Through the eye of the needle (long)

TTaylor07 at cc.usu.edu wrote:
I strapped down hard let the Ventus accelerate down the ridge trying to
stay between about 8,600 and 8,999 feet. This section of the ridge
under the class B is only about 18 miles long, but for me it was a mix
of excitement and fear of the unknown. With a slight quartering
tailwind our ground speeds were up to 130 miles per hour on the
southerly run. I tucked in tight to the ridge and watched my altitude
closely to ensure the ridge was working and I was staying in as
comfortable altitude range as I could. LM was right on my six as we
ran south passing many hikers and groups of people in cars at several
of the overlooks along the ridge line. I was surprised that roads ran
all the way to the top of the ridge. I can imagine what our pair of
gliders looked like passing them at warp speed at their height or
below.

FWIW, there has been success in the past convincing the FAA to carve out
sections of the San Francisco Class B to accommodate ridge and wave
soaring near various ridges. It's not like they are actually going to
be able to use the airspace in the vicinity of this ridge. Perhaps it
would be worth getting a group together to talk to the FAA about this...

Marc