http://ozreport.com/data/SylmarLZ.kmz


http://ozreport.com/data/MainKagelLaunch.kmz


www.shga.com


After a good day on the Friday after Thanksgiving, four dozen or so pilots
showed up for flying on Saturday at the Sylmar Flight Park. The cu's started
early (before 8 AM) in Century City so it was looking good to me. Joe Greblo was
a little worried about a northwest flow that might make it un launchable but by
9 AM he thought that that wouldn't be a problem.


I got to the LZ in plenty of time for the 11 AM shuttle with Joe and took the
middle seat with three extra big guys, that meant I had to shove my butt way
forward to the front edge of the seat and talk with Joe all the way up.


The cu's were still happening at we got to launch and the air was forecasted to
be 27 degree Fahrenheit at 6,100'. It was cold at launch at 3540'. But I set up
my borrowed Wills Wing T2 - 144 right away. We were the first pilots to get to
launch.


After putting on extra clothing, I headed out to launch with Joe on my wires. It
was gusted as well as strong at launch and I had two wire men holding on until I
yelled clear and ran off. I was the first to launch by quite a margin.


The lift was light just in front of launch and I held on for a while before
punching forward and to the left a little to get under the cu's. The preferred
direction to climb up from launch is to go to the right and all the folks on the
launch were wondering why I was going in the "wrong" direction. Not being a
local I didn't know any better and headed for the nearest cloud.


Bam! 700 fpm! This is late November in the Northern Hemisphere and I'm going up
in smooth 700 fpm. It was easy to thermal with the T2 - 144, and it seemed as
natural at the Falcon 3 - 170.


It was time to put my football (gridiron) receiver gloves on. I went further out
front to the south to get away from the lift so that I can have smooth
conditions to get my gloves on, then found 300 fpm to 6,400'. There were a few
little bumpetts, but these only told me that I bet this place could be a handful
in the summer. The wind was 8 mph out of the southwest.


I waited around at cloud base for some locals to launch and climb up to me. One
launched and did come in under me at launch level, while another tried to go to
the right to get up, and later had to come out front under me. The word on
launch had been that pilots were going to go cross country and as I hadn't set
up my radio, I said that I would just follow them.


Andy came up next to me and signaled that it was time to go (only one other
pilot have even launched) so off I went following him. We zoomed southeast well
in front of the ridge line under the clouds which seemed to want to be away from
the hills.


It was easy to cross a couple of canyons going over first Little Tujunga Canyon
and than Big Tujunga Canyon, before getting to as vast array of microwave towers
nine miles southeast of the launch. The cloud base at the towers was 5,400' and
the lift was light.


It was funny to look to the south west and see all the "civilization" and then
to look to the north and west and see wild country full of steep mountains with
few or no places to land. The mountains go on for a long long time. Just check
out Google Earth. The ranges are about twenty miles wide.


The views reminded me in places of flying in Dinosaur, Colorado with the steep
canyons. The steep mountains reminded me a little of the Alps. A dry version of
the Alps with little spots of civilization at the bottom. It was very wild in
the mountains.


It seemed quite possible to keep right on riding the mountains east back to
Marshall in San Bernardino and on to Palm Springs. Just stay in the mountains
and there aren't airspace issues. There does seem to be an issue of LZ's though
as you pass north of Los Angeles. Maybe. Maybe not.


The T2 - 144 handled the light lift near the towers with no problem. I had
pulled on the VG to 3/4, but not all the way when gliding fast (but only to 42
mph) on the way out. I was getting used to the feel of the glider with the VG
on, which I hadn't been able to do at Marshall in the light conditions there. It
will take a while before I'm comfortable with full VG.


I was thermaling mostly with 1/3rd VG. That didn't seem like a problem at all.
The glider was feeling fine with the bumps and I was relaxing more and more as
the flight went on.


After getting back above the wispies at the microwave towers I headed back
northwest leaving Andy to play there. The wind was out of the southwest so it
was a bit more work getting back, but plenty of lift. Long before I hopped over
little Tujunga Canyon I noticed that most of the pilots were in the LZ . A
couple of pilots had been dragging behind us to the microwave towers, but only a
few.


There was plenty of lift under the still forming cu's way out from the ridge
line past the LZ, but after an hour and a half in the air, I needed to get down
to go meet my mother in Pacific Palisades. Again the Wills Wing T2 - 144 was a
snap to land. I just did a fast aircraft approach and had no issues with a no
wind landing. Using the Joe Greblo, flare after you land system.


The LZ was chocked full of hang glider pilots and one paraglider pilot. Sure
looked like things were doing well in this part of the hang gliding community
(200 club members). Joe Greblo is pumping out students and that is what is
keeping this sport alive in this area. Without these students the whole
enterprise is doomed.


The USHPA has to get with the program and make sure that instructors are
successful in as many places as possible throughout the country.