Sylmar Hang Gliding Association

David Van Noppen asked me to post this for him:

The silence on this forum is deafening, but I persuaded a couple co-workers to take Friday off from work and go skiing. We'll depart from Arcadia about 6:30 and arrive at Bear Mountain just about in time for first tracks. If any SHGA folks happen to show up, it would be fun. This means Saturday and ...

This coming weekend (Feb 28 and March 1) is looking cold and rainy and not very flyable, but the skiing at Big Bear might be pretty good. My preference is probably for Saturday, though I could be talked into Sunday. Bear Mountain has most of their advanced runs open, so I'm leaning that direction. T...

I confess I don’t see a compelling reason to restrict access to the pilot forum. My general belief is that if something isn’t suitable for the world at large to read, then it’s probably better not to post it on a forum in the first place, whatever the access policy. One reason is simply pragma...

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory holds an open house most years, and welcomes the public to see what we do. This year, the event is October 11-12, 9 AM until 4 PM both days. JPL always puts on a great show for everyone interested in space and science, adults and kids alike. The place works like a ...

According to my bathroom scales and the glider manual, my U2-145 wing loading is: Me: 158 pounds Gear: 38 pounds (harness, helmet, parachute, camelbak, etc.) Glider: 64 pounds Total: 260 pounds Sail area: 145 ft^2 Wing loading: 1.79 lbs/ft^2 To me, my U2 seems just the right size, and I love the way...

I'm sorry (sort of) that I missed all the excitement on Sunday, but even so, I've got plenty of opinions about how to land to the north in the Sylmar LZ. Really, the rules aren't that complicated, and they're the same as they are for any landing. * Know as much as possible before getting to the LZ. ...

Mine! While unpacking gliders and gear after Santa Cruz Flats, I must have gotten distracted by beer in the LZ and left it there. Thanks for finding it.

This morning, the board decided that there will not be a competition entry fee, and RLF and XC sign-offs will not be required. The board's intent is to encourage members to participate, have fun, and perhaps learn something along the way. It's worth noting that even at the same site and in the same ...

It's true: my Litespeed-S 3.5 is for sale; asking $3100. Following are a few photos and a whole lot of details about it. It's appropriate for a Hang-4 pilot who wants to move up to a topless glider for a good price. Alternatively, I'm told that one could put a new sail on this frame, to get a Litesp...

On Saturday, Will and I campaigned to fly from Cedar Mountain, so the Sylmar crowd scouted LZs and collected on launch. The wind wasn't right, but we were optimists and set up our gliders. In time, a bunch of pilots from Las Vegas joined us. Their club president, Ron Peck, looked at the crosswind an...

Promptly on Thursday morning, July 4, Lin O'Driscoll and I met in the LZ, collected gliders and gear, and pointed our way towards Hurricane. Many hours and many miles later, we rolled to a stop at the small airport in Hurricane to scout LZs. Not ten minutes later, Steve and Pat Murillo arrived with ...

Please count me in for a tent site as well. My tentative plan is to drive out Thursday, July 4, and arrive just in time for an evening flight at Hurricane Ridge and a swim in the Virgin river on the way to Kanarraville. We then draw straws as necessary to see who flies and who drives chase on Friday...

It's mine! I reclaimed it and put it to use again today. But me, whack? Nah; it must have come from the factory that way. Thanks, Janyce, for finding it.

Count me in! I can't help much with driver logistics, but if it comes to it, I'm willing to draw straws. Some of my most memorable flights have been at Hurricane. One of my first cross-country flights (an an inter-state flight at that) went twenty miles south along the Hurricane cliffs into Arizona ...

After much debate, Lisa Wendt and I finally have a plan. Will Ramsey and Kia Ravanfar might join us for a day or two, still TBD. Lisa and I will converge on the Sylmar LZ around 4 or 5 PM on Friday afternoon, depending a little on our work obligations that day. We'll pick up gliders (she has her tru...

A second glider will also be auctioned at the Spring Air Festival! According to Cyndia: David VanNoppen is donating a Moyes GTR World Beater glider to sell at the Spring Air Fest. Description: Size Lg Spectrum Sail. Bought as a demo glider from Morningside flight Park in 1990 Approximately 250 hours...

I never thought I'd be writing an essay about beer. Hang gliding leads people to do strange things. Let's define a control experiment. We'll start with a cooler containing a slurry of ice and water, but no beer, that's been sitting around the LZ for a while. It's at equilibrium, so the ice is at 32 ...

This is kinda late, but can I still sign up?

On Sunday afternoon, March 3, I lost my wristwatch (traditional men's watch with an analog dial and metal band) and pocket knife (red Victorinox swiss army knife). It looks like I put them in a harness pocket and then failed to zip it up. There's a chance they fell out between the back glider set-up...