KnumbKnuts' Hang Gliding Blog

Holy Shmoly, We are Live!

2010-05-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

Last week, I sprinted toward the finish line of setting up the Big O Loop. I was like one of those marathon runners who's upchucking and stumbling as he enters the stadium, time long since having been a factor, the completion of the race being the only thing that matters.

And stumbled across it I did. There are a few warm down laps to run... then the century race of long term operations begins. But, for now, we are live.

A few days later, it's a blur. I remember a lot of drilling, chainsawing, cutting, bolting, begging, buying, weed whacking, digging, cementing, etc. Club silent stalwarts Rebar Dan DeWeese and Mike Zeller worked their butts off, Dan fabricating a great rack and Mike helping with it, as wells as taking a big chunk of out of the native California scrub brush anywhere near the Big O Loop (and, of course, mowing the LZ lawn or getting multi-hour flights the rest of the time). Ken Howells was a great help in the setup and testing of the wings, ever patient with a couple of completely boneheaded moves on my part.

Friday night, after Jonathan "NMERider" Dietch helped Ken test the double rack, after Mike and I cut Lower Embree (a no wind hang launch right below the graded portion), after a very long day, I booked a nice hotel room, took a relaxing swim, soaked my bones in the jacuzzi, had a fantastic dinner, a couple of Blue Moon ales, and passed out. I was so beat from the day I woke up in the middle of the night and had a hard time getting back to sleep, making me somewhat late for the LZ on Saturday, certainly not early enough to beat Mike Zeller as he sanded down the sharp edges of the rack.

The Ranger with 2 Wings

As Mike went to weed whack the LZ (try and stop that guy), I tweaked the front rack, adding a missing bolt and lowering it 6 inches (to help keep front and back wingtips from touching). Finally, I got to do a little test flying, paying for the Loop like any other customer, a scant 15 clams buying me 3 flights for a total of 2 hours of flying.

My first flight was an extended sledder of ten minutes, where I launched too soon after Ken and flushed him out of thermals. Lesson learned: one wing should be working the slope at a time, unless arranged in advance. Sorry again, Ken.

Flight number two bore easy and immediate fruit. A series of lazy 8s between the F'O' Hundred and Embree Launches got me up to the 750, where I was able to branch out a little and start chasing the thermals that were rolling through. Soon, I was over Marshall and heading to Crestline. I arrived a bit below launch, hit 6K at Billboard, jumped to Pine, got to 7,200', then tagged Sugarpine and went on glide without turning to the CVS Pharmacy in front of the University.

Tracklog of my second flight

I landed, hit the port-a-potty (a clubhouse will be a welcome place to take a break), chugged a diet root beer, then went up for flight #3. It was not a failure, but I didn't reach my goal of "breaking out," which I define as being over the windsock at Marshall at some point. I "only" got 40 minutes and over Regionals, before I decided to bring it in for the third landing of the day... the first time I've gotten three landings in a day at Andy Jackson Airpark.

This week, we've got customers coming and more administrative procedures to work out. We need volunteers, we need to practice and train running it, we need to think about maintenance. But, that's all minor stuff.

We're live!

Jonathan's Big O Loop Test Flights

Big O Loop, the Breakout

2010-05-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

The big news of the day is that I launched my U2 from the Embree Launch (about 380') and flew for 45 minutes, getting above Marshall and Cloud, and landing after the cold and my sore shoulder got me. Let's hope its the first of many breakout flights for many pilots this year.

What a fun flight, thanks Owen "Big O" Morse and "Rebar" Dan Deweese for the hard work on the Ranger Rack and for helping me launch. Thanks Ken "KH-11" Howells for the snapping the pics below (all pics except the track pop to larger versions).

The Ranger Rack back is done, solid... Dan's the man. The middle portion needs about 9 more inches to lift the wingtips above the bush on the way up. The front portion needs a couple of U bolts made the hard way, outta threaded stock, and that will be it. That's not a lot... we (i.e. Dan) should polish it off this Friday or Saturday.

Some work on the brush and the launches is in order, too.

At least the brush is pretty for now.

Getting the wing down needs some process improvement

.Dan wouldn't let Shiloh help me this time.

Yeeeeeeeargh!

Happiness is having them look up.

Got over Marshall and Cloud.

Hawk buzzes the LZ while I was up.

Puppy puppy puppy puppy!

The same winds that got me out made the landing easy.

Scratch scratch scratch pop scratch scratch pop ahhh... spiral down.

Big O Loop, Proof of Concept Complete

2010-05-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

It's coming, like a freight train.

In less than a month, The Big O Loop will be fully operational (and self-aware?). Yesterday, I strapped my fully set up U2 on the back of our Polaris Ranger and we drove up Via Testes to the F'O' Hundred Launch. I launched into a SE cycle and had a nice 3 minute extended sledder.

Thanks Rebardan for driving me up and the work (and more coming) on the rack. Thanks to Linda Dunn for taking most of these pics.

Ironically, all the work I have put into the project contributed to my not capitalizing on two thermals and getting up and out. I had only had 3 flights and AJX in the previous six months, despite twenty or so trips to the hill. It is just too hard to fly and get significant work done. So, I flew conservatively, not turning into a thermal because I was too close to the terrain for comfort (though I probably could have pulled it off with plenty of room to spare). I settled for a solid launch, led out by Shiloh, a three minute flight, and a perfect landing.

All photos by Linda Dunn, except the one with her in it. Thanks Linda!

Shiloh shows me how to launch

We are getting there, but I have a lot of work to do before our BBQ honoring Big O for his Presidential Citation on June 5th. Among other things, we have to:
- finish the ticket box and signs
- clear a lot of brush on Via Testes
- Cut the Zeller Cliff Launch and KK's Half a K (500) Launch
- Get the rack for the Ranger fabricated
- Program the online reservation system
- Find an Internet voice mail to email system
- Recruit volunteers to help run it

Crap, that's a buncha stuff. I better look at some pics to motivate myself (click to pop bigger pics).

Loading up the test wing (mine)

While Marlin test flies, Jim, Jim and James work on the sprinkler system.

Gene gave us a great, wide road to work with

Stop, lop, ready to roll!

Wot, no hook in sign?

A motley crew

Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta...

Il Padrino i Il Consigliere

Hilarious launch, Jeff plowed through the brush, hootin' and hollerin'

Jeff emerges from the brush to a beautiful sunset.

Kevin does a nice forward inflation in a crosswind

And off Kevin goes

A montage of my first launch from the F'O' Hundred.

A Pleasant Day at Torrey Pines

2010-05-02T23:00:00.001-07:00

I haven't had much to yap about this winter, as I've only been working on the Big O Loop, with a smattering of unremarkable flights.

Friday, however, I did have a pleasant bit of flying at Torrey Pines. I took two flights with Joe Spinney borrowing my wing in between (Joe is pictured here)

Joe Spinney on my U2

Only a couple of things worth mentioning:
- Finally got another of Rebar Dan's Hook In signs delivered to Torrey. Let's see if those pissants who chucked the last one over the cliff leave this one alone.
- Got most of a right turn out of my wing, but it needs some TLC, there's still a bit of one there.
- Being 160 pounds on a U2 160 with full VG on a medium-light day at Torrey puts you above most other wings.
- It was fun to just chill up and down the range, buzzing people on the cliffs, getting a better view of the mansions and pier and golfers, and just, generally, relaxing. I'm not used to being so relaxed in the air for such a long period of time. It's always cathartic, but usually busier. The relaxing flights are usually sledders, by definition short.

Peace in our time? If any PG pilots mess with this one, maybe we can just bitch slap 'em.

The Big O Loop, A CSS Venture

2010-02-28T00:27:00.000-08:00

6 months ago, I started working on the Big O Loop as a private venture to benefit Owen and Len, the owners of the land above the LZ at Andy Jackson. It was my thought that they could use it to stop their financial bleeding and pay down the principal on the property, eventually paying it off and donating it to the club, taking a tidy write off or something.

However, they were losing money faster than they or I realized and it was time to turn to the board of the Crestline Soaring Society for help.

For the next few months, the board will be working on a feasibility study to buy the property from Len and Owen. The club as a whole will vote on it. I am confident that the club will go for it and will own the land outright long before I stop flying there.

The Big O Loop, a part of what will eventually be quite a nice destination flight park, will be off to a quick start with the purchase of a new utility vehicle to haul multiple wings up at once to the the "F'O' Hundred" and "Embree" launches. The club agreed to pay for the right vehicle for the job, sparing me having to dip far into the cash reserves to do it.

These are going to be very exciting times at the Andy Jackson Flight Park. The club has survived the threat of development and the fire and is going to be the place to go to fly in the West, if not the country. Where else will you be able to stay at the LZ, have nice showers and facilities, a clubhouse, year-around good flying weather, and launches at every necessary height to learn the sport and become a better pilot? It will be a foot launch paradise.

As a bonus, I am now very optimistic that that two men who took a *huge* risk for the club won't be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I'm very happy tonight.

Via Testes and AJX (photo by Wills Wing test pilot and CSS Webmaster Ken Howells)

Big O Loop:1, El Niño: 0

2010-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

What a week... and the week before that was a lot of hard work. I spent a lot of cabbage cutting a road up to new launches and a fair bit on top of that, prepping it for the rain. That rain came with a vengeance... the wettest week in almost 15 years. Ugh.

The call for help went out here.

Mike Zeller, Rob McKenzie (in the rain especially), Owen, Carl, Flakey John, Kevin Greene, Megret, Rebar Dan, Kenny, Rod, Bob, the list of people who helped prep for the rains is bigger than that, but they are the ones that spring to mind at the moment. What a great team effort.

It held up against 8 inches (at least) of rain in 5 days... that's half a normal season. Lots of that came down in strong bursts that overwhelmed the terrain. The road needs more design work and a lotta "touching up," but it held.

The jute matting (straw / mesh) held well, as did the canvas. The hay bales were also a success. The home made straw rolls were basically worthless, the drains were a joke. Cutting trenches seemed to help, especially the deeper ones.

The culverts worked very well.

Here are some pics... Click on them to pop larger ones.

The F'O' Hundred Launch

Soft stuff washed away, leaving these monsters

Between the launches

Zeller's diagonal cut across Embree

Looking down the last climb after the last turn

These straw rolls didn't do much

The burlap strips and jute matting held the line... the slope held.

This slope was a concern

I was worried about a slide from the left... didn't happen.

10 dollar rolls of burlap... best bang for the buck

The drains sucked... only figuratively... this was the only visible one.

The mud in the middle pushed the water to the right (see next photo)

Under the bale and down the slope... this was the worst spot in the "Great White Slope" and still not bad. That jute matting was worth the $740... it save the slope.

The banks we built up washed away, but the matting prevented a slide.

Above the McKenzie launch

The slope to the East near McKenzie Launch

Nasty chasm in the loose sand... a few of these in safe spots.

Middle portion was safe

This deep ditch worked really well.

Above the first slope.

The rocks worked well

Bottom of culverts... great job Rob & Owen

Rob engineered a nice solution!

Bottom of Via Testes

Pretty deep ditch on the inside of the road above the Ranch House

Still there!

The road into the LZ had some nasty damage

Little worried going over this one

The Big O Loop begins!

2009-12-23T06:41:00.000-08:00

I want to revolutionize hang gliding in Southern California. Helping Owen Morse and Len Szafaryn get the some income out of the Cross Country Ranch House property will do that. Owen and I are building a system to take hang gliders on carts to a new launch 400 feet above the LZ, without having to break them down. This will greatly improve training for all levels of pilots and general enjoyment for those who want to get more flying in when they go out to Andy Jackson Flight Park (AJX).

This new venture is called the Big O Loop in honor of Owen Morse, one of the property owners and captain of this ship, so to speak (I'm the XO, to extend the metaphor).

Dusty Rhodes prepares for the first flight from the F'O' Hundred Launch

Three other sites gave me the inspiration for this: Morningside, Torrey Pine, and Yosemite. I paid a lot of money to rack up flights at Morningside and Torrey so I could fly at Yosemite. It's easy to get airtime in Southern California, but it's hard to get the 250 flights you need to get your Advanced Rating, required for Yosemite.

So, In June of '08, I spent just under a grand and a weekend short packing my Falcon 3 to fly to Morningside to get as many flights in as possible. I got 22 in a day, but only one day out of three was flyable. A year later, I paid $195 for a "lesson" at Torrey and got 10 more flights in. I got my advanced rating in June and flew at Yosemite in July. It was a lot of work to get there, but it was worth it.

What, I wondered, if we had a cart system like Morningside out here? That would make it so much easier to build up skills! In October, I pitched an idea to Owen and it turns out he had already wondered about launching from his property and had a spot already picked out for a launch. I explained the cart system concept and asked him if we could build a system like that on the XC Ranch House property. Owen enthusiastically gave the thumbs up, checked with Len, and it began.

We have three main goals:
- Provide a system to allow for "all you can eat" flying in Southern California, improving enjoyment and safety of the sport.
- Reduce the principal on the loan for the Ranch House.
- Support hang gliding instructors by allowing them access to the system free of charge.

Gene dozes the trail - day one from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

As it stands now, we're cutting the road and prepping the property. The website is up. Up next: buy and build a cart system to get as many wings to the top of the hill as easily as possible.

Hang gliding is fun. This will make it even funner.

Volunteerism and hang gliding clubs...

2009-10-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Time for a non-flying post, as often, in the world of hang gliding, there is much that goes on that is not related to flying... or much that *can* go on if you want to be helpful. It's surprising how much is needed, in a way. There's a lot of work required to get to good launches and land in safe landing zones. Most of that work is local, some is national.

On the national front, it amazes me that USHPA (the nat. org.) requires so much of its regional directors. RDs have to travel, partially at own expense, twice a year (during the work week!) to conferences around the country. At these conferences, there are all kinds of meetings and breakout sessions. That's a sacrifice I can't make, my time is just tooooo valuable.

Much of the best work is done by individuals who just take a load on their back and carry it far down the road. Two individuals who spring to mind are SG and Owen.

SG started hanggliding.org and made it the top hang gliding website in google search results. It's a fantastic forum where I have made a lot of friends and learned a lot. SG didn't even solicit financial help with the considerable costs until we begged him to, but we can't account for his even more valuable time.

Another prime example is Owen Morse, who single handedly coordinated and funded (he got slight financial assistance that he mostly passed on to the photographers) an art exhibit at the John Wayne airport, where hang gliders now (still!) hang above the baggage claim, and hang gliding pictures and videos greeted passengers for months.

On that note, I'm looking forward to doing a project that is mostly private, mostly under the... authority... of another pilot (and better man than I). It is my goal that hang gliding on the West Coast become easier, especially the learning part. We'll see... it's a lofty goal, but worth aiming high for.

On a final note, volunteering for an all-volunteer, non-profit club doesn't really work with my personality type. I just don't suffer fools gladly enough, nor should people have to suffer me. I'm old enough, I'm not going to change, and I just am not wired to stay above the fray.

In the past 3 years, I have, as an official officer and simply as a member of the Crestline Soaring Society:
- hosted at least a half dozen BBQs outta my own pocket
- assisted with 3 fly-ins
- completely hosted two (including one where I cooked for 125 people)
- organized trips to Big Sur, Dunlap, Mingus (though I couldn't go), and Funston (didn't fly, weather)
- attended officer meetings, often on non-flying days (i.e. spent time and gas just to make it)
- joined in on 3 work parties
- tried to deal with troublemakers.

That last one is the sticky wicket and the reason I am listing the work I've done. I want to point out that I'm trying hard to contribute, hopefully earning the right to rant a bit here (of course I can, it's my blog and hardly anyone reads it). There's a guy or two in the club that have really bristled at me when I've tried to implement safety rules or edit personal attacks off the forums.

It takes an almost Solomonic wisdom, respect of you by others (which I have some of, but I'm too much a loudmouth), and patience (which I will never have) to be a *good* volunteer for a member-driven hang gliding club.

Why is all that necessary? Hang glider and paraglider pilots are pretty strong willed individuals from all walks of life. They have a strong desire to fly, but not always a matching desire to do what it takes to help that happen. They also bristle at authority more than I think the non-flying population does, on average.

Why is authority necessary? Because of this thing called responsibility. The club is responsible for maintaining safe launches, safe landing zones, insurance, and good relations with governmental agencies.

If not enough step up and/or the don't-mess-with-me-I'm-just-here-to-fly-man sentiment prevails, you get a situation where you lose most everything and find yourself getting chased out of LZs by land owners, as has happened with a famous site... a site famous in part for the don't-mess-with-me sentiment (which I love, it's just not panning out).

