No fly Day

But the Sailing was Epic. Started with one reef in the Main and the #3 Jib. I ended up with two reefs and the storm jib. At one point the winds were so high that boats were going over like dominos. I took the sails down to right a catamaran. After we pulled it up, the Rangers showed and wanted to know who called 911. Go Figure? I motored over to the east bay to wait it out. During a lull I motored into the marina and hung with the boat during the best windstorm of the season. It's all good !

#360 Chatfield

This morning I woke at 4:30

but couldn't drag my butt out of bed.

Maybe not a first but certainly unusual. I tried to blame it on the weather but no matter how windblown the clouds looked it was calm at the surface and judging from the dirty air over Denver the inversion probably covered the first 1500 feet AGL.
SOME OPPORTUNITIES ARE LOST...MOVE ON
I made up for it with a nice one this afternoon. There were lots of clouds mid day that built and diminished by 5:00pm. I was concerned about the virga dropping all over the place but once again I didn't notice any "puffs" and figured that the virga was too high to be affecting the surface.
After watching and pacing for 45 minutes at the house I said to myself ....What the heck go to the field and if you don't fly ...it won't be the first time. I arrived at 6:00pm, the winds were very light from the SW. The air was warm. It turned to the WNW while I set up and dropped to 1 knot or less.
My take off must have looked pretty bad but I was grinning from ear to ear. It fell to the left and overshot...started to frontal...fell to the right...came back up and when I finally felt good about it...I added some throttle and did a proper run-out. The new Throttle set-up is much better. The Brake toggle is held in the 3rd and 4th finger leaving my index finger and pinkie to work the throttle. I'm sure the control issues will go away as I get used to the low hangpoint.
As bad as it looked I never felt as if it were not recoverable. GO THUMPER!
The air was good 2 or 3 on the bump scale. I didn't travel too far and mostly carved smaller and smaller turns over the patch. One thing that has been bothering me is the left beaner is one inch longer than the right. I was able to equalize them later and I'm glad I was able to take the time to examine it while in flight. The loops in the new footsteering got in the way but I'm not ready to change it until I've flown it some more.
When I started to notice the bumps were getting bigger I turned back to the truck and landed. It was a nice landing, I came in from the North and managed to stay just above the surface for 200 feet even though the grade was ascending. When I set down it was where I wanted to be, maybe a bit close because I almost took out the windsock with the wing. As I was packing up the breeze dropped 10 degrees and picked up. It felt good...It was a no muss ...no fuss flight...just a nice taste of the sky before the cold front blows in. Tomorrow it's forecast to be 23knots at 3:00pm. Think I'll go sailing.

#359 Snowflake Breezy Day

After 5 days of cold and rain the forecast was for warm sunny skies and wind...I was luke warm about the conditions but it appeared that Sat. morning was going to be the only flyable time until Monday so I got everything together and as usual awoke before the alarm.

When I got out to the field, it was blowing 10 mph, just a tad more than I wanted to tackle. Mike Bennett showed up and shortly I was happily surprised to see Paul Dillon from Pagosa Springs. The wind abated to 8mph and with Mike and Paul holding the nose down I took off. I'm not going to be shy to ask for a spotter in the future because it was great to have those guys. I was able to stabilize the wing and start the run-out almost instantly and to have the buggy locked down like it was on tracks is a real treat.

(catching air under the wing)

Once I was clear of the rotor being thrown off of the Farm buildings, I started a climb into some beautiful laminar breeze. It's been so long since I've flown in smooth wind that I forgot how it feels. The Eden was dancing but not so that it caused the buggy to rock. I let the trimmers out halfway and think it will work just fine with a little more practice. The trick is going to be getting them to run out equally. There is still some friction and the position of the cam buckles is to far aft making it awkward to operate. I think I found the fix a different way to grab the cam so that I have control helping it to ride up the riser. I've also taped the pull side of the webbing so that it will be easer to adjust the tension on the foot steering.

I flew for 50 minutes and basically explored the area. The air was warmer at altitude and I'm sure there was an inversion because I noticed a bumpy wind gradient when I came in for landing. Lotsafun, chased some antelope and checked out the gun club which is in full swing getting ready for hunting season.

I could have flown longer but work was calling. I waved to mike as I drove away

2008 Gathering Recap From UltraFlight Magazine

The terrain was a labyrinth of massive buttes and delicate spires towering a thousand feet above the desert floor.

