Back in Hollister 5/29/12 for Memorial Day

Peter Jr. brought his father Peter Sr. down for a Monterey Bay ride on a beautiful clear day.

Watsonville in the foreground and Santa Cruz in the distance:

Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough in the foreground and Monterey peninsula in the distance:

Father and son:

Rayyan enjoyed a Hollister Hop ride:

 Iqra and her father, Owats also flew a  Hollister Hop:

Day two at Panoche

After all the other gliders had launched, I went up in the backseat with a student-pilot in the front seat so that he could practice his "thermaling" technique.  Sanjeev kept us up for two hours until he said he had had enough! 

Jessica and Chris had been camping at Mercy Hot Springs along with many of the glider pilots and heard that they could get a ride to celebrate her birthday: 

And here they are doing just that!

Rides from Panoche Valley

After I aerotowed 87R to the Panoche Valley dirt airstrip, 35 miles south of Hollister, where the HSC/BASA Gliderpalooza was taking place over Memorial Day, two passengers from Modesto enjoyed a ride with nice clouds and thermals over the arid land below:

While we were in the air, someone on the ground radioed that there was a man waiting with his two daughters who wanted a ride too!  After landing we pushed the glider off the runway and watched as one of the private gliders launched:

The sisters, Maggie and Emma, jumped in the back seat and we launched into that beautiful sky:

After landing we took some more pics:

Eight private gliders including two two-place sailplanes all launched for 4 to 5 hour flights covering up to 350 mile distances!

 BG is a self-launcher and doesn't need the towplane!

Here is our Pawnee ready to tow:

One pilot returned to the field after having a problem with his battery.  Here he is just before touching down on the runway at the point where our ride glider is parked:

Saturday 5/12/12

The overcast burned off nicely so Aaron and I could be towed to 6000' over the East Hills of the Diablos for a Mountain High Acro Ride.  After a spin, loop and hammerhead, Aaron demonstrated how his skill and experience with R/C aircraft translated to easy piloting of the glider!  I really enjoy having a passenger take the controls and fly the aircraft for an extended period of time while getting the true feel of piloting.  Aaron should pursue training and licensing as he has the "Right Stuff":

After we landed, his mother, Carla, put on the 'chute and off we went so she could share the experience.  We went flying in the same area but Carla chose not to perform any aerobatics and just enjoyed the view.

John and Elena got in together in the rear seat and we were towed west to 8000' over the  Monterey Bay coastline by our Pawnee:

 (file pic)

Today's flight was over the fog which was still lingering over the Monterey Bay.  We could see the shoreline of Marina, Seaside and Monterey to the south as we flew over Watsonville and released for a nice glide back to Hollister.

The fog was just over the coastline leaving the area of our return trip clear:

As you can see here, Elena and John, were enjoying every minute of their time in the air:

and after landing:

selecting the chocolates to go the the champagne:

Who is that pilot?

While we were flying our rides today, six private gliders flew 4 to 5 hour flights to points  ~100 miles south of Hollister and back!  Here is the flight trace of one:

The green is the ground and the brown line is his flight path up in the thermals and down between them!  Time is Zulu or old Greenwich Mean.  Altitude is in meters.

Friday 5/11/12

 Sydney and Deborah enjoyed a nice Silver Hawk ride to 4500' over the Hollister area.  Those are some great smiles!

Here they are after our landing while behind us another Schweizer 2-32 is being towed out to the runway with our "golf" cart:

Saturday 5/5/12 rides

Clear sky after a late spring rain made the ground green and beautiful.  Jared and Teresa had a little picnic lunch and then jumped in the back seat of our Schweizer 2-32 to have me "chauffeur" them to the Monterey Bay shoreline behind our Pawnee towplane.  After releasing, we made a few sightseeing turns and headed back to Hollister.  On the 40 minute return we did a few nice maneuvers while flying over the San Juan Valley.

in the air at 7500':

after landing:

a little refreshment:

Percy had flown primary gliders in England and periodically taken instructional flights while working and raising a family in MA and CA.  He said he soloed a glider but hadn't flown in a "few" years.  After we released from the towplane at 4750' on a Silver Hawk ride,  he took the controls and flew for the next half-hour as if he were the pilot giving me the ride!  He said he didn't use the instruments but just flew by "feel" or as some say, "by the seat of your pants".  After landing, his smile tells all: