California City Municipal Airport (L71) | WHERE’S TRANSIENT PARKING | California City, California

[@MrFonzi84]

Love the videos. As a student they're a nice reference to see the area beforehand.

[@outsidethecockpit]

@@MrFonzi84 Thank you so much. This was exactly why we did it, I remember being a student especially on my solo just being completely confused😅. We are so glad it has helped and good luck on your training!

[@charlescole-p9v]

I used to go glider flying there back in the 80s. Great thermals, got really high, like 15,000 ft. Could buy a lot for nearly nothing close by.

[@outsidethecockpit]

15000ft?!?, I haven't even flown a powered aircraft that high, that is amazing. Not including commercial air travel of course. I know Tehachapi nearby does a lot of glider flying or did you actually take off out of California City?

[@charlescole-p9v]

@@outsidethecockpit Yes, We took off there. The second flight, next time I went to Cal city, I flew with a test pilot from Edwards, who was also a test pilot for Grob sailplane maker in Germany. When we got to altitude I asked if I could pilot the glider & do loops & hammer heads, spins, etc. He said sure & walked me through it. It was actually quite easy. I had been flying with my father since I was 8 YO & love flying. I had been Hang Gliding for well over a decade by the time I had gone to Cal city on the glider trip. In fact I have been to almost 18,000 ft, dozens of times, flying hang gliders with over 4,000hrs. Thermals are much stronger than you think and under the right conditions (wave) will allow you to get to 60,000 ft. Pretty mind blowing. And it gets cold up there !

[@outsidethecockpit]

@@charlescole-p9v Oh wow, that is just insane! I can't believe I just read 60,000 feet. I seriously only thought gliders go up to maybe 10,000 feet. Goes to show how much I know. That was so fascinating to learn Charles. Thanks so much for sharing that. I do hope to do some glider training in the future after doing my commercial training. We saw Garret Willat Grob G-103 Sailplane at Wings over Camarillo this year and there really was something majestic about it, it even had my wife wanting to do it😄. Pretty amazing though that you have 4000 hours!