Indian Cliffs | Soaringroadtrip

The wonder started at 6:20 and lasted less than an hour. It was very light. Jim B had a sledder, Karl scratched the ridge for 20 minutes and Katrin drove the car down. Still nice to be out, though. Katrin P.

9/19/21

We arrived at launch at about a quarter to two. The windsock showed light winds but good cycles with a light North cross. Katrin launched first, immediately went up and got high. Jim was next. Same result. Karl was watching them and then got ready to follow. Suddenly everything stopped. No wind. No lift. End of show. At 4 pm a Bald Eagle came past launch. At about 4:20 another Bald Eagle went the other way, sinking. At 5pm Karl gave up and took his sledder. Nonetheless a nice day at the Cliffs. Landowner was called. Tower was called, before and after. Katrin P.

6/14/22

Jim, Bob, Bill, and Karl launched at about 5:45 into lots of lift and punchy thermals. We had flights in the two hour flight time and highest altitude achieved was 1600 over.
Jim and his Falcon and the rest of us PG.
We had punchy thermals at first which transitioned into a 7 PM wonder. We all flew until we had enough.

James B.

7/09/22

It was a nice day at the cliffs. When we arrived around 2 it was blowing mostly straight in around 8-12 with some stronger cycles. 5 HG pilots came out . First off at 3:30 was“ SkyKing “ Skinner, followed Dave P, Bill V, Pat M and myself. The air was rowdy and turbulent at times with sharp, punchy thermals. Flights ranged from 1:15 min to 2:30 min with max altitude about 3500 MSL. Having had our fill, we all chose to land around 6 pm. The eagles were out in force, and seemed to enjoy the day as much as we did. Jim K observed the flying from Draht Hill……. Watching us thru binoculars. He graciously offered Uber service back to the top for vehicle retrieves. Beer and burgers were enjoyed at Tags after. The flying has been good so far this season. Get out and get some! Chris

8/12/22

Dave Koehn got 47 minutes and about 700 ft ATO today.
Stated it was blowing 15-20 mph and crossed from the North.
He had an exciting take off and a good landing. Take off was at 3:18 PM.
Was forced to land due a sink cycle.
Jim K.

I flew at IC for 46 minutes yesterday, from about 3:15-4:00. Winds were due north and strong, around 15-20 mph (stronger than the earlier forecast). This made it hard to climb without drifting back too much. I was at 900' over launch in a good climb under the tail end of a street at one point but would have had to commit to going downwind, which I wasn't going to do for logistical reasons.
Jim K. was kind enough to take the time to meet me, show me the way up, and to drive my rig down and even wait until I landed. Thank you, Jim!
David K.

8/13/22

Karl L, Rob S, Jim F, and Bob S flew PGs in a perfect evening Wonder Wind with some glass-smooth thermals. Flight times ranged from 1:30 - 2 hours. Everyone got at least 2,000 feet above launch.
Thank you to Katrin for driving flyers to the launch after some brief afternoon flights so that they could fly in the Wonder.

https://ayvri.com/scene/mpk9223x5z/cl6uxpkwn0001346oqg6qicp9
Robert S.

8/27/22

Wonder wind started after 6 pm, but it wasn't all that wonderful. There was a north cross. Lift was light and not abundant. Karl had two flights with the second flight lasting for over an hour with 800+ feet over launch. Jim K had groupies to watch his 25 minute HG flight with 728 feet above launch. This was his first flight at the Cliffs this season. (Though he mowed the LZ several times.) He has plans for an interesting video of his flight. Bob S had two short flights and managed to clear up problems adjusting to his new wing. Katrin graciously provided shuttle rides. The tower was called before and after flights. That is all. Robert S.

9/15/22

Well…… you guys didn’t miss much . When Jim and I arrived up top around 1:30 it was blowing straight in around 9-10 mph. I was thinking I should set up my HG, but I got out my PG. Jim quickly set up his Sport 3…… and then it turned off. There were some light cycles, but not much base wind between. I took a light cycle in my PG and got 15 minutes . I got below launch and couldn’t make the LZ. I landed in the bailout. Jim picked me up and we headed up to wait for the wonder that never materialized. I took a sledder and Jim broke down. You don’t know if you don’t go. Next time……..Chris

