Kukaniloko (Birthplace of the Alii)

I got an early Christmas gift yesterday, to thermal the flats of Central Oahu, but wait, I will start from the beginning.

Yesterday was one of those cold, clear and windless mornings that gets the thermal junkies in us excited. Doug, Ray and I made plans to get an early start on Nanakuli in order to get back to more terrestrial activities and to beat the previous day's overdeveloping of the sky.

Most of the balance of pilots headed over to Makapuu to be treated to mellow northerly conditions. There were visitors and locals, new and seasoned, taking to the air. Two notable achievements were a newer pilot swooping the road downwind into the SLP fence, and an experienced visitor death spiraling the LZ with a standing room only performance -- by all accounts it rated a 10 out of a possible 10. Go Claudio!

On high launch at Nanakuli we find great sky conditions, but the few cycles coming up the hill are light. Doug launches into one of the first good cycles and proceeds to climb straight up. By the time Ray and I get airborne Doug has already flown a complete circuit of the valley, I think he came back because he was hoping for some company.

The three of us climb to the top of Haleakala and we proceed to the back of the valley. There is more than the usual punch in the thermals but as we climb things improve. By that time the clouds are forming fast and we are getting some strange high/low cloud combinations. Doug escapes over the back and I go quickly as well. At one point I look back and Ray is 300' below me; a moment later I look back and he is 400' above in the dark bottom of a cloud. He decides he doesn't like the look of things, as well as feeling guilty for being out flying on Noell's birthday, and heads out to soar the tall antennas of Lualualei and then back to the car.

Meanwhile I cross the back low and see Doug out over the flats going up. It takes me a long time to find some quality lift at the edge of the sunshine where the foothills meet the flats. Doug is now back up at cloudbase and could easily fly back across to Nanakuli again. He heads out on glide searching toward Kunia Road, and my thermal lights up and floats me up to cloudbase and I head out on glide toward the golf course.

Neither of us find any meaningful lift and I watch as Doug either looks like he is about to land or see him higher than me. I then meander my way in relatively neutral air to a big cloud that has formed over Kunia Camp. Fortunately I have a slight tailwind to help me get there, and as soon as I peek under the shadowy edge I get treated to a great ride all the way to cloudbase at 3700'.

We spend so much time here flying close to terrain that even when we are high the mountain is usually not very far away, but flatland flying is great. So with 3 grand of ground clearance I see my drift is taking me toward Wheeler and Schofield Barracks. I contemplate heading over towards Mililani, but I don't see any aircraft activity at Wheeler, and Doug thinks it is OK if I stay above 3500' (I think he might have made that up). Over Wahiawa and on to the Koolaus, the clouds are starting to street up together, but between the bases below me and the uninviting terrain of the Koolau foothills and Whitmore Village military installation, I decide to venture into the blue and cross over Lake Wilson. As soon as I leave my shady cloud above and get lower I run into a northerly wind that slows my progress. I figure that the big cloudstreet behind me is sucking up all the air in its convergence.

Out over the old pineapple fields I search for some kind of dusty in hopes that I can thermal back up and follow Kam. Highway to the North Shore. Nothing really materializes and I go back to land next to the tall oasis of trees outside of Wahiawa that is Kukaniloko. Kukaniloko is the place with the oddly eroded stones, where the Alii of old Hawaii went to give birth. So in the end there is a Christmas theme to this all. Merry Christmas.

Joining the Over-the-Back Club... Sorta

Thursday, December 21st, 2006, 3:45PM

Checking the weather from my computer at work, I see that conditions seem to be shaping up out at Makapuu for Cactus launch to be working nicely. Time to go! By the time I get out to MPU at 4:20PM JetFlap is already soaring the eastern Lighthouse Ridge. "Hmm, must be good conditions, but maybe borderline for launching / flying the Pali", I reflect. Winds are very light at the MPU overlook; little breeze is detectable at Crazy Mans. In the LZ the wind is due east @ 8MPH, with the wind socks pointing just past mid-way between Flat Island (Kaohikaipu) and the lighthouse. I hear Frank Highsmith on the radio getting ready to launch from the Lighthouse ridge. He reports the wind straight in at 12-14MPH. Since it is getting late and I don't know precisely where to set up over to the East, I opt to give Cactus a try. It's only about a 20 minute walk from the LZ, and besides it is my favorite place to lauch out at MPU. Yes, I like it even better than Tomato Patch, Bob. Wise guy. Anyway, it should work O.K. in a light easterly.

