by Mike Sandlin ................................ Last Update: May 12, 2012
The Red Goat is on Coyote Dry Lake in southern California, waiting for a tow, on the May 5-6 weekend of 2012. This was Dan Armstrong's annual tow event, and his 2-22 in the background (I got this photo from his posting at the Crestline Soaring Society web page). I think Floyd Fronius is holding the towline and Mark Stucky is in the Goat seat. Several people flew the Goat, they went a mile high and got cold (or at least needed jackets).
The tow was a static line to a vehicle, with a line tension meter visible to the driver. Radio contact with the vehicle allowed the pilot to request tow speed adjustments. Contrary to the appearance of wide open spaces, the tow track was restricted by lake bed surface conditions, so there were sometimes crosswinds.
As you may notice, there is a large amount of Schweizer 2-22 in the Goat design, and not by coincidence.
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Floyd Fronius returns to the Sylmar Flight Park and encounters a speed limit for dogs as well as an allowance for Goats. It's Sunday, April 22, 2012, and the Red Goat is at Kagel (Kagel Mountain Launch, Sylmar Flight Park, near Los Angeles, California). Floyd rolled off the Towers launch and spent a good while in the air, although the lift was small and sparse. His landing at the flight park was recorded by a local on video ( Goat at Kagel ).
Kagel still appeals to me as the perfect place to fly an airchair.
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Here's Floyd F. in the Red Goat, flying at Torrey Pines in San Diego, a photo that appeared in the local newspaper, the San Diego Union. He's way out over the ocean, maybe he's whale watching.
