Ken Howells Hang Gliding & Paragliding Flight Log

100% overcast, wind E to SE 1-4 MPH at 11:00 AM on Marshall Peak. Waited 10 minutes for a cycle with more S than E in it and barreled off the south launch (by the windsock) into 1 MPH gust. Sledder with a few beeps below the 750. Wind S 2-4 in the LZ.
Great

Saw a WSW cycle as we arrived at the top, but soon back to E to SE 1-4 MPH at 12:15 PM on Marshall Peak. Waited a few minutes for a S cycle and was off the south launch in 4-5 steps. Sledder with a few beeps near the 750. Wind S 2-4 in the LZ.
TT 32

E to ESE 1-2 MPH at 15:00 on Marshall Peak. Variously looked at the tail of the mouth of the windsock, with the body hanging limp. Finally saw the side of the sock, with the mouth pointing S and sprinted off the regular SW launch. Sledder with a few beeps near the 750. Wind 0 to 0.5 from the S and N in the LZ. Should have landed up the hill near the candy cane but opted for a S approach end ended up on my knees after running.
Good

hang loop zip tie

Light S-SW breeze at Marshall, inversion at eye level. Launched into a little cycle but didn't want to crank and bank so close to the hill right away. Soon was west of the 750 about 300 feet above it. Scratched a core for all I was worth as it snaked slowly up to the west side of Cloud Peak. Felt like 10 or 15 minutes of circles 1/2 to 2/3 in 100 FPM up. Fun but I sure wished the thermal(s) would coalesce and widen. Went looking at Regionals and SW down the spine, but nothing. A few disappearing bumps. Good landing into S 0 to 1/2 MPH.

Rode up with eight other pilots and there were 3 or 4 when we got there, plus two PGs had flown earlier. Pilots making the best of the relatively warm day ahead of the wet weekend.

Post-frontal but still an onshore day. Crystal clear with a few scattered puffies. I launched a Condor 330 from the 750 at 10:09 into light lift. Soon the lift turned into 300-500 FPM up and I was at 4200 before the cold got to be too much for my bare face and my lightly-gloved hands. I was able to see that there was no snow on Marshall. The SSW wind in the LZ had picked up and I didn't even reach the grass on final.
Great.

Did another flight from the 750 at 11:10, this time with an F3 195. Scratchable, but no great shakes. Steve got high flying a Falcon Tandem.
Good

At Noon at Marshall it was blowing 4-8 MPH SSE to SSW and chilly. I launched a Sport2 175 at 12:26 and it took all of 7 minutes to get to snow covered Crestline. I had topped out at 5400 once and got to 5375 again before heading there from behind Marshall. There was enough light ridge lift to pop me up from below the rocks easily. Friggin' cold, but the balaclava and heavy gloves made it quite bearable. For a few minutes, anyway. Winds still light SSSW in the LZ and I managed to knock over the HG cone with my wingtip, racking up a 25 minute flight.
Good.

The S2 175 flight from Marshall at 14:13 was also easy soaring. I got a steady thermal up from the west side of Cloud, heading NNW, and dove for below Billboard from barely 5200 MSL. Got there around 4800 and could have gotten up if I'd had the time to hang in and scratch close for a few minutes. Alas, we were burning daylight and had more gliders to fly. I ran into my original thermal on the way back to Regionals, but only did a quick circle in it. Dusty and a Canadian fellow named Martin rode up with us that time and both were still flying their PGs when I landed after 25 minutes.
Good. VdVGT=59

Yet another S2 175 from Marshall at 15:50. Still blowing steadily SSW 10 and chillier. The sun was behind a sliver of clouds above the horizon and with the sunglasses it felt like twilight flying. Mike scratched the ridge east of Marshall for a while with a T2. I pretty much sledded to the LZ in 12 minutes and did a left hand approach to a SE final, having seen the streamers show puffs of straight east but mostly nil wind. I half expected it to go katabatic at any moment.

I too elevatored up to 6000 from Crestline at 13:25 in the US 166. Soon a paraglider had arrived at the ridge. Later I saw him arrive at the LZ driving the car I had ridden up in - odd. As the rotor pushed him down just behind the ridge he'd managed to snag a tree with his wing, so he wasn't hurt.

I only lost 300 feet crossing to Pine and the fast drift over there led me to bail out from thermals after just a few turns. I flew out front and over to Regionals, having lost only 200 feet, to 4800 or so, on the crosswind leg from Palm Ave. (road up Pine).

A few turns later I was at 5600 and did a VGT Min Sink glide to Crestline in record time, losing only 150 feet. The gliders I'd ridden up with were all still in the set-up area. They were looking for / tending to the PG pilot mentioned earlier, it turns out. Glad Mike, Mike, Igor, Justine and Ryan all had good flights.

I dove back out to Marshall to get warmer, though it wasn't that cold. My vario wasn't really beeping and the high cloud layer had filled in and gotten thicker, so I landed at 14:35 into WSW 5-10.

I hung around and heard the tale of the tree and watched people soaring and landing and the sky clearing up. We got word of an HG top landing that cost a downtube and a probably-broken nose. Watched a young guy with a Mark IV on the training hill sitting there hoping for decent wind. He said he'd had "a lesson" and was practicing. Hmm. He flew down a time or two but I didn't see any of the flights.

Pretty good for November. I'm thinking earlier in the day might be better than later at Elsinore on Sunday.

I launched my F 225 from the 750 at 14:18. Worked a little core on the west spine from launch for a few turns. Went to the gap below the 750, where two hawks were thermalling low. Several circles above them caused beeping from my vario. Worked the bluffs a bit, letting my circles get bigger to include the area above the treeline - the trees were jumping around a lot. I surveyed the landscape and took in the magnificence of our flying site, of our grass covered landing area, which I was approaching rapidly. I landed into SW 5 at 14:24. Good hike back up to get the truck.

Soarable - launched into cycle and cored it steeply, trying to stay above Steve (with a U2?). Got to over the back peak 4800 fairly quickly, probably could have climbed higher, but needed to get to the LZ for another round. SW 7 in the LZ. I had a rather textbook landing, if I do say so myself, about 6 feet east of the HG cone. Flared gently with my feet 2-3 feet off the ground and settled gently and vertically, holding glider off my shoulders.
Great

Thermal cycles from SW. Got up a bit in the first tight core. Worked the spine back but was only at 4800 again. Went to Cloud, got solid core with 700 FPM peaks. Got 5350 North of Cloud and drifted back toward Crestline cautiously. No big sink, found a buoyant area halfway back, then just before the hillside. Scratched from 4950, in very close to the hill and the rock formation. got above launch then headed for Regionals and LZ.
Flags showed ESE 5, so I did a right hand approach. As I came to pointing SE I saw the flags had shifted to SW 3-5, so I basically kept turning to get it into the wind, landing west of the PG spot.
Mike whacked, so that was the second spot for me.
Great

Steady 10 out of the SW, with some gusts. Got 4500 north of Marshall and then buzzed J.R. and John (Pacifica), 2-3 feet above their heads, if they hadn't ducked. Cored a little under Marcus by the 750, then landed pretty short of the cone, even though I did an abbreviated approach. Won two out of three spots for the day - a rarity.
Good.

Wind ESE 2-5
Had to loosen all battens 2-3 turns, pius loosen #2 strings.

Wind S at 5
Had to loosen most battens 2-3 turns, plus loosen #2 strings.

Somewhat breezy at Regionals, as expected. Averaging SW at 15 or so. Fast thermal drift.
Good. VdVGT=68

Wind 18+ at Regionals. Rather bumpy and thermals mostly getting blown out, but soarable. Good SW breeze in the LZ.
Vt=26 Vs=25 MCA=28. Hard stall. Normally Vt=23/2 Vs=21 MCA=22. Handled normally>28. Steve refly.

Still 15+, WSW at Regionals. Warm. Bumpiness no issue in the Falcon, of course. Penetration was fine.
Sail straps were asymmetrically sewn, so sail was shifted left enough that left #1 batten had only 1/16 inch Al showing, Rt #1 showed 3/8 inch or so. Flew great, so no shims changed/moved.

Good

Good

Warm, clear day, a break between mild offshore days. Got to 5600 fairly quickly, with a little work and drifting ultimately on a line headed east of the peak behind Marshall for the slow last couple of hundred feet. Got to Cresline at 5000 and a strong core right against the hill popped me up. Did a few passes, then over to Billboard. Got a 600-800 FPM skinny one that took me right up to 6k, where a couple of glider were doing big huge circles and not climbing any more. I left for Pine, which was only OK. At Regionals the house thermal took me to 5500 on a NE line, so I dove straight back to Crestline, then dove for Regionals. Was thinking about landing and got down to 750-height at the 55 minute mark. Wanted a solid hour and an obliging core off the bluffs got me back up to Marshall. Dove for the LZ and landed into SW 8 at 15:30.

At Regionals and Last Chance I could smell the bright green coating they had sprayed on the grounds of the recently completed water tunnel exit. Kind of like damp sawdust. Seeds and fertilizer, I suppose.

Cooler, with scattered clumps of alto-cirrus tempering the heating. Smog line advancing on San Berdoo. Good launch at 13:30 into a cycle - climbed a couple of hundred in a few passes along the launch face. Kept going up, to about 4300 behind launch, then at Cloud got a solid one that drifted north nicely and petered out at about 5450. Did a few passes at Crestline, then got 6k at BB, so off to Pine, slowly. The smog was reaching the hills.
Pine was only OK and after about 10 minutes I headed very slowly to Regionals, conserving altitude across the canyon and stopping to circle a couple of times, for no real net gains. The smog front was causing a weak lift period, and I got down to the 750 vicinity (Hoffman was setting his Talon up there). The third or fourth core I found took me back to 4700 over Marshall. It was 14:25 and the plan had been to fly an hour and then ride bikes back up to Regionals, so I stuffed the bar and dove for the 750 to yell at Mark, then kept on to just above the training hill, where Dan and Dennis were. Good no-stepper into SW 7 at 14:30.

Dusty was in his PG way below me on that Crestline run. He had to be at 4500 or so when he reached the hillside, but he vectored right on up. Similar at Pine. We laughed about it later.

The ride up to Regionals was hard due to the heat, but the road surface is in great shape, so it wasn't technically difficult. Dexa drove my truck down and I rode, trying to keep my hands from cramping while I braked.

Post-Santa-Ana switch day, 100 F (cold last week). Launched into a bouyant cycle and found a weak core right out at the bluffs. Got higher than launch in it, then the next core was solid and I drifted with it to in front of Marshall. Found another at Marshall (maybe the same one consolidated) and was at 7000 MSL at 13:45. Got just over 7100 and went to Crestline against a weak headwind. Pine was workable but the interface with the North winds made it weird. Slowly drifted to Regionals, circling some in the middle of the canyon. At Regionals a 600+ core as I arrived took me right back to 5600, so back to Crestline. Sank on the way but there was lift right against the hill. At Billboard I got to 7000 again in short order. Was ready to head for the LZ, so I slowly went to the west end of the Afterbay, then across to Cloud, then out over CalState. Had a sweet no stepper into standard SW flow at 15:00. Good hike back up to get my truck (30 minutes). Hung around the LZ and socialized until 17:00 or so.

Good. (#2 grommet diff.)

Great.

Good. Vd=65 TT to 25. Flat pitch well 25-35.

Good

First time at King. Late day launch into switchy breeze. Sank to front spine and started working ridge deflections hard to stay up. Over last low bump found a 150 FPM core that got better and better. Hopped back to big spine and found another core, or maybe the same one. Rode it to 11,000 MSL, with some bumpiness. Enjoyed the view and was plenty warm enough. Josh had landed in the main LZ, so I decided to join him and help with the XC chase. Peter landed there too and Karl came back from past Mr. Nasty. I got 50 minutes airtime, decent landing with barbed wire just in front of me.

Good

I launched a Sport 2 155 from Regionals at 14:25 into a nice cycle and floated over to in front of Cloud Peak. After a few circles a thermal got organized and I climbed straight up at 300-600 FPM (faster higher). At 5100 MSL I was directly above the windsock on the peak. I DID say 'straight up'! The thermal weakened a little and drifted ENE, bumping against the ceiling a few times before busting through. Soon I was at 5500 MSL and pointed my nose at Crestline. Got to Crestline at least 300 AGL, but my altimeter showed 5250. I had set it to 3250 at Regionals.

I cruised down to Billboard, under the gaggle a few hundred feet higher. I turned to head back to Regionals and the LZ (things to do, places to go) and was in broad 1000+ FPM lift (VGT). Hated to leave it behind. At the LZ my altimeter read 1716 MSL.

I don't recall finding such a pressure difference between below the inversion and above it, especially with such an easy to breach inversion.
Good. Vd VGT=58

Sharp-edged thermals, easily ridge soarable. Kept away from the hillside, mostly. BB, Pine, Regionals, Marshall then Crestline. Pine and Regionals again then went out to land. Was boating over the LZ at 2500 not losing altitude. Finally flew over campus with the bar somewhat stuffed and went back to the LZ for a runout landing into bumpy SW 8.

Good.. One #5, 4 #4 battens. Flew with #5s from a 195.


Needs #5 batten.

Good

Good

Slight RT, worse VGT. Twisted L tip 1, lowered RT sprogs 1 ea.

All Red Sport 2. Got up just below Cloud, working two merging cores. Left for Crestline at 5450, got there at 5320.
Very nice

Good

No wind (0-2 E) at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. First time there, ever. 8:20 AM Launch felt good to me. Gregg Lawless said it was a little slow, Erik Fair said plenty fine for Glacier. Spontaneously yelled "Yeah!" very loudly right after launch. A little bumpy heading left. Awesome views, scale was hard to pin down. Crystal clear morning after quite smoky evening before due to fires north of the valley. Funny that as we left SoCal on Friday we were glad to be escaping the smoke from the 4 brush fires. Pulled out the hand-held camera and flailed a little snapping 4 quick shots. Decided to put the camera away and just fly and take it all in.

The very crowded valley looked empty from 3500 AGL. Half Dome was a presence. Went around the corner and spotted the LZ (walked the evening before). Flew toward the dry Yosemite Falls (some water in pools and a trickle). Kept consulting altimeter; wasn't sinking all that fast. Got 50 FPM down over the lodge for a few circles and brief zero at the NE corner of the LZ. I was first to launch. Great spotting Peter Swanson in the air behind me after a few minutes.

Followed Greg's approach instead of Mike Meier's - sunlight and bailout options seemed good. At the end of the north tree line I was brushing the tops but I angled too far west on 'base' and so ended up flaring in the mid-field gully. Wet knees the only consequence. Long walk to the breakdown area.

Peter landed as my walk ended - good arrival. Watching Adam West and Jeff O'Brien in formation, Erik Fair, then Gregg Lawless was lots of fun. Each was progressively closer to the target area.
A few early walkers and riders asked questions.

I'd had a literally sleepless night in the Upper Pines campground and the crowds were pretty close to the image that had always led me to decline going to Yosemite in High Summer. Random noises, car alarms being unset and reset, idiots with powerful lights walking or driving around; couldn't take another night like that. Peter felt the same way. We bailed, planning to go to Mono Lake, Lone Pine, etc., maybe camp and fly, angling home to SoCal. The route to the Owens was closed due to the fires, so we just high-tailed it back to the smoke of the SoCal fires and the blazing heat-wave.

Big big thanks to Erik Fair for instigating the whole thing. He challenged my patriotism and sanity when I revealed that I had never been to Yosemite despite CA residence since 1968 and a zillion trips to Tahoe up 395. He was getting trained to be a Yosemite Flight Monitor by YFM #1 Gregg Lawless. Erik got the campground, provided breakfast bagels and such, plus Gregg's wife's cookies the night before after pizza, breakfast bars in the morning, etc. Thanks to Erik's friend Steven who drove for us in return for sharing new ways to disrespect Erik. Thanks to Peter Swanson for the ride up and back and the camping amenities. Thanks to Adam West for being in Berkley from South Africa at the right time, and thanks to Jeff O'Brien for general Jeffness. Thanks to John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, and the 2:30 AM Synchronized Car-Door Slamming Brigade.

One of my in-flight photos actually shows my grinning face under a glider and a non-descript Yosemite rock face in the background.

The firefighters who wanted to get helicopters and planes started were, understandably, a bit befuddled by this whole hang gliders at dawn thing, so getting clearance to launch was tricky. Luckily we had Gregg Lawless to say just the right things on the radio (training Erik in ways he's already forgotten) and the Yosemite 'controller' was very impressive in her understanding of how hang gliders on Glacier Point related to helicopters farther north, the needs and desires of all concerned, etc. Vishnu smiles upon this one.

Many hours later, after Fresno and the F-4, as we went from the 5 to the 210 on the way back across L.A. we saw the big firefighting DC-10 make a close pass below the ridge-tops, but there was no retardant drop to save La Cañada Flintridge.

Overall a really fun 30 hours.

Good

Good

Good. BS flutter on approach, probably due to root battens not being attached. .


Root battens terminated differently - left short, right long. Steve fix.

Vt=29, TT to 40, 2# per hand at 60 VGT. Twisted RT 2 holes. Moved hang point back 1 hole.

Heavily inverted conditions, SE upper level flow, inversion about 4300, 9 MPH S at Crestline. Good launch, scratched the left spine for a few minutes but never got above launch. Flew over the top of Marshall blowing in 5-10 there. Found no trace of lift until near the 750 and nothing to turn in until the bluffs. Had expected to easily stay up long enough for Dad (driver) to get to the LZ to see me land. Found a small core in front of the eastern bluffs at about 350 AGL (2200?) and worked it for all I was worth. Lost and found it over and over. Got to about 2600 behind the spine ENE of the 750. Ended up at the blufs again for a few passes, then working puffs near the LZ. Landed nicely at 13:15 heading S into 0-2 MPH. Dad arrived 10 minutes later. Dad's only every been out a couple of times when I was flying and hasn't seen me land yet.

Normal great summer day. Gusting just over 20 at Crestline, easy to get a few hundred over. When below the ridge I had a lot of times where I'd do a 360 and as I pointed at the hill I'd start to get rolled out more than a little. Made Pine at 16:05 and got to 6k (just); made a foray to the second spine west, but was getting below 5k, so milked it back to the face of Pine and back up.
At Crestline again I was boating in front of launch and had this extended recollection/flashback of how it felt when I first started flying, what it was like to float a hundred or two over that ridge, amazed yet comfortable. That was cool.
Went out to Marshall and was surprised that the thermals weren't better. Of course, up high it had been ridge lift with thermals. Worked a couple off Regionals, getting to just over 5100. At Marshall I got 5400 right above the windsock. I took the spine back to the highway, knowing I could turn back at any time. Just before the highway the thermal was there, 75 FPM of love. Got back up to 5150 and dove for the ridge, where it was easy to get up and over. The Wednesday gloss-off crew was setting up. I did some passes and flew back out to Marshall, then went and landed at 17:40.

Good

Winds E-SE, so I went for the south launch. waited out some 90 degrees cross, then a cycle came in. As I started running the right wing dropped hard. I ran a curving path and was looking at the bushes, deciding whether to slow down or not. Kept going and managed to launch in a right turn. I guess the cycle was rotor. Better to have done the regular launch during a lull. Scratched low on the bluffs gaining 100 feet from 2130 in a bugfart. Lots of fun and a satisfying 15 minutes. 1-step landing with my feet 3 feet from the HG cone.
Good

Plenty soarable. SW launch, lift, ho hum. Hung out above Cloud Peak for a bit.
Good. 2 hole left turn. Twisted RT 2.

