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:

1. No updates on Blossom or other sites.
2. ​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

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   
  • Treasurer:            Josh Gelb
  • Secretary:              Russ Gibfried 
  • 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

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. ​

6-17-2021 update
​For Palomar Palomar Main LZ gate, we have been asked to return the gate to the state if was in when passing through for the next few months:

• If the Main LZ gate is Locked when you arrive or leave: open and lock the gate behind us as we pass through the gate like we do at Launch  .
  
• If the Main LZ gate is Open when you arrive or leave: leave the gate open.

Great News!  The Laguna Upper Launch in the Anza Borrego State Park is back open, with our Permit for launching and landing within the State Park being renewed for 2021!

The Laguna Site Guide and Permits pages have been updated with the latest protocols and Permit information. Please read through the complete site guide before heading out to Laguna, as things have changed in the past year. Also, be sure to print out the Permit and COVID-19 Safe Reopening Plan along with your Membership cards to have on hand for the rangers. 

What we know as of today/ the above post date. . .

All SD Sites are back OPEN but roads up Horse & Big Black may closed before & after storms this time of year.
​ 
Flying Site Status with all of the COVID-19 and Fire Closures. We will try to update this list as we receive updates, but no guarantees and always check the referencing links.
​
If you have or know of any updates, please let us know and we will update this list.

Sites that we know are Closed :​

• All open, but check road status and if the Site has restrictions.

Some Sites are listed as OPEN; However, the County stay-at-home and social distancing orders except for essential needs are still in effect. ​Also the status of these sites may change to to Fire Hazards. Keep an eye on Sky-vector for TFRs & the Cal Fire maps this time of year. Also, flying XC from many sites could put you over CNF closed access terrain.

​Sites we know are open (if following City & County mandates):

• Palomar -OPEN watch out for new well pipe in near the road in the LZ & other Hazards, look for new parking lot area, walk Palomar before you fly the site.: via Bill H: well pipe, about a 1’ in diameter and 4’ high in / near original Approach path. The Ranch is requesting that we land to the NW side of the building where HG typically land. 
• Horse: OPEN again after Fire hazard closure for drive up and hike in uses. Check for Road closure status: : Sheephead Mountain Road (15S18) , see the SDHGPA CNF Road Closure article and check the CNF Road closure page. 
• Laguna: Upper Launch & Earthquake Valley LZ: OPEN (The SDHGPA ABSP permit has been renewed for 2021 but has restrictions due to COVID-19 Safe reopening.) There is a Limit to gatherings of 10 on launch. We also need to let Bill H know ahead of time that we will be flying the Site so that he can text the rangers. See the Laguna Site Guide, Permit, and Safe Reopening plan for details.
• Laguna (Lower Cliff Launch): Open (only if flying the HG Cliff Launch and Kwaaymii Point road is open to traffic. ) (Kwaaymii Point road is BLM, but may be gated or restricted by S1 access thorough CNF & ABSP)
• Big Black: OPEN again after Fire hazard closure for drive up and hike in uses. Check for Road closure status: Black Mountain Road (11S04), see the SDHGPA CNF Road Closure article and check the CNF Road closure page. 
• Little Black - Black Mountain Open Space  : OPEN
• Blossom - keep it Chill & Keep an eye on Fire TFR and other possible fire related air support ops pulling water out of the local reservoirs. If the water drop spotters see HG, PG, RCs, or drones in the air, they will flag off air drop water support aircraft operations and may impact fire fighting efforts. 
• Otay is probably open weekends. Closed mid week due to construction activity on road.
• Elsinore: OPEN again after Fire Hazard closure: Technically both launches are in the CNF. South Main Divide (6S07) check the CNF Road closure page.  Open to local residence only? Parking along or off the road for recreational use may lead to vehicles being ticketed.
• Torrey Pines Glider Port: OPEN - Check in with the TPGP office for TPGP status updates.

Status of SD City Parks/ Flying & Kitting Locations: as of 4-20-2020
Be sure to check the PDF List at the Above link as some of this may change. Note that larger/ higher use areas and trails remain closed. The following areas are open or closed for Passive Use only (walking, jogging, or hiking​). We have no formal interpretation if this included passive Free Flight)

• Black Mountain Open Space (Little Black) : OPEN
• Torrey Pines City Park, Shoreline Parks (also known as Glider Port): as a Park is OPEN, including pilots
• Black Mountain Ranch Community Park (Ball Fields / Kitting Location): OPEN
• Hilltop Community Park (Kitting Location): OPEN
• Hilltop Recreation Center: CLOSED
• Kate O. Sessions Neighborhood Park (Kitting Location if south): OPEN
• Mission Bay Park (Kitting Locations):  Tecolote Shores and Most locations:  OPEN

In San Diego, the situation for impacted hospitals and service workers is just starting to ramp up and we can expect hospitals to be triaging similar to what was experienced in Colorado this past weekend.

There was an incident in Colorado this past weekend where a snowboarder ended up with a broken clavicle (collarbone) and at the ER, he was turned away from treatment at triage with the explanation that collarbone surgery is elective. They were an impacted hospital and not doing any elective procedures . . . that are not life-threatening. At Tiger (WA Site), there were also two separate incidents requiring ER and hospitalization in an impacted area this past week. 

Hoping we get through this and back in the air without complex social health concerns.

Regards and Safe Flights!

Steve Rohrbaugh  (SDHGPA President) and the SDHGPA Board

Horse Road Rain and Fire Closures:
The road up to the launch at Horse Canyon, Sheephead Mountain Road  (15S18), may closed before and after periods of heavy rain or severe fire danger. If that is the case, the gate just past the postage stamp lz will be locked.

The reason if and when the Gate is locked for rain, is that the road is wet and they don't want vehicles tearing up the road. The plan is typically that closures would be for just a few days until the dirt dries out a bit. With periods of heavy or extended rain this it will likely be a few more days. 

Border Patrol activity during an active pursuit might other reason that the Gate could be locked. In this case, closure would be for a very short term and not show up in the following tables.

The road to Horse is the Sheephead Mountain Road  (15S18).
When the road is open it will not appear on the table. I have been told that the table is updated right away whenever there is change to a road status. So you can check each morning to see if a road is closed or not.

Big Black Road Rain and Fire Closures:
Also on the table is the Black Mountain Road (11S04), the road we use to get to Big Black. Road closure due to wet ground is rare at Horse, and more common at Big Black. A few years ago when there was an unusually wet winter the road to Big Black was periodically closed throughout the rainy season. It was closed just after a rain when it was wet and the wind was West. Then it would be open for a few days when a Santa Ana wind dried things out. Such is life.

This past Sunday (January 12th, 2020) we got the year off to a fine start with another Holfuy weather station installation, this time at Little Black.  After about a year and half of working with the park rangers there (well done Jeff Brown!) we agreed on a spot, set up a date, and rallied the troops.

So you found the SDHGPA weather station on El Cajon mountain, eh?  Maybe you hiked out there and saw the QR code link on the mast*.  Maybe you heard about it from a fellow paraglider or hang glider pilot.  Perhaps you’re a supporter of the San Diego River Park Foundation, or a biologist over at the US Forest Service.  However you found it, there’s a pretty rad story behind how it got there, who the players were, and just how much effort and expense we went to in order to plant that mast and gather weather data.

Like any good story, this one starts in a few different places.