SDHGPA Meeting Minutes, News & Articles Blog - San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

Palomar de Halloween ICARNAVAL 2017 Report

10/31/2017

Palomar October 28th Fly-in Report

The SDHGPA Fall Halloween ICARNAVAL Fly-in's location was changed from Horse to Palomar due to all weather models forecasting NE winds out at Horse. This set in place some late logistic gymnastics for the large Fly-in. We are super thankful to all those involved to make this switch possible including the Pala Tribal Counsel for squeezing the approval in to their agenda the day of their meeting.

It turned out to be a beautiful day at Palomar on Saturday, the day of the fly-in. About 60 PG pilots along with two HG pilots (Erick and Rich) flew. Scott set up but had an aileron problem and ended up tearing down.

A few pilots struggled up and down a bit. However, most everyone had multi hour flights, getting between 2,000' and 3,000' above take off. Landing conditions were very nice, maybe 7 mph and parallel with the highway from the NorthWesterly direction. That makes for a long and level usable runway.

Winds on launch were light with mostly pure thermal conditions cycling in. This made launching conditions at times quite challenging due to the light base wind being overpowered by prevailing thermal activity creating thermal blocking on launch.

- the Masquerade Flights -

Some Great Costumes on the Ground & in Flight

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

Other Contest Winners:

Spot Landing Tandem: Phil Russman & Dave Metzgar
Spot Landing: Mike Lester
Fastest Sled & Flying as a Rocker: Eddy Borysewicz
Bomb Drop: Brian Stiber

All in All a Great time:

Way-more Great Photos in the Photo Share Galleries

Gary Earl was at the Pauma Casino for the afternoon and came over to shot some great photos after seeing us in the air by chance and has been kind enough to share.

Steve R also uploaded over 150 additional photos to those shot by Gary to following Gallery for viewing & download: https://photos.app.goo.gl/I3Gsl4IPMvrViD8d2

Again, A Big Thank You to all those that helped out to make this Fly-in possible including the Pala Tribe & Roberts Ranch for allowing us to enjoy their great site especially with that late notice of our site change.

SDHGPA Fall Halloween Icarnaval 2017

10/27/2017

Palomar de Halloween ICARNAVAL :
- the Masquerade Flights -

Saturday October 28th!! at Palomar
(Location Changed to Palomar)

A Halloween Costume Themed SDHGPA Fall Fly-in

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

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

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

SDHGPA FALL HALLOWEEN ICARNAVAL 2016 Costume contest winners: (left to right) Most Exciting: Antonella Zampolli - Falconer Most Hilarious: Rene Falquier - Flying Ring Tailed Lemur Most Scary: Henry Baker the Flying Flasher Most Creative: Kim - Flying Kim Tut (flying with cape) Most Daring: Jason Kinch - no fear Crocodile / Ray Hunter Most Original: Steve Rohrbaugh - Flying Bat Man (flying with cape)

And the Flying is always great in October!

2016 Fly-in Best Time Aloft (2:50) : Josef de Beer - Highest Flight (9.2K) : Phil Weffinger

Post Flying Activities:
Taco Cart and Soft Drinks will be provided by the club!
(Must present SDHGPA Membership Card) . . .

- BYOB & Please also bring any appetizers you would like to share.
- Taco Cart in LZ serving from 3:45-5:45

- Contest Judging & Prizes!

SDHGPA Membership is required to participate in the Fly-in.

Any new late Annual Memberships joining for the Fly-in (after October 26th), will be rolled over into a 2018 Annual Membership. Late membership Roll-over normally starts in November.
(Full Annual Membership or Visiting Pilot membership is valid for this event.)

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

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 1 for set-up and dropping off supplies. Then driving to launch around 2:00. However, we do not feel like there is a rush to get into the air unless you are an XC hound trying to go someplace. The late afternoon flights have been fantastic! Also many will be showing up later in the day.

For detailed Site info, see the Palomar Site Guide

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

New SDHGPA Horse Weather Station

10/18/2017

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

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.

Palomar Safety Bulletin

10/14/2017

On multiple occasions with this past Sunday being the most recent, pilots flying into rotor and possible venturi locations have been observed. All should be reminded that Palomar is a complex mountain site and all should review the Soaring notes of the Palomar Site Guide and also Review the Flying Effective Faces article pulled from our XC clinic talks.

Palomar is a complex mountain site

Fly effective faces that are perpendicular to the prevailing wind conditions. Note that on light and variable wind pure thermal days, the effective faces can be constantly changing and influenced by thermal activity. i.e. If the prevailing winds are west, trying to ridge fly the big south face or into the canyons will not be productive and can be turbulent. See Article on Flying Effective Faces and scroll through Palomar examples for different wind directions. Also Note that winds and effective faces will shift to thermal activity and geographic location / topography influences.

Do not fly into the canyons at or below ridge-lines down wind/ in the lee of effective faces. Note that effective faces and thermaling / soaring envelopes (out of rotor zones) typically extend up at the same slope as the effective face.

Canyon crossings should be made only with enough altitude to be able to fly from spine to spine arriving at the next spine with altitude clearance or to an effective face clear of rotor zones.

Do not attempt to ridge soar deep in the canyons of Pauma / Lion Creek below 6K, there are no lading options and are known venturi locations.

Thermaling / soaring envelopes typically extend at Slope of Face (out of rotor zones)

Do not fly into the canyons at or below ridge-lines or cross deep below 6K

Palomar WX Station - Standing Strong

10/9/2017

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!

Palomar WX Station Wind & Heat damage

9/10/2017

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.

Palomar WX Station rev2

8/20/2017

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

Before - White Saguaro Cactus proof of concept mast

After - Taller blue mast with sensor oriented into prevailing wind direction

SDHGPA Weather Stations Update

8/8/2017

The Great White Saguaro Cactus on Palomar Launch

The 1st SDHGPA weather station of several that we have have planned was installed yesterday at the Palomar Main Launch and is up and running!

Installation was after a period of testing at Jeff's House so that we could work out the details of set-up and plan for what would be required for installation. We also took this time to layout out Web module interfaces.

What is that white saguaro cactus doing at the Main Palomar Launch?

Over the next several months we will be fine tuning this prototype installation design and raising the station mast to get cleaner air flow. Once we are comfortable with the overall System, we will be using our lessons learned to install one to two additional stations at other sites this year.

Data from the Palomar Launch station is live and is working well sofar.

Palomar Launch
(Live - updates every 2 min)

About the Palomar Launch Station

The station is solar powered with an appropriately sized battery pack and sends data over a cellular network connection. For this 1st station, we chose an ultrasonic wind sensor that has no moving parts. Data is then sent to the Holfuy Data hosting site and WEB based data visualization.

The Weather Station data can be viewed in several ways:

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

Solar powered cell based system with ultrasonic wind sensor

Some features of this installation include: Ultrasonic wind sensor (offering higher accuracy with no moving parts calling less attention to it along with requiring less service); Lightning Strike Grounding protection; low impact & semi portable installation for relocation if required; easy serviceability without ladders or mast climbing; Ability to lower mast and have mast break away if a glider gets tangled up in it.

A big thank you goes out to Jeff Brown & Bob Barry for taking the time out getting all this work done on the station!

Enjoy!

P.S. Don't mess with it !! If you think it needs adjustment or gets hit by a glider, please contact Jeff Brown or Steve Rohrbaugh.

Thanks.

SDHGPA Summer 2017 Fly-in

7/19/2017

Summer Flying Mexican Fiesta Fly-in 2017:

July 22nd @ Palomar!

Please RSVP below

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

This will be a great event!!!

Summer Mexican Fiesta in LZ with Taco Cart!
Targeting evening glass-off . . .
Midday flying not recommended!

Rough Tentative Time Table:
2:00 - Set-up & General Meeting Time / Check in at LZ opens
2:45 - Carpooling to launch starts
3:30 - Site intro on Main Launch
3:30 - 7:00 - Launching (H1-H2 & P1-P2 should be launching later . . .)

~ 6:00 Appetizers & LZ festivities Start
~ 6:30 Taco Cart Arrives
~ 7 pm - Tacos in LZ starts

Post Flying Mexican Fiesta:

By popular demand, we will be having the same great Taco Cart from the Fall Fly-in in the LZ.

Main Course (Taco Cart) will be provided by the club however it is primarily a potluck; so plan to bring a Festa worthy appetizer, side dish, salad, fruit, or dessert to share.

If you have an Ice Cream Maker , bring it on out & make up your favorite summer recipe to share!

Can you say the best Taco Cart will be in LZ !!!

Please also bring any drinks you might want to stay hydrated during the day & BYOB for post flying fiesta.

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

We will need help with some to bring the following:

Portable Fire Ring -
Fire wood - Dave W ( already delivered wood to the LZ)
Folding Table -
Folding Table -
Folding Table -

Please Comment below and or contact Wild Bill, Angela, Anto, or Josh G to help and coordinate on the event planning side.

Please review and read Full Palomar Site Gide for updates:

Palomar Site Guide

Key Points for the Fly-in

All Vehicles must display Current 2017 SDHGPA Vehicle ID/ Gate Pass
Carpool to launch to minimized Cars on launch
Main Launch is preferred for this event
Keep all access gates locked and closed behind
Active Launch Windows: Use mountain etiquette - Only enter the Launch Windows with your gear if and when you are ready and intending to launch hooked in and hang checked (set-up and prep including hooking in and hang check in non active window areas.) Be mindful that there will be a lot of pilots on launch. Do not wait for the perfect Cycle, but rather take the 1st good safe cycle.

Palomar Main Launch Use Zones

If in Launch Windows or Top landing Approach areas, be cautious and aware of flight activities in all directions.
Do not enter Orchards . . . non-authorized Picking of Fruit is strictly forbidden and illegal.

Summer Fly-in & Palomar 2015

SDHGPA 2017 Membership is required to fly Palomar & this Fiesta event + Taco Cart.

Please take care of Memberships and print Card/ Parking Pass before heading out.
(This will save your time at the fly-in with a better connection . . .)

Check your SDHGPA Membership Status real time:

SDHGPA Membership Status

Full Annual Membership or Visiting Pilot membership is valid for this event. However Visiting Pilots will not receive gate codes & must fly with Full Annual Members for access. Membership Applications (second step after payment) must be completed and submitted. Completed Memberships once submitted are updated to the current status within 5 min.

Location: Palomar Main LZ

RSVP Responses

Add your RSVP:

2017 Summer Fly-in Rescheduled to July 22nd

7/6/2017

Fly-in Rescheduled for July 22nd @ Palomar!

The Summer Fly-in will be Rescheduled from July 8th to the Alternate weather back-up date: July 22nd due to heat health advisories.

Per XC-Skies, Temps will be about the same as today on July 8th: 99 on launch & 105-107 in the LZ. ..

It does look flyable and the better pilots should be able to break through the inversion. But we fear our newer pilots will be landing out in the 105+ heat. With many people out for the fly-in, we might have some heat-related problems. Also hanging out in 100 deg heat trying to BBQ will not be all that fun.

If flying this weekend, All should be prepared for the heat and carry at least 1 gal of water for the day. Bob B & Steve R worked to clear the Palomar launch out there today/ Friday. Both Bob & Steve went through a gallon of water each and worked in shifts. One pushing the mower and the other cooling down in the car AC 10 min per shift before it started to cloud over.

Let’s hope for cooler weather on the 22nd.

Check back to this page for updates