Got well above Marshall shortly after launch, went back along the spine to the big dip. Lift there took me to 5300. Did a gentle glide back to Crestline and a lot of passes back and forth but couldn't quite get above launch, exactly. BB was working sort of. I guess the inversion was at Crestline launch height.

There was lift west of the LZ but the flags were showing good south at 5. Turning base to final I felt like my airspeed went away, so I stuffed it. Final was normal, then my ground speed increased dramatically. As I passed the cone I got that bouyant cushion feeling, then the left wing started to drop. I ran hard and put the basetube on the ground, the skids skidding through the grass. Nose never dropped. Lucky save.
Steve twisted 3 holes for left turn, moved wand cups to loosen LEs (all mylar sail). No turns, not at all stiff. TT to 31-32 VGT. Good PP VdVGT.

Rob and Di McKenzie's 25th wedding anniversary. Rob surprised Di by proposing again at Crestline launch, where they were married 25 years ago. A bunch of us were up there with gliders set up and waiting for them to arrive. Owen Morse performed the informal ceremony. It was great. We all tied streamers and horns to our gliders. Rob and Di flew tandem, then the rest of us launched and flew with them.

Winds were 15-20 and gusty, so pretty strong really, for that late in the day. Made for good ridge soaring anyway. I left BB for Pine from 5500 and arrived about 4200, only to find sink on the sunny side. Turned and di a long slow efficient glide (with streamers!) to Last Chance. Was able to play around there for a while before landing into SW 10 or so. The rest og the gliders slowly rained down and someone had set up tables and giant toroidal sandwiches and beverages and stuff. Some of the crowd who'd gone to Yosemite for the weekend managed to arrive in time to socialize and tell tales. There was a great wedding cake with a photo from the first wedding ceremony, and Rob and Di were quite dignified feeding each other their pieces. A really cool day.

High pressure and humid, but only 99F instead of 105F early afternoon. Good cycles at the 750, few pilots (CSS group at Yosemite). Saw a PG going up like a rocket over the western draw as I put my harness on, so I hurried and got to launch, which was 'active' and crossing a bit from the right. Launched at 15:30 and banked and got over the draw and there it was. Circled right up, through a tandem, to 3700 or so as it drifted toward Marshall. Eventually I realized there was a mild inversion around 4100-4200 that was stopping the weaker thermals. I kept circling in these things that would jump around and disappear. Over at Regionals I found a 600 FMP core and worked it under an Xtralite, busting through 4200 and on up to 5300. I turned and flew min sink to Crestline in 150-200 down. As I got near the eastern house thermal (hillside) I hit 500 FPM down. I was at 4850, so I turned around and crept out to Regionals. Still of the same out there, except the drift of the thermals got more and more west to east, and faster. Did a few rounds of thermalling up from Regionals or Last Chance and drifting to S of Marshall, then flying upwind and doing it again. The lift was weakening a bit and I still had the hike to the 750 for my truck to do, so I landed into SW 10 at 17:12.

The pilots in the LZ reported that it had been real rock and roll earlier; Owen went to Santa's, Stan reported 8k, Jack said he'd had a workout. I did get rolled out of a couple of hot cores despite increasing my roll input.

Launch cycle was more cross from the right than I thought - veered left and clipped some bush twigs with my basetube. Actually somewhat scratchable. 2 MPH S for landing. Plopped my feet into the grass side-by-side but the glider kept going and I fell to my knees.
Good.

Good cycle and a good solid launch. Easy to stay up with lazy scratching in lots of little bubbles. Flags slack on approach and as I turned downwind to base the big flag pointed away from me for a second. Came in as slow as I dared, flared hard, ran and went to my knees again, thanking the powers that be for the thick grass.
Good.

Nice breeze while setting up and great launch. Went SW and ran into a committed thermal at Last Chance. Circled in it for 6 minutes and was at 5k MSL, enjoying the cool. At 5250 I aimed for Billboard and spent a dozen circles below it at 4750 before find a core. Quick dash to launch and then out to Regionals and the LZ. Steve was working the bluffs below me so I dove for the LZ and the flags indicating steady S. Bumpy approach and a solid, redeeming, no-stepper 12 feet past the HG cone.

Packed up, went hoem, got the repaired Simba weather system computer and took it up to Crestline, where I plugged it in and it just worked!
Felt like 2 hole left turn, but RT tip wand was 1/2 inch from fully seated. No adjustment.

More divergent than usual. Rt placard upside down.

Good.

Very nice. TT to 28 VGT

Good TT to 31 VGT. four pounds per hand at VD

Mark Hoffman's 500+ hour Talon, which I also flew 7/9/06. PX10 leading edge material is delaminating. Glider trims at 29, mushes at 28, stalls at 26. Slight right turn. Flew normally except for the high speed. Good strong thermals, but didn't get much above 5400 MSL. Went to Pine then Regionals, worked a core in the middle of Devil Canyon. Was a little concerned about landing, but it just stopped flying as I went through the 'dead zone' and clunked down onto the wheels for a two-stepper.

Clear, hot, and supposedly high pressure stable based on NWS, but the gliders in the air were having no trouble staying up. A PG was thermalling at eye level as I started setting up at the 750 and when I was almost done Gene Embry buzzed me and said to get up in the air because it was really nice. Gene was up and off to the right working a thermal when I launched. I got under him and got above launch, then the next cycle got me to Cloud, then above Marshall. At about the half hour point I got a 600+ core off Cloud that went straight up to 5400, and the downwind glide to Crestline was easy, especially hitting broad lift half-way back.

Didn't linger at Billboard because there were a handful of low time pilots scratching. I just went for Pine from 5200. Again there was a big bouyant patch on the way. Pine was OK, but no big gains or anything. Spotted McKenzie tandem at Pine (!) so I dove next to him and did a wingover in front of him. He was tandem with one of Owen's daughters, and she later said that was neat.

Went back to Regionals and out over the LZ, wanting to get hiking for truck retrieve by 5 PM so I'd be back at the LZ in time for the fly-in dinner. Hit the HG cone with my basetube but ended up on my knees, again, so I waqs out of the spot landing contest.

Good hike to get the truck. The live band started playing a bit after 5 PM, and I turned off my MP3 player and could hear the band just fine on the way to the 750. There was a great crowd in the LZ and a really nice vibe. Lots of people from far and wide and from the past to catch up with. Jens Loengaa (ca/ 1996) was unrecognizable - I had to ask this guy with his arm on my shoulder point blank "Who are you?". I was not alone. The freaky thing is that he was there with Dan Finnerty's step-daughter Lizzie (who I just met the other day when Leo Bynum took her tandem) and they met through riding road bikes together. Small world.

The CSS pulled off another great event!

SE and scratchable. Probably could have stayed up by working really hard.
Good

still SE and clearly workable. Got above launch according to my altimeter. Probably could have stayed airborne for quite a while.
Sweet handling!

SSSE at 5-9, launched the newly cleared SSE launch (first one ever).
At Marshall at 12:25 it was SSE 5-7, so I launched from the freshly cleared SSSE launch down below. GOOD JOB GUYS! It'll be real handy for the mid-morning flights from Marshall. I started right at the top of the steeper part and ran hard into a cycle. The really cool thing was that I basically flew directly into the house thermal - a 400 FPM elevator to about 600 over. It was soarable there and at Cloud; I got to 4700 and 4800 a couple of times. That first thermal topped out in a very gentle silent and weightless moment with no pitch or roll change, BTW.

One thing on the new south launch is that about 6-7 strides down there's a dip and a rise. In a very light wind launch one might unweight the glider at a critical moment stepping in that area. I was off in 4 steps, so no problem at all. In very light winds one could just start farther back or, probably better, just use the regular launch.

Hit the HG cone with my basetube and ended up on my knees.


Sweet

Long keel pocket.

At the LZ at 15:30 a pilot on base leg got lifted more than 50 feet by a thermal. I was there between groups, so I opted for the 750; Alan Crouse offered to drive my truck down, since he was waiting for the 16:30 McBus. Thanks Alan!

I launched a U2 160 from the 750 at 16:15 and slowly worked up off the bluffs, 100 FPM slowly becoming 300 FPM. At 16:30 I was above Marshall. Just north and east of Marshall was a lot of small 200-300 FPM lift that fizzled quickly - I hunted around in it for a good 15 minutes. Finally went to Cloud and got 600 FPM to 4800 feet before losing it and bailing toward Regionals. Marcus skied out in the next thermal from Cloud and I arrived to get the next thermal, just above Gene Embry. I left it at 5250 for Crestline. Slowed down through some large lift along the way (Marcus' thermal remnants) and only lost 300 feet overall, getting to Crestline at 16:55. Was above launch on my second pass.

Got 5800 at Pine and flew over Monument Peak. Was feeling a bit dehydrated and the Camelbak was running out, so I went to Crestline, then buzzed the 16:30 McBus crew at Marshall (17:15). Went in to land SW right between the HG and PG targets at 17:30.

Lots of fun!
Good. TT to 31 VGT.

I flew a U2 160 from Regionals at Noon. It wasn't windy but the thermals were cranking. I wanted to buzz you guys down at the lower launches but every time I pulled in and started to dive the turbulence was too scary. I got to 5700 in the bowl in front of Top Town (Crestline) but declined to venture east. Pine was bumpulent. Landed into SE at 12:55. I rode back out to the LZ around 17:30 and the landing pilots were all grinning and told tales of going straight up from launch and etc.
Two hole left turn. Twisted tips one and one.

Wow! That was some rowdy air mid-day compared to the milquetoast overcast we've had for the last month. The big thermals had big sink at the edges. Niagra-like. If the PG pilots weren't getting skidmarks then they just aint facin' reality. I launched a U2 160, bright green top and bottom, from Marshall at 13:30 and had to scratch a bit below the windsock. Lots of sudden bank angle changes in close to the hill. I was in T-shirt and shorts and my bare hands greased the aluminum speedbar up a bit right away. I was below some PGs so I bailed for Cloud Peak rather than try to monitor them, the slope, and bank all at once. At Cloud it was similar and soon I had a 700-1000 FPM core to 5600 MSL. I decided to go to Pine instead of back to Crestline, just for something different. Plus the thermal had gone straight up. Scratched around at Pine at 4300 MSL for 5-10 minutes in confusing turbulence masquerading as thermals. Some PGs had followed me over (starting higher) and were up higher, climbing over the peak. I worked up to a bit under them and had that bumpy/dumpy thermal thing until above the peak, when it mellowed out. Got to 6K and my hands were chilled. Followed the west spine a little, but what with the chill and all I was only pretending to want to go toward the Pass. Mostly I wanted to get lower and warmer. On the way to Regionals I found a 700 FPM core while VG tight. I banked and let the VG off but the cord wrapped around my two fingers like Hoss Cartwright hitching his horse at the saloon. Actually, it only made the first circle awkward, but dang! That thermal, from the west side of Devil Canyon, was another 700-1000 FPM bronco to 5700, so I dove for Billboard. A pass or two at Crestline and I did a speed run to Regionals. Ready to land and do the turnaround. Got in sight of the LZ and saw the flags all limp. Didn't want to do a no-winder, so I worked the bluffs. Just some SE puffs for 5 minutes, so I grabbed a thermal. I went from 3k to 6k in 2.5 minutes! This was about 14:25. Burn some altitude, lah-di-dah. Now steady SE to E suddenly becoming zero at the LZ. 'Nother thermal, back to the chill zone. Got above Dusty on his PG and got to 6k, went out over CalState, back to LZ. Still dead and/or ESE. Worked the bluffs, decided a steady SE cycle would be OK, then a PG went over the LZ. I didn't want to do a right-hand approach and mix it up with him, so I worked a tight little core across the mouth of Sweetwater Canyon until he landed. The flags inexplicably showed SW, so I dove for the LZ. At the south end of the LZ my vario beeped, but the flags were still solid. I stuffed and banked, slowing down on the turn to base leg and coming close to ground level back at the training hill area. Heading for the spot I got popped and like seriously thought I was going to overshoot the LZ for sure, but it mellowed and only required a turn to a south heading to handle, while pulling in hard on the downtubes. I landed smoothly at 14:50 about where a ground-handling PG student would lose it in a strongish SW wind. That was about 25 minutes of ready-to-land-but-unwilling-to action. Fun! Lot's of animated babbling between pilots and glare from all the shiny teeth. Previously landing pilots told of 'proaches from many different points on final. I've heard it stayed interesting until much later in the day. Summer's Here!
Moderate RT turn. Twisted L 2 holes. TT to 30 MPH VGT

Clearer than recent days, scattered cumies, 50% coverage, SW and a little blustery. Had a dust devil go right over me as I set up the glider. Launched into a cycle but flew out of it. Worke a little fast-drifting core at the mouth of the draw below launch for a few turns. Thought the bluffs would be working with all that wind, but not. Quick left hand approach intop SW 7 for a good no-stepper 10 feet left of the HG cone. Three minute flight. Great hike back up to get the truck - 25 minutes in the diffuse sun and cooling breeze.

Cloudbase was a little higher than yesterday, but not by much. At 11:00 the 750 was open but Regionals was socked in. SW at 3 at the 750, Falcons and Condors to the LZ in 6 minutes.
Good

At Noon Regionals was appearing, but it was Falcons off the 750 again - I got 4 minutes, no wind at launch nor in LZ during approach. Flags showed dead west as I went to final, so I veered into the wind before it stopped.
Good

Sport 2 175 from Regionals at 13:10 in no wind. My basetube got soaked going through all the mustard plants at launch. No beep from the vario and I landed at the LZ 5 minutes later without a lick of wind, heading south; at least my basetube had time to dry.
Good

Another Sport 2 175 from Regionals into no wind at 14:50. Scratched for all I was worth and extended it to 7 minutes! Again with the stillness at the LZ.
Fine

I had an F3 195 for the last flight and opted for launching from the 750 instead of bouncing up to Regionals with them for an extra minute of airtime. As I hooked in at 15:50 I felt a puff of wind from the east. I walked over to the south-facing launch and had 2-3 MPH flow cooling the back of my left elbow. The streamers were pointing toward the LZ, showing ENE. After 15 minutes (16:05) there was a solid lull and I ran off hard. My basetube went through the tops of some sunflowers waay below launch. I had 330 FPM down (still air is 220-240 for me in a 195) and was getting pushed toward the LZ. The windsock at the LZ showed ENE 3-4 MPH and I landed on the dirt of the north apron for a two-stepper at 14:08. Then it went north for a minute or two, then dead, then steady SW puffs.

The guys from Regionals said it had been totally calm up there and I later heard that there had been some east cycles at Marshall.

At least it was nice and cool all day.

Good ripping day - summer's here!
Slight RT, esp. VGT, RT tip down 1. Almost no TT

High overcast, low broken cumulus layer, bases 3800. Wind SE-S 3 MPH. Actually rather soarable with slow flat turns. Was able to spot the burnt area from a lightning strike the day before (photographed by Dusty Rhodes and posted to CSS website. Quite the unusual electrical storm that was) Down the left spine from the fork below the windsock, about level with the flat area on the right spine. Looks like a four or five foot black oval with a rocky patch at one end. No wind in the LZ. OK landing.
Good

Still high overcast, thin strand of cumies along the ridge just below Crestline, coming from the ESE. Wind E-ESE 5-7. Crossing down at the south lanuch with brief SE cycles. Launched with a good hard run, right tip dropped a little, came close to PVC mast for streamer. Still chilly but easy soaring, if not all that high, thermals drifting NNW. No wind for approach but a puff of S while in ground effect helped for a nice landing.
Great

Overcast thinning but still no direct sun. SSE-SW 5-10, so able to use the 'normal' lower launch. Again nicely soarable but not strong nor big. Another goldarn no wind approach. Went a bit past the cone and flared crisply for a one-stepper.
Good

Inversion at 3500. Sank quickly to 750 vicinity. Lots of narrow thermals, was able to stay up by high-siding and pushing out, scratching tooth and nail. Or is that 'beak and claw'? Tiring. Kept coming to a stop just above 2800, so I think there was a secondary inversion down there. Landed 12 feet from cone.
Very Good

Wrong mid-keel sock.

Worked the house thermal for a few turns but didn't really climb. Just below Cloud Peak I couldn't get more than 2/3 of a circle in lift and couldn't crack 3500. Got sick of the bumps in close to Cloud, so descended to 750 area. Scratched there with Steve for a while, finally caught a solid core at the east end of the bluffs that I rode to 3200 just for the sheer joy of doing full circles in lift. If flying was always like this I'd take up bowling.

Flags dead at the LZ, so I hung on for dear life waiting fora cycle, even circling in light lift to maintain 250 AGL on the east side of the LZ. Finally the flags lifted up and pointed North, so I dove it in. Very bouyant in ground effect, went well past the spot but didn't care.
Good.

I launched the Falcon 225 from Marshall at 16:45 into 200 FPM up. That was soon gone but the house thermal pumped on after a minute or two. Easy climb to 4600 at 200-300 FPM, drifting basically east. Milked the end of it and another one to 4800, again drifting east. Got to Cloud Peak as the sun went behind a high cloud. Got to 4300 pushing out and highsiding in 100-150 FPM along the E-W spine to Marshall. Overflew Marshall and realized I had flown back into that darn cloud's shadow! Sank to about 3800 and got the house thermal back to 4200, so I did a tight and abbreviated approach to a top landing at 16:20. With almost no wind hitting the sock I felt comfortable whipping it around and not so fast on the dive.

Good seeing the Wednesday crowd slowly dropping in when I got back to the LZ. It was also fun hearing directly about the Mingus trip from about half the crew that went.

I launched the US 166 from Regionals at about 12:45, Peter S. a few minutes later. Cores were scattered at first, but didn't have to hunt too hard. 200-600 FPM up with a few stronger half-circles. It was 100% blue sky. Kept slamming into the inversion around 4600-4700 over Cloud and Marshall. Chilly in the moist marine layer. Crossed from Last Chance to the west side of Devil Canyon thinking I might be able to sneak up the face of Pine. Was only getting to 4300 over the low spines from the Afterbay and decided being below 4k at Pine that early wouldn't be a lot of fun. Regionals and Cloud were still working, but I dove to land at 13:45.

Seemed like it would just keep getting stronger and higher.

Normal 'summer' day. Got up and went to Crestline, then BB, then Pine. Got to 6000 MSL at Pine, circling with three Red Tailed Hawks very close. Crossed to Last Chance finding no lift, then 300 FPM down all over the place near the 750. Ended up landing 15 minutes after being at 6k.
Good. Hem pulled off left tip bag. Fix or replace.

Good

Good

Great! VdVGT>72

Good. Slight left, adjusted tips 1/2 turn ea.

High pressure day, 100F at 13:00. Drove to the 750 with plan to hike up after flight. HGs were sledding down to the LZ from Marshall as I set up. Launched in a cycle and went to the right draw and circled tightly in lift. Got about 150 above launch and went a little farther West for a break from close-in circling. Found nothing, did a couple of circles in weakening lift right above launch, then was down at the bluffs. Almost saved it from 200 AGL at the east end of the tree line, but too small. Good landing 5 feet from HG spot. Slow hike up to get the truck in the heat and my unexercised body.

