Category: News

USHPA Film Festival - San Diego

11/16/2018

SDHGPA will be hosting the
USHPA 2018 Film Festival November 17th!

Location: Palomar Main LZ

Please RSVP

The San Diego Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association presents the 2018 USHPA Free Flight Film Festival, featuring five new films showcasing hang gliding, paragliding, and adventure travel in the US. The two-hour showing will be held at on November 17th at The Palomar Main LZ starting at 5:30pm with Fly-in & BBQ before. The amazing visuals and compelling stories are sure to appeal to all audiences – pilots and non-pilots alike.

“The USHPA Free Flight Film Festival showcases the best hang gliding and paragliding has to offer, from imagery captured utilizing a Cineflex camera stabilization system mounted to a helicopter, to a first-person GoPro masterpiece shot by professional pilots,” said Martin Palmaz, Executive Director of USHPA. “This festival highlights the heart of hang gliding and paragliding, from projects working with communities, to flying and camping over vast mountain ranges, to aerobatics, to a lone falconer and his pursuit of the perfect flight. There is something for everyone.”

Films included in the 2018 Film Festival showing:

Building Dreams
Inspired
Maters, Misfits of Moab
The Perfect Flight
North Of Known

Hang gliding and paragliding are a combination of adventure sport and aviation. Pilots fly light and non-motorized foot-launch aircraft both recreationally and competitively. Hang gliding pilots hang prone in a harness, suspended from the airframe, and exercise control by shifting their body weight. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminum alloy frame covered with synthetic sailcloth to form a wing. Paragliding pilots fly lightweight aircraft that have no rigid primary structure and resemble elliptical parachutes. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing that is comprised of a large number of interconnected baffled cells. Hang gliders and paragliders can travel hundreds of miles on rising columns of air, called thermals, soar for hours in the wind pushed upward by coastal terrain, or simply fly down from a mountain in calm, still, air.

Event & Site Location : Palomar Main LZ
(SDHGPA Palomar Main LZ - Roberts Ranch, 15482 CA-76, Pauma Valley, CA 92061) (map)

When: Rough Schedule
9:00am - Start Meeting in Main LZ for BBQ set-up and dropping off supplies.
10:30 - 3pm Carpooling to launch: Many will be coming out later in the day. Please try to wait for others and carpool up to launch from the LZ to minimize number of cars on launch.
We expect it to be flyable until dusk. See forecast to be updated below.
11:30 - Peak Heating
BBQ will start as people start to land.
4:46 - Sunset
~5:00 November General Club Meeting
5:30 ~ Film Festival Start

SDHGPA Membership is Required to fly Palomar.
This event is Free to SDHGPA Annual Members, & SDHGPA Visiting Pilot Members
+ side dish Potluck item & BYOB: so plan to bring an appetizer, side dish, salad, or dessert to share.
Non Flying Guests: $5 Donation for the BBQ main course.
Remember to bring a beach chair for the film

For detailed Site info, see the Palomar Site Guide
If you haven't flown Palomar before or checked out the site guide this month for updates, please read the site guide prior to arrival. It may save you from landing in a burial ground or from wandering into rotor, or it may even help make your flight epic!

Cost:
Free to SDHGPA Members & $5/ non flying guest BBQ donation is appreciated
SDHGPA Membership is required to participate in the Fly-in at Palomar and covers the BBQ.

Any new (late) Annual Memberships joining for the Fly-in will be rolled over into a 2019 Annual Membership as an added bonus.
(Full Annual Membership, or Visiting Pilot membership is valid for this event. For non flying guests, a $5/ person BBQ donation 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 on line and easier with a strong connection. . .
To Check Current Membership Status

Weekend Mountain Flying Forecast

The forecast looks pretty good. It will be mostly sunny and comfortably warm, at least until the sun goes down. Wind will be out of the West at 7 mph. That is fine for PG pilots, but a little light for HG pilots to take off. I like at least 10 mph at the Palomar launch. However the thermal forecast is good, 450 fpm. Thermals will add to the general wind and will make for good take off cycles. Just be patient. Wind will be Westerly all over the county, so the wind aloft will be light Westerly. It should be possible to get to 5,000' around launch, and to 7,000' back at the towers.

On Sunday the wind goes East again. At Laguna wind will be moderate, 12 mph gusting to 18. The upper launch may be ok. Lift at 500 fpm will get to 7,000'. At Horse wind will be East all day. At the Palomar launch wind will be 6 mph from the WestSouthWest. But watch out, at ridge top the wind will be from the East, at least 10 mph.

Bill H.

from NOAA:
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Current Conditions on Launch

Please RSVP

RSVP Responses

ABOUT USHPA
The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to support sport flying in foot-launchable, unpowered soaring aircraft. USHPA develops, standardizes, and administers programs that foster and promote practices for safe flying. USHPA maintains a working relationship with the FAA and other regulatory organizations to ensure continued access to airspace. The organization also maintains relationships with public and private entities to promote the procurement and maintenance of flying sites.

USHPA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For more information on hang gliding and paragliding, go to www.ushpa.org.

ABOUT SDHGPA
The San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (SDHGPA) is a hang gliding and paragliding club dedicated to the promotion and preservation of foot launched soaring (non motorized "free flight") in San Diego County. SDHGPA is a local chapter of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, USHPA. We work collaboratively with land owners and governing agencies at the local level to keep our primary flying sites open by maintaining, insuring, purchasing, regulating, and monitoring our launch sites and landing zones. Our guiding principle is that all foot launched pilots of hang gliders and paragliders alike share common goals and interests best served by a united effort to promote flying safety, education, and good community relations in San Diego County. We support hang gliding and paragliding at the national level through the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA) and concurrent membership in that organization is the one and only club membership requirement.

History: The SDHGPA is the Oldest and Longest Running Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club and Organization in San Diego and Southern California originally organized in 1973.

For detailed Club History and History of motor-less Free Flight in San Diego that goes back to the 1930's, See: SDHGPA and San Diego Free Flight History.

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SDHGPA Fall Halloween ICARNAVAL 2018

10/21/2018

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Palomar de Halloween ICARNAVAL :
- the Masquerade Flights -

Saturday October 27th!! 2018 at Palomar

Fly-in RSVP

A Halloween Costume Themed SDHGPA Fall Fly-in

Come on out and share the sky with the San Diego free flight crew. BBQ main course & soft drinks will be provided by the club after flying - feel free to bring any appetizers or side dishes you'd like to share & BYOB.

Contest of costumed hang glider and paraglider pilots: exciting, hilarious, original, fantastically creative and daring… ***

Other Contests:
- Spot Landing
- Bomb Drop
- Time Aloft
- Fastest Sled

*** Costumes must not restrict vision and or flying in any manor nor unnecessarily impede running. Masks will not be permitted during takeoff or flight.

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

When: Meeting in Main LZ around 11 for set-up and dropping off supplies. We'll start driving to launch around 12:00. The late afternoon flights have also been fantastic, and many pilots will be showing up later in the day.

Rough Time Table:
12:00 - General Meeting Time & Set-up in LZ
1:00 - Drive to launch
1:30 - Site intros on Main Launch
1 - 5:30 - Launching
~4:30 BBQ Set-up & Start Cooking
~ 5pm - BBQ starts
~7:00 - Contest Awards Ceremony

2017 Costume Award Winners:
Grand Prize: Kim Fyi-UN Missile Test Launch: Kim McJong-un
Most Daring: Tigger 80s Crop Top gone bad: Ira Hayes
Most Original: Fake News Newsy: Moises Bada
Scariest / disturbingly creepy: Tux Morph - Aaron Price
Most Creative: Speed Racer & the Mach 5 : Steve Rohrbaugh

For detailed Site info, see the Palomar Site Guide

If you haven't flown Palomar before or checked out the site guide this year for updates, please read the site guide prior to arrival. It may save you from landing in a burial ground or from wandering into rotor, or it may even help make your flight epic!

Cost:

Free to SDHGPA Members & $5/ non flying guest BBQ donation is appreciated

SDHGPA Membership is required to participate in the Fly-in at Palomar and covers the BBQ.

Any new (late) Annual Memberships joining for the Fly-in (after October 20th), will be rolled over into a 2019 Annual Membership as an added bonus treat. Late membership Roll-over normally starts in November.
(Full Annual Membership, or Visiting Pilot membership is valid for this event. For non flying guests, a $5/ person BBQ donation is appreciated)

Please take care of Memberships and print parking passes before driving out if not current.
All memberships are on line and easier with a strong connection. . .
To Check Current Membership Status

Weekend Mountain Flying Forecast
On Saturday SDHGPA is putting on a fly-in and BBQ at Palomar. The flying conditions look pretty good. It will be sunny and quite warm. Wind will be West at 8 mph. Lift at 400 fpm will get over 6,000'. With those thermals there should be nice cycles for hang glider pilots to take off.

Sunday will have some clouds. At Laguna it looks like it will be light East, 6 mph, all day. Lift at 400 fpm will get to 8,000'. At Horse wind will be 9 mph from the West. Lift will get to 7,000'.
Bill H.

Current Conditions on Launch

The Social Committee would like some help from some volunteers to help coordinate, set up, BBQ and break down. Also, if you have a portable Fire Ring that would be great!

Please use Sign-Up Genius for signing up for the remaining needed Volunteer positions, and other Items like tables, BBQs & other that we will be needing to bring out for this fly-in.

Volunteer

Please also RSVP via the Club Calendar invites or RSVP form below.

RSVP Responses

Last years PALOMAR DE HALLOWEEN ICARNAVAL was a great time, Looking forward to this years!

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October Update & 2018 in review

10/20/2018

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San Diego Free Flyers, we’ve got a bunch to catch up on! 

Year in Review

It’s been a rad year of learning for me. I spent most of this last year flying Blossom with the intent to build my basic XC skills of thermal flying and mini-XC legs over to the Cap & back.

The good news is that Blossom is still as technical and and fun and challenging/dangerous as it ever was, the better news is that I’m still in one piece to be able to enjoy it thanks to a bit of luck and a lot of guidance from the local pilot community.

Article by Nik Hawks

I should probably start naming names: Bill Davis was the one who saw the opportunity to shove me into a thermal over at Little Black, and I’ll probably always remember his super simple and intensely shared advice over the radio: “Keep turning, ya knucklehead!”

As funny as it sounds, that’s really all you need to get started with thermalling, although that’s just the start of the invisible elevator game.

Chris Cote spent lots of time at Blossom with me going over what he looks for and how he understands the sky from the ground and from the riser-feel once he’s skyward. It’s always nice to get the perspective of someone who has put in a ton of time in a very short period (and who holds more than one of the local site records.)

Ivan Guajardo was also more patient than he needed to be when it came to talking through the first steps of Blossom and the crossing to El Capitan, and Mike Dowdall has been about the most generous and encouraging pilot I’ve met on launch.

Yes, Phil Russman was there barking his occasional gems of wisdom, Paton always drops the technical flying info-bombs, and before he got sucked into buying a house, Robert Michiels was a fairly constant wingman.

I got to enjoy the glory of a hike with Dave Metzgar and hear his gravelly version of what’s right and wrong in the world of paragliding, which is one of those experiences that just makes you want to hear more.

On a few car rides to club meetings or out to Horse with Josh Gelb I got an exceptional and interesting view into club history, including many lines that are rarely flown now and the genesis of the Palomar launch.

Blossom Update

Speaking of launches and sites, the big news right now (end of October) is the fight to keep Blossom free of the massive El Monte Valley Sand Mine project. If you’d like to help (and you bloody well should pitch in on this one), cruise over to the Google doc

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13U-JA09VjHxhQSNhghwpAge0b3XXZeCv2S2l5mBL4kg/edit?usp=sharing

Will you pitch in to help maintain this beauty?

This view may be forever changed if the proposed sand mine goes in, with impacts ranging from lowered visibility, Valley Fever exposure (no joke, I have several friends who got this NON-CURABLE disease), environmental damage, and up to 170 trucks per day on that tiny little road snaking through the middle of the valley.

Here's what you can do to help. Yes, it involves reading & writing. You can do this!

Hit the link above and send in a written statement to the listed contacts prior to the Oct 25th meeting and submit it to the county planning commission.

Sunset Gliding at Blossom may change forever

Rough project outline that will be part of the proposed sand mining operation in relation to Flying Blossom. Essentially the entire wash area will be the sand mine.

Proposed Project Map from the last EIR presentation

Why SDHGPA & Why it Maters

Finally, an exhortation to those of you who either haven’t renewed your membership yet OR who are new and wondering what a membership actually gets you.

One of the reasons San Diego is such an excellent and reliable place to fly is that we lean heavily on just a few people to do all the paperwork and admin “stuff” to keep our sites open.

Access to Horse, the permission to fly Palomar, the ability to put up weather stations, keeping sites maintained, the website itself, and keeping us an insured & recognized club in good standing with USPHA is frankly a huge PITA.

There are two ways to contribute, one is easy, one is hard.

The easy way is to take the money you’d spend on your sweetie for a cheap dinner once a year and pay your membership dues. That’s a one-time action that allows the 4 or 5 people who do 98% of the volunteer work that keeps San Diego such a great flying area to keep on slaving away on our behalf.

Oh, and if you find anything other than a cheap dinner in San Diego for under $40, let me know!

The hard way is to volunteer to actually do all that paperwork, and there is a TON!

While I’d encourage you to volunteer, it’s far easier and also pretty effective to just pay your dues. We’ve got about 100 pilots who haven’t renewed yet, which represents a good chunk of our yearly income as a club. If you fly any more than 3 times a year it’s basically a no-brainer to continue supporting.

Finally, if you’re new and thinking about joining SDHGPA, please do!

Most club members are happy to chat with you and share as much as we know, along with introducing you to potential flying buddies and mentors. You can eat $40 worth of tacos at any one of our fly-ins, so if you’re a hungry pilot, think of coming to multiple fly-ins as basically being paid to fly and eat.

At $40 per year for a full annual membership, this is about the most valuable spend you’ll make this year. Ping us with any questions, and see ya in the sky!

Cheers,
Nik Hawks

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Laguna - San Felipe Valley Update

7/3/2018

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If flying Laguna or XC North from Horse, should now carry a CDFW Lands Pass

Note: The entire San Felipe Valley, including the usual Banner Emergency landing areas, are now open year long but require a CDFW Lands Pass.

Most all of the San Felipe Valley comprises the “ San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area”, which is controlled by the California Department of Fish and Game. Some of the Area is closed to public entry all of the time. Areas previously closed in the summer months are now open year long but require a CDFW Lands Pass for public entry. Reference: www.wildlife.ca.gov/Lands/Places-to-Visit/San-Felipe-Valley-WA

Clearly there is an exception for the highways. But the Area is on both sides of the highways. If you land on BLM property at the San Felipe Hills you are not allowed to walk/ hike to the highway without a CDFW Lands Pass. The North end of the San Felipe Valley has some privately owned property. Some quite level and almost like a meadow. The North end is also where the Sheriff station is located. It is at the small gray triangle next to highway S2.

SAN FELIPE VALLEY WILDLIFE AREA

If you are forced or choose to land in the San Felipe Valley, you risk getting a ticket from the Sheriff, or Fish and Game Ranger if not carrying a CDFW Lands Pass.

San Felipe Valley CDFW Lands Pass Requirement

On lands pass properties, each visitor who is 16 years of age or older is required to carry a daily (1 day) or annual lands pass while on the property. Visitors who are carrying their own valid California hunting or fishing license are exempt from the requirement. School and organized youth groups (including accompanying adults), are also exempt.

Types of Passes

Daily (1-day) Lands Pass ($4.32 for 2018) Valid only for the day printed on the pass.
Annual Lands Pass ($25.10 for 2018) Valid for one calendar year. If you purchase an annual lands pass after the first of the year, it is valid for the remainder of that year.

Both daily and annual lands passes are valid for entry on any lands pass property.

How To Purchase

Online: Purchase and pass is mailed (takes about a week). Be sure to carry the temporary authorization / receipt until your pass arrives via US mail.
By phone: (800) 565-1458. Be sure to carry the temporary authorization number (TAN) provided to you by the sales associate.
In Person: Find a Sales Agent or a CDFW License Office

Laguna XC Route LZs in the San Felipe Valley:

Site Maps & Locations of All LZs is available in the Members Only Section Maps & Waypoints page.

Banner LZ - Emergency Bail-out (San Felipe Valley) (CDFW Lands Pass required)

Hazards: Unimproved desert bail-out – Old grazing fields better than many options. However cacti, yucca & other desert plants, & wash ruts – Can be thermic and need to watch for high winds out of Banner Pass. Need to pick best options on approach.
(CDFW Lands Pass required)
No motor vehicle access: foot access only from the paved roads

"Fish and Game" LZ - Emergency Bail-out (San Felipe Valley) (CDFW Lands Pass required)

Owner: State of California
Hazards: Unimproved desert bail-out – Better than many options. However cacti, yucca & other desert plants, boulders & wash ruts – Can be thermic and need to pick bests options on approach.
(CDFW Lands Pass required)
No motor vehicle access: foot access only from the paved roads

Be sure to read to full Laguna Site Guide for the latest most up to date information.

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New Laguna WX Station

12/18/2017

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The 3rd SDHGPA weather station of three planned for 2017 was installed at Laguna on 12-16-17 and is up and running!

A Big Thank You!, Goes out to efforts of those that braved the elements for the installation work over two days. When the station went Live, it was reporting 37 F with gusting winds to 17 mph. On the 16th, it started to snow in the Lagunas shortly after installation.

Expected Readings & Location: The Laguna station location was chosen to represent the general base wind at the Upper Launch and indicate West blow down and shear that would result when the Face may still be blowing up. This location will under report the vertical component of actual winds coming up the Face at the Cliff Launch and house thermal out in front of the Upper launch.

Laguna WX Station looking North to Granite Mountain

Data from the Laguna station is live and is working well

About the SDHGPA Laguna Weather Station

For this 3rd station, we chose the Ultrasonic wind sensor like at Palomar for less maintenance and more obscurity due to no moving parts. The rest of the system is similar to the Palomar and Horse stations that are also solar powered and send data over a cellular network connection. Data is then sent to the Holfuy Data hosting site and WEB based data visualization.

Data Sheet for the Palomar & Laguna LCJ CV7 Ultrasonic Wind Sensor
Data Sheet for the Horse Davis 6410 Anemometer Wind Sensor
How are the Holfuy weather stations measuring and processing the wind speed

The Weather Station data can be viewed in several ways:

On our SDHGPA Weather Station page under Whats Happening menu.
On the Laguna Site Guide Page
On Several Holfuy.com Station interface pages : SDHGPA Laguna Station Data Page, Map Page . . .
Using the Holfuy App that is available for iOS & Android

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December 2017 Santa Ana Winds

12/15/2017

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Both the Palomar and Horse Weather Stations withstood the strong sustained winds all week Dec 4th through the 9th. This is the 1st time the stations have displayed magenta, beyond red, wind speed shadings.

Palomar 5 day graph Dec 3rd - 8th (1hr Average with peak)

Here are some data snapshots from the Week. The above Palomar graph represents 1 hour average base wind with peak gust. You know the wind was strong from the reported 47.7 mph 1hr averaged base wind on the 7th at 10:30am.

The Palomar Station reported 50.8 mph Base Wind (15 min average) with gusts to 69.4 mph at 10:18 am on 12-7-17.

The Horse Station reported 39.7 mph Base Wind (15 min average) then gusts to 60.8 mph 15 min later at 8:26 am on 12-7-17.

Palomar max reported Base Wind 50.8 & Gusting to 69.4 (15 min Average) (1 day graph zoom on 12-7-17).

Horse max reported Base Wind 39.7 & Gusting to 60.8 (15 min Average) (1 day graph zoom on 12-7-17).

Note that some of the variation between the two stations is due to placement locations and less than ideal locations for reading NE winds due to being in the lee and rotor conditions. Although the sensors are different, the wind speeds were well within the operating specifications for the sensors.

Data Sheet for the Palomar LCJ CV7 Ultrasonic Wind Sensor
Data Sheet for the Horse Davis 6410 Anemometer Wind Sensor

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New SDHGPA Horse Weather Station

10/18/2017

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The 2nd SDHGPA weather station of three that we have have planned this year was installed today at Horse Launch and is up and running!

A big thank you to the efforts of Jeff Brown, David Whitehall, & Bob Barry for the Station installation!

They fortified the old windsock mast foundation out on the front cliff line in front of launch. Then tied in the weather station mast and grounding rods to protect the station from lightning strikes.

Data from the Palomar Launch station is live and is working well!

About the SDHGPA Horse Weather Station

For this 2nd station, we chose a more traditional Davis anemometer wind sensor to save on costs in that it is a bit hard to get to. The rest of the system is similar to the Palomar station. The Horse Station is also solar powered with an appropriately sized battery pack and sends data over a cellular network connection. Data is then sent to the Holfuy Data hosting site and WEB based data visualization.

Data Sheet for the Horse Davis 6410 Anemometer Wind Sensor
Data Sheet for the Palomar LCJ CV7 Ultrasonic Wind Sensor

How are the Holfuy weather stations measuring and processing the wind speed

The Weather Station data can be viewed in several ways:

On our SDHGPA Weather Station page under Whats Happening menu.
On the Horse Site Guide Page
On Several Holfuy.com Station interface pages : SDHGPA Horse Station Data Page, Map Page . . .
Using the Holfuy App that is available for iOS & Android

The next weather station to be installed this year is planed for a Laguna install mid November.

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Palomar WX Station - Standing Strong

10/9/2017

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Palomar Launch Wind values are reporting correctly again!!!

Thanks to the efforts of many, the Palomar WX station mast has been rebuilt out of metal and planted deeper.

Big thank you to Chris Cote, Bob Barry, and Jeff Brown for the primary pre work & coordination efforts along with all the crew that helped get the station back to standing tall!

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Palomar WX Station Wind & Heat damage

9/10/2017

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Wind values are under reporting until repairs can be made

Due to record setting high heat and strong NE wings this past few weeks, The Palomar Weather Station mast was bent and up rooted.

The mast is sitting at a 45 degree angle and wind values are under reporting as a result reading due to the station mast being at a from strong NE winds and high heat. Repairs will be made in the next few weeks. Wind direction is representative of true direction.

We will call a work party for the Palomar Launch in the next few weeks to work on the weather station & finish mowing areas of launch & the LZs.

Learning along the way. . . Will be planting the mast deeper and going to a metal mast as we were planning for the next installations. Big thank you to Chris Cote and Wild Bill Davis for volunteering to do the pre work-party mast metal work.

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Palomar WX Station rev2

8/20/2017

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Palomar Launch Weather Station Stands Tall Dressed in Blue

The Palomar Launch weather station mast has been raised by 10ft to now stand at ~ 23ft tall. The wind sensor is now orientated to the west for less potential mast turbulence. With these modifications, the station should now have a more true wind speed and direction readings. As a finishing touch, the mast has been painted to a sky blue color to blend in a bit better.

For More detailed information on the station, see Related Post: http://www.sdhgpa.com/minutes-news--articles/sdhgpa-weather-stations-update