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Saturday, 2/14/2015 [Weather] and [Flight Articles] by [Jonathan] [gracecab] [flychild] & [Sundowner]
SD's [KMZ] & [IGC] Comb Tom and Neal [KMZ] plus Neal's [KMZ] & [IGC] and [Photos]

Saturday, 2/14/2015
Leg 1 ~ Skyport to Painted Cave Windmill ~ 6.7 miles
Leg 2 ~ Pained Cave Windmill to Fillmore ~ 51.1 miles
total distance around 1 turn point ~  67.8 miles
distance from launch to landing ~ 44.4 miles
5 hours airtime, Launch at 11:13, Land at 4:12
Niviuk Icepeak 6

Sundowner's Flight Report, see also [Weather Archive]

The soaring conditions had been good all week, but the Santa Anna event was limiting the distance potential toward the east.  When I checked the weather on Wednesday the Nam skew-t forecast soundings were calling for a break in the east flow on Saturday and the forecast held.  Despite posting a meet time with plenty of advance notice, the enthusiasm and turnout seemed below the day's potential (perhaps Valentine Day obligations?), so I took the 9:13 number 20 bus from Carpinteria for the 9:45 meet at East Beach.  We loaded 5 paragliders and 2 hang gliders in Max Hogan's SUV including Edward Skow (HG), Ron Faoro (PG), Benson Lamb (PG), Bob Hurlbett (PG), John Kloer (PG) and myself (Tom Truax / PG).  It was about 10:15 by the time we pulled out of Parma, so we were on launch around 10:35.  The Eagle bus posted for 10:30 at Parma so they got to launch about 10 past 11 and the Fly Above All crew had a 1015 meet time at the T for the VOR.

Ron Faoro was first off at 11 o-clock, followed by Benson and Bob Hurlbett.  They got up easily and transitioned over to the RnR.  I followed at 11:13 with a clean launch and an easy 7 turn 500 foot climb, then gained another hundred on a buoyant downwind glide over to the RnR where I gained 300 feet in 5 turns.  Seemed like my thermal was topping out.  With 3800 I was a little low to reach back for EJ's, but it was downwind and my first glide from the Skyport to the RnR had been good.  I was skeptical I'd get much higher that early at the RnR, so I went NW and came in ok, just a little below the road.  Unfortunately, I must have arrived between cycles.  Didn't find anything trolling around so I searched out front which was also a bust , so... I went all-in and took a right, thinking that with light SE flow aligned with the sun I'd be able to wiggle up on the east faces below La Cumbre Peak.  Gaining 100 feet on my initial glide from the Skyport to the RnR was also encouraging because the RnR's SSE face had a similar exposure.  Disclaimer: don't try this at home or in the afternoon when the flow is from the west.

Bob and Ron had more patience at the RnR and it paid off.  They both cruised overhead and reached the Peak on glide while I was groveling below.  I had to make a half dozen figure 8s (a dozen passes), but it was mostly positive so I was eventually able to move over and climb above the Peak.  Only got to 42 plus at the Peak and continued downwind, spooning the back ridge over to the Alternator where I gained another 400 out front, back up to 42.  No luck over No Name, but there was a gaggle of Fly Above All students climbing on the VOR spine, so I joined them and topped out at 42ish again after gaining a thousand feet in 10 or 11 turns.

The east wind wasn't strong, but prominent.  Considered the possibility of crossing San Marcos Pass if I could get into the mid 4s at Pained Cave, but after rounding the Windmill Turnpoint I was in a mild venturi funneling the SE flow through the Pass.  Gained a hundred feet over the houses but didn't like the trajectory so I opted to get on the bar and bob back upwind toward the VOR spine to escape from the venturi flow.  Came in perhaps a tad low but ok with 27 and worked back up the spine to 38.  Probably should have bobbed down the spine a ways before crossing the canyon to No Name, but I was lazy and angled across diagonally on a longer upwind line.  Did ok on the glide but didn't stop at No Name and continued on to Westbowl, needing ample bar to get around the corner with 2900.  Climbed to 3600 on the SE side, drifting from the SE.  Aaron followed after rounding the VOR, but he came in a little too low at Westbowl and had had to fish a while longer.  Aaron later rounded Ramero and returned to Parma for a 20 mile lap.

