FlyBC "Site of the Day" - December 13-2022



FlyBC is closed til March 2023 for training but open for gear sales

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you make look back and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault
Locations of visitors to this page


      Date      
      Site      
Forecast
Winds
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3000'
in kilometers
  Lapse  
Rate
°C/1000'

Cloud
Base
in Meters
Comments
12-13-2022
FlyBC is restarting training in March 2023


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Cloudy with 60 percent chance of rain showers or flurries. Wind northeast 20 km/h. Low plus 1.
Sechelt:
040° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Coaches Corner - FlyBC is in Sechelt but heading to Savona next week for PPG Lessons.



Colleen and I have closed the sale of the Ranch, but we are booking new students for March 16 2022 onwards (some of the best conditions for training in March).

We are still doing online sales of gear and lessons including our Trade-In Program.

The Eagle Ranch LZ will be closed permanently to flying as of November 28, 2021 as the new owners are planting a tree farm.



Used Gear List: Updated December 13, 2022

Harnesses for Sale:

Gin Genie Lite 3 Medium - Gin Genie Lite 3 POD new 2022 model - $2400 CDN

Gin Gingo AirLite Medium Harness - Gin GINGO Lite open harness new 2022 model - $900 CDN



Supair Access Airbag harnesses (new) - $650 without reserve (great lightweight harness)



Supair Radical 4 reversible airbag harnesses - $999.00 without reserve



Gin Yeti Xtreme 2 - hike and fly - $400 or $850 with airbag

Ozone Ozium M Harness - $600 CDN without reserve used stock in certified shape

SupAir Delight 3 Medium or Large harnesses - $1500 without reserve



SupAir Delight 1 Large demo harness - $600 without reserve used stock in certified shape
Assorted used harnesses from $350 CDN.

Speedwings for Sale:

Ozone Rapi-Dos 13 metre - demo with no flights - $2500

AirDesign Susi3 - 13 to 23 metre mini-wing - EN-B - 2022 Models - $3200 CDN

Ozone Dragonfly - 16 to 18 metre mini-wing -

Maximum Stability & Fun - The DragonFly is a stable and versatile hybrid speed wing, designed for pilots of all skill levels. It is the perfect wing to launch your speed flying career, and is equally at home soaring a dynamic coastal cliff or carving a mountain descent. - 2023 Models - $2250 USD

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 We guarantee our products or your money refunded.



Ozone Swift 5 L - EN-B - $3200 CDN - L size in Standard Orange/Red hi visibility colors, 2 in stock now - perfect inspection report finished 11/24/2022 and new brake lower lines installed. Ready for a new home.



Based on the Rush 5 but 30% lighter, the Swift 5 is a top of class Lightweight Sport-Performance-Intermediate wing that has been developed with the same technology used in our performance wings including the Enzo 3 and Zeno in addition to several new innovative features.

Over fifteen years of lightweight R&D have allowed us to deliver a wing that is not only top of class in terms of performance, but one of the lightest wings in its class. Thanks to a lighter sail, the Swift 5’s agility and handling is improved over the Rush 5, with a more precise feel. Another key difference is the ease of inflation and take-off behavior in general.

An extensive period of performance glide testing allowed us to evaluate the Rush and Swift 5 against class-leading wings from other manufacturers. The results have proven significant gains, especially in accelerated glide performance.

AirDesign Rise 4 - EN-B - new for 2022 in all sizes sizes at FlyBC - $4400 CDN - M size demo is in stock now - has about 20 hours demo time on it from this summer.

For every AD wing, we use a claim and a hashtag. For the Rise 4, we chose The Wow Effect and the #thermalmonkey. We really had this moment on the first flight. We were just amazed by the simplicity of the wing. Everything is just simple. And at same time it’s a performance monster. The glider is simply perfect!

AirDesign VOLT4 - EN-C - new for 2022 in all sizes sizes at FlyBC - $5700 CDN - M size demo is in stock now - For every AD wing, we use a claim and a hashtag. For the Volt 4, we chose to stick to Electrifying performance and #speedmachine because it suits this fourth generation so well! It took us several years of development to finally design a package that fulfills our own requirements within the EN-C category. It’s not only the allowance to use folding lines in the EN-C-Class that made it possible to certify the Volt 4 in that category – there is much more than this to make a good EN-C glider. We are rather looking at the pilot demands and then trying to make the glider following them. Fulfilling the norm is just the final act.

Nova Prion 4 - EN-A - new for 2021 in Medium 80-110 kgs in used stock here at FlyBC with under 50 hours of flight time. - $2500 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 year once registered with Nova Protect.



Actual Color pattern - go Ukraine!

Nova DoubleSkin - EN-B - new for 2022 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 Mentor 7 Lite - EN-B - new for 2022 in all sizes at FlyBC - $5700 CDN - Nova's latest hybrd 2 liner technology, a 1 year warranty/replacement plan is a key selling point - damage is covered for a full 1 year once registered with Nova Protect.

Nova Prion 5 - EN-A - new for 2022 in all sizes in demo stock here at FlyBC - $3500 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 year once registered with Nova Protect.

Ozone Buzz Z6 ML 85-105 kgs - EN-B - Ozone Buzz Z6 great shape with under 30 hours, great for students and intermediate pilots - $3200 CDN



Independence Pioneer 3 - S size 65-85 kgs - EN-A - new in box - Independence Pioneer 3 great beginner to Intermediate wing in orange/red high visibility color- $3500 CDN



SupAir Birdie EN-A - L size - 100-130 kgs with 3 flights by an instructor SupAir Birdie L great beginner to Intermediate wing - $3500 CDN



U-Turn Everest 21 - not rated - for mountaineers - U-Turn Everest - 75-105 kgs - 2018 Model - $2200 - excellent shape with 50 flights and no damage



Price Drop Wings: We have several Ozone Delta 2 sizes and SupAir Taska XS and M for sale for winter flying. $500 and up depending on year and shape. All tested and trimmed ready for winter expeditions.



Miscellaneous Gear: - DJI Inspire 1 RAW Quadcopter with Zenmuse X5R 4K Camera & 2 Remotes - $2500

Five short reconn flights with 4 extra batteries







Paramotors

Paramotors for Sale:

Kangook Amaruk with Moster 185 Kangook Amaruk Paramotor with Moster 185 power new 2022 model - $8500 CDN



We can train you to Legal Transport Canada requirements as the only certified paramotor school in BC.

12-12-202223
FlyBC is closed til March 2023 but still shipping gear out remotely


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Cloudy. High plus 4.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Valle de Bravo, Mexico Report - Miguel is in Valle with a few other canuck pilots and the conditions have been great.

The PWC Comp is on and the tasks have been 100 KMs long with average speeds of 40 kph!

Not that easy as the days shade out with overdevelopment and if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time its "bomb out time"


Today Brett made goal despite the overcast.


11-7-202223
FlyBC is training on sunny days through to the end of November


Sechelt Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Cloudy with30 percent chance of rain showers or flurries. Wind SW 20 km/h. Low plus 1.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is in Agassiz this week for PG Lessons and deliveries.

Linda got a test flight on a shiny new NOVA Mentor 7 Lite glider today ami\onst the clouds.

It was an extended sledder but she liked it!


10-25-2022
FlyBC is training PPG pilots in Savona


Savona Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Sunny. High 15. Humidex 16. UV index 9 or very high.
Savona:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC is in Savona avoiding the rains with a father-son PPG team.

They did very well and were flying solo off the Toilet Bowl within a few hours.

It got too windy for safe flights so we went to Singh Park in Kamloops and they learned reverse launching skills.

10-18-2022
FlyBC bringing all the vehicles home today


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 21. Humidex 26. UV index 9 or very high.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Logistic Report - FlyBC is in Sechelt but heading to Woodside to retrieve the GMC truck which has been at Woodside for September and part of October to facilitate shuttling up Woodside.

First part of the trip was on a Harbour Air floatplane to Coal Harbour. It was very smoky in the air!


The smoke was even thicker in Coal Harbour, and you couldnèt see Grouse through the smoke.


Then onto the Skytrain to Burnaby to check out a car.

Then into an Uber to Mission to meet up with Thomm who offered a ride to Woodside.

We had a nice snack at the recently opened Sasquatch Inn before I headed back to the ferry. Long day.

10-13-2022
FlyBC is gearing up for a big new season with lower cost Training Camps for new P-2 Pilots and PPG training too


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 31. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Kangook Amaruk Build - FlyBC is in Halfmoon Bay getting a PPG Unit ready for students.

Kangook packs the units very well for transport by truck.


First step is to open the box carefully and remove the foam packing.


The frame has the motor attached and ready to accept the cage pieces.


The eProp carbon fibre prop is a two pieced unit, whcih makes transport easy once unit is assembled.


The finished unit is secured to a post for the break in procedure which takes a few hours.


9-30-2022
FlyBC is finishing up some P-2 Pilots at Woodside


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 31. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is flying into Rowena's Strip to train at Woodside. Five students and great conditions.


9-24-2022
FlyBC is flying at Savona


Kamloops Forecast

Kamloops Forecast:
Sunny. High 20. Humidex 25. UV index 9 or very high.
Savona:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Savona Report - in Savona to get Drew signed off on his Blackhawk 220 trike.

Perfect conditions for him and the other students who were flying off the mid-launch at 4 kms up the road.

We had a few touch and goes at the Toilet Bowl Rim to round out the day.

We flew all day long quitting for beers later at Tobiano Golf Course..


9-23-2022
FlyBC is flying at Savona


Kamloops Forecast

Kamloops Forecast:
Sunny. High 20. Humidex 25. UV index 9 or very high.
Savona:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Savona Report - I headed to Savona to get Drew going on his Blackhawk 220 trike.

Perfect conditions for him at the International LZ with light east winds.

He flew all day long and used up a few tanks of gas doing circuits while I took other students to the Dump Ridge to fly.


8-28-2022
FlyBC is testing out a new Powell River Launch


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 31. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Powell River Report - FlyBC headed to Powell River to see Russ's HG Launch spot.

Miguel and Russ have flown this site a few times and benched up high.

Today was mild conditions and we got to watch the HG takeoff down his rickety ramp.


The HG flew out to the house thermal and worked it for 20 minutes before landing on the beach.


Miguel tried in vain to launch but it was too weak to get a solid wing.

8-27-2022
FlyBC is flying Mt Hallowell for my Birthday


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 31. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Mt Hallowell Report - FlyBC is in Halfmoon Bay flying Mt Hallowell for Jim's Birthday.

Today was my turn to Fly as Colleen drove.

It was soarable as I launched the Susi 3 23.

I landed on the south facing fairway.


Miguel and Brad also flew to the Golf Course arriving together.


Colleen survived the drive down!

8-25-2022
FlyBC is flying the Sunshine Coast this month


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 31. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Mt Hallowell Report - FlyBC is in Halfmoon Bay flying the Coast this month.

Mt. Hallowell is our West facing site that listed as Glen Taylor Launch on CanadaRASP.

It is a brutal climb in our CanAm Defender through a winding forest trail up to an abandoned mine site.

Launch is at 1000 metres and looks out to the ocean.

Landing in on the Pender Harbour Golf Course fairways and they welcome us with open arms!

Today was my turn to drive as Colleen and Miguel flew.

It was soarable.


8-24-2022
FlyBC is taking August off


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 31. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Squamish Reportr - FlyBC was delivering gear in Squamish by Lake Amphib.

Great way to avoid the ferries and traffic, and it only takes 20 minutes for get from Sechelt to Squamish.

Quite windy and thermic in Squamish, as the kiteboarders were out in full force.


8-14-2022
FlyBC is flying at Burton Launch just north of Sun Peaks


Kamloops Forecast

Kamloops Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sun Peaks:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report -we got shut down at Sun Peaks this week.

There was a problem with their Insurer so our Fly-In got cancelled.

So a large group headed to Burton's Launch with big XC plans.

Bill N and I launched first and a bit too early, but we had to drive to Vancouver today anyway.

We got a 35-45 minute scratchfest down to the LZ.

We watched folks takeoff and head west as Bill was packing up.

John W had announced his intention to fly to Clearwater and we watched hi sprogress on XCFind.

He made it to Vavenby and back to Clearwater.


8-12-2022
FlyBC is flying at Sun Peaks this week


Kamloops Forecast

Kamloops Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sun Peaks:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC is flying Sun Peaks this week.

We had a great test session with Brad, Paddy, Kevin and myself off a new east facing launch area.

We were testing out different LZs so a few headed to P-5 near our condo.

I opted for the LZ near the day lodge as my car was parked there.


8-10-2022
FlyBC is flying at Sun Peaks this week


Kamloops Forecast

Kamloops Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sun Peaks:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC is flying Sun Peaks this week.

I got one nice flight off the launch area to the east of the chairlift on the AirDesign Susi3 23. It was SW in the air and a bit rotory and sinky but I got to the designated LZ with good altitude thanks to some thermals on the way.

I got some strong headwinds into the LZ so I opted for a landing between the lifts.


7-27-2022
FlyBC is gearing up for a big new season with lower cost Training Camps for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 31. Humidex 36. UV index 9 or very high.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC was in Sechelt but heading to Sun Peaks for the week where it is cooler.

Brad has been preparing new launch spots for our upcoming Fly-In at Sun Peaks and has flown many test flights.

6-30-2022
FlyBC Woodside today for new P-2 Pilots and I even got to fly


Agassiz Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was out at Mother Woodside today to do some recerts so I decide to to fly into Peter Irwin's airstrip to save the drive.

After training students all day with the Instructors who were recertifying, I was able to fly XC to my plane and I was home in 45 minutes.





6-25-2022
FlyBC is in Savona for a P-2 Course


Savona Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC had students and we got a Cornwall flight today in perfect winds.




After that flight and lunch we got another flight off a secret spot to round out the day.




6-21-2022
FlyBC Woodside today for new P-2 Pilots


Agassiz Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was out at Mother Woodside today and she provided well for Andrew who now has over 30 flights.




6-18-2022
FlyBC is in Savona for a P-1 Course


Savona Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC had students and we averaged 12 flights today in perfect winds.




6-15-2022
FlyBC is at Woodside today for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was out at Mother Woodside today and the rivers are very high.




6-10-2022
FlyBC Woodside today for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Bob the Mascot Report - FlyBC not flying today but for those interested . . . Bob is enjoying her Halfmoon Bay retirement.




6-7-2022
FlyBC is in Savona for a P-1 Course


Savona Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC had five students and we averaged 10 flights each day in perfcect winds.




6-6-2022
FlyBC is in Savona for a P-1 Course


Savona Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC had five students and we averaged 10 flights each day in perfect winds.




Savonae Report - FlyBC was out at Mother Woodside today and she provided well for new student Chad.

6-5-2022
FlyBC is in Savona for a P-1 Course


Savona Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC had five students and we averaged 10 flights each day in perfect winds.




5-29-2022
Colleen's Birthday Weekend so no flying


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Beach Report - it was Colleen's Birthday Weekend so we had the entire famil over to parties and swimming in the ocean.




5-28-2022
FlyBC Woodside is at today for new P-2 Pilots


Agassiz Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was out at Mother Woodside today and we had 5 good flights into Riverside after a morning session at Burnaby Mountain.




The students did very well and had 10-12 flights in perfect conditions on the training hill.

So we headed to Woodside!

After a landing briefing in the Sasquatch Parking Lot we headed up to fly with Colleen doing the landing coaching.




Everyone got one flight to round out the day and then we headed to the Sandpiper Golf Course for dinner and camping.




5-5-2022 to 5-11-2022
FlyBC was in Savona for the week for an Instructor Certification Course


Savona Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was running an Instructor/Tandem Course and we had a hige turnout of over 25 instructors.

We rented the Savona Community Hall for the week and had a great venue for indoor sessions and reserve repacks.

The conditions were great all week and we got 10-15 flights a day for tandem instructors and students too.










4-30-2022
FlyBC took a day off for errands


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Hope Report - FlyBC had to get some motorhome keys to a towing company in Hope and the best was from Sechelt is to fly the Lake LA-4 there.

55 minutes in the air beats 6+ hours of driving and ferry waits!

But the Hope Runway is sure rough aftter the winter thaws!




4-29-2022
FlyBC Woodside today for new P-2 Pilots


Agassiz Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was out at Mother Woodside today and she provided well for the students that spent a few days in Savona perfecting their skills.




4-26-2022
FlyBC is in Savona today for new P-2 Pilots


Savona Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was is Savona training newbies and we got 10 flights today. in glorious SW winds.




4-22-2022
FlyBC Woodside today for new P-2 Pilots


Agassiz Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was out at Mother Woodside today and she provided well for new students after the clouds lifted.




4-21-2022
FlyBC is in Savona today for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was is Savona training newbies and we got 6 flights today before it blew out and we headed to Woodside where we got a sunset flight.




4-20-2022
FlyBC is in Savona today for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was is Savona training newbies and we got 12 flights today.




4-19-2022
FlyBC is heading to Savona for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Savona:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC wasin Savona today for new students.

We had a good day training but I noticed a broken weld on my new trailer, so off to the welding shop for a repair.




4-18-2022
FlyBC is hiking today cause the winds are too strong


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Hiking Report - we went to Smugglers Cove for a hike as the wind forecast was too strong at Woodside.




4-4-2022
FlyBC is in Savona for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was in Savona for new students because it was raining at Woodside.

We purchased a motorhome for our base of operations and to run ground school courses out of the weather.

Our simulator works well in the Steelhead Campground too!




3-29-2022
FlyBC Woodside today for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 17. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was out at Mother Woodside today and she provided well for new student Chad.

Chad arrived at 10 am and we headed to Agassiz Rec Centre to kite.

He has purhased an AirDesign Susi 3 13 metre to do some speed flying but we put him on one of our EN-A wings today to start.

We had little wind and wet grass but Chad was doing very well with reverse ground handling and forward launches.

After a few hours I told him to pack up and we would head to launch to kite and dry out his wing.

We had gone over the approach into Riverside, should he decide to launch.



These are the approach plates I use to train new students before they even set foot on Riverside proper. It is important to visualize the flight path in case of a radio failure.



The initial flight path is upwind of the LZ to lose height and judge the wind strength.



Once stablished upwind on the LZ one should do Figure-8 turns into the prevailing winds to stay upwind. Do not allow yourself to drift downwind to the east tree line becausde if it is windy you may not be able to penetrate into the LZ!

Once you are just above tree top altitude you should be in the downwind leg.

The Base leg is inside the east tree line.

If you come onto the Final leg and you are too high you must do S turns so you don't overshoot into the blackberries on the west end of the LZ.





We drove up in the Can Am Defender and encountered the ecavator doing road maintenance at the 2 km mark.

The operator was digging out a big ditch and depositing the fill onto the road suface and we tried to get by but he had to throw some boulders off the road bed so we could pass.



The parts of the road below 2 kms is like a superhighway with double width all the way down for passing access.

We arrived on launch to perfect winds for kiting and Chad did some nice practice inflations.

