Columbus Day Weekend is this coming weekend

[RobinHastings]

October 4, 2019: I have most of the arrangements nailed down for our Columbus Day Fun Fly next weekend. Looking at the weather, the long range forecast looks good! Winds westerly to southerly, fairly light, no rain, pleasant temperatures. Come on out and join in the fun that weekend!
-Robin

[wingspan33]

I wish I didn't live in the north east! Although the weather is not all that bad up here.

[RobinHastings]

Weather is looking pretty good down here in RGSA country for this weekend. We can expect southwest and west winds Saturday, Sunday and Monday (October 12-14) at about 5 to 8 mph on the ground; these are perfect winds for flying Dry Canyon and La Luz. On Friday, models are saying light winds either northwest (fly La Luz) or southwest (Dry Canyon or La Luz). Skies clear, daily high temps 60 to 70 degrees F. All in all, it looks great to me. I'm looking forward to being there and to seeing everyone who comes!
-Robin
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell

[RobinHastings]

Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019: Weather for the Columbus Day Fun Fly still looks good. West and southwest winds all weekend, no blowouts, no rain, pleasant temperatures - and I've heard from both Texas and Colorado pilots planning to come down, along with some Sandia pilots. I'm really looking forward to it!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

The 2019 Columbus Day Fun Fly:
This year's event was well attended. We had 18 pilots total, plus a contingent of friends and family at the Sunday evening barbecue, so I'd call it a success. In marked contrast to last year, the winds were never strong this weekend. In fact, they were pretty light on Saturday, so much so that only one hang glider pilot launched, Mike Badley from Denver. He had a 15-minute flight. Friday, the first day, saw Tony Conger and Chris Chaney in the Cox Field LZ when I arrived about 10:00 am. Winds were not favorable right then, so Tony very graciously replaced our torn-up windsock in the field with a new one I'd just purchased. With that in place we drove up to Dry Canyon launch in my old Toyota Tacoma, which wasn't too happy about the very beat-up road. We had to fill in a few holes on the way. Chris and Tony launched at 1:20 and 1:32 respectively, and had some pretty nice flights in the light (and surprisingly cold) conditions. When I arrived at the field I found more pilots at the shade structure, and after lunch at BZ Burgers I was driver for the PG pilots, taking Lee Boone's Tundra this time. Jim Stelzer, Mitch Graham and Lee all had some pleasant sunset flights. It was a cold night in my truck, sleeping in the field, after I got down and had a late dinner with Jon Dempster of Los Alamos, and Mitch. Next day the weather warmed up a bit, but winds were so light that PG pilots could use the HG launch (usually there's too much rotor there). As noted, only Mike flew a hang glider that day. I drove Max Montgomery's truck back down at day's end, and joined several pilots for good barbecue at Can't Stop Smokin'. We had some good visiting in the field, where Max had provided a propane-powered fire pit to gather round. A much more pleasant evening than Friday! I pointed my telescope at Jupiter, Saturn and the moon, taking advantage of a clear desert night. Sunday dawned clear and warmer, with coyotes in the brush in place of alarm clocks left at home. This day, the conditions were great. Everyone that wanted to got to fly, HG and PG alike. Mike flew in his ATOS, Rick Maddey and Charles Cosine in their U2's, and I even had a nice flight in my Sport 2. I reached 11,000 ft MSL (4000 over launch) and Rick and Charles got higher than that. Bo Frazier (bi-wingual) had over 5 hours cruising in his PG, high above us all. After I landed, my wife Nancy and I went to the BBQ place patronized last night, and got some goodies for the gathering that was starting at the landing zone. Lots of good visiting, though I couldn't join in until I'd taken Lee Boone up to launch to retrieve his truck. Sunset, seen on the way, was spectacular. A real pleasant evening, with ace driver Finis Miller and various families included this time. On Monday the gathering began to dissipate - possibly from being too tired after Sunday, but more likely from having to return to normal lives. We had the LZ cleaned up as neat as anyone could want, thanks to help from Greg Clark, Jim Stelzer and a few others still in residence. I said goodbye to all about 09:30 and headed home, thinking about how nice and autumn weekend with little wind and lots of friends can be.

Here's a few pictures from the event:

Tony Conger replacing our windsock, on Friday morning.

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Mitch Graham at sunset, Oct. 11, 2019.

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Three hang gliders from Colorado - October 12, 2019.

ColoradoHG_at_launch.JPG (77.28 KiB) Viewed 5998 times

PG launching about 2:00 pm on Saturday, Oct. 12

NicePG_launch.JPG (62.28 KiB) Viewed 5998 times

Rick Maddey launching on Sunday, October 13.

RickMaddey_launch.JPG (77.45 KiB) Viewed 5998 times

Charles Cosine from Colorado right after a perfect landing for his first Dry Canyon flight. Oct. 13th.

Charles_landed_Oct13.JPG (60.96 KiB) Viewed 5998 times

Good food on Sunday evening!

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Sunset seen from the road to launch. Oct. 13, 2019.

Sunset_TularosaBasin_Oct13.JPG (36.4 KiB) Viewed 5998 times

[RobinHastings]

Mitch Graham (whose hang glider I now fly) posted this video of the Fun Fly from this weekend.
-Robin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvJll6S ... e=youtu.be

[RobinHastings]

Here is another video, posted by our outstanding driver and videographer, Finis Miller of Alamogordo. Enjoy!
-Robin

https://vimeo.com/splododyne/columbusday2019flyin

[Nate]

Time to mark the calendar and make plans for Columbus Day!

[RobinHastings]

I'll be looking forward to flying with you, Nate. I'll be posting weather forecasts for the week prior to the event (October 9th through 12th). We shall demand (or plead) for good conditions from the weather gods. So far, New Mexico is doing pretty well that way - though we'd certainly enjoy some rain.
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

Weather is looking pretty good for Columbus Day weekend in Alamogordo. Light southwest winds on Friday and Saturday, a little stronger on Sunday, and then northwest winds on Monday October 12. It looks dry and warm, from the perspective of today (Saturday October 3, 2020). Let's go for it!
-Robin Hastings