Ken Howells Hang Gliding & Paragliding Flight Log

OK launch, clipped bush with wire. One bubble, then straight glide to LZ from 4100 MSL. At power lines, lost 1300 feet. Plenty high, good landing at Carnelian, 12:26.

Good launch. 1200 up @ BB to 6400 MSL. Went to Pine and Sugar Pine (with Bronwyn Hamilton). Shutting down, came back. Good wangs over LZ. Nice landing at 15:15.

Good launch. Dove for Crestline from 5200. Scratched out to B. Canyon. Save at LM (power plant), then soaring above Cloud Peak for a long time. Nice wangs and V-nice landing at 15:00.

Wind turned while on launch at CRS, got ride to UM and launched for sledder. Wind WWWNW in LZ. Did aerobatics to make it worthwhile. Nice landing at 15:10.

Puffing down up @ CRS.
Good launch, struggle to stay up. Dust devil at LZ but too tight. Good. trim slow.imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Puffing down up @ CRS.
Good launch and testing. nice boat landing near the cone, 10 feet lateral. Good, slight left. Test fly noon to 1530. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Good launch. Repeat up and down from day before. Save at 750 (13:30) then up high all day. Kurt flew from CRS, I observed. I got to 6K and 600 up at 3:00 PM! Good aero session and landing at 15:15.

Good launch. Repeat up and down from day before. Save at 750 (13:30) then up high all day. Kurt flew from CRS, I observed. I got to 6K and 600 up at 3:00 PM! Good aero session and landing at 15:15.

Good launch. Topped out at 5200, dove for CRS, no lift, flee for UM at 4400. Repeat three times! UGH. Tough at Pine too. Top land approach from east, back (left hand). OK in light wind.

Good launch. Topped out at 5200, dove for CRS, no lift, flee for UM at 4400. Repeat three times! UGH. Tough at Pine too. Top land approach from east, back (left hand). OK in light wind.

Sled, stable marine crud.
Good. Good day of test flying. Nailed cone with 170. Feel for changing gliders improving. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Sled, stable marine crud.
Good. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Sled, stable marine crud.
Good. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Sled, stable marine crud.
Flutter. Nailed spot. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Sled, stable marine crud.
V-nice! Test fly 10:00-16:30. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Good launch. Tough to get up. 5200 at cloud to Billboard, no luck. Bailey Canyon strong and tight to 4K. Pine 5K, convergence mild. 6300 to CRS etc. A lot of hard work, fun. Nice landing at 15:30.

Clear post SA, not real warm
Great launch into sink. Zero-sink in thermal at 750. No wind in LZ! Came in a bit lower than desired, flared hard, ran 4 steps. (C. stumbled)

Stable air
Great launch. One pass on Ridge, no lift. Slow glide to LM, zero sink there for a bit. Nice high approach and dive, very nice landing in little wind.

Good launch into thermal to 6K+ and Strawberry, Rim HS (9300 MSL). Headwinds S so back to Devore and smog front then UM. Westerlies too strong for TL at UM. Nice landing in LZ at 16:30.

High clouds & cold
Driving for Mike Meier, testing XC 142 (P8?) from 750. Good launch and climb to 400 over. Glider good. decent TL at 16:37. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Good. Three good flights on F 225's with easy top landings. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Good. Left turn [arbitrary] . imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Nice. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Late in day, sank to LZ. Nice landing near spot.
test fly 11:30 - 16:30. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Good launch. Inversion at CRS alt. OK at UM. Tight cores to 5K, mostly weak and brief. Lots of work staying up but fun. Good landing at 14:35.

Good launch, lower front. Easy to CRS - 7.5 K at 1500 FPM! Out to Devore in turbulent cold air, then back to UM, then radio towers. Still rowdy. Two aborts, then perfect TL at 15:30.

Good launch. Tough and tight cores, 1/4 good ones. CRS to BB to Pine to Freeway to LZ to UM. Lots of aero - some nice, one real slow. Poor landing (near-whack).

