Holly Korzilius describes her first experience launching from a mountain site, at the Pulpit on March 23, 2003.

Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 20:45:13 -0500
From: SemperFly
Subject: [chga] Re: Pulpit Sunday
To: "CHGA Discussion List"

I can't thank everyone enough for yesterday's experience. So many people so eager for me to experience my first mountain flight. So many people so willing to share some words of wisdom with me prior to my first mountain flight. So many willing to give up some of their own flying time to make sure I was armed with the information I'd need to make a safe launch, good approach, and safe landing.

Allen Sparks - Thank you for spending the day with me out at Smithsburg on Saturday. Sunday's flight would have never happened without the extra foot launch practice I got in with you. Watching you and the crew fly "combat zagis" was a definite treat too:-)

Cragin - Thank you for walking the LZ's with me, Gene, and Howard. Without your willingness delay your own flight, we would not have been prepared to fly yesterday afternoon.

Matthew Graham - Thank you so much for observing me. Though I was a bit intense leading up to those first few steps down the platform, everything just felt good. "Felt" being the operative word. I can still hear you asking, "How does it feel?" with reference to my wings and if they felt balanced. Things felt so balance, that I wondered how much you and the rest of the wire crew were doing for me :-)

Dan Tomlinson and Mark Cavanaugh - Thank you for the post flight launch critiques. They prompted me to do more of a self-analysis than I likely otherwise would have done, which will certainly help me to do better in the future. And that's what each flight is all about right? Learning so that successive flights will be even better than those that came before.

Steve Wendt - Thank you for all the instruction you've provided, both formal and informal, over the past year and a half. I owe you so much. Perhaps we'll be able to fly together in the mountains sometime soon.

It was truly a wonderful experience....

Soaring the ridge with so many other pilots.
Spending time with everyone both before and after launch.
Being able to now put faces with the names I've seen on the listserv for over a year.
Getting a taste of what flying in the mountains is about.
Having plenty of opportunity to exercise the right of way rules that had previously only been book knowledge
Spooking a hawk (he was flying back towards me and the ridge but was looking back at the valley. When he decided turn and watch where he was flying, he realized how close he was to me and did a wing over, tucked his wings and dove below me... I couldn't help but giggle)

I can't wait to do it all again. Thank you all!

Holly