NTHPA
Articles
Call for Articles
Submit articles to Pete.
Previous articles may be found here.
Buffalo Mountain Fly-in
Memorial Day Weekend, 2006
By Warren PuckettThe weekend seemingly started with a series of conflicting events that initially had ominous overtones.
First, I was scheduled to work in the pharmacy on Sunday and tried without success for 3 weeks to find anyone that would take the shift. So I had resigned myself to only a 1 day up and back flying trip. As I was packing on Friday night a call came in at 9:30 that someone had volunteered to take the shift ! I was Free!! So I threw in a sleeping bag, tent and change of clothes and felt great. The trip was going to be more than a normal flying trip anyway. It was to allow me some time alone to come to grip with my father’s recent death from cancer. I was going regardless of the conditions… just to get back out into the mountains for the peace it brings me.
Second, the winds were forecasted to be everywhere from 10 to 40+ mph. It definitely left my Falcon out of the running for roof rack space. I had just got through retuning and test flying my Klassic at the levees, but I threw the Formula on board for plan B.
The morning came and up the road I drove quickly. I noticed the flags along the way were flat and whipping hard. It looked blown out for sure. But it didn’t matter because the trip was a healing journey. Back to nature and the beauty of the mountains. When I got to Lake Sardis the waves were white capping and my little SUV was wanting to veer into the lake from the lateral winds. Driving up through the valley I was not surprised to see the sky vacant of all aviation. I did not even bother stopping at the bottom to see if anyone was there.
Arriving at the top about noon I found 1 glider assembled and sitting way back in the trees. Several vehicles were parked all the way out onto the road. Many more than I am used to seeing. When I got to launch there were a dozen or more pilots hang waiting and talking. Many familiar faces emerged, some a long time in absence. Locally only Don Kruger and myself came up from North Texas. There were a couple of vehicles full of Houstonians headed up by the ancient John Moody with his hardy smile and booming voice. Bob Fisher and several others were right by his side. There were several vehicles from Kansas City. Locals made up the rest. A total of 19 pilots were present by my count. This was the biggest gathering on Buffalo since the days of old with the 4th of July Fly-Ins. Wading through the greetings and handshakes, I got to launch and sure enough it was blowing 30+. No words needed to be said.
Then the proverbial words that every pilot hates the most came out: “You should have been here Yesterday !” Sure enough, Friday night was a soaring wonderwind starting early and most got between 1 and 3 hours. Even OKDave flew and enjoyed himself. So I went and threw the tent up behind Dave’s cabin and came back to assemble my glider. I needed extra time to put my camera mount on board and check the balance. I was the second one actually setting up and it motivated others to at least start a leisurely assembly. The time went by and sure enough as the angle of the sun got to 60 degrees, conditions calmed significantly. When the average got down below 20 mph I went and got the Klassic and headed toward launch. Only 2 other pilots got there faster; a new Brit from Houston on a Laminar and Mel Hair also on a Laminar. They took off without problems and I scooted up quickly. Launch was a longer run than I anticipated, but successful and I was off. The sky was blue with very ratty and torn up cumulus. The signs proved correct and the air was very much like the rodeo that the cowboys were having right below us in the valley. I saw everything from 800 fpm up to weightless and pegged going down. I wondered about the low level of the luff lines on the Klassic before that flight…. Now I know they work well. I counted 5 times of testing them before landing. One at 300 feet above the Tidwell landing field NW corner.
I had tested the camera before takeoff and it was working well. So between thermals, dives and cloud reading, I was trying to frame pictures. Mel Hair knew I had the camera and said he would come over beside me and get his picture made before take off. He spotted me about 800 above the mountain and about 300 above him from the old cliff launch and was headed over for a shot. Just as he got to my thermal with VG full on and going about 50 mph he got pitched nearly straight down. I thought he was going way too fast to be pulling instant aerobatics, but it was impressive to watch. He later said that the glider just accelerated ahead of him and dove instantly in an almost tuck. His sprogs kicked in and clanged with such a sound that he considered actual damage was done. He said the horizontal deceleration was almost like hitting a wall. Thus, he wisely headed out to land and check the structural integrity of the glider. He said it looked like a little delaminating had occurred, but nothing major. The rest of the flight (only about 45 minutes) was much of the same. The pleasant surprise was the handling of the newly tuned Klassic. It was neutral and turned equally both ways. The NW corner of the landing area had a standing turbulence area that got everyone as we set up for the S/SE winds in the field. That one area was the cause of the only aluminum damage of the weekend. John Moody hit it and barely got turned back from the pines into the field before flaring and pounding in—taking out the downtube on his Litesport Moyes.
The 3 beer breakdown watching the later (smoother) flights come in produced the mellow mood that Buffalo Mountain is known for. There was the normal jokes and camaraderie that we pilots have come to expect. There was a unique pilot I met from Russia, I recall his name as Uri. He was flying a home built glider named the X-14. It was a smuggled Wills Wing HP-AT frame modified and with the help of a friend they built the sail. I was amazed at the flying quality until I looked really close and saw the re-stitch marks where it was modified later to change the flying characteristics. It looked like a mix of a TRX, WW Sport and a Airwave product. He told us of how the clubs in Russia use partners to build their own equipment. He was a very happy to be here and sharing the air with old cold war enemies. Sure made me appreciate all the factory made HGMA certified gliders all these years. As the sun was setting we all went to supper and discussed the day with the normal “there I was…. Thought I was going to die!”.
Later, on Dave’s front porch the stars were out in full brightness with the millions in the Milky Way showing brightly. Not as many shooters were noted as last summer, but the constant reminder that we are far from the only stop off in the known Universe. I took a walk down to the old top landing field to get a better view. I felt my father’s spirit with me as I walked through clearings on top gazing out through the stars. That’s what I really needed from the weekend. He’s gone home to be reunited with my mom somewhere out there. It provided some closure.
The night also blew with increasingly gusty winds that were so loud as to make sleeping difficult. The MP3 player helped to soothe me to sleep with old rock & pop classics. The morning came with a low cloud ceiling and very gusty winds. I would not have put a favorable bet on flying Sunday. So breakfast down in town and camp breakdown took up a good part of the day while the winds blew harder than most pilots even considered flying in. Later in the afternoon things starting calming down in cycles that went down below 15 mph. Bob Fisher launched on a Fusion and seemed to do well. Strangely, a Falcon and Eagle from KC lined up and took off in lulls. When the lull was over they were seen up probably 3000 feet right up under increasingly dark clouds. They never turned back toward the mountain, but they stayed well out in front of the mountain and seemingly did not have penetration problems even when it picked back up to 25+ mph at launch.
Later in the day a high cirrus layer moved in over the area and shut down much of the gustiness. There was also some far off dark cumulus development that spurred us on to get some flying done NOW. We all sprang to our feet and ran to the top to get out gliders and make like lemmings. Within 30 minutes about 15 gliders were launched and we all flew around like a true flock of birds. The only impact launch was done by a KC pilot with a new Discus- by all accounts he ran well and when it started flying he pulled in so hard that he recontacted the ground with the base tube (and then the nose of the glider) Undaunted, he picked himself up, checked the glider ( no damage ) and did it again and flew away this time. Apparently the light handling includes very little pitch feed back on take off. Not all launches were totally pucker-free and straight as shown by Bruce Burris’s Laminar heading left for the big pines around launch due to a slight east cross. He has gotten into the topless movement and said the Laminar generally handles well compared to his old Airwave Kiss. But this time he was headed toward the trees and with full deflection he was wincing and waiting for the wing tip impact when the turn finally came and reversed the situation back to the opposite side with a near wing over. Very close call on both sides.
The air was still very active and some even had trouble getting down after being satisfied with the beating up and wishing it to be over. Don Krieger actually went looking for sink and cored it to the field. Even though he does hard physical labor with the concrete on a daily basis, his arms and shoulders were wiped out and a rest was needed before breaking down after landing. I developed another turn in the Klassic (I found the front keel pocket excluded the VG and I changed it ) and when I had enough I just headed out over the landing field and relaxed. The spiral had me down in just a few minutes. I was very happy with the photography over the weekend and I figured out that when it is cool enough to actually work on / in the glider with the mounting system that it is actually a fun deal. I hope to expand in the coming years with other variations.
The flying season has begun in earnest and Region 6-11 pilots are determined to retain their identity and flying tradition with an increase in the number of pilots and flights to make a come back a reality. They feel charged, challenged and fortified by the recent absorption of their region into ours (at least on paper). They have something to work and fight for now. I feel they have a point when they say that their history should not be deleted out of the record books. Much more discussion will follow to make the fun flying we do with our northern neighbors count for more than it used to. Personally, I’m just happy to be back in the air and enjoying another year of flight.
Warren Puckett
H4- USHPA # 24855
NTHPA President
Wed, Jun 4, 2003
