Ken Howells Hang Gliding & Paragliding Flight Log

Sunny and cooler than normal. Southerly flow. Launched and floated to the west spine in promising bumps. Down the spine a little and got nose lifted, then rolled. Countered all that and was higher than launch in two circles, rowdy 700+ FPM thermal that was easy to track. Five minutes after launch I was above Cloud Peak, five more and I was at 6k halfway back to Crestline. Steady S up high. Good at Pine; took a while to get back to RGNLS, then went to between 5 & 6k again. Descended to UM then climbed out again. Circled in sink at the edge of CalState, planning to land around the hour mark. At 2,200 MSL or so I saw the windsock go from SW to ESE quite abruptly, then it flopped around a bit. Flew directly over the LZ and found the thermal at the North edge. Climbed back up to near 4k in it. Eventually made my way back down and landed smoothly into SW 5 after an active approach. Flew all alone at first, then a bunch of PG's showed up. Good hike to get my truck.

Warm, partly cloudy, chance of showers from Hurricane Kay remnants. A couple of hangs landed while Ic was deciding what to do. Heard thunder from the LZ, radar showed cell over Big Bear heading NW. Decided to get ride to RGNLS with Gene & 2 pg's. Windy at launch. Experienced PG shot up after launch. Rookie got dragged a bit trying to inflate. I waited out a gust cycle on the road then stepped over the edge gingerly and had a two-step launch. Gene took rookie down to the 750; too windy for him there too. Took focus to climb, but easily joined the PG at 5k east of Cloud Peak. Very cool and calming in the air. Went west slowly but the hills on the west side of Devil Canyon weren't kicking lift off. Back to RGNLS and such. Could see dark too the far east, rain in Redlands & Loma Linda, moving west. Finally saw a bulge in the front to around E St. & the 210 Fwy. Stuffed the bar at 4k and descended (slowly) to west of the LZ, where I found sink and got to 400' AGL. The PG was still doing big ears. Steady SW 12+ at the LZ, I sank worryingly at the end of my downwind then got popped up at least 6 feet on final nearing flare-time. The flow was so smooth it was easy to just pull-in and glide it out. Kathy Rhodes got phone video. It was sprinkling by the time I had my battens pulled. A single-surface glider who'd launched the 750 landed fine; another from the stayed up in the rain and landed after it was raining in earnest and blowing from the north. Somehow he landed (gently) off the east edge of the LZ heading N.
Dry glider well. Lost a basetube nut safety ring while setting up - it sprang away during insertion. Broke a #2 batten string breaking down. Used spare from harness.

Heat wave and some monsoon activity. 111 degrees F at my house. Saw lightning bolt at Mt. Baldy while driving up Kendall Dr. Flash Flood warning for Phelan on the radio. Obviously raining near CRS. At 15:20 or so at the LZ we started having strong WSW flow, like gust front, but clear to the SW. Lasted about 1/2 hour. Some interesting Landings, all ok. Then it got sunny and clear. Got a ride to CRS from Ried and Zac doing a retrieve. Very relaxing 22 minutes in the air, landed into light SW after sunset. Good flare, a couple of steps, well short of the cone.

Cooler than a couple of days ago, still hot, clear. They were getting up off RGNLS with PG's. I launched after a strong W cycle. One pass to the right and then left to W of the 350, no hints of lift. Two promising circles W of the green gap, then that lift had drifted away. Core on the E side of the LZ but I was only 200' AGL. Dove into the LZ and had a sweet no-stepper into SW 7. Good hike to get my truck.
Glider was trimmed about 16 mph and felt pretty sweet. I moved the hang loop forward 1/4" after landing.

Hot and clear, low ceiling on forecast. Strong cycles from the right on launch, weaker uphill cycles. Good launch and found many small cores in the spines. Much cranking and shoving the bar out for half a circle in dust devils. Took about ten minutes to actually get even with launch. Fast drift east in some cores, much working terrain lift west of launch. Hard but enjoyable. Went to the opening S of launch and encountered sink that Sent me to the LZ. Decent landing vicinity of the hg cone in light SW, trotting. Glider trimmed 22 mph, hang loop pushing on keel pocket. Harness was very head-down at first and combined with the fast trim was awkward for the first few minutes.
I moved the hang loop back 3/4" after landing. A little stiff in roll. I'd pull the 1/4" shims from the LE's and see if it helps. Sail cloth in good shape, some nicks. Thick piece of duct tape on one LE could probably be replaced with clear & thin. A couple of the TE batten-tip pockets are showing wear. I changed the bridles so they are outside of the top rear wire / haulback loop. (very minor issue)

Hot, not much wind, weak thermals reported at the lz. Good launch into a S cycle. Worked my butt off to stay just a little below Launch for a while, traversing but mostly W of launch. Eventually got maybe 75' above launch by working ridge lift in gusts and narrow thermal cores (few 360's). Sink cycle after that had me scratching below the 350' launch. Soon landed smoothly into SW about 8' past the PG cone. Didn't feel any effects from the new roof and shade structure. Good hike to get my truck. Water at the lz was off but Tim Ward gave me a water bottle.

Cooler than day before, N coming overnight. Caught several rippin' thermals below Cloud Peak but they died at 3k MSL. Finally one stayed together and then it was easy to be 3,700 and above. Thermals had strong, narrow cores drifting ENE, kept topping-out higher - 4.5k, 4.8k, 5 2k, etc. At the one-hour mark I got a great one of Cloud Peak to 5,700. I kept falling out the East side, whereas usually I er to the N, going to go to Crestline; this one was actually going more N than earlier. Forearms and elbows got chilled at Billboard, 5,400+. Soared the middle of Devil Canyon for a while, then went out and found sink and landed into light SW, unexpectedly had to run it out at the last second.

Normal onshore day, mid-90's. Saw a green BS hang glider get up from SE of the 750 while I was setting up; it drifted E, mostly. I launched into a SE thermal cycle and stayed near Launch height for a few passes, many tiny bumps shooting by. Got down by the pond, then eye-level with the 350 and there were like three little columns of lift in that bowl. I circled for all I was worth and drifted E with it, since I'd seen the glider earlier. It got wider at 750 height and got a little N in the drift. Relaxed and kept circling. SW of UM at 3,500 I went weightless abruptly and the whole glider shuddered. Lost the core briefly then it found a way through the inversion and got strong again. Was soon well east of the phone building at 5,150. Not so great in a Falcon in strong west. Went to Cloud Peak and another core for me to 5,750 N of UM, so I floated back ţo Crestline. BB, Devil Canyon, Regionals, etc. Went out and found sink over the LZ and landed with 1:05 Airtime. Leveled-out to short final for the HG cone and had a sharp upwards bump, but otherwise smooth landing. Saw 2 spotter planes heading N as I began my hike, saw/heard more aircraft while hiking. Fire at NW side of Silverwood Lake. Mentioned putting the white X out but most present were against it. Only 2 PG in the air, but high.

North wind overnight, switched to SW around 1 pm. Got a ride up from Rebar Dan. Gusty cycles at launch, kept finding strong cores about 75 yards S of the ridge that went straight up at 1k FPM, sometimes more. Got to 6k at BB, was soon at 4,500 at Pine! Found another rocket going up. Went to Crestline twice from 6k+ and both times arrived just at 5,200 or a little less. Got to 6,500 S of Paivika. Had to fight to get established around most of the cores. Fun fun climbs. Wore gloves and tee shirt, very comfortable. Flew out to Kendall hill and was maintaining at 3k all over the place; lift west of the LZ too strong to ignore, so back to the 750, and liked for sink. Was E of 750 & getting low enough to buzz a couple parked there when I hit sink so strong I got worried, just flew by them and waved. Good two-stepper into light W, headed for, but well short of, the PG cone. Some plywood had been put on the new roof so I enjoyed the shade at the north end of the structure. Only a few pilots Flying mid- afternoon, could see a dozen hg & og by the time I had my wing packed and loaded. Great Flying! Sandy Noyes sent me a video of my landing.

Light overcast got thicker. Talked at the lz too long before going up to launch. Gliders off UM were staying up but not getting high. Waited out cross-right flow for a good up cycle. Some bumps, very narrow, not really net gains. Had a promising core on the west finger but it went into the canyon before I went up much. OK landing near the PG cone, dropped right tip but knocked the cone over with my left wire. Pleasant hike back up to get my truck (with new tire). Drove up yesterday and found the air cleaner that had come off of my weed whacker on Sunday.

Warm again, still inverted. Cycles again like the day before. Just as my feet left the ground I realized I had not put the vario on the downtube. Laughed and relaxed, found lift on the spine right away and climbed a little, then got above launch. Tight cores close to the hill and I was scratching and having fun. After about 10 minutes I was down by the Pond and thinking I was landing. Saw the training hill windsock pointing EEESE and went there, found a tiny core. Drifted NE with it, gaining a few feet every circle. Got higher than launch again before it got sketchy, then went over the the West faces above the 750. Couldn't really crack 3k MSL but had a lot of fun trying. Sank again and landed on wheels {again) heading straight W in very light wind 20 feet short of the PG cone. Found my vario in the harness boot, carabiner line tangled with an internal strap. So that's why my feet felt cramped the whole flight! Got a call from Sandy later (and a text from JD) asking if a tool pouch JD found 20' from the PG cone was mine. Eventually realized it was my grey TDK cassette case with HG tools, which had also been in my boot and fell out on landing, probably when I got up and started walking. Retrieved from Sandy's spare van on Tuesday. So that was two linked brain-farts during setup. I think related to how I had just stuck the helmet in the harness after replacing it in the PG harness the day before.

Warm with murky air and low thermal tops. Calm while setting glider up, then WSW cycles while standing on launch. After a lull, had S 5 building so I trotted off. Many promising small bumps but nothing big enough to circle in (or find again). Was below the 350 after a few passes so I dove in and landed 10 feet short of the pg cone with a no-stepper in SW 7 for a shred of dignity. Took my time hiking up to get my truck. PG's of Regionals when I was at the LZ

Early haze and a low inversion. Rode the Sandy Van up with Owen, McK, and a bunch of other die-hards. Set up slowly but still was the first HG off. Somme PGs had launched and mostly sank. Went left then out to Regionals with no bumps. Good lift at Cloud Peak and then in front of UM. Got to 5,200 several times N of UM. Fun, used up a lot of time. Never quite enough to hop back to CRS. Flew near McK over N of Last Chance for a bit, then in front of Cloud and Marshall some more. Never low, never struggling. Saw light SW at the LZ and got there high and cored sink. Kinda weak cycle on final so I pulled-in and stayed prone to land on m belly. Grass is so thick and long it was like landing on a cushion. Very fun flight!

Warm, WSW forecast to get strong (trough moving inland to the north) , but mostly normal. Easy to stay up. Kind of hunting around for good thermals, with lots of brief climbs. Every 20 minutes or so I'd find a rocket core and see 1,200 FPM lift on the way to the mid-5k's. So, pretty fun. Had some isolated wispies forming between Marshall & Crestline at 6k toward the end of my flight; no actual clouds. Forced my way down and landed into light SW at 16:50. Had arrived at the LZ at 9 AM to help finish putting in the posts and beams for the new shade structure.

Warm onshore after a couple of days of light offshore. Climbed to 6,400 in the first thermal off launch! Went to CRS, then Pine. Not much over there, so back to Marshall then east to a swing around the radio tower. Half way back to UM at 5,200 MSL, a white & blue helicopter (medical?) flew between me and UM (S to N) at just below eye- level. A couple or few hundred yards away. The were other gliders at my level more east of Marshall. For the rest of the flight every rumble of my sail sounded like a helo :) Was circling lazily in a thermal off Cloud Peak kinda flopping around trying to stay in it. Reversed direction and was in it solid, so that thermal must have had a lot of spin. Was soon at 5,700 almost to the highway so I dashed past Crestline again. Was circling hard in sink east of the KZ to land in a nice looking SW cycle and at 400 agl I saw an HG at half my height coming from the west. I leveled-out and let him land first, I still had a good breeze to land into. Great fun Flying the US again. Goes slow and floats; a bit spanny-feeling at times, especially VGT. Last logged flight is 2018 but I have to have flown it more recently than that!

