High Rock Preservation Effort

by Joe Gregor

On September 11, 2001, in a vile act of pure hatred, a handful of individuals destroyed themselves and over 2000 others in the space of little more than an hour. Within a couple more hours we witnessed what may be considered the 8th wonder of the world: the near total absence of aviation over the entire US for the first time in almost a century. This persisted for nearly three days before first commercial, then civil, aviation was slowly reconstituted. The return to normalcy would require much longer for an unlucky few, however. In the Baltimore-Washington area we saw the creation of Enhanced Class-B airspace and a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) around the Capitol City, which exists to this day - and into the foreseeable future. Small airports in this area - including Washington Executive Hyde Field, Potomac Airpark, and College Park Airport - continue to operate under draconian restrictions which include pilot fingerprinting, FBI background checks, mandatory secret service briefings, anti-terrorism training, and complex operational rules that have caused most pilots and clubs to avoid the area altogether. Also effected was an important hang gliding site called High Rock. In this article I will chronicle the current year-long effort by the Capitol Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and Maryland Hang Gliding Association to reopen this site to free-flight.

High Rock
Located just above the Appalachian Trail in the Catoctin Mountains, south of the Pennsylvania border, High Rock has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating hang gliding site on the East coast. This season marks the 27th year of operations for High Rock. The launch site is also located barely 4nm NW of the Presidential retreat at Camp David, MD. In the wake of 9/11, a TFR was instituted extending 8nm from the center of the existing prohibited area around Camp David - P-40 - and covering both launch and LZ. Originally instituted by NOTAM only during those times when there was an Executive presence at Camp David, the TFR soon became continuous. This, at the suggestion of the Airline Operators and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Washington County Airport (Hagerstown, MD), who felt that a continuous TFR would reduce the number of general aviation pilots violating the airspace in ignorance of the current NOTAM restrictions. This move effectively shut down all free-flight operations at High Rock. We were grounded.

The Wait
Our initial reaction was to sit tight and wait. Many innocent people had just died. The Nation was grieving. And we had a war to fight. Put against all that, losing access to a recreational flying site, even one as important as High Rock, seemed somehow less urgent. A chance encounter between one of our club members and a Secret Service field agent at a local grocery store gave us an initial contact with which to begin a dialog. For several months we maintained contact and patiently waited for the situation to resolve itself. The security situation was grim those first few months after 9/11. America, and most notably those institutions and people who's job it was to maintain our security and that of our government, had been blind-sided. It would take time to regain equilibrium, and the general public was being asked to compromise some of their rights and freedoms until the Nation could regain its composure. We did our part, waiting patiently and standing ready to provide information, if called upon. We maintained lines of communication to the authorities in charge of the airspace around High Rock, educated ourselves as to their concerns, and carefully worked toward a deeper mutual understanding of the issues involved. A low-key letter writing campaign was initiated to let local officials and the FAA Administrator know who we were, and what our interest was. And we waited.

Our First Big Break
In April I called our Secret Service contact to inquire as to the status of the TFR. Our normally cordial conversations had seemed a little strained as of late. It was through him that we learned about the efforts of a local sailplane club to gain permission to fly within the TFR. The Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association (M-ASA) had a satellite operation at Fairfield, an airstrip about 8nm NE of Camp David. While M-ASA was technically outside of the TFR, the restriction placed a severe burden on their operations and compromised safety. Our two organizations had earlier agreed to work jointly toward a modification of the TFR, but M-ASA had later decided that we might do better to work independently. I thought little of this at the time, but it was to be an indicator of potential problems down the road.

