Matin, nice video!

Here's a little on of Dawson bungee launching his Libelle.

Greg

2019 Weaselfest Dawson Libelle Bungee (1 min 32 sec)

You can almost stitch those two clips together Greg......Nick flew right after Dawson.
Looks like there was a puff of warm air rising from the mesa as both planes stayed up for quite a few turns....
....and I'm not pointing no fingers in nobody's direction neither !!!

Ellwood and Weaselfest was great this year, the locals, and a special treat Bob Martin, were all wonderful. Flying in the fish tanks was super fun, and there was very little contact of any consequence, only a few lost canopies, and some cliff recoveries (Thanks to Mike). Joe got some exercise walking the beach, but made up for it by flying his Le Fish for over and hour. Steve was in usual form, great flying. The dinner was great,a perfect little cozy place called La Hacienda in old town Goleta. Mike had door prizes for everyone. Oh, and Richter scored a nice original unflown RTF Hobie! Could that possibly influence his next design? Time will tell.

Thank you dream flight, once again.

Jay

I am safely back in Flagstaff after a wonderful road trip to SB/Goleta and WeaselFest. Thanks to Steve and Tessa for taking me into their home and letting me hang out with their beautiful Family.

The ‘Fest was great fun! We had some excellent flying and several of those magical moments... that only Elwood can deliver. Michael and Family were as helpful as ever and were truly wonderful hosts... treating us to an awesome dinner and generous raffle. Steve and I got in four days of flying and countless hours of slope chat. It was cool to see how José Luis has grown up and become such a stylish slope pilot. Bob Martin is legend! He has a wealth of experience that he freely shares with everyone. I am grateful to have been able to spend time with him in the shop and on the slope. I enjoyed meeting some new folks reconnecting with many of the old guard. Thanks everyone!

Dawson

It’s a pleasure to have met you Dawson.
And thanks for your insight as to getting the most out of what little lift we had and how to maximize the potential Ellwood has on Friday afternoon.
My first real experience with the Libelle was outstanding thanks to you with your pointers and Michael with his help with the setup.
Thanks again
A great time was had
Joe

First and foremost, I would like to thank Michael and Ashley for inviting me to attend and spend three wonderful days with them. They treated me like royalty.
I have communicated with Michael over the years and have been impressed with the quality of design and engineering. Michael has been a long time supporter of the Katie Martin Tribute at Torrey Pines and I have checked out his kits he has donated. I was impressed enough to buy an ahi, Weasel, and Alula, although I did not have anywhere to fly them locally.
I am very satisfied that I finally made the trip to Elwood to join some of the craziest pilots I have ever met. Crazy is not a bad word, but because of the cool aircraft flown, you can fly with total abandon and not fear about destroying your aircraft, IF you are flying a dream/flight product.
I had so much fun, I could write a book, but I do not want to bore you. I would like to thank Steve (surfimp) for programming my radio for my ahi, for Dawson for helping assemble my ahi and to Michael for installing and setting up the radio gear for my ahi. I have admired these people for years in the RCGroups and YouTube and at last I got to meet them....what an honor that was.
At the site I renewed acquaintances with good friends like Jay Mendoza, Mark Ward and Dave (DWA). Many more, Ward, Ted Torpin, and met and made friends with Andy (Drodyx) MATIN and Joe, sorry about your Hobie. What a wonderful experience. Thank you all for making me feel at home.
I am busy working on the Katie Martin Tribute at Torrey Pines, June 1st, just a month away, but I will always remember this year and hope I can make it again next year....
Thanks for the memories,
Bob Martin
PS: You are all invited to the 9th Annual Katie Martin Tribute, June 1st.

Originally Posted by rarner

Surfimp,
Thanks for the link to Ruins forecast.

Lots to remember when coming to weaselfest. Here is my list.

WEASELFEST CHECKLIST
FOLDING CHAIR
BACKPACK
WATER
LUNCH
RADIO BATTERY CHARGED
SLOPERS CHARGED
DF Charger and 4000 mAh Pocket Juice
SLOPER RACK
CAMERA
SUNSCREEN, HAT, LONGSLEVE Shirt, Long Cool PANTS
SUNGLASSES , GOGGLES
FOR RUINS COAT, WARM PANTS, GLOVES
PACKING TAPE
CLARITON FOR ANY ONE WITH THE SLIGHTEST ALERGIES!

Any pics of the Sloper rack?

Need more instructions or detail? Feel free to PM me.
Rich

Dang that fishtank vid was awesome, guys. Looks like a lot of fun. The most foam I've ever seen in the air at once up in these parts was about 8 birds, and that was a blast.

we had so many ahi, alula, and weasels up at sunset last weekend we were jokingly calling it weaselfest 2.0.

We just got Joe's red Hobie Hawk all back together and it is now ready for Torrey on June 1st for the Katie Martin event. Some of you may recall Joe's Hawk in the surf at Ellwood this year; he said the whole wing was full of sand!
Jay

I live on the East coast but may be near Weaselfest next year and would like to try the west coast areas. Are there any places to camp nearby or even within an hour from there? I have to sleep in my camper van due to needing a special bed to keep my old bones aligned and so motels are a no-go.

Originally Posted by Slowper

I live on the East coast but may be near Weaselfest next year and would like to try the west coast areas. Are there any places to camp nearby or even within an hour from there? I have to sleep in my camper van due to needing a special bed to keep my old bones aligned and so motels are a no-go.

The closest public campground is El Capitan state park, about 10 minutes north on Hwy 101, then Refugio State Park, about another 10 minutes north along the coast. El Capitan also has a private camping area, on the mountain side of Hwy 101. All these campsites are very popular as they are right on the coast, you would need reservations to secure sites. Camping also on the coast at Carpinteria State Beach off of Linden Ave, about 30 minutes to the south of Elwood.

Los Padres National Forest has camping too, its a bit further away off of Hwy 154 to the east, on the inland side of the Santa Ynez mountains off of Paradise Road. This would be about 30 -40 minutes away from Elwood. There are several primitive campsites, and I know some folks that come to the WF have camped there. Check out the LPNF website for info on these spots. Further up the canyon, but also nearby is Rancho Oso, a 1000 trails RV park, that is also along Paradise Road.There is also Lake Cachuma, a County park, further east along 154, probably about 40 minutes north of Elwood, Goleta.

Andy

I've recently been thinking of putting a hook on my Libelle. I can make it at a 15 degree angle from the CofG. Any wing bend on launch. I guessing I would start out easy and add pace's to the pull till the glider get's squirely.

Originally Posted by droydx

Los Padres National Forest has camping too, its a bit further away off of Hwy 154 to the east, on the inland side of the Santa Ynez mountains off of Paradise Road. This would be about 30 -40 minutes away from Elwood. There are several primitive campsites, and I know some folks that come to the WF have camped there.

Tehachapi Jim and I camped at Fremont Campground on Paradise Road a number of times. 15 sites, cool hosts and you don't need an alarm clock. The wild turkeys will wake you up by 0730.

mw

https://www.californiasbestcamping.c...t/fremont.html