Ken Howells Hang Gliding & Paragliding Flight Log

(from GoPro video) Nice end-of-year flight.

(from old folder) Launched from the top and flew around for a little while. Top landed.

Brief period of midday SW flow. Once I got several hundred feet below Marshall there was nothing wide enough to circle in. Almost no wind down low. Good landing.

Good. No obvious turns. Light S at launch. Left tip dropped hard on first step. All I could do to pull it level. Took off at 45 degrees to fall line, skimming bushes. Glider fine in the air. Good landing into 1-3 SW well short of HG cone.

Nice. VdVGT=45. Clearer with high thin haze. Cores 200+ FPM but very narrow; multiple weak inversion layers. Got over Marshall, did some wingovers. Getting over a cold but no pressure issues. Good landing into SW with a few steps.

Good. #8 battens might be a tenth or so short. OK with levers turned out. Very light winds at launch. Sledder. Right-hand approach to a nice no-stepper just short of the PG cone.

Good. #8a short also (ok). Almost sunset, Sun behind clouds in the horizon. Wind dropped to zero while seeing up; felt a tickle of north just before hooking in. Ran hard, good launch. Flags slack but on S sides of poles. Came in fast from ENE to avoid a possible sudden tail cycle. No wind, good solid flare. Cooled off very abruptly as we packed the gliders.

Good. A little bit stiff at trim. Mylar TS. Clear and warm. Pre-pre-frontal. Scratchable. Good Landing into S 5 17 feet short of HG come.

Nice. Soarable. Good landing just past PG cone after right-hand approach to SSW final.

Windy, gusting over 20. Tandem with Mike Meier, shooting certification video for the F4T. Vd test at full load. Short flight, I launched and did the landing, one Vd test. Went wide on approach, just made the NE corner. Good no-stepper landing.

Gusting to 18 at Crestline, ridge soarable. Thermals weak and hard to track or get much out of but no problem station up. Sank once we got below 3k. Katya-s parents gave her a tandem and training hill lesson for her 15th birthday. We flew from Crestline and shortly into the flight she asked if we could stay up as long as possible. Music to my ears! We had a nice 40-minute flight. I didn-t know she was going to the training hill until after we landed. Neither did she. Nice November day with LOTS of pilots out enjoying the break from the north winds.

So today's flight was interesting, with the mid-day switch from north to southwest winds. I launched from 4,000' Marshall Peak at 1:40 and climbed steadily to 6,000 MSL, finding the north wind layer above 5,000 feet. Got to 7k a little later and boated around between 6 and 8 for an hour-forty, lots of times feeling like I was ridge soaring in the north wind as it flowed up and over the airmass from the southwest. Spent time high above the radio towers and above Waterman Canyon, just looking around. My truck was on Marshall Peak, so I wanted to land there. The video shows clear vistas, especially northwards, but is actually very repetitive. So here's just the top landing.

Good. Vt=18-20 all VG. Warm, 40% overcast. Scratched close below Cloud and once I cleared Cloud it turned on, better above 5k; got from 5k to 6k very quickly. Tagged Crestline then stuffed the bar for Regionals. Did a couple of wingovers above Jonathan then landed nicely into SW 8.

Good.

Good. VdVGT=54 Vt stable. Crossing from right for a long time. Launched into the thermal just west of launch and it takes easy along the backside of the ridge all the way east of Cloud Peak. Got to 5,200 in the bowl behind Marshall. Good SW to land into, good flare short of the HG cone.

Switch day, warm. Very small chores snaking up the hillsides. Fun scratching up from below the 750. No wind at the LZ, tried to wait for a cycle. Flags showed puffs off south, easy streamer showed east. Got lifted passing south near the cone then pushed out to flare but got no rotation in pitch. Ran and stumbled, whacked, left downtube folded out even though I want touching it.

Replace left downtube, clean nosecone, possibly replace.

Good. Vt=19,20,22,25,28 VdVGT=65. Crossing from left at launch for a few minutes then in. Active air. First thermal wide and 400-1000 up. Left it at 5k and flew over the crowd at Marshall. Wingovers. Buzzed Marshall. Lift all around the LZ, watched the windsock do a 360. Saw flags showing good south so I dove down. Stuffing the bar through lift on downwind, lots of steering on final, swinging legs. Ran out landing well past cone.

Good. Scratched close to Mike and Steve above the pond, finally left it. Buoyant on the bluffs. Joined a glider SE of the LZ with the flags pointing at us, suddenly switched to SW so we both landed, I was 5 feet from the PG cone.

Got lift off the west cone by the pond. Circled right, pushed-out, and climbed slowly but steadily. Was close to the terrain until a few hundred below Cloud Peak. Was going to stop at 4k but it turned on to 800-1000 FPM lift, so I took it to 5k. Dove down to Cloud Peak and terrain-followed back down to the pond. Landed about 6 feet past the PG cone.

Good. Red Mylar trailing edge. Scratched in traffic, several HG and PG near the LZ at the same time. Whipped it in to the HG cone, won spot.

Good. Warm, light south. Some scratched successfully for a couple of minutes. Good right-hand approach and landing into zero south, thirty feet past PG cone.

Soarable but I sank out. Went to the east of the LZ, where the flags were pointing but nothing there. Landed heading west, won spot with fifteen feet.

Good, sweet handling. VdVGT=52, Trim stable. Scratched close to the hill below Cloud Peak to no avail. Got away from the hill and found a nice core to 4,950. Flew around and stuff with Alfredo Grey on another S2 for Tecma Sport. No wind at LZ, found a core east of it at 300 AGL, could have climbed right out. Dove in to land in the good headwind. Won spot.

Good. Scratched in the bowl in front of launch. Good landing, ten feet, not a winner.

Sink sink sink. Good landing.

Post switch day, clear and very hot. Not ridge soarable, sparse thermals out front. Got almost to launch height. Nick-s birthday. She was relaxed and had fun, got queasy so we landed.

Pure sink. Good hike to retrieve truck.

