Vandenberg Launch, April 17

Hey guys,

I'm a student pilot (7.1 hours, woohoo!) flying out of Long Beach,
California. I'm also a first year aerospace engineering major with a keen
interest in anything that flies. That being the case, I would love to see
the next launch out of Vandenberg, scheduled for Saturday the 17th. The
drive is almost worth it, but a flight up there would be great. I brought it
up to my instructor this afternoon after my lesson and he agreed to it. It
would be a good introductory cross country and would be a fun trip.

But I've got a few questions here. For one thing, he suggested heading into
Lompoc, which is about the closest airport to Vandenberg. The launch is from
SLC-2 on the north side of the facility, so might Santa Maria be better?
Would the view be better from one or the other based on terrain? For that
matter, viewing the launch from the air would be great. Has anyone done this
and, if so, where's the best vantage point? Is this a popular thing to do,
and is traffic likely to be busy in the area? Finally, it seems that June
gloom hit us a few months early. What can I expect in the way of weather
around Vandenberg for this time of year, generally? It's a 10:00am launch,
so I'm concerned the haze might not have time to burn off between LGB and
VBG.

For those interested, here's a launch listing and the homepage of the
project being launched:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
http://einstein.stanford.edu

Thanks for any input!

-Tony
Student Pilot
7.1 Hours

[Larry Dighera]

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 06:44:54 GMT, > wrote in
Message-Id: >:

>I'm a student pilot (7.1 hours, woohoo!) flying out of Long Beach,
>California. I'm also a first year aerospace engineering major with a keen
>interest in anything that flies. That being the case, I would love to see
>the next launch out of Vandenberg, scheduled for Saturday the 17th. The
>drive is almost worth it, but a flight up there would be great. I brought it
>up to my instructor this afternoon after my lesson and he agreed to it. It
>would be a good introductory cross country and would be a fun trip.
>
>But I've got a few questions here. For one thing, he suggested heading into
>Lompoc, which is about the closest airport to Vandenberg. The launch is from
>SLC-2 on the north side of the facility, so might Santa Maria be better?

An article titled FLOWER POWER MEETS THE MISSILE MEN authored by
Steven W. Ells appeared on pates 16-C & D of the January 2004 issue of
AOPA Pilot magazine. You might pose your questions to the author:


>Would the view be better from one or the other based on terrain? For that
>matter, viewing the launch from the air would be great. Has anyone done this
>and, if so, where's the best vantage point? Is this a popular thing to do,
>and is traffic likely to be busy in the area? Finally, it seems that June
>gloom hit us a few months early. What can I expect in the way of weather
>around Vandenberg for this time of year, generally? It's a 10:00am launch,
>so I'm concerned the haze might not have time to burn off between LGB and
>VBG.

You can get pretty good long range weather predictions for the area
here: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/afos/LAX/ZFP/LAXZFPLOX

>For those interested, here's a launch listing and the homepage of the
>project being launched:
>http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
>http://einstein.stanford.edu
>
>Thanks for any input!
>
>-Tony
>Student Pilot
>7.1 Hours
>

Here's another source of information:

From: "Brian Webb" >
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.piloting
Subject: Vandenberg Missile Launch Newsletter
Message-ID:
nk.net>
Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 13:05:20 GMT
NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.81.253.39

Astronomy/Space Alert for Southern California (also known as
"Launch Alert") is a free, e-mail based newsletter providing
coverage of missile launches from Vandenberg AFB. Other topics
covered include southern California astronomy and space news.

