Preserved from Ride-Sharing forum, which purges, for its historical value:
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007:
OK, I have a driver, but I still need a USHPA member as a witness. And I'd like company. I have room for TWO pilots, three if we squeeze. SO, if you want to fly the Owens, call me:
Friday, Saturday and (if we all agree) Sunday
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
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After you'all finish watching George make his record, be sure to make it back to Sylmar on Sunday for the Hurricane Utah trip briefing; who knows, you might be able to make you own records on that trip!
Groundhog
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Good luck George! Wish I was retired
Jim Shaw
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What record do you have your sights on?
Chip
Site Admin
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George told me it's out & return.
Foster
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Then why does he need a driver?
Just kidding, good luck George
Chip
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Us Americans are spoiled. Nobu would have scoffed at the idea of a driver, out and return or as far as you can go!
(For those of you who do not know, Nobu from Japan when and flew in the Big O by himself on at least a couple of occasions, without oxygen as well. One of those times he flew well over 100 miles. The way he got back to his vehicle on launch from 100+ miles away is even more entertaining than the flight itself!)
Jim Shaw
Before Nobu even know what OV meant, there was Ito-san. Ito-san spoke only 10 words of english, was 5' 3" and 180 lbs, and acted a lot like a yakuza. He never had a chase in the OV. He would land out in the middle of nowwhere, stash his glider in the bush, and stand by Hwy 395 with his thumb out grasping a $20 bill, and his helmet in hand.
Never seemed to have a problem.
jimshaw
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Oh yeah, well Nobu stashed his glider in the bush too, along with his helmet, and hitchhiked with no $20 bill in his hand, in the cold, dark night! A biker picked him up and traveled at over 100 miles an hour, with Nobu hanging on for dear life (and without a helmet!). Nobu said that that ride, more than hanggliding in the Big O or anything else he has ever done, scared him the most by far! He does know at least 11 english words though, but not many more than that:)
HELP: What's a "yakuza"?
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Tom
A japanese gangster
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Thaks for the good wishes.
I did fly, but the weather forecast was wrong. The high blocking the westerlies broke down or moved and a low set up. That meant SW winds, that kept increasing. For those who don't know, you don't want to be on the Sierras in a strong SW wind. It got nasty, and I was clearly not going to make the record, so I went out to the valley for a bit of pleasant downwind glide. I then deliberately landed just S of Bishop. Nice green field. Right next to 395.
In any case, I got the bugs worked out of my new equipment. There were some with the O2, radio, gloves, etc. So it was a good practice day. The forecast for the next few days was worse, so I came home.
I'll try again later. I will be making 2-3 day trips on short notice from now until mid-late July. So, if anyone is interested, call me and I'll keep you in mind for the next time. If anyone wants to drive, call me too. 661-272-5869
Oh, and it is the Out and Return record that I'm looking at.
Owens Valley O&R Attempt
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SHGA Communications
- Posts: 106
- Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:20 am
- Location: Hang Gliding Capital of the World
Owens Valley O&R Attempt
Last edited by SHGA Communications on Wed Jun 27, 2007 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
SHGA Communications
- Posts: 106
- Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:20 am
- Location: Hang Gliding Capital of the World
Grant: I did have a driver, but no radio contact after the 1st 15 minutes. Does that count? I kept going too, until I thought that if I continued I'd end up in a canyon under canopy like you.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
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Oi vei !
Vrezh
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stebbins wrote:
Grant: I did have a driver, but no radio contact after the 1st 15 minutes. Does that count? I kept going too, until I thought that if I continued I'd end up in a canyon under canopy like you.
Actually, I was under radio contact during the unfortunate Black Mountain incident, and have the distinct pleasure of calling a Mayday and a location before throwing the chute. To bad the radio didn't work after that; I couldn't call again for 20 minutes!
Groundhog--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grant, I didn't mean to imply you had no radio contact. Only that I wasn't quite the wuss you indicated. I did wuss out, though. It was some of the worst air I've ever seen on the Sierras without a strong west wind. Weird. The wind was SSW, but not all that strong. And only SSW above 12,500. Below that it was ESE. I'm guessing that SSW is actually worse in light/medium winds than W. Hungary Joe would have good input on that.
In any case, I left the mountains deliberately. Besides, the day was clearly not strong enough to get me to my >200 mile goal in time. So I decided on a nice pleasant down-the-valley drift, and a landing in a soft, green, meadow. Right next to the road and right next to the gate.