Blowing down 20+ at UM!
Good. 5 test flights from 7:50 with Mike, Larry, and Rob McK. 20 gliders in all, all sleds. Some very close quarters. All decent landings. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Blowing down 20+ at UM!
Good. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Blowing down 20+ at UM!
Good. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Blowing down 20+ at UM!
Fine. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Blowing down 20+ @ UM!
OK. Test Fly 10-3. Lost $4 in spot landing contest.

Good launch. At CRS <10 minutes, then wangs, then Pine. Looked poor West. LM to below BB to CRS, wangs. Cruised to UM, boated a little then decent TL at 16:10.

Good launch into cycle. Slow climb to CRS, then Pine (8200), then Glen Helen at 6K; nothing there. Back to LZ – thermal to 6K. Met smog at Little Mountain and 6K again. Boated over town. Nice landing at 16:30.

Good launch. Got 50 feet above launch, then slow and agonizing sink out to LZ. Decent glider though. Decent landing at 15:45. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Good launch. Chose Raven for ease of setup, relaxation. All done again 6900 feet at Billboard, lots of 6200+ feet. Floated and relaxed and grinned. Easy TL, nice. Drove for Wills Wing at Elsinore in the morning.

Good launch. Many strong thermals, all done at 7700 feet. Northwest wind above 6300, SE below. Cool, comfortable boating around. Very nice floating TL no step at 16:45.

Good launch into thermal. Dying vario, poor without it. CRS to Pine, strong but trashy. Wingovers over [Devil] Canyon. Gusty on final. OK landing at 16:00.

Good launch. Went for CRS at 4.8K semi-squeak to LM, then CRS to BB to Pine (6700) to Sugar Pine, the chimney. Windy. Hung out awhile. All done, back to CRS. Good aero practice. Very nice landing at 17:30.

Good launch. Easy to Pine. Drilled 3 times trying to go to Sugar Pine with Kevin Clements. Finally up along back, struggle to return. Fun in a work kinda way. Nice landing at 15:30.

Hazy, marine
Good early then quick shutdown @ 16:00. XLNT top landing. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Hazy, marine
Good on feet with 165 but scraped knee on approach. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Hazy, marine
Nice. imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Hazy, marine
Had to save last flight. Test Fly 12:00-17:30. Life is Good! imported from Redbook
imported from Redbook

Good launch, ridged a bit then LM, UM etc. Fun boating. Caro, Andy, plus Cathy L flying. Caro OK, Andy good, Cathy great, even above me in a thermal. One clean WO and V-nice landing at 17:50.

sticky & inverted
imported from Redbook

great.
imported from Redbook

Tried to whip 225 in for 3rd TL. They don't "whip". took out D-tube bent C-bar. Might have been the other 225 I flew. Imported from Redbook.
imported from Redbook

Fun sledder to LZ. Great landing. Fun [day] overall. imported from Redbook

Good launch. Soarable but not great. 6200 at BB, went to Pine - CRS - UM 5200 Max there. Tougher lower. Decent aero. OK landing at 16:50.

Hot, clear, rowdy
Great launch. Tight, strong lift close to hill. Too close. Quick sink to 750 area, flew through lift on downwind and final, hard dive, nice landing.

Good launch (steep!). Into weak cycle, sank to 7700 and found house thermal. Inversion at 85-8700 kept me down. Radio out. Headed for Lake Shore, good field [cows], slight whack.

Good launch. XC Proto #3. Twitchy at first, then good. Very fast at VG full! One core >1500 up. Strawberry again, ho hum. Rowdy at UM. Got scared shitless so no TL, went to LZ instead. Landed at 16:20.

Good launch. Soared 10 minutes, then it shut down fast. Scratched all the right places but no luck. Good landing at 18:05. Test fly day, got home at 9:00 PM.

Good launch. Great lift and sink. Not real high. Strawberry Peak at 15:30, 6-6.5K mostly. Arrowhead, UM, CRS, Pine, West. Others scratching, so back to UM. Good bush landing at 16:45.

Good launch, upper. Great thermal to 8K! Aerial photos of Camp P. (and Swift) fun flying to Sugar Pine, Verdemont. Too windy for safe top landing. Windy in LZ. Gust lifted, poor landing at 16:10.