The first “Gathering at Monument Valley” was held last September at Gouldings Lodge and Trading Post near the border of Utah and Arizona, altitude 5500 ft. ASL. It’s a long way to go, the accommodations are limited to R.V’s and tent camping, and, it’s only flyable during the first and last hours of daylight. Not exactly the elements that draw a big crowd but despite that, turnout was excellent. In the group of 30 were several of the sport’s most recognizable pilots including filmmakers, instructors and other assorted characters, hailing from as far away as New York and San Diego.

Gouldings Lodge proved to be an excellent site, with all the necessities, including restaurant, grocery, and a well appointed campground with an indoor swimming pool.
During the non-flyable hours Gouldings provided jeep tours into Monument Park which allowed the pilots an opportunity to explore the park from the ground and to plan their next flight. It is also the trailhead for several fabulous hikes to hidden box canyons and spectacular vistas.Unlike most fly-in’s where you can roll out of bed and climb right into your paramotor, the LZ was three fourths of a mile below the campground. We used Goulding’s 3500 foot airstrip and for the most part it worked out nicely. Some of the pilots left trailers at the airstrip others drove down and were ready to go. The runway apron was sufficient to launch in any direction and the trike pilots really enjoyed the luxury of the long gently sloping runway. This airstrip also services tourist flights to the Monument Park and nearby Lake Powell, conveniently they didn’t begin until 9:30am after most of us had landed and were gone before the evening flights began.Friday evening we discovered that Flying Monument Valley has its own unique set of challenges. The airstrip at Gouldings is sheltered by 900 foot buttes on the south and west side. That evening the wind was light and from the west so the majority launched toward the western butte and then turned east, staying low to avoid any turbulence from the top. It was a picture book flight, as the breeze dropped to zero I flew south and watched as a couple of pilots made low level passes over the southern butte. Later after sharing a “potluck BBQ” we sat around the campfire we were entertained with their experience of going from 20 ft. AGL to 920 ft. AGL in the blink of an eye.

Everyone agreed that while the terrain was rugged there were plenty of places to make an emergency landing, provided you had some altitude. There are jeep trails and tourist roads throughout the park. It’s very likely, that if you were forced down, it would be a short walk to where you could be picked up by one of the tourist rides. However while this is true for the morning flight, anybody finding themselves down in the park at sunset, had better be equipped with a cell phone and gps or else be prepared to spend the night. The most rugged terrain were the areas near the base of the monoliths which were marked by steep slopes covered with scree and deep arroyos. Unfortunately, for many these were also the most attractive places to fly. The consensus was that unless the conditions were perfect, it was best to stay high or at the very least, keep to the weather side of the rocks and bear in mind that the weather side of this monolith is also the lee side of that big rock up wind !

Saturday morning provided the best flying and most of us were at the field by 6:30am. The winds were light on the surface and 8 to10 aloft. Heading northeast, I flew toward Eagle Rock and circled around it to Brigham's Tomb and Bear and Rabbit Summit. Flying level with the top of the buttes I started to feel the bumps from mile away so I climbed 300 feet to smoother air. I had wanted to get a trophy picture of my shadow against the face of one of the buttes but decided to make do with shots from above rather than risk the turbulence below. The ride home was smooth and fast and checking my tank I wished I’d stayed in the park longer. When I got back I stayed high and enjoyed the view, it reminded me of a dozen of butterflies playing in a rock garden.The most satisfying aspect of the event was watching the veterans return from a flight. Pilots with hundreds of flights would land after a long cross country. I’d watch them gather up their wing and swagger back to the staging area. Only, instead an “Ah Shucks Ma’am” look on their face was more like the look of a beginning pilot after their first flight, grinning from ear to ear, totally amazed at what they had just experienced.

Tachometers and Rain

Summer ended and the next day it seemed like winter. For the last three or four days the highs have been in the 40s with 7 inches of snow in Evergreen. I hope this isn't an indicator of a cold fall and even colder winter.

Tachometer
I've been having trouble with the SenDec Max Tack ever since I remounted it on the forward tube next to my GPS. It would read half or two thirds of what I knew the motor to be turning. After trying three different gauges of wire and getting bad advise from the manufacturer, I stopped at the local hardware store where a good ol boy listened to my problem. He suggested that I use a heaver gauge of wire and try to avoid running it anywhere near a ground source. Bingo! It's reading true and the heaver gauge of wire is mounting in the receiver on the tach more snugly.

