Day 1 - Done Deal

Yesterday was not easy but our small band of elite pilots managed to squeak out a devalued day.  There was just about enough thermal height available to glide northeast of Gettysburg to the Aux power plant.  A number of years ago this facility proved to provide task saving thermals under just the right conditions.  The year it was discovered SM was our CD.  John is an excellent CD with an oustanding attitude for getting a task on the books during adverse conditions.  On the day of discovery, it was chilly, overcast, with a little drizzle falling.  I couldn't believe we were gridding let alone planning to fly.  At the appointed time SM launched the sniffer.  The sniffer called back that he was able to maintain in 0.5 knots of lift.  So...we launched the fleet and found we could actually stay up in 0.5 knots at about 2,000' AGL.  The gate was open and we headed for the first turnpoint with little or no lift to be had.  We found a 3 knot boomer over the potatoe chip factory in Hanover which took us up to 2,500'.  Enroute to the second and final turnpoint it looked pretty much hopeless but there was one tiny whisp of a cloud northeast of Gettysburg.  I headed for it praying for 0.5 knots.  When I arrived I was pinned into my seat and began thermaling with 60 deg of bank.  I had 14 knots on the averager (I still have the log) all the way to more than 5,000'.  This allowed us to finish the task in great style.

And so it was yesterday.  The powerplant turned on and most everyone completed the task.  Erik Mann (P3) gets top honors followed by John Seymore (SM) and Mike Smith (XM).

Today we are grounded due the presidential TFR over Hagerstown but we have high hopes for tomorrow.

DW