After 4-5 inflations we sent Chad off for his first high flight!

Of course we had no pictures becauser I was guiding him but he had perfectly controlled turns and pitch control.

He had a 30 minute thermalling flight and perfect approach and landing with guiding tips from us on launch.

After picking Chad up in Riverside I headed back to the Kettle where Norm, Bev, John W and a few others were waiting for a ride.

KVA had driven up already with a load and got by the excavator easily. You can communicate with the operator on 159.660 MHZ on ham band radios.

We arrived on launch as KVA was flying off and he made the air look smooth. It was 20-22 kph on launch and not too gusty so I set Chad up again for a forward launch.



Chad had a few aborts getting used to the wind strength, but he put it all together and had a nice launch and was doing some soaring out front.

I guided him to the Figure 8 area in Riverside and he did his own downwind leg onto final and he had a perfect landing.

Norm launched next followed by Degas and Richard S. As I drove down they were all high above launch.

Degas reported cloudbase at 1400 metres.



They all flew out to Harvest Market area where Bev picked them up in KVA's truck.

This is Norm's touchdown point.



3-26-2022
WCSC had a work party day installing new carpet on Woodside Launch


Sechelt Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Showers. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Greg M and Martin Z organized a work party to install new carpet on Woodside Launch.

This is the state of the carpet before the work party. Three seasons of use and some abuse by "red necks" who set fires on launch a few times so we needed to patch the middle section.



The gang used rebar staples like used on the Benny Launch and the Bench Launch.



Big thanks to everyone who attended the work party, unfortunately Derek and I had to work so we couldn't come so we passed the torch to Greg and Martin!

3-21-2022
FlyBC is training in Savona for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Rain. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was in Savona finishing off some of last years P-2 candidates and we weren't disppointed.

The forecast looked dismal with gusty winds forecsated but we persevered and we were rewarded with beautiful soarable East Winds on the Dump Ridge.

10-12 flights for George and some nice top-landings too.

George spent to winter in San Bernadino and Baja Mexico trying to get some flights but had minimal success.

He got the rust off at Savona for sure and he was doing great flights today.



3-18-2022
FlyBC is training in Savona for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Rain. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was in Savona today.

10-12 flights each for Leonard and George.



3-16-2022
FlyBC is at Woodside with a near finished P-2 student from last year


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Mix of Sun & Cloud. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was at Mission on March 16th starting a new ground school session for George, but the WCSC has not secured a deal to use Heritage Park yet so we headed straight to Woodside.

We drove into Riverside to check out the LZ for George who has only landed at Eagle Ranch prior to today.

The LZ is in great shape and Derek brushed out the road in so it was easy to drive down to the field.

On our way back to the Kettle, we bumped into Martin N and he grabbed a seat in the GMC Sierra as I left the Can Am in halfmoon Bay.

The road is in awful shape due to the winter rains.

We arrived on launch to strongish SW winds and Martin Launched and was in clouds in seconds.



After seeing Martin's flight George decided he would stand down, smart choice!

After Martin commented that it was rough down low and windy up high.

3-15-2022
Rain Day in BC


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Rain. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Sechelt Report - FlyBC is doing errands on this rain day.

3-14-2022
FlyBC is getting rained out today


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Rainfall warning.. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Rain Report - FlyBC is North Vancouver getting reno stuff and it was raining hard!

We had a 2 sailing wait at the ferry because of a loading issue so it was a long day. Looking forward to plane commuting when the weather gets better.

3-13-2022
FlyBC is gearing up for a big new season with lower cost Training Camps for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Martin, Derek and Bev flew Woodside today and had nice flights in ratty conditions (according to Bev).



Derek said it was the sweetest 25 minute of flying he had ever had!

Martin and Derek ended up at Agassiz High School, Bev in Harvest somewhere.



3-09-2022
FlyBC was not flying today but it turned out to be a good day for some pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Howe Sound Report - John and Tom were flying Tunnel Bluffs today and it looked good on their tracklogs.



Another un-named pilot was flying Seymour and had a great flight too on his new Ozone Alpina 4!

I was doing renovations so no flying for me but the new house is looking great with new hardwood flooring and cupboards.

3-08-2022
FlyBC is gearing up for a big new season with lower cost Training Camps for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Pitt Meadows Report - FlyBC was delivering new gear to Gord M in Pitt Meadows avoiding the ferry lineups by flying the Lake LA-4 over.

Nice fast flight 30 minutes from Sechelt to Pitt Meadows Airport around 11 am.



Oddly the RASP was showing strong outflow winds but we were landing to the west on 26L.



I spent an hour on the ground showing Gord how to setup a harness before heading back.

3-6-2022
Folks were flying Woodside and Bennie for some the first good days in 2022


Sechelt Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Mix of Sun and Clouds. High 8. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
040° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Forecast - the forecast did not show the overcast coming in but it didn't stop Martin N from getting 4 hours of airtime!



Others were flying Bennie and had super flights too.



Peter S had two days in a row at Bennie so this tracklog is overlaid.



I had my own flying adventure getting a ride from Ian P in his Pipistrel over the mountains to Abbotsford so I could pick up my bird from maintenance.



Lots of snow in the back country up high and it is getting super busy at CYXX as the water bombers are doing training.

3-4-2022
Folks were flying Woodside and Bennie for the first good days in 2022


Sechelt Forecast

Agassiz Forecast:
Mix of Sun and Clouds. High 8. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
040° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - Martin N, Dennie, Bev, Norm and Derek were flying Woodside today and got over 2 hours of soaring!

Some had to fly out to land to warm up.



2-22-2022
FlyBC is gearing up for a big new season with lower cost Training Camps for new P-2 Pilots


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
sunny with strong outflow winds. High 5. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
040° @ 25 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC stayed at Halfmoon Bay this week because it doesn't look flyable.

2-21-2022
FlyBC was introduced to the Sechelt Dump site today


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Sechelt Dump Report - FlyBC was at the Sechelt Dump Launch today getting an orientation from Coach Miguel.

It is a short hike in to the launch at 630 metres elevation with multiple LZs. They were all used today!



2-20-2022
FlyBC was out hiking today cause it was too windy


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Windy. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
320° @ 45 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Frances Point Report - FlyBC was at Halfmoon Bay this week so we went for a hike at Frances Point.



It was howling but the right direction for our new launch site across the Bay.





Woodside Report - Derek and Martin flew Woodside today for 40 minutes (after hiking up in sunny conditions) but had to bail out as it started raining over Harrison Knob.



