March 14, 2009
The forecast was dead on.
Nice long-ish flight. I stayed on the main hill for quite a while. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to make the jump to the south knob--which is what happened last time. So I wanted to make sure that I got more than a 10 minute flight!
It was nice to play around in the air. I wish I had better penetration--but I'm unable to follow John to the back hills, as making it back to the beach seems improbable with my Falcon. I managed to follow a playful hawk for a few seconds... Pretty small streak on the video for just a few frames...
Blue-Green Day at Cayucos from henderthing on Vimeo.
Cayucos--and the whole central coast, really--are quite beautiful during the fleeting green season...
Airtime: 77 minutes
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A Couple of Sled Runs
February 14, 2009
February 28, 2009
February 14:
We arrived at Alternator launch. Plenty of cumulus clouds over launch. I was sure we would be going up today... By the time we had set up, cloudbase dropped to below launch. The whole place was a soupy, muddy mess. The last thing either of us wanted to do was pack up and drive back down. We waited for over an hour for any window of visibility. We got our window. Flying just below the clouds around the west bowl, over the slide I had the bar pulled to my knees to maintain level flight. Lots of cloud suck! Sadly on the other side the thermals were small and weak. I was unable to stay in them. John, on the other hand managed to get an hour long flight out of them... As it turned out, we could have waited another 20 minutes or so and had much better conditions!
Airtime: 15 minutes
February 28
Things were looking pretty grey. We flew Eliminator. Winds were crossing out of the east. The air in front of launch was bumpy. I played it safe and headed straight for the LZ. I was sinking pretty fast. I had a mediocre launch and a mediocre landing. Nothing bad--just not great.
Airtime: 9 minutes
February 28, 2009
February 14:
We arrived at Alternator launch. Plenty of cumulus clouds over launch. I was sure we would be going up today... By the time we had set up, cloudbase dropped to below launch. The whole place was a soupy, muddy mess. The last thing either of us wanted to do was pack up and drive back down. We waited for over an hour for any window of visibility. We got our window. Flying just below the clouds around the west bowl, over the slide I had the bar pulled to my knees to maintain level flight. Lots of cloud suck! Sadly on the other side the thermals were small and weak. I was unable to stay in them. John, on the other hand managed to get an hour long flight out of them... As it turned out, we could have waited another 20 minutes or so and had much better conditions!
Airtime: 15 minutes
February 28
Things were looking pretty grey. We flew Eliminator. Winds were crossing out of the east. The air in front of launch was bumpy. I played it safe and headed straight for the LZ. I was sinking pretty fast. I had a mediocre launch and a mediocre landing. Nothing bad--just not great.
Airtime: 9 minutes
First Flight at Bates
February 8, 2009
Got way behind on these posts... Here's a brief catch-up.
I met John at the Alternator LZ. Cloudbase was too low. We drove over to Parma Park--considering an Elminator launch. But the wind in the LZ did not look good. Nor did it look like it would be soarable. John made a few calls. Local pilots were indicating that Bates was working. I'd never flown bates before, but it's a coastal ridge at Rincon Point--a well known surfing spot.
When we arrived, there was one PG in the air and three HGs setting up. Winds were in the high teens--coming straight in from the ocean. The launch is a steep bluff-like launch, not unlike Funston. By the time I had my glider off the truck, it was too strong for PGs. Perfect for us. There were some grounded PG pilots and friends of the other HG pilots to give John and I wire assist on launch. (much appreciated!)
Coastal Soaring at Bates from henderthing on Vimeo.
John launched first, then me. There was plenty of lift. By the time I launched it was coming in a little cross with the ridge--so making my way north was a bit upwind, while flying south was fast. The other HG pilots got way up and left on an XC flight to Ventura. John and I just played around on the ridge. The scenery is great there. There were a number of other aircraft that flew within a mile or two of us: 3 helicopters flying south over the ocean, and an L39 training jet, flying very low and fast over the water... It was also amusing flying over the train a few minutes before landing.
Nice flight. Smooth conditions. Easy landing on the beach...
Airtime: 56 minutes
Got way behind on these posts... Here's a brief catch-up.
I met John at the Alternator LZ. Cloudbase was too low. We drove over to Parma Park--considering an Elminator launch. But the wind in the LZ did not look good. Nor did it look like it would be soarable. John made a few calls. Local pilots were indicating that Bates was working. I'd never flown bates before, but it's a coastal ridge at Rincon Point--a well known surfing spot.
When we arrived, there was one PG in the air and three HGs setting up. Winds were in the high teens--coming straight in from the ocean. The launch is a steep bluff-like launch, not unlike Funston. By the time I had my glider off the truck, it was too strong for PGs. Perfect for us. There were some grounded PG pilots and friends of the other HG pilots to give John and I wire assist on launch. (much appreciated!)
Coastal Soaring at Bates from henderthing on Vimeo.
John launched first, then me. There was plenty of lift. By the time I launched it was coming in a little cross with the ridge--so making my way north was a bit upwind, while flying south was fast. The other HG pilots got way up and left on an XC flight to Ventura. John and I just played around on the ridge. The scenery is great there. There were a number of other aircraft that flew within a mile or two of us: 3 helicopters flying south over the ocean, and an L39 training jet, flying very low and fast over the water... It was also amusing flying over the train a few minutes before landing.
Nice flight. Smooth conditions. Easy landing on the beach...
Airtime: 56 minutes
Saturday, February 7, 2009
First Time Over Launch
January 31, 2009
We brought our new puppy to Santa Barbara for some hang gliding...
As we were setting up, a van and 2 or 3 other vehicles full of PG pilots showed up. We finished setting up and watched the PGs launch to see what the air was like. A few were gaining very little altitude--but in general it didn't look too promising--so we waited a little while. John was first off, and just west of launch he started to climb. I wanted to do the same. I've only been able to extend my flights a little bit in Santa Barbara, never really climb. I made the precarious walk down to launch with my assembled wing. This is one reason some HG pilots choose not to launch here. The path down to launch is steep and loose. Carrying a hang glider down it is an awkward dance. No other PG pilots were interested in launching right away, so I took the next slot. I flew over to where I saw John climb, and sure enough my vario started to beep. I managed to get about 500 feet over launch before losing the thermal or reaching its top. The view over the ridge was spectacular. It's really satisfying to look down on launch. Well--that was about it. For some reason, I didn't manage to get back into that lift and sank rather quickly below launch. I began my flight towards the LZ. There were a couple little pops in front of the front range, but I didn't manage to go up in any of them. There were a number of PG pilots hanging out there, though. Maybe they were too small for my turning radius. So much to learn. Down in the LZ, we noticed a number of HG and PG pilots soaring high over LaCumbre. Later we found out that they were traversing the range between Eliminator and Alternator.
Airtime: 20 minutes
First Time Over Launch in SB! from henderthing on Vimeo.
We brought our new puppy to Santa Barbara for some hang gliding...
As we were setting up, a van and 2 or 3 other vehicles full of PG pilots showed up. We finished setting up and watched the PGs launch to see what the air was like. A few were gaining very little altitude--but in general it didn't look too promising--so we waited a little while. John was first off, and just west of launch he started to climb. I wanted to do the same. I've only been able to extend my flights a little bit in Santa Barbara, never really climb. I made the precarious walk down to launch with my assembled wing. This is one reason some HG pilots choose not to launch here. The path down to launch is steep and loose. Carrying a hang glider down it is an awkward dance. No other PG pilots were interested in launching right away, so I took the next slot. I flew over to where I saw John climb, and sure enough my vario started to beep. I managed to get about 500 feet over launch before losing the thermal or reaching its top. The view over the ridge was spectacular. It's really satisfying to look down on launch. Well--that was about it. For some reason, I didn't manage to get back into that lift and sank rather quickly below launch. I began my flight towards the LZ. There were a couple little pops in front of the front range, but I didn't manage to go up in any of them. There were a number of PG pilots hanging out there, though. Maybe they were too small for my turning radius. So much to learn. Down in the LZ, we noticed a number of HG and PG pilots soaring high over LaCumbre. Later we found out that they were traversing the range between Eliminator and Alternator.
Airtime: 20 minutes
First Time Over Launch in SB! from henderthing on Vimeo.
New Puppy
January 20, 2009
Well--this post is a little late. Almost 3 weeks ago we adopted our new puppy, Penny, from the pound in San Luis Obispo. We don't know what her mutt-ness is made up of, but she is a real sweetheart. Pretty much house-trained right out of the box. Here is a pic of her the day we brought her home, and a video clip of some slow motion (300fps) action shots of her.
Puppy Motion from henderthing on Vimeo.
Well--this post is a little late. Almost 3 weeks ago we adopted our new puppy, Penny, from the pound in San Luis Obispo. We don't know what her mutt-ness is made up of, but she is a real sweetheart. Pretty much house-trained right out of the box. Here is a pic of her the day we brought her home, and a video clip of some slow motion (300fps) action shots of her.
Puppy Motion from henderthing on Vimeo.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Another Sledder
January 10, 2009
Met up at the Cocopah LZ with John. Arriving at launch, the view was pretty spectacular. Amazingly clear air--possibly a symptom of the Santa Ana winds, which were thankfully not blowing over the back at launch. While we were setting up at Alternator, a bunch of PG pilots set up and launched. No one was getting very high. We resigned ourselves to a likely sled run.
I took the opportunity to just practice some things I've been doing badly. I've had difficulty zipping/unzipping my harness while in flight because I keep trying to grab the cord too low. I also wanted to work on having more control of the glider with one hand free. Other items to be addressed: lighter touch all the time, less stress during my landing approach (unzip/transition to downtubes earlier in approach), develop a nice clean downwind/base/final approach pattern, more confidence in judging altitude before going on the downwind leg. All in all--I'd say I improved substantially in all these areas by simply giving them some attention. I'm anxious for all of these "best practices" to become second nature...
Airtime: 12 minutes
Met up at the Cocopah LZ with John. Arriving at launch, the view was pretty spectacular. Amazingly clear air--possibly a symptom of the Santa Ana winds, which were thankfully not blowing over the back at launch. While we were setting up at Alternator, a bunch of PG pilots set up and launched. No one was getting very high. We resigned ourselves to a likely sled run.
I took the opportunity to just practice some things I've been doing badly. I've had difficulty zipping/unzipping my harness while in flight because I keep trying to grab the cord too low. I also wanted to work on having more control of the glider with one hand free. Other items to be addressed: lighter touch all the time, less stress during my landing approach (unzip/transition to downtubes earlier in approach), develop a nice clean downwind/base/final approach pattern, more confidence in judging altitude before going on the downwind leg. All in all--I'd say I improved substantially in all these areas by simply giving them some attention. I'm anxious for all of these "best practices" to become second nature...
Airtime: 12 minutes
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Finally. an Eliminator to Parma Flight
January 3, 2009
I've been putting this off for quite some time. Eliminator appears to be the most popular launch for HGs in Santa Barbara. But launching from Eliminator means landing in Parma Park. I'd been to the LZ there only once before this day--and it was a little intimidating to this H2/near H3 pilot. So I've been putting it off and flying from Altinator, which has an easier LZ--although I will say that walking the glider down to launch at Altinator is quite precarious.
Well--Saturday, we decided to meet at the Altinator LZ. Jen came along to drive--and as it turned out--provide moral support. On the way over the San Marcos pass, it was clear we had a low cloudbase, but lots of tall cumulus clouds. It was not looking good from the LZ either. The cummies are great--and would indicate plenty of lift, but they were clearly lower than launch. We put the gliders on my truck and headed up to launch. Things didn't look much better there. The front peak was almost completely obscured by clouds. We could either sit there and wait for it to change, or we could head over to Eliminator, which is a few hundred feet lower and a few miles east.