They tried to have a SoCal XC League meet today, but all the wings (mostly PGs) were in a gaggle in front of Marshall and then by the 750 when I was hiking up. Greg Angsten landed his Lightspeed 4.5 long at the LZ. It turned out the bolt on the right side of his carbon basetube fell out either before launch or shortly after. He held the control bar together and managed to keep from folding up his glider. He said he had to let go a couple of times and it didn't just fly apart. Lucky, but I think poor preflight. Looking at the bolt on the other side I can see that it might be easy to overlook.

Good

Great! VdVGT=68

Good

Light SW, a bit hazy. Mike and Steve got up but I was too far behind them to get that thermal. Landed with my right foot on the left bese of the PG cone. So there.
Good.

Waited a couple of minutes for an in cycle. Climbing in front of Cloud Peak the thermal went a little north then straight up as I cleared the peak. It felt like lee-side thermalling. Over above Last Chance I definitely had a tail wind while heading South. Mike and Steve were working the LZ low for a long time, so I did a run over the the start of 2N40 and back to lose all the altitude I'd gained waiting for them to land. Switchy in the LZ so I paid no attention to targets. Went rather long, groundspeed seeming like slight tailwind, but when I flared I stopped cleanly.
Good thermaling. VdVGT=68, difficult to fly straight VGT <24 mph. Otherwise great. VtVGT=29

Re-punch all lever batten tips and make sure they do not move.

More defined S cycles at launch. Warm but still hazy. Wasn't hard to soar, but took focus. Saw it go straight W as Steve landed, then all flags slack. As I turned to a straight S final the main flag showed NNW 3-5. I was too low to turn towards it. I went well past the PG spot, flared hard and ran. Couldn't keep up, dropped to knees and put the glider on the basetube cleanly, so it slid. The grass was so deep and cushy I felt no jolt through my knees! No damage.
Good all around.

Re-punch all lever batten tips.

More SW and steady at launch. Easily soarable but nothing over 300 FPM. Flew over Marshall and back to 750 and bluffs, then climbed to almost 4k before diving in to join Mike and Steve. Another drop-to-no-wind while setting up approach, but it stayed no-wind until I landed.

Crestline wind graph fopr the day shows weak and multi-colored for the whole time we were out flying. More normal SE-SW later,
Sweet.

Good.

Large billows of pre-thunderheads forming over Big Bear and sort-of in the Cajon Pass. Almost soarable, wind quite SE at Regionals, with rotor downwind of the Cloud spine. Scratched valiantly at the bluffs below the 750.
Stiff. Couldn't push out in thermals. XBar hold-down was 1.25 in. Let it out to 1.75 in.

Definite overdevelopment starting over Big Bear. Soarable on Cloud spine, warming up a bit.
Much much better in thermals. Still a little trucky. V slight RT turn. Twisted L tip 1.

Trim each wand 1/8 in.

Large bands of alto-strat debris drifting from the north. Soarable.
Great! VD VGT=68

Alto-strat layer over 50% overhead, blocking sun, mellowing lift. Soarable, but no longer building in strength.
Sweet!

Late-day sledder.
Good.

Late-day sledder.

First "Wednesday Glass-Off" party of the season. Celebrating Dusty and Kathy's birthdays. Meg and Kathy had many snacks and beverages and there were about 15 pilots hanging out, including the four Norewegian visitors. Very cool.
Good.

Cool and moist feeling. A little hazy. Winds predicted to pick up quite a bit by the evening.
Good

Good

Not quite soarable. Wind picking up a little, some cumies starting to form in the 5-6k range.
Good

Good and soarable, windier at launch and more cotton balls overhead. Blowing 5-15 SW in the LZ and turbulent. Was sinking at end of downwind so whipped it around, then climbed while both hands were high on the downtubes. Used up about 3/4 of the long SW axis of the LZ getting down to a decent 2-stepper.
Good. Rub spot on BS near LE between #5 and 6.

Windy at Regionals, but easily self-launchable. Good climbs toward the clouds that were up about 6500 and coalescing into a bank. Blowing SW 10-28 at the LZ and quite turbulent from 200 AGL on down. I came in for a S final and the glider veered left, I thought that if a gust lifted me I could easily go over the east edge of the LZ. Brought it down OK east of the HG circle and past it. All had similar bumpiness. Mike suggested we call it a day and Steve and I agreed in unison.

Later that night there were gusts over 60 MPH in Crestline before the anemometer lost a cup.
Good. BS a little baggy.

Day before was post-SA convergence, today was steady to strong onshore with East winds above 4500, W-SW below. Lots of shear lines with cumies passing through.

I was cold without jacket and gloves. Climbed to 5k in rowdy thermals and crowds of PGs. Dove to get warm and below the chaos. Had fun climbing from below the 750 to 4200 at Cloud Peak, etc. Was thermalling with two PGs at Cloud and one was pendulating quite a lot, but turning smoothly.

Just before I landed a PG deployed from well above Cloud and landed on the north side, I was told. Nobody saw what caused the pilot to decided to deploy. A resident called the FD, and soon we had two fire trucks, other FD vehicles, an ambulance and a police car in the LZ. Over radio the pilot reported he was fine and would hike out. The emergency folks hung around for a while in case he realized he wasn't OK, so they got to talk to pilots and see a lot of good HG and PG landings.
Good. VdVGT=62 Trim VGL=21, VGT=30 (plus light at 35). Raised all sprogs 1 turn.

Slight left turn, rather stiff overall.


Turn tips 1/2 ea. Trim 1/8 off sprogs.

Great.

Great. (refly, built w/wrong sweep wires).

Good.

Good.

Morning clouds had broken up by 11:00. Chance of rain after midnight and on Thursday. SW 5-10 at Marshall, with cloudbase 4.7k and climbing. A little chilly and moist feeling.

Easily soarable, Mike got to cloudbase. Got bumped and dumped a couple of times, so I stayed clear of the hill. Took my gloves off when I got to launch and in the air I wished I had 'em on. No jacket. Switchy in the LZ (weak thermals). OK landing heading barely south of west.

Peter Swanson had his first HG flight since wrenching his ankle last Aug or Sept.
Good. VdVGT=65

A bit clearer and smoother lift. Climbed from 3200 at the 750 to 4000 doing gentle circles in a straight-up climb. then gained 700 more feet as I flew south. Went out past Northpark and around the campus. Landed WWSW again, well short of the PG spot because a guy with an RC plane was crouching near it.
Flew nicely. VdVGT=65. TT to 29 mph. Raised inboard sprogs 1 turn.