I will try again. Got most of the bugs worked out of my new equipment, and out of the 1st part of the route.
And I'm very glad things worked out for you. I was in the air in the Owens on that same day, and it was another nasty one. I deliberately stayed on the Sierras, since I could see that the Whites would be even worse with the brisk SE winds. Sometimes being a wuss is a good thing.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
Foster wrote:
George told me it's out & return.
Yep. Current one is 204.5 miles. (Approximately; they measure all that stuff in kilometers.) The record was set in Australia by Rohan Holtcamp (sp?).
My understanding is that the current Owens Valley out-and-return record is 198 miles. But I believe that record wasn't set by starting and ending at the same place, only nearby. To set an offical one, you must start and end in the same 400 meter circle. Although you can land anywhere after that. Having to start and end inside the same 400 meter circle makes the task significantly more difficult in the Owens, although not on the flatlands.
And I still plan on going back up to try again. I'm watching the weather for a good day with lighter winds. Today might have worked, but it was the only day this week that I HAD to be home. It doesn't look good for the next couple of days. The winds are picking back up.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
I plan on making another attempt Mon/Tues and maybe Wed. Wed looks less likely.
Weather looks good. Light winds and moderate lift and heights on Mon. Stronger winds (but not too strong) and stronger lift and higher top of lift on Tuesday.
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stebbins wrote:
My understanding is that the current Owens Valley out-and-return record is 198 miles. But I believe that record wasn't set by starting and ending at the same place, only nearby. To set an offical one, you must start and end in the same 400 meter circle.
Is the 400 meter circle a new rule? Those guys that set the Owens record flew out from Walt's to the Lone Pine airport I believe, took a picture and then headed back up the Sierras before making the normal crossing to the Whites before turning around at Boundary and landing back at the airport. At the time it was recognized as an official world record.
Southside
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"My understanding is that the current Owens Valley out-and-return record is 198 miles. But I believe that record wasn't set by starting and ending at the same place, only nearby. To set an offical one, you must start and end in the same 400 meter circle."
Is the 400 meter circle a new rule? Those guys that set the Owens record flew out from Walt's to the Lone Pine airport I believe, took a picture and then headed back up the Sierras before making the normal crossing to the Whites before turning around at Boundary and landing back at the airport. At the time it was recognized as an official world record.
John
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Sort of. Before you needed a photo and an FAI sector crossing. That was a 1/2 mile quarter circle. Now you need EITHER that or a 400m circle. BUT you must use a GPS. Doing a quarter circle with a GPS is a nightmare. So everyone uses the 400m (1/4 mile) circle.
The key is that they got rid of the photos and substituted GPS. Much better.
I'm doing something similar to what they did. Going out to the valley then back to the Sierras. BUT, I'm doing it farther south. And I'm going past Boundary. Weather permitting.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday was a washout. I arrived home the night before after picking up my driver (Dana) and almost immediately got food poisoning or some such. Came up anyway, but was unable to fly. I'm feeling better today. Probably will fly. Weather looks ok, but not great. Gotta run, time to get ready to go.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oi vei !
Vrezh
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stebbins wrote:
Grant: I did have a driver, but no radio contact after the 1st 15 minutes. Does that count? I kept going too, until I thought that if I continued I'd end up in a canyon under canopy like you.
Actually, I was under radio contact during the unfortunate Black Mountain incident, and have the distinct pleasure of calling a Mayday and a location before throwing the chute. To bad the radio didn't work after that; I couldn't call again for 20 minutes!
Groundhog--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grant, I didn't mean to imply you had no radio contact. Only that I wasn't quite the wuss you indicated. I did wuss out, though. It was some of the worst air I've ever seen on the Sierras without a strong west wind. Weird. The wind was SSW, but not all that strong. And only SSW above 12,500. Below that it was ESE. I'm guessing that SSW is actually worse in light/medium winds than W. Hungary Joe would have good input on that.
In any case, I left the mountains deliberately. Besides, the day was clearly not strong enough to get me to my >200 mile goal in time. So I decided on a nice pleasant down-the-valley drift, and a landing in a soft, green, meadow. Right next to the road and right next to the gate.
I will try again. Got most of the bugs worked out of my new equipment, and out of the 1st part of the route.
