Year End 2019

Talk about anything hang gliding.

Moderator: Chip

Post Reply
User avatar
BudRob
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:40 pm

Year End 2019

Post by BudRob »

So I had this speech I was going to make during the Christmas party, but the microphone was missing a cable and people seemed to be having too good a time with partying; so I decided just to put it in writing instead.

A lot has been accomplished this year. We did have several unfortunate accidents that resulted in pilot injuries, but we have made several improvements to safety as well. This year, we have:

1) Requested those with radios to call out aircraft in the vicinity with location and direction so that other pilots can be aware. We also asked those pilots to announce their altitude and their intention to land as soon as they cross the Gavina bridge. This aids others in the landing pattern to know someone else is coming in and they can answer back to the person who called out, who may not seem them.

2) Trained our regular wire crew members to look for hook-in, leg straps attached, all zippers closed and control bracket pins fully inserted. Since this "training", I have been caught walking out to launch with both sprogs hanging out on my right side (thank you Sam Chipman!).

3) Improved our emergency response procedures (based on 3 rescues done this year) by including GPS coordinates for launch and other areas of the mountains, and included easy to read copies in our LZ phone box and also in the first aid kit on launch.

4) Improved glider visibility by asking those with dark colored gliders to apply fluorescent tape to the leading edges and/or nosecones. Midair collisions have happened here and elsewhere. Making gliders more visible to other pilots will decrease this risk in the future.

5) Begun removing (leveling) our LZ overshoot hill. This hill was built when the wash overshoot was full of boulders and the risk of overshooting the overshoot hill wasn't much worse than just baring left and overshooting into the wash. This is not true anymore. The overshoot area of the wash is now a good place to land and overshooting the "overshoot hill" almost never has a good outcome. An added plus is that the airflow into the LZ might be a bit less turbulent when this hill is gone.

We have also made several non-safety related improvements to our LZ. We have:

1) Added 560 square feet of new concrete and a garden in front of our bathrooms. Next year we will be adding another "shed" with a large viewing window on part of this new concrete. This new building is intended partially for storage and partially for pilots or family to have a place to sit inside and have workstations (for laptops or whatever) and still be able to see the flying activities.

2) Run a new water line 150 feet to supply water to 3 new sprinklers around the bulls-eye. There was never enough water in that area to keep that area green without the need for manual watering. These new sprinklers keep the bulls-eye very green and should expand it slightly without ever pulling a hose out to manually water.

3) We purchased 32 new folding chairs and a public address sound system for our events (we had been renting before).

4) Installed a carbon filtered drinking fountain at the utility sink.

5) Installed a refrigerator for all pilots to keep their lunches and beverages cold while they are flying.

And finally, let's not forget that we now have a BOD position where one of our directors-at-large reaches out to new pilots in an effort to make them feel welcome. He (Frederick Wagner) also reports on their progress from time to time on our website news.

Let's hope that 2020 is better than 2019, at least in terms of injury causing accidents. Please think safety all the time!
User avatar
Vrezh
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 8:52 pm

Re: Year End 2019

Post by Vrezh »

Rob,
Thank you very much for your endless work around the LZ and in the club!
We are truly fortunate to have you!
And congrats on your reelection!
User avatar
Bob Kuczewski
Posts: 660
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:39 am
Location: San Diego
Contact:

Re: Year End 2019

Post by Bob Kuczewski »

Vrezh wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2019 7:33 pm Rob,
Thank you very much for your endless work around the LZ and in the club!
We are truly fortunate to have you!
And congrats on your reelection!
Agreed.

That's an impressive list of accomplishments Rob. Thank you.
Join a National Hang Gliding Organization: US Hawks at ushawks.org
View my rating at: USHGRS
Every human at every point in history has an opportunity to choose courage over cowardice. Look around and you'll find that opportunity in your own time.
User avatar
WingNutz
Posts: 231
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 10:18 am
Location: West Hollywood, CA

Re: Year End 2019

Post by WingNutz »

Thank you, Rob, for all you do.

Larry
Soar With Prudent Passion

Larry Chamblee
User avatar
BudRob
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:40 pm

Re: Year End 2019

Post by BudRob »

For the record, this was a TEAM effort. I had plenty of help from a lot of others! I just wanted to hi-light what our board of directors ( and non board members) have accomplished this year. We work to make this a better place for all.
User avatar
JD
Posts: 1682
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:05 am

Re: Year End 2019

Post by JD »

BudRob wrote: Fri Dec 27, 2019 9:15 am....We work to make this a better place for all.
And it shows. I'm always proud to introduce and re-introduce visiting and local pilots to the club grounds.
Post Reply