When we arrived, there were 4 gliders set up. None of the pilots were local--but one happened to have been an instructor of mine up in Hollister and was taking a SoCal tour. He had never landed at Parma either but had just walked the LZ before going to launch. He had planned on taking a tandem passenger--but opted not to after seeing the LZ. John spent a couple minutes pointing out the features of the landing zone to me, and we watched one pilot who had just taken a sled ride down land in lower Parma. Conditions looked decent, so John started to set up. As I was trying to decide if I was ready to fly there, my old instructor kept talking about how small the LZ is. It really didn't help--but I decided I would launch. As I set up I was getting pretty nervous. I'd heard so many complaints about the Parma LZ.
Everyone launched. I shot John's launch, then put the camera on my keel. John and a visiting pilot managed to find some lift and stay up for a while. I hooked in, did a hang check with Jen's assistance, and took my place at launch. Eliminator is a really steep launch, which I like. It's a fun way to leave the ground. I flew the basic recommended flight plan over the power lines, over the "round house", and down the ridge towards the park. Every time I felt some turbulence, I got excited thinking this was going to be my elevator up--only to hear my vario tell me in its terse voice that I was in turbulent sink. It's an easy glide to the LZ so I just enjoyed the scenery, which is simultaneously beautiful and tragic. The flight path from Eliminator takes me directly over the western edge of the Tea Fire burn zone. As I looked below me from a 1500 feet or so above ground level, I could see magnificent mountain homes reduced to a piles of cinders while other upscale retreats remained untouched. I look around a little but had to make sure I had plenty of altitude for my first Parma landing.
My First Flight into Lower Parma from henderthing on Vimeo.
(click link for HD)
Arriving over the LZ with several hundred feet to spare, I finally found some lift over one of the houses. I circled 10 or 15 times for a net gain of only a couple hundred feet. Once I lost that buffer, I unzipped and got ready to land. What can I say about my approach? It was wonky. I did a U-turn onto final (no base leg--no good reason either) only to find myself still too high. So rather than level out of the U-turn, I added a steep, tight 360, which I exited on final with plenty of speed. This is where I made the same mistake from a few flights ago in Cayucos. While I had the bar pulled way in, I tried to move my hands to the downtubes. I seem to not realize that this will cause me to pop the nose every time. My nose popped up and to the left, causing me to gain altitude and lose airspeed. I yanked the DTs towards me and got back on course for a decent landing. The pilots who had previously landed were in the neighboring (upper) LZ watching the whole thing. They knew it was my first time and gave me a little cheer.
Overall a fun flight with some mistakes. The main thing is, I'm not averse to flying Eliminator anymore.
Airtime: 13 minutes
I've been putting this off for quite some time. Eliminator appears to be the most popular launch for HGs in Santa Barbara. But launching from Eliminator means landing in Parma Park. I'd been to the LZ there only once before this day--and it was a little intimidating to this H2/near H3 pilot. So I've been putting it off and flying from Altinator, which has an easier LZ--although I will say that walking the glider down to launch at Altinator is quite precarious.
Well--Saturday, we decided to meet at the Altinator LZ. Jen came along to drive--and as it turned out--provide moral support. On the way over the San Marcos pass, it was clear we had a low cloudbase, but lots of tall cumulus clouds. It was not looking good from the LZ either. The cummies are great--and would indicate plenty of lift, but they were clearly lower than launch. We put the gliders on my truck and headed up to launch. Things didn't look much better there. The front peak was almost completely obscured by clouds. We could either sit there and wait for it to change, or we could head over to Eliminator, which is a few hundred feet lower and a few miles east.
When we arrived, there were 4 gliders set up. None of the pilots were local--but one happened to have been an instructor of mine up in Hollister and was taking a SoCal tour. He had never landed at Parma either but had just walked the LZ before going to launch. He had planned on taking a tandem passenger--but opted not to after seeing the LZ. John spent a couple minutes pointing out the features of the landing zone to me, and we watched one pilot who had just taken a sled ride down land in lower Parma. Conditions looked decent, so John started to set up. As I was trying to decide if I was ready to fly there, my old instructor kept talking about how small the LZ is. It really didn't help--but I decided I would launch. As I set up I was getting pretty nervous. I'd heard so many complaints about the Parma LZ.
Everyone launched. I shot John's launch, then put the camera on my keel. John and a visiting pilot managed to find some lift and stay up for a while. I hooked in, did a hang check with Jen's assistance, and took my place at launch. Eliminator is a really steep launch, which I like. It's a fun way to leave the ground. I flew the basic recommended flight plan over the power lines, over the "round house", and down the ridge towards the park. Every time I felt some turbulence, I got excited thinking this was going to be my elevator up--only to hear my vario tell me in its terse voice that I was in turbulent sink. It's an easy glide to the LZ so I just enjoyed the scenery, which is simultaneously beautiful and tragic. The flight path from Eliminator takes me directly over the western edge of the Tea Fire burn zone. As I looked below me from a 1500 feet or so above ground level, I could see magnificent mountain homes reduced to a piles of cinders while other upscale retreats remained untouched. I look around a little but had to make sure I had plenty of altitude for my first Parma landing.
My First Flight into Lower Parma from henderthing on Vimeo.
(click link for HD)
Arriving over the LZ with several hundred feet to spare, I finally found some lift over one of the houses. I circled 10 or 15 times for a net gain of only a couple hundred feet. Once I lost that buffer, I unzipped and got ready to land. What can I say about my approach? It was wonky. I did a U-turn onto final (no base leg--no good reason either) only to find myself still too high. So rather than level out of the U-turn, I added a steep, tight 360, which I exited on final with plenty of speed. This is where I made the same mistake from a few flights ago in Cayucos. While I had the bar pulled way in, I tried to move my hands to the downtubes. I seem to not realize that this will cause me to pop the nose every time. My nose popped up and to the left, causing me to gain altitude and lose airspeed. I yanked the DTs towards me and got back on course for a decent landing. The pilots who had previously landed were in the neighboring (upper) LZ watching the whole thing. They knew it was my first time and gave me a little cheer.
Overall a fun flight with some mistakes. The main thing is, I'm not averse to flying Eliminator anymore.
Airtime: 13 minutes
First Flight of 2009 - Cayucos
January 2, 2009
NOAA was calling for peak winds of 14 mph at 1:00 pm. Seemed like a marginal call, as 14 would probably not be enough to soar and the last time we went with a similar forecast--it was dead. We decided to go for it anyway. Jen and I met John at the LZ and we headed up to the hill. By the time we got up there, it was blowing 22-31 mph. We gave John an assist at launch and he was off. There was no way I was going to launch my F3 in this wind. We watched John as he parked his glider into the wind. It was clear that he could penetrate with his double surface glider--but not by much. After waiting about 20 minutes, the wind had calmed down and I launched. I was able to get about 150 feet over launch but not much more. I flew around the hill for a while, circling over Jen and the truck.
Cayucos - January 2, 2008 from henderthing on Vimeo.
The weather was starting to change, and small wispy puffs of cloud were blowing beneath me. That's where I should have stayed. After about 10 minutes of playing at the hill, I decided to head south to the knob. I didn't arrive with enough altitude and had to land. Nice flight with an uneventful landing. Could've been longer though! Airtime: 12 minutes
I now have my 10 hours of airtime for my H3 rating (+7 minutes). Just gotta take that test.
NOAA was calling for peak winds of 14 mph at 1:00 pm. Seemed like a marginal call, as 14 would probably not be enough to soar and the last time we went with a similar forecast--it was dead. We decided to go for it anyway. Jen and I met John at the LZ and we headed up to the hill. By the time we got up there, it was blowing 22-31 mph. We gave John an assist at launch and he was off. There was no way I was going to launch my F3 in this wind. We watched John as he parked his glider into the wind. It was clear that he could penetrate with his double surface glider--but not by much. After waiting about 20 minutes, the wind had calmed down and I launched. I was able to get about 150 feet over launch but not much more. I flew around the hill for a while, circling over Jen and the truck.
Cayucos - January 2, 2008 from henderthing on Vimeo.
The weather was starting to change, and small wispy puffs of cloud were blowing beneath me. That's where I should have stayed. After about 10 minutes of playing at the hill, I decided to head south to the knob. I didn't arrive with enough altitude and had to land. Nice flight with an uneventful landing. Could've been longer though! Airtime: 12 minutes
I now have my 10 hours of airtime for my H3 rating (+7 minutes). Just gotta take that test.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sled Run at Cayucos
December 7, 2008
John and I decided to meet at the Cayucos LZ on Sunday. We're still trying to figure out how to reliably predict conditions for Cayucos. NOAA has a Cayucos report, and a marine report, and there's always a pretty big difference in forecasted wind speed. Jen came along to drive and take some pictures. When we arrived the wind was pretty much west at maybe 3-5 mph. We loaded the truck and headed to launch. While we waited for conditions to improve, a couple PG pilots launched into the light breeze, and flew straight to the LZ. A little while later, John chose to launch his paraglider. I decided that a short flight is better than no flight, and set up after John landed.
Cayucos Sled Run 12/07/08 from henderthing on Vimeo.
As expected, it was a sled run. I would have to land on the beach north of where I wanted to. That's where the exciting moment came. As I was coming out of a U-turn onto final, I went to move my hands from the basetube to the downtubes. I was pulled in for speed, and whacked each hand pretty hard on the wire that runs from the control frame to the keel. This caused not only a lapse in glider control--but in the case of my left hand--really caused the nose to pop and mush to the right. This could have been pretty bad if I were a bit lower. As it was, I had just enough time to turn and bring some speed back for my landing. I will definitely be looking out for those wires in the future!
Total airtime was 2 minutes and 46 seconds. This brings my remaining airtime required for my H3 to 5 minutes. Hopefully that will be accounted for in my next flight!
John and I decided to meet at the Cayucos LZ on Sunday. We're still trying to figure out how to reliably predict conditions for Cayucos. NOAA has a Cayucos report, and a marine report, and there's always a pretty big difference in forecasted wind speed. Jen came along to drive and take some pictures. When we arrived the wind was pretty much west at maybe 3-5 mph. We loaded the truck and headed to launch. While we waited for conditions to improve, a couple PG pilots launched into the light breeze, and flew straight to the LZ. A little while later, John chose to launch his paraglider. I decided that a short flight is better than no flight, and set up after John landed.
Cayucos Sled Run 12/07/08 from henderthing on Vimeo.
As expected, it was a sled run. I would have to land on the beach north of where I wanted to. That's where the exciting moment came. As I was coming out of a U-turn onto final, I went to move my hands from the basetube to the downtubes. I was pulled in for speed, and whacked each hand pretty hard on the wire that runs from the control frame to the keel. This caused not only a lapse in glider control--but in the case of my left hand--really caused the nose to pop and mush to the right. This could have been pretty bad if I were a bit lower. As it was, I had just enough time to turn and bring some speed back for my landing. I will definitely be looking out for those wires in the future!
Total airtime was 2 minutes and 46 seconds. This brings my remaining airtime required for my H3 to 5 minutes. Hopefully that will be accounted for in my next flight!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Altinator Air Traffic
November 22, 2008
Well, Saturday was looking good weather-wise. Jen and I had plans in LA that night, so I had to get the wiener dog to the boarders once they'd opened, and meet John in the LZ as early as possible. I made it to the Cocopah LZ by 9:40. We loaded up John's truck and headed to launch.
John mentioned that there was supposed to be an event there that day, but launch was completely empty. Remembering the precarious walk from the parking area down to launch with an assembled glider--I suggested we try to set up quickly right at launch. Well--not long after I began setting up 3 vanloads of PG pilots arrived. There was room for them to use the East part of the launch--but a few did seem a bit annoyed...
The cycles were coming up the hill progressively stronger as I finished setting up. John was off first. I set my camcorder up on my keel. Knowing that it could record well over an hour before the battery died is nice. It allows me to start recording without worrying that I didn't hit the button just before launching. This would be my first flight with the new HD1010. I fiddled with the mount a bit--but I clearly didn't get it quite straight relative to the basetube.
Air Traffic: Santa Barbara 11/22/08 from henderthing on Vimeo.
