FlyBC's Paragliding Site of the Day Page - from the Universe's Largest Paragliding Centre :-)

Date	Site	Forecast	Winds @ 3000' in kilometers	Lapse Rate °C/1000' Cloud Base in Meters	Comments
08-07-2020	FlyBC is closed until August 16	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers early this morning. High 20. UV index 6 or high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Coaches Corner - FlyBC is closed for vacation until August 16. FlyBC is open and offering training and shuttles with COVID-19 social distancing/separation practices in place. Recommended options for hike & fly sites include: Benny, Lil Nic, or Elk Mtn. FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are open for clients that complete the 2020 waivers below, print them out and show up with them signed to fly into the Ranch. You can download the waivers below and sign & witness the waivers to be scanned to FlyBC E-Mail and also to have the hard copies dropped off with one of our staff. FlyBC waiver. WCSC waiver. HPAC waiver. New Square Online Storefront prices listed are temporary for testing and do not reflect BC PST which has to be added manually if you want to place an order.
08-06-2020	FlyBC is closed until August 16	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain. High 20.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - no flying today as a rain storm drenched the Lower Mainand. Used Gear List: Updated August 5, 2020 Harnesses for Sale: Gin Genie Lite 3 POD - new 2020 model - $2400 CDN Supair Access Airbag harnesses (new) - $650 without reserve (great lightweight harness) Supair Radical 3 reversible airbag harnesses - $850 without reserve Gin Yeti Xtreme 2 - hike and fly - $400 Thin Red Line original hiking harness - $150 Ozone Ozium S Harness - $1400 CDN without reserve Used Ozium I M harness - $500 SupAir Delight 3 Medium or Large harnesses - $1700 without reserve SupAir Delight 3 Large demo harnesses - $1300 without reserve Assorted used harnesses from $350 CDN. Speedwings for Sale: SkyCountry 15 metre Descent Speedwing - 20 short flights - $950 Ozone Rapi-Dos 13 metre - demo with no flights - $2400 AirDesign Susi3 - 13 to 18 metre mini-wing - EN-B - 2020 Models - $3200 CDN Reserves for Sale: HA Beamer 3 Reserves - 130 kgs model - $1300 CDN HA Beamer 3 Light Reserves - 130 kgs model - $1550 CDN SupAir Shine Light Round Reserves - all sizes - $850 CDN Paragliders for Sale: All our used paragliders come with a porosity report and valid Inspection Certificate. Nova DoubleSkin - EN-B - new for 2019 in 17 & 20 sizes at FlyBC - $4000 CDN - besides the 2.1 kg weight and small pack volume, a 1 year warranty/replacement plan is a key selling point - damage is covered for a full 2 years once registered with Nova Protect. Nova Prion 4 - EN-A - new for 2019 in all sizes in demo stock here at FlyBC - $3200 CDN - includes a hiking harness and radio and all taxes - a great deal to close out the season - A 1 year warranty/replacement plan is a key selling point - damage is covered for a full 2 years once registered with Nova Protect. UP K3 lightweight tandem - small size - $2000 Niviuk Skin P 2 - white/blue single skin that weighs nothing - 4 hours - 75-95 kgs - EN-B - $1800 CDN Gin Explorer - MS size 75-95 kgs - EN-B - under 100 hours with a small repair professionally sewn - $2400 CDN Gin Bonanza 2 - 85-105 Med - 2019 - Excellent shape - $4000 Ozone Geo 6 L - 95 - 115 kgs - 2019 Model - $3200 - excellent shape with under 5 flights Ozone Mojo 6 SM - 75-95 kgs - 2019 Model - $3200 - excellent shape with 50 flights and no damage Gradient Golden 5 - 2019 Model - $2500 - new shape with under 20 flights - EN-B - good trainer to intermediate glider Ozone Alpina3 S - 2019 Model - $3500 - new shape with under 10 flights Ozone Alpina3 MS - 2018 Model - $2200 - good shape with under 150 hours
08-05-2020	FlyBC is closed until August 16	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. Fog patches dissipating early this morning. High 28. Humidex 31. UV index 9 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was closed for vacation until August 16, but Randy, David & Dave flew one short sleddie today.
08-04-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 29. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - we went up to Woodside around 3 pm for a flight with Derek, Martin N, Bev, Norm, Jay & Ryan M. We were not expecting much as the inversion lingers in the valley and it was not that windy, but as Martin launched he got hoovered just to the right of launch. Derek was off next and they were both above launch. I launched third and was soaring nicely too. We got to 1000 metres tops and everyone stayed up as long as they wanted. After 45 minutes I noticed Norm heading east and Derek was close behind him when I mentioned going to the golf course instead. Martin, Ryan and Jay followed me that way and I was getting 22 kph into wind and maintaining nicely as I got near the bridge. Martin took a wider line to allow him to go to the Ranch if he sunk out. Jay was quite higher and behind us all, not sure where we were headed. I crossed over the water downwind of the bridge and hit nice +1.0 m/s up lift everywhere. Martin joined me and we thermalled up to 500 metres on the north side of the river with ease. Jay joined us and we were doing upwind laps still climbing. Martin's tracklog does not show how far upwind we went as he has only 10 minute tracking. Meanwhile over on Vancouver Island an un-named pilot got into some trouble sinking out into a forested area and declaring an emergency as they were hung up in a tree but safe. Folks got prepared and pilot was soon on the ground and safe, with help from many in the valley!
08-03-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks okay	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Bridal Report - Martin N was flying Bridal under cloudy skies and was 30 minutes into a nice flight and he flew out to some sunny patches near launch and suddenly had -2.5 m/s down all the way to the LZ. Not one bit of lift al the way in and then he got dumped on final too. Weird day. We did not fly Woodside as it looked too stable.
08-02-2020	Clearwater	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Clearwater Report - another stable day of flying reported so we stayed at Sun Peaks to hang out. Peter flew his new Ozone Delta 4 a few flights and reported that he gets +18 kph on speedbar, can't wait for some long triangles from him soon.
08-01-2020	Clearwater Fly-In Weekend	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Clearwater Fly-In Weekend - we headed to the Clearwater Fly-In Weekend event as this is our first days of vacation. Big turnout with 45 pilots flying. Conditions were somewhat stable on the first day, but everone got at least 30 minutes of light soaring. The LZ is 75 acres of hay field and right next to the local store, complete with beer and other cold drinks. Camping was a bit primitive so we opted to stay at Sun Peaks, 90 minutes away. Less bugs and a warm bed and hot-tub. Thanks to Willy and Sigi for the great briefings and organization.
07-31-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks windy today so early flying	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 29. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside looked windy so we started at 9 am. We got one student flight in and then we had three tandems to do we got them ready at noon. Kevin launched first, followed by Derek and they both needed ballasting even with 220 lb passengers on board. Open trimmers to keep going forward and they had great flights landing at the Harvest Airport area. Andrei stood down as his wing is too slow and old, but it was a good thing as his passenger later told us that he had a bad back and has been off work for 10 years because of it. Needless to say the students could not fly so they went kiting.
07-30-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good for flying	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 28. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was good for 2 student flights before it blew out.
07-29-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good for flying	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Steve and a few other students were flying today with great results.
07-28-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks great for flying	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside or Bridal looked good and we planned to meet students at 10 am. Colleen had a meeting in Sechelt with a colleague and I flew here over early in the Cessna T337B. 35 minute flight time from Chilliwack vs 2+ hours driving and a ferry lineup each way made this an easy decision. Here we are loading at Chilliwack, full tanks and clear skies! We flew just outside Class C over the North Shore and talked only to Harbour Tower for a few minutes. Landing at Sechelt was uneventful with light east winds. Nice little airstrip, every town shoukld have an airstrip like the US has. The air over Vancouver was quite smoggy due to the inversion. I was back at the Ranch by 1030 am for students and they flew all day. I headed back at 6 pm to get Colleen and we were at dinner by 8 pm at the Ranch.
07-27-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside or Bridal looked good for students so we flew here three flights before the winds picked up. Steve is doing well and he picked up an Ozone Element 3 for his personal wing and he is doing perfect reverse launches on it in any wind condition!
07-26-2020	Savona for students today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Savona Report - Savona for a student weekend and our last day here. Dan was recently signed off and he was flying when we arived but then it got too windy and he flew his Ozone FireFly 2 16 metre. After waiting an hour for it to calm down we headed bak to Woodside to bag an evening flight to finish the weekend P-1 class.
07-25-2020	Savona for students	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Savona Report - we were in Savona for the weekend. Forecast said West winds at up to 30 kph but we had steady 20k+ east winds so we stayed on the Dump Ridge for Maria, Spencer and Steve and they logged 7 flights for their first day here. Here is Maria kiting our 15 metre speedwing as it was too windy for a big wing. Jaime is a signed off P-2 and he was having fun flying and top-landing today.
07-24-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks wet and windy today so no flying	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 22. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 200° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Rain Report - Woodside or Bridal looked wet & windy so we went to Savona for a student weekend.
07-23-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly sunny. High 30. Humidex 35. UV index 9 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside looked good until it got too windy. I called the day for students, but did take Remy for a tandem flynig with Derek, Colleen, Martin N. It was mildly soarable with us all getting 50 metres above launch and after 30 minutes I headed west to try a golf course run. We had just enough height to cross at the Harrison Bridge at 400 metres when we hit a sheer layer that was quite turbulent, I think coming off Harrison Knob as we were downwind of it. Winds on the tree tops looked south so we headed back to the HG LZ and we made it back to land in the normal field which was just hayed. Nice smooth landing! Colleen opted to land at Eagle Ranch and she too hit a crappy layer at 300 metres, definitely not student friendly. I advised Derek & Martin that I could retrieve them at the HG LZ as I go picked up by Megan. I later retrieved the guys in the CanAm Defender, road legal for 100 metres from our farm. The XCBC pilots went to Savona today and it looks like HillBilly Bill had the longest flight into Kamloops. The rest of the group did triangles and landed at or near the International LZ.
07-22-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain early. High 24. UV index 9 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside had early rains and when it cleared it got too windy, but it was a good errand day. The guys at XCBC are doing many XC routes this week, and Richard B flew from Revy to Golden with a bold line. Many of the other participants flew triangles and out & returns back to Revy Resort.
07-21-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly sunny. High 30. Humidex 35. UV index 9 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside hosted Randy & Scott T for a early flight and then as Derek took off at 1 pm on a tandem he deemed it too windy for students.
07-20-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly sunny. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 30. Humidex 35. UV index 9 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1100 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was flyable but I took the day off for errands and chores. But the XCBC Team had a great day in Golden BC, flying down to Canal Flats for 150 kms of straight line distance. Here is Bill G's tracklog, one of our former students now Instructing in Revelstoke/Williams Lake.
07-19-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 28. Humidex 33. UV index 10 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1100 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside delivered today and did not get too windy. Amir got his first flight in today, and Dan logged 5 flighs including a run to Harvest. Chris brought out his daughter and her friend for a tandem so I took them Tri-dem. Later in the day I got a call that someone had landed in the trees at Bridal LZ, so Derek was called in to extract said glider. Second one this year in the past month alone, folks need a landing briefing.
07-18-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Clearing this morning. High 26. Humidex 30. UV index 10 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1100 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was good for two great flights and then it got too windy. Mayam and Priscelle were our only students and they both got two flights. Jonathon and Priscelle were thermalling together but she got higher than him. We then went to Mission with newest student Amir for some training hill fun but it was too cross for the hill but great on the flats.
07-17-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 25. Humidex 26. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1100 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside had a mixed bag of weather today: morning drizzle, great kiitng winds but cloudbase was at 400 metres, and when launch cleared it was too windy to fly at first. I had just Priscelle and Maryam today for lessons and they were kiting well! When it calmed down on the webcam we went to launch. Priscelle did some launch duffs but was soon in the air and climbing nicely. The thermals over the construction zone looked rough so I had her divert to the HG LZ but some confusion arose so she continued on to Eagle Ranch practicing her speed bar use and she landed fine in our LZ. The new NOVA Aonic is a great "into wind glider" and it handled the turbulence well without a tip tuck. Good speed too for a EN-A wing! Derek, Martin, Maryam, Priscelle and I headed back up to launch but there was more sun and it got increasingly windy. Ultimately, no one flew or even unpacked there gear.
07-16-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 25. Humidex 26. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1100 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was too windy by 10 am so Ken worked on his paramotor trike. I went to Chilliwack and flew the Skymaster T337B to Pemberton to drop off gear and pick up a new Top80 powered paramotor. A 35 minute flight sure beats traffic thru Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky corridor for 4.5 hours! This shot shows cloudbase at about 4000 feet along Harrison Lake. Nice visit with Guy and also Ian P who have been locked down in Pemby during the pandemic, good place to be locked down! Pretty bumpy coming back to Chilliwack at 4 pm, with a 20 knot wind on the nose and lots of thermic actitivty. Buzzed the Ranch at 175 mph to let Colleen know I was back at about 800 feet. Worst crosswinds I have experienced at Chilliwack Airport so far but once you get one of the mains planted it goes down the runway straight with 2 tonnes of metal gripping the pavement.
07-15-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit windy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 25. Humidex 26. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1100 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was great for a few flights before it got too windy at 11:30 am. Ken got one student round in landing out when he forgot the waypoints from last years training, so back to the landing briefings. The rest of the day was blown out for Woodside but Derek and Dennie got a few hours at Bridal (but said it was probably too windy).
07-14-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but maybe a bit widy in the afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 25. Humidex 26. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1100 metres	Woodside Report - we got Mark his first two Woodside solo flights in today after many days in Savona practicing. Good conditions for his first flight with excellent guiding by Colleen & James E. And as forecasted, it got windy by 2 pm. But the hangies showed up and headed up and had great flights til 6 pm. Landings looked a bit thermic at the HG LZ though?
07-13-2020	Woodside/Bridal looks good today but I am running errands and appointments in Vancouver til after 3 pm	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. Clearing this morning. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 24. Humidex 26. UV index 11 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside or Bridal looked good but there was strong wind in the local forecast. I was in PoCo doing errands when I saw some very nice cloud streets from Benny to points east. Later in the day we went to the golf course and saw some hangies thermalling over Woodside and heard Alex R talking about flying from Benny to Bridal and he was going to top land at Upper Bridal to cut some trees down. It looks like his goal was met by his tracklog. Thomm took this picture from the marshes in the Harrison River and the CUs were still poppin'.
07-12-2020	Savona looks good today	Woodside Forecast Savona Forecast: Mainly sunny. Wind becoming southeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 this afternoon. High 27. UV index 9 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Savona Report - Savona looked windy today for training as the forecast said SW 20 gusting to 50 kph. But Dan managed to get 3 flights off the Toilet Bowl before it blew out on his Ozone Firefly2. And then on the 3rd hike up the winds hit and fast. Then it was thunder and lightning for the rest of the drive home.
07-11-2020	Savona looks good today	Woodside Forecast Savona Forecast: Mainly sunny. Wind becoming southeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 this afternoon. High 27. UV index 9 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Savona Report - Savona was strong today for training and tandems. Good thing I brought the 15 metre speedwing for Mark to kite and Dan brought his 16 metre Ozone Firefly 2. It was blowing about 25 kph at times and smooth enough for Dan to get 4 flights off the Dump Ridge. Mark was content kiting and he switched to the XS Prion 4 later in the day as it calmed down. I took the XS Aonic for a flight earlier to check the air and it was spicy even loaded up 15 kgs over the top of the weight range. I soared a few passes and was going up and backwards most of the time and had to pump it hard to cut through the lift band to topland. The students stayed on the mini-wings for the rest of the day! We moved to the Mid Launch when the winds swung to the south but it was too cross so we waited. Eventually it calmed down enough for Dan to get 5 more flights into the Toilet Bowl later in the evening.
07-10-2020	Savona looks good today	Woodside Forecast Savona Forecast: Mainly sunny. Wind becoming southeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 this afternoon. High 27. UV index 9 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Savona Report - Savona was windy today for training and tandems but we managed a few short flights at Lac de Bois Grasslands. I have been eyeing this site for a while, since we drive by it on the way to Sun Peaks and it is close to Kamloops. It was too windy at the Savona Dump Ridge but okay here and Priscelle did a short flight while Mark was kiting the speedwing improving his kiting skills. The good news is that we can use the Can Am Defender here for shuttling as it is a designated offroad site.
07-09-2020	Woodside looks wet today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain. High 21. UV index 6 or high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was rained out.
07-08-2020	Woodside looks good today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. Becoming cloudy near noon. High 21. UV index 6 or high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside looked good today for training and tandems. We first went tandem with new student Mark at noon and we had a great flight getting high over launch for 30 minutes and then Mark flew me out to the Ranch to practice his approaches. A bit windy in the LZ but he landed fine with Mark on his feet. We then went back up to get Mackenzie her Birthday Tandem and I fully expected it to be blow out as we did not get to launch til 3 pm. But when we arrived on top it was perfect! I launched first with Jacek in the launch slot behind us and we went straight to the South Knoll and the first thermal, which was quite strong! I only had a SkyBean vario so no record of the climbs. Jacek launched after about 15 minutes and found a very good climb in the gulley and was soon above us so we went over to his thermal and it was way smoother. We climbed out to 1100 metres and headed east to some yummy clouds forming over Agassiz Mtn. Good climbs near the Ice Cream/Cheese Shop but if we landed for ice cream that would cut short our flight, so on to Green Hill. More nice clouds forming along Green Hill taking us towards Agassiz, lift everywhere. We overflew Agassiz town at 800 metres checking out the air there and the town was creating some nice lift too out over the flats. Mackenzie was enjoying the flight despite the bumps and so many turns and she was looking down a lot and she found a bear grazing near the Research Farm. We descended into the High School for a nice landing. Jacek joined us and while he was packing up we went for ice cream at the PetroCanada gas station. John W retrieved us with Mackenzie's mom and family in tow in their van.
07-07-2020	Woodside looks good today except for some wind mid-afternoon	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers this morning and early this afternoon. High 20. UV index 6 or high.	Woodside: 200° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside looked rainy and windy but we managed to make a great day of it anyway. There were showers in the morning as we did ground school briefings. Rather than wait for the grass to dry out, we headed to Mission. It was dry with light SW winds in Heritage Park. Bev helped with the students down on the flats and when they got better I took them up the hill to fly down. We got 5 flights for the newbies before taking them to Woodside. The higher winds never came til 5 pm, so we managed to get one flight in before it got strong. Last reports from KVA was he was at 1300 metres with little forward speed so he headed east towards Agassiz. On the way down I met a new Woodside resident Grouse near 3 kms, who would not move for me to pass. Ozone Swift 5 MS - 2019 Model - $4500 CDN inc taxes - still in plastic bag from the factory - owner broke his ankle hiking and can not fly for this season. red/orange Ozone Alpina2 ML - 2016 Model - $1500 - great shape with under 90 hours Ozone Magnum 2 Tandem great big boy glider or for paramotor trike flying with 80 hours - 41 metre size - $1500 CDN SupAir Taska S - Red - 30 hours - 75-95 kgs - EN-C - $3000 CDN SupAir Taska M - Blue - 80 hours - 85-105 kgs - EN-C - $3000 CDN Paramotors for sale: Kangook Lite Frame with Compact Radial MZ100 power. High hang point harness with option to add swing-arms for extra cost. $5500 CDN including taxes with only 4 hours of run time. Kangook Lite Frame with Cors-Air Black Bee (125 cc). High hang point harness with option to add swing-arms for extra cost. $7000 CDN including taxes with only 1 hours of run time. So excited to soon see the new Kangook Lite Frame with Corsair Black Bee 125 power. The factory is building it now. BlackHawk 125Lite Paramotor the new 125Lite Paramotor, 5 lbs lighter than the previous model - $7995 CDN for our Demo with 2 years warranty with Core glider of your size. BlackHawk 125 Lite Paramotor We also have two slightly used Kangook Lite Frames with HE 125 and Moster 185 engines for $4500 and $5000 CDN.
