Meeting & Party in Waimanalo on February 16

Please join us for a meeting and party at the HTMC clubhouse in Waimanalo, at 6 pm on Saturday, February 16. Please bring your favorite pupus, side dishes or cold beverages, as well as a few bucks to contribute to the carnivore fund. And maybe this will be our chance to fly before the party and land nearby on the beach - it's gotta happen one day - keep the dream alive!

LOST (in translation)

Alexei (OTB Alex) posted on his local forum a detailed and colorful account of his recent accidental Hawaiian vol-biv adventure. Between my rusty Russian language skills and the wizards at Google translation tools, I put together this very rough translation.

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Mini Cross Country with elements of Red Bull X-Alps

Yesterday, it all began like this: Jeff called me at lunch and said that it was going off at Kahana Bay (on the north shore of Oahu), and that five people were already in the air, and Alex and someone else had already gone downrange. And already having drunk a bottle of light beer, we headed out there.

I raised the wing, and after 20 minutes had gained 700 meters in the dynamic lift (the start is at 110 meters). I wanted to head for Kaneohe Bay along the mountain range located behind me, where the dynamic lift could reach up to 1000 meters in a given spot. And that route could easily amount to 5-7 km just to get started. I was well aware that turning up there, after coming downwind and reaching the leeside peak, I already would not be able to come back - the wind is a headwind, so I would be able to move only forward - towards Kaneohe Bay with a cross wind. Moreover, I knew that along this mountain range I would definitely encounter turbulence, since along one region of my route there would be a pair of substantial mountains upwind, around 500 to 600 meters high. There would be remnants of leeside rotor. Therefore, in my plans to cross the given area there was a simple decision - to gain in that place the maximum possible altitude, and skip over this unpleasant region. And I proceeded along the mountain range.

Instead of the planned 1000 meters in dynamic lift, it turned out I gained 1100 - which was already cloudbase. The ground was 300 meters from me. At such an altitude the turbulence from the windward two mountains, which I had so dreaded, was quite inoffensive. But here something happened that I never expected - the wind suddently strengthened. (Towards evening the upper wind on Oahu increases - from personal observation). It intensified so quickly and powerfully that I had no doubt that I would be blown behind the ridge. Just to be sure that I was not mistaken in my assessment of windstrength, I pressed full bar, pulled ears, and it became clear that the wind was truly strong, and the wing continued to move back.

Below me was a highland plateau. It was wide and maddeningly long. If I'd had another 500 meters in stock in addition to this evil wind, I would certainly have flown over and held on until Pearl City, or perhaps even to Pearl Harbor. But I didn't have it. Therefore, I would have to prepare for a landing on the plateau.

The entire plateau was covered with tropical jungle. This jungle consisted of palm trees, vines, and some kind of predatory trees with a 4cm layer of moss and some kind of strange root system. The roots can grow straight from the trunk. They branch from the trunk at a height of 2+ metres, and enter the ground at a distance of 5-8 meters from the trunk. By the way, one could pass beneath these trunks - the trunk hangs over the ground by the roots, and the roots very much resemble octopus legs. From some trees the roots grow straight from the branches. They hang vertically from a height of 3-10 meters and enter the soil. The grass - that's another story. Its height reaches 3+ meters. And it is so densely intertwined that to move to any side is impossible.

But coming in to land, that is, selecting the shorter of the trees, I was still arriving in happy ignorance of what awaited me. But no, excuse me, while still a child I read in some clever books that there are no monkeys, crocodiles or elephants in Hawaii. And they also already told me here that snakes have not slithered from the mainland. But what remains is plenty. A certain piquancy was injected into the present situation since I distinctly knew that in Hawaii there are scorpions.

Well, so here was the landing, the wing suddenly in 3 or more trees. Moreover, in the process of the landing my reserve was deployed; however, it became clear at once that it was highly appropriate - I used it to get down to the ground. I was lucky - the wing was not seriously caught in the treetops, and after half an hour I already had everything packed.

My GPS was still on the yacht. My radio was in Nakhodka. My cellphone was out of range. I urgently needed to let Alex or anyone know that I was OK. It took me about half an hour to get out of the small valley where I had landed. In this valley was the most pristine waterfall. There I sipped some water before my long trek.

Finally, a signal appeared, and on the phone a text message from Alex was already waiting for me: "Call me". And I immediately dialed the sender of the message. "Alex, I am totally okay. I will search through this jungle for an exit from the plateau. I will have to stay overnight. (It was already about 5 pm). To which Alexander replied, "If you had called a moment later we would have sent a helicopter. If everything is okay, get going along the cliff. There should be a hiking trail there. Just don't even think of coming down the cliff. Keep in touch."

The wind at that moment was becoming very strong. It was clearly approaching 15 meters per second (30 knots). But now I was not thinking about the wind, but about how to get myself out of here. Moving through the tropical forest was extremely difficult. My speed barely reached 500 meters per hour. My legs sometimes didn't reach the ground because they were stuck in the grass. And if they did reach it, I would simply stumble to the ground like poured out water. To move forward, I often fell on the 3 meter high grass to somehow crush it with my weight. I'd stand up to travel 30 cm further, and then do it again. Just like an icebreaker. (This plateau is located at an altitude of around 700 meters above sea level, and therefore almost all the clouds often hang above this spot, showering it with abundant rain. Therefore, the roar of waterfalls is audible here at every step, in every valley.)

In order to thoroughly understand what this place is like, you must scratch your arms, legs and face all over until they bleed, then dive into a pool of liquid mud, and then go to the sauna, so that through the blood and the mud, sweat will start to abundantly pour out. Yes, and in the sauna you should grab a TV to once again refresh your memory of "King Kong" or "Jurassic Park". Hollywood shot these films only 5 kilometers from the place where I sat.

Then darkness fell. I trampled down the grass as much as I could, pulled out my Edel Excel, spread out one half as a sort of mattress, and the other was turned into a surprisingly warm blanket for the whole night. After half an hour Alex called. He said that he had a plan for me to descend from the plateau to the lowlands. And tomorrow we would try to implement this plan, but for now, good night.

Then Fireman Dave phoned. (He is vice-president of the paraclub. A tremendous pilot, he performs acro and kitesurfs. He really likes to improvise in the air. Alex said about him that he gets away with everything because he is "very lucky". And once, when Dave and I went to fly somewhere in Honolulu (Tantalus), I said, "Dave, it's a bad idea for us to launch from here." To that Dave responded, "Oh man, just relax, I am the king of bad ideas." To Dave belongs one more quite meaningful speech, at the very beginning just as I was starting to fly on Oahu, on the day I was with Dave at the point of launch, at Makapuu. Here I stood, already strapped in, with helmet on and brakes in my hands, as I recalled that I forgot ask a very important question. "Dave, what kind of flight rules do you have here, are there any kind of restrictions?" You should hear his reply in the original wording, well, or at least read it: "Take it easy man, relax, there are no rules here, you are in the wild west now".)

After Dave, Cherry called from Beijing. She informed me that it was nighttime there, and -10 celsius, but Ching Dao beer was still for sale. Then I fell deeply asleep. I woke up at 2 am from the growling of wild boars not far away, that is, I slept for 7 hours.

The moon was bright as a lantern, a million stars were in the black sky, wisps of clouds rushed by, and somewhere far below, at the horizon, were the fiery lights of Pearl Harbor. And this whole picture was accompanied by the howls of wild winds, which blew at a speed of 20 meters per second.

To be neighbors any longer with the wild boars was decidedly unappealing to me. Gathering everything up took about 10 minutes. And I slipped away. At 3 am strong rain fell. But at 4 am, I accidentally stumbled upon a hiking trail in the dark, and this was truly good luck.

By 7 am, I had already descended to the lowlands. In the middle of these lowlands on north Oahu was a unique tiny inhabited spot, and a trail, which managed to grow into a dirt road that also led to it, but, for some reason, I strongly did not want to go towards that populated spot. The lights of the place were painfully posted in chessboard order, and they shone identically bright in a single color. Probably, this was a prison yard. (At that moment, I was thinking that to be in such a prison, you would probably have to be very well-connected. After all, it's not Siberia.) The road wound around the whole strange settlement of cottages, surrounded by barbed wire, and came out onto asphalt. It was only then that I was able to see the roadside marker, which said that before you is a settlement for soldiers. US Department of Defense.

After 30 minutes I found a bus stop, and by 12 noon I was already back on the yacht.

Too much XC

Can you have too much? Today at Kahana we saw one trip to Sacred Falls and back, two landings at the Punaluu beer store, three landings at Pounders, and maybe some outlandings I don't even know about, and finally one really unfortunate landing deep in the jungle behind the summit of the Koolaus. That last adventure is on hold for the evening, and will resume when there's enough light to hike or fly down. Stay tuned.

Ghostwriting

I was on a boat all day, but for those who ignored the dire predictions of strong tradewinds from the sailors, the flying at Kahana on Saturday turned out to be picture perfect. Three new wings with happy local pilots under them, a handful of happy visitors, and great flights for everyone.

Jeff flew his new Axis Vega II at Kahana, and called me from 2200 feet over Puu Piei to report sweet conditions. If I hadn't been on a boat I would surely have joined him up there. Jim took the chance to dial in his new Advance Sigma 5, and Russell showed off his new U-Turn Obsession. I heard Steve, Ginny, and Ken had nice flights out there too.

Jayson and his fellow Vancouverian Lee also flew at Kahana, along with returning visitor Richard from Georgia. While that was going on, the Jacksonholians were having fun flying Makapuu, reporting tons of lift, whitecaps and whales. I didn't take any pictures on the boat because I was afraid to let go for that long, or to expose my phone/camera to the crashing swells.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their flying pictures - I hope you don't object to my ghostwriting of your flying report. It didn't take more than a few minutes to write this up, and it sounds like the flying deserved at least that much!

Спасибо Большое!

    
Thanks to Russian Alex and his crew for two great days of sailing on their fabulous racing yacht. The first day was calm and perfect for cruising, swimming and relaxing. (And climbing the mast to take photos!) The second day was more exciting: the boat was tilted way over as she cut a fast path through some pretty large swells. Thanks again to Alex, Sergei, Sasha and Pasha. And if anyone has any spare bottles of Jack Daniels to donate to a very worthy cause, I heard they've run out . . .

Yacht Ride: 10 am on Friday

Russian Alex would like to invite as many pilots as possible to join him for a little spin on his 70 foot boat before he has to turn it over to the owner. Friday before 4 pm is the deadline for him to use the boat - let's see if people can make a 10 am launch. He said he can probably take up to 20 people. Let me know if you are interested: comment here, or on the chatterbox, or give me a call.

Peering over the back

At least twenty pilots flew Kahana today as the wind gradually subsided. The conditions were best during the early session, with some pilots soaring high over Puu Piei, and some others flying high above Sacred Falls and points downrange. Cloudbase was unusually high, and we enjoyed a beautiful clear view of the Waianae Range as we soared the Sacred Falls plateau. I got to 3,400 feet ASL there before gliding downrange and landing just past Laie, only the second time I've managed to do that. It was great to see everyone out there!

Prefrontal Plenitude

In anticipation of the gusty cold front that arrived in full force today, scores of local and visiting pilots feasted on the bounty of classic wintertime prefrontal conditions yesterday, at both Makapuu and Nanakuli.

Lured by the promise of light winds and a high lapse rate, Russian Alex and I followed Doug and Scrappy out to Nanakuli, where we met up with fellow thermal enthusaists Don, Russell, Sandy, Jeff and Jim. Later on, Pembertonians Sony and Carrie showed up to join the fun. The lift was strong and so was the sink. The clouds were drifting in from the north but that northerly flow was mostly kept at bay by the thermals.

Russell presided over this epic battle of the airmasses from his misty vantage point at cloudbase, while Doug tricked Sandy and Scrappy into a premature landing deep in the wild and wooly badlands of Nanakuli Valley.

Doug scouted the back of the valley and reported a cloudless wall of massive convergence pushing from the other side and meeting the clouds on our side. Russian Alex headed out to explore the air above aircrafts, almost making it back to launch but instead sinking out near the cars, and then promptly hiked back up for another try. One-eye Jim overcame some difficulties on launch by coring skyward like an old hand, making repeated trips to visit Russell at his cloudbase command post.

After a few hours, the northerly flow appeared to be winning the battle, and the air above Haleakala became more turbulent than lifting. The remaining handful of pilots landed, and we called Jetflap to get the Makapuu report. He had just helped Sand City Wade get off from Manics, and counted 10 or so gliders flying in strengthening north conditions. Don wasted no time packing up at Nanakuli, and blazed out for a rare second flight at a second site. Scrappy, Doug, Russian Alex and I followed shortly after. I heard the Canadian crew had launched many of their number from Cactus earlier in the day, but by the time we arrived, they had already left and there was more than enough wind for us to launch Manics.

Don, Doug and Nightshift were already in the air as Russian Alex and I arrived, and we quickly followed Scrappy into the air from Manics. Doug and Don led the way to Waimanalo and a sunset tour of green walls, and Scrappy, Russian Alex, Nightshift and I followed. It was freezing cold up there and quite strong and smooth, with clouds brushing the top of the cliffs as the sun peeked below cloudbase on the other side. The light was starting to get really dim, so we all returned to Makapuu -- all except Russian Alex, who continued deep and low along green walls, and I figured he would probably land out somewhere just before nightfall to start his epic bus ride back to Ko Olina.

As I drove away from Makapuu, I got a message from him in Russian - it sounded like he said he landed safely near Diamond Head. I had been speaking with him all day in Russian to see if I could revive some of my very rusty language skills, but this time I was sure I had not understood right, so I called him up to make sure he was okay. He confirmed that he had indeed flown from Makapuu to Diamond Head, and was now looking for a bus to take him home. Crikey! I called to tell Doug about it, and we marvelled at the wonderful cross country flights an experienced visitor can have here when they don't have any preconceptions about what shouldn't be possible.

But today I talked to Russian Alex again, mostly in English, and got the full story, which turned out to be not so marvelous after all! Flying with neither instruments nor a compass, he found himself dodging small low clouds at the top of green walls before getting sucked into a huge cloud and losing his bearings. After several long minutes and several hundred meters, it got so dim inside the cloud that he couldn't even see his glider overhead, and his anxiety increased significantly as the dark mist seemed to close in around him.

Finally he caught a brief glimpse of light and civilization below, and realized he was over town, and entered a b-line stall to escape the cloud. On his underloaded glider the b-line turned into a helicopter, which he exited successfully with a full stall. But he continued to experience numerous collapses as he encountered severe rotor turbulence from the other side, and he fought to regain just enough control to land at a park right next to Diamond Head. He told me that in the moments after he landed he felt deliriously happy to have survived the ordeal, and he quickly packed up in the fading light to find a bus that would take him back to the west side.

What a full and exciting day for everyone. Let's hope for more of this winter flying bounty over the coming weeks, and let's see if we can't find a compass for our lucky Russian comrade.

I didn't take any pictures at Nanakuli yesterday, but One-eye Jim took a couple which I will link here. Anyone else have any to share?

Soaring the Crater

Jackson Hole Brian and Russian Alex showed us Koko Crater was working today, so Don and I hiked up there with Sand City Wade to try it for ourselves. Utah Dell found his way up to launch and joined us. Conditions were on the strong side at first, but gradually subsided to an incredibly smooth pleasant breeze, and we were treated to spectacular views as the sun sank over Diamond Head.

Near the end of the afternoon, someone launched an Advance wing and sank out, followed by Frank who launched last and scratched a while for the late session. The wind shut down completely just as Fireman Dave hiked up. I also heard Jetflap and Russell on the radio hiking the lighthouse trail, and Bob checked in on his way to mow the lawn at the new clubhouse. I saw Czech Peter laying low at his van across the park, and I ran into Canadians Rick and Paul, and California visitor Loyal at Sandys after landing. What a sweet, busy day at Koko Crater! I also heard that Doug soared the ridge above Kalaheo High School near his house.

Rescue at Nanakuli

The thermals were rocking at Nanakuli again yesterday, but not everyone was lucky enough to enjoy them. Kuno, one of our Canadian visitors, was hurt while launching. His wing may have snagged during inflation, and he was very briefly airborne before swinging around and impacting the hill to the right of upper launch. Thanks to all the HFD teams for their quick action airlifting him off the hill: Air 1, Rescue 2, and Engine 28.

