Quentin needs our help!

Let's show Quentin how much we appreciate his friendship and years of service to our flying community by supporting him with a paraglider pilot sign-waving session this coming Friday, August 29. We plan to wave campaign signs at the intersection of Pali and Kalaniaole Highways, to be followed by a party in Lanikai Park. Meet us at Castle Hospital at 4 pm for the sign-waving session, or even if you can't make it early enough to wave signs, please join us for the pot-luck BBQ party afterwards at 6 pm. The more the merrier - friends and family are welcome. Please sign up with a comment below if you think you can make it.

Squall Free

We kept the squalls at bay today: after a quick kiting session at Kualoa, Jim and I were treated to the briefest of drizzles on launch at Kahana, but the rest of the afternoon was squall free, as later arrivals Don and Wayne can attest.

The four of us enjoyed some super sweet flying in light northeast conditions, launching from both ridges, toplanding the north ridge twice, flying far out front and high over the back, crossing the bay to soar low over the scary little knob they call the Crouching Lion, before retreating back over the bay to reach the landing zone treeline with inches to spare . . . now that's what I call Kahana flying!

Nanakuli Permit

The Hawaii Paragliding Association has been granted a one month limited right of entry permit from DHHL for the purpose of paragliding at Nanakuli.

As most of you already know, the accident and rescue effort for a visiting pilot earlier this year prompted the DHHL to post trespass warning signs along Ulei Loop in an effort to limit their liability, and these signs have caused some consternation among newer residents about our status there.

Thanks to everyone for their patience while we got this worked out. I know we've missed at least a few potentially good light-wind flying days over the last few months. And thanks to Quentin for his help making contact with the right people at DHHL. We will be renewing the permit each month, and eventually we expect to renew it for longer periods.

As we discussed in our recent association meeting, anyone who goes out there to fly can help us protect our new official flying privileges in a couple of important ways:

(1) Minimize our impact on the residential neighborhood. Please avoid parking on the makai corner of Ulei Loop, and consider carpooling and/or leaving cars at intended outlying landing areas (beach, playing field, Waikele) whenever possible. Also refrain from hanging out in the neighborhood before or after flying.

(2) Continue to treat the residents out there with courtesy and respect. If anyone is curious about our status, politely reassure them that we have a permit to continue our flying activities, and if they have any concerns, please have them contact me or any available board member.

Also, keep in mind that since we are insuring the DHHL through the USHPA site insurance policy, only full USHPA members are granted access under the terms of the permit. We need to make sure our visiting flying buddies are USHPA members, and remember to ask them to sign our association waiver before flying at Nanakuli.

Thanks again to everyone for their patience and help.

Heaven & Hell

After letting many hours of perfect northerly bay-crossing conditions slip by (averaging 9 mph at 35 degrees), I finally broke down and made the pilgrimage to Kahana to check it out by myself. I wasn't able to rouse the faithful to join me, but I wanted that trip to the promised land of Kualoa badly enough that I was willing to consider undertaking a rare solo mission.

Of course I still hoped someone would show up to keep me company. Jim and Jeff had expressed mild interest. Jared had offered to come out but changed his mind because he felt that the wind was picking up. I hoped that the increase might be confined to wherever Jared was hanging out.

When I got to Kahana, a wide squall line was approaching, but just after it passed, I started out along the road to the north ridge trailhead. On the way I met a serious looking guy on a bicycle who delivered an ominous warning about biblical rains approaching - he said he had just arrived on the bus from Kaneohe and it was raining like Armageddon there. I thanked him for his concern but continued on my way, hiking up through the soaking wet vegetation along the north ridge trail to reach the low launch. The sky was grey from upper cloud cover but the low horizon looked clear enough.

I launched into winds that felt more easterly than I had expected. I could see that there was some major rain drenching the coastline to either side of me, towards Kaaawa and towards Punaluu, but it looked like Kahana and its lone aviator would be miraculously spared. I tried to cross the bay a couple of times but it just wasn't quite north enough to work.

After returning to the ridge the second time, I made my way to the back to soar Puu Piei. As I rose above the summit, something really cool happened: super low clouds began to form just outside the bay, taking shape out of midair as they drifted up to join me over the ridge. I soared in and out of the amorphous forms, always keeping towards the edges to maintain a hazy glimpse of the bay through the mist. It was an amazing feeling - I thought I might be having a religious experience.

Then the voice of God interrupted my reverie. Actually, it was Jeff on the radio, saying he had just arrived to fold up his wing and check out the conditions. I was excited at the prospect of some company. But after a little while he called me again and said he just wasn't feeling that motivated - maybe it was the low clouds, the grey sky, or the squalls offshore, but he took a rain check and headed home. I was glad he had pointed out those squalls, because they really were starting to look menacing. I headed down and soared the trees for a surprisingly long while, at times deep over the park, then buzzed down to a dramatic and showy landing right over a lady who was pointing a videocamera at me.

I quickly folded up, and then walked back out to the beach with a delicious cold obsidian-hued beverage, to see how close I had cut it with the incoming squalls. I was surprised to see that they had blown right on by on an easterly track. Also, the wind had really increased as it clocked to the east, and I began to feel some intensely turbulent rotor gusts on the beach, alternating with moments of complete stillness. I could see cats paws on the glassy water, and as they struck the beach I could see dust devils rising up out of the sand. I couldn't believe I had just been soaring the trees so peacefully, deep over the park, moments before the conditions went straight to hell. Jeff's premonition turned out to be well founded!

I'm glad I flew - I think I'm really starting to appreciate an occasional solo flight. Certainly I enjoyed something close to a spiritual moment flying by myself around the heavenly clouds. But I was also quite lucky to dodge some devilish bullets, which makes me wonder if I wasn't taking a big risk flying by myself, in conditions I had not anticipated, ignoring multiple signs of inclement weather, to score an obliviously sweet but foolhardy window of flying time. Next time I fly alone I'll do it on a day with better odds of success.

Dawn to Dusk

Today's story at Kahana began at the crack of dawn, with a handful of intrepid souls waiting hours for morning showers to pass, and it ended with one lucky bastard who didn't show up until twilight but scored the sweetest flight of the day. Seventeen pilots showed up to fly three distinct flying sessions, punctuated by occasional squalls. Jeff says it was the biggest turnout of pilots at Kahana all summer.

It was another north day out here, a lot lighter than yesterday, and everyone but Nick and Dave launched from the North ridge. Lots of bay crossings were attempted, but only the comp wings made it today. Ray made it over during the first session, but he wasn't able to milk enough lift to stay over there. And Dave made it over for the last flight of the day, to Kualoa and back, as the sun set on a long day of flying.

French pilot William joined us on the hill and the LZ today. Jeff came out of hiding to reclaim his earlship with the day's highest flight above Puu Piei, at 2500 feet. Jim and Rich explored the very back of the lift zone on the Punaluu side, but they both managed to squeak back to the front safely. Maui pilots Zack and Abhay hiked up with Jorge for the middle session, and flew over the back to land deep in Punaluu Valley. And Berndt showed up at the end of the day to say hello.

Thanks to Jeff and Jorge for the beverages! Also, if anyone else took pictures, send me a link and I'll include them here - I forgot to start taking pictures until the end of the last session.

Big Fat Lift Band

Wouldn't that be a great band name? But actually I am talking about another sweet day flying at Kahana: Scot, Jim, Don and I flew in strong northerly conditions for a few hours this afternoon, and we had a great time exploring the limits of the huge lift band on the north side of the ridge. Scot plumbed the depths of the lift over the shoreline and the water, while Jim and Don pioneered the upper limits. Thanks to Jim for the post-flight refreshments.

Low clouds and high spirits

Don and Jim shared a great afternoon of flying with me today, in the north conditions at Kahana. We hiked and flew two sessions from the north ridge, the second one after the passage of a large rain system that had ended our first session prematurely. The clouds were super low all day, forming out of thin air low and out front, and sometimes around us as we flew.

At one point I headed out over the bay just to get away from the hill, not from any great height, but I soon found myself cruising all the way across and into the lift band above the Crouching Lion. What great luck, after days of not quite crossable north airflow. I plunged forward under the low clouds and peeked into a misty Kaaawa Valley, before turning back to get Don and Jim and bring them over - but the conditions had changed slightly by then, and we couldn't find our way back there. Next time! Thanks to Jim and Don for the tasty beverages.

Why I do what I do

Every year at the Rat Race in Medford, Oregon, I get asked: why don't I compete? Why do I chase all of you paraglider pilots day in and day out through poison oak and trees in the hot sun in tiger country?

Here's the reason why.

I received a thank you note today from one of those pilots that I rescued, Heidi Chu, and here's what it says:

Hi Pete,

Hope you made it back in one piece! I just wanted to Thank you (so much!) for getting me down from the tree last week at the Rat Race.

I feel so lucky to have met you and to have had you there to pull me off of the tree. I didn't get any Poison Oak either. Woo Hoo!! (-: [We were standing in it]

I'm back to the real world now and look forward another paragliding trip very soon. Maybe Hawaii! or... Mexico. (-:.

I hope to meet you again & fly with you, hopefully where there aren't any trees... well... maybe not too tall ones.

Best, Heidi

See ya all in 'Tiger Country'

Meeting & Party: Sat Aug 16 @ Kalama Clubhouse!

Update: Peter will be providing meat for the BBQ as usual. Please bring pupus and your favorite liquid refreshments to share, and a small cash donation to defray Peter's expenses. Thanks. Volunteers for site cleanup and preparation are encouraged to show up at 3. Baby shower starts at 4, PG meeting/party starts at 6. See you there!

Pilots and friends are invited to join us for our third quarterly meeting and party of the year, to be held on Saturday, August 16, at 6 pm. Since the HTMC clubhouse in Waimanalo is undergoing major construction, Bob has graciously offered his new home site to the club for this occasion. Thanks Bob! And thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions and offers for an emergency backup venue.

New Addiction

After watching Alex and One Eye scratching for lift at Kahana 2 days ago, I was inspired. So I sweatily climbed a windless hill. After vainly willing my wing to fly after several aborted attempts, I considered doing a forward launch, or still sticking to Sideshow Bob's tried and true dynamic reverse technique. I chose the latter when a slight puff ruffled my wing. Once airborne, the real challenge awaited my novice light wind skills.

I quickly discovered that timing your turns, correct brake input, correct bank angle, and weight shift are essential for successful scratching! Multi-tasking indeed. Meanwhile, back at the beach, Alex and One Eye were wagering frosty drinks on whether I would sled or not. (I won't reveal who doubted me.) It was a draw. I got in at least 7 good passes before chickening out after spying low launch above me. While on my approach, Alex volunteered a few light wind landing techniques, which I promptly ignored. I planted myself firmly beside him and his cold beverages. (I meant to do that.)

The next day at Makapuu I saw wings flying back and forth below Crazy Man's. Alex and Jetflap were showing how it's done. Again I pretended I was a sponge, soaking up as much as I could from these human Iwa birds. Alas, it turns out I was still a rock.
But I got in 25 minutes of good low level fun before hitting the sand. Practicing level turns, flying close to the hill, and always preparing to beach it if I got too low was a challenge for my meagre skills. But the important thing was: I was better than the day before. Could I have been even better with a newer wing? After scientifically analyzing the data for 20 seconds, the answer was: Yes! So that means it's a slam dunk convincing Lori that I need a new glider, right Alex?

Dropping down from my normal lofty heights has perhaps grown a few new brain cells that I might use in the future. The Rat Race? Nah, now I'm dreaming.

I'm hooked. I'm a light wind, low level junkie.

First flight in over a month

My wing arrived yesterday from Oregon, only a couple days behind me - thanks to Paul for taking care of that! Ray picked it up from Dorothy's office yesterday and brought it out to Kahana, where we flew with Jim, Jeff and Wayne. Conditions were light, and it took us awhile to get high, but I finally connected with a thermal over Puu Piei, taking me to 2300 feet. I headed out front and then burned over to Punaluu.

I arrived at the front of the Punaluu ridge with about 1300 feet, and I had to scratch in zeros for quite a while, until I managed to hook one suprisingly strong thermal that took me up almost a thousand feet. I figured I could duck back toward Sacred Falls, but I was surprised to find nothing but sink as I headed back, so I turned around and jumped to the next ridge, behind my house, where again I scratched in zeros a while. I never managed to connect with anything organized, so after a while I headed out over the water to do some wingovers before landing at Hauula Beach Park. Thanks to Jeff for the quick retrieve!

What a great day to get back into the air. I know many pilots like to explore the upper limit of wind strength in our windy part of the world - I've explored it myself on occasion. But my preference is to push the lower limits, even though we don't get as many opportunities for it. Flying thermals at our ridge sites is a rare treat. Today was one of the lightest days on which I've managed to get up and hop a few ridges down the coast, and I'm looking forward to more days like that.

After I landed, a couple came up and asked me, "Did you do that on purpose?" which has got to be one of the better questions we get asked. I said I wouldn't have minded getting to the next beer store, since it happens to carry my all-time favorite brew, but the 7-11 here would do just fine. It's great to be back!

Wash the baby . . . that's what you do at a baby shower, right?

Aloha . . . Hillery here . . . Noell, Ginny and Donna have been gracious enough to sponsor a baby shower for Peter and me. Co-Ed!! And you are NOT required to bring a gift! It will take place immediately before the meeting on Saturday the 16th at 4:00 pm, at Bob’s Money Pit.

They’ve asked us to let you know that we are registered at the following places: Toys ’R' Us and Kelsey’s Baby shop; both are located in Aiea. Additionally, our registry can be found on-line through the Babies ’R Us website: www.babiesrus.com.

Those of you who are not inclined to go shopping (but would like to purchase a gift) can purchase things off the registry and have the items shipped. For the non-shopping types (brick & mortar or e-commerce) you can contact Donna (Thom’s wife) for assistance.

Peter and I have decided to use cloth diapers for our little one. We have chosen to use a very cool product: “Bum Genius 3.0” diapers; which are available on-line at www.cottonbabies.com. Shipping is free, but it takes about a week.

We look forward to seeing all of you at The Money Pit.

Aloha
Hillery & Suicide