1000 ways to be a friend of Dockweiler gliding

[JoeF]

41. Invite another to meet you at Dockweiler. Be there in a buddy system. Check in with Greg.

42. To those looking for west-coast sites, mention "Dockweiler" as exampled here when Jlee so asked:

Janica,
Stop in at Dockweiler again; your visit last month was great. Train your legs, having many launches and landings. Breathe the ocean air. Check out the 1000 ways to be a friend of Dockweiler Gliding (see changed #34; do not pick up the protected feathers. Add to the list as you are moved). Practice all checks; set some spots and perfect the spot landings. Get precise in trimmng. Practice precision cross-wind landing approaches and final motions with your wing. Work up to getting cleared by Greg for slope soaring on the small slope. Master the sensing the rapid wind-gradient and matching your sensitive response to the quick change. Practice aggressive wing running as preamble to challenging start of your glide. Choose your way to be a friend to the site.
Lift,
Joe

43. Write up your Dockweiler day. Publish your gem in some extended forum.

44. For warming up your body while at Dockweiler, consider moving a cup of sand away from the plaque area and placing the sand in a better place.

45. Write up a description of height of those Scattergood plant orange-and-white towers aviation conspicuity coloring response). How high are they? They provide a kiting shield within 250 ft of the towers. They appear in many photographs of hang gliding. There are now three such towers. How high is each? Reference for the numbers? Did you trig it out from your own survey? Base reference? What is in the record? Scattergood Generating Station. Historical heights? MaybeHEREstartDOCUMENT(PDF)
From the document:

DockweilerScattergoodVICINITY.JPG (135.1 KiB) Viewed 7529 times

[JoeF]

Way #46.
Research those who have enjoyed the Dockweiler Hang Gliding Flight Training Center. Invite them to add their name to the list of Friends by emailing to join@FriendsofDockweilerGlidingSociety.org which is a non-profit education and service organization dedicated to being a friend to the gliding activities at Dockweiler State Beach via ways that range from scholarships, public outreach, cleaning, and more, to advancing the technology of gliding that may be effected from the beach site. The World Hang Gliding Association has recognized the pivotal importance of the Dockweiler State Beach site as a seminal historic and contemporary site effective for growing skills and safety habits for ever-new participants in hang gliding. Preservation of the site into contemporary era was achieved by singular heroic long-term effort by Windsports ; invite all to take initial or refresher training flight sessions with the expert instructors provided by Windsports.

Choose you way to be a friend to Dockweiler Gliding; if your way is not yet in our 1000 Ways collection, please email YOUR WAY to ways@friendsofdockweilerglidingsociety.org

James Hobson in 1962 used Dockweiler site for his "Rogallo Wing Hang Glider" operations (that phrase was used by the EAA editor in 1962); he announced his adventure to the world via his directed Lawrence Welk TV program showing his hang glider; he was noted for his hang glider in the 1962 magazine of Experimental Aircraft Association; he later stayed close to Self-Soar Association and to Windsports; his hang glider still exists in the stewardship of his heirs.

In 1966 a group with Richard Miller used Dockweiler site for two versions of the Bamboo Butterfly; Miller in 1967 published book Without Visible Means of Support that inspired Dockweiler friends Mike Koman and Joe Faust and many others; from such seeding grew the universal Self-Soar Association with its "Otto Membership" honoring hang gliding's father Otto Lilienthal. US Hawks Hang Gliding Association sponsored the 44th anniversary Otto Meet at the Dockweiler gliding site; the same air-framed hang glider US Hawks is serving forum space for the Friends of Dockweiler Gliding Society (FDGS) where all are invited to post items that are friendly to gliding at Dockweiler.

W. Simon of circa 1908 is an honorary member of FDGS for his construction and use in an official sport hang gliding meet of a battened flex-wing foot-launched hang glider that featured pilot hung behind cable-stayed control A-frame (triangle control frame so evident yet in hang gliding); he may not have been the first for such; look to morphs in most aircraft landing gear from that first decade of 1900s to today; such mechanical technology as W. Simon used can be enjoyed at Dockweiler. Join in!

[JoeF]

Way #47
Bring an extra kept-cold bottle of water to share with thirsty FDGS friends.

Way #48
Have ready a URL card showing URL for Windsports. When someone asks ....HG? Offer the card.

Way #49
Arrange to fly a Windsports hang glider under Windsports' flight-instruction.

Way #50
Become ready to explain to visitors and spectators how in 1908 at a hang gliding sports meet, the mechanicals of the cable-stayed triangle control frame (A-frame) was fully evident with the hang glider pilot hanging from the keel of a battened flexible wing foot-launch hang glider. Research the story and image. Tell how W. Simon took steps to legally protect his hang glider configuration. As yet, we do not have the full spelling for the "W." part of W. Simon.

[JoeF]

way #51
Listen to Greg DeWolf about light fingers on side tubes of the control frame in order to sense what is happening to the wing. Practice such. Publish a video on the matter.
Sample
Videographer: Friends of Dockweiler Gliding Society member Angela Boras on Father's Day 2015.

[JoeF]

Way #52
Make paper prints of Dockweiler gliding activity photographs. Mount such on foam-core board. Display such in various libraries of the city, county, state, nation, world. Coordinate with the librarian and note the historical significance of the Dockweiler site over gliding and ultralight aviation.