Snagged a tight core right off launch, close to the hill, and climbed to 4800 quickly, but after that there was nothing - a large cloud bank had been shadowing the hill for a while. Had a nice flat glide to Last Chance (gotta love those T2s) and it was lit up so there was workable lift. SW approach this time but got bumped upward as I neared the HG spot and it settled with a wing low. Ran and put it down on the basetube. Didn't actually whack but it was close.
Sweet. VdVGT>72, reasonable PP. TT to 28.

Chillier and darker, with a cloud bank to the west blocking the sun. Was able to ridge soar the SW face of Marshall for quite a few passes in a kind of mild wonder wind. Later worked the fingers over near the water project tunnel entrance, maintaining 2990 for a long time. I think there was heat coming off all that concrete and whatnot, being steered by the west wind into one of the draws and in the chilly air was bouyant enough to play in. Good WSW approach to a crisp flare a bit short of the PG spot.
Great.

Great warm day. Low expected to slide north of us Monday; some cirrus filling in as the day went on. Wind S 12 at Marshall, 20+ at Crestline. Shirtsleeves were fine.

Launched and worked under the PGs for a few minutes, then went over the flat spot and caught a core that took me to 6900 at the Crestline Interchange in 12 minutes, long slow, gentle climb. Parked there (literally) for a few minutes and no thermals came through, so I went for BB and Pine, then the flat SE of Sugrapine. Fun. Dave Aldrich got wingtip-to-wingtip from me at Pine and we conversed by shouting. Forced my way down at 14:45 to land so Dexa and I could go for a mountain bike ride. Great Day.

HG spot 40 ft past.

Good.

40 feet S of HG spot again. Mike on cone.
Minor wrinkles, mylar pocket at nose. Flew great!

RT #7 rear tip re-punch.

Landed between the spots.
Refly from 2-11 (no nosecone). Still TT to 32 (28-32) VGT. Raised inboard sprogs 1 1/2 turns each.

Tie nose cone on properly (was not around wire).

E of spot, 25 ft.
Great. VD VGT=61. Would not spin for love or money. Mr. Death pattern. Looked great.

Post-storm with onshore flow. Patches of snow on Marshall. Wind SSE-SSW 12, cloudbase 5600 or so on arrival around 1300. Mostly clear with a few puffies forming on the way to the ridges.

Had a SE cycle grab my glider while waiting for a good SW cycle, but not serious, just a reminder to pay attention. Waited for a solid cycle from 13:50 on and launched at 14:00 into weak lift. Soon was a few hundred over Marshall and stuck with that core as it drifted to the NNW. Got to 5100 by heading NNW every few circles as it weakened, then pointed for the end of 2N40. Found lift to 5300 there and went to Crestline. Beautiful flying just below cloudbase over the snow-covered ridge. Got to 6300 and the edge of the clouds before most of them dissipated. Went to Pine, but it wasn't really happening.

Back over Marshall I was thinking from the streamers that it was too windy to top land (looking from 5000 MSL) but eventually forced it down for a closer look. Was just deciding that it would be OK at 400 AGL when a 600 FPM boomer grabbed me. I flew to Cloud Peak and back and found it mellower. Worked a lift cycle to 450 AGL then descended to 300 as it turned to sink and dove in for a crisp and mellow top landing at 15:10. BSd with Gene and Dusty, then drove Wolife's (Mike's) truck down to the LZ. Got a couple of pictures of Wolfie and his bitchin' new black and green T2C. Fun day!

Clear with snow on Crestline and on top of Marshall (I saw later, flying over)
Air somewhat hazy with pre-frontal moisture; rain expected later tonight. 10% cloud cover increased a little through the day, then was 60% at 17:00.

Steve, Mike, Wolfie, and I were all flying Falcon3 170s this round. Steve was working something a few hundred above the 750 and I got in a few hundred over him. It was tight and the drift was hard to figure out. Wolfiw and Mike joined us. Hoffbrow had his PG laid out on the 750 (he'd had a PG reserve ride the day before). We circled and circled and got in real tight, all four of us. Steve eventually climbed through me. Considering our weight difference, this says a lot for the 170. And Steve's skill, since he flies without a vario. We all climbed hundreds of feet together in close proximity. Hoffbrow said he was entertained by the sounds of our three varios. I got to 4500 MSL and flew over Marshall and Len Szafryn, who'd hiked up with his lightweight PG gear; we caught him just as we got to Regionals. Wisecracks were exchanged, but he didn't stop.

We all four ended up landing within about 1 minute, which was entertaining for the rec pilots gathered to take advantage of the conditions. I did a right-hand approach and came up about 20 feet short of the PG spot.
Sweet.

A little windier, which made for a nice launch. My nose was rather cold, otherwise comfortable, though the air felt extra damp. Good thermalling, could have had a long flight. Good landing at the HG spot, about 18 feet.
No nosecone - used Duct Tape. VGT transient trim to 34 (maybe more). Mike suggested refly since the sailcut is somewhat new and we can't be certain the TT was from the Duct Tap nosecone; I'm prettyr sure it was, because I could see the deep wrinkles when I went VGT, and it had that nose-dropping feeling. Otherwise flew fine.

NOSECONE

There was a crowd at Cloud, so I went over to Last Chance and worked a weak one back up to launch level. Went to Cloud and worked in close for a while, gaining 10 feet a cricel or so. Finally ventured out about a thermal's diameter from the slop and found a mild but solid core that took me from 3400 to 4700 in a continuous climb of about 120 FPM. Did some wingovers and spins before landing abdou 20 feet short of the HG spot. Won two out of three for the day.

Very nice handling.

Trimmed a littce slow. Moved hang point fwd 1/2 inch.

Good.

Good.

OK.

Slight left turn. Twisted tips 1/2 turn ea.

Great!

Cloudbase lifted off Marshall at about 12:50. Extended sledder with a pause above the 750. Good SW landing into no wind. Dexa flew for the first time in a year. We rode bikes to the 750 afterwards.

OK

Good.

OK

OK

Good.

Good

Warm, sort of pre-frontal. Clear. 15-22 S at Crestline.

Good 2 step launch and climb to 200-300 AGL. First one off. Crestline bowl was good, but not the expected honkin' ridge lift. Billboard area was more marginal but still easy to stay up. Got down to 5100 after a while and fel like I'd dropped below the inversion, so I headed for Cloud vicinity to have plenty of altitude to figure out what was going on out there. Not great, but OK. Got to 4500 behind Marshall once, but it petered out. Worked various places down the Cloud spine and below Regionals. Lots of 100-150 FPM. Quite comfortable with hood, jacket, and gloves. Landed SSW into 10 MPH at 14:45.

Alot of pilots out to get the good conditions before the possibly damp weekend. Some visiting groups from Bay Area and elsewhere.