Gallery Newsletter

RidgeDancer January 1996
Reproduced from the monthly newsletter.

Contents:

Editor's Remorse
1996, A Good Year for Flying
New Meeting Procedure
Short Newsletter?
Errata, Corrections, and Timeliness
BAPA Go-For-Broke Challange
Kirkwood Paragliding
Site Director Report
Auto Racing and Pig Chasing in Ecuador
Who Are We?
Para-hiking
December Meeting Minutes
January Meeting Minutes

Editorís Remorse

The Editors

Well, we donít really want to just abandon our baby. Weíd still love to talk to anyone who might be interested in publishing the BAPA Newsletter, but weíre renewing our efforts to get the newsletter done without sacrificing our only time to fly.

If anyone would be willing to help with a part of the assembly (like picking up the newsletters from Kinkoís and just sticking on the labels and postage), weíd love to distribute the work a bit.

In the meantime, please keep sending stuff our way. Electronic mail works best (sodacrkr@crl.com), since then we donít have to type it in. You can also send us floppies - DOS or Mac format are no problem, but please save your files as "text" (we can convert other formats, but text is much, much easier). Donít be shy, though. If you have to write your article out in pencil and send it by carrier pigeon, we still want it!

Hereís to a year full of flying, meaty newsletters, and more flying.

1996, A Good Year for Flying

Ann Sasaki

First of all, I would like to welcome all new members to BAPA. Since our mailing in November, we have received at least 28 new member applications. Weíre really pleased that you have decided to join our club and we welcome your input. Let us know what you think about BAPA activities, flying trips, the newsletter, etc. Please come to our monthly meetings if you can, on the first Wednesday evening of each month. See the map and location info on the last page of this newsletter.

Second, I would like to list some New Yearís resolutions that I think we all should consider. Letís resolve to have fewer incidents and near incidents in our flying by doing whatever we can to minimize the risks we take. This includes communicating with other pilots, familiarizing ourselves thoroughly with sites and weather conditions, and not going outside our flying skills and experience. If an incident does occur, the pilot(s) involved should analyze what happened and then submit an accident report which supplies information that can help others to not have the same experience.

Also, letís consider the inconvenience and angst that come with being injured. You canít fly while recuperating! This is the worst thing because thereís nothing else that makes your spirit soar like an epic flight.

Someone on the Hang Gliding list quoted this gem - "Just because you can, doesnít mean you should." Perhaps we should consider this when tempted to launch in questionable conditions. We often get away with things but eventually the law of averages may catch up with us and we will regret pushing the limits of what is sensible.

Also consider whether you really are ready for that competition wing or if the amount of effort keeping it above your head will inhibit the amount of fun you have. Donít stack the odds against yourself if you do not have the experience to fly an advanced wing.

Finally, some miscellaneous items - Larry Friend, the Pres, encourages everyone to use the BAPA phone board when planning flying trips. Also, Bob Ost, our resident firefighter, has arranged for another First Aid/CPR Class (on February 24). Thereís an article with details on page 3, or check out the Calendar section. I think it is very useful for all pilots to have some knowledge of what to do in case of an accident.

Hereís a toast to 1996 - I hope everyone has a wonderful year flying and that we share many magical flights and safe landings!

New Meeting Procedure

Larry Friend

At the suggestion of one of our members (who shall remain nameless unless she wants the publicity), we will begin providing an agenda of items for discussion at monthly meetings. The agenda will be published in the newsletter prior to each meeting. The most obvious benefit of this concept is that members who are interested in a particular issue may be able to arrange their schedules to enable them to attend meetings they might otherwise miss. Of course, there may be some topics you especially want to miss. Additionally, we may find a need to prioritize particular items and/or reschedule other items for subsequent meetings.

Contact me (or Gever) AT LEAST one week before the monthly meeting date or weíll never get it in the newsletter. There will be times when important issues arise which may not allow enough time for inclusion in the newsletter, but hopefully, these will be rare.

Short Newsletter?

Gever Tulley

Did last month's newsletter seem a little thin? Did you miss out on some really juicy articles? Really wanted to read "I flew a bedsheet"? Me too! The real reason that last month's newsletter was so small, was that I didn't leave enough time to really do the newsletter. So, if you want to read about "PG Pilot Crosses Continental Divide", then you'll have to write it. Until then we can all imagine what it must have been like.