Way #53
Join one other person to adventure out to enhance the Dockweiler site in some creative way. Respect State Beach rules and the safety needs of the site. Ask about your creative way, if in any doubt about the safety or appropriateness of what you aim to do.

Way #54
Find out just what the concrete lines of curb and walk that surround the plaque. Often the intended platform of concrete is buried in sand. Having a proven map and eventual photograph showing the intended architecture plan for curb and way would be helpful for other FDGS members. Post the clear information. Then some friends of the gliding site could better aim to achieve the clearing of sand from the intended platform. Bucket carry the excess sand to an appropriate spot.

Way #55
Research and report the history of the sand that forms the bulk of Dockweiler's LZ. Origin? Type? Minerals? Geology? Manipulations history? Size? Depth? Moisture content at depths? Organisms? Detritus from humans and animals? HG parts? Lost treasures? Replacement plans? Grooming plans? What is controlling or affecting the width of the dry sand? Just how is the width of the sand from launches to water is changing over time? Historical studies of these matters? References? Photographs of changes? Who was involved in what projects? Plans? Publish in our FDGS forum for all the world to examine. Thanks. One or more friends might play with this Way #55. Teasing start here.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Way #56    ...    Invite members of the press to see hang gliding first hand.

https://youtu.be/PNWtzzvwtac
Otto Lilienthal Hang Gliding Reunion
a YOU TUBE VIDEO produced by El Segundo TV

Super Job Neil!!!

[JoeF]

Way #57 Work behind the scenes to forward good video record of the unfolding history of the Dockweiler site, its activities, and its participants.

Way #58 Be a "Hydration Angel" to the pilots who are flying the site. Have fresh water for the pilots. Thanks to all those "water angels" of the past. Such generous volunteerism lowers fatigue, increases safety, promotes health, and makes the site better.

Way #59 Carry-back helpers (when invited) could be a great service for aged pilots, physically challenged pilots, or pilots that want more launch and landing practice (too many carry-backs could limit the number of flights).

Way #60 Fill soap bubbles with light-than-air warm air (perhaps) so the bubbles do not drop so soon; the bubbles may show the texture of the wind over the sand and slope, etc.

Way #61 With smile show a map of the flying site to people before they settle their picnic equipment in the launch and LZ. Off to the side south or north will give people a better view of the flights and landings. "Thank you so much for giving safe room for the flight training that will be occurring." "Would you like this book on Otto Lilienthal?"

[JoeF]

Way #62 Care to anchor the corners of a large low-mass square cloth in the sand south of the LZ. Invite pilots to do ground exercises to stretch their muscles. The cloth prevents sand from getting in hair, clothes, eyes. Fit pilots may make better pilots. The anchors could be sand-bag anchors; corner bungee to the sand anchors. Ready? Roll, bend, lift, etc. Get ready for launching hang gliders. Get ready for run-out landings.

Way #63 Find ways to thank Greg DeWolf for being a father of hang gliding for so many hang glider pilots. What a treasure he has been!

Way #64 Invite cyclists to park their rig against the fence in order to keep the launch zone safe for all. Smile.

Way #65 De-grove the slope. How? Find out. Participate in the de-grooving.

[JoeF]

Way #66
Set visible white cloth markers in the sand where gliding distance was achieved. At end of flight session, collect such markers. Keep self clear of the gliders. While doing such, collect debris and put such in a sack for later disposal. While waiting, check for public clearance of flights. Consider filling in sand divots or holes to make the sand smoother for the wind. While volunteering in this way, consider studying the takeoffs, glides, and landings. This circle of actions could give one neat physical exercise. In and out short rungs on the sand!

Way #67
To the side of the LZ fly on kite systems banners that announce "Hang Gliding".

Way #68
To the side of the LZ fly a kite system that secondarily has a vertical drop line; on the drop line have many nearly identical streamers. Aim to fly a display that well shows the wind gradient.

Way #69
Make a poster that shows a map to Sylmar LZ, Crestline's Andy Jackson Airpark, Torrey Pines Gliderport, and Dockweiler Hang Gliding Flight Center. Have URL cards for each. Have brochures for each. Maps to each site.

[JoeF]

Way #70
Explore and sift for gems in the literature about people volunteering to care for parks and public spaces; bring the gems forward for consideration by FDGS members. A tiny sample of that literature may be explored here: http://peoplemakeparks.org/

Way #71
Discover Joe Greblo's "Wish List" concerning Dockweiler Hang Gliding Flight Center. Discuss what may be done by FDGS toward the items on his list.

Way #72
Prepare a comprehensive list of the values of the Dockweiler Hang Gliding Flight Training Center is to the city, county, state, nation, and the world. Hone the list and description with real stories. Post such on an editable Internet page. Such will possibly become a resource for communicating with public officials, other agencies, donors, clubs, librarians, potential friends, ... Such values could become feed for talks given to high school physics classes, service clubs, aviation club meetings, ...

Way #73
Survey pilots for non-stunt tasks that may be flown at Dockweiler. E.g., "Perform three consecutive flights where Greg DeWolf finds no faults." "Land on a given line in good style where the line is directly in front and perpendicular to the launch slope." "Land on a given line in good style where the line is perpendicular to the launch slope, but to the side two wing-spans to the side of the launch." Etc. Get the entries on the list approved by Windsports; then publish the list on an editable page. Pilots might choose to practice until they accomplish some or all of the tasks. The tasks may be discussed in forum.