Low smog front, windy, hot, & clear
Great launch. Sank from CRS. Great lift @ RGNLS. Lenny thermalled, eventually went to CRS. First time tandem! Several good climbs. Bumpy@LZ, lifted on final but great landing.

Good demo flight. Lenny Holmes' first time at Pepper. Normal beginner antics.

Smoggy, tight cores
Good launch in light conditions. Sled to LM, Lenny flying. Tried for a couple of cores, too tight. Great landing.

Good launch. Went to CRS three times (and Caltrans once)! Good workout day. Flew HP AT without spreader bar per Steve Pearson request. Possible XC kingpost-hang. Not an improvement. Slower to respond on decisive turns, heavier pressures. Late flare going for spot at 17:05.

Good launch, lower West. Ratty lift topping at 4150 first 45 minutes. Boomer punched through to 6300 and cool air went CRS for 30 minutes. Descent through hot, turbulent air to nice top landing. Lucky to be on easy wing.

Crappy
Good launch, upper (cross right) soared 5 minutes over top. Glider good and so easy. Sank out slowly. Wind SE in LZ good approach and stop-on-a-dime flare. Paid to fly!
imported from Redbook

Thick smog
Good launch. Left CRS quickly. Decent lift at LM. Thermalled up and let Lenny fly. Worked on speed and coordination. He worked one thermal. Save from 700 AGL at LZ upright. Lenny flew some more, some nice turns by Lenny. Came in nice, good landing.

Maggie has beginner raring. Good launch. Maggie grabbed bar going prone. Left CRS, good lift at LM to 4700 then UM (Maggie) and thermalled with McK. Minor save then land. Good approach, final, and flare. Bent downtube though.

Good launch. Weak cycle, left immediately, sinking Canyon, squeaked over LM. No lift worked. Set up for approach, lousy but quick. Sink so did swooping final too. Decent landing.

Good launch, easy lift to 6K. Lenny enthusiastic. Quite bumpy air. 1K gain from M750 to UM. Lenny learned airspeed. Good approach, flared high.

Good launch, lower. Lucky core to 6K+ then CRS, BB, Pine - trashy for some reason. Good lift at LM then UM. Flew through virga, landed immediately. OK top land low on hill at 16:00.

Good launch. Flying with [WW] XC winglets (protos) - slowed roll, centered or low-siding instead of usual high-siding (spirally stable) [adverse yaw!]. Great at high speed! Excellent landing at 17:30.

Clear Hot, like 1 July
Good launch. Good soaring, not spectacular. Trashy at Pine, CRS OK. Smog arrived with little effect. Came in too high on top landing, whacked and sprained left ankle (OK till evening).
=========================
Hang Gliding Accident Report

Serious Whack on Top Landing

7/8/95, 3:45 PM
San Bernardino, CA,
Marshall Peak, 4000 MSL

Ken Howells, 33 yrs., 190 lbs.
Advanced, Tandem Instructor, 600+ hrs, 10 yrs. HG
Recent Gold Safe Pilot Award recipient
HPAT 158, Z3 Harness

Foot launch free flying,
hand deploy chute (not deployed), open face helmet

Injury: Mild Ankle Sprain

Description:
Came in for top landing too high and after rounding out near
hill carried up to flatter top part of hill and into the wind
coming over the top. Wind was more westerly than usual, thus
was a quartering tail wind relative to direction of travel at
top, contributing to higher groundspeed, though not prime factor
in mishap. Turned glider right, more into wind for possible
crabbing fly-by but ran out of airspeed and had to flare while
moving in a direction about 70 degrees left of keel axis at 7 to
10 MPH. Planted left foot, which rolled over immediately,
basetube and nose struck the ground hard and downtubes were
saved by valiant effort to pull hands away from them. Burning
sensation on outer portion of left ankle, but no pain and could
walk more or less normally. Later in evening swelling and
stiffness set in.

Equipment damage:
New crinkle in nose cone, broken Ball clamp stem at instrument
attachment point, instrument undamaged.

Analysis:
This accident could have been avoided by aborting early, but I
thought I had the situation handled. I was anxious to land, for
some reason, and just dove it on in. I basically ran out of
steep uphill before I ran out of airspeed. The indecision
between landing and flying by did not help, especially since in
retrospect a fly-by was not a viable option once I was ground
skimming. Time to flare came abruptly, I was not prepared to
run fast sideways, and I just put my feet down like a normal
landing, which is why I sprained my ankle.

Good launch, long run. Sled ride to 750 area. Small cores, 0 sink flying for a few minutes. Set up nice high approach and came in for textbook landing.

Good launch, lower S into thermal. Left UM at 5K for CRS, arrived 4550, scratched hard then got 5700. Fun! Butt-kicking good at Pine. Travel seemed iffy. UM to CRS again then good landing at 16:40.

Good launch. Some Ridge, some thermals, work to stay up at first. CRS to UM to CRS to Pine to BB to CRS to UM to Little Mountain. Barely made LZ after going to Little Mountain. Fun.

Good launch. Gave Jim LaGuardia ride up. Boated about the hill. Nice core to 5700 - CRS!! Flew by Jim Skelton then back to UM for nice top landing at 17:35 as intended.

Stalled smog front over valley. Great launch, easy lift. Wanted to go XC, no magic lift ahead of smog. In smog got 3400 to 7400 less than 4 minutes!! Vario quit at 1600. Fun flying w/o it. Good landing 6 feet from spot at 17:30.

Good launch. Sank to 900 AGL, prepared to go upright, went up instead! >600 FPM to 4600 feet. Many good thermals. Greg flew a little. Sink and wind in LZ. 1:1 glide to no-step landing.

Good launch. Worked very hard over E cone for 20 minutes then up and down near launch. Got to 1K over. Somewhat easier later but still work. Great, satisfying flight except for d-tube. Ed Henry sledded.

Good launch. Nice sledder in calm air on old glider. Bar pressure!! Fun to reminisce in the air. Never went up. Good landing, flared hard at 17:32.

Good launch, upper. Soared in marginal smog. OK top landing at 13:20.

Good launch, upper. Got to 6,800 at CRS (shear). Sink at Pine. Good top landing at 15:40.

Good launch, lower. Very weak lift at cloud peak. Nice spot landing at 17:30.

Two good demos for Phil Lamson. Glider flew nice and straight after field repairs.

Good launch. Soared bored for an hour then top landed to talk to Mike Meier at 14:00.

Good launch. Soared around, went to Kendall Hill after CRS, caught dust devil to 4700 feet -> Little Mountain. Back to LZ and a good landing in traffic at 16:20.

Good launch, lower. Gaggle scratched at lower Marshall, went out front, skied to 5200, others flushed. Good aero at LZ. Landed to meet student at 15:40.

Good launch. In air while Cathy Leja (final lesson) launched. Observed her, did some rad wangs, and came in for great no-step spot landing (unusual when supervising students) at 17:45.

Two nice demo flights with long glides and no-step landings for student Phil Lamson.

Good launch. TP training. Easy soaring, like a nice Raven. Slight left turn, trimmed very slow. (Meier confirmed!) Fun to fly, want one. OK top land - not aggressive enough at 15:15.

Good launch. Zoom to LZ for radio guidance for Cathy Leja. Some good radical wangs, one 160 degrees, solid. Lousy spin attempts. Acceptable landing (Cathy great!) at 17:30.

Good launch (Phil's arm over rope). Easy soaring at CRS. Phil in control to LM until we hit big sink. Some thermals at LM and LZ. Good fun. Nice approach but wing drop, landed on wheels.

Nice launch. Some good lift, some OK. Eventually got to CRS then Pine and a little W. Some rock'n'roll. Flew to Kendall Hill and back up to 750. Nice landing heading West at 17:50. Hired by Wills Wing as driver/test pilot/metal fabricator.

Good launch, upper. Good lift with sink between. Tops at 4800. Eventual CRS after low save then Pine and Sugarpine. Kinda low coming back. Too rough for top land. Strong pop at LZ but nice landing at 15:20.

Good launch into lift. 2 circles = 300' gain. Good thermals despite wind. Got to 6100 at BB. Small cumies forming. Cold. Soared Kendall Hills, back to UM. Good landing at 17:30.

Four demo flights for Phil Lamson. Strong wind, hands off etc. One pop up. Good landings.

Good launch, upper. Skinny lift. Got to 4500 then clawed my way down Cloud Peak spine. Trashy at 750, bailed. Good landing at 14:40.

Good launch. Worked light lift to 4800 with J Toms and Mike H. Junk at trash, save over volcano. Couple of wangs, nice landing, upper.

Good launch. Stiffer glider, but FAST! Scratched then thermal to 9400 feet. Awesome day! Got to Devore quickly and Glen Helen (sink city). 11K at Pine. Very cold at altitude. Total blast! Knee-scrape top landing, glider fine at 16:00.

Good launch, upper. Ridge lift at UM. Glider trim slightly slower. Stiffer at trim. More comfortable. Pressure at full VG stuff not really improved. Crowded LZ. Nice landing at 17:00.

Good launch. Stiffer glider, but FAST! Scratched then thermal to 9400 feet. Awesome day! Got to Devore quickly and Glen Helen (sink city). 11K at Pine. Very cold at altitude. Total blast! Knee-scrape top landing, glider fine at 16:00.

Good launch, upper. Ridge lift at UM. Glider trim slightly slower. Stiffer at trim. More comfortable. Pressure at full VG stuff not really improved. Crowded LZ. Nice landing at 17:00.

Two demo flights for student Chuck Mayfield, both less than 5 feet from target.

Two demo flights for student Chuck Mayfield, both less than 5 feet from target.

Good launch. Weak lift at BB, boring. 140° wang at CRS. Scratched UM & cloud peak. Relaxed. Good square approach, nice landing at 17:00.

Good launch. Weak lift at BB, boring. 140° wang at CRS. Scratched UM & cloud peak. Relaxed. Good square approach, nice landing at 17:00.

Good launch. Test flight after replacing side wires. Ridge crowded. Scratchy at Marshall. Worked for 40-minute flight. Crowd over LZ, good landing, easy. Landing at 16:00.

Good launch. Test flight after replacing side wires. Ridge crowded. Scratchy at Marshall. Worked for 40-minute flight. Crowd over LZ, good landing, easy. Landing at 16:00.

Good launch, upper. Got above briefly, yielded to PG and sank out. One low thermal from 2400 to 2700, got excited for nothing. Wind SSE at landing, good.

Good launch, upper. Got above briefly, yielded to PG and sank out. One low thermal from 2400 to 2700, got excited for nothing. Wind SSE at landing, good.

Good forward inflation. Tim Nelson's third tandem. I tried to geek on him a little then helped thermal. Fast glider. Katabatic in LZ, landed up parking lot with great force but on our feet at 17:20.

Good forward inflation. Tim Nelson's third tandem. I tried to geek on him a little then helped thermal. Fast glider. Katabatic in LZ, landed up parking lot with great force but on our feet at 17:20.

Good launch. Hard to stay up in very bumpy air at inversion. Eventually good, though not high; fun! UM to CRS twice, arrived 4850 second time, got up with work. Fun glide Pine to UM, no turns. Good landing at 17:00.

Good launch (ramp). Zero-sinked it on spine mostly, one or two farts rolling through. Small model fun to fly. Good wind for good landing. Flare authority at 15:15.

Dive to LZ for radioing-in students Cathy, solo 3, and Tom, first flight on Sport 167.

Good launch, upper. Cloud base at 6.5K ±200. Easy (mostly) trip to Strawberry then out to Devore and back. Saw downtown LA from Upper Marshall!! Very nice top landing, with style, according to MM, at 16:00.

Good launch, upper. Easy climb to 5400 and Crestline. 6500 at Billboard. West to Sugarpine, cloudbase lower, about 6K there. Got low once then saved and top landed OK at 14:40.

Good launch, upper. Easy soaring. Got to 6400 at BB. UM to CRS four times. Nice way-over wangs. Great fun but cold in T-shirt. Good landing at 16:45.

Good launch. Ratty lift, bumpy air. Got to CRS low, too rough in-close. Scratched all the way down to 750, held out for a long time. Wind in LZ. Graceless landing at 16:00.

Good launch, lower W. Easy to soar but I wasn't into it. Had newsletter to finish so I spiraled down and landed at 14:40.

