Dansville | Soaringroadtrip

Out of flight desperation I had to roll north and was flying today in Dansville NY, a SW ridge, what a nice site that is...a little intimidating at first and a 600 ft hill. The launch is a long gentle slope like the dunes...I worried about making it over the trees at the end of the slot. The wind turned on about 2pm. Saw a couple other pilots do it first. Wind was blowing about 10, no worries once in the air since the lift was strong and zoomed right up and out. The main LZ was huge. I'm not sure how long the flight was probably around 45min. The town of Dansville is out front of and off to the right of launch and seemed to be a thermal generator.
Aron

1/4/21

Rob S.and Bob S. went to Dansville. Bob had a sledder (PG). Rob set up his Freedom HG, but did not fly. The winds were light and, at times, crossed. We met the LZ Owner (Dawn). She was very friendly and said that she and her family enjoyed seeing us fly. She encouraged us not to park on the street, but rather in front of the gate at the edge of the LZ. (They have another way out.)
Rob

1/5/23

Both Rob S. and I flew PGs for 22 minutes. Launches were quick and easy. Rob got to about 650 feet above launch. I got to 450 above launch. We both landed in the apartment LZ. The sky looked like we'd get good thermals, but we only got ridge lift. It was nice, but short. We didn't try for a second flight as it was getting near sunset, but maybe we should have tried for another short flight as we later saw some birds soaring quite high above the ridge. Bob Slebodnik

1/27/23

Rob Skinner, Jim Black and I met at Dansville at 10:15 am with our paragliders. It looked good, but as soon as I spread out my wing it became too strong to fly. We went into town and had lunch while waiting for the forecasted diminishing wind speed.

At 2 pm we launched, and as soon as we did, the winds ramped up again. I was up for 55 minutes and got to 950 feet above launch, though much of my flight was at between 600 and 700 feet above launch. Jim was up for about the same amount of time and I think that he got a bit higher than I did. I'm not sure how long Rob's flight was. It looked to me like he got up to 500 or 600 feet above the launch. Rob notes he hit a gust on launch which significantly slowed forward movement and lifted him more vertically without much forward movement. It was mostly ridge lift, but there were some thermals as well. Rob and I both top-landed. Jim B. landed in the larger of the two LZs. It was difficult to penetrate to get to the LZ for me using half speed bar. perhaps I should have used full speed bar, but I thought with the gusts, I may be safer landing on top. (I used the tree farm field and Rob landed in that same field or near it.)

It was about 31 degrees Fahrenheit at the launch site. Jim was dressed in a one-piece suit that looked like a snowmobile suit which seemed to work well. I was comfortable flying with insulated boots and electric gloves. I don't think that I could fly in the winter without having a way to keep my fingers warm. The electric gloves seem to work well. Greg Hammerton ("Fly with Greg" on Youtube) recently did a review of the large tubular covers that you put on the brake lines (which then cover your gloved hands) vs electric gloves. He thought that they both worked at about the same level. Here is a link to the tubular covers:

https://paraglidingequipment.com/products/paragliding-hands-warmer-wind-stopper/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=&campaignid=11857339357&utm_content=&adgroupid=115663471856&utm_term=|&device=c&placement=&network=g&creative=486626864329&gclid=CjwKCAiArNOeBhAHEiwAze_nKP2rJdNhfILQsY_gsSIsu38sUy_eCSWBEcH_yUGw7o0vEygiRdIWfRoCFV8QAvD_BwE

I think that I would prefer electric gloves. Here is a link to the ones that I have:

https://fieldsheer.com/collections/mobile-warming-technology/products/squall-heated-glove

I got them for $99 at Costco last year. They work for me and are helpful when standing around on launch. There are many varieties on the market.

Let's keep watching the weather for a decent day to fly.

Best wishes, Bob Slebodnik

7/17/23

Chris, Karl, and I flew at Dansville early in the afternoon. I flew for 11 minutes and landed in the Apartment LZ. Launch conditions were difficult with crosswinds and passing thermals. Chris flew for 13 minutes, his first PG flight at Dansville. He encountered sustained lift while attempting to land at the Apartment LZ, so he continued to the large LZ where he was met by a police officer asking him if everything was OK.

Karl flew for a 38 minute XC flight to near the Post Office in Springwater. This was his longest XC from Dansville. Along the way, Karl encountered some turbulent thermals

After picking up Karl in Springwater, Karl and I went to Bristol. Conditions were light, and since we had only one car parked at Tim's cabin, Karl offered to hike out and bring the car to the LZ so that I could take a 8 minute extended sledder.

Robert S.