2D goes to the Ridge

With Lake Placid done, I took 2D, my SZD-55, to the Ridge in Pennsylvania, to Tom Knauff's Ridge Soaring Gliderport. Though the forecast was challenging, it was more or less on the way home (actually, an 8 hour detour...).  I arrived on Sunday the 13th (Penn State beat Michigan on Saturday in fourth OT, and you couldn't get a room), and left the following Saturday.
I stayed at a State Park (no sequester) about 10 miles north of the field, on the plateau.
 Here are a couple of pictures of me roughing it:

Cabin, viewed from the fire pit

eat-in kitchen

bring your own linens... you can't see the snoring but it's there

modern appliances, you bring all your own cutlery/plates/pots...

There were supposed to be two more, but various things popped up - you have to book months in advance, and life goes on. 

Flying.  There were two flying days - the first, on Tuesday the 15th, the second, on the 18th.  The rest of the time, a bit of low cloud and rain. Here I am assessing the conditions:

"Nope"

The first was a weak thermal day, but pleasant flying; light south-west winds, so a "back ridge day".

Better than sitting around

The second was a "soft" ridge day, winds west at 11-15 kts, and thus too westerly to really go anywhere (best winds are 290 - 315 and perhaps a bit stronger).  The normal fall northwesterly winds were not to be found...  Still, I flew almost 4 hours, went 160 km, and flew with Walter Weir in 2W, who had celebrated a birthday the day before (many happy returns Walter - nice dinner with Barbara, and Tom and Doris among others at the Tavern near Penn State in State College.  Ominously, it was raining...).  Walter flew 244 km; here are our two flights on the Online Contest website:

My flight.  Learning the front Ridge; winds close to parallel to the Ridge

Walter comprehensively kicking my butt the day after his Birthday

      It's always interesting to fly in different places, and I enjoy the Ridge a lot.  I will be booking a couple of weeks in the spring, in order to finally finish my pesky FAI Diamond Badge (need a 500 km/310sm flight -still). I'll be back! 
     The forecast for Sunday - the day after I left - was supposed to be more northerly, and I am embarrassed to say I see on the OLC that it was just about like Friday and I am happy I came home when I did...  For those that don't soar, when you pull in with your glider trailer, it's always "you should have been here yesterday!", and when you pull out to leave, it's "you should stay, tomorrow looks great"!
     On my way home, I hit bit traffic from the "Pumpkin Chunkin' "event just north of  Ridge Soaring (Howard Country Fire Department event, just south of the Howard Dam turnpoint) - they throw (with air, catapults, trebuchets) pumpkins amazing distances...

From Center Daily... Wow. That's goin' a far piece...

but, I wanted to get on with an 8 hr drive to GGC, drop the trailer, and an hour home.
     We're now two weekends from disassembling the gliders, and packing the hangar for the long, cold, dark winter.  We're catching up on maintenance, doing annual inspections this week, hopefully flying this weekend, and getting ready for the traditional bean supper after hangar packing. Our wood supply is low, and we're laying in a supply of wood.  There's always something to do at GGC!

Dan
2D