September 12, 2009

Lee Boone and Had Robinson headed out to the Red Sands area of east El Paso to search for suitable PG launches off of hills of enough size. They went to a 2 mile long mountain ridge but it was owned by a cement company that said ".....!" and then "Get ...here!"  So they decided to leave the area.

However, a little north was a lone hill with about 200' AGL ( 31°49'6.73"N 106° 7'6.81"W). With Had's help, Lee had a two good flights from the top, even soaring the east face of the hill.  This is probably the first time any one has every flown anything in the Red Sands.

Below "Cerro Alto" a mountain east of El Paso can clearly be seen.  The visible road going east is Hwy 62-180, the Carlsbad Hwy.

The RoadRunner below was mighty curious about us.  These birds are not afraid of much....

Lee kiting at launch.  It is a huge mistake to try new sites without good kiting skills - one can never be sure of the air the first time a site is flown.