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.

Chelan 2009 - Day 1

I am writing this post from the bed of my truck as a gust front rolls through town and tries to blow the rest of camp away.

Conditions were tough today. High level clouds were shutting down the thermals, and we waited hours for the sun to start hitting the bute. Around 2pm pilots started to launch and all were struggling to get up. The launch line formed quickly and after waiting in it for 20 minutes I thought about stepping out of line and waiting further for the day to improve. I opted to go ahead and launch.

Pilots were climbing slowy in a thermal to the west. I had seen another group earlier get a good climb to the east and I headed there. I found nothing and was soon struggling to stay up and not go to the bail out LZ. I lost the battle and set up an approach into the soccer field LZ. Many other pilots were there and only a few were able to get across the gorge.

Tomorrow I need to be more aggressive and dive into known lift, even if there are a lot of pilots in the same thermal.

The soccer field LZ is a nice place to land. Soft green grass with plenty of shade trees to break down under, and right by the river.

Alex coming in hot

Valley showing off

The Canuck threading the trees

hangin

On The Road

Road day. Picked up Joe at 7:30am and headed out. Made it just past Portland. Tomorrow we will cross the Cascades and arrive at Chelan in the afternoon. Pilot's meeting and bbq tomorrow evening, and then the first day of the comp starts on Sunday.

Mt Shasta

Back to Chelan

In 5 hours I head back to Chelan, WA for the Chelan XC Classic. Joe Jackson and I will hit the road at 7am and arrive at the competition a short 1000 miles later.

Check out last years Chelan adventure here

Stuck in Mexico

Christina and I had the pleasure of being stuck in Tijuana for 2 days experiencing the wonders of massive bureaucracy.

The army drive heavily armed, unmarked cars. All the soldiers wear ski masks to hide their identities from the equally heavily armed and masked drug gangs. So how do you tell who the good guys are?
We got all our stuff sorted out and eventually made it back across the border. I like traveling, but I'm not crazy about TJ.
Don't drink the water...

Back to the Owens

Memorial Day weekend took me back to the Owen's Valley. Loaded up with Ben D and Ryan Gobble-gobble and blasted thru the Tioga pass arriving late on Friday night. Sunday was the day with solid lift, not too much OD, and breathtaking views.

I launched, climbed through 10k and realized I didn't turn my oxygen on. Tried to reach it, but could not. Got my head back in the game and decided I would just have to leave lift at 13k, giving myself buffer to 14. That worked for the most part, except for one thermal I couldn't safely get out of until it topped out at 15.5k

The Sierra's were breath taking

The air was very turbulent and fatiguing without oxygen. I worked my way north crossing Whitney Portal, then Onion Valley and reaching the lava fields near Aberdeen.

I launched just in time as it started to OD around launch back to the South.

I picked up my pace as I saw growing OD back to the South. Near Aberdeen I caught a particularly nasty thermal which drifted my out over the valley. Realizing the westerlies had kicked in, I decided not to head back towards the Sierra's, even though I was a bit too far South to make the crossing. At the center of the valley I found more lift between 10k and 13k and let it slowly carry me North up 395 until I had Black Mountain on glide.

I flew over Big Ears, and found Joe Jackson climbing at Black. I climbed for a little while but began to grow concerned about the OD to the South. I decided to get moving fast to the North. I hit massive sink at this point and found myself over a beautiful green field just past Bishop. It wasn't a crop, but just a spot in the desert with some ground water. I couldn't resist and put it down next to a shade tree where I broke my glider down in comfort.

Total Distance: 64 miles
Total Time: 3:30

That night we stayed North, camping up near Mono Lake. We found a wonderful ditch under a power line to spend the night

"Driver Appreciation Night" Copper Launch in the background.

Monday was OD'd big time in the valley so we hit a hot spring, and then checked out Copper Launch. The area around Mono lake is stunning.

Everyone Jump!

After Copper we headed back through Yosemite to home, taking one short stop to climb a snowy 11k peak.

What a great weekend. Good friends, good flying, good adventures. I love hang gliding.

Flying 4-11-09, Mission Peak

Turbulence seems to be the theme in Northern California the last couple weeks, and Mission Peak on Saturday was no exception. Nothing extreme, but some big bumps. To balance it out were some big climbs resulting in an exceptionally good day on the Mountain.

Looking back at Mission Peak from the South

Typical climb for the day was around 3,300' with a few to 3,700'. My best climbs were away from the hill. I always enjoy those kind of conditions as it opens up the flying site considerably when you don't need to follow the ridge.

The air was clear and the views of the bay spectacular

I flew until I had my fill

Total Time- 2:10

Mellow McClure

More video. This one's a wingtip mount I took at Lake McClure last month.



Link

Coastal Flying

Last Saturday was a classic day at Mt Tam. Hooked up my new camera and made myself a little video. Ground shots are courtesy of Aerochris

Rainy Day Fun

Bird vs Fish

Bird Strikes Fish In Water - Watch more Funny Videos


Fish vs Bird (and don't try to tell me a whale is not a fish...)

Penguin Pro Evades Killer Whales - Watch more Funny Videos

Jealousy

Aerochris has been tearing it up. See his blog for an awesome video "Vertigo at Ed Levin"
blog here

He's got some great shots lately

Photo Courteous of Aerochris

Mexican Plants

Flower


Forest


Ball-Of-Fun

La Salina

The weather didn't cooperate for flying, but I had some fun getting to check out the site at La Salina anyway. We stayed at Bajamar, just a few miles from the ridge.

The ridge from the parking area for the bailout LZ

Nice carpeted launch


Looking North from launch


Looking South


Looking East, behind the ridge. Nothing for miles.

It has been raining a lot in this area. The soil and infrastructure alike are not able to handle this much water. There is a lot of flooding, sink holes, and erosion.

Puddles like this one are much deeper than they appear

The road to launch is beautiful, and was a lot of fun to drive. It is not always clear which way to go, but we were able to find our way up without too much back-tracking.

Here's the token cactus-in-the-foreground shot...