Anyway, I wanted to upload a group of Woodrat waypoints into my GPS, and the easiest way I found is to use EasyGPS (free) and this group of Woodrat waypoints (converted into .loc file for your uploading convenience).
Friday, June 11, 2010
GPS Waypoints for Woodrat
In that I've been flying further and further out, looking at the possibility of flying XC, I finally have got a flight deck. I only have a Garmin eTrex Vista GPS and a Ascent wristwatch vario (which I love) at this point. I'm waiting for further development and testing of Gaggle and a appropriate Android tablet computer to be available for use as a flight instrument.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Hayden holds forth on valley flows
Hayden just posted a great topic on the forum, one that should have lasting interest to all here, so I'm putting it on the blog for your future reference.
Fellow Flyers,
Since we have many newer pilots flying Woodrat which implies new wind forecasters, I'd like to remind all to really think of the two flows you always must consider when you fly in the mountains. First, as you make your forecast for the days flying always divide the winds into two separate forecasts. You have the valley winds forecast (think 1000 ft or so thick) and the general flow forecast (or synoptic flow). The best place to get an accurate forecast for the valley winds around here is right where the NWS office is which is next to the airport right in the middle of our biggest valley. If you have an idea of the valley winds here you will know what the valley winds are doing in the rest of the area. Doing point forecasts for winds at a specific spot, like Ruch or any small valley, should be taken with some scepticism. The other accurate valley winds forecast by NWS is the Grants Pass valley. Again, the other big valley in the area that helps you predict what the smaller valleys are doing. Both of these forecasts are easily accessible on the RVHPA wx site or Scotts wx site. For those that use the weather models for forecasting valley wind flows, the RUC, GFS, etc., always keep in mind that it will give you a general idea of the valley flow but they are not capable of accurately predicting valley flow. Weather model winds forecasts for around here become much more accurate at around 5000 ft and above in this area.
Once you have an idea of the valley winds in your mind, next build your general flow forecast. This is always easier because there is so much good information using the weather models. But first always check to see what our local professionals think by seeing what winds they are forecasting for the high ground which is up in the general flow. And by high ground I mean at the 6000 to 7000 ft level, which means the Siskiyou ridge area SW of Woodrat 15 to 20 miles. On rvhpa wx this area is listed as NWS cascade/siskiyou mountain. Once you see what our locals think then go to the weather models (RUC, GFS, NAM) on xc skies or rvhpa wx and pay special attention to the 4000 ft to 8000ft forecast winds.
Now that you have your two wind flow forecasts in mind, you must figure out how the two interact for your days flying. This is the complicated part and often comes from your own experiences and, better, listening to others experiences under similar conditions. Just keep in mind that wind flow in mountains is complex and varied but somewhat predicatable if you have all the information. Always give yourself a bigger margin for error at a site where the valleys are narrow because constriction effects can really make the wind speed up and surge. Woodrat is a site with many constrictions nearby-- the LZ area being one. For all you paraglider pilots out there, as a general rule, any wind forecast you see that goes over 10 mph should give you pause to study the forecasts in more detail before you fly. And if you do fly, fly with more awareness. 10 mph wind can easily become 20 mph or more in mountain/valley dynamics.
Most of my valley flow and general flow education came from not only flying in it, but studying the many wind recording sites in the area and the mfr ballon release wind data for 5 pm (the mfr skew-t on RVPA wx), especially after I have just flown. For high terrain wind information (gives an idea of general flow) look at Squaw Peak (15 miles S), Parker Mt.(38 mi ESE), Sexton(32 mi NW), and Onion (34 mi W). For valley flow I look at Medford airport, Ashland airport, Provolt, and Grants Pass.
All these wind recording sites are visible on the Mesowest site under Current Winds. Just hover the pointer over the recording station and click it to see the last 24 hrs of wind data. I'll soon change the RVHP wx site to make it eaiser to just click on these weather stations.
Hayden
Since we have many newer pilots flying Woodrat which implies new wind forecasters, I'd like to remind all to really think of the two flows you always must consider when you fly in the mountains. First, as you make your forecast for the days flying always divide the winds into two separate forecasts. You have the valley winds forecast (think 1000 ft or so thick) and the general flow forecast (or synoptic flow). The best place to get an accurate forecast for the valley winds around here is right where the NWS office is which is next to the airport right in the middle of our biggest valley. If you have an idea of the valley winds here you will know what the valley winds are doing in the rest of the area. Doing point forecasts for winds at a specific spot, like Ruch or any small valley, should be taken with some scepticism. The other accurate valley winds forecast by NWS is the Grants Pass valley. Again, the other big valley in the area that helps you predict what the smaller valleys are doing. Both of these forecasts are easily accessible on the RVHPA wx site or Scotts wx site. For those that use the weather models for forecasting valley wind flows, the RUC, GFS, etc., always keep in mind that it will give you a general idea of the valley flow but they are not capable of accurately predicting valley flow. Weather model winds forecasts for around here become much more accurate at around 5000 ft and above in this area.
Once you have an idea of the valley winds in your mind, next build your general flow forecast. This is always easier because there is so much good information using the weather models. But first always check to see what our local professionals think by seeing what winds they are forecasting for the high ground which is up in the general flow. And by high ground I mean at the 6000 to 7000 ft level, which means the Siskiyou ridge area SW of Woodrat 15 to 20 miles. On rvhpa wx this area is listed as NWS cascade/siskiyou mountain. Once you see what our locals think then go to the weather models (RUC, GFS, NAM) on xc skies or rvhpa wx and pay special attention to the 4000 ft to 8000ft forecast winds.
Now that you have your two wind flow forecasts in mind, you must figure out how the two interact for your days flying. This is the complicated part and often comes from your own experiences and, better, listening to others experiences under similar conditions. Just keep in mind that wind flow in mountains is complex and varied but somewhat predicatable if you have all the information. Always give yourself a bigger margin for error at a site where the valleys are narrow because constriction effects can really make the wind speed up and surge. Woodrat is a site with many constrictions nearby-- the LZ area being one. For all you paraglider pilots out there, as a general rule, any wind forecast you see that goes over 10 mph should give you pause to study the forecasts in more detail before you fly. And if you do fly, fly with more awareness. 10 mph wind can easily become 20 mph or more in mountain/valley dynamics.
Most of my valley flow and general flow education came from not only flying in it, but studying the many wind recording sites in the area and the mfr ballon release wind data for 5 pm (the mfr skew-t on RVPA wx), especially after I have just flown. For high terrain wind information (gives an idea of general flow) look at Squaw Peak (15 miles S), Parker Mt.(38 mi ESE), Sexton(32 mi NW), and Onion (34 mi W). For valley flow I look at Medford airport, Ashland airport, Provolt, and Grants Pass.
All these wind recording sites are visible on the Mesowest site under Current Winds. Just hover the pointer over the recording station and click it to see the last 24 hrs of wind data. I'll soon change the RVHP wx site to make it eaiser to just click on these weather stations.
Hayden
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Full Moon BBQ, Top Launch, Woodrat, Feb. 29, 2010
First Top Launch BBQ of the season. February 29th, 2010, Full Moon.
Don Fitch is breathing some life into the good of the club and putting some fire into his efforts.
Everyone hanging about the fire...it was nice, no wind, but sure cool on the parts that weren't facing the fire. The upside? No bugs!
I'm sure we're discussing high wind landings here--or something.
Everyone enjoying Don's efforts later.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
High wind landing techniques
There was a recent vigorous discussion of high wind landing techniques in the club that started at our recent barbecue on top launch, continued to our forum at yahoo and was discussed at our 3/8/10 meeting at Fiasco winery.
Here's a summary of techniques:
Jules chimed in with her preferred way to not get lots of dirt spread over her threads:
My personal choice is to hammer all my weight on my c-line quick links upon touching down and ground my canopy as aggressively and quickly as possible byusing a c- line collapse. Also, personally, I don't "flare" on a high wind landing, I would get popped upand maybe drug backwards
Paul added:
Most efficient is as Jules says – kill the wing with the C’s.
The hardest parts of this are
1) to not flare on landing, which will pop you up and expose your wing
2) get your hands on your c’s
It is also counterintuitive to land and keep kiting. So probably worth practicing.
Brad of Discover Paragliding put his thoughts in:
Here's my thoughts, and is what we do out here where landing while going backwards in a fairly normal thing. (Our base rule: "If you can't kite comfortably in these conditions, you can't fly!")
Be very light on the flare. Hands go up immediately upon landing and prepare to kite the glider for a moment. Remember the flare is used to stop vertical and horizontal motion. Two separate components. If you aren't moving forward, you only need just a touch of flare to arrest the vertical component, which usually isn't much.
Grab the rear risers. Forget about the C's, unless they are the rear risers. Too hard to find in an unexpected situation. To grab the rear risers, start near the caribiners and quickly slide your way up to the quick links. This way you don't have to look and you can keep your weight forward on the glider. If you stand upright and look up at the wing, it'll likely be all over, you are going for a drag. (If you have a funky glider with only two or so lines on the D's, you might need to go for the C's and the D's. Practice this before you need it!)
As you begin to pull down the rear risers, you can feel a breaking point that will give you the cue to now rapidly turn around. This can be aided by using the risers to help you get your feet turned around too.
Now, before you wait long enough for the wing to hit the ground, start your rapid run around the glider. If you are quick, you can be 90 degrees off wind before the glider hits the ground. If you wait for the glider to hit the ground, and there are nasties like blackberries or other snags, you will likely have a repair job to do later.
As the glider hits the ground, continue your run to the downwind side of the glider. You can go slack line at this point. If you need to, catch the glider as it blows past you.
This method works great for conditions where you are not likely to get ripped back up into the air by a strong thermal. If the thermals are really ripping, and you want to make sure you stay attached to the ground, one option is to flare with the rear riser hard, but no higher than you would like to fall. 3-4 feet is good. Use the thrust of your hands pulling the rear risers down to push your body through the risers looking down to the ground below. Legs beneath you to catch the short fall. Rotate towards the glider immediately, as above, to prevent being dragged. This method has some risks, and I have only used it a couple of times when the air was a bit of rodeo fun, but the landing was a little scary.
Chris contributes this gem:
A second or two before touch-down, unbuckle from the harness and step out of it as you land, and let go of one of the brake toggles. The glider has no power and there is no risk of being dragged.
I've seen him do this twice, backing in to the park in Ventura, while standing on the speed bar and ballasted to the point he could hardly walk. Took us several minutes to get that first big knot back through the pulley!
John Ivy has this to say:
I was taught the grab C technique back in the late 90's and it was how I instructed most of my students. I totally agree with the idea that if you have to look up to find your C's, it is all over. Most students and perhaps pilots in general could not reach up in time to find there C lines with out looking. I still like my C's for high wing launches, but the technique below really works better than what I was teaching. ( Plus, I also really like Brad's advice that if you can't kite it COMFORTABLY my addition you should not be thinking of flying, especially here where thing ramp up and not down.) The one thing that I would add has to do with being dragged. If you find that you have totally botched it and are being surfed on you back or belly, don't think Cs or Ds, think one wing tip. Pull one wing tip in and keep pulling until the wing line parallel to the wing and you are not being pulled. This has happened to me and be prepared to do the fast roll up that I posted several weeks ago if it is gusty of thermic. Although we cringe at laying on our balled up wing when there is cow junk involved, it is way better that being out of control. We are probably months away from a super thermic LZ, but with lots of P2 I'll bring it up.
Nick throws this out:
Another high wind technique that works well but requires practice is to grab A's just before landing, then induce a frontal just as you touch down. The key is to turn immediately and pull hard on brakes to disable the wing to eliminate the possibility of re-inflation. Again, it takes practice and good timing, but it works. Remember the power of the wind is proportional to the square of the speed, so a 20 mph wind has 16 times the power of a 5 mph wind, that's a lot of power. Also, 20 mph at the beach is less squirrely than 20 mph at a thermic site.
Bruce Comstock likes this approach:
After first practicing this technique while kiting in strong wind I used this several times on my Airwave Sport 2 landing at about 20 miles per hour out in the main valley. Every time I did this on the Sport 2 the center of the wing would drop first and the tips would flip over the center as the center plunged to the ground. Although I always ran towards the wing as soon as my feet touched the ground, this wing never tried to reinflate. It was almost as though it tied itself into a knot in the process.
The other technique I have used is the pulling the C risers just before touchdown technique. I did first practice locating and grasping the top of the C risers, which is a bit of a challenge, especially as one is approaching the ground in this situation. Conceptually, this seems to me more reliable than the A riser technique, though both have worked for me.
I would suggest that either of these techniques should be practiced enough times in strong wind while kiting in order to get the details down well before crunch time in flight.
Jack Brown had this to say:
It's funny that after all these years and a few good draggings I only in the last year or so ran across the high wind landing technique which seems to be the most clean and easy....
It's really quite simple and works like a charm.... When you're getting close and well before ground contact so that your 100% sure what your grabbing, reach up with one hand and grab one A riser only. With the opposite hand just hold onto the brake as normal. Just as your touching down (if your tracking backwards make sure you bend your knees strongly, just yank down the A riser. As soon as the glider assymetrics on that side, start your turn and yank down the opposite brake and then just reel it in from that side.
I've tried all of the various techniques with varying degrees of success but this one is (for me anyway) hands down the best at killing the glider and maintaining your feet, and recovering the glider before it reinflates to try and get your face dirty....
So, that's a bunch of great advice. What I took from all this is get out and practice these techniques at the training hill before you need them. :)
Here's a summary of techniques:
Jules chimed in with her preferred way to not get lots of dirt spread over her threads:
My personal choice is to hammer all my weight on my c-line quick links upon touching down and ground my canopy as aggressively and quickly as possible byusing a c- line collapse. Also, personally, I don't "flare" on a high wind landing, I would get popped upand maybe drug backwards
Paul added:
Most efficient is as Jules says – kill the wing with the C’s.
The hardest parts of this are
1) to not flare on landing, which will pop you up and expose your wing
2) get your hands on your c’s
It is also counterintuitive to land and keep kiting. So probably worth practicing.
Brad of Discover Paragliding put his thoughts in:
Here's my thoughts, and is what we do out here where landing while going backwards in a fairly normal thing. (Our base rule: "If you can't kite comfortably in these conditions, you can't fly!")
Be very light on the flare. Hands go up immediately upon landing and prepare to kite the glider for a moment. Remember the flare is used to stop vertical and horizontal motion. Two separate components. If you aren't moving forward, you only need just a touch of flare to arrest the vertical component, which usually isn't much.
Grab the rear risers. Forget about the C's, unless they are the rear risers. Too hard to find in an unexpected situation. To grab the rear risers, start near the caribiners and quickly slide your way up to the quick links. This way you don't have to look and you can keep your weight forward on the glider. If you stand upright and look up at the wing, it'll likely be all over, you are going for a drag. (If you have a funky glider with only two or so lines on the D's, you might need to go for the C's and the D's. Practice this before you need it!)
As you begin to pull down the rear risers, you can feel a breaking point that will give you the cue to now rapidly turn around. This can be aided by using the risers to help you get your feet turned around too.
Now, before you wait long enough for the wing to hit the ground, start your rapid run around the glider. If you are quick, you can be 90 degrees off wind before the glider hits the ground. If you wait for the glider to hit the ground, and there are nasties like blackberries or other snags, you will likely have a repair job to do later.
As the glider hits the ground, continue your run to the downwind side of the glider. You can go slack line at this point. If you need to, catch the glider as it blows past you.
This method works great for conditions where you are not likely to get ripped back up into the air by a strong thermal. If the thermals are really ripping, and you want to make sure you stay attached to the ground, one option is to flare with the rear riser hard, but no higher than you would like to fall. 3-4 feet is good. Use the thrust of your hands pulling the rear risers down to push your body through the risers looking down to the ground below. Legs beneath you to catch the short fall. Rotate towards the glider immediately, as above, to prevent being dragged. This method has some risks, and I have only used it a couple of times when the air was a bit of rodeo fun, but the landing was a little scary.
Chris contributes this gem:
A second or two before touch-down, unbuckle from the harness and step out of it as you land, and let go of one of the brake toggles. The glider has no power and there is no risk of being dragged.
I've seen him do this twice, backing in to the park in Ventura, while standing on the speed bar and ballasted to the point he could hardly walk. Took us several minutes to get that first big knot back through the pulley!
John Ivy has this to say:
I was taught the grab C technique back in the late 90's and it was how I instructed most of my students. I totally agree with the idea that if you have to look up to find your C's, it is all over. Most students and perhaps pilots in general could not reach up in time to find there C lines with out looking. I still like my C's for high wing launches, but the technique below really works better than what I was teaching. ( Plus, I also really like Brad's advice that if you can't kite it COMFORTABLY my addition you should not be thinking of flying, especially here where thing ramp up and not down.) The one thing that I would add has to do with being dragged. If you find that you have totally botched it and are being surfed on you back or belly, don't think Cs or Ds, think one wing tip. Pull one wing tip in and keep pulling until the wing line parallel to the wing and you are not being pulled. This has happened to me and be prepared to do the fast roll up that I posted several weeks ago if it is gusty of thermic. Although we cringe at laying on our balled up wing when there is cow junk involved, it is way better that being out of control. We are probably months away from a super thermic LZ, but with lots of P2 I'll bring it up.
Nick throws this out:
Another high wind technique that works well but requires practice is to grab A's just before landing, then induce a frontal just as you touch down. The key is to turn immediately and pull hard on brakes to disable the wing to eliminate the possibility of re-inflation. Again, it takes practice and good timing, but it works. Remember the power of the wind is proportional to the square of the speed, so a 20 mph wind has 16 times the power of a 5 mph wind, that's a lot of power. Also, 20 mph at the beach is less squirrely than 20 mph at a thermic site.
Bruce Comstock likes this approach:
After first practicing this technique while kiting in strong wind I used this several times on my Airwave Sport 2 landing at about 20 miles per hour out in the main valley. Every time I did this on the Sport 2 the center of the wing would drop first and the tips would flip over the center as the center plunged to the ground. Although I always ran towards the wing as soon as my feet touched the ground, this wing never tried to reinflate. It was almost as though it tied itself into a knot in the process.
The other technique I have used is the pulling the C risers just before touchdown technique. I did first practice locating and grasping the top of the C risers, which is a bit of a challenge, especially as one is approaching the ground in this situation. Conceptually, this seems to me more reliable than the A riser technique, though both have worked for me.
I would suggest that either of these techniques should be practiced enough times in strong wind while kiting in order to get the details down well before crunch time in flight.
Jack Brown had this to say:
It's funny that after all these years and a few good draggings I only in the last year or so ran across the high wind landing technique which seems to be the most clean and easy....
It's really quite simple and works like a charm.... When you're getting close and well before ground contact so that your 100% sure what your grabbing, reach up with one hand and grab one A riser only. With the opposite hand just hold onto the brake as normal. Just as your touching down (if your tracking backwards make sure you bend your knees strongly, just yank down the A riser. As soon as the glider assymetrics on that side, start your turn and yank down the opposite brake and then just reel it in from that side.
I've tried all of the various techniques with varying degrees of success but this one is (for me anyway) hands down the best at killing the glider and maintaining your feet, and recovering the glider before it reinflates to try and get your face dirty....
So, that's a bunch of great advice. What I took from all this is get out and practice these techniques at the training hill before you need them. :)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Flying Big Sur Nov. 19th 2008
One of my favorite trips is the one I took with my best friends Tom and Liz to Big Sur, CA and flew the Wild Cattle Launch. If you've never been up there, it's really quite the scenic drive to the area along the Big Sur coast on highway 1.
Once there, you turn up Nacimiento Road then turn right on Plaskett Ridge Road (dirt) about 7 mi. up to get to the Wild Cattle launch site. Approximately 4½ miles down the dirt road there is an unmarked road coming in from the right. It looks about as heavily traveled as the main dirt road. Turn right and follow the road out to the front of the ridge (about ½ mile). When the road branches in three directions, take the middle branch and drive 100 yards to the crest of the ridge. You are on launch.
As you can see, launch is really a treat in itself as just a great place to camp or just hang out with a glass of wine in the evening.
I made a video of my flight; pretty much a sledder, but then again, it was November... The side benefit of a 3200' sledder is that you have lots of time to look around and in Big Sur, there is lots to look at!
GoPro mounted on the back of the helmet
Last summer I was trying different places to mount a video camera. One of the places was to mount the camera on back of my helmet... So, it captures the pilot runing away from the mountain. The blue that you see is the top of my harness. hope you enjoy this clip. Bill Kaelin
Glassoff BBQ 2009
What could be nicer than a nice, warm, lifty glassoff flight at mid launch at Woodrat? One that is followed by a cold beer (or two) and something hot off the barbecue!
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