make a nice loud banging noise like a drum. That was it! I don't care how high I was, it was time to leave the ridge!
Once I turned away from the ridge, I saw Andy had already beat me to the punch as he was on his way too. I was a little concerned that we would arrive at the LZ at the same time, but I was lucky and found some lift on the way. Set up for landing was a little more critical than normal. The field was recently cut in half with an electric fence down the middle and sheep put in once side. Andy made it all look very easy boxing out the field and setting down in the middle of the open field. I was doing figure 8's over the edge of the field trying to lose height. I was getting bumped around all over the place and was getting a little nervous about the landing. But once I got below tree height everything smoothed out. I came in with as much speed as I could just in case something should pop up but, luckily, it didn't. I dragged my feet and flared, but not much happened! I had to run my butt off to keep from whacking my glider. I ran for what seemed like forever when the glider finally started slowing down and I could bring it to a stop. Ahhh... It was very good to be down! Andy said the same thing.

We had originally planned to top land, it would have been my first one, but later in the flight we weren't' able to get high enough to back there. Turns out it was a good thing too because the others said it wasn't good. Lots of turbulence! Linda even broke a down tube with her shoulder (she's okay). So next time I see people landing during what looks to be good conditions, I think of this day.

2005-09-18T12:38:00.000-04:00

Got to Bristol at 7:50 am to hook up with Lon, Josh, Karl & Katrin, and Pat. Once we got up top and set up I launched first to test out conditions. It was light wind, but the air was a little bumpy close to the ridge. There were some area's of sing that would get your attention, but over all an okay sled ride down the hill that lasted about 5 min.

Lon went next with a good launch and flew straight out over the LZ. He boxed out the LZ nicely and settled into landing perfectly. Once of these times he's going to land on his feet, I just know it! :)

Josh had a flight that made flying look all to easy. His landings are effortless. I swear he parks the glider in mid air, then steps down.

Pat was hoping for some wind to pick up for him at launch and never really got it so he had to run his butt off. Pat covered a lot of area before landing close to the parking area.

Karl finished things off finding some zero sink about 200' near the LZ. He circled around as long as he could then brought it in for a wicked fast final leg.

Lon, Josh and Kart & Katrin came back for another flight around 5pm and I'm told all went well.

2005-09-12T08:53:00.000-04:00

Lon, Tim, Karl, and myself were down in the Bristol LZ around 5:15. Unfortunately Rick call last minute and had to cancel because of something nasty at work. That left Lon in the LZ, who was going to take some video of us, while the rest of us went up to launch on what looked like great conditions. ON the way up Karl L. called Karl F. to see if he could help out. Karl F. showed up about 6:10 and headed up with Lon to launch.

I launched went through some junk trying to stay up with no luck. Sank out and landed after about 3 minutes in the air. Once away from the ridge, the air was smooth, and the landing area had no wind. Tim went next with what looked like the exact same result. Karl waited a few minutes then took off with what looked like the same kind of flight we had.

Lon set up and waited for conditions to settle down. We wondered if he was goign to go at all. But after a 1/2 hour or so he made a great launch. After getting through the bouncy air he was able to relax and make a nice flight over to the landing field. He boxed out the field and landed on the mowed strip. A very nice flight! Congrats man!

2005-09-07T08:55:00.000-04:00

Met Lon at the Bristol LZ. We shot up to launch and set up as fast as possible trying to get Lon's first high flight in. Rick showed up while we were stuffing battens. By the time I was ready to launch, the winds were going katabatic! I waited a few seconds for a no wind cycle and shot off the hill, flew through dead conditions, and made a poor landing (everythings fine).

Lon got in the slot ready to go, but it was too late. The wind never cooperated and after about a 1/2 hour, he ended up packing up and walking out. A major bummer after being sooo close!