SDHGPA Meeting Minutes, News & Articles Blog

SDHGPA NOVEMBER 17TH 2022 MEETING

11/21/2022

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7:30 General Meeting via Zoom:
1. Club Info & Updates:

2023 Membership Renewal is now open. Don't let your membership lapse!

Current status: https://www.sdhgpa.com/current-membership-status.html

Site info Updates:
1. Palomar: Reminder from Steve to always have your parking pass displayed.
2. Blossom: No new updates from Brad on the development. Map finalization still in process but development seems to be a 'done-deal'

WX Station updates : https://www.sdhgpa.com/weather-stations.htm
1. Holfuy stations - Horse, Laguna and Little Black all working. El Cap and Palomar seems to have intermittent connectivity issues w/ 2G after 3G tower retirements. Per Jeff, TMobile will also sunset 2G at end of the year but not 100% sure. For example, AT&T 3G sunset didn't happen until ~6 weeks after their end date.
2. Two Prototype stations are up and running at Palomar and Little Black running on 5G. LB had a small glitch but reset itself. Palomar station seems to read high on high winds days. Overall the stations are working fine. Josef needs to contact Nik to install 3rd station at El Cap. Holding off on 4th prototype station until more testing to assure the prototype stations prove to be stable and reliable. We will re evaluate after January to see what happens with 2G end-of-life and if our confidence in the prototype stations continue.
3. Next Steps
- We want to develop a mobile app (similar to Holfuy app) so you can pull up favorite weather stations and view individual readings without having to navigate the SDHGPA web page.
- We also need help getting the data feeds to other networks (eg. Mesa West, Weather Underground, etc). With Holfuy, we are feeding about 5 different networks. Want to feed Josef's information to at least the 3 main networks.
- Volunteer Coding Opportunity in Typescript: Josef needs programming help with the data feeds. Specifically, help w/ Typescript from backend Google Firebase. Anyone with a development background want to help out?

USHPA Chapter Renews open December 1st.
1. Time of year that USHPA needs clubs to gather-up and make sure we have all Accident Reports accounted for (Refer to Members Only section on website for Accident/Incident Reports). These get feed into annual safety officer reviews and reporting, and also help update Site Guides.
2. The due date for USHPA renewal is late January; therefore, we want to submit early and not wait to until last minute.
3. We are looking for member feedback on site guides to keep these current and relevant. Any feedback?

Do you have your Ham, Sam?

Setting Calendar for 2023 Meeting Topics to dates

Greg Hunter suggested that someone from local Ham radio club come out and talk about legal use of Ham radio and how to license. Steve said that a long time ago (2004), Mark Weber did a "Ham and Eggs" series to prep people to get Ham radio licenses. Was a series of breakfast study sessions before heading out to fly. Greg volunteered to take lead on this putting together the meeting topic and/or training series.
2023 Fly-Ins Dates:
- Tentative March/April 2023 for Fly-in and awards
- Fall Fly-in ~October 2023

Awards and Contest Rules Refer to https://www.sdhgpa.com/xc-contest---sdhgpa.htmlJeff said there were two contest categories - 1 for Hang Gliding and 1 for paragliding.

PG: 9 sites to fly from. Best flight counts as longs as you don't break airspace. The 9 Sites in San Diego County or Southern California Basin are: Laguna, Horse, Blossom, Little Black, Big Black, Palomar, Elsinore, Soboba, Crestline/Marshall. (Note that Otay was removed from the list of sites starting in 2017 due to complications of Boarder activity, Airspace, and no place to go except over tiger country to avoid airspace). We can reevaluate Otay if pilots want to argue a case for adding it back in due to changes.
Contest Nov. 1st to Oct. 31st from Leonardo. 30 Days after Oct. 31st to get your flights in.
Shirt awards and based on passing the following milestones for your furthest flight of the year (Based on Maximum straight line distance between two points in Leonardo.)