Thanks also to everyone who landed or hiked down to clear the air for the rescue, and to our own Fireman Dave for helping out on the ground. Kuno is having surgery to repair ligaments in his knee today, and will be stuck on the island for a while as he recuperates. Let's all wish him a speedy and full recovery. And let's do what we can to help our visitors stay whole and safe!

One final note: please remember that while we appreciate how quickly HFD can respond when we really need them, as they did yesterday, we also need to work harder to minimize false alarms. If you are planning to launch a visible spot (like Koko Crater), or if you find your glider temporarily snagged in a tree, or it could otherwise be interpreted as "crashed" by a bystander - please call the alarm bureau at 523-4411 and leave your name and cell number so they can call you if they get any reports. If you have a real report to make, please use 911 for that.

No Vacation Cabins at Cactus!

If anyone is free tonight to attend an emergency neighborhood board meeting in Hawaii Kai, please consider showing up and offering support for a community effort to stop the proposed development of vacation cabins around our Makapuu flying site. The meeting is at Hahaione Elementary school at 7 pm tonight, Tuesday January 8. Sorry for the late notice. Further information is available from KHON, Hawaii Reporter and the Star-Bulletin.

Circles of Hell

At least a dozen pilots, more than half of them visitors, scaled Haleakala today in hopes of slipping the surly bonds. Joey scored his first flight out there and thermalled to cloudbase like a natural. Visitors Dell, Sony, Matt, Jayson, Kuno, Natalie and Charlie also had great flights out there, taking little side trips around the valley. Dell and Matt hiked back up for seconds! Even Pete enjoyed a nice thermal flight for a change. I flew for four straight hours myself, probably a record for me out there. Doug flew over the back to Waikele. So . . . why such a grim title?

Because . . . I had such a hellish time trying to work the thermals today to get myself above the ridge. Visitors Dell and Sony spent the whole day at cloudbase. And I watched the new guys, Joey and Matt, flying circles around me with ease. Joey was nice enough to try and point out several nice ones but I still couldn't quite manage to get situated above the ridge. I don't know why I was having such trouble, but I kept up the circling, weaving and dodging for four long hours, stubbornly refusing to give up until the last cloud above the ridge had evaporated and the sun was sinking into the sea. A special circle of hell is reserved for those who must fly in endless hellish circles just below ridge height.

But I guess I shouldn't complain. At least I thermalled (even if badly) for four hours! I know One-eye Jim is not happy with his brief scratching thermal flight today. He launched later on when the lift was definitely lighter. Also Natalie had an unfortunate bout of nausea induced by all the circling she was doing to stay up. Paraglider pilots who get airsick are in a special circle of hell indeed.

But Jim and Natalie shouldn't complain either! At least they got to do a little thermalling. Poor Nightshift arrived very late, but still hiked up and laid out his glider on mid launch in hopes of finding a breath of wind. I saw him up there, milling around his gear, or doing calisthenics or something, as the sun was sinking towards the horizon, and the last few pilots were sinking towards their landings. He finally threw in the towel and hiked down. So maybe that's the worst circle of hell.

But at least Nightshift got to hike and enjoy some outdoor time. Other folks were stuck at their offices or with their babies! Russell and McStalker Jeff were moaning and whinging on the chatterbox while Wayne was feeling the last of the sea breeze ebb away, perched on a scenic mountainside at sunset. Flying the Chatterbox has got to be the lowest circle of hell!

But I still think I visited the deepest circle of hell today. In fact I'm sure of it, because as I came in for a landing near the cars, I saw a familiar gruesome figure guiding me to a safe landing - the Grim Reaper himself. Welcome to Hell! Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here!

Actually, Nanakuli just seems like hell sometimes, especially when we have to hike to high launch! But it also gets us closer to heaven than any other flying site on the island. (Naturally, Doug holds the record for getting closest.) I guess I'll just have to keep going out there to pay my penance and work on my thermalling until I can figure out how to reach cloudbase and hear those angels singing for myself.