07-06-2020	Woodside looks good today except for too much wind so we are headed to Savona	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy. High 21. UV index 6 or high.	Woodside: 200° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Savona Report - Woodside looked windy today so I took the four graduating students to Savona for the day and it paid off. Big thanks to David, Jeff, Scott and Brayden for following me to this destination with an uncertain forecast! They got it done today. We arrived at 10 am to light SW winds on the mid launch and got 5 flights here and some light thermalling, I had little to do but shuttle them up to launch and observe their takeoffs. No guiding needed here. Scott and Brayden needed 2 more flights to reach Number 25 and we got 7 flights today in total. We also did two runs up to Oscar's Launch in the Defender and what a fast way to get up there! 60-70 kph on the road and 40 kph+ on the offroad sections. On the last run the thermals finally kicked in and Scott & Brayden were having a nice thermal flight as I arrived at the Crash Pad on the last flight. They were having so much fun they did not realize the east wind had kicked in and they were drifting away from the Crash Pad. I suggested they head upwind but it was too late as they hit sink and headwind and ended up in the Toilet Bowl.
07-05-2020	Woodside looks good for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. Fog patches dissipating late this morning. High 23. UV index 11 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was good early on as we watched Denny climb out on his tandem at 1130 am. I had six students with varying experience and they all flew the first flight with Maria doing the last launch of the first round and it was bumpy for her by noon. The second flight had everyone thermalling out over the construction zone and north with good approaches into Eagle Ranch despite the wind strength. We went to lunch and regrouped at 3:30 pm for a third flight. After an extensive briefing with the students about where Irwin's Airstrip was and the flight path to take, we headed up to launch with Colleen being the XC guide. Colleen launched after an hour of waiting and climbed immediately to 1200 metres. After 30 minutes of waiting for conditions to mellow enough, Brayden launched and headed to the South Knoll. And then Scott followed on the new NOVA Aonic and they all were climbing well. David was next on the Ozone Element 3 and he also climbed well despite it getting calmer and darker. Jeff was deciding not to fly at first and I agreed. I watched the three students in the air . . . one by one heading east to follow Colleen to the Airstrip and when I turned around, Jeff was laying out his wing. By now the cycles had died down to nothing so I suggested Jeff fly straight to the Ranch. He launched and headed west and I drove down. I got delayed by someone stuck going uphill without 4x4 and finally asked them to let me by so I could head east to retrieve the group. When I got to Lower Launch I couldn't see Jeff so I radioed him and he said he was stuck at 100 metres over the Construction Zone and I looked up and he was high and moving slowly forward. I said just keep on going and I drove down to get the folks at they dyke, where they were being devoured by mossies. When we got back Jeff said it took forever and he used "big ears" to get down over the maple tree beore landing in no wind. Lots of big XC flights at Benny, Bridal and Pemby today too. Pemby Vol-Biv Report - Nicole reported that they had a great day in Pemby. A large group of pilots top-landed on Copper Mound for a visit and a rest. As the day wore on most of them flew back to the LZ leaving Nicole, Alex and Al on top to camp out for the night. They had a perfect camp spot for the night but they woke up to low clouds and they had to wait for an opening to fly home. Sounds like more fun than "hucking chimps".
07-04-2020	Woodside looks good for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. 30 percent chance of drizzle early this morning. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud near noon. High 22. UV index 7 or high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1000 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside looked good for a few days and then more rain on Monday morning, so we stayed home today. It was foggy around launch til 11 am and then it opened up as Andrei and Dennie did the first of 4 tandems. I launched Brayden and Scott first and they were in the air when launch closed in again but they are up to 20 flights and know the approach sequence quite well. When it opened up I launched Jeff for his 11th flight and as he flew out to the opening in the clouds he was in the clear and the clouds rolled in again but our landing briefings made it a non-issue as he had a great landing. And then by noon it was all clear and great cycles for the students. Despite the high laspe rate, there was no sun so it was all smooth thermals. And then when the sun did come out around 3 pm, it was glorious thermals for safe thermalling practice for the students. Here is David welll above launch on our Element 3 Large demo that is for sale. Oh, and if you are coming out bring a mosquito head net and bug spray. It is the worst mossy season since 2012.
07-03-2020	Savona for the day	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 25. Humidex 28. UV index 11 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Savona Report - Woodside was forecast to have rain all day so I said lets go to Savona for the day. We arrived at the Dump Ridge at 9 am and it was perfect! Straight laminar wind and not rain. We had six students ranging from 0 flights to 7 flights and they all did very well. Mark D came with his friend Josef who just started this week and Mark offered to drive the Can Am Defender for retrieves and he went down to get two students at a time so there was no hiking required. First flights for Priscelle, David and Jeff. We flew here til 2 pm getting 6-7 flights each before the wind switched to SW. We moved the entire crew and cars to the Crash Pad where it was light SW and headed up to the Mid-Launch. Light cycles but some had reverse launches while others did forward launches (a good mix of skills required). Some soaring over the rocks. Good approaches by all with just a few sagebrush encounters. We quit at 5 pm after most had 10 flights! But also the winds switched back to east and we were all tired so we headed home to find it still raining at Woodside at 8 pm. Savona delivered!
06-29-2020 to July 2-2020	Woodside looks wet for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain. High 15. Humidex 28. UV index 11 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside had torrential rains most of the week, so lots of indoor ground school stuff but no flying. Savona, Merritt and Hedley were all rained out too.
06-28-2020	Woodside looks good for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 25. Humidex 28. UV index 11 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside had low clouds til 11 am so we did some kiting before heading up to launch. We arrived on top with four new students and launch was busy with tandems and other pilots. Colleen launched first and went to cloudbase immediately. She suggested "big ears" orientation might be a good idea for the new students. The students all launched great and Colleen flew out to land them at Eagle Ranch. We managed three student rounds despite the weird winds that never matched the RASP. Good thing as it was supposed to get windy but it remained calm.
06-27-2020	Woodside looked wet but we had many new students so we organized a ground school session	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. High 18. Humidex 28.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside had rain foreecast for the morning but the new class needed ground school so we kept the school open today. After a few hours of ground school and gear selection and fitting, the rain stopped and we heded out to the Eagle Ranch LZ to kite. Great forward and reverse conditions and everyone was ready to launch by noon. Here is Priscelle on a nice new NOVA Aonic XS doing reverse practice. We headed to Mission for training hill practice and everyone got 5-6 great flights readying them for high flights.
06-26-2020	Woodside looks good for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 25. Humidex 28. UV index 11 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Trip Report - Woodside looked good today but I had to go to Kamloops in the morning to get the Cessna T337B from the shop after a long repair. I drove the Tracker to Kamloops at 5:30 am and arrived at the shop at 8:00 am to test run the rear engine. Testing was good and I headed South at 8500 feet straight over the rocks to Chilliwack. Closer to Spuzzum intersection I had to descend to 6500 feet to remain VFR and also to start my descent into Hope. Beautiful sun rays in Hope. Colleen picked me up in Chilliwack where we had a nice breakfast before heading back to train more students. We had a great day at Woodside with three student runs in great conditions.
06-25-2020	Woodside looks good for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 25. Humidex 28. UV index 11 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was great today with 4 student runs and clear skies. We arrived on launch to find an un-named student pilot in the trees below the HG Ramp. Witnesses said the pilot took off cleanly and took a frontal collapse and by the time the glider re-opened they were in the trees. Safe but unable to reach the ground. 911 was called and initially SAR was called. Sometime later the RCMP took charge of the rescue and called in their RAP team to rescue the pilot. We decided to launch a few pilots because they said no choppers were needed for the rescue. I did a tandem at 1:30 pm and the glider was still in the tress and a dozen RCMP vehicles were still on the spur road. Jeremy headed home after 5 flying days with us with a new NOVA Aonic L to practice his free flying skills back in Grand Forks, what a nice wing for a great pilot!
06-24-2020	Woodside looks wet today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain. High 20. Humidex 28.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside had rain so we just did ground school in the Barn.
06-23-2020	Woodside looks good for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 25. Humidex 28. UV index 11 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was good on Tuesday and we did four student runs.
06-22-2020	Woodside looks good for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 24. UV index 12 or extreme.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 900 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside provided for nice flights even when the high cloud rolled in. I had 2 paramotor students here training on the Tow Winch and we had Jeremy do his first 4 tows with great height. Newest student Micah had three tows but they were less controlled so I had to dump tension before we could get much height. After lunch we took Jeremy to the top of the mountain and he got two high flights while Micah worked on the training hill. Reports from Bridal of 4 hour+ flights and James R flew for 2.5 hours at Benny so the valley is still working!
06-21-2020	Savona for the weekend	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain in the morning. High 27. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Savona Report - Savona for the morning then home for the evening. Jeremy arrived on time and ready to start his paramotor lessons. We started out on the Crash Pad kiting on the little hill and Jeremy was in perfect control right from the start. After an hour of forward launching we headed up to the 4 km launch. Colleen stayed in the Crash Pad to guide Jeremy into the landing phase. Jeremy had a perfect launch in 15 kph of west winds and started climbing. He got about 4 passes out over the Crash Pad and came in to a tippy-toe landing. He was pumped! We were back up on top for another flight right away and we had to wait for a cycle and he was off again with a perfect aunch into 20 kph of wind and more thermalling. Quite a few pilots flew off the Upper Oscar's Launch and were beaming up to the clouds. Reports of one PG pilot that flew from Savona to Kamloops on Thursday so it has been working here nicely. We were getting ready to head back up to 4 km when the wind switched to East and strong? Forecast said SW at 20 kph for the afternoon but the Lake Effect set up a nice smooth easterly flow so we went to the Dump Ridge to kite and hopefully fly there but it was a bit gusty so we just kited. After an hour of reverse kiting we headed home. It was quite gusty on the ground at Eagle Ranch when we arrived at 5 pm, so I sent Jeremy home. Then around 6 pm reports from Degas of great launch conditions got Derek & Colleen excited so I drove for them as all my kit was sold lately. Jonathon & Thomas were also on top and flew off for their second "Hike & Fly" of the day. Great soaring conditions as Colleen took off on her Taska S. Everyone soared around for an hour and Derek suggested landing at the Golf Course. I drove Derek's truck down very carefully as the road is crap. Derek & Colleen both landed right at 8 pm by the swimming pool and packed up but the restaurant had closed so we had a beer on the lawn and watched Jonathon & Thomas still soaring above Woodside for a toal of about 3-4 hours of flight time today.
06-20-2020	Savona for the weekend	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain. High 19. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Savona Report - we were up in Savona for the weekend. Jonathon and Priscilla met me at the Dump Ridge but after seeing Jonathon get dragged across the top we decided it was too strong to train Priscilla there! We went into Singh Park in Kamloops and despite the gusty conditions she did really well kiting the NOVA Prion 4 that was a bit too big for her. After an hour she could forward and reverse launch with great skill.
06-19-2020	Savona for the weekend	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain. High 17. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Savona Report - we were up in Savona for the weekend. Windy at times but flyable off the new 4 km launch spot for newbies.
06-18-2020	Woodside looks good on Thursday but Colleen & I are heading to Lilooett & Savona for the weekend	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 22. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Lillooet Report - Woodside looked good on Thursday but Colleen & I went to Lillooett for a hike and then on to Savona for the weekend. We had a lovely 8 km hike along the Seton Canal where we saw signs saying to beware of Cougars and Bears in the area. No wild animals were spotted. After the hike we went to the Fort Berens Winery for lunch. The skies were blue except for a nice CU that kept forming to the NW. There were CUs popping along the Seton Lake area to the west as well and I thought it looked like a good XC day from Pemberton. Later in the day I found out that Gary P had flown to Lillooet from Pemby! Curtis flew along with Gary and landed further south in Lytton. Big flights!
06-17-2020	Woodside looks good today for student flights	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 22. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 200° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Woodside Report - I was training pilots at Woodside Wednesday after 10 am. Great launch cycles and super boyant air made for an easy day of training. We arrived to find the outhouse tipped over by some idiots. Also a new fire in the middle of the parking lot likely full of nails yet again. A group of pilots helped get it back into place, but it still needs some work but it is functional. Nelson was trying out a new Delight pod today and got high! Newest student Randy got three great flights and landed on his feet most of the time. Pilots flying Bridal had hard work today as the sun never filtered througgh, but 10 of them were "knob-bobbing".
06-16-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers so we are headed to Savona for a few days	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers in the morning. High 18. UV index 7 or high.	Woodside: 240° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Woodside Report - we went to Savona for Tuesday and had a great day until 2 pm when it started to sprinkle on us and the clouds looked ominous. We arrived on time and saw Mickey fly off the 4 km mid-launch spot and the air was smooth. Light west winds. The new Can Am Defender side-by-side is almost fitted out for these outings, just a soft bimini top is all we need in case of rain. That is happening this week. I had George, Randy and Sebastian along today. Guy & Rod also had some students here too flying off the mid-launch. It was busy but lots of room to lay out gliders and check lines while others are launching. Randy got two flights off the mid launch and one off the toilet bowl. George had a failed launch off the mid launch when he failed to maintain his flight path and skinned his knuckles on some rock. Oddly two other pilots ended up in the same spot but were unscathed. Sebastian only got one flight off the toilet bowl but he was so happy he was singing in the air all the way to his landing! When I arrived back at Eagle Ranch, Derek and Bev and Martin were still gloatng about their awesome glassoff flight complete with "cloudsuck". Martin was able to top-land to drive Derek's truck down.
06-15-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers and gusty winds	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. High 18. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC only did ground school sessions today with Randy and George.
06-14-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers and gusty winds so we called off lessons	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. High 18. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - light rain all day so no lessons were held.
06-13-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers and gusty winds so we are headed to Savona for the weekend FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. High 18. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Savona Report - FlyBC was training pilots in Savona today. We had light west winds so we started flying Randy off the 3 km launch which is 100 metres above the Crash Pad. Randy had 3 flights off here practicing his forward launches. Colleen was waiting in the truck to guide Randy in for soft landings.
06-12-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers and gusty winds so we are headed to Savona for the weekend FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. High 18. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Savona Report - FlyBC was training pilots in Savona but it was too windy and it was sprinkling at times.
06-11-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers and gusty winds so we are headed to Savona for the weekend FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. High 18. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Savona Report - FlyBC was training pilots in Savona and we had great conditions on the Dump Ridge. Rod and Micky were there flying too and had some good soaring. The only pic I got was of Rod below launch but he did manage to soar and top land later.
06-10-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers and gusty winds so we are headed to Savona for the weekend FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. High 18. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training paramotors at Eagle Ranch today after 10 am. We did 10 tows with Randy, some to the north . . . some to the east . . . some to the north again in wacky winds. He will soon be ready for his Kangook Moster 185 unit!
06-09-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers and gusty winds FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A few showers ending this afternoon then a mix of sun and cloud. Gusty winds. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Savona Report - FlyBC headed to Savona Dump Ridge at 10 am. We arrived to strong gusty east winds and waited . . . . and waited. We headed to Cache Creek Airport and it was west with no ridges aligned with the wind and muddy ground. Back to Savona and it was still howling! Charles did a speed wing run twice from the Dump Ridge and it was gusty. Everyone left and we headed to Ashcroft with new paramotor student Randy and he got 2 hours of good kiting in the park.
06-08-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers and gusty winds FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A few showers ending this afternoon then a mix of sun and cloud. Gusty winds. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training on paramotors at Eagle Ranch today after 10 am. Wet conditions but good for ground school and simulator tests. We headed north to Savona in the afternoon.
06-07-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Risk of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. High 16. UV index 5 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was doing paramotor training at Woodside today after 10 am. We tried the high hangpoint Kangook 125 with the Alpina 2 with no succcess. The best hang point system is the Swan arms on Kangook & the Weight Shift Kit on the Blackhawk Paramotor. It gets the brakes at a more natural location for launch and flight. Charles had no problem launching the Blackhawk 125 Lite motor with the NOVA Aonic but by the time he landed it had gotten too gusty to try the Alpina 2. If did calm down later around 6 pm but it was dinner time so maybe tomorrow will work?
06-06-2020	Woodside looks iffy today with 60% chance of showers FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Risk of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. High 16. UV index 5 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training at Woodside today after 10 am. We did some paramotor lessons with Charles early on and then took him flying off Woodside to get used to the Ozone Alpina 2 I recommended for him. He is an experienced speed wing pilot, skydiver and airplane pilot and wants something sportier than an EN-B wing. His first launches with the Alpina 2 were solid despite the gusty thermic conditions. Charles, Jaime and Martin Z were the only pilots launching this round as the others had gone XC. All three pilots climbed out fast and I caught some of Charles thermalling technique here. Not bad for a guy used to going down fast! Degas created this movie of local flying at Woodside . . . the best place in BC for students and pros!
06-05-2020	Woodside looked good today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training at Woodside today after 10 am. I stayed down in the Eagle Ranch LZ to launch two new paramotor pilots while Bev took the group up to launch. Jarod has been here all week free-flying and was now deemed ready to Paramotor and he did really well with a 30 minute flight all around Harrison Mills, out to the bridge and back several times getting confident on the Blackhawk 125 Lite motor. Charles is a speed wing pilot, sky diver and airplane pilot and he did 2 flights on the same Blackhawk 125 Lite paramotor using the new Nova Aonic glider. This new A wing from NOVA is looking really good for free flight and paramotoring! Josh logged his 25th paragliding training flight and wrote his exam and he is now a signed off pilot and wants Carlos' Swift 4 soon! We only logged 2 flights today before it "blew out". John M made it out to the Ranch but it took an hour! Norm headed east to the airstrip where it was much smoother.
06-04-2020	Woodside looks good today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training at Woodside today at 9 am. We had a super day despite some rain being forecasted. First launches were in light winds at launch and in the air with very buoyant air. We had seven students with from 0 - 23 flights and they all did well. By the end of day around 6 pm we had flown 5 rounds and we had big smiles all around.
06-03-2020	Woodside was good today FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training at Woodside today after 11 am. We started the day at Mission Heritage Park brushing up on the forward launch skills in perfect straight-in cycles. Everyone got at least 5 flights with the new NOVA Aonic getting the best glide out to the middle of the LZ. Good day for all levels of pilots and the students got 3 flight today building solid skills in light winds. Josh hung out with the senior pilots and flew for 1:15 on the last flight of the day.
06-02-2020	Woodside looks good today . . . until noon and rain	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy with rain starting around noon. High 16. UV index 7 or high.	Woodside: 240° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training at Woodside early today. I launched Josh around 9:30 am and then prepped the SwiftMax tandem to take Maia for her first flight after 2 days of ground handling. We had a solid reverse launch despite the lame cycles (Josh had to do a forward launch). And then Maia flew the entire flight down to the downwind leg. We had a standup landing in the circle. Bev followed us in and Norm drove the Can Am down for us. We headed back up with Josh and Maia went back to the training hill for another session with Bev. Josh had a solid reverse launch flying the SupAir Step and as he left I felt the first sprinkles of rain (gotta get a canvas top made for the Can Am but if you drive fast enough the rain doesn't get you). And by noon we had heavy rains and we sent everyone home.
