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Thursday, 5/15/2014 [Weather] and [Flight Articles] by [Spin Dotor] [Cortfly] [Dizzy] & [Sundowner] [Photos]

Skyport to Painted Cave to Rancho Sespe (a couple miles short of Piru along Hwy 126)

Leg 1 ~ Skyport to the Painted Cave Windmill ~ 6.6 miles
Leg 2 ~ Painted Cave to the Rancho Sespe soccer field ~56.2 miles
total distance around 1 turn point ~ 62 miles
~ 4 hours 35 minutes airtime, launch at 11:15 and land at 3:50
Trango

Sundowner's Flight Report, see also [Weather Archive]  [Track Image]  or Google Earth [KML File] & [Photos]

Wouldn't normally fly on a Thursday, but it is late in the season for SB so Thursday may have been the last SB XC opportunity until fall (but not necessarily, I did have a flight across I5 in June 1997.) Notified the usual suspects Wednesday night.  Ron Faoro and Aaron were willing to juggle their midweek schedule, but would need to say local.  Aaron couldn't get out of a 10:30 meeting, so he would launch later.  Caught a ride to SB in the morning with Pam on her way to work and got dropped at Ron's house.  I was more than an hour early for the day's weather, but it was good to catch up with Ron and Elizabeth.  Ron hadn't flown in months, but he was in good physical condition after his recent 6 week trek along the Pacific Crest Trail.  We left his house about 20 past 9 and wandered up to launch in his car.  No movement at the Rock, and blowing down about 5 to 7 at the Bypass.  A little stronger down at the Skyport but not so much on the ridge line.  Hung out in the shade at La Cumbre Peak for a half hour, enjoying the view and Ron's trekking tales as we observed the switch.  Left the Peak at 10:30 to head back down to the Skyport.  Checked the HG launch at EJ's on the way down and it was coming in good.  The Skyport was cycling about from 3 to 7 when we arrived, and 4 to 10 by the time I pulled my canopy up at 11:15.  Cort arrive at launch a few minutes after Ron and I.

Easy climb to a few hundred over, then gained all the way on glide to the RnR.  The early air was nice.  The initial climbs were a little slow but steady, and the lift was broad.  Left  for La Cumbre Peak in the mid 4s and encountered another good glide arriving above the peak.  Topped about 47.  Same altitude at the Alternator.  The drift varied from light and variable in the thermals to light from the SE up high.  Rounded the windmill at Painted cave in the mid 3s.  It was light from the SW down lower.  Got back to the VOR in the high 2s but quickly climbed into the mid 4s.  Perceived a little east up high, so opted to take the lower front route eastbound until the west caught up.  Transitioned back up to the high ground at the RnR, skipped over the Factory in the low 4s under Ron and kept going as Cort was taking big altitude out to the beach.  The glides were good, and I didn't need  to stop much.  Picked up a few hundred on the east spine of Montecito Peak, then got high on the west side of Ramero.  Didn't stop at the road cut.  Tanked up once midway along Castle ridge which got me to Noon Peak.  Aaron reported he didn't like the bumpy air was headed out to the beach to join Cort and Ron.

The Trapezoid was only good for a few hundred over.  The back ridge had been working so I fished back and climbed to 48.  Normally not a lot of spare altitude, but the glides had been good so far and I arrived at West Divide even with the front peak (plenty to spare).  Got to 58 and followed the back ridge toward White Ledge.  Went through the saddle behind the peak with a few hundred over.  There was a pretty stiff draw along the ridge line.  I tested for altitude around the High Step and the Back Step, but the thermals trajectory wasn't good and I didn't want to get very far behind the ridge, so I shifted gears and dolphined across 33, getting a good glide, but progress was slow because I had to crab into the south wind.  Was able to skip the Nuthouse and cut across directly to Spine One.  Hit a nice thermal out front and climbed to 6K drifting from the SW.  Dolphined over Nordhoff Peak, but didn't stop and went down the SE spine and then over to Twin Peaks.

Blundered into a fat thermal on the west side of Twin Peaks that seemed to be drifting from the SSE.  The forecast was calling for the ocean air to pull up the Santa Clara River, but I wasn't certain.  A post flight review of the station data shows Santa Paula switching a little after noon, and Piru switching before 2 PM, but I was operating with limited information.  The fastest course route is usually direct across the lower front points, but Upper Ojai can draw flow up the Santa Paula River, so it is sometimes east down low at the east end of Upper Ojai.  In those situations, you can sometimes get over the top of the east wind by taking a high route, so I opted to track up the spine to Chiefs Peak in search of big altitude.

Up at Chiefs Launch, the flow was 10 to 12 from the SSW.  The thermals anchored some, but I didn't want to drift back very far and only got into the low 5s.  Likely could have gotten higher if I spent more time, but I'd already opted for the long route and didn't was squander more time so I reached across for the Repeater, but arrive low.  Wallowed around for awhile before finally climbing out front in a good core that went to 7300 drifting from the SW for an easy connection to the Topa Bluffs.  Mostly getting into the mid to upper 6s along and over the Bluffs.  Once again, I might have gotten a little higher, but I didn't want to give too much ground.  I tracked a couple of cores back but the flat trajectory didn't justify the loss of ground that I'd have to gain back to get to Santa Paula Ridge.  I had earlier fantasized about going deep to Hines Peak and Devils Heart, but I'd need a couple grand more for enough courage to attempt that route.  Ended up bobbing slowly upwind toward the SE, dolphining through the thermals and finally giving a little ground to climb above 7K on the SE corner.

In hindsight, taking the high route cost an extra half hour.  It seemed like a rational move.  I'm not sure what the low front point route would have yielded, but I didn't find the big altitude and NW flow that I was looking for over the Topa Bluffs.  Back in my HG flying days it was more common to connect with the sea breeze front coming up the Santa Clara River, but it takes an hour longer to get there from SB on a PG, and I burned another a half hour on my high route detour.  At least the Bluffs are scenic and spiritual, looking back at Hines Peak and the Sespe Wilderness.

Easy connection across to Santa Paula Ridge.  Intercepted midway up before turning left to arrived even with the upper western point.  Found a smooth core and got into the mid 6s and then 73 over Santa Paula Peak.  Seemed like there was a little drift from the north up high, so I fished into it a ways considering my options.  In hindsight I wished I'd fished deeper into Bear Haven because once I turned SE for San Cayetano Peak, I was on an extended final glide, but it was mid May with a couple of soarable hours remaining so I opted for the legacy route rather than committing to an exploration detour.

Over-flew the front mounds behind Fillmore with comfortable altitude.  Got a few nibbles, and tried to drift upriver along the low hills with a couple of bubbles, but my best gain was only a hundred feet.  Got on the wrong side of something for a final stretch of down air, so I angled for the soccer field behind Rancho Sespe.  Did hit a small core over the field, but I was down to only 2 or 3 hundred feet AGL and wasn't willing to drift away from the bus stop.  Touch down at 10 minutes till 4.  The field hadn't been watered and was mostly brown, so I picked up and walked into the housing complex to get out of the wind and pack up on green grass in the shade.  The Visa Bus's scheduled weekday stop at Rancho Sespe is a quarter past the hour (every hour), so I hustled and got to the bench with 10 minutes to spare, but the bus was 20 minutes late.  The office manager let me use the laundry rest room to wash.  They had a soda machine and I had a couple of power bars.

To some degree, the challenge starts at Fillmore.  The front range route to Santa Paula Peak is pretty reliable when you can get to 5K in SB and don't have to deal with east wind or over development.  My past experience was suggesting that I avoid the Santa Clara River, but I've had varied success (and plenty of failure) dribbling downwind up the river, including my last flight in early April.  Without chase there is a rational temptation to keep the bus stops within reach.  I considered angling for Oat from Santa Paula Peak with the intention of trying to track up to Hopper Mountain, but I haven't attempted that route.  Hopper Mountain is likely attainable, but it's pretty deep even if you do connect.  Hopper is at the south end of long ridge running north, but from Hopper Mountain I'd probably try and pull a quartering upwind glide SE across Hopper Canyon to Modelo Peak on the SW side of Lake Piru.  I have gotten up at Madelo Peak and taken slightly deeper lines in the past (after getting some altitude at Fillmore to work with).   In the winter months we are typically time limited, but in May the limitations are usually course related past Fillmore. Having dirted with a couple hours left in a hot day was a little disappointing.  I'll try again next season.

Took 3 busses to get back to Carpinteria.  The shuttle that stops at Rancho Sespe continues eastbound to drop off day riders at their homes in Piru, and then connects back to the Vista 126 bus stop in Fillmore, which got me to the Ventura Transit Center (Pacific View Mall) for a connection to the last Coastal Express bus of the day, which was scheduled to depart at 6:15 but was 35 minutes late.  That bus makes no stops between the transit center and Carpinteria, so it made up some time and got me to downtown Carpinteria about 10 past 7.  I called Pam a few minutes out and she picked me up at the bus stop.  Fortunately, the weekday bus schedule is a little more expanded compared to the weekend schedule, and they have a late direct bus from Ventura to Carpinteria, but it doesn't' continue on to Santa Barbara.  They do have one going to SB that leaves a little earlier, but you need to be on the 4 PM bus out of Fillmore to make the connection.  On the weekends, we get off the 126 bus at the Ventura Pier to connect to the Coastal Express, but on the weekdays you have to make the connection at the transit center.  The bus schedule seems to change every year, so you need to check the current schedule.  The shuttle running between Piru and Fillmore only makes stops going eastbound in the afternoon, then it returns to Fillmore non-stop.  I think you can call Dial-A-Ride and get picked up most anywhere between Fillmore and Piru.

The day was strikingly clear with some color after our April rain with just a hint of brown haze from distant fires.  My vario volume quit working in early April, so it was a different experience flying without the soothing sound.  I found the never ending helmet wind noise a bit fatiguing.  I think my thermaling was a bit off, but it was an easy day to climb so the missing vario audio wasn't much of a handicap.  I spent a lot of time glancing at the bar graph readout on my Flytec 4005.  If I was close to the terrain or climbing fast I could tell that I was going up, but with the weaker climbs above the terrain I needed the readout.  I'd have a hard time operating with any vario at all.  My average course progress from launch to landing was about 13.5 mph, however, if I hadn't detoured up to the Topa Bluffs, my speed may have been as high as 15.5 mph.

Click image below ↓ for full HD size or open Google Earth [KML] file

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