[Home] to paraglide.net [SD Log] [Amigo] [Activity] [Photo] [Comments] [Incidents] [Weather] [SBSA] [SCPA]

Sunday, 12/8/2013 [Weather] and [Flight Articles] by [Cort]  [Dizzy] & [Sundowner]

Sunday, 12/8/2013
Leg 1 ~ 5 miles from the Skyport to the VOR Spine
Leg 2 ~ 39 miles from the VOR Spine to Saint Thomas College (between Ojai and Santa Paula)
total distance around 1 turn point ~ 44 miles
~ 3 hours 40 minutes airtime, 10:50ish_ish to 2:30ish
Trango

Sundowner's Flight Report, see also [Weather Archive] SD Track in [JPG] or Google Earth [KML] & [Photos]

I like flying on the weekend because its more social compared to the weekdays, but we had a sparse pilot turnout Sunday.  Had been working in Cleveland for a week.  Got home Saturday night.  En route, South Side (John Scott) and TQ (Todd Quayle) called to discuss Sunday's potential.  I thought it might be too windy for PGs, but after getting setup at home, a weather review confirmed John's prediction that the strong winds aloft wouldn't likely migrate to the lower altitudes.

A dawn weather check looked promising, but the approaching high clouds were going to be problematic.  I don't currently have a working automobile available for my use, so that was an issue.  Dizzy left a message saying he might come up, but opted to go to Marshall instead.  A call to TQ went to voice mail (he picked his concubine at LAX about he same time I was arriving in Carpinteria on the Airbus from LAX Saturday night).  Southside was saving his day pass for an opportunity with fewer high clouds.  Pam left at 6:30 am for a work event.  She wanted me to stay home for dad duties, but I missed the good weather last weekend and rationalized that I deserved some personal time after working an 80 hour week, so I made a unilateral decision that my kids were old enough to not burn the house down.

Hustled to log the morning weather, network, and post, then rode my bike to catch the 8:40 MTD number 20 bus.  It dropped off at Milpas and Montecito.  Hiked up to the 144 traffic circle, but a couple minutes after arriving, the MTD number 2 East Side Bus ran up Montecito Street to the traffic circle and then down Salinas, so I could have avoided a half mile uphill hike.

Not much traffic going up Sycamore Canyon from the circle, so after waiting about 10 minutes, I started hiking up the road.  A resident of mountain drive gave me ride up to El Cielito and Mountain.  I spotted Irene's black car as we slowed passing Parma, but I couldn't tell from my quick glance if it was a pilot's vehicle, so I took the additional 200 free yards to Mountain Drive, then hiked another 1/4 mile up to the stop sign at Gibraltar Road and El Cielito, getting there a little before 10.  There wasn't much movement.  A little uphill convection at times.  Not much traffic either.  Only a motorcycle until Irene showed up about 10 past 10.  It was good to catch up on the drive.  Forgot to check flow at the Rock while chatting.  Did stop at the Bypass.  It was convecting up light from the SW.  Since it was also convecting up (from the East) at the bottom of Gibraltar Road, we deduced the movement was all convection and not wind driven.  It was blowing a hundred knots up higher, so it was a relief to not see signs of north wind or catabatic drainage down lower.

Cycling in consistently when we got to launch about 10:30.  Bands of  high clouds were pulsing through, with periods of full and filtered sun.  Airborne a little before 11 at the start of a shade cycle, but there was still enough sun getting through the high clouds early in the day.  Light lift, but smooth organized thermals.  The first thermal was only good for a hundred over, but found a better core a little out front and climbed to 6 or 7 hundred over launch with very little drift.

Topped about 39 at the R&R.  Drift in the thermals was a little from the SE, but not much.  With limited altitude due to the inversion ceiling, my logic told me I should play directly for Cathedral, but I reached back for EJ's, coming in a little below the old Cagy Bowl launch.  Buoyant, but not strong enough to climb, so I ran back out east of Cathedral and climbed up the sunny side easily.  Fished up to the top of West Bowl, a little off line, but I wanted to test for the top of the lift.  Got to 45ish, drifting light from the SE in the thermal, but there was some north on glide.  I bit leery about pressing deep into San Marcos Pass on a post frontal day.  Missed the thermal at No Name and kept going, figuring I might round the VOR Cone, but after getting to the spine and running uphill against a light headwind, I had to turn and run back downhill in light flow from the north.  Had just barely enough to turn back east and re-cross the canyon for No Name, but I opted to commit to the spine in hand, continuing down wind with optimal terrain clearance, figuring I'd bump into up hill flow down lower.  Started picking up some drift from the SE, so I faded off the right of the spine and climbed back up from the high 2s into the mid 3s, then scooted back over to No Name on a buoyant seam.  Picked up a couple hundred in some bubbles and continued on to West Bowl, getting another good glide on a buoyant seam.  Got there about 25ish and dolphined over to the east spine, where I found good lift.

After climbing into the upper 3s over the east spine of West Bowl, it was pretty easy going all the way to Noon Peak.  A little tailwind from the west at times.  Not bothering to get high, knowing there was some north wind above.  Cort had reported 5K at the R&R, about 500 higher than I'd been.  He noted some turb up high and significant wind from the north.  I  climbed up into the mid 4s a few times and was drifting toward the ocean on glide above the ridge, but would drift back in toward the mountains down lower.

Along  Castle Ridge, I waffled about whether to attempt going over the high ground through Casitas Pass, or taking the glide out to Carpinteria for an early return home.  Actually turned away from the mountains to start my glide out toward town, but I couldn't leave all those cookies on the table and turned back in.  The high clouds had actually thinned and we were getting plenty of sun.  It was to early to throw in the towel.  I was concerned about potential north wind up higher through the pass.  There were some clouds, in the Pass, but they were all out front and leaning from the north.

Got stuck at Noon Peak for 15 minutes.  Fished back to the Peak and out front.  Finally connected up to 48ish from the Trapezoid.  Came in OK below West Divide, fishing uphill over the saddle without any bites, so I needed to hug the SW face and wiggle up in boundary convection.  Got to 5ish and came in on the lower SW bump of White Ledge with 35 for a needed but dependable connection.  Went around the corner at White Ledge in the upper 4s, detoured back into Bump 3 to pickup 500, and overflew the Nuthouse about 500 above launch.  Dolphined over to the Pyramid before finally connecting back above 4.

From White Ledge, I could see a bank of thick high clouds approaching, but we still had good sun for awhile.  By the time I climbed to 5ish at Nordhoff, the westbound shade had caught up, but Twin Peaks and beyond still had good sun.  The shade line was outrunning me.  By the time I got to Twin Peaks, it was dim.  The lift was still ok.  Smooth and a trending weaker.  Left for West Repeater with 43 and continued on to arrive low at East Repeater.  Climbed back into the high 3s, but the high clouds were really blocking by now.  Dolphined through buoyant air over Boyds, but nothing worth turning for.  Some glide extenders in front of Puckers removed Randy ¹ from the glide to Saint Thomas College.  Actually had enough to reach for the low point of Santa Paula Ridge.  I've gotten up there on other days from lower than my projected intercept, but I hadn't found much over the past few dependable triggers so I figured the day was over.  The flag at the College was limp.

TQ and Robin were touring Ojai and made radio contact when I was approaching White Ledge.  Easy landing in no wind on the college soccer field about 2:30.  TQ & Robin collected me.  We took the scenic route to Carpinteria behind Lake Casitas.  Got home about 3:45.  Pam was irritated that I left the kids unattended, but TQ ran interference and smoothed over the rough edges.  Pam and Tess were doing there 6th and final play performance as actors in "A Christmas Carol" at the Carpinteria  Playhouse.  I stopped in for the cast party while retrieving my bike from the bus stop.

Had a good phone chat with my dad.  It was his birthday,  88 on December 8th.

¹ Randy Glide: A long marginal glide, named after Randy Liggett who had a reputation of stretching long glides on his hang glider with minimal margin.

Click image below ↓ for full size (1920x960), or view KML file in Google Earth

Click on photos below ↓ for full size image

Tom Truax aka Sundowner at Saint Thomas Aquinas College after landing on Sunday 12/8/3013

Irene Revenko on launch at the Skyport in Santa Barbar on Sunday morning 12/8/2013

 [Top of Page]  [Home]