Flight Log
Prior Years Blairstown-Middletown Boomerang Flight Log Archive
Perhaps some of these stories from flights in prior years will temp a few more of you to give it a go in 2005!
Date: 8/04
Pilot: Samosval
Club: Aero Club Albatross
Glider: 1-26
Return Claimed: No
New Silver Claimed: No
Comments:
Nice day but completed too late in the day. Towed part way and landed at Sussex.
Date: 7/11/04
Pilot: Dave Piotrowski
Club: Valley Soaring
Glider: 1-26E
Return Claimed: No
New Silver Claimed: No
Comments:
Absolutely stellar day. Went from Randall across to the ridge and followed it down a little past the Water Gap then back to Blairstown to re-claim the Boomerang for Valley Soaring. It was late when I arrived so unfortunately I didn't have time to join the activities on "the deck"..did get to see some familiar faces though. Jim towed me half-way back and it was a final glide back home from there as the valley between Blairstown and Middletown was blue. From Middletown north however was still Booming. Some of the Valley Soaring guys were still flying and at 7k! Climbed out from 2,500 over town and joined them for a while before calling it a day.
Date: 6/13/04
Pilot: Bill Thar
Club: Aero Club Albatross
Glider: PW-5
Return Claimed: No
New Silver Claimed: No
Comments:
First Shot at Governors Cup North:
The day started with strong thermals and blue sky. I started late but caught good lift off of the ridge running to WB. After WB lift started to weaken and I almost landed out at Ellenville. I was set up for landing but picked up a nice thermal on the downwind leg and climbed out to 5K. On the way to Middletown the lift continued to weakend, so I stayed close to the MT airport to see if I could climb out. After several tries I landed and was greeted by a friendly group of pilots enjoying a late day picnic. After a couple of hot dogs, salad, and a cold drink they handed me the boomarang which I stowed in G8 and took an aerotow back to BT. All-in-all not a bad day.
Date: 8/3/02
Pilot: Erik Mann
Club: Aero Club Albatross
Glider: LS8-18
Return Claimed: Yes
New Silver Claimed: No
Comments:
First, let me state the following for the record. Real men retrieve the Boomerang in a 1-26. With a compass. And a map. And a pellet vario. So, how can I explain sitting at 06N, sipping a Diet Coke, my LS8 (with the 18 meter tips no less) lazing in the late afternoon sun? Why would I risk ridicule and snide remarks by using such a high-tech weapon for a low-tech war? Purely an accident, I assure you.
The front that passed through the area on Friday causing extensive damage and power outages pretty much shot the proverbial wad with the wind and lightning display. By Saturday morning, it was merely a dotted line on a surface chart, a languid pool of indifferent air wafting back and forth somewhere right over Blairstown. Those of us who launched from Blairstown around 13:00 local found 1-2 knots to 3,500 and rarely 4,000. It was hot, hazy, and downright unpleasant.
B21 (Ian Foster-Lewis) headed out to the NE around 13:45, and I followed shortly thereafter. Lift was initially plentiful, though weak, and we cruised up to Swartswood Lake. There, two or three clouds in row provided no useful lift, and we were left with a zero McCready final glide back to Blairstown. Both of us turned tail and limped sheepishly back. I got lucky and hit 2 knots near Catfish Pond, where I lost sight of B21.
Figuring that persistence usually pays off, I headed NE again, and managed to waft along in zero sink between 3,000 and 3,700 for about 10 miles. The 18 meter tips on the LS8 provide exceptional “waftability”, but it was getting to be time for something more than puffs of zero to 1 knot. Finally, right about Culvers Lake, I connected with a roaring 2 knotter to 3,800. Up ahead, the sky had a much more promising look, but there was about a 10 mile blue hole to High Point. Those of you familiar with the terrain in that area realize that 3,800 is not exactly a “fat” cushion, but Sussex was always available as a bailout, and with minimal winds, there was little of the usual sink.
The glide toward High Point was smooth as glass, but just as I was about to reach bailout altitude for Sussex, I connected with a thermal right over the Route 519 and 23 intersection. It was positively awe inspiring - 3 whole knots to 4,000. But, it marked the transition into the “good” air behind the front. Suddenly, the visibility increased, clouds had decent definition, and bases were markedly higher. I moved the McCready off zero, and pushed toward Huguenot VOR. As always, there was a good looking cloud between the VOR and Otisville prison, and it produced the first real thermal of the day. 4-6 knots to almost 6,000. Now it was time to explore.
I pushed out toward the wilderness areas of Sullivan County, and the day was absolutely spectacular. Cu were high and sparse, the sun was brilliant, and it was a great afternoon to be a sailplane pilot. I toyed with a thermal that was oozing out from under the Cu that capped it, climbing above cloudbase with a Pilatus out of Wurtsboro. A quick pass over Wurtsboro and a run over the ‘Gunks provided a wonderful cap to the scenic portion of the flight.
Turning around, reality set in. Had my exuberance gotten the better of me? Conditions beyond High Point looked pretty grim, at least what I could see of the sky while peering into a hazy airmass backlit by a slowly setting sun. I did what all good glider pilots do in this situation. I ignored reality. Instead of heading back, I roared down a cloudstreet toward Middletown, taking a few minutes to formate with a Cub and a 1-34, followed by some lazy eights and stall turns to burn off altitude. At this point, I figured at least having the Boomerang would somewhat lessen the ire of my fellow club members who would be coming on the inevitable retrieve.
So, there I was, on the ground at 06N, facing a tough looking 50 mile slog home. Etiquette and Boomerang rules dictate that the person retrieving the Boomerang be offered a free tow to 2,000 feet by the local club. Not one to be constrained by either etiquette or rules, I managed to finagle (okay I payed an extra 20 bucks) a straight out tow to 4,000 feet. With the Boomerang safely stowed behind the seat, I hooked up and headed out on tow. The strategy was to dead glide from 4,000 feet toward one of several airports on the way to Blairstown, thus shortening the retrieve and assuring that I might get back home before the entire 30 pack of premium Bush beer (in cans, of course) had been consumed by the notoriously thirsty Aero Club Albatross members.
The Valley Soaring tow pilot gave me a perfect tow (thanks – I failed to get your name) and let me off under the only good looking Cu in the area. Smooth 2 knot lift left me at 5,000 feet and 35 miles out. “Well,” I thought, “at least I’ll be really close to home when I land out.” I pushed out along the ridge under obviously decaying Cu. They provided some zero sink, and a landing at Blairstown began to seem like a possibility. Would my Quixotic quest become reality?
Twenty miles out, I was on glideslope for arrival at Blairstown with zero margin. But, with haze cutting visibility to 5 miles, discretion dictated gaining a few hundred feet lest some unplanned sink result in a desperate search for a field over the generally dicey terrain inbound to Blairstown. The only building cloud in the county was over Newton, a 30 degree deviation from the direct course line but conveniently equipped with 2 airports should things not work out. A flat glide in took me down to 3,000 feet, but the cloud was honest. A smooth 2 knots got me my 500 foot cushion. I started to sing in the cockpit - “To Reach, the Unreachable Goal !!” – Placido Domingo eat your heart out.
Final glide featured unrelenting zero sink, so my 500 foot cushion grew to an embarrassing 1,000 foot-plus. However, gravity was still functioning, and a firm forward push on the stick converted that excess to pure joy. A smooth redline finish followed by an unusually good landing capped the wonderful day. Oh, and there were still at least 15 cans of Bush left in the cooler. Life is good.
Date: 6/29/02
Pilot: Matt Blades
Club: Valley Soaring
Glider: SGS 1-34
Return Claimed: No
New Silver Claimed: No
Comments:
Two gliders from VSC made it to Blairstown. An ASW-20 and me in the clubs SGS 1-34.
Being the lower performance ship (and therefore the higher performance pilot ;-) I got to claim the Boomerang. My first X-C flight. Should have been silver distance flight but all club Barographs were already taken :-( A great experience. ACA come get it back so that I can do it again - next time with a Barograph!
P.S. The ASW-20 (Alasdair Crawford) did make it back to Randall despite a late take off from Blairstown.
Date: 5/19/02
Pilot: Tom Saunders
Club: Aero Club Albatross
Glider: LS4
Return Claimed: Yes
New Silver Claimed: Yes
Comments:
My first cross country flight. Sorry to do it in a 40 to 1 ship, but my partner in the 1-26 did not make it all the way. Great conditions - lots of CU and lift to 6,000'. What a great experience. Govenors Cup her I come!
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