[Bob Kuczewski]

It turns out that I made my first solo flight at Sylmar on February 29th, 2004. So I can only fly on my "anniversary" date every 4 years (2004, 2008, 2012 ...).

Today I made my third "Leap Day" flight at Sylmar, and as tradition dictates I got a picture with one of my most respected instructors Joe Greblo:

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I also got a peek at the Gazebo project which is looking very nice:

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It turned out to be a great flying day:

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Best of all, I got to see Lynden return to hang gliding after a long absence:

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Lynden was featured in our September 2008 Pilot Profile for the Torrey Hawks, and he's been working on his multi-engine rating. It was good to share the air with him again today.

As for the flight itself. I flew for about an hour and 8 minutes (according to my vario). I got about 1000 feet over launch, and at that time the "cloud suck" was so strong that I had both of my arms locked pushing the bar toward my knees. Even that wasn't enough and the vario was still beeping so I resorted to slipping turns to finally get back down. I could have flown much longer, but I didn't wear gloves and the cold eventually drove me to a warm landing in the grassy LZ.

Sylmar is a super club!!     

[Bob Kuczewski]

I recently got an email message with 3 great photos of my hang gliding landing approach at Torrey on February 28th, 2012.

These are probably the best pictures I have of myself in the air, and they were taken by a photographer named Jim Burke who happened to be at Torrey when I was landing. Jim was kind enough to give me his card and send me these photos in high resolution (these are about 1/3 of the full-size versions). If you want to see some of Jim's other work, visit his web site at: loveofphotography.net.

Thanks for the great photos Jim!!!   

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[Bob Kuczewski]

March 13, 2012

I flew my Falcon 3 (HG) at Torrey from about 2:40pm to about 3:50pm (about 1 hour and 10 minutes). I had a great flight and a nice landing on top.

I flew my Large Arcus (PG) at Torrey from about 5pm to 6pm. Around 5:50 it started getting lighter and more north. There were 3 paragliders in the air including one tandem. I made several passes attempting to land on top, but I didn't have enough altitude to do so safely. This was complicated by the other two paragliders trying to do the same in a fairly tight area. In yielding the airspace I found myself sufficiently out of the lift band that I was not able to stay up. I landed safely on the beach near the southern trail. I had seen at least one other paraglider land on the beach during my flight.

Overall, it was a great day!! I didn't mind yielding the airspace to the other gliders since that allowed them to land on top. Furthermore, safety dictates beach landings as a preferable alternative to marginal top landings since the consequences of the latter can be much more severe (injury, helicopter rescues, and even death). There seems to be a "macho" top-landing culture at Torrey that encourages "squeaking it in" on top when better judgement would call for a beach landing. This is complicated by the contentious situation at that site.

[Bob Kuczewski]

March 15th, 2012

No hang gliding today.

But I did take my PG for a short flight (maybe 5 to 10 minutes). The wind was variable and I witnessed at least 2 PGs sink out and go to the beach (one solo and one tandem). But the wind came up long enough for me to make several passes on the north face and then come back to the LZ. I picked up quite a bit of lift just by the lifeguard lookout and that got me high enough that I flew through on my first landing attempt. So I went back to that same spot to get up again for my top landing.

[SamKellner]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for posting those pics of Dave. I missed seeing them earlier, somehow.

You guys are air hogs.

[terryJm]

Hello Bob, finely had the chance to test fly the S-2 (135) yesterday, same place you foot launched, not as high, needed more F/L to be current. Had three weak flights, smooth, 15mph. Too challenging for the scooter test. One thing at a time. more later, Terry

[Bob Kuczewski]

One thing at a time.

That's the way to do it Terry ... one thing at a time.     

[Bob Kuczewski]

I've really been getting behind on posting my flights. I might go back and repost some of the earlier ones later, but for now I'm just going to post photos from today's flights.

I had 2 hang gliding flights during our "Second Sunday at Torrey" today (May 13th, 2012). The first flight was about 20 minutes and the second about 40 minutes. I'll divide the flights into two posts.

Here are the pictures from the first flight:

Launching:

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Thanking the wire crew:

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Heading south from launch:

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The "southern rhino horn":

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Just south of the "palm tree mansion":

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The "shell pool" mansion:

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Turning down near "Horizons":

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Approaching Scripps Pier:

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Approaching the Gliderport from the north:

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Upright for landing:

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Final approach:

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Running out the landing:

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Carrying back to the tie-down area:

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[Bob Kuczewski]

The video camera ran out of space during the second flight, but here are the photos that it captured from my second flight of the day (May 13th, 2012):

Hook in check before launch:

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Ernie wiring me at launch:

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Ernie clears launch:

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In the air:

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Flying toward the "North Face":

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Turning south of launch (golf course and flat rock in the distant background):

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I believe that's the north trail ... but I'm not sure:

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UCSD in the background:

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South of the mansions by Horizons:

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Turning just north of Scripps pier:

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Returning from Scripps pier:

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Returning to Horizons:

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Back to the "Shell Pool" mansion:

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Flying north toward the Gliderport

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Flying back over Gliderport:

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Unfortunately, the video camera ran out of memory so I didn't capture the rest of the flight. But I'm pretty happy with what I did capture.   

[Bill Cummings]

Years back in the 80’s or 90’s Dave Alan Dybsan would put together “The Cosmos Cross Country Challenge.” Pilots from all over the mid west would head for Cosmos, Minnesota and have a tow meet from the county roads near town. One day about 15 miles east of take off and very high approaching Hutchinson, Minnesota I started to woof my cookies due to the strong thermal turbulence. I decided that I would press on anyway until I made it to the edge of the Minneapolis controlled airspace and land there and get witnesses to sign off on my landing.
I flew over Otter Lake just to the west of “Hutch,” and stayed over the south edge of town to avoid, by a mile, the drop zone for the sky divers at HCD airfield also know as the Ken Butler Field.
I was looking for circling hang gliding pilots ahead to the ESE when I heard a terrible high pitched male voice screaming and watched a body, tumbling and spinning for the ground, without his glider. I was terror struck. Before I could even utter the universal “S” word a rectangular chute blossomed from the falling body and started the glide south to the airport‘s drop zone.
That was by far the worst practicable joke anyone could possibly play on someone. I was so rattled and mad that I sunk out and had to landed at the “Hutch,” airport. I staked my glider down, walked over, and stood near the skydivers bull’s eye but no one approached me from the group of divers. And it was a damn good thing too.