Breezy and Beautiful

I left the house this morning shortly after 8, to take Logan into town for his contrabass festival. I passed Bob on his way out to Turtle Bay and McStalker on his way out to Kahana - which was already looking sunny and nice, a rare treat this early in the morning. Jeff fired up the website chatterbox on his phone to post the day's first report from the beach.

29 Mar 08, 08:30

JeffMc_Mobile: Beautiful day at Kahana. Come on out.

Jeff hiked up to see if it wasn't too strong, and Jim arrived a bit later to join him. Jeff kindly posted some details in his next chatterbox report.

29 Mar 08, 09:42

JeffMc_Mobile: From KNA - Similar to yesterday maybe 2mph more. A little East, but not too bad. Low launch lighter than expected, but strong at mid launch.

I dropped Logan off at Kam School, shopped for groceries in Kaneohe, and headed home. As I passed Kahana again, I could see Jeff in the air above low launch and I heard him on the radio saying he was parked there. I checked the sensor and it was reading an average of 16 mph. Wow! My typical limit for enjoyably flyable conditions is a sensor reading of 14 mph. Jim was on launch waiting for a lot less wind. He swapped wings with Czech Pete the other day and was looking forward to trying Pete's Golden II today.

29 Mar 08, 10:43

Alex@iphone: 16 mph act at kahana right now - jeff is parked over low launch and jim is on launch hoping it backs off.

I went home, unloaded the groceries with Dorothy, took Amelia to her grandparents in Punaluu, and then headed out to Kahana to join Jim in hoping for less wind.

29 Mar 08, 11:29

JeffMc_Mobile: i just top landed. still a little gusty and east. but do-able, if you want it.

Jim had already launched by the time I finally got out there, around noon - and Jeff relaunched as I was hiking up. Don called as I was hiking and I told him it was strong but flyable - a very unconvincing sales pitch.

I launched in what felt like light wind at low launch, but the moment I was airborne I shot straight up in strong lift to join the Earls. Bob called me soon afterwards for a radar report, but the best I could do from my aerial vantage point was a visual assesment - from my view of the clear horizon I guessed he'd be seeing very few clouds at Turtle Bay.

The three of us flew around in breezy east conditions for a couple of hours, enjoying the abundant lift and skimming the bottom of the occasional low puffy cloud over the bay, until we were ready to land for some refreshments.

29 Mar 08, 14:19

JeffMc_Mobile: It is good at KNA. 12-16 ENE

And it was good! As we folded up our wings under the trees, we met Dave, a prospective pilot who has seen us flying many times - he manages the maintenance of all the lighthouses in the state for the coast guard. A very cool guy. Maybe it was the beverages, but for some reason we ended up regaling him with our worst horror stories - hopefully we also gave him some hint of the incomparable rewards of flying that we've all experienced.

Czech Pete called to say he and Jorge were coming, and Suicide Pete decided to join them as well. I had to leave to pick up Logan before they showed up, but by the time I swung back by Kahana at 5, Suicide Pete and Jorge were just landing, reporting conditions just as strong as what we'd found earlier. Czech Pete, flying Jim's Lambada, had surprised the other two by shooting around the corner and blazing downwind to land at Hauula 7-11, just in time for me to retrieve him. I guess Jim's new wing can't be restrained from flying cross country even on a strong day like this. It's an XC machine!

It was a breezy and beautiful day out there. Thanks to Jeff for the blow-by-blow chatterbox reports. We're forecast to get even stronger stuff for at least the next few days - maybe that'll give us all time to get those taxes done!

Not as good as a wedding or Ray's party...or is it??

LAST MINUTE UPDATE: Please, if you can, bring a folding chair or two, they're running out of furniture as well. Thanks!

Finally, the time has come, and Kelly and Brian are outta here, off our beautiful island paradise. No one to report on my behavior back home in J-Hole.

For real, JHoleBrian, and his lovely girlfriend Kelly, are leaving in early April, and would like to invite everyone for a party, as an appreciation for a warm welcome and all y'alls hospitality.

The event will take place at their beautiful "freeway-front" rental property at 4540 Kalanianaole Hwy, Honolulu, 96821 (Kahala, just at the East end of H-1) this Sunday, March 30th, after 4pm.

Please, bring beverages of your own choice. And also please, bring your own plates and silverware for pupus, you will get to take 'em home with you (I ain't gonna wash 'em) ... Really, Kelly and Brian don't wanna use the disposable stuff and they don't have enough fine china for more than 3 people.

There isn't much room for parking at their place, but there should be plenty on Ainakoa St. and Kalaniki St., about a 30 second grueling hike to their place. If possible, RSVP by Saturday morning, if you could make it, since Brian is buying pupus and would like to have a sort of an idea of how many people are coming. Email chadwick@bresnan.net or call 307.690.4717.

Thanks, hope to see you all there.

Czech Peter

Downrange Dash

Great flying at Kahana today! Seven pilots dashed downrange in brisk easterly conditions, scoring several firsts in the process: Don's first downrange flight in his new Mustang, visitor Nate's first Hawaii flight (on his new Rebel, Will Gadd's old wing from when he was filming here a few months back), Sony and Jorge's first flights to Pounders. Ray was very happy to get back in the air after a long break. Thanks to Yolie for the retrieve!

Margin of Error

The Kahana die-hards enjoyed three days in a row of fun flying after almost a month of downtime. Definitely marginal days: very rainy or very windy or both. But despite the sketchy spots, we managed to enjoy the return of flyable tradewinds, with a few nice intentional XC trips and even one unintentional one. Visitors Arkansas Paul and Brazilian Fred joined the fun as well. Today seems like another marginally flyable day out there, but most of the die-hard crew decided to take a pass in favor of Ray's party this afternoon. See you all there!

Not as big as a PG wedding, but it is still a PARTY...

Hi gang! This Sunday, March 23rd we're having a little get together to celebrate my birthday! Please bring some drinks and a big smile to 98-945 Moanalua Rd, from 3 to 9 pm. Please RSVP with Noell at 808-782-3126. Looking forward to seeing you ;)

Brazilian Ray

Daddy, will you read me a bedtime story? Pleeeeeease . . .

Once upon a time, an ivory skinned princess from a cold, grey, snowy, peninsular land called “Michigan” traveled to the warm, sunny, paradisial island of Oahu. There, she met a golden skinned commoner from the land of her ancestral enemy, “Ohio.” Unexpectedly, rather than engaging one another in mortal combat, they began to engage one another in an elaborate courtship ritual.

“I can fly,” he told her, “and if you’d like, I will take you along with me, soaring among the clouds.”

“That is a wild boast!” she scolded.

But, it was true. And, the princess and the pauper, hand in hand, climbed mountains together, swam with dolphins together, traveled the world together, and, yes, soared among the clouds . . . together. They fell in love. They were married. They raised beautiful, intelligent, well-mannered children together. And, of course, They Lived Happily Ever After.

Hillery & I would like to announce to all members of the Hawai’i Paragliding Association our intention to be married on Saturday, 7 June 2008.

We were going to wait until August, 2008; however, Hillery & I would, also, like to announce to all of the members of the Hawai’i Paragliding Association that in September 2008, you are all going to be Aunties & Uncles!!

We decided that we wanted to start a family. She thought it would take several months . . . but, it took several weeks instead. Yes, yes, the swimmers are strong!! Therefore, the August wedding has been moved up: very much to do, very little time.

We have given the matter a great deal of thought. We would like to be married in Hawai’i. We would like to be married on the beach. We would like all of our friends to be present, enjoying food and drink and laughter.

We know, of course, that if our wedding just happened to be on a sunny, flyable day, the majority of our friends would be forced to invent some perfectly regrettable reason to leave the reception early . . . so that they could get up to Low Launch or High Launch or North Launch before the wind got too strong or too light or too east or too “something.”

To tell the truth, I might even skip out on my wedding reception if it looked like a good downrange day. Of course, Hillery might well beat me to a bloody pulp if I were to do so.

Therefore, for the good of our marriage (and possibly my very survival), we have decided to have the wedding at the LZ at Kahana Bay. An all-day luau will follow. There will be food, music, a hula halau will dance, pilots will fly, tasks will be defined, and competitions will be waged. It will be the “Wedding Day Fly-In!”

I’ve already told a few people about our plans and, in true HPA fashion, offers of assistance and support have been made: such as tents, coolers, tandem wings, and an offer by a professional make-up artist to “Do Hillery’s make-up.” We appreciate it more than we can express. We have been brainstorming about all of the things that we will need. Hillery has compiled a list of wedding related items (which I expect to grow & grow & grow.) We ask that, if anyone can assist us with the making of this event, please leave a comment here or call Hillery or myself.

Here is the list so far:
Tables
Chairs
BBQ Grills
Tents
Help with food . . . BBQ Masters!
Audio equipment (PA for the iPOD)
Help with set-up & tear down
Beach cleaning
Coolers
Wind screens
Tandem Pilots willing to fly friends & family
Flower Droppers
Beer drinkers and sunbathers
Anything else that you think we may need

I will be giving periodic updates as the plans develop. Please feel free to call me or Hillery or e-mail us. We would like to know who plans to attend, so that we can gauge how much food to buy. Aye, you like steak? Fish? Cake?

So, in a few months we will go from wild singles to husband & wife . . . mommy & daddy . . . pretty cool, huh?

And They Lived Happily Ever After.

Let's go another round

Just a short article before I'm off to San Diego for a week of business... Unfortunately, I won't have time to fly there, so I had to squeeze in some air time today at Makapuu. Sub Steve and I hiked up to Cactus. The wind on the LZ seemed very light and quite East. We made it up to the top and conditions looked good. Knowing Cactus' fickle moods we tried to get set up as swiftly as feasible.

As I finished laying out, Canadian visitors Mike, Gordon, Meg, and Ryan (non flyer) hiked up and Mike introduced himself. We didn't talk long since the wind was picking up already. I got out, followed by Steve and Mike. Ryan, Gordon and Meg opted to hike down - the wind had picked up considerably from their reports. On the way down, Meg stopped by both Manic's and Crazy Man's for a look-see. She then hiked up Tomato Juice and got a short flight from there to land over by the heiau (now that's one motivated woman).

Gordon and Ryan got in some quality beach time. Steve, Mike and I flew around for a couple of hours. Jetflap Jeff and Russell made their appearance and both got out of Cactus. As we were all landing Jetflap went over toward Koko Crater, followed by Russell a while later.

Seeing them take off, the Canadian entourage was ready for round two. Ian and his wife Marissa from Florida also dropped in and decided to hike up and give it a try in tandem. I hiked up with everyone and helped a few people off, Ryan hiked up again too and went off hiking the ridge to get some pictures and explore the scenery.

I then went on down, where I met Arizona Chandler and Jetflap by Manic's. Chanlder hiked up to Cactus and flew from there too. Finally, I went on back to the LZ to consume a couple of beverages with Ryan.

Great to see you all out there!

No wind, No Worries - Walkerjet is here!

It has been over 2yrs since I moved back from Hilo, Hawaii and I finally flew my motor. With little to no wind posting at our normal sites this weekend and last, I decided to dust off the paramotor and head out to Sandy Beach.

My first attempt at Sandy's left my precious motor going to the doctor in search of reinforcements and new props. I had attempted to take off on a normal trade wind day with the wind around 8-10 mph out of the NE. My wing came up beautifully and and then immediately dove to my left. I corrected and again she was overhead. Ready, set and go....... or so I thought. I hadn't flown my motor for 6 months or so and I was itching to get in the air. I failed to notice that the wind had changed direction.

a.) The first hint was when the wing immediately pulled to the left and required some major corrective actions.
b.) The second was that I was flying fast just 3 feet off the ground without getting any altitude (now what kind of flag should this have sent up?) Maybe I was't taking off into the wind....da!

The bush pile in the middle of Sandy Beach Park was quickly approaching so I let off on the throttle and powered down. At first glance it was not a bad landing at all. Not pretty by any means but nothing that would cause the damage that followed. I landed on my feet but the bottom right corner of my cage hit the ground (not suppose to happen) and the aluminium cage flexed in about an inch. At which point the first blade of three made contact with the cage, pop, pop and pop.....$700 to my brain.... After picking up my pride I cut the power to the motor and started assessing the damage. New propeller $700, new cage $1100 a new sport without a motor (free flying?). Ok, so now you know about my first attempt at Sandy Beach!

Not easy for me to overcome. So last week the wind peaking out at 2mph at Kahana and Diamond Head gave me the opportunity to resurrect the motor. I asked permission to fly, yes my chidlren's other parent! Low and behold there were no pressing engagements......off to fly it was. I reached Sandy Beach at 8:30 am( yes, Eddie was already in his parking spot). The wind matched the report 2mph variable gust to 3...... motoring weather. Oh no, less than 3 would a reverse launch be possible? Of course not, so I set up for the dreaded forward launch. Not so bad off the mountain side but on flat ground with a motor it means a perfect take off or not! I laid out my wing in an exagerated V - shape set my lines, took two steps back and looked for Eddie's thumbs up on the take off run. One, two, three here I go:

• I put my risers over my forearms
• I began the run.....whoa there's a parachute thats stopping my blazing speed
• I continue on in the forward direction and slowly the wing makes it over head
• I look up just for a microsecond to check the wing and voila....here she is just falling out of the sky.
• I quickly go to reset the wing and notice the wind has picked up to a whole 4 mph.... but it feels like I can do a reverse launch.....
• Not to miss the opportunity I set up for a reverse launch. Lift my A's with one break in each hand and the throttle in my right hand ( My thumb and index finger is wrapped around the throttle, the middle finger is holding the brake, the next finger is holding the A line and I have the pinky available to scratch my nose if need be!)
• So I lift the A's and up comes the wing directly over head, I check to make sure the wing is set, no crossed lines.....good to go. Left over right turn left... I proceed to add power and I make sure to let the motor lift me off the ground (as opposed to jumping in my seat) smoothly progressing to full throttle....up, up and away I go...... I start a right hand turn out to coiincide with the motors natural tendency to turn right with the P-factor.

The unit operates wonderfully, I later land without incident....this is a good thing considering my last flight at Sandy Beach....

I pack up and head home....

The wind gods are playing with my mind.....can it be? Another Saturday with no prior engagements and no wind to speak of.... I head out to Sandy's again with my motor in the back of the truck and its true again a beautiful PPG day. Looks like a forward launch day again... However, the wind meter is reading 3... no 4... no then occaisionally 5.....surely thats enough to do a reverse launch...

I was rewarded with the most wonderful whale watching I have had in 17 years on Oahu.

To all my non-motoring friends........ I can only say I missed you!