Pete, Pete, and Pete

I needed to get out of the house today, so when I saw that Pete J was heading to Greylock I quickly called to see if he wanted to share the 2 hour drive. The hours on the road pass quickly when sharing the drive with Pete, so I was happy to hear he wanted to share the ride. I called Dan to let him know we were headed west but he decided to skip the day since it might not be soarable. Kathleen called and was looking for signs from fellow pilots on the best place to go for the day. Although the winds on Cape Cod were probably too strong for paragliders in the morning; the lighter winds in the afternoon might work just fine. I was a concerned that the winds might be too north for reasonable soaring. Inland, the winds were predicted to be light and lift weak, so just about any mountain or tow site should work. I talked with Rodger who was driving to the cape with Phil for a noon-time flight to take advantage of low tide.

On the ride out I got a call from PK (another Pete). He was going to Morningside, but eventually decided to join us at Greylock. We also got a call from Rodger who reported the winds were blowing in nicely at the cape and they were getting ready to fly. Given the stable forecast for the inland sites, I wondered if Pete and I were heading the wrong direction. However, with winter approaching, we were both happy to sneak in another mountain flight before the snowfall leaves the cape and frozen lakes as the only viable options.

Shortly after arriving at the driving range (the old RC field) we loaded on another Pete’s truck and headed up. A couple paraglider pilots entertained the crowd of spectators by launching into the late morning thermals wafting up the bare rock below launch. It was a gorgeous fall day with crystal blue skies, low humidity, and reasonably warm temperatures. It seemed everyone, including the spectators, was enjoying the day.

Although the paraglider pilots already in the air kept getting low they kept popping back above launch every so often. I didn’t need to see more, so once I finished rigging and signing-in I headed down towards launch. There was very little wind and a lot of traffic in front, so it took a few minutes before I could dash off. I quickly found myself sinking below the rock slide area that generates most the morning thermals we need to get going. I finally found a tiny little bubble and stated carving very tight turns close to the trees. I could not keep in the sweet spot since that would put my wings in the branches so I had to settle for a good climb on only the backside of the circle. I finally jacked my way above launch and the rest of the pilots in the air. Whew!

A few minutes later everyone was climbing and many of the pilots waiting on launch dove into the air. Thermals were lifting off the mountain and ridge tops and disappearing around 4800 feet. I wanted to avoid the dodge ball everyone was playing over Mount Greylock, so I headed east to the smaller ridge in front. I flew over to North Adams before heading back to Greylock to hook up with Pete and PK. I headed back towards the valley again and found a strong 650 fpm climb that punched through to 5200 feet. I think that strong climb was the result of a compression convergence as the wind in the valley switched from NE to SE. The three of us played in weak lift near the north end of the ridge while almost everyone else sank out. I zipped back to the mountain in time to see Brooks launch as I climbed to the south of launch. After playing around south Greylock I returned north to notice that Pete and PK were getting ready to land. I also noticed Brooks on a long glide down the ridge towards the LZ. It looked like all three of them would arrive at the same time. This should be fun to watch! Sure enough, the air was soon raining gliders and Pete took “one for the team” by bailing out and landing in the field north of the golf range.

I wasn’t ready to walk on the ground yet so I flew back to the mountain and met up with John in his VR. I could see more pilots launching as I dove over the monument on the top. John and I took a lazy pass over the valley before returning to the ridge for a recharge. After another “lets see what’s happening” pass over launch, I headed to the opposite side of the valley that was now glowing in the afternoon sun. I spent some time soaring the thermals on the lee side of the valley before spiraling down to land.

I watched John land to the north. I was in the same pattern that John used when Pete got on the radio and said that the wind was light but coming from the south. I thanked him, quickly did a 180, ducked behind the nets used to catch golf balls, flew through a narrow pass above a swampy area between the tree line and the poles holding up the nets, and glided into the grassy area that used to be the RC runway. After that sweet and cool approach I embarrassed myself when I let my nose gently touch the ground after flying into a thermal as I was preparing to flare. I hate it when that happens!

After the glider was in the bag and we were driving away I found out Kathleen had started her drive north to Burke, but turned around and came to Greylock only to launch a few minutes before the point when almost everyone sank out. Bummer. While we were driving home Rodger told us how the wind was not as “straight-in” when they launched and they had to settle for short soaring flights tethered to the higher dunes near launch. It was definitely a good day of flying and a good day to be “out and about” for Pete and me. Good company, 3 hours of good airtime in nice conditions, and we even got home at a reasonable time. Just what the doctor ordered.