Addict 2 - Flew it

Wow. Finally flew the A2 today. Love this glider. You know how on some gliders you can be ahead of the glider, it just doesn't react to what you want it to do fast enough? Or how on others it gets ahead of you and you are chasing the glider to keep it where you want it? Well, with the Addict 2, Ozone nailed it, right in my sweet spot. The glider and I are in perfect harmony. It seems to know what I want to do and reacts perfectly. It wants to turn into the thermal. It doesn't want to get pushed out. It wants to go up.

Plus, it feels rock solid. More like a 1/2 than a 2. Maybe it's because I am so in tune with this glider. I typically keep a 1/2 glider in my arsenal for those days that look squirrelly but with the A2, my 1/2 gliders are now up for sale.

I'll write a full review soon, but Dave and Robbie really nailed it with this one.

(btw, the A1 is sold. Stinky bought it)

Got my Addict 2!

Received my new Addict 2 today. The custom color scheme looks really good. I can't wait to fly it. BTW, anyone wanting a good deal on a 1 year old Addict 1, drop me a note.

Grant Turns 1

Today's Grant's first birthday. He had his first trip with Chucky Cheese with big sis Sophie and cousin Jack and loved it. Slides are fun!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

I can't believe we have a 9 year old!

Lord Stanley's Cup

We had some leadership training in Tronto this week for work and the second night they surprised us with an event at the Hockey Hall of Fame. We had the whole place rented out, had dinner in the Hall of Records, and then got to hear Jimmy Craig (goalie from the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team) speak. Was a great event and Jimmy Craig was phenomenal. Yes, that is crappy cell phone pic of THE Stanley Cup.

Ozone Releases the Addict 2

Ozone just released the Addict 2, the follow-up to the Addict that I currently fly. New color scheme, comp lines for the uppers, and supposedly better performance and handling. Mine is on order now.

On a related note, anyone want to buy a slightly used Addict 1 for a great price? If so, please drop me an email.

Cali PG Trip

Stinky, Scooter and I just wrapped up a great PG trip in Northern Cali. I was already in Menlo Park for customer meetings, so I picked them up at the San Jose airport and we started off towards Dunlap. After stopping in Milpitas to introduce the MC's to the joy of In-n-Out Burger we noticed that the forecast was starting to look good at the Dumps.

A quick change of direction and 45 minutes later we were soaring at the Dumps for the reminder of the afternoon. After it got dark we stopped in San Fran for some sushi and then headed off for Fresno. The next day we drove to Dunlap, got to see Connie again and then had some really nice flights from one of my favorite sites in the US. The weather was worse on Saturday morning so we bailed on Dunlap and drove to the Owens Valley. Spectacular place with some awesome flying sites.

On Saturday, after some early morning sled rides we headed back to SF via Yosemite. We dropped Scooter off Sunday for his flight and then Stinky and I headed to Half Moon bay to play golf with some of my co-workers.

Our annual user conference is in SF this week and starts tomorrow, so I'm prepping for that now and wishing I was still flying in Dunlap.

Introducing Grant!

The new little one is here.... Grant Michael Reynolds was born last night at 9:29pm. Michelle and baby are fine and big sister Sophie is excited too!

More pics at www.robandmichelle.org

40 Mile XC

Did a 40 mile XC from Warrior Field to Gerald's today. Lots of sink and not much lift, I was near full power the entire way, fighting a nice cross wind too. Trip took 2.5 hours and almost an entire tank of gas. Once I got to Gerald's and shut down the motor, I stumbled into a nice thermal and let me stay up and play for another 20 minutes. Bruce and Ron drove up from Warrior to fly and give me a ride back to my truck. (BTW, still loving the Addict!)

Here's the KMZ file of the flight, for review with Google Earth.

Reeder Mesa, Colorado

Escaped the bad weather in Rifle and flew Reeder Mesa, near Grand Junction today. Great little ridge soaring bowl. Would have liked to have consistent winds, as we all sunk out at least once and I was only able to top-land after getting a half a turn in a thermal. The hike up is not fun, as the slope is covered with large rocks and boulders.

Easy Big Ears Mod

Here's an easy mod for those of you that are flying with PG risers and higher attachment points. I've been using this on my gliders with split-A's for years with no issues. The concept is simple, you are just adding an extension to the split-a's to make them easier to reach in flight.