Many of the events mentioned in the newsletter are visible over a
large portion of the U.S. Southwest. To subscribe, go to:

http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert

[pacplyer]

Congrads Tony. I think you're going to miss a lot if you're not on
the ground. Hard to divide attention, but it's your call. Might be
better in the air if it's foggy on the ground. Trap the rocket
between you and the sun. The ionized purple plume when it bust out of
the atmosphere is unforgettable. Have fun.

pacplyer


> wrote in message >...
> Hey guys,
>
> I'm a student pilot (7.1 hours, woohoo!) flying out of Long Beach,
> California. I'm also a first year aerospace engineering major with a keen
> interest in anything that flies. That being the case, I would love to see
> the next launch out of Vandenberg, scheduled for Saturday the 17th. The
> drive is almost worth it, but a flight up there would be great. I brought it
> up to my instructor this afternoon after my lesson and he agreed to it. It
> would be a good introductory cross country and would be a fun trip.
>
> But I've got a few questions here. For one thing, he suggested heading into
> Lompoc, which is about the closest airport to Vandenberg. The launch is from
> SLC-2 on the north side of the facility, so might Santa Maria be better?
> Would the view be better from one or the other based on terrain? For that
> matter, viewing the launch from the air would be great. Has anyone done this
> and, if so, where's the best vantage point? Is this a popular thing to do,
> and is traffic likely to be busy in the area? Finally, it seems that June
> gloom hit us a few months early. What can I expect in the way of weather
> around Vandenberg for this time of year, generally? It's a 10:00am launch,
> so I'm concerned the haze might not have time to burn off between LGB and
> VBG.
>
> For those interested, here's a launch listing and the homepage of the
> project being launched:
> http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
> http://einstein.stanford.edu
>
> Thanks for any input!
>
> -Tony
> Student Pilot
> 7.1 Hours

Hey thanks guys. I'll take a look at what you suggested, Larry. I agree with
you, Pac, that flying might divide my attention too much between the flying
and the sight seeing, especially if other people have the same idea I do.
I'll fish around online for some more flying stories of people who have done
it and see what the consensus is.

Thanks again!
-Tony
Student Pilot
7.1 hours


"Larry Dighera" wrote ...
> On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 06:44:54 GMT, > wrote in
> Message-Id: >:
>
> >I'm a student pilot (7.1 hours, woohoo!) flying out of Long Beach,
> >California. I'm also a first year aerospace engineering major with a keen
> >interest in anything that flies. That being the case, I would love to see
> >the next launch out of Vandenberg, scheduled for Saturday the 17th. The
> >drive is almost worth it, but a flight up there would be great. I brought
it
> >up to my instructor this afternoon after my lesson and he agreed to it.
It
> >would be a good introductory cross country and would be a fun trip.
> >
> >But I've got a few questions here. For one thing, he suggested heading
into
> >Lompoc, which is about the closest airport to Vandenberg. The launch is
from
> >SLC-2 on the north side of the facility, so might Santa Maria be better?
>
> An article titled FLOWER POWER MEETS THE MISSILE MEN authored by
> Steven W. Ells appeared on pates 16-C & D of the January 2004 issue of
> AOPA Pilot magazine. You might pose your questions to the author:
>
>
> >Would the view be better from one or the other based on terrain? For that
> >matter, viewing the launch from the air would be great. Has anyone done
this
> >and, if so, where's the best vantage point? Is this a popular thing to
do,
> >and is traffic likely to be busy in the area? Finally, it seems that June
> >gloom hit us a few months early. What can I expect in the way of weather
> >around Vandenberg for this time of year, generally? It's a 10:00am
launch,
> >so I'm concerned the haze might not have time to burn off between LGB and
> >VBG.
>
> You can get pretty good long range weather predictions for the area
> here: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/afos/LAX/ZFP/LAXZFPLOX
>
> >For those interested, here's a launch listing and the homepage of the
> >project being launched:
> >http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
> >http://einstein.stanford.edu
> >
> >Thanks for any input!
> >
> >-Tony
> >Student Pilot
> >7.1 Hours
> >
>
> Here's another source of information:
>
> From: "Brian Webb" >
> Newsgroups: rec.aviation.piloting
> Subject: Vandenberg Missile Launch Newsletter
> Message-ID:
> nk.net>
> Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 13:05:20 GMT
> NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.81.253.39
>
> Astronomy/Space Alert for Southern California (also known as
> "Launch Alert") is a free, e-mail based newsletter providing
> coverage of missile launches from Vandenberg AFB. Other topics
> covered include southern California astronomy and space news.
>
> Many of the events mentioned in the newsletter are visible over a
> large portion of the U.S. Southwest. To subscribe, go to:
>
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert
>
>

[lance smith]

Hi Tony,

I used to go to school in santa barbara and while ucsb was almost
always socked in I never experienced Lompoc being clouded over. Of
course I didn't go up there very often (there's no reason to : ) but
everytime I did it was clear.

Watch out for any TFRs because of the rocket launch- it'd be something
to see it from the air!

-lance smith



> wrote in message >...
> Hey guys,
>
> I'm a student pilot (7.1 hours, woohoo!) flying out of Long Beach,
> California. I'm also a first year aerospace engineering major with a keen
> interest in anything that flies. That being the case, I would love to see
> the next launch out of Vandenberg, scheduled for Saturday the 17th. The
> drive is almost worth it, but a flight up there would be great. I brought it
> up to my instructor this afternoon after my lesson and he agreed to it. It
> would be a good introductory cross country and would be a fun trip.
>
> But I've got a few questions here. For one thing, he suggested heading into
> Lompoc, which is about the closest airport to Vandenberg. The launch is from
> SLC-2 on the north side of the facility, so might Santa Maria be better?
> Would the view be better from one or the other based on terrain? For that
> matter, viewing the launch from the air would be great. Has anyone done this
> and, if so, where's the best vantage point? Is this a popular thing to do,
> and is traffic likely to be busy in the area? Finally, it seems that June
> gloom hit us a few months early. What can I expect in the way of weather
> around Vandenberg for this time of year, generally? It's a 10:00am launch,
> so I'm concerned the haze might not have time to burn off between LGB and
> VBG.
>
> For those interested, here's a launch listing and the homepage of the
> project being launched:
> http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
> http://einstein.stanford.edu
>
> Thanks for any input!
>
> -Tony
> Student Pilot
> 7.1 Hours

Darn it!

I had some time to kill this afternoon in my aerospace class, so I went to
check in on the launch status. It's been postponed till Monday the 19th due
to ground equipment being serviced. It looks like weather and such are
irrelevant now, since I won't be able to make it on a weekday. I kind of
expected it, since dates get changed a half dozen times for most launches,
but I still had high hopes. Maybe next launch.......

Thanks again to those who posted

-Tony
Student Pilot
7.1 hours


"lance smith" wrote:
> Hi Tony,
>
> I used to go to school in santa barbara and while ucsb was almost
> always socked in I never experienced Lompoc being clouded over. Of
> course I didn't go up there very often (there's no reason to : ) but
> everytime I did it was clear.
>
> Watch out for any TFRs because of the rocket launch- it'd be something
> to see it from the air!
>
> -lance smith
>
>
>
> > wrote in message
>...
> > Hey guys,
> >
> > I'm a student pilot (7.1 hours, woohoo!) flying out of Long Beach,
> > California. I'm also a first year aerospace engineering major with a
keen
> > interest in anything that flies. That being the case, I would love to
see
> > the next launch out of Vandenberg, scheduled for Saturday the 17th. The
> > drive is almost worth it, but a flight up there would be great. I
brought it
> > up to my instructor this afternoon after my lesson and he agreed to it.
It
> > would be a good introductory cross country and would be a fun trip.
> >
> > But I've got a few questions here. For one thing, he suggested heading
into
> > Lompoc, which is about the closest airport to Vandenberg. The launch is
from
> > SLC-2 on the north side of the facility, so might Santa Maria be better?
> > Would the view be better from one or the other based on terrain? For
that
> > matter, viewing the launch from the air would be great. Has anyone done
this
> > and, if so, where's the best vantage point? Is this a popular thing to
do,
> > and is traffic likely to be busy in the area? Finally, it seems that
June
> > gloom hit us a few months early. What can I expect in the way of weather
> > around Vandenberg for this time of year, generally? It's a 10:00am
launch,
> > so I'm concerned the haze might not have time to burn off between LGB
and
> > VBG.
> >
> > For those interested, here's a launch listing and the homepage of the
> > project being launched:
> > http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
> > http://einstein.stanford.edu
> >
> > Thanks for any input!
> >
> > -Tony
> > Student Pilot
> > 7.1 Hours