Training, Interrupted--and resumed

Well--after starting a new job, and moving away from the Bay Area and my familiar training field in Hollister--I've finally begun to get back into flying. I interrupted my training for a while with the move. Then there was the loss of fellow H2 students to fly with, and the loss of the comfort level of the tow rig. I had to find new places to fly and new people to fly with. I really enjoyed towing. And there's a lot more I could learn from it. But I had become pretty comfortable with it, and hadn't really been pushing myself to get past the tow rig. It's a really easy way to get airtime, and enough altitude to make me smile. I didn't need to worry (much) about conditions, and I felt really safe flying there. I also received first rate instruction there. In any case--after about a 6 or 8 week break, I took a lesson with Tammy down in Santa Barbara on the 200' hill, and its sloping LZ. That training hill was a whole different situation. It was a great experience. All this time, I'd been landing in a perfectly flat field. Surely it won't be like this in the real world! Tammy got me thinking about my landing approaches differently--and much more focused on the goal of flying mountains. I did another day with her several weeks later. Then a road trip up to Hollister for another day of towing a few weeks after that. So from March through August I've had just 3 days of training. Before that, I'd had my H1 lessons in Hollister, and somewhere around 70 tows for a total of about 7 hours of airtime.

Tammy introduced me to a handful of Santa Barbara pilots, and I got onto Pilot Connect on the USHPA website to get in touch with more. I wanted to learn about sites near San Luis Obispo. That's how I got in touch with Bill, an advanced local pilot, and John--another advanced pilot--but also new to the area. John was interested in flying some new sites in our area as well. Bill introduced us to Cuesta Grade, Cayucos, and Montana de Oro.

Several weeks ago we met up and flew Cuesta. John and Bill met me at the LZ in the morning. Bill was there to show us the ropes, and John and I were there to fly. This would be my first mountain launch (as I wouldn't count the 600' at Ed Levin). I am confident in my launching technique, and I'm pretty consistent with my landings, but I was still a bit nervous. Ultimately, I just didn't know how far my F3 would go. To me, it looked like a long way to the LZ. John assured me that if I flew straight there, I would absolutely make it. John is biwingual, and brought his bag and his HG. It was calm in the morning and there was little chance of soaring, so he launched his paraglider, and I followed on my Falcon 3. Launch was a breeze, and I flew straight out to the LZ, arriving with at least 200 feet to spare. The LZ was nicely sloped providing a nice uphill upwind landing. No sweat! We went back up in the early afternoon, and there was some wind--maybe 16mph. Launch at Cuesta is a bit precarious. It's at the very top of that ridge--so I was warned to mind my nose, lest I get flipped over the back! Walking to launch and standing at launch in that wind was pretty nerve wracking. I didn't remember having this much trouble launching under similar wind velocties at the trainging hill. Either the air was more turbulent, or the situation, the altitude, and the vista gave me the sense that there is a higher price to pay for mistakes up there. It was a struggle to control my wing. John provided wire assist and advice at launch. As soon as he told me he was not holding the nose, and I could feel that the wing was balanced, I shouted "clear!" and launched. I was able to fly back and forth just below launch maybe 4 or 5 times before I could see that there was insufficient lift to keep me up. I headed out to the LZ on my second sled run of the day--and my second ever mountain flight. When I landed I got call from John. He was stuck at launch. The wind was too rowdy for him to safely walk his glider to launch. I picked up the pace breaking down my Falcon so I could get up there and give him a hand--but a while later some hikers passing through gave him some assistance to launch. I watched him make more of the situation than I did--but no one soared that day.

It was a lot of work for less than 20 minutes of airtime--but it was spectacular. And it broke my long spell of too many days between flying--and not enough new in my flying. It also introduced me to a couple friendly and encouraging local pilots. Another H1 pilot who lives just down the road from me came down to watch my second flight from the LZ. Hopefully he will be joining us soon.

A week or two after the Cayucos flight, Brian (my neighbor H1 pilot) came down to Santa Barbara with my girlfriend, Jen and I to watch local pilots land in Parma Park. This was what was in store for us if we wanted to fly the mountains behind Santa Barbara. Watching the Lower Parma landing made me want to put off flying that LZ for a while. It's not so much the size, or the slope (it's an uphill landing)--it's just that there's nowhere to "hang out" before turning on to final. The area where one might like to do that is in a bit of a ravine, and subject to trashy air/rotor/turbulence. It appears to me that a successful landing requires the judgement to initiate the downwind leg at the proper altitude. That means making that decision--and committing to it--2 turns earlier than I'm accustomed to. Tammy has offered to be on the ground in the LZ with a radio to talk me in, and eventually--that's what I want to do. In the meantime, I want to check out some other sites!