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Meeting Minutes, News, & Articles

SDHGPA January 19th 2023 Meeting Notes

1/30/2023

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  1. Club Info and Updates
    1.  2023 Membership Renewal is now open to not have a gap in your membership if you have not already renewed for the 2023 annual year.  Current status: https://www.sdhgpa.com/current-membership-status.html
    2. USHPA is rolling out new Chapter Renewal & Insurance rate changes.  Details coming


   2.   Site info Updates:
           Reminder that 2023 parking passes are needed at Palomar.

​    3.  WX Station updates:
    Laguna station having sporadic on/off issues, similar with Little Black, where batteries run   
    down.  Discussed a couple possible solutions:
  1. Put one of Josef's new stations at Laguna
  2. Move Holfuy station from Palomar  to Laguna

Next steps to work on WX data Network feeds.   Joseph could use some help programming the data feed.  Specifically, help w/ Typescript from back-end Google Firebase.  During the meeting, we had an awesome volunteer from Kevin Sweeney to help out.  Thank you Kevin!!!!

    4.  Windsocks - Ordering some more windsocks

    5.  Chapter renewal and Annual Safety Review is due to USHPA Feb 15th.
  •         Round up of Accident Reports
  •         Start of Risk Assessment & Site Guide Review.  Steve updated site guide for Palomar

    6. Calendar for the Year:
        2023 Fly-Ins Dates:
  •             Tentative March/April 2023 for Fly-in and awards
  •             Fall Fly-in ~October 2023 or early November
       
     7.  Palomar point series registration and scoring page is up!
          https://www.sdhgpa.com/palomar-point-series.html

The SDHGPA Palomar XC Point Series is an educational, task based, out and back style race-to-goal held at the Palomar Mountain paragliding site. The inaugural season will be held from January through April of 2023. It will run in two more seasons each (May-August and September-October) if there is continued interest in a year round contest. The series is free to enter for all SDHGPA Members as a membership benefit. Launch is the standard Palomar Mountain launch.

Scroll to the bottom of the page above and give it a test if you fly one of the tasks this month.

Kudos to Cam, Ana and Robb Milly for putting this together!  Awesome job!

    8.  For future meetings, we are looking for awesome topic presenters who would like to share their knowledge/lessons learned/tips.  Possible topics areas are listed below.  If you would like to share some knowledge, please email the board. 
  •             Using Flyskyhy for Tasks (Palomar Point series)
  •             Using xctrack for Tasks(Palomar Point series)
  •             Using XC Soar  for Tasks(Palomar Point series)
  •             Other instruments?  (Flytech . . .)
  •         Things to work on to build your flying skills
  •         The Classic SD XC routes:
  •          SD Thermaling Clinic topics

​​

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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?
PictureDo you have your Ham, Sam?
  • Setting Calendar for 2023 Meeting Topics  to dates 
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  1. 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.
  2. Contest Nov. 1st to Oct. 31st from Leonardo.  30 Days after Oct. 31st to get your flights in.
  3. 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
  1. Ex) 5mph West meets 5 mph from East = 10 mph sheer.  This is doable.
  2.  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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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.
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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.
  1.  Josef will order parts for the El Cap station.
  2. 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 extended​discussion, 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:
  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.
 
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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
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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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Picture
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 - 
  1. Aggressive launches in typical thermal blocked light winds
  2. Wait for cycle with windsocks to be in ~agreement
  3. Where to go & when (what altitude required (how much gas in the tank is needed) / What to try next)
  4. Keeping landable options in reach
  5. Staying out of Rotor zones: Fly effective faces & stay out of canyons / veturi locations (these all change based on prevalent winds & thermal activity)
  6. Typical Micro climate winds for Palomar South to Santa Ysabel/ Julian 
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Nov 2021 Meeting minutes

11/18/2021

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A small turnout for a big discussion.  A "Learn & Fly" event was proposed, where the intent is to provide structure for the transfer of knowledge.  Scroll down for more.

PRE-MEETING
David Norgren: Is Elsinore good to fly at this time of year?
Steve talks about typical seasonal conditions there and how it’s not a great place to fly at this time of year and in Santa Ana Conditions. The Site typicaly starts to work well starting in May and on when the flats start getting into the 90s. Typicaly is best Spring & Fall.

Check the 2 Holfuy stations up there

Site updates
Bill Helliwell is working on Laguna permit updates
Special Event (not Special Use) permit.  Special Use gives us more ability to do maintenance to the site.  Laguna hasn’t had a full time staff member and it’s easier for them to have us fill out Event forms.

Still looking for meeting locations:  Any volunteers or venues?
A meeting room is fine, many restaurants/breweries have these for rent/free.
-Society Brewery in Kearny Mesa?
    -James A volunteers to check it out
    -third Thursday at 7:30 pm, 14-40 people show up
-community center in Scripps Ranch or Poway Community Center?

Weather Station Updates
-In Feb of next year, AT&T will drop 3G support
    -Holfuy has a new modem board, being tested in Phoenix AZ
    -a pilot (who?) in Bishop has set up LoRa weather stations, he may help guide us or help with programming
    -T-mobile might have a later sunset date in June
    -Anacapa anemometers?
    -Robb Milley has built an APRS solar powered weather station, volunteered to help.

Robb M, Nik H, and Jeff Brown volunteered to work together to find and implement a solution for this.

When do we want to have our first quarter Fly In & awards?
Proposed month of March, once local pilots have returned from their annual sojourn south to fly the fairer weather. 

Learn & FLy

In broad terms, the SDHGPA*** will organize an event (or events) that pairs pilots of unequal experience and presents them with a task to fly.  The senior pilot helps the junior pilot through the task, and the task is then scored at the end of the day. ***(However, the key think is that we would need a motivated individual to step up to be the Event Organizer)

Prize money and entry fees were discussed, and prize money was more or less roundly voted down, but entry fees seemed acceptable if retrieves, t-shirts, and food are provided. (however if having entry fees, would need to organize more and pull ACE event insurance.) (Prize money is problematic for getting Event Insurance unless pilots are at a Professional level)

Depending on the Scope of the event, we may need to pull Event Insurance for it.
PROPOSED SCHEDULES/ROTATIONS
Should this be a multi day event?  Proposals included a "week before" thermal clinic, followed by the event the following weekend.  

One issue brought up was that senior/junior pilots might not click, so having a rotating set of partners gives us all a chance to fly with more people and learn more.  Perhaps 4 events a year allow for us to do this?
SUGGESTIONS/IDEAS
A good model is the Utah Point Rat series: http://www.uhgpga.org/point-rat-series-2021/

Be careful with incentives.  The incentive should be to teach and learn. (again, may be problematic)

​Tokens for mentees, assignable

Tokens for mentors, assignable

Pairing pilots from top & bottom, hours/skills-wise, i.e, the top hours with low hours pilot

Groups of 2, 3, or 4?
Beginner/medium/advanced

Should there be a handicap to goal

Optional tasks?

Spot landings, points for landings

Mentors (volunteered by Robb Milley)
Ron Davis
Peter Hill

How do we handle organic groups forming “day of”?

Most improved personal best in XYZ area (altitude distance duration)

Long standing events
Point Rat series: A set of waypoints out front assessed with a certain score and all waypoints have a safe LZ.  Monthly tasks.

Meeting Agenda


1. Club Info & Updates:

             •Site info Updates
             • WX station updates
             • Learn & Fly 
             • Looking for volunteers for leading/ participating in panel XC / thermal discussions starting in Jan.
             •  date for 1st quarter Fly-in? Jan or Feb / March
2. USHPA renewal cycles for chapter renewals will open Dec 1st or 5th

-start annual review process for risk assessment    
    -update site guides
    -accident review
2. Topic: XC comp/ how to foster intermediate to advanced pilot skill ideas:
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GATE CODES CHANGE June 2021

6/17/2021

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Notice: Palomar Gate Codes change to the 2021 Combo This week & The Laguna Codes will change by the end of June.
All Gate Codes are available in the  Member Only Section 
  • 2021 Gate code for Laguna and Palomar gates is: XXXX ​ 
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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.
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LAguna 2021 Update

2/9/2021

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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. 
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