Good flying going on in Dunlap -

A number of NorCal folks headed to Dunlap this weekend and conditions were reasonably good compared to Woodrat, OR and here on the coast, where the winds were howling. I was unable to get to Dunlap due to work commitments.

On Saturday Josh Cohn, on his new Ozone R11, flew South well beyond the distance anyone prior had flown - almost to Bakersfield.

Monday, a day with only 4000-5000' top of lift in the valley, was the day everyone was heading back to the Bay Area after flying.

Josh decided to fly.   He launched around 11AM and flew for almost 7 hours and covered around 85 miles. 

Two great flights - setting site records.   Nice flying Josh!  His Track on Leonardo can be viewed here: http://paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/458312




The California distance record is held by Dean Stratton - 147 miles from Walt's Point in the Owens, North into Nevada.

Tim

BAPA Comp in Dunlap - Sept. 2010

Smoke at sunset

The troops met in Dunlap for the last time in 2010 this weekend.  The weather was reasonable with clear skies and light winds forecast.  I arrived at the top on Friday night and watched the sunset while assembling my pop-up trailer.  The sky was red and the sun a bright red due to smoke in the air.

Saturday morning we awoke to smoke clinging to the canyons and in the air.  Apparently a fire was burning in the Sierra between Dunlap and Bishop.  It was in the deep Sierra and wouldn't affect our flying tasks to the West, but was a good indication of the Easterly evening wind.

Saturday Jug built a task that had us do the valley tour, then head Southwest to Cutler, and back to meet at the pizza joint in Squaw Valley.   I launched early and found the lift to be dependable up to the 6,500' inversion.  I manged to get a great start and was first over to Hill 49917 and back to launch for the leg to Last Chance.  Fred went ahead of me on the way to Last Chance.  Josh and Jug took a higher line than I did on the way back to launch and we flew together for the remainder of the task.

It was obvious, as we proceeded from Hill 49917 to Bald Mtn., that the West wind was much stronger than expected.  The leg SW to Cutler was going to be tough even if we could get up at Bald (which we didn't).

Everyone except Fredric landed at (or prior to) the ranger station.  Fred continued on to land a few kilometers South of the pizza joint.

My flight is HERE.

Sunday's forecast was similar to the preceding day's with light, Southy winds.  Jug built a great task of 24 miles that had two valley crossings and some good opportunities for tactical decisions.  As it turned out, the task was very enjoyable racing and put a lot of pilots into goal.

I had another good start and was chasing Josh around the course.  Another gaggle was trailing me by a climb or two and kept me hustling to stay ahead.  It was nice to find climbs when you needed them and, sometimes, nice climbs were found in spots that usually don't work too well.

My last climb was to 7,000' and gave me sufficient altitude to fly to Bald and then to the finish.

It was a very fun day of racing and great to see the happy faces in goal after one of my most enjoyable flights in Dunlap.

Cumulative scores for the league will be HERE when they are up.

Next week the league heads to the Owens Valley and it's looking less than likely I'll be able to attend.  I hope the weather cooperates and you all go high & far.

Fly Safe -

Tim

BAPA Comp at Dunlap May '10

Dave S. and I headed to Dunlap on Wed. afternoon with the intent to fly 3 days and then participate in the SFBAPA league events over the weekend.  When we arrived at launch the conditions looked perfect for a nice 'shake-out" flight around the valley.  We camped at Dan's LZ and enjoyed a nice dinner up the road at the pub.
Thursday Jug Arrived and we had another fun flight around the valley under great cumulus clouds.  The top-of-climb was low but it was still possible to move around the valley.

Friday was more of the same and I made the decision that I would be flying my Avax XC2 in the weekend comp.  I've decided to fly Serial class in the coming season and have ordered a new Gradient Avax XC3.  The Boomerang 5 is a great wing and I've enjoyed flying it for about 30 hours.  It never did anything squirrelly to me and has great glide performance.  I just didn't connect with the wing.  I didn't trust it and felt that I could actually score better on my XC2 or new XC3.  Maybe I'm not ready for a comp wing yet - I'm OK with that.  I'm firmly of the opinion that we all fly better on wings we are confident in and flying well.  I do know that I can't compete, in the open class, with the latest 2-line wings on a two-year-old Boom 5 so I might as well fly the wings I enjoy flying and that are at the top-end of their class.  


