Flyfunston

The Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program with the San Francisco State University has received permission from the GGNRA to install two antennas at Fort Funston. These antennas are about 20' tall and will be used to measure the speed and direction of ocean currents off our coast.

They would like to install these antennas in early June in preparation for a simulated oil spill project sponsored by NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Assoc.). NOAA and HAZMAT will hopefully be able to use the data gathered at Fort Funston and surrounding areas to help determine flow characteristics of oil if a spill were to occur offshore of the Golden Gate Bridge. Their real time data will be available to the public on-line. For more information, including photographs of current installations, check out www.norcalcurrents.org

Before anyone get's too concerned, please allow me to put your worries to rest. Given the proper location, these antennas will not present any hazard or obstacle to our hang gliding activities.

Daniel, Henry, Raffy, Kurt, Chester and myself all met with Jim Pettigrew, (Field Manager, Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program for Northern California) and Regan Long, (Oceanographic Support Specialist) on May 17th to discuss the proposed antenna locations. They want to work with us, and are interested in finding a location that we can all agree on.

We walked an area behind the cliff south of the LZ between the big bushes and the boundary of the Olympic Club to find a good location. I made up a 20' pole to simulate the height of their antennas. While Henry climbed up on the ridge by the golf course fence to check the height, Kurt was out front in his hang glider making passes to demonstrate our flight corridor. Kurt then landed to take part in the discussion.

We believe that we found a suitable location that is back from the cliff and below the fence of the Olympic Club that will probably work for their project. It is well out the lift zone, below any approach to the LZ, and is not in an area where someone coming back from Westlake would be scratching. It is not even an area that a glider can fly through, it is just too low and behind the cliff and bushes. A pilot would be hard pressed to hit that location even if they were trying. To put it in perspective, I'd say that our windsock on the observation deck presents a much greater hazard than this location ever would.

Jim and Regan plan to use a generator to set up a temporary installation next week to see if their equipment will work there. It should take a few hours or so, and then they will take them down to review the results. BTW, the antennas are not mounted on towers, they just auger into the sand. One is a flexible whip, the other a pole with four 8' radial whiskers. The signal wires would be buried in the sand. Again, go to www.norcalcurrents.org for photos.

I will post with their test date so everyone can have a look at the proposed installation. Stay tuned!

Steve R.

It's been an interesting week.

I received an email last Friday, May 12, from some scientists who have gotten permission from the GGNRA to put up two antennas to measure ocean currents 50 miles out. They're doing it in part to assess what would happen in case of a nearby oil spill.

As Steve says, the project info is online at http://www.norcalcurrents.org .

So they got in touch because the GGNRA wanted them to confirm there'd be no conflict with hang gliding.

We peppered them with questions by email and arranged to meet out at the cliff this evening to check out locations and ask some more questions.

We eventually worked out something that seemed to satisfy the pilots attending tonight, as described by Steve above.

I'd like to work something out so that we can fly safely and the scientists can protect us from oil spills. My first responsibility is to the hang glider pilots, though, so please speak up with any constructive criticism.

For the record, here are some of the other answers they gave to our questions:

* They need access to power, which they're getting from the Ropes building, so they can't put the antennas at the north end on the bunker.

* The antennas can be no more than 150 meters from the water, so they can't go on the ranger buildings.

* They asked for but were denied access to the Cliff House

* They will have a web site with a graphical display of the ocean currents. (We're wondering whether this will help us identify incoming shears. Don't know yet.)

* The radio waves are roughly 3m wavelength at 70 Watts, so they shouldn't be a radiation hazard. We don't know whether those frequencies interfere with RC planes.

* The gear will measure out 70 km, with a 3 km resolution in a sweep of 5 degrees increments. It works by measuring a Doppler shift to assess current a couple meters deep.

* They plan to install the antennas in the next couple of weeks, with the option to move it a couple of times so it works for them and for us

* There is a NOAA oil spill simulation in August, which is why they'd like to get it up and running and calibrated relatively soon

* The project has been funded for 3 years. Don't know what's going to happen to the antennas after that.

* The antennas cannot go down the cliff because the signal will bounce off the back wall and ruin the readings

* They will make the antennas as visible as possible, including by painting them, adding streamers, or even putting up a wind sock

If you have any questions, please post here or email or phone Daniel or Steve.

Daniel Pifko