10 miles - From one of the 9 sites for your first year achieving
25 miles - From one of the 9 sites
50 miles - launching anywhere
75 miles - launching anywhere
100 miles - launching anywhere

Please check the Score sheets to make sure we have correctly captured scoring for all of your flights. If not, please contact Jeff Brown.

2. Topics: - with Open Q&A:

Travel and Fly Safety Information: Working on a refresh of the 2019 "Travel to Fly" safety information and what insurance and services are available for rescue, transport of medical attention. More to come but excellent links to information and context:
1. https://www.sdhgpa.com/minutes-news--articles/travel-to-fly-march-meeting
2. https://www.cloudbasemayhem.com/unscrambling-insurance-are-you-covered/

Telegram Question: Why we don't fly in Santa Anas?

Palomar and Elsinore can be an option for 'mild' Santa Ana if gust factors within . Gust factors should not be more than 2x base winds. Anything with an East component, the base winds should be less than 5 mph. Hazard is the upper sheer winds

Ex) 5mph West meets 5 mph from East = 10 mph sheer. This is doable.
5 mph West meets a 15 mph from East = 20 mph and will turn your wing inside out.

Ref article on flying in Santa Ana conditions

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Oct. 22nd 2022 SDHGPA Fly-In at Palomar

10/29/2022

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The Palomar Oct. 22nd Fly-in was a fun day with plenty of smooth lift to cloud-base all over the valley. The initial forecast predicted only a morning session since possible light precipitation would start in the evening, but the weather gods smiled on us and the sun came out and clouds lifted. The wind did start to pick-up around 2:30pm, and for those already on the ground sitting in lawn chairs enjoying tacos and beers, they got to watch the show as pilots maneuvered not to land short of the LZ in relatively strong winds. No orange trees were landed on!

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SDHGPA FALL FIESTA FLY-IN 2022

10/21/2022

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Come on out and share the sky with the San Diego free flight crew. Dinner & soft drinks will be provided by the club; Please bring a Fall Harvest worthy appetizer, side dish, salad, fruit, dessert, or drinks you'd like to share throughout the day (BYOB).

Saturday October 22nd! 2022 at Palomar

WX back-up Nov 5th

SDHGPA Membership is required to participate in the Fly-in Event and to Fly Palomar.
Please take care of Memberships and print parking passes BEFORE driving out if not current.

Check Current Membership Status here.

All memberships are available online, here. Please make you're paid up and print out your Parking Pass before you arrive. Let's work together to keep these wonderful sites available to the free flight community!

Check back to this page for updates up to day of fly-in

Please RSVP below or this link

RSVP Link

This will be a great event!!!

Fall Fiesta in LZ with Taco Cart!
Targeting Am flights then possible Late Afternoon glass-off . . .
Midday flying not recommended for 1st year P2 or P3 pilots! First Year pilots/ P2 Pilots should be launching before 11:30 or later than 4:00pm with your higher rated sponsor/ mentor. . .
Gear Swap

Rough Time Table:
9:30 and on - Check-in @ LZ (get your wrist bands)
10:15 - Drive to launch with early crew
10:30 - 1st round of Site intros on Main Launch
11:00-12:00 Early Flight window for 1st year P2 or P3 pilots Should land by noon.
1:00-5:30 - Main time for experienced pilot Launching
4:00 - 5:30 Late Flight window for 1st year P2 or P3 pilots weather permitting.
Check-out after flying at the Table
~ 4:00 Appetizers Potluck & LZ festivities Start
~ 4:30-7:30 - Taco Cart serving in LZ
6:07 Sunset

Site: Palomar
Where: Palomar Main LZ
SDHGPA Palomar Main LZ - Roberts Ranch, 15482 CA-76, Pauma Valley, CA 92061 map

Please review and read Full Palomar Site Gide for updates:

Palomar Site Guide

Key Points for the Fly-in

All Vehicles must display Current 2022 SDHGPA Vehicle ID/ Gate Pass
Best to take care of memberships before, otherwise will be signing up on your phone with poor connections . . .
Check In and Out at the LZ Table for this event vs calling individually into Tribal Security. (Get your Wrist Bands)
Carpool to launch to minimized Cars on launch
Main Launch is preferred for this event
Keep all access gates locked and closed behind. (2022 Gate Codes)
Active Launch Windows: Use mountain etiquette - Only enter the Launch Windows with your gear if and when you are ready and intending to launch hooked in and hang checked/ pre line checked (set-up and prep including hooking in and hang check in non active window areas.) Be mindful that there will be a lot of pilots on launch. Do not wait for the perfect Cycle, but rather take the 1st good safe cycle.

Palomar Main Launch Use Zones

No top-landing or fly-troughs before 4pm. We have a lot of people that will be launching and top landing pauses launch during Top landing attempts.
Right turn day in front of launch and up the main spine to Robbin's. However, normal thermaling rules take precedence.
If in Launch Windows or Top landing Approach areas, be cautious and aware of flight activities in all directions.
Do not enter Orchards . . . non-authorized Picking of Fruit is strictly forbidden and illegal.

Post Flying Fall Fiesta:
By popular demand, we will be having a Taco Cart in the LZ.

Main Course (Taco Cart) will be provided by the club however it is also an potluck; so plan to bring a Fiesta worthy appetizer, side dish, salad, fruit, dessert, or drinks you'd like to share throughout the day and post flying (BYOB).

Also Bring out your favorite Yard Games! for post flying fun & socializing: bocce ball, corn hole, ladder toss . . .

Cost:
SDHGPA Members: Free for SDHGPA Members (included as Membership benefit)
Non-flying guest: $10 BBQ/ donation for Taco Cart is appreciated.

SDHGPA Membership is required to participate in the Fly-in at Palomar and covers the taco cart as a membership benefit. (Full Annual Membership, or Visiting Pilot membership is valid for this event. For non flying guests, a $10/ person BBQ donation for taco cart is appreciated)

Note that all Cars must have a parking pass in the LZ & Launch (& no parking out on the road).
Please take care of Memberships and print parking passes before driving out if not current.
All memberships are online and easier with a strong connection. . .

Check Current Membership Status here

Please RSVP 

Social committee would also like some help from some volunteers to help coordinate food pickup, set up and break down. Also, if you have a Portable BBQ & Table that you would be willing to bring, that would be great. Ideally, we can get these things coordinated by mid day on the Friday before the event so that everything runs as smooth as possible on Saturday.

Past Fall Fly-ins at Palomar:

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SDHGPA MEETING MEETING MINUTES September 15 2022

9/17/2022

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September 15, 2022 San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Meeting Minutes

Steve Rohrbaugh called the meeting to order at 7pm.
New member introductions were made.

1) Next SDHGPA Fly-in: October 22, 2022 fly-in (Save the Date) was discussed. Josef De Beer offered to organize tacos.

2) Weather stations were discussed.

a. Josef reports Palomar and Little Black stations are operational. Both Stations are viewable from the SDHGPA WX station page.
b. The El Cap station is still dead.

Josef will order parts for the El Cap station.
Discussion was had about placement of El Cap station. No decision was reached as several locations are desirable.

c. Multiple El Cap stations were discussed. Josef reports stations are approximately $500 plus $20 per year.
d. Ana volunteered to look at syncing weather stations with meso west.
e. Jordan volunteers for RF work on weather stations.

3) Retriever co-ordination was discussed.

a. James Acres volunteered to recruit late-teen early twenties folks from rock-climbing gym to drive retrieve if a clear statement could be made about what’s desired from drivers.
b. Rob Eschebach pointed out that Central Utah posts retrieve jobs with clear explanations to a Telegram channel. The explanations include timing, vehicles, and payment involved.
c. All seemed to agree such a format would be worth trying here. After extendeddiscussion, no format or process for post retrieve jobs was agreed upon.

