Hi guys,
Hugh asked me to post a link to the pix we took of him flying with us the last couple of days here in Hawaii. It was great to reciprocate the hospitality I enjoyed this summer. If anyone else is planning a trip this way, please give me a shout.
My pictures from Saturday and Sunday
Jim's pictures from Saturday
Jim's pictures from Sunday
Take care,
Alex
http://www.windlines.net
President visits Hawaii
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
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Alex from Hawaii
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2007 4:38 pm
- Location: McLean
- Contact:
Ya, Alex and One-Eye ("Waienai") Jim, Bob, Jeff, June/Sandy, Nikki, Bob and the whole gang really made me welcome and coached me through benching up on the steep and spiky pali/ridge. Saturday was in the "brain-dead soarable" category, but with low clouds that were somewhat limiting. Once I got up and back to "the throne" at the top of the ridge, I soon found myself getting sucked up from 1900 to 2000 in whiteout conditions and using the synthetic compass on my 76S to maintain course out over the bay while using speedbar to descend. "Somewhat concerned" as I was, it seemed like 5 minutes, so it was probably 2. Lower launch at Kahana is a tough 275 foot climb; upper is a hundred feet higher. The Throne is at about 1650. There is limited XC potential downwind to Pounders Beach by way of a couple of lower ridges - maybe 5-7 miles. Hangies fly at a H4 site called Makapu'u and serious XC PGers have apparently done Makapu'u to Kahana along the main spine of the island for a couple of dozen miles or so (?). The remarkable thing is the consistency of the tradewinds, such that Kahana is reliably working for 20 days in a row - at least at this season of the year. Sunday was a bit lighter, more of a thermal day, so I scratched for 25 minutes in the morning without getting more than 100 over launch, but the afternoon picked up just that much so that getting up was no problem - and the clouds were higher. So one's flight time was limited only by biologic needs - and beer suck. I flew twice each day and got a total of 3:45 - probably enough to put me over the top for P3 (are you there Laszlo?). Nikki is close to getting her P2 and will be moving to Arlington next year to join us (well, joining her husband), so there will be fresh blood in the PG and FiFi ranks. Be nice to visiting pilots - it pays off!!! - Hugh
One other reason Hawaii pilots are totally spoiled (except for the short but intense climb up to launch) is the short distance from work/home to flying site - this is, after all, an island. Got out of my conference at Camp Smith uphill from Pearl Harbor on the south shore at 4:30, arrived at the LZ at 5:30, and (thanks to Alex - "the Mayor of Kahana", who top-landed to help me set up), was airborne shortly after 6:00. Had to share the air in front of launch with another P2 (Christine, the German Hawaiian air pilot - sounds just like Ellis!) who launched shortly after I did, but I always felt I had tactical control and could avoid her, although i might have had to leave the lift band. In the event, I hugged the ridge a bit more and consequently got up to 1700 within 10 minutes. We had to go what seemed a long way out over the water to find sink, then sequenced for landing with radioed advice from "Kahana tower" (One-eye Jim) as the wind had gone switchy in the LZ (beach) at sundown. Celebrated by drinking from a coconut with a straw in it. Another boring day in paradise... - Hugh
Well, I got the dirt on vexed relations with the HG community: the hangies used to fly this site when they were young, but it's pretty tough even hiking a PG up the steep, brushy slope, so the site was rarely used by the time paragliding started to take over. HGs generally fly at Makapu near the east corner of the island, where they can drive up and it tends to be windier. They guard that site jealously and require H4. It's a tight-knit group of older pilots and they have not inducted any new ones. The clubs have split. There is also a PG launch somewhere near Makapu, and there have been cross-country flights along the major spine of the island from Makapu to Kahana, which is about 2/3 of the way NW along the NE-facing coast. Back on this site: I think it would be good with a Falcon or even a Sport 2 - something relatively light for hauling up 300 feet or so. You have to work pretty close to the ridge to get up, but the wind is nice and smooth so you don't have to worry about betting gusted. Amazingly, there are little thermals that break off from the bare spots and the rock faces. I would definitely like to go back and try for hang-gliding at Makapu - maybe the crusty old hangies would turn out to be friendly and lend me a glider...
- Hugh
- Hugh
Tuesday, I got my priorities straight and punched out of the conference at 3:15. Called One-eye Jim only to find that he was a half hour ahead of me. Arrived at 4:15 to find that Alex and Johnny from San Diego had flown and top-landed to wait out a rain squall. Jim, Bill, Christine and I hiked 300 feet up to a different launch one or two fingers closer to the seaward end of the ridge (to accommodate a more northern wind direction). Jim set me up at the bottom of the northern launch and I brushed through a couple of small trees on my way out (so did he later). The technique for getting up involves a bunch of short passes right over launch until 100 feet over then moving north to the next face. Eventually you hit the elevator at the northern tip of the ridge. We watched the squalls to judge whether they were coming straight at us or passing east or west. After 45 minutes or so, it seemed like one was coming straight in and the wind effects on the water seemed to be expanding, so I went out to descend (paradoxically, closer to the squall line). Jim and I both got on the ground in plenty of time for safety, but not in time to avoid getting our gliders wet and sandy. I spread mine out in the air-conditioned hotel room and was shaking the sand out and folding it in the elevator lobby at 4 AM, getting ready for my 7 AM flight out. Aloha! - Hugh