I got some assistance from a PGer in turning my glider around, stepped up to launch, and went. It was immediately clear that there was more lift (meaning "some lift") compared to the last (and only) time I'd flown here before, so I headed west, towards the bowl to see if I could find any lift. I got bounced around a little and managed to lose altitude only very slowly--but after circling here and there for a while between launch and the foreground peak, I decided to head around the front of the peak. Conditions there were similar, there were spots of lift and if I circled--I would be rising during part of that circle. I just never seemed to be able to just go up. There were at least a dozen paragliders in the air along with a couple other HGs. There was John, and someone else giving a tandem flight. Looking around at all the other pilots was cool. It was a beautiful day. I was surprised at how low some PG pilots would let themselves get in front of that peak without heading to an LZ--but hey--what do I know? All in all it was a beautiful flight. Total airtime: 22 minutes. So I definitely found some lift--as my last flight here was 13 minutes long. I'm still anxious for that first time I launch here, and climb right up over launch--and keep climbing... I really want to look down on a 4000 ft peak from twice the altitude. Soon, I'm sure. Even on this flight, once I fly around the front ridge, the power line towers are visible below--and they look really tiny. I don't know why that's so satisfying, but it is.
I arrived at the LZ to find John still in the air, exploring around before he headed to his final approach. I watched him land from above, had some fun turning steeply to lose altitude and land myself. I again managed to oscillate wildly turning on to final. Sure enough--as soon as I opened my hands, it stopped. I can't believe I still do that.
Great day, all in all. Made it to LA on time and everything.
-m
Well, Saturday was looking good weather-wise. Jen and I had plans in LA that night, so I had to get the wiener dog to the boarders once they'd opened, and meet John in the LZ as early as possible. I made it to the Cocopah LZ by 9:40. We loaded up John's truck and headed to launch.
John mentioned that there was supposed to be an event there that day, but launch was completely empty. Remembering the precarious walk from the parking area down to launch with an assembled glider--I suggested we try to set up quickly right at launch. Well--not long after I began setting up 3 vanloads of PG pilots arrived. There was room for them to use the East part of the launch--but a few did seem a bit annoyed...
The cycles were coming up the hill progressively stronger as I finished setting up. John was off first. I set my camcorder up on my keel. Knowing that it could record well over an hour before the battery died is nice. It allows me to start recording without worrying that I didn't hit the button just before launching. This would be my first flight with the new HD1010. I fiddled with the mount a bit--but I clearly didn't get it quite straight relative to the basetube.
Air Traffic: Santa Barbara 11/22/08 from henderthing on Vimeo.
I got some assistance from a PGer in turning my glider around, stepped up to launch, and went. It was immediately clear that there was more lift (meaning "some lift") compared to the last (and only) time I'd flown here before, so I headed west, towards the bowl to see if I could find any lift. I got bounced around a little and managed to lose altitude only very slowly--but after circling here and there for a while between launch and the foreground peak, I decided to head around the front of the peak. Conditions there were similar, there were spots of lift and if I circled--I would be rising during part of that circle. I just never seemed to be able to just go up. There were at least a dozen paragliders in the air along with a couple other HGs. There was John, and someone else giving a tandem flight. Looking around at all the other pilots was cool. It was a beautiful day. I was surprised at how low some PG pilots would let themselves get in front of that peak without heading to an LZ--but hey--what do I know? All in all it was a beautiful flight. Total airtime: 22 minutes. So I definitely found some lift--as my last flight here was 13 minutes long. I'm still anxious for that first time I launch here, and climb right up over launch--and keep climbing... I really want to look down on a 4000 ft peak from twice the altitude. Soon, I'm sure. Even on this flight, once I fly around the front ridge, the power line towers are visible below--and they look really tiny. I don't know why that's so satisfying, but it is.
I arrived at the LZ to find John still in the air, exploring around before he headed to his final approach. I watched him land from above, had some fun turning steeply to lose altitude and land myself. I again managed to oscillate wildly turning on to final. Sure enough--as soon as I opened my hands, it stopped. I can't believe I still do that.
Great day, all in all. Made it to LA on time and everything.
-m
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