The last thing is get the thrust up. Chad is bringing a set of 62 inch IVO's and a set of GSC's for me to try at the Monument Valley Gathering.

#358 Chatfield Marek breaks a Prop

This was an interesting flight. I didn't plan on flying tonight but I glad I did. The air was smooth and the breeze was light. Marek and I flew south over the open fields. We are both a little wary of the massive group of high Power lines and got plenty high to cross the 5 sets of parallel wires. It was similar to this morning with Greg. I stayed high and shadowed the pilot down low. Both Marek and Greg are pleasure to watch Greg with great wing control.

I moved the hang point rings to a horizontal position attempting to lesson the friction on the trim tab. No Joy...the problem is in the webbing that acts as a back-up in case the ring brakes loose from the bullet bar. I've replaced the heavy webbing with a slightly lighter and longer one which will hang loose over the risers and hopefully I'll be able to use the trim tabs. If I end up hanging from the reserve or the H.P. ring brakes, the hangpoint will spread about two inches but I don't think it will adversely affect how the buggy hangs or the how wing flys. The next flight will tell allot.

The wing came up crooked again but, like yesterday, it stabilized quickly. I think I'm not lining up square with the wind. I did notice that when I went from idle to full power the front wheel would dip about 6 inches and return to about 3 inches below the starting position. I expect that it will be even more pronounced when I am able to use the trimmers. I'll move the H.P. Rings forward 3/8ths and see if It helps with the wheelbarrow effect.

The incident of the evening came as we were returning to the field. Marek's hero camera came off it's mount on top of the cage and went through the prop. He landed without issues in the LZ but was a long walk from the car. I knew something was wrong so I landed by the truck and walked out to meet him. We wandered around the field finding parts of the prop and eventually found the camera. Up on top is probably a good position for the camera but the vibration was working the mounting bolts loose...some lock tight would help if it does not have to be changed after every flight. I hope Marek got video all the way back to earth but I'm betting it stopped when it got whacked by the prop.

#357 Chatfield

(red track)

Greg & I launched about 6:30 I followed him from above and practiced some touch and goes back at the field.

#356 Simms with Marek

I love three flight days!

I set-up on the far North end in a patch of shallow weeds. There was a nice down hill grade and even if I had to Taxi into some tall stuff, I figured that I would be moving fast enough to plow right through. Marek got off first and I was right behind him. We both went north past the dam and I chased him west into the sun.

When I was at the West end of the lake I cut the corner and approached Marek from behind getting several good shots and i caught and passed him. Then we headed over to the High Schoola and Marek played low while I played high. I did a tight spiral dive and flew through my wake. WOW! The Thumper has a much bigger footprint than the Simonini had. Marek flew through it as well and he claims that the WACK bounced him 3 inches above his seat.

#354 & #355 Chatfield

Good morning flight. I practiced with the foot steering which seems harder to hook up than is has to be. I'm hesitant to let go of the throttle and brake which is a rookie fear. I really don't know what that is all about but I'm gong to force the issue and try to get more comfortable with the rig. On return to the field I practiced a few touch and goes and landed. After the last of the coffee I went up for a very short flight. Just because I could :)