Errata, Corrections, and Timeliness

Gever Tulley

Aside from being short, last month's newsletter was addressed with an out-of-date database. So all those "Dues!" notices were probably wrong. Those of you who have "Dues!" on your stickers now are really tardy. You know who you are, and we do too (see page 8).

We are in the process of fully taking advantage of our new Treasurer: during this phase we haven't being processing checks and new members as rapidly as one would hope. This is mostly the assistant editor's fault (that's me!), since he lost the key to the mail box. Once we get the kinks (the assitant editor, for instance) worked out of the system we should be able to process checks and new members faster than the Federal Government (no reference to the past Treasurer intended!).

BAPA Go For Broke Cross Country Challenge

Mike Yost

All right you hot-shots and wannabe cross country challengers, '96 is the year for the Bapa "Go For Broke Cross Country Challenge". We are levelling the playing field for everyone. Please do not bandito sites to go Cross Country.

The rules are simple:
From April 1st to October 31st 1996, fly as many cross country flights as possible anywhere in North America. The individual that has flown the greatest overall distance wins. It's just that easy. Contest open to all BAPA pilots. The entry fee is $10.00 donated to BAPA. Get your entry fee to Michael Parker (the treasurer) before April first and contact Mike Yost to get signed up.

Participants flights will be recorded on the honor system and will be updated each month in the RidgeDancer. Ocean ridge soaring does not qualify as cross country. Flights must be six miles or greater to be recorded.

Winner gets choice of New Piccolo Vario or New Deluxe UP Harness. Other prizes to be announced. Get ready and sign up today. Then go for broke in Canada, Owens Valley, Reno, Potato Hill, Elk Mountain, Mt. Diablo...

Big Sur HG News

Tim Shea, via the Tam Airlines

NOTE: This is primarily related to hang gliding at Big Sur, but it's important for us to be aware of site issues and help preserve a sensitive site.

All three Big Sur launches are open again! Saturday, January 13th was our first day back at the 2 launches that were closed for almost 2 years (the Knob and Louise's Launch, formerly called Plaskett).

We are proceeding with an interim program of flying on weekends and holidays and in about a month, after a survey that's in progress is completed, we hope to be back to unrestricted access (7 days a week).

If you go there, PLEASE read and follow the site protocol and rules, and sign in as required. This is a very sensitive site. If we can't manage the relatively loose program in place at this time we can lose the site permanently (ITAL). It could easily happen. USHGA Hang-3 (Intermediate) minimum rating.

Kirkwood Paragliding

From the Soaring Times

If you are interested in flying your paraglider at Kirkwood Ski Resort please DO NOT call Kirkwood! Arrange it with Ray Leonard at Adventure Sports (702) 883-7070 or call him if you have questions.

Site Director Report

David Sondergeld

STABLES

On Tuesday the 23rd of January I met with the Jim Milestone from the GGNRA to discuss our permit renewal for the Stables launch. It was decided that the rating to obtain a sticker would change from a class II (in the old system) to an intermediate rating(in the new system). In addition we will begin a sponsor program for novice pilots. The sponsor program will be on a trial basis for the first year and will be renewed in 1997 if we are accident free. I will be meeting with Jim again to sign the permit before this next meeting. The permit fee has increased to 150 dollars.

To be sponsored, a novice must be signed in and supervised by an official BAPA Stables Launch sponsor. We will be printing up stickers for the sponsor pilots. The novice pilot will be allowed to launch under direct supervision from the sponsor and may only fly to the beach. No top landings allowed for novices. Teaching will not be allowed under the Parks guidelines. To be a sponsor you must be an advanced rated pilot. I will have sign-up sheets at the next club meeting or individuals may contact me at my house. Once the program begins I will post the list of sponsors on a bulletin board at launch, as well as post their names in the next newsletter.

In addition to proposing the rating requirment, I also proposed that the limitation of number of hg's and pg's allowed to soar at westlake be equal. Jim agreed to this. The two proposals that the GGNRA were not willing to move forward on were allowing Tandem flights at the stables, and allowing advance pilots at funston when no hg's are in the air. We'll try again next year!

New sign - The sign designed by Jack Hodges will be placed down at launch over the next two weeks. I am meeting with the district ranger to designate a location for the sign on Tuesday the 6th of Feb.

MT TAM

MCHGA is installing a completely new wind talker. The cost is estimated at over 1,000 dollars. BAPA is sending MCHGA a check for 200 dollars. The new machine might be working within 2 weeks.

