Time: 08:20-8:30, May 6, 2000
Base Elevation: 4500 feet
Wind at start: 1 mph, variable
Wind at finish: 1 mph, variable
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli + .2 Hr = 34.5 hr TUVT
Engine: SD-Monster, 1.0 + .2 hr = 1.2 hr TT
Airtime: 20.3 + .2 = 20.5 hr
Launch: Forward, on first try
Touch and Go's: none
Screwups: None

Breakthroughs: None, just break-in, trying a new jet.

Remarks: After my last series of flights, I tried to richen the mixture by increasing my carburetor jet from an A-175 to a B-180. To the naked eye, the new jet has a HUGE hole in it compared to the jet that I took out. Even though the engine has an hour on it now, I decided to stay with 25:1 for the next gallon and a half, figuring that it can't hurt.

It took a few pulls to start the motor this time, probably because I had drained the carburetor bowl when I changed the jet. Once I had allowed time for the fuel to fill the carb, the Monster roared to life and nearly bowled me over. A side effect of the new jet was a much increased idle speed. I endeavored to turn this down by tightening what I think is the idle speed screw, but the idle remained fast even with this screw turned all the way in, so I returned it to one full turn out. I decided that I could live with higher idle speed until finding a way to deal with it - it's fast, but not unmanageable...

High clouds, perhaps 2000-3000 feet overhead, were moving across fairly rapidly, but the winds on the ground were variable in direction and speed. I chose what looked like the most common direction and luck favored my choice. I pulled up the wing, ran forward, applied a little thrust, stayed under the wing, glanced up at it, saw that it was clean, applied full power and was off in a few steps.

But my climb out was not steady, it was erratic, indicative of the turbulence that plagued my short little flight. Things were a little bumpy up there, and it seemed to me that there were areas of significant sinking air, as well as other 'squirts' and
'squishes' that kept jerking my wing around in a way that I did not care for.

So I came back in to land on the soft, springy meadow grass. Not a particularly remarkable flight, but it did lift my spirits, and I happily headed over to my car to pick up my took kit and my new air cleaner while I waited to see what direction the weather was going to turn...

Flight 77 :

Time: 08:52-9:22, May 6, 2000
Base Elevation: 4500 feet
Wind at start: 2 mph, variable
Wind at finish: 2 mph, variable with gusts to perhaps 10
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli + .5 Hr = 35.0 hr TUVT
Engine: SD-Monster, 1.2 + .5 hr = 1.7 hr TT
Airtime: 20.5 + .5 = 21 hr
Launch: Forward, on first try
Touch and Go's: none
Screwups: None

Breakthroughs: Not exactly a breakthrough, but this was my first flight with an air cleaner attached to either of my SD's.

Remarks: Since it was a little weird to fly, I decided to work on the air cleaner issue. Part of my plan with the "monster" is to take advantage of the excess power to allow me to add an air cleaner, taking the power hit, and still have enough power to spare.

So I attached the new foam filter that I had recently purchased at the off-road motorcycle shop, a filter made by "Uni" that fit perfectly on the end of my intake silencer. I then secured this with wire tie, and off I went.

The flight was beautiful, but seasoned with a few minor turbulences, and there was more turbulence on landing that gave me a bit of a thrill. After landing, but before I got my wing packed up, a powerful gust blew through in a way that made me *very* glad to be on the ground. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and relative stability returned while I packed up my gear.

Flight 78 :

Time: 19:18-19:36, May 19, 2000
Base Elevation: 440 feet
Wind at start: 1 mph, variable
Wind at finish: 1 mph
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron 30.4 + 1.0 = 31.4 hr TUVT
Engine: SD-48, 21.8 + .5 hr = 23.5 hr TT
Airtime: 21 + .3 = 21.3 hr
Launch: Forward, on fifth try
Touch and Go's: none
Screwups: did not tighten belt, so I had a decreased and decreasing amount of power available at the prop.

Breakthroughs: First time flying from a friend's back yard, first time flying over a big picnic/party/gathering, first time launching from a (relatively) small clearing in a big forest.

Remarks: I walked up to Paul as he prepared a barbecue for his 150 guests, wearing my paramotor, and asked if he minded if I go for a flight during his birthday party. He looked at me, wide-eyed, and asked: "Jerome! Have you done this before?"

Flight 79 :

Time: 20:01-20:13, May 23, 2000
Base Elevation: 23 feet
Wind at start: 5 mph N, variable
Wind at finish: 3 mph N
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron 31.4 + 0.2 = 31.6 hr TUVT
Engine: SD-48, 23.5 + .4 hr = 23.9 hr TT
Airtime: 21.3 + .3 = 21.6 hr
Launch: Forward, first try, after 2 failed reverse inflations.
Touch and Go's: none
Equipment / Preflight problems: engine cut-out ended flight.
Screwups: none.

Breakthroughs: First front-yard launch.

Remarks: Our friends were renting a house on the Ocean in Cxxxxx, just north of Mendecino, and they had invited us to join them for a couple of days. When we got there, we realized that it could be a good flying location, and upon inspection, decided that it was. After we settled in, I assembled my SD-48, tightened the belt, and made it ready before taking a break to enjoy a leisurely dinner with our friends.

The wind was out of the north, not quite parallel to the beach, and was quite a bit higher up by the house than down by the water. The tide was in, so the available beach consisted of dry sand and driftwood, the kind of sand that the feet really sink into. Not a great beach for running. It looked like it might be claimed by the state park system, so I decided to see if I could fly right from the front yard of the house my friends had rented.

It looked quite do-able. I tried it. I did it. With it being nearly 8:00 PM, the wind was dying down and by the time I tried my first reverse inflation attempt I was having to dance backwards pretty fast, which was not easy to do with hazards like railroad ties, iceplant beds, and the like. After a couple of such failed attempts, I decided to switch to forward launch configuration, and went right up without any problem, airborne before I left the lot that our friends had rented.

The flight was beautiful, over driftwood-strewn beaches that stretched out from overgrown sand dunes to the cold north coast sea. It ended rather abruptly when my engine quit about 12 minutes into the flight. Yet another mysterious cut-out, similar to those I experienced over Bolinas beach back in flights 70 and 71. I suspect it was related to a lean condition due to the low elevation and cool sea air. I really need to get the parts and the know-how to tun carburetor for different elevations...

I coasted down to land on the beach, just downwind of a rock outcropping and examined my machine, finding nothing obviously wrong. A couple came up to inquire, and then more and more people gathered around with questions as I packed my equipment around the outcropping and began to setup for my return flight from the upwind beach.

Flight 80 :

Time: 20:33-20:45, May 23, 2000
Base Elevation: 3 feet
Wind at start: 4 mph N, variable
Wind at finish: 6 mph N
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron 31.6 + 0.0 = 31.6 hr TUVT (sun had set)
Engine: SD-48, 23.9 + .1 hr = 24.0 hr TT
Airtime: 21.6 + .1 = 21.7 hr
Launch: Forward, on first try
Touch and Go's: none
Screwups: none.

Breakthroughs: First front-yard landing. Underground utilities are nice!

Remarks:

Smooth, simple flight back to home. First, I enjoyed watching the orange sun appear to sink into the sea, then, just as the last of the sun's blob-shaped disk disappeared, I said goodbye to my onlookers, pulled up my wing, applied power, and flew quickly up off the beach.

Not sure of my engine, and running out of time anyway, I soon turned back to home and began to practice my approach. By the second pass, I was close, only one front yard beyond my target, and on my third pass I was there. Killed power and stepped down right into my own front yard! Very, very nice.

Flight 81 :

Time: 09:22-10:28, May 24, 2000
Base Elevation: 23 feet
Wind at start: 4 mph SW, variable
Wind at finish: 3 mph W, variable
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron 31.6 + 1.4 = 33.0 hr TUVT
Engine: SD-48, 24.0 + 1.2 hr = 25.2 hr TT
Airtime: 21.7 + 1.1 = 22.8 hr
Launch: Forward, on first try
Touch and Go's: none
Screwups: none.

Breakthroughs: First time seeing the azure blue North Coast sea from the air in brilliant sunshine, with amazing turquoise color of the shallow waters contrasting with the dark black reefs and the white foam of the breaking waves.

Remarks:
A nice long flight over a beautiful coastline. My second front-yard launch, this one from the neighboring house as the winds were out of the SW. I hope the video turns out, as the coastline here is spectacular with big black reefs and outcroppings far out to sea, which cause the waves to break early and often, covering the reefs with surging, foaming white water. Between the reefs the sandy bottom illuminates the water that wonderful azure blue color that we always wish water could be. I flew a few miles up and down the coast, but mostly enjoyed the view down into the breaking waters from a few hundred feet above the sea, up to a few hundred yards out to sea...

Because of the wind speed and direction, I elected to land on the beach rather than on the front lawn, and the landing was very smooth in the deep, large-grained sand. I had been checking my fuel level in flight with a mirror, and was surprised to see that I had less than a cup remaining when I landed.

Flight 82 :

Time: 17:02-17:22, May 25, 2000
Base Elevation: 23 feet
Wind at start: 4 mph N, variable
Wind at finish: 3 mph N, variable
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron 33.0 + 1.2 = 34.2 hr TUVT
Engine: SD-48, 25.2 + .4 hr = 25.6 hr TT
Airtime: 22.8 + .3 = 23.1 hr
Launch: Forward, on first try
Touch and Go's: none

Breakthroughs: none.

Remarks:
Engine was running very poorly in the low to mid range, but seemed to idle OK and seemed to run properly at full throttle, so I chose to give it an in-air test. On takeoff I discovered that I had far less than full power, and had to lift my legs to clear the closest dunes, dunes I would have cleared by many feet if my engine had been running well. I climbed out on pathetic power, but eventually it picked up a bit an I found that I was able to climb steadily.

In this way I climbed to about 680 feet, gaining great views of the coastline below, before yielding to my discomfort about how my motor was running to idle back for an easy landing in a nearby field.

Mechanic's Perspective:
The next day, I took the carburetor apart again, and located the cause of my difficulties: it seems that the part called the 'needle jet', which is pushes up into a hole from below, has room, within that hole, to tip from side to side at the top.
It is supposed to be pointing straight up, but, if it tips to the side, it can 'jam' on it's way up when it hits one of the brass sleeve parts that would normally keep it centered below the needle. With the slider out of the carb, I was able to see this whole thing and easily assemble it correctly, but, with the slider in place, I could not see down the hole that the needle jet rides in, and did not realize that it had tipped to the side and jammed against the bottom edge of the brass sleeve...

After re-assembling and testing, the motor ran great! I called Bing technical support and learned that what I should be changing to adjust for differing elevations is not the needle or needle clip point, but, rather, the needle jet. So I ordered a bunch of needle jets on either side of the 272 that was currently in my machine, expecting to go back to my 'G' needle once those new jets arrive.

Let me record what I heard from Bing technical support: You will find that there is one needle that gives you proper performance across the entire range. I was having such performance with the 6G needle and the 272 needle jet, when at 4500 feet. When I come to sea level, I will want to richen everything by increasing the size (and number) of the needle jet, say to 274 or 276. I should not have to change the needle at all. BTW, the needles are encoded with the mid-to-top flow on the left side and the mid-to-low range on the right side, so a 6L has the same high-end flow as a 6G, but the 6G is richer in the low-to-mid range than the 6L...

Now, I am sorry to have to say that I damaged the 'atomizer' during my carburetor re-assembly. What is the 'atomizer', and how did I damage it? Well, I did not know what the atomizer was, but it is made from a half-tube of brass that sticks up from the hole that the needle jet rides in. It sticks up on the half of the carburetor that is away from the engine, asymmetrically. I noticed it there and assumed that it had been pushed up by the mis-aligned needle jet, which had presumably tipped to the side below and butted against the bottom of the half tube, and then pushed that half tube up into the carburetor about 1/8 inch when I tightened the needle jet retainer. Alas, this was a foolish assumption. The atomizer is supposed to stick up that way, and serves a purpose in dealing with fuel/air kickback from the two-stroke on the other side of it. But since I could see that it had been pushed out of place by my needle jet screwup, I attempted to fix it by pushing it back down where I assumed it was supposed to be. Gee, it was really stuck! My, it's hard to push this down! Looks like I'll have to try to tap/drive it down... Oops! It didn't slide down, it just crushed/deformed on the top! Yikes! It looks like it can only be moved with very special, factory tools, and now mine is looking rather 'hammered'.

The Bing technical support man set me straight about the atomizer, and now I know that I will need a new body if I want to fix what I have done to it. But he suggested that if it still runs well (it does) than all might be well. What I have to do is watch for increased kickback of fuel into the intake silencer - if this occurs, then a new carb body is the only 'easy' answer....

