Percy Priest Slope Flying

[Gary Morris]

Hey guys, thought you might want to see a video shot here in Nashville at Percy Priest Dam. The video was shot in mid November 2005 during one of the days the wind blows fromt he NW. The video was shot by one of the local flyers and he used a CVS Hacked camcorder that CVS sells for $29.95.
I edited it for him and posted it here on Ezone. The movie features lots of action on the NW slope of the dam. You can click here (http://www.putfile.com/justgary) and then click on the slope soaring video from my putfile homepage.

Enjoy!

Gary Morris

[ghee-grose]

Good video Gary, but I like the Slow Stick Airlines one better! :D

[Gary Morris]

Lol yeah that was just for fun, making and editing videos can be alot of fun but it sure takes up alot of time to do it.


Thanks,

Gary

[atjurhs]

Gary,

Can you please provide a detailed description of where the video was shot - perhaps a YahooMaps, Mapquest, or GoogleEarth link.

I would love to fly a grass slope sometime and would be very willing to come up to Nashville to do it.

Do they ever DS there? It looks like DS'ing would be doable there.

[dee-grose]

Todd, here's a Google Earth placemark for Percy-Priest. I'd bet the light poles on the road would make DS'ing interesting.

Nice slope though!

Andy

[atjurhs]

Man I'm ordering the wing cores for my Son Of Savage (crunchie sloper) today!

[Gary Morris]

The dam is located on Bell Road and within site of interstate 40. You would either exit at the Stewarts Ferry Exit off of I-40, turn to the right and go to the first stop light. Turn left and proceed approximately 1/16 of a mile to the parking lot on the right. There is no parking on the grassy side except below the dam which is a long walk. As far as DS'ing it's doable but there are obstructions and traffic is heavy on the road over the dam. The wind needs to be NW for the grassy side, SE for the water side. The water side has parking after you cross over the dam on the right. Parking is limited and on nice days parking is practically impossible to find. There is a small, 150 foot by 100 foot grassy area for landing on the SE side. During warm nice weather sun bathers use the grassy area on the SE side to get a tan. During those times it's not a good idea to slope soar since you may hit someone when landing. So far we have not had a problem with the Corp of Engineers or Park Rangers however you need to be aware of all of the traffic and be careful of not hitting a car when slope flying over the road. Click here (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=percy+Priest+Dam+Nashville,+Tennessee&t=k&ll=36.157056,-86.621168&spn=0.008177,0.014462&t=k) for the map!

Gary

[atjurhs]

Have you sloped the watery side? It doesn't appear (from Google Earth) that there is enough altitude difference between the water and the road. Not having been there I obviously don't know, so that's why I ask.

In HSV we have a very good slope (althought it is rock) for NW winds, but our SE site gives rather turbulent air. So it would be easier to drag guys up there on a SE than on a NW. I personally would go for either if both are slopeable.

I'll PM you my personal email, and if you could add me to your list of folks to notify when the weather and winds are right, I'd sure appreciate it!

[nuevo]

Gary, thanks for the pointing us to this place. I heard about it many years ago, but never heard how to get there.

Andy, thank link is so cool. Didn't know you could do that. The grassy side for NW winds looks so nice, even for crunchy planes. The prospect of people laying out on the slope is not appealing to me, though. :(

Now for a link of my own... For the trivia minded, here's a place were I have sloped a few times in Brookville, IN. The dam is about 1/2 mile long, and the drop off on the grassy side is 200-300'. A long valley feeds into the dam when winds are from the S. My last slope flight there was 8 hours and 2 minutes :eek: for a single flight.

[Gary Morris]

Both sides are good, the SE rocky side is good since there is little to no turbulance when the wind is SE. The NW or grassy side is longer and nicer with a much higher slope but I still like the SE side since you can get tons of lift off of the tall (50 foot) pine trees behind the SE corner. The folks sunbath only on the SE side and only when the weather is warm so shouldn't hinder you guys any. Generally spring break is bad because of all of the people on the SE side to get some rays.

Gary

[GLIDERGIDER]

Jon,
That is a nice dam. I've got to go there someday. Wow. Did you notice the city neighborhood just down stream of the Dam? If that levy ever broke, there would be a lot of homes mowed down by the water. I hate to see construction right below a dam.
Dave
<road trip>


, here's a place were I have sloped a few times in Brookville, IN. The dam is about 1/2 mile long, and the drop off on the grassy side is 200-300'. A long valley feeds into the dam when winds are from the S. My last slope flight there was 8 hours and 2 minutes :eek: for a single flight.

[Miderror]

scrached