Our Secret Service contact suggested that we put in for a waiver to fly at the end of the month. He put us in touch with the proper authorities within the FAA, and we applied for a waiver to permit hang gliding for the first weekend in June - the original dates for the 27th Annual High Rock Fly-In. This period coincided with a week-long soaring contest scheduled for the last week of May sponsored by M-ASA at Fairfield. The FAA/USSS response to these multiple requests was to completely lift the TFR during this period; with the caveat that the TFR could be re-instated on a moments notice if the President were to come to Camp David. All went well (except for the weather) up until the weekend of our fly-in. Then the weather turned a perfect NW-10/15 (the ideal High Rock forecast) and the President decided to spend the weekend at Camp David. I was given a few days notice that we would likely be shut down Saturday and Sunday - and we were. The fly-in was held at another NW site, but we held the festivities in the High Rock LZ at the end of the day. Everyone was disappointed. There was controversy about whether or not the President actually was at Camp David that weekend; although I was assured through sources in the FAA and USSS that he was, indeed. So how were we to proceed from here?

Issues
Several of our members also fly sailplanes at M-ASA. The grapevine was telling us that there may have been a reason we got shut down the weekend of the High Rock Fly-in; a reason beyond Presidential presence at Camp David. The same reason M-ASA had later chosen to operate independently of the CHGPA and MHGA. Allegations that hang glider pilots had been caught attempting to launch from High Rock in violation of the TFR. Allegations that irate letters and phone calls to officials had muddied the waters. A recommendation from official sources that M-ASA should disassociate themselves from 'the hang gliders' if they wanted to prevail in their efforts to reduce the TFR. Not good. Not good at all.

It was clear that our only hope of flying the Rock once again was to earn the trust and acceptance of the controlling agencies. An investigation was quietly launched to determine the veracity of these allegations. Steps were immediately taken to ensure that no such things had occurred, nor would occur in the future. We were now eight months into the 'temporary' closure of High Rock. Emma Jane, the patron saint of High Rock, who has for 27 years maintained a field we may call home when it comes time to land, was seriously ill and sorely missing us. The local hang gliding community was losing patience with the waiting game.

The Push
While we had never been led to believe that things would soon return to normal, we were assured that the TFR was considered a temporary measure. Well, all things may be relative, but eight months was feeling on the long side of temporary to me, as well. By now the TFR had contracted to 5 nm (to accommodate the nearby Washington County airport), but it was still there. We as a community had exhibited the requisite degree of maturity and self-restraint. It was time to accelerate our efforts.

Having identified the offices we needed to work with, and developed an understanding of the system and the individual agendas involved, the next step was to gain a formal audience so we could educate the controlling authorities about ourselves. The Secret Service thought they knew what a hang glider was and what its capabilities were. It was important that we ensure they were correct in their understanding, and to begin searching for some path toward a mutual accommodation. The same was true for the FAA, especially in light of the information we had gotten from M-ASA. This was not something you could just wing. We were talking about the U.S. Secret Service, the National Command Authorities, and national security, here. Our position would have to be extremely reasonable, our arguments both logical and concrete - and anchored by hard data.

Fortunately, we had a secret weapon in Emma Jane, the owner of the High Rock LZ. For years she has maintained a field for our exclusive use as the High Rock LZ. We even have a permanent pavilion there. At the end of our flights we say "hi" to Emma Jane, express our appreciation, and sign her 'log-book,' describing our flights. These log books proved to be a gold mine of hard data concerning flying activities at "the Rock" over the years. Obtaining them, I was able to develop statistics describing sortie rates, hours flown, and the number of flyable days experienced at High Rock. Using individual pilot logbooks, I was able to calculate the percentage of airtime and launches experienced at the Rock vs. other nearby mountain sites. 50-caliber ammunition. And the numbers were staggering.

Over the previous four years we had averaged in the neighborhood of 425 flights and 330 hours per year at the Rock. Moreover, from the pilot logbooks I examined in detail, I found that nearly 40% of the total mountain-time logged was High Rock time! The loss of this one site had a major impact on our ability to fly - and we could prove it using hard numbers! I developed a PowerPoint briefing introducing the local hang gliding community, giving a physical description of the flying site, and including a brief history of hang gliding at High Rock together with a synopsis of our activities pre-9/11. It followed with a discussion of the capabilities and limitations of hang gliders, and the training required to be able to fly them at this site. Finally, it argued how important the site was to the local flying community for purposes of training, currency, and pilot proficiency. Using the data we had from Emma Jane and pilot's personal logbooks, together with the FAA's own guidelines for general aviation pilots, I was able to calculate the number of flying days we would need to maintain safety and proficiency in cliff launch operations at the Rock. Hard numbers, in a language they could understand. Now we just had to find someone to tell our story too.

The Long Hot Summer
Between vacations and work-related travel on both sides of the aisle, it was early August before we could set up a meeting with our Secret Service and FAA contacts. The FAA ended up first, and based on the information we had gotten from M-ASA, I was expecting a roast. I could not have been more wrong. After delivering our talk to the FAA Presidential movements official and his supervisor, I was led over to a desk where copies of the requisite waiver forms were made available to me along with advice on how to process them. Most importantly, I was given contact information for the office we really needed to be working with: Headquarters, U.S. Secret Service. Now we were finally getting somewhere.

We put in a short notice waiver request for ten days at the end of August. The request was approved - after the fact (you can only make the bureaucracy move so fast). But as part of this process, we had fleshed out the rules-of-engagement that would be acceptable to the USSS for operating under waiver within the TFR. We had only to put in another request. Our friends in the FAA assured me that they could process these requests in short order, once application was received from us. But there were storm clouds on the horizon. Things were threatening to boil over within the local pilot community, and with good reason. It was becoming increasingly difficult to council patience eleven months into a supposedly 'temporary' closure. Having a relatively open list-server as our primary means of communication added to the difficulty; you never knew who might be reading the mail. We were so close. If only we could hold it together a little while longer.

I waited until September 12 to put in the next waiver request; reasoning that if nothing happened on September 11, 2002 our case would be that much stronger, and if something did happen, well, the request would be a dead letter anyway. Nothing happened, and in went our application - for the entire month of October. Ten days later we received our waiver - for three days: October 4, 5, and 6. A test? Or the only time Camp David would be unoccupied? Would we actually get to fly this time?

Rock'ing Once Again
Historically, the High Rock Fly-In was a weather machine. Just announce the dates for the fly-in and, regardless of the forecast, it would magically become NW-10/15 the morning of the fly-in. It was virtually guaranteed. Unfortunately, this was not the High Rock Fly-In, and the weather Gods knew it. Instead of NW-10/15, blue skies filled with little puffy cumies, we would begin the period with pre-frontal SW-15 ahead of a cold front that was backed up by the remnants of hurricane Lilly. Thank you, Sir, may I have another?

Friday, October 4 was an easy-to-call bust. Saturday looked blown out. Sunday seemed the only day with real potential. We placed our calls to the proper authorities announcing our intention to fly Saturday and Sunday. We faxed a copy of the waiver to the Washington ARTCC, who had no idea of its existence until we called-in. Coordination was made for a site monitor as per waiver instructions. This weekend just happened to coincide with the nearby Pulpit Fly-In (which goes far to explaining the poor weather) and so coordination was also arranged between the Pulpit flight director and the High Rock site monitor to handle pilots who might attempt a cross country task between the two sites.

By Saturday morning the forecast had changed to sunny skies all weekend, WSW turning East by Sunday. My wife Janet and I drove up to High Rock for the first time in over a year. It felt very strange. Coming around the last bend to our first view of the setup area, we found... two vehicles. Bruce and Barb Satatis were there taking first shift as site monitor. Danny Brotto was hanging out waiting to set up his glider. Everyone else had gone to the Pulpit to attend the Fly-in pilot's briefing at 10:30am. It was now 10am, and already blowing strong at High Rock launch. We drove over to the Pulpit to say "hi" and perhaps drum up some business for the Rock, passing several vehicles going the other way on the backside of the Pulpit ridge. These lucky folks would become the first hang glider pilots to launch from the Rock in over a year!

Back at the Rock, around 2:00pm, the parking lot was near full and gliders were being set up. The three pilots who had chosen the Rock over competition at the Pulpit Fly-In were taking to the air. The prevailing 10/20G28 winds had begun to lull and a window opened up permitting Pete Schumann, Dave Proctor, and Tom McGowan to re-christen the Rock. These three ensured that, no matter what else happened that day, High Rock was operational once again!

The next launch would not take place until 4:55pm, when the winds had again backed off enough for the most experienced of us to safely launch. Twelve more pilots slipped the surly bonds, including: Steve Kinsley, Kelvin Pierce, Allen Sparks, Joe Gregor, Terry Spencer, Danny Brotto, John Middleton, Eddie Miller, Kurtis Kemerer, Craigin Shelton, Brian (we don't need no stinkin' LZ) Vant-Hull, and Richard Hays. Kudos to all (ultimately too numerous to list) who came to the Rock this day, for contributing a little to High Rock history.

Once airborne, conditions were surprisingly smooth ridge lift to 1k over, with occasional thermal lift to almost 2k over. The winds were very cross from the North. The LZ proved to be challenging for most pilots right up until official sunset. Dave Proctor summed it up nicely when responding to our query about his mid-afternoon landing experience: "I'm alive." Tom elected to do multiple go-arounds on approach to the field until a nicer landing cycle presented itself. It's a pretty good day when you can do go-arounds in a hang glider! Pete decided to remain aloft for 3+45. On letdown to the LZ at 10 minutes before official sunset, I found the lift band still extending more than a mile out from the ridge, past the LZ! And the LZ was still quite active. Challenging, yes, but ultimately a good day. After all, we got to fly the Rock once again!

Okay, So, Now What?
This weekend marked the first time hang gliders were permitted to fly under waiver within the active TFR. This is a milestone feat - and we did it solo. We did not ride on someone else's coattails. No other organization was involved in this effort. This marks an extremely important milestone in the High Rock preservation effort; but it is only a milestone, one of many more to come. The Rock is still closed to general, civil, and ultralight aviation. We must continue to request a new waiver whenever we wish to fly at the Rock. We will be required to follow the procedures - outlined at the end of this article - set out by the FAA and the USSS. With time, if we continue to act responsibly, we may be able to work a blanket 'letter of agreement' permitting us to fly at High Rock whenever security and weather conditions permit. That is our goal. It will take all of us to get there.

I would like to thank everyone in the local community who helped to make this happen; be it via direct support, or by exercising Herculean self-restraint in the face of long odds. This was a group effort in that any one of us, by act of omission or act of commission, could have thrown a stainless steel monkey wrench into the works. We had a very narrow path to tread, one not clearly marked, which could take us where we wanted to go. With a little luck and a lot of patience, we threaded that needle. With a little more luck and a lot more patience, we will yet see the journey to its end.

So, let's hold the 28th Annual High Rock Fly-In at the Rock, shall we?

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR P-40

1. Notify the U.S. Secret Service, and Washington ARTCC the day prior of intended flight within the Temporary Flight Restricted airspace around P-40.

2. On the day of the flight, a launch site manager shall notify the United States Secret Service Joint Operations Center 1 hour prior to beginning flight operations.

3. The launch site manager:
   a. Shall be present at the launch site throughout hang glider flight operations.
   b. Shall provide the USSS with a name (or names, if duties are to be shared)and a fixed cell phone number. The cell phone has to work at the launch site.
   c. Shall be responsible to ensure that flight operations do not enter P-40 and shall report immediately to the Secret Service if it appears an operation enters P-40.
   d. Shall ensure that each hand glider operator is appropriately certificated.
   e. Have a copy of this Certificate of Authorization at the launch site and by commencing flight opera tions agrees to all of the provisions contained herein.

4. Flight within P-40 is not authorized.

5. If the U.S. Secret Service finds a particular operation objectionable from a security standpoint and so notifies the holder or site manager, this certificate of authorization becomes void for that particular operation.