4) Safety checks on new gear.

a. Joel St. John reports he bought new gear on which the maillons were only finger-
tight.
b. It was agreed everyone should check new gear, and warn others to do likewise.
c. Whether it is desirable to develop a checklist for new-gear/annual self-inspections was discussed. No action was taken.
d. Joel said he will file an incident report.

Gear Checks!

Ladies and gents, please do you gear checks. I mean ALL of them.

Recently I narrowly avoided a catastrophic failure of my gear due to dumb luck. I received a new wing and took it to Torrey for its first flight. Flew about and hour after kiting and looking it over. I proceeded to take it to Elsinore and had my longest/ best flight yet. I flew Elsinore to Dana Point. It was only after this flight that it was discovered that my mallions were all loose and one of them had opened and stretched. Luckily it was on my C- risers and was not heavily weighted during the flight or else I could have had a complete failure.

I did what I thought was a decent once-over of the wing and a shakedown flight at a safe location before flying in the mountains. Not once did I ever consider checking my mallions. I have contacted the wing manufacturer and they are looking into QC at the production facility. The location this wing is made is the same location many PG manufacturers use, so there is no need to put any one MFG on blast. It’s being addressed on that end.

My only hopes with this post is that it will get you to of you check your millions when you get your wing, either new , back from service or at least once a year. Fly safe!

⁃ Joel

5) Telegram Profiles:

Steve Rohrbaugh pointed out that many members do not have full name and contact information in their Telegram profiles. Steve asked efforts be made by all to correct this to aid in everyday co-ordination and SAR.
Please add full names to your Telegram profile or most will not know who you are or know who to look out for on a day of flying.
In your profile it is also helpful to have your picture, a picture of your wing and other info in your bio. For good examples check out @Topapilot (Robb Milley), @paintbing (Brad Stevenson), and @SteveRohrbaugh . Click pic and swipe right. Can load multiple pictures. . .

The meeting concluded at 8pm.

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SDHGPA MEETING MEETING MINUTES August 18 2022

8/19/2022

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SDHGPA Club Meeting Meeting Minutes
Thursday, Aug. 19th 2022 5:30 – 9:00pm
Little Black - Black Mountain Gliderport
15198-15442 Black Mountain Rd, San Diego, CA 92129, USA

Agenda:
5:30 - 6:30 After Work Flights (experienced pilots)
6:30 - 7:30+? Glass off Flights
7:00 LZ Social Mixer & Pizza in the LZ (BYO_)
7:30 General Meeting:

Site Updates:

No updates on Blossom or other sites.
Discussion about adding Sites / Site Pioneering: Whales V near SD Skydiving DZ and the old Escape Country - Robinson Ranch in Rancho Santa Margarita / Orange county were used as examples of Sites pilots might want to make more legitimate for Site preservation. When is it a good idea to add in Sites and what is required. One key thing is to check for Landowner / Agency requirements of the Site and establish permision for use as a Part 103 requirement.

Weather Station Updates:

Awesome work by Joseph getting his weather sensor prototype working and communicating through cell service back to Google Firebase to aggregate data. To see prototype, go to Weather Station page under "More Coming Soon". https://www.sdhgpa.com/weather-stations.html
Next Steps: A motion was made to approved Club funds ($2000) to reimburse Joseph for development materials to date and to build 3 to 4 more Weather Stations. The Motion passed by a large majority of Club Members at the meeting. There where no objections.

San Diego Paragliding (Private) Facebook Group (www.facebook.com/groups/297854983577956)

Discussion if this site is still relevant or should be removed. Right now Steve is the only moderator. Club decided to leave site 'as-is' with the same membership requirements of being active USHPA pilots and act as a landing spot, then direct to Club website (https://www.sdhgpa.com/). Rob E will be added as a Group Admin for member adds.

Meme Chat:
Rob discussed meme chat… see his Telegram post for details. Meme Chat info has been added to the current Member Information page.

Palomar Safety Update (Rob/Steve)

Discussion on a couple recent incidents where pilots landing at Chickens and other les than desirable locations. Reiterated that Chicken LZs should not be considered an intended landing zone and pilots need to assess if they are at or Below the proximity of house thermal knob to start glide to LZ. See the Blue time to glide to LZ line in the Site Guide.
All Approaches to the Main LZ should be over the Air Strip LZ and not over the Orchards. Pilots should be targeting to land in the Center of the Main LZ then run long if needed. The Main LZ is very large and into the wind. It is very unlikely that even a high performance HG will use up the entire length of the LZ.
Landing in one of the Orchards could put the Site at risk.
Link to Palomar site guide: https://www.sdhgpa.com/palomar.html

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SDHGPA Meeting Meeting Minutes July 21 2022

8/16/2022

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SDHGPA Club Meeting Meeting Minutes
Thursday, July 21 2022 5:30 – 9:00pm
Little Black - Black Mountain Gliderport
15198-15442 Black Mountain Rd, San Diego, CA 92129, USA

Agenda:
5:30 - 6:30 After Work Flights (experienced pilots)
6:30 - 7:30+? Glass off Flights
7:00 LZ Social Mixer & Pizza or Subway in the LZ (BYO_)
7:30 General Meeting:
1. Club Info & Updates:

Site info Updates:
2022 Election Results: Welcome new 2022 SDHGPA Board.
- President: Steve Rohrbaugh
- VP: Jeff Brown
- Secretary: Russ Gibfried
- Treasurer/
  Acting Secretary: Josh Gelb
- Safety Officer: Rob Eschbach
- Safety Officer: Alex Gray
- Member at Large: Josef De Beer
- Member at Large: Robb Milley
- Member at Large: Ron Davis
Weather Station 3G sunset activity updates - Jeff Brown
SD PG FB Group policies? - USHPA Pilots only or more open? - Prior Policy concerns of prior Admins. Need need Moderators/ Admins
What the ___ is going on at CSS? Not sure but current status

Other Election and survey results:
Meeting Location responses:

I like the idea of having it at a flying site. Either little black or Palomar
We can meet at my place in Fallbrook (Greg Hunter). It is probably too far for most people during the week though.
Marshall Crestline
little black
Mission bay!
Balboa park?
LB LZ

Comments responses:

Small group break out sessions.
Thank you for your years of service to our local
more fly-ins
Keep up the great work!
Great flying club.
Thank you for all your work ... just thank you.

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2022 SDHGPA Officer Nominations Extended into June

6/16/2022

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Due to recent events, the SDHGPA elections have been slightly delayed into June so that we can fill Bill Helliwell's positions. Bill is willing to stay on at an advisory level but feels that it is time for others to pick up his roles. We would like to thank Bill for his years of contributions and recent roles as Treasurer, Landowner and Agency Relations, and Site Rep for the following Sites: Anza Borrego State Park, Laguna, Horse, Big Black, and Otay along with managing the SDHGPA XC competitions.

Nominations will remain open until election in June. Ballots will go out after the SDHGPA June 16th Meeting. This nomination list and posting date will be updated as we receive nominations with seconds.

If interested in a Nomination or volunteering for a position, please email SDHGPA@gmail.com

Club Officers 2022 Nominations with seconds to date:

President:   Steve Rohrbaugh (Incumbent)
VP:   Jeff Brown    (Incumbent)
Treasurer: Josh Gelb (Nominated and seconded)
Secretary: Russ Gibfried (Nominated and seconded)
Safety Officer: Rob Eschbach (Appointed as replacement Mid Year)
Safety Officer: Alex Gray (Nominated and seconded)
Member at Large: Josef De Beer (Appointed as replacement Mid Year)
Member at Large: Robb Milley (Appointed as replacement Mid Year)
Member at Large: Ron Davis (Appointed as replacement Mid Year)

Also need help in the following Appointed / Committee Chair positions:

Appointed Non-Voting Extended Board Positions (could be part of a Board position):

Social Committee: _____Open______ (Lead), Josh Gelb, Sharon Tang?,
Website: Steve Rohrbaugh, Georden Grabuskie, Russ Gibfried,
Blog Article - Newsletter Content creators: Russ Gibfried, ____________
Meeting and other Video post editing & content creators: Neil Karstetter & Jeremy Graham ???
XC Competition: Jeff Brown / _____________
(New) Palomar Point Series Competition: Robb Milley, _________

Pilots in Command:
Coordination point for site information, Site Intro, and stewardship of Sites (need two per Site)

Palomar Jeff Brown, Ron Davis, Robb Milley
Big Black ____________ , Paul Markham ???
Horse Canyon Kris Souther, ______________
Laguna Butch Peachy, _____________
Anza-Borrego SP Jeff Brown
Little Black Jeff Brown , James Acres
Blossom Valley Nik Hawks , Josh Gelb, Art ???
Otay Rob Eschbach, ______________
Elsinore Liaison: Amber Carney, Bill Soderquist ???

Advisory Board Representatives:
Black Mt Open Space Citizens Advisory Council:

Jeff Brown
James Acres
Dave Metzgar
Anto Metzgar

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MARCH and April 2022 MEETING MINUTES

4/15/2022

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SDHGPA April Fly-in 2022 @ Palomar

March SDHGPA Club Meeting - Zoom (Thursday, March 17⋅7:30 – 9:00pm)
April SDHGPA meeting was during the Fly-in (April 9th 2022) (58 Annual members present/ signed in for the day. 62 total pilots with 10 non flying guests)

The following notes have been updated with info from both meetings.

March General Meeting & Meeting content at the Fly-in:
1. Club Info & Updates:

2022 Membership reminder if you have not already renewed for the 2022 annual year. Current status: https://www.sdhgpa.com/current-membership-status.html
Site info Updates:
WX Station updates - What are we doing about the 3G sunset. Lots of activity and testing of alt solutions
Laguna WX station Mast Rebuild post wind/ Vandalism damage
Fly-in Planning: April 9th @ Palomar See: Fly-in Info Page
2022-2023 Election Nominations Opened and updated at the Fly-in
2021 XC Awards Presented at the Fly-in

Club Officers 2022 Nominations Opened and Updated at the Fly-in:
(Nominations will remain open until election in May. If interested in a Nomination or volunteering for a position, please email SDHGPA@gmail.com)

Current nominations with seconds:

President:   Steve Rohrbaugh (Incumbent)
VP:   Jeff Brown    (Incumbent)
Treasurer: Bill Helliwell    (Incumbent)
Secretary: Russ Gibfried (Nominated and seconded)
Safety Officer: Rob Eschbach (Appointed replacement Mid Year)
Safety Officer: Alex Gray (Nominated and seconded)
Member at Large: Josef De Beer (Appointed replacement Mid Year)
Member at Large: Robb Milley (Appointed replacement Mid Year)
Member at Large: Ron Davis (Appointed replacement Mid Year)

Also need help in the following Appointed / Committee Chair positions:

Appointed Non-Voting Extended Board Positions (could be part of a Board position):

Social Committee: ___________ (Lead), Josh Gelb, Sharon Tang?,
Website: Steve Rohrbaugh, ____________, ____________,
Blog Article Content creators: _____________, ____________
Meeting and other Video post editing & content creators: Neil Karstetter & Jeremy Graham ???
XC Competition: Bill Helliwell / Jeff Brown /
(New) Palomar Point Series Competition: Robb Milley, _________

Pilots in Command:
Coordination point for site information, Site Intro, and stewardship of Sites (need two per Site)

Palomar (PG) Jeff Brown, Ron Davis, _______
Big Black Bill Helliwell , Paul Markham ???
Horse Canyon Bill Helliwell , ______________
Laguna Bill Helliwell , _____________
Anza-Borrego SP Bill Helliwell
Little Black Jeff Brown , James Acres
Blossom Valley Nik Hawks , Josh Gelb, Art ???
Otay Bill Helliwell , ______________
Elsinore Liaison: Bill Soderquist ???, _____________

Advisory Board Representatives:
Black Mt Open Space Citizens Advisory Council:

Jeff Brown
James Acres
Dave Metzgar
Anto Metzgar

2. March Meeting Topics: - with Open Q&A:

Open Q&A
Palomar Flight XC Route to the South Reviews from this past Saturday March 12th flights
- Pilot Tails - Viewpoint Perspectives from those that flew
- Know the deep Long Hike out zones:
- Guejito
- Sections of Mesa Grande

Tips - for each level of pilot -

Aggressive launches in typical thermal blocked light winds
Wait for cycle with windsocks to be in ~agreement
Where to go & when (what altitude required (how much gas in the tank is needed) / What to try next)
Keeping landable options in reach
Staying out of Rotor zones: Fly effective faces & stay out of canyons / veturi locations (these all change based on prevalent winds & thermal activity)
Typical Micro climate winds for Palomar South to Santa Ysabel/ Julian

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SDHGPA Spring 2022 FLY-IN & AWARDS Ceremony

4/2/2022

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SDHGPA Spring Fly-in Fiesta 2021
&
XC Awards Ceremony for 2021:
April 9th @ Palomar!

Come on out and share the sky with the San Diego free flight crew. Dinner & soft drinks will be provided by the club; Please bring a Fiesta worthy appetizer, side dish, salad, fruit, dessert, or drinks you'd like to share throughout the day (BYOB).

SDHGPA Membership is required to participate in the Fly-in Event and to Fly Palomar.
Please take care of Memberships and print parking passes BEFORE driving out if not current.

Check Current Membership Status here.

Please RSVP below or this link

Fly-in RSVP

Check back to this page for updates up to day of fly-in

This will be a great event!!!

Spring Fiesta in LZ with Taco Cart!
Targeting evening glass-off . . .
Midday flying not recommended for 1st year P2 or P3 pilots!
SDHGPA XC Awards presentation for the past year!
Gear Swap

Rough Tentative Time Table:
12:00 - Set-up & General Meeting Time / Check in at LZ opens
1:45 - Carpooling to launch starts
2:30 - Site intro on Main Launch
2:00 - 7:00 - Launching (First Year H2 & P2-P3 should be launching later than 4:30pm with your higher rated sponsor/ mentor. . .)

~ 4:30 Appetizers Potluck & LZ festivities Start
~ 5:00-8:00 - Taco Cart serving in LZ
~ 7:00 pm - Awards Ceremony
7:15 - Sunset

Site: Palomar
Where: Palomar Main LZ
SDHGPA Palomar Main LZ - Roberts Ranch, 15482 CA-76, Pauma Valley, CA 92061 map

Please review and read Full Palomar Site Gide for updates:

Palomar Site Guide

Key Points for the Fly-in

All Vehicles must display Current 2022 SDHGPA Vehicle ID/ Gate Pass
Best to take care of memberships before, otherwise will be signing up on your phone with poor connections . . .
Check In and Out at the LZ Table and or Launch for this event vs calling individually into Tribal Security.
Carpool to launch to minimized Cars on launch
Main Launch is preferred for this event
Keep all access gates locked and closed behind. (2022 Gate Codes)
Active Launch Windows: Use mountain etiquette - Only enter the Launch Windows with your gear if and when you are ready and intending to launch hooked in and hang checked/ pre line checked (set-up and prep including hooking in and hang check in non active window areas.) Be mindful that there will be a lot of pilots on launch. Do not wait for the perfect Cycle, but rather take the 1st good safe cycle.

Palomar Main Launch Use Zones

No top-landing or fly-troughs before 4pm
Right turn day in front of launch and up the main spine to Robbin's. However, normal thermaling rules take precedence.
If in Launch Windows or Top landing Approach areas, be cautious and aware of flight activities in all directions.
Do not enter Orchards . . . non-authorized Picking of Fruit is strictly forbidden and illegal.

