Retirement present ride!

Jim was given a glider ride gift certificate as a retirement gift from his employer in Mankato, MN.  His daughter Jennifer brought him down from her home in Sacramento on a beautiful day and he choose to take her along on his ride!  He said he had taken her flying in his Cherokee 140 many times.  They fit nicely in the rear seat and off we went.

After Jim pulled the release our towpilot brought the Pawnee around and waved goodbye!

 The picture doesn't really do the view justice as it is much better in reality!

Weather changes and opportunities!

The change in the weather has caused some people to postpone or cancel their scheduled rides which sometimes has them miss some great conditions!
Look what my friend Ramy did on one such occasion recently:

Another beautiful day!

Wolf and Nicole drove down from "the city" San Francisco for a Monterey Bay Adventure Ride and they picked the right day!

Monterey Peninsula from 8000' over Moss Landing:

The Hollister Soaring Center Pawnee towplane, personnel and Schweizer 2-32 glider

Accomplished ride passengers!

CAVU Friday!

Clear or Clean Air with Visibility Unlimited!  Actually it means: Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited.  It was a beautiful day for a glider ride:

Monterey Bay and peninsula from over Aromas

Steve taking pics on his acro ride.  Notice the towplane just above his left hand:

zoom view of Aptos and Santa Cruz:

zoom view of Monterey peninsula:

downtown San Jose was clearly visible:

the snow-capped Sierras visible over the Diablos and San Joaquin Valley:

Steve's wife liked sitting in the front seat:

Veteran's Day rides

First a picture of my father who is gone now like many of the WWII veterans:

As we know Veteran's Day was once called Armistice Day to commemorate the end of the "War To End All Wars" (WWI).  Needless to say mankind hasn't succeeded in ending war and we have many veterans.

I took my wife's friend Alis for a private ride in the BASA DG-1000 over the Quien Sabe Valley on a day with great visibility where we could see the snow on top of the Sierras and the clear air over the Monterey peninsula and bay:

Scott came from Santa Cruz to celebrate his birthday with a Mile High Acro Ride.  We went over the Quien Sabe Valley for a loop and some wingovers.  After the acro he flew the glider and took some pictures.  I was remiss and didn't get my little camera out to take his picture while we were in the air but got this pic with the beautiful light of the evening after our landing: 

Friday scenic and acro rides

Mimi was vacationing from NYC with a friend who was having an introductory lesson/ride from an instructor.  We had a nice scenic ride to the east hills and released over the Quien Sabe Valley.  The atmosphere is changing and there is the promise of rain which the dry hills are expecting!
Looking down the Santa Clara Valley from atop Henrietta Pk. we can see the fog over Monterey Bay, Loma Prieta Mtn. and the dismal haze over San Jose:

Trevor's parents brought him by for his birthday acro ride.  He liked the spin, loop, hammerhead, tight turns and wing-overs.  He understood the lift events and flew the glider very well for his first time!

Here we have returned to the airport environment and are surveying the area in preparation for landing:

The "east hills" of the Diablos over which we flew are in the background and that's one happy birthday person in the cockpit after our landing: