Gorman Wave Attempt June 6, 2007

After Brian Choate's inspiring flight from Hollister to Bermuda Dunes flown first in thermal then in wave, I've thought that the transition he used at Gorman is very consistent and could be used as part of a 1000km straight out flight from Williams. I attempted this flight on June 6, 2007 and almost, but did not, catch the wave. This video chronicles the favorable forecast, parts of the flight, and the attempt to find the wave. If you have Quicktime (QT) installed (or have a mac), click the picture above. If you have a PC without QT, click here Flash version to view. For best viewing, you need a DSL, cable, or faster connection. 61MB, 2:29.


The GFS forecast maps shown in the video are available in a higher resolution size, just click on the image above for the GFS moisture map.


Click on the image above for the higher resolution 700mb wind forecast.

Dick Johnson: Future Soaring Technologies

I interviewed Dick Johnson at the 2008 SSA convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he shared his thoughts on future soaring technologies. I feel very fortunate to spend a few minutes with this soaring legend. What a kind and thoughtful man. If you have Quicktime (QT) installed (or have a mac), click the picture above. If you have a PC without QT, click here Flash version to view. For best viewing, you need a DSL, cable, or faster connection. 85MB, 7:31.

Sierra Wave and Return (LARGE, 802MB)

This flight was to test how the ship worked for a long duration wave flight. I flew with Stefan Leutenegger, 25, Swiss world team pilot, who's in Northern California on a short term work project. Stefan is comfortable with long flights as he flew a 14 hour, 1000km flight in Europe recently. We thought we'd be lucky to land on the east edge of the central valley, then get an aero retrieve home. It turned out quite differently. Please excuse the handheld video, we did not have a mount on this flight, but plan to add one very soon. If you have Quicktime (QT) installed (or have a mac), click the picture above but THIS WILL PLAY IN THE BROWSER AT 1920x1080. It may be better to try and save the file by Ctrl-click on the image (mac) or right click (PC) and click "save link as.." to download this movie, then play on a big screen. 802MB, 16:08. For best viewing, you need a DSL, cable, or faster connection.

Sierra Wave and Return (Medium, 444MB)

If you have Quicktime (QT) installed (or have a mac), click the picture above. If you have a PC without QT, click here Flash version to view. For best viewing, you need a DSL, cable, or faster connection. 444MB, 16:08.

Sierra Wave and Return (Small, 186Mb)

If you have Quicktime (QT) installed (or have a mac), click the picture above. To copy to your iPod just save the file by using the same steps as for the large file (above). 186MB, 16:08.

Cumulus Time Lapse (Small, 28MB)

Thanks to fellow soaring pilot Matt Herron we now have a HD time lapse Quicktime video of cumulus clouds. Matt shot this out of his office window last month. Great stuff! This video is sized for video ipods, save the file by Ctrl-click on the image (mac) or right click (PC) and click "save link as.." to download this movie. 28MB 2:57.

Cumulus Time Lapse (LARGE, 115Mb)

To see this Quicktime video in medium size (1024x576) format now, just click in this text and the full size (1080) file will play in a medium size window. If you want the full size movie for later play in a separate Quicktime window, then Ctrl-click here (mac) or right click (PC) and click "save link as.." to download this movie. This video is best seen on an HD display. 115MB 2:57.

Looking Further Out (Small, 36Mb)

This video is sized for video ipods, save the file by Ctrl-click on the image (mac) or right click (PC) and click "save link as.." to download this movie. 36MB 3:10.

Looking Further Out (Medium, 87Mb)

This video is 540p in size and is best for play on home/office computers. 87MB 3:10.

Looking Further Out (LARGE, 299Mb)

Ctrl-click on the image (mac) or right click (PC) and click "save link as.." to download this movie. Downloading to your computer rather than an automatic start may make it easier to manage this large file. This video is a full 1080p in format so is best seen on a full HD big screen display. As this is such a large file, only attempt downloading if you have a VERY fast connection. If you are successful in downloading and playing, please comment as I suspect few people are able to do this. I plan to have more 1080p movies in the near future. 299MB 3:10.

SSA '08 Convention Interviews: Jonker Brothers

At the 2008 SSA convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I continued doing interviews as I had done at the 2007 convention. I'll be posting the interviews as I finish editing them.

Click picture to play this movie (25Mb).

First up is a conversation with Uys and Attie Jonker, developers of the JS-1 Revelation sailplane. 3:41.

Crater Lake Flight May '07: GPS trace file

Ctrl-click here (mac) or right click (PC) and click "save link as.." to download the igc flight file.

Crater Lake Flight May '07 (Small 77Mb)

Click here to play movie (77Mb). This video is sized for video ipods. 11:39.

Crater Lake Flight May '07 (Medium, 190Mb)

Click here to play movie (190Mb). 11:39.

Crater Lake Flight May '07: PDF Article

Click here for a PDF writeup of this flight.