06-01-2020	Woodside looks good today FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 20. UV index 7 or high.	Woodside: 240° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training at Woodside today. We had a morning training session for John W on his ParaJet Paramotor in the wet grass. Mark followed him around on his Scout Paramotor. We did some tow training and got Al and Jarod four flights each, preparing them for higher flights. I then took a group of students up to launch and John captured the action. Some pretty sketchy takeoffs from the signed off P-2s!
05-31-2020	Woodside looks wet and windy today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Heavy Rain and Gusty winds. High 16. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside was wet and windy early on. When the sun finally came out late afternoon, I started a trail project to reopen the road from Riverside back to Kilby Road. This road is owned by Kent District but there is no maintenance and it had become overgrown with trees and blackberries. I took my tractor with brushmower and started clearing from the Kilby Road side. I mowed and brushed out 800 meters of the 1.7 km roadway bt had to stop there as the road is flooding from the Fraser River waterlevels as it is on the wet side of the dyke. Derek suggested starting from the Riverside section with chainsaws to open up that end manually and finish it up with the mower as the water recedes. If anyone is interested in helping on a windy day, contact us to arrange a time/date.
05-30-2020	Woodside looks wet today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 80 percent chance of showers. High 13. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside is rained out today.
05-29-2020	Woodside looks good today FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was training at Woodside today. We had a morning ground school session for three new students. Then Colleen took them out to the training hill while I flew Josh off Woodside. Bev came later and took over the ground handling sessions as Colleen had meetings to complete. I dropped in to check out the newbies and Dan was ready to launch so I took him up for his first solo flight. He had a great well controlled reverse launch on the Ultralite 4 and flew off like a pro!
05-28-2020	Woodside looks like outflow today	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 040° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Benny Report - it looked like outflow at Woodside today so I did a Benny reconn, which seems to have frustrated an un-named instructor in the said valley. Bev, Thomm and I met Neumann & Clark at the Forest Service Road and we headed up in the Can Am. When we arrived and were doing the briefing at the parking area we were being yelled at from someone on launch but we could not hear them. Eventually said un-named instructor came down to tell us we could not fly from this un-licensed Crown Land Launch. After telling him he had no authority to order anyone around I continued the briefing with Clark & Neumann (both P-2s from a few years ago). The un-named instructor claims to have an "exclusive agreement" with the LZ landowner (not his land) to allow only his students to land there. Research suggests there is no agreement and everyone is welcome to land there as long as we don't bother the horses, so land away from any four-legged animals. Clark flew first and then Neumann and they both landed at the Virtue LZ. If anyone needs a proper orientation briefing, we can provide that free of charge when we are available. History will show that many pioneered this site and attended work parties and FlyBC donated launch fabric and grass seed as well as labour for the first top launch build (which is no no long accessible except to hike & fly. There was a huge work party a few years back where many pilots came out to burn logging slash and stumps on Lower Benny, not understanding that this could somehow become a restricted site for one instructor to use. FlyBC has also created a few sites in the valley. Eagle Launch and Horsefly Launch were pioneered for outflow days and we never ever thought to restrict access or use of these sites (not that anyone can do this legally on Crown Land).
05-27-2020	Woodside looks good today FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly sunny. High 22. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Coaches Corner - FlyBC was training at Woodside today. Good cycles at launch and Josh was flying the Ozone Ultralite 4 23 today to give him an appreciation for light weight wings.
05-26-2020	Woodside looks good today FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was again at Woodside today. Josh was my only student and he is doing great logging three flights per day with ease.
05-25-2020	Woodside looks good today FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was flying Woodside today. I had Josh, Dave & David flying into Riverside for three flights to save the retrieve time. By the time I got down to the bottom in the Can Am Defender they were already at Woodside Inn. Three great landings for their first time in this different LZ.
05-24-2020	Woodside looks good today FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was flying Woodside today and it was busy. I launched three rounds of student flights and on the last round I decided to go flying too as the air looked so good. It was great to watch how well the 2020 graduation class was doing, as Jonathon was out-thermalling everyone on his Swift 4. I left the Can Am on launch so I had to top-land. I spent 1:37 in the air and 1:00 was trying to get in to top-land but it was too strong. I finally got in with a strange north approach and it worked. Later Thomas and Jacek also top landed!
05-20-2020 to 05-23-20	We are headed to Savona for May 20-24 to avoid the rains FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 17. UV index 8 or very high.	Woodside: 240° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Savona Report - FlyBC was in Savona for our P-2 Camps May 20-23. We were finishing off David, Dave and Jean. Josh had to bail when his car died but will be back soon. Saturday was great east wind soaring at the Dump Ridge from 9 am on. Here is Jean soaring on our Ozone Buzz Z6 Large which is available for sale with about 20 flights on it.
05-19-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - it was quiet at Woodside and just had 3 students and we decided after one bumpy flight into Eagle Ranch that it was too south and too strong to continue to our LZ so we started landing them at Riverside. Dave and David are over 30 flights now and they handled the strong conditions well today! Josh is at just 10 flights but also thermalled well and self landed in Riverside twice too.
05-18-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - it was busy at Woodside today with a great RASP forecast so about 30 pilots were out and heading XC east and west.
05-17-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - at the Ranch with new students getting near their signoffs and Ethan on his new Kangook Paramotor doing flight number 4 out of required 30.
05-16-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - it was busy at the Ranch with 4 new students getting near their signoffs and Ethan on his new Kangook Paramotor.
05-12-2020	We sare headed to Savona for May 12-15 FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and we are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Rain ending early this morning then cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers. Risk of thunderstorms this afternoon. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Savona Report - FlyBC was in Savona for our P-2 Camps this week, and we had a super time flying new students. Jean, Paul, Dave, David and Ethan all got between 2 and 10 flights each day depending on their skills and hiking stamina as they had to hike up the Dump Ridge after flying. Dave figured out how to top land so he got the most launches in! Ethan had a great time kiting our speed wing in the strong gusty conditions, keeping the wing overhead for 15 minutes at a time! Jean was also doing well on our Ultralite 4 in the strong stuff!
05-11-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open . . . and are offering training and shuttles with social distancing/separation practices.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 27. UV index 7 or high.	Woodside: 040° @ 25 kph subsiding by 3 pm	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - it was howling windy hee at Eagle Ranch but Jonathon and Sebastian kited for hours in the north winds. Then magically it quit blowing and the wind on top switched to strng inflow as the front moved inland. Derek and Jonathon came up with me to launch and Derek flew off first going up fast. Jonathon followed and had a great flight with a confusing approach despite Colleen's guidance.
03-31-2020 to 05-10-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch are back in business!	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers. High 9. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	COVID Report - we have had a busy spring with many new students that were training with us in Savona the past month. Savona is perfect because there is no shuttle required and students can "hike & fly" all day long and get really good with their ground handling skills while separated from each other. We have not been flying Bridal or Woodside much due to the shuttle issues, but others have been busy flying. The road to Woodside is horrible with nasty cross-ditches and many ruts caused by excessive traffic.
03-27-2020 to 03-30-20	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until April 18th for customers . . . and are not offering training or shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Periods of rain. Amount 5 mm. High 8. UV index 2 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Isolation Report - FlyBC is closed but we are here doing repacks and trim checks on gliders, send us your stuff or drop it off by prior appointment. No one is flying here due to the weather and the request by WCSC to suspend flying at local sites. Jeremy has been flying in AB though and sent me this nice video. Slightly off topic but it is still flying and if you scroll to 17:00 you can see Harrison Mills and landing an airplane at Sandpiper Golf Course (back when you could get dinner there).
03-26-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until April 18th for customers . . . and are not offering training or shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Windy. High 11. UV index 5 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Sun Peaks Report - we are up here practicing the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government. But it is kind of lonely as all but the grocery store is closed and not many people outdoors. But there were some people flying in Morrocco this week!
03-25-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until April 18th for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below but we are not offering training or shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: A mix of sun and cloud. High 12. UV index 5 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Sun Peaks Report - Colleen and are social isolating at Sun Peaks (which looks like a ghost town). We decided to go Cross Country Skiing today which turned into a disaster for me. I fell once on my back on the ice before getting onto a groomed run/track which actually straightened out my back. Then a few kms further, on a nice track I fell backwards again as my skis went out from under me but much harder this time. I was able to get back up and continue on our route. Ibuprofin and Aleve got me through the day and I was able to walk into town for some exercise. The Island Pilots are already going into withdrawal.
03-24-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below but we are not offering shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. Risk of a thunderstorm and hail late this afternoon. High 9. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	No Fly Report - It was raining and I am hoping folks take the WCSC advice and not fly during this weird time in our flying careers. FlyBC is closed until April 18th and not offering shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government. From WCSC Directors: As pilots, we're all familiar with balancing risk and reward. The current risks to ourselves, loved ones, the free flight community, and our larger society is such that we ask pilots to temporarily refrain from flying club sites. Refrain from hang gliding and paragliding! The healthcare system is close to being overburdened and is getting worse. Both search & rescue and injury treatment may be limited or unavailable and will pose significant additional risk to both yourself and the responders. Congregating on launch is not social distancing, carpooling and sharing the ride up is not social distancing. This applies to both regular flights and instruction. Best replacement for flying Health Authorities are unanimous in recommending everyone to stay home and avoid social contact. Highly recommended articles and podcasts: https://www.cloudbasemayhem.com/corona-virus-critical-choices-in-a-critical-time/ https://xcmag.com/magazine-articles/how-to-survive-the-coronavirus-layoff/ https://www.straight.com/life/1375486/covid-19-how-enjoy-bcs-beautiful-outdoors-responsibly-while-social-distancing https://xcmag.com/news/paragliding-and-hang-gliding-hit-by-coronavirus-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR3ecapXO2s-jYfEtgqrE25m5J6kzrEhnfm01gSBrUe_G0JwRVFVT97agjw Unfortunately, many people who are still in denial about the pandemic are flocking to the fewer remaining outdoor entertainment options, crowding trails etc. Don't be like patient 31 who single-handedly caused 80% of South Korea's infections by irresponsible socializing. If you choose to practice ground handling or kiting, please be aware that WCSC park usage permits have been suspended in many locations (see below). FlyBC is closed for kiting too until April 18th. Fraser Valley Repack clinic is postponed For those who have paid for the April 4th Fraser Valley Repack, We'll maintain your registration for the rescheduled event, or you can request a refund by emailing events@westcoastsoaringclub.com. Stay tuned for dates! Monthly "Last Friday of the Month" meetings are postponed. We are considering holding online presentations instead, we will let you know if that works. In-person training isn't recommended. Governments are already ordering various non-essential businesses to shut down. Please avoid in-person interactions with students, especially indoors and in vehicles. This outbreak will take a while to blow over, but a return to normal in the future can only happen if we do our part now. Municipal parks closures Our municipal park permits for Diefenbaker Park in Delta and Cleveland Park in North Vancouver are temporarily suspended as all users are not permitted in these parks. Pilots should NOT use these areas (including kiting or ground-handling) until advised otherwise. Diefenbaker will be reassessed on April 30th, 2020. Municipalities are closing other parks every day, we can't inform you of every closure. Please confirm with local authorities before using open spaces in the community. Membership fees At the last AGM we decided to slash regular membership fees in half due to increased membership last year, hoping to grow the membership even further in 2020. At this point we are still committed to maintaining the discounted pricing with the understanding that 2020 will likely not see the expected membership growth due to the epidemic. We planned our finances for an emergency like this, we have enough reserves to pay for all necessary fees to keep the club going. Stay safe. Stay home, so we can get back to flying sooner! The WCSC Board of Directors Copyright Â© 2020 WCSC
03-20-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below but we are not offering shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Showers. Risk of a thunderstorm and hail late this afternoon. High 9. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	No Fly Report - FlyBC is closed until April 18th and not offering shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.
03-22-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below but we are not offering shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Woodside Forecast: Sunny. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - no flying today due to COVID-19.
03-21-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below but we are not offering shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Woodside Forecast: Sunny. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Coaches Corner - FlyBC is not offering shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.
03-20-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below but we are not offering shuttles due to the COVID-19 social distancing/separation requirements laid out by the government.	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC is closed due to COVID-19. We were not doing shuttles for everyone's safety.
03-19-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Wind chill minus 12 this morning. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 5 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC is now closed indefinitely for COVID-19 lockdown measures.
03-18-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. High 11. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 5 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC was closed due to COVID-19 but others were flying today. A group of pilots hiked up to Benny Lower on John W's new direct trail and they said it took about an hour to get to launch. Martin N and Kevin A planned to fly back to Woodside and left a vehicle here at Eagle Ranch. They made it in great time despite an obvious inversion around Woodside earlier. Here is Martin's tracklog. Peter S had a far more radical loop coming out from north of Hemlock Valley and on to Woodside and almost back to Dewdney.
03-17-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. Wind northeast 20 km/h High 9. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 040° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC is closed due to COVID-19.
03-16-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. Wind northeast 20 kph this afternoon. High 9.	Woodside: 040° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - FlyBC is now closed due to COVID-19.
03-15-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny. Wind northeast 60 km/h gusting to 80 diminishing to 30 gusting to 50 this afternoon. High 9. Wind chill minus 12 this morning. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 040° @ 65 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - Woodside Report - FlyBC only had two students today, Wout & Tyler and they got 3 and 4 flights respectively. Wout has been gone since October and he wanted to kite so I offered him kiting on top of Woodside. He got one inflation and was off and flying like he had never been gone! Conditions allowed for some thermalling for the students. Colleen & Derek were out for a later flight and got high.
03-14-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny with NE wind warnings. High -1. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 040° @ 65 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - we started our first 2020 Ground School Session today in the bunkhouse as it was too cold in the Barn. No kiting here or in Mission with gusts to 80 kph. It was quite pleasant in the Loft while we were fitting harnesses and inspecting gliders despite the cold and howling winds! SupAir has a new EN-C ship ready to fly in 2020! Prices have not been set yet but I am sure it will be competitive with Ozone and Gin.
03-13-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Sunny with NE wind warnings. High -1. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 040° @ 65 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - too windy to even walk around the Ranch with gusts to 80 kph.
03-12-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. High 6. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - Martin N logged 2:30 of airtime today flying with Degas so the pre-frontal winds must have worked.
03-11-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mix of sun & cloud. High 6. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Sun Peaks Report - we had strong NW winds and snow so no flying.
03-10-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. Rain mixed with wet snow this morning. High 6. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 35 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside Report - no flying for me, as I headed to Sun Peaks to maybe ski or fly if the weather allows it.
03-09-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly sunny. Fog patches dissipating this morning. Wind up to 15 km/h. High 8. Wind chill minus 6 this morning. UV index 4 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1200 metres	Woodside WOW Report - I planned to be flying today at Woodside as it looked sunny & lifty in the RASP. I was all set to load up the gear and head up in one of the shuttle trucks but then I got a call that Chris was bringing out a co-worker for a tandem flight. Plan changed and Bev headed up with a truck full and I waited for Chris. No loss as only Alex R had launched by the time we got there and folks were not rushing to get launched. Alex of course was already high behind launch even before the eagles came flying, A few other solo pilots launched as we got ready in the back. I got Jess in her harness and she was ready for a long flight wearing an electrically heated jacket (turns out that was a good choice). We had a great launch as Jess can run and we started climbing immediately. The air was crisp and cold and the thermals were not strong or well defined yet so we had to crank it pretty tight to stay climbing. We were flying the Ozone SwiftMax today and we were lightly loaded but no wallowing in the stronger thermals and decent trim speed when circling with others. Jacek got this shot of us on the tandem as we climbed out together near launch. We flew for an hour and by then my hands were frozen despite wearing winter gloves and we flew all over the mountain before heading out to a bouyant landing at Eagle Ranch. Dennie was also flying tandem and we got to thermal with them some too before he landed at the HG LZ. Alex led the group over to Sasquatch Mtn. and back and Jacek and Martin N were over there grovelling for some time before they climbed out from as low as 350 metres. Jacek kept flying and we were back on launch doing a retrieve when he came in to top-land (his first time!). No retrieve needed for him! Alex and Greg also top-landed to warm up and Alex drove Derek's truck down after Derek launched. Bev also launched and there was abundant lift on the mountain and over the valley so everyone had great flights on the second round. Alex had the most number of points today leading out to Agassiz Mountain early and then doing 2 Sasquatch uns and two top-landings. Spring is defintely here but the weather is closing in with rain for at leat til Saturday afternoon. FlyBC is an authorized distributor for Ozone , Nova Paragliders , Kangook Paramotors, SkyBean Varios, Gin , SupAir, Flytec/ Naviter, Blackhawk Paramotors , Wills Wing.
03-08-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Rain beginning near noon. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 10. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 45 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - RASP lied to us but eventually it became flyable around 2 pm. Nineteen pilots on launch for a long time before anyone took off and they had sled rides. It was around 4 pm that pilots got off and got high . . . and cold! I took a little girl tandem around 5 pm and we had a nice boaty flight all over the Woodsid area, and landed softly in NW winds at the Ranch.
03-07-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Rain beginning near noon. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 10. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 45 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Coaches Corner - no flying today at Woodside as it looks post-frontal and very windy in the RASP.
03-05-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. High 10. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - some folks were flying but I think the conditions looked too vague to come out to the Valley.
03-05-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers stored below	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Rain beginning near noon. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 10. UV index 1 or low.	Woodside: 240° @ 45 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - no flying today at Woodside as it was pre-frontal and very windy.
03-04-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open for customers . . . if they have signed the 2020 waivers	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this morning. Windy early this morning. High 9. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 20 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 1400 metres	Woodside Report - Today's CanadaRASP looked exceptional, so a few of us planned to fly Woodside! Bev took Alex & Tom G up earlier as I got held up in Chilliwack at the airport checking out the SkyMaster after a long two month hiatus. Sean & Brian B arrived after Bev and I took them up in my truck. We drove through rain, hail and gusty winds to arrive on top to wait for about an hour for the winds to abate. Alex launched first, then Tom, Sean, Brian and me. Tip of the Day #1: GoPros can snag your lines so be ready to kill the wing when it is strong or you might get pulled off out of control. I killed the glider fast when mine got caught today! Everyone climbed out fast with Alex topping out at 1400 metres (just like the RASP predicted). I was of course flying everything new: Ozone Swift 4 L, Radical 3 harness that I had not adjusted first, big fat leather mitts, and a balaclava that kept covering my eyes but after a few minutes I got everything sorted out in the air and had a nice flight up to 1200 metres. Here is a pic of Tom and Alex climbing in front of launch. Sean was thermalling at the South Knoll and forgot the part of the course about staying upwind and he felt out of the lift too far back and was headed for the trees when Alex gave him some pointers and he just made Riverside LZ. Tip of the Day #2: Figure 8 in lift when it is windy or do a Racetrack Pattern when 360-ing spending more time upwind and making a fast turn back into wind. Fortunately for Sean he had enough lift to get him to a safe LZ. Alex's first call was to head to Harvest downwind as Sean was quite low in the lee of the South Knoll. After an hour or so I radioed Bev who was standing down after a few aborts to see if whe would pick me up at the Ranch as Derek and Martin were headed out. I came over the valley at launch height despite the +20 kph of SW wind and the LZ was a bit active with South winds. I had a nice touchdown near the circle. Alex was still soaring around when he took this nice picture. Tip of the Day #3: When it is gusty/windy in any LZ stay far downind of trees or obstacles to avoid any possible rotor areas. We took Derek and Martin up in Bev's newly repaired rig and I got my truck and watched Derek and Martin launch and go up. Alex & Tom had landed and were headed to the Sasquatch Inn but Brian was still aloft flying Colleen's Taska and was trying to climb out above the Ranch when I went to the Sasqutch Inn. Derek and Martin got at least an hour and were high when I last spotted them. Spring is here!