Power on landings ...By ...Beery

First, you really need to have access to very smooth laminar winds. It's easy here at the beach. Initially, I tell people to start learning foot drags in smooth laminar winds. This develops the fine skills to be able to maintain level flight over long stretches of ground. If you can find wind conditions of 10 mph with a beach, this is some of the most perfect conditions you can have. After you have mastered flying your unit and being able to drag your feet for a hundred yards or more (Here in Houston we can drag them for a mile or more on the beach without lifting our feet), then you are ready for the next step. Myself, just to be safe, when I say footdrag, I mean flatfooted with the sole of your shoe dragging the ground. That way, should you get just a bit too low, you can run it out and with a 10 mph wind in your face, it isn't that hard. After you are doing well at the 10 mph winds, gradually start doing foot drags in less and less winds until you can do a foot drag in 0 mph winds. After you have mastered foot drags in 0 mph winds, you are ready to move now to powered on landings. Landing with engine running in a 10 mph wind should really be a non-issue for pilots that have developed good landing skills. If you don't feel comfortable just doing a regular motor (idling) on landing in 10 mph winds, then you are better off not even considering a powered on landing. Now with powered on landing, I would start with the 10 mph wind condition day. As you come in doing literally another foot drag, while doing the foot drag, begin adding more and more brake/flare. As you are adding more brake/flare, to maintain flying level, you will need to add a bit more power. As you apply more brake/flare, you will need to continue adding more power. At a point while doing that foot drag, you will have basically reached a point you have added sufficient brake that your next step and input on the brake puts you at a speed of "0" and you have landed. After you have this going well, then start working in conditions with lighter and lighter winds doing foot drag approaches. As an example about 3 weeks ago, I landed at the beach in about 1-2 mph winds. It was going to be a bit fast. I approached into the wind, started my foot drag, and started flaring but adding power. After 75' of dragging my feet, I had then slowed things down to the point I walked off very nicely in 2 or 3 steps the remaining speed. Another point to make here is that while doing your foot drags and powered on landing approaches, drag with one foot, but keep the other foot out in front of you ready to take a step. Don't drag two feet as it puts you in a poorer position to recover if you suddenly need to run something out. Myself, I think being able to fly inches off the ground or dragging feet for extended periods of distance is a skill that everyone should try and master. What it does is develop the hand/eye/wing/throttle coordination to respond tithe most minor of air disturbances and leads to a pilot that can actively fly. There are a lot of times I fly with other pilots and they complain about it being bumpy and it isn't to me as they aren't actively flying their wing. The finer your control of the wing, the more you can dampen out the bumps and oscillations and the more enjoyable the flight. That’s my 2 cents. Beery

#352 & #353 Chatfield ...Power on Landings

God made Days off for days like today!

The season is changing and it's happening all too fast. Now days, when I get to the field at 6:00am, it's O'Dark Thirty. Plenty of time to finish that Rock Star and let the caffeine get into the blood stream. It had been partly clouding all night and this morning was hazy and 55 degrees
The wind was SSW variable 4 to 7 which meant I had a slight uphill grade and rotor from the "Club House". The wing came up fast and the buggy had stopped rolling after the first two feet, I was able to add a little "foot power", but the wing stalled and fell to the left, by now, I was starting to roll, so I added right brake and watched the wing swing to the right until the tip was about 6 feet above the ground. Now some left brake and this time it centered and was rock solid over head. Small wing Heavy trike... The Eden III is easy to muscle around because it's smaller, lighter material and more responsive than the Power Play. I don't think this would have tipped the Trike Buggy Basic but I'm sure that I would have felt the trike start to lift on one side. Because of the extended wheelbase and low and heavy CG, the Thumper is incredibly forgiving. When the wing was about 40 percent loaded the "side pull "was just discernible.

When the wing is oscillating like that it's a good time to be looking up at the glider. :) The mirror is great for some pilots, but it tends to take up too much of my attention and I lose the big picture. The climb out was slow, which was made worse because the surface was sloping upward. Once up, it was mostly smooth air. The winds were flowing in a circle, clockwise around the area. I could fly downwind along the western edge of the park and still be downwind on the east side of the park coming home. The neat thing was that the area around the Balloon Port was calm, because it is inside the circle. I watched two balloons go up and hang right over the Port, they didn't move 20 feet except vertically the whole time they were in the air.

I took some shots of the Marina, landed power on and practiced the low and slow. Then took a brake and did it again. The overcast had damped any thermal activity...I could have flown for two more hours it was that good!

Chad...Please bring some different length hang straps and help me dial in these wings for the Thumper Bullet.
1. Measure the current straps and Riser position in relationship to the hang point rings

I saw God Today #350 & #351 Chatfield

Lucky guy

Intermediate syndrome is an affliction that usually affects a pilot after 40 or 50 flights, or whenever they first start to feel good about their abilities.

It’s characterized by over confidence in both man and machine and it usually leads to a blunder that endangers life. It could present itself in any number of ways… an error in judgement, or a bad reaction to Mother Nature. It might be technique or a mechanical issue. Whatever the cause, if the pilot survives the incident…he should think real hard about either quitting or redoubling his efforts to improve.