Good launch Upper West. Immediate lift to 5400 then CRS. Bounced up and down between UM and cloudbase. One save at Cloud Peak. OK approach for TL but tried yaw glider. Cost a down tube.

Good launch, Upper East. Tight tight cores, approximately 600 FPM up to 5K drifting to northwest! Best at UM, stayed near, got to 5200 eventually. 2 good high VG wangs and one near loop. Good landing at 15:20.

Falcon with paraglider harness, slightly awkward but doable. Want altitude.

Demo for students Randy & Andy. Squirrely, kinda slow response. Good flare.

Good launch into thermal to 6K. Crestline weak then good. 1K up at Pine to 6.5K one mile West of Pine, CRS interchange. Little Mountain. Had to land for duties. Good landing at 15:10.

OK crosswind launch, upper. Got up a little then high at cloud peak. Strong drift to thermals. 5400 to Crestline, not much there. Had one chance at top landing, looked instead of diving. Sank to LZ, great landing at 18:22.

Good launch. Got to 4.8K quickly but sank and ridged with large gaggle on NW face. Close quarters, 2 near head-ons. Fun but slightly aggravating. Four of us landing at the same time. Nice landing near target at 15:00.

Good launch. Got up once then ridged 40 minutes before getting to 6.5K. Cold, T-shirt, then easy to stay above 4K mostly. Fresh cut strips in LZ. Good landing on path near breakdown area at 15:30.

Good launch, lower front. Test flight for Tom S. (Eurosport). Sport thermals OK. Sparse cycles. Scratched mostly in weak lift. Many pilots from all over out. Good easy landing despite tales of woe, at 14:35.

Good launch. Headed for Pine then Devore > 6K whole time. Back to 2nd point then toward Strawberry then Arrowhead peak to 6300 even West of Strawberry. Eventually to Little Mountain. Good wangs, poor spins, great landing at 17:30.

Good launch. Windy, weaker, thermals shredded. Good one to newly formed cloudbase at 6700. Glider great, light with solid pitch pressure. Top land OK at 14:45.

Good launch. Good soaring with strong thermals mixed with weak. Better as day progressed. Thermal at UM made top landing exciting. Good though at 14:10.

Launched upper path, dropped right tip, almost blew launch. Got to 8500 in very large mass of lifting air. Good soaring. Minor aero. Landed at LZ to meet student at 16:00.

Good launch. Observed student Cathy Leja in air (boot trouble) and landed running in no wind. Turned katabatic as she was approaching. Land time 18:50.

Good launch upper. Got to 6500. Cold, landed to get jacket at 15:25.

Got to 7400, boating in light lift, 1K up lower. Good fun day, both top landings very nice float and punch bar type at 17:00.

Good launch. Dive to LZ at full stuff, knees on basetube, VG loose to radio student Cathy Leja. Good landing. Cathy too.

Good launch. Easy soaring in 400 to 800 lift. Got to 6700 right away. Flew point to point, chased bag in thermal. Got to 7K MSL. Windy for top landing but floated to tip toes 15:45.

Good launch. Easy flying glider but conditions too light for real evaluation. Light roll pressures, easy with VG on, easy to land.

Good launch. Strong lift 2K over right away. High winds aloft. Got to 7800 eventually. Too windy for much exploring. Light winds in LZ. Near whack, 14:40.

Demo while teaching Steve, Dan, and Andy - High Adventure students.

Good launch. Rough air. Kathy flying. Rowdy near LZ, should have taken over on landing but OK anyway.

Good launch. Kathy flying and approach + landing. Buoyant air at LZ. Came in high, OK landing 16:04.

Good forward inflation, long run. Easy and fun in the air. Relaxed. Some bubbles of lift but too out of sync to catch "em. (+ no vario) Good landing 10 to 15 feet from the spot.

Good launch. Very light wind. Kathy in control of flight and approach. At LZ came in a bit high. Good dive + flare with help from me at 13:45.

Good launch, upper. Same as previous day. Low save 3K to 5.4K MSL -> fun. Got to 7K at BB then Pine. Cruised out over flats for fun. (Meet student at 14:00) Good landing 13:55.

