Rainy Day

Too much rain for flying, so spent the afternoon with Mr Valley building camera mounts. Made a super stable boom using the wheel bracket of a WW litestream control bar. Also worked on some of the more exotic ideas we've had for camera angles on the hang glider.

More RLF Footage

Same RLF as in the post below, but video taken from the ground. Courtesy of Aerochris

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RLF - Restriced Landing Field

Some hang gliding sites have whats called a Restricted Landing Field (RLF). There is a special skill sign off for RLFs and I believe it is one of the most valuable skills to master in hang gliding. I practice RLFs almost every time I land, regardless of if the field is large or small.

RLFs refer to landing areas that are not only small, but have tall obstacles around their perimeter. Good spot landing skills are a prerequisite for a good RLF landings, but in addition to being able to hit your spot landing, your approach pattern is severely limited by the obstacles around the field.

It is this limited approach that makes the landings tricky. At a minimum, your base and final approach is going to be confined to the area within the perimeter of the obstacles, and often you downwind leg will be as well. Since the small field does not allow for a long final, your are by definition going to be turning close to the ground, and flying very close to those obstacles.

Speed is your friend here, as is precise glider control and the ability to execute your entire approach path accurately (In an RLF landing you typically do not have the option of extending your downwind or base legs to hit your spot. Once you are on you downwind, you are typically committed with few adjustment options). A standard RLF approach is going to aim to be turning onto final as close to the downwind obstacles as possible, and as low to the ground as can be safely executed.

You can practice these landings by setting up an imaginary perimeter in larger fields. Do this often. Then when it is time to pull of the real thing you will already have learned how to anticipate your glide on downwind accurately, and how low you can comfortable turn.

We've got a site in the Bay Area that is a great example of an RLF. A typical wind direction will require an approach with your base leg going through a slot between large trees, while simultaneously flying over some smaller trees (no room to adjust once your on base). Following that you need to make a 90 degree turn low, and then land on a slight downhill with a row of trees on both sides, and another row of trees waiting to greet you at the end if you came in too high.

Here's a couple photos from a less than stellar RLF at Windy Hill. In the first photo I've just completed my turn to final. I'm about 10' off the ground and too high!

Here I am flying downhill, dragging my feet through the mud trying to slow down before the trees.
Dirk took a video of a better approach. Notice how the flight path is completely determined starting from the Base Leg? Behind the big oak tree, over a few smaller ones, behind another, then turn to final.

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Last weekend the wind was light enough to land the other way on the slight uphill. It's a much easier approach, with more room to adjust on your downwind and base leg, but still an RLF, and still a great chance to practice. Ours is the small field marked by the brown overgrowth. Don't be tempted by the larger field next too it. Landing there would get the site shut down. Plus, it is even less flat than our field, and the trees between the two fields are larger than they look making it impractical to use for overshoots.
Notice how close I get to the downwind row of trees. Keep up your speed so you can pull off the low turn safely. Too much fun!

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Magical Weekend

Some days are beyond words. But I'll try...
Smooth, beautiful day at Ed Levin with wide lift and lots of friends. A night in Half Moon Bay with Christina. Watching the surfers at Maverick's. A reunion with friends and family. A night by the fireplace with games and wine. And flying four hang gliding sites in one go in Tom's Lancair.

Friday, Nov 6:
Fall is upon us and Friday had all the makings of a great post-frontal day at Ed Levin. I left work at 10am and met up with Ben, Tom, Urs and others. My dad came along to drive. The winds were light, the lift was smooth, and the whole range opened up.
Above Ed Levin with gliders in the air

I launched towards the approaching clouds and quickly climbed up. The lift was easy, and cloud base was ~3,700'.
The South Bay

I headed North getting a great glide and stopping for smooth slow climbs along the way. I played around in the middle of the ridge taking in the view, and savoring the rare, gentle day. Ben joined me, and I headed over to Mission Peak.
Looking down at Mission Peak

After an hour I felt the cloud suck building and my hands getting a little cold. I watched Tom loop and spin his way down as I circled in sink over the LZ. Brought it in fast and low over the road for a nice no stepper by the breakdown area.

It's flights like these that make me feel so lucky to have wings.

Saturday, Nov 7:

Christina and I spent Friday night in Half Moon Bay. In the morning the surf was enourmous so we headed out past the airport to watch the big wave surfers at Mavericks. Can you find the surfers in the pictures below?
They don't look so big until you see the tiny people on them...


