Dunlap - Pushing my limits, a little...

Went to Dunlap August 28-29 expecting good conditions, and we weren't disappointed (some of us anyway). Being his first time at Dunlap, *C* needed to do a sled run and Barry wanted someone to show him the way. I volunteered. We got to launch late morning, so I set up quickly and launched. I went up like a rocket! (I was the first one to launch in the video below) I really, really wanted to circle in the lift I found myself, but I steadfastly followed my flight path. I even found myself higher than launch above the LZ! Being a good example for *C*, I set up my approach using S-turns over the back end of launch. But after 10 minutes, I had lost maybe 500ft-1000ft! I was doing S-turns in lift and I was only losing altitude when I pulled in hard. Needless to say, I got pretty tired doing this, but I eventually managed to get the glider on the ground. I had my best landing of the weekend- and of course no one was down in the LZ to see it! After I landed, *C* launched, and I talked him into the LZ. Fortunately for me, he discovered the valley of sink between the house ridge and the ridge behind last chance, so I didn't have to wait long for him to land :) After he landed, I performed the quickest tear-down of my life and got into my car for round 2!

When *C* and I got back to launch, everyone else (besides Victoria) was just barely starting to think about launching- why did they wait?? It was fantastic already! I set up as quickly (and safely) as I could and proceeded to launch. After I was in the air, it didn't seem as lifty as it was before, but it was still plenty strong. I found some good thermals and cored it up to about 6800'. I made a couple attempts at tagging Sampson, and I finally succeeded! I went down the ridge and tagged Santog. It was no problem staying up, but eventually things started dying down. Everyone else landed, so I started making my way to the LZ. I had never had much luck finding lift on the north side of the ridge behind last chance, and because I had some altitude (4800' I think) I went along the south side of the ridge. As luck would have it, I found a nice thermal that took me back up to 6400'! I decided that a nice way to squander that altitude would be to tag the Daltons, on the opposite side of the valley. I made it, got back to the LZ and made an excellent approach, but didn't flare strong enough and landed on my knees. That was a great day...little did I know that the next day would be better!

The next day, I get on launch after *C*, and I'm almost ready to go....and my left wing gets lifted as I'm about to take my first step. I stumbled a couple of feet down the ramp, but manage to get control of my glider again. Barry got on the nose of the glider as I calmed down from the scare. When I was calm again, I waited for a little bit of a lull (the conditions were rocking!) and had a good launch. Very strong lift this day! It was a little strong on launch. Cookie girl sagely decided to wait for more of a lull- an especially good decision considering what almost happened to me! By the time she launched, it was a flush cycle...there was lift to be had, but you needed to be above the ridge to really use it. Clayble and Barry waited a bit longer before launching because they were hard at work replacing clayble's downtube. Anyway, while they were on the ground, I found a strong thermal that took me to cloudbase! I was at 7600' and only a hundred feet shy of cloudbase. I was sure that this would be enough to get me over Delilah! So, I made my way to Sampson first, which I made easily. And as luck would have it, I found a thermal there that took me back to 6500'. I really wanted to tag Delilah, so I started making my way there. About half way between Sampson and Delilah, I decided that I didn't feel comfortable being that far from launch, and I since I couldn't radio (some kind of malfunction), I didn't want to risk bailing out at the ranger station. So, I turned back despite having an easy glide to the top of Delilah...oh well, I'll tag her next time! By the time I got back, clayble was in the air and Barry was about to launch. Wow! Their day was about to start, and I felt like I was nearing the end of mine. I flew with them for a while, I tended to like getting up over the switchbacks while they got up behind launch.

I saw the whole ridge go under cloud shadow, so I decided to call it a day. I went to the ridge behind last chance, found a thermal that took me up again and below I see clayble. It was hard for me to tell how high he was, but it looked like he was scratching and doing a good job of staying up despite being low. I made a run for the Daltons, and when I got back, I was actually a little lower than clayble! We both had to come in and land at the same time; I landed short and he had a great approach and landed just past me. On approach, I realized that one foot was really sore from being in a bad position the whole flight. It was sore enough that I knew I couldn't put much pressure on it. Anyway, I came in to ground effect, had a medium-flare and was all set to run when my foot gave out from under me and I slid in on my knees. Thankfully, Victoria carried my glider to the tear-down area while I limped along. 5 minutes later I was all better. Such was the end of my 2.5 hour flight (longest to date!).

