Scratching my way to Hauula

High cloudbase today filled many of us with grand ambitions, but after driving out to Makapuu and finding it stronger than we preferred for an XC trip, a handful of us made the call to try Kahana instead. It was super light there though, and required commitment and concentration to get high.

As we were struggling to launch and get up at Kahana, Doug and Dave had caught the express train from Makapuu and were hanging out at the lowering cloudbase over Waikane, debating the jump across boogaland. Dave accidentally landed in the back of Waikane, and then Doug flew back to Makapuu. After the other Kahana pilots had thrown in the towel and hit the beach, I finally made it up and away downrange. Although I struggled to find much lift on the next few ridges, I was happy to make it as far as the beach park in Hauula. Thanks to Scot for the retrieve!

Unexpected XC

Mad Dog, Don and I were pleasantly surprised to see the conditions turn perfect for a downrange flight from Kahana today. The wind was pretty fresh for most of the day, and I launched into some strong stuff, but by the time Don and Mad Dog launched the wind was already backing off nicely. What a happy surprise! We were only expecting a little airtime over the bay, but we managed to sneak in a mellow jaunt to Hauula Beach Park. Thanks to Mad Dog for the refreshments and to Jeanine for the friendly retrieve!

Paragliding Exhibition on Friday, October 6, 2006

The Leeward YMCA has planned an Extreme Sports Week program for their 150 or so K-6 kids during the upcoming intersession from school, and they have asked us to participate. They are going to come out and watch us fly on Friday the 6th, starting at 9:15 am, at whichever flying site we tell them we'll be flying that day. All local pilots are invited to join us and help us put on a good show for the kids.

Update: I will plan to be at Makapuu at 7:30 tomorrow morning to make the call by 8:00, so the kids can be there by 9:00. If anyone else can make it that early I would appreciate the help. We are going to try and set up a couple of harness simulators. If anyone has an extra harness please bring it along, we might need one or two. Even if the wind is super light we're going to plan on showing them some of our world class forward launch techniques and no wind landings. Please come out and help us get these kids excited about the greatest sport on the planet. Thanks! Call me in the morning for a last minute report at (808)223-0144.

It would be great to have some pilots in the air by 9:15, and also to demonstrate some launches and landings shortly thereafter. Most likely we will not be able to give them a close-up demonstration of our launches. It's possible that if we end up flying at Makapuu, and if the conditions are good to launch at Manics, we could assemble the kids at the new lookout area for a view of the launch scene. Or even if we launch elsewhere we could plan to fly near them as they stand at the lookout.

But I think we can definitely plan to show off our landings no matter where we end up, since most of our landing areas should be able to accommodate a group this big: the Makapuu LZ, the beach at Kahana, or the school field at Nanakuli. After we land we can show the kids our gear and answer any questions they may have. We can also demonstrate our launch and ground handling techniques.

Please let me know if you'll be available to fly that day so I have some idea of what we'll be able to show othem.

As a backup plan, if the weather is not flyable on Friday, we are planning to send a few of us to their location in Waipahu to give a talk, show them our gear and answer their questions. I think Brazilian Ray and I, and possibly Bob, will be available for this, but if anyone else is interested please let me know.

Also, part of the plan is for us to send them a video or two that they can watch the afternoon before they come out.

Let me know if you have any suitable short videos we could share with the kids. It would be nice to find copies of some of the good local TV broadcasts we've seen over the years - I seem to remember one where people are flying at Makapuu and doing some cool maneuvers, and another one that Jimmy filmed for a TV show that featured a Makapuu downrange trip to Hygienic. Let me know if you have copies of those or any other suggestions.

Ozone Mantra Small

Gavin wrote to tell me he's selling his wing, the one we saw him fly at Dillingham recently. His description:

Ozone's current 2-3 racehorse. The Mantra is a low end 2-3 with top performance and handling second to none. Custom black / white colours. SMALL size, I fly at 90kg which is perfect for climbing and XC flying, heavier will be fine for strong wind conditions.

Approx. 80 hrs mostly in Europe on soft grassy launches, it is in totally superb condition. Never a nick or scratch on her. I am upgrading to a medium of the same wing. This one is going seriously cheap. $1200 US. Please email me for fotos at gavin@onesmallplanet.net.

Over and behind the Koolaus

It was a nice 10 mph northerly day this past Thursday. From Puu O Kona on down, the cloud base was just floating on the top of the range. Of course I wished it were higher, but I headed on down anyway to see what I could find.

The trek down range was smooth and full of spectacular views.

 

However, the fun really started just past Temple Valley. That's where I caught a crazy ride on a 1,200 fpm elevator. At first things were normal, but soon it was anything but. Suffice it to say that there were a few moments when I was happy that at least a third of my wing was still flying in the same direction I was. When I reached 7,000 ft. I began thinking about going OTB. That's when it spit me out. The wicked cloud wall that lay behind me was just too vast to try and make a run down wind. So I took the time to snap some pics instead.

 

As I descended back to the ridge, I ran across two unsuspecting and surprised Hangies, Leo and Mike. I don't think they were expecting to see me there.

   

After chasing some small thermals over Kaneohe, I decided to head back to Makapuu. On the way back, over the Pali golf course, I happened upon a nice 500 fpm thermal. So nice, I decided to stick with it and let it take me over the back. Knowing full well that I was most likely going past the point of no return.

Things were going well until I fell out of synch with the core. When it happened, I knew I was too far back to try and shoot the gap. So I immediately turned and burned towards town. Along the way, I was fully expecting to get some rotor hits, but none ever came. I can only assume the reason for this was that I was high enough to miss them. Plus the fact that the wind was so north, they were not as fierce as they normally would be. As I continued to blaze on down the valley, I was hoping for a taste of a leeside thermal, but no such luck. Despite the lack of large rotors, I think the air was just too churned up from the venturi to allow anything to be organized.

During all of this, I was constantly looking for possible LZs. Let me tell you, from the Pali on into Nuuanu, there's not much in the way of open spaces. So I turned back into the wind and headed for a golf course I passed. On approach, I had ample time to pick out a fairway that was not in use at the moment. After an uneventful landing, I quickly gathered up my wing and cleared myself out of the field of play. I was greeted by some golfers on their way to the next hole. I asked them if I could play through. We all had a good laugh over that. After a few questions to satisfy their curiosity, they went on their way. Soon the course Marshal came by. I introduced myself and apologized for landing on the course. I told him a little about my flight and how, under the circumstances, the golf course was the only safe alternative place to land. He was incredibly pleasant and completely understanding of the situation. Never once saying a negative thing about my presence there. We talked while I packed up and then he gave me a ride to the Highway.

Great Day! Thanks to Scot for keeping in touch, and to Bob for going out of his way to pick me up.

Flying the T.

Remember I used to have a blue/white glider with a Black leading edge? We will just refer to it as the T.

If you see me in the sky in the near future you will see the old colors back. Yes I am flying the T. again. To spice things up I have added some numbers to the bottom. It will be up to you to figure out what they mean.

Had my first flight in her yesterday, somewhat E conditions out of Crazy's. Must say she flys beautifully, probably better than before. Stable, but responsive, and fast as a rocket.

So when you seen those colors again, its just me. The Sigma 5 will get a rest for the moment.

Jetflap

Hawaii photo in USHPA 2007 paragliding calendar

Hawaii is featured in the month of May with a picture taken by my brother in his last visit to Hawaii. We were flying at Makapu'u and he hiked up cactus to take the picture.

From www.ushga.org:

Save the PG Calendar - Each year, USHPA displays some of the best hang gliding and paragliding photos in big, beautiful wall calendars. However, because the PG calendar is not drawing tremendous sales, it might be heading for extinction.

To reverse this effect, pilots who want to see a calendar with gorgeous paragliding photos need to rally around and buy 'em up! Calendars make great gifts and prizes. Clubs can buy quantities of them to give to members, landowners, family, or anyone else needing that daily dose of paragliding.

There will be a PG calendar in 2007, but if the rally doesn't come, the PG calendar won't be flying in 2008.

Wanna buy one? Click here.

Cool.

Kealakekua LZ Options

Neil from the Big Island club called me the other day, to let me know there's a huge new coffee farm being cleared just adjacent to the new LZ over there. It's manicured, flat and rolled, and offers a nice large temporary alternative to the actual landing area for visiting pilots who need a bit more room. I think the dry winter season should be kicking in soon now, so the timing seems especially good to me.

For those who aren't already familiar with it, the Kealakekua site boasts a grassy alpine-style launch and some of the easiest fattest thermals in the state. Many Oahu pilots have made the pilgrimage over there for a friendly introduction to thermal flying, and on the best days the local guys have done some incredible XC flights. The official LZ has always been a bit challenging for newer pilots though, so that's why this adjacent field is such good news, for as long as it's available. For more information, please contact Neil or anyone on the contacts page of the Big Island club website.

Light Labor Day

Light conditions on Labor Day enticed a host of pilots out to Makapuu for one last summer flight there. At least eighteen pilots showed up over the course of the day, and most of us got our fill of airtime. The conditions were on the light side, as evidenced by a couple of failed attempts to get up from Manics. (I trust that the proper offerings were made to appease the fearsome demigods of beach landings!) The light conditions also made for some interesting approaches to the LZ. It was great to see many of our wayward sons back out there yesterday (Doyley, Don, Bob, Seattle Ray) and it was just nice to be flying there on such a perfect light day. It was my first flight there in the new wing - somehow I've managed to go a couple of months without flying at Makapuu. Hopefully I don't have to go that long before the next one!

Epic Struggle at Kahana

Super north conditions today meant challenging launches at Kahana but also a good chance to cross the bay. Ray and I managed to get up from the low launch on the inside ridge but after a couple tries each to cross the bay, Ray had to leave. Just as he left, Sandy launched low on the north launch, and I finally made it across and got up over Kaaawa. As I made my way to Kualoa and back, Sandy soared the north flow over the ridge while Greg launched from the high launch on the inside ridge and battled the rotor all the way down to the LZ. The north winds at Kahana are fickle forces, but there's nothing like a trip to Kualoa to remind us why we like them.

The Big One that Got Away

I finally gave up on finding company yesterday and flew Kahana by myself. Later Nick showed up and offered to drive retrieve, so I flew downrange to see how far I could make it - I only went to Pounders this time, but I think conditions were good to go farther. I'm very interested in exploring the distance options but I'd rather do it with some company. This is the easiest and most reliable XC route on the island but there's still lots to learn. For example, I didn't see the fishing poles as I made my final approach at Pounders and I snagged a line just before landing, jangling the bell on the pole like the guy had a marlin on the line. Thanks to Nick for the retrieve, and the cold refreshments.