Good launch, upper. Tough to stay up in tight cores. Got to Crestline low at 13:45. Kevin C had low save and followed. Went to Pine, Sugar Pine. Kevin pressed on, low. I turned back, squeaked to LZ, ran landing 14:45.

Good launch, upper. Hard scratching in tiny cores below launch. Fun but hard. Got back above cloud peak then UM, then good lift at Regionals to 5100. Cold (T-shirt). Wangs. Good landing at 16:30.

Good launch, upper South, right into thermal. CRS in 5 minutes! Stronger winds than day before. Pine not real good. Good fun. Thermals thrashed. Nice landing at 14:50.

Good launch into strong Ridge lift. Half hour to Sugarpine (turb). 15 minutes back. 1200 FPM at cloud peak to 7K. Fun all around. Good wangs. Right hand approach for wind direction. Good landing at 14:20.

Copilot launch, first ever. Joe launched and flew well. I was mostly calm. Steep approach, good. I helped on flare, early, my fault. Good except for pop up.

Good launch, upper. Maintained a minute or two then headed for LZ. Wangs and nice spot landing 13:45.

Good launch, upper left. Shoulder line under chute buckle, fixed in-flight. Tight core. Ceiling 4000 to 4.4K then lowering. Circling at cloud base most of time. No aero. Nice landing 15:25.

Good launch, elusive thermals, turbulent, Don Ho thermals (tiny bubbles). Bouncy sledder to LZ, nice landing. 2 hour hike to top for truck.

Great wind for launch, no lift. Lunchtime 14:30. Good launch. Cathy flew and in front for landing. She wanted to go for LZ early, I said pattern, got there low, whoops and mild belly-in, my fault.

moist, foggy air
Good launch. Soft controls, good thermal tracking. Kinda like my GTR. Good at full VG stuff. Thermals 400 to 600 up. Had to land to meet student for tandem. Nice landing at 13:45.

Great launch, Cathy flew most of the flight. Went up right at IP, had her look over my shoulder and tell me what to do on approach. Worked well. Nice landing (me) at 15:53.

hot, smog, great!
Good launch into lift to 4500. Strong cores 4 to 600 FPM up, some 1K up+. Great fun in Raven. Went for CRS but hit sink on the way. Nice in LZ. Excellent landing at 13:30.

Good launch. Some thermals still, worked "em. Boated near cloud peak then LZ. Good approach but came up a bit short, landed at edge of LZ, excellent flare. Landed at 15:20.

Good launch, sank to LM, 400 FPM up straight up to 4K. End of day Santa Ana pushing down Canyon - mini shear. Got low. Trashy wangs and landing good at 16:55.

end of Santa Anas
Good no wind launch. Scratched hard in tiny bubbles to no avail. Good approach, got lifted, OK landing at 12:45.

100% overcast, high, warm
Good launch. No lift for me though Bronwyn Hamilton stayed up. No wind in LZ. Hard flare, nailed spot landing at 14:05.

Prefrontal, not so cold
Good launch. Easy Ridge soaring to 400 over. Fun but dull. Went thermal hunting at 1300, no keepers. Switchy wind in LZ, landed up parking lot. OK landing at 13:15.

4500
Good launch, no wind, lower right. Weak lift far between. Got to 4700 feet (could just see UM through cloud). Good wangs. Low save at less than 700 AGL at AJX to 3800. Poor landing in no wind at 14:35.

4800
Good launch, lower S. Slow sink with group to the vicinity of the 750. Sun there = lift, then cores 400+ up to cloudbase. Much cloudsuck. Fun floating near clouds. Good landing, tip drop, at 14:20.

3500 to 4500
Nice launch in Ridge lift, scratched in weak cycles to Last Chance. Sunlight at LZ meant lift to UM at 13:20. Soon cloudsuck and rain. Work/fun. Good landing at 13:55.

building Santa Anas
Good launch to left (N). Ridge soaring at South bowl, occasional thermals. 35 to 40 minutes, reached 4800. Much boating with VG on. OK wangs. Went for spot, almost hit crowd, almost whacked. Landed at 16:00. Nethead contest postponed.