Cuesta Flight 4/8/11

Driving past Cayucos at 11 am

The XC Skies forecast models all said Friday might be sporty so I headed up to Cuesta for some rodeo action.  On the way to the mountain I snapped a couple of shots along the coast.

The development was already fairly active by 10:30 so I knew it wasn't a question IF it would overdevelop, but WHEN.    

Ready for aviation on launch at Cuesta

The conditions at the hill were looking good, with nice strong cycles blowing up launch, but cloudbase was only about 1500' over launch.  The clouds in the gap across the grade were even lower.  I talked myself into thinking the base would go up when the temps increased and proceeded to set up my gear.   Today I used all the goodies - hand warmers, good gloves, balaclava, and I was still cold.

The flight wasn't spectacular but it was quite interesting as I negotiated my way along course (up wind since that route was clearer) around and often through graupel.

Some might say that today would have been a good day to stay on the hill - If my timing hadn't been what it was, I might agree, but today was all about timing.  I was there early enough to get in the air before life got complicated with dark cells over the launch.  I also was in the air before it got gusty on the ridge.  Visibility was good and the big clouds weren't an issue until later in the flight, when I flew into a large bit of precipitation that covered me and my gear with graupel.  Other than that bit-o-fun the flight was enjoyable and interesting.

Today was my first experiment with my Helmet Hero HD camera and the imovie software that came with  my new Apple MacBook Pro.  I hope you enjoy the bit of perspective that a half mile of altitude and very little protection from the elements can provide.  The 90 minute flight has been trimmed to a little less than 11 minutes.
 
Cuesta flight from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.
A chilly flight with some overdevelopment and precip. It was more fun than it looks!


EDIT - Here's my flight track - http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/430033

Tim

Cuesta Today

Today turned into a nice day for flying, and Dan, Dave M., Jeremy, Adam & I all got a good taste of the best of Winter Cuesta. . .

We got to the top around noon and were greeted by light Easterly puffs.  Birds were working weak lift in front, so we were encouraged.  Within 30 minutes the light East had filled in and all the birds, all the flies, everything disappeared for an hour.  We ate & told stories until things got still and the birds reappeared.  Around 2pm it finally looked better, so Adam & I got suited up. He grabbed his hang glider since he could do a no-wind launch easier than the rest of us.  He launched well and sank out immediately to 200' below launch.  Soon he contacted a good, if rough,  thermal and climbed to 4000'. 

Meanwhile, I was standing in the chute ready to go and waited at least 15 minutes for a puff.  Finally I got a very light puff, allowing me to get in the air and immediately climbed to 4500 and that was it.  The conditions on launch improved and all got off well.  It was quite cold at altitude but the lift was abundant and smooth above about 2500'.  It was possible to move around quite a bit and I followed a weak lift line Northwest at a bit of an angle to the ridge for a couple miles before falling off the bubble and heading back to home turf again.  When I headed out to the LZ it was quite lifty so I flew all the way to Hwy 1 and still had enough altitude to head back to the LZ.  I thought about landing at Dave's (I had 1600' over the Hwy) but he's out of town and it just wouldn't have been the same without a ginger beer to celebrate. . .

Top of climb for Adam & me was around 5300' and it was good to see the models proven correct. . . It wasn't looking too good there for a while & I was worried that I'd cried wolf too early in the season ;-)  Congrats to Dave M on popping his Cuesta cherry and the guys on sticking with me for 2 hours for the payout. 

My Flight track is HERE.  I've got some cool video of the fun, but haven't figured out an adequate way to edit it without losing most of the quality.  Today I'll take stills and have some pics.

Tim

Over the Back at Cuesta

Today was one of the best looking days in San Luis Obispo Co. for XC in a long time.  Patrick pinged me early and we decided it would be an early day so we met at 10AM at launch.  Cumulus clouds were popping in all quadrants and the cycles were causing regular gusts up the face.

We hurriedly set up our gear and were ready to launch by 10:30.  My goal was to take advantage of the Westerly flow and make a downwind dash to Mike's place (about 20 miles East) and then reassess and continue to reach  I-5, if possible.  I had not made the crossing to the range East of Santa Margarita, so this would be fun and new.

I launched first and scratched a bit, before contacting a ripper that took me right to cloudbase at 5000'. Patrick was working up also so I headed over the back to the East side of 101, where I expected to catch another thermal under the building clouds. All I found was trashy sink and soon found myself landing at the small airport near town. Patrick came over & also dirted after only a few miles. Jack was kind enough to drive over and pick us up so we could give it another go.

The wind had come up quite a bit in the interim, so neither Patrick nor I were planning to go XC the second time, but when Jack called to say he'd decided not to launch in the freshening wind, and would drive retrieve, I was ready to head over. This time the cloudbase at launch was over 5300' and when I got the second climb in trashy air in the lee of the East ridge, it was 6-700'/min. to 5800' cloud base.  Unfortunately, as I headed East at over 40 mph groundspeed (that's bookin' for my PG) it became apparent that the ground was shaded and the wind, that was adding to our groundspeed, was also breaking up the lift. The landing options are so much better than I had expected while driving through the area and the route is not as intimidating as I had previously thought. I expect to go this way with more success in the future.  It was a fun flight for a short 13 miler, but it really got Patrick and I thinking about the possibilities of the route.

I landed in brisk wind just off of Parkhill rd. (like Patrick, I thought it might be 58)   It was a short 13 mile flight but lots of fun for Patrick & me.  One more thermal and Mike's place was easily possible, two more and we'd have been smoking to Bfield ;-)

I snagged a ride, with a nice local guy named Scott, for the 5 miles to Hwy 58 and we picked Patrick up on the way.  Jack soon picked us up on the Hwy.  Thanks for the time behind the wheel Jack - we really appreciated it.

My flight can be viewed here http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/332527

Me on the Avax XC2 flying with John H. Photo by Patrick Eaves

5 minutes of fun - Cuesta Today April 2010

60 minutes of driving, 35 minutes of hiking, and 90 minutes of parawaiting - For 6 minutes of flying? 

It's that good ;-)

Tim

Cuesta April 2010 from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.

Cuesta Today - Feb. 18, '09

Today was a spectacular day in the San Luis Obispo area. I awoke with my usual "got in from Hong Kong yesterday funk," but shook it off when the forecast looked good for the Grade. The emails flew back and forth and it looked like a good weekday group would be at the hill around 12.

My flight is HERE.

After taking my dogs to the vet I hustled up the hill & was first to set up while marveling at how green things had gotten since last week. Patrick and Kevin soon joined me and prepared to fly. Patrick was first to lay out and that meant that there was an immediate lull for 10 minutes. The cumulus clouds were really starting to look good, with a nice cloud-street West all the way (it looked) to Cayucos and many more popping East of launch. Patrick passed up a couple decent cycles and I was getting antsy, so I opted to launch first. I launched at 12:30 and played with some scattered lift but soon was maybe 30-50 meters below launch wishing I had been more patient. I eventually found a nice bubble in the usual spot that bloomed into a nice climb back to the ridge and then to the towers. As I headed West, over launch, I could hear/see a blimp flying along 101 and crossing the grade towards SLO. He was maybe 300 meters below me and a mile away - it was hard not to head over to fly by him ;-)

Patrick soon launched as did Dave, Kevin and Jack. When I passed the towers I was over 1000 meters and things looked text book for a fun XC flight towards Cayucos. I was showing a S flow that veered into an Easterly flow at around 1200-1400 meters, so I opted to continue along the ridge Westbound. The cloud street was the nicest I'd flown in this area. Patrick was getting nice & high and looked like he might head East but turned back West to shadow me along the ridge. The best lift band seemed to lay just W of the ridge. The thermals were regularly spaced and reasonably smooth.



I wasn't pushing hard because I really wanted Patrick to catch me but just flew a reasonable pace. Occasionally I'd see a couple hawks above me and circle with them to 1000+ meters. Approaching the 41 corridor I notice that a blue hole was lying over the pass and optimistically (too optimistically as it turned out) continued into the blue at a mid altitude. Soon I was calling back to Pat that he needed to tank up before his transition. I cruised across 41 at the point the big power lines cross the hwy at a meager altitude. After a low save, I was joined by Patrick and we skated around in a 150 meter band of lift for 15 min. until I was out of steam. We both landed in the same field next to Hwy 41.

