Ken Howells Hang Gliding & Paragliding Flight Log

Blowing in weakly, large grey cloud field high overhead, moving in from the West. Launched and scratched here and there, then pretty hard down at the bluffs East of the LZ. Gained 175 feet for all my efforts. Nice landing in a few MPH SW flow. When we were done breaking down it was blue skies overhead and clearly soarable, though no great shakes. Should have met at the LZ later than 11 AM.
Good. Trim white tape on KP cover.

Total sledder. Launcehd in nil wind or maybe 0.5 MPH down. Landed about 5 feet right of spot. People had been soaring before Noon, but the Noon run reported weaker conditions. A large NE to SW cloud line blocked the sun as I finished setting up. Launched anyway; those who launched when it was sunny again did no better, and they were having long cycles of zero and down. Getting ready to turn offshore for a couple of days; NWS says next 10 days to be mostly offshore :(

Nil wind take-off into light haze. A few bumps to work here and there, but felt trapped below Marshall height. It was buoyant over the LZ and I maintained in the little thermals that were popping off for a while, waiting for a dependable looking cycle to come along.no cycle ever looked good, so I finally dove down into 1-3 SW. It was no-wind when I was actually on final, then there were a couple of light cross puffs. The puffs wouldn't have made any difference, but I made 3 little roll corrections during ground skim - 3 corrections that I normally wouldn't have bothered with - and the last one cost me a critical little bit of energy just as flare time was arriving. My right wing went up a little and I couldn't run fast enough to keep the nose out of the dirt (past the spot). The right LE even ended up touching, but you'd have to look hard for the 3 or 4 nicks to see them. Not a great way to start the day, and a bit disturbing in light of putting Sunday's U2 down hard on the basetube in nil wind.
Moderate RT turn, much worse VGT. Twisted L dn 2, RT up 1. Might adjust sprogs. Replace nose cone. Mike clean RT LE w/hot knife. Left tip sewing scraped badly.

Just a little cycle of 3-5 in the LZ and I was able to do a no-stepper on the grass about 10 feet from the center, which was good enough to wind the round. So different from the earlier landing.
Great! No trace of a turn. Like being on rails VGT.

Fun working some late-day bumps that demanded precision and sleuthing.
Very nice. Looked all over for a turn - could not find one. Fix or replace Bart. Seam tore.

Finally a non-sledder to get a screenshot of! There were some PGs working over by Regionals. I headed East down the spine) to the radio towers (which are KFRG, we found out Thursday - the owner visited the top of Marshall) Not much going on over there and I had to kind of save it from low out in front of Marshall. Flew around soaring easily but not really getting up for about 45 minutes, straight up forever. Left it at 6700 (with Len in a PG a little above me) and dove to the back ridge, where it was blowing North, so I turned tail for Marshall. Landed at the LZ in nil wind a bit after that. It turned catabatic as I folded the glider up. Beautiful, clear, comfortable day. A great 1:05 flight.
Good. Minor left, worse VGT. Twisted RT up 2, lowered Left outboard sprog 1. Three missed stitches in a row at left tip LE.

The top of Marshall was right at the interface of the lower weak onshore and the upper weak offshore. I walked down to the lower front launch and waited while it puffed down from the right for a while. Mike Meier and Rob McKenzie soon flew by, having launched from the NW slope of Marshall. I thought about launching in the almost-nil crosswind but thought maybe it was better on the NW slope, so I hiked back up to the top. There was almost nothing on the NW slope, and the crowd related how Mike had run very hard and barely cleared the large bushes below. I stood there for a long time, feeling no cycles worthy of the name. Eventually I got out of my harness and took off my heavy gloves and walked down to examine the terrain I'd be running down. I found that where there was a little shrub I was concerned about was actually a nice change to steeper slope, and at the same time a decent cycle came up the slope. I got back into my harness (which was never unhooked from the glider) and put the gloves back on while another cycle came through. I picked the glider up as high as I could, shucking my shoulders several times to keep the harness straps tight. A cycle started and I started forward, accellerating to full run in a few steps. My feet left the ground when I hit that little drop-off, and I could see that my glider would take me straight into the large burnt-out bush below; this was not unexpected. I held the bar in about 3 mm above trim and let my airspeed build. At about six feet from the bush I pushed out about an inch and cleared it nicely, though I did pick my feet up a little for good measure. Banking left I found the air to be smooth and without the sink one would expect in stronger North flow. I actually worked some lift out in front of the windsock and got higher than launch briefly. Then I did a quick VG tight speed run and a mild wingover to celebrate (this T2 had the uncoated 5/64 inch racing wires, so actual aero was out of the question). It was bouyant down by the LZ, and blowing in from the South once in a while. I landed in nil wind heading South. Twice before I've stood on that NW slope with a glider, in stronger Santa Anas, and both times I declined to launch. Those would have been easy in comparison to today's launch, but I doubt the first few minutes of the flights would have been as pleasant.
Good. Vd VGT=65. Some PP (3-8 pounds).

Gusty on launch, Northish. Glad for nose wire assist. Launched in lull, soared North face a few minutes before diving to LZ. Steady NNE 10 in LZ.

Wind just puffing in, less than 10 MPH. Sledded my way down the South spine. One bump out by the A frame turned on for a couple of turns, but suddenly was gone.
Good. Launch11:56

Cycling in again, a little less North. Soared at ridge-top height near launch for a few passes. Followed zero-sink straight out over the big house below launch, then went across to the South spine, somewhat low. Caught an actual thermal over the spine and climbed from 2400 to 3400 in it with about 15 circles. Dove to the LZ and did a left-hand approach, for something different. I flew up the cleared slot, basically pointed at launch. I turned left and crossed the trees, then left again into the slot between the trees and the hillside. Left around the last trees put me in the same spot I'd been hitting with the right-hand approaches. The drawbacks to this left-hand approach are the downhill glide, losing sight of the target, and tending to float near trim downwind of the trees. But not a big deal, really.
Normal.

Just barely puffing in at launch. Sledded down the South spine as usual. Catabatic in the LZ, so was able to land heading NW.

Late afternoon murky air with only a pew puffs of wind, mostly <10 MPH. Waited on launch for a bit since it was crossing from the left in the main cycles. Meanwhile the gaggle of PGs at Marshall sank out. Worked 0-50 up near launch for 5 minutes, then headed to Cloud Peak, where I milked a core for 5 minutes, climbing to 4330 before spending 5 minutes sinking back to about 4k. Spent 10 minutes west of Regionals, then joined Dusty in front of Cloud and climbed back to 4150 over 5 minutes. 10 minutes back at Marshall just maintaining at launch level, then across to Last Chance and down to the LZ, last one to land. Fun and relaxing. Expected it to be windier today.
Slight left turn - twisted RT up 2. No PP VdVGT (not negative). VdVGT>72, went >70 VGT at 3/4 stuff. Raise all sprogs - inners 2, outers 1 (at least) - was running out of daylight.

Got 300 over right away. Not much after that.
Fine.

Soarable in thermals w/ very little wind. Got up and vario died at Noon. Stayed up a bit more. Did another SE to NW landing w/u-turn against hill.
Good. Vs=14.

Handspring Visor PDA (where flight log entries start!) fell from my harness as I launched - I was hurrying and didn't put it in the vario bag. Trish and a pilot were on launch and saw it fall. When I landed she brought her phone over and I spoke to the pilot - J.R. from San Clemente(?) - who was standing by with the spot noted in case it had been my wallet or something. I told him I'd probably be up to look for it, but wasn't sure, since it was steep terrain and I've been thinking of getting a new one anyway (except I just bought a used notebook PC). He called back to say he was going to try and find it; I said, great, if you're that bored. Rob Kells said he'd get a deal on a Z5 harness if he found it (he'd been asking about them on launch). By the time I had finished folding up the glider, he phoned back to say he had found it. I offered to get him some beer, but he refused, and was willing to wait until I got to launch. At launch he gave me the Visor in perfect condition, and the test flight tag from 27996, which had been tucked under the cover. He refused a cash reward. Very very cool guy.
Good.