Auto Racing and Pig Chasing in Ecuador

Bob Ost

Our paragliding trip to Ecuador was wildly successful last year, and I had the same expectations for this year's (now last year's) trip. Now that I have been back a month and have had time to reflect on it, still, I'm kind of speechless. All I can say, ______ ___! (Put in your favorite expression here.) We were in Ecuador almost 2 weeks, and we flew EVERY day! That doesn't even happen in the Bay Area in the summer, let alone the winter.

We flew some great "sled early or thermal later" type sites in and around Quito and the countryside, about 4 of them. We had many flights of well over 1 and even 1-1/2 hours. We drove many hundreds of kilometers of dirt roads to get to various flying sites, none of which were worse than the road to our beloved Elk Mtn. Most of the launches were from over 11,000' msl., and the views were always great.

We did get hosed once this trip, after driving to the summit of a huge VIRGIN mountain to be the first to fly it, we had to settle for a breathtaking view. After an exhaustive meteorological inquiry of some local, non-English speaking security guards, we think we have the logistics figured out to succeed in timing this mountain's small launch window during our next visit.

Instead, we flew at a beautiful lake site adjacent to a race track (like Sears Point) later that day, so nobody felt too bad. At this site, you actually have to drive on the track to go to the LZ, so before every day we flew there, we raced our rental 4x4s to the LZ for the honor of sticking the windsock in the dirt, and held another heat upon leaving after each flight. The first truck to the exit toll booth (equivalent to 35 cents per car, per race) was the winner. Although auto racing seemed to bring out a little of the "Mr. Hyde" in an otherwise easy-going group of pilots, it really did complement the paragliding quite nicely.

Then we jetted to the beach for 5 days of sunny skies and ridge soaring with frigates and vultures. Did I mention the smell of cocoa butter? And flying in shorts? The air at the coast was just as smooth as can be, and our drivers finally started insisting on payment for services rendered. Tandem flights. We did lots of tandems. Dave Bingham's wife, Jan, took her first tandem flight, which lasted an hour. Congratulations, Jan!

Every morning we braved the 80 degree heat and left the comfort of our hosteria to drive or walk 1/4 mile through the fishing village to launch, some 100 feet over the Pacific. The site was just perfect for giving our beginner pilots some instruction and a few early morning sleds down to the beach. The coast was soarable every day by 10:30, and every day we racked up hours and hours of airtime, cruising miles of white beaches and warm blue waters. We felt right at home here. As similar as the topography of this beach site is to our local coast, it was hard to believe that we were flying above the Equator. We were also sometimes soaring over the local dump, which is just like a third world version of our Pacifica dump. Quite notable are the wild pigs that graze there, digging up garbage and chasing fish and sand crabs. A couple of the guys took a liking to pig chasing, both on foot and from the air. I don't know, maybe you just had to be there.

Every afternoon while we flew we watched the texture of the water changing, the striations creeping toward shore, and finally the whitecaps take over the ocean. This was our sign that the morning session was over, and that lunch was ready. We would set up our descent over the breaking waves with our ears pulled in, slowly setting down on the beach, just steps away from our favorite restaurant. There we piled our gliders on the dirt floor and sat down to enjoy fresh camarones and cold cervesas. This was usually followed by napping in hammocks and a swim in either the ocean or the hotel pool. Or both.

Who Are We?

Julie Spiegler

Counting up the number of new members in recent months made me curious what sorts of statistics I could drag out of our member database.

Here are some statistics taken from the 28 January 1996 version of the BAPA Member database...

So at least 40 BAPA members (30% of the population) should know what to do in case of an emergency or accident (Call 911!!).
Number of HAM licenses: 32 (hard to believe less than 23% of the population has radios ;-)
Members with E-Mail: 51 (36%)
Don't forget: Garbage in, garbage out. These statistics are only as good as the information actually in the database. That's what all those little lines on the "Membership Applications" are for!

Para-hiking

Bob Clem

As we slide into the thick of the midwinter doldrums, flying our paragliders becomes a sometimes thing, requiring us to brave the chill, fog, short days and harsh winds. Then imagine my pleasant surprise on Jan. 7 at finding 73-degree sunny weather, Ron T., Ann S. and some other flyers about a half-hour's drive from where I live, despite thick, cold fog seemingly everywhere else for miles around. Where is this unlikely place? Mount Diablo, of course. Like an island oasis, much of its substantial acreage pokes up into the warm clear air above the fog layer that forms during the cold, stable high pressure conditions that frequently prevail between the winter storms. And, most importantly, it's a place to paraglide as well. I watched some of the flights and decided to come back the next day with my wing, since conditions were forecast to be the same.