Saturday the troops all assembled at Dan's at 9:30 and we headed up the hill at 10:30.  The conditions were forecast to be good with lift to 6-7000' and a NW wind in the valley.  A task was called from launch to hill 49917 and back, then over Big Cat - and Bald, then a leg to Orosi in the flats for a total of 25 miles.



I had a good high start and barred it all the way to Hill 49917 the lift there was sporadic, but I soon found a thermal pulsing off the hill.  I climbed high enough to get back to launch and caught some lift with the lead gaggle.  We all headed down to Big Cat and then hit the 4km cylinder around Bald Mtn.


A few wings turned directly to Ruth Hill and were struggling low in the shade, so I was looking for alternatives.  To my right (the wrong way to Orosi) was in sunlight and I thought about heading there to poach a bubble off the low hills.  At that same moment, I noticed Josh coming across low to the same area.  He began to circle low in weak lift and I came in on top of him.  The lift was weak but soon bloomed and we climbed together to over 6000' which made it possible to pick our way past the shade at Ruth Hill  and start a relatively straight forward flight to Orosi.  The clouds were working well and lift was often 500-600'/min.  Josh pulled ahead when it was obvious that the flight was going to be easy and beat me to goal by 3 minutes.  Fredric and Steve made it to goal about 30 minutes later and Hoop made a great effort, landing 1km from goal.

Lesson reaffirmed: Don't follow others into conditions that are obviously NOT working.  Look for viable options and try to capitalize on the opportunities they present.

Sunday's task was started in conditions that included low cloudbase and some forecasts of convective activity.  We built a 19 mile task that would put more pilots in goal and keep them in the Dunlap Valley.   After looking over the conditions I decided to launch early to sample the lift and make sure that the convection was reasonable.  Climbs were plentiful and the lift didn't increase in intensity as the cloudbase was approached.   As the start time approached conditions felt better and as we made a glide into Hill 49917 the trend was obviously better.  At that point I just concentrated on the race since I was in the hunt with Josh, Eric, and Fredric.   By the third turnpoint I was in 4th place and the flying was fast.  Josh had stopped to take a climb after Big Cat, on the way to Airstrip, while Eric and Fredric continued into Granny's Knob low.  It looked like they had gotten stuck on the knob, so I took the next 400'/min climb and topped out at around 5500'.  This gave me sufficient height to overfly the guys while they wrestled with sporadic lift, low over the knob.  I was fortunate to pick a great line that actually provided lift as I tagged and returned from the Airstrip.   All I needed for the last 7 miles of the task was one more climb, which I took just short of Big Cat.  I knew Josh was on final glide and Eric was hustling to catch me, but I took the climb at least 1000' too high and had way too much altitude for the final glide.  A rookie mistake, but I still placed second for the day - 4 minutes behind Josh.

I feel very good about the weekend for two reasons.  Firstly; My indecision regarding how I was going to compete this season (and in future seasons)  was resolved, as I sold my Boom 5 on Friday and ordered a new Gradient Avax XC3 on Thursday.  I'm flying serial class for the foreseeable future.
Second; I left the Boom in the bag and flew my three-yr-old Avax XC2 well this weekend and placed 2nd to Josh in both tasks.  I really feel like some of the effort I've put into studying the game is paying off.  

The league has really flourished due to Jug's efforts.  Introducing the Mentoring program and reevaluating the goals of the league to promote the participation and education of newer pilots has revitalized the league.  It's going to be a great season.

Results are HERE.  
and more photos can be viewed HERE

Tim

Video of our trip to Dunlap

Patrick edited some video of our Dunlap trip -
I'm on the green Boomerang 5

Youtube link

Dunlap Trip with SLOSA Friends

Click on photos to view the images at full size.

L to R, Dave, Bruce, Tim, Patrick, Mike
with a hazy launch in the backgroundThis week 4 of us from the San Luis Obispo area headed to Dunlap to fly. We arrived Wed., around noon, and set up camp at the Dunlap Flight Park (Dan's Place). Greg made us feel welcome and offered to drive us to launch.  The weather was classic Spring cu's with cloudbase around 4500-5000'.