Video from Sunday:

premature landing

pilot who does not follow flight plan
gets his friends real worried
scratches real low
lands in the forest
and gets poison oak all over

excuse the genius of my poetry ... they had told us that every 5 years or so someone lands on the knob. *C* (not clayble) evened out the stats this weekend. he was told to soar launch only if above launch, else go left immediately. he proceeded to turn lower and lower and turn not in lift, until he fell in the valley below Boardman Ridge. some of us watched in horror, some with anger, others couldn't watch. he scratched heroically some unknown features for quite some time, and not quite making it to the last knob landed in a clearing, landed not crashed, on the north-east side of it. 4 hours later barry and ryan found him, after taking barry's rover through some terrain spirit and opportunity would be jealous of. *C* had no water, no radio and no long sleeves, but let's stop here ... we got him back that night.

we flew over him on our way down, so we knew he was moving and well. but it took until 8 pm to find him in the forest ...  glider remained in a dry creek bed in a unknown, unmarked location .... and was retrieved only after 7 hours of hiking today, in head-high poison oak in some parts! kudos to barry and ryan for driving and hiking, and especially ryan for hiking with *C* for the glider. 

glad everyone is fine, and hope that the miracle of tecnu and lake water will save them from the pain!

and to leave you pondering, "if a glider lands in the forest, but no one is around to see it, did it really land?"

the pink panther and us

clayble went ultra sporty so i can ride the pink panther. he rocked today and i happily learned to pio!

Log:

50 ft: cookie girl (4 flights); clayble (1);
150 ft: one flight each
300 ft: one flight each
1750: two flights each

Soaring Hull

I found an email from Barry, insisting that Hull was the place to be on Friday. I hadn't had any luck with Hull up to this point, so I was interested in catching Hull on a good day. Originally, there were to be four pilots and two cars making the journey...but in the end, there was just me and Barry, two cars, and Hull mountain. I launched about 1:30pm or so, and Barry launched soon after. I spent most of the first half hour getting tossed around lower launch; I didn't get very high, but I didn't go down. Barry worked the same lift and somehow managed to go up. After half an hour or so, I found my thermal and took it up. Pretty soon, I was over the mountain peak- and there's still snow up there! I eventually got up to 9700', which was the highest I'd ever been above launch and I think it's about 8000' over the LZ. It was fun flying the mountain with just 2 pilots, talking about where the lift is good and just flying. I landed by the lake after a couple of hours :)

That night Barry left, and I was joined by Justine, Jesse, and Doughboy. The following morning, we met up with cookie girl, Scott, Lionel, Victoria, Robert, his brother William, Greg, Eric, and a bunch of Sonoma wings pilots. I launched first and put a valiant effort into getting up by lower launch. I stayed up for an hour, but I never did get high. As I was flying to the LZ, I noticed Doughboy flying in formation beside me. It was very cool flying in formation with another glider. He eventually decided to race ahead and leave me in the dust. Apparently cookie girl tried to fly with us too (though much higher), but she couldn't fly fast enough with her little Falcon (though that should be remedied soon enough).

The last day was amazing for me. I launch second, not at all confident I would get up. In fact, after I launched, I went down, so I decided to make my way to the LZ. Flying down the ridge, I caught a strong thermal just past the hairpin. Circling in that, I easily got a few hundred feet above launch. I then went to lower launch and found another strong thermal that took me even higher...all the way to 9200'. And I stayed there. After I got up, everyone lined up to launch after me. I must have worked the lift pretty well, because I was at the top of the stack for most of the first hour. I tried to use my altitude to go places. I crossed the valley from lower launch to windy ridge and then came back via the peak. Also, at the end of my flight, I tried making my way towards the dam, but I turned around half way across the lake. It was a very fun flight...and I can't wait to go back!

---

Having cookies while writing this .... mmm. Whoa, what a weekend. What cleanpants modestly did not point out is that he had his longest and highest flight in one go on Friday. And he stacked 5 hours in one weekend. Saturday packed 20 gliders on launch, which some of the more seasoned pilots said they'd never seen. That day I had my longest flight, but ended with a turbulent landing (she did not behave like the glider I knew ...) on the strip, which made me nervous about launching on Sunday. I was sure I could make the lake the whole way as I was higher for a long time, above cleanpants and doughboy, on the way out. Then I hit massive sink and then massive turbulence and then gradient. The three of us who landed on the strip this weekend had stories to tell. Jesse broke a downtube and a leading edge but heroically came out without a scratch.

Off to get more cookies ...