Saturday evening we had a reunion with friends and family. All the kids I grew up with were invited. It was great to see everyone together and our mothers presented us with a very nostalgic gift. I don't have any pictures, but it will be in my home for years to come.

After dinner T and I headed home to enjoy a relaxing night by the fireplace.

Sunday, Nov 8:

Sunday morning the weather did not look promising for hang gliding. NorthEast throughout the Bay Area. But we have a small, H4 site that works in an East wind. Tom gave me a call and reminded me of this little jewel. But, it was late by the time we figured out where we should be, so it was uncertain if we could get setup and ready before the whole hill was in shadow. Oh well, time for plan B.

It turns out plan B was waaaaaay better than plan A. Tom offered to take me for a ride in his Lancair and I jumped at the chance!
Drool......

We launched and headed over to Windy Hill to check out the launch. The hillside was already in shadow, so we knew we were in the right place with the right aircraft.
Banking around launch in a 2g turn we headed over the back towards the coast. Settling in at 300' we flew up the coast at 200mph.
Heading North towards Half Moon Bay

The Lancair is amazing. It's small and light and powerful. It is like driving a sports car through the sky. Except sports cars don't go this fast....
Flying past the Half Moon Bay airport

We headed to funston where we flew below the cliff, past launch, and circled around in a high g climbing turn. I won't even try to explain it. Just watch the video below.

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We continued up the coast, flying over the Golden Gate.
Low and Fast
The Bay was full of sailboats.

Too much fun,

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SF and the Bay

Sausalito and Tiburon

Tom gave me a quick lesson on the in's and out's of the Lancair, then handed me the controls. We flew out of the bay and turned North again towards Mt Tam. The plane is very sensitive in pitch, with just a tiny bit of pressure needed to get the nose up or down. Roll takes a bit more force, but is still very light. If you input a roll, the plane will want to continue that roll rate. The same goes for pitch. So it is very stable, but requires constant flying. It won't return to level flight on its on.

Flying past Tam I could feel the rotor even out over the water. That site can have big teeth in a North wind.

I banked the plane and turned 180 degrees and headed back south along the coast at about 800'. In a matter of minutes we were past Half Moon Bay again and flying over Waddell Creek. That made 4 hang gliding sites in one day. Not bad....

We climbed a bit near Waddell and then Tom showed off the aerobatic capabilities of his rocket ship. I don't know if it was the plane, or Tom's flying skills. Probably a combination of both, but Tom and his Lancair inspire confidence. The rolls and wingovers were pure fun.

The Highlight...

All of those thing were fun.
But none of them compare to the highlight of my weekend.
The highlight of my life.
Christina said yes...
You and me babe

Santa Cruz Flats - Day 7

I’m a few weeks behind on posting the last day of the Santa Cruz Flats Comp.

Friday’s short flight left my glider with two broken battens and some serious runway rash on the left leading edge. I was dejected to say the least, but cooled myself down and quickly set to work assessing what needed to be done to get the glider airworthy again. The downtube was replaced, the sail scrapes could be smoothed over with tape, but discovering the broken battens made me think getting back in the air for the last day was a long shot.

Fortunately Jeff O’Brien and Dustin Martin got wind of my predicament and quickly devised a workaround scheme. Jeff’s determination to get my glider flying for the last day was impressive, and very much appreciated by me and James (also needed a batten fix). Jeff went into town to get some supplies and then him and Dustin went to work fiberglassing the battens back together. After a few technical snags, the wrap was complete and the battens were left to cure for the night.
Battens patched up and ready to go

Saturday I got out to the launch area early to finalize the glider repairs and check if the battens fit. The tip batten repair was too thick and I could not get it into the sail. I was tempted to cave to my growing anxiety and just call it quits but my dad was eager to get see me back in the air and started sanding down the sides of the fiberglass repair while I finished up the rest.

By the time the batten fit and the glider was ready to go almost everyone had launched and I was last in line. That suited me just fine as my first priority was a safe launch and to make sure that the repaired glider flew ok. Once that was done and my nerves were calmed I would think about the days task (97km triangle). The last task for the week

My tug arrived and I was nervous as hell. I came off the cart clean and quickly knew that the glider was flying perfectly. Whew! Now, what was the task again?

Off the cart. Glider flying well.

At about 3,000’ the tug took me through some lift and I pinned off to climb with a few other gliders. The climb was slow and the race start was approaching. I could here the rest of my team and figured I was going to be about 30 minutes behind when I finally got on course. I knew I would probably be flying alone much of the day, so I just needed to fly my own game.

I left the start cylinder around 7,500’ flying with a couple other gliders. Both Ben and Alex radioed from near the first turnpoint saying that the lift was much better about 6,000’ and that I should try and stay high. I took the advice and flew slowly, climbing in light lift and letting myself drift downwind towards the first turnpoint.

After a climb to 8,500 I had been on glide in heavy sink. I saw pilots climbing slowly a mile to the west, but it was a 90 degree heading change, and would take me downwind off course line. So I pressed on and got low. At 4,500’ I saw an entire field going off in one giant dust devil. I flew to the sure thing and soon found myself radioing my position “10,500’ at turnpoint 1”.
11,000' at turnpoint 1

Turning North to turnpoint 2 I climbed to 11,200’. I had the 34km leg to the next turnpoint on an 11:1 glide and headed out. It was immediately obvious that this leg of the course went directly over a local airport that is a major skydiving hub with constant activity. Some how the task committee and safety committee both missed this and it was a huge hazard to fly through. I opted to fly wide around it to the north to stay safe, despite having to go several miles off course to get around.

The glide to the second turnpoint was long and lift was sparse. I stopped to work what I could but hadn’t had a decent climb since the first part of this leg. A couple miles from the turnpoint I found myself surrounded by gliders at the bottom of a gaggle. This was the lead group heading back after tagging the turnpoint. I pressed on and found myself over Ben Dunn at the second turnpoint. I was down to 3,500’ now and turned back into the headwind hoping for a last minute save. There were a lot of gliders on the ground at this point and I can’t deny that it felt good flying over them. This glide turned out to be my final and I flew straight on courseline into a long clear field landing right next to Ben. It's so civilized to use a strip of grass to pack up your harness on...

The flight put me at 66km and 15^th for the day. I was really pleased with my flying on this flight and the good performance felt especially good coming back from Fridays smack down.

Saturday night was award ceremony and party. Christina and I saw dad off on Sunday morning and then powered through the long drive home. A great week at a fantastic comp.
Dad's plane was happy to see him!

Santa Cruz Flats - Day 6

A fun and challenging task was called today. A triangle to the west, with an upwind leg late in the day to make goal.

The launch line, with Alex Cuddy in front of me

I had a minor tow hicup today and it prevented me from flying. Currently two of my battens are curing after being wraped in fiberglass. Hopefully the fix will hold and I will be able to get back in the air tomorrow.

I went up on the roof and watched as pilots made the long glide back to goal.

Pilots landing back at the hotel after completing the task

Santa Cruz Flats - Day 5

Today was a very difficult day for me. East winds sent us to a local airstrip where we could avoid the rotor put off from the hotels golf course. We set up quickly and started launching around 12pm.

Todays taks was a downwind dog leg to the east. Rather than our typical exit start cylinder, where you have to stay within a given cylinder until the race start time, we used an entry start cylinder that you have to stay out of prior to the start time. This works if you don't have a waypoint to use at or near the launch area.

I launched early, maybe about 10th. It was turbulent on tow, and when I pinned off I found nothing but sink. My sink alarm screamed at me until I was back on the deck only a few minutes later. I got back in line to launch again, but now I was at the very back end and had to wait in the heat until everyone else launched.

On tow we flew through some lift and I saw Chris circling to the north. I pinned off, veered to the north and circled in light lift. Chris went on glide to the south, but I could not see what he was flying to, so I stayed with my light climb hoping it would turn into more.
I was low and did not have enough altitude to really start searching for lift. So I stayed with my climb and hoped it would turn into more. It didn't and I now found myself downwind of where I wanted to be, and still below 4k'.

I looked on the course line and saw a field that looked like a good thermal generated. I pulled on vg and flew towards it. Arriving around 800' AGL, I looked down and saw another glider already landed in the field. Great, someone else clearly thought this was a good field, and look what it got them.... I searched and searched, but was soon on the ground commiserating with the other pilot.

Chris flew quite a bit better, and made it near the first turnpoint.

Ben, Alex, and James rocked it and made it to goal in good time.

Tomorrow!

B

Santa Cruz Flats - The Days Off

With 2 days of no flying, 13 of us decided we needed to find some other way compete. Cart racing turned out to be the most dangerous activity of the week with lots of bumping, a few wall slams and one or two pile ups.

Kraig Coomber took the day with Alex and myself close behind.

Is it odd that the cart racing place has a bar inside where you can drink while waiting for your next race?

Santa Cruz Flats - Day 3 & 4

Cancelled due to high winds from the East. Off to rent some ATVs for the day.

Santa Cruz Flats - Day 2

Todays forecast was similar to yesterday. A bit hotter, with similar thermal potential and light winds.

Each morning starts with a pilots meeting. Results are given from the previous day, weather forecasts are discussed, and the days task, start times, and other info is given.

Today we had the pilots meeting inside to avoid the attack squadrons of mosquitoes

The task was the Francisco Grande, to Sunland, to Houser, to RedRock, to RC. Sort of a zig-zap course with the bulk being downwind, with one cross/upwind leg.

5k Start Cylinder, launch opens at 12, the start times are 1:15 and 1:45, and total distance is 112km

I got ready early and was in the first half of the launch line. Pilots were struggling and I heard a team member land while I was on tow. Once I released from tow I found myself directly over the hotel with no lift. 3 miles to the south east I could see a gaggle of pilots climbing. I knew I could not make it to them and back to the launch area if I didn't find lift. So I committed to either finding a climb out there, or landing.

My gamble payed off and I was rewarded with a solid climb to 6,500'. The gaggle was medium size with just enough traffic to keep it interesting. Probably about 12-15 gliders. We had 40 minutes to go until the first start clock, so we would drift with the thermal outside the start cylinder, and then punch upwind back inside the cylinder and repeat.

Gliders in the gaggle

We were not in a good position for the first start gate, so as the second start time approached, most of us made a dash upwind the get back inside the start cylinder and get the later start time. From there we headed out on glide to Sunland.

The glide was fun. I was with the lead group and able to optimize my lines by watching the pilots around me and seeing who was sinking more/less. Near Arizona City we got low and a little spread out. Some pilots headed for a nearby mountain. I chose to work the fields and found a solid climb which took me to 8,500'. At this point I was feeling very good, knowing I was in a great position, making good decisions, and out with the front group.

From Sunland we turned North East and headed to the second turnpoint, Houser. I was slightly behind the lead gaggle while on glide and got low near a cool mountain called Picacho Peak. I stayed patient and worked some light lift which eventually turned into 500 fpm up and got me back up to 8k. I had been drinking a lot of water and found this to be a great opportunity to release some ballast.

On Course. Looking North West, Launch is several miles beyond the small mountain range in the top center of the photo. The first turnpoint is off camera to the top left, second turnpoint is to the right.

Looking South East across Picacho peak and towards goal

I pressed on to the North across I10. This was a cross/upwind section of the course and though I made a decent glide through it, I did not find much lift. I saw one pilot ahead of me getting a good climb and made a dash for him. I searched but could not find the thermal so I pressed on to the turnpoint.

I arrived low, around 4,000' and switched to survival mode. Course line went over a small mountain range to the East, but I was not high enough to venture into the range. I needed enough margin to get back out into the headwind to a landable area if I couldn't get a climb. There was a nasty inversion at about 4,200' and it was hot below there. I worked ratty, broken lift for about 30 minutes, drifting back towards the mountains only to lose the thermal and have to punch back upwind. Eventually I lost the battle and put it down near the second turnpoint about 32 miles out.

It was a really rewarding flight and a good learning experience. One mistake got me low in a tough area.

Chris kicked some booty also and landed a few miles from Houser.

Tomorrow looks a little cooler (100... hurray!) but possibly windy. We'll see what the day brings.

Did I mention the mosquitoes are huge?

Santa Cruz Flats - Day 1

Hot. Stinking hot.


30 something pilots at this meet, and we eagerly set up in the hot dusty desert. We've only got three tugs, so it takes a while to get everyone up in the air. Launch window opened at 12pm with the race start at 1:30. There is a 5k start cylinder, so you want to have enough time to launch, climb, and get in a good position just at the edge of the cylinder when the race starts.


I got in line late and when I finally got up to altitude found myself a couple miles behind the main pack. Lift was spread out and it was hard to make progress on my own without other gliders to help search for good climbs. I worked my way to the first turnpoint and circled low in zero sink with several other gliders. They were about a quarter mile away from me when I saw two nice looking dust devils right on the course line. I pulled the VG tight and dove to them at 60mph.


What happend to those dust devil? Hell if I know. My sure ticket up turned into a sure ticket down as I blasted over the dusty to find absolutely nothing. I searched for the core for about a minute and then had to land.

About 8 pilots made goal

I'll call this a good learning day. Tomorrow I need to get in a better position before the start.

It's lonely in the desert...

Total Flight Time: 1:30

Total Distance: 20 miles

It's On!

Arrived in Casa Grande for the practice day. Opted to take the afternoon for relaxation and mental preparation rather than fly. Tomorrow it begins and I can't wait. A dust storm blew through just around dusk, and made for a spectacular sunset. The desert is amazing.

I got me some new toys just in time for the comp and I can't wait to play with them...

Mmmmmm, shiny

Ben and Chris will be blogging too. Check them out at
aerochris.blogspot.com
westcoastbrit.blogspot.com

Time for some desert

Loaded up and headin out for AZ. Will be competing in the 3rd Santa Cruz Flats Hang Gliding Comp. This will be my second time at the comp. Last year at this venue was my first experience with a large race to goal type race with all the top pilots there.

Miss T will be driving out with me. She'll stay for the first day of the comp and come back for the last. My dad will be flying out to drive for our team during the week.

I'm still saddened by the tragic news of Alex's mom. We are thinking of you Alex, and we will miss you in Casa Grande.

Mission Fun

While the rest of the Bay Area is up at Indian Valley, Chris V and I headed out to Mission. It was above average for a summer day, with several light inversions, but strong thermals to around 3,500'. To top it all off we had the place to ourselves. I bubbled along down to Ed Levin and had a nice fast glide back into the headwind.

Too much fun.

Chelan 2009 - Day 6

Classic Chelan,

Another great day. The day started off with a bit of frustration as an extra 60 seconds of fiddling with my radio cost me 8 places in line to launch. Alex and Chris were off first and climbed out fast. Conditions on launch then shut down with no breeze and no one launching. Dust devils were coming through the setup line and I was eager to get off the ground. After about 30 minutes, a large group of pilots picked up and moved over the the lakeside launch. As soon as they got out of line, conditions at between the rocks improved just enough to get a few of us off (or maybe we were just more comfortable with no wind launched). Lake Chelan from 10.5k

Once in the air I climbed slowly to 6,000', and then rocketed up to 10,500' and cloudbase before crossing. I got another climb to 10k over the power lines and set off towards Withrow. From Withrow I decided I would head south to Farmers. The line there looked tough. No dust devils, and all the clouds were dissipating. I took a slow climb to 11k at Withrow before heading on. My line was horrible and I got drilled with 600-800 fpm down the whole way there. I arrived lowish at about 5k. I saw a forming cloud and diverted West towards it. I circled in turbulant zero sink for a few minutes until the thermal came together and got me back up.

It was well below freezing at 11,200' as I headed North towards Mansfield. I acutally found myself shivering and had to keep wiggling my fingers to keep them warm. I had a nice cloud street most of the way to Mansfield and had fun flying high and fast with a few other gliders. I had to work some light lift at Mansfield, close in with a large gaggle of paragliders. We were all flying well together and the speed differential didn't cause any problems.

I thought about extending my triangle by going to Sims, but I really didn't want to land out on the last day. So I worked back to the butte, coming across the gorge high at 10k. I tagged the junkyard LZ and took a tour of the town and lake before landing at the Soccerfield LZ.
Crossing the gorge on my way back. Chelan Butte and Soccerfield LZ (green field by river)

The town of Chelan. We camped in the small dirt strip by the dam, behind the baseball fields

Everyone in our group (except for 1...) made it back to the soccerfield today and it was fun watching all the pilots coming in. There was a north wind in the lz wich made for a few interesting landings from the pilots who didn't check the direction before setting up there approach.

I've been trying to take more pictures and videos while in the air. Here is a short clip taken while returning to the LZ after my 50 mile triangle.


Flight time: 3:45
Flight Distance: 52 mile triangle

Saturday Joe Jackson and I did a cannonball run back to the bay area, traversing the 950 miles in about 16 hours. After a week of flying, while unloading Joe's stuff from the truck I misjudged a step and twisted my ankle. Hang gliding is so dangerous...

Chelan 2009 - Day 5

Finally…

Chelan Lake from 9,500'

With the low pressure system dissipating, we finally got a classic Chelan day. The winds were light, the dust devils were ripping through launch, and the flats were full of cumulous clouds and dusty’s marking the way.

The launch line filled quick and I found myself a few minutes late, putting me towards the back. I waited with Alex and Chris for at least a half an hour and had made slow progress towards the front of the line. Pilots were scratching out front and we eventually decided to tie our gliders back down and wait for a better cycle. Eventually we got in the air, hours behind the first pilots off.

The lift was broken at first and I found myself scratching low, desperate to avoid sinking out. A small climb turned into a big climb, and then the whole mountain let loose and I rocketed up to 9,500’ at over 1000 feet per minute. Reaching cloud base, I turned to make the crossing across the Columbia River. From 9,500’ the crossing was easy and Alex, Chris and Myself were soon on the other side, flying fast trying to catch up.

Chris took a straight line to Mansfield, while Alex and I headed towards the junction of 17 and 2. I had the option midway to the first turnpoint to work a slightly smaller triangle (Farmers, Sims, and back), but I was eager for the challenge and wanted to go big. So Alex and I pushed on the 17-2. Climbs were strong with 1000fpm up being common. The corresponding sink inbetween the lift was equally huge. The views were amazing.

The Flats. Just past Withrow on the way to 17-2. Jameson Lake in the foreground

Nearing 17, I could see that the turnpoint was 5 miles into a blue hole. I could not see any clouds or dust devils and new it would be tough to tag it and make it back to the lift. I could see a solid cloud street on the way to Sims and new I just needed to get to 9k to make the turnpoint with enough altitude to get back in the game. It was a struggle and I worked light lift for nearly 45 minutes. At one point Steve was flying with me and he eventually gave up on the turnpoint and headed to Sims. 3 sailplanes also joined in. One of them flew 100’ below me, waving from the cockpit.
Banks Lake from the 17-2 turnpoint

Eventually I got high enough to dart in and tag the waypoint. I pulled on full rope and barreled towards Sims. The cloudstreet was gone and it was looking grim. I stopped to climb in even the lightest lift, just trying to maintain altitude until I could round the Sims turnpoint and get back towards Mansfield where it was still going off. I reached Sims and headed West. I got down to 3000’, less than 1000 off the deck. A solid climb had me thinking I was back in the game, but it disappeared at 5k, and I found massive sink as I continued on course.

Coming in over the field Alex had landed in, I saw 2 dust devils. I was a bit low to be diving into them, but I pulled on the VG and flew straight at them at 50mph. I passed low over the top, ready for the turbulence and sudden lift. But my dust devil turned out to be a phantom. I search over, upwind, downwind, side to side, and back across but found nothing. With a few hundred feet left I unzipped my harness, and brought it down for a nice landing a few yards from Alex.

It was a rewarding day. I knew I would be pushing it with such a big task so late in the day, but I was up for the challenge and feel I made really good tactical decisions along the way.

Meanwhile, Chris had his best flight ever making it past Mansfield to Leahe junction. The Flying Canuck dominated with a Farmers-Sims-Soccer Field triangle. That should put him around 70 miles with a 1.5x multiplier for the triangle. Nice job Doug!

Bruce pulled off 17/2-Sims-Airport, just squeaking over the rim of the gorge on the way back. Steve was close behind landing on the rim just short.

Tomorrow is the last day. Hoping for more good weather and another chance to get out for a big task on the flats.

Chelan 2009 - Day 4

I am doing so poorly in this competition I'm not even going to talk about my flight today. Alex had a good one today. Fought some tough headwinds out on the flats but got some good miles in. Probably about 50.
Bruce landed just across the gorge, and Chris made his first crossing coming down along the canyon road.

2 more days left. I'm out of the running for placing high in the comp, but am still eager to redeem myself.

Chelan 2009 - Day 3

Windy again...

I often fly with a fair amount of fear. Not the rational kind, but a more primal fear. Controlling and overcoming that fear is one of the many rewarding aspects of hang gliding for me. Today I chickened out. Conditions were gusty at launch and while I was not worried about launching or flying, I was increasingly concerned about the prospects of landing in the bailout LZ in 20 mph winds on the lea side of the mountain.

I ultimately opted to break down. I'm a little disappointed. It was a very tough day, but if you could make it to the flats, it really looked good. There are rumors of 100 mile flights. Will have to see the standings tomorrow to find out just how far some got.

Chelan 2009 - Day 2

Windy...

Winds were strong this morning, with stronger winds predicted for the afternoon. The day was called at 11am. This turned out to be the right call as winds picked up all day long. In the afternoon, driving on the flats, we went through a dust storm that droped visibility down to zero.

Lots of overdevelopment and high winds ended the day before it started

Chris, Doug and I took a little drive out to Grand Coulee Dam

Tomorrow looks to be lighter winds, and clear skies. 4 days left in the comp. It's best 4 out of 6, so I don't have any more days to drop.