Mifflin County Airport Glider Pilot Briefing March 2007

Transcription

1 Mifflin County Airport Glider Pilot Briefing March 2007 Copyright 2007 by John Good Introduction Welcome to Mifflin County Airport, located in the Big Valley (also known as the Kishacoquillas or Kish Valley) of central Pennsylvania. This is a great place for glider flying: especially during the Spring and Fall, the many ridges here combine with northwest winds to produce world-class ridge soaring. It s also a great place for thermal flying. The airfield has been the site of many soaring competitions, and increasingly is a destination for pilots seeking everything from a ridge introduction to a 1000-km diplome. The purpose of this document is to give the pilot new to this area some useful information about the airfield and the Mifflin task area. Facilities Mifflin County Airport (RVL) is located in central Pennsylvania near the small town of Reedsville, about 3 miles west of Lewistown, and 12 miles southeast of State College. The airfield is at 819 MSL and has a single paved runway 5000 long oriented A grass runway lies parallel to and just northwest of the paved runway for its full length. This is often used by towplanes, and is acceptable for glider landings. A paved taxiway lies parallel to and southeast of the runway for its full length; the taxiway connects with a ramp and fueling area, and additional taxiways lead to several hangars and grass areas used for parking glider trailers. RVL is rarely a busy airfield, and has a long history of successful glider operations. You can expect that many local power pilots will have seen gliders before and may even know something of their habits. They will expect you to be reasonably considerate of their needs as well. Please pay particular attention to not blocking taxiways and especially the area around the fuel pumps. The CTAF here is 122.7MHz. Towplanes will be on this frequency; radio-equipped gliders should be, too, when in or near the traffic pattern. There is an AWOS (automated weather observation system) on the field; you can listen to its broadcast of current conditions on Also note the University Park AWOS broadcast on The three main buildings on the airfield are typically known as the Terminal Building (has toilets, a telephone and a small pilot lounge), the Big Hangar, and (near the airport beacon) the Maintenance Hangar. At the back of the Maintenance Hangar is a 3-D map of the local area, which many glider pilots have found useful. Staging for Launch The common launch direction is southwest. The normal staging scheme is to push gliders to the area where the cross-taxiway meets the runway, then into the grass on the southeast side of the runway (either side of the taxiway) so they are well clear of the pavement. When a towplane and glider are ready to launch, the glider is pushed onto the pavement and launched promptly. The pilot should have completed most or all of his pre-launch checks before the glider is pushed out expect some strange looks if you plan on waiting to start your checklist until an idling towplane is in front of you, burning gas at $4/gallon. Launching from the taxiway-runway intersection means that only about 3800 of the 5000 runway is available. As this is plenty even with no wind, there s no need to stage gliders at the runway end. The exception would be if a large number of gliders will be launching in that case, the extra room available at the end of the runway makes the longer walk there worthwhile. Should winds dictate a launch to the northeast, it will be necessary to stage gliders at the southwest end of the runway. There is again plenty of room here. 1

