Sylmar Hang Gliding Association

I'm glad you are OK, Vrezh!. Good luck on figuring out what's going on so you might be back in the air. If you cannot, then I wish you the best after your flying career. I'm rooting for you!

Our friend, Jim Mercadante passed away on Sunday of Covid-19, as did his uncle (within 2 hours of each other). Jim was a good friend to me, and we spent many days riding bikes, flying and such. I couldn't have done some of my best flights without him as my driver - He gave up flying time so that I c...

I had a surprisingly fun flight from Walt’s Point in the Owens Valley Friday the 9th of October. I had no driver, and Covid rules applied, so I dropped my eBike at the bottom and drove to launch. I launched just after noon, and got to 12,600 feet several times. I could have gotten higher, but I was ...

The Lake Fire was near there. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/6953/ Yes it was. And there is (at least as of Thursday) a TFR. But, the area around and between Launch and LZ are outside the forest and outside the TFR. The border of the TFR for the Bobcat fire also doesn't affect Avenue S. Bot...

By the way, according to the Crestline forum, all national parks in California are closed now.

But Ave S is outside of them.

Therefore, it should be open. With both Kagel and Crestline closed, and Santa Anas here, I thought I'd mention the fact that Avenue S appears to be outside the closure. The air is (somewhat) better too, at least during the Santa Ana. When the wind switches back, it'll be worse there, but you won't c...

George, the packet that we got from Chris on July 6 has Day passes that need to be attached to the Flight confirmation email for each participant. At least that is Chris and my understanding. Huh. I never got those, or I missed them. It all worked out (mostly) though. Thanks for the info. If I deci...

Snow play was fine. More people than I would have liked, but nowhere near enough to be an issue. Maybe 4-5 groups in the actual snow play area. There are also some spots in the woods right next to it that you can camp in. Many of those were taken. The meadow next to the snow play area might work as ...

I just monitored the last two weekends. The pilots had a heck of a time getting day passes for the appropriate days. The previous post says Arthur can get day passes for the flying days Sat/Sun. Is that something other monitors can do, or is that something Arthur as a connection to get? Nobody I tal...

I hope everyone gets to fly somewhere. I do plan on going to the Owens soon. My wife offered to drive for me in about two weeks, and my kids are willing to come, so no childcare issues.

I'm thinking this isn't going to happen. :cry: I could be wrong, and I'm still holding out a bit of hope, but right now, I don't see how we can do this as a group. Individuals with family drivers, sure. But a group? I don't see how. (And I am unlikely to have such a driver at that time.) But we don'...

Excellent. We still need to find driver(s), I think. I don't currently have one. I do have a vehicle that can take 3-4 gliders and a similar number of pilots (myself included.) And it can go off road. Tight space for gear, but we can make it work.

I forgot to mention: Hang III or above. Strong launches. Usually, there is very little wind on launch, and it is almost a cliff. And as Mario says, weather permitting. Usually, the road is open by Memorial Day weekend, but not always. (It wasn't open that early last year, I think.) But 90%+ times it...

I am seriously considering going to the Owens Valley for Memorial Day weekend. As of now, I have no driver or other pilots, but if anyone wants to come, lets see what we can set up. (Weather and road conditions permitting, of course.) Early in the season the mountains are beautiful with all the snow...

bwa ha ha ha

Good one, Kevin
Actually, it starts when my wife, J gets there...

Thanks. 5pm it is.

Maybe I missed it, but I see a date for the Christmas party, but no time. When is it?

Heal quickly, Kevin!

Yep, Sue kicked some serious booty, flying well in weak conditions. Thanks to all who went, and made the trip better by your presence.

I will miss Katherine greatly. She was a kind and helpful person, and a huge asset to the club. I cherish her memory.

I have a reservation at the Dow Villa, for Fri/Sat nights. It has 2 beds, so if anyone wants to share a room, I'm ok with that. Or not. Up to you all. $161.28 total for both nights. So, if we split it, that's $40.32 per night each. ($80.64 for both nights, each). Note: The Dow hotel is a very old bu...