If some step up and carry the burden, you get a great club. I will list a few from Crestline:
- The cornerstones (the McKenzies) have led with that Solomonic wisdom and Herculean strength (they deserve two metaphors). They have done so much more than their share, it's not even funny. Even as non-officers (Rob started stepping back after *decades* of carrying the load a few years ago and Dianne is on her last as site coordinator and fly-in coordinator), they will do more than most officers, just doing that which they see a need for on a daily basis.
- Another strong cornerstone, Owen Morse, has done more as a non-officer than most officers, as well.
- Ken Howells has been a standing board member for decades without a break, keeping the website, windtalker, and technology going (and being a strong, calm presence in disciplinary matters).
- Mike Zeller has not missed a work party in the three years I've been there and volunteers as a board member.
- Alan Crouse led the club through a couple of hard years dealing with development next door, all the time with a quiet class we will miss when he steps down at the end of the year.
- Mike Blakely and Megret Oleweiler also make many work parties, carry great loads at the fly ins, and contribute in their way board.
- Dusty and Cathy Rhodes do countless quiet, little things that add up to making them irreplaceable
- Mark Hoffman often shows and just does what needs doing
- Brent Landrum has done quite a bit for the club while staying at the LZ, mowing the lawn and helping out in general.
- Rebar Dan welded our shelves in the storage containers, make hook-in reminder signs, and led the Marshall Road clearing... because those things simply need doing.

Then you get the assholes, the guys who stick a finger in your eye when all you are trying to do is get the job done as well as you can. I'm not quitting as activities director because of them, there are other things I am hoping to do that will be bigger and better (and where I'll have to put up with less shit), but I'm not going to miss having to deal with the hecklers.

Here's a forum post where one of these assholes is giving us a hard time for trying to implement a helmet rule, which is hard because there is some question as to whether it's required by USHPA (turns out it is). No one likes telling a guy to put his helmet on, but someone has to be responsible and make sure we don't lose our insurance.

This jerk and I have a history and I just don't have it in me to ignore him. Obvious Troll is Obvious, but I'm not going to stop trying to kick him back under the bridge. Anyway, here's the thread. I am really looking forward to working on a project where I am not as susceptible to this kinda crap. I wish I were a bigger man... but I'm not, so I am going to refocus a bit.

Why I Fly - Crestline - 09-25-09

2009-09-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

Sled rides at scenic sites like Big Sur or Yosemite are the topping or the cherry, but days like last Friday are the cake... they are the reason I hang glide.

I love Septembers... the heat from summer is still pushing against the sky, but, occasionally, as the jet stream plays around, we get some pushback against the marine layer... allowing us to fly without an inversion layer. The muck and gunk gets pushed out to sea and before it comes back in, and just after the Santa Anas fade, we get high.

Why I fly - Hang Gliding - Crestline 09-25-09 from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

This is a year for getting dialed into my U2 and Rotor Vulto harness. I am not going to take significant risks, go XC, etc. I want to fly well, launching aggressively and landing with good technique, until it is second nature. I am reminding myself that guys like Owen have flown a decade longer than I or guys like David fly twice as often... and both are better natural pilots. I need to fly my own flights, take my own trajectory.

On 9/25/09, I got to stretch my legs and get a little confidence built in terms of going places, without taking much of a chance. I never got worse than 7:1 from LZ, yet I flew a 16 mile out and back one direction and a 18 mile out and back in the opposite direction. Flychart gave me credit for a 33 mile triangle. I hit 13,000 MSL and was, at one point, over 2 miles above the ground... as I watched cars crawl up I-215.

Turning slow circles 10K above the ground, with airliners on approach to Ontario well below me, almost endless views in each direction, and very cold hands on a hot summer day, I could only be thankful for such an amazing sport. I will say it again: I just don't understand why more people don't fly hang gliders.

Photo of my landing on 9/25/09 by Dave Aldrich

Hang Gliding Yosemite... what a privilege!

2009-08-06T21:31:00.001-07:00

Yosemite - 2009 from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

Yosemite is an amazing place to hang glide. The views cannot be beaten in the US... flying by Yosemite Falls was my personal favorite. While it would be amazing to fly there and soar, I can understand the early morning limitation... I could see that place getting pretty wild mid-day.

It's quite an ego boost to have the tourists watch you launch or to have a little kid run up to you and tell you he saw you flying in front of the falls. The rest of the day, driving around, I couldn't help but reminisce and be a little proud of the morning flight... some of that ego is on display in this flick.

There's a lot of monkey business involved with flying there. Take a driver! Getting back up to your vehicle can be done by booking the 10 AM Yosemite Lodge to Glacier Point tour, but the day I took it the driver took 2 hours to get up there (loved the sound of his own voice, he did... ugh). Definitely, the fly - then - hit the river plan is a good one. Yosemite West condos are a good place to stay, though a bit small and you've got to vent the heat out of them pretty efficiently on hot days.

Got my keel bending landing in this video... time to get back to basics. I've been working so hard to get my hang 4 to fly Yosemite that I feel like I'm at the end of a chapter and there's a little bit of a vacuum in terms of flying focus.

That's probably good timing. Now that I have reached my goal of flying Yosemite, I need to throttle back on the flying and pay more attention to my business, which has suffered under my addiction, my family, who have been patient, and my pocketbook, which has taken too many hits from busted up equipment. When I do fly, I am just going to focus on the fundamentals of launching, landing, and flying my u2 with good form. I've had 4 instances where I've had to get my glider repaired to some extent and that's 4 too many. I'll probably fly a new site or two in San Diego, but I'm not going to step too far out until I go a year with consistently strong launches and consistently excellent landings.

My self assessment of my skills as a pilot is: I do well once I get something down, but I have a tendency to vapor lock or use below average headwork when I am in situation that is new or daunting. I really need to address that, since such situations will always be coming down the Pike. In this case, the adrenaline was pumping coming into Leidig Meadows and I cracked a great flare off, but i didn't use my head in terms of my footwork.

It's been quite a ride... to think 3 years ago hang gliding scared the bejeesus outta me. Now, I've flown over the site where I saw my first HG launch (and first bailout landing and first medivac LOL), I've flown over my favorite campground / view (Big Sur), and I've zipped past the face of Yosemite Falls.

To say again what I've said before, I can't believe fewer than 10,000 Americans do this sport. I feel I'm in on a secret or something.

U2 Review.. the U2 160 vs. the Sport 2 155 vs. the Falcon 3 195

2009-06-27T16:44:00.001-07:00

The Wills Wing U2, in my opinion, is the perfect wing for the weekend warrior, advanced-rated hang glider pilot.

Setting up at Crestline Launch...

Primarily, this is a review of the U2 160 after about a dozen flights, following 2 dozen or so on the Sport 2 155. Most of my flights have been on the Falcon 3 195, which I stayed on for over a hundred mountain solos. My weight, which was 200 pounds through most of the flights on the Sport 2 and now is 185 pounds, before gear, is very relevant to this review. It is my opinion that it makes all 3 wings easy for me to handle and accentuates the importance of being able to find and take advantage of lift when conditions are light. I should also mention that I primarily fly at Marshall/Crestline, with 300 flyable days a year, two launches within easy glide of the LZ, and fairly predictable weather... and predictably few true XC opportunities.

So, at this point, if I had to pick one of those wings for the next 5 years, which would it be? First place would certainly be the U2 160 and a surprisingly strong second would be the Falcon 3 195. Sport 2 fanatics, of which there are many, may be reaching for the w, t, and f keys on their keyboard as they read this. I still have my Sport 2 and I enjoy flying it, it's just that (to oversimplify) the U2 does performance better and the Falcon 3 does fun & easy better.

The U2 of which I write is the 2009 version. At the end of 2008, Wills Wing made some sail cut changes and other tweaks to the U2, about which they give no specific information. I have not flown the "older" version. What I will say is, the version I fly has no hint of the quirks I heard about U2s when I first looked into them... that you have to high side them and they are stiff. I only have to high side in a thermal if I am thermalling with 3/4 VG on (and then not always). Aside from then, it actually holds my bank the best of the three wings. Whether or not it's "stiff" (I don't think it is), I'll cover in a second.

The U2 takes more defined and assertive control inputs to turn than do the other two wings, but it also rewards me with a beautiful track carved through the air and better performance in those turns. I don't find it "harder" to handle any more than I find my 350Z "harder" to steer than my Quest. Any tendency I had to boat around a corner, so to speak, has been squashed. I try to do a Pagen-textbook turn, increasing speed a bit, rolling into the turn, wait out a tic or two for yaw, then apply pitch up pressure to carve the turn, rolling out the way I came in, with good speed and purposeful control inputs. With my Falcon, heck, I can just chuck the bar to the side and push out, all at once in a strong thermal, and - boom! - that bad boy is standing on its wing. With the U2, I carve it into the thermal and then tighten it up in the core. The Sport 2 doesn't crank like the Falcon does, so I have to try to do what I do with the U2. But, the U2 holds the bank in the thermal and tracks better... at least for me at my weight.

Landing is the highest hurdle to clear when running down the track laid out by a new, higher performance wing. Fortunately, this is where the U2 really shines. I actually have found the U2 easier to land than the Sport 2 or the the Falcon 3.

My Sport 2 155 in front of my Falcon 3 195 on Edwards Launch above Lake Elsinore

Don't adjust your monitor, some clown just wrote that the U2 is easier to land than the Falcon 3 (not to mention the Sport 2). Hang with me while I flesh that out. Sure, the approach has to be set up more carefully, because you can't just pull in the bar and burn it out of the sky like you can on the other two (yes, even the Sport 2 drops quite fast with VG off, one's body upright, and the bar stuffed). On the U2, stuffing the bar hard has sent me down the LZ with surprising efficiency and / or gotten me a bit squirrelly from the speed (if the VG is full off). But, assuming I set up the approach competently, I have found that the U2 has an absolutely beautiful propensity to track straight in ground effect and provide me with a nice, wide flare window. The sweet spot of the flare window is very easy to find... it practically announces itself like the arrival of a train to a station.

"Now arriving, Andy Jackson Landing Zone, all pilots who are flare window challenged, please flare now..." rang over the intercom on my last couple of flights.

Seriously, the Falcon's flare window is quite short, especially if you do anything other than burn that bad boy right down into ground effect. The Sport 2's is longer, but I couldn't feel the flare window as easily. I am a bit ham handed and am almost as likely to balloon on final as I am to land on my knees... each too likely a scenario for my liking on the Sport 2.

With the exception of a disastrous XC attempt and a downwind, uphill landing into rocks in rotoring air (aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?), I have landed well every flight on my U2. The last 5 landings, I've had no-stepper flares. Suck it, Mary Lou Retton. Since I got the U2, I have flown my Sport 2 twice and my Falcon 3 once and a quick review of the logs shows that the U2's landings occupy the Top Ten in the rankings of "Landings I Would Want Others to See."

So, it thermals well, it lands well, let's cover the obvious last... glide. Of course, the U2 glides like nobody's business. It really is a sick amount of performance to have access to at this (early) stage in my flying career. I have yet to quantify it with measured polars or any useful statistic, so I'll have to keep it anecdotal and say that I try... and easily pull off... glides that I wouldn't consider on the other two wings I own. A little local talk here... wanna leave Billboard at Billboard height and go for Pine on a cold day? Give it a try. Nothing at Pine? No sweat, go to Cloud. Want to try for Cresline from Marshall with the inversion 5,000? No worries, if there's nothing there, just come back.

Why wouldn't I be smiling?

The single biggest difference between the Sport 2 and the U2, IMHO, is the VG. On the Sport 2, it's nice and it helps, but on the U2, it gives you a whole 'nother wing. The difference between zero and a quarter is noticeable when you land. It also seems to help the wing track better. Cranking the VG on full not only has a great effect on glide and tracking, but it's downright hard to do. That sail gets very, very tight. I am very comfortable thermalling anywhere up to half on and 3/4 on is a nice spot for cruising for the next thermal. Full on, I save for longer hauls between landmarks or to get out of a tight spot.

In sum, I recommend as strongly as I can the Wills Wing U2 for the foot launch, mountain site, intermediate/advanced hang glider pilot who is not yet ready to go topless. And, if the U2 is just too beucoup, then I recommend the Falcon 3. My final recommendation is for the Sport 2, which I recommend as a way station on the road to the U2... or for the lower-intermediate pilot whose home LZ is more than an easy glide from launch.

Advanced Hang Glider Pilot, Hang 4 at last.

2009-06-21T07:52:00.000-07:00

It took 2 and a half years, but I finally achieved Advanced Hang Glider Pilot status. Sure, the mountain doesn't care what the card in my wallet says, but the observers at Yosemite and the staff at Torrey Pines do. The prettiest sled ride in the US (the early morning launch from Glacier Point) just became an option. The price to ridge soar the most famous site (that one by the golf course in San Diego) in the US just dropped $188. Another little gem is the freedom to land on the beach in Santa Barbara, with all the apparent advantages of that and the less apparent one of not having to land at Parma.

The 250th flight was a strange one for June. It was 100% overcast with cloudbase at 4,700' MSL. I popped in and out of the wispies, the ground sometimes getting very faint, for 3 hours. I couldn't go anywhere like Pine or Crestline, much less beyond, so I contented myself with little challenges like getting low and getting back up and diving through a stack of dozen PGs, all walled up. Fun day.

Spaghetti Junction

Image swiped from Dave

XC into Rotor, 0 for 2 on XC

2009-04-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hmm... where to start on this?

I am like Beaver Cleaver, watching Wally and Whitey go XC and trying to go along, before I am ready. Sure, most days, I could have gotten away with trying to fly to Sylmar from Crestline with only 4 previous flights on my U2. April 4th was not like most days.

I got to 9,500', turned West, cranked the VG, and went on a ten mile glide into rotor coming over the back of Mt. Cucomonga, drilling me into a large, boulder-filled field. Worse, I mentally vapor locked, trying to follow Dave instead of flying my own flight, and overflew good LZs for a bad one and completely lost track of the wind. To be fair to myself, after I landed, it was blowing from directions all along the North side of the compass, from 270 to 120 degrees. I landed heading 280. I should have landed heading 90 for the best odds.

Uphill was the only choice I was sure of... and that mitigated the damage to my glider to some aluminum and minor scuffs in my wing. Thank God, no injury to me. I have not skiied in 20 years, thanks to a knee injury in the Navy, so even if I had to replace my brand new U2, it would be better than an injury. As it is, it's fine now, I just have to live with the scuffs, which I'll cover with dacron sail repair tape. They will be a reminder of the need to be humble.

Turns out, that Saturday was a very tough day, with Rebardan making it one mile further than I in his ATOS and being very happy to be on the ground in one piece. He got on the radio to warn people (too late for me). Dave landed in a field out of the rotor after taking a rodeo ride through it... his radio was out. Owen got drilled into the Cajon Pass.

Mother Nature said to me: "Welcome to the NFL."

My biggest mistake was not flying my own flight. I also made the antithesis of the right decision I made at Dunlap... this time I went for it even though I could see Dave sinking out and things didn't feel right. I didn't get enough good landings in on the U2 at my home field before striking out. I didn't keep a mental note of the wind. I didn't apply my previous experience with Rotor and head out from the mountain to get clear of it.

When I reported the mishap to my instuctor/dealer, he and I worked out a plan to get to my XC goals. I am going to:

- Get to where landing my U2 near my intended spot is no problem at my home field... automatic.

- Practice on outlying fields near Andy Jackson. Pick a spot from the air, land in it, have someone come get me. This way, distance is not a factor.

- Get some short XC flights at Elsinore, if possible, as there are more open fields around there.

- Then go for distance.

XC is about reading the wind and picking an LZ well, the landing is gravy, I was told by the Kung Fu master with the green eyes.

As I was packing up, Saturday, a hang glider flew overhead, its pilot seemingly oblivous to the trials that had just convicted me... it was like watching Peter Pan fly by. He magically floated downrange with a skill that made me feel like a wuffo. Turns out, it was US team member Zac "Zippy" Majors on his way to setting a site FW record of 95 miles. I'll never have Zac's mad skill set, but his fly by was a nice motivator to work that direction, smartly.

CSS goes to Dunlap

2009-03-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

A dozen or so Crestliners made it to Dunlap Friday. It was like seeing a family of hobbits out of the Shire.

Everyone warmed up with some good soaring flights Friday, on the main ridge.

But the real story was Saturday. Dave pointed to the West like Babe Ruth to Left Center and hit it out of the valley, landing 20 miles away down the 180. Tom and Chris got just about as far. I wimped out and turned around after pointing my nose in the general direction of XC.

Coring thermals with a wingtip down, listening to the vario howl, every few minutes as I got higher, I'd see Mark Zahn casually bop by in his Harrier, getting higher and higher.

Igor was all over the valley, the Mikes had great flights, Jack looked down on all... lots of laughing and smiling in the very green and purty LZ.

I got in a nice glass off flight Friday night on my Falcon and Saturday night on my Sport 2. Sat. night, I was pretty tired from guys' night in town the previous evening, so I made 3 mistakes setting up my wing. None critical, but I chose not to fly Sunday and just get home to the fam. I have also decided to consciously avoid conversation during set up. Yakkin' with my best man didn't help.

I also got to get a shot at my new Rotor Vulto harness, which felt more comfortable than I expected. I really need to work on getting upright and my flares in that thing. If you could only get more upright, it would be the perfect harness. It's actually easier to fly in than a cocoon, because you don't have to fight all those lines to shift your body weight. Some people call that squirrelly, I call it manueverable. Luckily for me, the twice-used (Tony D and Fast Eddie had it before me) harness fits perfectly.

Fun times... probably will become an annual thing.

Crestline Soaring Society - Dunlap Trip - Spring 2009 from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

Here's a gigapan I did of the LZ:

The drought is over...

2009-03-03T20:25:00.001-08:00

Winter is ending, spring is beginning, thermals are returning to Crestline. Ahh...

Today was pretty breezy, but a great lapse rate help the thermals hold their shape in the wind and I got two very fun flights in. The first was on my Falcon 3, the first time I had flown it since "blackhawk down" day. I knocked on the door to the white room above Crestline at 5,700 ft. and slowly worked it back out front.

I had to burn it down after an hour to catch the ride for my next flight on the Sport 2. By then, the wind had picked up even more and pancaked the thermals. They were still there and their tops were higher, as were the clouds. I did two laps to Crestline and Pine, getting cloudbase on the second one at 6,900 ft. I changed to warmer (but harder to grip with) gloves at this point.

It was great to dial in the sport 2 in thermals and do a few runs with the bar stuffed and vg full on.

Having flown the Sport 2 and the Falcon 3 in the same day, the advantages to each are the obvious ones. The Falcon was very easy to thermal... it's so fun to stand that thing on its wing and push out. The Sport 2 was as easy to fly or easier in just about every other way and it was great to have that VG to get me out of the canyons, with those crazy-strong winds aloft.

This flight, getting down plain 'ol took effort... I was hitting lift everywhere... heck, my vario was chirping on my downwind leg... I really had to dive for the deck. I came down because of failing light and numb fingers, but it would have been easy to stay up for hours and hours. The lift was all-you-can-eat and the only strain was from stuffing the bar.

Torrey at Long Last

2009-02-16T13:48:00.001-08:00

Torrey Pines is a well known and scenic flying site, catering heavily to the paragliders that fit the "normal" winds there better than hang gliders do. But, occasionally, it's "on" for the "bones" as well, and fun times can be had by all.

Sadly, Earth's climate is not the only obstacle to a hang 3's enjoyment of the site. There has been a human cold front parked over the site for quite a while now, from which all levels of paraglider pilots are insulated but we HG pilots are not.

To fly Torrey, you must have an Advanced Hang Gliding rating, while a Novice Paragliding rating suffices. As a well-experienced intermediate HG pilot, you can take a $195 lesson and fly that day. That is what I did... it's well worth it the first time, it just sucks that I'll probably have to do that every time I fly there until I am "hang 4" (then I'll pay $7/day).

So, enough with the politics, on with the day.

My instructor, Steve "Stack" Stackable was the old pro from Dover and gave me the rundown on landing and launching. His advice on launching, "sneak up on it" (among other things) was probably the best launching advice I've ever gotten. He watched me land a couple of times, giving pointers on radio, and cut me loose, keeping an eye on me the rest of the day.

It was a perfect day for learning the site. Baby Bear was at the Zoo and Papa Bear was at the bar. Mama Bear and I had a great time enjoying the "just right" conditions. Hmm... I think I just made myself Goldilocks.

I went far up and down the range once, the rest of the time being careful not to stray too far my first time at the site. A few hundred over was easy to get to and landings were not too turbulent. I self launched 9 times, the most satisfying aspect of the day. I learned a bit about flying a ridge... boy is there cause to keep your eyes peeled.

Most importantly, I knocked out ten more flights toward my hang 4 rating. 22 to go.

It was fun to see Joe Spinney in action and fly another new site with Dave D-by-D Aldrich. Old pros Heiney and Beardslee, and Beardslee's fellow 'fugee (and new RD) Bob K. were all out. The staff were very nice, as well.

Didn't talk to one PG pilot though... I kinda felt like a looper during "Caddy Day" at the Bushwood Country Club pool.

It was a very fun day as the video below will hopefully show. The music in my video is what was in my head while I was flying.

Torrey at Long Last from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

The E Team's Turkey Meet at the New Lake Elsinore LZ

2008-11-29T23:30:00.000-08:00

Lake Elsinore's weather is very hard to predict in Santa Anas. Right up to the moment of launch, you can't really tell if it's going to be soarable, unless it's really honking, then you're worried about getting off safely.

The E Team, led by Mickey, have an annual fly in they call the Turkey Meet. Nov. 29 this year was a real hoot, though the winds were not strong enough for ridge soaring. The burgers were tasty, the beer cold, the Marina LZ fun to land on, and the company good.

Lake Elsinore Turkey Meet from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

My two flights were both 7 minutes long, straight bingos to the LZ. My bombs were 3 out of 4 in the outer circle and my second landing sucked, but my first was one of my favorites ever. I was beating myself up for my second launch, where I dropped a wingtip and missed the left downtube on transition, until I saw on a video that my wireman twanged my left sidewire while clearing, causing the drop.

I have added something to my list: watch the wiremen clear.

My bad landing was due to the fact that I cut the approach on the Sport 2 tight and retained less energy than I expected. I have to remember that my cocoon harness is like a big drogue and that I will lose speed in a tight turn, especially if I don't carve it, which I didn't. I was expecting about another half second or second when the bottom fell out and I belly flopped. But, it wasn't a whack and I got 4th in the HG comp, thanks to the good bomb drops on the run.

The good landing was after an approach that started higher and gave me more room to manuever. I came in over the water and landed into East winds. I was the first to launch and was really surprised to see the East winds, but they gave me a great shot of the Marina on my side mounted camera. That berm in the little bay sure loomed large as I came up to it at 30+ mph. I overshot the circle, but I was going for a good, safe landing... not the circle.

Fun day. I hope to fly Elsinore a few more times this winter and maybe next summer. It's a nice change of pace, though the lack of predicability can be frustrating.

Here's a fun landing Dave Aldrich caught of Wolfgang Siass, a comp pilot from Austria.

Panoramic Photos of the Lake Elsinore Launches and LZs

2008-11-25T07:37:00.000-08:00

Below you will find descriptions and links to panoramic photos of the current launches and LZs at Lake Elsinore. The Oak Tree LZ lawsuit is headed for appeal but the E Team needs support (www.theeteam.org). I believe the information I am including about the LZs will show the benefit of reopening the Oak Tree LZ, which is reachable from either launch in any conditions.

There are two launches for Elsinore: Edwards and "The E." Edwards is primarily used in Santa Ana conditions, as North winds cause rotor at The E, which is used for "normal" days. The ratio you need to glide from Edwards to Marina is 6:5 to 1, so bring your double surface wing. My two sled rides there, I had the Sport 2 VG on full and arrived high enough to get a good approach in, but not much more.

Edwards is at 33.638, -117.387 and its panoramic photo can be found by clicking on this pic:

The E is at 33.629, -117.371 and its panoramic photo can be found found by clicking on this pic:

There are two new LZ's to replace the closed-back-in-litigation-please-support-the-eteam-by-donating-to-the-cause Oak Tree LZ.

The LZ closest to The E is known as "Everyday Mike's LZ." Everyday Mike is a PG pilot (learning HG too) who cleared some land and got permission from the owner to land there. It's a hang 4 LZ, in my opinion. I'd land uphill unless it was really honking off the lake. Then, you'd be dealing with rotor and shadow from the trees and houses. Everyday Mike's LZ is at 33.633, -117.345 and the trees in Google Earth have mostly been cleared. To get there, you go down Grand Ave and turn right at the Circle K, left at Hayes. The panoramic can be found by clicking on this pic:

The LZ closest to Edwards is the Marina LZ. The use of double surface wings is recommended to be able reach there, though single surface wings have done it many times. There are also numerous bailouts along the way. The fee is $5 a day or (I think $100/year) to use the facility. They sell beer and are very friendly. The Marina LZ is at 33.666, -117.377. Google Earth currently shows the problem with this LZ long-term. It has a way of being under water at certain times of the year. Its panoramic can be found by clicking on this pic:

A note about the panoramics. http://Gigapansystems.com is selling a widget that automates taking panoramic photos. Pretty nifty. I don't think my Canon SD750 is optimal, as the lens doesn't seem to expose the edges of the photos evenly at full zoom. I'd recommend waiting for the SLR version to come out, but it's pretty spiffy, anyway.

Good News at Lake Elsinore... a Good LZ Reopens

2008-10-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

This good news popped up on the Crestline site today.

To give a little background, when you've got Santa Ana winds, you want to launch from the Edwards launch at Elsinore. Since the Oak Tree LZ got shut down (it's right below Edwards), pilots have been landing at a small LZ closer to the E launch than it is to Edwards.

Elsinore has high drill potential, especially in Santa Anas, so you need an LZ near Edwards. This Marina will do. I would still recommend flying a double surface wing there. I have barely made the Oak Tree LZ in my Falcon, I've gotten drilled so hard.

The E has a bailout that D by D and I have both kissed the ground on (literally in my case... took my helmet off and kissed it).

Here are some tracklogs of the weekend I got drilled at each launch. The first was from the E to the firehouse bailout, the second is from Edwards to the Oak tree. In each cap, I've marked the "new" marina LZ with a red LZ.

Pictures pop to larger ones

Assuming you make it there, this LZ will be miles better than the other one, replete with cold beer for sale.

Edit: I've been informed by old school E Teamers that the Marina is a fairly easy 5:1 from Edwards and 7:1 from the E. They used to land there all the time. Also, there are a lot of bailouts along the way. I still would recommend double surface wings if you have the choice. If you do fly a single surface, you have to be prepared to watch other guys launch and make sure the conditions are fairly bouyant and not too rowdy.

A fun thing happened on the way back from Reno

2008-10-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

Happiness is turning a business trip into a business and hang gliding trip. I went to Reno to install a couple of computers for a favorite client and managed to stop by Dunlap on the way back. I drove the 800 miles with a hang glider on my van and all my gear... except my harness. Doh.

Fortunately, Dan Fleming, the Dunlap LZ owner and local instructor and WW dealer, had a nice high energy pod. I'd never flown a pod before and it was a perfect fit. I loved how easy it was to get into but missed the support of the cocoon... my back was a little worn at the end of the flight. I guess I wasn't relaxing in it well. I forgot about it by the time it came to land but it didn't seem to make a difference. I did remember to unzip.

The flight was a nice one. It was pretty easy to get over launch and I got 2K over and tried to go down range and around the corner. I didn't want to get too far away from the LZ in a relatively unfamiliar wing and completely different harness... at an away site.

A fun thing happened on the way back from Reno. from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

I came back and had some more fun. Then, the sun came out, the winds shifted to cross range, and I sunk out. I should have stayed further away from the ridge, in hindsight, or worked a North facing face like last chance.

No worries, with a 4 hour drive home (having woken up 4 hours North in Roseville), I was ready to go home with a smile on my face from the 90 minute flight.

Here are some landings from the other pilots, too bad I missed Dan greasing it in. Again, follow the link for better quality... click on HD on.

Dunlap Landings - 10-18-08 from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

Idiot lift

2008-10-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

Idiot lift is lift that is so easy to find, any idiot could do it. Today was a good day to get dialed in to my Sport 2. The winds were strong, flattening thermals, but giving a general buoyancy right up to cloudbase.

I launched Marshall around 3:20, last off, alone. I took it slowly and carefully and found that the sport 2 is easier to ground handle than the falcon 3. Coulda used that at blackhawk.

I only found two well defined thermals in the hour I flew, but finding lift wasn't a problem, it was everywhere. Wanting to get home at a reasonable hour, I burned it out front and circled down. It was a good opportunity to experiment with VG settings and I threw some direction changes into the circles to get a better feel for the wing.

A few regulars and some of the kids watched my solid approach and flare and responded with applause. I'll take it... it was nice to land on my feet with a good flare. In the end, traffic won... I might as well have stayed up... but I am far from complaining. It was a very good day.

Quick first impressions of my new (used) Sport 2

2008-10-03T04:32:00.000-07:00

I've read a lot of "Sport 2 vs U2" articles, but not as many about the transition from the Falcon 3 to the Sport 2.

The two, as I should have expected, are almost different types of aircraft. While the fundamentals are the same (shift your weight, pull in, push out, etc.), the way each feels is remarkably different from the other. What kept going through my mind as I flew yesterday was: "This wing is slicker."

In most ways, that slicker was better. The Sport 2 cut through the air more easily and quickly than the Falcon. It was quieter, smoother, and faster. But, the slickness worked against me in one way: it was harder to stay in thermals. I felt like I was sliding out of thermals that I may have stayed in with the Falcon. I compensated for this by focusing on pushing out and going more slowly and that seemed to help, but the telltale wingtip bumps and feedback though the control frame were dampened.

Spaghetti Junction on a Sport 2

As far as the quality of the specific wing, the guy I bought it from took good care of it. It's seen a lot of sun, thanks to the East Coast flying style that has the wings unfolded longer than they are out here. But, the wing is quite clean the the sail in good shape. D by D pointed at some stitching on the wingtip and commented that the stitches will not be that clean again. Time to fight the West Coast dirt, which Wills Wing considers to be a greater threat to the longevity of their wings.

The weather yesterday was odd. It was light and mildly bouyant, ideal paraglider weather. I only got over 5k once but was able to cross the ridge quite a bit without losing any altitude. It was almost a perfect day to try out a new wing. While I'd have loved to get to 8 or 10 K, I'll take the gentle thermals and easy conditions.

My approach and landing were better than my first flight on a Sport 2. This time, I was relaxed on approach and only made the mistake of flaring too late, as I was a bit preoccupied by facing into the West winds. I was in a wind shadow and was expecting more slowing from the wind... that was blocked by the gazebo. I was a little low and flared right at the end of the window, my right knee sliding across the grass like I was sliding into second with an almost-stand-up double.

Fun times, I am glad I bought the wing and am looking forward to more time in the air.

Buying & transporting a Sport 2 across the USA

2008-09-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

How-to details first, commentary second, here's how you do it:

1. Call Sonotube, 888-SON-TUBE (766-8823), and ask them for local distributors.
2. Call the distributors, ask them where the nearest retailer they supply is.
3. Call the nearest retailer (prob a lumber type place) and ask them to get a quote for a 16" x 12' concrete form tube from Sonotube.
4. Place the order, get the tube.
5. While picking it up, buy a couple 20 gallon rubbermade trash cans for the ends. Also buy a large roll (or two) of bubble wrap and tape of your choice for attaching the ends to the tube.
6. Stop at a thrift store and get a couple of blankets on the way home. Maybe 3 or 4.

Edit: Another option is corrugated irrigation pipe, see this post by Jonathan "NMERider" Dietsch.

7. Short pack the wing per the instructions and Jeff O'Brien's packing tips .
8. Bubble wrap each end and twice in the middle, enough to expand the wing to the diameter of the tube.
9. Pad the cans and put 'em on (the wing will stick out a little each end).
10. Tape the snot outta it.
11. Call Pilot Air, get a quote for shipping an "Event Tent" **cough**cough** from your nearest location to the recipient's nearest location. The words "hang" and "glider" will probably kill the deal. Tell them you are a business.
12. Drop off, watch it through tracking.
13. Other guy gets a call when it arrives, picks it up.
14. Ta-da.

Big thanks to my brother Brad for shipping my new (used) Sport 2 out to me.

Above are pics of the end result of Brad's handiwork (tape missing from back end).

The garbage cans were brilliant. They lifted the tube enough for forklifts to get under the pipe. They had handles. They flexed if you dropped the tube on them. Perfect.

As for the costs:

- I found the wing on the ozreport classifieds for $2k.
- Tube was $80
- Misc supplies were $82
- Shipping was $128
- Extra gas driving to the airport $30

So, the wing was about $2320. I also asked Rob (my dealer) to inspect it as needed and replace the side wires. Let's say that takes it to $2500-$2600. A new Sport 2 from said dealer is $3,775 (man, am I lucky for yet another reason to have chosen flytandem.com back when I was surfing for web sites about hang gliding lessons). Plus tax takes it to $4067. So, I saved about $1,500.

So, was it worth it? Yes, but only for one reason: I probably will only fly this wing a couple of seasons. Maybe only one.

I am too heavy for the Sport 2 155 by about 20 lbs. But, I want to learn to fly double surface wings on it, not the U2 160, which is a better fit for my lard-200-pounds-before-putting-gear-on ass. I intend to lose the 20 lbs to fit into the wing and the rotor vulto harness I found for $450. Even then, though, the u2 may be better for me.

Everything went very well and I had a dedicated brother on the other end handling things for me. I got a great deal. I think I am going to quit while I am ahead. It was a fair bit of monkey business and everything went great. I can't imagine the hassle of a forklift through my wing or something like that. There are hassles for buying locally, too. Sport 2s, used, are hard to find in So Cal, with so many students popping outta Crestline & Kagel.

I'm going to go back to buying new from now on. The savings on the wing are not worth the lesser life span left in it and the hassles to get it. Glad it worked for this time, though.

Rob Kells & Andy Jackson Memorial Fly-In Videos

2008-09-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

Fun day, buncha landings and some fun aero in these vids...

Andy Jackson / Rob Kells Memorial Fly In Part 1 from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

Andy Jackson / Rob Kells Memorial Fly In Part 2 from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

Blackhawk Down

2008-09-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I harshly reminded myself about the importance of good headwork during all parts of flight, but especially during launch and landing. Rare is the pilot who has more mishaps launching than landing... I'm that guy. I blew a launch and trashed my wing, with a broken downtube, bent batten, & a torn sail (at least).

I made bad decisions on launch at Blackhawk, let a wingtip and a nose get high, tried to straighten the wings instead of just tamping everything down, got picked up and thrown to the side. Once I was in the air, I leaned toward the ground to get my aircraft and me outta the sky before I picked up any velocity. I can't imagine how I could have saved that, once I was in the air, and I am glad I didn't try... I would have just picked up more energy for the eventual impact. Wings not level, nose high, and not communicating well with the wireman led to me walking away very luckily uninjured except a slight dent in the pocketbook and another in my pride.

Driving down the hill, fixing a flat, driving around collecting pilots scattered all over the base of the hill, I had time to reflect a bit on the fiasco. Here are some thoughts:

1. Headwork, headwork, headwork, especially at a new site, is needed in all parts of the task, for that part of the task.

2. Blackhawk, on a day that is not straight in (yesterday was SE), is a lot like Elsinore in the summer. You have to hit the window or drive down. We got rotored pretty good, after watching the big dogs circle up to 11K.

3. Going to Blackhawk for your first cross country attempt is like trying to pop your cherry with Madonna. Sure, it may be exciting, but the memories are more likely to be unpleasant and you may just end up with a permanent medical condition. I'd say it's a hang 4 site, but that doesn't even put it into proper perspective. It's Blackhawk... ratings don't cover what I think is needed to fly there.

4. The next time I fly there:
-it will be when I have at least a Sport 2, if not topless, wing.
-the wind will have to be North
-I will not only scope out a bail out, I'll clear out the brush in it and plant a flag. This will take hours, but will be well worth the effort.
-I will not be bashful about asking another pilot for help and being one of the middle guys off the hill, not one of the first or, in this case, second to last.
-The weather forecast will have to have the risk be worth the potential reward

5. I have a new policy for new sites that are not known entities: I want to drive for someone there first, before flying there. That's almost a must for Blackhawk. It would have been good policy for Upper/Lower Parma at Santa Barbara.

6. Next time, I'm following Dave, where he goes, and after he goes. That seems to work well for me. He went to the Owens and nailed a 61 mile flight. He's a natural.

I am really fortunate not to have hurt myself. I'm also fortunate to have Rob back at the LZ, with his truck waiting to take my torn up wing back to the shop for his expert care. Talking with him yesterday was like one of those Kung Fu "But, Master!" conversations. Maybe I should go to the guy with the green eyes before trying out some new karate chops.

I've heard it asked: "Why do you want to go anywhere when you've got Crestline/Marshall/AJ as your home site?" Err... variety? Today, I feel like Hugh Grant after he got busted with Devine.

Best flight yet

2008-09-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Best Day Yet... from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

If more days were like today, I probably wouldn't have a job... or a house... or a wife... or a car....

I was anxious to get up the hill, so I ditched my clients early and Hoffbrow, DbyD, & I barreled up the hill around noon. Beautiful marshmallows were coming over from Cuco to the Cajon pass. As I launched there, were dotting the ridge.

Popped to 7700 over launch.

Glided to halfway between Pine and Sugarpine, got nervous, turned to go out front, caught a real drifter that I bailed out of at 7800 because I didn't want to go to Vegas.

Got just past Sugarpine and turned my po', slow Falcon around, fearing the Venturi effect.

Back to Pine, I saw Dave as a speck way above me and caught another one to 7,500 and bailed out for the same reason, but soon caught a fatty to 9,300. A jet went overhead, so I kept my eyes on the desert.

Sure enough, here comes Alaska Airlines. Not too close, but closer than I'd prefer.

Bunny hopped the clouds East... chased one back to Rimforest, then the cloud disappeared and I got nervous. My vario showed 4:1 to AJ, so I pointed that direction and got drilled. Kyle was working Baylis Park and the exchange and thermals there popped me high enough to skip right past Billboard to Pine (barely). Not much shaking there, I figured the marine layer had taken the day, so I started working back to the LZ. right over it, I caught a punchy one from 4k to 8.5K, with notable turbulence a couple of times as I punched through mild inversions... or something.

A final tag of the 215 and a due West landing into smooth winds and my furthest, highest, & longest flight was over.

I am amazed that our club doesn't have 10,000 members... there are only about 6,000 hang glider pilots in the country. This is so much fun.

Chortle.... got an article published in the USHPA monthly mag.

2008-08-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

Getting an article published in the USHPA magazine is not particularly difficult, but it is fun, nonetheless. The only hard part is: I'm a n00b with little to write about. The organization only has about 10,000 members, so it's basically like a university-sized publication, but I respect those members greatly and hope the article is enjoyable and interesting.

This particular article is about short packing a Falcon 3. I can't reproduce it here, but it does point to a walk through I did:

http://www.johnwright.com/hanggliding/shortpack/

A better than average day.

2008-08-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

The inversion lifted a bit, got to 6,500 a bunch, tagged Pine 3 times, flew until I didn't want to fly.

Fun times with Rebardan, Dave A., Owen.

Tracklog links to larger version:

Press covers the Andy Jackson Airpark and development nearby.

2008-08-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Andy Jackson Airpark, a world class LZ and home to the Crestline Soaring Society (and testbed for Wills Wing), is being threatened by neighboring development and a developer who has blown us off for years in our effort to come to a mutually agreeable solution.

The story in the San Bernardino Sun is here:
http://www.sbsun.com/search/ci_10294244?IADID

Find out about writing letters of support here:
http://www.crestlinesoaring.org/andy_jackson_airpark_needs_your_help

I'm happy with the quotes attributed to me. It's refreshing for a journo to get it right and it's fun to be in the paper.

Rented a Sport 2

2008-08-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

This post is aimed at either "wuffos" (people who are not hang glider pilots) or other new pilots who haven't flown double surface wings. I figure pilots more experienced than I would, obviously, already have their own opinion on the topic.

In the world of hang gliding, there are 4 basic classes of wings:
- Beginner
- Intermediate/Advanced (kingposted)
- Topless
- Rigid

The wing I've been flying for the last year and two thirds and 112 mountain solos has been a beginner wing, the Wills Wing Falcon 3 195 (3 is the version, 195 refers to the square footage of the sail). The other term for this class of wing is "single surface." These wings have, for the most part, one surface to their airfoil.

Intermediate/Advanced wings have two surfaces. They have a top surface similar to the single surface wing, but their bottom is also covered to significant amounts by another surface. This allows for cleaner, faster airflow. Less drag means the wing can go faster and will go further in static conditions than a single surface wing.

Intermediate/Advanced wings also have a "VG" (variable geometry) system that allows the wing's shape to change in flight. A "full on VG" means the wing will glide better, faster and more efficiently, in a straight line, but will be more difficult to turn. It also lends to a more pronounced stall at a slightly higher speed.

The Wills Wing Sport 2 175 (20 square feet larger than the one I flew Friday)

Friday, for my second flight, I rented a Wills Wing Sport 2, an intermediate level wing. It is well known for having a very good combination of improved performance with still fairly easy handling.

Boy, did I notice the speed. That thing really zips around compared to the Falcon.

When I am in the Falcon, I am either putting along fairly slowly at around 24 mph. It pretty much feels like I have one speed. If I pull in to gain speed, I feel more like I am going down than anything. Things get pretty loud and the ground starts rushing up to me.

The upside of that lower speed is that the Falcon handles very well and crisply at its lower speeds. If I fly into a thermal at "trim" (that optimal speed), it is easy to turn the wing and stay in the thermal, for two reasons. The first reason is that the wing turns more easily than double surface wings at the same speeds. The second reason is that I'm not going very fast, so it takes a while to get through the thermal.

In the Sport 2, I felt the wind more, but heard it less. The wing really felt smooth and fast. It turned easily, but I felt like I would have to put more effort into putting it on a wing and coring a thermal. The difference between it and the Falcon felt like the difference between changing direction while running vs. changing direction while on a bicycle. With the Falcon, if I felt a thermal, I feel like I can just "crank it" into a turn. I didn't really try, but it doesn't quite feel like it would be more difficult to do that in a Sport 2, in accordance with what I've heard.

The only hard part of the flight was my approach, where I thought like a Falcon pilot and just buried the control bar to get speed up. Well, the Sport 2 speeds up in a hurry and so I turned to downwind a bit late and low. I also lost a lot of altitude in the turn, due to the bar being buried. I think I was even oscillating due to speed and poor control (this is called PIO for Pilot Induced Oscillations). I eased back on the control bar, turned a bit too low straight to the LZ, cutting the corner but heading right into the wind (somewhat by plan), got the wings level, thought I should flare, hesitated and mushed it in on my knees. Grass stains on my pants were the only dinger to pilot or wing... I'll take it.

I wanted to rent the Sport 2 for a number of reasons:
1. To see what it was like to fly a double surface wing
2. To see if I had the chops to fly an intermediate wing
3. To help my planning for buying the next wing, in both timeframe and type.

Here are my intial reactions:
1. It's a lot of fun. It's fast, smooth, clean. I felt like I was almost on a completely different kind of wing. It was really nice not to lose so much altitude going places. I got to just crank on the VG and zoom across to a spot that I wouldn't have reached in a Falcon.

2. I give myself a passing grade on the flight as a whole. Good launch (near as I could tell), good control in air, poor approach, adequate save on landing.

3. I need to lose weight and try again (I was a bit heavy on this one) on the Sport 2 155. I am better fit, weight-wise, for the next one up the ladder, the U2 160. I think I am going to have to rent the Sport 2 enough times to get familiar with it, if Rob has one available, then try to get a U2 rental or demo to see what the difference is. The U2 has slightly better performance but is more significantly difficult to fly, according to Wills Wing.

I need more time to answer all those questions adequately.

In sum, it was fun to fly, I am going to set aside the whole question for now, try to lose some weight, hopefully fitting into my sleeker harness, get used to that, and try again. Hopefully, that won't be too far off.

Whatever the case, I will always want a Falcon in the quiver. It's tough to beat how easy it is to fly.

Here's a chart of the various wing type "polars." Basically, the shallower the curve, the better the wing performance. That'd be the Falcon there on the bottom. The wings between it and the Sport 2 are older wings. According to this, at 30 miles per hour in static air, the Sport 2 would only be descending about 215 feet per minute. At that speed, a Falcon would be dropping like a rock, 400 feet per minute.

Another new site

2008-08-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

You know you are in Southern California when traffic is a major consideration of where you fly when you live equidistant to two sites. Because going up through the middle of LA is the only thing that is worse than going out the 91 to San Berdoo, I had never flown Kagel in the year and a half I've been flying.

Today, I finally got to Kagel/Sylmar, though I had to game the traffic like Steve Martin in "LA Story" to get up there by noon. I didn't pull out of the driveway until 10:40. It's 77 miles the way I went, 64 at the shortest. I made it in an hour 10.

I am glad I went today and I look forward to getting some mileage out of my 90 day visitor membership. Variety is the spice of life and Kagel has it for me.

The inversion layer kept me on the first ridge, but there were some thermals to work there and I got to get a little oil on my technique, which was a bit rusty after one thermalling flight in the last month (at Dunlap).

I was glad I was not there on a crowded day, as I felt my way around the ridge, I only had one ATOS to keep track of.

The LZ at Kagel is an interesting one. The grass is a Hang 4 spot, as they are concerned about lesser pilots overshooting into the the storage containers and picnic benches. That left me in the wash, a long, narrow riverbed with some spots nicer than others. A long, fast DBF got me right where I wanted to be with plenty of speed. Turns out, though, I nipped the edge of the "Sylmar Triangle." The wash has some funky geometry to its geology and I encountered the lowest wind shadow I've ever felt. I was maybe 15 feet off the ground with good speed and hands on the downtubes, rounding out, when suddenly I was 5 feet off with not so much speed.

"Flare!" I thought to myself, thinking possibly ballooning would be a better risk to take than flying into the ground. My timing was actually pretty good, but my wings were not very level and I couldn't give it a full flare.

I didn't whack, though, and I recovered it pretty well, so I am giving myself a passing grade on my landing... based on the new site, the well known "triangle," my perfect approach, and my good save.

I am not letting myself buy a new wing until, among other things (like having money), I have landed my Falcon well 30 straight times. By well I mean I can not do anything that would disqualify me from a spot landing contest or anything unsafe. That was my 6th such landing and 28th out of the last 29.

Fun day, nice people, great site... though working afterward took some of the sheen off it.

I finally get to fly there

2008-07-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

15 years ago, I was flying an RC glider near where I lived when a couple of guys unfolded hang gliders, hooked in, launched, and went up. I was really surprised at their soaring capability.

I started poking around about lessons, but I witnessed a pretty rough bailout landing at this site and a medevac flight picking up a guy who got rotored behind the ridge. Then, a friend who had flown hang gliders as a French Foreign Legion commando (and tumbled one at altitude) said they scared the hell out of him. That cooled me off.

But, once I got into flying, I really wanted to fly the site. It took three trips, but I finally got the combination of help from the local instructor and the right winds to be able to fly it. Said instructor was very helpful, as always. It is definitely not a site you want to fly without help from a local. As a matter of fact, it'd be about impossible, as you need a gate code and a few other items or information.

The video shows the fun I had and we topped off the day with dinner at a Brazilian BBQ.

A fun thing happened on the way back from Reno. from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

All you can eat at Morningside

2008-06-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

My trip to Morningside ended up solidly in the "Win" column, a big relief after much travel and a "Loss" at Funston three weeks ago.

After being rained out the first of two days, I got 22 flights in on the second. I got to practice dead, cross, and strong wind ramp launches. Ramp launching in a tree gap is noticeably different than launching from a nice, rounded hilltop. The varying conditions allowed me to practice a number of different approaches and landings. Along with my best crosswind launch in my short flying career, I also affected my best crosswind landing, keeping the glider crabbed into the wind and running it out at about a 30 degree angle.

More importantly, I got to spend a lot of time with my Brother, Brad, allowing us to catch up on quite a bit. After flying, I finally saw his nice house in Storrs, where I had not visited in 7 years. All that house cuts into his flying budget, so we brainstormed how to get a university professor rigged for hang gliding on the cheap. If anyone has a Falcon 225 and/or a harness for a 6'1" 220 pounder, let me know.

Morningside Flight Park was a real sleeper hit for me. I was very impressed by the facilities:
- A nice, carpeted hanger to reassemble my shortpacked glider
- Lots of spare parts and equipment (see previous post for why that helped)
- Helpful, friendly staff
- Gatorade for sale! Man, was I thirsty in the 90 degree 90% humidity weather
- ATVs to get you to launch in a couple of minutes
- A slope that is perfect for working your way up in training and is also perfect for flying down in ground effect on final
- Aero tow operations & lessons (which I will do next time)
- Lots of enthusiastic students

Variety is the spice of life. After averaging an hour per flight in California, but only flying once or twice a day, it was a blast to get in almost 2 dozen "Mountain" flights in one day. I know you can get that many at a beach site or at Point of the Mountain or winch towing, all of which I look forward to doing. But, for this trip, getting that many flights in felt like cheating.

Well, it felt like cheating until the next day, when I tried to get outta bed. No matter how easy the ATVs and facilities make it, 22 times of putting the glider on the cart, carrying down the crest of the hill, launching, landing, and taking it back to the cart... adds up.

By about 3 o'clock, the winds had picked up to the point where you needed two wire crew to launch and I was too tired to do so safely. I ended on a 7 minute flight that got me above launch.

The wing went back to Storrs on a ladder and I spent a scant 1:20 the next morning short packing it and the rest of the day playing with my nephews in the pool.

Even Delta was nice to me, only charging me $25 for the wing, making that cost $200 for the round trip... fair enough. And no tubbies crowded my "airspace" on the way back.

Work bit with a vengeance, though, and I stopped by a client's on the way home from LAX and recovered a failed RAID array until two in the morning.

When do I get to fly again? How can I make it back to Morningside this summer?

Open the link and click on Watch in High Quality for the video.

Planes, cables, and automobiles

2008-06-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, on a supposedly full flight, I get stuck next to a 350 pound man. Delta's response was something to the effect of "sucks to be you." Ugh. So, for 6 hours, I tried to doze while shifted to the left out into the aisle... getting bumped by the flight attendants and passengers every time. Worst... flight... ever.

Fortunately, it was a straight shot and 6 hours later, I was on the ground in CT with my bro and it's great to be hanging out with him. He's a fun guy and a good big brother to have. I wish he lived closer.

Here's a tip for the shortpack of a Falcon. DO NOT LET ANYONE DISTRACT YOU WHILE DOING IT. The one time I was hurried while dissembling it was when I was putting the battens in a few days after having done most of the packing. My wife was anxious to leave for the gym... and I ended up dropping the kingpost luff line dongle, a 6 inch cable that hangs out of the kingpost to hook the luff lines to. The way the dongle works, it can twist and slip out of the kingpost if there are no other cables in the kingpost to help hold it in. It was in the grass of my backyard as I was in New Hampshire. Profanity ensued this discovery... next time I'm putting it in a ziploc. Fortunately, the helpful guys at Morningside crafted a spare from old parts (shortened one from a previous WW Glider) for me. The cost was some beer. Great guys.

I spent about 4-5 hours reassembling the wing in their great hangar, protected from the rain and the South winds which kept me, along with being too tired, from flying.

After going back to the nearby hotel, which is cheap and clean, showering and taking a cat nap, I walked with my brother to the top of the 450' launch. Morningside is such a nice place... what a great setup.

Today, we fly.

Off to Morningside

2008-06-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

My policy of not liking to travel, especially by air, is well founded, though it's going fairly well so far.

Delta cut me a minor break... only charging me oversize ($150) and extra bag ($25) and not overweight (would have been $85) for my glider.

Man, I wish Morningside rented wings... I'da soooo much rather rented, especially since weather there is so fickle. But, the ticket wasn't bad and the trip will be worth it...

Now I am sitting in LAX at the bar... wondering if I am going to pull a Radwhacker. I drove up early to beat the traffic. Dockweiler looked quiet, though a Condor was unfolded, nobody was flying. So, I am drinking a Sam Adams, waiting for the Celtics game to start, watching the birds go by... could be a lot worse.

Security didn't open my glider bag... they just wiped the latches with some kinda of chemical wipe... phew.

Gonna be a long night.

Beats workin'

2008-05-30T12:00:00.001-07:00

My Friday blew up, so I went flying.

By 11, I had already been to 3 client sites & the rest of the day was Fubared. My daughter & wife were out for the day, it was too early to drink (barely), and no other work projects were good for a Friday.

I called Rob, the McBus was full, then I got an email: MikeB & Mike Z were driving up at 12:30. I left my driveway at 11:25. I left the gas station on the corner at 11:29. I hit the lot at 12:30, not easy to do in 67 miles of So Cal traffic.

The relief to be above the smog, literal and figurative, held me up for 3 hours and took me to an unexpected 6,800. Crestline, Pine, Crestline, Cloud, Crestline, Pine, Marshall, Crestline, Marshall, the University Flags, Marshall... whack! (ugh) (I need to drill procedures in for landings)

Fun day. Next up: Morningside.

The day I'd been waiting for

2008-05-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

I bummed a ride up early to work on a video project (and the SD card needed formatting so the video was corrupted, among other things blah). Thanks Whack.

Marshall was the killing fields as the winds switched from North to East and back and forth. My wing got tipped by the wind when it was on the basetube with the velcro still on the wings. Then, even with a good wireman, I got turtled by a dust devil at the launch point, as winds went from 5 mph East to 15 mph West in a matter of seconds.

Thanks Rob and Dan for the help.

It was worth it.

10 minutes later I was at 8k. It seemed like there was a lot of lift and a lot of suck, so I didn't take my Falcon too far afield, as some did in their new sport 2s (**cough** Dave ** I-15** cough ** cough**). I guess my acrobatics on launch were scary: it took quite a while for everyone to launch after I did.

After 2 1/2 hours, my shoulders were sore, my hands cold, and my day complete.

Here are some pics (all pop):

Bracing for impact

Face down, *** up, that's the way we like to be ****ed.

Here's a view of a wing you don't see often

Decent shot of the wings on Marshall

Look and you can see the wings on Marshall

Lakes and Launch

Tracklog

Big O Flies from the E

2008-04-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

Backfilling here. Dave, Owen, and I went out to Elsinore for a late Friday flight in moderate Santa Anas. Owen launched first, Dave second, I third.

Owen had a great flight, Dave and I met Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee Side Rotor, that is. While I was finishing setting up, Dave got spanked down into the bailout below the E. I went ahead and launched and barely made it... and it's only 5:1 from launch. The first portion of the flight was a rodeo ride. I actually looked up to see if my wing was assembled properly. The last third, I skimmed over rooftops, starting at 200' over them down to 50' over the last roof a quarter or third a mile later.

It scared the hell outta me.

But, I landed safely, kissed the ground, was delivered a beer by Spike, and vowed never to launch the E in North winds again.

Here's a video I made of Owen's flight.

Big O Flies from the E from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

Flying with 3 cameras and GPS tracking

2008-04-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

The day was pretty murky to begin with (I think I saw Frodo and Sam hiking into San Berdoo), I didn't tweak the saturation on this run of video, and YouTube washed it out a bit more, but...

Camera, Camera, Camera, GPS, Windy Windy Windy from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

Here's my video of the day. Better quality option if you follow the link.

I was experimenting with three cameras. My verdict: it can be done, but it's a pain in the ***, worth doing for the most scenic of sites. The overhead camera records onto to a little portable recorder I got, on which I have to rerender from divx to mpeg to edit, as the divx it records to is too compressed for my edit software and causes it to freeze (Vegas, Pinnacle, & Premier, ugh!).

Having 3 perspectives at once is too much, generally. I like three cameras only for the variety of angles they provide. Two cameras were hi def, one standard, not that you can tell on youtube.

I got some good in air shots of Dave's new Sport 2, Jack holding onto his glider at Crestline, Wisconsin Paul, and one of the Atos boys at Crestline. They look better on the hi def.

This was also a video where I experimented on using my gps track to help tell the tale.

I give myself a B- on it, getting above a C only due to the sheer volume of raw material (I was flying around like a %%(!&! EA-6B Prowler). It's almost too much and the conditions were kinda crappy for vid; it didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would.

As far as the flight itself... holy crap I need a DS glider for days like that. It was w-w-w-windy & gusty. The only reason I was glad I was on a Falcon is I got thrown around by the hand of God a couple of times and was wondering if I'da been tumbled or something on a DS glider. Probably not, but the stability of the Falcon was welcome. But, there were thermals I couldn't follow because they would have taken me back into the trees. I had to leave Crestline while the getting was good.

The landing is amusing. I have to do 3 in a row into that circle, the next one with a right hand approach. I've done two, both just barely reaching it.

Crazy weather week ends with a good flight

2008-03-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

After a week of bungling weather forecasts, I was determined to get a flight in on Saturday. Looking at the Skew-T graphs, it looked like the clouds would be above Marshall but the wind would be growing in strength all day. My wiley scheme was to launch early, milk ridge lift, & enjoy the building energy in the air.

Dave, Mike Z and I left the LZ at 11:15 with Fez, a paraglider pilot. Marshall was honking when we got there, though lulls tempted Fez, he wisely waited for a more experienced paraglider pilot.

[tangent]
I recently wrote a letter to the editor of the national mag citing the CSS as an example of a club that's got the HG/PG thing right. (that letter was referenced in this month's mag) What I want to add to that is that HG pilots should love PG pilots... they drive your vehicle back down on blown out days. Thanks Fez!!!!
[/tangent]

Dave launched and hooted and hollered. I had enough electronics on my glider to make an Intruder pilot shake his head, so I was holding up the show. Mike Z, the most altruistic man on earth since Ghandi died, was waiting to help me off. I was testing out a helmet cam (Fail)(Archos sucks). As I was hooking in, snow started to fall. Light, flakey, and quick to melt, it sped up the launch process. I didn't miss any safety items, but I did forget my second layer of jacket. Dohp.

There was some ridge lift, but the only strong lift I found was cloudsuck, which I circled out of and didn't find again. I scratched for 23 minutes (handicapped by a bit of extra bar pressure and terrain separation due to the wet wing) in the hopes of drying out my Falcon.

The windsocks were dead on downwind, boring on base, and doing a &^%$#@~! tango on Final. I remembered some of Rob's instruction on the 80' hill (I'd recommend those Gator runs for anyone, they're fun) and decided to run it out. No swing at the pitch (i.e. flaring). I was taking a base on balls.

I was tempted to go back up, but watching topless glider pilots kiss the ground upon safe arrival killed that notion.

Here's the video. Follow the link and click the high quality option.

Spring forward

2008-03-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

This morning, I figured I'd play hooky for a sled ride and some R&D on some camera setups and another project at the LZ.

11:00, I barreled outta OC and made it to the LZ with 15 minutes to spare, and spent 10 of them mollifying a distressed client. phsaw.

Running into a rolling McBus, the cast of characters was light, with Mark Hoffman & Gene (& Liz as a return driver).

Rebardan was already up top with his ATOS (Dan have you landed yet?).... and Dusty ran the McBus off Marshall Road to beat us to the top (okay, we dropped Diane off at the last fork for a hike).

Typical late winter / early spring weekday, I thought. Not so much.

Rob was out having fun, shooting top landings, one of which I got on video (pesky pause button got another). Gene showed his love of Rotorville & buzzed launch like Maverick in a full pattern, time and again. Dusty flew off into the distance and scared the bejeebers outta the locals ("people! they be fallen from dah sky"). Firefighters who showed up at the LZ just to watch said there was a hook and ladder chasing a distressed ultralight through town. Or something.

On that note, if you see a fire engine in the LZ & the lights aren't on, they're just smokin' pork chops, no emergency. I saw it and kept an eye out for the X in the Circle, figuring a paraglider had gotten hammered by some cross winds.

What a fun and different day. I decided not to borrow a jacket from Rob and got high enough to get cold. I brought three cameras out, but forgot something for each, and it was a clear and high day. I didn't pack my bags in my harness and it would have been a great day to explore a little more than I could without them.

I took the Marshall house thermal to about 5,600 and started back toward Crestline. I chickened out, got back on the elevator, and tried again.

"Ruh roh," said Astro, I was pretty sure I was heading into North winds. That pipe-filled U-Turn in the road looked pretty close. I could read "ACME Pipes and Fittings" on the side of one of them. In for a penny, in for a pounding. I was thinking about that bailout LZ and how to store my glider without a strap of velcro while I walked back to the LZ (lesson there). I looked at the Crestline windsock and it was either torn or pointing the wrong way.

Boom! There were two thermal factories there, though, on the spines on each side of the launch. Rob sauntered by and zipped up and away, fun to see him in the air without a student.

At 6800 it was time to explore again. I did a half circle to the front of the Pine spine and fund lift to 7,800. I last saw Gene heading toward Arrowhead and wanted to go that way, but was down to 6200 by Crestline, so I punted back to Marshall for another lap back to Regionals, Billboard, and Pine, nice thermals at each.

Topping out at 8,500 at Pine, I decided to see if I could reach the 215. I got there a bit above 7K & went down it to the golf course. There, I hit the inversion layer and felt like Saddam Hussein falling through the floor and called it a day.

My landing must have been amusing to watch, I thought the ground was a foot or two higher than it was and ran in air for a while, mushed out, and skidded to a stop on my knees.

Didn't care, though.

Rasp/blipmaps look better for tomorrow, though the winds look a little more westerly.

PM me for a link to some quick & dirty video. No torrent crap, high def. With Kyle's help, I got a lot of Gene, some dan & mark, and even a paraglider (Doosty). I got a bit of Rob, but I wish I had gotten more. He's just so relaxed. It's like watching Perry Como fly.

Hope I can play hooky again. My first non-sledder in quite a while has fueled more than my loquaciousness. (ooh big word)

Here's a youtube video of the track (follow link for high quality option):

Big Sur

2008-02-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

15 years or so ago, I saw my first hang glider pilots... and they whacked hard.

It was at Big Sur, they were landing in the small, downslope LZ by the stairs to Sand Dollar beach. They both enthralled me and scared me. Since my first tandem, I have been dying to fly Big Sur, so I scheduled the campground 10 months out.

It was well worth it.

Hazzard Boys of Big Sur from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

4 flights, all short but memorable. The first was in a beautiful sunset. The second, I punched through clouds. The third, Dave and I flew wingtip to wingtip in another great sunset. The fourth, more clouds.

The camping was fun, the food good, the beer cold, and most important, the guys on the trip great.

Pilotguy taught me the best lesson I could possibly learn. He flew across the country, rented a car, stood at launch... and waited... for 6 hours. Then he broke down and didn't fly. The glider had some "issues" and he didn't feel right. I loaned him my glider the next morning, but the clouds rolled in while the bacon cooked (and cleared minutes after his departure).

Jeff, you have carte blanche use of that Falcon on a trip to So Cal, in payment for the "cheap" lesson you taught me. I would have launched. You made the right call.

Big Sur Dream Flights from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

I highly recommend the site. My next flight, on my return, was of similar sled ride length... and the only flight I have yet to be disappointed in. It was just too hard to accept 11 minutes over the Inland Empire after similar sled rides over one of my favorite sites on Earth (you can also scuba dive, hike, fish, mountain bike, and surf there).

All pics pop.

Dream flight

2008-01-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Everyone has them: the dreams that they are flying.

Today, I lived that dream. Not because I set any personal best, not because I flew long or high, but simply because the air was smooth and buoyant... simply because I almost gave up and sank out, but held on to find idiot-proof lift. Wherever I flew, the steady, almost constant chirp of my vario assured me that I was the envy of raptors.

Sixty miles to the West, the Sun bounced off the Pacific Ocean on a wedge of water between the Cleveland National Forest and Santa Catalina Island. Below me, chumps, suckers, and the better part of the Proletariat Class schlepped down the the Ortega Highway on the way home from oppression. Winding down the same road, invariably stuck behind a truck, motorcyclists looked for a way to pass and put their lives in the hands of housewives in SUVs. My life was in the hands of God and today He favored hang gliding.

While I floated, as relaxed as Gilligan in a hammock, my only concern was a mild twinge that I started this sport too late in life... coupled with the sad knowledge that I would have to wake up before sunset and land, to join the chumps on the Ortega Highway.

But, I am not a sucker; I picked the right day not to work.

Here is a video of a fun weekend:

California Flying in January from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

Elsinore... friends from afar

2007-12-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

What a fun day...

Radwhacker and DocSoc (and his lovely family) barreled in from Vegas, GTPowell drove over Santiago Canyon road, and I took the toll out to Elsinore.

It was pretty strong in the morning, but by the time we launched, it was good for ridge soaring. I was the first to launch and the last to land. My track log is pretty repetitive. Back, forth, repeat. But, it was smooth and fun... and relaxing not to have to worry about life. Normally, I wouldn't have stayed up quite so long, but I've been so frustrated by sled rides, I waited until God flicked the off switch on the winds (i.e. until the paragliders could launch).

My patience rewarded me in the LZ; the winds went catabatic and I got to land uphill. From my perspective on high, the LZ was "the killing fields" for most of the day, so I was relieved to nail the touchdown.

Cold beer flowed and smiling pilots chased the sun down.

Pics to follow, when my DocSoc posts them and ETeam Jack mails them to me.

Here is a closeup of my tracklog of my approach and landing:

Here is a panned-out Google Earth shot of the LZ from the same angle, with the Launch in the upper right corner.

Hang 4 the goal

2007-12-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

Having started flying a year ago, I chugged along to Hang 3 with pretty decent efficiency, so I decided to calculate how far I am from Hang 4. I was surprised when I did the math.

There are 3 reasons I want to get to my hang 4 as soon as possible:

1. Fly Torrey
2. Land on the beach at Santa Barbara
3. Of course, fly Yosemite

I did the math, to get there I need:

- 18.7 more hours (easy)
- 25 flying days (I average one day a week)
- 2 more flights at Dunlap (will do next spring)
- 4 more flights at Elsinore (no prob)
- 5 flights at Big Sur (going Presidents Day Weekend, if I can get 2 a day, this will happen).
- 5 flights at a 5th site... could easily be Kagel, but will likely be a beach site.

Here's the hard part:
- I need 120 more flights.

Ugh, I am down to 1 flight per trip to the hill... maybe 2. I don't want to game the system by going to Dockweiler and doing a bunch of bunny hill runs.

That leaves a beach site like Funston or Torrey. If I were to do the 25 days (and the other site requirements), I would need 95 more flights. That's a lot. I could maybe bang out 20 a day at a beach site like Torrey, but I wouldn't want to get dangerous about it and push myself too hard.

One other little brainchild would be to go with my wife to a business convention in Salt Lake this spring and go to Point of the Mountain for a couple of days.

In the end, I have no complaints, just an observation; Hang 4 is definitely more than twice as far as Hang 3. I'm glad the requirements are significant and I look forward to meeting them.

My goal is to have it by the end of the summer, so I can fly Yosemite late summer and fly Torrey when my family goes down to San Diego in September.

Popping the E-Team cherry

2007-12-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Santa Ana winds were originally named Satan winds... until someone spun the name into something positive.

The winds at Elsinore were coming from quite a few directions... but ultimately they were North enough for an extended sledder.

I launched well and landed well, which relieved me, given the the downslope LZ.

An E-Teamer named Jack spent hours giving me "the gouge" (the info) I needed to launch, fly, land, etc.

It's nice to have such a good site just as close to my home as Crestline/Marshall. Actually, now that I think of it, counting Kagel, I have 3 good sites 1 hour from my house. Not too shabby.

Here's a pic from the landing. I think I finally flared 100 feet later. Shoulda done a crosswind.

I'm looking forward to flying strong Santa Ana winds and 'sploiting that summer convergence.

Actually numb nuts

2007-12-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

Today, Everyday (aka Designby) Dave, Rebardan, Mike Blakely and I flew in strong, cold, postfrontal conditions.

Andy Jackson in the summer is pretty predictable... and usually capped by an inversion layer. In the winter, it's a lot of sled rides and a lower inversion layer.

So, when a front rolls through, it breaks up the inversion layer and, combined with strong SW winds, gives you all-you can eat conditions.

Today, that meant lift pretty much everywhere, up to cloudbase, which ranged from 6-8K.

A little over an hour was enough to freeze us out and down... it was below freezing, which sends Californians to therapy for a week if we have to stand still in it... a month if we fly in it.

I'm having a hard time typing 8, i, k, and , because my right middle finger, which my bro chopped off when I was a kid, is still tweaked from the cold, but I have a very content smile on my face...

thanks to the best flying in months and a mary lou retton landing.

Dunlap Road Trip

2007-09-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Mike Z, Mike B, Everyday Dave, all Crestline Soaring Society regulars, and I just got back from a fun trip to Dunlap.

Friday, I drove while the others got in a late afternoon flight to get familiar with the new launch and landing. A storm system was rolling in, leading to some striking clouds in the background of a lot of my pictures. After packing up, we swung by a grocery store and got supplies for Mike B. to cook us a great dinner at my father's vacant house.

Saturday, we had a driver and two of his assistants (young sons), but we got rained out. There was hail at the launch, lightning later in the valley behind, and a fair bit of water on and in our bags. We had to console ourselves with excellent Brazilian BBQ that night.

Sunday helped make up for Saturday. Mike B. drove while three of us got extended sledders, with Dave making a nice jaunt across the valley. There was a PG XC competition on, so I used "I was dodging them" as my reason for sinking out. Right as we finished packing up, the local pilots started showing up and even brought enough drivers for one of them to bring my van down, so we all finished off the day with hour-and-a-half flights in cold but surprisingly lifty afternoon air. We all got about a thousand feet over launch to enjoy some spectacular vistas of the Sierra Nevadas and the foothills.

Aside from learning a new site, we learned quite a few things:

- Mike B's a helluva cook
- Mike Z's a great conversationalist and has quite the supply of intriguing math questions.
- David A's got quite a music collection on that fancy new Itouch of his
- I am adept at blaming certain things on the hundreds of cows we drove by in the Central Valley.

Below are some pics. We all want to go back up in April, when all of the wild flowers and the valley's "Blossom Trail" will be in full bloom. Let's go for more than one carload that time. The local flyers up there are quite friendly and hospitable. Dunlap's got a smooth ridge, lots of XC potential, a good LZ, a decent campground at the LZ, and great views. It's a nice bit of variety.

I launch

Mike B. soars

Dave in the clouds

Mike Z

Fun Day, 3 hours and 13 minutes in the air

2007-09-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

My fun Brother in Law Bill and my sweet Sister in Law Maria drove for me today at the hang gliding club's fall fly-in. Bill and Maria watched us launch, took a hike along the ridge, then drove my van and a friend's truck down the hill (this is very important work!).

I have the world's greatest in-laws. There is not a bad apple in the lot.

I stayed up longer than usual, this time for a personal record: 3:13. I was really tired by the time I landed. I met an online friend (IRL), which was fun. It's always fun to put a face to a name and see the person behind the words you have read for a while.

Fun day.

Here's a pic of us getting ready to launch... my glider is closest to the camera.

Best week of the year at Andy Jackson

2007-09-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

This will be last yodel for a while about the flying at Crestline/Andy Jackson. I am done for the week and won't be in town next week.

There's another flyin on the 15th. Hope to see lots of you there.

This week was the kind of week I learned to fly for. I rode out a gust front, as I held forth about ad naseum a few days ago. Twice, I breached 10k. I practically ordered snacks and a soda from a passing Southwest flight. My wife flew a tandem with McKenzie. I completed the hang 3 requirements.

Consistent flying at least once, sometimes twice a week has finally led me to confidence in finding thermals. Yesterday, I caught a thermal for 4,500 feet, lost it, found it again, and took it another 1K.

Of course, the view from up there was fantastic, though my photography was hampered by a little pucker factor and the fear of dropping a camera 5,000 feet. The altitude allowed me to be over little mountain (top of pic) at 7,500 feet and back to the LZ at 5K. Not bad for a Falcon, IMHO. (pic pops)

Owning my own business allowed me flights on Tuesday, Wed, Thurs, and Saturday. Sure, I'm no designbydave (below), but that's pretty good for an old married coot who lives 68 miles from the LZ. One of the more experienced pilots at the hill, who flew to the Miller Brewery in Irwindale the other day, admirably referred to Dave as a "waterdog," meaning he's out all the time. (pic pops)

Flying with Dave, bluthermal, SG, Nibs, MysticWizard, et. al. is fun, but nothing compares to seeing my wife in the air on a tandem with Rob. Here's a pic of her banking a turn with yours truly in the background (below the left washout strut). (pic pops)

The only crappy flight of the week was Tuesday, when I took a 5 o'clock sled ride from Marshall, scratching and sniffing for a half hour. But, I was out that day at that time to take the Hang 3 test.

I only missed 3 questions. According to Rob, that's the best score they've ever seen on that test. PM me if you want my study notes. Heh. I can tell you which three I missed, too, some in-air aero stuff that Pagen doesn't cover super well. I have 38 solo flights, 4 tandems, and a barrel load of bunny hills. I've flown solo on 36 days and 42 days total, done all my landings and a right-hand approach. The only challenge left is actually getting and submitting the paperwork, then I will be able to fly everywhere but Yosemite and Torrey.

For those that are thinking about the sport, I can't recommend it highly enough. This time last year, I hadn't even contemplated flying. Now, it's the #2 highlight of my week (family time is first). For those who are looking for a good place to live to fly, might I recommend So Cal. You just can't beat the flying.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride....

2007-08-30T23:02:00.001-07:00

Highlights:
Broke 10,000 feet (10,007 LOL)
64 MPH Groundspeed
Rode out a gust front with huuuuge cloudsuck.
At one point I was 7,400 AGL

The lapse rate was predicted to have 11,000 thermal tops today and, sure enough, everyone got over ten (I was the lowest, most were up to 11). Launches were crazy, with gliders flipping, experienced guys flailing, etc. I dropped 500 ft before I got into my harness, ugliest effort since my first solo.

But, once you got a few hundred over launch, it was magic. I had a hard time keeping my Falcon within a safe glide of the edge of the trees. The Sports, Spectrums, and U2s were zooming around like sharks.

I was at 9K when, looking toward the desert, I saw an airliner on, fortunately, a slightly off bearing and decreasing range. I did two quick spins so the pilots could see the maximum amount of my wing and a few seconds later a Southwest jet flew below me and a little to the North... maybe 500-750 yards away. With the cloud ceiling at 12K and our flight park on a Victor Airway, we got a lot of traffic. A Beechcraft buzzed a Falcon, with a few hundred feet. A C17 actually turned toward us, Air Force weenies.

But, other aircraft were the least of our worries. Clouds were building to our East, along the mountains. I saw a brown cloud near the ground and thought it was a mist or a fog, a light cloud. Suddenly, everyone was bingoing to the LZ.

5 guys made it, the last landing right in the middle of a gust front. A Fusion pilot, a Talon pilot, and a KnumbKnut in a Falcon decided to try to gun for the open space.

I got my ass kicked. I thought the phenomenon was mountain based and a jaunt to the basin would be my salvation. Instead, I got run down by a hell of a fast moving front. At first, flying at trim got me 600 fps in a nice, straight line. But, soon, I had my knees on the bar and I was still going up about 500fps. Eventually, I had the bar completely stuffed and was in at least a 45 degree bank and still couldn't sink. So, I flew a straight line with the bar stuffed until I found sink and then cored that.

I was never really "worried," except for the fact that I was stressing the hell out of my glider. It held like a rock.

Finally, about 7,500, I got out of the cloudsuck and decided to limp home to the LZ.

Turns out the jaunt was at about 10 mph groundspeed because the winds were a rare, strong East in the wake of the gust front. Also, my arms were shot from stuffing the bar, so I flew with my elbows for a while.

As I approached the LZ, I briefly contemplated stretching the flight to beat my longest, but I realized that, after what I had been through, that'd be like cuddling with a hooker.

A hard, fast, but safe landing found a friend to hold my glider and a lot of smiling pilots. The other two pilots came down for great landings and cold beer.

45 minutes later, all evidence of the chaos was gone and a few paragliders floated down. One, a biwingwal pilot (who picked the wrong wing today!), gave a play-by-play of the whole evolution, from their 360 degree perspective on Marshall. When Mike landed in the eye of the front, they literally cheered. They also wondered who the crazy %$!(!% in the Falcon was, heh.

Weesie on the wing

2007-08-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

Back on St. Valentine's Day, at her request, I gave my love a hang gliding tandem flight gift certificate. Today, she redeemed it.

She got a nice flight in strong conditions and I had the privilege of flying next to her and waving at her. My camera was a point-n-shoot, so I couldn't zoom much or get wonderful pics, but here's one of her in the air (the pic is a clicky).

She is still more enthralled with horseback riding, in part because of the emotional connection to the animal, but she understands my passion better now.

Marshall 8-21

2007-08-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

The McBus ran too early for a knumbknut to shlep out from OC, but Rob played matchmaker (thanks rob!) and Hollywood Jerry and I launched Marshall about 3:30.

The inversion layer was really low today, as I suspected looking at the smog and confirmed watching Jerry bounce his head against it. So, I hugged the hillside like Oprah hugging a hoagie until I stumbled across a big, fat, n00b-proof thermal at Cloud, that took me up to 5100, allowing me to arrive at Billboard right at the namesake antenna. I couldn't seem to get above it, though I had seen some others flying at at least 6K while we were launching, so I went over to pine, where the turbulence scared me into heading toward AJ. But, I caught another benevolent thermal that got me back up to 5100 and allowed me to vector toward billboard again.

I had to get home to a relieve babysitter, but there was really floaty lift at the edge of Cal State San Berdoo... a fun day... my only complaint was the relative dearth o' pilots to share it with. Woulda been a great Marshall day for the PGs, especially after 5.

Fun flight

2007-08-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had quite a fun hang gliding flight. The temperature at the landing zone (a.k.a. LZ) was 103 deg. and the humidity was higher than it should be at that temp. At 5000', the launch altitude, the 15 MPH wind just bordered on the edge of cooling. Running into it combined relaxation with relief. Flying in it, 20 degrees cooler than the floor of the LA basin, was like floating in a warm pool.

I got 5 miles away from launch, up the ridge, over a couple of chasms that would suck to sink out in, to a spot I'd never reached before. My glider is a beginner model and, consequently, not the best for covering great distances. In winds like we had yesterday, there is a chance you'll get stuck someplace because the winds are going faster than your glider can. It turned out not to be a drama.

Because my instructor had to watch me land for my next rating, I stayed up until he was done with a tandem flight he started after I launched. So, I flew for 2 hours and 50 minutes. My right hip was a little cramped from the harness and shoulders were tired. Imagine doing very light military presses... for 3 hours. Eventually, it does add up. Before landing, I sat up and ran in the air, just to make sure the ol' sticks would move. I nailed an off-side approach and landing, which is a flying requirement for my next level of certification. Said level, "Hang 3," will allow me to fly all the sites I want to, except Torrey Pines and Yosemite (they are "Hang 4").

A couple of Red Tailed Hawks and I shared some thermals. At a place called Pine, with no other glider for 2 miles around, I saw something out of the corner of my eye and flinched. A gorgeous hawk floated right below me, from behind right to forward left, about 10 feet away at the closest. In the glint of the raptor's eye, I caught a hint of the taunt "n00b!" :) Later, another one was making big, fat, lazy circles down to my right, so I flew over. Sure enough, I found the thermal of the day, taking it up a couple thousand feet in gentle circles, with other pilots joining the party below me.

I picked the right afternoon to blow off work. I think I'll pay for it tomorrow, as I will probably have to blow off hang gliding to work on a Saturday. Blah.

Here's a map of where I flew. Reds and oranges are up, blues are down. It's a clicky.

USHPA Mag pic

2007-07-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

When Brad came out to visit and fly, he took pics of me launching the first day. As I launched, I thought his perspective (behind me) wasn't the greatest. Well, now my butt is in the US Hang Gliding and Paragliding monthly magazine.

Brad Wright, nationally known photographer. John Wright, nationally known... ass?

Actually, my modesty is completely false. It's quite fun to be in the mag. Though, by nationally known, I mean by the few of the 10,000 or so readers who get as far as the announcements section and happen to notice. :)

Andy Jackson Park Fly-In

2007-07-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of the Fly In...

Andy Jackson Flight Park Fly In - July '07 from knumbknuts on Vimeo.

A relaxing Sunday

2007-07-09T09:09:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's Monday. Despite the typical Monday Morning madness, to which I must attend shortly, I am actually feeling quite relaxed, thanks in large part to a very relaxing and fun Sunday.

Sunday morning I played with my pipsqueek while the missus went to yoga, then I went hang gliding.

The flight was quite fun, as I flew for a bit over two hours, was in the air with a bunch of friends, and got to a place I'd not reached before. My landing was as good as it's going to get and the time in the Landing Zone after was relaxing, as I watched other hang gliders and paragliders sink out of the skies.

It was the perfect way to burn off the stress of a couple of weeks with no break, per se. It only would have been better if the family could have been there, but pipsqueek can't go because she'd miss her nap. And the hippo and bunny with whom she sleeps would miss her.

In the time that it took to type this, I've had 2 clients call me with outages, one client that I owe a visit to call me, and a couple of domestic dramas to attend to.

I'm flying... in my mind.

Of hang gliding and segways

2007-06-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

Talk about doubling your fun.

My realtor, who happens to be quite pretty and a lot of fun, was interested in watching hang gliding and offered to drive on a Friday. That's not the double part. The double part is our club's world-class, professional juggler brought out two Segways that he is going to incorporate into his act.

So, here's a video of a day that was just... too... fun.

http://www.johnwright.com/media/hg-segway4.wmv

Wright Brothers Week

2007-05-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

The catalyst for my learning to fly was a trip out here by my brother, who has one solo under his belt, training in New Hampshire and once out here.

To thank him for getting me into this wonderful sport, I flew him out on freq. flier miles, put him up, fed him, and drove him to the hill 4 times. I am happy that it was a good break for him. As a university professor, he gets a lot of time off, but as a university professor with a big, beautiful house and beautiful family, he gets few deluxe, self-centered vacations. It was also the longest I had with him to myself in about 17 years. Growing up idolizing my big bro (not so much now, LOL), it was a lot of fun for me.

The flying was about average for spring at Andy Jackson. I got in 4 flights (he'd drive me for the early afternoon, then take a late avo lesson). It was nice to have a personal driver to take me to Crestline and to fly with my friend Ross and others.

It is a good thing he had 4 days of lessons booked. The first day was uneventful, as he just took a bunny hill lesson with Rob. The second day was pretty turbulent for a second solo and he was kinda shaken by it. Bear in mind all his flights had been either at the Morningside bunny hill or in winter conditions in California (only one previous tandem and one solo 7 months ago). Fortunately, he had good sled rides and landings the last two days.

I hope he keeps the momentum going through the summer.

Next year, I am going to require he stay longer if I pick up the flight. He's a lot of fun. My wife was bummed to see him go... and she usually tires of houseguests quickly.

All you can eat Wednesdays

2007-05-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Another Wednesday, another 2 1/2 hour flight.

Launched at 2:45, right as the winds were picking up... good thing my wireman has 31 years in the sport. They were about 20 then, on the way to 30... it was blowing out the thermals, it felt like the pockets of lift were based on the funky geography of Marshall... capped off by a tidy inversion layer at 5500 or so, shoving wind right down the canyons, resulting in insane sink for that much wind.

My flying friend, who's leaving soon for Missouri, wah, and I had a hard time penetrating against the wind. We did get a fun fly by where I was about 30 feet over him, sliding right, while he slid left. He should have stuck right, because he sunk out and landed around an hour and change. I caught lift off my lucky spot, the 750 launch, worked my way up, and basically flew wherever I wanted for the rest of the time.

I buzzed a Hummer that was shiny and new and testing out its four wheel drive... on a road I later drove my old Nissan Quest up. They stopped, opened the sunroof, and waved... and I got up the hill faster than they.

A crazy ass Spanish paraglider launched from the 750 and worked his way up the hill... flying backwards, before finally penetrating out and spinning down to the LZ. Wacky bastard.

I got tired around 150 minutes and came in for a running landing. I had to keep the airspeed high just to fly forward, so I figured the landing would be a bit of a barn burner. I ran about three steps before my feet actually made contact with the ground. It was a clean, unusual landing.

After a coldie I saw a nice biwingwal guy at the club (H4 P2) kiting around the the LZ because he didnt' get off work in time to get his wing out. So, I drove him to the 750 to enjoy the sunset.

Then, my passenger bought me pizza and a Sam Adams at a stone fired pizza joint.

A good day.

2 and a half hours, wee.....

2007-05-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

My flying day started off poorly. In high winds on Marshal, I turtled my wing by not following the advice of a ground handler. I straightened out a batten, checked the rest, and half an hour later and with the help of said handler, a paraglider pilot, I launched a lull of 20+ mph winds.

It was worth it. 2 1/2 hours of boating around later, I landed with cold hands and stiff knees in switchy winds.

In the middle, I found lift all over, and flew right next to two friends from the club in their Falcons, hooting and hollering. It was an all-you-can-eat day.

The track log looks like my daughter's work with the crayons.

Fun day at Marshall thanks to Mark Z.

2007-04-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Mark Z. PMed me and offered to be my driver if I wanted to meet him and drive out to San Berdoo together (he lives about 25 minutes South of me). Mark has been flying since the gliders were 18x18... he has some very interesting stories about the old times. Anyway, he wanted to see a Sport 2 as that is what he wants to get on his return to flying, but none were out.

Because of him, I got two flights in on a very good day. Thanks, bud!

The first flight was about 35 minutes. There were thermals everywhere, but the air was trashy, so it seemed like I was either in 500 fps up or down, not much in between. Here's the map of it:

When I fly out a bit before landing, that's when I got fairly close to McKenzie and Dave Aldrich on their tandem. They were boating around pretty efficiently.

I've gotta work on my thermalling techniques.

Knowing I had a ride up, I didn't sweat landing, so I got in another sled ride.

The most interesting part of this flight was that I was at the same height and about 300 yards away from another H2 in a falcon when we were both 600 feet above the LZ. He launched about 2 minutes before me. I managed to fly efficiently enough to get him about 100-150 below me (that's when I'm fying that long horizontal line above the LZ, he did an out to in approach). So, I was making a turn into my downwind leg as he was, I thought, turning onto final.

Then he did a 360 right above the house above the LZ. That changed everything, I was flying right at him at altitude (since I was flying fast on my typical approach). I boated up a bit and he came out of his 360... we passed left wing to left wing, with me about 75' to his left and 50' up. As soon as we passed, I turned toward base and started working on getting back on my glide path.

We landed about 5 seconds and 100' apart... the flight of the Falcons. I was very excited about the show we had put on for the large weekend crowd.

The best part: he never saw me!!!!

I laughed and told him he may want to work on his situational awareness on approach. Andy Jackson is a busy joint. Then I gave him a beer. Shame of it all is that he's moving to Missouri in a few months, so I am losing a fellow n00bie, but we are flying together on Wednesday. He's not as familiar with the site, having learned at Lookout.

Saturday was the semi-annual Crestline Soaring Society meeting. John, the regional director from Santa Barbara showed and presented Rob and Dianne with placques from the Foundation for Free Flight for, in essence, being the lynchpins that hold the place together. Owen Morse, a professional juggler (www.passingzone.com) and another pilot named Len got recognized for buying the ranch house above the LZ so that it would stay in friendly hands, allowing the club to expand its grass and training hills. As it cost over $500K, this is a hell of a leap of faith, that the club would adequately support the purchase! John also got to see the new, improved training hill in action, thanks to the tractor that the Foundation helped us buy. CSS is also on the hunt for a storage unit, the insulated type like at Wallaby, and needs to do some PR with San Bernardino to help fend off further development encroachments.

I brought a camp grill/stove and some brats and burgers and gave the "Scurvy Special" to anyone I recognized and/or had chatted with. No fruits or vegetables, just brats, burgers, Doritos and beer. I was happy to see the last of the food was eaten, so I didn't waste any.

The day, in terms of hang gliding, was perfect. The only fly in the ointment was getting back at 9:30 and finding that my web server had been down since I had left it Friday afternoon. Doh!!!! Turns out when I unplugged the data center monitor, the video card was a little loose and the server froze. Since I had just been on it, it didn't occur to me to test it from an independent machine. So, I took a 45 mile trip to downtown LA, tried to find parking near 1 Wilshire (*!$@! film crews had the place blocked off and packed ), and got my server all updated, tweaked and tested at midnight. My 350z had me back home 40 minutes and a few obscene gesture later.

Note the plates.

So what if my email (and that of a half dozen friends and clients) was down yesterday. I frikkin flew.

Wonderlift

2007-04-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Damn, I thought I saved my post yesterday, here goes:

I was supposed to work, but the winds looked strong and the sky clear. Good decision to play hooky; Marshall was going off.

Even a caveman could soar it. Or a newbie H2 in a Falcon. As a matter of fact, my biggest concern was penetration. The lift was banded ridge lift, with funky eddies, both up and down, and a lot of turbulence.

I set a couple of firsts and bests. This was my first flight where I got over launch (I mean directly over). It was my first flight over an hour (1:19). I had my highest altitude (6000' msl, 4300' AGL), fastest sustained climb (3000' in 5 minutes), and highest spike on my vario (1600 fpm).

Weeeeeeeeee...!

There were no "thermals" to speak of. There were pockets of great lift, but when I tried to circle in them, I'd get blown out of the back of them pretty quickly. Instead, I rode them the way that I would fly my RC gliders in strong lift, just trying to maintain pitch and roll to optimize lift.

By the time I got past 5500' on the wonderlift, I was worried about getting caught in a high band of wind that would push me behind the hill. I had the bar fully stuffed and was still climbing! Finally, I popped out of the front and circled around it back to more familiar turf. Since there were only 2 of us in the air, this was my windiest day, and discretion is the better part of valor, I am content with my decision, especially since I got another 50 minutes after bailing out of that band. It must have been part of a cold front rolling in. After about an hour, the turbulence and a bad burger from McD's were tag teaming my stomach, so I decided to head out to smoother air again, this time to no wonderlift.

Not the best day to be in a Falcon, but I landed it pretty easily, before the winds got even stronger. The wind graph showed it at 35 mph sustained about the time I landed.

What a fun day!

PS: Here's the flight:

Two flights... first thermal... embarassing overshoot

2007-04-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday, I got two flights in, one 25 minutes and the other 35.

The 25 minute one, I had to land to pack up for the second trip up the hill. I launched, got slightly over launch, then went to check another spot... I scratched a bit, but came on down, as the lift disappeared once I got low enough to get into the haze. The winds were switchy on landing, and I worried about sink on base, but I greased the landing right down the middle of the LZ.

The next flight, launching at about 3:15, was better, except for the landing. I was afraid, at first, that I was going to be a sled driver. But, I managed to hook a thermal at 2600 ft to get me up to 3800... and then another mini-thermal. This was the first time I definitely caught a thermal, with edges and all that (I found myself circling in and out of it, adjusting to stay in).

It was a lot of fun, except for one thing: I started to get airsick from the turbulence. I was a little dehydrated as my van was not in the parking lot while I repacked... and my cooler was in it. A nice guy from Albuquerque drove it down from my 1 o'clock launch, as I drove his friend and him up to get their car. They are old school hang pilots working on their paragliding. Anyway, I didn't want to chuck in my helmet, so I got out from the hill and went for the ground.

I've never flown in thermals before and it affected my landing. Normally, I come in a little high and make up for it by diving like a madman for the LZ. Well, that doesn't work when there's a thermal behind the LZ. I had the damn bar stuffed and shot right over the LZ and damn near missed the overshoot, too. The peeps in the LZ heard me whistle by over their laughter and the whir of their video cameras. I flopped down in the weeds and came out to the side to give the "I'm okay" high signs. Bah.

Tomorrow, I'm taking landing lessons. Dockweiler Beach doesn't prepare you for landing at Andy Jackson.

Thermals are fun, but I am surprised at how much they bounced me around. On my approach, I had a hard time spotting the landing aids. Tomorrow, if I get two flights in, I'll make the first a sledder so I can focus on landing.

All in all, even with the weed whacking at the end, I am very happy to have had such a good day flying.

Here are my Google Earth tracks (the first one has a wacky GPS error that shows as a spike to the Southwest).
http://johnwright.com/hanggliding/images/3-31-07-1.kmz
http://johnwright.com/hanggliding/images/3-31-07-1a.jpg
http://johnwright.com/hanggliding/images/3-31-07-1b.jpg
http://johnwright.com/hanggliding/images/3-31-07-2.kmz
http://johnwright.com/hanggliding/images/3-31-07-2a.jpg
http://johnwright.com/hanggliding/images/3-31-07-2b.jpg

H2 special at IHOP

2007-03-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well, my last flight, about a week ago, was ok, but...

it could have been better.

It didn't start until 5 PM, as the shuttle left at 4 and it took me a while to get to the top. By then, thermal activity was about kaput and I was left with off angle ridge lift... not much I can do with that in my Falcon with my skills.

Then, on approach, the winds were SW, so I did a standard pattern. I came in a little steeply, so when I first checked bar pressure, I popped up. I readjusted and got back down. By then, two things happpened. First, I didn't have much speed left. Second, I had neglected to see that the wind was now due W and I was at a 45 degree crosswind.... With my slow speed, that gave the upwind wing more lift and I started to worry about landing hard on my bad left knee.

A woman had just gotten her first flight in after a long time off from a knee injury. That and a bit of tenderness in my old Navy-injured knee led me to decide:

Time to land on the wheels.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the grass and dirt marks on my harness say otherwise.

So, I am going to take another landing lesson from my instructor. There's a pretty big difference between Dockweiler and Andy Jackson in terms of wind and land gradient. Dockweiler has a nice smooth beach for winds to come across, 90 degrees of angle to launch from, ensuring headwinds if you want them, and a slight downslope. AJ has a slightly upslope landing and a significant gradient due to the elevated, rectangular LZ. Also, there are some pretty sharp little rocks that had me worried more about my knee than my gear.

On the bright side, the Crestline Soaring Society has a new tractor, so the 85' hill is in good shape, and my instructor has a new John Deere cart to carry gliders up the hill... so I don't have to hump them myself.

I have to remind myself that I made a decision to choose physical safety over pride in landing on my belly on a busy day. Given that I know what it's like to have a life-changing injury, I can live with that.

Gotta love spring

2007-03-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I am beat. I woke up this morning and hit the gym, doing some upper body work that included lotsa reps of light weights in exercises to build up the ol' hang gliding muscles.

I was not planning to fly, so I thought I'd start getting in shape for the summer thermals and soar-a-thons.

Then, at a client site, the emails started rolling through... winds good, lapse rates good, driver available. My gear was at home, home is 67 miles from the hill. I usually have my gear in my van, but not today, so I went home and got it... and switched cars to the Z cuzza I was going to have to hurry. I made it... 15 minutes after the noon meeting time.

5 of us loaded up and launched Crestline, a few more to Marshall. Crestline was strong getting stronger. It was a warm day for Spring.

I figured the combination of ridge lift and thermals meant it was time to explore. I got as far North as I've ever been at the site. Any further and I mighta gotten sucked into the Cajon pass venturi effect. I was glad I had my bags in my harness.

I went back down the ridge as far South as I've ever been, or at least as far South that low. Gliding out of there on a Falcon is a tall order, especially in strong headwinds. The narrow ridge lift band saved my ass, cuz the wind was blowing out thermals.

The two hour mark approached and my arms were tired, so I started heading to the LZ, only to find a pleasant surprise. A thermal at Marshall popped me up to 7,700'. Though, the winds and sink at that altitude kept me from translating that into much distance. I got sucked down under the inversion layer. I tagged the flags at CSUSB and turned to try to try to do a mile long downwind leg...

Not even close, I hooked the strongest thermal of the day at 700 feet over and took it back up over cloud.

Finally, I wanged and slipped and spun my down to a passable landing.

There were a few very nice Moyes wings in the LZ... the Sylmar boys were flying over. I watched George Stebbins land and got in my Z and made it home in time for a 6:00 appointment (15 minutes late). I checked messages on the way home... pesky clients... I had forgot to turn off my phone before launching and my ring tones were driving me nuts.

I picked the right day to blow off work. I had a 1:1 drive to flight ratio. Not bad.

Here's the track:

Hang 2

2007-02-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

The sun didn't come out today, but I managed a 27 minute flight to get my Hang 2 signoff. We launched from Crestline in winds that were a little cross, so we went straight for the LZ.

Once there, I notice the winds were coming from a different direction than usual, requiring a (first for me) right hand approach to the LZ. I did figure eights, coming out of the last one a bit too high, but I didn't want to hit any of the structures or cars on that side of the LZ, so I was really wanting to keep it high.

My instructor was on the ground pointing me to the best spot to aim for. I dove so hard to get to the LZ I had quite a ground skim to work the energy out of... and the winds died right as I came in. Meh. It was fun and I hit pretty close to where I was aiming.

So, Hang 2, first Crestline launch, first opposite side landing. Fun day.

A good flying day goes easy on a n00bie

2007-01-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

A mid-January day at Marshall in San Bernardino, CA, is not a prime candidate for a good flying day. Two weeks ago, there was snow on the LZ. More days than not, Santa Ana winds blow out the hill.

Today was a good day.

The winds were blowing the wrong direction all over the southland, but they were right on for Marshall. I was up at four to get some work done, drove two hours inland to Palm Springs... an hour past San Berdoo, fixed a client's problem in record time, and came barreling back. I got to the LZ a little after noon and loaded my van up with two para pilots and a new friend named Mark, who is back in the sport after some flying in the 70s.

