Ken Howells Hang Gliding & Paragliding Flight Log

A beautiful day in SoCal. Just enough lift to get good test flights with. Barely any wind. Light north wind the previous few days.
Good

Worked hard in a tiny core in the west draw. Without base wind it was drifting this way and that. Later cores came through and it got easier. Got to 3,500 with it before heading to the LZ to land. PGs were scratching Marshall and Cloud.

Found no lift at all. Right-hand approach to south final and won the spot.

The first of several onshore days after a spell of wet then cold offshore. It was much warmer - we were flying in shirtsleeves. Barely blowing from the SE. Not much lift. Still at the LZ, landed somewhat long.
Good

Slightly better SE cycles at launch. Scratched below Cloud Peak and followed a weak one into the bowl as it fizzled out. Decided to try the SE faces near Last Chance. Thought I'd made a mistake but finally found a core where I'd expected one to be and had fun scratching in it. Steve P's shadow appeared and there he was a little above me. Still mostly still at the LZ and I came out of my big downwind-to-final turn a little high - I hadn't wanted to pick up too much speed diving. Landed heading S, well past the PG cone.
Good. A little stiff for scratching the weak lift, but fine for regular conditions.

The cores were finally popping and well-formed. Got to 4k from Cloud and pointed toward Marshall. Saw a PG below circling over the east spine from Cloud so i got above him and climbed to 4,300. Did a low pass over the gliders setting up at Marshall and then went down to land. My vario beeped when I was in the pattern at the S end of the LZ so I did my final with extra speed and stayed along the E edge of the LZ, expectind a wind change or bump at any second. Good landing closer to the SE corner than to the HG cone.
Great. VdVGT=68

Good SE cycles to launch in. There was a thin veil of high clouds between the sun and the ground so the lift was eally scarce for a while. I was down to the LZ pretty quickly. Had a good S approach to just past the HG spot and really popped my flare. Plopped onto my heels with straight legs and felt it all the way up into my neck. No lingering stiffness or anything.
Good

I had a 3-minute sled ride flight from the 750' launch. The clouds that seemed to be filling in actually moved east leaving blue sky, so pilots launching later got to stay airborne for a while. Oh well. The hike back up to the 750 to retrieve my truck was very pleasant.

Clear with about 30% cloud coverage by isolated cumulus. Light S at the 750. Steve and Mike were getting up in a thermal west of launch and the air was flowing across toward it for a while. Waited for a good in cycle and flew back and forth through little bubbles for a few passes before heading to the LZ. Switchy on final - corrected to point more westerly entering ground skim and put her down very gently about 8 feet from the PG spot (won that one).

We were hurrying so we'd have time for a third round, from Regionals. Steve had gotten up quickly and I had a cycle as I walked to launch, so I went right away. Launched right into lift and started circling close to the hill. Lost less than 100 feet off launch. The core was strong so I was free to bank hard and push out climbing slowly close to the slopes. Could have flattened out and climbed faster but it was great fun to bank steeply and generally throw the wing around. Was going up faster the higher I got, getting up to near the rec pilots, but I bailed from the lift and 3,500 MSL and went down to land. Stick a good no-stepper but it was out between the cones.

There were WSW cycles at Regionals and I went right after launching but Last Chance wasn't really happening. Got back to the 750 at about 750-level and was able to boat and circle and work the VG, but didn't climb at all. Had a good landing into normal SW flow.
Good 64.

Blowing in stronger up at Crestline than had been forecast; light and variable at the LZ and the 750. Not too cool, but definitely an Autumn-feeling day.

I opened my harness and found that my vario was 'on' with dead batteries. Steve and Mike both launched 170s before I walked over, and they were getting up. I found lift just west of launch and circled under and south of Steve and climbed above launch. We had separate close cores and our altitudes got pretty close at times. Fun soaring in the quiet for a change, especially so early. Weak SW cycle to land in.

Found spare AAs in my harness and installed them in the vario on the way up the hill and did my best to set everything the way I like it (FPM instead of M/S, MPH, large sink alarm threshold, etc.). Mike and Steve got up before I launched. I should have gotten under Mike right away, but looked farther west and sank. Got under Mike but also below bluffs and it was too narrow. Landed long heading south.
Good

Everybody up! Caught a nice little rocket core right off launch and climbed up Cloud to 4,400 MSL with a pause around 4k. Flew over to Marshall intending to yell something at Mark and Dave and the others setting up there. Climbed on the way, so I just worked the lift that was right over the peak before diving for the LZ. Did some half-assed spins near the 750. Landed before Mike and Steve and left a nice shoe print in the gopher mound 4 feet shy of the PG cone. Got some pix of them landing.
Good

A couple of the Marshall pilots drifted down past the 750 and then Mike and Steve worked up slowly. Light 90 degree cross cycles while I stood on launch, with that 'about to blow down' sorta feel. Launched running 45 degrees downhill and found nothing on the way to the LZ for a good SW landing in 0-2 wind.

Large cloud banks had built up S (downwind) of Baldy and some cumies were popping overhead. The LZ and hills were shadowed and the rest of the rec pilots landed, saying they'd gotten to Crestline but came down due to the cold. A number of PGs flew too; all getting it while it was good, as 4 days of offshore are predicted. It started blowing down at Crestline at about 17:00.
Good

Hot after offshore; was supposed to switch mid-day but it started blowing from the SE (at Crestline) in the wee hours. Mostly still at the LZ and crossing from the west at the 750. Waited out several cycles of 5-10 MPH 90 cross from the right before launching. Went west of the 350 and got some bumps off the bluffs, but nothing much. Light SW to land in and I was about 5 feet short of the PG cone (won spot!).

Pretty much the same launching conditions, but I didn't wait as long and launched in weak cross. Turned in some bubbles before landing into light SW, 18 feet east of the PG cone.

Crossing from the west at Regionals but the PGs off Marshall indicated SE up there. I accidentally built this 175 with a 155 hang loop (obvious as I hooked in), so I would be 4 inches higher off the basetueb than I should have been. Waited out a lot of cross cycles (Mike and Steve were nearing the LZ) and finally took a less-cross cycle. The glider yawed right and the right wing dropped as I started running, so I just powered it off the hill and away from the terrain. I don't like putting myself in that situation.

The gliders was stiffer in roll, of course, but it was mostly evident in that the fine adjustments while circling required a bit more effort than normal. Simply getting it to start turning was no issue. Got up NE of the 750 and did a Marshall flyover to see the crowd before diving for the LZ. Did a south approach to the HG spot and had a nice crisp flare, what with the higher hang height and all.
Good

Has 155 hang loop. Replace with proper length.

Less cross at launch, but steadier wind overall. Mike and Steve had found thermals but I managed to avoid whatever might have been between launch and the LZ. SSE at the LZ as prepared for approach, then it switched to straight east. I did a quick right-hand to a final over the line of tested gliders. I though I might run out of LZ, so I veered left a little and had a decent run-and-drop-it landing in the sand and bushes well shor of the base of the training hill. Mike followed right after heading ESE and flaring at the HG cone, then Steve came the same direction as the wind dropped to zero and he went well past the HG cone.

It stayed mostly east but quite switchy in the LZ for a good hour after that. J.R. had landed his PG because he'd had too many collapses for comfort and other PGs reported turbulence. Mike had gotten dumped hard in the lee side of Cloud, and I'd left a thermal there because it felt freaky.
Good.

Clear and warm. Very still and switchy in the LZ. SE 10-12 MPH at Regionals. Launched and worked little tiny cores on the SE side below Cloud Peak for afew minutes, then got up to 4,300 MSL with one that drifted into the bowl west of Cloud. Flew over Marshall, where Winsconsin Paul was set up with his Fusion.
Dropped out of the SE flow around 3,000 MSL; saw the windsock above the 750 hanging completely limp.

Puffing from SSE at the LZ, did a left-hand with an extended baseleg to a good no-wind S landing.
Good

SE wind at Regionals had picked up a little; easy launch. Sank below the SE flow into the still layer right away and didn't find anything, though others had climbed out. There was tiny lift popping around the LZ and the flags and streamers were all pointing different directions, if at all. Was a little high doing an E-W leg above the Ranch and saw the flag there point to the SW, so I decided to do a 180 north of the parking lot and point toward the training hill, landing to the ENE with a little uphill. I felt heading E along the base of the LZ I'd have too much chance of going off the east edge if I hit a little lift along the way. Landed OK on soft soil and dried tumbleweeds, well short of the training hill slope. First time I've ever landed there heading that direction. It's a pretty odd feeling to be just a few hundred AGL and not have a definite approach plan figured out; luckily it's very rare for me.

Probably 15-17 MPH SE at Regionals in the strongest parts of the cycles. Thermals definitely popping off, despite the high bands of parallel cirrus and the spreading contrails casting weak shadows. Climbed and went to buzz the crowd on Marshall, but it was so bumpy I only went 3/4-stuff at full VG a couple of hundred over the top. There were some PGs bobbing around. On the way to the 750 I hit soild 800 FPM up and after a few circles I was at 4,700 MSL without really trying. Lots of rec pilots were now in the air.

Tried to pick my landing cycle at the LZ, where it was still very switchy, mostly SE puffs then zero. After boating back to the bluffs and finding sink that put me down to approach altitude I went in for a left-hand approach to a S landing, ignoring the limply gesturing flags, and it was just a fine, sweet landing. Love those T2Cs!
Slight left turn. Twisted each tip 1/2.

More S at Regionals, maybe even some SW cycles. Good launch and climbed a little, sank a little. This T2C had a transluscent mylar BS ("clear" mylar TS) and so I caught myself looking at the light through the wing a few times when I was kinda close to the hill; no problems though. Did a regular SW approach (sea breeze finally arrived!) and levelled out a little high - had a good flare and my feet thudded to the ground, so I had to put the basetube on the ground too.
Good. (mylar BS) Seemed to have more nose-down force when exiting lift than usual. May have been pushing out more.

Pretty still on the 750 set-up area while we slammed the gliders together, trying to get launched before it went katabatic. The sun was low (sunset: 6 PM) and the shadows were long. I was last off and found there was a light 5 MPH breeze at launch, 45-degrees cross from the right, at least. Easy to deal with. Made a few slow and flat passes above the bluff launches then headed out to the LZ, where it was weak west with the slightest hints of some north now and then. Just for variety I did a right-hand approach, coming west to east over the Ranch, and headed for the HG spot from dead-east. Saw that east side slope of the LZ looming for a moment but cleared it easily and landed on my feet inside the HG circle.

Good

Very low, thick inversion, light SW cycles at Regionals. Numerous cloud clusters forming and floating by (from SE) overhead. Light cycle for launch, longish skim before pulling way from the slope. Vario beeped a few times and did a few circles. Cloud shadow covering ground from the 750 to S of the LZ, weak SSW at LZ. Skimmed the brush with a NNE appraoch to the PG spot. Peter Swanson was laying in the brush with my camera, but the shutter was too slow for a close final approach shot. He got a nice snap while I was farther back. Landed no-step just outside of the PG circle (wide left, short); Mike overshot, so I won the round. I drove the first two rounds and hadn't expected to fly, because we thought all the gliders on the trailer were 144s and 145s.

Good. Moved hang strap fwd 1/2 inch. Dubai.

Dubai

Good. Mis-labelled as 29017.

Good

Good. Has F.A. basetube.

Marcus V. got up in a cycle. I waited out some cross cycles and launched when it wa straight in. Descended directly to the LZ. Nice landing into SW 10
Too short to test

Had a good cycle to launch. Made one pass on the bluffs, circled twice over the little cone, where a hawk was circling, then went and landed nicely into SW 10.
Too short to test.

I launched a U2 160 from Marshall at 5:45 into pretty boring air. I was boating around between 4k and 4.2k at the west end while the occasional 175 FPM thermal sped past. Trapped in the marine layer. After a half-hour I went back to Marshall Peak on a VG tight speed run and finally found a good core. On the second circle of 600 FPM I saw the PG at my altitude (4,500) and to the north a little have about 40% of his leading edge fold under briefly, from just left of center to almost the right tip. I had been thinking that thermal felt a little sketchy.

Looking east I saw solid dark haze/mist down to the ground and I was going up without circling. From boring to suddenly too good? At 5,150 I stuffed the bar and flew VG loose all the way past the LZ, the paved road, and across the wash before I got below 5,100. I hear from my step-sister that it WAS raining in Running Springs at that time. I circled with the bar pulled in, dropping 200 FPM or so. When I experimentally went to trim at 4k I started going back up at 200+ FPM. When I got to 3k I went back to the LZ, feeling serious bumpiness downwind of Badger Hill. I'd seen Lee Coe take his Falcon in heading east and it was showing solid east when I got over the LZ at 2,400. I did a diving right-hand approach and coming out of the last turn near the utility lines I thought I might overshoot because I wasn't coming down.

Sank into the headwind and had a brief bobble with the rear side wire because I transistioned my hands while in a steep bank. Was looking to land short of the PG cone coming from NW and suddenly climbed what felt like 50 feet with little forward motion. Pulled in before I stopped climbing, dove, and rounded-out to a smooth 1.5-stepper.

The PGs made it back from the west and it had mellowed-out to SW <5 when they were landing. The skies lightened and Dave Childs, who'd been flying the whole time, climbed away from the bluffs before coming down and landing. Dustin, who launched Marshall just after I did, had gone to Cajon Pass, back to Rim High, and returned to Crestline. He said that from up where he was he could see the holes behind the rainy area and just decided to stay high and ride it out.

Zac Majors was then able to throw a couple of HG students off the Big O 400' launch twice before the light quit. There was the occasional raindrop hitting a forearm or shirt for a while.

Still, it was a lot of fun. Not fun like the guys who were getting to 8-10k earlier, but fun in a nothing bent nothing bruised way.
Good. TT VGT to 32 MPH.

I launched a U2 160 from Marshall at 5:45 into pretty boring air. I was boating around between 4k and 4.2k at the west end while the occasional 175 FPM thermal sped past. Trapped in the marine layer. After a half-hour I went back to Marshall Peak on a VG tight speed run and finally found a good core. On the second circle of 600 FPM I saw the PG at my altitude (4,500) and to the north a little have about 40% of his leading edge fold under briefly, from just left of center to almost the right tip. I had been thinking that thermal felt a little sketchy.

Looking east I saw solid dark haze/mist down to the ground and I was going up without circling. From boring to suddenly too good? At 5,150 I stuffed the bar and flew VG loose all the way past the LZ, the paved road, and across the wash before I got below 5,100. I hear from my step-sister that it WAS raining in Running Springs at that time. I circled with the bar pulled in, dropping 200 FPM or so. When I experimentally went to trim at 4k I started going back up at 200+ FPM. When I got to 3k I went back to the LZ, feeling serious bumpiness downwind of Badger Hill. I'd seen Lee Coe take his Falcon in heading east and it was showing solid east when I got over the LZ at 2,400. I did a diving right-hand approach and coming out of the last turn near the utility lines I thought I might overshoot because I wasn't coming down.

Sank into the headwind and had a brief bobble with the rear side wire because I transistioned my hands while in a steep bank. Was looking to land short of the PG cone coming from NW and suddenly climbed what felt like 50 feet with little forward motion. Pulled in before I stopped climbing, dove, and rounded-out to a smooth 1.5-stepper.

The PGs made it back from the west and it had mellowed-out to SW <5 when they were landing. The skies lightened and Dave Childs, who'd been flying the whole time, climbed away from the bluffs before coming down and landing. Dustin, who launched Marshall just after I did, had gone to Cajon Pass, back to Rim High, and returned to Crestline. He said that from up where he was he could see the holes behind the rainy area and just decided to stay high and ride it out.

Zac Majors was then able to throw a couple of HG students off the Big O 400' launch twice before the light quit. There was the occasional raindrop hitting a forearm or shirt for a while.

Still, it was a lot of fun. Not fun like the guys who were getting to 8-10k earlier, but fun in a nothing bent nothing bruised way.
Good. TT VGT to 32 MPH.

Good

Normal 'summer' day at Crestline, winds 15-20 and fairly steady. Launched and did some passes low to the ridge with a couple of other gliders. Went to Billboard and worked a weak thermal on the spine for quite a few turns before it consolidated and got me above the ridge. Milked it to 6,000 MSL, then went back to launch, dropping to 5,600 or so. Did a series of wingovers then got whoops from four ladies who were standing on launch. Did another low pass to more whoops. Left the area because I was tempted to buzz launch some more.

Went to Regionals slowly, really enjoying the calm late-day conditions. Was working a core high above Last Chance while Owen, tandem with his daughter Hannah, struggled with the base of the thermal. I was hoping they'd climb some so I could maybe get some pictures but soon he pointed it out away from the hill and landed. I worked the 750 area for a few minutes and tried some spins, not very well. Flew out over the LZ at about 1k AGL, circled down and had a nice landing in steady WSW flow.

A very relaxing and satisfying flight.

Cycling from all over the compass at the 750 - it had blown from the North at Crestline until around 9 AM. Launched into a cycle with the vario beeping. Didn't turn right soon enough and sank down the draw to the Big O launches on the upwind side of the thermal. Vertical bumps on south final to the PG spot. Mike Meier managed to soar a small Falcon 3.
Good

Needs placard

Launched into a cycle again and turned right immediately but the core was too tiny. Sank to the Big O again, where the streamers were pointing away from the hill. Hit the bump of the thermal that was out front, pulling those streamers, but I was at approach altitude. Wind direction went from WSW to ESE and back while I was on final - I just held course and rode it out to well past the PG cone, glad to be on such an easy wing. Mike soared again.
Good

Needs placard

Cycles from the South at Regionals and the brownish smog had pushed in to the hillsides. Mike and Peter were just below me on the Cloud spine and none of us could quite hook in to this ratty thermal that was jumping around. I finally got to 3,500 with it while they sought better lift elsewhere. Mike had landed and I considered diving in ahead of Peter to get a pic of his landing, but the SSE cycle was piddling out and I opted to wait at the bluffs for a better cycle to land in. Peter hit big sink on base leg and landed heading NE on the approach slope, so I was pleased with my decision. I soon saw a WSW cycle and dove it in. The cycle built and I kept inching the basetube back on final to keep from climbing and ended up with a good WSW landing well past the cones.
Very nice

The lift was starting to consolidate and really go off. Got to 4,500 MSL pretty quickly. Took a bunch of pictures trying to frame the right wing and tip of the White/Orange BS. Got two decent ones. Tried to get some pix of Mike as he climbed up from Cloud Peak but it was getting too bumpy for flying close to the hill one-handed and distracted. Had another good steady SW cycle for a good landing.
Great. Vd VGT=60

Normal summer afternoon conditions. This Sport 2 155 had carbon leading edge inserts installed (custom pockets) and 3/32 1x19 BS wires. When I was building it on Wednesday we'd joked about it making no difference. Went right from launch and climbed right up to 4,500 or so in the first thermal I found. Hofmann came in just below me with a Falcon. I pulled away a little and drifted with it, then fell out on the north side. Went back a little south and found the thermal climbed straight up for a few hundred feet, to 5,100, beofre weakening and skidding north again. Wanted to get 5,400 before jumping back to Billboard, but it was done at 5,350. Went VGT and noticed the extra roll stiffness right away - course corrections required a yank instead of the usual nudge. Still, it had a great glide to Billboard in air that wasn't particularly buoyant. I only lost just under 250 feet going back and had expected to lose 300-350 feet. Got above the ridge and then dove back out to Regionals VGT. Definitely stiffer but easily contollable. VdVGT was 60, just like the stock S2 I'd flown on the previous flight.
Good landing conditions and a nice one-stepper to finish the day.

Carbon LE inserts. 25% stiffer than usual, VGT. Not much stiffer VGL. Great glide from Regioanls to Billboard, it seemed. VdVGT=60, same as the previous (stock) S2 155.

Pretty warm day, clear with a thick smog front in Riverside. Launched from the 750 into a cycle so I arrived over the bluffs at launch height. Found a core right away and cruised up to 4k MSL in just a few minutes. Altimeter soon read 5,500 MSL north of Cloud Peak and Crestline looked like a reasonable glide; expected strong ridge lift if I got there low. When I flew 50' oover Crestline launch my altimeter read 5,050 so that explains why the glide looked so good. I had set it to 2,450 before launching from the 750. Lots of gliders all over the place, since it was the AJ Fly-In. Got to 6k at Billboard and went over to Pine then boated around above Bailey Canyon for a while.
Back above Last Cahnce I saw a Falcon real low coming from Billboard vicinity. The pilot wisely turned and landed at the Pine Creek bailout LZ - first time I've actually seen this. The pilot chose to land along the length of the parking lot instead of doing the prescribed downwind/uphill landing. The parking lot was almost long enough, but a gentle impact with a parked boat didn't look bad and the pilot moved the wing right away.
I worked a squirrely bubble of lift from Regionals, with Mark Hoffman just below me, high enough to go to Crestline again. Then I went out south of the LZ and descended for the bomb drop and spot landing. I tossed my bomb weakly from about 2,200+ MSL (450 AGL) and about 100 feet higher than I had wanted to. It landed within 50 feet, I think. Came in on a good approach but drifted east a little and ended up standing about 30 feet EESE of the cone.
I counted at least 100 cars in the parking area just before I landed.
I had been in a surly mood all day, but as soon as I launched I felt great.

Good. String battens.

Good

Good.

Good

Good. TT to 28.

Forecast to be only 100 F today, after being 8-10 degrees higher previous days. Marine layer low and far away. Good cycles at Regionals. Launched and circled a couple of times in the bowl while two gliders were at my altitude just below Cloud Peak. I headed for the west spine and found a small easy core off one of the draws. Climbed slowly and overflew launch, then to main Cloud spine. Was down by the bluffs after hunting around. Milked one while the flags were slack, then dove down for a weak SW landing cycle, which went to zero as I started my upwind (over LZ) leg. After I turned to a S final I saw the streamer at the SW corner lift directly away from me. Near the PG spot I flared hard, ready to sprint but only had to put the basetube down and drop to a knee. Pretty good, considering. Scraped a scab off my left shin, for added color.
PP VGT on the light side but OK.

Hot summer day, fairly clear, strong cycles at launch. There was a brief lull when I got to launch, then I ran into a building cycle. Airborne in three steps, then dropping down the face of launch, then popping up 150 feet right away. Boisterous thermals and not much base-wind. Got to 6k+ easily several times. Got up at Pine and followed the north spine but sank and went back out front. Got up and went west to the powerline spine and found no lift, so back to Pine. Went to Regionals and the first thermal took me to 5,400, so I went back to Crestline. Dove out front again and soon another thermal let me go back to Crestline again. Dove to Marshall VGT and then my CamelBak ran out while I thought about buzzing launch, so I just went out over the LZ, cored sink, and landed. Great set up and approach, then had a cross-component for the last 30 feet of vertical. Glider was moving sideways to the left as I flared while the glider dropped (wings-level) and the left wheel stuck. A little pressure with the left hand meant the end of that downtube.

Clear and hot. Launched into lift but then plummeted to the LZ. Good landing heading south.

Good launch then above Mike and Steve, who were scratching the bluffs and the tree line, respectively. Had a little core but decided to get above Mike and his better looking core. He went to where mine had been and got up. I slowly dropped to the LZ. Steve had a great save from on the tree line. Good landing SSE.

Kind of bumpy close to the hill below Cloud Peak - I kept finding myself flying at 30 MPH, automatically speeding up for the comfort level. Got above Cloud and slowed down, climbed to 5170 and hung out at that altitude for a few. Decided not to dash back to Crestline. Heading for the LZ high I found broad 800+ FPM above the 750. Flew out to the SW and then back to fly over the 750. Scratched the bluffs to wait out a dead cycle at the LZ, then dove on in for a landing. Flags showed solid S but over toward the eastern edge it had a lot of west in it. Crabbing final, gentle flare, put her down on the basetube skidding left, but OK.
Good. PP on the light side VdVGT, but OK.

Quickie during the Vintage Glider Fly-In. Had a good launch cycle but couldn't snag a thermal. Landed well into SW three minutes after launch.

Worked gusts at the 420/350 for a few passes. Glider may have been stiffer in roll than usual because of the longer basetube or maybe I was just being extra cautious. Went rather long on landing after deciding not to bank much on the last two turns of my approach.
Good

Exchange F3 62 (49.5) basetube with proper AT 62 (49).

Scratched at bluffs.
Good

Lift had turned on. Right-hand approach, good flare just outside of inner PG circle. Didn't win the spot.
Good

Very bumpy air. Went over the falls steeply banked in the first thermal. Yikes. Climbed to 5k MSL, was balanced on a lift dome at the inversion. Made a foray for BB vicinity, then back to Regionals. Dove for the LZ, planning to do a wingover or two, but it was too active down there. Good landing headed S between the spots.
Great. BS flutter, tightened 6 root battens.

Another strong summer day! Peter Swanson and I went to the 750 with a couple of Falcon 3 195s. Peter was just getting above eye-level, climbing from low out front of the bluffs, when I launched at 14:43. I didn't catch his thermal, but another a couple of minutes later just above the 420 launch was rock-solid. Peter was out of sight and I just cranked in the core and up past Cloud Peak. At 14:54 I was at 6,000 MSL and halfway to Crestline. We both went to launch and then Billboard and then both fought a stiff headwind and sink areas coming back out to Regionals. More boomers in all the usual places. We landed for another round. I'd gotten 38 minutes airtime.

Peter had his glider mostly folded and I'd just pulled three battens from the left tip of mine when we saw that the flag by the sign was pointing south while the big streamer 50 yards to the south was pointing northeast. I went around my glider and reattached the nose wires, spotting a dust plume in the parking lot just after that. I spun the glider to face SW and pulled the nose down and the dust devil went right through us! My wing bucked a bit and rotated a little and the left wing briefly got very high. Close call.
Good

Dexa joined us for the next round. We drove to the 750 and loaded her glider onto Peter's vehicle with the two Sport 2s and drove to Regionals. Good breeze there and Windy reported 24 gusting to 34 at Crestline. I launched at 16:37 and had a hard time staying down in launch vicinity to get some pictures (handheld). What I got were mostly blurry. I was trying to get pix of Peter testing the Sport 2, not knowing that he was trying to line up on me for his GoPro. Doh! Eventually I put the camera away and climbed. Had a close encounter with an unknown pilot flying an ATOS. Turns out it was Doctor Dave from S.D., who's used to close-quarters at Torrey. I drifted back to Crestline in a slow thermal and then went to Pine, boating for the 2nd half of the crossing. Nothing special there, so back to Regionals and floated around above 4k until I noticed Peter had already landed.

Our plan was to hike to the 750, get in my truck and drive to Regionals to retrieve his. Dr. Dave's son (Adam?) was under instruction by John Heiney and they were loading up for some Big O Loop runs, so we got a ride with them to the 350 launch and hiked to the 750. As we got in my truck shoulder-surgery Jeff and Mark Hoffman pulled up, on their way to install a new windsock at Cloud Peak. Peter got a ride from them to Regionals. Trippy.

Adam had a couple of flights off the 350 with a Falcon and then they were heading up to Crestline. It might have been a bit on the windy side for a noob in a Falcon. They said he'd flown other high sites already.

Gotta' hand it to Mark for taking the initiative and dealing with the windsocks at Cloud and above the 750 - Way to go, Mark!

Some photos from today are in my images directory.
Good

Wow. First 'normal' summer day conditions I've seen this year. Strong climbs in well-formed thermals all over the place.

Got above the 750 launch, after sinking to above the 350 launch, with a Condor 330 at 10:40 this morning. That flight was 12 minutes, with six of them over the LZ at a few hundred feet AGL trying to sneak a landing between thermals.

I worked up the Cloud spine to 4,300 hitting 400+ FPM at times.
Sweet handling!

Regionals to 5,000 in just a few minutes, hitting 600+ FPM before it slowed near the inversion layer.
TT 25. Low PP VGT, raised all 1 turn.

Got in a strong thermal just below Cloud Peak under Mike and went over the falls hard on the third circle, when I widened my radius looking for the core. Grabbed it again and had 600-800 FPM up to 4,150, when I bailed for Marshall for the hell of it. Strong sink in front of Marshall then big lift. Strong enough that I declined circling in it so close to the hill, and I can throw a 155 around like a toy. It was time to go land anyway. :(

The breeze was pretty steady in the LZ for my last three landings - the approach I'd picked at 1,000 AGL was the one I went with when I got down to approach altitude, every time. That's not usually the case.
Nice handling

Blowing over 20 at Crestline and cool under thick high clouds. Ridge soared a few passes then went for Pine from 5,500. Pine wasn't really working, what with the S wind and the high clouds. Scratched close to the hill by the 750 in the orographic bumps for a long time. Weak 50-100 FPM thermals were drifting to the canyon too fast to hang with. Scratched S of Last Chance in similar fashion. Finally a 300 FPM core came through (sunny spell) and it felt like a rocket! Ascended to Regionals and a crowd gathered so Ibailed for Cloud and UM, which were still in the shadows. Decided to just go land and it was 10-15 SW at the LZ, making for a nice easy no-stepper.

The pilot who was my wire-man at Crestline, Peter something, subsequently launched his Falcon and pod harness with his legs out of the leg loops. He managed to fly down and land in the canyon unscathed but for a few leg scratches. Helicopter plucked him out. Retrieving his (partially folded-up) glider and harness will be quite a task.
Good. TT VGT to 30, VdVGT=68. Very slight left turn, twisted RT tip 1 (punch cut near RT #2 when Carlos was installing forgotten grommets; repaired with tiny patch) Clean dirt (Crestline) from RT tip w/Folex.

Launched my Falcon 225 from Marshall at 14:50, same time as yesterday for some reason. The thermals were a bit stronger than Saturday and they were drifting to the NW instead of NNE. Otherwise pretty similar conditions to Saturday. I got to 5k in one thermal NW of Regionals with DbyD a bit above me. He headed for Crestline and after a few more pointless circles I made a foray towards Billboard. I got above the lowest bumps below Billboard at 4,600 and turned back for Regionals. A couple of minutes after I got to Regionals DbyD flew by, so Crestline obviously wasn't happening anyway. Had lots of climbs to 4,700-5000 and the thermals were coming up in real consistent locations, like from the SE side of Cloud Peak. Some struggled low after launching but managed to get up and fly until they felt like landing. I landed at 16:35.

Neighbor Nancy had hot dogs and fixin's and bevs and chips for sale and many availed themselves.

Later, there were two HG students flying well from the 80 foot hill and Rebar Dan's HG student had a nice landing on his first flight from Marshall. At one point 5 PGs all landed within about 30 seconds, well-spaced all over the LZ. We had a Board meeting scheduled for 7 PM, so there was a good crowd hanging out kibitzing and BS-ing.

High pressure and low (double) inversion. Crowd scratching at Billboard so went for Regionals, expecting to get up and go back to Crestline. Was soon scratching above the 750. Finally a good core came through got me above the lower inversion (~3,300 MSL). Much more relaxing and easier to stay up, but the strong thermals kept slamming into the upper inversion and petering out to nothing between 4,700 and 5,000 MSL. Lots of sink between the good thermals and I tried getting up everywhere, even on the west side of Devil Canyon late in the flight. Landed at 16:50 in a sink cycle. elevatoring down at the NE corner of the grass, to one knee. Still had fun.

Matt from SC flew a demo U2 160 for his "first flight west of the Mississippi"and had a good flight too.
(RT #8 batten pocket corrected) Good.

Good

Fun scratching the bluffs in lift that was almost-there.
Good

Lift turned on like flipping a switch, 500 up from the gap in the bluffs to 3,500 before bailing and diving to land.
String battens

Save from in front of and below the 420 launch. Fun.
Good

Plenty soarable.
Good

Launched into lift and made a few passes, then struggled above Last Chance. Got up and went over Marshall to east bowl, where it was actually pretty rough with the turb from the wind and the sharp-edged thermals. Did a speed run to Cloud and then dove for the LZ. Needed to win the spot to be even with Mike for the day. Quite bumpy on the way in but was lined up well for the PG cone. At the edge of the grass I abruptly climbed 30 or 40 feet in strong lift then descended rapidly and ended up landing just past the PG cone. Oh well.
Very nice. VdVGT=62

First really hot day of the year - 104° F (40° C) at the LZ mid-afternoon. Two pilots flew 15 gliders, mostly Falcon 3 170s and 195s from the 750' launch. I never got above launch with the first six gliders. Small little torn-up bumps were all I found. Had some good scratching, especially over the Big O launches, but never in the air long enough for the wind to cool me off. Really bumpy and switchy at the LZ for all six Falcon flights. Mostly good landings, but lots of inputs on approach.
Good

Good

Did a quick right turn from over the training hill to a SSE approach when the flags suddenyl flicked that way. Had to really stuff the bar as I passed the candy cane to keep from climbing, then I shot past the PG cone by a long way. Had a brief tail-component and thought I'd have to run like hell, but the air was stil,l way out there, and I had a two-stepper, much to my surprise.
Good

Good

Another extra-long glide up the east edge of the LZ. Waited there to get a pic of Mike, who had been right behind me in the pattern, but he started climbing out.
OK

Good

Launched into a cycle and climbed in front of launch. Got to 4,400 at Cloud Peak and then another thermal east of Marshall got me to 5,400 by 15:03. Nice and cool up there and under the wing. Had that 'balanced on a beachball' feeling as the thermal tried to push above the inversion. Dove hard to land before Mike and get a picture of his landing. Good landing into steady SW flow - first steady landing-wind of the day for me.
Nice one. VdVGT=58

Big cloud build-up over the mountains again - long multi-layered looking (like lenticular) and glimpses of cauliflower tops, drifting SW very very slowly. Maybe a patch of virga to the NE. Sheet of altocumulus over the valley. Humid, little wind.
Didn't find anything at Marshall after launch, but a PG had been soaring several hundred over. Tight little bumps, torn up by the wind on the spines below Cloud Peak. Could have saved it from 250-300 AGL just south of the bluffs and east of the training hill, but wanted a by-the-numbers landing, so I left that teeny core after a couple of turns. Good no-stepper into 8 MPH SW at 15:40.
Good. Nose cone has crease/curve at rear tip. Flatten or replace.

Good launch from Regionals. Had to scratch down by the 750 for a while. Waited for a good landing cycle. Came out of turn to final on a line between the HG and PG spots and thought I could bump it right to aim at the PG spot, but I hit a ahrd bump of turblulence and just maintained heading and landed cleanly between the spots.
Good

Good launch from Regionals. Found puffs below Cloud and stuck with it, slowly climbing above Cloud while Mike scratched down by the bluffs. Went out to land and the SW cycle turned W while I was on downwind, so I did SW to the edge of the grass and turned into the W cycle. Strong gradient had me descending rapidly near the east edge of the LZ so I landed smoothly far from any cone.
Good

Glider #39184 had been partially disassembled after final assembly for sewing work. Reassembly was incorrect, with a wire-routing problem (corrected during setup) and the sail-mount strap at the tip of the left leading edge was on top of the LE instead of the bottom. I noticed sail asymmetry at the noseplate but we didn't find the sail-mount problem. We did find that the left tip wand wasn't fully seated in the LE receptacle.

I went to the right on launch and the turn was immediately obvious. I had to center over the middle of the left basteube grip (round speedbar) to fly straight; decided to land immediately. On the way to the LZ I decided to see how bad the turn was. I went to center and the glider rolled hard right, accellerating roll rate. It felt like it would just keep going onto the tip and over. Both times. Flew to above the LZ, experimenting with pushing on the right basetube and pulling on the left while upright, for landing approach. This was unworkable. Above the LZ I was flying with the left rear wire under my armpit and my right hand at the center of the basetube, torquing my body to keep my feet to the left. This had me flying straight and level. My triceps were getting tired. I did big left circles over the LZ to descend to approach altitude and considered zipping the harness and bellying in; decided I needed my legs out for extra weight-shift and running sideways, if required.

I started flying by holding the left sidewire a few feet out, with my right hand pushing at the center of the basetube. I couldn't pull in for extra speed, and didn't really want to. After the downwind leg of a left-hand approach I was too high, over the top of the 80' training hill, and knew I didn't have the authority for a quick left 360 - I'd have to do a figure-8 turn (involving a right turn) to get in position to land on the LZ. I did a left 220 or so, then gingerly let the glider turn right to head north. The glider took a long time to respond to my subsequent left-turn input and for a moment I seriously thought I was going to go into the trees behind the training hill. The left turn finally put me on a normal SW heading at a good altitude and there was a steady 10+ MPH SW breeze. I floated in and somehow put it in the HG circle, moving to the downtubes at the last moment and flaring gently for a clean two-stepper, with the right wing low.

We found the problem after Mike landed, I fixed it, and we went up to Marshall Peak to refly the glider, but it was blowing a few MPH from the NE when we got there. We called it a day.

The sail-mount problem had the effect of twisting the left tip "way down", though it didn't look that way on the ground; thus the right turn. I hadn't done any of the work on this particular glider. I've mounted Sport 2 tips incorrectly during final assembly before and spotted the problem when the glider was right-side up, on the basetube. This glider was not fully setup after the remedial sail work was done at the shop, and niether Mike nor I knew that the glider had been through a partial disassembly after it was built. We thought the sidewire problem had just been missed, somehow. While looking for the cause of the sail's asymmetrical set on the frame I looked to see if the left sail-mount webbing was twisted (it wasn't) but the fact that it was on top of the LE instead of on the bottom didn't register. Mike saw it as soon as he looked inside the tip. Missing this bothers me deeply. I'm also bothered that I decided to fly the glider despite not finding the cause of the asymmetry.
Glider had been partially disassembled after final assembly for sewing work. Left bottom side wire was around LE. Fixed that, but sail was mounted 180 wrong at left LE end. Saw sail asymmetry at the nose - left edge was 3/4" to 1" from noseplate, right was nearly flush. Also left BS wire hole was hard against the sidewire tang. Neither I nor Mike could see the problem; I had not gotten the left tip wand fully seated (Mike found while assessing the asymmetry). Glider had a horrendous right turn.

Light winds at Crestline after blowing north briefly mid-day (low marine layer at sunrise). Gliders sinking off the ridge but saw one circling a few times low at east spine before leaving. Launched and found that thermalclimbed a few hundred over and then flew over launch. Found a weak thermal before Billboard but it faded so I went to Regionals and was soon a few hundred over the Big O Loop launches 10 minutes into my flight; thought I'd be landing very soon. A tight core right in front of the 420 launch held together and I scratched slowly with it all the way up the Cloud spine to 4,500 MSL or so. Overflew Marshal, then south and was soon abov the 420 again. Scratched hard and another thermal came through, stronger, and I climbed steadily away from the hill a bit to Cloud, where I was climbing up to a PG circling the opposite direction. Another came in right below me, my direction, and we climbed for a good dozen circles, him 60 degrees behind me. Then another came in right below and I let the guy behind me climb above and out of sight. For a couple of turns I was directly above the lower PG and we were stationary with respect to each other while the world spun around us. Very cool. I left for the bump north of Marshall at 5,000 feet. Worked back there for a bit but nothing solid came through. Circled above Marshall for a few turns with Steve Corbin on a Sensor. Went to Cloud and was soon low at the far west end below Last Chance on the south side. Found a very weak core going up toward Regionals, very close to the hill, drifting fast, climbing for half a circle at best each time I relocated it. It drifted across to Cloud, then I found another at the bump east of Cloud and very slowly drifted over to Marshall, where I eventually got to 4,200 MSL. Headed out over Cal State (bouyant) then came back and cored sink east of the LZ. Normal left-hand approach and turned from SSW to W on final because the flags shifted. Landed with a few steps at 17:50.
Everybody said they'd had to work pretty hard for their airtime, but that it was fun, what with the low saves and all. I agreed.

WW intern Alex drove for Peter, Dexa, and I, and Peter taught him some PG fundamentals in the LZ. He did pretty well for first-time ground-handling in the strongish late-day breeze that came up. Just before we left the LZ a couple of fighter jets flew over from the ESE and did a fast and steep turn over the LZ, heading back toward Redlands. Don't know what event they might have been performing for. Later saw lots of fireworks from P & D's backyard. Overall, a good 4th of July.

Hot, smoggy, and stable. Just gust cycles at Regionals. Good launch skimming the foxtails. Some scratching in mini-thermals SE of Cloud, then hanging at the bluffs waiting for a steady cycle. Came in heading S and put one knee down flaring in no wind, then the basetube.

Cycles a little more frequent. Launched glider with #8 battens backed out slightly due to problem with front of one batten pocket. Ran extra hard. Skimmed the foxtails again and took out the two tall yucca spikes way below launch, hitting one with each wing. Pretty scary seeing that i was going to hit them. No direction or pitch change, green stain on one LE cleaned right out with Folex. Was inclined to fly straight to the LZ and just land; decided to thermal a bit and mellow out. Wind stopped while I was on final. Flared hard and went to both knees.


Right #8 batten pocket 1/2 or 3/4 inch too short at LE. Marked wrong - old panel?

Finally some wind. Launch more open-feeling without the two yuccas. Soared Regionals for a couple of passes, then went southeast of Cloud. Working with a small core from 100-300 FPM I eventually got to 4,700 MSL. It penetrated the inversion, which seemed to be at about 3,900. Flew over Regionals and spotted the two yucca spikes well below where they had sprouted; the western one was on top of a bush. Again, the S cycle petered out as I turned to final and I put the glider down on the basetube after flaring and got my knees dusty.

