A slow December

Some think of rides only in the summer but visibility is much better in the winter!  These two came up from S. CA to enjoy their ride.

Ridge Runner III 2009

Dan gave me a ride in this plane once, although not with the tuned -up race engine! This was done at Stead during the Reno Air Races. We fly gliders at AirSailing near Pyramid Lake about 30 miles north of this airport.

Glider ride business is slowing because of economic troubles and seasonal weather but still I get to fly when people have loved ones give them gift certificates!

The ceiling was only high enough for a 4000 ft tow and his ride was supposed to be to 6k so we did another flight to 2000' and he got two take-offs and landings!  Josh said he'd be back in the spring so he could experience "thermal lift".

Emiliano brought Vanessa out for her birthday ride saying he had a glider ride long ago at Fremont.  At first, both we going to go in the rear seat until the gallant father decided that Vanessa would go alone in the front with me flying from the back so she'd be more comfortable, have a better view and the opportunity to fly!  Good decision as she enjoyed the total package.

Had a nice ride with a couple driving their motorhome from Sonoma to Newport Beach, CA and then on to Camp Lejeune, NC visiting children.

Betty's ride in the DG-505

Monday I had the privilege of giving a ride to a mother of 11!  We had Wisconsin in common as that is where she was from and I went to school there.  We just flew gently back to Hollister from the coast and talked.  Over the San Justo reservoir we stumbled into some 200fpm lift and gained 600'! Now she knows the difference between gliding and soaring.

two different days with different pilots

I am lucky to get to fly with Sven who taught glider flying to military pilots in WWII.  Here you can see his hatless head as he follows the towplane on a clear smooth day.  We couldn't find any lift and just had a nice 45 minute glide in a beautiful glider, the DG-505.
click on the pic to get the whole shot full size, I still haven't figured out how to put this blog together correctly!

The next day I'm with Matt in search of the wave on a day when the front in passing

       Off tow and slowly climbing in a hole trying to get on top.  It was good for a while but then started to close so we had to descend and play around under the cloud deck, landing 40 minutes later.  It was a good try and we had fun.                                  

I haven't quite figured out how to get the whole picture in without it being cut but if I click on it then it will expand and fill my whole screen and that is what I want!

Honeymooners!

recent rides

rides this week

Kathryn and Chanelle

Marzieh

Whitney and Chuck

Linda surprised Steve with a birthday glider ride. We put on parachutes and he asked if we were going to use them. I told them they were required if we wanted to do a loop or other aerobatic maneuver.

Here, Steve takes my picture as we discuss our options.

After release from tow at 8000' over Aromas with the Monterey Bay in full view he said he was ready for a spin and loop so up into a stall and over we went, spinning towards the ground, recovering in a dive and pulling up into the loop after which we relaxed in slow straight and level flight discussing what to do next. He said he'd like to fly it so that he did for the next 30 minutes, except for a couple of wing-overs and tight turns, until it was time to land. Steve "felt" the glider respond to his control inputs and taught himself to fly while I looked for traffic. After our landing Steve convinced Linda that she had to go up herself. It wasn't too difficult a sell as she had experienced a ride in Fremont years ago with a friend in the back seat and she loved "feeling like a bird" while have a real "bird's-eye view". She didn't want any aerobatics, just that wonderful calm feeling that comes with the magnificent view and privileged perspective. I gave her "the ride of my wife" and she enjoyed her hour in the air.

When asked if she would like to experience the same landing as Steve had, she said yes, so we came in low and fast, then traded speed for a zoom up over the road, deployed full spoilers and "kissed" the runway softly for a nice rollout and stop.

I sent them some pics I had taken along with some info on the glider they had flown and some links to youTube clips done by some friends. Here is their kind response:

"We would like to thank you not only for sending us these great photos and information on the glider but also for making the experience so special. You took the effort to make our trips interesting, exciting, and memorable. It was truly a highlight and one that will make this birthday unforgettable. We will share our tale with many and hopefully convince a few to look you up and have an equally wonderful experience, although we know it is pretty hard for you to arrange a day when the weather is so accommodating. You were great!

Thanks again for a super flight and we hope to be return guests not too long from now."

Steve and Linda

I was going through some old pics and found these showing some of the Wabash Valley Soaring Associates dealing with some challenging weather conditions during a visit to the front range of Colorado operating out of Owl Canyon Gliderport. Some found it necessary to land in places other than runways!

One might think the pilot landed on the road but actually he landed it where he should have, in the nice "wet" field where there were no fence posts or wires to catch the long wings which were carried out, over the fence, one by one and are already loaded in the trailer. The fuselage was fun to lift over the fence as well! That is the pilot's crew member standing by dutifully while his pilot documents the event for posterity.

This pilot picked a nice field across the street from its owner and was rewarded with a visit from an interested and curious child. We were able to maneuver the trailer so that the glider could be taken apart and stowed easily as designed. Nevertheless he bought those club members who helped a nice steak dinner as is the custom!
This all happened in the summer of '95 and the nice Pegasus shown here is now being flown by me periodically as a member of the Bay Area Soaring Associates who fly their six different gliders out of Hollister and Truckee in CA.

Pre-frontal mile high ride

Met a woman who was to begin glider training in Germany until Hitler ruled that only men would fly! She now lives in Scotland and is also a citizen of St. Gallen, Switzerland where her family went to survive WWII. Her son brought her down for a ride, she's had others. The day was overcast, pre-frontal and chilly but we made the best of it as she's returning to Scotland tomorrow on a bigger plane hopefully in a window seat!

more Young Eagles

Donatello and sister Katrina

This Young Eagle flew the glider

Gave some Young Eagles rides on Saturday

Glider rides at Hollister

Elena from Switzerland rides in the front seat of glider 64E

Chris gave Kate a Mile High Ride for her 21st birthday

Yesterday Joy said, "let's go play for a few hours before the commercial rides".

front seat view

Joy in the back

Yesterday while giving a ride I took these pics of a fire that was being worked by one bomber and a helicopter for a quick resolution. The traffic was backed up for quite a ways.

Gave the Panoche Inn owner, Larry, his first glider ride. He wanted to view his place in the valley. Front seat of the HGC Schweizer 2-32, N87R, was the perfect place for that perspective. We released from tow and climbed to 7200', flew around "his" valley and only landed because the glider was needed for a lesson and Larry had to get back to work!

I've been mourning the loss of our pet, Tommy

RIP old friend

Moss Landing and Monterey Peninsula from 8000'