Skyport 2/16/06

Past, present, and future flights, meeting times & places, theory.

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Skyport 2/16/06

Postby Chris G » Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:11 pm

Big crew headed up the mountain this morning at 10:45. Bunch of jobless bums. Couldn't really blame the ones with jobs for calling in sick since there was a 31 degree spread between the ground and 6k. It was going to be big. Ron F launched first and after a short struggle in front of launch, got up and went to the R&R. I launched second and went straight up 50ft with no penetration. After that it kinda petered out and I found myself a few feet below launch. Decided to run to the TF but 100 yards from launch encountered severe rotor from an East wind. Limped across to the holy hills and connected super low behind the power lines. Looked like I was going to have my first SnakePit landing. Struggled on a very turbulent spine for a while and took way too many chances but managed to get enough to squeak over the power lines. The bottom of the canyon was very nasty and definitely windy. Once across the power lines I wasn't even close to guaranteed Saint Mary's. Got a few weak pops as I surfed across to the bump just behind SM's. Arrived level with it and found a boomer that took me to the moon, topping out around 4k over the snake pit. Weird. Ran to the TF above the top but it was very sinky and still into a headwind. Hit 47 and after several severe pummelings decided I'd had enough and followed Rob S to the beach with a tandem. A few headed downrange but the rest of the large crew ended up at the beach shortly thereafter. Weird day. Not one I'd like to repeat on a regular basis but at least the altitudes were good.

A bunch of us ended up at Bates on the way home and it was working well. At times pilots were up at the 450ft mark, several top-landings and great flights for some first-time soaring folks. Good fun and nice to be in something smooth after the morning mayhem.
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Chris G
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Cold Cycle

Postby faoro » Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:33 am

It's hard to pay attention to demands at work when there's a 30 degree lapse rate beckoning one to the mountains (as there is again this Friday morning!). That was the case yesterday when I looked at the weather in the morning. The wind had been blowing 30-40 mph all night long at Montecito Peak and my home in Sycamore Canyon was certainly rocking Wednesday night. But Debbie was saying light northwest winds and Montecito Peak backed off at 9 AM. So I called Andy Palmer and we set up a later meet time of 10:45. There went all my plans of what I needed to do at work and around the house.

Diablo launched as the Eagle crew drove up to Skyport. Our timing was pretty good; the place turned on around 11. I got up to 3,500 at launch, 5,500 at the R&R - but La Cumbre Peak was too rowdy when I got there and I came back east with 4,700 feet. Passed over Skyport and fished around in the turbulent conditions at the Thermal Factory before finding a core that drew me up to the back ridge and cloudbase at 6,500 feet. It was worth enduring the shakes and snaps to get this kind of altitude. My GPS died and I changed batteries on the way east. It was very cold; you had to be dressed for the freezing temperatures.

Passed over Montecito Peak and San Ysidro Canyon and came in over the top of the ridge before Romero Canyon. It had been rather smooth on the glide, but now I was back in the washing machine. The high clouds had moved in strong enough to shut down some of the thermal activity. All that was left were the little ratty ones, keeping me pegged below 4K. There was a 7-8 mph west wind and it was one of those days where you had a choice of either falling out of the thermal into nasty air or just popping on down to the next lift source. So, in no time I was at the east end of Castle Ridge. My enthusiasm for the Pass was on the wane. Not so much because of the thrashing around as because of the low altitudes I was getting. After working to get up to 4,400 feet at the powerlines, while the west wind tried to throw me into no man's land, I headed out. Diablo was only at East Divide and the skies were pretty gray. I fought the southerly component of the wind and was thinking I might land on the backside of Carpinteria rather than my intended LZ of Bates. But I caught a huge thermal in the middle of nowhere halfway to Carp and got back up to 4,400 feet once again. Easy glide to Bates. Came in with 1,500 feet and thought about flying to Ventura. The wind was southwest at about eight mph - it likely would have increased as I made my way toward Ventura. But I opted for getting back to work and salvaging some time.

Ben and his girlfriend, Ashley, picked me up and we went with Andy to Caje' for a smoothie. Then back to Parma.

16 miles. One hour forty-five minutes.
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