Hanging Around at Sylmar

As you can tell by my lack of posts, it’s been a slow season for flying since the Santa Cruz Flats Race. Between unusually poor soaring weather here, a vacation, car shopping, and kitten rescuing, I’ve missed out on way too much flying for my liking. At least I have a more hang gliding friendly vehicle to show for it, good memories with family, and those kittens successfully found a great home together. Meow.

All set up on Kagel Mountain

All set up on Kagel Mountain. No, neither of those topless gliders are mine.

Up until Thanksgiving weekend, between October and November I only found time for two–yes, you read that right–only two flights.

After one of them at Palomar Mountain we came across three malnourished kittens. After catching them, and then recatching them in the car to put them in a box, we spent a few weeks getting our kitten fix and found a wonderful home for all three of them. A happy ending for all.

An (even more) hang gliding friendly brewery

An (even more) hang gliding friendly brewery

Over Thanksgiving weekend, which I like to dub Hangsgiving, I finally made the trip to fly with the Sylmar Hang Gliding Association at their historic site. Thanks to Janyce I had a place to stay, and to the local pilots for showing me around the range. Though we never journeyed too far, I realized that I’ve been missing out on this fun site. A wonderful LZ, a great atmosphere, and many budding pilots including a sizable population of women pilots. What a great club they have! Also finally, Joe Greblo graced my presence, imparting to me a few crumbs of his encyclopedic knowledge. Coincidentally my visit came on the same weekend as their holiday party where I met many more of their members, including the amazing Katherine Yardley who once held the world straight distance record for women. The event was held at Golden Road Brewery where they even have hang gliders on the beer cans!  I cannot wait to return to fly there. Between Sylmar and Crestline, we Southern California folk live in a paradise for hang gliding.

And of course, how can I mention kittens without at least having one pic? Sky, Taj, and Jasper!
The Three Musketeers found at Palomar Mountain

The Three Musketeers found at Palomar Mountain