Mohawk Trail

Blessed with a rare week of spring sunshine JJ and I flew yesterday at the Mohawk Trail in North Adams Massachusetts. Although it was 25F (-4C) overnight it warmed into the upper 50s (13C) by the time we launched. It was JJ's first flight there and since I was his observer we did the full tour of the LZs in the valley. I suspected the wind to be alternating between north and south in the LZ directly below launch, but was surprised when the LZ at the driving range was doing the same thing. I was even more concerned when it was blowing 10-12 north and then the same strength from the south moments later. I talked myself into believing it was due to the wind being perpendicular to valley and as the wind shifted to the north during the day, the alternating flow in the valley would also become north.

JJ and I hiked our harnesses out to launch first to see if the trail was flooded or covered with banks of snow. Luckily it was just a little wet and barely covered with snow. We met Brooks hiking his gear in as we returned to the truck for our gliders. We setup, put on our warm clothes, and got ready to launch. Brooks went first so JJ could see how its done. About 30 seconds into the flight Brooks yelled down "Lumpy!". I expected as much given the cold air, high pressure, and strong (for around here) sun. JJ was next with a good launch into a breeze straight up the slope. Once I saw JJ above launch I squeezed everything into my new Matrix Race, walked over to launch, and ran off into a nice mellow cycle.

It didn't take long to confirm Brooks' earlier assessment. The air was rifled with strong bullets; going both up and down. Yeehaw! I got a day of thrill rides without paying admission to the theme park! Once I managed to get above the ridge I started looking around for Brooks and JJ. I saw Brooks to the south at ridge height, but didn't see JJ anywhere. I got on the radio and asked how he was doing. Oops, I guess I should have looked up; he was already climbing through 5000. Since everyone was accounted for I headed south where the ridge is better defined. I passed Brooks coming north as I continued on to a nice bowl. Big mistake. I got violently flushed and was soon heading out to the valley. I kept getting hit with bullets but they were not big enough to circle in. I got thrown into the sail twice; not what a guy with a suspect arm needs! I really didn't want to land in conditions like this but needed to get to the LZ. On the way there I stumbled onto a thermal that was big enough to get half a turn in. Accelerated up, shot down, accelerated up, shot down. At least the up was a bit bigger than the down. I continued that yo-yo until it solidified at the ridge and I finally started climbing in earnest. Once I broke through 3500 it turned into a civilized 700 fpm up to 7700 feet. Whew, finally I could rest.

There was big contrast between the greening grass of the valley and the snow covered forests and lakes of the high country. The icy realm seemed like winter's army retreating before spring's green invasion. My thick gloves and constant battering prevented me from taking pictures. Sorry.

I gave a passing thought to going down wind, but I thought it would be smarter to land near wind socks. I flew along the ridge for awhile and then headed over town where they were boiling up a pot of kick-butt thermals. I flew over the gap to the airport and then over to the Greylock ridge line to close off a little 20 mile triangle.

Eventually JJ decided to land, but the air wasn't ready to let him go. I watched him fly all around the LZ at what seemed like the same altitude. So much for a nice quite LZ. I found some neutral air where I could relax and lose some altitude near Ragged Mountain. Although bumpy, the air wasn't nasty as I approached the LZ. However, it was tough to judge an approach when you're constantly bobbing up and down. I came in a bit lower over the trees than I like on final then got knocked into a turn towards the creek. Ugh. I got the glider going in the right direction but was not perfectly leveled out when it was time to flare. Dang, I let the nose touch. :-( Moments later Brooks came in and also got turned towards the creek. It took him longer to correct but he managed a good landing on dry ground.

I expected the thermals to be strong, but I thought they would have been more cohesive, especially with the lighter winds. Linda flew in New York 250 miles (400 km) away and described similar conditions. Although it wasn't a cushy cruising flight it was a good workout and gave me a lot more confidence in my arm's ability to handle at least 1.5 hours of "rugged flying conditions".