Memorial Day rides at Hollister

First to fly was Doug as Nyieda gave him the blessing to go in the front seat for an acro ride as she chose to stay on the ground:

And here he is flying the glider with Moss Landing, Elkhorn Slough and the Monterey peninsula in clear view for 8000 feet above sea level:

Aeden was very nice to have allowed his grandmother to fly with him to 6000' over Fremont Peak for a nice view of the area where they live:

Kevin brought his wife and son out to fly in our other Schweizer 2-32 with Quest as the ride pilot while we flew our acro ride at the same time.  We used two towplanes and flew out to the coast together.

After some acro maneuvers they were above us:

Heres' Kevin looking up at them:

The last ride of the day was a scenic Monterey Bay Adventure with Bob and Sandy.  Bob had taken glider lessons with us and wanted to expose Sandy to the wonders of flying without the engine, "airsailing":

Panoche Gliderpalooza

We operated out of the Panoche airstrip over the weekend because the Hollister airport was closed for an airshow:  http://www.hollisterairshow.com/performers.htm

I flew down in the backseat of 2-32  N87R with a power-pilot who is transitioning to glider. He did the whole flight and landed on the little dirt strip as if he'd done it many times!  The strip is at the bottom of the pic parallel to the "main" road.  The view in the distance is of the San Joaquin Valley with the Sierras on the other side.

Esther and Gabriel had a nice introductory ride on Sat:

Christine and her brother Eric enjoyed Sunday's ride with thermals and some fun maneuvers:

Alan wanted some thermalling practice and I just sat in the back to enjoy the ride.  You can see from the vario that we are climbing at 400 ft/min!

Friday after the cold front passage

Robert flew in to Hollister in his Cardinal to sit in the front seat of the glider for his first flight in an airplane without an engine.  He had a head-mounted video camera and I'm interested to see what comes from that!

Walt and son Michael went up for a Monterey Bay Adventure after driving over Pacheco Pass with their travel trailer from the Sierra foothills.  Barbara stayed on the ground but maybe next time she'll go after hearing about the "boys" flight and seeing the pics!

Now that's a set of aviator glasses!

Wednesday's cold front rides

We knew it was coming but Heynia brought her son Devin for his 14th birthday ride, a Silver Hawk to 4500' over San Juan Bautista:

After we landed and my new passengers were "comfortable" we launched into the approaching cold front towards the Monterey Bay for their "Adventure" ride to 8000'!

Here we are half-way there: 

Brandi & Derek look comfortable in the rear seat just before release:

This is the view from 7500' over San Juan Bautista of the Santa Cruz Mtns. and Santa Clara Valley with the rotor/wave clouds below: 

Everything is all tied down and the rain is coming:

Saturday 5/21/11

Balaji and daughter, Satvika, enjoyed their Hollister Hop:

Between rides, private gliders were launched and the beautiful DG-1000 of the Bay Area Soaring Associates was being used to check out a new private-pilot member:

 A "bachelor party" group arrived for rides and I had the honor of taking Tim, the prospective groom, for a Monterey Bay Adventure Acro Ride.  Tim was a power-pilot and took the controls while on tow to experience flying he'd never done before.  After releasing from the towplane at 8250' we played around taking turns flying.  His loop was as good or better than mine!  He flew the rest of the flight until final and I was so relaxed I neglected to get his picture in the air.  He'll have plenty of pictures when he gets married!
I'm not sure but I think Henrik was the organizer of the "event" and maybe the "best man"?  He had a nice ride with a loop and I did get his pic:

You can see that I made sure to get a picture this time as I took it while we were still on tow behind the Cherokee!

My last ride for the day was with Cornelius for a Mile High Mountain Ride.  He was in the wine business so we flew over the area south of Hollister where there are vineyards and wineries.   

Friday 5/20/11 rides

Horacio enjoyed a Mile High Mountain ride:

Sophia, a power-pilot instructor took her son Dylan for a Hollister Hop ride while her mother and husband waited for their return:

Back on the ground Libor, also a power-pilot instructor, recorded the event:

Thursday May 19 ride

We had the WWII era planes visiting Hollister:  http://www.collingsfoundation.org

 I was asked to give a glider ride to their co-ordinator and off we went:

Gene had never been in a glider and enjoyed the loop.  He had flown R/C and ultralight so when he took the controls he handled the flying as if he'd done this many times before.  We had a little thermaling opportunity and he climbed ~1000' to get a taste of soaring not just gliding!

Later in the day the B-17 dropped 7 parachutists over the airport for a sight not seen very often.

Friday the 13th!

John and his sister Gillian, visiting from Ireland flew with me on a Hollister Hop.  We didn't have the golf cart available for towing the glider to the runway so my passengers helped with the moving and we had a nice flight on a windy day.

In the air at 3000' over Hollister:

After landing on runway 24:

In the background our Cherokee towplane and SGS 2-32 N87R are about to launch for a training flight with the student pilot in the front seat and the instructor in the rear:

Saturday's rides

My first passengers were from the Monterey peninsula for the 9am Silver Hawk ride.  We stay on tow until we reach 4750' above sea level.  Kevin pulled the release when instructed, we have dual controls because we use the same glider for flight instruction.  Kevin was not a small man but Annie dealt well with any discomfort the seating arrangement caused.  A one hour ride might have exhausted them but they sure enjoyed the view and the "maneuvering"!

Steve wanted a Mile High Mountain Ride.  Because he was solo, he could sit in the big front seat with the unobstructed, by my head, view while I flew from the rear seat.  We remove the control stick from the rear and attach a cover plate over its mechanism when we have two passengers.  After releasing at 6250' over Fremont Peak we were above the "foglets" over the Salinas Valley with Mt. Toro and the Santa Lucias to the left and the Monterey Bay to the right. We spent the rest of our 40 min ride just flying around the Hollister area.

 Bill, a power pilot, who got his license in this area but hadn't flown in 10+ years had a gift certificate for a Monterey Bay Adventure ride where we release at 8250'.  We put on parachutes and flew a loop just for fun after which Bill flew saying it was very different from what he had experienced in the powered aircraft.

Mariam, a local woman who had seen gliders overhead, and her sister-in-law, Lorrie, who was visiting from MN, arrived without a reservation but we were able to get them in the rear seat of the Schweizer 2-32 and off we went on a Mile High Mountain Ride to the Diablos east of the airport.  We watched another glider work the ridge lift below us and then flew around Mariam's homestead where she pointed out her barn and the horse paths upon which she rides.

After landing they wanted to thank our tow-pilot Allen in the Pawnee for getting them "high"!

 The last ride of the day was a Silver Hawk for Jessica and Alexander.  Neither had any small plane experience so even "the ride of my wife"(smooth) would have been impressive.  They were such an ebullient couple,  I couldn't resist a few fun maneuvers.  They have now been initiated.

After changing the oil in the towplane, sleeping in the hangar to save the commute gas-money and getting up early to clean the wings of our towplanes and gliders, I was tired from such a quality dose of aviation!  When I got home to Monterey for a bowl of home-made soup, my wife was still at work on her computer.  Aren't we supposed to slow down as we age?  Every day is a gift!  Haven

Friday's private glider ride in the DG-1000

Joy wanted to give a ride to her pastor but was on vacation so I was lucky and went for a nice smooth, their was no lift, ride with Scott.  He enjoyed the perspective:

If the day had looked like this we might have been able to stay aloft longer by using the rising air which makes the clouds. 

Saturday 4/30/11 rides

For an early start on a beautiful day, I had three flights with HSC manager/instructor Quest for my Biennial Flight Review.  On the first flight he pulled the release at 200' to simulate a rope break and I made a 180° turn to land back on the runway.  Next he had me do a landing without the use of the spoilers which is challenging and fun.  For the last flight he pulled the release at 800' and we simulated landing on a short field with 200' trees to clear! All fun and exciting, the way instruction and review should be.
Maybe the roads and highways would be safer if all drivers were required to have reviews in their vehicles with a knowledgeable and friendly instructor.  Not so much as a test but an opportunity to learn and improve skills!

My first commercial flight was a birthday ride for an Air Force Academy graduate who had some glider flights while there and some others at Tehachapi.  John flew the glider well and even "looped" us!  I didn't have my camera so no pics, oops.

Suzanne and Thomas took a Silver Hawk ride to 4750' where we could see the Monterey Bay and the Sierras while experiencing the very active atmosphere.  They enjoyed both the view and the "maneuvering"!

My last flight of the day was with Carter, whose uncle brought him in for and introductory lesson.  As an "east-coaster" from Maryland he was enjoying our presently green scenery as much as the chance to fly the glider;  sensory overload, but well handled by a young man who is looking to join the military.  While in the back seat and supervising I neglected to get his picture.

Scott, one of our A&P mechanic/ride pilots from some time ago, visited in an airplane that he had brought back to life and overhauled the engine.  His Cessna 150 is just like the one in which I had my initial flight training, back in Boston in the early 80's.  It was an enjoyable visit:

Friday 4/29/11 rides

Sandy said she had a previous birthday ride years ago in Fremont.  Maybe she was going to be in the same glider!  

                                 Schweizer 2-32 9864E at SkySailing in the '70s

                                                      64E's new paint scheme!

                    Jen & Sandy belted in and ready to taxi to the runway for launch:

There were some nice bumps as the air was filled with energy.  It is safe to say they enjoyed their ride and is shown in those smiles at 4000 ft altitude over Hollister!

Peter and son Andy were next for a ride on a day when we could find lift and enjoy some "roller-coaster" activity:

After landing Andy got in the front seat while we maneuvered 64E back to its tie-down:

We put Andy in the front seat of the private club's high-performance DG-1000 for a photo-op.  He needs to be taller or have the cushions we used for his flight with his dad!