It might be time to go to a maneuvers clinic or have some quality radio time with a good coach. It’s absolutely a good day to go over the machine and wing with a fine tooth comb.

Optimistically, there is an epiphany that stays with the pilot for the rest of their career, because on that day... the bag of luck is now half empty and the bag of experience is not yet full.

When I realized that my life was being supported by a glorified key

chain and some thin 1/2 inch webbing...

I thanked the Creator that I was still alive.

Then I looked for the best way,

to proceed to earth…

as directly as possible.

I'm still shaking my head trying to figure out how it happened.I attached the riser on the left side to the cheap plastic beaner that I use for the foot steering instead of connecting to the heavy stainless beaner that ties the wing to the buggy. I didn't realize my mistake until I noticed that the foot steering cable was pressing against my left side. When I saw that the rig was being supported by a glorified key chain and thin 1/2 inch webbing...I couldn't believe that I was still alive. Not only was the beaner unrated and not designed to carry a load, the loop it was attached to was loaded against the stitching. There were two places where a failure was imminent. Looking at the materials it should have failed when I loaded the wing before take-off ...and... I wish it had. It would have been more dramatic and made a bigger impression but it wouldn't have killed me. As it was a non-incident, I hope that the magnitude of the error sticks with me.

I had to get down ...right now! I was 400 feet AGL and about the correct distance to glide back to the field, so I did a slow flat turn toward the field and landed without incident.

What were the causes that lead to this huge goof ?

1. I had switched to the Eden III which does not require the extra loop of webbing to get the hangpoint right. When it is configured this way the hangpoint loops are not long enough to reach the normal keeper on the bullet bars. So...I end up attaching the beaner to a loop on the foot steering for transport.

2. I must not have had enough coffee because it is almost impossible to imagine an alert mind attaching a plastic carabiner to the riser. It is so much more difficult to thread the correct carabiner that it should have set off alarms when that slim plastic beaner tip slipped through the loop so easily. The length was about right and when I pulled on the riser to take out any slack, it pulled the hangpoint loop just as if it were correctly attached.

I thought perhaps I should move the foot steering forward on the bullet bars to get them away from the hang point straps, but I don't think I'll do that. Having the webbing behind my shoulders is cleaner and I doubt I'll ever look at the foot steering again without remembering the day I hung from a cheap 2 inch plastic carabiner.

This is the first real stupid mistake I've made in PPG and certainly the first one that endangered my life! I was deeply affected by the experience, and it was heavy on my mind for several days. I will strive to learn from this and be a more responsible pilot.

I vote for better pilot.

#348 & #349 Chatfield

This was an evening that just didn't gel.

Conditions were good, light winds warm temp. It looked to be a perfect evening but I wasn't comfortable in the air. My first launch looked like hell. As soon as I left the earth, the wing ( 28m Eden III ), was pulled hard to the left and then to the right. As I gained altitude it got bumpier and after a few laps around the field I landed. The second flight was a repeat of the first. I got the impression that no matter where I went ...it was going to be turbulent.
Greg and Marek on the other hand stayed below 100 feet and they found the air to be just fine. I watched Greg yank and bank, practice swoops and dives and I just couldn't figure why I found it to be so ratty.
The gradient had me beat.

Pre-Flight

Changed wire on Tach with smaller ga. It seems to be reading much faster and more accurately

Question for Terry
Motor is mounted to the frame with two bolts. There are two other spaces available, is this as you want it?.

IVO Prop is "flexing" about 1 1/2" at Idle. Chad has used a GSC (?) adjustable and likes it.
Terry is looking into the Warp Drive Prop. Maybe at MV I'll get the chance to try a different prop.

Tightened up the Reserve Harness. it was getting sloppy.

#346 & #347 Titan

Calm at Dawn....

Sunrise brought a South East wind. I launched with the Eden III. It was mildly bumpy but not to bad so I decided to go for it. I stayed up for 40 minutes and took a few shots of the marina. There was a steady wind across most of the surface, and possibly more there than at 1000 feet AGL. The RC Airport had one car in the lot and no sign of anybody getting ready to fly. Someday I would love to do a touch and go on their runway. Maybe I can bribe the gatekeeper! :) When I got back to the field the wind had shifted to South West and bumpy. At 100 feet the wing started to oscillate but it corrected in time for a safe 3 point landing.