Launch from top of Marshall into SSE flow, ridge soaring SE bowl of Cloud Peak for 30 minutes. Flew with 2 Red Tails and a Turkey Vulture - it was the only place to soar! Unusual area and easy soaring made for a great wrap-up to the day.
Very nice. Vs=14.

Lost L #1 batten during flight; had tightened both #1s before flight. Tried to _write_ name for GPS track.
Good. Lost L #1 batten during flight; had tightened both #1s before flight. Replace lost #1. (found later)

Landed both feet on the bricks - must be a great glider.
Sweet!! Thermalled @15 MPH to 5767 at 5:50 PM. Landed both feet on the bricks - must be a great glider. Launch 5:35

Worst landing in years. Switchy, bouncy. Flags pointing in different directions. Ended up near the spot but pointed 20 degrees off wind. Got RT wing up, ran left but put it on nose and RT LE.
Rough air, stiff glider. Sail looked good. Fix bag window. 1/8 in. shorter wands. Clean RT LE. Replace nose cone.

Great evening sledder.
Good.

20th anniversary of my first HG lesson. Pizza and beverages in the LZ after flying.
Flew great. Carried my 205 lbs plus gear just fine. 20th anniversary of my first HG lesson. Launch 3:45

Got to 5k right away!

Low save (2500) to nice Top Land.
Excellent roll. Vs=15.

Flying with borrowed harness and hottest paraglider in a very long time. Air fairly bumpy. Got above launch (out front) and decided I wasn't having fun, so went and landed. Good inflation and launch, good landing. Speed system quite effective.
Works harness

Clouds on Crestline. Scratched in very close to slopes most of the flight - fun!

Left Billboard for Pine from 5200 in a pretty steady headwind. Arrived at 4500, higher than expected - nice glide.
The glider flew great - that 'lead' feeling was gone from the basetube, and roll response was great. Left Billboard for Pine from 5200 in a pretty steady headwind. Arrived at 4500, higher than expected - nice glide. I don't know what might have been different, and can't imagine that I had setup the glider improperly for the flight the week before. Come to think of it, I WAS bloated and flowing heavily... Seems like the glider is ready to me. Launch 4:10

The day was a bit stable, with thermals that would peter out after working them for a few turns. I was working the whole 1:15 in the air, didn't enjoy the flight much, and my deltoids were sore on Sunday. I flew a U2 160 on Sunday - it felt felt like a much much better day. I asked some pilots who flew both days to compare them, and most said there was more sink on Sunday than Saturday, but overall pretty similar.
Heavy glider - proportionately heavier than S2 155. After launch, first impression was that the basetube was made of lead - as if there were a lot of inertia. Initial roll response is quick enough, but it takes some force to get the bar moving (not like 'stiffness', where the resistance comes after the bar starts to move) and it takes a slight effort to stop the roll. I could feel the stiffness of the leading edges it seemed, and the anhedral probably causes the 'lead' feeling. The bar felt the same way in pitch, though to a lesser degree. This is one of the few gliders I actually like better with VG 1/4-3/8 - it was as if the additional stiffness matched the feel better. I flew a U2 160 on Sunday - it felt felt like a much much better day and an awesome wing. I asked some pilots who flew both days to compare them, and most said there was more sink on Sunday than Saturday, but overall pretty similar. Right turn, worse VGT. Suggest adjusting a tip one hole and lowering right sprog 1 turn.