2 In all cases you should presume that powered aircraft (both arriving and departing) may wish to use the airfield, and thus avoid blocking the runway or access to it. Launching The most common tow pattern involves a left turn after a southwest takeoff, heading toward Jacks Mountain (the prominent ridge southeast of the airfield). On a ridge day, there s little point in towing higher than a few hundred feet above the top of this ridge, which means a release about 1200 above the airfield. On any day with thermal activity, tows above 2000 AGL are rarely called for. If the wind is east through south, it might make sense to tow past the crest of Jacks Mountain, with the goal of using ridge lift on its east side. It could also be worthwhile to look for thermals in the area of Seven Mountains (the high ground northwest of the airfield). On a few days a year, the crosswind at Mifflin is enough to cause problems. On a strong ridge day, there could possibly be a 20+ knot pure crosswind at ground level. This alone would be treacherous, but it can be accompanied by rotor, sometimes down to the ground. Experienced Mifflin towpilots (the only kind likely to be present on such a day) have seen this enough to know that it can be real trouble. They may decide it s no longer safe to tow. If they do, you can be sure it s a better plan to stay on the ground. As noted above, use Mhz during launch. Landing Left-hand patterns are used at Mifflin. You should have your radio tuned to during landing, and make the pattern calls that are appropriate. Most landings take place on the main runway. The goal is usually to roll to a stop at the crosstaxiway, as this makes it easy to then push the glider off the runway. If you are landing to the northeast (or southwest, with a good headwind), this can be just a bit tricky: Glider pilots are typically used to short runways and have the normally commendable habit of touching down on the numbers. With a long runway, this means it will take you a long time to roll to the cross-taxiway, and you may not make it all the way there you ll come to a stop in the middle of the runway and need some time to get clear. Your goal should be to touch down at a reasonable speed about 600 to 800 short of your intended stopping point. Note that there are lights along the runway and all taxiways. You must be careful of these they can make it tricky to roll safely from the pavement into the grass. If you don t wish to land on the runway (perhaps the pilot ahead of you couldn t manage to roll clear), the parallel grass runway (northwest of the pavement) is a good choice. Do not use any of the grass areas southeast of the paved runway they contain too many slopes and uneven areas. In a pinch, either end of the taxiway is landable for all but long-wing gliders. The lights here are 60 apart, and a bit taller than those on the main runway, so take care to be on the centerline. It s worth noting that the airfield is surrounded by all sorts of excellent landable fields. Bear in mind the old adage: It s better to land off the airfield than to crash on it. Landing out Not all flights end at the home airfield. At Mifflin, this is often less of a problem than at other soaring sites: Much of our task area has good landability, and the Big Valley is almost absurdly good (it s probably not much of an exaggeration to say that the entire US glider fleet could land in this valley at once, safely and with room to spare). The fact that gliders fly (and land out) here a lot imposes some special requirements: Your first duty after landing, securing your glider and calling in, is to find the landowner and do your best to 2

3 make him your friend. You should apologize for the trouble and take great care to minimize damage to any crop (by preventing spectators from trampling it, for example). A friendly, humble demeanor works best. Much of the land in this area is owned by Mennonites or the Amish. They dress more simply than the English. Some folks tend to look down on them as unsophisticated. This is a serious mistake they are in fact hardworking and very sharp (two qualities required for success as a farmer). They tend to be friendly, but will not tolerate a condescending or arrogant stranger especially well. They are devout, and will not appreciate profanity. Try to come across as a reasonable person asking a favor, rather than as a rich and arrogant stranger playing with his expensive toy. Note that you may fly in this area only a couple of weeks a year, but many others pilots do too, and some live here. If the word gets out that you treated a landowner badly, you can expect serious repercussions, as this can threaten the future of soaring in this area. If you do have a problem (and not all problems are the pilot s fault) be sure to make it known there are local folks who may be able to smooth troubled waters. Airfields The Mifflin task area includes a reasonable number of airfields. As it also includes a huge number of excellent farm fields, airfields are not as important as at some glider sites. But there are some local fields with quirks worth knowing about. A list of Airfield Notes appears at the end of this document. Airspace Airspace restrictions aren t much of a factor when flying out of Mifflin County Airport. The only Restricted Areas anywhere near here are R5802A near Harrisburg, and R5801 and R5803 near Chambersburg. As these lie on the extreme southeast edge of the task area, they are not likely to be an important factor in tasks flown out of Mifflin The University Park airfield north of the town of State College is quite busy these days and care is needed when flying near it see the Airfield Notes at then end of this document for pertinent comments. Miscellaneous There is a toilet in the Terminal building. Another is located in the maintenance hangar, and this one includes a shower. Please be considerate of others waiting to use this. As there are no professional cleaning services, please do your best to keep things tidy. Outlets for battery charging can be found in the maintenance hangar. You can t drive for long in the Big Valley without encountering horse-drawn Amish buggies. Please be quite careful around these. They don t move very fast it may surprise you how quickly you come up on them. It takes a bit of experience to pass them safely when other traffic is approaching (and especially when you have a trailer in tow). As most people know, the Amish do not like to be photographed. Please respect this. Task Area Briefing The Mifflin task area is huge due to the Appalachian ridges, on a good day it extends to Tazewell (in southwestern Virginia) and beyond. A comprehensive briefing could be the subject of a fair-sized book. 3

4 This discussion will stay closer to home. The purpose is to give beginners and pilots new to the area some idea of the possibilities for flights reasonably close to home. Jacks Mountain This ridge forms the southeast border of the valley in which Mifflin County Airport is located. It is the "local" ridge and deserves considerable attention. In west and northwest winds, glider pilots speak of running the "front" (i.e. northwest) side of a ridge. On its front, Jacks Mountain is well shaped and high (the crest is typically 1000' above the valley floor), though it does have something of a shoulder along much of its length. It can be ridge soared from a point about 12 miles northeast of the airfield to near the town of Mill Creek, about 25 miles southwest. It works well along its entire length; the only gap is the one that lies about 2 miles east of the airfield, and this is narrow enough that it rarely causes difficulty. As noted above, the landability of the Big Valley is amazingly good, another factor that makes Jacks Mountain one of the best school ridges anywhere. But the ends of the valley (especially the southwest end) tend to be a bit less flat and the fields there may require a bit more work of the outlanding pilot. Yet the number of huge, wide, flat, smooth fields is impressive. And since the Amish spurn electricity, the valley has fewer wires than would otherwise be the case (though you certainly still need to check for them). When the wind is between about 100 and 170 degrees, the southeast or "back" side of Jacks Mountain is the place for local ridge soaring. The shape of the back side is close to perfect, which means that reliable ridge lift is available even when the wind is modest (8-10 knots) or the direction is well off perpendicular. And headed northeast, the back side of Jacks Mountain is soarable all the way to the Three Barns turnpoint - about 29 miles northeast of the airfield. The only drawback to a "back side mission" on Jacks Mountain is that the valley you'll be running along is not as friendly for off-field landings as the Kish Valley though it's not bad. Stone Mountain This is the ridge that forms the northwest boundary of the Big Valley. It s lower than Jacks Mountain, but still plenty high enough. Its southeast side has a significant shoulder so it s not as good as Jacks on a backside day, but it still usually works well (and overlooks the excellent fields of the Big Valley). On the more normal frontside day, you ll be running the northwest side of Stone Mountain, which means you re looking at the Stone Valley. This is quite scenic, but not nearly as landable as the Big Valley much more hilly and wooded. Indeed, in the first 10 miles of the run from the Mill Creek area northeast along Stone Mountain, the landing options aren t much. For this reason, it sees a lot less glider action than Jacks. At its northeast end things are better, and there s even a grass airfield just west of the village of Mcalevys Fort. But this strip (significantly uphill to the southwest) is not easy to see it might be worth scouting by automobile, if you re planning to fly in this area. Seven Mountains This is the name for the high ground northwest of the airport. It s a mostly wooded area of jumbled ridges and is much more often flown in thermals than in ridge lift (on most days these broad high areas tend to be the place to find the best thermals). To make longer ridge flights, the usual scheme is to head northwest from Mifflin County Airport to Tussey Mountain (the ridge that forms the northwestern edge of Seven Mountains). To do this involves crossing the Seven Mountains area, and this can be easy or quite challenging depending on the day. It should be clear that flying at low altitudes in this sort of area (where the distance you d need to glide to reach a landable field can be considerable, and the route less than obvious) is not for beginners. 4