2-16-2022
Desperadoes are at Woodside again with a better forecast


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 10. UV index 4 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - I flew the Lake Amphibian over from Sechelt Airport CAP3 and landed at Rowena's Airstrip at the Sandpiper Golf Course.

I had a wayward package that arrived at the Ranch on February 4th and there was no delviery sent to me until I got the customs forms.

So I walked from the golf course to the Ranch while Derek and Martin flew Woodside in cloudy conditions for about an hour.



I had my radio so I could hear them complaining about cold hands and heading out to land to warm up.

My flight over was nice except for the eagle that tried to have a mid-air collision over Bowen Island!



My first landing ever at Rowena's in a plane but it went well and the strip is in excellent shape despite the November flooding.



Flight time from Sechelt to Rowena's is 40 minutes and no ferries!

2-13-2022
Desperadoes are at Woodside


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 10. UV index 4 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - while Colleen and I were hiking on the Sunshine Coast, a few desperadoes were flying Woodside in "so-so" conditions.

Not great cycles and not much lift but they got 12-14 minutes. Not bad for February.

No pictures.

2-12-2022
New Launch found near Pender Harbour for ridge soaring


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 7. UV index 5 or low.
Sechelt:
320° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
New Ridge Site located - FlyBC was out hiking near Francis Peninsula today and I think we found a ride soaring site that faces NW.



Layout is on a moss covered rock with some dead trees nearby that need to be cleared out. But it is launchable! No beack below so you have to top land.



2-9-2022
Savona delivered today


Sechelt Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Sunny. High 7. UV index 4 or low.
Kamloops:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - I had to drive to Sun Peaks to check out a water leak and decided to stay over to get Leonard some flights as he is near to receiving his P-2 rating.

We arrived to east winds but by the time he got setup it switched to NW.

We started with multiple flights off the Toilet Bowl ridge until the cloud cleared from mid-Launch.



We did some regular landings on the flats and once he got that masstered he was doing "Touch & Go's" at the Toilet Bowl Rim.

End of the day at 3 pm he had 12 flights added to his logbook.

2-6-2022
Dakota Ridge had great Cross Country Skiing


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 6. UV index 5 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Cross Country Report - FlyBC is at Dakota Ridge checking out the terrain, but it is too shallow for flying. But maybe some training hill work in the spring?.



Great cross Country Skiing, even better than Sun Peaks!

2-5-2022
February is much warmer here in Halfmoon Bay


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Sunny. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Construction Update - Colleen ordered new garden beds and we found great cedar at a local mill near the airport.



1-2-2022
Sechelt got snow??


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Snow starting this afternoon. High -2. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Secheltt Airport Report - we moved the new bird to Sechelt last month and did not expect to see snow here. And the District does not plow the runway.



1-1-2022
happy New Year from Halfmoon Bay


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning.High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Halfmoon Bay Report - FlyBC is at Halfmoon Bay settling in and Bob is very well adjusted.



12-23-2021 to Dec31-2021
Sun Peaks has lots of snow but it is cold


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Rain starting this afternoon. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Coaches Corner - FlyBC was at Sun Peaks til the New Year and it was too cold to ski or fly - 25C most days.

10-19-2021
Snowy Days


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Snow starting this afternoon. High -1C. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Halfmoon Bay Report - I drove to the Ranch to orient the new owners on how to winterize the barn and pick up some gear.

There was almost 2 feet of snow in the driveway.



At Halfmoon Bay this is what it looked like . . . 0 C and sunny!



Local Leylan hiked up Mt Hallowell today in the snow and it looked beautiful!



He said some trees need to be removed to make it safe for no wind launches.



12-11-2021
Halfmoon Bay Hiking Day #1


Sechelt Forecast

Sechelt Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Rain starting this afternoon. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Sechelt:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Halfmoon Hiking Report - to get a break from unpacking, Colleen and I went for a Hike at Smuggler's Cove. It is about 5 kms from our new house and about a 5 km hike to the ocean.



12-09-2021
Ferry Flight for the Lake Amphib Day


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Lake Amphib Ferry Day - I drove my car over to Chilliwack Airport where the Lake was undergoing some avionics upgrades.

I arrived at noon to find the seats were still out as I had taken them out for the techs and they did not know how to reassemble them.

Gas filled to 40 gallons.

It is now 3 pm and I am at the end of the runway ready to go.

Accelerating down the runway I have no airspeed?

Abort the takeoff and back to the shop.

After 45 minutes they find a plugged pitot line (maybe from a bug that nested there during the one month upgrade).

Back on the runway I takeoff again and this time all the airspered indicators work!

Now I have 45 minutes to get to Sechelt Airport to be able to land in legal daylight as the Sechelt Airport has no landing lights during the runway upgrades.

I fly past Pitt Meadows and ATC reads me 5 by 5, great news after changing the radio.

On to Harbour Tower where they clear me at 1500 feet right over the Harbour and straight into Sechelt. Getting 140 mph on the airspeed indicators at 75% power, not bad for a draggy bird!



I land with 4 minutes to spare and it is dark as I taxi in.



This is where I parked for a few days while they decide where I should be permanently.

12-08-2021
Plane moving day


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Plane Ferry Report - today was the start of the ferry of the GMC Flat Deck to Halfmoon Bay.

I took a Harbour Air flight from Sechelt to Nanaimo and then on the Vancouver Harbour whcih landed at 420 pm.



I then hopped a West Coast Express train to Mission, where Thomm picked me up and drove me to the Ranch to get the truck.

After dinner, I drove to Horseshoe Bay and onto the last ferry to Gibson's.

Long day but worth it, thanks again Thomm!

11-30-2021
Moving Day


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Moving Days - we had the movers arrive at 11 am and I also arrived same time with a 26' U-Haul Van.

Annette & John, 2 movers and Jim & Colleen moved a lot of boxes and both moving trucks were full and could not take some last items.

We loaded on November 29th and headed to Halfmoon Bay that evening and stayed at a local inn.

The movers arrived on the 30th at 1 pm and John & I had unloaded the U-Haul truck and it was out for the way for the rest of the loading.



We had a well deserved meal at a local Mexican Restaurant (where I took the picture that everyone belived was from Mexico!.



11-28-2021
Woodside is looking good for training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Sasquatch Report - one last dinner at the Sasquatch Inn, a replay of a photo we took 21 years ago when we closed the deal on the Ranch.



11-24-2021
Hot Tub moving day


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Hot Tub Moving Day - we found a hot tub available at Bishop's Outdoor Store in Abbotsford last week and today ws the moving day.

Thanks to Thomm and Derek who agreed to help me move it on the flat deck.

We got to the mid-morning ferry and again got the overheight lanes so no waiting.

The hot tub is a smaller one at 425 pounds, but we needed all three of us to muscle it down some boards onto the concrete deck.



11-22-2021
Woodside is looking good for training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Boat Ferry Report - the start of the move to Halfmoon Bay started today.

I hooked up the ski boat and headed to the ferry.

My first ferry lineup was not bad as I got put in the overheight line.



11-21-2021
Woodside is looking good for training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we flew Woodside at noon and the conditions were good enough for 1 hour plus flights.

The road survived the rains and we were able to get up with the CanAm with ease.



11-16-2021
Stuck in Hope


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Hope Report - we drove to Highland Helicopters to book a flight back to Chilliwack as the roads were not likely to open anytime soon.

I was lucky enough to get us a ride out at 800 am and we got to see the destruction from the air.

The Chilliwack Airport was flooded on the east end of the runway but the terminal was high and dry.



One of the Armed Forces helicopters that had been rescuing folks was getting fuel when we landed. They had rescued over 250 people at this time.



We rented a car and headed home to find the Ranch also high and dry despite 200 mms of rain the past three days.

11-14-2021
FDlyBC is at Sun Peaks this weekend moving gear for the winter


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain this weekend with up to 100 mm some days. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - we moved our ski gear to Sun Peaks this weekend and it was not a good choice.

We headed out of Kamloops at noon and first sign of trouble was Highway 5 was closed so we headed to Savona.

As we got close to Savona the signs said Highway 1 was now closed but we went on the Spences Bridge to say hi to Colleen's sister.

We had tea and then headed south . . . just in time! We were headed down Highway 8 towards Merritt and Princeton.

The Nicola River started to flood and by morning had taken out their only bridge access and their own access road.





Traffic was very heavy and almost to a standstill at times as we got through Hope which was in darkness as the power was out.

Highway 1 was washed out at Pompkum due to mudslides so Highway 7 was our only way home.

As we passed the weigh scale at Hope on Highway 7 the traffic got really slow and then we were stopped.

No official word but there was a slide at Hicks Mtn that took out the highway and the powerlines.



We slept in the car from 10 pm til 3 pm waiting for any word.

Facebook was our only news feed and the occasional reports from News1130 but there was no way to go. We tried to go back to Hope but there was a new slide at Haig so we were stuck.

Mid day a nice gentleman pulled up in a van and said Camp Hope was open with food and drinks.

Camp Hope was a Bible Camp that was recently converted to a shelter for the Lytton fire displacees. They had power from generators, water and food and they were feeding 250 folks stranded like us.



We finally took a chance after 2.5 days and got back to Hope thru the Haig slide and slept at the Hope Airport.

11-10-2021
The Ranch is looking bare as we move out the cars and tractors


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Eagle Ranch Report - no lessons today but we did move Northshore Paragliding's van over to Chris Mile's place for the winter.

We also moved a tractor and implements to a farm in Langley as we prepare to move on the 30th.



11-01-2021
BC is looking good for float training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Float Training Day #2 - I flew CFFNQ to Pitt Meadows for float lessons today.



Dave met me there and we took the Lake LA-4 down the float ramp into the river to check the hull was not leaking.

After 10 minutes of taxiing around the river we took it up to dry land to see if we took on any water and it was dry.

Off the river for my first water takeoff in many years and we flew up the river to Pitt Lake.

The first landing was in pretty big swells but it was good.

Took off and did another circuit and landed on Pitt Lake again.

Did some more approaches and then flew back to Pitt Meadows for a river landing.

4 hours dual now towards the 8 hours required by TC!

10-24-2021
Woodside is looking rained out


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Tofino Report - Colleen & I took a rainy weekend off to meet her sister in Tofino.

Great storm watching as a big system moved on on the weekend.



10-21-2021
Woodside is looking good for training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - no students today but we had a beautiful sunrise.



10-19-2021
Woodside is looking good for training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Float Rating Day #1 - first day of dual training in the Lake LA-4.

I flew to Langley Airport at around 10 am.



Dave and I flew from Langley up to the north end of Pitt Lake for some slow flight exercises including stalls and steep bank turns.

After 2 hours we returned to Langley where ATC could not hear our radio so I flew us back to Chilliwack qand then I drove Dave back to get his truck.

10-11-2021
Woodside is looking good for training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers early this morning. Clearing this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 12. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1200 metres
Woodside WOW Report - FlyBC was at Woodside at noon Monday for lessons.

We arrived at launch to find it in cloud and very cold with 10 kph of East winds.



We had faith in the RASP which showed it would turn around soon.

We just needed some sun to trigger some thermals.

Once it did turn around, we had Juan, Nadia & Leonard in the air for their first flights today.

The first flight was a sled ride and they jumped into Leonard's car to meet us at the bottom to speed up the shuttling.

By now many other pilots arrived and at my count there was 40 pilots and 10 "Lookie-Loo's".



The winds went tail again for some time and launch was pretty crowded but I managed to get my students off quite quickly when a spot opened up. No twisted risers or line tangles and they had everything sorted despite the small spaces.

This flight had Leonard finding some good thermals and he got a 30 minute flight for flight #7!

There were more than 20 pilots in the air on our third trip up the mountain.



We got four flights today stopping at 6 pm.

Leonard's last flight was a ridge soaring session and he got well above launch, while Derek & Kevin climbed to 1200 metres on their solo flights.



10-9-2021 to 10-10-2021
Woodside is looking wet for training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Heacy Rain. High 13. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 35 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - no flying Thanksgiving Weekend due to monsoon rains.

10-8-2021
Woodside is looking good for training


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Clearing near noon. High 15. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was at Woodside at noon Friday and we had 5 flight rounds with Babak and Len.

Nice conditions and both students got to thermal on a few of the flights.

I even got Colleen out flying her new wing, a BGD Lynx we took on trade on an Ozone A4. Should a "good hike & fly" wing for Pender Harbour!

10-7-2021
Woodside is looking good for thermalling but I am headed to Calgary to get my new plane


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 40 percent chance of drizzle this morning. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 16. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1200 metres
Plane Ferry Report - I was in High River early to collect my new Lake LA-4 Amphibian from the mechanic doing the annual inspection.

