A Day In The Life

Of a Northern California Hang Glider Pilot...

We've been hitting the fort a lot lately. It's consistent there this time of year. The air is smooth and sweet. Flying there is care-free, social, and fun. And you can get lots of airtime.

Last weekend I flew a little over 5 hours over two days. I took it easy, flying my pulse, and got some footage of the day

(The video looks best if you select 720p from the pulldown menu once it starts playing)

Link

Easy Flyin

Headed to Funston again today, this time with Christina in tow. I flew my "floater" glider; a 10meter Pulse.

It is a whole different experience flying a slow, easy, beginner glider. It turns effortlessly and just gently plods along. Flying to Westlake in a slight south headwind, my ground speed was less then 15mph. The scenery looks so different when you can comfortably fly slow, low, and close to the terrain.

I think tomorrow I'll go fast again...

The Early Bird...

With high temps and high pressure, Funston was the place to be this weekend to escape the heat and get some air.

Saturday was Rex's memorial, and after saying goodbye to our friend, we hit the fort late in the day. It was packed and by the end of my third flight I was completely frustrated with the crowds, and a few pilots in particular who just weren't paying attention to the traffic.

Sunday was a different story. I headed to the fort early, thinking it would blow out in the afternoon. I was the first to arrive and was soon joined by Enzo and CRV. It was already on and we had the whole place to ourselves. We played around the Fort, and cruised down to Westlake. The fog bank started at about 650 feet. Plenty of room to fly beneath.

I tried out a new boom-ish mount for my GoPro camera, and I think it worked great.

As the day progressed, I watched the cars rolling into the parking lot with gliders on the roof. I flew for about 2 hours until the crowd had finally finished setting up their birds. Once the sky began to fill I came in for a landing and called it a day.

Funston, have I told you lately that I love you?

Chelan XC Classic 2010: Day 6 wrap up

My favorite picture from the week (from day 2)

The last day of the comp was also the practice day for the following Paragliding Nationals. There were a lot of paragliders out. A lot. At least 50, maybe more. At first I wondered how we would ever even get to launch with so much gear laying around. But the day proved to be a later day then forecasted, and the extra time spread out the launches. Everyone got off without a hitch, and there were gliders all over the place.

Chris and I launched a little later. A few people had gotten up, but a lot of people got drilled throughout the day. I launched into a moderate wind and enjoyed some very smooth, boaty conditions that didn't get me up very high. Before long I was coming into the soccer field. Another short day, but a nice flight regardless.

Chris hung on for a while longer, and appeared to be crossing. But apparently he felt sorry for me down in the grass all by myself and he came down to join me.

Link

Grabbed my car, took a quick shower and got on the road. Made it nearly to Bend, OR before crashing for the night in the Crooked Creek National Grasslands. Up early the next day and home by 6:30pm.
Rest spot for the night

The weather this season has been somewhat uncooperative. I've traveled a lot but not flown as much. But the week at Chelan was wonderful. It's scenic, comfortable, and low key. I could spend a week just sitting under a tree by the river there.

Wendy was a great driver. Always positive, upbeat and supportive.
Gliders, Vehicle, and Awesome Driver. That's how ACPs roll. Bang!

Chelan XC Classic 2010: Day 5

The flight that could have been…

Today was looking better than the previous two days. Launches were blowing straight. Forecast was for light winds. It was on.

I suited up when it was obviously soarable. I was going to be the second pilot off, but had some radio issues. I needed to unhook and go troubleshoot my communications system. I’ve never had a problem with my radios before. I rushed to the car, replaced and component, and still nothing. I could hear, but could not transmit.

I told Wendy that I would just follow Chris, and that if we got separated I would only fly the route to Farmers, Mansfield, and back. That way they would know where to look for me. It seemed like an ok-ish plan until Chris, launching several gliders before me, got drilled. Despite his massive ACP skills, he was soon on the ground.

Now I was in the air, with no radio. I climbed to 7,800’ and headed across the gorge in a mild headwind. Flying with another pilot, we got out to the flats and hit some strong lift. Over the power lines I climbed quickly but found a very strong North wind. I was drifting to the south at 15mph while I climbed. I desperately wanted to change my route, and hit Waterville first, and then perhaps stay towards the South. Making it to Farmers, and then Mansfield look tough.

I decided to head back to the soccer field for two reasons. First, I did not want to stray from my pre-defined route with no radio. If I were to get injured or stuck somewhere, my crew would have no idea where to look. Second, I didn’t want to put our driver in the situation of having to wander around on the flats for hours not knowing if I was still in the air or not.

High Over the Columbia River

The radio is all sorted out and ready to go for tomorrow. One more day!

Chelan XC Classic 2010: Day 4

When you bet big…

Following Day 2’s successful early launch, I was itching to get off the hill promptly again. It was another NE day, and when Ants Launch started blowing up, CRV and I decided to go. A few dusty’s had come through the butte, and plenty were out on the flats.

I launched first and listened to my sink alarm all the way to the soccer field. I tried to work one low save but had gained only about 100 feet after several minutes and was drifting down wind away from the LZ quickly.

It turned out to be a very relaxing day, sitting in the shade, drinking beer, and watching gliders come in.

Ace-Comp-Pilot Chris Valley Smokes it In

Chelan XC Classic 2010: Day 3

You win some, you lose some.

Yesterday I was 3rd for the day with my out and return to Farmers. Today I didn't fly.

The day started out with strong-ish North East winds. Out on the flats, the dust was blowing hard. It seemed like a late day and we all waited, watching the various launches either blowing down or 90 degrees cross. For a moment one of the launches looked good. I was considering get ready to launch when one pilot went off. He climbed up quick and everyone raced for their gliders.

I did not want to wait in line with dust devils ripping through, so I waited before suiting up. This felt like the safe move to me, but it cost me my chance to get up and out onto the flats. The wind shifted, people got drilled, and eventually I bagged it.

It was frustrating not to fly, but there were conditions I had never seen at Chelan before, and I'm ok with being cautious.

Chelan XC Classic 2010: Day 2

The forecast improved dramatically for today. Light NE winds and good lift. Chris and I set up early again and got ready for the day. Most of the launches were trickling down, with occasional cycles coming up. One the dust devils started to appear I decided it was time to go and suited up. I was the first off of the “Thru The Rocks” launch. I wanted to launch early because there were a ton of gliders set up and I was afraid of ending up in a long launch line with dust devils ripping through.
-Dozens of gliders on launch. I was glad to be off early

The early launch paid off. I got to wait and pick my cycle, had a solid launch, and immediately climbed out. The lift was smooth and fairly wide and I soon found myself nearing 8,000’. The first task is to get across the large gorge of the Columbia River, and out onto the flats. A couple gliders around me headed over the gorge and I went too, eager to have some help finding lift once we got to the flats.

-First challenge is to cross this gorge and get out onto the flats beyond

The crossing was long with a lot of sink. Once out onto the flats I was in need of a climb. I saw one glider racing to the North and spotted circling glider which was drawing him there. I raced that direction and found nothing. The cloud I was flying toward dissipated and I found myself struggling in a blue hole with not cumulus activity. It was a stupid move and I went into survival mode waiting for something to get me up.

I slowly climbed high enough to make a run further East were some dust devils were marking the lift. The climbs were strong and reliable as I headed towards Farmers turnpoint. About half way there I ran into a solid layer of cloud. I decided to detour to Withrow and tag that waypoint. Turning back to Farmers I found myself now in a heavily shaded area with light lift.

-At cloudbase on the flats

I worked my way to the edge of the clouds and slowly found my way to Farmers. It seemed I was constantly either in a blue hole, or in a completely shaded area. I had planned to try and make Mansfield or Sims, but the route that direction was no completely blue. So I opted to cut it short and work my way back to the soccer field LZ. It was tough going in an increasingly solid cloud cover.

Passing Withrow I hit a huge climb. My vario screamed, and I threw it in a bank and held on. My 15 second averager was showing 1,400 fpm up. The analog vario was peaking over 2,000 fpm. I stayed in the climb, afraid of stumbling across the edge of this column. Within a few minutes it had dumped me back up at 8,000’. Now it was an easy glide back to the LZ where I could break down my glider in the shade on mowed grass…

-Coming back to Chelan

It was an interesting day. I had to constantly strategize about how to get where I was going. Sometime veering off course to a dust devil, sometimes veering off course to skirt the edge of large shadows, and having to just stay off the ground in a few places.

There were not a lot of gliders making it back to the soccer field. It will be interesting to see where others made it. But I think it will be a low scoring day for everyone.

CRV dominated it on his sport 2 as usual. He could have easily flown 100 miles, but he decided that was just not enough for him so landed just on the other side of the gorge, about 8 miles out. To learn more about CRV and how super duper cool he is, visit his blog here http://aerochris.blogspot.com/

Tomorrow looks to be a similar forecast to today. Light winds, this time out of the east, with climbs to 8-9k. 4 more days!

-Soccer Field LZ. Nice!

Flight Time: 2:30
XC Miles: 34 Out and Return

Chelan XC Classic 2010: Day 1

There is one name that is synonymous with Ace Comp Pilot. One name that invokes images of pure domination. One name, that merely whispered causes lesser pilots to run away whimpering. That name…. Chris Valley.

CRV praying to the sky gods. Usually pilots pray to him...

Chris Valley is the poster child of the Ace Comp Pilot scene. He showed how he has earned this title by slaying it today on the first day of the Chelan XC Classic, 2010. CRV blasted into first place today with an epic flight. While the rest of the field cowered by their cars, Chris strode boldly into the sky. He flew for at least 10 minutes before landing in the soccer field LZ. The flight makes him the man to beat in the kingpost class.

For the next 5 days Chris will be matching his wits against those who seek to unseat him. Those mere mortals who, for a faint hope of glory, will strive to dethrone a god!


…I didn’t fly because it was windy and I was scared…