As many of the East Bay pilots are aware, I spend a lot of time on Diablo, not just paragliding, but hiking, mountain biking, and other stuff. Last summer, I started hiking with my wing from LZ up to the launch at Juniper campground, just because it is always something I wanted to try ever since I started watching paragliders on Diablo years ago. It's a 2000-foot climb, taking me about 1 1/2 hours. Yes, it is admittedly an acquired taste, but those who have backpacked should settle right into it. The load and walking pace are equivalent. I have been on seven of these climbs so far.

On a good soarable day, I'd rather maximize my time flying, so I reserve these hike-and-fly days for smooth, stable, low-wind conditions that will probably not be soarable (though unexpectedly on one such trip I got my second-longest flight to date at Diablo, 34 minutes. Not much to boast about, but I only have a Gloat-2 rating). Obviously, I do not want to arrive at the top of a long hike only to find conditions unflyable, but we all have to be willing to hike down - or bum a ride - if this occurs. Just before I start up, I call the (now speechless) wind talker on the cell phone for the latest update on wind conditions. If I'm not quite certain about the launch conditions, I'll drive up to the launch, fly down, then hike back up, but I really like to do the hike first. Incidentally, I understand that hiking up and flying down the mountain was how paragliders were originally used, so call me a traditionalist.

On the hike up, in addition to enjoying the scenery, I use the opportunity to analyze the air I will be flying in. I take note of the wind patterns, the variation of air temperatures (especially the location of hot spots as thermal sources), and the antics of the soaring birds, among other things. Near the top is a place to check if there is any significant wind from the north or east. The preferred wind is WSW.I bought a paraglider bag made by Trekking, for trekking, from Mike Yost who told me something I've never heard him say before about any of his products: "You're gonna like it!" Well, he was right. It has room for everything, is fully adjustable, and is light-weight yet rugged. It has a padded belt like a regular backpack, so long walks with it are much easier than with a regular bag.

The first 500 feet of climb is fairly steep, then a few hundred feet at a moderate grade, with the last 1000 feet or so fairly easy. I drink a lot of water before I start out so I don't have to carry any with me on the climb. There is water at launch. After the hike, before I lay out the canopy, I spend some time checking the launch conditions and resting up a little. Usually a forward launch is called for, transitioning to a gradual lift-off from the gently-sloping terrain. If there is an inversion like I mentioned at the beginning, the flight down is serene and lasts only about 7 - 8 minutes.

There is something "special" about a flight down the mountain after you've hiked up it. So if you find yourself enveloped in a cold, dreary fog this winter, and want to try a challenging hike topped off with a little air time over some impressive scenery in spring-like weather, check out Mt. Diablo. I can give you the details.

(Fine print: of course, you must be Diablo-legal, with a Para 3 rating, helmet sticker and paperwork!)

Bob Clem : (510) 825-4979 after 8 p.m.

Meeting Minutes - Jan. 3, 1996

Ann Sasaki for Anne Huffington

Larry Friend called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.(?)

New Members
There were no new members attending the meeting but 21 old timers showed up.

Notable Flights
Dave Bingham and Larry Friend talked about the trip to Ecuador. They said the flying was great - excellent thermalling everyday and also coastal soaring along a ridge similar to Westlake but extending for miles. Dave said that several people had good tandem flights and the passengers enjoyed the flights very much.

Officer Reports
President's Report Larry Friend encouraged everyone to buy a BAPA sweatshirt. Contact Larry for more info.

Treasurer's Report
Bob Gilmour reported for Michael Parker that the club is still solvent.

Safety Director/Editor's Report
Ann Sasaki asked if there were new members this month. Julie Spiegler said about 6 or 7 new member applications were in the current batch of mail. (In December there were 15 new members.)

Site Director's Report
Dave Sondergeld says that the Mt. Tam windtalker needs repairing.
Gever Tulley made a motion to have Dave Sondergeld find out what the repairs to the Mt. Tam windtalker will cost and to contribute half the amount from BAPA, not to exceed $200.
***Motion passed.
Dave also said that he will try to meet with Jim Milestone this month to review the proposed changes to the Stables site regs.