I arrive at Cactus at about 4:45PM, and my wind meter shows the breeze to be coming in steady at 9-11MPH. I set up in the grassy area on the west side of the little bowl, and soon my wing and I are up and off into gentle but steady lift. I climb up to the top of the ridge and notice a glider high above the old hangie launch. "Must be JetFlap", I guess. But where is Frank? I soon learn that IS Frank: JetFlap had already cruised over to the main ridge, gotten high and jumped across to Koko Crater, all while I was setting up and launching from Cactus. Stealthy, that JetFlap. Reaper comes up on the radio and starts discussing tactics on how to make the jump from MPU to Koko Crater with Frank. I listen in. Sounds reasonable... conditions look good... I don't have enough altitude yet, but I'm still climbing nicely. My heart begins to beat much faster as I realize I'm actually CONSIDERING joining JetFlap and Frank in a jaunt over-the-back. YIKES! Over-the-back and a (mini) X-C, all in one go. Heady stuff for a chicken of the sky like me to contemplate, who has never before left the safety of steady ridge lift for the unknown. And weren't we always warned against flying the leeward side of the ridge? Heartrate going up faster than my altitude I begin to seriously consider the situation. Wind speed light. Direction pretty much due east. No clouds. Unlimited visibility. Reaper standing by with a truck to retrieve my sorry butt should I land out someplace strange and unfriendly. What better conditions could one ask for? By now Frank has attained 1800 feet or so, and is flying east along the ridge. I'm at 1600 and climbing over the peak near the old hangie launch. As I look on Frank turns right and heads towards the south shore. He's committed! Will he make it? Reaper made it sound like a sure thing given Frank's impressive starting altitude of 1800+ feet (I heard such descriptive terms as "nose bleed" and "Space Shuttle" used by Reaper in describing Franks altitude), and so it proves in the end. Frank makes the trip look easy, covering the approx. 1.5 miles to Koko Crater in under 5 minutes, while losing only 900 feet of altitude. My heartrate increases by another 30% as I think to myself "Maybe even I can make it on a day like this!". By now I've attained an altitude of 1750 feet and am nearing the recommended turn point at 3 poles. Frank, Reaper and Jetflap are all sending words of encouragement over the radio; the seductive siren voices of peer pressure. As I fly in line with the southerly ridge that runs from 3 poles to the golf course, my heartrate jumps another 40% as I give in to the Dark Side, turn right and head off over the back.

EEEK! OVER THE BACK! How many times had I been warned in training to NEVER go over the back of the ridge and risk a pummelling by the dreaded rotor washing-machine. Suicide has told me tales of his experiences in the lee that would curl your hair. But on a mellow day like this, and at 1700 feet, the air is smooth and quiet as I cruise over what is normally forbidden territory. Is it just my imagination, or is my ground speed unusually slow? Hell of a time for the batteries in my GPS to pack it in. YEOW, my rate of decent is up to 300FPM! That doesn't last long though, thank God. Back to a more sedate 150-200FPM. Mind working overtime scanning for alternate LZs, just in case. The golf course looks good. So does that sports field. And that guy over there has a nice front yard... paranoia can be useful sometimes. 2/3rds of the way along the southerly ridge Reaper counsels me to head straight for Koko Crater, which I immediately do. Now, instead of crabbing a little east to follow the ridge I'm flying more downwind and I put on some more brake to reduce my rate of decent. The Crater now looks as if it is actually drawing closer (finally!), and after the farthest "zero-lift" glide on Oahu of my short flying career, I arrive in the lift band at Koko Crater with 735 feet of altitude. I'm in the lift again! I DID IT! I made the jump from Makapuu Ridge to soaring Koko! ALRIGHT!!!! Elation. Rapture. I've joined the Over-the-Back Club, and you know what? It was FUN in a masochistic kind of way. Thanks to Reaper, Frank and Jetflap for excellent advice and encouragement. Sometimes it is >>>good<<< to give in to the Dark Side. Perhaps one day I'll do it again!?!