We had no cell svc so we hiked a bit until we found a turnout and set up for the hitch to Cuesta. After tying on my PILOT NEEDS RIDE sign and thumbing for 10 minutes, a nice gentleman offered to give us a ride to the top of the grade. We piled in and soon we were at the base of the dirt road hiking to launch.

It was one of the prettiest days I've flown at Cuesta. Unfortunately my thick gloves (which were VERY helpful at altitude) caused some fumbling with my helmet cam, so I was unable to turn it on.

Thanks to Patrick for taking the photos and making the flight a joint effort.

Tim

Cuesta Today

Today I met Patrick, Jesse, and Eric for a quick flight at the Cuesta Grade. The air felt good and the cycles were nicely rolling up the hill so we all got airborne before 1 P.M. and flew a few flights with top landings in between. I was able to get up high enough to head over to the TV towers and look closely at the guy-wires.


First Flight at Cuesta 2009 from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.

This is my first flight using the Helmet Hero camera.

The video isn't riveting, but it was a fun flight.

Tim

Cuesta Today

Cuesta today didn't live up to my hype. In fact, it looked pretty bad when Patrick, Eric & Sharon, Jim Wells & I got to launch at noon. The wind was blowing over the back at 5-10 kts. . .

Everybody left & I hung out because I needed to fly & I'm an optimist who enjoys chillin' in the sun ;-) The wind died by 1:15, and by 2pm the cycles started coming up the ridge.

I laid out & waited for a good cycle at 2:15 - I brought the wing up in a bit too strong a cycle & got the wing and lines a bit tangled in high scrub and spent 30 min. getting it cleared with the care a new wing with comp lines deserves. I finally got everything inspected & was in the air by 3. The lift was very broken & seemed to top out at 2000' (200' over launch). I spent much of the day below launch but lift was everywhere I needed it.. I made 5 or 6 circuits of the basin out in front of launch at times down to 200' above landing in the fields down by the Eucalyptus grove. The most dependable lift of the day was over the spot where I eventually top-landed. I flew for 90 minutes before top landing. Because the height of lift was so limited, it was a constant battle the whole time with little time to sightsee. There was still lift when I landed around 4:45pm. My flight is HERE.

As I hiked up to my truck, I passed a young couple parked up by my truck, they asked about my flight. We talked for a bit & it turns out he had just asked her to marry him & she had accepted. I wished them well & wondered, as I hiked to my truck, how anybody could look happier than those two did. . .

A good day -

Tim

Cuesta Ridge - April 17th

My XC Skies forecast indicated that today might be good at the Cuesta Ridge. . . It was. The winds were light from the SSW and lift was 400-600fpm. up to 4000'. I launched around noon and promptly dropped 300' below launch before finding my first good climb of the day. Patrick & Eric launched about then and we all flew around the ridge. I was higher & able to get some good high climbs over the high ground, so I pressed NW along the ridge. HERE is my flight.

Soon I was farther North than I've ever flown from the Cuesta launch and in excellent shape at around 4000'. The climbs were very good along a line of convergence along the ridge & I was finally looking at the choice of either pressing out towards Highway 1 (and an easy landing and retrieve) or crossing Highway 41 and potentially landing in the Hwy 41 corridor. I was a bit worried about the winds in the steep, narrow Hwy 41 corridor, so I opted to head out front to the small hills next to Hwy 1 & towards Morro Bay.

My GPS was not supplying me with wind velocity information today (bugger!) so I was estimating 5-10 kts. of wind from the SW at altitude & W near the surface. I found some weak lift & ridge lift as I got low & worked out to about 1/2 mile from Hwy 1 at San Bernardo Creek Rd. The landing was textbook & I was able to catch Mary at home & talk her into giving me a lift back to launch. Patrick & Eric stayed a bit closer to launch & were hiking back to their cars at the top.

Since I hadn't done any exercise for the day, I had Mary drop me off at the beginning of the road to launch & hiked up to my truck. A great day & fun flying.

