Sites/Mount Lukens
DOSSIER · 768SITE · NORTH AMERICA
34°16′02″N · 118°14′22″WLIVE CHART · OBSERVED 1400Z
Airworthy · 4+
NORTH AMERICA · CALIFORNIA · USA

Mount Lukens

ThermalRidgeXCSimulatedFoot Launch
ELEV 1,463 M / 4,800 FTTZ Pacific Daylight Time

Specimen Sheet · Vital Statistics

Launch Elev1,463 m
Launch Elev FT4,800 ft MSL
Min Hang RatingH4
Best Wind200° · 0–0 kt
Coordinates34.2673° N
 -118.2394° E

Classification · Terrain & Access

Foot Launch
§ 01CHART · LAUNCHES & LANDINGS

Field chart.

Launch point
Landing zone
Launch heading
1 LAUNCH · 1 LZ · ALT RANGE 7001,463 M

§ 02 · Flying Conditions · Field NotesUpdated 2026·03·21

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.

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.

§ 03 · Wind Window · Best Operating EnvelopeSSW · 200° ±0°

NSEWNESENWSW
00 kt
Primary · SSW · 200°
Envelope: 200° – 200° (±0°)
Preferred · 00 ktWorkable · 03 ktHazardous · >5 kt

Chase the Wind

Nearest weather station to Mount Lukens. Select any row to see which launches are in wind, then set your MSFS world clock to that UTC time.

Burbank/Bob Hope Arpt, CA, US

13:43 UTC

14 km from site

Wind

N 360°

3 kt

Ceiling

Clear

10+ sm vis

N 360° · 3 kt · 13:43 UTC

South West LaunchOver the back (165°)

Select a time to check launches

Jan 21

Weather at , 14 km from Mount Lukens. Mountain conditions may differ — this is a clue, not a forecast. Adjust sim time on site until conditions feel right.

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§ 07 · Location · Field CoordinatesWGS-84

Latitude34.267314
Longitude-118.239354
DMS · N34°16′02″N
DMS · E118°14′22″W
Altitude1,463 m
Altitude FT4,800 ft
Time ZonePacific Daylight Time
UTM11S 385 905 E · 4 160 931 N

§ 09 · Recent Flights · Log Book

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FILE № 768 · CLOSED 2026·03·21
THE HANG GLIDING FILES · THGF
✎ SURVEYED · NORTH AMERICA · USA