There were four young ladies out getting tandems from Rob McKenzie. They started early and the last landed a while after my last flight. #3 and #4 were whooping loudly on appraoch. They all seemed to have loved their hang glider flights.
Good. Vd VGT=58

At 9 AM it was flowing down steadily at Crestline. It dropped to mostly nothing in the next hour but the cycles didn't really start coming up the face until 12:15 or so. It was friggin' hot! 101.6° F according to Simba; usually it tops out in the high 70s in late June. Rob was up there waiting with a Tandem for over an hour. Good cycle at 12:30, so I harnessed-up and walked my Falcon 225 to launch. At 12:40 there was another good cycle. I launched and faked left then went more or less straight for the air above the wedding chapel. There wasn't big sink or a tail wind, but I was in some 300-350 down for a while out in the middle. At 3,900 I got a strong whiff of the ozone at the top of the smog layer.

I was able to veer left gradually and passed over Regionals with a couple of hundred feet. Went directly to the east side below Cloud Peak and there was a thermal coming up the long SE draw. Tight and squirmy, so a lot of work to stay with, getting maybe 20 feet per 360. They were all like that. I scratched for all I was worth for the next 20 minutes, never getting higher than 3,600. A promising one off the bluffs SE of the 750 went ENE quickly and I lost it in the canyon.

I needed to land and pack up to catch the 2 PM McBus to get my truck from Crestline, so I buzzed a guy with a PG at the 750 - he pointedly refrained from looking up, just kind of waved dismissively. Harumph! I terrain-followed down to the 420 launch and went in to land. The flag and sock showed SE, so I prepared for a right-hand approach and just before turning WNW I saw the flat yellow flag farther out showing SW with the others still SE. I turned right and decided to split the difference and came in heading straight south, expecting no-wind, which was what I found, flaring at 13:10.

A lot of physical work to stay up, but it was really a lot of fun too. Being completely alone in the air helped.

I understand that it wasn't much better for the afternoon pilots. I guess the high pressure and the stability I was expecting yesterday actually settled in today.

Gusting to maybe 15 at Crestline at 15:00. Forecast was for morning clouds with upper level high pressure beginning to settle in. No clouds at 8:30 A.M. Air somewhat hazy.

Launched the F 225 at 15:25. Got up a couple of hundred to the west, lost it going to launch, repeat. Scratched up the spine west of launch and sank at launch again. BB wasn't quite happening and I had a slow glide out to Regionals in headwind and sink. Bumps at Regionals and Cloud. Worked a dust devil close to the hill below Marshall, with a PG above. We climbed in tight circles as the core slowly widened and merged with others. It petered out a bit right over the top at about 4,400 MSL. I probed downwind a couple of hundred yards and found it or another core that I gleefully rode like a bucking bronco to 5,700 and left it on glide for Crestline. Still not all that, back there. BB starting to work. It was about 15:50. Thought for a moment to try for Pine from 5,400 but regained sanity. Headed for Regionals and flew as straight a line as possible as a tandem approached overhead from my NE. Zippy yelled 'Hi Ken!' as they passed just over my wing.

At Regionals I turned for Marshall, intending to top land. The windsock looked steady and I was dropping through 4,200 about 1/4 mile out. I decided to go directly to the back and a turn to final instead of getting there and climbing a bit before my usual big 360 approach. I dropped as time to turn came and I had little time to pull on extra speed. I landed on the steep part down just above the cluster of single bushes and scraped my left knee/shin on dirt and pebbles. Not much blood, but my white shorts were a mess at the hem. I found an abandoned water bottle on top to wash the scratches and pant leg.

After top landing I stood around BSing for about 25 minutes then launched from the top into a strong SW cycle. The brush is somewhat tall but I was well clear of it. Lots of wings in the sky now. I descended to near the 750, climbed slowly toward Marshall, reaching 3,800 before I dove across to the south spine. Was soon by the 750 again. Caught another and worked it to 3,600 or so before deciding to just dive to the LZ and land while the traffic was still light.

Good SW breeze at the LZ, maybe peaking to 15 at ground level. I pretty much hovered down to the cone at 1:1, which was fun. Second flight was 25 minutes.

Igor landed his new T2 and reported a mid-air with a red HG at Billboard. No damage but there was a dark mark from a wire-strike on his inboard (Hydranet) LE. He was entering a thermal and a guy slightly above him hit him with a glancing blow, presumably while circling. Both flew away and kept flying until each felt like landing. I didn't hear the other guy's tale. Others reported that there had been at least nine HGs in the gaggle at BB. I don't know if others noticed the mid-air.

There was activity from the Big O launches early in the day and at least one later HG flight before I left at 17:00. Lots of pilots out, lots of vehicles down both sides of the parking lot. A good day of flying. Many commented on the occasional roughness of the air.

I had to stuff the bar to get down before Mike to get a pic of him landing DbyD's new T2C.
Great

I was at 5,700 six minutes after launch and dashed back to Crestline to check the Sport 2 175's VG tight glide and tracking. And just 'cause. At the LZ it was strong up everywhere. I worked a core over the bluffs waiting for the flags to show a decent landing cycle. I was passing through 3,300 so I stopped circling, to keep from getting too high to dive to catch a cycle if it came, and I climbed faster than I had circling near the hill. Cored 450 down south of the LZ to land and get another custom glider image.
Great. Good PP.

I popped right up from Marshall and went VG tight to Crestline, then Billboard, then Pine, then Regionals, all without slowing much or for long. Dusty was arriving at Pine as I left. I flew out over the college to lose altitude and came back to the Ranch at left-hand pattern altitude. As I got even with the north edge of the LZ grass I hit very strong sink. I banked steeply to the left for a quick 360° approach and was truly scared for a moment that I might drop too much to get back around into the wind. I landed heading south along the east edge of the LZ, about even with where I'd started my circle. Payback for fighting my way down through the lift earlier, I guess.

Pretty darn fun, overall.
Sweet. 72 thermals well VGT.

ODL-6 (Technora) see-through top surface, black, red, and silver BS. Geat looking glider, lots of comments. Flew well, minor adjustment for right turn.

No especially great climbs, but easy to stay up and zip from A to B. Had the camera out for the last half-hour, trying to get pix of gliders.


Great. Stiffer VGT than most T2s. Slight right turn, worse VGT. Twisted tips 1/2 ea. Lowered RT sprogs 1 ea.

Good

Good

Real good.

Good

Good. VdVGT>72

Good

Special BBQ honoring Owen Morse for his USHPA Presidential Citation, plus the (inagural) SoCal Regional HG Aerobatics Competition. Hot and light winds. Felt a cycle when I walked to launch, but waited. Then saw flags at LZ and on hillside going sideways, indicating thermal passing through) and felt light flow from behind me. Launched at next in cycle and did a few passes on the bluffs but sank to the LZ. Landed near the HG spot, no-stepper, heading SW.

Rode the Ranger to the 350 with Owen Morse and his T2C.
Light SW. Sledder right to the LZ. Good WSW landing, dropping in a bit. Bent right #1 batten slightly.

Got severely dehydrated hiking to the 750 to get my truck, despite having a Camelbak full of ice and water and 3.5 quarts of Gatorade in the truck.

While I was trying to deal with muscle cramps all over my body later the SoCal Regional HG Aerobatics Competition started. Tom Mayer stalled a wingover, side slipped and the glider broke. He spun in and didn't throw his parachute. He died either in the break-up or on Impact. Shortly after that Bill Soderquist had a sidewire snap during the pull-up for a loop. He and his keel separated from the sail and airframe. Bill threw his chute and survived, suffering broken ribs from the chute bridle crossing his body as the chute opened.

Early overcast and north, noon-ish switch and clearing. A few workable bumps at the bluffs. Right-hand approach. Concentrated on keeping speed up through final. Decent landing.
Good.

Soarable enough to test the glider thoroughly. Kept speed up again for final, good landing. PS said that on both landings I'd rounded-out too high off the ground, and I figure he was right.
Very good.

Still soarable. Speed up on final, lower to ground. Good no-stepper but was stiff-kneed and I felt the impact transmit from my heels all the way up my spine. Just took some ibuprofen, seven hours later, for the knot between my shoulders.
Good. Some BS flutter, left root. Tightened root battens.

Lift getting weaker due to high clouds filling in. Had a good 540 spin and a couple of OK wingovers. I kept my speed up and got closer to the deck for final and ahd a good landing. I have definitely been coming in too high (for switchy conditions, anyway).
Good (repaired sail)

Warm at the LZ but cool at Marshall. Saturday was offshore, Sunday had mid-day switch. Light cycles coming through, base wind 5-7.

Launched into a thermal and was joined by two HGs; three PGs already hovering, so went to Cloud vicinity for the space. Thermal from Regionals slowed at 4,800 but I drifted with it, repeatedly losing and finding the core. Got to almost 5,400 and was half-way to Crestline, so I went VGT and pointed east of launch. Not enough wind to just pop up the ridge when I got there but found thermals just a little out front of the ridge. Went to BB then SSW to the low spines W of Devil Canyon. Got to 5,200 so went for Pine. Nothing there but small bumps all the way back out the spine to the Afterbay. Got one at Last Chance and was soon at 4,500 above Regionals. Was up and down for a while all over Marshall. Plenty of thermals to work but they were poorly defined and required concentration to stay with. Was going to land after Hoffman (on a 195) but he kept getting back up from the bluffs. Got a nice core to 5,200 from low south of Marshall to east of Marshall. Lots of lift around the LZ so I cored sink to get down. Waited for a solid SW cycle to land in but it went 2-5 WNW when I was on final. Good landing anyway. Joel R. flew my 225 since his F3T was damaged.

Flew with my new Sansa Fuze mp3 player. Great sound and the increased variety of songs was nice (8Gig vs. 1Gig on the MuVo). Had been planning to listen to Classical but put it on the bouncy rock/pop playlist before launch. When working to establish in weaker cores near the terrain I was pulling the left earphone out so I could hear my vario.

Managed to scratch a few circles over the east bowl. I did a one-cycle L-R roll oscillation just before flare, which I held back on and so had to put the glider down hard on the basetube a bit beyond the PG spot.
Good

Replace #1 and tip bag. Use cinch velcros mid.

No wind for landing. Put the thing on the basetube with a thud.


Replace tip bags w/thicker.

Waited at launch briefly for a cycle and launched into lift for a few circles, then Cloud Peak. Had some 450 FPM up on the averager, slowing down to 100-200 FPM at 4800 MSL and petering out just above 4900. Wnet over Marshall and back to Regionals on a VGT speed run, then lower, and found there were thermals all over the place.

Hung out over the bluffs for a long time because I didn't want to land the T2C in no wind or worse. Finally saw a little S cycle and dove it in. Heading upwind before D-B-F I saw the flags and sock go limp. Just S of the LZ my vario beeped in the offending thermal as I turned to downwind. Used up a lot of the LZ on final and put her down hard on the skids.
Slight left turn. Twisted tips 1/2 and 1/2.

The solid onshore wind had arrived and there were some high clouds casting larger areas of shade here and there. Still plenty soarable.

Breezy from launch altitude all the way down to the bluffs, but mostly still when I got out over the LZ. Maybe puffing 3-5 S while I was on final. Took a few steps and set it down hard on the basetube again.
Slight left turn, just like 40176. Twisted tips 1/2 and 1/2..

Thicker tip bags.

Quite breezy WSW at Regionals for launch and between the breeze and the high clouds that had settled over us, few thermals. Got one SE of the 750 at about 2750 MSL and drifted with it all the way to just south of Marshall Peak over many minutes. Went VGT and headed for Regionals, losing 100-125 feet overall along the way. It was all going up at that altitude.

Strong and steady wind at the LZ. I did a mellow approach intending to aim SW to the PG cone. The flags were showing less W and I wasn't slowing in the headwind as much as I expected, so I veered a little more S while turning to final and slowed my airspeed a bit. As I passed the shade structure I gave a little right correction and when it kicked in I couldn't stop it, and then it was time to flare. I did a mini ground loop onto the right LE, taking out the right downtube, scraping my shins on the back edge of the carbon basetube and slamming my left knee into the ground. No bleeding but I had a pretty good charlie horse just above the left knee all evening. Glider undamaged except for the downtube.

Not at all a good day for me in the landing department.

A few days later I spoke w/MM and he related that he and SP had noticed I've been slowing down quite a bit on most landings after turning to final.
Good

Replace RT dtube.

Breezier at the 410 today, and cycles rolling through the LZ and up to the bluffs. Took a good cycle for launching and found mild sink in front of the bluffs. Was down to 200 AGL quickly and had a good landing heading south.

While loading the Falcon onto the Ranger (front, tail to wind in LZ) for the second ride up, John got a phone call after setting the keel in the slot on top of the cage and I was strapping down the basetube. John stepped down to answer the phone and grab the wheel I'd removed but he hadn't secured the keel. A cycle came at that moment and the glider went over onto its nose, secured to the front platform by one strap on the left side. The glider was fine except the left half of the folding basetube got bowed from the force. OK to fly since there was no crease and the basetube is under tension in flight. Lesson learned - secure the keel and hook up the 'Oh Crap Strap' from the hang loop to the roll cage immediately on loading the wing onto the Ranger. My Falcon has a 64+4 basetube and the outboard Hall wheels, so the overall width is just barely wider than the platform, the centerlines of the wheels sit on the edges of the platform, which is why I took one off and let the other hang off the platform, so the basetube was resting square on the surface.

I waited on launch for a few minutes while we speculated about what was going on with thermals between us and the LZ. After a long lull I launched and went right. There was lift right there and I came back just above launch height. After a 180 just west of launch and another east of launch, John launched his U2, surprising the shit out of me. I was only 125 feet above him or so and the bluffs were right there. Trying to circle back into the thermal I saw he was right under me and rising, so I went west a little to let him pass, then I was below him and the core was jumping around. I had another chance at 200 AGL by the training hill when my vario beeped and I saw the tree directly below me jumping around, but a 360 cost me altitude so I went in for another south heading approach to a good no-stepper near the HG cone.

John landed a few minutes later and then he went back up to the Embree launch (~380 AGL) and after a good ten minutes of scratching back and forth he was on his way above the 750 when I left.

John Wright's wing. The first time the Ranger was loaded with two hang gliders for the trip up the Big O Loop to the 410-foot launch. I launched in a weak cycle and ran hard. Turned left and should have turned right - that's where the cycle was after I did a 180 and went back past launch. Did a few passes btu there wasn't much wind and only bug-fart thermals. Scratched above the training hill then went in for a good south-heading landing after 3-4 minutes.

Great fun to arrive at launch with a set-up wing and just don the harness! Jonathan Dietch flew his T2 just after I flew and managed to scratch fora good ten minutes before coming down and landing. We were both stoked.

John had mentioned a couple of times that his glider has a mild right turn, especially VGT. I was VGL the whole flight and couldn't feel any turn.

John Wright's wing again. From gliders on the ground next to the ranger to gliders on the ground at launch took 13.5 minutes. There was a high cloud layer shading the whole area and little wind. Jonathan launched and scratched. He sank in a sink cycle after a few passes and the breeze was good for launching as he sank. I waited out a long switchy lull and took the next solid in-cycle. I launched right into sink, so the hypothesis is that when there's a good breeze on launch that the thermal is behind you, sucking the air past launch. I had a good approach and flared while a bit higher off the ground than my usual, but it was time to flare and I landed with a gentle two-stepper.

Both of my flights on John's U2 were way too short to evaluate whether it has a turn; it certainly doesn't have a strong turn. Based on that and John's later statement that it really only manifests when VGT, I lowered each of his right sprogs one turn. I'm eager to hear whether John feels the turn next time he flies the U2.

Wow! I wasn't even expecting it to be flyable today - maybe a small launchable window before sunset. I got word in the morning that there was going to be a 13:45 shuttle to Crestline, so I signed on.

It was blowing like 18 when we got there to find a trio of PG pilots evaluating conditions and getting their gear ready and Rebar Dan with some topless wing mostly setup. We parked our HGs carefully for setup due tot he wind. Gene launched his PG and was inching around and the PG pilots wisely decided to head down to Marshall.

Dan launched and went up. Rob McKenzie launched with Trish Kells tandem (RK final flight) and went up. John D. was getting readings in the low 20s standing on the ramp. I launched a Sport 2 155 and went up, very glad to have Di on the nose wires for the walk to the ramp. I was boating around 500-800 over and watched John D. launch a Falcon, and then Kim Floyd launched a Falcon. Rob took Trish over to BB and Devil Canyon, then Regionals. I went more or less straight to Marshall and then around a little and did some wingovers and couldn't spin it from the basetube, but had a solid one from the downtubes, then dove Dakota on the 750 with his PG and then skimmed the bluffs and landed into breezy WSW for a 25 minute flight. Got a good bump at 250 AGL over the parking lot heading into my left-hand approach. I had another glider to fly and had checked out the 750 and the bluffs because I wanted to fly it from the 750.
Good. VdVGT=58

Dakota and I went to the 750, with Trish to drive my truck back down. Thanks Trish! It was quite west and I launched the Sport 2 175 going about 45 degrees cross-slope at 16:25. Got over the spine to the west without much rotor and a thermal was being driven right up that draw. It didn't really get stronger and I bailed from it ENE of the 750 and went west, but the western faces of the main spine weren't working back in the canyon. I was soon over the draw again and another core came through, stronger, and I stuck with it. Up and up 200-500 FPM and eventually I took it to 6,850 just north of Marshall, for a 4,400 foot gain in one thermal.

There were lots of PGs and HGs parked at various altitudes in the Marshall vicinity.

I was in shirtsleeves and light gloves and it wasn't uncomfortable up there, unlike Tuesday when I was freezing at 5000 MSL. Went across Regionals and over to Pine "the front way", but it wasn't really happening there - the grass on the spines wasn't even moving. I arrived at 4,600 and thought I'd really like some altitude before crossing back to Regionals. A 150 FPM core invited me back to its lair in Devil Canyon, and I strung it along to 5k before bailing out to the Afterbay and across to Last Chance. It was now about 17:00 and there were lots of shadows on the ground from high distant cloud sheets.

Got above the 750 again and it was still real west and another thermal came
up from that draw SW of the 750. Milked and milked it up to east of Cloud and then did lots of passes on the west face of Marshall to finally get over the top. Dove for the LZ again and found it west with a dash of north there, probably blowing 12-15. Did a wide left-hand approach from the EENE and even yawed it a little more right as I neared the HG cone. Had a gentle one-stepper in the breeze for a solid one hour flight.

It sounded like most of the crowd had fun in the air, and I really had fun, especially considering I'd written the day off for flying.
Nice handling. Well assembled. (I built it 5/12/10)

Pretty windy at Regionals. 15 at least when we arrived, then it built a bit and was gusty with barely a lull. Mike stood on the road for many minutes with the Falcon 3 Tandem. I was in his wind shadow trying not to grind the T2C 154's carbon basetube on the rocks in the road while I kept the nose down. In the air it was fine. Freezing at 5,100 with no gloves or jacket. I was just below the 750 (2,450 MSL) over the bluffs and I saw my vario was reading 2,575 or so - I'd forgotten to set it to launch altitude before flying. I quickly set it to about 2,350 or so, just because, and after landing it read 1,692.

I landed after only 15 minutes in the air so we could get up for the second round before it got too windy. A bit bumpy at the LZ but mostly just windy. I expected quite a gradient and there was. I was dropping like I'd miss the grass, then shot forward to nearly even with the HG cone for a one-step side-stepper. We would have been fine for a second round from the 750, but it was sure looking like the wind in the LZ would keep building, so it was a good safe call to skip it.

Big O Loop - John Wright Has His Way With It

We took his assembled U2 up the road on the Ranger and John flew from the lower "PG" launch and got up over Marshall. See his forum post. Congrats John!

PG Reserve Ride

While we were setting up at Regionals we got a call from the LZ that there might be a PG down below Marshall. None of us saw anything while flying. Another pilot who was flying HG when we arrived at Regionals saw the event and later he and Dakota (who had flown PG from Marshall) and a couple of others were getting ready to drive over to the canyon below Marshall to look for the guy when someone spotted him arriving by foot with his pack at the NE corner of the Airpark.

I didn't get his name; tall skinny dark-haired guy I'd seen for the first time at the LZ on Saturday. He said he'd had three full-stalls in a row and the third time the glider came back overhead and then eye-level in front of him it was a twisted strand of fabric, so he threw his reserve. He landed gently on a slope well below Marshall "straight up from the pool and concrete pad" with his wing below him, tangled in brush, and his reserve upslope from him in the wind, so he had taut lines going both directions and he was sort of pinned and slowly slipping downslope. The inflated reserve kept him from going over the cliff right away.
Nice handling, even VGT. Vd VGT>=72

Yeah that was some fun air. Not 'lift everywhere', but solid cores weren't hard to find. I launched the US 166 from Marshall at 15:15 and the thermals there were drifting back faster than they were going up, so I went to Cloud Peak. Just below there I got one that went up 300-600 FPM, slowing briefly around 5,100 MSL. I decided getting to 5,600 before heading back to Crestline would make for a comfortable glide. At 5,600 I went VG tight and headed north. By halfway to Crestline I was at 5,800, then hit 5,895, then dropped a bit and was back at 5,900 as I passed over Crestline launch - all just flying straight.

Went to Pine, which wasn't so great in the south wind, then Regionals and Marshall, then back to Crestline from 5,600 again, and Pine again. At Pine I worked the peak a few hundred over, drifting north along the rear spine but not gaining much. Those big trees look cool from that low angle. Back at the peak again and a stronger core got me to 6,000 over the north end of the spine.

I tentatively went to the spine to the west, with the power lines, and took a long-lasting but weak core back to the east-west ridge. It was pretty windy and I thought the run from Sugarpine back to Pine could be sketchy if I got low, so I headed back out to Pine over the deepest part of that canyon - the sinkiest area of all :)

Popped back up in front of Pine, went to Regionals, thinking about landing, but I hit that solid core Jack mentioned above (I saw him down there but didn't know who it was) and dashed back to Crestline and then back out over Cal State. Cored a little sink to get down and land into a sweet 12 MPH SW breeze for one of those landings that feels like stepping off a curb. Nice end to 2:15 of kick-back airtime.

Dusty and Kathy had the grill going and I had a great burger and ear of corn after I packed up my glider - thanks guys!

A clear day in the high 80's with a steady breeze from the south and plenty of insolation. Soarable but not fast climbs. Scratching at the bluffs, I saw a good SE cycle at the LZ, so I dove for it, only to spot Steve at pattern altitude (eye level) off the SE corner; I'd last seen him high over Last Chance. He did a left-hand and I did right-hand approach, so plenty of room. I thought I was going to go long but flared to a no-stepper with the PG cone beneath my right wingtip.
Trim appx. 23 but otherwise great. Left KP in middle holes. KLH built

Even more breeze at Regionals. I walked to the edge of the road, took one step down the slope and then trotted off the hill. Worked a weak one with Mike below Cloud Peak but couldn't get it. Found a core heading NNW over the bowl and milked that one to 4,200 northwest of Regionals. Dove to Cloud VGT and hit a boomer to 4,500, then Marshall and then down to the LZ. Flags were pointing east and finally decided to just deal with that, but it went to no wind during my pattern and I did a south-heading final to a landing between the cones, putting the basetube down solidly on the skids and was OK with that.
Great. VdVGT=72 nice handling. Mylar TS.

Same breeze at Regionals, so another quick launch. Ended up low at Last Chance and thought maybe the big cement pad at the tunnel exit would kick off a thermal. It did, and I got up to 4,000. Did some speed runs and wingovers. Was down by the LZ at 13:50 and there was lift breeaking off all over. I wanted to land first and get pictures of the others. Saw the socks showing solid south, so stuffed the bar for a big, steep pattern. At 400 AGL over the parking lot my glider got rocked and pitched and yawed and rolled and quiet, so I did a 180 to the lift and climbed out to 4,200 (still above the LZ) to relax. I haven't been that startled in the air in a long time. Must have been the edge of a dust devil. Kept thinking "When the ground is repelling you, don't land."
I cored sink to the LZ and saw weak south that went to nothing as I was on my downwind. I slowed as much as I dared on final and prepared for a hard flare. It actually puffed from the north at the last second, but a good hard flare meant I only went to my knees after one step and set the glider down hard on the basetube skids. Again, that was about the best I could have gotten out of that situation, so it was OK.
Good. KLH built

Still and grey, supposed to rain after 11 PM. Good launch from the 750 in a little cycle. A few puffs to slow the descent in. Diving right-hand approach, my first since the RV pads at the Ranch were roughed in. They loom a little but aren't in the way. Was going a little past the PG spot in 1-2 MPH SE and flared as a wing dropped due to an earlier (unneeded) roll correction. Put the glider on the right LE, not too hard.

Greyer down low, some cycles from the S. Good launch at Regionals and scratched down the front of Cloud Peak. Did a left-hand approach to S essentially no wind and flared with the right wing dropping and whacked. Folex took the grass stains off the nose cone.

I called it a day. I've had a bad cold since the 19th, and yesterday I thought I wouldn't be flying today. This morning I felt pretty good after a good night's sleep (finally), so I went. Launching and flying were fine, but I was obviously lagging and out of synch on the landings. I didn't take any cold medicine this AM, but I only had two cups of coffee.
Good. Very slight L turn. Twisted RT up 1

replace RT Dtube.

Nice Spring day with cumies forming and disspating quickly, base rising from 4100 or so (looks cool on the day's web cam time lapse). Switchy but very light at the 750. Mike got above launch for a bit. I did a right-hand approach but it switched east as I turned to final, so I zig-zagged and came in from over the Airpark sign.
Good

I heard my vario a few times while scratching the bluffs. Did a left-hand w/extended base leg to an approach heading SSE. Won the spot (8 feet).

Rod Clark's new U2. I bought his US 166 a couple of years ago. I sent him a cell-phone pic of it from Regionals. It flew great. Thermals everywhere, halting about 4,600 MSL; cloudbase a bit above that. Took some in air photos, mostly of the ground due to the camera's lag, but got a couple of nice shots showing two gliders. Also got some shots of the work at XC Ranch.
No wind at all for my landing; put it down on the basetube skids, gently.
Great. Vd VGT=62 Good PP. Rod Clark's.

Blowing pretty cross from the right at Regionals. I pointed my glider right a little and spotted a trio of vultures crossing right-to-left in a thermal. Thought I'd launch and join them, but I wasn't yawed right enough and my right wing popped up. Skimmed the bushes in a bank, veering left. That's what I get for not concentrating. Steve was behind me and he said he didn't notice.

Still plenty soarable but slammed into the inversion at 4,700. Got some more in-air photos.

Waited out a north cycle at the LZ, circling and circling at 600 AGL. It went to no wind and I dove in to an approach mid-field from the east, expecting a puff from the north at any moment. Ran and set this one down on the basetube skids too.
Good. Vd VGT=67 TT 25-28

Windy pre-frontal with a mild storm expected Sunday night. Wind 25+ at Crestline while I was up there getting the webcam going. Simba wouldn't talk to the LAN, however, so still no weather data. At Marshall it was 12-15 and, thinking it could get windier later, I decided not to launch there and top land. Could have flown down and cadged a ride up for my truck, but didn't want to do that. Drove to the 750, planning to hike up to retrieve the truck, and found Bruce and Wally there with Bruce's rigid wing still on the roof. Wind was 8-12 SW at the 750. I started setting up immediately with a handful of hang gliders soaring easily well overhead. Bruce took his time sertting up, since he now had a wind dummy.

Had an easy launch at 15:15 and there was enough wind that I could stay just above the bluffs by working every tiny little surge for all it was worth. A couple of tiny thermals weren't enough to stay in and I ran from sink to the eastern SW-facing draw, where a boomer came through and I gained 800 feet in a few crank 'n bank turns. I drifted with it in larger circles up the east side of Cloud, getting above the other wings and circling over Rob, who'd gotten under me with his tandem.

I worked another thermal up to 5,800+ MSL before deciding the cold wasn't worth it. I was wearing shorts and short sleeves, no gloves. Cloudbase appeared to be 300-500 feet higher (there weren't many clouds left; crestline had been socked in a t Noon). I'll take a 3,400 foot gain from the 750 any day. I did some wingovers and headed for Last Chance, then just flew upwind, drifting over the Afterbay. I considered heading for Pine but didn't want to have to fight a headwind home and it had been strong SE up high earlier. Coming back to Last Chance across the mouth of Devil Canyon I had a crab angle 70-80 degrees right of my direction of travel!

Went back to Marshall and etc., then got over the 750, thinking maybe if the wind was up but it wasn't too turbulent I'd try landing there (never done it with a hang glider). Bruce had launched and Wally was gone. Had to kind of fight my way down, with some other gliders nearby going back and forth. It was too bouncy at the 750, but I did a fairly low pass over it.

I decided that it would be good to hike from the LZ to the 750 via the XC ranch road and across virgin brush, since the plan is to cut a trail there eventually, so I started studying the slopes to pick a possible general path that would avoid any really thick clumps of brush. It sure looks different from 100 feet over vs. 400 feet over.

I had a good SW landing just past the HG spot in 12 MPH or so, then talked to some pilots and broke the glider down. Wally had brought my bags to the LZ.

The hike to the 400 launch took 15 minutes, including a pause at the mid-level launch on the road. From the 400 I was able to easily hike up according to plan. The bushes are small and the clumps easy to avoid. It was a neat mental exercise/experience translating the overhead view into the ground perspective. It only took 10 minutes to get to the remnants of the dirt road below the 750, even though I was stopping and looking around constantly. From the road it was 4 minutes to my truck, so that was a minute or two faster than hiking Timmy's established trail up the spines to the east.

Faez had hiked to the 350 launch with his PG and flew just after I landed. He was landing his 3rd flight from there for the day about the time I was loading my glider on my truck at the LZ. Lots of pilots flew and everyone had a good time, some going up the ridge as far as Santa's Village and back.

South cycles to 5 MPH at the 750. Some beeps from the vario. Steve got above launch with a Falcon 3.
Good

It was blowing straight from the east about 10 MPH. I had a two-stepper off the new east launch at the 750; I think I'm the first to launch there. Steve launched there after walking over from the regular south launch, and Mike used it too. Mike reported 'scraping the brush', as he'd had little wind. The launch ramp is really too short as yet for any but windy launches, but if it's that light there's no reason not to use the regular launch.

I had a great no-stepper landing in 8 MPH south, next to the PG spot, that was just how I'd like to land every time.
Good.

Got to fly one of the Falcon 3s painted like a hawk for the cancelled Dubai project. Pretty cool looking glider, better from a distance. The paint doesn't look like it will last all that long.
Good. Dubai painted.

Breezy 12-18 at Regionals from the SSE. Got above launch in two passes. Climbed to 5150 and, due to finding a little lift to slow down in for the second half of the trip, lost no altitude going downwind to Crestline. The McKenzie bus wasn't there - they'd gotten out, seen the gusts to 26, and decided to drive down to Marshall. I popped up easily in the bowl west of launch in the stiff breeze. Flew past the BNSF crew at their new antenna tower and then got to Marshall as the bus arrived. Fought down to 200 above launch but it was too bouncy for a close fly-by VGT.

