Bristol | Soaringroadtrip

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. The wind was less than predicted. Light lifty cycles enticing us to launch. Karl went first and got high enough to see the lake. I went second and enjoyed my sled run. Although it didn't feel cold at launch, once in the air that changed rapidly. We launched at 2:30 and conditions were already deteriorating. If we had been there earlier I think we could have had longer flights. But given how painful Karl's fingers were after landing he didn't really mind. Nice to be out, though!

Katrin

5/1/21
Showed up, setup, and flew ...
We lucked out and hit the window, then both sunk out after about 45 minutes.
Great lift but a little rowdy.
https://ayvri.com/scene/mpk9223x5z/cko6e1y6t0001396itdb60r8n
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxxeGB_5Htw

Rob Skinner and Chris Toomey

6/6/21

Todd, Moritz, Karl and I flew in a wonder. Flight times ranged from 10 to 70 minutes, altitudes from 0 to 1300 ft ATO. Todd had his first real soaring flight of about half an hour. Karl, as usual, had the flight of the day. Katrin enjoyed the warm air and the view. Moritz made sure that Todd had a safe launch and by the time he got to launch himself the wonder fizzled out. We probably should have been there earlier. Bob showed up as well, served as a driver and surprised us with a gourmet dinner in the LZ. Thank You, Bob!

Katrin P.

7/26/21

John, Brent, Tim D, Ron W, Karl and Katrin flew Bristol yesterday. It was a little strong and gusty initially, but mellowed enough by 6 pm for students to launch. All had sledders, but experienced lift and had the opportunity to play with it. I took John and Brent up for a second flight. Thanks Ron for helping to carry in for the second flight. And thank you Karl and Katrin for launching them the first time…… no doubt you cut your own flights short by waiting to help them. We had quite a few spectators in the LZ……. Oded, Rick, Beth ( Brent’s wife) Tim’s family, and I believe Marty went by on his motorcycle. Chris

7/31/21

Bristol, very light winds, but lots of members! Karl's (PG) first launch was a five minute sledder, followed by Pat M, Chris T, and Tim D, all HG sledders. They all went back up, joined by Tim L, Katrin P, Kunal, Jim B, and I think Brent, too. Bob S showed, as did Brooks L. Karl L launched again, stayed about launch level for several passes, and finally managed to climb. Another PG launched (Him Black?) and is slowly climbing with each pass.

3:40pm As another PG has entered launch, HGs are being setup. I've lost sight of Karl!

Everyone except Tim Dubois launched again and had nice sledders after some passes on the ridge.

As they were disassembling and talking about another run, I decided to leave. I took the long way home in case I could see Karl. I found him hiking back along Rt 64, just south of Rts 5/20, about 8.5 miles north of Bristol Mtn. He had landed just north of where I found him, and appreciated getting a ride back to the LZ.

When we arrived, the group was loading, so we took the group back up. Hopefully someone will fill us in on how the last flights went, along with any other particulars.

Here's a 3 minute montage of some shots from my phone in the LZ. Sorry for the occasional shaky camera.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YY7nG2tIUkbW-pwRYHpsEsfAlRdzgBOi/view?usp=sharing

Marty

We had a nice day at Bristol yesterday. There were 6 Hang Glider pilots and 4 Pg pilots out. Tim L, Tim D, Brent, Pat, John and Chris T. Flew Hang Gliders and had anywhere from 1-3 flights each. Karl, Katrin , Jim B, and Kunal flew PG’s.

Conditions were light, and there was no ridge lift. Most everyone had sledders, but Karl managed to get up and go XC. Bob and Marty came out and assisted with pilot and vehicle retrieves……. And Bob provided refreshments in the LZ after the flying was done! It was really a nice day to be out. Hope to do it again soon. Chris

8/6/21

Steve launched first and rose like he was on an elevator right in front of the launch! He stayed up about an hour and a half.

I launched second and managed an extended sledder as I'm not comfortable scraping the ridge closely.

Brent, Karl, and Jim showed up after 2. Brent launched and managed an extended sledder. Karl waited for perfect wind and was able to stay up maybe an hour or more. I got another extended sledder, this time staying at launch level for a few passes.

We shuttled up the hill to get Brent one more flight. Jim launched after waiting for the wind to pick up and ended up with a sledder. Brent followed suit with his final sledder.

Beautiful day. Tim D

8/25/21

Brent and Tim met at the cabin just before noon. Tim went first at around 1PM and made a few passes catching enough ridge lift to make it a nice extended sledder. Brent went next and was able to stay in the lift much longer, but not enough to get over the crest of the hill to see the lake. Cindy (Tim's wife) drove down to meet us in the LZ and shuttle us back up the hill. Our second flights at around 3PM were both short sledders as the wind died down on us. Afterwards, when I was going to pick up the kayak cart (makes it bearable to carry in at Bristol!), I saw Karl setting up for an evening flight. We must've just missed him in the LZ.

It was a beautiful day and it's awesome to see Brent get some lift and stay up a while! Tim D.

9/13/21

The wind was switching between West and WNW when we arrived around 3PM. Karl, Brent, and Tim met in the LZ at 2:30. Karl was well rested as he napped in the car waiting for us! :) Steve arrived up top around 3:30.

Karl was first to get up in the air and was able to find lift as he always seems to! Steve went second and the air was not cooperating as much for him. By the time Brent and I set up, the wind was more north than west and died down a bit. We both ended up with sledders. Not all was lost though as I finally landed on my feet and flared descently for the first time since the training hill! We finished the day up at camp over a cold brew and some interesting conversation. Poor Steve ended up being the tennis ball throwing machine for Jax!

6/30/22

Bristol beat expectations yesterday. When we arrived around 2 pm, it was hot and pretty light. We were anticipating a day of sledders. But as the afternoon went on, flights and conditions improved. Karl, Rob, Bob S , Bill S and I flew paragliders. Tim Dubois flew his hang glider. Everyone had multiple flights ranging from extended sledders to flights of several hours and several thousand over. Bill Selent had the flight of the day. He got around 2.5 hours and about 2800 feet about launch ( 4700 MSL). A special thanks to Bob and Bill for providing refreshments in the LZ, and to Cindy Dubois for shuttling pilots and gliders up the hill. Let’s do it again soon! Chris

7/22/22

Today, Chris Hilliard (P4 visiting from California), Steve Lynch, and I arrived at the Bristol LZ at about 10:00 am for some PG flying. Steve and I launched at about 11:20 am and flew for 35 minutes and 40 minutes respectively. We flew mostly thermals as the ridge lift was not very good today. We both got to over 2100 feet above launch. Unfortunately, Chris had some equipment issues, and by the time they were sorted out, the wind became very light at launch, so he did not fly. Chris was very helpful with some instruction and advice, especially concerning the weather conditions, thermalling, and cross-country issues, which was very much appreciated. We look forward to when he will visit the area again.

Bob Slebodnik

7/26/22

Today had an excess of rowdy lift at Bristol. Bill S. and I both got in two flights. We had to work to get down and had to bail out of thermals to avoid more turbulence. It is unclear if the weather will be decent tomorrow as the different models are not in agreement. We can check in the morning.

7/27/22

It was the second day in a row of fantastic conditions at Bristol. Steve Lynch, Bill Selent, and I flew. There was good ridge lift and strong thermals. Steve (a new Dad of only two months) flew for approximately 1:40. Bill flew longer (I think for over 2 hrs, thermaling up again after heading to the LZ to land). I didn't manage to fly nearly as long. After a short flight (10 min.) and seeing Steve and Bill thermaling very high, I hitchhiked back to launch only to have another short flight with a strong headwind while heading to the LZ. The LZ owners were contacted prior to flying.

9/3/22

Bill S and Bob S arrived in the LZ at 1 pm. We hiked into the Launch and launched at about 2:20 pm.

Bob flew for 31 min and for 1,670 ft over launch (mostly thermal flying). Just to show that he knows that the cones in the LZ are actually a target, he landed about 30 feet from the center cone ( for once). Bill S flew for about 25 min and to approximately 900 over launch.

While Bill and Bob were returning to the launch, Karl and Katrin arrived. Karl launched and flew XC to the Pipe Organ Factory. Bob stayed up for 8 min and Bill stayed up for about 15 min. It began to thunder after we landed, and then began to rain (hard).

The windsock on launch was shredded in recent high winds. Karl and Katrin put up a new windsock.

Bob brought beer, but forgot to put ice in the cooler. He needs a checklist for packing a cooler.

Addendum: Bill S, on his second flight, landed just outside the 10' circle of cones.

I don't have Karl's maximum altitude, but he was obviously high enough to make it to the Pipe Organ Factory. This was no easy task as the lift in the late afternoon did not allow for any mistakes. Robert S.

9/17/22

Karl had an extended sledder. No one else showed up. The wind wasn't strong enough and kept going north.