Arrived at Marshall expecting to see a crowd but it was just Tom Swanson and Wayne (welcome back!) with their PG's.  They pointed out a couple of specked-out wings for me.  I guess everyone was getting up and going! Joe Greblo and some Sylmartians arrived as I setup. Launched my UltraSport 166 at 3:20 and took a minute or two to get in synch with the house thermal then climbed at around 400 FPM drifting NW, out over Waterman Canyon.  I passed through 6k and was almost to the 18/138 interchange :) Gained a little more and started venturing east. Had a topless pass under me on his return leg from points east. Only glider I saw for the next hour+. I had several times where I made a foray east then came back after losing height and then got higher than before. Got 7,500 at Strawberry and flew over Rimforest then scurried back after finding sink sink sink.  I worked my way up to 8k at Strawberry before deciding to overfly the high school. Lost altitude on the way, turned just short and went back to Strawberry. Then I found another core and got to 9,200 (vario) near Strawberry Peak (phone GPS track shows 9,700 max) so I went back to the H.S. and overflew the ball fields properly. Casual glide to Crestline launch and then out over the 750 to look at the smiley face I made yesterday at the 750 while waiting in vain for the north wind to stop. I could make it out from 4,500, considered getting my phone out to take a pic but decided dropping the phone would be problematic. Turned back to Marshall to top land for a fine 1:40 flight.

Consistent left turn. Top landed and twisted right tip two notches for a left turn. Breezy and cool, thermals drifting quickly from the SSW. Easy to stay above Marshall, topped out at 5,200 a couple of times. Good landing kinda low on the back.

Turn gone. Still breezy, topped out at 5,400 several times above the spine north from Marshall, about half-way back. Lost a lot going to Cloud Peak, better progress against the wind below 4,700. At Regionals at 4k I found 1k up and drifted NW with it as it slowed. Ended up at 7,000 MSL above the bowl east of Crestline launch. Fun. Made my way out slowly and top landed higher on the back slope; plopped down on rear keel and basetube simultaneously. Helped Lauren at the lower launch.

Warm and clear, little wind. Circled right above Steve and two hawks over the bluffs. Landed four gliders in quick succession.

Good. Vt stable across VG range. Went right from launch. Had a core down low and gained 200, thought I was beaming out but it petered out. Scratched some. Won spot with 15 feet.

Good. Trim stable. Scratched around by the 750 for a while, hard to make the Vario beep for a full 360. Fell out towards the hill a few times. Went over by Last Chance and was similar. At 17 minutes I finally got a thermal worthy of the name, above the houses. Climbed steadily to 3,600. Left to go land. and did a couple of wingovers and a really good spin. Landed heading south.

Good. Scratching. Got to launch height. Right-hand approach to straight S final. Landed no-stepper one foot from PG cone.

Good. Scratched real close to the hill all the way up to 3k, slowly. Another right-hand approach to a S landing for feet from PG cone.

Found blank log, tandem referred to in solo flight log earlier in the day. Either didn't do the tandem or forgot to log it.

Blinged-out with black tubing and window Mylar BS. Flew great. A but stiffer VGT than a regular S2. Good glide. Went from Marshall to the 18/138 interchange area. Thermals not coming through right there, stick just below 6k. Crossed the west gap and got to 6,600, went back to interchange. Did that a few times. Finally went to Billboard, then Pine, then Sugarpine. Flew from pine out to the flats upwind of the LZ, then went and landed five minutes later than the original planned time. Got a tandem at 4:30.

Gorgeous bird and sun design. Very hot, gusting over 25 at Crestline; waited 14 minutes on launch for a lull. Got 6,200 at Billboard without really trying. Went to Pine then Regionals etc. Brief flight so I could go up for a tandem. Good landing with a sudden shift right at the last second.

Wind had really mellowed out. Good launch, Jasa was eager to fly the glider. I coached her through turns scratching at Last Chance. Good landing behind new HG pilot Sawyer.

Launched M750 on a switch day and went to 10 grand over Devore. Found flight track, no log.

(found GPS log) Looks like a good normal day.

Rather cool day. Light SE while setting up, some pilots getting low then getting up. Walked to launch at 15:30 and had a five minute cycle of 0-2 tail wind, then cross E, SE, very light. SE at the LZ. Got a decent cycle which happened to be SW. Launched and went left for the SE face, sank and ran W along the bluffs, dining more. Did a quick left hand approach to a SE final. Knocked over the HG cone and landed with two steps. Good hike up to get my truck.

Hot, windy at Crestline. Good launch, strong sink all the way to the Cloud spine then we found strong lift that got to be 1k FPM up. Climbed to 5,300 feet. When we weren-t climbing we were in sink. Flew very fast over Marshall with Shane yelping down to the pilots. Landed after he said he was ready to land. Good SW near HG cone.
Blue harness slightly too big for five-foot Shane. No back strap plus it needs extension loops.

Almost too windy at Marshall. Good launch. Wind was treating up the thermals and making them drift real fast. Had one at Cloud that went into the hole so I bailed. Never found another good core. Dusty was in the same boat but Rob got up. Three Canadian BFF Howells on vacation. Strong west on final, came up pretty short of the PG cone. But smooth :)

Warm, more S and SE than usual; much less wind than previous days. Launched from the more southerly launch. Got up a bit right away. Later had a 1,500 ft climb to 5k. Landed because of time constraints. Good landing near the HG cone, 10 ft., after a SSSW final.

Sweet. Vt=21,21,23,26,29,31. Sufficient PP VGT. Fully-loaded glider for Pedro from Spain to fly at SCFR. VG Stop removed, sprogs down 1 each. Raked tips. Climbed quickly off the top launch, went to Crestline and met Ken from Sylmar on his T2C. We got up at Billboard and went to Pine. I was VGT going slow; he hit thermal faster, I was much higher. Got top 6,200 along the back ridge and tagged Sugarpine. Ken had been t there for a while getting no gains. I follow him back to Pine, VGT+. Again arrived higher. Had to push out to glide efficiently. Up again and back to BB then zoomed around a bit and landed with two steps in a nice SW breeze.

Good. Used 205 for #1 battens , through hole in batten tip. String tension low. Right #1 string came off anyway. Mike thinks it's the LE end of the batten that pops off. Scratched over the pond for several circles. Won spot with four feet past the PG cone. 9-4-15 - Changed 205 #1 strings to 1/8 inch bungies, NOT through batten tips.

Good. Switchy SE to SW at launch and LZ. Maintained at 2,000 MSL over the Ranch for a little bit. Right hand approach to S final, overshot PG cone by 40 feet.

Drilled until I got down even with the 400 launch. Turned close in in lift and got up above the 750. Changed direction three times, it seemed like going left was against the spin of the dust (-less) devil but it was very hard to tell. Sock and flag slack while setting up WSW approach, saw streamers indicating NW on final, but no problem. Sharp flare, 25 feet short of PG cone.

Good. Got lift way out in front of launch, low, climbed to 2,900. Dove to the LZ. Hit lift on final, overshot PG cone by 50 feet at least.

Good. Long cycle of zero wind standing on launch. Drilled. SE at the Ranch house, SW at the LZ. Good landing far from any cone.

I was in the bowl SE of launch and gently bobbing up and down while drifting right and left. It really felt like I was riding blobs of fluid surging up and down, with no overall gain. This wasn't wind/terrain action, it was air getting ready to rise, I think. I got out of there after half a dozen turns - too weird. Sinking out to the bluffs I saw the LZ windsock and streamers pointing straight east, so I headed to where they pointed for a very low save attempt. They all then clocked to SE and the lift eluded me. I turned quickly and did a final heading NNW and just overshot the PG cone. That cycle persisted for about 5 minutes before normal SW resumed.

Tightness RT #1 batten string. flew fine, nothing fell off. A fire at the base of Hwy 18 Dre firefighting aircraft, so I top landed to be near my truck. Had gotten above 6k MSL. GoPro on the keel. GPS tracking with the phone.

All-clear from the firefighters. Got up above 5.5k, boosted around, top landed. GoPro on the keel.

Hot, clear, gusting over 20 at Crestline. Nice launch, easy ridge soaring. Good climb at Billboard to 6.2k. Bibb flew a lot and well. We went out to Marshall and Bob worked a thermal from aBove Cloud Peak to 6.1 k so we went back to Crestline. Floated around some more then fought lift around the lz to land into SW 10. Great tandem flight!

Very hot, 104 ,F in San Berdoo. Gusting over 20 at Crestline. Mark on the nose, launched cleanly in a lull. Only got a few hundred over the ridge, surprisingly. Left Billboard from above 5k and got to Regionals with 4,500. Not many thermals, really. Had a nice 2,500 got climb to 5.5k from Last Chance; later another similar climb. Hoped to go back to Crestline but the rapid drift to the NE didn-t work in our favor. Smooth landing into SW 12-15. Went up and cooled off at the pond.

Overcast, hot, monsoonal, distant virga here and there. Very little wind. Good handling. Steady trim. A few beeps while circling close to the hill. Landed heading SSE into light SE flow. Good flare with 1/4 VG.

Blew down very mighty for about 20 minutes. Got a SSE cycle to launch into. Sink all the way out from the Cloud spine. W and NW in the LZ. Good landing from the east. Mike and Wolfi were stuck on launch for a while.

Hot, clear, good and soarable. Launched off the top, turned left and heard flapping from my right. Saw the strong for the right #1 batten hanging loose and no batten in sight. Turning right into thermals was sluggish, required a lot of weight shift. Got up SE if the top and went to the NW side but sank very quickly. Got up again in the same place and did a quick approach to a very smooth top landing. Looked all over the launch slope for the batten, twice, but couldn't find it. GoPro on the keel. Fire in Big Bear.

Had basetube installed upside down, stick scratched to helk; replace sticker.

Good. Slows down really well. Warm, clear, with thick haze. Mild thermal drifting NW from below Cloud Peak. Got to 4k. Right hand approach to PG cone, steered a little near the end of final, then the left wing got lifted a little. Ended up standing a couple of feet from the cone but right top and corner of basetube touched the grass.

Good. Steve, with an Alpha 180, flew over and yelled "Alphas rule, Falcons drool!". Pretty funny, I thought they had sledder out. Steve and I were neck and neck on the bluffs for a while. Finally he left and I got up to 3k. Good landing 15 feet short of PG cone.

Good. Low save over the Ranch, flags pointing to the lift. GoPro on helmet. Got back up to 3k. Right hand approach to SSE final on PG cone. Drifted left at the end so touchdown wasn't that smooth.

Hot day, clear. Natalie-s 21st birthday. Gusty, two-step launch, smooth climb to a few hundred over. At billboard we had strong turbulence and Natalie just laughed. Had her steer a lot. Good feel but she was small so needed power boost in the bumps. Smoke from a fire out of sight to the west came in to the area fast during our flight. We could see fingers of smoke below us, smelled it once we were in it. Still soarable. A couple of good 1k climbs averaging 400 FPM. Landed after 52 minutes because her friend had been on the ground fit at least 30. Wind gradient caused us to plop into the grass a little but otherwise a good landing.

Very hot. Good launch and flight. Rolled to within two feet of the HG cone on landing.

Chase was deciding between HG and PG, had taken a PG tandem with Stephen earlier in the day. Ridge soarable and I let him steer shortly after launch. At Billboard we had a fast 1k climb. He Thermalled well, was able to come out of turns on heading. I just held his harness route most of the flight, telling him where to go etc. He liked the speed and the stability of the wing. After landing he said he-d probably take up HG first. Very satisfying. Emailed GPS track to chasetmiller@gmail.com

Precocious 10 year old with 30 hours flying Cessna. Comfortable in the air, steered OK, with help. He was very surprised we were able to stay aloft more than a few minutes.

Trim steady. Good. Hot, huge high pressure done from the east. 101 F forecast, 108 F for Saturday. Not much lapse rate, cooler at 3,000 MSL than feet higher at launch. Just a bump here and there. Good SW landing into 5 at the PG cone, fifteen feet short.

Attached nose quite early, out of usual sequence, failed to install nose cone. Got up at Cloud in a great thermal with Wolfi and Mike then went and top landed Marshall to attach n nose cone.

Good. VdVGT=52. Launched off the top in a good cycle. Climbed from 3k to 4,300. Good and soarable. Dove in because other gliders were almost done folding up. Great no-stepper 27 feet short of PG cone. Winner.

Good. Mylar sail. Others got up, I just found bumps. Good one-stepper 15 feet short of PG cone. Winner.

