1. Conditions
2. The club supporting the site / Le club supportant le site : No info.
3. Events / Evénement : CSS-Forum-Road Trips.
4. Bulletin board / Tableau d'affichage : No info.
5. Articles
6. Schools / Ecoles
7. Lost and Found / Object perdu ou retrouvé : CSS-Forum-Lost&Found.
8. How to get there / Comment s'y rendre
9. Maps / Cartes
10. GPS coordinates / Coordonnées GPS
11. Site frequency / Fréquence du site : 146.415 .
12. Insurance / Assurances
13. Lodging / Hébergement
14. Restaurant : No info.
15. Car rental / Location d'auto : No info.
16. Image
17. Video or Animation / Vidéo ou Animation
18. Cross Country / Vol Voyage
19. Hazards / Dangers

Conditions

We are hoping for light NNE (22°) winds, although launch faces NE (45°). By order of interest :

• Forecast :
  • Windgram, for wind direction and altitude ceilings: Soaring Predictor (click "Blackhawk", Archive). Understanding "Wind Barbs". Alternate website(s): FlyMarshall.
  • RASP (Regional Atmospheric Soaring Predictor) for Southern California: Soaring Predictor (Older version). Typical sequence:
    • Select day and time.
    • Select a parameter like "Sfc.Wind (10m)".
    • To change the opacity of the data layer: Click the "+" or "-" icons in lower right (Old version: Use slider in the upper right, or mouse's center wheel).
    • Finding flying sites: Click the layer icon in the upper right, enable the "Sounding/SkewT". Hover your mouse pointer over the markers, names appear.
    Alternate website(s): FlyMarshall.
  • Lucerne Valley forecast (Weather Underground): Hourly, 10 days.
  • Lucerne Valley forecast (Weather.com): Hourly, 15 days.
  • Soaring Predictor: Detailed Predictions (updated daily at 7:30 AM).
    • Typical optimistic altitude ceilings, Windgram closer to reality.
  • Look for a fire nearby (associated air traffic):
    • Watch Duty.
    • InciWeb.
  • Look for a TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction):
    • SkyVector.
    • SoaringData. Transforms local TFRs into a KML file for visualization in Google Earth:
      • Center airport identifier: sbd (San Bernardino International)
      • Bounding radius (stat. miles): 100
      • Airspace in Google Earth KML format
      • Append special use and ATC-controlled airspace uncheked
      • Type "Soar" into this box: Soar and press Submit
    • SoarCal / TFR. Click the map icon to visualize the TFR over a map.
    • FAA / TFR. Set "State" to "California", then click "GO" next to it.
• Current :
  • Synoptic Data.
  • XC Skies.
  • Radar animation - Lucerne Valley (Weather.com).
  • Radar animation - Bakersfield (Weather Underground).

Articles

• None.

Schools / Ecoles for paragliding operating at this site.

Ordered alphabetically / Ordonné alphabétiquement:

• None. Consider a school at Marshall.

How to get there / Comment s'y rendre

You need a 4x4 vehicule to get to launch. With a 2 wheel drive vehicule, you have a 75% chance of reaching launch, but will damage the roads in the difficult areas, increasing the risk that rangers shut us out of the site because of road abuse.

• Road maps :
  • Schematic.
  • Zoom Level 1, Level 2, Level 3.
  • MapQuest - Interactive road map. Exact GPS coordinates (34.34298/-116.81917) were used to locate the launch.
• You can easily find the dirt road entrance on the right side of Hwy 18 as you drive downhill, by spotting this building structure on the other side of the road.
• Satellite picture of launch (I added the arrow to indicate launching direction).
• GPS coordinates from Rob von Zabern, 2001/8/22.

Maps / Cartes

• Google Earth: Local points of interest. A great way to explore this flying site in 3D.
• Google - Satellite: Launch. You can drag the map with your mouse.

GPS coordinates / Coordonnées GPS

Description	Latitude	Longitude	Altitude (ASL)
Launch	N 34° 20.579'	W 116° 49.150'	1920 m	6298'
Hwy 18 : Start of dirt road to launch	N 34° 21.106'	W 116° 50.793'

For a great way to explore this flying site in 3D, see Google Earth's Local points of interest in the Maps section.

Insurance / Assurances

• You will need to become a USHPA member and it's not expensive for the 1 month membership. Just contact one of the Schools so you can take the one month membership for 10$. It is good all over the US for the 30 day period.
• Tu devras devenir un membre de l'USHPA et ce n'est pas cher pour être membre pour un mois. Tu as juste à contacter une des Ecoles afin de prendre le membersip d'un mois pour 10$. Ce sera bon pour tous les sites aux Etats-Unis pour une période de 30 jours.

Lodging / Hébergement

• Campings in the San Bernardino National Forest

Image

Pictures I took (click thumbnail to open full size image in a new window)
Photos que j'ai prises (clique la petite image pour ouvrir la photo pleine grandeur dans une nouvelle fenêtre)

	2001/8/25	Panorama from launch.
		Panorama depuis le décollage.
	2001/8/25	Looking at launch while flying by.
		Regardant le décollage en passant devant.
	2001/8/25	Above 1st quarry to the West of launch.
		Au-dessus de la 1ère carrière à l'Ouest du décollage.
	2001/8/25	Looking at launch from the West at 2700 m (8800') MSL.
		Regardant le décollage depuis l'Ouest à 2700 m (8800') MSL.
	2001/8/25	Looking at launch from the West at 3370 m (11000') MSL.
		Regardant le décollage depuis l'Ouest à 3370 m (11000') MSL.
	2001/8/25	Looking at Big Bear lake from above 1st quarry to the West of launch, at 3370 m (11000') MSL.
		Regardant le lac Big Bear depuis au-dessus de la 1ère carrière à l'Ouest du décollage, à 3370 m (11000') MSL.
	2001/8/25	Halfway towards the East end of Big Bear lake.
		A mi-chemin vers l'extrémité Est du lac Big Bear.
	2001/8/25	Over the East end of Big Bear lake.
		Au-dessus de l'extrémité Est du lac Big Bear.

Video or Animation / Vidéo ou Animation

None.

Cross Country / Vol Voyage

Before you go, know your airspace. For Google Earth: California 3D overlay for classes B/C/D and restricted military airspace.

• South-West :
  • Len Szafaryn flies to East of Marshall (2001/8/11) : about 45 km.
• West :
  • I fly to Hwy 18 and Milpas Drive (2001/8/11) : 29 km. I did a forward launch in the light wing and hugged the ridge to the left until I found a spot where I could maintain, and gain slowly. Very shortly after, a swarm of other wings were buzzing close by. After gaining about 330 m (1100') over launch, I crossed Highway 18 and found the big one ! A climb of 2640 m (8700') over launch. I recorded an altitude of 4560 m (15000') while under cloudbase. 2.5 hours and a couple of thermals later, I was landing 29 km (18 miles) to the West limited in my progress by the arrival of the ocean breeze. The air was smooth throughout the flight. Nice 3-4 m/s climbs, right in my comfort zone.
  • Tom Truax flies to South of Rodgers Dry Lake (2001/8/6) : 98 km.
• North-West :
  • MatthewCarter flies to South of Barstow (2001/8/11) : 54 km.

Recovery road map (301 kB). Printing on 11"x17" sheets, will produce fine print but will still have readable street names.

Send in your pictures and articles...

Hazards / Dangers

• Low population density in front of launch.
• Faible densité de population en avant du décollage.