9/24/22

Three PG pilots, Karl L. Bob S., and new P2 from the Hyner Club, Clint F. flew at Bristol on Saturday afternoon, September 24 with assistance from Katrin P. Karl stayed aloft for approximately 2:15 and a gain of almost 3,000 feet above launch. At one point he headed north to fly XC, but encountered quite a bit of sinking air and he returned to flying the ridge and thermaling. Bob had two short flights and Clint had four short flights as he got used a new flying site. Welcome, Clint! Come and fly with us again.

10/16/22

On Sunday, Oct. 16, Karl L, Rob S, Bob S, and Jorn S. (from Canada) flew at Bristol. We arrived at the LZ at noon. The conditions were a bit gusty. At around 3:00 pm, the gusts subsided to around 15 mph and were very brief in duration. Base winds were approximately 7-10 mph from the WSW and W. The fall colors were gorgeous and at near-peak or peak.

Rob launched first and immediately gained quite a bit of altitude. I am not sure how high he got over launch, but I estimate it to have been over well over 2,000 ft. He stayed up for about an hour. I launched next. I ridge soared until I hit a thermal at the south end of the ridge. I climbed from 400 feet above launch to 1625 feet above launch quite quickly. After that I came back to about 300 feet over launch but was then able to thermal higher several times. I flew for 41 minutes, even catching a thermal just south of the LZ while setting up to land, and doing several 360s. A well-bundled-up Karl flew for about 35 minutes and Jorn flew for about 25 minutes. I am not sure about their maximum altitude information. Thank you to Karl for launch and flight advice, assistance, and mentoring.

After we landed, a guy and his wife stopped by the LZ. They had been watching us from the Chairlift at Bristol Mountain. He had been a fighter pilot but doesn't fly now due to a vision issue. He was excited to see us fly and quite interested in what we were doing. He and his wife had taken pictures of us flying and he said that he would send them to me. I haven't received them yet, but I will post them when they arrive. I invited him to Join us when we fly, and told him that if he sends me his address, I will see that it is added to our Google group email.

Two pictures are attached. One is of Rob and Karl patiently parawaiting. The other is of the beautiful fall colors at peak on Stid Hill.

Bob S.

10/16/22

Karl, Bob, Jorn and I flew Bristol yesterday.

We had to wait 2 or 3 hours for it to calm down, but 3pm was magic time.

We all got high and ~1 hr flights.

Avyri went offline, but this is a new .igc tracker.

https://www.sportstracklive.com/en/track/informations/robertgskinner/paragliding/stid-hill-town-of-south-bristol-new-york/670350

2/14/23

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day at Bristol with a bright blue sky with wind out of the west. Rob and I each had a 10 minute flight. We both commented that our PG wings were doing a lot of rocking from side to side during our flights. Due to other commitments, we didn't have time to launch again, but it was great to have such a beautiful day in mid-February. The skiers at Bristol seemed interested as we made S turns near the base of Bristol Mountain. Bob S.

4/23/23

Rob and I flew in rowdy, spring conditions under grey, cloudy skies. Base winds and gusts did not appear outside of manageable limits at the launch site, but immediately after launch we encountered strong lift followed by strong sink. We chose to land earlier than we had to in the interest of safety. T.S. Eliot was right, "April is the cruelest month." Robert S.

7/16/23

Tim flew his HG for a sledder. Karl flew about 48 min. Katrin had two flights ( 6 and 30 min). Kyle flew for 32 min a d about 10 min.) I flew for 8 min and top landed and then flew 11 min. Wonder wind started at 5:30 pm. It lasted for 2 + hrs.

9/6/23

Karl L., Jim B., and I went out to Bristol in temperatures in the high 80s -low 90s on Wednesday, September 6. I had posted the forecast the day before, but I was not optimistic about good conditions, thinking that it may be too light. Jim B roused us to give it a try.

We launched our PGs for our first flight at about 4:30 p.m. as it had been light when we arrived in the LZ at about 2 p.m. Karl and Jim B stayed up in ridge lift and thermals for about 30 minutes. I lasted for 20 minutes. We made a second trip to the launch site and waited for an evening glass off, or, perhaps even a Wonder Wind. I launched at 6:00 p.m. as the wind dummy and only managed to stay up for 6 minutes. Karl and Jim B took note of this and waited for better conditions. They launched in stronger conditions and Karl stayed up for about an hour and Jim stayed up for about 36 minutes. Jim could have stayed up longer, but he wanted a drink! It turned out to be more of a glass-off, rather than a Wonder Wind, but it provided a nice flight. Many thanks to Tim Dubois for giving us a ride back to launch to retrieve cars. Robert Slebodnik