5 On a thermal day, it can be worth studying the Seven Mountains area with a view toward how to return from Tussey late on a ridge day, when thermals are dying. Heading downwind, this is easier than it might seem, but once again some detailed knowledge of the area would be needed to make this at all comfortable at low altitudes. Tussey Mountain This ridge starts just east of the town of State College near the village of Boalsburg and runs about 75 miles southwest, past Spruce Creek, the Blair County airport and the town of Everett. It has some gaps and wiggles on the way, and there s a sort of spoiler sub-ridge along much of it, but is generally a good route, with mostly very good landability in front of it. It s important to note the way its orientation changes at Spruce Creek: the change in angle is about 30 degrees, from about to This can mean a significant change in the character of the ridge lift, depending on the wind strength and direction. Nittany Mountain This is the high ridge that starts northeast of State College and runs about 30 miles northeast to The Bowl (the glider pilot s name for the area southeast of the town of Lock Haven, where Nittany and Bald Eagle ridges come together). To use Nittany Mountain on a ridge day, you ll likely have to do the Tussey-Nittany transition. You ll need some thermal help to climb above Tussey before heading generally upwind to Nittany. Once you re on it you ll find it to be quite good, though it has a few small gaps toward its northeast end. Except for the extreme southwest end, the fields in the valley are very good. There s a mile-long wiggle at one point that looks as if it could be trouble, but rarely is. The Bald Eagle Ridge This is probably the most famous glider ridge in the country, and perhaps the world. It s the home of Tom Knauff s Ridge Soaring Gliderport, and Karl Striedieck s Eagle Field. A whole lot of record, Hilton Cup and 1000-km flights have originated here. The full Bald Eagle ridge runs from Williamsport southwest to Altoona, some 95 miles. There s a substantial change of angle along this route: at Altoona, the orientation is about whereas at Williamsport, it s nearly east-west. There s a small change in angle at Lock Haven that often makes this the most northeasterly point that can reliably be reached in ridge lift (which normally is due to west-northwest winds). Despite its storied history, the Bald Eagle Ridge is not as friendly as many others. It has some low areas, some troublesome gaps, and some stretches that are not very landable. Prominent among the problems is the famous Milesburg Gap, about 7 miles northeast of Ridge Soaring Gliderport. Lots of gliders have landed in this area over the years. It doesn t look too formidable, but you ll do well to be careful here, especially when headed southwest on a day with plenty of west in the wind. The areas with landability problems include the dammed-up lake near Howard, the area near the towns of Port Matilda and Tyrone, and the city of Altoona. Dunning Mountain This is the ridge that lies southwest of the Altoona Gap. It s not very high but is particularly wellshaped and often provides an illustration of the value of this: it s usually one of the best-working ridges anywhere. It runs about 18 miles, ending at the north end of the Bedford Gap. Evitts Mountain 5

6 This ridge starts just downwind (southeast) of the Bedford Gap and runs about 30 miles southwest, to within about 7 miles of the city of Cumberland MD. Some stretches are not all that high and rather close to some upwind terrain, but the shape is good and the ridge nearly always works well. The landability is not always great, but often a bit better than it seems: at ridgetop height, fields are within reach but not always in view (due to a low & close upwind ridge). This ridge starts at The Wall, so named because the usual way to get here is to fly down Tussey and do a short upwind transition over a high and unbroken section of ridge. Some care may be needed, but even a short thermal climb will make this work. Raystown Ridge This is probably the most spectacular (and intimidating) ridge in the Mifflin task area. It s not all that high but has a fine shape. The essential feature here is Raystown Lake, which fills the valley upwind of the ridge. There are fields near either end, but in a 20-mile run the only other landing place is the water! This ridge is nearly always run northeast only. It s often the fast way home from Blair County airport or the Bedford area. But you have no business here until you have a reasonable amount of ridge experience and are quite confident the wind is reliable. (The rule of thumb is that if Tussey is working well, this ridge also will be.) The usual plan is to thermal up near the Blair Country airport, then drop downwind to the Raystown ridge. You need to get down on the ridge to be sure it s working well before you leave the safety of the large cornfield at the southwest end of the lake. From there it s usually a fast run to the dam at the northeast end. There s a 2-mile-long wiggle in the ridge for which you should have some height in reserve, but it s rarely much of an obstacle. From the northeast end of this ridge, the best way home to Mifflin is either along Jacks Mountain or Stone Mountain. The former is higher and thus may have stronger ridge winds, but will require a better thermal climb. The latter is usually quite useful as a ridge, but (as noted above) the landability isn t nearly as good. Shade Mountain This is the ridge that starts east of Lewistown and heads northeast about 25 miles toward (but not quite as far as) Selinsgrove. It s nice and high, though at its northeast end it becomes rather shallow at the top. In general, it s flown a lot less often than other ridges, and usually on days when reasonable help from thermals can be expected. The valley upwind of this ridge is not bad, but certainly doesn t come up to the standards of the Big Valley for landability. There s a small airfield called Snook near the village of McClure that occasionally does a good business in gliders that fell off Shade Mountain. Blacklog Mountain This is the ridge that starts south of Lewistown and heads southwest some 40 miles, past Orbisonia to a point just west of Burnt Cabins. From the southern end of this ridge, it s reasonably easy to connect to other ridges near McConnellsburg. This ridge is reasonably good along most of its length, though it has a few areas that need some attention (and often a bit of thermal help). Landability is variable. This is an interesting route, but probably not well suited to beginners. Jacks Mountain Extension This is the ridge that starts south of the Juniata River, between the towns of Mill Creek and Mount Union, and runs about 12 miles to the town of Saltillo. It s much the same shape and height as 6

7 the more familiar parts of Jacks Mountain, with an orientation that s somewhat more favorable to a westerly wind. The catch here is that the upwind landability isn t much the valley to the northwest is narrow and mostly wooded. You won t run this ridge unless winds are reliable, and you ll want to maintain enough height to glide to either end (the south end is friendlier) or to fields that lie southeast of the ridge. Woodward Ridge This is the glider pilot s name for the low and occasionally broken ridge that runs from the northeast limit of the Seven Mountains about 20 miles northeast to a point east of the town of Woodward. It is much lower than most ridges in the area, has several small gaps, and doesn t look as if it should be worth much. But on a day when the wind is reasonably strong and not too westerly, it can work surprisingly well. Landability is generally okay, but not as good as you approach the town of Woodward (the fields are smaller here, and much more rolling). Routes to consider Northwest wind conditions The ridge run up and down Jacks Mountain is almost mandatory for pilots new to this area. It s a great ridge, very scenic and with fewer landing worries than almost anywhere. The next step is to widen your horizons a bit on Tussey Mountain. You must do the 10-mile transition northeast from the airport (probably in thermals across the Seven Mountains) but then you can look forward to interesting (and, depending on the wind, easy) runs down to Blair County airport and beyond. Nittany is next run it up to The Bowl. If the day is good and you have the time, head upwind to the Bald Eagle Ridge, then southwest as far as Altoona. From here, you can easily drop back to Tussey and then head northeast; when you return to your starting point, you ve completed the Alpine Tour. If from Altoona you continue down to Bedford before dropping back to Tussey, you have the Extended Alpine Tour. On a really good day, you can make Cumberland your goal. The most variety is had when you head down via the front ridges, then back via Evitts Mountain (or the reverse). This is the Grand Alpine Tour. West winds When there s a lot of west in the wind, the local ridges may become tricky. You may need some thermal help to get to Spruce Creek (on the Tussey ridge) or to Mill Creek (Jacks Mountain). Heading southwest from either of those points, the ridge orientation is more favorable to westerly winds, and some good ridge action can be had. Common destinations include Bedford, Cumberland and McConnellsburg. North winds When there s a lot of north in the wind, the section of the Bald Eagle Ridge from Lock Haven to Williamsport works well (but note that Williamsport airport has a control tower). You should also think about heading east. Across the Susquehanna River are a whole bunch of ridges that run nearly east-west (the ideal wind direction is about 340 degrees) and see much less glider action than they deserve. 7

8 The river valley is an obstacle, though rarely a formidable one. The favored routes to the east follow the ridges (even in thermal conditions). If you drop downwind to the beautifully shaped Tuscarora Mountain, you have easy access to a ridge route across the river: Buffalo Mountain to Mahantango Mountain (rather low, but one of the best ridges anywhere). Since you re downwind, you ll likely need some thermal help to get home again. In case you can t find it, it s reassuring that much of this area has good landability. Backside ridge conditions Southeast winds are rarer, but open up some interesting possibilities. The best and easiest has been mentioned: run northeast along Jacks Mountain to the Three Barns turnpoint, then southwest to Mount Union (or past it). If you re lucky enough to have reliable southeast winds and decent thermals (a rare combination) there are lots of other possibilities. The back sides of Stone Mountain, the Bald Eagle Ridge, some parts of Tussey Mountain, Nittany Mountain and a number of others are ridgeable. Few such flights have been done, so these routes are not well known. Thermal conditions Much that s written about this area (including this document) puts an emphasis on ridge soaring. Given what has been shown to be possible, this isn t surprising. But it s fair to note that thermal days seriously outnumber ridge days, and many of these offer excellent soaring in their own right. The Mifflin task area is very friendly in good (and even so-so) thermal conditions. Even when the wind isn t strong enough (or from the proper direction) to produce ridge lift, the ridges still tend to focus and organize the lift, as well as providing lots of high ground that gets better solar heating than the valleys. With lots of valleys within reach (most of which have at least good and often excellent fields) landouts should not be a problem. One area that s not visited on ridge days but which is promising in thermal conditions is the Allegheny Plateau the area parallel to and northwest of the Bald Eagle Ridge. This offers lots of well-heated high ground that not infrequently yields the best thermals around. The catch is that much of this area is boonies you ll need to pay a lot more attention to landability than elsewhere. Airfield Notes The following airfields appear on some charts, but are not recommended for landing: Altoona Intown about 4 miles north of Kettle Reservoir, near Altoona. Narrow and overgrown has not been actively used as an airfield for several years. Beaver Springs (aka Cameron) in the Lewistown valley, about 20 miles northeast of Lewistown. Persists on charts despite having been a drag strip for many years. Best landing option in this area is probably Gilfert field (see below), about a mile north. Cargill in the Lewistown valley, about 10 miles southwest of Lewistown. Runway is now an agricultural field. It and a number of farm fields in this area might be good landing choices, depending on the status of crops. Hilling in the Stone Valley, about 8 miles north of Mill Creek. A high-tension power line across the middle of the field (!) adds substantial hazard to an otherwise good field. 8

9 Huntingdon County (aka Orbisonia) about 5 miles south of Mt. Union. Now owned by a fire department; heavy equipment may be parked there. Possibly usable in an emergency, but a landing there would be unwelcome. Krout a couple of miles east of Lewistown, at the foot of Shade Mountain. Has been closed by the owner; might be usable in an emergency. Shangri La about 4 miles northeast of Lewistown. Now a hay field; may be usable depending on the status of crops. Shelley about 6 miles southeast of Beaver Springs, in the same valley as Mifflintown. Torn up and thoroughly unlandable. The following airfields may not appear on some charts, but are generally suitable for glider landings. As is always the case, determining whether a safe landing can be accomplished is the sole responsibility of the pilot. Center Airpark (40: : ft) about 2 miles north of where Route 322 emerges from the northwestern side of Seven Mountains. Slightly higher at the east end. Considered by many pilots to be somewhat hard to spot from the air. Fleming (aka Kish Valley; 40: : ft) in the Big Valley, about 4 miles southwest of Belleville. No known problems. Gilfert (40: : ft) about a mile north of Beaver Springs. No known problems, and a good alternative to Beaver Springs (see above). Hostetler (aka Mcalevys Fort; 40: : ft) in the Stone Valley, about 7 miles west of Belleville. Slopes substantially downhill from southwest to northeast. Most pilots find this field hard to spot. McCardle (40: : ft) about a mile west of Lewistown, and close to the Route 322 gap through Jacks Mountain. Has a dogleg in the runway. Mountain Hideaway (40: : ft) near Mill Creek, in the wooded area between Jacks Mountain and Stone Mountain; slopes uphill to the southwest. This new field is probably not of much use to glider pilots it is high enough that it would be easy to glide from here to the fields at the southwest end of the Big Valley. A trailer retrieve from here would involve a steep climb on a roughish dirt road. Peacheys (aka Planeview; 40: : ft) in the Big Valley, about a mile north of Allensville. Higher at the southwest end and somewhat rolling. Suitable for landing, but not for an aero retrieve. Pennfield (40: : ft) about 4 miles south of Penns Cave airfield. No known problems. Snook (40: : ft) about 5 miles southwest of Beaver Springs, near the village of McClure. Good for landing, but too short for an aero retrieve. Wagner (40: : ft) about 4 miles southwest of Lewistown, near Blue Mountain and the Juniata River. No known problems. Special note: University Park Airport This airfield north of State College has seen significant increase in corporate and commuter traffic in recent years it is now ranked as one of the busiest non-towered fields in North America (and may indeed soon have a tower). Pilots flying anywhere in its vicinity should be vigilant, especially at altitudes of 4000 and above, or when aligned with runways. In general, plan to stay well clear of this airfield. 9

10 If you land at University Park, please take care to push off well clear of the runway. Commuters and heavy traffic do not always understand what we do and get nervous about a landing or takeoff if you are not well clear of the runway. Monitor the CTAF (122.8) when in the area. 10