I did a test flight and everything worked as designed but I did have some trouble starting it as a battery cable was corroded.

An hour later the AME fixed the connector and I fueled up and was on my way to Cranbrook.

Good conditions on the way to Pincher Creek with thermal condition over the foothills.



Frank Slide was also quite bumpy as the upper level winds were strong from the SW.

Elkford had great lift up the slopes as I flew by.



Cranbrook was windy from the South when I landed so I had a short landing roll and it was cold when I fueled up. Gas is now $2.05 a litre for 100LL.

As you can see in the picture there is a system rolling through from the SW.



When I took off the winds had switched to NW 16 gusting to 21 (knots) and there was a storm cell over the north end of the rinway so I had to turn left immediately and head south.

The VFR Route was clear almost to Creston but I had to divert a few times as valley closed in on my with snow squalls.

Tip of the Day: When flying a Lake LA-4 dress warm as the cabin is unheated and breezy.

I was getting snow on me when flying close to these storms.

The orginal flight plan was to fly to Nelson and then west towards Oliver.

The systems changed that plan as it was clearer toward the US border.

My routing now changed to follow the valleys to Salmo and Grand Forks and at times it was quite clouded in but I had clear skies above and could always go "VFR-on-Top".



I got to Penticton and stop to refuel and warm up and it was gorgeous there with light winds.



One last leg from Penticton to Chilliwack and there was some clouds enroute at 9000 feet but it was clear sailing as I decended from Hope to Woodside before landing at Chilliwack in east winds.

Almost 6 hours of flying with many detours due to weather but a good shakedown cruise.



10-6-2021
Woodside is looking wet today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 40 percent chance of drizzle this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 16. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - we came home from Savona early as it was too windy.

It was still raining at Woodside so it was glider inspection day.

What goes into an inspection?

Porosity Testing in 5 cells
Line check for abrasions
Trim Check to make sure it is within limits
Hang glider and check for holes, tears and debris


Repair as necessary

Cost is $100 CDN



10-5-2021
Savona Road Trip Tuesday & Wednesday


Agassiz Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 16. UV index 3 or moderate.
Savona:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was at Savona and had a good day.



Babak, Maryam and Eric got 5-6 flights each before it blew out.

10-4-2021
Woodside is looking good for training Monday with a Savona Road Trip Tuesday & Wednesday


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 40 percent chance of drizzle this morning. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 16. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was at Woodside Monday and we logged 5 student rounds with Eric working on his P-2 rating.



10-3-2021
Woodside is looking bad for training so we did a One Day Road Trip to Savona


Agassiz Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Mix of Sun and Cloud. Wind becoming east 20 gusting to 40 by noon. High 19. UV index 3 or moderate.
Kamloops:
040° @ 35 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC took the team of students to Savona for Sunday.

The forecast for Woodside was rainy and windy. Kamloops said sunny but east winds 20 gusting to 40 by noon.

We arrived at 9 am to light west winds and started flying 5 students into the Toilet Bowl.



We got about 5 flights done by noon and the winds did switch to light east.

We moved to the Dump Ridge and practiced reverse launch techniques and then started flying there.



The students got 2-3 more flights here depending on their skills.

So a total of 8 flights quitting at 3 pm when they started making dumb mistakes. No injuries but some bad landings and takeoffs!

Six hours of driving and six hours of intensive training made for a long day for this retiring instructor.

10-2-2021
Woodside is looking good for training Saturday


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 16. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was at Woodside Saturday and we flew three student rounds before it got too windy.



You can see the new carpet we placed today. It still needs to be glued down but it needs 2 dry days to do that.



Here is Eric on flight number 5 on his new Ozone Buzz Z5.

10-1-2021
Woodside is looking good for training Friday & Saturday


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud in the morning. High 16. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was at Woodside Friday and conditions were perfect for new students.

We had four new students and Bev worked with them in the LZ and by 3 pm we took them up to Launch for a flight.

We had two youngsters (10 & 12) that elected to go tandem with Gord for their first flights. Len and Eric decided to go solo and had great first flights.

Meanwhile the pros got 2-3 hours of soaring and top landings.



We went up at 5:30 pm and Eric got another solo flight. Len had to head back to work but he will be back soon and wants to get some hike & fly gear.

Looks like October is going to be busy!

Looking for instructors for October if anyone is free and wants to earn some cash.

9-30-2021
Woodside is looking wet this week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain at times heavy. Amount 20 to 30 mm. Wind southwest 20 km/h becoming light near noon. High 15. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 12 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - heavy rainfall warning.

9-29-2021
Woodside is looking wet this week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. A few showers this afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. Wind southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40. Temperature steady near 14. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was in Savona early but the wind was blowing over 30 kph at 9 am so we headed back to Woodside.

We arrived just after noon and the rain quit at Woodside so we went up to launch.



We tried a few forward launches but there was enough tailwind that Malcolm could not get a solid wing and it just got wetter and wetter and heavier so we had to pack up and drive down.

9-27-2021
Woodside is looking good for Thursday for flights


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. A few showers this afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. Wind southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40. Temperature steady near 14. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - bad weather all day at Woodside so we headed to Savona for a few days.

It is rare to get a light wind day when there is a front on the coast but that is what we got today!

I was supposed to have 4-5 students here but only Malcolm showed up for an Intro Course.

By 10 am he already had his first flight off the Toilet Bowl.



We completed three great flights into the Toilet Bowl when the wind switch to southerly, so we to the Mid Launch.



Two flights off Mid Launch before it switched to east wind (despite a forecast of +25 kph of SW winds).

We headed to the Dump Ridge where it was now blowing about 20 kph and steady with no gusts.



Malcolm's first reverse launches here and his first flight ended up with a top-landing!

We kept flying until 3 pm and he was too "bagged" after 12 flights today. Not bad for Day One.

9-26-2021
Woodside is looking wet


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. A few showers this afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. Wind southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40. Temperature steady near 14. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - closed due to heavy rains.

9-25-2021
Woodside is looking good for today flights


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. A few showers beginning this morning. High 18. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we had three students here for Day Two of an Intro course and Bev worked them hard in the LZ til 2 pm.

Lots of pilots flying tandem and solo flights but they were short flights due to the inversion.

Light winds on launch until we arrived at 2 pm, and it was howling and some pilots needed help getting off as they had only flown in light winds (not our students).

We waited til 4:30 pm for the winds to calm down and I got Dawson, Kein and David their first solo flights with Colleen guiding them into the LZ.