11/08/22

Hey everyone! I'm a paraglider pilot from Williamsport PA working on my P3 rating and had the pleasure of flying last Tuesday at Indian cliffs in some great late afternoon conditions. I ended up with a 90+minute flight and shared the ridge with some bald eagles and other pilots. It was my favorite flying experience so far and really wanted to share the footage with the club. https://youtu.be/UIZA1nUa-CU Thanks and hopefully I'll see you all on the hill! -Clint

12/9/22

6 PG’s flew. Karl, Chris, Rob, Jim, Bob and Clint. It was probably 6-8 with gusts not much more than that. The air was smooth with some thermals. Might have been doable in a HG , but marginal. Totally overcast despite forecast for sun. Cloud base about 950 over launch. Flights ranged from 17 minutes to over an hour. Clint had the flight of the day. We all chose to land.. because of cold fingers and toes. Chris

4/8/23

New club member PG Jim M had two Flights. 45 minutes about 1000 Ft ATO at 11:20 AM at IC then at 3 PM a flight from HH to Pine City reaching 6K. Distance was 6 miles. New member Marc P. PG who just returned from Valle Bravo had a short flight at IC at 11:15 AM followed Jim's flight path from HH to Elmira reaching 6K but returned to the IC LZ to land. Stated lift was 1000-1200 fpm at times. The short wonder lasted about one hour from 3 to 4 PM much earlier than expected. Jim F. had a 9 minute flight when he flew about 5:15 PM. Jim K.

4/9/23

Jim M. flew his PG 45 mins 800 ft ATO at 1100 hrs. Marc P. had two extended sled runs. There was an ENE wonder wind between 1800 and 1900 hrs. No one flew to my knowledge. Jim K.

5/6/23

Yesterday a few of us took our chances and flew Harris Hill and Indian Cliffs. I arrived at Harris as Bob S., Rob S. and Bjorn were set up and ready to fly. Bob launched first into a nice cycle and started going up, after about 10 minutes the lift turned of and he headed in to land. Bjorn followed and scratched around for a bit but also landed.

When Bjorn and Bob joined us back up at the top, we decided to bag up and head to Indian Cliffs. Jim K was there and had is falcon set up and ready to go. I launched first into a light cycle. The lift was light and so I started heading out into the valley land but hooked a light thermal on the lee side of the river and worked it all the way up to 3950ft MSL. The rest of the group waited for good cycles and by that time the wonder wind started to develop. I flew for 40 minutes and everyone else had hour plus flights. Great day of flying celebrated by food and drink at Tag's afterwards!

Jim K. got to 3370 MSL and flew for an hour. Bob S. made it to 2790 and got an hour and 2:3 minutes. Bjorn had an hour plus and Rob was the last one down flying for an hour and 23 minutes reaching 3700 msl.

Brian V.

5/22/23

It was supposed to be an epic day according to Dr. Jack's Report. It was only semi epic due to the milky muted sky from the Alberta wildfire smoke. Nine PG and HG pilots gathered at Indian Cliffs waiting for it to turn on. The stalled mini stationary front slowly moved North to South over Elmira about 3 PM. It brought 8 to 15 mph winds from the NNE. Aron was first to go and reported smooth conditions. Bill V was second to launch in his high tech Laminar. He did a masterful job of taming the lift with 50 degree bank angles. After I took off the air changed to wire slapping thermals in short order. My Flytec recorded 1789 fpm as the circular vario dial filled up the top half and then reversed filled as it measured more than 1 K per minute up. While thermaling with Bill we spotted an magnificent eagle just feet away giving us the hairy eyeball. Both HG and PG felt the thermal induced turbulence until about 6:30 PM. And now the stats. Aron l, HG 35 mins 1200 ATO landing in the swamp chasing a thermal induced East wind during landing. Bill V, HG 2 hrs 28 mins, 1928 ATO. Karl l, PG 1 hour 2200 ATO landing at Harris Hill LZ. Mike l PG, 35 mins, 1277 ATO, Jim B, PG, 45 mins, 500 ATO, Bjorn PG 1 hour, 2100 ATO, Louis PG, 45 mins, 1600 ATO, Bob S PG, 5 mins, 44 mins, 950 ATO. Jim K HG, 1 hour 8 mins, 1377 ATO. A huge thank you to Julie, Christina, and Peter for launch assists and ferrying pilots back up the hill for relites and vehicles! An impromptu picnic in the LZ was provided by Julie and Bob S. That is all. Jim K.

5/26/23

Ten PG and HG pilots flew IC at it's finest in Mega air and Wonder winds yesterday. Glass off started at 6:55 PM lasting to sunset. Longest flight 2 hrs? Highest 3366' ATO Bill V. Thank you Bob S for the providing the LZ picnic. Jim K.

6/18/23

Pilots: Aron, Steve from Hyner, Jim K., Jim F., Louis V., Bill S., Bob S., Karl & Katrin. Most had extended sled rides. Bill had the longest flight, about 30 minutes. Aron was probably the highest with a few 100 ft ato. Bob, Bill and Louis had two flights. Jim F. sacrificed so that we could have a late wonder. But only Aron, Jim K. and Katrin were still at launch to enjoy it. A nice picnic was provided by Julie and Bob. Another beautiful day at the Cliffs. 😊 - Katrin P.

7/4/23

Kyle had about 3 hrs, his first soaring flight, Bill had at least 3 hrs, Katrin had 1000fpm but thought it was too strong for her, there was an exceptionally good evening wonder starting at about 6pm. Before 3pm it was light and those who launched early did not get high or stay up for very long. At 3pm the day turned on, some good thermals well beyond 2k ato, everyone was catching several of them until before the wonder. A great day for everybody who showed up. Didn't really expect that 😕 when we left earlier in the day we had a few brief moments of showers but then it cleared up beautifully. Nobody claimed a dozen eggs for landing at Bob's cone, that was the only thing not exactly perfect. Guess we all can live with that 🐣 For the records: there were 7 PGs and 2 HGs. The tower was called before and after. Pilots were Bob S., Brian V., Chris T., Bill S., Kyle B., Katrin, Alexandre A., Karl L., and last but not least Jim K. -Katrin P.

7/19/23

Karl L, Brian V, and I flew at Indian Cliffs on Wednesday evening. Sara F was there for an introduction to the site. The evening wonder wind started at 5:30 pm and grew stronger at 5:45. I launched at 5:48 and immediately went up to 500 feet above launch within about 3 minutes. Ridge lift was good and thermals were easily found. (See Brian Vogel's. FB page for a video.) I stayed up for 1:02 and reached 1150 ft ATO in very pleasant conditions. Brian launched right after I did. Brian stayed up for 1:45 and came down after feeling too cold. He reached approximately 1250 feet ATO. Karl launched later and flew for 1:15. I am not sure of his highest altitude ATO. Indian Cliffs was on, and it did not disappoint. Sara received a thorough site briefing from Karl. Jim K came out to watch and joined us for a drink in the LZ afterwards. The tower was called before and after flying. Robert S.

8/1/23

It was a good day at the Cliffs for sure, but not everyone managed to make the most of it. At first it had seemed to be a great and easy day, but that quickly changed. There was a N cross and lift at ridge level was not all that great. Thermals were not abundant, often narrow, and easily lost. Dave K. had the flight of the day with 3hrs 42 min and 4600 MSL. He did survive a flush cycle at about 4pm which got everyone to land who had not already landed, hanging on by a few ft. and slowly clawing his way back up little by little until finally making it up again well above the ridge line. Hard work paid off, great job Dave! After that conditions improved and the evening wonder began to show itself. We went up for a second round and stayed as long as we liked in easier conditions and better lift. We had almost a crowd with 3 HG and 6 PG showing. Pilots were George A., Dave K., Jim K., Jim B., Jim F., Chris T., Bill S., Bob S., and Karl. Bill was telling us about his impressions flying in Macedonia, which was a wonderful experience for him. Cuba is next on his list, ask him about it if you want to know more. Dave is looking for other pilots interested in flying Labrador Pond and Uts, contact him if you would like to join up with him. Labrador is close to Syracuse in case you're not far from there. Nice seeing and flying with you all. See you next time. Katrin P.

8/5/23

Not too bad today, would have been really good if the upper level haze had cleared out. As it was, Louis, Jimmy K and I ventured to IC to find the wind blowing straight in at 9 or so. Ridge lift only today, no thermals to speak of. I launched first and flew along the ridge for half an hour. It was pretty bouncy and not much fun. It got better an hour later and all three of us had nice flights. Not epic but I got almost 2 hours total and Jimmy and Louis both seemed to get as much as they wanted. Nobody flushed out. Jim F.