03-03-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 7. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Woodside Report - I was in POCO for a dentist appointment and the clouds were right down to the treetops. I stopped in at Pitt Meadows Airport and there was no one flying as the clouds and fog were right down to the runway. Back at Eagle Ranch it started raining heavily in the afternoon.
03-02-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 7. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Woodside Report - somehow I missed Martin and Degas who went up to launch after noon . . . and sat and sat waiting for the winds to stop gusting and then the launch got clouded in. Meanwhile at Blanchard WA folks were getting 45 minutes plus of thermic soaring in light lift.
03-01-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open	Woodside Forecast Woodside Forecast: Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 7. UV index 3 or moderate.	Woodside: 240° @ 25 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Woodside Report - it was windy all over the Fraser Valley, only a few hardy speed fliers flew Bridal Falls and apparently a motorist on Hwy 1 saw them spiralling down and called 911. I got a call from BC Ambulance looking for information and thru the WhatsApp Group I located the group who were all fine.
02-11-2020 to 02=29-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now open	Woodside Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: Sunny. High 29C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of sun. High 6C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Mexico Report - we spent the balance of February 2010 snorkelling, swimming and enjoying life rather than chasing the clouds.
02-10-2020	We are on our Mexican Vacation and decided to stay home today	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 84F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. High 7C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Woodside Report - it was Monday but the Desperados were out at Woodside in full force. Denny claimed 51 minutes of airtime, Jacek came out later and got 20 minutes so the spring conditions are coming sooner than last season. The road is driveable to the 4 km mark and there is one icy deep cross ditch that seems to be getting everyone stuck. Maybe a few bags of gravel are in order or 3 inch rock to allow for drainage. Launch is clear of snow and the carpet we laid in 2019 is still in great shape. Martin was last seen over the South Knoll. Robert made the trip north from WA as the rest of his flying gang are down in Jocotepec. Even Bev was out braving the cold!
02-09-2020	FlyBC headed to San Marcos today on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: Sunny. High 29C. Winds W at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of light rain. High 1C.	Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	San Marcos Report - Colleen, Peter and I headed to San Marcos Lower Launch to meet up with Derek and gang. Plan was for Peter and me to fly as far south as we could as we were heading back that way to go home to Manzanillo. I launched first and it was spicy as the south winds were quite strong. I went straight up and backwards at times but was soon at 2400 metres (Lower Launch is at 1600 metres). Peter had a similarily interesting launch and was soon climbing with me right above launch. I headed south across the saddle once and got flushed so I went back north to climb again. There was a CU forming over the lakebed so I headed out there and climbed all the way out and was going to then head to the south ridge to climb there missing the saddle. It all worked well until I hit the ridge and I was going down at -5 m's. I think the winds was SE there and going catabatic. The sink lasted so long that any lift I hit was ragged and not helping me gain. Peter had followed me and hit all the same sink and I was soon setting up over a field near the road that follows the lake bed. When I came into land, the strong south winds became NW and I landed downwind in a muddy field. Peter was right behind me and he got the strong south wind. We packed up as Colleen drove down to find us but we hiked back to town as the road was a mud hole from last weeks rains. As we hiked north we saw Norm climb high and he crossed over us at 3000 metres saying there was no wind up high. No one else flew as it got too crazy on launch. We loaded up the Suburban and headed to Manzanillo where I tried one short flight at Pelican Bay. Strongish on launch but either not enough wind higher up or the wrong angle so I was on the beach in two passes. No wind on the beach but I avoided "Richard's Rock" and the surf and hiked back to the truck and it was hot!
02-08-2020	FlyBC headed to Tapalpa on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: Sunny. High 29C. Winds E at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of light rain. High 1C.	Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Tapalpa Report - Colleen, Peter and I headed to Tapalpa to meet up with Derek and gang. Doug M, Delvin, Harry, Rainer, Dave, Nelson are all here flying with Derek & Norm on the Desperado Tour. Conditions were perfect at launch and folks were climbing out. Nelson has been soaring well on his Buzz Z5 and has added 20+ hours to his log book this month! Colleen launched first and climbed well initially but then the south winds picked up and the thermals got ratty. She was bobbing up and down as she headed north arriving over the HG LZ at 400 metres AGL. Peter launched last and I headed down to pick up Colleen as it did not look like we could top land this trip. It turned out that I was wrong as Peter was soon 700 metres over launch as the winds switched to SW and it was no longer launchable but the thermals were now coming off the plateau behind launch. Good timing on his part. The rest of the gang were waiting at the HG LZ and were headed North to San Marcos so we told Peter to head out north too but he decided to land at the HG LZ for convenience. Norm had launched much before Peter and made it to the Cross and then across the lake bed but he got flushed in the strong wind on the estern side of the valley. We headed north hoping for a San Marcos flight but it was howling on Lower Launch so Derek took the group up to Upper Launch. Derek and Rainer got off in a lull but were not geting very high as it was so windy aloft. They landed over the back by the gas station and we all headed for dinner before it got dark.
02-07-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: Sunny. High 27C. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of light rain. High 1C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Colima Report - Peter and I headed to Colima to fly as Colleen had meetings to run. It is Friday so I was not sure who was flying at La Cumbre but Gilles had organized a shuttle and we were all in the truck at noon. Gilles hired a local cab/carga truck and 6 of us went up for 200 pesos. 35 pesos each or about a buck! Gilles launch, then Richard, then a few visiting pilots before I launched. I got up on my Ozone Alpina 2 ML right away despite being 4 kgs over the top of the weight range. I hung out over launch about 300 metres over while Peter launched and followed the group south into the bowl. I flew for 45 minute before seeing Gilles head SW and he did not lose any altitude, but then I saw him head downwind and he lost it all heading to the Mesqua Soccer LZ where he made one turn and landed. I had already committed to a cross wind run to Mesqua north or the cane field near the road. I had great lift across the river and then the bottom dropped out and I was not sure I could even make the Mesqua field but I had some other less clean options. I came into Mesqua LZ with a perfect approach and soft landing as it is quite damp still and not thermic like usual. No pictures or video as my GoPro died on launch. Peter made it to the sugar cane field I pointed out on the drive up and was walking back to the hotel parking while Gilles and I flagged down a local pickup for a ride to the roundabout on the highway.
02-06-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: Sun and Clouds. High 27C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain. High 1C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	El Toro Report - Peter G has been in town visiting for the past two rainy days and no flying so we took him up to El Toro today. Thanks to Thomm for coming up to drive the Suburban down for us. The work we did on launch last week is paying off as I launched into light cycles with no snags or sticks. It was cloudy hence the light cycles and minimal lift but I squeaked out 18 minutes. Best landing zone ever here on the Pacific Coast! Peter launched next and had a similar flight. Colleen launched last and flew out to the lagoon and bridge to see if it was possible to land there and walk home, and then flew back to Indio's.
02-05-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: Rain and Thunderstorms. High 27C. Winds E at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of light snow. High 1C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Manzanillo Report - one more day as the rain dries out, big thunderstorms last night out over the ocean.
02-04-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: Rain and Thunderstorms. High 27C. Winds E at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of light snow. High 1C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Manzanillo Report - one more day as the rain dries out, big thunderstorms last night out over the ocean.
02-03-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: Rain and Thunderstorms. High 27C. Winds E at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of light snow. High 1C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Manzanillo Report - we are here in Manzanillo but oddly we have rain in the forecast for a few days, and it is raining inland where Derek and Norm are living (big front).
02-02-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of heavy rains. High 10C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	El Toro Report - Thomm, Colleen, our gardener Francisco and I went to El Toro to clean up the trails and the launch area. This is the before picture from a few days ago when we had to launch from on top of the brush. Thomm manned the weed whacker, but it was underpowered for the job. Colleen took care of the loppers and did a great job despite the handle falling off . . . a lot! Francisco had a very sharp machete and he cleaned right down to the roots. I had a chainsaw to cut the bigger trees and roots. It is not perfect but we did a pretty good job with the tools we had. Grass seed and some better blades for the weedwacker should finish it off nicely but we only have four more weeks here anyway if the road survives the rains. Woodside Report - reports flowed in on FB and Gmail about great flying at Mother Woodside today. The usual suspects were out and Degas got some nice shots he shared with us. Martin N on his new Swift 5 (yellow), with Sean (orange/red). Kevin on his Ozone Mantra M7, above everyone at 800 metres. Conditions reported as spicy spring air with collapses.
02-01-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of heavy rains. High 10C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	El Toro Report - cloudy skies here in Manzanillo and SE winds meant we stayed on the ground. Derek and the gang flew Tapalpa with mixed results. Kent District Declares an Emergency Situation - the road up Sasquatch Mountain (formerly Hemlock Resort) washed away at 9:30 pm last night and 500 staff and public are trapped on the mountain. The only way off the mountain is by helicopter for $150 a person.br> To make troubles worse roads in Harrison Lake also washed out trapping more residents.
01-30-2020 to 01-31-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of heavy rain. High 8.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Manzanillo Report - no fly days as we ran errands and chilled by the pool after getting a much neede oil change in the new Suburban after all the road trips.
01-29-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain. High +7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	El Chante Report - Derek said they hiked El Chante again today. Derek said it was gusty and strong at San Marcos so they all got 2 hours of San Marcos soaring today.
01-29-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of blowing snow beginning this morning. High -7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	El Chante Report - I left Joco early and headed to Puerto Vallarta Airport via the non-toll roads, while Derek and gang hiked El Chante. El Chante was a favourite morning site here in Chapala, but one of the landowners closed the road in so it is only hike & fly now. Derek said it was soarable but he took tools up and worked on launch instead of flying. My drive was uneventful and traffic light and the mountains were gorgeous. Derek said it was gusty and strong so they all got 2 hours of San Marcos soaring later today.
01-28-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of blowing snow beginning this morning. High -7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Road Trip Report - I travelled to San Marcos today to join up with Jay to get him his new Delight 2 harness that I got used in Colima last week. The plan was to fly with the guys there at San Marcos Lower Launch and stay overnight at Norm's casa befor eheading to Puerto Vallarta to pick Colleen up from her Winnipeg flight. One by one the pilots all launched with Mike landing after 5 minutes. Not inspiring! Jay was the last to launch and it looked promising but alas he too was headed down to the front LZs. Norm drove down to retrieve everyone and I watched Derek & Rainer make their way south but low. They did get up and headed east so I got into Derek's Dodge and followed them to Joco. Rainer and Derek landed 3 hours later in san Juan Cosala and we headed out for dinner. Norm flew later and also landed in San Juan Cosala.
01-26-2020 to 01-27-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain. High 8.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Mexico Report - hanging out with no one to fly with as Colleen headed to a conference in Winnipeg.
01-25-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High +7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	El Toro Report - Thomm, Wolf, Renald and a friend came up to El Toro today. We heard one pilot had flown off El Toro a week ago so we were confident we could find a launch spot clear enough to get off safely. We were wrong! We hiked down to the normal launch spot by the fence but it was overgrown. Stuff grows fast in the tropical rainforest. I laid my Ozone Alpina 2 on top of some brush and tried one inflation but the right wing tip got caught so I had to abort. Thomm helped lay out my wing and next attempt was good and I was off and climbing. Wolf was laid out next as I climbed above the antennas about 300 metres over. There was nice CU developing and we flew around under the clouds going here and there. Wolf headed a bit too far east and dropped out of the lift. I could see the winds had picked up on the ocean from the SW so I stayed out front. I flew out keeping my eyes on Wolf who was pretty far east but going forward and not losing much height. We soared the hump near the beach for some time and then I pulled "big ears" to get below Wolf so we were not landing together. I had 60 minutes on the clock when I landed vertically on the beach, winds were +25 kph. Wolf soared the hump for a few more passes and he landed with 40 minutes airtime. Thomm, Renald and pal arrived to Indio's Restaurant for a refreshment and Thomm made it down with no problems (despite the many washouts on the road).
01-24-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of blowing snow beginning this morning. High -7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Pelican Bay Report - Wolf was arriving in Manzanillo today after sending his wife Janna home to Whitehorse YK after a week long yoga retreat. His plan was to meet me at Pelican Bay around 5 pm. I arrived just in time to see him struggling to get forward as he kited his wing to the edge and then he got plucked and was going up and backwards! All the while he was flying he looked like he was parked and it was quite gusty on launch so I watched him fly. Even the vultures were not going into the lift bowl as it looked turbulent. Wolf came in to top land after an hour and said he was using lots of brake to sty in the lift band which explained his slow forward speeds. We went for dinner after he packed up in the sunset.
01-22-2020 to 01-23-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of heavy rain. High 7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	No FLy Report - FlyBC stayed home a few days as it was cloudy and light winds.
01-21-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of blowing snow beginning this morning. High -7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Colima Report - I headed to Colima to pick up my new Delight 3 harness from Gilles (the local SupAir rep) and hoped to fly with Sasha & Ishmael, here from Saltspring Isalnd. Unfortunately Gilles got here late and I missed the shuttle truck, so I went to the Piano LZ in Piscila to setup my new harness/Beamer 3 combo while Ish & Sasha flew. The local pilots got up and headed north toward town, but Sasha headed south and was rewarded with 1:40 of airtime and he topped out at 7600 feet! After he packed up we headed to Pelican Bay but it was a bit light there, but at least Sasha got another flight. He managed a few passes but he was on the beach while the vultures heckled him.
01-18-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of blowing snow beginning this morning. High -7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Tapalpa Report - Thomm and I drove to Tapalpa to swap some gear and maybe fly but we arrived to rain and some hail. After 3 hours of para-waiting we headed back to Manzanillo and we saw some gliders finally launch and get a sledder . . . in the rain still around the LZ.
01-15-2020 to 01-17-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of blowing snow beginning this morning. High -7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Tapalpa Report - FlyBC stayed in Manzanillo as the forecast lloked like rain and Over Deveoping clouds to the east.
01-14-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of snow beginning this morning. High -7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Tapalpa Report - rescue mission for Dave B who lost all his gear in a Taxco robbery last week. I had the exact same kit here with me and I supplied him with an Ozone Swift 5 L, SupAir Delight 3 harness with Beamer 3 reserve so he could fly. I have an Ozone Alpina 2 ML here and I am getting a new Delight 3/Beamer from Gilles in Colima on Monday, so everyone can fly! Customer service from FlyBC even down here in Mexico! Pilots enjoyed great flights today with the SE winds. Jay is here from Squamish enjoying the sun while it is -10C and snowy back home. We have pilots from Oregon, Colorado, California, Whitehorse (Wolf) and of course BC.
01-13-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Tapalpa Report - Bev, Norm and Derek are hosting a bunch of pilots and they all flew Tapalpa. Thanks to Phil Ibis and his weather app IBIS listed on our Weather Page, which has been the most accurate forecasting tool for site selection this year. Normando made it home again and Derek drove for the gang who all got +1 hour flights.
01-12-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we are on our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Mexico Report - Colleen and I had a lazy day at the pool but did get Thomm a Birthday Cake for his birthday which we presented at Indio's on the beach. Meanwhile pilots were getting to 3600 metres! at Tapalpa but no Cross Country flights as everyone stayed local. Greg reported in at Colima where he has been flying with the locals and he got a 90 minute flight and got quite high.
01-11-2020	FlyBC was flying Tapalpa today	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of snow beginning this morning. High -1.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Tapalpa Report - Colleen and I headed to Tapalpa, a 2 hour drive inland. We arrived late but Normando was just getting ready to fly. waiting as Jay had a quick sledder down to the LZ earlier. Norm took off and hung around launch for sometime before chasing Francois (from Quebec) north to the Cross. Colleen took off and I was driving as my bronchitis is not quite healed yet and she climbed well over the Valley. Norm reported in crossing the salt flats and he made it 60 kms back to his house.
01-08-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we start our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Non Flying Report - stuck in bed with bronchitis despite the 30C temps outside? Derek said San Marcos was working as he flew home after waiting for the east winds to stop.
01-07-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we start our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Colima Report - I stayed home in bed while Greg went flying again in Colima. His resourceful wife flagged down a truck and he got a lift to the top so she could wait at the bottom in the shade. He got a 12 minute sledder.
01-06-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we start our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Colima Report - Thomm and I headed to Colima to fly with a couple of hitchhiker - Greg & Ishmael. Ishmael launched first and was doing well with the local parapente pilots. Greg took a few tries but got off cleanly and was thermalling well with some coaching and he headed north to the alternate LZ. I was feeling dizzy as I was coming down with something so we drove down to find Ishmael in Piscila.
01-05-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we start our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	El Toro Report - I tried going up El Toro and gave up about 3/4 of the way up. The rain on New Years Day turned the road into a river bed. I parked the new Suburban and walked up the road a bit but it looked very eroded. Solimon came by in his Toyota pickup with 4 worked and kept going. I will try again in a week or so when I have a spotter to watch for holes.
01-04-2020	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we start our Mexican Vacation	Manzanillo, Mexico Forecast Manzanillo Forecast: A mix of clouds and sun. High 28C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Manzanillo Report - not flying yet as we get settled in Manzanillo. Conditions look lame on the coast but it is early.
01-01-20 to 01-03-20	FlyBC is now nicely settled in Manzanillo Mexico and the FlyBC is now closed until March 2020	Manzanillo Forecast: Sunny. High near 29 C. Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7.	Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Manzanillo Report - we arrived on New Years Day at 5 pm and got into our new condo on the beach and were all settled when a huge thunderstorm unleashed a lot of rain all night. We were feeling some food poisoning from New Years Eve dining so not much happened the next few days as we recovered but there was no local flying except Stefan snagged a late night flight at Pelican Bay to start off the new year. He said it was too gusty before 5 pm but when it calmed he flew til sunset.
12-29-19 to 12-31-19	FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ are now closed until March 2020 as we head south for our Mexican Vacation	Woodside Woodside Forecast: Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this morning. High 7. Manzanillo Forecast: Partly cloudy. High near 31 C.	Woodside: 240° @ 15 kph Manzanillo: 250° @ 10 kph	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Road Trip Report - I travelled south on American Airlines on Dec 29th arriving to buy the new Mexican Shuttle truck - a bright shiny 1987 Chevrolet Suburban that has been perfectly restored to Collector Status and is legalized for Mexico. And it is a 4x4! Colleen and Bev arrived in Puerto Vallarta on the 30th and Normando and Camilo drove there in Normndo's 4Runner to get them while I did the Suburban paperwork and money transfers. We headed up to San Marcos Lower Launch on December 31 for one last flight of 2019 and conditiones were a but light but everyone flew but Bev (who offered to drive retrieve). This launch was developed by us about 4 years ago and the local HG Instructor warned us that many HGers had crashed trying to use this location in the past, but we paid a local tree faller to brush it out and we did many test flights and rarely sank out as this gulley is a trigger point for the first thermals of the day due to the angle of the sun at noon. We seeded grass seed on the first year of use and the grass has grown in well choking out the snaggy bushes that normally grow here, but thanks go to Derek for bringing down his weed whacker and mowing the entire area. Our flights went well but after Camilo and Norm both clipped trees on their departure on New Years Eve Day, Derek went back and brushed out below launch with Normando's help. If you are interested in speed flying, we can get you trained up on EN-A paragliders first. HPAC does not condone training on speed wings but you can do what you want once you are a signed off P-2 pilot. MAGNETIC - SPEEDFLYING in NEW ZEALAND from Nuit de la Glisse Films on Vimeo. I cringe when I see these maneuvers so close to terrain but these guys are professionals. DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME!