Advanced Hang Glider Pilot, Hang 4 at last.

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.