Mount Lukens

About

First, Mt. Lukens is a high mountain with steep slopes on the south and west faces. That means really strong thermals on good flying days. Ask the hotshots who fly over there from Kagel regularly. Lukens kicks ! Second, "Little Lukens", the ridge west of the summit, is a gnarly, rowdy place to fly. Excellent close-to-the-terrain skills are frequently required. Third, it's a fairly long glide out to the Big Tujunga Wash, the LZ of choice, because it"s nice and big, with reliable wind direction on most days, and easy retrieval. Because Big T is some distance away, a glider with a good glide ratio is best. There are bail-out LZ's at the foot of Mt. Lukens, two debris basins which are nice and big, but the wind might not be consistent and getting one's glider out of the locked chainlink fence enclosure, though not impossible, is a problem at both locations. The Day Street LZ, described above, is very narrow, close to palm trees, power lines, houses, and eight-foot high sign posts along the street. It probably shouldn't be attempted by pilots who don't yet have their Advanced rating.

Launch Points (1)

South West Launch

Foot Launch

Alt: 1,463 m / 4,800 ftHdg: 195° SSWSurface: SHORT GRASS

Needs work.

Landing Zones (1)

Flying Conditions

Has 1 different launch points. The best wind direction is 200 @ 0 knts but many sites can be flown from multiple directions, so check before you fly. You can expect to find: thermal conditions ridge soaring conditions cross country potential , all dependent on current weather conditions.