Over the LZ at 3,500 MSL I could see the flags hanging slack and then popping briefly in various directions while lift broke off all around the LZ. I waited and waited for a strong steady cycle and finally dove in for a weak but steady S cycle. I was going to bleed off my speed on downwind but I kept it on through the turn to final because of turbulence near the ground, so I landed about the middle of the LZ.
TT to 37 VGT. Good PP VdVGT.

Still good and soarable. New sail on an older T2 frame. Flew well.
Good. Vd VGT>72 good PP past mid-stuff. Pete Lehmann new sail on old frame.

Still windy but the thermals were mellowing out a bit. Buzzed the crowd standing on Marshall, pretty low, then buzzed Di and a student with a Falcon at the lower launch and did a wingover out front. Dove hard for the LZ and found Steve in the pattern, not sure it was him. We landed one-two heading WSW, he at the HG spot, me between the spots.
Good

Glassy, with pilots still out above the LZ at eye level. I sank down to the 750 vicinity and maintained altitude in a series of light bubbles. Mike got way up with a U2 145. I was in a good breeze heading SW from the top of the training hill but didn't expect the profound wind gradient and barely reached the north edge of the grass before flaring.
Good

Light east at the 750 when we arrived, more south by launch time. Not quite happening yet but it was clearly going to be lifty and breezy. Landed with the HG cone directly behind my harness, didn't let the basetube touch.
Good. Won spot, 1 foot. KLH built.

Breezy SE at Regionals, good lift here and there. Spotted the new gate as I sank past it, climbed up and got a couple of pictures of it before accidentally opening the battery cover on the camera and watching a battery fall away. Bumpy on final but OK in ground effect. Found an old AA cell for the camera and put tape on the cover.
Good. KLH built.

Left DT blem - replace. Replace bag - irreg zipper near nose. Zipper failed later when packing the gliders.

Breezy SE at Regionals but I got down by the 750 before finding anything workable. Cored a thermal from well above the Embry launch across the canyon and up to Regionals - fast NW drift. Sharp edges and in sink when not in lift. By the time I was thinking it was time to land I was climbing to 4,300 MSL S of the LZ. Dove hard from 3,200 to get to a solid-looking S cycle for landing but it turned E and then zero when I got to approach altitude. Did an extra long base to a SE heading approach, just in case. The strong S resumed as I walked the glider across the LZ.
Great. Vd VGT>72, light pitch well at mid-stuff but good at full-stuff.

Slightly grey spring day after a cold night. A thin, high, barely-there layer; some cumulus clouds were forming at about the 6k MSL level mid-afternoon. SW 10-15 at Marshall, cool enough for a light coat but OK without it. I waited for a cycle and launched the US 166 from the top at 16:25 with a good run. The cycle was petering out and I got some extra steps in after starting to fly and skimmed the slope about 4' AGL until the hill fell away.

Found a thermal right away at the windsock pole and drifted with it to 5,700 MSL NE of the peak - probably could have gone with it to the 18/138 interchange, but I went for Crestline, arriving at 5150 and skimming in the ridge lift right to launch. Got to 5,800 at Billboard and pulled the VG tight to go to Pine, climbing to 6k in the first 100 yards. Cloudbase looked to be 6,500 or 7,000 at that point. It was cold. I had on shorts and a t-shirt and had opted for the cycling gloves instead of the ski gloves.

Pine was working, but I wanted to descend and warm up. Tried to get under a cloud way out in front of Pine, but with all the sink I decided to turn left at the Afterbay. Wisconsin Paul had appeared high, from the BB area, and he got under the cloud and spiraled up.

Lots of moderately strong cores all over the Marshall complex, but I kept diving when I'd hit 5k or so - getting pretty chilled. It looked like cloudbase was slowly dropping. Got out over Kendall drive at 4k, looking for sink, but I found lift. Good solid WSW at the LZ and I had a decent landing at 17:45.

Everyone had gotten chilly while flying. Paul didn't say anything about the cold. Leo Bynum was in town and flew his LiteSport. Mitch flew the wing he's put together using an old almost unused T2 sail and a salvaged T2 frame with XC leading edges. Still has a turn, he says. I didn't see his aerobatics, but he had smoke, and RC Dave was filming. RC got Dusty doing some nice spins with his 225 Falcon. Dave also got my landing, and zoomed on my face while I carried the glider - I looked remarkably like my Dad...

Rod Clark ground handled a PG and flew off the end of the LZ. In front of his sons, no less.

Good

Total sledder. 1/2 MPH tail for landing. Ran hard.
Good

Great. TT to 31

Nice and lifty. Was over the LZ at 4k, took a couple of pictures in the crystal clear air over the bright green hills. Another no-wind landing. Ran and set the glider down hard on the basetube skids and felt good about it.
TT to 31. Slight left tendency. Twisted 1/2 each.

Sunny onshore day, somewhat warm. Went to the 750 with Mark Hoffman. A couple of PGs sank off Marshall and a couple sank and climbed while we were setting up. There was a cycle when I got to launch so I just went. Got the thermal to the west and had a blast scratching in close and cranked up on a wingtip. Lots of drift and I got to 3k but over that east chasm it got weaker and I declined chasing it into the canyon below Marshall. Worked hard below the bluffs but it wasn't looking good so I landed before the descending crowd above got in the way. 17 minutes, a lot of fun.

I drove the first round, about Noon. Cloud cover 50% and filling in, Light S breeze with thermals making it switchy; soarable at Marshall.
At 13:00 Cumies were forming over the mountains, 65% cloud cover. Wind SE to SW 3-10 MPH.
No wind at launch with a hawk circling out front. Cycle came and found lift where the hawk had been. Did a few passes over Marshall then went to Cloud Peak. Found 200 FPM lift right over the point and it went straight up. When I got to 5k MSL it was averaging 500 FPM and I saw a dome of mist way above me. Kept circling and getting very cold. By the time I reached cloudbase, 6400 MSL, the lift was averaging 800 up and the dome had become a solid cloud, so I ran SE to the edge and climbed about 100 feet up the side. The cycling gloves let most of my fingers go numb, so I dove to Marshall full tight, full stuff; turned 180 and dove for the LZ. Flags at the LZ showed wind from the NW and I climbed in the responsible thermal back to 3500. Cored sink over the paved road and had lift all the way back to the LZ, where it was weak SE. Dove on in to an approach heading S expecting to land crosswind and running but it was nil wind on final so I flared and jogged a few steps.
Felt so much better after the flight I realized just how grumbly I'd been for days.
Good. VD VGT=59

Solid cloud bank over the valley, 60% cover to the NE. Puffs of S to 3 MPH. Seemed like a completely different day. Vario beeped a couple of times but nothing to work. A basic sledder to a SW nil wind landing that just happened to be 15 feet east of the PG cone.
I drove for the last round and at 16:00 on Marshall the cloud bank was still over the valley but it was clear overhead and to the NE. The upper north flow had started. Wind was coming up the NW face at 5 MPH (launchable) but Mike and Steve opted to go down to the SW launch, where it was crossing in without big bushes in the way. No wind at the LZ at all by 17:00.
Good

Cloudbase at about 3k MSL and shifting up and down, 95% coverage. Wind 1-3 MPH, SE to SW. Forecast said chance of rain by 4 PM.

Waited out a down/cross cycle or two then had a good launch and sledder to a right hand approach and landed inside the PG circle.
Ship

Cloudbase lifted to just off Regionals, more sunny spots. Steady SE breeze meant I had to turn the glider during set-up. Another sledder to a right hand approach. A bump of lift over the grass meant I landed 20 feet past the PG circle.
Good

Window on glider bag - opening reversed. Mid-keel sock poor stitching - replace.

Cloubase well above Marshall, more sunny areas. Had a great time scratching right in front of launch and at the bluffs, finding lift over the sunny spots. Finally got to 3k MSL at about the 18 minute mark. Right hand approach to a landing 10 feet past the PG cone.
Good

Clouds filling in again. Timed launch for when a sunny spot was hitting the bluffs, but there were only puffs of lift and the sunny holes closed up. Another right hand approach to a landing with my left foot next to the PG cone, right foot a shoulder's width farther right.

A weird gust came through and jostled the folded-up gliders standing on their basetubes. Later, Steve landed his T2C heading ENE after a long cycle of winds from every direction. Got photos of various landings and tested gliders.
Good

A little high overcast, light S at the 750 at 9 AM. No workable lift. Right hand approach to a bit past the PG cone.


Rotate top rear wire. See Mike.

Right hand approach. Slight tail puff on landing; no problem.

Cool at Regionals, 5-10 MPH S wind.
Scratched east of the 750 for quite a few turns for zero net loss. Three-stepper into S 4 at the LZ, almost tripped on the cone.
Good

Lightly soarable, especially in the bowl way out front of Regionals for some reason. Dave Aldrich had a video camera on a tripod while we set up. I did some lowish passes VG3/4 and VGT, probably not close/low enough.

I snapped some shots of the Big O Loop from higher up than last time and took some more of the tested gliders lined up in the LZ, trying to find that balance between low enough for good shots and high enough to put the camera away and do my approach. We'll see how they look.

Zero wind for landing and carried more speed than I wanted on ground skim. Ran and put basetube down, kept nose clean.
Sweet

Needs keel placard.

Proper bag

Still a couple of inches of snow at Crestline setup area. Chilly, light SW breeze, some high clouds moving in. Good launch and came back at launch height, so went to Billboard. Got under a gaggle and climbed through to cloudbase, 6700 MSL, in a couple of minutes. Pine was soarable but no great shakes. Flew from Crestline to Marshalll and then a little east and ended up down by the 750 at the 50 minute mark, wanting to get a solid hour, at least. Scratched a little core over the bluffs and was then right above a PG. We circled together in it and then another core, slowly slowly working to above the 750. The core left or moved and I worked very hard in another up to the East bowl by Cloud Peak. Flew over Marshal again then out to the LZ to land. NW cycle when I was 250 AGL, but I boated in the micro-core enough for the wind to turn SW and went in for a 3-stepper about 10 feet West of the HG cone at 15:15.

Fun flight, lots of happy pilots. I found lots of 300-500 FPM lift while up at Crestline and Pine. Down below Marshall it was 20-200 FPM for the most part, though that one next to Cloud did hit 500 FPM for a few half-turns.

Good

Good

Good. TT to 28 VGT.

Good

Good

Good

Great

Nice. Arrow straight at VdVGT (70+)

Good.