Mike was new to the site, so Patrick gave him a site- brief while David and I set up.  I launched first and went to cloudbase almost immediately.  The rest of the crew launched and we all enjoyed the buoyant conditions.  I headed across to Granny's knob and then got snookered coming back to the main ridge.  I landed at the base of the ridge.  By then everybody but Patrick was on the ground and Patrick had come over to land, so I suggested we go back up for another flight.

The second flight was nice.  Conditions had mellowed and cloudbase had gone up to 6000'.  I headed over to Hill 49917 and explored the various cores over the peaks to find the bullet that, eventually, took me to cloudbase.  Then I headed for Bald Mountain and flew all the way to the West face to extract as much lift as possible there before heading for Dan's.  I didn't realize the amount of altitude that I had expected over Bald, so it was a bit 'iffy' whether I would make the final glide to Dan's (about 8K) without a little more lift.  I milked everything I could out of the glide, but still was planning a landing behind the restaurant, when I found a 100'min bubble.  I circled about 15 times in the fickle lift, while drifting downwind, and this allowed a nice approach to the main LZ at Dan's.  Mike had a beer for me and soon we were gathered around the BBQ telling tales.

Thursday we headed to another site to fly with Tom M. It's a site with limited access, so let's just call it no-name. The launch was a very intimidating granite dome that tailed off into a 1000' vertical face.  There were two primary spots to launch.  One had more space to turn and run at the cliff - but it had a 5' by 5'tall tree to negotiate at the lip.  I chose a rather tighter spot with about 6' of granite between me and the cliff while pulling up.  I launched first and the pull up and turn went well, I had good pressure in the wing and took two steps into the void.  I had an immediate good climb to the low cloudbase (about 400' over launch) but got flushed in a down cycle and, after a 15 minute scratchfest, landed in a tight meadow at the base of the hill.  Dave and Patrick and Tom all launched shortly thereafter, into a nice sunny period and made it Northwest along the ridge, and landed in big fields out there.  It was an enjoyable day and fun to explore a new launch site.

Friday we awoke to scattered clouds and a nice forecast of clear skies. XC skies gave no hints of high humidities and overdevelopment.  Bruce B. had joined the party Thursday night and Mike, Patrick, and Bruce all headed up to launch to get an early flight while Dave & I broke down the pop-up trailer.  Unfortunately the entire Dunlap valley filled with convective cloud and base was 100' below launch.  The boys headed back down to camp and decided, after a time, to head home.  At around 1:30, Dave and I got a ride with Greg to the top and conditions were just beginning to improve with nice blue gaps between the healthy cu's.  We set up and launched to fly with the thermal-birds (swallows) in the improving conditions.  Eventually we both had had enough fun & knew we had a drive ahead of us, so we landed at Dan's and headed home.

In all it was a great three days.  No epic flights, but nice company, enjoyable times, and many safe landings.
Tailwinds,
Tim

Dunlap BAPA comp March 2010

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FRIDAY
I usually listen to talking books while driving down the road. Friday I was headed to Dunlap for the first XC weekend of the 2010 season when my Dean Koonts novel had just come to a rather creepy termination.  I fired up the Sirius receiver & tuned in some Classic Rock. Soon Bob Segar was singing a medley from a live performance in 1972. I have to admit, that guy had some serious talent.  Something about the tune really haunted me & I found myself humming the tune all weekend long.

So anyway, I arrived in the Dunlap valley at 2pm and was hoping for a ride to launch for a quick flight before making camp.  I headed for Dan's to see if I could swing a ride up the hill.  I talked briefly with Greg, found that I was the only pilot going up, and soon was riding with a gal named Day to launch.  When I got to launch I ran into Tim & Scott.  I gave them a bit of local beta and set up to fly.
The lift was a bit 'edgy' but went to cloudbase at 6000'.  I boated around on the Boom 5, enjoying the opportunity to fly high enough to experiment.  This was also my first flight of any duration on the new harness (a WV X-Rated 5) so I was able to make some adjustments and figure out how to make this harness a part of my "XC System."

Tim & Scott soon launched and we all ended up at Dan's and, later, shared some beers and burgers at a local Dunlap dive.  Thanks for the beer guys!

SATURDAY
Saturday I woke, after a great night's sleep in my pop-up, and headed down to the valley floor to meet the crew.  There were quite a few pilots from all over - Reno, SoCal, Sac, SF, Santa Cruz, Tahoe, etc. We had at least 25 - a great turnout!  I had 4 mentees in attendance; Dudi, Stephan, Brad, and Aaron.  We all headed up the hill knowing that the day looked a bit weak and inverted.  We did quite a bit of site intro for the new pilots and worked with our mentees a bit.  I figured we would need to do most of our work after the task was called.  We built a rather short (34km) task, that had more than one crux. as it crossed the valley four times.  Given the low climbs of 4500-5000', there were many opportunities to dirt early in the task.

I launched early & had a decent start.  The gaggle wasn't very high so the first beat up to 49917 was sketchy and many of us were low on the face of the mountain, ridge soaring around the corner to try to tag the cylinder.  I was 50 meters too low to tag the turnpoint on my first pass, so I went back for another figure'8' in a bubble and tagged it next pass.  It was low and desperate most of the way down to last chance.  Fortunately I had caught a few of the lead gaggle and we worked together to find a bubble and climb enough to tag Last Chance & get back to the main ridge.  Those that stayed on LC to work the weak lift soon worked their way down to a landing at Dan's. . .


I got myself stuck at the ridge for a bit and worked slowly (cautiously) along the ridge, lower than I like.  My goal was to get to the house thermals in front of launch.  I don't like flying low like this with my limited experience on the Boom 5, but it was this kind of day -


I caught a nice 4-500'/min. thermal in front of launch and soon rejoined my high aspect ratio buds.  We all headed across to Granny's Knob together and found a sweet thermal that gave us (almost) enough altitude to get across to the main ridge again.  Josh and I headed out together and I aimed for a rock face that I hoped would provide some heat.  Josh got there with about 400' more than I and had an easier go of it, but I was able to get up, in time.  My thermalling still isn't as accurate or comfortable as it was on the Avax XC2 - maybe due to the much heavier brake pressure, maybe due to lack of familiarity.  At this point Josh took off and hit 49917, DNLCH and went on glide for goal.  I hit 49917 & DNLCH  but couldn't get high enough to head out on final glide, so I headed back up to 49917 for some additional altitude.  This cost quite a bit of time, but by now I realized that the task was over for all but Josh & me.  Unfortunately I couldn't get high enough to get a 'glide-to-goal' of less than 14:1.  I searched in vain & watched as the CirroStratus slowly shut the day off.  Finally I decided to head for RNGSTN with the intention of scoring a bit of lift at the knob between Turkey and the ranger station.  The prevailing wind would provide drift towards goal as I surfed the cow farts, so there was some hope. . .


I hit the RNGSTN turnpoint with exactly 1000 meters of altitude (about 400meters AGL) and a glide req'd to goal of 20:1.  No bumps were felt all the way to the ground.  I landed in the Turkey farm relics, a little over a mile from goal..


Josh made goal and Susan did a great job, making it to the ranger station.  It was definitely a day that required an awareness of pacing to match the conditions.

I think many of the new pilots were a little frustrated with the day.  The task made them attempt crossings they wouldn't have if they were free-flying.  This is one of the primary differences between flying the path of least resistance and flying a prescribed task.  Much of the initial (steep) learning curve is spent learning this pacing aspect of flying a task, and planning tactics to get around the course.  Watching more adept pilots is very helpful in both of these skills. 

SUNDAY
Because the first task was found by most to be a tough one, and because Sunday's forecast was very similar, we decided a "Do-Over" task would be valuable.  The same task was called with a bigger radius at RNGSTN.  In reality, the day turned out to be very weak, and we weren't getting the climbs we got the day before.  I tried a hail-mary from Granny's Knob back to the main ridge and found only teaser-lift.  I dragged much of the lead gaggle with me & we all ended our day at the St. Nicolas Ranch LZ.


Results are HERE, and my flights are HERE.


I feel the weekend was a great shake-out for all the guys with new equipment & wings, and a great intro to the comp format for the new guys and gals.  Next time it will be less intimidating and they will have a feel for the pacing of the day and the flight.