Fair Winds,

Russell

B-B-Q and A's & C's on The Island of Misfit Toys

Merry Christmas, Shalom Chanukah, Exultant Solstice, and “respect to any religious event that you acknowledge” . . . or, if you are atheistic . . . I hope you are doing well.

Anyway . . . here on “The Island of Misfit Toys,” there are a bunch of folks that will not be spending Monday, 25 December 2006 with our families (our “biological" families anyways.) However, we all have the day-off.

There are also a bunch of families that plan to spend at least a portion of the day at the beach.

Hillery and I thought we would invite EVERYONE out to the LZ (which ever LZ is working) for an HPA Christmas in Hawaii Fly-in. (Weather permitting . . . of course.)

I would like to invite all tandem instructors to bring their wings and give the gift of Discovery Flights to the non-flying friends and family members of the flying community.

I will bring my big grill and grill tools . . . we can all bring meat!! Pot-Luck Kine for side dishes.

Please, add comments to say if you can come & what you’d like to bring. If you are having trouble leaving comments (I know I ALWAYS have problems with that), feel free to call me and I will keep track.

Also, if you are a T-3, let us know if you will be bringing you tandem rig. I will certainly bring mine.

Ho Ho Ho
Aloha

Maiden Voyages

In an effort to report an epic flight that might have gone unnoticed, and partly to remove that disturbing picture of Claude and the alien baby that festered within his body for months, I have decided to write this article.

I always find days with excellent conditions and great flying inspiring, and last Sunday the 17th was that kind of day. I got a call early in the day from Don that conditions on the Koolaus looked epic. I couldn't get free but Don, Jetflap and Frank headed out to Hygienic Store. They reported stellar conditions and I believe it was a first time for Frank. The only complaint I heard was that after they landed they felt they should have gone further. I even lifted one of Frank's photos.

I arrived at Crazy Man's to find a whole bunch of guys launching in the strengthening conditions. Doug was on launch with his brand new UP Targa 3, his super comp glider. Doug launched, I launched and Ray launched into the strong easterly conditions. Doug headed out first reporting 40+ mph groundspeed from the Ironwooods back into Waimanalo. At that point wind conditions didn't seem all that ideal for some real downrange action, but with a strong pull from Doug and his Targa, Ray and I chased him along as best we could. Ray and I got low coming around the Pali, and in climbing back to the 3000' cloudbase Doug left us for good. It was a very hazy day high up and I got an occasional glimpse of him for a little while.

Cloudbase was slowly dropping and the wind was building further from a more northerly headwind direction. Ray decided to head into the Hygienic Store. I entertained the thought of getting up on the front of the Pyramid (Ohulehule) and flying around the front of Kualoa and on, but the slow forward progress had me fly back to land next to Ray.

Doug had already headed out through Boogaboogaland which he reported to be bumpy, at which point we lost contact with him. Ray and I got a ride back to Makapuu from his buddy and waited for contact from Doug. Ray got a call a little while later that Doug was at Kahana or at Kualoa, and what I didn't understand at the time was that he was still flying.

Doug called us back around dark to report that he landed back in Waikane Valley, in the same spot I had landed a month ago, and was packing up and heading out. By the time I got out that way it was totally dark and Doug reported that he was having trouble finding his way out. I asked the 4-wheelers at the end of the road if they saw a paraglider land. Out of the back steps a young kid who says he saw him land and gave Doug a bottle of water. Both the father and I give the kid a skeptical look, but we realize that he is telling the truth.

I followed the 4X4's in my van down the dirt road to find Doug in near total darkness. Doug tells me that he had flown through Booga's out of Green Valley and decided that it was boring to head downwind to Kahuku (and a possible distance record). He jumped over to Kahana and soared there, crossed the bay to Kaawa and then Kualoa. Jumped back to the Pyramid and reported bad air in the lee of Kualoa and was arriving at the main Koolau ridge for a possible return flight to Makapuu. He was low on the main ridge and decided to go land in Waikane on that nice tabletop ridge they have back there.

All in all not bad for a first flight on a new glider -- expect more in the future. I know there are more tales from the day and I would enjoy reading about them all.

Christmas Festivities

Its been about one year since I started flying. I think of many of you as my new extended family as you have all helped me to advance in my flying and have offered me encouragement, and great friendship along the way. So...

Every year my family (i.e. my mother) organizes a Christmas party that seems to outdo itself year after year for family and friends. I feel its fair to invite my new family to attend this year. Most of you will blend right in with my biological family as most of you are just as and in some special cases (you know who you are) more dysfunctional than the rest of us.

So for those of you who are inclined feel welcome to come attend this Sunday.








In case you were wondering about the photo at the top of the article... Last year December on Saturday, I showed up at my family's home to help setup for the party in the morning. Afterwards Leo and I went to Nanakuli for my third solo flight. It is still in my top three most epic flights.

There was a high completely overcast cloud base @ 3500ft with 8-12mph WNW winds make for a nice Nanakuli ridge soaring day.

I can expand on the story later if people want but I'm sure most of you have heard it. But the highlights are...

1. Immediately after taking off from middle launch thinking... "Oh my god!!! I'm not so sure about this paragliding thing suddenly as I am swept up to 2700 ft."

2. One of Pete's students hanging like a Christmas ornament from the ONLY tree on the dump side of the ridge after his first flight attempt.

3. Flying XC to soar the next ridge.

4. (Key) Top "landing" @ Aircrafts. I flew too deep over the flat top and realized a little too late that I was not going to make it back to the ridge when I was 30ft off the ground and about 10 feet from a tree. I kicked a branch hard so I wouldn't hang up on it and ended up falling about 5-8 feet when my glider shot forward and I dove straight at the ground. Dusted myself off, looked for injuries and saw only a small 1/2" gash in my leg that was hardly bleeding at all. I limped my way to the ridge line with my glider balled getting small blood spatter on it in quite a few places. I spread my glider out all alone on a new huge easy launch, and had a nice takeoff.

I landed an hour later in the baseball field at sunset after about a 3 1/2 hour total flight. As I landed my leg had cramped up pretty good so I touched down on one foot. I fell over as Alex ran over asking if I was ok because he had heard I had crashed. I stood up gritting my teeth against the pain and assured him I was fine and I could walk.

Needless to say I was not fine and my leg got worse over the next day. My mother was wicked pissed I had hurt myself and made a stationary object of myself at the party. She has threatened to finish me off if I do this again.

The muscle damage healed but the wound would not. It was really neat looking as Alex can tell you oozing and all. After about 2 months of repeated doctor visits, I went in for surgery and they pulled that thing out of my leg.

So... moral of the story is... don't piss my mom off or she will kill you... or something...

Merry Christmas

Killer Day @ Kahana

It turns out Jim and I were simultaneously working on articles about the good time we had out at Kahana on Sunday. Since we shared some great air that day, we might as well share the article too. The following are our separate accounts of the day...

Jeff:

By the numbers, it looked borderline at Kahana on Sunday morning. Jim and I have been skunked by identical readings on quite a few occasions. It was about 12-18 on the Punaluu sensor all morning. But, the winds aloft reading was only 11 all the way up to 6,000 ft. Either the sensor was not to be trusted, or that extra wind strength wouldn't last. "Meet ya there in an hour"...

Sure enough, wind at the LZ felt great and I had the feeling that wind on launch might actually be lighter, since it was ENE and we'd be slightly in the lee of the opposite ridge... and that's exactly what we got. It was too light on low launch, so we kept hiking. Like Goldilocks, I felt mid launch was "just right"... I just love how the slope there is naturally straighter into the wind than at low launch, has far less snaggy roots than the high launch, and no octopus trees threatening to grab out at you in an unexpected lull (hmmm - "Goldi's" - new launch name?).

Airborne Ken, who had caught up with us before we launched, headed straight for the high launch - apparently not impressed with the spotty cycles we were feeling at the mid launch. I pulled up in the first cycle that had some oomph to it, and proceeded with my first butt launch. I've had a butt landing before, but this was a first... I stumbled in my turn around and wound up in a sitting down position, with a perfectly flying wing over my head. As if I were just kiting at the park, I simply pulled a couple inches of break and let the wing stand me back up and then carry me away. I'm sure it looked a lot less graceful than my description, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I climbed out immediately in what seemed like ridiculously smooth "all up" conditions. Jim followed me out of mid launch, and Ken soon after from high launch. Jim must have gotten a bum cycle and those perfect conditions eluded him (this time) - for 15 minutes later, he had to make an unplanned landing in a cow pasture on the Punalu'u side of the ridge. And, perhaps the only thing worse than bombing out into a rotory cow pasture is having to walk a couple miles back to Kahana. Unfortunately, Jim did both.

I flew around with Ken until Jim made his way back to Kahana Beach Park. I landed and convinced Jim to give it another try. A day like this just couldn't go to waste. Barely 20 minutes later, we were hiking back up. I went from the mid launch again (a traditional foot launch this time), but Jim wasn't taking any chances this time and headed to the high launch. We both chose wisely - we had terrific flights. And I mean FUN - you couldn't have smacked the smile off my face when it was all over. We made multiple trips way out over the bay and back, getting a taste for the true bay crossings you guys make look so easy.

Man, what a good time... Two flights for me - hour and a half each. Jim gets acquainted with the local livestock, and still musters up the energy for a 2nd hike up and 1 1/2 hour flight for himself. It was KILLER...

Waianae Jim:

Sunday was an epic day out at KNA. Jeff Mc (aka Stalker) was first off of mid launch (up by the lone pine tree) and after an interesting takeoff (stumbled, sat down then applied just enough brake to lift off) he was off and going up right away. As he climbed out easily I laid out in the same spot, while Airborne Ken had hiked up past us to the upper launch. My launch was uneventful, but once I launched I wasn’t finding the lift as easily as Stalker had...

I was flying with a different (Gin Genie II) harness, and am not sure if that was having much effect on my flying. Suffice to say I wasn’t getting it. I tried crossing over to the North launch to find some lift over there. Unfortunately once I got over there, I still wasn’t finding it. At that point the wind was just East enough to make me think I wouldn’t make it back to the beach if I turned around.
Since I was getting low I ran downwind toward the Punalu'u side, and safely landed in a cow pasture. While I was getting acquainted with the local cattle and they were checking out my wing to see if it was edible, Stalker was still skying out and Airborne made it off and up from the upper launch. Ken and Stalker continued to enjoy the sweet air while I hiked back from Punalu’u.

Once I was back at KNA, Stalker landed and we both went back up for another go. Stalker once again chose the mid launch, while for my second try I not only switched back to my normal harness (KI2Fly) but opted to go up to the high launch. Our second flight of the day was great for both of us. We expanded our comfort zone, took a few pictures, and cruised out over the bay and tried a few 360’s, came back around climbed back up. All in all, one of my better days in recent memory and a good three hours of flying for the Stalker.

A Day that will live in Infamy

December 7th, 2006 was blustery and rainy. I figured flying my paraglider was out, so it was with great pleasure and curiosity that we attended the Grand Opening of the Pacific War Aviation Museum at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor.

Today was the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial Fleet and their 500+ dive bombers, torpedo planes, and fighter aircraft. Attendance was high for the Memorials. At pier 37 were the survivors of the battle of Pearl Harbor, their families, distinguished guests, like our Big Bob (who did all the tireless work doing the lighting and sound systems), and the general public -- attendance was estimated at 3,000+ for the early morning memorial. The general public that was gathered at the USS Arizona Memorial had waits of 3 hours or more to enter the memorial. The USS Bowfin submarine lines were more than 100 feet long.

