Ken Howells Hang Gliding & Paragliding Flight Log

Clear and not too cold. 0-4 ESE to SSW at launch. A few low passes then straightish line to 4,600 below BB. A few hunting turns then to Regionals. Solid climb from 2 bumps below Cloud Peak to 4,300. Not much at Marshall, wingovers at LZ. Good no-stepper into S zero. GoPro on keel.

Good. Vt=23->20. Right lean VGT, lowered RT sprog 1 turn. A busy hour-thirty-four today with a Sport 3 155 off Marshall Peak. Never got more than 500' above launch.

Good. High 100% overcast, zero wind, not cold. Great no-stepper 3 feet short of the HG cone. Won spot.

Good. Vt=23 - > 20. Still no wind. A touch of S at the LZ. Good landing 30 feet short of the HG cone. GoPro on keel.
Fix velcro on batten bag. Hook strip tore off when pulled tight.

Good. Vt=22->19. Sprog cables tight at VG7/8. Slight breeze from E to launch into. No lift. Zero zero at the LZ. Good S Final and landing 12 feet past the HG cone. Like that VG1/4 for no-wind landings.. GoPro on the keel. Won spot.

Good. Saw it trickling down at the 750 on the way up. Nothing at Regionals while we set up. Saw a PG staying up at Crestline. Felt N while preflighting; it became a steady NE flow, 5+. We agreed it didn't feel like a "cycle". Started folding gliders after 10 minutes. Meanwhile the breeze got more and more east. It was ESE when I got my velcros on. Finally it was going between 70 degrees cross to straight up the hill. We set back up quickly. I had like 3 MPH and 45 cross left so launching was easy. No terrain lift on the east side of the Cloud spine. Did a wingover above the Ranch. Zero wind at LZ. Alfredo had landed from the SE earlier, having seen N on the streamers. I did a standard approach and turn to S final. That way the uphill helps. No time for GoPro.

Sweet handling. Vt=23,24,23,22,22. Cloudy day between bouts of north winds. Slow climbs mostly, going straight up until above the ridges. Got to lowering cloudbase, 5,150, from Cloud Peak and drifted back to CRS without losing altitude. GoPro shut down at the hour mark, before wingovers. Great no-stepper after steering during ground skim. Fun!

Good. Clear and warm, barely a south breeze. Scratchable near launch. Dive in for a S cycle after Mike landed. Close to PG cone but Mike was right on it.

Nice. Vt=24->21. 700 up just to the right of launch, was hardly ready for such vigor. Easily soarable, got to 4,200 and went to Marshall. VT check on the way back. Worked low at the west end, easy thermal over the canyon. Dove in for SW cycle, good landing about ten feet short. No GoPro on keel, darn it.

Nice. Vt=24,23,23,22,21. PP good, low at 3/4 Vd then came back. Tight rowdy cores, could have got high if stayed in them. Waited out a dead cycle then dove in for 5 SW. Good landing just past PG cone. GoPro died on keel while setting up.

Nice. Vt=24->21 VdVGT=63. Rowdy little thermals that turned out to be 200-300 up. Got past 4,200 to 4,600. Decent landing into light SW 20 feet short of PG cone. Several wingovers, some with a lot of pitch. Dave's GoPro on right sprog.

Good. Low sun, alnost no wind. Mylar sail. Forgot to put vario on downtube. Nice quiet sledder. Good landing well short of cone.

Good. Vt=24->27. Moved KP to aft hole. Light and thin overcast, North wind coming the next day. Some 300-400 FPM cores, mostly 100-200. Good UM buzz. Climbed from Cloud with Jerome. Several wingovers. Good spin. Landed with a couple of steps heading west short of the HG cone. Fly Crestline glider for Jason. GoPro on keel.

Good. Vt=32->19. One-day break from Santa Ana winds. Lots of pilots out. Easy ridge soaring, Jana had camera on launch, good fly-by pix. Flew out spine to Marshall, thermalled back NE over Waterman Cyn. At 6k went for interchange. Soarable but not plentiful thermals. Went out Arrowhead spine then across to radio towers then LZ area, decided to land. Fun flight. GoPro on keel.

Good. Thick marine murk, barely soarable. Scratching veer close to the hill. Switch at LZ with flags showing WWNW and streamers various directions. Tight approach to W final not caring about cones at all. GoPro on keel.

Good. No wind as I stepped onto launch. Got a weakcycle after a minute or two. Went right, to the sunny slopes but so hazy not much there. Nothing big enough to circle in. Zero at the LZ with puffs of S. Did a right-hand approach to S final on the PG cone. Landed with a crisp no-stepper 20 feet short of the cone. GoPro on keel.

Just flying it for fun, really. Last flown before vehicle testing; passed tests but TS wire broke and frame/sail repairs required. Installed new prod spec bridles. Inner looked just snug VGT, outer good. Vt= 24, 22, 21, 21, 20. VdVGT=67. Lots of cirrus bands and streamers, like 70%, but people reported it was pretty bumpy (earlier). Got above launch right away, but just a couple of hundred. Over on the west side of cloud, just above the top, I found a little bronco that had a 400 up core I could graze with a wingtip. It got bigger and slower and drifted steadily NE so I was at 4,500 and even with the cell phone peak N of Marshall. Went there and I found a 100-300 fpm core that drifted NNE slowly. Eventually I was at 5,190 and almost over the highway so I pointed at Crestline and floated to the east spine easily. Good soaring breeze, no one in the setup area. Two hangs at Billboard, three PG's in that vicinity. Got to 5,600 in east house thermal drifting back a ways. Noticed a green and white tent on the spine west of launch. Got closer and thought it looked like a hang glider tent, then saw it was a right-side-up hang gloider with a broken right LE and there was someone moving and a lot of gear and realized it was EMT's; looked to the top of the hill and saw fire truck and ambulance with lights going. Circled once with glider in frame (GoPro on right sprog) and went over to Billboard. Saw A.J. so knew it wasn't him. Considered whether I should inform the LZ folks immediately. Nah, but didn't really feel like going to Pine or anything. Decided to just go land. Did a Vd run toward Regionals with a couple of wingovers on the way. Second one was pretty far over but I let the bar out a little abruptly in the climb (going fast, more nose-up force than the 155) and popped the 4, 5, & 6 battens on the left wing. 4 & 6 had backed-out a few inches and the glider had like a three-hole turn. Did a cautious spin initiation to the right and it was fine except the recovery yaw seemed wobbly. Went and landed into light S, trotting with minimal flare and the left wing dropping. Later reports: No one saw it but A.J. heard something like a tree cracking. PG's in the area radioed to others near the LZ who landed after no radio contact with LZ and then 911 was called. Glider initially upside-down with parachute bridle visible but not parachute. Guatemalan visitor renting a Sport 2. Breathing but not responsive; in ICU in same state.

