Safe XC Soaring from Byron Land out options Use of Blipmaps as an XC Planning Tool Ramy Yanetz February 2006

Why Byron?  Cross Country from Byron is easier and even safer then Truckee. (Must be beyond glide slope to Byron to qualify as XC though).  During springtime same potential as Williams, Hollister or Avenal.  More fun and rewarding to fly from your home airport  In post frontal conditions (typical March to May) clouds will often mark the lift and XC is possible on any direction with local tow following the clouds.  On other days there may be marginal or no lift at Byron, but excellent soaring conditions south along the Diablo range, accessible from high tows.  Why not?

Byron XC Potential  km especially during the spring (March-June) and fall.  May require miles ft tows when local lift not presents.  25 miles 80knots = 30 minutes round trip ($67).  Typical altitude over the Diablo range south of Byron (not Mt. Diablo) is , occasional 10,000. Soarable most days from Spring to Fall.  Easy glide back to Byron.

2005 Statistics  Total distance from Byron – 1736 km in 7 XC flights (averaging 250km per flight)  Two 400km flights  Typical altitude ft  40% from local tows  2 Landouts (one in an airport, one in a field)

Suggested Release Points  Rel1 – 20 Statue miles from Byron N37:33:16, W121:36:16  Rel2 – 25 Statue miles from Byron N37:28:43, W121:33:13  Rel3 – 30 Statue miles from Byron N37:24:38, W121:32:33  Rel4 (Mt. Oso) 25 Statue miles from Byron N37:30:14, W121:22:16  Diablo Wave - 37:50.85N,121:54.43W

Suggested Routes  No need to go to Mt Diablo unless you want to fly local or go north.  Poor lift north over the delta except on unstable post frontal days  Best route south along the Diablo range  Often strong convergence marked with clouds over the highest terrain east of Mt Hamilton towards Mt Oso, persists all day  When above 8K you can go in the middle, if lower move towards the west or east side.

Suggested Routes (continue)  When below 4000ft stick to the foothills on the east side or even move over the hwy, thereis often a weak shear line along the hwy which lasts till late in the day  Plenty of places to land on the east side, airstrip every 10 miles or so.  Unless clouds indicate otherwise, stay on the east side when crossing the Pacheco pass (sea breeze on the west, potential convergence on the east)

Suggested Tasks  Byron – Pacheco pass – Byron: 100 miles (Cloud street Milk Run)  Byron – San Benito Mtn (EL4) – Byron: 230 miles (300K task gold distance)  Byron – Hwy41 (South of Avenal) – Byron: 324 miles (500km diamond distance)  Byron – Taft or New Cuyama : 225 miles straight out  Byron – New Cuyama – Byron: 450 Miles (700km)

Airport Landout Options (West)  Reid Hill view (Tower, OK to land)  South County (Morgan Hill, OK to land)  Hollister (gliderport)

Airport Landout options (South)  Livermore (Tower, OK if can’t make it back to Byron)  Meadowlark  Tracy  New Jerusalem  Westley (marginal, probably not aero retrievable)  Patterson  Crows Landing (Huge, but access unknown)  Gustine  Los Banos  Panoche

Airports Landouts (North)  Rio Vista  Nut Tree  Multiple strips between Vacaville and Williams

Off Field Options  37:46.79N,121:34.60W - Fields along Mt.House road (watch for power lines)  37:21:38N,121:28:56W,2050F - Good fields by the road on top of the Diablo range.  37:24:06N,121:15:49W,1050F - OK Field in the new development west of Patterson (land to west)  37:13:40N,121:05:17W,200F – Good field along I-5 near Gustine Exit

Tips for safe landouts below the Diablo range  Use conservative glide, same as when flying from Truckee.  When below 4000 ft move towards the valley  Wind direction will usually be from the NW  Take an afternoon road trip along I-5 to check the listed airports.  Take a scenic trip up the Diablo range (Mines Road from Livermore) and down to Patterson to check the fields.

Suggestions  XC Mentoring (practical only for 2 gliders due to length of tows)  Get your silver and gold distance from Byron during spring  Mad Dash Event– Straight out towards Avenal, Grapevine, Tehachapi or beyond. Pilots and crew needed.

How to use blipmaps for XC planning  Check the “CurrentDay” ETA forecast for Saturday on Friday evening  Usually available after 6:30PM and updated every few hours  Check the BLTop map (Height of Boundary Layer Top) – this is the most important and accurate parameter. It indicates how high you can get in the best thermals.  The forecast period is indicated on the top right, 9hrs being the latest right, 9hrs being the latest

Blipmaps (continue)  On Saturday morning, check both the ETA blipmap and the RUC 21Z blipmap. If they disagree, go with the RUC. If both predicting a great day – go fly!  Check the Latest RUC BLTop. It is usually accurate within couple of hundred feet (especially the 6 hour forecast, which is usually available after 9:30AM).  For higher resolution map check the RASP Hcrit.  Check ETA Cumulus potential and Cumulus Cloudbase. Note cloudbase altitude is only valid if cumulus potential is positive.  Pay special attention to the area of best lift (usually along the Diablo range south of Byron) to plan the best XC route.

URL’s  Hollister waypoint database:  ETA  RUC  Multitime:  Blipspot:  UniViewer:  RASP: