On Paper vs Actual

[Southside]

I'm thinking of taking on a project. What I would like to do is keep a journal of how the predicted conditions compare to the actual flying conditions. Each flying day I will make a copy of the various forecasting pages and then compare that data with what actually happened that day.
But in order for this to work I need volunteers to either post their flight reports here or email me directly. I don't need anything too elaborate. Basically I'm just looking for how high and wide spread the lift is; if you made it through the Pass (or could have if you had a driver and wanted to); and if it was blowing down on launch in the morning what time it turned around and if it stayed turned around or if it never turned around at all.

I'll do this mostly on weekends, but if you're going to fly during the week email me in the morning and I'll go ahead and collect all of the data for that day.

At the end of the season I'll present my findings at one of the club meetings if anyone cares.

If it works out and people remember to give me their flight reports I will continue doing this for Pine Mountain in the summer too.

John

brettonwoods@msn.com

[Skippy]

Hey John,
Tony (de Groot) kept a lof of weather patterns, predictions, vs. actual flying conditions at Plowshare for a while. He learned a lot from it, and was able to then come with some pretty good predictions for when the convergence would go through the valley. His analysis was really interesting. I think it would be great to get more of similar info on the local sites. Keep us posted, and I'm sure that a report at one of the monthly meetings would be very welcome.
Skippy

[Southside]

Thanks Skippy. What I really want to look at are the marginal days. Minus an inversion what is the minimum lapse rate needed to stay aloft, or if you are flying XC, to get through the Pass. Also, what kind of combination of conditions does it take to get a thermal block on north days.

John

btw, one thing I forgot to ask for in the flight reports is cloudbase heights (if present).

[faoro]

This is the best hang gliding/paragliding idea I've heard of in quite some time! Thanks for doing the legwork, John. Hopefully, the pilots who get the flights will post the necessary reports, even if the day was marginal or non-soarable. I, too, am interested in what the characteristics of marginal days are.