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
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