Going to Midway Peak 5/10-5/11

[John Fritsche]

I have plans to fly Midway Peak Sat. and Sun., May 10 and 11. My wife is driving for me. Just thought I'd let everyone know. You're all welcome to join me, though the vehicle I'll have can only carry two HG on top. I know 98% of you are wondering what/where the hell Midway Peak is. So here you go:
3.5 hours from SB, in the San Joaquin Valley a little north of Taft, which is a little west of Bakersfield. 3650msl, 2000agl. Soarable pretty much every day from March through October. Good place to know about if you get screwed at Plowshare because it's not too far from there and typically flyable until sunset. Faces NE but the wind blows uphill there all day even when the SJV forecast is for NW. Not great for PG due to commonly stiff winds and a shallow slope to main LZ, but great PG flights have been had there. Not great for single-surface HG either for same reasons, but worst-case scenario is landing in a bailout that's not much worse than lower Parma. Two-wheel drivable but higher-clearance vehicles recommended. 20-minute drive from the huge main LZ to launch. Typical day gets you to 5K-6K and getting down is the challenge. Good day at least 7K. Great day means the convergence pushed through from the west and you're at 10K+. Great XC potential in every direction, except north if it's really blowing hard. Handles a crowd well (thermal generators everywhere) but never gets one because of its location and wicked heat from mid-June to mid-September. So why isn't it famous? It's remote, desolate, dirty, not particularly scenic, and there's nothing to do in the area if you're not flying. There are no trees, (so there's about 10 billion paraglider LZs), shade, or water. You won't see another soul around if s/he's not there flying with you. I think it's BLM land. No landowners to piss off...hell, no one's even going to see you. So there you have it. Contact me if you're interested. Typical launch time is around 3 but it probably starts working a lot earlier. 733-4706 home, 661-204-6875 cell, jfritsche2@juno.com

[Tony de Groot]

John,

Thanks for sharing your spot with us! I always love exploring new flying sites. I always wondered where that spot was. Sounds like some great flying. Can you get out into the flats from there? I just spent two years working on a few fixer uppers in Taft. Wish I could have hooked up with you then. I just had a baby girl so I'm staying close at home at the moment. Maybe next year I can go check it out. I enjoyed flying with you in Tehachapi. Come fly out in SB some time, especially winter.
Tony de Groot

[John Fritsche]

Hey Tony. Yeah, you can go XC into the flats, easily. People have gone XC in almost every direction, but its true potential has definitely not been explored yet by hot gonzo XC studs. I think heading south along the ridge (Temblor Range), or south after going over the back onto the Carrizo Plain is the best plan. Anyway, anytime you're interested let me know. BTW, I'm not really "sharing my site" with anyone; I now live in Lompoc (so you will be seeing more of me in SB). Midway does not get flown by anyone anymore; there are no local pilots left around there and we were never really keeping it a secret. For me its biggest draw is totally hassle-free, politics-free unregulated flying. Now that I live here it seems my only other summer options are around LA (no thank you). Tehachapi is pretty much a screwed scene now. Hope I see you soon...JF

[Tony de Groot]

John,

Well, you have plenty of sites to go to from Midway to Plowshare to SB. I have also been on a trip to an inland ridge near Lompoc where there were good flights. Some other pilots flew it once more at a later date and it was bad and hence never flown again. I've always wanted to fly the ridge at Jalama. I was out at Tarantula's(jalama point) and was watching Pelicans fly the ridge then bench back on the hill to get to the next ridge which runs to point conception and then fly back. Need a good day for that!! Today I thought would have been good in SB but couldn't get out. Pine season is also coming up which is epic and many a pilot favorite. I've been flying my Falcon a lot and loving it and just picked up a new Sport2 so need to get up to speed on that. We also have two club trips to Big Sur in the fall and spring which are a blast and the Owens trip on Memorial day. See you in the air soon.
Tony dg

[John Fritsche]

I'm VERY curious about this "inland ridge site" you speak of in Lompoc, for obvious reasons---it could save me a lot of driving. I've heard of flying off Santa Rosa Road close to where it meets Hwy 1 and I went to check it out. If I'm looking at the right place, it has some serious drawbacks: a low AGL roadcut launch requiring strong W wind (not usually a problem there) and a wire crew. A private (I would imagine) farm field for an LZ. Very little set-up area. Does this sound like the right place to you? I've been exploring several good-looking ridges off Santa Rosa Rd. and Sweeney Rd. facing a variety of directions, but they all have some serious drawbacks regarding access, mostly related to private property. Hiking to launch with a PG seems the way to go at most of these spots, and I do PG, but it tends to blow like stink around here most of the time and I think HG is the way to go if I can just find/get access to launches. These places have much better flying potential than dogs like Wilcox and Bates. You mentioned Jalama--James Zender tried to fly there once and got stopped by park staff before he ever got off the ground. There's an awesome NW-facing ridge at Surf Beach, too, but I highly doubt Vandenberg is ever going to go for that idea. Please let me know when you're going flying, Tony. I'm still pretty out-of-the-loop around here.

[Tony de Groot]

John,

You nailed it. Santa Rosa Road. Barry Brown and Jeremiah flew it a long time ago on a 600 foot cloudbase day and had a killer time. Hammer, DD. EJ. and John G.? flew it awhile later and it was rock and roll and they didn't like it. So, it has very little attempts at flying it. I think DD or someone showed the farmer our USHGA insurance and I don't remember how it turned out. I think it was o.k. Bates is barely worth a chase when you live in SB so that is out for you but, it can be really fun on its day. Plowshare is one of James and mine and Skippy's favorite places to fly and I have it mostly figured out so we could do that some time.
So SB is flyable all year round but best September through April. The colder it is the better the flying and the warmer the more likely of a low inversion but check the vandenburg lapse rate for an idea of what the potential is. Plowshare and Big Sur trips in the fall and spring and pine in the summer, especially with some humidity for clouds. Keep checking this site for updates and come to a SBSA club meeting some time and introduce yourself on the first Thursday of the month.
Tonydg

[John Fritsche]

Thanks for the info Tony. I'd like to talk with those guys who've flown there. I've never heard of any of them. I obviously need to get to one of your meetings down there. I did go to Big Sur when all the SB folks were there a few weeks ago, but only flew Sunday. It was pretty cool--one PG and me, in my HG, got 2,000 over launch and watched about 25 other pilots' sled rides.
PLEASE contact me when you're going to Plowshare. I've never been there but know roughly where it is and that it's pretty close to me. Is 4WD necessary?
I visited friends in Bako this weekend. Sat. was good at Ant Hill, but too strong for PG...I got blown over the back, then dragged after landing. Yeah, I was stupid. I flew my HG today at Midway on the way home; it was great. Launched at 4:15. There was lift, pretty smooth, everywhere. Froze my butt off, though.
Hope to see you soon.