First get a length of stiff, brightly colored nylon cord, about a 18 inches longer than your risers. Tie your favorite looping knot (figure 8 loops, or butterfly knots work well) in the middle to get a loop big enought to get a couple fingers into. Position this loop somewhere near the middle of your risers - make sure its in a place you can easily reach, but not so low as to restrict the distance you can pull the loop. I like mine just below the speed bar pulley.

Now take up the slack and affix one end to the outside of your outside-A mallion and the other end to your hook-in loop. Don't make it too tight, you want some slack when you are flying. Also, don't make the knot on the riser attachment point too tight as to stress or rub your riser material. I use bowline knots on each end.

Now you are ready to fly. The loop should be easy to access in flight, just remember that since your hands are in a lower than normal position, you may need to let of your brakes to pull really big ears.
more pictures

(Note that the photos are from an Ozone Vibe, which is a 3 riser glider, the cord really is attached to the outside A riser, not the B riser).

If you don't have split A's, you can do the same mod, by attaching a small brass pulley to your outside A line, and tying the cord to the pulley. Gin has used this in their production gliders for years.

New Fresh Breeze Suspension

Gerald got a new motor this week. Another Fresh Breeze Simonini, but with the new suspension. Since I missed the Convention this year, this was the first time I have seen it in person. Wow. That's all I can saw. Wow. This thing rocks.


Good (not great) weight shift, and ZERO torque. Now they need to get this suspension on the titanium framed Sim, and I'm in heaven.

Here's a review by Mike Brown.

Bay Area PG

So Stinky and I had to be in the San Fran area for business (both our companies are based there) so we extended the business trips and did some flying, as you can tell from the camera phone pics posted below.

On Friday, we flew the Stables but it was strong and cross, so we headed south to San Jose and got signed off to fly from Ed Levin park in Milpitas. This is a nice 1800ft vertical mountain with 3 launches and a huge LZ. Of course, we also found out why the locals call it "Sled Levin".

On Saturday the bay area was socked in so we headed down the coast to Big Sur. After a 2+ hour drive, we found the entire central coast was socked in to. So, we then drove 3 more hours inland to Dunlap, CA, near Fresno. Here we were treated to 2 days of ok thermal flying from a really big mountain. I think it is 2400ft agl. Also got to meet a bunch of super nice pilots from all over NorCal.

We both worked on Monday, but managed to sneak out for a 2 hour late session at the Stables. It was really nice - managed to transistion up the Westlake cliffs and make it to the Dumps and back. Then, at 4:20 exactly, the wind stopped. I ended up on the beach, landing next to a couple of lesbian lovers that really would have liked more privacy. Good times!

More Ed Levin Flying

More Ed Levin Flying
Originally uploaded by GliderRob.

This shot is from last Friday's sled ride at Ed Levin Park.

Rob C at the Stables

Rob C at the Stables
Originally uploaded by GliderRob.

Rob C and I soared the sables in San Fran on Friday.

Ed Levin Park

Originally uploaded by GliderRob.

Stinky Rob launching at Ed Levin Park.

San Fran

San Fran
Originally uploaded by GliderRob.

According to the NeverLost, I'm in San Francisco.

Ed Levin Park

Ed Levin Park
Originally uploaded by GliderRob.

Ed Levin Park in Milpitas (near San Jose) is a very nice place to fly...even if it's a sled ride.

Baja 2006

Team Merrycone (less Skyking, who's wife won't let him out of the house due to the new baby) headed to Baja again for their annual Mexican throw down. Pilots attending were Stinky, Scooter, Skybrake, and G-Rob). Stinky got hooked up with a bad ass ride by the Hertz crew - a jet black Ford Expedition, so we rode around Mexico Jack Bauer style.

We flew our asses off for 4 days at San Antonio del Mar, stayed in the local roach motel, got the truck stuck, stranded GRob in the desert, and then had an awesome 2 hour sunset session at Torrey on the way back to the airport. We flew so much, no one really had time for pictures, but Stinky and Skybrake got tons of video. Here's a sample:

Arizona Trip

Stinky Rob C, Scooter Jeff T. and I took a quick weekend trip to Arizona to fly the Craters near Flagstaff. The Craters was where I first learned to fly paragliders under the instruction of the great Dixon White and Marty Dieveitte.

Pictures Here

We didn't get much flying in, as the winds were howling all weekend, but we did play a hell of a lot of PSP. I think we all got about 3 extended sled rides over a 4 day period. Was fun to visit the old stomping grounds, but since Deb White sold the 2-Bar and Dixon passed away, its just not the same. Here is a shot of the memorial to Dixon at the north bench of Merriam Crater (the big one above).