Gear Swap

We are giving gear swap another try at the fly in! Enter the gear you are selling in the Google sheet link below, include your contact info. If you are interested in a piece of gear reach out directly to the seller. If there are any issues Cameron Eibl (contact on telegram) will do his best to help you coordinate.

Gear Swap List

Post Flying Fiesta & Awards Ceremony:
By popular demand, we will be having a Taco Cart in the LZ.

Check Current Membership Status here

The Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest - a rich history of XC free flight in Southern California

The Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest is a chapter member XC competition based on open flight with non-specified tasks for pilots to make XC decisions on how to fly the day. There are both season long competitive and personal milestone Shirt Awards. The competition rules are different for HG & PG, but the milestone shirt awards are the same for each class of wing.

Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest History: The SDHGPA was originally known as the Ultralight Flier's Organization, or UFO. The UFO was formed in 1973 and changed names to SDHGA in 1987. In 1994 the name was changed once again to the San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association or SDHGPA to better represent our growing paraglider pilot membership.

Rich Matros was one of the earliest members of the UFO, and one of its strongest supporters for over 15 years before succumbing to cancer. The cross country contest was renamed the Rich Matros Cross Country Contest in 1988 to honor Rich and to recognize his years of contribution to our club and his passion for XC.

For more information and how to participate in the XC comp as an SDHGPA membership benefit, see the Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest page under the More navigation section.

Please RSVP
The Social Committee would like some help from some volunteers to help coordinate, set up, and break down.

Social committee would like some help from some volunteers to help coordinate food pickup, set up and break down. Also, if you have a Portable Table that you would be willing to bring, that would be great. Ideally, we can get these things coordinated by mid day on the Friday before the event so that everything runs as smooth as possible on Saturday.

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GATE CODES CHANGING - 2022

1/12/2022

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Notice: Palomar & Laguna Gate Codes will be changing to the 2022 Combo by the end of January.

All Gate Codes are available in the Member Only Section

2022 Gate code for Laguna and Palomar gates is: XXXX (will be updated mid Jan)

Reminder: All 2021 Annual (calendar year) memberships expired on Dec 31st.

For 2022 Site & Gate access: Join or Renew SDHGPA Membership if you have not already done so for the 2022 calendar year.

Site Gate Codes are only provided to Annual Members after Membership Verification and may take several weeks to process. If you desire immediate site gate access, Please Fly with current local active Annual Member Pilots for site access and site briefings. Visiting pilots can only gain gate access with a Full Member guide present.
Annual Members will receive a separate email after verification on how to access the Member Only section of the website and receive current gate codes.

Plus you get all the other great SDHGPA membership benefits:

Site & gate access to the following sites:
- Palomar
- Laguna
- Big Black
- Little Black
- Horse
Site Guide & News Updates
SDHGPA Weather Stations with accurate current conditions at your favorite sites (more being added each year)
Quarterly Fly-ins

Telegram Groups
LiveTrack24 groups
Year long SDHGPA XC Competition
Great Meeting Topics & clinics throughout the year

Access to the Member Only section of the Website
- Local Pilot Roster & Contact Directory
- XC maps & way point files
- Master SDHGPA Google Earth Site Guide file
- Meeting notes & presentation materials
- Membership Card & Parking Pass re-printing
- Gear Swap Listings
Helping to protect The Sites & Landowners by carrying Site Landowners as Additional Insured to the USHPA policies for the following sites: Palomar, Laguna, Big Black, Little Black, Horse, Blossom.
Site Maintenance for all of the above sites (depending on permissions negotiated) that includes Windsocks, Outhouses at Palomar Launch & LZ, Mowing, & other launch & LZ surface maintenance from erosion & other.

You can check Current Membership Status under the Membership menu.

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Meeting Minutes, News, & Articles

SDHGPA NOVEMBER 17TH 2022 MEETING

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SDHGPA Meeting Meeting Minutes July 21 2022

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MARCH and April 2022 MEETING MINUTES

SDHGPA Spring 2022 FLY-IN & AWARDS Ceremony

GATE CODES CHANGING - 2022

SDHGPA

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