KenAirCreation Tanarg, Northwing Apache, Apollo Monsoon, Air Creation Clipper, Part 103 home built, Rev, MTO Gyro, Cavalon
Boulder City NV (BVU), Eldorado Dry Lake, Jean Dry Lake, Ivanpah Dry lake, Santa Paula (SZP), Agua Dulce (L70), Eagle (A09), AVI, Searchlight (1L3), Kidwell (1L4), Triangle, Temple Bar (U30), Echo Bay (0L9), Rebels Roost, Avi Suquilla (P20 - Parker), Trail End Camp, Marble Canyon (L41), Monument Valley, Carson City (CXP), Paso Robles (PRB), Oceano (L52), Santa Maria (SMX), Santa Inez (IZA), Calvada Meadows, Shoshone (L61), Amargosa, Pahrump Dry Lake, Mesquite Dry Lake, Lake Havasu City (HII), Barstow (DAG), El Mirage, Flying J, Big Bear City (L35), Flabob (RIR), Trona (L72), Lone Pine (O26), Stovepipe Wells (L09), Furnace Creek (L06), Jean NV (0L7), Polson Mt (8S1), Ferndale MT (53U), Kalispell MT (S27), Hot Springs MT (S09), St George Utah (SGU), Hurricane Utah (1L8), Blythe CA (BLH), Ak-Chin AZ (A39), Casa Grande AZ (CGZ), Coolidge AZ (P08), Sky Ranch/Sandy Valley NV (3L2), Overton NV (Perkins Field - U08), Alamo NV (L92), Tiger Field NV (N58), Silver Springs NV (SPZ), Dayton Valley Airpark NV (A34), Gardnerville NV (MEV), South Lake Tahoe (KTVL), Hawthorne NV (HTH), Fallon NV (FLX), Farias Wheel (NV33), Bridgeport CA (Bryant O57), Alpine (M45), Dead Cow Dry Lake, Stage Coach Dry Lake.
My Sunday Flight
Categories: Trike Talk, Low & Slow Trikes, Hang Gliders, Homebuilt Trikes
Got a chance at some great air on Sunday, and found a perfect way to end the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Two trikes departed the Eldorado dry lake around 9 am and got up into perfectly smooth air. Since we had such nice conditions we decided to head for the Highland Range (aka the fingers). As we approached the range we could see a layer of haze
that looked almost un-natural about mid way up the range. Looked like a layer of temperature chagne where the moister air met cooler air. The layering gave the impression fo really smooth air – and we found that to be the case, and so we were able to approach
pretty closely and get some really nice views of the mountains. Breathtaking in their rugged and stark nature, and the sheer size of them rising from the valley floor. After getting a few close looks we decided to head over to Jean Dry Lake to see if anything of interest was happening there. As we flew through the pass from the Eldorado Valley over to Jean we found the first and only bumps that we would encounter that day. Nothing serious and only lasted a few minutes. As we passed over the McCullough Range we could see the dry lake bed and saw a hot air balloon set up on the lake. First time we had seen one there, so we flew by for a shot, tryin to stay far enough away as not to disturb them. The looked like the were ready to tear down for
the day. A few passes around and we noticed a couple of hang gliders that looked like they were setting up. I had heard they were running a winch/tow there so I was curious to see the operation . On landing we met Mike and Mike, and found out that they weren't hang gliders... but trikes. They had camped there for the night and were just setting up for the day. They were pretty interesting trikes, both part 103, one with a Cosmos wing, and one with a rigid wing called a Ghostbuster. Really interesting trikes. The GhostBuster even had retractable flaps! After meetign the Mikes, we had to get back and headed for Eldorado again. Not long after we landed an SUV came barreling over and asked us to help look for a free flight glider gone missing. Well we couldn't pass that up so we got back in the air to give it a try. We looked for about 20 minutes, and the owner was ready to give up on it. just about then I spotted the red glider a little closer to the dry lake than he led us to believe. We dispatched the motorcycle and he was able to close in on the glider pretty quickly. Overal pretty great day, made a few friends on a couple of dry lakes, and elevated the impression of trikers in the free flight glider world.