Clear& warm, cloudy yesterday. Cycles from SSE while I was setting up. Gliders soaring UM. Launched into a light cycle and worked lift SE of launch (unusually). Tight little persistent core, stayed at launch height but was drifting pretty close to the walls of the canyonlet in steep turns. Went to the usual west lift area but no joy. Soon was on approach to LZ. Nice no- stepper in WSW 7. Good hike back up to get my truck around 6 pm after helping with a rebuilt Falcon 2 195 and flying my F3T from the Westfall training hill.

Extended W cycles 90 degrees cross to the slope. Got a straight-in cycle and had a nice 5-step launch. Floated nicely and even got lifted slightly at the edge of the grass. Realized I ought to pull-in :) had a good 1-stepper about 10' past the hg cone, a little left of directly into the wind. Such a nice height for the launch.

Thick cloud layer just below Crestline didn't burn off until 1 PM, still murky. Good launch, plummeted to 4,500 before the BB spine, turned left for Regionals. Quite buoyant crossing, arrived 300 AGL at Regionals. Small cores away from the slopes, drifting NE. Low save from 2N40 entrance to 4k at Cloud Peak, took forever. In and out of the cores every circle. Another couple of lowish saves, got 4,200 at Regionals, flew past Marshall below the top, then sank. Scratched close by the 750 for a while before going and landing into SW 3, no-step thump to the feet. Very enjoyable flight, required much effort and focus. More like a February day than any days this last February!

Forecast was N at Crestline & strong WWNW at Marshall after noon but it was light SW at Marshall all day. Various directions at Crestline. Dusty had a tandem off UM; mostly sledder. I launched at 13:05 and got to 4,800 after some bumps. Sparse thermals, very tight core above the 750 for a few hundred feet. Once below that it was sink to the LZ. Sweet no-stepper into SSW 5. Winds stayed light at the LZ (switchy) so I practiced A&C inflations with the PG for a while.

Switch day, light W, warm, clear. Got a ride to UM with Dusty & Kathy. Breezy walking down to launch. Lots of little bumps that were hard to track. After 20 minutes, hit 800 FPM sink SW of Cloud Peak. Found 200 up nearby, eventually found 800 up core, went to 5k N of Marshall. Kept getting a few hundred more feet back there, slowly, then losing it slowly. Given the sink I'd found earlier, decided I wanted 5,700 before heading to Crestline. Got 5,660 and pointed N, floating up another 25 feet. No big sink but was only 5,213 flying in front of Crestline launch! No ridge lift, trees & bushes very still. Right thermal by Camp Paivika for me to 6k. Headed S after a while. Never put my gloves on, but it was very cool. At 4,200 S of Marshall I noticed I could see the skyscrapers of downtown LA. Good WSW at the LZ, flared a little high but settled nicely to a no-stepper. Fewer pilots in the air than I'd expected.

New left downtube. Weak onshore with 10 N at Crestline. Maintained altitude circling in a couple of narrow thermals, but no climbs. Zero at the LZ, one streamer on the middle of the east side showing steady east flow. Was going to do an ESE final but sank near the training hill. Landed heading S and held the moderate flare and ran it out. Felt good to fly the sportier wing for a change. Santa Anas for days coming up tonight.

Weak onshore with cloud layers, slight chance of rain tomorrow night. 50% cloud cover liked like it would thin but filled in by late afternoon. Very little wind, S, but people flew the back ridge east to Strawberry Peak at least. PG's boating near UM. I got a few hundred over after Launch in a thermal that slowly developed. Just bumps at Cloud Peak and lower after that. Zero wind as I was 500 AGL at the LZ but a S cycle came along and I had a good landing 30' past the HG cone. Got the Gene ride up with some PG's. Had been willing to take a sledder off the 750. Real nice to go to UM. Can't really for there from Hwy. 18 because of the escorts on one side of the road past the undermined area after the turn. Sandy Van did go to CRS.

First onshore day in two weeks. People soaring easily from higher launches. I launched after a W cycle, didn't really find anything to turn in. Lift east of the lz, of course. Good approach and flare. Landed with VG 1/4. Re-crimped vg-stop nicos seemed to stay in place. Needed a better flight for full VG. Maybe tomorrow. Good hike to retrieve truck. Very warm.