deckofficer wrote:

courierguy wrote:Sidewinder: cool spot and great job

Here's one of my favorites http://youtu.be/Va-DtQn64Xg

Just watching the set up for that landing had my toes curled. The stunted, windblown trees on that ridge tell me the prevalent wind direction, and had it been blowing there would have been a nasty rotor on that side. My hang gliding perspective.

Same here, I hear ya......old HG pilot (and always will be) and why it took quite a while to get the right conditions. In fact I have a lot of soaring hours at that site. That little clump of gnarled pines or whatever they are, have managed to grab a toe hold up there, and unlike the rest of the rocky ridge, there is a small area of cushy dirt, just big enough to tie the plane down and pitch a tent, so combo tie down site and camp site! That took even more lucky timing landing it right at sun down and again took a while to make happen. Having the HG experiences under my belt really helps in flying powered in many subtle ways. However, I really like the autonomy of powered flight, no worries about rounding up a driver! For those that don't know, that is the big bugaboo with HG'ing, you land out miles away over a hundred is common these days, and you wait to get picked up by your driver. I've seen (and experienced) the strain this can put on the girfriend/wife relationship It's easier to just fuel up and go

courierguy wrote:

deckofficer wrote:

courierguy wrote:Sidewinder: cool spot and great job

Here's one of my favorites http://youtu.be/Va-DtQn64Xg

Just watching the set up for that landing had my toes curled. The stunted, windblown trees on that ridge tell me the prevalent wind direction, and had it been blowing there would have been a nasty rotor on that side. My hang gliding perspective.

Same here, I hear ya......old HG pilot (and always will be) and why it took quite a while to get the right conditions. In fact I have a lot of soaring hours at that site. That little clump of gnarled pines or whatever they are, have managed to grab a toe hold up there, and unlike the rest of the rocky ridge, there is a small area of cushy dirt, just big enough to tie the plane down and pitch a tent, so combo tie down site and camp site! That took even more lucky timing landing it right at sun down and again took a while to make happen. Having the HG experiences under my belt really helps in flying powered in many subtle ways. However, I really like the autonomy of powered flight, no worries about rounding up a driver! For those that don't know, that is the big bugaboo with HG'ing, you land out miles away over a hundred is common these days, and you wait to get picked up by your driver. I've seen (and experienced) the strain this can put on the girfriend/wife relationship It's easier to just fuel up and go

Back when I was flying our gliders didn't have the performance for 100 miles with the exception of Owen's Valley on the leeward side of the Sierras. The club I belonged to (Northern California Hang Gliding Assc.) had a beast of a old Ford 4X4 truck that hauled a special built trailer that could carry about 20 gliders. It was up to us to find and land in the designated landing area. There was a time at Big Sur I missed the LZ by about 3 miles (not 100) when I launched into a sucker hole in the fog. Sure enough after a few minutes the hole was gone and I was in a white out. Not much I could do other than not give any input to my bar and glide at minimum sink, hoping to break out of the fog. When I did I was relieved I wasn't over the Pacific and could see Hwy 1 below. Problem was I didn't recognize where I was and didn't know which direction, north or south was the LZ. Went north (LZ was south) and ran out of altitude at the gas station/restaurant that I did recognize when I drove in the previous day. Had breakfast and while eating 2 others made the same mistake and landing across the highway.

This is me about 35 years ago in my brand new Seagull Seahawk 200 that replaced my Seagull 3 that I learned in.

Well, this isn't anywhere near the top of the "competition" so far, but it's a place I really love to go, Marble, CO. Sorry about the el cheapo video, but it's what I had to work with--and I'm the world's lousiest videographer. Fast forward to about 4:05 for downwind to base, with final at about 4.55.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGAN6pDYt_4

Cary

Home sweet home

Looks awesome, Sam. I need to visit one of these days.

My 400' long strip yesterday, not on final, but doing a flyby, I'm paying too much attention on short final to screw around with a camera. What a pathetic winter so far, very low snowpack, I can't even use the winter time ski ramp egress from the hangar, it's all bare gravel. So I'm using the "main" summertime runway, and taking off on the wheels, but it's half snow and half bare, I've given serious thought to putting the ski on one side down only, while using the wheel on the other side on the dirt. I don't want to get a swerve happening with the 6:00 tire in soft snow on one side, so far it's been hard enough to not be a problem. We either need a boatload of snow (still possible, likely in fact) or even warmer to make it all dirt, this in between stuff sucks but I am getting my moneys worth out of having wheel skis! You guys at paved airports, with all the maintenance done for you? Appreciate it.

That is a nice one Sam

The strip is that green swath to the right of the lake. This is Eliza Island, just north of Anacortes, Washington. To be honest, I only set up for the approach and then broke off way early and way high. This is a private strip and I have no idea who the owner is. Perhaps I'll look on Airnav and see if I can get a name and then finagle a way to meet them and get permission to land here. I'd sure like to!

Cary wrote:Well, this isn't anywhere near the top of the "competition" so far, but it's a place I really love to go, Marble, CO. Sorry about the el cheapo video, but it's what I had to work with--and I'm the world's lousiest videographer. Fast forward to about 4:05 for downwind to base, with final at about 4.55.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGAN6pDYt_4

Cary

What an awsome spot there cary! Thats stunning. You get there often?

Found an old gem of landing JC.

DrifterDriver wrote:

Cary wrote:Well, this isn't anywhere near the top of the "competition" so far, but it's a place I really love to go, Marble, CO. Sorry about the el cheapo video, but it's what I had to work with--and I'm the world's lousiest videographer. Fast forward to about 4:05 for downwind to base, with final at about 4.55.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGAN6pDYt_4

Cary

What an awsome spot there cary! Thats stunning. You get there often?

In the past, it's been once or twice a year. But since I retired a couple months ago, I'm hoping to get up there a bit more often this next summer. It is awesome--beautiful scenery, relatively easy to get into and out of, good weather most of the time, etc. It's only downside is the elevation--7800' MSL plus a little warmth adds up to pretty high density altitude.

Cary

Flyhound wrote:The strip is that green swath to the right of the lake. This is Eliza Island, just north of Anacortes, Washington. To be honest, I only set up for the approach and then broke off way early and way high. This is a private strip and I have no idea who the owner is. Perhaps I'll look on Airnav and see if I can get a name and then finagle a way to meet them and get permission to land here. I'd sure like to!

I've flown over that strip on Eliza in floatplanes for years, always wanted to take a landplane in there. Lots of cool little strips all over the sanjuans

As a renter I really don't have a home strip. For me, Daybreak is one of the best without straying too far from home.

This is not my home strip, but it is a place I regularly visit in the winter.

Approach To Eagle Glacier

Chet

Cornacopia Wi.
Short but twice my dead end home strip

Zzz wrote:Found an old gem of landing JC.

I think I've seen that yellow cowling before.

robw56 wrote:
I think I've seen that yellow cowling before.

It is but a memory now.

Squamish was ranked number 8 in the world last year by PrivateFly:
http://www.privatefly.com/us/airport-po ... mage-link8

Ironically, the site doesn't seem to have very good pictures of it.

Do I win?