SDHGPA May 2015 Meeting

SDHGPA Mixer & Meeting May  21st 2015 

6:30 BBQ & BYOB Mixer ($5)
7:30 Gen Meeting & Clinic Topics:

Where:  127 S. Rios Ave, Solana Beach CA 92075 
(Greg's SDHGPA Club House down side driveway)

On Glide from Vulcan VOR to Warner Springs and beyond to Lake Hemet this past weekend at Laguna Photo: Russ Detwiler

---

Reminder: SDHGPA meetings will be on the Third Thursday of the month for the rest of 2015 unless otherwise posted on the SDHGPA Calendar (http://www.sdhgpa.com/sdhgpa-calendar.html)

---

Gen Meeting & Clinic Topics:

1.       Site Report
Palomar:  Outhouse & Work Party Update

There is now an SDHGPA provided and maintained outhouse in the Main Palomar LZ. Please look after this as if it is your own and let us know if there are ever any issues with it.

A big thank you is extended to Bob Barry, Dave Whitehall, Bill Helliwell, Charlie Jancic, and Robin Sutton-Brown for heading out Mid Week and doing Site Maintenance in preparation for our SDHGPA Spring Fly-in. Also a big thank you is extended to Peter Hill for the use of his lawn mower.

Bob Headed out on Wed and mowed the Main LZ BBQ & tear-down areas. Dave Whitehall also went out on Wed to mow the Bail-out LZ. It took Dave 3 hours and two near death experiences to himself and the mower. The Bail-out is now in great shape!

Charlie Jancic, Robin Sutton-Brown, and Bill Helliwell headed out on Friday to take care on the Main Launch. Charlie & Robin mowed the main launch flatter areas while Bill tacked the steeper HG launch windows with his weed whacker. 

2.       Safety Report & Discussion Topic:

Safety in Flight & Pre Flight Round table discussion: 
(lead and facilitated by Dave Metzger )

We will be asking for eye witness accounts of a few recent incidences and then asking for advanced pilot commentary on incidences this year at Little Black, Palomar and an SIV Clinic.

We are not looking to grill or put said pilots on the spot, but to focus on the situations that induced the incidences & How we should be flying our Mt sites to avoid repeating.

Locations & Speeds to Fly / Active piloting

Two incidences were similar in that both were induced by flying too slowly trying to stay up in less than ideal locations: Shallow Slope, Faces off axis to the wind then rotor and or thermal pitch induced stalls.  The Key take away should be "effective ridge lift flying at mountain sites" "We are continuing to see many pilots flying in inappropriate locations to prevailing conditions at our more complex non simple ridge sites like Little Black and Palomar".

This is worth repeating as we are still seeing way too many looking for lift in all the wrong places.
•                    http://www.sdhgpa.com/minutes-news--articles/sdhgpa-meeting-minutes-3-26-2015
•                    http://www.sdhgpa.com/minutes-news--articles/effective-ridge-lift-flying-mountain-sites

Example from Henry Baker's Fly-in Photo - Over Launch: Effective Faces to Prevailing Wind Indicated by gliders on launch.   
Questions:

1. Are any of the low gliders flying effective faces?
   
2. So what faces and terrain should we fly in the Mts?
   

• It all depends on the prevailing wind direction and wind shifts.
• The fly-in Day of the Photo was a West wind day . . .
  

Other examples from this past weekend at Laguna: 

• Those that flew to effective faces perpendicular to the prevailing wind and thermal drift climbed out at Grant;
• Those that did not landed
  

Reserve Safety and Preflight Checks:

Then there is checking reserves, attachments, and speed bar + other line routings.  All included in complete pre flights.

It would be good if Peter and Angela could give us their 1st hand accounts to Ziggy's tragic incident in that they were there at the SIV clinic.

Checked you Laundry?

---