Cathedral was OK for a figure 8 or two, but I didn't luck into a big one so I joined gracecab over Tunnel Tit for a quick 600 foot gain in 5 turns to 3400 for an easy bench back to the RnR.  Neal Michaelis had been waiting for us at La Cumbre Peak, but he obviously took the high route when Aaron and I opted for the front route around Cathedral.  Neal had gotten to 42 at La Cumbre Peak, EJ's and the RnR both directions, which looked like the top of the lift because I didn't spot anyone getting substantially higher.  I climbed to the top of the gaggle over the RnR in 10 or 11 turns drifting from the SE, then continued upwind.  Neal and another glider weren't doing as well at the Factory, although Neal did finally get to 42 hundred after I had passed through.  I stopped for a couple of turns and picked up a hundred and fifty feet before continuing on with 3750 toward Shadow and eventually  Montecito.  Got almost to the top of Montecito, but the altitude is worth more on the east side so I dolphined over and got to 32 before reaching across for West Ramero.

Ramero worked good.  I arrived just below the west point with 2700 but quickly climbed to 3500 in 7 turns.  The main hill above the Road Cut was good for another 500, climbing  from 32 to 3700.  No joy over the west point of Castle Ridge.  The middle finger (the next spine) usually works, but the elongated thermals can be sharp.  I needed  a boost so I held on and got enough to keep going, 400 feet in 5 turns, climbing from 32 to 3600.

My thermal at West Ramero drifted from the SE, but the thermal over the Road Cut didn't have much east component, and the middle finger of Castle drifted from the SSW.  My ground speed kept getting better on glide, so the east wind was giving way to some west.  Still had a little drift from the SE down low in my next thermal, but higher up that thermal was mostly drifting from the south, tracking across the saddle that connects the front ridge to a higher back ridge.  After that, the drift was increasing from the west, but I was mostly out in front of the stronger west push that came through later.  A comparison of Neal's track path with mine shows he had more drift from the west along Castle Ridge than I did which can be problematic because when the west wind comes up the thermals along the Castle Ridge spines seem to be better on the lee side, so you need to over-fly the spine and hope you hit a core.  If you don't, then you keep going if you can and if you can't you have to throw the anchor and come back upwind for the scraps.

Anyway, I got enough altitude along the middle of Castle Ridge to dolphin to Powerline Ridge where I got to 43 hundred on the west end which is a little more than adequate, but I was down to 38 on the east end which is marginal but somewhat committed anyway.  Got around the front of the Trapezoid at Noon Peak and bounced up above the hill easily, but couldn't find a zephyr for the long uphill glide to Divide.  Finally got to almost 44 after 10 minutes of spaghetti, which was about a hundred below my minimum go altitude for the conditions, but I got a good glide to the front side of the saddle below West Divide Peak.  I wanted to hold the high ground, and the saddle often works, so I fished back in but didn't find anything.  We had a little west wind so I went all-in and committed to the back of the saddle too low to come back out, thinking I could wiggle up in the boundary layer thermal assisted ridge lift.  It's pretty shallow down low, but I found a bubble above a shallow spine and tracked up to steeper terrain where I was able to do big figure 8s in a smooth broad lift zone.  West Divide is one of the more dependable lift sources on the range.  I flushed off in the shade on my last flight, but we had full sun on Saturday so I was more confident.  Got to 52ish qt 1:50 PM, same altitude that Neal reached a half hour later.

From Divide both Neal and I tried a high back bump on East Divide, one bump down from the top.  If you can get up in the back on East Divide then you can try the back route through the saddle behind Whiteledge, which is more direct and faster, but the lower SW Bump of Whiteledge is dependable.  I didn't' want to get greedy and squander my glide to third base, so I was leery about committing to the back route and I turned a little short of the back bump to bail down the East Divide spine and cut across to the SW Bump.  Neal spent a little time making spaghetti over the bump but it didn't pay off so he came into Whiteledge a little lower, but still well above the lower SW Bump.  Neal angled higher up the spine.  I probably would have done the same thing with his altitude because you don't want to give up the glide around Whiteledge and risk landing out.  With a little more altitude and confidence from being consistently rewarded over the SW Bump, I angled lower on the spine and got a better climb.  Neal climbed also, but I think he might have been on the rear side of the multi-core thermal zone.

Picked up a few hundred more over the peak in a slow climb, but it gave me enough to dive into the back ridge east of Whiteledge.  I stopped to test for altitude over the Back Step and gained a couple hundred but it wasn't worth the time spent groveling for altitude I didn't need to get across Hwy 33 so I went on a 7 mile dolphin glide to the Pyramid across Hwy 33 without turning via the Nuthouse and Spine One.  Neal went on glide around the SE corner of Whiteledge, but his line is more sinky so he got low had need to stop and tank up from well below Bump 2, climbing from 2600 back to 32 hundred which was enough to reach the Nuthouse with plenty to spare.  I had encouraged Neal to keep going and dolphin through the lift east of Whiteledge if he could reach the Nuthouse, but I didn't realize he was that low.  I've been in his predicament on numerous occasions, but I'll usually dive into Bump 3, which is pretty committal because it is off course to the left, and if you are already low and Bump 3 doesn't' work then your options are diminished, but Bump 3 is pretty reliable.

It was buoyant over the Nuthouse spine and along the back ridge, so I dolphined onward and didn't stop, expecting to get up at Spine One, which is very dependable, but arriving over Spine One I got rocked by a strong thermal drawing toward the west (from the east) so I kept going because I didn't want to deal with the sharp edges and drift that was the wrong direction.  Because I skipped Spine One, I arrived at the Pyramid a couple hundred below the top with 33.  You can't skip everything, so I stopped to climb to 3800 before continuing on to Nordhoff.  Got to 4600 drifting from the west on the east end of Nordhoff a little past 2:30.  Reached Twin Peaks ok and gained a couple hundred fishing in fat smooth buoyant air, but I didn't hit a core to climb in.  The drift was from the SSW with a lot more south in it than usual, like it was drawing toward a thermal up the spine behind Twin Peaks.  Normally I'd go east along the front points in race mode, but I expected Ojai to work late in the day and I thought Fillmore or Piru would be the end of our course, so I figured I had a half hour to waste.  I don't normally reach up the spine from Twin Peaks that low (3500) but sometimes you need to let your intuition steer.  I was able to surf up the spine below the crest on the windward (west) side all the way to the Middle Bump where I circled up above.  Tested further uphill toward the road but I was clearly behind the stronger uphill thermal draw and came limping back out to the Middle Bump. Climbed to 6K sharing the fat core with gaggle of 4 bald eagles.  Had to keep extending my upwind leg a lot.  It helped having the birds mark the air.  Not sure if they were squabbling amongst themselves or probing me, but the they seemed aggressive, diving at me numerous times.  Unfortunately, my camera was stowed out of ready reach.

Cut across the canyon to the Repeater.  Didn't hit anything worth stopping for, but there seemed to be a buoyant NW/SW convergence seam so I tried to follow it and continued on past the spine behind Boyd's all the way to Puckers.  Considered turning left up the spine behind Boyd's toward the Bluffs, but the spine is shallow and I haven't had much success over it in the past.  If your commit and don't get up you may have trouble getting back out if there is much wind. Continuing to Puckers is less of a direct route to the Topa Bluffs, but it is more conservative because you won't get trapped behind a front point (Boyd's).  Puckers was sweet in the late day air.  I hit a thermal on the west side before I even got to the spine and climbed from 44 to 56 hundred in only 7 turns, drifting from the south with perhaps a touch of east.  I think the thermal had so much mass the wind was not consequential.

I had enough altitude to reach Santa Paula Ridge, but I wanted to check out the Bluffs so I detoured north at ten past 3.  Got to 58 on the SE side where the Boyd's spine connects to the Bluffs and kept going north along the face.  The bluffs can be strong and intimidating in the heat of the day, but I felt comfortable getting in close with my guard up in the late day air.  There was west wind on course further west, but I wasn't drifting toward the cliff and the best I could do was break even.  Down to 5600 short of the NW corner, about 600 feet below the cliff edge, feeling kind of deep looking at a long glide out, but it was scenic.  Opted to turn back and found a bubble drifting in and up one of the flutes near the middle and climbed over the top through 6300.  Might have spent more time fishing around, but the highest I heard from Sylmar was in the 6K range and it was getting late.  I still needed some time to get around Santa Paula Ridge and the altitude is worth more out front so I bobbed on.  Did a couple turns over the Boyd's intersection and got back to almost 62 before heading across to Santa Paula Ridge at 3:30.

Got another good glide (IP6?) for a high intercept near the top, but the lift along the ridge was weak.  Was able to work up and over the top but was blown of the ridge (more like waffed off) in light flow from the NW.  I thought I was sitting pretty good, but there as a lot of sink on the sunny lee side.  Fortunately, I ran into a thermal in the sun and climbed back to almost 5K.  Angled back above the ridge but couldn't hold it through the next uphill stretch.  Blown off again.  Angled out to run away from of the lee side sink, hoping for another boost that I didn't find, so it was final glide to Fillmore.  Looked like a long 7 plus mile glide to the Vons, so I was eying other fields on the west side of town within walking distance to the bus stop, but I got there with a couple grand to spare and boated around town for 15 minutes in the buoyant air.

Kevin offered to chase and was in Ojai, but I thought Neal might run out of time.  The last weekend bus (Vista 126) from Fillmore is 5 PM, but that gets to Ventura too late to make the  connection to the last Coastal Express.  The last bus from Fillmore that will connect all the way back to East Beach leaves at 4 PM but I blew that option with my scenic detour of the Topa Bluffs.  I figured I could catch the 5 PM bus and meet Neal and Kevin in Ventura if necessary, but after Kevin confirmed Neal's probable landing location he continued on to Fillmore and was there a few minutes after touchdown.  If I was in contest mode I could have gone downwind a few miles further with Kevin chasing, but the day was spent after 4 PM and I was more in the goal mode than a numbers mode.  I opted to relax and enjoy the view as I leaked off my altitude in the buoyant air over town.  The wind was pretty light for river air, only 7ish from the SW above the surface drag and lighter on the deck.  Easy approach into the big grass field east of the shopping center.  We've been calling it the Vons LZ for years, but Vons has been sold to Haggen so the name will change in a few months.  Touchdown at 12 past 4.

Neal got to Santa Paula Ridge, but too low and late.  His Google track is worth a review.  He burned some time where he didn't need to, but he also made a number of noteworthy low connections and stayed in the game.  Considering this is his first season across Casita Pass, he is building his playbook at an impressive rate (both directions).  As he enhances his experience along our milk run including how much throttle to use he will be increasingly hard to catch.  We picked him up at Saint Thomas College and opted to take the scenic route back through Ojai.  Love the view across the valley coming down Dennison Grade from Upper Ojai late in the day.  Stopped for dinner in Ojai to relax and swapped stories.

Thanks to Kevin and Eagle for their team support.

Reflections:

I had my camera in my belly pack, but didn't carry it in my top pocket because we don't need more scenery photos on crystal blue days.  I wish I had it handy a couple of times when I was in a couple of gaggles or when I was sharing the thermal with the feisty eagles.  Did take a few photos at the beginning and end of the day, but they weren't worth keeping.

You can generally tell how good the day was for XC by how much spaghetti is on the flight tracks.  We made a little spaghetti in places, but it was mostly get up and keep going.  The average climb rates were just under a hundred per turn for typical altitude gains between 500 and a thousand feet, but the afternoon thermals in Ojai were stronger.  With the barometer lower than earlier in the week, but still on the high side, the air was comparatively milder but it still commanded attention.

Ii like it when the Wednesday forecast for the weekend plays out and the Saturday pilots get the best XC day of the week.

Comment

I keep trimming my margins and going places lower than I have historically.  I've done my share of hike-outs so I know the consequences.  Seems like the IP6 has as much glide performance as my old Sensor 610 hang glider, which was considered one of the highest performance hang gliders in the 90s.  The IP6 doesn't have as much speed performance as the Sensor, but it equals the top end speed of the straight batten entry level hang gliders I flew in the early 80s, and has way more glide performance compared to those old hang gliders.  The sink rate is better also, and with the ability to slow down more you can climb in a much smaller thermal which equates to more confidence you can come in low and stay in the game.

I started flying paragliders XC in the early 90s and sometime around the mid 90s I stated that I thought I could compete straight up against the Hang Gliders on our local range.  It was my perception back then that hang gliders were better in speed, glide, and sink rate, but the thermals and the out landing patches along the Santa Barbara range tend to be small which was an advantage to the paraglider.

Modern topless hang gliders still get a better glide at high speed which is a huge advantage in a lot of scenarios, like Brotherhood days when the ability to simply go fast means you either can or can't participate, but our local old guys don't challenge the high wind anymore.  It is my perception that a PGs ability to get up in bug farts from really low often outweighs the HGs speed and glide advantage along our local range.  The HGs can also get out to the beach much lower, but they can't afford to come up short while the PGs have numerous landing options north of the freeway.  The HGs will still out run the PGs on local big days, but we have a lot of mediocre days where the PG's advantages outweigh the HG's, especially when you want to get on the bus back to Santa Barbara from Fillmore.

Don't get me wrong, I love HGs and have stated many times I think they are more fun to fly from a zip and zoom perspective, and the HGs are a better fit if you like to fly places like the Owens Valley in July, or the Brotherhood on post frontal days, but I thought I'd update my comments from the mid 90s since back then my proclamation raised an eyebrow or two.

Saturday, 2/14/2015 [Weather] and [Flight Articles] by [Jonathan] [gracecab] [flychild] & [Sundowner]
SD's [KMZ] & [IGC] Comb Tom and Neal [KMZ] plus Neal's [KMZ] & [IGC] and [Photos]

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