And I'm very glad things worked out for you. I was in the air in the Owens on that same day, and it was another nasty one. I deliberately stayed on the Sierras, since I could see that the Whites would be even worse with the brisk SE winds. Sometimes being a wuss is a good thing.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
Foster wrote:
George told me it's out & return.
Yep. Current one is 204.5 miles. (Approximately; they measure all that stuff in kilometers.) The record was set in Australia by Rohan Holtcamp (sp?).
My understanding is that the current Owens Valley out-and-return record is 198 miles. But I believe that record wasn't set by starting and ending at the same place, only nearby. To set an offical one, you must start and end in the same 400 meter circle. Although you can land anywhere after that. Having to start and end inside the same 400 meter circle makes the task significantly more difficult in the Owens, although not on the flatlands.
And I still plan on going back up to try again. I'm watching the weather for a good day with lighter winds. Today might have worked, but it was the only day this week that I HAD to be home. It doesn't look good for the next couple of days. The winds are picking back up.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
I plan on making another attempt Mon/Tues and maybe Wed. Wed looks less likely.
Weather looks good. Light winds and moderate lift and heights on Mon. Stronger winds (but not too strong) and stronger lift and higher top of lift on Tuesday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stebbins wrote:
My understanding is that the current Owens Valley out-and-return record is 198 miles. But I believe that record wasn't set by starting and ending at the same place, only nearby. To set an offical one, you must start and end in the same 400 meter circle.
Is the 400 meter circle a new rule? Those guys that set the Owens record flew out from Walt's to the Lone Pine airport I believe, took a picture and then headed back up the Sierras before making the normal crossing to the Whites before turning around at Boundary and landing back at the airport. At the time it was recognized as an official world record.
Southside
--------------
"My understanding is that the current Owens Valley out-and-return record is 198 miles. But I believe that record wasn't set by starting and ending at the same place, only nearby. To set an offical one, you must start and end in the same 400 meter circle."
Is the 400 meter circle a new rule? Those guys that set the Owens record flew out from Walt's to the Lone Pine airport I believe, took a picture and then headed back up the Sierras before making the normal crossing to the Whites before turning around at Boundary and landing back at the airport. At the time it was recognized as an official world record.
John
--------
Sort of. Before you needed a photo and an FAI sector crossing. That was a 1/2 mile quarter circle. Now you need EITHER that or a 400m circle. BUT you must use a GPS. Doing a quarter circle with a GPS is a nightmare. So everyone uses the 400m (1/4 mile) circle.
The key is that they got rid of the photos and substituted GPS. Much better.
I'm doing something similar to what they did. Going out to the valley then back to the Sierras. BUT, I'm doing it farther south. And I'm going past Boundary. Weather permitting.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday was a washout. I arrived home the night before after picking up my driver (Dana) and almost immediately got food poisoning or some such. Came up anyway, but was unable to fly. I'm feeling better today. Probably will fly. Weather looks ok, but not great. Gotta run, time to get ready to go.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
-
SHGA Communications
- Posts: 106
- Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2006 11:20 am
- Location: Hang Gliding Capital of the World
Is the 400 meter circle a new rule? Those guys that set the Owens record flew out from Walt's to the Lone Pine airport I believe, took a picture and then headed back up the Sierras before making the normal crossing to the Whites before turning around at Boundary and landing back at the airport. At the time it was recognized as an official world record.
John
Sort of. Before you needed a photo and an FAI sector crossing. That was a 1/2 mile quarter circle. Now you need EITHER that or a 400m circle. BUT you must use a GPS. Doing a quarter circle with a GPS is a nightmare. So everyone uses the 400m (1/4 mile) circle.
The key is that they got rid of the photos and substituted GPS. Much better.
I'm doing something similar to what they did. Going out to the valley then back to the Sierras. BUT, I'm doing it farther south. And I'm going past Boundary. Weather permitting.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday was a washout. I arrived home the night before after picking up my driver (Dana) and almost immediately got food poisoning or some such. Came up anyway, but was unable to fly. I'm feeling better today. Probably will fly. Weather looks ok, but not great. Gotta run, time to get ready to go.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
-------------------------
John
Sort of. Before you needed a photo and an FAI sector crossing. That was a 1/2 mile quarter circle. Now you need EITHER that or a 400m circle. BUT you must use a GPS. Doing a quarter circle with a GPS is a nightmare. So everyone uses the 400m (1/4 mile) circle.
The key is that they got rid of the photos and substituted GPS. Much better.
I'm doing something similar to what they did. Going out to the valley then back to the Sierras. BUT, I'm doing it farther south. And I'm going past Boundary. Weather permitting.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday was a washout. I arrived home the night before after picking up my driver (Dana) and almost immediately got food poisoning or some such. Came up anyway, but was unable to fly. I'm feeling better today. Probably will fly. Weather looks ok, but not great. Gotta run, time to get ready to go.
_________________
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
-------------------------
Flew Tuesday. Got up right away and headed out to the flats to get the start point. Got sick. Tried not to fill my helmet. Succeeded. Got no lift on the way out or back. Arrived significantly too low back at the mountains. Found a bit of lift and tried to work it. South wind had picked up, and between the nasty rotors over the fingers and the still-sick-from-the-day-before heaves, decided to land. It wasn't all that good a day anyway.
Learned that despite what happened last trip, I can't leave the mountains at 10,800' and get back anywhere near launch level. At least not reliably. Need more altitude, or lift over the flats. Lift over the flats is pretty iffy that early in the morning. So, take every foot before leaving the mountains. I've been pretty aggressive about racing out to get the start. Save that for later in the day.
Next day was sick again, so we went home. Day didn't look that good either. The forecast for the day was significantly weaker and lower than it had been predicted to be two days earlier. I suspect the smoke from the Tahoe fire didn't help. The valley was hazier than I've seen it in a long time.
I'll be back.
Learned that despite what happened last trip, I can't leave the mountains at 10,800' and get back anywhere near launch level. At least not reliably. Need more altitude, or lift over the flats. Lift over the flats is pretty iffy that early in the morning. So, take every foot before leaving the mountains. I've been pretty aggressive about racing out to get the start. Save that for later in the day.
Next day was sick again, so we went home. Day didn't look that good either. The forecast for the day was significantly weaker and lower than it had been predicted to be two days earlier. I suspect the smoke from the Tahoe fire didn't help. The valley was hazier than I've seen it in a long time.
I'll be back.
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
By the way, for those who want to know, the route and distance, here it is. For others, just ignore this post.
Launch Walts Point. Get up.
Fly ESE (passing over Timosea Peak) to about 2 miles South of Bartlet (What folks call the "Cement Factory", even though that isn't what it is.)
Back to the mountains. Then North using the normal route to the end of the Whites. (Near Boundary Peak.)
Continue off the North end of Boundary to the 104 mile mark (Just inside Nevada by a few hundred yards.)
Return to the Whites and get back up.
Then South to Black Mountain. Instead of going to the Sierras, continue south on the Whites/Inyos until New York Butte (or thereabouts.) That's just north of Cerro Gordo, before the mountains drop back (East.) It is also just East of what the sailplane pilots call the "Haystack".
Get very high. Head into the wind back across the dry-lake to the start point. There is an LZ right at the border of the 400m circle. Land there, or if high, go back North to Bartlett and land there.
Total official distance 207.5 miles. The turnpoints are 208.5 miles apart, but the 400m circle needs to come off 4 times, that means 1.6 km (1 mile) is removed from the distance. (It comes off 4 times, because two circles and going-coming from each. Draw a picture and it will be clear.)
I will keep trying.
Launch Walts Point. Get up.
Fly ESE (passing over Timosea Peak) to about 2 miles South of Bartlet (What folks call the "Cement Factory", even though that isn't what it is.)
Back to the mountains. Then North using the normal route to the end of the Whites. (Near Boundary Peak.)
Continue off the North end of Boundary to the 104 mile mark (Just inside Nevada by a few hundred yards.)
Return to the Whites and get back up.
Then South to Black Mountain. Instead of going to the Sierras, continue south on the Whites/Inyos until New York Butte (or thereabouts.) That's just north of Cerro Gordo, before the mountains drop back (East.) It is also just East of what the sailplane pilots call the "Haystack".
Get very high. Head into the wind back across the dry-lake to the start point. There is an LZ right at the border of the 400m circle. Land there, or if high, go back North to Bartlett and land there.
Total official distance 207.5 miles. The turnpoints are 208.5 miles apart, but the 400m circle needs to come off 4 times, that means 1.6 km (1 mile) is removed from the distance. (It comes off 4 times, because two circles and going-coming from each. Draw a picture and it will be clear.)
I will keep trying.
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
