Crestline Soaring Society

1:35 called Wendy she related blowing up at 2mph from SE.
Caught someone setting up at Crestline on the towers cam. Also
caught someone on the Marshall Cam. Check the latest images in the image gallery.

Marshall Cam 03/12: Blowing up at Crestline at 1:35 SE 2mph.

I drove the first round, about Noon. Cloud cover 50%, light S breeze with thermals making it switchy; soarable at Marshall. Mike and Steve flew T2C 144s and there were five PGs from Oregon finally getting some air on their last day here.

At 13:00 cumies were forming actively over the mountains, 65% cloud cover. Wind SE to SW 3-10 MPH. No wind at launch, 13:20, with a hawk circling out front. Cycle came and I found lift where the hawk had been. The PG group arrived for another round and they wasted no time getting off the hill. I did a few passes with the Sport 2 155 over Marshall then went to Cloud Peak. Found 200 FPM lift right over the point and it went straight up. When I got to 5k MSL it was averaging 500 FPM and I saw a dome of mist way above me. Kept circling and getting very cold. By the time I reached cloudbase, 6400 MSL, at 13:30, the lift was averaging 800 up and the dome had become a solid cloud, so I ran SE to the edge and climbed about 100 feet up the side. The cycling gloves let most of my fingers go numb, so I dove to NE of Marshall full tight, full stuff; turned 180 and dove for the LZ. Flags at the LZ showed wind from the NW and I climbed in the thermal responsible back to 3500. Finally cored sink over the paved road and had lift all the way back to the LZ, where it was weak SE. Dove on in to an approach heading S expecting to land crosswind and running but it was nil wind on final so I flared and jogged a few steps.

To All USHPA members in Region 3,

At the upcoming Board of Directors meeting next week we will be discussing the Mentor program. It is our hope to implement the program nationwide this year. What the Mentors do is help newer pilots with the help and guidance needed to advance safely toward their intermediate and advanced ratings. Many students are on their own once they leave the care of their instructors. The Mentor program will provide a link to up and coming pilots with others in their community that will help with site introductions, peer reviews, equipment advice, and even the occasional driver. It is a great way to help our flight community grow and make new and valuable friends. If you, or someone you fly with, would be a good candidate for this position, please contact me before next Thurs am. I will add your name to the list of possible Mentors. You can get all the information on the program at ushpa.aero . Click on the "Learn to Fly" button and scroll down to mentors.

Friday 3/5/2010. Rode the McBus to Crestline. No sun with sky overcast by high clouds. Wind was upslope, just barely. Rob warmed his Tandem Passenger up with vigorous practice runs in the parking lot. He was a young man in excellent shape and together they ran down the hill when a tiny cycle trickled up and made full use of the ramp as they executed a solid launch. Not a hint of lift in front of launch, they disappeared from view below Billboard but soon became visible and after several minutes were above launch. Convinced soaring was possible, Lee, Marcus and I launched in that order.

I think I remember the club regulars mentioning this last year, but you can never thank Owen enough. Now that the USHPA magazine is out as a reminder, congratulations and thanks again to Owen...for the exhibit at John Wayne, for free wifi and for being the O in Big O. In fact, thanks to all you all who make that stuff happen and apologies for not spending enough time doing the same myself. Soon come I hope...

Lots of clouds and not much wind down low. I flew Falcon 3 195s from the 750 while Da Boyz took T2C 144s, which I'm too big to test, to Regionals for flights 2,3,& 4.

9:30 - Cloudbase at about 3k MSL and shifting up and down, 95% coverage. Wind 1-3 MPH, SE to SW. Forecast said chance of rain by 4 PM. Waited out a down/cross cycle or two then had a good launch and sledder to a right hand approach and landed inside the PG circle.

DesignbyDave and I attended an aerotow/aerobatics clinic over the weekend at the invite of RCDave. Our goal was to learn the art of aerobatic judging. RCDave and Dallas Willis are putting together a team of judges so we can begin having aerobatic meets again in the US. RCDave and the USHPA invited myself and DxD to be judges.

The weekend was generally enjoyable, with a great turn out of Nor Cal pilots, who all flew quite well. Tom Low brought his Lancair 325 and gave me a ride in it. We did 200kts 50 feet off the deck! Then at altitude we did two beautiful rolls. I've never been upside down in a GA plane before!

Lately it seems like if it ain't blowin' north its raining, but today was very nice. Lots of lift at Crestline and blowing pretty stiff.

King posted gliders mostly stuck around the ridge while topless gliders were already laying down marks for this years longest out and back prize. PGs launched from Marshall.

Temperature in the LZ and even at launch was quite pleasant. In the air I never saw below 50 degrees, but that was still a bit chilly for me. There remains a little snow in shady places between some trees but the camp pool is no longer frozen over, now its green.

I am resurrecting Len's annual xc contest by offering up a 100 buck prize for the longest HG flight originating from marshall/crestline. Contest begins today and ends December 1st this year. Entrants submit gps track via this site as file attachments and distances calc'd by seeyou flight software. I'll qualify that my hundred bucks is for flexy flights either straight line or out and return. If someone wants to toss in a cash prize in for another class then thats even better!!!! PG, Kingpost, Single surf, H3, whatever.

http://vimeo.com/9604340

http://vimeo.com/9529188

I just read this morning that our dear friend and fellow pilot, Haim Amir died from a crash of his Doodlebug powered harness on Saturday. http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=15765

Haim was a really pleasant and upbeat pilot who I always looked forward to seeing in the McBus and watching him float around his Sport 2 135 with his 110# bare weight.

My sympathies go out to Haim's family and friends. If anyone has any stories they'd like to share please post them here.

... some bad news, "I think Dennis only has a broken arm, 3 broken ribs and a very black eye". Glad it wasn't worse than it is. Does anyone have more to add?

Here's proof why the Falcon can be an effective XC machine: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BC2i2YAaE2U

The only other glider to make the trip 10 miles each way to/from Mt Lukens was a Litespeed RS4 and the Falcon caught up below the Litespeed on the way back.

Rod keep you RLF skills current we WILL fly Falcons from Big 'O' Loop to Sylmar.

Started by skateboarding to the M.A.R.T.A. bus stop at 40th and Waterman.
It arrived at 10:40 am and for $4.00 I was dropped off at Top town.
Then a 1.5? mile hike to launch (slightly uphill non-skateboard) Flew my Paraglider for well over an hour with a trip to Pine and a top landing.
Wrapped up the day around 4pm in the LZ.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/96779299@N00/sets/72157623210808303/

Did anybody get to fly Crestline yesterday (Sunday) or did everybody get skunked??? Whack

Still a couple of inches of snow at Crestline setup area. Chilly, light SW breeze, some high clouds moving in. Good launch of the UltraSport 166 at 14:00. Went left and came back at launch height, so went to Billboard. Got under a gaggle and climbed through to cloudbase, 6700 MSL, in a couple of minutes. Pine was soarable but no great shakes. Flew from Crestline to Marshalll and then a little east and ended up down by the 750 at the 50 minute mark, wanting to get a solid hour, at least. Scratched a little core over the bluffs and was then right above a PG. We circled together in it and then another core, slowly slowly working to above the 750. The core left or moved and I worked very hard in another up to the East bowl by Cloud Peak. Flew over Marshal again then out to the LZ to land. NW cycle when I was 250 AGL, but I boated in the micro-core enough for the wind to turn SW and went in for a 3-stepper about 10 feet West of the HG cone at 15:15.

Nice flying from Crestline today. Mike B and I launched about 1:00 and ate it up, lots of lift along the ridge and over at Pine, thermals running the gamut from feisty to docile. Brent launched later and said it had turned to sweet glass off. The sky was overcast with beautiful mottled clouds, but the sun broke through frequently. Gorgeous scenery, the slopes are noticeably greener and snow clings to the shaded places. There was snow on the set-up area but I think Greg, the Guardian Angel of Crestline Launch, had removed the snow from the parking lot. The swimming pool at the Camp looked frozen over.

Set up the Falcon on a snow covered Crestline. Owen and Rebar Dan set up the topless blades as well. Was worried initially about post-holing my way down a snowy launch ramp. But amazing, the only place not completely covered with snow was the actual running path at launch! Groovy baby, yeah!
Had 38 glorious minutes of flying over the white stuff. Had the GoPro on launch... which promptly died just before take off. Hmmm... have to just keep this flight in my old memory bank instead.

The Marshall road (2N40) has been closed at all gates due to the weather. It is temporary according to Jack Kennedy of the Lytle Creek office. Safe to assume it's closed for this weekend. At this point, patience and understanding of their work load is a good idea. We'll work to find more info if it's still closed next week. BTW, Crestline is open if you have chains. As of this afternoon there is a