As I drove home, and recapped the weekend, filled with people, laughs, flying and fun - I realized that I was still humming that Pete Segar tune - It was the Travelin' Man/Beautiful Loser medly . . .
I feel the traces they've left on my soul 
Those are the memories that make me a wealthy soul- 


Tim

BAPA Comp at Dunlap Aug '09

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This weekend Jack Grisanti joined me to fly in a weekend comp at Dunlap, CA. We drove up Friday night and stayed in my Pop-Up camper. The days were about 85*-90* in the Valley but cooled in the evening for perfect sleeping weather at the top of the hill.

The turnout was good with many first-timers and a few visitors from Hawaii, Germany, and Bo from Seoul.

The weekend forecast looked like the top of climb would be around 6000' with good climb rates and no cloud. Actual conditions were good with some very small cores that made centering a bit of a struggle.

The 65K task on Saturday was lap of the Dunlap valley followed by a 37K leg to goal at Woodlake. I had a good start and was in the hunt for the first few waypoints. At Bald Mtn., the last fix before the leg to Woodlake, I was about 10-15 minutes behind Josh & Eric and Kansas. I was between the lead pack and the second small gaggle. I hit the Squaw Valley turnpoint and decided to go back to Bald for a climb which would also (possibly) allow me to be joined by Steve and Alex to help with the nleg to Woodlake. By now the West winds had established and it seemed to break up the lift on top of Bald. To make a long story short, I ended my flight at the Ranger Station with many others after getting skunked at Bald. I had made what I thought was the high percentage decision. The fact that it didn't work out doesn't it make it wrong, but it does make me replay the decision to look for reasonable alternatives.

Eric was the only pilot in goal, with Josh and Alex just short of goal. I placed 5th or 6th for the day.

Sunday weather was a carbon copy of Sat. and we called a 39K task that included 5 valley crossings. With the winds, and critical crossings, this task was very technical. Every pilot had at least one or two low saves.

I had another good start and was, again, right behind Josh & Eric for the first hour, with Kansas, Alex, and Steve, just ahead of me or hot on my heels. We (the second gaggle) actually traded positions many times as each of us found our own holes, routes, and low saves. I was very conservative generally, and used most climbs until the net gain (lift vs. drift) was a wash.

Near the end of the task, as I neared the ranger station I passed by Kansas and Josh, who were in the lead and flying from the Ranger station to launch. They were quite low and flying along my track. I had felt little in the way of lift, so I was in doubt about the prospect of lift along that route. As I headed the last 2K to Ranger station, I kept an eye on Josh & Kansas and it was not good, so I made the turnpoint and turned left to a low (200' tall) lift trigger. The hill had been terraced for a home and had a field at the base if no lift was found. Fortunately, I hit a well behaved thermal at about 250' above the ground that took me up 3000' and assured making it to launch. I'd have to say that my decision to take the weak climb, just prior to the ranger station, which gave me the extra 200-300' to get to my lift trigger, was THE decision that allowed me to make it to goal. Luck was a factor too, but in this instance, I made my luck.

On the way to launch I found one more boomer that gave me enough altitude to fly from launch to Granny's knob, then to goal. Alex had had a similar save and was only about 5-10 minutes behind me into goal. There were no other pilots at the goal field, so my initial thoughts were that Josh and Eric had gone looking for shade and beer. It wasn't until a guy drove by and congratulated me that I realized I was first into goal 8-) Alex was also surprised when he found out that we were the first. SEE EDIT BELOW.

We had a celebratory brew and packed up before a few other pilots landed at the LZ, but I'm unsure if they completed the task. It was a long day that required the dreaded low save. I was able to make goal while others weren't, only because I was lucky enough to get my save when I needed it most. Alex flew very consistently well - placing second on both days.

It was a great weekend with a lot of great flights and great people.

EDIT - My initial thoughts were correct! Eric Reed won the task day with a great time of 1:20 for the task. I was a full 38 minutes behind Eric. He then continued on to a landing out by the pizza place. Alex and I are happy with second and third.

Results will be HERE soon.

My Sat. Flight is HERE.

My Sun. Flight is HERE.

This was a fun weekend and a good warmup for the US Nat's next week.

Tim

A couple more photos from Dunlap

Thanks to Alex for sending me these two images of our flight last weekend together. Sorry I wasn't able to reciprocate Alex.

CNTRL-CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR LARGER VERSION

Good Karma Weekend - BAPA Weekend in Dunlap

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Imagine this: Your adventure today is to get dropped off somewhere, 20 miles away from home, and get back using your cunning, charms, and skill. . . or bribery – if necessary. This drop off point may be far from a main road; may even be in a pasture far from the farm house (which might be deserted). You won’t even know what the name of the road is, and cell service is doubtful. . . Sound like fun? That is how every cross country paraglider flight may turn out. Often, the real adventures are the events that occur after we land. Sometimes it is less than fun. Sometimes you see the best in people and really enjoy the process – it helps if you have good karma. That’s the way this weekend worked out for me.

This weekend had some of the SoCal crew joining the BAPA XC league regulars in Dunlap. The weather was stellar; great cumulus cloud streets to indicate likely lift sources and very light West winds. The only overdevelopment was East, over the high Sierra, so it was not a factor - perfect weather for XC.

The flying was fun and ‘active’ due to some very strong edges to the thermal cores. I saw my wing do things that I hadn’t seen before – occasionally accordioning and bending midspan in ways that were just ‘wrong.’ I told myself that if I didn’t look up – all was well. The views of the wing aside, nothing scary or uncomfortable occurred and the flying was a lot of fun. That said – My flying basically sucked. My decision making still put me in holes that I had to climb out of and slowed me down. I also landed well short of goal both days.

Saturday’s task was a lap around the Dunlap valley, then out 180 to the pizza joint, then South to Woodlake. I made it into Squaw Valley and decided to fly along a cloud-street that bordered on a stretch of remote country. I did my best but had to land in a field at the South East end of Drum Valley. I actually had landed in this field a couple years ago and hiked about 5 miles before a retrieve driver picked me up. No such retrieve drivers were coming on this trip though. Here’s where the first bout of good karma kicked in:

The ranch I landed at is a full eleven miles from the main road. There was one person within 11 miles of me, when I landed, and he offered a ride into Orosi. He was going to leave until he saw me land, so he waited 15 minutes until I hiked out of the field. His dog, an Aussie Sheppard, named Murphy, kept me company while I packed up. As it turns out, Mike owns the ranch but is working in Sacramento in the Schwartsnegger cabinet. He’s the head man in the state when it comes to State natural resources (parks, water, minerals, etc.) Mike gave me a ride all the way to Orosi. It was an interesting conversation during the ride into town. There I met up with Jay and Shad and we went looking for other pilots. Good karma to them.

The task on Sun. was a leg from Dunlap to Orosi, then up Hwy 63 to the 180 junction, back to launch, then to the ranger station. Josh C. was very patient on Sunday and waited for the gaggle to form before starting his transitions. He basically ran a clinic for a few of us by throttling back. I was with him until a few Km short of the Orosi turnpoint when I managed to find a sink-hole that put me on the deck East of Orosi – 20+ miles from my truck.

Five minutes after getting to the road, a pickup stopped and the driver asked me where I was going. “North,” I said. He asked where I wanted to end up. “My truck is at the Dunlap Community Center.” I responded. “Well, hell’s bells hop in!” he yells, “I’m going to Dunlap myself . . . But I’m drinkin’ beer, ya OK with that?” “SHEYA” I responded, not realizing how many had come before the one in his hand. We (his name was Dean) made a stop in Orange Cove for some kick-ass burritos and then he dropped me off at my truck 40 minutes later. Here’s hoping your back surgery goes well in July, Dean.

I must be living right because both of these retrieves could have been 4 hour fiascos. Instead they were efficient, quick, and enjoyable. If you are ever driving along, and you see a guy next to the road with a floppy hat, sunburned nose, big-bag, neoprene purse, and hard to read sign that says “GLIDER PILOT NEEDS RIDE”, stop and pick me up. Your adventure will be part of mine – hopefully you will enjoy your adventures as much as I do mine.

My flights are HERE

U.S. Nat's Video

Here's a video I put together that shows what it's like when thermalling with 70 other pilots before the start of the task. The video also has shots of many of the competitors and podium shots of the winners. Thanks to Aaron Beck and Dean Stratton for sharing their photos.

For the best quality version you can right-click and save the .WMV file at the bottom right corner of the Vimeo Page.

2009 U.S. Paragliding Nats - Dunlap, CA from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.

U.S. Nationals - Dunlap, CA - Day Three - Task Three

Today’s task was a ridge run twice, along the ridge that launch is located on, then out to Squaw Valley and South to Lindsay. Total task length was 80km (50 miles). I was looking forward to this task because I lived with my girls in Visalia for 25 years and would be flying just East of Visalia if I made goal.
The start went OK but I was a bit low so to avoid getting in a hole I slowed a bit. I still managed to find myself lower than I liked, at times, while negotiating the first two turnpoints. Conditions were beginning to get a bit turbulent near the ridge due to the normal afternoon winds. At one point one of the competitors took a big asymmetric and cravatted . He successfully threw his reserve chute and landed unscathed on Hill 49917.
As we all headed across the valley to the Squaw Valley turnpoint, we were glad to be leaving the ridge. There was some nice lift during the leg to Lindsay. I was running between (back and forth) two small gaggles – trying desperately not to fly alone. As we worked our way down past Antelope Valley (yesterday’s goal) I found one of the best climbs of the day. The thermal was big and strong and took me to 6200’. This allowed me to head South on 1/4 bar with 50km or more groundspeed. The winds were gradually shifting to the NW and looking like a tailwind at certain altitudes. I took any climb over 300’/min. and watched the miles tick away for the last 20 miles of the flight. I crossed Woodlake high and had to decide on a line from Woodlake to Lindsay. I started with a direct line, but soon decided to dive into a large field with burning stump fires for a much needed climb. I was below 1000’ agl when I arrived at the field but was able to core a rough 300'/min. smokey climb to 4000.' This gave me a 10:1 glide to goal for a short time. I knew I needed a bit more of a climb but now I had Rocky Hill made and I knew that there were usually thermals over this hill since I have flown RC gliders over that hill.

I didn't connect with any decent lift and fought the fight, but ended my flight 3.6km short of goal. We had 21 in goal on a day when noone thought we'd fly 30km!

All my flights can be found here

We've had quite a struggle to get back to camp before 9pm this week, but some improvement has been made. That, along with the archaic internet connection available at the facility has made updating this blog impossible unless I sit outside a gas-station before breakfast.

The weather looks good on Thursday so I'm looking forward to more good flying. The comp has has some rough edges with regard to organization, but the site has proven itself worthy of great flying and adequate facilities to host a comp.

Tim

BAPA Competition - Dunlap

This weekend we flew 2 XC tasks from the Dunlap launch. I'll write more about the tasks tomorrow when I've had some sleep. But here is a video of some of the first day fun in the gaggles & on the ridge.

Tim


Airtime at Dunlap from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.

U.S. Nationals - Dunlap, CA - Briefly

The website is hot and registration is open for the first leg of the US Nationals. Competition will begin on Monday, April 27th and run through May 2nd 2009.

Dunlap is one of the sites I consider a home site and I'm really looking forward to a great week of flying, learning, and visiting with the 'regulars' at these events. Here is some information about the area:

The Flying:
The Dunlap launch (36° 45.916'N 119° 5.879'W) lies along a a 1500 meter high ridge. This is the Eastern (high side) of the Dunlap valley. The valley is approximately 10km long (NW-SE) and 5km wide with the valley floor around 600 meters. The valley, while small, can be technically challenging when trying to make expeditious crossings. The long task options are to the West, North, and South. We usually fly a few valley crossings before leaving to fly into the next ridges West. Once on the Eastern side of the San Joaquin Valley there is little restriction to the distances achievable to the North and South.

The flying in the area can be very consistent. In recent years we have held many NorCal XC League events at this site with only one or two no-fly days. Spring flying in Dunlap can be quite nice with climbs to altitudes above 2700 meters and cumulus clouds to show likely routes. Winds are generally SW-W-NW. The flying isn't as dependent on (or affected by) convergences as the Woodrat area, although some convergences can be found in the afternoon.

The launch area has been improved and expanded to allow 2 or 3 launches simultaneously. A large layout/set-up area is also available adjacent to launch. There is quite a bit of poison oak around the cleared launch area so consider that if you are allergic.

As far as logistics go, Cell Phone reception can be very spotty in the Dunlap area and at launch. Internet access at the St. Nicholas Ranch will be very useful for those with Skype. There are only a few restaurants in the area so the meals served at the Ranch will also be a welcome convenience as well as a nice social gathering. There is no running water available at launch, so bring your own.

Some of my most enjoyable tasks have been in the Dunlap area due to the sometimes low top-of-climbs which make the technical/strategic decisions very important.
HERE are some of my flights from last year -
Tim

Dunlap Recon

One of the things that a good comp pilot does is minimize distractions and "get stuff out of the way." During a competition, the stuff of daily living can be a distraction - or worse, if not handled properly, it can affect your performance. Get a bad night's sleep or skip a meal and you will not be at the top of your game.

How to provide options to 80-100 pilots in a very small town has been on the mind of Comp. Director Jugdeep Aggarwal. This week I met Jug in Dunlap, CA to do a bit of informal recon and planning for the upcoming U.S. Paragliding Nationals. We made a visit to the St Nicholas Ranch in the Dunlap Valley. The facility is associated with a Greek Orthodox monastery and very well maintained and organized.

Jug's goal is to provide the best experience for all pilots. A couple of the issues each pilot needs to deal with during a competition week are those of lodging and food. In the Dunlap area this is a bit of a challenge. The lodging available at the various small motels is, to be generous, 'very rustic.' Those that want to camp can find spots in many places around the valley but there is no WiFi and services are generally a bit gritty. Another concern is the need for transportation and transit times from the campsite to HQ each day. Additionally there are only a few small places to eat in the local area.

When I saw the facilities that the St. Nicholas ranch provides, and the willingness to work with us the staff showed, I knew that the best place to stay in the valley during the comp would be the ranch. Here's what they offer:

Clean modern rooms and beds with A/C and heat.

A beautiful mess hall with great food & clean comfortable dining room

Spacious meeting rooms and scoring room

WiFi

Swimming pool and Rec Room with ping-pong and foosball tables

A beautiful pastoral setting with hiking and a lake on site.

Jug has decided to offer an option for an 'inclusive' plan. I know what you are thinking, THAT WILL BE TOO EXPENSIVE! I'm not trying to sell YOU the plan but I'll tell you why I'm for it - It pencils out. If a clean, comfortable bed is available at a competitive price and the chow hall serves good food across the hall, why sleep on the ground and drive all over the valley to eat cold pancakes? This place is a gem in Dunlap and I can't believe I haven't discovered it until now!

It has been decided that The Ranch will be the headquarters for the meet and it was logical to offer an inclusive package that allowed all participants the option to sleep and eat dinners and breakfasts at the ranch. This spot is the perfect place for pilot meetings and briefings as well as social events around the BBQ pit, ping-pong tables, and the pool.

I can, without hesitation, endorse this facility as the best spot in Dunlap to base our competition. I will also go out on a limb and say that you will enjoy staying at the Ranch. I'll be staying at the site and eating the home cooked meals in the dining room. Why? Because I know the quality is there and because it will "get stuff out of my way" at a very comparable cost to the sub-standard alternatives.

For those of you concerned with the Ranch's association with the Church, I understand where you are coming from - I was there and asked, "what are the rules?" Is smoking allowed? YUP (outside) How 'bout alcohol? No Problemo. The only restrictions the site has is (smirk) NO FIREARMS. Oh, and no dogs.

If you want to have an enjoyable first comp of the 2009 season, come to Dunlap and see what I'm talking about.

More on the site next -

Tim

2009 U.S. Paragliding Competition Schedule

From the USHGA website, I have gleaned the following Competition Schedule for the 2009 season:
The website addresses are correct - They may not be up yet, however.

Sierra National Challenge-US PG Nationals (Dunlap, CA)
4/26/2009 through 5/3/2009
Website: http://santacruzparagliding.com/

West Coast Paragliding Championships (Woodrat, OR)
5/31/2009 through 6/6/2009
Website: www.mphsports.com

Rat Race Paragliding Competition (Woodrat, OR)
6/28/2009 through 7/4/2009
Website: www.mphsports.com

US Paragliding Nationals (Squaw Peak, UT)
8/16/2009 through 8/22/2009
Website: http://usparaglidingnats.com

The first and last meets of the year, (Dunlap, CA and Squaw Pk., UT) will comprise the "US Nationals." Their scores will be combined (with a throw-away option) to determine the US Champion.