Flight 83 :

Time: 12:20-13:08, May 27, 2000
Location : California coast at Howard Creek
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: SD-48
Airtime: 0,80
Touch and Go's: none

Screwups: Soulsong Survey: Flight from the north Mendecino coast, at Howard Creek. Smooth and super-clearl, mid-day! Fantastic long views south to Ft. Bragg (30 miles?) and far up the 'Lost coast' to the north. Climb to perhaps 2300 feet before deciding that it was getting cool up there... Much of the flight captured on video, for my friends of who's property I was attempting to capture the high view... Landed on private property near where I had taken off, carried my equipment across the street to the State Beach where I had parked, noted a mean-looking little woman writing furiously on a little notepad, but did not speak to her. When I left the park and turned onto the highway, there was a ranger truck waiting for me, which truck quickly put on their flashing lights. I waited until I was off the highway and onto my friend's private road before stopping, just after the ranger made a screech from his siren. He said that he had heard reports that I had been flying from a State Park. I explained that I had not, in fact, flown from the park, and that I had scrupuleously(sp?) avoided flying below 500' AGL over the park. I had flown over the park above 500' AGL, however. He left me his card, suggested that I call headquarters before flying near a State Park again, and we parted without malice.

Flight 84 :

Time: 19:12-19:15, May 27, 2000
Location : California coast at Howard Creek
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: SD-48,
Airtime: 0,05
Touch and Go's: none

Demo flight.

Flight 85 :

Time: 20:10-20:40, June 13, 2000
Location : Bear Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,50
Touch and Go's: none

Back at my home field. It sure is beautiful here!

Flight 86 :

Time: 20:18-21:00, June 15, 2000
Location : Bear Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,70

5 Restart flight, at Sunset

Flight 87 :

Time: 20:10-20:40, July 1, 2000
Location : Bear Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,50
Touch and Go's: none

CHP no ticket flight, susnet

Flight 88 :

Time: 7:15-7:15, July 3, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 10 sec.

Hate to talk about this one. Forward into light and variable, direction of wind soon shifted to where I had a large downwind component, running too fast, flying and landing repeatedly, motor not in proper tune, lucky to land without damage.

Flight 89 :

Time: 7:21-7:21, July 3, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 10 sec.

Do they say that fools never learn? Well, I learn only slowly, it seems. Insisted on trying another forward in these wacky, heretofore-untested morning high meadow conditions. This launch attempt was an exaggerated version of the previous one, this time the downwind/crosswind components were bigger, I was flying like a grasshopper trying to escape from a bird, but I kept at it, (I was only half flying but the ground was moving by too fast to run with it). The ground got increasingly lumpy as I approached the stream. My lift disappeared in a gust of tailwind. I killed the motor and flared hard, but not hard enough or soon enough and heard the sickening sound of my TWO carbon fiber, german made props striking the frame of my heretofore pristine machine. It was a sad man who carried his broken equipment 723 paces across that meadow...

Flight 90 :

Time: 8:47-8:50, July14, 2000
Location : California Coast South of Carpenteria
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,05

With Alan Chucalate and his student from Hong Kong. Learned that my harness is way too small for me, but his student knows the man who makes the harnesses, and is confident that he will make one to my measurements if I take the time to contact him about it. Alan will help me with this if I so desire. Alan noted that I'm using too much strength to pull up my wing on forward launches, and need to be more subtle in my technique.

Flight 91 :

Time: 8:53-8:56, July14, 2000
Location : California Coast South of Carpenteria
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,05

Still not subtle enough. My earlier flight had a partial frontal collapse upon inflation… This one was not properly aligned with the wind, and I'm not helping with clever use of the A's while I have them in my hands, like I could be.

Flight 92 :

Time: 9:30-10:00, July14, 2000
Location : California Coast South of Carpenteria
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,50

Another mis-aligned forward, corrected for with little room to spare, leading to a short but fun flight.

Flight 93 :

Time: 19:50-20:32, July 20, 2000
Location : California Coast South of Carpenteria
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,70

Forward, on second try (first aborted due to bushes approaching fast from the left, because once again I was not well aligned to the (variable direction) wind). 7 touch and go's, 42 minutes ending around 8:26, interesting warm air starting at 1000' or so.

Flight 94 :

Time: 20:37-20:49, July 24, 2000
Location : Blue Canyon Airport
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,20

Sunset, starting at 8:37, till 8:49. 1 in-air restart. I like the airport, but once you leave it, the nearest landing spot (besides the very busy interstate) is my meadow at bear valley, maybe 3-5 miles away and 1000' downslope…

Flight 95 :

Time: 20:12-20:42, July 26, 2000
Location : Blue Canyon Airport
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,50

Near sunset, motor running not so good on top 1/3 of power band, smooth air, clouds at coast put me in shade soon, more comfortable harness attachment point (I'm now hanging from the furthest-out harness attachment hole).

Flight NA :

Time: 17:20-18:40, July 27, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Airtime: 1,20

Ground handling on the huge meadow, with interesting variable winds (est 2-18 MPH, with direction often rapidly varying by as much as 100 degrees.) Some long kiting sessions, with some very long, snakey runs across the meadow in the shifting winds. Great views! No mis-kee-toes! Cut short, just as it was getting even more interesting (the wind was picking up) by a 7:00 PM appointment with GM's database...

Flight NA :

Time: 12:00-12:15, July 28, 2000
Location : Bear Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Airtime: 0,25

Noon but kitable. Most of the time it was a little weak. Lots of grasshoppers and dragonflies. An old man told me that I shouldn't drive on the meadow due to fire danger - makes sense. The grass is getting dry, and modern cars have such hot catalyc converters under them...

Flight 96 :

Time: 20:04-20:44, July 28, 2000
Location : Blue Canyon Airport
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,76

Lots of astronomers at the airport tonite. The wind was mostly cross to the runway, but I felt like I had to use it. Tried to force it, aborted the first time, but the second time I had a 'very interesting' takeoff where my wing went right (due to the crosswind component?) and I turned and ran right, managed to get under it, started flying, and then had to turn left to avoid the fast-approaching trees before climbing out sucessfully. It worked, barely, but I was embarassed to do this through the astronomer's parking lot...

Flight 97 :

Time: 17:49-20:34, July 29, 2000
Location : Blue Canyon Airport
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,75

After the previous night's takeoff problems, I had a plan to go far away from the astronomer's parking lot if presented with any kind of crosswind component to the north-south runway. There as just a hint of such a component seeming to come from the west or WSW, so I headed to the N end of the runway where there were less trees to the W (hence, I reasoned, less rotor). There was a short dogleg to the E here, so I decided to launch from near this NE corner, into what my sock indicated was the hint of a breeze. My launch was sucessfull on the first try, and the sunset, 25 minutes later, was one of those 'and then God spake' sunsets. Absolutely mind-blowing. I found myself flying into it arms outstretched, in ecstasy... Afterwards, I had a nice visit with the astronomers, for whom the clouds were not as enjoyable, but who had enjoyed watching me fly.

Flight 98 :

Time: 19:50-20:33, July 30, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,70

It had been hot and windy all afternoon, so I decided to go for some evening ground handling practice when the winds were expected to taper off. First, though, we needed to cool off, so Mookie and I headed up to the summit for a swim in Lake Mary. Very refreshed, we then headed down the dirt road toward Van Norden Meadow, where I was going to refine my ground handling skills until I made this high-elevation meadow my friend. (This meadow is where I cracked two composite props on ill-fated flights 88 and 89 earlier this month). When we reached the upper end of the meadow, Mookie and I got out to explore, and found a wide variation in grass between short-with-wildflowers to three-feet-high-or-deep. Beautiful though it was, I decided that I liked the terrain better at my previously-explored spot, perhaps 600 yards further down the meadow. On the way there, I noticed that my Suunto altimeter watch had disappeared, apparently at our earlier stop. Going back, I retraced my steps, but the watch must have fallen in the deep grass, because I never found it. Feeling like a fool, I retraced the whole route without any success.

Flight NA :

Time: 16:20-18:00, August 3, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Ground handling time: 1,20

Noon but kitable. Most of the time it was a little weak. Lots of grasshoppers and dragonflies. An old man told me that I shouldn't drive on the meadow due to fire danger - makes sense. The grass is getting dry, and modern cars have such hot catalyc converters under them...

Flight 99 :

Time: 17:30-17:44, August 6, 2000
Location : Maramar Beach
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: SD-48
Airtime: 0,20

120 years of Michael and Jack! (dual 60'th birthday party) at Miramar, California. I've been planning to try and fly this event for weeks now, but as I type I still don't know whether I will fly. The winds seem light where I am now, but are predicted to pick up in the afternoon, and it is currently 1:50 PM with the party due to start at 12:00. I'm waiting for my ride... We arrive there at about 2:30, and check the wind. The Kestrel reports about 9-11mph, with gusts up to 16. Not promising, as it's forcast to get faster in the afternoon, 25-30 mph. I keep an eye on the windsock while visiting friends at the party. Eventually, around 4:20, I bring my wing and training harness down to the beach to test the conditions and to practice my ground handling skills. The wind is a great test for my skills: I find myself plowing the beach, leaning back with my heels digging in like a plow. Several times I have to drop the wing for fear of being pulled too far, close to the family picnic or the wet sand and breaking waves. I manage to avoid these eventualities, but several times I feel the need to grab the 'c' lines (imagining I was grabbing the 'b' lines) in order to keep the glider from dragging me too far. I am concluding that it is a bit too windy to fly, when my sweet wife asks me to come and see some pictures that a friend is giving to us. I go and see these wonderful pictures (our friend is a great photographer), and return to the beach perhaps tten minutes later. What a diference ten minutes can make! Now, the winds are still strong, but the higher gusty component seems to have abated. I find myself kiting, without dropping the wing, for more than 12 minutes, alternating between forward and reverse stance, sometimes dancing gently below the wing when reverse, sometimes charging forward like a bull at perhaps one mile per hour when facing forward. After 13 minutes of this, with no gusts too strong to handle, I decided it was time to get the motor. I unloaded it from the car, re-jetted it from a 272 needle jet to a 274, assembled cage, bolted on a wooden prop while answering the questions of Kerrick and Flora, who were very interested in the process. After testing the motor on the beach, and deciding that it was running well, I hooked up to the wing and prepared to launch. About 20 onlookers had now gathered on the bluff above the beach.

Flight 100 :

Time: 12:49-13:17, August 8, 2000
Location : Tiburon Open Space
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: SD-48
Airtime: 0,47

Flight NA :

Time: 11:10-11:30, August 14, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Ground handling time: 0,30

Got my butt kicked. Longest kite was perhaps 10 seconds! Wind was strong and gusty, pulled me across the meadow twice, I never really got a good inflation. Very humbling!

Flight 101 :

Time: 19:03-20:15, August 16, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 1,20

Forest fires were burning to the West, upwind of me, and consequently everything was smokey. Climbed to perhaps 11000 feet (~4200'AGL) in an attempt to get a above the smoke layer and see the 'big picture'. I was sucessful in that I saw many incredible big pictures in all directions as I saw the crest of the Sierra illuminated in the erie glow of the smoky-red sunset lighting. But I never got above the smoke. Instead, my motor started to bog/stall, so I backed off on the throttle in fear that I had run it too long, too hard during it's break-in period. That was around 19:35, and after idling it down for a couple of minutes I shut it off and enjoyed a quiet glide for about 8 minutes before restarting and climbing again. After sunset, I switched to my new yellow lens glasses, which really brightened the scene. More great flying around the lake. When I was up really high, I was fantasizing about top landing on Mt. Lincoln or Mt Disney. Later I did check out the western slope of Donner Ski ranch, which looks like it will be a good launch, if not landing, site. Also saw a spot down by the snow sheds that should work for launch into a SW to W wind, avoiding takeoff from Van Norden meadow, where I might find myself banned someday...

Flight NA :

Time: 09:10-10:42, August 17, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Ground handling time: 2

This place sure is a challenge for ground handling! Even though the high winds were from the SW, I started with a 5-8 MPH E wind, and finished with a 1-20 MPH SW wind… I do feel like I am learning to kite in more radically variable conditions, and that my body is starting to integrate things so that I will be better at dealing with changes in the future...

Flight NA :

Time: 19:00-19:35, August 17, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Ground handling time: 0,30

Ground Handled for a while in light and variable winds, then attempted a forward takeoff, blew it, fell, and broke one out of four prop tips! Yikes!

Flight NA :

Time: 18:45-19:25, August 18, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Ground handling time: 0,667

Get back on that horse! This is one tough meadow, but I managed a few 2-3 minute kiting sessions, including one where I made it a couple of hundred yards upwind…

Flight NA :

Time: 19:10-19:46, August 19, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Ground handling time: 0,6

Another challanging kiting session. In this one, the winds tended to be a little low to sustain reverse, so I would turn forward and run/jog/dance along at the speed needed to keep the wing nicely loaded. It turned out to be a good way to exercise my dog, as well. Some of my 'runs' were for a couple of hundred yards this way, in variable direction and speed winds. I played with lifting reverse even in very light winds, using a lift, quick back and quick turn to transform it into forward motion. Looks like it could be a useful technique for this turbulent meadow, as it lets me gain some visual knowledge of my wing before turning away from it. Maybe it will help me in future flights.

Flight 102 :

Time: 19:20-20:02, August 21, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-48
Airtime: 0,75

I arrived at the meadow about 6:30, set up my sock, and confirmed that it was blowing out of the SW at maybe 5 mph. Looked flyable, but my desire to learn more than to fly said that I should try some ground handling before hooking up the motor. So I set up for such, this time using my big Stromboli wing, to feel the forces on what I would actually be flying if I flew. I reverse inflated it, kited for a while, turned and flew it upwind across the meadow, dealing with wind direction and speed shifts and surface irregularites as I went. It was challanging but not impossible - I actually made it perhaps 500 yards out in a total of three segments, and felt like I was in good control as long as I paid careful attention to what the wind shifting wind was doing to the wing. All in all, my course was relatively straight as well, and I concluded that it had been flyable. I say had been, because I am can never trust that conditions will remain constant up on the summit... So, with Mookie having gotten a nice walk during my kiting, I carried my equipment back with a plan of hooking up my little SD-48 motor and giving it a try, planning to do a reverse inflation in the light breeze. By the time I was all hooked in and had the motor running, the breeze looked a bit light, but I wanted to try my plan anyway, so I did. Without success. The big Stromboli, which inflates so easily in even a light breeze, did not want to inflate in the tiny breeze I had left, and I realized that running backwards on an uneven surface would not achive the higher level of safety that I sought with this technique. So I shut down, cllimbed out of my rig, and set up again for a forward. Now, of course, the breeze had come up a bit, looking once again like I just might be able to do a reverse inflation, but since it was 7:19, I avoided that temptation and determined that I would do a subtle forward inflation, followed by a very careful run using minimal power until I was very confident that the wing was flying straight above me, whereupon I would apply gently increasing amounts of power, carefully, until I either flew or threw in the towel. Then, I carried out my plan without deviation. The fact that the SD-48 seems to have only about 60-70% as much thrust as my SD-Monster helped keep my power useage on the subtle, gentle side, that is for sure. But soon enough, I was flying straight under full power and the ground was slowly falling away... A wonderful feeling - I love this SD-48, even up here at the outer limits of it's weight carrying and altitude envelope. I climbed, slowly, first at 50 FPM and later at up to 150 FPM, to my peak altitude of 8500 feet. I toured the neighborhood, took in the views, shot video of the sunset, and generally enjoyed myself... While trying to film the end of the sunset, I did get worried about being too far to the west of my meadow (I had to keep flying west to keep the sunset in front of me), because down below me I did not see any good landing areas, and I could not see back behind me to know whether the meadow was still in my glide path. In this way I managed to fly about 1/2 mile west of the Soda Springs exit before I turned back. With the sun down, I took off my dark sunglasses and was treated to much enhanced vistas for the remainder of my flight. After a couple of low passes to check the wind sock and verify that there was, in fact, virtually zero wind at ground level, I came in for my closest to the car landing so far at this meadow.

Flight 103 :

Time: 19:29-19:41, August 26, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-48
Airtime: 0,20

Great little flight on my newly-rebuilt SD-Monster. It's running great with the two wooden props. Flight cut short when the carburator came off (where the intake tube goes inside of the intake manifold). I had thought this connection was insecure, and indeed it was. There seems to be some kind trick to it that I did not 'get' when I attempted to reassemble taking the machine apart to send it down to the welder...

Flight 104 :

Time: 19:02-19:56, August 26, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,30

A friend with me descirbed the conditions as 'puffy', and I would have to agree. The winds were on the strong side of 'kitable', quite variable in speed and direction when we arrived at the meadow around 6:20 PM, after a hard day's work harvesting wood and a refreshing swim Mary lake. I took out my Ozone and showed him some ground handlng. It was great, gusting to just enough to make it interesting, but not so much as to take me off the ground and carry me across the field. After a while, it mellowed still more until it was only intermittently reverse launchable. So I brought over my SD-Monster and set up for my first-ever smal wing (Ozone Electon XL, 31 meters) flight from this high-elevation (6800') field. It went great. I remembered to be patient, and did not get discouraged when my first three or four reverse inflation attempts were just that, attempts, unsustained in the variable direction and speed winds that were puffing through. On my fourth or fifth try, conditions held steadier and I was perhaps more adroit (I'm slower to dance around with a motor on my back). I was able to turn and move forward _without applying too much power_ until I was completely aligned (wing, body, and thrust vector) into the wind. With a moment's full power, the SD-monster had me airborne on what turned out to be a wonderful flight. I was glad throughout for the smaller wing, as conditions were 'puffy', especially near the ground, and the smaller wing made these 'puffs' less of a problem. After a great flight, I came in, post-sunset, for a zero wind landing, and that was the only time when I regretted the smaller wing: even with a strong flare, I came in fast, with a fast sink, and was saved by my great boots and the soft meadow as I felt the shock wave travel up my right leg. My friend said that the landing looked great, however. In retrospect, I probably could have flared a bit sooner with the smaller wing, but I would not want to flare *too much* sooner...

Flight NA :

Time: 18:18-19:25, August 31, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Ground handling time: 1,00

Very, very lively conditions! I feel like I have to do more in one minute of kiting in these kind of condtions than I do in half an hour's kiting at the beach! On more than one occasion, I was lifted off the ground and carrried a ways before dropping back, and on one occasion I was dragged backwards (very scary) before bringing my wing under control... Huge puffy storm clouds were blowing overhead, and I could see a shear because another layer of clouds were heading in the opposite direction.. I did not bring my wind meter, but the ground speeds were way lower than the air speeds...

Flight 105 :

Time: 19:15-19:35, September 3, 2000
Location : Blue Canyon Airport
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,30

Sunset, between storms. Heavy clouds a couple of thousand feet above me, blowing from the south. Not enough wind to reverse. Flew the Ozone just in case it got turbulent, but it was mighty smooth indeed. Wore my fleece, down jacket, and put on gloves within a couple of minutes of getting airborne. Summer is over!

Flight NA :

Time: 17:15-18:55, September 4, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow - Western end
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: NA
Ground handling time: 1,00

Wild and wooly ground handling adventure. Big winds were blowing overhead, and I was in the turbulence that lives downwind of the valley wall. I was at what I thought was by far the lowest notch in the wall. (Little did I know). Anyway, it was cold so I wore my gloves ('wind-blocker' fleece). I got what I wanted, which was some good lessons in kiting and turbulence recovery techniques. Again and again, this meadow kicked my butt. I was practicing from a new area for me, thinking that the western end of the meadow would have less turbulence due to what appeared to be a big notch in the south valley wall at this end. It may or may not have had less turbulence, but it was certainly more 'interesting', with deep sand, little trees, and creek wandering through it with banks that were 8 feet high and sheer or undercut in many places. Once a surprise wind shift had me dropping my wing over the bank, almost into the water, and, another time, I was reverse kiting in difficult conditions, totally focused on keeping my wing above me, when suddenly found myself looking UP at the ground and spitting sand out of my mouth - I had backed right off a (short) cliff and was standing in the streambed, with my wing falling onto me and getting a bit wet.