Good. Right-hand ground skimming approach to a no-stepper 16 feet short of the PG cone. Winner because Mike got lifted on final.

Normal summer conditions. Launched off the top, got up first thermal. Second thermal, N of peak, got 5,500. Went to Crestline, ridge soared to get above, in formation with Gene Embry flying my old 225. Up at Billboard to 5,700, went to Pine for a while. Went straight to Regionals then got below Cloud Peak. Up a little then boating below Marshall. Got a little over and dove it in for a low top landing - looked windy on top. Wanted a solid hour but didn't trust the lift.

Good. TT to 35 VG 3/4 and T. PP light near VdVGT. Upper levels filling in with monsoonal cumulus. Cycling from the south at launch. Thermals weak, scratching the east faces. Weak SE switch as I planned approach. Good landing on freshly mown grass, 30 feet wide of HG cone.

Raise outboard sprogs one turn each.

Good. Scratchy, overcast. Virga over Colton, dust in Berdoo. Normal at the hill. Right-hand approach to a great SSE spot landing at the PG cone. Half-stepper.

Good. Rain far to the west and south, 40% coverage overhead. Wind puffed from my back then very weak in front. Barreled off on found a rowdy core right in front of launch. Worked it to 4,300 then dove for the LZ. Decent landing near the PG cone after right-hand approach, trotting with my right wing low.

Good. Shortpack; Clear Mylar. Right in a thermal close to the hill with Mike and Steve just above me, got above launch. Went SE and found my own, got to 4,500 with 500 up after 3k or so. Terrain followed from Cloud Peak right into SSW final on pg cone. Landed trotting with a wing low, 8 to 10 feet to the side for a winner.

Good. Still high clouds, 55% coverage, virga over Claremont in a persistent line from Baldy south. Soarable, barely, but I didn't catch anything. Landed 40 feet short of the PG cone.

Good. Dust devils in the LZ. A few raindrops while setting up. Landed heading ESE, long.

Clear and hot. Light wind, good launch, inversion was a few hundred below Crestline. John steered well. Small thermal at Cloud Peak, smaller stuff lower. Solo I would have had to work to stay up. Good landing abeam oh the HG cone.

More wind, almost ridge soarable. Good launch, Steve flew smoothly. We were sledding down Cloud to the 750 at the 9 minute mark. Found a thermal and climbed 1k, Steve doing half the flying. Great SW landing right next to the HG cone.

Some high clouds but lightly ridge soarable. Tiffany flew before and it came back to her, she was flying and I just had one hand on the downtube. No big climbs but we took off first and landed last. Good landing, slightly off the wrong direction.

High cloud cover, 10 MPH with gusts.

Nice. Vt=21,25,29,31,31. Clear and hot. Monsoonal moisture arriving from the SE. Light S with lulls. Scratched by the 750 for the first ten minutes. Mike and Steve got a thermal over the LZ and it lasted long enough for me to reach it. Got back above 3k and actually tested the glider. Dove for a SW cycle to land in. It was fading. I went a bit long but had a great no-stepper with 1/4 VG.

Good. Vt=21, stable. VdVGT=52. Went right off launch and got up easily, if not that fast, to 4,300. Scattered clouds overhead, a little rain in Banning Pass earlier. Wingovers above Jasa et al at the pond. Good landing into light switchy S.

Good. Ridge soared launch for a few passes (S) and then just maintained over the pond. Nice wide-S approach from there into SSE and a no-stepper just past the PG cone.

Good. Couldn't quite climb.

Was going to fly my tandem wing solo and top land. Alfredo from WW arrived with Dustin, Elena and Chuy in tow. I had just put my harness on. Alfredo asked if I wanted to take his friend Cut tandem. I decided "What the heck". Had to change to the landing gear setup, not hard with Chuy supporting the keel. I left the Flux Thermometer on since I was trying it with the right sensor box attached at the keel to see if it works better. Interesting reconfiguring for tandem and getting my brain in tandem mode out of the blue like that. The step launch and easy climbing to a few hundred over. Chuy steered well after over controlling at first. Down by the pond at the half hour mark I found an elusive core and we went back up to 3,900 near Marshall. Chuy was understandably getting stomach issues so we wandered down to the LZ. I told him we-d try to land near the cone and we rolled to within a couple of feet of it :) Fun flight! Chuy is the brother of Alejandro, who had been working with Alfredo. Chuy and Alfredo have been friends since childhood. I forgot to have someone start the GoPro, again. Dammit.

Two-step launch, windy. Left Billboard after getting above. Good thermals at Cloud, could have gone back to Crestline. Worked some down low. Landed SW in zero wind. Flew straight at cone, pushed out slightly to clear out then landed smoothly. Fun.

Good. VdVGT=65 w/good PP. VtVGT=25. Sunny in the morning with 2nd day of monsoonal thunderstorms developing. Light to the west, dark east. Climbed from right of launch immediately, setting 800-1k up. Felt like cloud suck even though bases were several thousand feet higher. Left first thermal below 5k. Went to Afterbay area and climbed to 5k. Tagged Pine Flat at 5,400 then left that very lifty area. Up again at Last Chance with Redlands looking very dark. Decided to land. Heard thunder after landing. Hiked to the 750 with Felix, got there just as rain arrived. Nice and cool for hiking. He drove me to Regionals to get my truck; I had given Felix a ride from the 750 to Regionals. Rained slip afternoon and into the evening. Glider was zipped in bag and under the shade structure so it barely got wet.

Clear, hot. Steve was just above launch, I didn't get his thermal. Scratched the tree line low for several minutes. Landed close to the PG cone.

Again, Steve got up, I just scratched and then whipped it in from over the Ranch.

Sweet. VdVGT=61. Vt=21,23,28,28,31. Thermalled near Mike and Steve SE of Cloud Peak then left it to Mike, low. Found my own near the 750 and climbed up then they joined me. We got close. I, left for Marshall Peak and for another void one to 4,500. Came out and landed well in slightly bumpy conditions.

Nicely soarable, a little rowdy. Alan was very comfortable in the air. Got to 4,500 etc. Dropped gear at 1k AGL but didn-t want to land. Sank to near the 350 at the 30-minute point. Found a core and worked it for all I was worth. Let Alan take over at about 3k; we got over Marshall. Left top dropped slightly on ground skim, sidled left slightly just before touchdown.