Good. Vt VGT=23. Clear with high whispies. SE morning flow. Not much lift. 0-1 S in the LZ, sink on downwind, lift on final. Good 3-stepper across the HG cone. Hunters had a deer at Last Chance.

Good. VdVGT =63, Vt =23 to 21. GoPros on both sprogs. Mine on left, battery dead after landing. Got up above 4k in a slow thermal off Cloud. Some nasty cores below, close to the hill. Dove for the LZ when I saw a good cycle on the flags. Good 3-stepper across the PG cone.

Nice handling. Vt=24 to 25. Moved KP to the aft hole. VdVGT =68. Got up easily. Low save from W of the pond to below Regionals in a narrow but steady core. Lift on S final, overshot the PG cone by 20 feet. No GoPro.

Great. VdVGT =65, Vt = 23 to 20. Much gentler thermals, high mares trails. Fun. Wide of PG cone.

Good. VdVGT=65, Vt=24, 23, 22, 21, 21.

Very nice handling. Vt=24,23,22,22,22 VdVGT=64. Warm and clear after days of Santa Anas; it almost switched the day before. Good launch into lightly ridge so arable air; bumpy just away from the ridge. For up easily at BB to 6k and flew right octet the top of Pine. After a little back and forth a great thermal took me to almost 7k. Thermalling comfortably with VGT at up to 1k fpm. Flew directly to Sugarpine along the back ridge, facing WNW but don't think it was really coming up the back. Down to 6,700 just NE of the peak I dropped quickly in the wind shadow, thought maybe I should have gone slower. A good thermal to 6.5k+ just SE of the peak and I flew fast for Pine instead of the usual slow altitude-conservation mode. Good swoop on the peak then a few circles up and I sped S then W to Last Chance where I capped the speed run with a couple of smooth wingovers. Warm down there; just heavy gloves was perfect up high and the carbon basetube helped. Decided to just go land even though it was very buoyant. A couple of steep wingovers and a spin near the LZ and a good landing near the HG come into WSW pointed right at the low sun. Good scenic video with the GoPro on the keel. Wired Majo with her new S3 for a while in switchy (L/R) cycles. She backed off of launch. Wired Noel briefly. Noel blew launch with her S3, more of a controlled abort. Nose too high at start, left wing dropped. sh e rolled into downtube, only damagge seen. Unhurt. Majo later flew and had a great flight. Reports of a very low airliner east of Marshall, near an HG. I think I saw it from miles west. May have been a fire tanker practicing.

Good. Clouds burned off. Light light S. Got bumped and dumped after launch. Strong bump at the white cone SE of launch, worked hard and climbed to the top of Cloud Peak. Good landing in very light S.

Good. Ain't worth steady S 10-15. Easy climbing to 4,600 MSL. SSE at LZ, right-hand approach to PG cone, dropped left tip going for spot.

Raked tips, carbon basetube. Vt=24 all VG settings. PP OK. Slight right turn VGT, raised left sprog one turn. Keel strap was back to loose after landing; thinner black strap material.
Tighten keel strap, maybe tighten haulback bolt.

Good. Vt=22, 24, 25, 23, 21. No Vd run. Stiff VGT. 95% puffy clouds cover, light rain overnight. Wind S 15 at launch. Mike got up but I couldn't snag his core. Worked lots of terrain lift, finally got away from Bill thinking the thermal{s} might be out there but no dice. SE while I was setting up approach, left-hand with extended base, but it turned more S so easier. Overshot to center of field, good flare. GoPro on keel.

Great. VdVGT=65. Vt=24, 24, 22, 21, 21. Ridge soared Regionals then weak thermal at Cloud Peak. When I got high enough to go to Marshall it really turned on so I stayed with it. Saw steady 700-1,000 FPM to cloudbase at 6k. White and green glider appeased in the whispies so I dove away. Edge of cloud was lower! Exuberant aerobatics. Dead flags at LZ pointing SE. Flew low for camera, found the lift. Good SSW no-stepper foot plant past PG cone.

Raked tips, carbon basetube. Vt=26, 27, 27, 27, 27. VdVGT=62, more PP than usual VGT. Sprogs tight at VG7/8. Mush at 19 VGT, sharp stall break usually dropping left wing and spinning. Ridge soared Regionals, had a sharp nose drop bump shortly after launch. Decided to do some wingovers right away to maybe settle high trim speed. That's when I first noticed the VGT stall/spin. Normal VGL. No turn. Had GoPro on left sprog but removed before launch due to dead battery. Eyed sprog zipper and everything else while flying. Nothing amiss. Numerous slow/mush/stall checks at different settings. Expected to find creased or curled mylar insert after landing. Good at 21 VGL. Heard light metallic buzz at 21-22 a few times, felt through basetube. Faint, like a vibrating wire. Dave reported hearing lots of BS flutter. Good landing into steady WWSW, couple of steps around the PG cone as the right wing dropped. Sacrificed crisp flare to be near cone. Kept glider for weekend reflight. All Mylar window sail.
Move KP to aft hole. Tighten keel strap. Tighten root ribs.

Good. Very windy SSE, launched across top of the lower ramp. Sharp rotor bump right after launch, otherwise smooth. Ridge climbed east face of Cloud Peak. Climbed to 5k S of UM. Tagged radio towers. At 3k S of LZ big area of 700 FPM down. Landed OK in alternating SE/SW. GoPro on keel. Rebar Dan S3 155 demo flight.

Sweet! VtVGL =24, VTVGT=21. Late marine layer burn-off, pre-Santa Anas. Low haze with light SE flow. Scratched 750 and below, got one good tiny core over the trees then one in the east bowl, for above the 750 way back there. Good landing into light S near the PG cone except flared a little high and went gently to my knees but the basetube didn't touch - that's a first

Warm and clear. Hoffman offered to drive my truck down after his hike. Buoyant breeze, thermals narrower than the day before. Had to work to get up barely high enough to go to Crestline. Arrived below ridge top, light wind so a few passes to get above. Coffee to 6,300 at BB. Flew near Lauren on her S3. Towards afterbay, thermal to 5,300, went to Pine Fun thermal low at mouth of Sweetwater Canyon with Mck, Nathan, and Gene. Good one-stepper near PG cone. . GoPro on washout tube.

Good. Hot and clear. Soaring predictor promised 8k+. Got to 9,300 over Lake Gregory in a thermal from Cloud Peak that had sustained 1k+ FPM. Truck was on UM but too rowdy to top land so I drove down to land and catch the 3:30 van. Got close to Igor over the LZ then we were both in sin and I had to cut in ahead of him. GoPro on right xbar.
Replace top rear wire. Tang got caught in strings when folding, went into Keel pocket and stripped the cable.

Good. Climbed right off launch in steady WSW 15. Soared the faces up to below Cloud Peak. Over to Regionals, etc. Great fun circling over the west fingers with Gene and Jai Paul in PGs; they launched the 750 as well. GoPro on left xbar.

Warm and clear. At LZ saw McKenzie climbing easily way out front of UM. Decided to try the 750 and get exercise hiking back up. Breezy WSW while setting up, Randy shadow bombing me with his T2C. Launched into light cycle and lift just W of launch. Numerous passes between launch and bowls to W, never dropping much below launch. Core came through and I climbed steadily up the spine, then E of Cloud Peak. Continued in nearby core to 5,500+ N of UM. Easy hop to CRS with circling over the highway. Flew from BB straight to Cloud Peak with strong cross from WSW in the middle of the crossing. Buzzed UM to get images of UM 3 PM group. Thought about top landing for the heck of it but very bumpy; no attempts. Went to 750 area then dove for nice landing into steady WSW quite short of the PG cone, HG cone equidistant to the side. GoPro on right washout tube, new swivel allowed good aiming framing. Very fun and just what I needed. Fixed nagging lower back stiffness (as it has before).

Very good. Hot day, clear, 104 degrees F at LZ, and breezy WSW. Some climbs to 4.5k with fast drift. Went to Clouds Peak and waited in standing wave of the little west bowl. Good thermal came through and after 4.5k MDL it really turned on. Saw lots of 900 up with big lift around it which helped in the fast drift. A couple of songs got under me. Drifted towards the 18/138 interchange and went for it at 7 500 MSL. Great views! Lost 1k heading to CRS. BB then S then W to E up the valley in broad lift. Windy at UM, left for 20 minutes, came back. Less windy, PG traffic. After a thermal cycle on the west side did a tight approach to a good top landing, trotting a bit left in drift. GoPro on left washout tube was aimed very well, lots of great footage. Fly-in day so many pilots.
Clean tape residue from left washout tube. Clean dust from TE.

With stiffener panels on Mylar inserts. Vt=23,23,22,22,21 VdVGT>65. Vt slower than pre-repair 6-9-18 flight with this wing. Stall behavior very good, like stock S3 155. Vd a few MPH higher than I recall getting with this glider. Slightly slower response on roll initiation but good/normal response adjusting bank angles. Good landing.

Good. Vt=24 to 21 VGT. No Vd run. Scratchy, narrow thermals. Much time below the 750. Dove in for a good SW cycle. No-stepper past the PG cone. Dave's Hero 5 on basetube boom.

Raked tips, coated BF/BR, carbon basetube. Good. Vt=23,22,21,21,21 VdVGT=65. Thermal right off launch, easy soaring. SW 7 at LZ. On final for PG cone right wing dropped and fell behind me - it got into wind shadow of a couple of gliders parked side by side trail to the wind. GoPro on keel.

Good. Slows down very well. Great fun scratching the bluffs with Dave on a 170 and! Mike on the A230 P1 (new apex pos.) Got above launch eventually. Good landing into light SW from right-hand approach.

Saw some HGs soaring at BB. Spent a few minutes below launch then got a nice one to 5k. Drafted N along the spine and found lift twice so I was 2/3 of the way to CRS at 5,500 MSL. East hop to CRS. Joined gaggle at BB briefly then out to W side of Devil Cyn. but no lift. RGNLS to UM, got below and had to maintain in tiny trash before getting to 4,400 E of the top. Dove in during a sink cycle and had a really smooth top landing. Too bad the GoPro was on but I forgot to start it (realized shortly after launch). The new Sony mp3 player with sport headphones was great, good and loud. Cord dragged on the back of my neck; better to have it in front. Drove to AJX and hung out for a little while.

Bumpy at Crestline, thought the glider was messed up at first. Dove to Regionals and caught a nice thermnal back to 5,700 so I went to Crestline. Headed for Afterbay, lost little altitude, turned and went up the Pine spine. Had a close encounter with Frank H., who arrived when I wasn't looking. Over to Matshall and some fun scratching close at Cloud. Good soins amd wangs. Totally stuck th e lam ding in a good breeze. Was using my new GoPro sprog mount designed and 3-D printed by David Aldrich of Wills Wing. I like the new perspective!

Sonora wings rebuild. Very slight right turn. Twisted left tip one hole. Bumpy mid-day conditions. Got to 500 above UM and then dove for the LZ to make the 2:15 van. Switchy bumpy on final, no-stepper near the HG come. GoPro on keel.

VERIFY TIMES. Warm, moderate winds. Glider unchanged. Had to muscle it once in a while. Great glide. Very tired again after flying it but no specific muscles, just all of them. I think I'd like it better with the longer 68 downtubes. Good landing.

Good. Vt =24, VtVGT=21. Raked tips, all Dacron. Warm, clear, light cycles at launch. Easy scratching in narrow coers down the Cloud spine. S 5 at landing, good two-stepper 12' easy of PG come. Go Pro on keel; also Steve's 136 landing.

Good. Vt=24, 24, 23, 22, 21. VdVGT>65. Good moderately strong thermals, soft edges. Went to Marshall the low way from Cloud, with a drifting thermal. Left lift at 4,500. Some spins and non-spins. Low wingover. SSE at LZ. Long base leg and turn into wind. Good no-stepper. Go Pro on keel.

Good inflation and launch. Stephen and Jerome later suggested using a little brake during the run to be ready if the wing got ahead of me; Lua had suggested no brakes previously. Just a hair bumpier than what I was looking for in the air. One surge sequence after launch that I was slow to get under control. Worked some lift between the 750 and the LZ. Bled altitude off over the parking lot. Lifty W of the LZ.

A230 P1. Flew out from Crestline about 13:40 on 8/18/18. Very stiff, like toys totally washed out. Worse than A180 and A210. Hang point 3/4" ahead of where I found it. Vt=16. Good pitch behavior. Initiated a spin once by itself at Crestline. Thought for sure I was going to end up in the ballot LZ. Over the 750 right wing lifted and I tried to turn into the thermal. It would not turn right or even level out. Went with left and got dumped hard pointed at the ground. See video. Went and landed without incident.

Flew it again from Marshall at 5:21 PM, got 53 minutes. Gentle thermals, 150-200 FPM at best, narrow cores.

Good. Clear and hot. Good cycle to launch into, went SW and worked SE facing bowls. In and out of a narrow core got me above Regionals. Lift over LZ let me wait for a SW. cycle. Good no-stepper just past PG cone. Dave filmed. L

Great. Vt= 22, 23, 24, 22, 21. Sprogs taut VG7/8. Shallow pitch well. See 8/11/18 log. Narrow thermals, easy to stay up. Planned on approach from straight East but wind clocked slowly to NE on final. Landed NNE at North edge of grass. Ok. GoPro on keel, SP on Alpha 230, Dave on 155 with "Sport 3" on LE
Sand Raked Tips.

Nice! Vt=22, 24, 24,:22, 21. VdVGT=64. Rowdy cores all over the place. Circled with MM at Cloud Peak for a while, same altitude. Flew over launch as Tim blew launch low speed; tubage, ok Hard to check trim speeds in the bumps. Got close to Steve flying Noel's purple 155. Landed about 3 feet short of the PG cone. GoPro on keel.

Good. Vt=22,24,24,23,21 VdVGT=62. Good PP. Got up right away at Regionals, went to Cloud under Mike and thermalled a few circles at his altitude, left for UM because why be crowded in rough air when there's lift everywhere. Good gain at UM, long glide to Last Chance looking for smooth air for trim checks, did some maneuvers. Gliders on ground all loaded by SP who opted not to test the S3 170 in such rough air. Dove down and picked a cycle. Had a sweet keel-standing no-stepper about 15' east of the PG cone. Slight paper cut, right ring finger, from front edge of one of the raked tips.
Sand raked tips.

Sprogs down 2 from last time I flew it. 1" shims on all bridles. PP 5-7 lbs. per hand VGT. Like a Sport 2, more than a Sport 3 155. PP slightly higher a few inches before full stuff. Vd=63. Tracks nice and straight on Vd runs. Hot with high cloud layer, 50% coverage. Thermals sparse for a summer day but strong on available. Pine want working when I was there. Got 5,700 from UM, nice float back to CRS at 21 indicated. Lost 400 feet. Got kicked out of a couple of strong thermals when trying to enter. Good SW cycle to land into. Flared with feet a couple of feet of the ground and dropped straight down. GoPro on keel.

Vt=26 to 29. Could fly 21 VGT. Sprog cables barely taut at VGT. Raised sprogs 1.5 turns. Moved KP to aft hole. Tightened #7 and #8 battens.

Was thinking I'd fly around 5:30 but the wind stayed steady 15 MPH for a long time and Gene landed and said the thermals were rough so I waited until 6:20 PM. Good launch and glide out, getting used to PG again. Worked lift for a while with a hang and a PG or two. Went over the flats to descend and there was wide gentle lift W of the LZ. Came in a bit high again and wasn't dropping in the headwind. Did half ass big ears on short final to descend faster and landed smoothly out there east of the kiting area. Very fun and such different feeling in the mild lift. Had the GoPro on. Didn't have my SD card for the HG flight.

Good. Nice wind at launch. Climbed a couple of hundred feet right off launch. Easy soaring. Good thermal off Last Chance to 5k, milking the last 200 feet. Dove for the LZ. Good landing 25 feet short of PG cone. Lots of smoke in the air, mostly Sourh and West of Colton, from big fire in Cleveland National Forest.

Great. Nice roll. Vt=24, 24, 24, 22, 21. VdVGT=62. Thought at first it had a tiny left turn - high side left, low side right. After some VGT maneuvers there was no evidence of a turn. Steve showed me a thermal below Cloud and I climbed to 5,500 MSL easily. Dove to the LZ, wind dropped as I approached. Flared hard and good two-stepper with left wing low. Remake of glider customer refused for minor sail damage. I test flew it and it was fine, video shows good landing. I think dealer scuffed it up.

More kiting with Lua's guidance. Forward inflation in lightish breeze. Good run, descending flight off LZ. Steered left to clearer area and put wing down well, only a couple of snags gathering it up. Hellish walk back up parking lot. Did a couple of more inflations without intending to fly. Had vario on so got a GPS track :)

5-7 WSW. Good forward inflation and run down the flat-slope launch. Started helmet GoPro after launch. Felt great in the smooth air. Flew WSW to the Cloud spine. A little hard getting my butt back into the actual seat and comfortable. Did a smooth nearly circular 360 on the W side of the spine. Weight shift with a touch of brake. Enjoyed the smooth glide while Lua spiralled down to the LZ. Got used to thumbs in carabiners while working brakes. Light West in the LZ, did figure eights training hill vicinity and smooth approach, lost less altitude than expected on final, heading from corner to corner. Of brakes till the very end, touched feet down very smoothly in the kiting area. Took wraps on brakes and laid wing down behind me cleanly. Woo hoo! Might want to shorten the brake lines a few inches. Aussie HG pilot Paul drove and filmed, Lua filmed and yelled in LZ.

Good. Vt=23, 24, 24, 26, 26. VdVGT=67. Moved KP to act hole. Lots of BS rumble, had root battens on the loose side. Tightened #7 & #8 battens 2 turns. Good PP VGT. Hot and clear. Inversion was right above Crestline. Very bumpy air with crappy thermals though I did get up and around a bit. At 45 minutes got tired of working so hard, flew out S if LZ at 4k MSL. Found a good thermal off Kendall hill then a really nice one W of LZ. Kicked back and thermalled to 6k! Was watching zero cycles in LZ, Dove to land a little prematurely and the socks went slack as I was on downwind. Hard flare in zero wind, went to knees and put good down firmly on basetube and keel. GoPro on keel came off. Turns out a bolt wasn't through the little holes in the housing but was pinching it together. It was that way for a couple of weeks.

Trying out Lua's wing and harness. Kited in the LZ for a bit (windy). Had a good reverse inflation and drove to the edge, flew off. Gained a little altitude after sinking. Steered left to the clearing and had a good landing. Felt great!

After a failed forward inflation, good no-wind forward inflation. After a number of strides felt harness lifting me and sat into it. Sank to the ground about half-way down launch and skidded on my butt for a ways before canopy came down. Newbie mistake. HG pilot Paul from Australia aas helping, had driven 3 of us up.

No-wind forward inflation, started closer to wing, ran harder. Ground fell away from my feet about half-way to HG launch. Flew smoothly but didn't lift away from slope. Near top of HG launch I sank and pulled my legs up. Feet touched the ground, body slowed and the wing flew past me. Was pulled head first down HG launch. Wing came down nose first below me, luckily it was short of the mass of bushes. Should have called it a day after previous launch failure. Paul carried my harness up. Rather exhausting carrying the wing back up. Paul drove me back to the LZ. Scrapes on knees and forearms. Charlie horse in right thigh, possibly from the GoPro which was hanging from a string (didn't have helmet bracket with me). Flight instrument recorded all three tries on Marshall. Purchased wing and harness from Lua.

Great! Vt= 20, 22, 22, 21, 20. VdVGT=65. Sprogs tight past VG3/4. Very nice thermalling slow. Clear and hot, SE flow in general. Light cycles at launch. Scratched for a long time on SE face of Cloud Peak then the draw East of the 750. Zero wind at the LZ, Steve circling low over the parking lot . Got above him and we gained a couple of hundred feet with a lot of circles. Steve reached me and the flags were showing S so I dove in to land into breeze. Good landing with a few mini steps. GoPro on keel.

Good. Mylar, speed battens, and Litestream. Cross left on launch. Got a puff in and ran hard - smooth launch. Went SE then W, sinking sinking. Got under Steve w/Alpha 230 proto; he had saved it from low over the LZ. I was getting the lift from below the 350 but drifting NNW fast. Dove for LZ through bumps, good landing 12 feet short of PG cone. No GoPro. Drove 2nd round.

Good. Vt= 20. Could go 19, hard to hold the bar out at 18. Lift right in front of launch. Hard wire slapper next to Cloud Peak then 500-1000 FPM thermal topped out at 5,550. Did some spins (hard to hold the bar out) then dove down to the 750 to thermal with the others. Dove from 750 to final with knees on basetube, hands on front wires. Overshot the PG cone by 25 feet.

Good. No wind at launch, real West out front. Dave and I both sledded. Good landing.

Nice. Vt= 22, 23, 24, 24, 21. VdVGT>65. Easier to thermal VG1/2. Hot, muggy with monsoonal leakage from the SSE. Windy at CRS (23) so we went down to UM. Rain near Big Bear eventually moved to near Running Springs. windy from S while flying but not parking-windy. Great fun climbing in broad lift and dashing back to Crestline in short order after launching. Got 6,100 MSL at BB and went to Pine. Saw an open-wheel buggy coming down the back road fast, couple of full-sized trucks coming up the front slowly. Watched them meet a little down from the 4k hairpin. Truck moved over, buggy slowed and tried to pass, got front wheel off the edge and stopped. I watched the trailing truck spinning its tires farther down the road and when I looked back at the buggy and other truck the buggy had slid sideways down the slope, completely off the road and everyone was out looking and scratching their heads. No thermals had come through so I went to Regionals etc. Worked a good one off Last chance, climbing through scattered PGs, and ended up climbing/drifting with it all the way to 5,400 MSL north of UM! Dashed to CRS again did a speed run to Regionals, then went out front to land. Did a number of spins, a couple from the basetube only. Couple of wingovers then another no-stepper into SW 10 well short of the HG cone. While setting up the glider I tried to readjust one of the raked tips and my hand slipped on the back edge. Got a deep paper cut that almos took the pad off my right pinkie and bled like hell. Band Aid and electrical tape. No blood on glider.

Good. Vt=24-27. Move KP to aft hole and refly. Hot, hazy with smoke from Cranston fire near Idyllwild. Thermals weak, narrow, and snaky. Mostly just few turns in one before losing it. A couple of good extended climbs.Cloud Peak thermals weren't working like usual. Landed when I wanted to. Good SW approach to a surprise no-stepper - glider really rotated when I flared.

Flew with sprogs 3 turns lower per SP. PP better but still excessive, maybe 1.5xS2 PP. Bridles still slack. VdVGT=63 head down and pushing with fingertips. Roll response slightly lighter; would be real light with 68 bar. Great glide. I got to 5,500 just north of Cloud Peak and only lost 200' going back to Crestline. Benign spin. Vt 21 VGL, 24 VG1/2, 20 VGT. Went from out front back to Crestline 3 times in an hour.

Good. Vd VG 1/2 was 28 first time through but later Vt=23, 24, 24, 23, 21. VdVGT=63. Slight BS rumble. Scratched in the bowl just down from Cloud Peak for many turns waiting for a dust devil to get its act together. When it finally got going it was a nice 500-700 FPM dynamo. I reversed direction several times, seemed like left was against the spin (thus better). Got up and went to UM then uo to 4,500. Got vid of swooping on Mike in a Mylar S3 155 (and a PG sort of). Did some wingovers and spins. Left #5 let go on initiation; didn't feel any effect.Wind went more SE from SSE as I was setting up so long base w/skid to face wind. Slow three-step trot 20' past the PG cone. It had rained on us up at Crestline when I drove the first round. Mike called the day because of the rough air and the threat of more rain.. GoPro on keel.

Lightsumthing Mylar with random black/grey taffeta out, LE and TE. Good. Vt=22, 23, 24, 24, 21. VdVGT=59. Good handling. Rain didn't bead on LE. Da Boys left after three rounds. I kept a glider and hung around the LZ BSing and watching the weather. It cleared and Kim Floyd offered to drive my truck down, so I went to Crestline. Clouded-up as I set-up and Jeremy swooped launch with his PG. A few passes after launch I felt raindrops and flew out to Cloud Peak/Regionals in steady sink. At Last Chance I hung out

Good. Vt=23, 25, 27, 27, 23. VdVGT=67. Sprogs engaged at VG7/8. Booming cores with wide lift around them, big sink between. Forced it down so I could catch the 3 PM can.

KP fwd hole, RLE's loosened 1 increment. Good roll, a hair slow responding when a wing got bumped up hard. Trim 21 VGL and VGT. Bridles slack, maybe 1" inboard, 1/2" outboard; 2:1 anyway. PP VGT too high, like an Eagle. Lower the sprogs and the bridles would get tighter. Banked a little steeper right than left so I twisted the left tip one hole for a right turn. VdVGT=60. Vs=19. Lift not as strong as earlier but easy to stay up. UM and Cloud not that great. Good climb from way out front of Marshall to 5,200. Numerous wangs, 2 good spins and one failed spin entry. Good no-stepper 15' past the PG cone. GoPro on keel.

Good. Hot, muggy, monsoon leakage may lead to overdevelopment. High cloud layer, 65% coverage. Almost no wind, a few beeps. Good approach and landing.

Reflight after SP. Twisted left tip one hole for right turn before flight. Was stiff per SP so flew with 1/8" shorter wands. No turn, not at all stiff. Dual LE logos, Mylar w/red Dacron nosecone. More overcast to the east. One hint of a thermal SW of Regionals, otherwise all terrain lift to LZ. SE at LZ,v was getting ready for left-hand approach with long base leg and sharp turn but it turned straight East as I headed east. Did a quick 180 and right-hand approach into slot North side of LZ heading east. Good flare in almost zero wind. This was the 3rd round, I drove for the 2nd. Rained hard on us going up for 4th before the 750 so we called the day.
Heat shrink on pigtail. Trim the new wands 1/8". 1/4" sq hole BS Mylar end of RT LE - apply film. Change to 1x19 TS wires..

Quite hot, even at Marshall. Prev. 2 days record heat. SSW 15. Launched off the newly-mown top. Thermals elusive near launch. Got up from Regionals with 1k thermal that got slow and drifty around 5k. Kept finding it and was halfway between Cloud and Crestline at 5,250+/- so pointed it at Crestline East spine, got there about 5,100. House thermal was on :)

Great! Vt= 22, 23, 24, 23, 21. VdVGT=68. PP light at VGT, almost neutral. Raised sprogs 1 turn each. Hot and clear, no clouds, breezy. Ridge lift, better thermals away from the hill. Got 6.3k at BB. Rough at Pine, went West slowly to 2nd spine on back ridge, only at 6.1k so didn't tag Sugarpine. Great thermals Marshall complex, went back and forth to Crestline at will. Waited out some zero wind at the LZ. Diving in I got a sharp bump about 500 AGL and the DigiFly came loose. Good approach and no-stepper short of the PG cone in 12 SSW. Fun!

Good. VdVGT=65. Vt=22, 23, 24, 24, 23. Good strong thermals, 500+ FPM, topping-out around 5k MSL. Got 5,200 North of Marshall in the first thermal, right offf launch. Several good climbs after that. Dove to land at 14:45 and catch the 15:00 van back up to get my truck. Good final into S 10. Was on the uprights and hit loft just before the grass, had to go to the basetube with one hand to pull in enough. Good one-stepper just short of the PG cone. GoPro on keel. First flight with my repaired DigiFly Air. Nico to have it back.

Very nice. Vt=22, 22, 23, 21, 21. VdVGT=63 (!). Hot, windy, and inverted. Ridge soared for a few passes, thermals broken and drifting fast. Dove out front to do some thermalling. Several climbs to 5k or so; clear I wasn't going to get back up to Crestline. Good one-stepper into steady SW 8. Film crew was shooting some post-apocalyptic thing at Crestline. Glider for John Burke.

Good. Vt=22, 22, 24, 22, 21. VdVGT=60. Cool and windy from the SSE with clouds forming, banking up slowly, and lowering to Crestline. Blown out at Crestline. Some good thermals with 500+ FPM to the 5k vicinity. Went North of the Afterbay hoping to get up and go to Pine but thermals were shredded. This one was harder to spin than others. Still benign behavior and recovery. Good one-stepper near the PG cone. GoPro on keel. Kinoma GPS vario. Say with Lauren, Linda, and Lua in the LZ after breaking down and loading up.

Good. TT to appx. 35. Sprog cables snug @ VG7/8. Hot and clear. Tight bullets close to the hill. Kept falling out on the downwind side, diving at the hill. Never really climbed much. Sock dead at the LZ, was planning approach to the WWSW when the streamers started showing NW. Dove and did final from SE toward the candy cane. Screaming in no wind, flared hard and laid prone on the little slope. TW said it went tail on me. Dave's GoPro on the keel.

Good. Climbs to 5k just fine. Steve was thermalling just SW of launch. I had cross from the SE but launched and for under Steve. Climbed continuously to 5k. Saw 1,200 up on the Kinoma GPS various 2-second averager and 550+ FPM on the 15-second averager. Good no-stepper near edge of grass in sink and headwind. Tried to write "ken" SW of Regionals with the GPS track - - it worked - it worked! - it worked!. GoPro on keel died seconds after turning it on.

Good. Plummeted off launch, just like Dave Aldrich on the 195. Dumpy bullets like my first flight of the day. Low save over the ranch house, maybe 300' AGL, to 3,500 MSL where I exited and Dove r land. Right-hand approach to SE final on the HG cone. Made one steering input too many and did a slow near-whack near the cone. Dave's GoPro on the kingpost. Kinoma GPS vario.

Reflight to get trim speeds. Alfredo adjusted 1 hope for right turn; no turn evident. Vt=22, 22, 23, 22, 21. Sprog cables snug just past VG 3/4. Good climb to 4k. Dove to land. Good no-stepper out in the middle of the field.

Great. Vt=23, TT to 26 VGT. Clear and warm. Windy at Crestline. Promising climbs but kept topping out between 5,000 and 5,200. Did a number of spins - sharp initiation, very benign spin, little nose drop, good recovery. Good no-stepper landing into light WSW a few feet short of the PG cone.

VGT PP good. VtVGT=37. Sunny, low inversion. Thermals at Crestline topping out at 4,800 MSL. Another inversion around Marshall height. Tight bullet thermals didn't go very high, hard to average much more than 150 FPM. SSW cycle at the LZ, nailed the PG cone. GoPro on keel. Kinoma alt reading way low. Accidentally stopped the recording while adjusting the alt offset in-flight, so there are a couple of tracks and those will show altitude anomalies due to further adjustment.

TT to 40 mph VGT and light PP. Sprog cables on righ t not going tight, left barely snug VGT. Raised sgrogs 1 turn each. No instrument except airspeed. Smooth and very weak lift. Good landing into WSW 5.

Good. Low clouds just above Regionals. Steady 90 degrees cross from the East at the 750. Launched in a lull. No lift. Approach from N into 2 MPH E. Good landing.

Great! Vt=21. TT to 33 VGT VdVGT=70, good PP. Sprogs tight at VG 7/8. Morning overcast mostly burned away, lift everywhere. Cloudbase about 5k. Active around the LZ. Major sink turning to base, wondered if I'd reach the grass and get pointed into the wind. Good landing far shorter of the cone. Fun. Kinoma GPS.

Good. Windier, a little harder to track the thermals but no problem getting up. Got 5,200 or so. Kinoma GPS but it was hanging when I'd touch the record button. Bumpy at the LZ, SW approach and nailed a spot 3 feet short of the PG cone.

. Warm and clear, increasing pressure. N at Crestline until noon. Not a soul at Marshall. House thermal was working, kept topping out at 4k. Eventually got well below the top, sank hard to the 750. Nice core there, thought it was my ticket to the top but it petered out at 3.3k. Nice no-stepper landing near the PG cone. GoPro on right washout tube. A while later lots of gliders appeared. Those that got below 3k landed. Got a ride in tithe Neverland PG van back up to get my truck. Launch time and airtime confirmed with Kinoma GPS track.
Left root batten levers tip has slid inwards.

Banked clouds just touching Crestline. Got a few hundred above right after launch. Cloud spine wasn't working but Regionals and Last Chance were reliable in the S-ish flow. Kept topping out at 4k. Good WSW landing when I was good and ready at the 1.5 hr. mark. Gopro on keel. GPS Vario.

Nice temperature, 30% clouds, lots of forming and dissipating, SE drift up high. Launched into a cycle and was even with launch for a few passes and turns. Circling tight at the top of Pond Canyon, close to the hill. Not quite big enough to circle in. Went looking for other lift and generally descended to the LZ. Couple of circles 200 AGL above the ranch house. Good landing short of the cone. GoPro on keel. Steve R gave me a lift to the pond and I hiked from there.

Good. Clear and warm. Lift right in front of launch, scratched and maintained from the get go. Good thermal off the pond got me above launch, could have skied out. Good landing into switchy SSE 5.

Great. Vt=21, 23, 23, 25, 27. Shallow pitch well VGT. Little force needed to go 20 VGT. Excellent glide. This is the first production S3 155 I've flown. Definitely better glide than the Sport 2, especially up at 35+ MPH. Still nice and nimble thermalling and getting close to the hill. The day promised high altitudes but the afternoon high clouds filled-in so lift was somewhat damped. (Clouds thinned after I landed at 5:15).

Great! VdVGT=72. TT to 28 VGT.

Good. Hot and clear. Good narrow thermals. My instrument wouldn't turn on though fully charged. Good landing, overshot the PG cone with a S approach.

Good. Soarable but I want finding cores near the hill. For dumped a few times. Good lift at 250 feet AGL over the trees by the LZ. Did a lot of circles but couldn't quite get up. Got dumped over the stainless. Good landing 12' short of the PG cone. GoPro on the keel. Revised airtime from 13 to 12 minutes after watching the video.

Wind picked up, cycles of 15-20 WSW at launch, elevatored up and circled in a fast-drifting thermal below Alfredo on a 170. Crept to the upwind side of the Cloud spine and traversed the SW faces and climbed steadily. Was able to just park into the wind a few hundred above Cloud Peak. Had to dive at full stuff to get down reasonably quickly. Thought I was too high turning to final but I just hovered down pointed into the wind and was way short of the PG cone. GoPro on keel. Revised airtime from 22 to 21 minutes after watching the video.

Went to the LZ to sort out the weather station power. Bad GFCI plug; found an extension cord and another socket and all the computers came on. Clouds solid until 2 PM. Dan offered me use of his F2 225, Mckenzie offered a ride to Marshall. So I went up and flew for an hour in light lift without an instrument. Got to 5k a couple of times. Hanging about an inch too low; basetube hit parachute. Trimmed about as slow as it could be without mushing. Good for the conditions. Tom from Canada had his new Lime/Orange Falcon with white gull. Very fun unexpected flight!

Good. Sunny and warm. Almost zero wind. Couple of thermal bunps. South final to PG cone. Dropped left tip a bit flaring late milking for distance.

Good. No TT. Very little wind or lift. Good S approach to HG cone. One-stepper 20 feet short.

Great. Nice roll handling. TT to 31 VdVGT=65. Lift turned on! Worked a wall core below Cloud Peak that eventually merged with another and got great. Dave, Alfredo, and I worked it for 1,500 feet or more, trading places occasionally. Tim Ward's new glider. Showed out how to get to Crestline. Dove to land in a breeze, good flare short of the HG cone..

Good. Very thin high haze. Was only finding lift for half a circle then it was gone when I went back. Good no-wind landing with 1/4 VG.

Prone configuration flew fine. Wing to be adapted to Easy Flyer. Clear and chilly onshore day between bouts of Santa Anas. Climbs ripped out at 5,200 for a while then broke through to UK and went to Crestline. Lost 800 feet getting the from halfway back! Good top landing in moderate wind. Was expecting it to get strong.

Good. TT to only 27. VDVGT=61. SSW 15 at launch, a few high wispies. Lightly ridge soarabIe. Wasn't really climbing at BB so I dove for Regionals. Some lift there and at Cloud Peak. Some PG's l K over. Worked weak lift below Marshall happy to get tens of feet per circle. Finally got a few hundred over and the thermal really took off. Soon at 5k MSL, I was considering alt needed to go back to Crestline, deciding on 5.5k so if I sank a lot the ridge lift would get me back above the ridge. Had to really milk the last few hundred feet of climb and settled for 5,450' before heading back. Found very buoyant air on the way and only lost about 100' on the trip! Got up at BB to 6.1k. A small airliner, red/blue with winglets, flew over from NNW to SSE (unusual direction) and lower than normal. They're often between 9-10k but this seemed to be about 1k above me; not 2k. A minute later my steady thermal topped-out and I was on a beachball for a few seconds. Might have been partly from his wake. Went over to Pine. Not much there and I was getting cold fingers. Back to Last Chance, 750, out over the LZ. Did some wingovers. Forgot to start the GoPro before launching! Good landing into light SW 5.

Clear, 20+ SW, had been forecast N a few days ago. Not a soul out there but me. Good launch off the top w/immediate climb and park a few hundred over. Got over 5k, went to Cloud Peak and back, then to Cloud again, got below launch then found >1k FPM thermal to 5,400 MSL. Back over UM, out front a bit, then went and landed. A bit on the windy side for top landing, one sharp bump just before round-out. Smooth landing with a little trot. GoPro on keel. Would have flown longer but had somewhere to be.

Good. Mylar, black hardware, LS, speed battens. Clear and warm. Almost got up. Left hand approach to SE final. Good flare up to my feet.

Good. Worked a weak core SW of launch. Bad sink crossing over to Cloud spine, got there barely above the 759. Just bumps but maintained over the training hill at 1990 MSL for a bunch of turns. Right hand approach to HG cone, 3 feet to the left. GoPro on keel.

Good. TT to 31. Lots of circling close to the terrain. Good run-out landing in zero wind. Thirty seconds later would have had a nice breeze. GoPro on keel.

Nice. Dave's camera on boom off basetube for promo stills. Swiped Dave on Regionals and on the 750. Worked hard to stay up long enough. Great no-stepper near the HG cone.

Good. Clear and warm. Forecast to be North but SW at Marshall after 9 AM. Was going to go to UM and plan on top landing but didn't want to struggle low and/or sink out and be stuck on a day with few pilots. Went to the 750 so I could hike up to get my truck. East there at first but it was just a thermal; saw a couple of PGs well overhead and Dusty came over on his tandem from Crestline. Launched into a fading cycle and had lots of little bumps but also sink. One core by the 350 I didn't crank to get into. No climbing at all. Switchy at the LZ and landed into light west, good one-stepper. By the time I got back to the 750 at 15:00 it was NW flow there and at the LZ. Probably would have gotten flushed from up at Marshall or had to top land in gusty North flow.

Good. Speedbar upgrade. A little sled ride from Marshall Peak on an overcast day that was forecast to be unflyable light north wind. Could have stayed up if I'd stayed at Marshall. Drove a couple of PG pilots up and Kathy Rhodes drove my truck down.

Good. TT to 29 VGT. High overcast, pre-pre-frontal 10-18SW at launch, worjacket setting up. Gloves and jacket in the air were great. Better thermals than I'd expected. Got up at BB and lost like 200 feet on the way to Pine. Got up to like 6,600 at Pine working a thermal that was slowing down. Got up again and went back to BB then launch then straight out to RGNLS on a speed run. Got up and buzzed Marshall launch then thermalled right out and went back to CRS. From BB I boated out to the Afterbay and lingered S of it seeing if there was any lift. Last Chance then 750 and a couple of wingovers, thinking about landing. There was a nice moderate core right there and I ended up topping out Cloud Peak with it so I buzzed Marshall again (top this time) and went S to Badger Hill and turned right for the LZ. No wind limp flags so I worked light lift W of the parking lot until the flags showed some life. Dove it in and had a good landing into steady SW 5 near the HG cone. VG was still 1/4 for no-wind. Flare was effective :) Lots of pilots out. Michael Tome landed his U2 and his basetube caught the grass while he was still prone. He swung through and the nose touched slowly. RT downtube bent, he tore or broke something in his left shoulder because he didn't let go. He was sitting there a bit dazed but not in visible agony. Alan Crouse and I broke his glider down and Kathy R. and others took him to the emergency room. Greblo and Sylmar crew were out, so that was fun.
Replace lower VG cord and index. Way too long at VGL.