flight post

[timobarker]

Man! Is anybody else jonesing for some flight time or at least a flight write up? The last flight post was on March 27th! I know some of you weekday freaks were out there getting some in the last couple of weeks, since March 27th! I want to hear about it.

I myself got two fun weekend days in a row at the training hill! But, I'm seriously going crazy to hear of a good flight or a decent flight from the mountains! I'd even settle for a decent write up about a cliff soaring experience (something I haven't had in ages). Give the groveling work force types the nighty gritty! The details! I'm a flying freak and love it, but haven't had it for a while and am in serious withdraw! Anybody? Please!!!!!

[NMERider]

....I'm a flying freak and love it, but haven't had it for a while and am in serious withdraw! Anybody? Please!!!!!

This took me a while to get around to doing a proper edit. If you're a Pine Mountain addict like me and a few others then it may help ease the withdrawal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccaJzaHnx4E

[andy dainsberg]

thanx - fun to fly along in that v nice vid~ , as i recall, bobA and marty sent pgs out to the racetrack and mojave that day- i landed @ frazier -under lightning- never happier to land safely but pissed that i flew toward frazier when my wingmen skipped it to the south to cross the 5. - i had made the truck stop a couple times before and i think i was cheating that way to at least land there; but doing so put me under that funky frazier cloud action and taught me a lesson or two. basically just follow marty and bob.

[DeVietti_Marty]

I sure remember that day, and wish we could fly more of them! The blue PG that Johnathan points out is Bob A. and I was below him climbing out from Neenach super low. Hats off to Johnathan for hanging out to help with John's rescue, and still putting up a great flight!

I managed to chase after Bob thinking I would never catch him, but got super high near Tehachapi and glided to Mojave for a windy landing near the highway north of town.

Here are some pics from my trip...

Photo 1:
Fraziercommute
Frazier Mtn. ahead in the shade to the left....thunder and lightning after I left it, and it dumped some rain, sleet and hail. I am on the south sunny and upwind side, where the cloud was being fed, and managed ot run the gauntlet with just a little pelting, splattering, and dripping as I cruised through with my broken speed bar and big ears to moderate my height.

Photo 2:
IcePellet: Peetaaanngg! see the ice pellet tracking into me and the culprit bouncing right in front of my eyes, Ouch! only a few minutes of the ice pellets. In the distance you can see the I-5 and Pyramid Lake.

Photos 3:
MojaveCloudstreet: Heading North towards Mojave. Once I got to base, it was super cool, fast and fun. So hot on the ground and blowing 15-20 on the ground...no wonder they have so many wind turbines in Tehachapi, just before Mojave.

Great day, I dressed just right and was happy to have the O2. I stayed above 10k most of the day, and clouds were 13 to 14K later in the day.

https://plus.google.com/photos/110871143058661933036/albums/5864168105505455057

Wish I had Johnathan's editing skills, as I did get some gopro footage, but haven't made it into a movie yet. Batteries died right after Neenatch. I hope to fly that way again, with my extra big battery pack next time.
Cheers,
Marty

[NMERider]

Thanks for the follow-up reports Andy and Marty. Marty, I love that frame still of the hail pellet's track across the frame and there's suspended pellet after it bounced off your face. Had I known you had video footage I would have asked you for it and mixed it in with mine. I don't know who else had any from that day other than Southside's deployment footage.

Truth be told, I just hung around Neenach on my second pass and watched you guys scratch up from the foothills. I'd already lost interest in the flight not knowing how I was going to get picked up. What I should have done was climb to base and follow you and Bob and just shot aerial footage then turn around and land back at Neenach or as close as I could get to Palmdale. It would have made some great scenes with us skimming the cloud bottoms. I have had other flights interrupted by running SAR, radio relay. I wish everyone was on 2-meter and able to use it effectively. My favorite was when Fast Eddy had an infected tooth and had to stop at Nitrous's office in Fillmore and I checked in on 2-meter to Mark's hygienist while making my way down the valley to Magic Mountain.

I have 2-1/2 hours of older video from the day Southside and me flew Pine to Frazier then turned around and landed at the beach. That was a 16,000' day and El Diablo landed at Garlock. We were trying for the 5 before turning around. I was still pretty new to the area and made a lot of errors and was freaking out during my long glide from Lockwood Valley to the beach. I started that edit but haven't really thought out the story yet.

I do have a video from last June when me and El Diablo flew from Pine to Lancaster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obDBL2Zji3Y This was a clear day with modest altitudes. I added the 3D track animation but only music and no commentary. Hopefully, this year has a some good days in store.

[Aaron]

i concur! great video jonathan! and great stories by all..big day out there... it gave me chills seeing that beast over frazier, and your radio quote saying southside was under it. i liked watching your lines trying to get through the blue hole between frazier and nenach. thanks for reminiscing

For all you folks that havent gone OTB at Pine, this vid is a perfect how-to.

[timobarker]

Thanks guys,

That was rad! What a day. I've got to go fly Pine this year!

[NMERider]

Thanks guys,

That was rad! What a day. I've got to go fly Pine this year!

Mount Laguna near Julian, CA (San Diego Co.) is a bit like Pine except you generally need to get onto Granite Mountain and go OTB from there and across a series of valleys North toward San Jacinto. I did another re-edit this time of a 2010 flight but there is over 50 miles of cloud street and lots of play time in the wisps (a favorite feature of Santa Barbara). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RplihI8L-g

[Aaron]

here is southsides cloudsuck and deployment from that same day. glad you walked away mahn! gnarly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JAVTy5xy0w