Crestline Soaring Society

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsgrILjbu-k

This is the extended and narrated version of the video I shot during my first flight ever at King Mountain on July 19, 2010. I launched second while my 'Epic Spuds' team mate Mike was landing in the upper LZ. Mike quickly broke down then re-launched for a good flight score later in the day.

I launched from the steel NW facing ramp. Later, I was told there were only 3 flights from this "cheese grater of death" as I fondly refer to it. This video touches briefly upon most of the phases of the flight from launch through landing. At the end I add a 3D animation of my flight tracks using Naviter SeeYou software, captured w/ Fraps.

http://imageevent.com/aero92/king2010

From 7/19 thru 7/24, I flew 359.3 miles point-to-point in just under 24 total hours, including 228,000' of climbing. Our team, The Epic Spuds placed first and I finished < 1% off 3rd place.

Enjoy! Jonathan

I've got my 25th high school anniversary that weekend up in Fresno.

I am sufficiently detached from the Big Raisin that I doubt I will have much shakin' during the day.

Anyone interested in heading up Dunlap way? I'm not sure I will fly, but I figure it's worth mentioning. If I get lucky and my favorite spot (Millerton) is on before its typical glass off, that would be fantastic.

Anyw

High pressure and low (double) inversion. Launched a Sport 2 155 at 14:50 into weak ridge lift. Crowd scratching below Billboard so I went for Regionals, expecting to get up and go back to Crestline. Was soon scratching above the 750. Finally a good core came through and got me above the lower inversion (~3,300 MSL). Much more relaxing and easier to stay up, but the strong thermals kept slamming into the upper inversion and petering out to nothing between 4,700 and 5,000 MSL. Lots of sink between the good thermals and I tried getting up everywhere, even on the west side of Devil Canyon late in the flight. Landed at 16:50 in a sink cycle.

Hats off to the CSS Gang....your sites are the Best!!!!!
Filled with Great Pilots!!!!!

Vegas Pilots Road Trip to Crestline July 16, 2010

Peace..AdamBomb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3TY0VtpRbI&feature=channel

It's a good day when you show up at the LZ on Friday and 2 min. later you have a ride to launch:) Thanks for the ride Kenny.

The July event for the Northern California Cross Country League will be held at Dunlap on 24th and 25th July. Please meet at the Community center in Dunlap at 9.30am on Saturday morning ready to go up the hill.

The league is open to all pilots- hang glider and paraglider pilots are all welcome to attend. It is designed to train pilots in cross country flying by flying fixed routes with more abled pilots (aka Joshneric). There is a mentoring program to assist the more junior pilots.

There are 14 spots currently available for Yosemite this weekend. Short flight, but some of the best scenery you'll ever fly over, under or around. I'm told that the falls are still flowing well. There is also gorgeous hiking, rafting, bicycling, etc.

Requirements: Hang 4 with hard-card in your hand. The site monitor (me) must see the original hard-card. (Not a temporary.) There will be no exceptions to this rule. Unfortunately, the Park doesn't allow paragliding at this time.

Anybody have room for me tomorrow afternoon to Crestline?

Enjoyable day at Elsinore. I mean not on the ground. About ten pilots out for the day. It was nice to see Bill hanging around. Everybody got up high. I topped out at 7300. Headed South. Should have gone East, I fell out of the convergence soon. But it was nice taking the courage to leave familiar territory.

I really have difficulty remembering names* but Corey, another PG pilot and their driver were at Kagel late yesterday afternoon. I managed to get in a couple of shots of their PGs in the latter half of the video. It's nice to see more PGs at Sylmar but mid-day Summer turbulence can keep PGs and HGs at bay until evening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKdqfGLF3Jg

Enjoy! Jonathan

*My apologies for the brain fart.

On July 27th and 29th (Tuesday and Thursday) the USHPA will have a video shoot happening at Crestline and Andy Jackson Airpark. It is for a "safety dvd". They need some HG pilots to assist as actors. Mostly it is as background with a narrator dubbing in what is happening. (The shoot will be at Dockweiler on the 28th.)

We need a group of pilots willing to tag along, and help out for the Crestline shoot days. It will involve many things including setting up gliders, flying, landing etc. As we know, the best time of day for flying is noon through sunset so I suspect they will gear the video around that time frame.

I must have gotten lucky Sunday afternoon. Dave launched and immediately gained altitude, heading east with no hesitation. I was off ten minutes later, and found the house thermal active. Crestline Bowl was popping off those little one-turn bubbles keeping me just above the trees. Lift just kept getting better, and I was able to roam from Billboard to House pretty much at will for nearly an hour with no other traffic, like having my own private playground! Even when I didn't pay attention, and found myself low, along would come another thermal and the fun would resume.

Well, probably not, but the NWS Forecast Discussion does contain the words 'Fly In' :)

"THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT IS THE MONSOON HAS FINALLY DECIDED TO PAY US A VISIT. THERE WAS SOME HIGH BASED MID LEVEL CONVECTION OVER THE DESERTS DURING THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS...BUT NO SHOWERS SO FAR.

ON SATURDAY THE MODELS INDICATE SOME INCREASE IN THE MID LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY...AND IT COULD BE MEAN THE FIRST DAY OF THUNDERSTORMS GENERATED BY THE MONSOON FOR THE SUMMER. THIS COULD AFFECT THE MARINE LAYER BY SLOWING DOWN THE REDEVELOPMENT AND INLAND EXTENT OF THE LOW CLOUDS."

Here is a video from chelan. that was one mean Dust Devil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FDJTApk5Hw

Friday is looking like a potential good OTB day with 11K over Silverwood Lake and 14-16K over the desert and SSE wind at 10 mph. Anyone interested in teaming up?
Jonathan
nmerider...gmail

In this months USHPA mag John Hiney's great interview/story was great. In it was described an unintended loop on launch into a dust devil. I came across this YouTube vid and thought you all would enjoy the thrill!

UNINTENDED LOOP AT TAKEOFF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crFGsZYM5vk

New Charly Insider (Black) XL62 with RF Limeted Moto-Com PTT Headset. This helmet is a bit small in the face gaurd area for me. Helmet is like new and the PTT head set is new.

New Cost $325.00
Sell for $225.00

The install on the headset is clean.

04 July 10, I turned 58 years young.
I also got my second flight hour with my new-to-me Sensor 610 F3 136.

Such a great B-day. Got a ride to launch from home in Blue Jay with Comet #527, used it for transportation to Andy's, stopping along the way to thermal a bit. Met up with RC Dave and got a ride with Mike Harper back to Crestline with my Sensor.

Good ol' Dave fixed me up with a smaller tailfin, thinkin' maybe it would allow a bit more adverse yaw on turn initiation, which, coupled with the generous anhedral present in this diver, would give me a speedier turn entry. More about this later, maybe, if yer lucky?

Hot, smoggy, and stable. Just gust cycles at Regionals. Very switchy at the LZ until after 15:00, at least. Good launch of Sport 2 155 from Regionals at 11:48, skimming the foxtails. Some scratching in mini-thermals SE of Cloud, then hanging at the bluffs waiting for a steady cycle. Six glorious minutes.

Cycles a little more frequent at Regionals. Launched a Sport 2 155 at 13:08. Ran extra hard in light cycle. Skimmed the foxtails again and took out the two tall yucca spikes way below launch, hitting one with each wing. Pretty scary seeing that I was going to hit them. Whump! Whump! No direction or pitch change - luckily they were on a line nearly perpendicular to my flight path. Was inclined to fly straight to the LZ and just land; decided to thermal a bit and mellow out. Eight minutes' airtime. A green stain on one LE cleaned right out with Folex.