Tim

Fun Flying

Today was only my second flight since I flew at the SIV clinic in mid October. A couple of weeks ago I had a magical flight at Shell Beach, a beautiful sea-side flying spot that generally depends on on-shore breezes to provide a thin band of lift parallel to the bluffs above the beach. Tom M. launched early in spite of the general negative prognostications of the local experts and was able to stay up so I suited up. I was very lucky & had perfect timing since the wind was freshly blowing on-shore as I launched. Five minutes later it would have been impossible to launch due to the wind switching to a calm or offshore breeze.

What had happened was that a strong convergence line had formed between the on-shore and Santa Ana-like breeze that we experienced inland. As it moved across launch, I was able to just fly the convergence and Tom & I were treated to a beautiful flight that took us to heights unusual for this site. I carried no altimeter, but guess that I hit 1500 to 2000' above the sea. The view was great & a great first flight at the site.

Today we headed up to Cuesta - I had high hopes since my forecast indicated very light winds. Patrick, Eric, Jack, Dave & I all arrived at launch around noon. Eric & Pat launched first & didn't get high, but flew around launch altitude for 15 minutes. They were both able to top-land & wait for things to improve. I was ready to fly & decided it looked soarable, so I launched into a nice gentle cycle. A nice thermal was right off the launch & I went up about 50' right away.

Soon I was touring the ridge looking for any shard of lift I could work. Within 12 minutes I was down to 1200' MSL (about 200' above the pasture) & planning where I would land to minimize the hike-up the hill to launch. The I felt a great bubble of lift & it filled my wing from right to left. As I rolled into my turn, it filled out the whole wing & I climbed back up to launch - much more quickly and easily than if I were to have landed & hiked up. From then on, the day was ON. Lift was everywhere & generally, the down cycles were few & of short duration.

It's not uncommon to fly over the ridge & observe other sportsmen and yahoos in various activities. Today our entertainment was a truckload of mullets, beer, & shotguns, who parked up ridge& proceeded to make clay pigeons into dust. That wasn't the fun part - The fun began when the CHP arrived on scene & showed the proper protocol for approaching multiple guys who have guns. . . all the while I (and others) were lurking quietly above, watching the show ;-)

Anyway, it was a fun day with all of us having good flights. I flew for 2 hours & landed just because everyone else had. The top landing took a couple tries since there was a bullet of a thermal right in front of the spot - but it worked out fine.

Fly Safe.
Tim

Why I fly

Today I headed to Cuesta & met Eric & Patrick at the top. Winds at launch were brisk but not too high between cycles. Patrick launched first & wasn't having much luck getting above launch for a while so I decided to work on some tweaks to my stirrup & new 3-step speed-bar. Eric launched after a while & the two guys were able to get up & move around the area.

I got into the air & found the air to be quite buoyant. Within 6 minutes I was bouncing around at the inversion at 2600' (500' over) I had fun exploring the area & noticed that today there were a lot of birds of prey & vultures soaring today. I was struck that many of the birds were just out enjoying themselves - flying for the same reason I was. One medium sized raptor was flying along just upwind of me as I flew a lift band - as he went by, he folded his wings & dove 100' only to 'zoomie' back up to my altitude and bank over the top of me. He looked at me with a "Try that" look.

I headed up towards the towers & got closer than previously. I didn't like the way the air felt up there so I came out front to avoid getting caught back on the shallow slope of the ridge.

The RamRace harness I'm flying is completely different than my last - it is a much more supine design and utilizes a stirrup. I have been getting some quite twitchy rides on it. I've been feeling like the signal to noise ratio was a bit low until today. Today I played with the chest strap quite a bit & got it dialed in. I was able to feel the core of the thermals as my wing cut into them - it felt, at times, like a strong bubble was moving laterally along the span of the wing. As I learn to interpret this information, my flying will improve & become more intuitive.

After an hour and a half of fun, I landed at the base of the ridge in some very active air. I packed up & hiked the hill to get back to my truck. On the 900' hike up the hill I stopped to rest a bit & was treated to a pair of adolescent vultures playing follow-me along the ridge. They explored lee-side & rotor areas in a kind of chicken game that I hadn't observed before today.

It was a good day.