The Marshall road in winter, with ruts and brush, was almost too much for my loaded down Quest. Looks like the paint will need a few ... err quite a few... scratches buffed out. But it was worth it to know that I could get up there in a minivan... in the land of the Superflous Hummer.

Here's Mark Launching on a relatively clear day for the LA Basin...

So, for the first time with no instructor anywhere near... as a matter of fact, with nobody else left on launch, I launched.

What a fun ride. I kinda caught a couple of thermals and juiced the ride a little bit, though I need to fly more smoothly to work those thermals. I landed well without the VASI, a little short due to the winds coming across the LZ. The VASI is described here: http://flytandem.com/vasi/vasi.htm. It is one of the many engineering improvements to our LZ made by my instructor.

Anyway, I had one wing a bit low so I ran it out instead of gunning for the perfect flare... so much for the Mary Lou Retton training at Dockweiler yesterday. But, it beats a bent bar somewhere on my bird.

Here's a nice pic of a nice guy named Wayne flying over my shiny new Falcon at the Marshall launch.

The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!

2007-01-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I got all my gear yesterday and took my third solo, the first with my new Falcon 3. I also got a new helmet and a Flytec 5020 GPS vario, but I didn't use those yesterday, as I am trying only to change one variable at a time. The harness is a used one I flew with last time and bought from Rob.

The flight was fun, with the Falcon 3 195 being much more responsive than Falcon 1 225. I got a little bit of lift but no thermals and so it was a 15 minute sled ride with a decent landing. There was wind on the LZ for the first time on any of my flights and so I came up a bit short of the landing circle... not that I was concerned about it on my first flight with my new wing. I took one training hill run after the flight, but didn't feel like humping it back up for a second. On that one flight, I found that the Falcon 3 is significantly more efficient than what I am used to.

Storage. What a hassle storage is, more so than I expected. This thing is 20 feet long in the bag. Actually, it's 19'6"... and I worked up a space for it with 6 inches to spare. I can't hang it on the side of the garage, as I only have 16' to spare there. So, I had to angle it and hang it about 7 and a half feet up. Well, getting an 80 pound, 20 foot long, cumbersome bag 7 and a half feet over your head is no simple clean and jerk. I hope I did no damage... I don't think I did... but I need a better way to get that thing elevated. I think I will use a pully system to get it the first 7 feet, then place it by hand the rest of the way. It's the transition from holding it at your waist to getting it over your head that is hard. I really hope the wills wing bag handles can support the weight of the glider (why else would they be there), as that is what I intend to attach the pulley system to. When hanging, it looks as if it is high in the center, but I think that's an optical illusion. I measured the five horizontal supports with a tensioned string and with a ruler to the garage floor and found less than a half inch variation with each. The possible damage I need to look for before my next flight will be bent tubes and damage to the nose... both unlikely as I didn't force anything.

Anyway, it's nice to have it all.

So, here are my costs for training to Hang 2, buying everything new except the harness and 'chute:

I think that's a pretty reasonable cost to get to fly, especially because most people don't get a new glider right off the bat and most don't get a new vario with GPS. I went with the new glider because the hill I fly at is better suited to a Falcon than other places that don't have LZs in easy glide range of launches. I went with the vario with GPS because I wanted to get straight to the one I was going to have in the long run.

So, getting to Hang 2, basically sparing no expense, is roughly the price of getting a pilot's license on the cheap, but my costs for the next couple of years will be gas money and $10 rides to the top of the hill. Hoot! Oh, and broken crossbars, heh. If I wanted to do it with a used glider, cheap vario, and minimal racking for my van, it would have cost about half as much, but I wanted to do it right.

Next goals:
- Learn to land better
- Learn to thermal
- Get Brad out here!

Second solo, even more fun than the first

2007-01-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have heard it said that hang gliding just keeps getting funner and funner, though I can't imagine it can keep up this pace, or it will start looking like I am flying with the kingpost on the wrong side of the glider.

My second solo was with a radio, but Rob didn't need to use it, and I compensated for most of my errors of the first flight. Instead of launching very agressively, I was a little light and a bit too nose high, so I had to hop on the bar to get speed up and keep control after launch. I landed well enough, running out in about four steps after a fairly agressive approach for the last 100 feet. I hit my target, though it was the PG circle, not the HG circle. I didn't care, it was what I was looking at on base. Most of all, in the middle of the flight, I was up, alone, and it was quiet. I was relaxed and very happy.

In many movie genres, there's a crazy asian guy who provides comic relief. Well, there appears to be such a character at Crestline. In the tradition of Long Duck Dong in "Sixteen Candles" or the Toshiro Takashi in "Revenge of the Nerds," there is a Korean, a former HG instructor, who flies wings above his ability and crashes them with startling regularity. After I landed, word spread that he was on approach, calls went out for a video camera (none to be found), and work on the new grass came to a halt. He flew over the field quite high, then arced a long circle downwind, then followed the ridgeline that most only use for a short baseleg. As he turned on final, the assesment of someone more knowledgeable than I was that he could make it if he dove hard. He didn't. He went right over the landing circles, right over a wheelbarrow full of rocks they are clearing, right over a PG pilot folding up for the night, and toward the edge of the grass and a 50 foot drop to the practice landing field. Realizing his predicament about a minute after everyone else, he dove for the deck and stopped himself with his knees. If he had been a Hornet landing on a carrier, he not only would have overshot the 4 wire, he would have barely gotten his wheels down before having to go around. But, sans two Pratt and Whitneys, our hero had to make his landing hold with his knees and control bar.

As the light beer-fueled cheers rose, I had to turn away, so nobody would see me laugh. I had landed, albeit closer to my target, in a similar position on my flight the week before. Even though I had wheels and it was my first solo, it is sure to happen again. I dread the day when hollers of "WHACK!" and good-natured laughter welcome me back to Terra Firma.

First Solo!!!!!111one!!!11!!!

2007-01-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Let's just start at the end of the day:

[Scene is set inside a late model minivan, middle aged yuppie, LAHN DART, is talking on a cell phone]

[L DART] "Hi Hon! I'm on my way home for dinner. I'll be home soon. Hey, guess wha..."

[L DART] "...."

[L DART] "Ho noes, will the ferrier be able to reschedule?"

[L DART] "... no......... that's horrible.......... I'm sure it will work out..."

[He takes a swig from a quick-e-mart soda, adjusts himself, and holds the phone up while he shovels spicy hot munch mix into his mouth."]

[L DART] "I think it's going to rain this weekend, maybe you could go see your horse next weekend."

[L DART] "... The saddle store was closed??? On a Wednesday? Jerks!"

[Camera pans out of the car to show typically packed LA Inland Empire traffic.]

[Speed of film increases to signify passage of time.]

[Camera pans back into the van.]

[L DART] "Hey, let me... Boy, that sounds like horrible service... Yes, yes, I'll fix that tomorrow... No, I'm sorry, I forgot to do that."

[L DART] ".... .... that's... wait... hey... bu.. but..."

[L DART] "WAIT, don't hang up! I have great..."

[L DART looks at phone. Writer's note to producer, check to see if certain levels of profanity can lead to an NC-17 rating]

[L DART] "@*&^%$!©±¾¶§£¥"

[L DART looks at phone, pulls a credit card out of his wallet and looking at it, dials again, 10 digits]

[L DART] "Hi... Lahn Dart... Visa... 4233 8222 8113 1313... expires 09/09... Thanks... ... Hi Krystal with a K, my name is Lahn. No. No No, I mean yes, that's an interesting physiological proposition, but first, let me tell you about my first hang gliding solo."

[L DART] "No, that's not a kinky metaphor."

[L DART] "... A metaphor is something that represents something else."

[L DART] "Look, am I paying four bucks a minute are you?"

[L DART] "No, I didn't whack... though, I did slide on my knees and the wheels a bit, but hey, I hadn't done a bunny hill in a month... Who's Bunny? No, a bunny hill is a hill you practice hang gliding on. Could we stay on target here?"

[L DART] "Anyway, the launch was great, boy was I nervous. But, my instructor talked me down like Leslie Neilson talking down Robert Hayes at the end of Airplane. I was up for about fifteen minutes. That's about average, you say? Yea. Yea it was fun. I can't wait to go again."

[L DART] "Did I have a happy ending? Well, I wasn't thrilled about going to my knees, but hey, I lived, so you could say I had a 'Happy Ending.'"

[L DART] "WHAT? That's extra???!!!"

[Zoom to L DART's face as he screams last line, then pan out as he slams on brakes to avoid rear ending sudden traffic.]

[Scene ends]

The dought is over - a flying day!

2006-12-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Finally, after scheduling every Tuesday in December and 3 of the Saturdays, my last planned lesson, on the 26th, held. It's been over a month since my last tandem and weeks since my last beach bunny hill session. My last tandem was over an hour long, so I've been going into serious withdrawals.

The winds at Crestline were strong, about 12-20 mph, but a little off angle, more Southeasterly than the optimal Southwesterly. Still, we got in about 20 minutes of ridge soaring until the conditions shifted and we went down the face and back to the LZ, for a flight that was roughly a half hour. The air was bouncier and a bit rougher (for lack of a better adjective) than it was the last time, so I found myself wrestling a little more than I wanted. But, I was happy for the experience, especially on a tandem, with Rob there to 'splain the wind and its wacky wonts.

Once we got off of the highest ridge, Crestline, and over the one above the LZ, things smoothed out. There was a slight wind on the LZ and I did a better job on the approach (before Rob landed us), so, for the first time on a tandem, I didn't fall to my knees.

Next up: a radio assisted solo off Marshall. Rob has trained peeps by the thousands, so, if he think it's time, I'm pretty comfortable with the idea of a solo. As he points out, it's physically easier than a tandem flight due to the better flight characteristics of the solo Falcon vs. the tandem one. Everything is easier, 'cept that he's not there to answer questions (there is the radio) or take over if I pooch something. The big challenge now is scheduling lessons and hoping they hold.

You know you are hooked when...

2006-12-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I got a rack set up for my minivan. The only drawback is that I... own a minivan. And now, I'll keep it for another 100K miles to justify dropping the money I did on the rack. Part of it is a standard Thule rack that fits in my van's existing rack slots (the existing rack wasn't quite high or straight enough). The hard part was the front portion, which I had to have custom made at Hitch Crafters. Here we go... pics of a minivan, this'll drive traffic to my site.

I figured I needed to be able to drive the glider home when I bought it, which I've done... sort of. I've ordered one, but it has yet to be built. Wills Wing is the last manufacturer in the US and they are based in Orange, closer to my house than to the mountain. I picked Red and Blue accents on a white glider. White is the main color because its material is the best, in the same way that vanilla is, technically, the best ice cream (or at least my Pop said so from his days making it in college). My Falcon 3 will arrive somewhere at the end of January.

A lot of beginners buy used gliders to get rolling on the cheap, but I suspect that Icarus got his feathers off Ebay. Besides, $3K is not much for what you are getting (a flying contraption). In less gliding-friendly places (East of the Rockies, IMHO), there's more pressure to transition to more efficient (and harder to fly) gliders, but in the sunny skies over the windswept mountains of California, a beginner's Falcon has been known to keep pilots happy until the Sun's ultra-violet rays wear out the wings.

Wills Wing test fly every glider they make. When the test pilots come in for a landing, their feet often glaze the tops of the weeds for the last hundred feet or so. They are so efficient and smooth, they take full advantage of ground effect. Knowing they will test your glider is like knowing that the third baseman for the Angels took a few swings with your Louisville Slugger before it was shipped it to you... except, if your bat breaks, you don't have to reach for your 'chute.

I'm really looking forward to its arrival.

A liightbulb goes off over my head... hang gliding?

2006-12-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Early December 2006

In November of 2006, my brother Brad (www.brewright.com) came out for a rare visit. He had a conference in L.A. for Sociology, a subject in which he is a professor at U Conn.

"Hey," he asked, "could you find a place for me to take a hang gliding lesson?" Or two. I googled 'round and found Rob McKenzie's FlyTandem.com. Rob is one of the most (if not the most) experienced Hang Gliding pilots and instructors in the US. Shortly after getting Moses to a Hang 2 rating, Rob got the FAA's first (and last?) FAA Tandem License.

I have always wanted to pursue some form of aviation. Schlepping a Cessna around the sky is expensive, and though the view is nice, the power of a Cessna is riveled by a... Soviet-era Lada? And the expense makes boats look like a bargain. Soaring gliders seem pretty cool and I think a fair few hang pilots go that direction, but there seems to be a lot of monkey biz involved in getting a glider and getting towed up. So, when Brad asked for a place to train out here, to compliment his training at Morningside in New Hampshire, he talked me into taking a tandem familiarization flight.

Editor's note: the East Coast sucks. You have to love the California sun.

It was not only a fun couple of days getting a taste of hang gliding, it was the most fun I've had with my Wright Brother in years.

Brad and I took tandems the first day, after which I ran up and down a thirteen foot bunny hill like Corky trying to get off a short bus with his seatbelt still on.

The quote of the day: Right before launch, Rob turned to me and asked, earnestly:
"You're not going to hyperventilate, are you?"

The second day, I took another tandem, but the big story of the day was Brad's first solo!!!! (video here) Big bro had brass ones. When he first launched, he put in a pound of pressure to turn right, when an ounce was needed. The hard right he took made Rob think he had tried to get his feet in the harness with a bit of difficulty. After that, he was as smooth as butter. I hope my first solo is as slick. Great job, Brad!

Watching him land, I decided I had found the form of aviation I'd been looking for, the hobby my stressful So Cal life needed, the release from the grind.

So, where do I start? FNG on teh hill.

Rob warned me that Nov/Dec was the worst time of the year to learn, but I decided that I had waited long enough. The first hang gliders I saw would run off of Sky Harbor Road above Millerton Lake and go up, not down. Until then, I thought all hang gliding flights were "sled rides." A sled ride is when there is no lift, you just run off a mountain and go down. Turns out, there are two types of lift: ridge lift, which is what I saw at Sky Harbor road, where wind hits the side of a hill or mountain and goes up, and thermals, where hot spots of land (or me after some Taco Bell) cause pockets of air to rise. In November and December (and January), the winds tend to blow down the ridges, nullifying any thermals that might break through the winter skies and making launches and landings unsafe, to put it mildly. And, of course, there's rain. This is not to imply that I want to live on the East Coast, where everything is flat-out shut down.

Well, despite the Santa Ana winds that have been plaguing us, I have managed to get a third tandem in, this one an hour and ten minutes long. On top of that, altruistic Rob referred me to a (closer) beach training site, operated by a competitor, to do my initial takeoff and landing practice. The instructor there, a super nice guy named Paul Thornberry, helped me quite a bit. In this part of the training, you run off sand dunes only 25 feet high, but consistently good winds make it an ideal spot to learn how to do takeoffs and landings. This bit is the only strenuous part of learning the sport, as you have to hump the glider back up the hill. The wind makes carrying it easier, the sand makes it harder.

Here are my initial thoughts on Hang Gliding:
- I'm surprised it's not more popular. The danger is overrated (11 mos. into 2006, no fatalities nationwide). It's not that expensive ($4k to $8k to get into, gas money after that). And, it's, as Chuck Yeager said, the "the flyingest flying there is."
- I've scuba dived, bungee jumped, flown, flown in a helicopter, flown in a glider, and dated a redhead. There's no thrill quite like looking down on top of a red tailed hawk (no, that's not another reference to the redhead). Hang gliding is both peaceful and thrilling at the same time. It's like an interesting woman who knows when to stop talking (that's definitely not the redhead).
- The biggest challenge for me to learn is scheduling. You have to book a couple of days a week and hope one holds. That's not easy while running a business. That's probably impossible for a nine-to-fiver.
- Every person I've met through hang gliding is nice. Maybe the assholes auger in. Or, I'm the first one. News at 11.
- I wish, for yet another reason, that my brother lived in California.
- Hang gliding feels to me like surfing with no wave below you, or skiing through powder, with no mountain under your feet.
- My wife is totally cool about this. First of all, she has a horse, which makes this hobby look cheap and safe. Secondly, she's glad I have an outlet.

So, I am looking forward to my first solo, then my first unassisted solo ("solo" still allows for radio assistance). My first glider is on order from Wills Wing. I want to get out to Morningside to fly with Brad and to drag his sorry butt out here. On top of all that, it sure would be nice if a friend or two got into this with me.