Steve pulled in right after I landed and he convinced me to go up again. The launch was just the way I liked it. I was able to get allot of speed on the smooth surface and when the wings was fully loaded and begging to fly I popped some brake and zoomed into the sky. It remind me of launching at Monument Valley last summer. Gawd I love a good runway!

It was swinging me all over the place so I landed after about 10 minutes. Even then, I aborted the first landing when the wind shifted 180 degrees. Steve went up and flew another 30 minutes. He said if you go directly west it's calm over there. I'll have to remember that.

#344 & #345 Titan

The summer of 09 finished with a flourish...

I'm sitting at my desk... in the shop with the garage door open listening to a huge "Big Drop" rainstorm. The air is cooling and I think our string of perfect days is about to be broken. Wow... 14 flights at 5 different sites in 12 days and except for a couple they were 40 minutes or more. In the last week, I've reunited with guys I haven't seen in years and flown with some new guys just getting started. We have lost LZ's and gained new ones and even reclaimed an old favorite that everybody thought was lost forever.

This morning I was at Titan before civil twilight, like yesterday it was very calm and built slowly as the sun came up. When it was light enough to launch the wind was blowing 8mph from the SW. This is the first time I have flown the Eden since I busted some lines ant Vance Brand. I took off with John Sieb spotting to make sure the buggy would roll out properly. It did but the wing swung to the left with a nasty cravat in the tip. I got it overhead and taxied for a good 100 feet until I was able to pumped it out. I remember the same thing happining at the Salton Sea, I think it had something to do with the chevron set up and the lightness of the fabric. Next time I'll pay mor attention to the tips during the set-up.

The winds aloft were very different from the surface, not so much bouncy as switchy. I was being swung and pulled by errant currents. I tried changing altitude but found it was the same everywhere I went. So...after 20 minutes of being played like a puppet I decided to land and wait a bit.

Twenty minutes later it seemed to mellow so I went up again and this time it was bad in the first 100 feet. I stayed maybe 10 minutes and called it good for the day. Meanwhile John had taken off to the East and was going counter clockwise around the lake. Greg showed up, took off and didn't return for an hour and three quarters. I have to relearn this site. When the wind is SW or W it is best to go east over the open fields then turn in to the park. The west end of the park is going to be calm normally and expect it to get ratty returning west of the LZ. If I'd paid attention I think I could have found smoother air.

While I was waiting for him to return I wandered around the field and thought about my early days here. The first really great launch after the first Salton Sea. I'd run harder than ever before and when I launched it was like a rocket. Two Hundred feet a minute right off the ground! The time I let off the throttle getting into my seat and dived to the earth only to power up and swoop back up from 10 feet. The time I took off with the wing oscillating and how I swung back under and almost clipped the earth at high speed sideways. While I was walking around I stumbled into the site of my last footlaunch and found a big piece of prop from the crash. I brought it home as a keepsake and am looking at it now.

At 9:30 Greg came in, landing vertically in 15 mph winds. While we packed up a pick-up came into the field and Greg & I thought for sure we were busted. Until I saw that there was a paramotor on the back. It was Steve the firefighter who lives across from Titan. We stood around for a long time and caught up. The best news was that Rush Soccer had sold the field and it was now part of the Shay Home development that is 7 years off. We might be flying here for a long long time!!

#341 #342 #343 Snowflake

Perfect conditions... Early bird gets the glass

Wrangler Dan goes after the Antelope

After I decided to quit for the morning Dan Paul and John continued. I should have as well because the thermals that would be expected didn't start until almost ten. Ramon was out of the action so he stood around and kited. I used the opportunity to take out the Eden III and replaced the lines that were cut over a month ago. Maybe I'll use it tomorrow when I fly at chatfield.

About 9:30 John arrived in a red Myata instead of flying. He had gone down with a slipping belt about 5 miles out and had to hitch a ride back to the LZ.

The two stroke demon was out in force this weekend

1. John lands right after take off with power loss

2.Greg lands out by the corn maze with motor out

3.Ramon brakes cord on pull start

4.John lands 7 miles out with slipped belt.

#340 Titan Chatfield Stealth Launch

Chatfield....Home Sweet Home !

It was O' dark thirty when I pulled in and set up. Paul arrived at 6 followed by Greg.

