Marshall/750 2 May, 2007

Random image

User login

Login Problems?

· Your browser must have cookies enabled.
· Usernames and passwords are case-sensitive.
· Enter partial username in the 'search' box and click the 'users' tab to check your username.
· Once logged in, click 'my account' to edit your username or password.

If the request new password link doesn't help, drop a line to the .

Browse archives

By Ken Howells at 2007-05-02 20:10

Morning clouds pretty much gone by Noon. I hadn't checked the weather; Mike Meier had conflicting forecasts - NWS said 5-10 SW, LA Times said gusting to 40 in southern and eastern mountains.

Soarable from the 750 at 12:30. After zero-sinking for a couple of minutes, I got the Falcon Tandem to 4k over about 8 minutes. That was really fun! Working and analyzing and focusing and having it pay off.

Next run from the 750 at 13:30 I launched a Falcon 2 195 into lift, but then it was gone and I was at the LZ in a few minutes. Landed heading S with a slight tailwind (thermal). That flight wasn't so much fun.

We went to Marshall to fly double-surface gliders, and it was 15-20 SSW there, and cooling off. Cloud line at hilltop level way west over Lytle Creek had streamers curving downward on the downwind edge. Small clouds above Crestline quite animated. Quite turbulent in the air at 15:00 and the U2 160 had ideas of its own. I dove below and climbed back up a couple of times. Very bumpy coming into the LZ 25 minutes later. Many pitch and roll corrections on final.

Later I spoke to Paul from Wisconsin, who'd launched Marshall and eventually gone toward Pine, and then headed a little WSW. He must have gotten into a mini-wave downwind of the hills leading to Cucamonga (that had the weird clouds), because he went up to 8000 MSL just flying around and he was looking DOWN at the clouds on those hills. He had pictures to prove it.

We decided to got to the 750, maybe Regionals for the last flight at 16:00. At the 750 it was blowing 10+ and S enough for easy launching. It took me 5 minutes to get the Sport 2 155 to 4k; Mike M. took 4 minutes. Was boating in wide lift around 5k with a few Falcons when I hit a rocket over Cloud Peak. 3 turns later I was at 6k+ and cloudbase. I didn't go in the white room, but I knocked on the door. Went over the flats and then back to the bluffs. Fought to get down to look at the LZ, then had to stuff the bar during approach to descend. That was a fun half-hour!

Kim Floyd had ridden up with us and was somewhat non-plussed about launching there. He'd never launched HG from the 750, but PG plenty of times. He got up and was still in the air at 17:00.

GPS track images and flight gory details on my website.

Forums > Pilot Reports
Flight > HG
Sites > Marshall

It was a pretty idiot proof

By John W at Wed, 2007-05-02 21:11

It was a pretty idiot proof day for me, assuming said idiot proofness doesn't include my ground handling. :P

Mark S. launched shortly after his son took off on a tandem with Rob and was last seen well above me, heading out to the flats, over three hours later. A couple of other pilots disappeared that direction, going up into the sun and wonderlift. Crazy.

Speaking of crazy, Steve top landed on regionals with a pretty decent whack to do a little sunbathing. Fortunately, I saw him moving around enough to know he was ok, otherwise I would have expected CSI San Bernardino on the scene.

At one point, we had a flight o' 3 Falcons somewhat in formation slowly penetrating out over cloud. I found circles a little to heavy on the downwind leg to do much of. Ross and I had a fun time toward the end of the day boating around within shouting distance of each other. He was close to 3 hours up, I was around 2 1/2... personal bests each.

The landing was pretty dodgy, with the flags around the field pointing to the center of the LZ showing winds anywhere from SW to SE and dead calm where I ended up. Go figger.

My tracklogs aren't as purty as Ken's, though they have special value to me as they remind me of my 20 month old daughter's work with the crayons. :D

Wow!! what a flight

By Dusty at Thu, 2007-05-03 07:32

Launched my hang glider from Marshal around 6:00pm a blanket of clouds was developing over Crestline it soon grew and overtook Marshal and cloud peak. It stretched from the Cajon pass to the dam. The line stopped just past the foothills leaving the LZ, reservoir and beyond in the sun. A strong base wind had built, and lift was everywhere. You would just float around at 4500 mostly pointing into the wind.
After a half hour of that; I decided to try and warm up by flying over the flats in the sun. Leaving Regionals I flew out from under the cloud ceiling, toward the soccer fields near Devore with a slow climb the entire time. Looking back on arriving I now saw that I was almost level with the top of this long blanket of clouds. It looked like an enormous wave.
I turned toward it to try and Surf the edge. As I got closer I could see my shadow on the face. In the image I could clearly make out me prone under my wing in the middle of the most Surreal circular rainbow. I kept flying closer until only one wing was in the cloud, Wow this is cool! Surfed the edge diving at wispy’s here and there until I felt the sun threaten to set. It’s that old saying look what happens when you don’t have a camera.

Great Day!!

By Ross Davis at Thu, 2007-05-03 20:12

Sharing airtime with other other Hang Gliders is amazing!! Especially when you have no worries about sinking out. My flight was spent exploring the Marshall surrondings, with many trips up to 5000+ feet and almost getting into the white stuff. If it wasnt for a full bladder and near frozen hands I think we all could have stayed up until sunset.

Towards the end of my flight I flew to Little League drive to take in some urban scenerey. The flight out was a good 15 minutes from LZ to the road, however the tail wind on the way back got me back to the LZ in 1 minute flat and 2000' over.

Needless to say I am a big fan of the CSS and the flying that goes along with it!!