Torrey

Post by **hang_pilot** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:04 pm

Just a quick note to say I flew Torrey Pines over the holidays. I'm a P2 so I had to pony up for a lesson according to their site rules. It wasn't cheap, but I got to work one-on-one all day with Ivan Appoloni from Italy. Nice, bright guy with a degree in mechanical engineering who, of course, lives inside a van. He was excellent: he’d clearly describe what he wanted me to do, demonstrate it a few times more than necessary (he cleary enjoys what he does for a living) and then have me do it until I got it right. I really learned a lot and would not hesitate to recommend him.

It was a shorts-weather beautiful day but the winds were light. The only person soaring was a local guru cheating (i.e. flying solo) on a tandem wing. Things picked up a bit and Ivan said we could go for it but that I should be prepared for a beach landing. He radio controlled me for about 20 minutes until it got busy and I came in for my first top-landing…very cool.

I got a lot of kiting practice, had my reserve repacked and practiced deploying it, but didn’t fly again: too many people trying to stay up in the light conditions. I saw the tail-end of mid-air that ended happily and that kept me content with just the one flight. It was convenient, the scenery was gorgeous and it was nice flying without the stress of managing my wing in turbulence, but it felt a bit like driving a sports car in a rush-hour traffic jam. I prefer the mountains.

Daniel

P.S. Thanks, again, to 'Spark (apostrophe in front) for getting me started.

Post by **charlieg** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:05 pm

Daniel. I did what you did for 15 days straight when I went from 0 to P-2 two summers ago. Maddening at times, but I wouldn't change a bit of it. There's nothing like top landings when you're practicing. I got in 20 landings one day in just a couple of hours when I had to practice my lands. After all of that I keep a special place in my heart for Torrey Pines. I'm headed out there this Thursday for a week of business and pleasure in San Diego -- hope to get a bit of flying in.
Sorry I'll miss the club meeting.
Charlie