 |
|
|
 |
|
|
Welcome
Sylmar is the world capital of hang gliding and pilots have been flying hang gliders in these mountains since 1969. The first U.S. National Hang Gliding Championships were held here in 1973.
The Flight Park is located just outside of Los Angeles and we enjoy around 300 days of flying a year. Please check out the rules and site information before flying here. The Sylmar Hang Gliding Association is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization. Dues and other payments can be sent via PayPal.
Pilots and non-pilots are welcome to enjoy our flight park year 'round! Fly high, fly far, fly safe!
|
|
Chloe Burgis learning to fly, with Baby Lamb as copilot, 6/21/2020
|
 |
 |
|
June 10th, 2021
The LA County Fire Dept will be conducting a rather large training exercise 3 days next week and are asking for our cooperation.
The exercise will take place in the mountains and foothills on the west side of the Pacoima Reservoir and will include significant ground operations, as well as helicopter water drop operations from both LA City and LA County Fire Departments.
This exercise is independent the Forest Service recent request to use our club l/z for a community presentation of their “Wildfire Simulation” analysis tools, yet to be scheduled.
We are currently being “asked” to limit our hang gliding this coming Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to after 12:00 pm or 1200 hrs.
Please see the attached flyer for more details.
Joe Greblo also been asked to make a “check-in” telephone call to their operations commander after 11:30 am each day to make certain their operations will indeed cease by noon, and receive their blessing to begin flying from Kagel. During that call, he will also learn whether there will be any hang gliding or paragliding restrictions on the west side of the dam after we receive the go ahead to begin our flight operations.
We are also not yet certain of which water sources the helicopters will be using for their water drops. It’s not expected that they will be using the Pacoima Reservoir. More likely will be other sources either east or west of our launch site.
At Crestline, there will be a three-day competition over the Memorial Day weekend, May 29-31. Rumor has it that despite being a USHPA sanctioned race-to-goal format, this will be geared as a low-stress event with relatively short local tasks. Registration is limited at 35 pilots, and currently there are several open spaces. See Airtribune for all the details.
|
|
 |
|
|
 June 13, 2021 9:28am
Report of a decent day on Saturday. Highest was 4,460ft. TODAY....about the same. The inversion looks weaker but it could still interfere with the potential altitude. There's also a lot more haze that looks more compressed with an even better defined top. Winds aloft are SW between 6 and 8kts by 2pm. Max altitude 4,500ft.
Subscribe to expanded forecasts
|
|
|
|
 | | |
Towers Launch Clearing Party
Thanks to many volunteers, the towers launch is once again a good place to fly from. 10 pilots worked in hot weather on a steep slope to clear the brush. The work was tough enough that some chose not to fly after the launch was cleared. 5 pilots did manage to launch is windy conditions.
|
 |
|
|
Alternate Landing Zones
A great deal of freedom comes from cutting the imaginary tether to the primary LZ and being willing to land out. Along with that freedom comes the responsibility to know the alternate LZs well enough to be safe. In the blue menu bar, the Site Dangers link includes short descriptions, GPS coordinates, and links to maps for eleven choices. Then again, reading about an alternate LZ is no substitute for walking it in person, so these should be considered ideas to encourage exploration. If you’ve landed at all eleven of them, let me know!
Harness preflight
We're all well aware of the need to preflight our gliders, but it's easy to forget that our lives depend on our harnesses as well. Before every flight, it is worth looking over the harness.
• Are the lines straight and untwisted?
• Are the parachute pins fully inserted? They can snag or work loose over time.
• Is there significant wear on any of the lines that go through the carabiner (harness main, parachute bridle, heads-up or knee-hanger lines)?
• Are the buckles and zippers in good condition? It can be exciting if a zipper jams as one's preparing to land.
Wire crews
One of the responsibilities of a pilot is to manage his (or her) wire crew. This includes giving clear instructions about what the pilot will ask for, and what the crew members are expected to do. The pilot must also be prepared, no matter what the wire crew actually does. Sometimes a crew member will fail to clear the wing completely, or give instructions rather than taking them, or conversely, save a pilot from his own mistakes.
It should also go without saying that we are grateful for our wire crews, and one should always be courteous and appreciative of these volunteers.
|
|
|
|
|