New Business
Mike Yost asked for input on which destinations people prefer for BAPA trips. He said that Mexico City, Southern California and Elk Mountain are all possibilities (for the same time slot?) and he needs member feedback. Please contact Mike if you are interested in any of these trips.
Jody Lucas said he will be working on surveying Mount Umunum which is in Santa Clara county. Jody feels the site has a lot of potential.

Meeting adjourned 7:40 p.m. (?) ?

Meeting Minutes - Dec. 3, 1995


Anne Huffington

Gever Tulley, Vice President, called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.

New Members
Three new members - Julian Saperstein is a Class I pilot, flying for about one year. Gene Pfeiffer has been a member, but is FINALLY getting serious about this flying business! Ilka McAlister is a brand new Class I pilot. Welcome all! Besides new members there were 17 old timers, for a total of 20.

Notable Flights
Michael Fountain had a first flight at the coast and found out how valuable it is to know about Big-Ears prior to launch. New coastal pilots - please take note and learn about coastal flying from the "regulars" before attempting to launch! Jeff Greenbaum was demonstrating intentional canopy collapses at Big Sur and dislocated his shoulder in mid-pull. Even though it went back into the socket voluntarily, Jeff says if you ever had a dislocation, watch out while reaching up to pull lines. Ouch! Jeff also out-cored most of the hang-pilots at Mt. Tam (well, almost) during one hour-long flight with 300 feet over launch.
Gene Pfeiffer flew Mt. Kagel in Sylmar this month, but his biggest acoomplishment in 1995 was springtime flying in Switzerland, which he reported as wonderful.

Old Biz
A motion was passed to accept the minutes from the November 1, 1995 meeting.
*** Motion Passed.

President's Report
The Pres is flying in Ecuador right now. Hot darn!

Vice President's Report
Gever reported that Ann Sasaki sent flyers concering BAPA to all Region 2 pilots (as discussed at the last meeting) and 15 new memberships were received in the first week. Good going, Ann!

Treasurer's Report
Out-going Treasurer Bob Gilmour finally handed over the books to Michael Parker. Be patient if you have sent in your dues and it has not registered.

Secretary's Report
Anne Huffington will be on a dive boat next meeting so someone needs to take minutes. You can mail them to her at 31 Berry Trail, Fairfax, CA 94930 and she will type them. Thanks!

Site Director's Report
Dave Sondergeld reported for the Site Review Committee, established last meeting to evaluate how the new rating system would effect BAPA sites. See the article on the rating system elsewhere in the November Ridge Dancer which explains Para 1, 2, 3, 4 and Master ratings. Also, there are new skills to be signed-off by Observers, which are TUR (turbulence, or thermalling), AWCL (Advanced Wind Cliff Launch) and RS (Ridge Soaring).
The committee consisted of: David Sondergeld - Site Director; Eric Wilcox - Site Adminstrator for Diablo; Thom Switzer - Site Administrator for Tam; Ann Sasaki - Safety Director; Larry Friend - BAPA President; Jack Hodges; Julie Spiegler - Editor of RidgeDancer.

Diablo: Currently Class II
Proposed: Para-4 Sticker or Para-3 with TUR skill and sponsorship 5 flying days. Eric is also looking into additional launch and LZ's including top landing. Also, note that the Rangers hand out tickets for vehicle passengers without seatbelts, speeding, and dogs off leashes. KEEP THE SPEED DOWN AND BUCKLE UP!

Mt. Tam: Currently Class III or Class II with sponsorship.
Proposed: Para-4 Sticker or Para-3 with sponsorship for 5 flying days. Thom is also looking into expanding to other launches besides C launch.

Stables: Currently Class II
Proposed: Para-3 with RS and AWCL and sponsorship of Para-2. Dave is looking into a tandem program as well as Westlake equivalency with Hang Gliders (currently limited to 8 Paragliders at Westlake, while HG's have 16).

New Business
Discussion was held concerning the possibility of incorporation to limit liability risks for individuals. It was suggested that someone read BAPA's insurance policy to determine exclusions, etc. Discussion was tabled while members gather more information.
Jody Lucas informed the Club about the incorporation by the Sky Riders Hang Gliding club. Anyone who wants to participate financially might help secure Windy Hill as a possible Paragliding site. Pilots will only be able to fly this east facing advanced site on weekdays. It is presently only open to Hang Gliders. Contact Jody or Sky riders for information.
The Club was made aware that Kathy Wilde was undergoing surgery to remove a pin from her leg. It is out-patient, so give Kathy a call during her recuperation!

Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

Last modified Monday, March 13, 1996