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
3. Plan is to upgrade current stations to have 2-3 battery cells vs 1. The current Holfuy stations have 3 cells in them.
4. Joseph also has  updated FW that should help reduce battery drain when the station loses signal an spends a lot of power trying to frequently reconnect. The new FW will have reconnect timeouts with progressively longer pauses between reconnect attempts. 
5. The logistics for Upgrading and fixing the El Cap Station will be a Challenge due to the remote location. We will likely need to build another and then swap it out. The question is if we have enough confidence in our prototypes to keep sending them out to this location until they are proven to be robustly stable.
6. 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 to not have a gap in coverage at our Sites.

•         Round up of Accident Reports
•         Start of Risk Assessment & Site Guide Review.  Steve updated site guide for Palomar
•        Are our Safety Officers going to come back to ground & SD in time to work on renewal tasks?

    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

​​

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'

• 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.

• 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

 7:30 General Meeting:
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
  1. Holfuy stations  - Horse, Laguna and Little Black all working.   El Cap and Palomar seems to have intermittent connectivity issues w/ 2G.  Per Jeff, TMobile will 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.  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 after January to see what happens with 2G end-of-life.

                                 SDHGPA WX station page: https://www.sdhgpa.com/weather-stations.html 

             Next steps:  

1. 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.
2. 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 3 main networks.
3. Volunteer Coding Opportunity in Typescript:  Josef needs data feed 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 of Accident Reports  (Refer to Members Only section on website for Accident/Incident Reports).  These get fed into annual review and reporting, and also help update Site Guides. 
  2. The due date for USHPA renewal is late January to mid-February; 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?
• 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, Mark Weber did a "Ham and Eggs" series to prep  people to get Ham radio licenses.  Greg volunteered to take lead on this with Club
  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.html

 Jeff  said there were two contest - 1 for Hang Gliding ad 1 for paragliding.  9 sites to fly from.  Best flight counts as longs as you don't break airspace.  (Leaves out Otay)

1. Contest Nov. 1st to Oct. 31st from Leonardo.  30 Days after Oct. 31st to get your flights in.
2. Shirt awards for
   1. 25 miles - From one of the 9 sites
   2. 50 miles  - From one of the 9 sites
   3. 75 miles     (anywhere on earth counts)
   4. 100 miles  (anywhere on earth counts)
   5. First XC flight of 10 miles you get a flight (one time one).  Based on Maximum straight line distance in Leonardo.

2. Topics: - with Open Q&A: 

1. 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.  

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).

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

This will be a great event!!!

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

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 ​

Past Fall Fly-ins at Palomar:

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   
  • 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

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 [email protected]

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 

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 [email protected])

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