Sunday January 12, 2014? Vented?

[goestoeleven]

Just checked the weather forecast, and it's supposed to be 42 degrees with wind . . . . anybody interested in flying tomorrow for a couple hours?

[TMadz]

Possibly. Got a location and time in mind?

[goestoeleven]

Maybe suburbs and early afternoon? I haven't talked to the wife so I'm not sure of our schedule yet.

[illescasd]

Ahem,,,,,,,,,, moi.

[goestoeleven]

So far, I'm between you guys (and a lot closer to illescasd). Let's see if anyone else posts into the thread, and that might affect the location. Wife just got home, so I'll have a chat with her in a bit and see if I have any constraints on time (other than a bunch of work to get done this weekend).

[TMadz]

I think early afternoon could work for me. I probably could fly for a couple of hours. I could drive your way.

[Jeff]

I'd need to be flying Jynx's lingerie kite this weekend. We've had wind gusts reported up to 70 mph.

[goestoeleven]

I think early afternoon could work for me. I probably could fly for a couple of hours. I could drive your way.

OK, I lost track of time this morning. Sorry for the late reply. Where would you like to meet? I'm trying to think of some fields that are convenient to I-88, so it's less of a hassle for you. I've sometimes flown on a field behind the DuPage Forest Preserve offices (off Naperville road at I-88). If there's something near Rt. 59, I could go there as I could run some errands in that area after we fly. I could probably be out flying by 1:30 or 2, if that works for you.

Edit - There's a park at Mill & Diehl in Naperville where I've flown once or twice also. I'm not sure there's much out by Rt 59, looking at the map, there are some soccer fields off of Eola south of Butterfield that might work. Can't tell from the satellite if they are good or not, but maybe worth checking out. I know they are not going to be as open as those football fields out in Sugar Grove . . . .

[goestoeleven]

I'm going to head out to these fields on Eola in a little bit to check them out & see if they are a good location for flying. I'll probably be out there a bit after 2 pm, and I'll fly for a while. If they are not good, I'll post a short note from my phone to let you know.

[goestoeleven]

Slight delay - my father just called and needs some help . . .

[goestoeleven]

Still working with my father . . . hope to finish up soon . . .

[goestoeleven]

Leaving now (much later than I had hoped).

[goestoeleven]

Well, it was windy, which is good. The field is OK, and worked fine with a strong wind out of the south. However, there's a berm and trees on the west side, and a warehouse building to the south. The north side has some trees as well, and there's a power generating station on the east side. I expect the wind might be a bit turbulent and variable on a lighter wind day. It's probably similar to Red Hawk park or the grass area behind the forest preserve offices. In other words, good when the wind is from a favorable direction, but with some issues on other days.

Note - the gates were locked, the parking lot was not open, nor was it plowed, so I parked on the entrance road. There was also a sign stating that it was open only for permit holders (or something like that). I think that's to prevent people from using the soccer fields unless they've registered with the park district.

[goestoeleven]

Here's my flying companion / kite stake for today:

kitecoyote_small_cropped.jpg (96.11 KiB) Viewed 2601 times

[TMadz]

I missed your message by 5 minutes I think. My wife sensed my noncommittal and committed me to a different project instead. I hope to get out and fly soon.

I didn't know there were fields by that power plant. That's a natural gas peak supply plant IIRC. Anyways another possible place to fly or meet in the middle. Lots of open room to the West, correct?

[goestoeleven]

Yep, peak supply plant.

Not the best flying field, but not too bad. Berm on the west side with young trees (including evergreens) means some obstructions up to 20-25 feet on the west side. Southern warehouse is relatively far away, so the northern end of the park should be good with wind from the south. I'd guess it will probably have league soccer on the field in spring, summer and fall (if it's anything like our local parks during evenings/weekends).

[Trigger]

Well, I got out to fly yesterday for an hour or so. I don't know why you didn't want to come over this way :)

Looks like good winds tonight too, I may have to throw some lights on and fly after work

If I ever work less than 7 days a week again, I'd love to try to meet up with you guys for a quick fly

Jim