I forgot how nice this LZ is. The hay has been cut, it's flat and no bumps. What a pleasure to launch from. I took off right away, to the Marina, to shoot a few pictures, and then worked my way around the lake to the corn maze. There were 4 balloons that launched but it was too late for us to fly with them. Next time.

On the way out I saw a pilot go down over by Santa Fe and Titan. It turned out to be John Sieb who was still having trouble with his motor. Craig also had trouble...motor out somewhere...his wife picked him up. Those guys with the two strokes have all the fun!

We all launched and enjoyed mostly smooth air. Paul was dealing with high winds at 2500 but I was fine at 2000.

Density of Altitude

A surprisingly accurate rule of thumb (usually any error will be less than200-300 feet) for determining the density altitude is easy to remember. For each10-degrees Fahrenheit above standard temperature at any particular elevation,add 600 feet to the field elevation. (And, conversely for each 10-degrees Fbelow standard temperature, subtract 600 feet from the field elevation.)Standard temperature at sea level is 59-degrees Fahrenheit. For elevations abovesea level, subtract 3.5 degrees per thousand feet of elevation from the sealevel temperature of 59 degrees.For example, at Jackson, Wyoming the elevation is 6,444. Multiply 6.444 times3.5 for 22.55. Subtract this from 59 (59-22.55) for 36.45. The standardtemperature at Jackson is 36.5 degrees. If the existing temperature is 80degrees, subtract (80-36.5 = 43.5). Divide this difference by 10 degrees (foreach 10-degrees F above standard), and multiply 4.35 times 600 (600 feet per 10degrees) which equals 2,610. Add 2,610 to the field elevation (6,444) for adensity altitude of 9,054. Under the existing conditions (of our example), theairplane will perform as it would on a standard day at 9,054 feet elevation

#338 Simms & #339 South of Dicks

Two Flight Two Site Day

It was dead calm at 6am while I drove circles in the field trying to find the spot where the grass was low and the tumble weeds were scarce. The moon was setting behind the mountains and the cross on the hill was beautiful! As the sun got closer to the horizon the wind came up and I waited in the truck for 40 minutes till it came down enough for a good safe launch. I had to use the small American Flags for wind socks because I had forgotten my big one. Not to easy to spot when I'm trying to land but they worked well as long as I was sitting.

The launch was normal and the air was fairly smooth. The wind was switching from west to nil to East so there were patches of turbulence that moved around rather than hanging over a particular spot on the Earth. The temp dropped 3 degrees after the wind came up and didn't start to warm until 7:15. I was starting to get chilled and headed back to the field where I saw an unknown SUV with a paramotor pull in next to my truck. I came in surprisingly hot when what I thought was no wind turned out to be a tail wind. No Worries.

The other pilot was John Sieb and if it had been a little earlier I would have gone back up with him. There was a balloon flying over by the Hog Backs that I had missed and lucky John was going up to play with him. I packed up after he made the longest take off run of his life....:)

Unfortunately the 2 stroke demon bit and he landed after 5 minutes with a loss of power.

The second flight was at a new site a mile north of Dicks. We were asked to leave by the local police at Dicks...They sent us ( Dan, Paul, Paul, Ramon and Me) to the other site where we were met by the Security of the adjacent Mall. We tapped danced and were given permission to get a flight in. The winds were NNW between 5 and 8. I literally Popped up when the wind picked up during the run out. The air was not allot of fun but I did several laps before doing a touch and go and landing. On final I was having a difficult time holding a smooth glide. I would drop 10 feet return to normal glide and drop again. I was still able to set down where I wanted but it was more challenging. beautiful sly with the skyline of Denver in the sunset and a huge full moon rising in the East. I would have loved to take some pictures but it was active flying and I didn't feel comfortable going no hands.

I was glad we were moved because the goat head thorns were at their dry worst over at Dicks but the new field was clear with just some 1 foot weeds scattered about. They are grading the area so it won't be flyable for long. Interesting that the graded area is 6 inches of really fine powder. I hope it gets packed before the next big rain.

#337 Simms

Good long flight...Smooth hazy air

I like the wing reflected in the power bar

#335 & #336 Simms

California Forest Fires...

Have made for hazy lazy air. Warm calm evening. lotsalift...

Marek and I were digging it. Lots of the low and slow. Two hours of airtime practiced touch and goes.