Flight 106 :

Time: 19:13-19:20, September 4, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow - Western end
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,30

Pride goeth before a fall. I knew it was wild and weird on the ground, but with sunset fast approaching, and thinking that it was calming down, I decided to put the motor on my back. I promised myself to ground handle with the motor for a while before I would even start the engine. I managed a few short kiting sessions without falling down, so I went ahead and started the motor and waited for the right moment. On perhaps the third motorized reverse inflation, it looked good so I turned, ran forward, applying power gingerly, and soon I took off with nary a problem. After flying perhaps 50 feet, a turbulence suddenly lifted me like an elevator up a few stories, and then I leveled off again. The flying remained more turbulent than I normally enjoy, but I kept at it, climbing slowly, hoping that it would smooth out once I got above the valley wall-induced turbulence. Once I got up above the notch, I saw that behind it was a MUCH HIGHER mountain which probably induced far more turbulence than I would have encountered had encountered in my other practice location, even though the valley wall had appeared to be higher over there... As I climbed, I kept getting jerked around and tossed around as my wing did a dance in the turbulence. There was shallow water below me, and I felt like this was a suitable location for an 'extreme manuevers' clinic. Too bad that I was not qualified to run such a clinic - I had never even attended one, yet here I was, bouncing around like a cork in a stormy ocean... At last, when I climbed above where I thought the mechanical turbulence should have ended, I found myself pulled around even more violently than previously. That's it! I'm out of here if I can get back down! I dropped the engine to an idle and quickly descended, through some rather exciting air, to a very, very happy landing.

Flight NA :

Time: 19:02-19:02, September 5, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine: SD-Monster

Wild and wooly ground handling adventure. Big winds were blowing overhead, and I was in the turbulence that lives downwind of the valley wall. I was at what I thought was by far the lowest notch in the wall. (Little did I know). Anyway, it was cold so I wore my gloves ('wind-blocker' fleece). I got what I wanted, which was some good lessons in kiting and turbulence recovery techniques. Again and again, this meadow kicked my butt. I was practicing from a new area for me, thinking that the western end of the meadow would have less turbulence due to what appeared to be a big notch in the south valley wall at this end. It may or may not have had less turbulence, but it was certainly more 'interesting', with deep sand, little trees, and creek wandering through it with banks that were 8 feet high and sheer or undercut in many places. Once a surprise wind shift had me dropping my wing over the bank, almost into the water, and, another time, I was reverse kiting in difficult conditions, totally focused on keeping my wing above me, when suddenly found myself looking UP at the ground and spitting sand out of my mouth - I had backed right off a (short) cliff and was standing in the streambed, with my wing falling onto me and getting a bit wet.

Flight 107 :

Time: 18:50-19:42, September 8, 2000
Location : Blue Canyon Airport
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,7

Simple sunset flight, quite a strong wind aloft but not much on the ground. Flew until I lost my belt tension, all of a sudden, around the time that I was starting to descend anyway. Later, problem was discovered to be that the head of the belt tensioning bolt had sheared off!

Flight NA :

Time: 17:15-18:30, September 9, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Ground handling time : 1,25

Incredibly fun, beautiful, and productive ground handling session at the meadow. I must have recovered from at least a dozen asymetric collapses, and maybe 2 out of five frontal collapses, as I trained my reflexes by flying in that turbulent air. I also got some of my best forward 'feel the wing' long sessions in as well, keeping the wing flying in shifting winds as I danced around the bushes that eventually start to crowd out the grass near the shores of the lake. Later, I managed to kite the wing long distances more or less in the direction I wanted to go with it, feeling like I might be 'getting it'. I stopped just in time to head down to Truckee to look for a new bolt for my monster's belt tensioner. Truckee was wonderfully uncrowded on this Saturday evening, and I found just the bolt I needed. I wanted to buy a spare as well, but they only had one!

Flight 108 :

Time: 18:56-19:36, September 10, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,7

Life is great - flight one oh eight! I didn't bring my camera up, but in retrospect I should have… It was very beautiful, unusually clear, and I got my first significant views of Lake Tahoe from above Donner Summit. I climbed to 9810 feet, according to my Suunto, and also did some fun low flying, and my first flying through the town of Soda Springs. Keep an eye out for those wires! I put the monster back together with the props in a 90x90 degree configuration (one wood, one composite) and was immediately impressed with how much noisier this configuration is than the 30x150 configuraion that I flew the other day at Blue Canyon. The motor sounded a little happier, however (it had sounded like it was lugging a bit with the 30x150 'sharp scissors' arrangement). But I do believe that I had more thrust with the tighter scissors, plus a lot more propeller torque effect. Most likely, the factory 60x120 is closer to optimum than any of the other settings I've been experimenting with.. but with the odd lot of props I have on hand, I can't get 60x120 any more without using two of my precious composite props at one time... Did I mention that I broke one of my wood props the other day when I dropped the Ozone's lines into the prop? (Sept 5). I guess I did mention it. Anyway, today's flight was such a wonderful contrast to that disaster. The views were spectacular, I felt very much in control and like I was making the right choices, except perhaps when I flew down the road over Soda Spings just a couple of hundred feet above ground level. There was no problem, but if I had needed to make an emergency landing I was going to have to be SURE that I saw and avoided all the relevant wires, because there were a lot of wires down there... One thing that really struck me tonight was just how fast my SINK RATE is: with power off, I was descending at 365-370 feet per minute! That seems pretty fast to me, but, then again, the air is thin at 9800 feet elevation, and I do weigh around 300 pounds take off weight, on my 38 meter glider. That fast of a sink rate also helps explain why my climb rate was mostly below 200 FPM tonight - I've got to climb out of quite a hole to climb at all, so to speak... Some day when I have time it would be nice to see how the different prop configurations affect my rate of climb... I'll bet the 90x90 is the weakest.

Flight NA :

Time: 09:30-09:30, September 12, 2000
Location : Carmel Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli

Yet another folly: attempted take off on a downslope, but there must have been a down draft as well, coming over the back of the hill behind me, that I didn't notice. My wing reputedly came up nicely, and I ran forward and downslope, applied power, kept the wing above me. But fly? Only through the bushes, not over them! I finally killed the engine when I had already come to a stop lying on my belly... You could say that it was a PPG face-plant. But I really impressed my friends and family who were watching! Oh yes! I was lucky to only have broken half of my new german made $425 prop, plus shredding half of my cage lines, which will take over an hour to re-string.

