Oceanside Open Fly-in 2016

29 April – 1 May

G flying his Swing Sensis at Cape Lookout

29 Apr, Fri – Left home at 0808; got gas at Covington; arrived Cape Lookout (CLO) State Park around 1320- so it was about five hours including the gas and a rest stop along I-5. We took our usual backroad route down getting off the freeway at Longview and crossing the Columbia. Then we left the highway and traveled through the gloomy forest (particularly in the off and on rain) passing through Vernonia and Timber. Eventually we intersected Rte 6 and followed that to Tillamook where we filled up again at Fred Meyer. There were lots of sites available at Cape Lookout State Park. Loop D was almost completely open with only a few of the 72 sites taken. Later, Loops A and B were opened as well. [All the stress of thinking that we might not have a place to camp could have been avoided by not calling for a reservation – all the reservable sites were taken in Loop C – and the reservation people did not know that the rangers keep Loop D for first-come-first-served camping (and A and B, too). Fortunately a ranger called me back after I left a message and told me about Loop D.]

We set up and then drove up to the CLO launch at Anderson’s Viewpoint passing some pilots (Sarah, for one) packing up in the group tent camp area. There was a large crowd of HG and PG pilots waiting for the wind to pick up. We schmoozed for a while then drove up over the summit and down to the Sand Lake off-road park (USFS) to see if we could figure out the site where people had reported flying. We tried the day use area near the West Winds CG (parking on asphalt right up against the sand) and couldn’t see an obvious flying site. In retrospect, we were looking at the backside of the dune so it would not have been obvious. We checked the other campground which was nicer (more like a typical FS CG) but it was full of ORVs. Sites 1-62 were all reservable at least four days in advance (and full) and only a dozen or so other sites were first-come-first-served – and they looked full also. It didn’t look like a pleasant place to camp. We also looked at Waldron Island County Park as we drove past but that was expensive requiring an $11 reg. fee and then $21 per night. That seemed like a bit much, but I might be spoiled because the park access pass for disabled veterans I requested from Oregon provided free camping in all state parks.

Derek kiting at Cape Kiwanda

We headed on to Cape Kiwanda where we drove on well-packed sand to the much-eroded dune. Brad and Maren were there as well as the Brockway clan and a bunch of others but there was not much action on the dune in the light-wind conditions. [We ran into Cliff ? who was the guy who has been flying the Sand Lake site – he said you can drive out to the beach but you have to go down a slope (and back up it to return) which he does in his pickup with normal tires but he said it helps to get up some speed on the packed sand before heading up the slope. The northern part of the dune works in SW winds, and the southern section is better for NW winds.] A squall line approached providing increasing wind but shortly after that it rained pretty hard soaking the erstwhile dune flyers. Remembering that I had not secured the roof of the Aliner with the strap, we decided to go back and take care of that before the winds caused us any problems. We returned to the CLO launch and stayed there for a while watching one PG launch and sink out and then, when the wind picked up and white caps approached, another launched and went straight up then out to the diminishing beach at the LZ on speedbar. Shortly thereafter, HGs began to launch, a few rigids and then Rick Lai on his single surface Freedom who seemed to be doing okay even in the stronger winds. C.J. reminded me that we needed to go to the CG and secure the trailer roof (oops!) so we did that. Just as we passed the beach we saw Rick land. After getting the strap in position and the inside bar hooked up, we drove north to Oceanside having heard that there would be early registration from 1700-1900. No one was at the community center so I guess the rumor was wrong. Back at camp we talked with Orv as he was breaking down in an A-Loop campsite. We could see two or three rigids in the distance to the northeast. Another single surface launched from CLO as we watched so the takeoff was still working at least for HGs. Back at the trailer C.J. prepared a stir-fry with ham and veggies, and we had blubarb crisp for dessert. The sun sank into the gray clouds but it stayed light quite late as C.J. worked on her Thailand article.

30 Apr, Sat – Up at 0700 and drove in to Oceanside for registration at 0900 and then a scheduled meeting at 1000. Knowing that wind speeds at CLO might increase later, we skipped the meeting, and with with Josh, Chris and Patricia drove right to launch where conditions were still light – not quite soarable yet. We got ready to go anyway and as the next group started to launch the wind increased just enough to make it soarable. I was fourth or fifth (Josh was second) and had a good reverse inflation and got off cleanly. There was enough lift to stay up and climb very slowly from the

View north from CLO at 1500 ft.

340ft launch. I was working back and forth and then concentrated on a bump just north of the first big gap. I was at seven or eight hundred feet when the first PG (an Artik 2?) went across to the cape itself…and he was below me. I tentatively pushed out into the gap then turned back to be sure that I could return – no problem. So I crossed with light lift all the way and continued surfing up to over the top of the 850-ft cape ridge where there was a great view to the south – Sand Lake all the way down to Kiwanda. No one was trying for the west end of the cape, about two miles away, so I returned to the north side of the gap; it was slow going. A message on the radio warned that the wind was stronger from the north above 1500 ft and I was already above 1400. I tried getting lower by flying out over the ocean but the lift band was very wide. Still, I was mostly making speeds in the low teens (km) as I pushed north so I felt comfortable about staying up a bit longer. The air was very smooth (except where the increasing number of paragliders caused some wake turbulence). I headed NE to see whether there would be lift above the new clearcut that extends all the way down to the road but there was nothing and I returned to the area behind launch and out toward the gap, once again getting up to near 1500 ft. I repeated the circuit to the clearcut and back to TO and behind. By then my timer was closing in on one hour so I started flying north and descending out beyond the beach. I got as far as the end of the CG A Loop before turning back and flying (fast) downwind to where a just-placed orange cone marked the “spot”. Turning into the wind on final I had a moment of flying backwards before I pushed speed bar and crept forward to within the outer circle (not drawn yet) for about 1hr05min. I was able to collapse my wing with my brakes and got it bundled up so I could carry it over the rocky berm to the empty group camp where others were packing up. I hadn’t seen C.J. for a long time although I flew with her for a little while during our flights. She had forward-launched sometime after me and when she landed (and then been dragged through the sand a bit) had flown about 1hr11min. After packing up I got a ride to our car with Mike and Christel. C.J. and I returned to the trailer to eat lunch in the sunshine at our picnic table. The wind had picked up and the sky was pretty much empty of PGs, but the HGs were having their turn.

C.J. on the edge of the CLO trail

We drove up to the Cape Lookout trailhead parking lot which was overflowing with cars, but we managed to find a spot (1430). Expecting a crowded trail we were unsurprised to be passed by parties in both directions, but it was still a magnificent trail. It was noticeably warmer on the south side of the Cape and, when the trail zigged to the north, windward, side, it was chilly. We met Josh, Michelle and Christina Ammond, and the Brockways (minus Derek) as they returned from as far as they had gone. The trail ends abruptly on a point on the southwest end where the cliffs drop sheer to the water (as they did in several places along the trail. There were maybe 8-10 people hanging out in the sunshine. On the way back we encountered Brad and Bianca; we must have missed Maren somehow. We got back to the parking lot around 1730 quite tired as the trail was uphill most of the way back.

After changing clothes back at the trailer we drove into Tillamook for the dinner at the Elks Lodge. We had a drink  while waiting for the buffet to open at 1930. There were lots of people to visit with as something like 90 had signed up, a big change from the previous year. We still filled out our pilot reports although we figured we had no chance at any of the prizes with so many people getting good flights. Dinner consisted of a good salad bar and then an interesting lasagna plus some green beans and toasted garlic bread. Later, at the raffle, I got one of the pilot prizes – a radio harness. It was kind of bulky and neither C.J, nor I needed one, so I passed it on to Patricia who had moments before been talking about needing a radio harness. During the awards we were surprised to have three of us from our table receive duration prizes, one-liter engraved glass steins – Josh, C.J. and me. On the hang gliding side, Ray Berger got the duration award for something like four-and-a-half hours, Rick Lai was second with over three hours. There were also awards for spot landing. Fading fast, we left at 2130.

1 May, Sun – We got up a little later than on Saturday, had breakfast and didn’t pack up very much before heading down to the community center at Oceanside to see what the consensus was about “weather to fly”. C.J. went down the street to see what CJ’s group was doing and I talked a bit with Reed about the Oceanside launch and the high launch at Cliffside, also one of his projects. No one seemed excited about the flying prospects for the predominantly east-wind, so we decided to head

C.J. and Vince at new ramp on Maxwell Mountain, Oceanside

home. First though we wanted to see the launch up on Maxwell Mtn. We took Vince Collins up with us because he had his new SylvanSport trailer hooked up to his truck. The west-facing takeoff had been built up to make a wide ramp and covered with thick Astroturf, a big change. Reed said that once the pilots figured out that west was the wind direction that gave them the most soaring area, the west launch became the favored takeoff. The other addition to the site was a blue faux British Police Callbox (The TARDIS of Dr. Who fame) built around the porta-potty to shield it from the view of the homeowners on the north end of the launch area.
C.J. and I returned to the campground and it took about a half hour to pack up and get on our way. We stopped to say goodbye to Chris and Patricia and Josh and Michelle and then we hit the road. It was another beautiful, sunny day but the wind was quite strong from the east and it didn’t look as though the conditions would change. We made an important stop just north of Tillamook to have an early dessert of Tillamook ice cream – three flavors for $5. Next time we should try the sampler which is five flavors for $5.25. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot but the line for ice cream was negligible – nothing like what Mark Forbes had reported on Saturday. It may have helped that it was only 1115. After enjoying our ice cream in the sunshine on the patio, we headed north on 101. Traffic was not a problem but it was a good thing that we didn’t want to stop at any of the state beaches – the parking lots we saw were all full and overflowing. We crossed into Washington over the long bridge after filling up with gas at Costco (Warrenton). We must have been early enough that there were next to no traffic slowdowns as we made our way along I-5 north of Olympia. We made one longish stop to fill the tank at Covington and shop for some groceries, saving a trip into Issaquah on Mon or Tues. That put us home at 1730, about six hours after leaving Oceanside. Considering the long stop at Covington, it wasn’t much longer via the coastal route than by I-5. We were pretty tired from not only the long drive but also our flight and hike the previous day. It was one of the best Oceanside fly-ins we have attended.