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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!
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Gidget and Olive ready to go hang gliding!
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December 10, 2022
SHGA Elections are over.
Board Members at Large: Chad Margolin, Janyce Collins and John Partovi
Safety Director: Mike Ivey
Activities Director: Steve Murillo
Secretary: Larry Chamblee
Treasurer: Rob Burgis with assistant director Dan Barley
Vice President: Marshall Robin
President: Greg Angsten
Remember, all members are invited to attend board meetings held on the second Tuesday of the month. Many are held on Zoom so if you would like to be included, just ask a board member.
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 January 29, 2023 9:13am
Report of a good turnout for a hazy Saturday. Thermals were hit and miss but mostly a hit. Highest altitude was 4,900ft but more commonly 4,200ft. TODAY.....cloudy, prefrontal with a 50% chc of rain. The TAF's are both forecasting broken clouds at 2,500ft and overcast at 4K. The blipspot has clouds below the 3rd bowl all day which is not currently accurate. The rasp has clouds between 3K and 3,500ft. I'd guess it will become launchable at times, with better chances early. The wind velocity will also be high. Winds aloft are SE between 14 and 18kts by 1pm. Max altitude 3,800ft.
Subscribe to expanded forecasts
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Holiday Party
All SHGA members, their families and friends are welcome to join the celebration at Rob and Janyce's house on Saturday, December 3. It will begin somewhere around 4 PM, so that people can fly first, weather permitting. Their house is at 13546 Mindora Avenue, off of Lazard St. and about two blocks from the LZ. The event will be potluck, and Steve Murillo has set up a Google sheet to reduce the amount of luck involved here. You can edit that sheet to let people know what you'll be bringing.
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Airspeed is What You Need
How much airspeed do you need for the roll control you want when flying close to fixed objects? How much do you need for the insulation against stalling that you want then?
Launching a glider is essentially a process of increasing airspeed. Consider that it's not a number of steps, or how fast, and read the Airspeed is What You Need post in the Safety Forum. Some conditions, some locations, need more.
Flying the Air or the Location?
When you're on approach to the Sylmar LZ, do you study the wind conditions? When you're circling in the staging area?
While you're on your downwind and base legs, are you adjusting your geometry to arrive at the entry point of your optimal final leg, flying your chosen speed?
It's natural for the human brain to organize around the visual information -- fly down that path, over to there, and then to there. However, we fly in the invisible medium that's in motion, and getting yourself to the top of the ideal final leg for the day requires an approach customized for the conditions you actually encounter.
Shoes
One’s shoes are hidden away inside a pod harness when flying and so it seems like they couldn’t possibly affect safety, but that’s the catch, literally. Some boots have hooks for the laces, and they’re liable to snag on other lines inside the harness. Shoe laces can get caught in the harness zipper, making it hard to zip, or worse, unzip. A last-minute discovery that one’s feet are stuck inside the harness can make for an exciting landing. It is good practice to unzip and get one’s feet out early enough to solve a problem if needed. Failing that, one can land on wheels if equipped with them, or with good flare timing, land no-footed on the tail of the harness and flop down safely.
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