Jonathan Leal's big day! 1000km 126 attempt from Mifflin

[Daniel Sazhin[_2_]]

Hey Guys,

Jonathan Leal has Aero Club Albatross' 508 assembled, taped and ready to fly from Mifflin tomorrow, going for the 1000km diploma in a 1-26! He's been preparing for this flight for a long time and it looks like a really good day for it. He's planning on taking off at 6:30am and the flight should take him somewhere between 11 and 12 hours.

I think he has a SPOT and it should be visible on http://www.ssa.org/SailplaneTracker/Default.asp

If all goes well, he'll be going through his start point near Lewistown PA at around 7am, heading SW toward the Potomac River. He should turn the first turnpoint at 8:15am (Dickey's Mountain near the Potomac River). He should get to near Blairstown and round his NE turnpoint (Millbrook) around 11:15am at which point he'll start heading SW toward the Potomac. He should get to the Potomac River again at around 3:15pm and then he will head back to Millbrook, his finish point. He should get to the finish back near Blairstown at 6:30pm. This gives him a decent buffer, since sunset is 7:45pm.

If the task works out for him, it will be the farthest 1-26 and 13.5 meter flight ever! And he would earn a 1000km Diploma, a National and World Record! All in an Aero Club Albatross' mighty Schweizer 1-26E!

Let's wish Jonathan the best of luck and watch this historic flight unfold!

All the best,
Daniel

[Daniel Sazhin[_2_]]

For those who don't know Jonathan (Paul Leal on OLC), he is one of the big time 126 pilots from Blairstown. He has over 2000 hours, having started his soaring career in hang gliders. He still flies hang gliders, going to local meets, especially liking the SE ridge near Kirk ridge.

He has been president of Aero Club Albstross twice, served on the membership and safety committees.

He has completed multiple diamond distance level performance flights on the ridges and flown in several 126 championships.

Cool guy!

All the best,
Daniel

[[email protected]]

Yeehaw. Have a good one.

[Craig Funston[_3_]]

On Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 6:02:04 PM UTC-7, Daniel Sazhin wrote:
> Hey Guys,
>
> Jonathan Leal has Aero Club Albatross' 508 assembled, taped and ready to fly from Mifflin tomorrow, going for the 1000km diploma in a 1-26! He's been preparing for this flight for a long time and it looks like a really good day for it. He's planning on taking off at 6:30am and the flight should take him somewhere between 11 and 12 hours.
>
> I think he has a SPOT and it should be visible on http://www.ssa.org/SailplaneTracker/Default.asp
>
> If all goes well, he'll be going through his start point near Lewistown PA at around 7am, heading SW toward the Potomac River. He should turn the first turnpoint at 8:15am (Dickey's Mountain near the Potomac River). He should get to near Blairstown and round his NE turnpoint (Millbrook) around 11:15am at which point he'll start heading SW toward the Potomac. He should get to the Potomac River again at around 3:15pm and then he will head back to Millbrook, his finish point. He should get to the finish back near Blairstown at 6:30pm. This gives him a decent buffer, since sunset is 7:45pm.
>
> If the task works out for him, it will be the farthest 1-26 and 13.5 meter flight ever! And he would earn a 1000km Diploma, a National and World Record! All in an Aero Club Albatross' mighty Schweizer 1-26E!
>
> Let's wish Jonathan the best of luck and watch this historic flight unfold!
>
> All the best,
> Daniel

Very cool! Good luck Jonathan!!

[[email protected]]

For people who are not familiar with the ridges, here is the "Ridge Map", a tool which has a lot of the landmarks, mountain names, routes and useful information listed:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1LHFN5CNHKPlPYfwpVFSCiwyZbvU&ll=40.70085347931085%2C-77.26812202882076&z=9

For Jonathan's flight, I created a new Layer on the very top called: "Jonathan's 1000km Task". I eyeballed the turnpoints, so don't panic if his track doesn't quite touch them tomorrow.

The main layer is called "The Ridge" which has the most relevant information.

All the best,
Daniel

[Surge]

On Friday, 20 April 2018 04:30:18 UTC+2, wrote:
> For people who are not familiar with the ridges, here is the "Ridge Map", a tool which has a lot of the landmarks, mountain names, routes and useful information listed:
>
> https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1LHFN5CNHKPlPYfwpVFSCiwyZbvU&ll=40.70085347931085%2C-77.26812202882076&z=9
>
> For Jonathan's flight, I created a new Layer on the very top called: "Jonathan's 1000km Task". I eyeballed the turnpoints, so don't panic if his track doesn't quite touch them tomorrow.
>
> The main layer is called "The Ridge" which has the most relevant information.
>
> All the best,
> Daniel

That's a scary looking map! Are those points historic crash sites or is that your way of marking possible outlanding sites with the chances of a poor outcome?

[[email protected]]

Howdy,

There is a separate layer for the crash sites over the years and a description as to what happened and why... so the same mistakes can be avoided.

The orange and yellow boxes are landing options. Yellow options are places where people had successfully landed or has been walked on the ground. Orange are places that have been marked, either from a flying glider or by Google Earth as a possible viable option. The plan is to walk those sites when practicable.

All the best,
Daniel

[aivian]

On Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 9:02:04 PM UTC-4, Daniel Sazhin wrote:
> Hey Guys,
>
> Jonathan Leal has Aero Club Albatross' 508 assembled, taped and ready to fly from Mifflin tomorrow, going for the 1000km diploma in a 1-26! He's been preparing for this flight for a long time and it looks like a really good day for it. He's planning on taking off at 6:30am and the flight should take him somewhere between 11 and 12 hours.
>
> I think he has a SPOT and it should be visible on http://www.ssa.org/SailplaneTracker/Default.asp
>
> If all goes well, he'll be going through his start point near Lewistown PA at around 7am, heading SW toward the Potomac River. He should turn the first turnpoint at 8:15am (Dickey's Mountain near the Potomac River). He should get to near Blairstown and round his NE turnpoint (Millbrook) around 11:15am at which point he'll start heading SW toward the Potomac. He should get to the Potomac River again at around 3:15pm and then he will head back to Millbrook, his finish point. He should get to the finish back near Blairstown at 6:30pm. This gives him a decent buffer, since sunset is 7:45pm.
>
> If the task works out for him, it will be the farthest 1-26 and 13.5 meter flight ever! And he would earn a 1000km Diploma, a National and World Record! All in an Aero Club Albatross' mighty Schweizer 1-26E!
>
> Let's wish Jonathan the best of luck and watch this historic flight unfold!
>
> All the best,
> Daniel

He's off and going. He's carrying a borrowed spot, so he shows up as X5 on the tracker.

[[email protected]]

Annnnd he's up! John Bird, the deputy official observer reports Jonathan launched at 7:11am. SPOT shows him now driving along the Tuscorara. It's 8:50 and it looks like he's just about rounded the first turnpoint. That puts him around 35 minutes behind his planned schedule, but with an hour and 15 of buffer built into the task, he's got plenty of margin.

Now he'll be looking at making some speed along the long, flat run on the Tuscarora toward the Susquehanna River. He'll have two small transitions to make; one downwind at Sidneys Knob and an upwind run at Honey Grove. But these jumps are not all that big and they probably won't even require turning..

The tricky bit kicks into gear when he will have to negotiate the major transitions after the Susquehanna River toward Hawk Mountain. However, the TAFs report cloudbase at 4000ft and rising, so the thermals should be working solid once he gets there.

- Daniel


All the best,
Daniel

[[email protected]]

On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 8:58:23 AM UTC-4, wrote:
> Annnnd he's up! John Bird, the deputy official observer reports Jonathan launched at 7:11am. SPOT shows him now driving along the Tuscorara. It's 8:50 and it looks like he's just about rounded the first turnpoint. That puts him around 35 minutes behind his planned schedule, but with an hour and 15 of buffer built into the task, he's got plenty of margin.
>
> Now he'll be looking at making some speed along the long, flat run on the Tuscarora toward the Susquehanna River. He'll have two small transitions to make; one downwind at Sidneys Knob and an upwind run at Honey Grove. But these jumps are not all that big and they probably won't even require turning.
>
> The tricky bit kicks into gear when he will have to negotiate the major transitions after the Susquehanna River toward Hawk Mountain. However, the TAFs report cloudbase at 4000ft and rising, so the thermals should be working solid once he gets there.
>
> - Daniel
>
>
> All the best,
> Daniel

Here is the direct SPOT link: https://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0XsPWlTYBgzIQbggsacHIqAltJnJlc9 qz

[[email protected]]

On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 9:13:47 AM UTC-4, wrote:
> On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 8:58:23 AM UTC-4, wrote:
> > Annnnd he's up! John Bird, the deputy official observer reports Jonathan launched at 7:11am. SPOT shows him now driving along the Tuscorara. It's 8:50 and it looks like he's just about rounded the first turnpoint. That puts him around 35 minutes behind his planned schedule, but with an hour and 15 of buffer built into the task, he's got plenty of margin.
> >
> > Now he'll be looking at making some speed along the long, flat run on the Tuscarora toward the Susquehanna River. He'll have two small transitions to make; one downwind at Sidneys Knob and an upwind run at Honey Grove. But these jumps are not all that big and they probably won't even require turning.
> >
> > The tricky bit kicks into gear when he will have to negotiate the major transitions after the Susquehanna River toward Hawk Mountain. However, the TAFs report cloudbase at 4000ft and rising, so the thermals should be working solid once he gets there.
> >
> > - Daniel
> >
> >
> > All the best,
> > Daniel
>
> Here is the direct SPOT link: https://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0XsPWlTYBgzIQbggsacHIqAltJnJlc9 qz

Shucks! Jonathan landed out near Millerstown on the downwind jump from Tuscarora to the Mahantango. Oh well :).

Jonathan reported a safe landout, in a beautiful field, uphill.

All the best,
Daniel

[Jonathan St. Cloud]

There is a place marked on map with link to OLC of a ASW-24E that comes within 29 ft of ground while attempting a transition.


On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 4:14:41 AM UTC-7, wrote:
> Howdy,
>
> There is a separate layer for the crash sites over the years and a description as to what happened and why... so the same mistakes can be avoided.
>
> The orange and yellow boxes are landing options. Yellow options are places where people had successfully landed or has been walked on the ground. Orange are places that have been marked, either from a flying glider or by Google Earth as a possible viable option. The plan is to walk those sites when practicable.
>
> All the best,
> Daniel

[Daniel Sazhin[_2_]]

On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 10:33:13 PM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
> There is a place marked on map with link to OLC of a ASW-24E that comes within 29 ft of ground while attempting a transition.


There's a reason why that layer is called "Crash Sites/Close Calls"

People make mistakes. My attitude (and that of the safety committee of ACA) is to make sure that folks learn from mistakes and not make them again... and help other folks avoid those errors too.

Ridge flying is risky business and you have to treat it very seriously if you want to do it for a long time and not wreck an airplane (or hurt yourself). That layer exists also to make a point that the consequences are severe if you stop respecting this.

Lastly, I believe that sharing information and stories helps everyone. I am the one that has compiled a lot of the data on the Ridge Map (and the flight you're referring to). Please don't make me regret putting the more embarrassing moments people had experienced as learning tools for others by calling those pilots out on a public forum...

Best Regards,
Daniel

[Jonathan St. Cloud]

Why would you "regret putting the more embarrassing moments..." ? This map is a good tool. Would love to have something like this for the Sierra's and Nephi region.
Jon

On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 8:14:11 PM UTC-7, Daniel Sazhin wrote:
> On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 10:33:13 PM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
> > There is a place marked on map with link to OLC of a ASW-24E that comes within 29 ft of ground while attempting a transition.
>
>
> There's a reason why that layer is called "Crash Sites/Close Calls"
>
> People make mistakes. My attitude (and that of the safety committee of ACA) is to make sure that folks learn from mistakes and not make them again.... and help other folks avoid those errors too.
>
> Ridge flying is risky business and you have to treat it very seriously if you want to do it for a long time and not wreck an airplane (or hurt yourself). That layer exists also to make a point that the consequences are severe if you stop respecting this.
>
> Lastly, I believe that sharing information and stories helps everyone. I am the one that has compiled a lot of the data on the Ridge Map (and the flight you're referring to). Please don't make me regret putting the more embarrassing moments people had experienced as learning tools for others by calling those pilots out on a public forum...
>
> Best Regards,
> Daniel

[JS[_5_]]

Very cool map, Daniel.
I was always concerned about the Sharp Mountain / Second Mountain ridges.
Jonathon, try this link to an incomplete map for the Sierras and a bit into the Great Basin, started by Michael Reid.
Jim

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1dNxmYK4zEPM_zSBpeuBl57hqXKo&hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&num=200&msa=0&ll=37.1766830227635%2C-117.740479&spn=6.739882%2C14.27124&t=p&z=7

On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 8:38:06 PM UTC-7, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
> Why would you "regret putting the more embarrassing moments..." ? This map is a good tool. Would love to have something like this for the Sierra's and Nephi region.
> Jon
>
> On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 8:14:11 PM UTC-7, Daniel Sazhin wrote:
> > On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 10:33:13 PM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
> > > There is a place marked on map with link to OLC of a ASW-24E that comes within 29 ft of ground while attempting a transition.
> >
> >
> > There's a reason why that layer is called "Crash Sites/Close Calls"
> >
> > People make mistakes. My attitude (and that of the safety committee of ACA) is to make sure that folks learn from mistakes and not make them again.... and help other folks avoid those errors too.
> >
> > Ridge flying is risky business and you have to treat it very seriously if you want to do it for a long time and not wreck an airplane (or hurt yourself). That layer exists also to make a point that the consequences are severe if you stop respecting this.
> >
> > Lastly, I believe that sharing information and stories helps everyone. I am the one that has compiled a lot of the data on the Ridge Map (and the flight you're referring to). Please don't make me regret putting the more embarrassing moments people had experienced as learning tools for others by calling those pilots out on a public forum...
> >
> > Best Regards,
> > Daniel

[Jonathan St. Cloud]

Thank you so much!

On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 9:07:09 PM UTC-7, JS wrote:
> Very cool map, Daniel.
> I was always concerned about the Sharp Mountain / Second Mountain ridges.
> Jonathon, try this link to an incomplete map for the Sierras and a bit into the Great Basin, started by Michael Reid.
> Jim
>
> https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1dNxmYK4zEPM_zSBpeuBl57hqXKo&hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&num=200&msa=0&ll=37.1766830227635%2C-117.740479&spn=6.739882%2C14.27124&t=p&z=7
>
> On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 8:38:06 PM UTC-7, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
> > Why would you "regret putting the more embarrassing moments..." ? This map is a good tool. Would love to have something like this for the Sierra's and Nephi region.
> > Jon
> >
> > On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 8:14:11 PM UTC-7, Daniel Sazhin wrote:
> > > On Friday, April 20, 2018 at 10:33:13 PM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
> > > > There is a place marked on map with link to OLC of a ASW-24E that comes within 29 ft of ground while attempting a transition.
> > >
> > >
> > > There's a reason why that layer is called "Crash Sites/Close Calls"
> > >
> > > People make mistakes. My attitude (and that of the safety committee of ACA) is to make sure that folks learn from mistakes and not make them again... and help other folks avoid those errors too.
> > >
> > > Ridge flying is risky business and you have to treat it very seriously if you want to do it for a long time and not wreck an airplane (or hurt yourself). That layer exists also to make a point that the consequences are severe if you stop respecting this.
> > >
> > > Lastly, I believe that sharing information and stories helps everyone.. I am the one that has compiled a lot of the data on the Ridge Map (and the flight you're referring to). Please don't make me regret putting the more embarrassing moments people had experienced as learning tools for others by calling those pilots out on a public forum...
> > >
> > > Best Regards,
> > > Daniel