Lauren and Paul in Zapata

[Paul Tjaden]

Well.....as we have been told, driving along the roads and viewing nothing but prickly pear cactus and mesquite with inch long daggers as far as you can see is pretty damn intimidating. We are told that once in the air you can actually see places to land and that the big issue is retrieval. We'll see. Pete L., Gary Osaba, Dustin M.(and their drivers), Russell Brown with the tugs, and Lauren and I are here now with Davis and more to arrive soon. Gary says today doesn't look great for a record attempt so Lauren plans on getting into the air for a look and if she can actually see LZ's perhaps she will try a short downwind task to the NW. There is much to do to get organized. We are still trying to get our radio performance up to standards. Pete says we need to be able to communicate up to 100 miles air to ground. Much of the area has no cell signal so Lauren will have to give me bearing and distance info to a way point and then I will have to figure out where she is with my car GPS and maps and follow along. Obviously, if she goes down, she will need to send this info before landing as the radio becomes a VERY short range comm device after she lands. I have been trying to learn the tricks of finding our pilots from Drew Holumpka (Pete's driver).
Lots to learn.

Gotta go now, more later.

Paul.

[Matthew]

How about using TRAMP STAMP TAT-SAT? It's new from google and allows you to find women anywhere in their world by their posterior tattoos. Load an image of the tattoo into your wireless PDA or cell phone browser, link up to the satellite and you're good to go. All Lauren has to do afer she lands is drop her drawers and bend over-- you'll find her instantly.

Matthew

[Paul Tjaden]

Damn......why didn't I think of that?

Paul

[lbunner]

Lauren, good luck in the big Z! I know you can do it! BTW I ran into Kari C descending the Grand Teton on Sunday. It was great to see her. Too bad her record is short lived:)

[hefalump]

Paul,

Look into the Spot Messenger. It only needs an open sky to transmit her GPS location to satellite. Once the location is received by the Spot messenger service, only the driver needs cell service or internet service to receive the Lat and Long message. It usually gets the message to the cell phone or internet site within 5 minutes. Internet always works but some times, because of your cell company, the text message may take a while.

Of course tracking her progress is the first and best solution but if you lose track of her and she lands in an area with no cell service (very likely) or poor radio range (possible), you could wait in a cell service area or internet hot spot for the lat and long message then go get her.

If I had known sooner, I would have let you borrow mine.

Search the Ozreport for recent posts of successes and failures of the Spot Messenger.

it's $150 for the unit and $100 to $160 per year for service.

Good luck in Zapata!!

JD

[Paul Tjaden]

This is no place for the faint of heart. With the wind ripping down the runway at 20 mph yesterday, I asked Russell, is it safe? He just shrugged and told me, that's the game, baby. He wasn't being mean; it was just the truth. It is always windy. You need to tow well. Landing in these conditions is a matter of strict control. You come down like you are in a helicopter.
I never got much altitude (3000 feet) and opted to land back at the field. Paul radioed that he was going to have a little flight to Laredo, then, about 50 miles. So that meant I was the driver.
Unfortunately, Paul landed 20 miles out in tiger country. Using maps, the computer, and 3 GPS I drove 120 miles to get close to him. At 5 miles out I begged a ranch hand to allow me through a locked gate. I drove around the ranch for an hour and a half, trying to find a way close to Paul. I climbed under 6 barb wire fences and saw deer and wild boar, and scratched the truck on mesquite and cacti. Then I flagged down a cowboy in a truck. He led me through the wild maze of trails and locked gates for another hour, and finally we were only a mile from Paul.
There was another fence, though, so I threw my bike over the fence, and with a cart strapped to me, I took off into the sunset with my GPS in hand. I marked where the truck was and the cowboy turned on his headlights so maybe I could make it back out of the desert.
I biked through the night, crying, and records and all seemed pretty silly. I really just wanted to get Paul back. It was the best thing in the world when I did.
Then we took turns dragging the glider and harness and riding the bike back in the moonlight.
The cowboy offered us dinner and a place to sleep but we drove home instead. It was very late, maybe 1130 when we got home. Russell said next time I should call while I've still got cell coverage and they'd send out a plane to look.
This morning Dustin and Pete and Davis and Andre tried for a long one. You take off at about 10 AM and get towed where you can't get back unless you decide right away. The clouds are less than 2000 feet. Last I heard, everyone was on the ground but Andre. He was on a different radio though so I don't know. The others all landed within maybe 10 miles.
I am very tired. I may be done with this. It is a glorious place for long flights, but those who make them have to be willing to play the price. I so respect them all. I am just thrilled to have my honey back. He was pretty glad to see me, too.
Lauren

[theflyingdude]

Glad everything worked out in the end, Lauren. While Zapata may be the place to go to set world records, there are many sites around the U.S. where big miles are possible and they're a lot more user-friendly and stress-free than that sh*thole in southeastern Texas.

JR

[Paul Tjaden]

Thought I'd throw in my $.02. When I launched yesterday, I really wasn't prepared for a stay in the desert. I had a fairly full camel back but no extra water or snacks. I also had a phone with less than a full charge and no extra batteries for radio or GPS. I had only planned a short flight about 50 or 60 miles to a friendly LZ on I-35. The sky looked great and I was so certain I would have no problem with this flight that I didn't concern myself with the fact that I was less than perfectly prepared. I was almost shocked to find myself setting up to land on one of the small oil production pads that are everywhere down here. But the landing was duck soup as I almost hovered in due to the 20 mph winds. Getting my exact location was not an issue, however. Pilots here use a system of supplying distance and bearing info from a position such as the Zapata airport which can be easily transmitted and even relayed by others while in flight. With the right goodies on your lap top, this can quickly be turned into coordinates that are probably within a mile or less and then radio contact can be regained at that point. In this case, I actually had a small cell signal and was able to give Lauren an exact location. However, knowing where someone is and getting to them is a different issue. I had always heard about all the infamous locked gates but really had no idea of the labyrinth of roads down here. You are literally a rat in a maze. Getting through a particular gate going in the direction of your pilot may not help at all. That road may completely change direction or end just a few hundred yards away and you get to back out and hunt for another way in. Lauren poked and prodded around the area I was in for hours and could not get within reasonable walking distance. Without the help of our new local friend, I think I might have slept with the desert creatures that night. It's really weird cause there are oil roads everywhere but no viable maps that I know of. Davis landed just 6 miles out this AM and Belinda had to get one of the guys at the airport to fly out and find a way in to him.
Anyway, when Lauren pedaled into view last night as it was getting dark and I knew that all we had to do was haul my glider and harness out via a small cart for one and a half miles, I was a very happy guy. I'm not certain we will continue on with this. You must want these records really badly to risk this kind of hassle and stress every time you launch. Was I in danger of dying? Probably not. Was I in risk of spending a very uncomfortable night alone in the desert? You bet. Is it worth it for me? probably not. The risk reward ratio seems to be a little off for me.

Paul

[lbunner]

Paul and Lauren, a challenging day to say the least. Zapata is a technical place to fly and not one to take lightly. I hope you both will give it another go. I'm really pulling for Lauren to break off a big one. I would hope the experienced pilots will provide feedback on how best to stay safe. Good luck.

[Paul Tjaden]

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. I feel as if I have let everyone down, and myself as well, but I am walking away from this one.
Zapata has delivered as promised, day after day with howling winds and good lift, where flights of over 100 miles (and much more) are possible. I am just not having much fun. I guess it comes down to a simpler truth; I am chicken. I dislike flying low over tiny LZs -- though the glider does not generally glide very far in the high wind. I am scared of being alone in the desert, too. On a positive note, I have gotten much more comfortable with towing in wind. I have seen many wild animals, too.
Yesterday I chased Paul again. The tow rope weak link broke when Paul locked out and the weak link he got from Tad did not break. Russell said it was about the worst he has ever had his tail pulled around. Anyhow, I would advise against those weak links, though Tad's barrel releases do seem better able to release under stress. After Russell got a new rope and Paul recovered, he was late leaving and got trapped under some cirrus.
He flew about 50 miles until he got stuck by the airspace at Laredo. The retrieve was much better, though I had to climb an 8 foot deer fence with the cart strapped to my back and hike through the wilderness for about a mile in 100 degree temps. Actually it was kind of pretty and not terrifying because I had plenty of daylight, though I did scream like a little baby when I startled some Javelina (little piggy creatures with tusks).
On the way out we ran into a trucker bringing in supplies for the gas well. He actually understood my Spanish. He turned the rig around in the desert and put our stuff on it and drove us out. He wouldn't take a nickle, either.
I guess we would have figured out how to drag the glider over the 8 foot fence but it wasn't going to be pretty.
So our navigation tools are much better now and our radios rock and I can tow in kick-ass wind without getting worried, and on pavement, too. Now I am going to visit my sister in Colorado and her baby -- Elle LAUREN!
I look forward to flying in Big Springs with Paul and hopefully redeeming myself while flying over a place with roads and fields.
BTW-- one other good note. Pete L is really really great and called offering to help drag Paul out of the desert that horrible night, and he has just been so kind and supportive. He's had some great flights, too.
Lauren

[theflyingdude]

Lauren, I don't think you're being "chicken". I think you're merely being discretionary and as a wise man once said, "Discretion is the better part of valor!".

JR

[Batman]

Know your limitations!

[mcelrah]

Everyone has tremendous respect for your record of accomplishments (both of you) and the drive to excel underlying it. But it's supposed to be fun and at least relatively safe/prudent. As for the navigation problem, would Google Earth help? Print off a bunch of satellite photos or else view them in the truck on-line? Also, how about satellite cell phones. We rented one when we sailed to Bermuda...

"If wine, women and song gets to be too much, try backing off on the singing." - Hugh

[RedBaron]

But it's supposed to be fun and at least relatively safe/prudent.

Know your limitations!

Sorry guys, but that's pooch speech.

Lauren, you haven't even tried yet. Did you really think it was going to be a walk in the park? You fool. This ain't another story, this ain't another fun thing to do, this is the battle you've got to win. You're not there to fly your Litespeed, you're there to prevail against mighty adversaries only a true hero can overcome. I sense your fears have weakened you. Believe me, you are much stronger than you think you are. Whether you realize it or not, this is your destiny. This is you.

[Spark]

But it's supposed to be fun and at least relatively safe/prudent.

Know your limitations!

Sorry guys, but that's pooch speech.

Lauren, you haven't even tried yet. Did you really think it was going to be a walk in the park? You fool. This ain't another story, this ain't another fun thing to do, this is the battle you've got to win. You're not there to fly your Litespeed, you're there to prevail against mighty adversaries only a true hero can overcome. I sense your fears have weakened you. Believe me, you are much stronger than you think you are. Whether you realize it or not, this is your destiny. This is you.

Janni,

We missed you at King Mountain

Lauren and Paul,

I can totally understand the decision. I enjoy flying more than any other sport, but the risk/reward & fun/hassle ratios have to be within my comfort zone ... and my ratios are changing each year. That's not pooch speech, that's pilot judgement.

If you are anywhere near Evergreen CO during your travels, give me a shout at 301-462-8320.

[deveil]

perhaps actually a very calculated and considered statement and not necessarily merely mindless macho? sort of maybe trying to keep the overall balance toward the middle with a 'request' to revisit that which starts one on a journey or a quest? if one can get the whole way back in touch with that, then choose to walk away? makes for a peaceful nights sleep.
just speculation.
gd

[deveil]

actually sounded a little like something from "rocky", come to think of it.
'can't remember - did he win the fight, get the girl or just end up with one hell of a black eye?
eh, whatever. he mighta taken a beating but he was still around to do all them sequels.

gd

[Paul Tjaden]

Um, this version of Rocky is the one that ends with him having the crap beat out of him...
My method of fighting things I've been afraid of has always been the same way you eat an elephant -- just one bite at a time. But the party is over for this year-- I am out of time. The hurricane is going to wreck the conditions for at least the next little while (unless we have misjudged it, which is possible).
If we ever go back again I'll need more prep. Just bravado has never done it for me. I drill until I feel comfortable.
I appreciate the kind words. Yours, too, Janni. You are right, just quitting feels awful. I am trying to look at it unemotionally. Not quite there yet...
Lauren

[brianvh]

You've got some good stories, and you've survived in good health to tell them. Does anything else really matter in the end?

[RedBaron]

You bet Lauren. Too bad you couldn't make history this time, I was rooting for you. I've got the feeling you won't walk away from it the next time. If you think you could need someone by your side who has zero tolerance for whining, legitimate concerns and good pilot judgment, I'm your guy.

[Paul Tjaden]

Sounds good to me!
Lauren

[theflyingdude]

Hey Lauren, put me on your groupie list, too.

JR