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 

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

Gear Swap

Post Flying Fiesta & Awards Ceremony:
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

The Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest - a rich history of XC free flight in Southern California

The Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest is a chapter member XC competition based on open flight with non-specified tasks for pilots to make XC decisions on how to fly the day. There are both season long competitive and personal milestone Shirt Awards. The competition rules are different for HG & PG,  but the milestone shirt awards are the same for each class of wing.

Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest History: ​The SDHGPA was originally known as the Ultralight Flier's Organization, or UFO. The UFO was formed in 1973 and changed names to SDHGA in 1987. In 1994 the name was changed once again to the San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association or SDHGPA to better represent our growing paraglider pilot membership.

​Rich Matros was one of the earliest members of the UFO, and one of its strongest supporters for over 15 years before succumbing to cancer. The cross country contest was renamed the Rich Matros Cross Country Contest in 1988 to honor Rich and to recognize his years of contribution to our club and his passion for XC.
​
For more information and how to participate in the XC comp as an SDHGPA membership benefit, see the Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest page under the More navigation section.

Please RSVP
​The Social Committee would like some help from some volunteers to help coordinate, set up, and break down.
​
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. 

Reminder: All 2021 Annual (calendar year) memberships expired on Dec 31st. 
​
​For 2022 Site & Gate access: Join or Renew SDHGPA Membership if you have not already done so for the 2022 calendar year.

• Site Gate Codes are only provided to Annual Members after Membership Verification and may take several weeks to process. If you desire immediate site gate access, Please Fly with current local active Annual Member Pilots for site access and site briefings. ​Visiting pilots can only gain gate access with a Full Member guide present.
• Annual Members will receive a separate email after verification on how to access the Member Only section of the website and receive current gate codes. ​

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. 

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?

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).

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!!!

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
  
• ​5:55 Sunset

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

Please RSVP ​
​The Social Committee would like some help from some volunteers to help coordinate, set up, and break down.

RSVP Responses

SDHGPA Summer ​Fly-in Fiesta 2021
&
XC Awards Ceremony for 2018, 2019, & 2020:  

Aug 14th @ Palomar!

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 Fiesta worthy appetizer, side dish, salad, fruit, dessert, or drinks you'd like to share throughout the day (BYOB).

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 Fiesta & Awards Ceremony:
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.

The Rich Matros Memorial X-C Contest - a rich history of XC free flight in Southern California

​Please RSVP
​The Social Committee would like some help from some volunteers to help coordinate, set up, and break down.

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. 

RSVP Responses

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.

Our SDHGPA Laguna WX Station is down and we are working on trying to diagnose the problems and bring it back on line as soon as possible.

In talking with Holfuy, it looks like there might have been been a water ingress that has shorted out the electronics or lightning strike near by?  The Station started to experience solar charging system started to have problems on March 26th and the system stopped transmitting packet data on April 11th.

Our Laguna Launch station has been recording some of the most extreme weather in San Diego and Sothern California as recently noted by NOAA reaching out to us asking about this station.

We will need to schedule a recon trip out to the station to retrieve the main unit to know what to fix or repair. Unfortunately, the Station may be down for several weeks due to logistics and depending on repairs needed.

​We will post updates as we know more.

https://holfuy.com/en/weather/580

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.