Flight NA :

Time : 16:12-17:24, September 12, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Ground handling time : 1,2

Ground handling on and above the meadow in 'limit' conditions can be a lot of fun. Yours truly is exhausted but happy after a great session. The wind is back to being a Westerly after the last two nights of NorthEasterlies…

Flight NA :

Time : 18:10-19:16, September 21, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Ground handling time : 1,1

Flight 109 :

Time: 18:37-18:48, September 25, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,15

Christmas tree crash on takeoff, but killed motor in time to avoid damage to all but my pride. Followed by a 20 minute untangling from the trees and getting the wing straightened out for a quick flight. A sweet little flight it was, but it did get chilly fast... Summer is over!

Flight 110 :

Time: 18:12-18:15, September 28, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider: 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine: SD-Monster
Airtime: 0,05

John, the local paragliding instructor, just happened to come riding down the road on his bicycle as I was laying out my wing… He offered to help me set up and then stayed around to film my little three-minute flight. While flying, I got the idea that I should invite him to fly with me sometime, using my spare motor, so I came in to land and tell him that. This I did, and overstayed to help me set up again for two more flight attempts, each of which (I thought) had to be aborted. Failure #1 was caused by fast-approaching Christmas trees, while in failure #2 the wing did not come up properly, and upon examination we found that an 'A' line had hung up on the cage, cought in the velcro at the middle-left side of the cage. Now it was dark, so we folded up the wing and called it a day..

PG 00 :

Time: 12:24-12:26, September 29, 2000
Location : Rainbow training hill
Glider: 31 meter Ozone Electron
Airtime: 0,25

My first 'free' flight since before I started my paramotor lessons! Steve called to invite me to join him and his students out at Rainbow. I brought my work to an early end and headed out to join him. When I got to the bottom of the hill, it was puffing around in the variable way characteristic of that thermal time of day. Steve was coaching his students down from the top (the very top, 1400' above the LZ!) by radio. When Jason and John were down, we all piled into John's old Subaru to climb back to the top where Steve's rental SUV was keyless, the only key being in Steve's pocket. It was a squeeze, four men and their gear, but we did it and John drove the Subaru masterfully up the steep, rocky trail. He managed to make it to about 6200' elevation, 1100 feet above the LZ, before the Subaru quit, overheated. We climbed out of the car and were checking the wind, (letting the car cool) when we heard the sickening baa-pshoo! of the Subaru's top radiator hose blowing apart. Steve climbed the rest of the way up the hill, while we moved the dead Subaru off the track and gave our opinions of the increasingly strong wind from the South(?). [In case I don't get time to finish this writeup, we went to the lowest launch site (500' ALZ), where I kited for about 15 minutes in rather fast winds before launching for a smooth flight down to the LZ.]

Flight 111 :

Time : 17:58-18:40, October 3, 2000
Location : Van Norden Meadow
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,7

This was an 'I love you!' flight, for sure! Incredible! My first time with a radio, in touch with my wonderful wife Susan and son Adam, who exchanged all kinds of 'I love you!' expresssions as I flew and Susan filmed. It was a beautiful sunset and very lovely flying conditions...

Flight 112 :

Time : 06:20-07:32, October 6, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field.
Glider : 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 1,2

I awoke in to the smell of diesel. In a few moments I figured out that it was coming from a diesel generator, and that the generator was in the huge motorhome that I had set up my camp behind. I made a tenative attempt to go back to sleep, but the stench and noise soon persuaded me to give up this plan. I formulated a new plan, which was to go for coffee. I got up and was getting dressed when I got to meet the man from the motorhome (Scott? Not sure of his name, but he has an English accent) who had started the generator. He explained that the generator was running to brew coffee as he pointed to the two giant coffee makers on the outdoor table. Great! In a few more minutes I was meeting pilots, checking motors, and not long afterward I was flying! A good long flight, including some very low passes up the dry washes. But now (11:55 PDT) I am very, very tired and think that a nap before this afternoon's adventure.

Flight 113 :

Time : 07:44-09:08, October 6, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field.
Glider : 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 1,4

After refueling, I hurried to take off again. The air was getting warmer, so I did not think that I needed gloves. I really got into watching the balloon pilots fly. With no (direct) directional control, the good ones still accomplish amazing things. They appear to figure out which way the air is moving at different elevations, and then adjust their elevation to pick up the direction of air that they need. Out of the perhaps 10 or so balloons that I saw take off from our little field, two or three were able to make good use of this technology to fly, low, downwind, and then climb to where they flew in what appeared to be an upwind direction (not really, of course). Then, the would drop down and have shot at landing back where they had taken off from... Very tricky. In any case, I had all kinds of fun flying around, makeing lots more low flights over interesting terrain features like the sandy washes and dirt roads that criss-cross this section of desert. I had learned earlier in the morning not to go *too* low during these exercises, as turbulence can cause significant falling and rising, and it's not that much fun to have a dip turn into a face-plant.

Flight 114 :

Time : 16:33-18:03, October 6, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field ==> Badlands ==> 19th Aveneue Baloon field
Glider : 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 1,5

Cross Country to Badlands and back. Needs to be written up, but not at this moment…

Flight 115 :

Time : 07:20-07:28, October 7, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,6

Ground handling followed by a flight in to very chilly air. Came back for my gloves and jacket!

Flight 116 :

Time : 07:40-08:30, October 7, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,83

Flight to the river and back, checking out the balloons. Enjoyed perhaps 15 minutes of cruising up and down the Rio Grande (our Easternmost airspace boundary) with at least a hundred balloons in the sky to the East. Amazingly different air quality between our field (windy) and the river (calm). It was also calm over our field between the elevations of 700' and about 1200' AGL, however. Did some cold, hands-in-lap steering by weight shift and throttle. Flight ended when I ran out of gas on my final go-around.

Flight 117 :

Time : 09:02-09:48, October 7, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,77

Touch and go practice, lots of fun. Came down to tighten my loose belt.

Flight 118 :

Time : 10:06-10:50, October 7, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,73

More touch and go practice in rather weird winds. Good practice, overall. Tried climbing out to 1200' AGL but never found that super-smooth air…

Flight 119 :

Time : 09:30-10:50, October 8, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 1,33

It started raining around 5:00 PM the night before, and rained hard all night. Luckily, Jerry and Michelle continued to let me stay in their pop-up tent trailer, or I would have been soaked and frozen! I stayed in bed late today, waiting for the rain to abate. Abate it did, a little after 8:00, and soon I was up seeking coffee. The 5MPH or so breeze out the North looked kitable to me, so I got out my Ozone and played in the breeze a little bit. A very little bit, because the breeze was quickly dropped to being considerably shy of what I need to kite in reverse. I only made one run up the field, forward, before deciding to fire up the motor and see if I could fly. First I tried a reverse, managed to bring the wing up, turn, but then wimp out on the forward run, losing pressure in the wing and dropping it off to the side.

Flight 120 :

Time : 07:20-08:00, October 9, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,67

Really smooth air, cold and under clouds, made for a great flight as I contemplated the irony that the FAA was not allowing the balloon pilots to lanuch because of a low ceiling… My touch and go's were quite a bit better, according to Eric (and me, too) when I learned to apply more break for my 'power landings'. Made some of my best-ever up-wash flights, beginning to have fine control over the whole setup with the Ozone wing.

Flight 121 :

Time : 08:30-08:33, October 9, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,05

Came back for gas after my first flight. Decided that with the winds being now much lower, I should have my big glider. So I switched gliders, after letting Eric take my monster/ozone combo for a test spin with the dual Beres&Hirsch props. He thought the thurst was probably down by 15-20% from the stock composite props, and I agree. With the stromboli wing, I blow my frist forward attempt with poor orientation into the now changing light wind, followed by poor over-correction and the usual "run in a a big squiggly line" until giving up before breaking anything. The second attempt went perfectly, and soon I was bobbing like a cork in a barrel under the big, puffy wing. At least that's how it felt. The big wing is much less heavily loaded than the small one is... Attempting touch and go's, I managed to pull one off, albeit much less gracefully than those of my previous flight, before overflying my target on my second attempt, then touching down only to find that I needed more break pressure with the big wing to pull out... Instead, I found myself skidding forward on my knees and eventually letting my cage hit the ground before I made it back into the air, I heard a mildly bad sound wnen the cage hit the ground with props spinning, but upon first inspection the props appeared fine - the tips were unscathed. Upon closer inspection, I saw that a serious prop strike had indeed occured, but much closer to the hub. It took me quite a while to find what had hit what. The inner prop had somehow managed to strike both the front (upstream) end of the sliencer and, subsequently, struck the outside of the tuned pipe, with the result being one severely damaged prop that can perhaps be repaired using some of the technology that Jerry Danielle shared with me. Very embarassing, too, after flying so well with the smaller wing.

Flight 122 :

Time : 09:15-10:18, October 9, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 38 meter Nervures Stromboli
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 1,05

After replacing the broken prop with one of the Paratour wooden props, I was ready to fly again and determined to master finer control of the big glider. This I did practice, doing 4 touch and go's and many more low passes, but without ever gaining the level of control that I had felt that I had with the smaler Ozone Electron XL (31 meters versus 38 for the Stromboli). I did take a nice flight over to three balloons that were landing and exchanging passengers a mile or so to the SouthWest of us, and over there, checking why my left brake seemed so hard to pull, I found another pre-flight failure: My left brake line did not have a clear route to the wing. Instead, it was wrapped and twisted around the bundle of lines by one full turn! Yikes! I could still fly it, but the brake pressure was higher on that side and the lines should not be rubbed that way. Upon packing up, saw a growing little hole in the center, inner surface of my wing, now almost 1 inch by 1 inch... I will soon send this wing to Superfly for an annual inspection, repair, and tuneup. After this flight, I came back to the field in bumpy air to learn that Ray Loomis had had an unfortunate close encounter with an automobile on takeoff and was now nursing a broken prop, bent cage, sore body and wounded pride. He had been attempting to demonstrate his flying ability to a fellow police officer. You know the story...

Flight 123 :

Time : 17:04-17:44, October 9, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,67

Awakening from my nap, I was ready to fly. It was windy; no one else was flying. But the winds were rather steady, not gusting, so I was comfortable going for it with my now-beloved Ozone Electron, which was beginning to feel like an extension of my body when the air was mildly turbulent like it was this afternoon. I did a relatively easy reverse inflation and launch, followed by about 8 touch and go's, before seeing some balloons flying to my east. I decided to go visit the balloons, and made slow progress upwind toward them, having a few scary moments when I got bounced around a bit at what felt like a high elevation (maybe 400 feet AGL) after spending so much of the day flying low. In this way, I never got too close to the first balloon, which quickly drifted up and way over a housing development and out to the North, but soon another baloon came along and this time I was able to easily plot and carry out an intercept course which allowed me to lazily circle the balloon at a safe distance in a very scenic way. I believe this vist was enjoyed by the balloon's occupants as well. After this little viniette, I returned to flying the washes and roads of the area around the field, which was much more challanging now that there were relatively strong winds (> 10 mph) and the turbulence that these winds created when crossing the uneven terrain features. It was very challanging and very enjoyable to play with this on my way back to the field, where I did some more touch and go's before attempting my BIG, FIRST-TIME FEAT: to land, engine running, reverse, kite the wing for a while, then turn forward and fly off again. When I attempted this, I managed the landing just fine, then got reversed just in time to watch my wing fall in a stack. I was too slow!

Flight 124 :

Time : 18:04-18:48, October 9, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,73

I would really call this 8 flights, but according to Eric Dufour, it is only 1 flight with 11 touch and go's. I think It should be counted as eight flights because I landed and reversed to face and kite my wing SEVEN TIMES during this flight, only to turn forward and fly off again. The wind was quite strong, so most of the time I had enough to keep the wing flying in the reverse orientation, though occasionally I decided to just keep moving forward during my touch and go's. In any case, the higher wind was making for a lot of up and down motion while taking off and landing, as well as surges from side to side. Attempting to control my flight in these conditions was really a good experience for me. I found myself staying quite calm in 'surging' condtions that would have really scared me just weeks ago. All the high-wind kiting I had been doing in the high sierra, plus all the fine motor/brake control I've been practicing here in Albuquerque felt like they really paid off today in my comfort in dealing with these amusing conditons. Once again, I was the only one flying (from 5:00 on, I believe). Everybody else broke camp and headed over to Chris's for pizza. I went too, but not until it got too dark to fly. As I type this, I am alone at the field, watching over the remaing gear and ready to be the first to fly this morning. I was the first to fly the last two mornings... Do I have "intermediate syndrome"?

Flight 125 :

Time : NA, October 10, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,67

Everyone else is gone, but it looks flyable to me, a bit windy but not too gusty.

Flight 126 :

Time : NA, October 10, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,18

So I keep flying and flying.

Flight 127 :

Time : NA, October 10, 2000
Location : 19th Aveneue, Albuquerque balloon field
Glider : 31 meter Ozone Electron
Engine : SD-Monster
Airtime : 0,72

It was getting more and more windy out there, but in a predictable sort of way. On an out-flight earlier in the morning I believe I came to understand one of the major reasons for the surge-y conditions at the field: With the wind from this (S to SE) direction, the whole flying field is downwind of a hill, part of which is covered with houses. Near the hill is a big rotor, while further 'downstream' the residual turbulence tumbles along for a very long ways when the wind is blowing better than 15 MPH at the top of the hill...

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