Soarable from 10 AM on. Ugly murky air - better to
be flying in it than looking at it. The lift really
turned on around 2 PM.
Strong for another hour or two, and actually hard to get
down in the LZ vicinity. Then it mellowed out slowly.
Lift was maxing out around 6k MSL, I hear, and the breeze
was normal 10-15 out of the SW. Bit warm too.
Good all-around. Vs=20 Launch 10:50

I launched at 2:10 into lift that became >600 FPM and was flying over Crestline launch at 2:16.
Only went 62 Vd but PP ok. Launch 2:10

Continued strong low inversion, upper moisture and clouds from the east, dry in between. Almost no wind on Marshall at 3 PM and 60% cloud cover. Launched the Falcon 225 at 3:28 into a light cycle, faked left, then headed for Cloud Peak. Blissful silence even though the vario's audio was on high. Worked in and out of 20 FPM up downwind of the windsock by the 750, then worked a tiny one by the bluffs in front, managing zero net loss for a few minutes. Landed at 15:49 to catch the 16:00 McBus and a ride to my truck. Could have stayed up until at least 15:51.

Fun flying on my 225. Cloudbase 5700. went to Crestline, then Pine. Save from 3100 out front. Landed quite low, but OK. Tim C. blew launch w/Fusion at UM (I didn't see it).

Fun flying on my 225. Some clouds at 6k. Got low several times.

Mid-air w/Steve Corbin's RC glider at UM. No damage; his fault.
PP neutral in VERY steep diving turn. Mid-air w/Steve Corbin's RC glider at UM. No damage; his fault. Launch 1:40

Launched into 65% overcast from Marshall at 2:00 PM expecting to soar until sated. Got a nice core by the 750 and went to cloudbase briefly, then hunted around for the good lift and skirted a couple of huge shadows that slid over the area. The thermals were narrower and weaker than Saturday - lots of 100 FPM climbs with VG 1/4 or more. Was down by the bluffs after half an hour more and another big shadow led to a landing.
Nice glider! Launched into 65% overcast from Marshall at 2:00 PM expecting to soar until sated. Got a nice core by the 750 and went to cloudbase briefly, then hunted around for the good lift and skirted a couple of huge shadows that slid over the area. The thermals were narrower and weaker than Saturday - lots of 100 FPM climbs with VG 1/4 or more. The wing was easy to control and predictable in a bank with some VG, but it took a fair amount of physical effort. Was down by the bluffs after half an hour more and another big shadow led to a landing. I think that in the same air on a F225 I could have stayed up a bit longer. Still had a slight Rt turn - needs to be twisted another hole (done.). We could sell it just as it is (wirh reduced pitch pressure) and make a lot of pilots happy, but the guys hooking in over 240 might be happier with a bit more ability to float. VGL,Vs=20,Vtrim=21,VGT,Vd=52

Launched into 95% overcast from Marshall at 1:50 PM expecting to take my sledder like a man, but got a nice core by the 750 and went to cloudbase and stayed up there for the next hour. Got to Crestline from 5200 by hopping to a sunny spot half-way back and waiting a couple of minutes for the lift to take me back up to 5200 (200 below cloudbase).
Nice glider! Launched into 95% overcast from Marshall at 1:50 PM expecting to take my sledder like a man, but got a nice core by the 750 and went to cloudbase and stayed up there for the next hour. Got to Crestline from 5200 by hopping to a sunny spot half-way back and waiting a couple of minutes for the lift to take me back up to 5200 (200 below cloudbase). The glider carried my 237 lb. hook-in just fine, and definitely didn't feel TOO big - didn't have the big, spanny feel of a US 166, for instance. Roll rate and response pretty similar to the 155. Pitch pressure too high above 35 MPH. Difficult to initiate a spin entry from the basetube VGT. Had a slight Rt turn; twisted left tip 1 hole expecting to fly it again on Sunday. Put a couple of tufts on after landing. Launch 1:50 VGL,Vs=20,Vtrim=21,VGT,Vd=52

Good. Trimmed a bit fast. Moved strap back 1/2 in. Launch 13:30

Very nice. Launch 12:20

Good. Thought it had a slight RT sprog turn at first, but it was OK later. Launch 15:00

Good overall. BS rumble Left wing. Launch16:10