| Author |
Comment |
John
Blacet
Unregistered
User
(2/25/04 12:02
pm)
65.214.144.161
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All |
Grade
Alert!
Plenty strong; satellite shows clearing.....
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Larry
L Roberts
Member
(2/25/04 6:05 pm)
69.3.191.47
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Re: Grade
Alert!
Gusts to 52 mph, but hey, just take off with full VG or fly a rigid
wing.
- Larry
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Leo
Jones
Unregistered
User
(2/25/04 6:16
pm)
63.93.96.61
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Grade
alert
Buoy reports showed SSW 17 - 20 kts all afternoon. Seemed a bit
windy inland though!
Tomorrow's local forecast says SW10-20,
Marine says W 10 -20.
I'll go if it looks good.
Leo
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Kurt
Unregistered
User
(2/26/04 9:23
am)
24.5.163.255
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Grade
Kurt and Leo going to the Grade today. Work...? On a day like this?
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Leo
Jones
Unregistered
User
(2/26/04 6:58
pm)
63.93.96.61
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3500ft at the
Grade
Yes, it finally worked, It didn't look as if it would, it was rainy
on the way there, it was straight in but only about 10mph when we
arrived and it soon went too west, crossing from the right at 45
degrees. There were lots of threatening squalls.
But then,
miracles, it picked up until it was 18 gusting 25, the squalls
abated, and it blew in almost straight - only about 20 degrees
crossed.
Me, Kurt, Ernie and John Blacet all flew. Kurt got
to over 3500ft, I got to 2800ft. Kurt flew north to Sea Ranch, Ernie
(first Grade flight) and I flew to Fort Ross, in lift all the way.
Most of us got 1.5 - 2 hrs, Kurt flew again and went to Fort Ross
and back.
Leo
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John
Blacet
Unregistered
User
(2/27/04 7:36
am)
65.214.144.164
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Grade!
Great day!
Eventually got straight in for launching but was
a bit west in the air. No problem going North but was getting about
5 to 8 mph on the GPS flying the old Ram Air. About 44 mph going
back south!
Thanks for the call, Kurt!
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Hangfly
Club Secretary
(2/27/04 2:01 pm)
12.149.141.14
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Site
Records
3500' is feet should be an altitude record for the site. Sea Ranch
might be aq distance record as well. As far as I know Todd's flight
to Cassini Ranch in Duncan's Mills is the farthest. I 'll have to
wait to get to a map to check it out. Or maybe Ernie can give us the
distances from earth viewer?
Hangfly (wisht I'duh been there!)
|
Ernie
Camacho
Club
President
(2/27/04 3:48
pm)
24.5.51.30
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Re: Site
Records
Well, I don't know where the Cassini Ranch is, but I measured about
6 miles from the T/O at Vista Trail to the general area of downtown
Duncans Mills.
Going up the coast from Vista Trail, Ft. Ross
is just about 5.2 miles away. I don't know how much further Kurt
went. I hope he has a track log that I can measure. But, I'm pretty
sure he went more than a mile past the fort.
So, it looks
like Kurt has the new distance record for Vista Trail. And, Kurt's
flight was an out-and-return!
It's too bad that we get to fly
there so seldom. Next time a day like Thursday happens, I'll just
keep going north until I land. That should get me a distance record,
unless Kurt is in the air too.
BTW, I'm claiming an
out-and-return of 10.4 miles. I have the photo to prove it. But
then, Leo gets the same points too.
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Hangfly
Club Secretary
(2/27/04 5:17 pm)
198.81.26.49
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Records
Checking my map it looks like Todd went about 6.5 miles. Cassini
Ranch is past the middle of Duncan's Mills. Kurt said he flew to Sea
Ranch which I measure as about 20.5 miles from launch. It does look
like there is ridgeline all the way up to there. Even if he only
went to Stewarts Point that's about 15 miles.
CW (wisht I'duh
been there)
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Leo
Jones
Unregistered
User
(2/27/04 7:11
pm)
63.93.96.61
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Epic Grade
flights
In the air we talked about what settlements were beyond Fort Ross.
I had no real idea. It was probably Stewart's Point we were looking
at, not Sea Ranch.
BUT it was amazingly buoyant. Even though
we weren't flying over any ridge there was lift all the way to Fort
Ross. The higher you were the liftier it got. Clouds were forming
about half a mile inland of where we were - Kurt got to cloudbase. I
lost 100ft flying back to launch, arriving with over 2500ft, and
that probably only because I wasn't pushing out any more. It seemed
from that height, with a strong tailwind component (I had a
groundsped of 55mph) that Bodega was a mere glide away. I honestly
believe that it might have been possible to fly to Mt Tam.
(speculate, dream, speculate!) But, no drivers, I was cold, etc.
etc. Scot, I'm sure, would have ignored all that!
OK OK I
will stop rubbing it in now. But it seems, unless you are very
lucky, that great Grade flights only happen about every two years. I
musta been out there at least a dozen times since the last one I had
(in Feb 2002).
It was worth every single
minute.
Leo
Hurry up with the photos, Ernie.
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John
Blacet
Unregistered
User
(2/28/04 10:38
am)
65.214.144.162
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Grade Photos
2001
No film in camera thursday, but here is a page of photos from my
last great grade flight mid November 2001.
Handheld Canon APS
camera.
A very similar day view wise, but luckily no squalls
chasing us (Andy Long) this time. Big sets of waves below
though!
cloudbasecafe.com/
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Scot
Huber
Unregistered
User
(2/29/04 3:45
pm)
66.53.168.70
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Re: Grade
Flights
Glad you guys hit it on a good day! I'm in the east bay working
still and haven't got a zipper for my harness yet but should soon. I
make it up here every other week to get my mail and catch up on the
internet. I may be heading south a week from monday to do some
flying in southern cal and pick up my trailer in Gilroy on the way.
Probably Horse and Crestline , Elsinore and Torrey with maybe a stop
in Santa Barbara. Any one interested in hooking up with me call me
on my cell phone at 707-694-9445. I should be up here next weekend
preparing my gear for the trip so may be able to fly Sunday. Scot
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Ernie
Camacho
Club
President
(2/29/04 7:37
pm)
24.5.51.30
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Howdy
Scot!
Scot, it was nice to hear you on the radio on Saturday as I was
working the broken thermal over Eagle Pk at Diablo. Even when you're
working you can't help but monitor the SW frequency,
eh?
Unfortunately for me, when I finished talking to you, I
found myself in a hole, lost 1000 ft., and never did get back up
again. And I had just been thinking that I'd be up with the rest of
the gaggle in a short time. Such is life...
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Greg
Sugg
Club Site
Director
(2/29/04 7:58
pm)
66.81.116.138
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Re: Howdy
Scot!
Scot,
I heard you too. Unfortunately my PTT had come
unpluged, so I couldn't talk back. On the other hand after Ernie's
story, maybe it was a blessing in disguise! I'm still not sure why
you are buying another trailer when you already have a
palace.
Take care, and work hard.
Greg
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RalphHyde
Unregistered
User
(3/1/04 7:10
pm)
209.206.254.219
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|
Great photos,
John
Hey John, Thanks for posting those great grade photos from 2001.
That's a trip I never made, so it's nice to see it vicariously.
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Jon
James
Unregistered
User
(3/1/04 7:40
pm)
209.148.116.42
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Grade
Pioneer
Hi Ralph,
As I recall, you were among the first to ever fly
at the Grade.
1980? Blue Raven?
Eric Beckman soared there
a couple of times in the mid 80s.
Who else?
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RalphHyde
Unregistered
User
(3/4/04 8:52
pm)
209.206.254.246
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Pioneering
That's right, Jon, I'd almost forgotten. Bones, Sharol, and I
bandito'd it one time. I don't have my older logbooks with me, so I
had to search in my old journals for awhile 'til I found
it.
It was on June 7, 1980, with Bones and Sharol. Mel was
there too, but didn't fly. I launched first on my Raven, even though
it was only marginal, made a few passes before sinking out and
landing on the beach in Russian Gulch. Sharol flew next on her
Condor, and finally Bones on his Scirroco, both landing soon on the
beach also. It was a long hike out to the road with gliders and
gear.
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