So there I am on Sunday talking about not launching. Cleanpants gets out second after an advanced pilot who worked really hard to get up. He shot up above the hairpin and I thought, fine, I'll fly, I'll get out third. By the time I made it to launch (I was ready), I was fifth in line !!!! It was a conveyor belt straight up. Lionel was very encouraging on launch, which was just what I needed. I took a strong cycle, and went straight up, but kept going left. Apparently at that point Eric mentioned that I fly without a vario, so they decided to give me input. "Gergana, you're flying through great air. Turn. Gergana, you're above launch, turn." Ok, ok ... circle. "Gergana, you're doing great." That's the last I heard, I was now concentrating on my turns. Up and up and up. Mostly left, then right. The ridge features started to get smaller. I like trees from afar. I was so concentrated on my turns that I barely saw launch get lower and lower. A few minutes later I finally looked around. Whoa. The peak was at my line of sight with bunch of pilots about 100 ft above it. Whoa, there's another valley on the other side. The world just got bigger. Cloud base in the far distance was within 10 degrees of line of sight. While these clouds were probably still really high, I had never contemplated that view. Top that with a pretty landing by the lake. Tete dans les nuages ...

Log: cookie girl (1.5 hours); cleanpants (~ 5 hrs); won after multiple failures to stand on log in the water and dive from it; saw cubs, again; and an elk herd; and an honest downwind approach!

My LA Adventure

I saw an ad for an interesting glider for sale in LA, so I decided to take a roadtrip and check it out. The glider was a LiteSport 5. My impression of the glider was that it would be a little harder to fly than what I was used to (a pulse 11m), and that I would be a little light on it, but not too bad. Anyway, I drove down to Sylmar flying park, just outside of LA (that was a 6+ hour drive- solo!). I soon met a couple of the local pilots hiding in the shade. After introducing myself, Irwin and Larry gave me a very comprehensive introduction to the LZ; given how restricted the LZ is, I was very appreciative of all their pointers! Anyway, my timing was perfect because a truck was going up to the Kagel mountain launch half an hour after I arrived. I put my Pulse on the truck and drove up with 5 other pilots. On launch, one very nice pilot (I want to say his name was Arthur, but my memory is playing tricks on me) gave me a good intro to the launch and told me where the best lift was. I launched and had a very turbulent half-hour flight. I only got a hundred feet or so above launch and it was hard to stay up. But that seemed to be the order of the day; apparently Kagel is better in the fall and spring. Landing however, was a breeze; with the right approach, it's a very pleasant place to land.

After landing, I had the pleasure of meeting Joe Greblo. He's a great guy and I from what I can tell, a terrific instructor. He also took on the unenviable task of talking sense into me. He eventually convinced me that I was biting off more than I could chew with this new glider. So, instead of trying out the new glider the next day, I took another flight on my Pulse. This was a shorter flight, but I still had fun. Though the previous night, I had camped near a "shortcut" into LA; I was woken up at 3am by speeding semis going down the abandoned road I found.

Anyway, I decided to break up the drive back into smaller chunks, so I drove to Dunlap for the evening. The next day, I launched Dunlap and had my best flight there to date. I launched at about 2pm or so and in no time, I was up to 7000'. I tried making my way to Delilah, but I turned back about half way there because I found tons of sink. Got back to 7K and tagged Suntaag before going back to launch. By this time, the launch bowl was very turbulent. I had already had a good flight, so I decided to call it a day and land. I keep forgetting that I need to have a really strong flare at Dunlap- I came in on my wheels (I thought I was past that!). Anyway, that was my LA adventure.

Hull is back

Last weekend a car of 4 headed to Hull. We were joined by a few of our own and a few Sonoma pilots. I had two great flights. Launch was cycling nicely and I headed towards Lower Launch. Making a few passes between the two launches, I found consistent, mellow up. Barry launched after cookiegirl and I migrated to where he was finding lift. I was able to follow him up a few thousand, getting above the peak - I topped out at 8400! He kept going, maxing out at 8993. I played around up there for a while, then started slowly drifting down the ridge. After an hour and 15 minutes or so, I happily touched down at the lakeside.

Due to logistical issues on Sunday, only three pilots flew. Most of the sky seemed to be going up. I found my first thermal around the hairpin, and spent the next two hours (!!) going back and forth between launch and the house. I hit 1100 fpm a few times but only got to 6780 - still about level with the peak. I was the only one in the air for a good while, and I was feeling like the king of the sky. Eventually my arms grew tired and so did the lift, so I attempted to head for the lake. With a report of whitecaps on the lake, I decided not to try the glide and instead went for the airstrip. After turning off the vario in preparation for landing, I realized the strip was thermally and tried a few last turns, hoping to get up enough to make the lake. No such luck, and I set down by the sock. Great fun.

Hang-4 spot!

Log: 7 pilots, 10 flights. Two each for cookiegirl (hour total?) and clayble (over three hours).

Slide July 22-25

Can't seem to put words here.

Always fly before flying

There's unspoken tradition among BHGC students to be in the air without an engine within 12 hours of being in the air with an engine. That usually happens when we're leaving or coming into the country or the state - which induces the behavior of flying local sites either 12 hours prior to take-off or right after arriving.

In the true spirit of tradition birdbones checked in for her Funston flight at 9 am today (after partying till the wee hours of the morning), picked up gear and promptly launched about 11:30 am. She touched down the planet back at 12:15 and was immediately on her way to the airport. We all like her sooooo much, and we're sooooo sad to see her go, and can't wait to have her back!

P.S. Alternative title for this post is "Eat, Party, Sleep, Hang Glide, Repeat."

Log: birdbones (1 flight ~ 45 minutes); cleanpants (1 flight), Jason (1 flight)

Different experiences at Slide

Apparently the weather is playing crazy all over the place, sometimes being just crappy and making flying impossible, sometimes super phat and great. Apparently there are even huge differences depending on exactly when you launch, what glider you fly etc. Asking those who went to Slide last weekend "How was it?", you are likely to get very different answers...

Justine, helmet girl, Thomas, boy wonder, Scott and Kurtis left thursday night, camping in an inconvenient spot, leaving Scott almost being run over by a car at 4 am. Barry, Jesse, birdbones and cookie girl left early friday morning instead. By the time we arrived at Slide, the sky looked seriously developed and I was starting to have serious doubts whether we would be able to fly that day. Sure enough, Scott reports from launch that they'll only do "sledders" for Thomas and boy wonder. Both had nice flights with plenty of lift and nice landings in the LZ where we picked them up to drive off to check out Hotsprings mountain, a site which is supposed to be good in southwest winds. The approaching thunder storm didn't stop us from driving up the horrible road to lauch and check it out. Instead of flying, we watched an impressive lightning-show and drove then off to Tahoe where the weather was perfect for swimming.

Saturday looked much better though we were expecting hard westerly winds again. Still, we gave it a shot, drove up to Slide launch and found perfectly fine conditions. Everybody hurried best they could to set up their gliders and get off the mountain before the wind would overpower the thermals. Most pilots had a hard time this day, some taking a sledder, others fighting for lift over the knob without ever getting high. Three pilots who had a very different experience... I was very lucky with a great launch cycle which took me up to above 9000' right at launch without any greater effort. From there I went on to the fingers, found plenty of lift over the last finger and made my way further up the mountain. I got over the top just to find that the lift there was even better and easier than anywhere else and circled easily up to cloudbase at 14600' feet, the highest I've ever been. The view from up there is GRAND! Lake Tahoe, Mount Rose, the valley, ... I was feeling pretty nervous about being so close to the clouds though, feeling a little too much lift to feel comfortable (12000' up without even turning..?). I fled the scene out to the LZ, trying to find my radio in my harness pocket and asking for advice on where to go from here. I expected to find a lot of pilots up in the air and heading for XC - but no. The only ones high up where Thomas and myself, Barry joined us later. Without any experience pilot to follow and a southerly wind which would force us to head north where LZs are scarce and the restricted airspace can be in the way, I decided to stay on the mountain instead. I headed back to the peak and circled my way up to the clouds once again. From there I decided to check out Mount Rose, made it almost to the peak before I turned around and played the same game once more. The second time, I got back to Slide with too little altitude to find lift over the peak, ended up in the rotor in front of the mountain. My ambition was to make it back up over the peak once more and then go to land in the LZ, but by that time I was both freezing, nauseous, tired and in need of a bathroom. I headed out to the LZ, arrived there at 9k just to feel a multitude of thermals ripping of the field. Reminded of Scotts rule I figured I should keep circling above the field and thermal out of it, but I was way too tired. Instead I did a bunch of boxes, watched the windsock a long time without seeing any crazy windchanges and had an ok landing in high, gusty wind. There I was, an exhausted but immensly happy pilot. What did I care that flying had been crappy all week when I got rewarded with a flight like that?

Some of us decided to stay an extra day, hoping to be able to fly on sunday. Arriving at launch at 10am, the sock was already blowing down vigorously. We drove off to McClellan, only to find a 30mph howling wind from the southwest. Nothing changed in three hours, except for Barry's left rear tire which had gone flat on the drive up to launch. Heading back to Berkeley in the afternoon, I guess I was the only pilot in the car really satisfied with the weekend...