The attendance for the USS Missouri was almost sold out, and they had Navy bands, news crews, and a large tent setup for their memorial.

We arrived at 9:00 am, and were promptly told that we would have to wait until 1:45 to see the USS Arizona memorial, so we decided to hit the USS Missouri instead. It was great. I have been to the USS Missouri several times, and once even went on the Admiral's tour (below decks). But today was definitely more exciting than ever. This was due to the fact that there were World War II veterans all over the place. Most in their late 80's, but their eyes sparkled like kids again when the returned home to the ships of their youth. The Pearl Harbor Veterans return only every five years, so this year will likely be the last for most of these old veterans. We were privileged enough to meet a WWII veteran of the USS Missouri in the bridge, and he proceeded to give us a personal tour and history of his old ship. He served aboard the USS Missouri from 1942 to 1947, and even witnessed the signing of the end of the war in Japan with General Macarthur. Wow!

After that, we hustled over to the Pacific War Aviation Museum on Ford Island to witness the Grand Opening. We arrived at 11:45, just in time to see and hear General Chuck Yeager and Wally Shira announce the opening. Although it would have been nice to meet General Yeager again, he was instantly swallowed up by many more fans than I.

So, off we went into the museum. The first thing I noticed was the floor tiles were actual aerial photos of Pearl Harbor. As we descended into the hangar, it became quite evident that we were witnessing history in the making. In front of the originally restored Japanese Zero were some of the remaining Japanese bomber and fighter pilots of the attack on Pearl Harbor, gathered with their American counterparts. Wow. It was amazing to see the smiles on their faces as they hugged, shook hands, and posed for our cameras. But this was not the highlight of my visit. Read on:

We walked a few feet more, and there was a B-25 hanging from the ceiling, just like the planes that Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle commanded on the raid over Tokyo.

We then walked down to the Navy Hellcat fighter display where, lo and behold, who do I bump into but Scrappy.

Well, it turns out our very own Claude Phillips IIII (AKA Scrappy) is the grandson of Claude Phillips Jr.(Claude II), the Navy Hellcat fighter pilot of VF-2 squadron. He was stationed on the USS Hornet CV-8 (aircraft carrier) when it was sunk by the Japanese during the battle of Santa Cruz. He did manage to shoot down two Japanese pilots before having to crash land on the USS Enterprise that was under attack as well. His plane was extremely shot up in the baggage doors (see front of Bomb doors) and the hydraulics for his wing flaps were knocked out. So, at high speed and after being told to ditch his plane in the ocean (about which he states "the radio transmission was garbled, hee hee"), he slammed onto the deck of the USS Enterprise and made it home. There were other battles to come for Grandpa Phillips I'm sure, and maybe we could get Claude Phillips IIII or his father Claude Phillips III (who lives in Kailua) to tell us a few more stories.

So, it turns out that Scrappy was holding out on us about his inherited natural abilities to fly.

At the end of the day and after 7 hours of walking around in the presence of greatness, I could only feel very humble and proud to be an American.

Pete "Reaper" Michelmore
2/504th ABN INFANTRY 82nd Airborne Division

Castaway Bob

Three lucky pilots enjoyed a rare easy bay crossing in smooth north conditions. Bob followed me and Don across Kahana Bay to play around with us in the spooky convergence lift that was going up everywhere over Kaaawa and Kualoa.

It was Bob's first time getting up over there and he made the most of it, zooming up to cloudbase over Kaaawa Valley (around 3 grand), specking out over Kualoa, heading farther out to sea than I've ever seen (at least a mile) without losing any altitude, returning to Kahana and then crossing the bay once more for good measure.

After we landed, McCloud and One Eye showed up to check it out, but the conditions on launch turned out to be too strong and gusty for them this time around.

Thanks to Don and Bob for joining me for one last memorable flight before I head off to DC for a month. See you all in January!