What To Expect For Florida Spring

[[email protected]]

Just a bit of information about Florida weather, as to date we are about 26 inches ahead of normal rainfall for the year. Now this is a big problem when it comes to soaring during the spring. We really need to dry out quick to have some good spring soaring weather. If it dried out tomorrow and continued until March we might just have a chance . It better start blowing and stop raining or else you guys can be flying straight lines up and down hwy 27. Hope to meet some of you in the air, we should all do a trip around Lake O.

[Dan Marotta]

On 11/16/20 3:17 PM, wrote:
> Just a bit of information about Florida weather, as to date we are about 26 inches ahead of normal rainfall for the year. Now this is a big problem when it comes to soaring during the spring. We really need to dry out quick to have some good spring soaring weather. If it dried out tomorrow and continued until March we might just have a chance . It better start blowing and stop raining or else you guys can be flying straight lines up and down hwy 27. Hope to meet some of you in the air, we should all do a trip around Lake O.
>

Hey Bob,

Would you mind building a pipeline to New Mexico? We could sure use
some of that rain! The dry lakes south of Moriarty are actually dry!

You may recall a few years back when a glider pilot from Texas (I know
him) landed his JS-1 on one of those dry lakes and sunk up to the belly
in salt mud. He made the soaring calendar that year...

--
Dan
5J

[[email protected]]

On Monday, November 16, 2020 at 6:47:47 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
> On 11/16/20 3:17 PM, wrote:
> > Just a bit of information about Florida weather, as to date we are about 26 inches ahead of normal rainfall for the year. Now this is a big problem when it comes to soaring during the spring. We really need to dry out quick to have some good spring soaring weather. If it dried out tomorrow and continued until March we might just have a chance . It better start blowing and stop raining or else you guys can be flying straight lines up and down hwy 27. Hope to meet some of you in the air, we should all do a trip around Lake O.
> >
> Hey Bob,
>
> Would you mind building a pipeline to New Mexico? We could sure use
> some of that rain! The dry lakes south of Moriarty are actually dry!
>
> You may recall a few years back when a glider pilot from Texas (I know
> him) landed his JS-1 on one of those dry lakes and sunk up to the belly
> in salt mud. He made the soaring calendar that year...
>
> --
> Dan
> 5J

Yes I do remember that landing, actually it is so wet here that the alligators and pythons are being seen in the streets. Just yesterday a picture of a 12 foot alligator was in the news as it crossed a road at a gated community. It better start drying out soon or we will be very disappointed with spring weather. Back in the day when I lived in Miami there was a drought and the everglades were so dry that the swamp looked like a scorched tundra. E9 and myself saw cloud bases near 10K, wish we could get that again. Bob

[Dan Marotta]

On 11/16/20 11:14 PM, wrote:
> On Monday, November 16, 2020 at 6:47:47 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
>> On 11/16/20 3:17 PM, wrote:
>>> Just a bit of information about Florida weather, as to date we are about 26 inches ahead of normal rainfall for the year. Now this is a big problem when it comes to soaring during the spring. We really need to dry out quick to have some good spring soaring weather. If it dried out tomorrow and continued until March we might just have a chance . It better start blowing and stop raining or else you guys can be flying straight lines up and down hwy 27. Hope to meet some of you in the air, we should all do a trip around Lake O.
>>>
>> Hey Bob,
>>
>> Would you mind building a pipeline to New Mexico? We could sure use
>> some of that rain! The dry lakes south of Moriarty are actually dry!
>>
>> You may recall a few years back when a glider pilot from Texas (I know
>> him) landed his JS-1 on one of those dry lakes and sunk up to the belly
>> in salt mud. He made the soaring calendar that year...
>>
>> --
>> Dan
>> 5J
>
> Yes I do remember that landing, actually it is so wet here that the alligators and pythons are being seen in the streets. Just yesterday a picture of a 12 foot alligator was in the news as it crossed a road at a gated community. It better start drying out soon or we will be very disappointed with spring weather. Back in the day when I lived in Miami there was a drought and the everglades were so dry that the swamp looked like a scorched tundra. E9 and myself saw cloud bases near 10K, wish we could get that again. Bob
>

10K? Horrors! We like our cloud bases at 20K!

--
Dan
5J

[AS]

On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 11:03:20 AM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
> >
> 10K? Horrors! We like our cloud bases at 20K!
>
> --
> Dan
> 5J

True, but most places in FL can measure their elevation above sea level in inches, so a cloud base of 10kft msl is not a bad deal at all.

Uli
'AS'

[[email protected]]

> >
> 10K? Horrors! We like our cloud bases at 20K!
>
> --
> Dan
> 5J

LOL, that made me laugh! I'm excited when cloud base is close to 3K! :)

Paul

[kinsell]

On 11/16/20 4:47 PM, Dan Marotta wrote:
> On 11/16/20 3:17 PM, wrote:
>> Just a bit of information about Florida weather, as to date we are
>> about 26 inches ahead of normal rainfall for the year. Now this is a
>> big problem when it comes to soaring during the spring. We really need
>> to dry out quick to have some good spring soaring weather. If it dried
>> out tomorrow and continued until March we might just have a chance .
>> It better start blowing and stop raining or else you guys can be
>> flying straight lines up and down hwy 27. Hope to meet some of you in
>> the air, we should all do a trip around Lake O.
>>
>
> Hey Bob,
>
> Would you mind building a pipeline to New Mexico?Â* We could sure use
> some of that rain!Â* The dry lakes south of Moriarty are actually dry!
>
> You may recall a few years back when a glider pilot from Texas (I know
> him) landed his JS-1 on one of those dry lakes and sunk up to the belly
> in salt mud.Â* He made the soaring calendar that year...
>

Did that JS-1 have the jet sustainer? If so, did it fail to start, blow
up, or just run out of kerosene? Oops, wrong thread, nevermind!

[Mark Mocho]

> Did that JS-1 have the jet sustainer? If so, did it fail to start, blow
> up, or just run out of kerosene? Oops, wrong thread, nevermind!

No jet in that particular JS-1. The (visiting) pilot had flown at Moriarty for many years and apparently missed the "briefing" repeated over all of that time that the "dry" lakes only had a crust over some really oozy, smelly mud. The tale of the retrieve was worth many laughs, but only if you weren't helping. Stinky mud, sand fleas, broken beer bottles, sunken barbed wire and hundred degree heat. The only things missing were salt water crocodiles, but they would have been somewhat welcome, as they might have provided some traction. The mud was sucking the retrieve crews' shoes off their feet. A joyous time was had by all. The JS-1 was worth retrieving, though. One of the retrieve crew said if it had been anything worth less than a Libelle, he would have just filed a claim. Rumor has it that there is at least one airplane that is lost in the depths, and I know there are some sunken pickups and at least one bulldozer that was lost trying to pull out one of the trucks. Basically, the "Lagunas de Perro" (Dog Lakes) are the sump of the entire Estancia Valley.

[AS]

On Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 7:48:01 PM UTC-5, Mark Mocho wrote:
> > Did that JS-1 have the jet sustainer? If so, did it fail to start, blow
> > up, or just run out of kerosene? Oops, wrong thread, nevermind!
> No jet in that particular JS-1. The (visiting) pilot had flown at Moriarty for many years and apparently missed the "briefing" repeated over all of that time that the "dry" lakes only had a crust over some really oozy, smelly mud. The tale of the retrieve was worth many laughs, but only if you weren't helping. Stinky mud, sand fleas, broken beer bottles, sunken barbed wire and hundred degree heat. The only things missing were salt water crocodiles, but they would have been somewhat welcome, as they might have provided some traction. The mud was sucking the retrieve crews' shoes off their feet. A joyous time was had by all. The JS-1 was worth retrieving, though. One of the retrieve crew said if it had been anything worth less than a Libelle, he would have just filed a claim. Rumor has it that there is at least one airplane that is lost in the depths, and I know there are some sunken pickups and at least one bulldozer that was lost trying to pull out one of the trucks. Basically, the "Lagunas de Perro" (Dog Lakes) are the sump of the entire Estancia Valley.

I snapped a picture of the these salt flats and when people ask me, how flying was at Moriarty, I show them that picture and tell them that one day, I caught a thermal that got me into a low orbit around the Moon! ;-)

Uli
'AS'