Mellower but soarable. Matt had trouble getting into harness completely (tall, bunched-up fabric). He flew well, really took it all in.

Good. Solid puffy cloud layer at 5k feet, slowly burning off. Good WSW flow at launch and in LZ. Thermal off the training hill, smelled like the lawn mower. Right-hand approach to SW final, good landing well short of the PG cone.

Good. Custom heavy keel for attaching floats. Got above launch twice, could have gone higher, despite 99% cloud cover. Good left approach and SW landing, short like last time.

Good. Still completely overcast, still some thermals. Right-hand approach to SSW landing just past PG cone.

Good. Vt=20,20,22,25,30. Cloud had suddenly burned off to 50% when we started setting up. Right core off Cloud Peak turned on to 700+ , up after it created the hill. Got into the wispies of a lone cloud at 5,560 MSL. Good floater landing from straight east, trotted it out. Clouds almost completely gone.

Good. Vt=20,20,22,25,28 VdVGT=60. Sky clear, totally soarable. Got up from SW of launch right away. Flew over someone weed whacking at Marshall Peak. Went to the LZ above the tandems and saw rune flags go slack. Scratched at the pond for five minutes until the SW breeze came back. Good landing into steady SW just a few feet past the PG cone; winner.

Good wind to launch into. Almost ridge soarable. More or less a sledder until the 750 area. Got a core off the pond and worked up a few hundred feet. Student asked to fly straight for a while. I had him do passed along the bluffs for a bit, then he asked to land. Good landing on the wheels, overshot the HG cone a bit.

Not as stiff as the Mylar P2. Bridles a little looser than just slack. Launched a tandem glider solo from the 750 at 4 PM and again got the save above the pond. Climbed steadily and tenaciously in less than 150 FPM lift to Cloud Peak. Exploring west of Regionals didn't pan-out and the sun was behind a thicker band of the alto strat clouds. Ended up back below the 750 20-minutes after launching and scratched the last drop-offs for all I was worth for about 15 or 20 minutes. The light got a little brighter and the puffs of up got to where I could do a few circles in one before fleeing the sink. Textbook. Finally a solid one off the pond to the 750 and towards Marshall Peak, drifting ENE in fits and starts. Whew. Got above Marshall a couple of hundred feet in some actual 300 FPM. By now it was about 5 PM and the vanloads were arriving at Marshall. Got to Cloud Peak just above the windsock and was surprised by a 600 FPM core that got me to 4,800. Went and landed on Marshall to take a breather and wring out my shirt.

Launched again around 5:30 intending to float for a few minutes and then land at the LZ. The clouds were thinned out and the shadows on the ground from the PG gaggle were sharp. Got up to 4,600 again and hovered around lazily up there after thermalling in close formation with a couple of PGs. They were all launching at this point and there were still a few HG's here and there. The sun was getting low to Baldy and the valley was in shadow but there were big areas of lift north of the LZ. Landed around 6:10. Lots of happy pilots in the LZ.

Good. VdVGT=55 Vt=20 Vs=17. Trim stable. Clear and warm, monsoonal flow abating. Caught thermal just right of launch and climbed to the inversion at 4k. Milked it to 4,400. Good SSW landing 20 feet past HG cone. Dust devil on road right after landing.

Good. Nathan Santee new wing. Warm and humid with extensive high clouds due to monsoonal flow from the SE. Got up from the 350 area to above the 750 after launch, then just bumps near the bluffs until I decided to land.

Good launch, one ridge soaring pass. No real workable thermals until Cloud Peak area. Thicker clouds up high were shading the ground. Fun scratching in the 750 area. Linzy was relaxed and turned well. Good SW landing near the HG cone. Warm and humid with extensive high clouds due to monsoonal flow from the SE.

Good. Vt stable over VG range. Clear and hot, inversion very low. Some weak thermals. Good S landing, didn't run as far as Mike did.

Stiff LEs, carbon downtubes. Great, handling good considering stiff LEs. VdVGT>72. Vt=21,21,25,28,30. PP very light around trim. Easy soaring in narrow cores, topped out at 4,700.

Sweet.VdVGT=51, Vt steady over VG range. Small, rowdy core from below Cloud Peak widened and got strong at about 4k. 600+ FPM, slammed into inversion right at 5k with two separate thermals. Dove to LZ, good SW flow, decent landing equidistant from the two cones. Fun.

Good. Quite rowdy just west of launch. Got a little more out front and a nice cite took me to 4,950 above Cloud Peak. Very relaxing and fun. Stay 15 in the LZ with lift all around. Half the bar in all the way through a right-hand approach to SW landing at the PG cone, six feet short with a soft no-stepper. Mike wrong with a couple of feet closer with the F4T proto.

High pressure, hot, good breeze at Crestline. Cross right gust at launch, dropped right wing tip, hung on left downtube. Lightly soarable, barely above the ridge. Left Billboard high because nothing was coming through. Plenty of thermals out front. Landed because Jasa was queasy. Had 3 wraps on her loop instead of 2 and she liked that better. Good landing into SW 8, a but short due to the dead zone at the NE corner.

Great. Hit and clear. Lake fire burning over on San G. Small thermals drifting to the NNW. Good landing into steady SSE.

Sweet handling. VdVGT>72. Vt=21,21,25,30,30. Easy climb from below Cloud Peak to 5k, slowing abruptly at 4.9k. Clear, smooth, nice temperature up there. Landed in zero, slid on knees on grass. GoPro on helmet.

Great. VdVGT=65. Vt=20,21,25,28,31. Jeff Bethers new wing. Sank hard off launch heading for the 750 but found lift there that went up nicely. Saw 900 FPM on my averager at times in the way to 5,400. Lost very little altitude overall heading back to Crestline. Great landing into S 8 at the PG cone. GoPro on keel.

Good. Vt unchanged over VG range. Spins well. VdVGT=65. Got up just west of launch, tracking around behind ridge and over to Cloud Peak. Not much at Marshall. Good wingovers and spins. Did whole setup and approach form east of the LZ. Buoyant coming in and overshot PG cone by 40 feet.

Good. Got up jest west of launch again. Easy soaring, got near a tandem. Lost much airspeed in ground skim, trotted a ways to keep it off the ground. Funny.

Good. Barely ridge soarable with thermals at Crestline. Should have stayed but left Billboard for the Afterbay area. Nothing there, stayed too long. Scratched by the 750, kept getting rolled toward the hill. Decent landing heading SSE in zero to zero.

Good. Thick marine layer, late burn off with north at Crestline. Lots of cumulus overhead. Vigorous little thermal to 3k MSL drifting NNW off the pond. Very bumpy on approach. Good landing into S 7.

Good. Punchy lift to a few hundred over. Punchy around the LZ. SW final, drifting rightward at the end. Won by default.

Good. Flushed to the bluffs then Steve showed me a thermal over the reading hill. Got up from 2,050 to 3,450 before bailing for the LZ. Won spot with 17 feet from the PG spot, right-hand approach.

Good. Scratching hard at the bluffs again, round and round. Finally the thermal coalesced and I rode it to a few hundred over launch before diving for the LZ. Good landing, winner with eight feet. Bosses called the day due to distant thunder and general turbulence.

Only one vulnerable wing at the shop so I brought some out to test fly. Overcast with 40 percent chance of showers. Arrived at launch just after 14:00. Zero to three E and N cycles. Installed old parachute in my old cocoon harness. S cycles came, started setting glider up. Big drops sprinkled, folded glider. Long period of N 3-5. S came at 16:00, launched into light SW. Interesting feeling flying with the old cocoon. Left it and a helmet in the LZ and hiked up to the 750 (22 minutes) to fly again.

Good. SW flow steadier but still too light to soar, no thermals. Got a ride from the Ranch to the 350, hiked to my truck. Saw rain to SE and by Rancho but none nearby. Kept gliders dry.

Clear and hot. Got 1k over at Billboard. Flying out to Marshall Nick puked. Tried to fly straight and smooth but it was very bumpy. Basically stuffed the bar from 4,000 feet to land. Good landing.

Still clear and warm. Much weaker lift, felt more like wind and standing waves. Pleasant.

(from GoPro video and GPS) Your basic 750 sledder.

(based on folder of images) Tandem with nephew Ian Kirk from Crestline, Jasa driving. Many photos of prep. Airtime guessed.

Good. Clear, inversion layer below Regionals. Good scratching from the 350 to above the 750. Zero to minus one S to land in. Knees on grass but smooth.

Sweet. Less lift than first flight. Good save from 350 AGL over the NW parking area. Got to 2,450 MSL worth it. Dove to the LZ to land in steady SW.

Good. Still not Soarable, really, another climb to the 750 from the bluffs. Good landing in steady SW 7.

Good. Tough core right off launch, got to 4,100 and then dove for the LZ.

Total flush cycle out in front off launch, sink alarm and avoiding the hillside. Something was over the LZ but 200 AGL was to lie to try and work it.

Good. Moderate left turn; twisted both tips 3/4 turn. Vt=20,21,22,30,35. Really weak, ratty thermals. Wanted a good solid one to really feel out the turn but no dice. Good landing into light SW.

Good. Lift surprisingly weak. Scratchable.

Clouds just off Marshall, almost no wind. Barely got off the hill. Sledder to the LZ. She was unable to get a foot into the harness boot. Landed with wheels anyway. Uneventful. Rest of group (11 total) decided to reschedule due to weak conditions.-Best choice.
Very light SW, she stumbled early, I dragged my legs through the bushes below launch.

Chilly, cloudbase at Crestline, a bit chilly. Great launch and getting situated. Sank going over to Billboard, sink out to Regionals. Bumpy but Stephanie was comfortable. Good thermal finally at 2,900 near the 750, climbed to 4,300 with some very active piloting. Good fast landing into weak SW.

Almost blown out at Crestline, cloudbase about 5,900. VdVGT=72, Vt=20,21,23,27,31. Easy to get near the misty edge. Lots of speed runs. Landed to do another tandem.

Blown out at Crestline; not especially windy at Marshall. Cloudy and cool. OK launch, Ashley only ran a couple of steps, glider yawed left about ten degrees, otherwise good. She had her feet going in the air though. Climbed a little above launch. Soarable with effort. She was proposing to Tanesha Vida a banner on the LZ, so the focus was on landing before Rob and Tanesha. A bit sinky at the NE corner of the LZ so we descended steeply there on final, otherwise excellent wheel landing. Tanesha SHRIEKED when she saw the banner.

Good. Strong SW at Crestline, Clouds drifting out of the SE just a little higher. Bumpy on the way to Cloud Peak and the first thermal took me right up, nearly vertical. Got too 5,900, almost in the white room (isolated puffball) when it shredded. A couple of other forming and dissipating clouds let me get close. Shadow-strafed an ROTC group on the dirt road by the pavement for fun. Right-hand approach into S 8 for a good landing short of the PG cone.

Good. VdVGT>72. Vt=21,22,25,28,29. Windy, solid thermals, good climbs. VD run downwind to eat of the LZ and a couple of wingovers. Flags in the LZ luffing to zero. If I had been higher I might have found the thermal and avoided the zero wind landing. Controlled whack sliding on knees.

Good. VdVGT=65. Vt=21,21,22,25,30. Windier, thermals not as strong, still easy to get up and stay there. Glider's Vd was lower than usual, airspeed indicator might have been tipping. Good sink to descend in near LZ. Good breeze to land in; pretty short of HG cone in WSW, no flare really, just trotting.

Good. Green with Mylar TE. Quite windy. Almost parked pushed all the way out at 17 MPH. Very bumpy on approach and final. Good gentle two stepper.

Good launch and flight. North wind until 1 PM. Got to 6,200 at Billboard. Christina steered well. She went tandem in Rio ten years ago. Good landing into light west.

Good. Too windy at Crestline. Launched from the top into WSW 15. Parking into the wind, fun over Regionals. OK landing into west 8 directly downwind of the shade structure.

Great. UVX Mylar with orange outline. Warm and clear, great looking day. Steve was just west off launch and climbing, wind was from SE. I launched and let the thermal suck me in and up :) Had to wrestle to stay with the tiny bronco of a core, especially through a mild inversion layer a few hundred feet up. It widened and stayed strong, left it at 4,500. Right-hand approach into S 6, nice 1/2 stepper 25 feet short of rhs PG cone.

Good. Not stiff, sail somehow gave the impression of tightness. Vt=22,21,20,20,19 VdVGT=53.

Good. Vt=19,20,22,27,35 VdVGT=62. Windier at Regionals. Launched and sank to the 750 area, 150 feet above it. Back and forth in little cores that wouldn't turn into anything. Easy to maintain altitude but no climbing. Susumo was laying on his PG gear on the 750. Finally a core consolidated and I started circling with a steep bank angle. Up and up getting better and better. About Marshall height I started seeing 1k up on my 15-second averager. Very satisfying climb to 6,100 MSL. Strong sink at the edges so staying in the core took some focus. Flew out SE of Cajon High School to get smooth air for trim speed checks. Went a little farther south and picked out my house. Was about 4,600 and turned to make a speed run to the LZ. Was in strong sink until CSUSB so didn't go very fast at all. Steady SW at the LZ and I had a left-hand approach in sink so I was short and west of the HG spot. Smooth though.

Good. Multiple mild storm systems coming. Cloudbase just below Crestline, 100% coverage. Much cooler. Little wind, SE 5 at Regionals. Odd NE cycle at the LZ, landed from SW, 20 feet left of PG cone.

Weather unchanged, some weak lift here and there. Standard approach into S 3. Won spot by one foot, five feet short of PG cone. Clear CUZ sail with blue Dacron. Looked awesome. Went up for another flight but felt light NW flow as we started to set up. Waited a while and it didn't get any better. Rain on the desert side of the mountains. We packed up and called it a day.

Sweet. VdVGT=51. Vt=20,20,19,18,18. Almost mushing at trim VGT. UVPXB10 Black (clear) top surface. Looked awesome. Warm and hazy, strong North expected next few days. Hooked a tight core below Cloud. It definitely had spin. Worked to 4,300 quickly then out slowed and the drift changed. Milked it to 5,200 and meet a Red Tail hawk, got 5 feet off my inside wingtip. Beautiful. Landed into a S 5 cycle very short as airspeed dropped on turn to final. Had to pull in to make the grass. Good landing.

Good. VdVGT=49 Vt=21-19. Still good lift, saw 800 up on the averager for a while on the way to 5,100. Good landing into S 3, six feet past HG cone.

Good. Trimmed slower VGT than VGL. Vt=20,20,19,18,18. VdVGT=42.
Ship

Good. Clear, not much wind. Waited out some switchy cycles before launching. Scratched over the pond, no real gains. Good landing into S4, just past the PG cone.

Good. More breeze but less lift. Won the spot with the PG cone under my right wing.

Good. Vt=19,20,20,26,32. VdVGT=60. Good breeze, strong lift. Climbed from launch then to 5,700 from Cloud Peak. Dashed to Crestline then right back to Cloud Peak, all in nine minutes from launch. Bouncy thermals going straight up. Had 1k up flying S from Cloud. Cored sink east of LZ then was same height as Steve with a WWNW cycle. I came in from the east, south of the HG cone, and floated all the way across the LZ in surprisingly buoyant air. Brought it down with a couple of steps almost to the concrete.

Good hour flight. Got to 4,900+. Kerry flew well

Windy, almost blown out at Crestline. Great thermals, climbed right off launch. Dana was very relaxed and fun, whooping at the bumps. She steered well., Fought our way down from 1,200 feet and landed into bumpy straight west.

Windier than earlier. Sara was reserved and apprehensive. She stumbled on the first practice run. Had trouble stretching out in the harness at hang check. Quick launch after -Clear- and we climbed away. Again trouble getting Sara prone but then she was comfortable. Almost no groundspeed pointed into the wind. Climbed hundred of feet from Cloud and had Sara steer a lot, with power assist. She actually had a very good feel for turns and coming out on heading. Chilly above 5k feet. Flew upwind slowly then drifted in thermals. At 45 minutes I mentioned that we should probably think about landing and she asked to stay up a bit longer. No problem! Hovered over the LZ for a while then had a great approach and wheel landing. Staying. Tiring.

Good. Blew north hard in the morning. Tight core above the pond, worked it hard, got 4,150 and flew past Marshall. Good landing, right-hand approach into gusty SW 8.

Good. Low save from the trees, 300 feet above LZ. F good landing SW.

Great. Got up struggling in another narrow little core. Overflew Cloud Peak and then terrain-followed all the way to the LZ. Good landing short of PG cone.

Great. Vt=21,20,20,19,19 VdVGT=52. A weaker core at Cloud Peak really turned on above 4k feet. Got to 5,600 and went back to Crestline. Cold up there in just a t-shirt. 5,700 at Billboard and buoyant leaving for Regionals. Peaceful over the campus, some wingovers and then a good landing well short of the cone.

Windy and warm. Good climbs to be had. We were at Crestline 13 minutes after launching from Marshall. Got over 6,200 at Billboard and looked at Pine. Mosyed that way but saw others not getting real high, so we lingered well north of the Afterbay. Found a big core that slowly got us over 6,300 again. Went over the 4k launch at Pine but sink ask the way so we headed south then east to Last Chance area. Went to Marshall again and then decided it was time to land. Had a very smooth landing into SW 10. Flux Thermometer on board; used new GPS chip to set time. GoPro on crossbar. All the gadgets, doncha know.

Good. Dusty's new wing. Post-SA and breezy at Crestline. Launched in a lull and still elevatored a few hundred feet. Slow going and sinky on the way to Regionals. Was below Cloud Peak got a while, got dumped hard once while turning toward the hill. Finally a great thermal came along and I took it to 6,500 MSL. Dove to LZ. No-stepper in bumpy approach conditions. Kelly Tesch supposed to solo in the next round.

Blowing in at Crestline all day. Some thin high clouds forming. Ridge and thermal soaring at Crestline for a bit. Lisa steered well across to Regionals. Not a lot of thermals low. Good landing.

Blowing in lightly at Crestline. High thin overcast 100%. Mostly a smooth peaceful sledder. Rolled to within inches of the HG cone on landing. Very cool because at 1,000 feet up I said we were going to try to get close to it. Had the Flux Thermometer on, rock solid. A couple of decent recordings. GPS track also.

Good. Quote windy.

Flying my tandem solo with the Flux Thermometer. North at Crestline, switch day. Got to 6,700 after launching right into lift. The Kinoma Create and the Flux Thermometer program performed well. Ripping lift not really the conditions to gather the data I want but good shakedown. Almost top landed at about the 1/2 hour point, opted for planning instead of just diving it in. Jasa was waiting on top top go tandem. Flush cycle from hell came along and I ended up in the LZ with several others. Was sinking so quickly crossing from Marshall I thought briefly I might not make the LZ. I blew down later, never blew in at Crestline.

Good. High 100% overcast, no rain due but north winds forecast the next few days. 10 SW at Crestline but almost still down below. Good launch, right-hand approach, and good landing with PG cone under right wingtip.

Good. Still, then east at Regionals. Good launch and no lift for me. Steve got up a bit after. Good right-hand approach and one-stepper 12-feet past PG cone. Mike won anyway.

Sweet. Vt=21,21,23,25,27. Window BS, raked tips. Light SW to launch into. Found a couple of narrow weak cores and climbed steadily with careful turning. Got to 3,700 just north of regionals. Great fun in a subdued way. Steady W across the LZ, landed from straight east in HG cone vicinity.

Good. Sledder, very light wind tip and bottom. Ran out landing a little.

Wasn-t expecting to fly from Crestline but the north wind dropped off early. Not ridge soarable but climbed from 4,800 to 6,200 at Billboard in just a few minutes. Some lift here and there out front. Good landing into steady SW. Maria and her twin sister celebrating their birthday.

Good. Clear and cool; extended rain due tomorrow afternoon. SE and almost soarable. Good landing well short after right-hand approach.

#2 battens approximately 1 inch too short. Replace battens and adjust strings.

Good. Nicely soarable but not real high. Light and variable in the LZ.

Sweet. Vt=20,21,22,22,25. VdVGT>72. North at Crestline. Got up quickly, then dove and took a while to crack 4k again. Once I did found 600+ FPM drifting slightly to the south above 4,300. Mike Bomstad's wing with all the options. Good SW landing with a run.

Good. Vt=20,20,21,22,27. VdVGT>72. Maybe a little stiffer than the last one I flew. High clouds were shutting down lift. No wind at the LZ but a very weak thermal to the south kept me up while it drifted over and gave me a little breeze to land in. Still got the noise pretty close to the grass.

Good. Very warm, clear. Soarable with some very narrow cores. Landed pretty far past the PG cone in zero to slightly tail.

Great. Vt=21,23,25,28,32. Vt was 23 at first; after some wingovers it was 21. VdVGT>72. My first flight with an ODL bottom surface. Had raked tips and speed battens as well. Great handling. Pushed out VGT foot downwind to Crestline and it was rock solid. No-stepper 35 feet past the HG cone. Tied with Mike.

Good. Got a thermal right off launch. Went to Marshall. Lift much weaker overall. Good landing quite short of the PG cone in a headwind.

Good. VdVGT=53. Vt=19,19,20,25,20. Sunny and warm, solidly onshore with switch to extended Santa Anas tonight. Easy to get up. Good SW landing into 5-8. Won spot because the others overshot.

Good. Extended sledder. Good landing heading west in 5.

Sunny and warm - not like the day before or February in general. People were soaring but not high mostly; above and below launch in cycles. I launched into lift and was never below launch until I did some wingovers. Climbed to 4,900-5,100 MSL several times in decent thermals. Kept trying to drag them towards Crestline. Last couple of hundred feet were slower and tricky. Thermalled with Orange Sport 2 a lot. Got frustrated with the ceiling and dove at launch and did some wingovers. Then next thermal was strong and took me to 5,400 feet. Had to thermal a litle halfway back to Crestline over the spine, but got to the house thermal area with 5k 40 minutes after launching. Not that windy but was able to scratch up and there were good cores coming through here and there. Decided to try and land right at the one-hour mark. Headed to Cloud from Billboard and the few airborne out front were not high. In sink from Cloud toward Marshall I just went directly to a top landing approach, landing smoothly a bit low on the NW slope of Marshall Peak at the 55 minute mark. Great flight!

Soarable in the middle of the day but a dense high cloud layer came in from the south, due to a front passing by to the north. By the time we were set-up on Marshall there were almost no gliders above us. We didn't circle at all on the way down. Found 400+ FPM sink above the pond. Landed into zero zero wind and the airspeed dropped off unexpectedly so we slid on knees on grass a little. Many pilots out just happy to be flying among friends, great vibe in the zone.

Good. Clear and sunny.

Good. TT to 32 VGT. Decent thermals, topping out around 3,900. Wingovers below the 750 then climbed back up 1k, slowly. Spins from the basetube. Good landing way short into WSW.

Good. Blowing down at Crestline, drive down to Marshall. Sledder VGT milking every little speck of lift. Good no-wind landing.

Good. Good south flow up high, no wind at the 750. High thin overcast, lots of layers to the air. Landed heading mostly west in nothing. Great flare to a no-stepper plop.

Good. Another No-wind launch and sledder. Landed heading slightly north of west, 8 feet from the PG cone.

Good. Vt stable. Another sledder, slight S at launch. Right-hand approach into essentially no-wind. Good flare past PG cone.

Vt=19, TT to 30 VGT. Puffing north when we got to launch. Waited and got reliable south cycles. Sledder to normal approach in no wind. Good landing, tied for spot with like 15 feet.

Vt=20, TT to 30 VGT. Very light north cycles while setting up. Launched in zero. Landed in zero heading SW, 5 feet from cone but didn't win spot.

Good. High overcast, slight chance of a sprinkle later. Very little wind, SSE. Right-hand approach, wide of cone, dropping left wing.

Good. Stable trim speed over VG range. Some wind to launch into, otherwise pure sledder. Dustin and I buzzed some motorcyclists at the 750. Won spot with short approach to HG cone from the east.

Good. Steady breeze to launch into, could smell french fries from below. No lift. Good landing about 8 feet from PG cone, tied with Mike.