This is a picture I stole off Facebook cause I was too busy to do any filming today.



9-23-2021
Woodside is looking good for Thursday for flights


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. A few showers beginning this morning. High 18. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Coaches Corner - FlyBC is in Savona til Thursday.

9-24-2021
Woodside is looking wet today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. A few showers beginning this morning. High 18. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Rain Report - We had some rain and showers early on but flew some paramotor flights later in the day.



This is Peter flying his shiny new Kangook Moster 185 for his 35th flight!

9-23-2021
Woodside is looking good for Thursday for flights


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. A few showers beginning this morning. High 18. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - no flights today as everyone stayed home.

9-21-2021
Woodside is looking like outflow so we went to Savona


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. High 18.
Agassiz:
040° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC went to Savona for the day due to outflow winds at Woodside.

Fou & Tyler are almost done their P-2 Training so Savona wa a great place to get their finishing flights.

Conditions were great at 9 am with 15-20 kph East winds at the Dump Ridge.

We got five flights there before it switched to SW.

We went to the Toilet Bowl and they got a few more flights there with Marketa from Squamish.

Then up to Mid Launch where we are just outside the Sparks Lake wildfire exclusion zone. I think Oscar's Up[per Launch is still excluded.

We got another five or more flights off the Mid Launch and started some fun exercises: Top Land on the North Facing part of the Toilet Bowl and relaunch for two flights. Also Top Landing "Touch & Go's" on the SW facing rim of the Toilet Bowl.

Gord arrived at 4 pm to spare me off as I had to run home for errands.

I lost count but we had at least 10-12 flights completed by 4 pm.

Fou is at 40 flights, Tyler at 33 and they are great pilots already!

9-20-2021
Woodside is looking good for Monday thru Wednesday for flights


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. High 18.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was open Monday after 10 am after voting in this ridiculous election.

Tyler was the only student that showed up and he had a great day with 5 awesome flights and no delays on launch.



The CanAm was running great after a weekend maintenance session replacing some shocks and bushing pins and grease job.

Tyler mentioned it runs way stronger without seven passengers!

We had a nice full moon tonight too!



9-19-2021
Woodside is looking wet til Monday


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain ending this morning then cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon. High 15. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

600 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was closed due to rain and hail.

9-18-2021
Woodside is looking wet for a week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain at times heavy. Amount 30 mm. Wind becoming south 40 km/h gusting to 70 near noon. High 15. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 55 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

600 metres
Woodside rain Report - FlyBC was closed due to a monsoon.

9-17-2021
Woodside is looking wet for a week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain at times heavy. Amount 30 mm. Wind becoming south 40 km/h gusting to 70 near noon. High 15. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 55 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

600 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was closed due to rain.

9-16-2021
Woodside is looking great today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 26. Humidex 29. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - we were open later as it looked like outflow in the morning.

But I figured it would be a good day as Peter, Nicole, Alex, Claudia and a bunch of other pilots showed up today.

We were able to launch the first of 5 rounds by 1030 am and it was already lifty then. Nice wispy clouds marking the lift too.



A bunch of the pros launched and had great flights.



KVA had a great tandem and his passenger got high with him and the landings were very nice at the Ranch.



There were good thermal over the South Knoll and the eagles were getting high with the paragliders.



The students were doing great with independent setups and checks and we were able to launch 6 of them over and over again within an hour and they were mostly self-landing with just a few tips.

Ali got his first thermals and was able to stay aloft without guidance after a few tips!

We shut down at 5:30 pm as it appeared to go leeside later and the last tandems had to sprint off in no wind.

9-15-2021
Woodside is looking wet


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Showers. High 18. Humidex 29. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Rain Report - FlyBC is closed today.

9-14-2021
Woodside is looking windy today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 26. Humidex 29. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 45 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - we got blown out all day, good day to do my First Aid recertification in Burnaby.

Big power outages in Vancouver and Richmond as the windstorm ripped through the mainland.

9-13-2021
Woodside is looking great today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 26. Humidex 29. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - we were open early as it looked windy later in the day.

New student Josh arrived and we did ground school and simulator work while Gord was launching the P-2 students.

After a few hours Josh was ready to fly and we did the landing briefings.

He was able to watch several pilots landing while we were kiting so he had a firm grasp of the concept.

Conditions were perfect all day and we managed to get 5 student rounds in and Josh flew 3 flights.



9-12-2021
Woodside is looking wet today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Showers. High 17. Humidex 29. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Rain Report - we were closed Sunday due to rain but Brad & Kevin waited all day at Bridal and they got a flight.

9-11-2021
Woodside is looking great for a week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 26. Humidex 29. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was open all weekend.

We had good flights for the students today but Sunday looks wet.

9-10-2021
Woodside is looking great for a week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 26. Humidex 29. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - we had low cloud forming in front of launch which slowed down our launch sequences.



We had 6 students and everyone flew 3 flights despite the clouds. They had to self-land because it was just me here instructing today.

9-9-2021
Woodside is looking great for a week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this afternoon. High 26. Humidex 29. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was open and busy training students with Gord doing the launch work and me landing them.

9-8-2021
Woodside is looking good today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 29. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was open after the rain this morning.

We had a great ground school session for 4 hours, then some kiting and when the wind started blwoing up the hill we went flying.

Two tandems for Sam & Jeremy and 2 student flights for Fou, Nadia, Juan, and newbie Tyler who bagged his first high flights on his AirDesign Susi 3 - 21!

9-7-2021
Woodside is looking good for flights all day


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 26. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

600 metres
Woodside Report - we had outflow in the morning but great flights all day long with 4 student rounds.

We had great assistance with Sam & Jeremy who are here doing an Instructor/Tandem Seminar this week.

9-6-2021
Woodside is looking good for Monday


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
a mix of sun and cloud. High 22. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC re-opened on September 6.

We had a crop of new students today and they integrated well with Fou and the other nearly minted P-2s.

We had a great kiting session in the Eagle Ranch LZ in 10-15 kph east winds but when we went to the training hill we had to wait.



What is wrong with this picture?

By 6 pm everyone was ready to fly so I took them up to launch and the newbies got their first high flights!

This is Lee testing the air after his long hike up (#20 this year!)



This Nadia landing at the Ranch later in the day.



9-5-2021
Woodside is looking wet for two days because it is a long weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Becoming cloudy this morning. Periods of rain beginning late this afternoon. High 22. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

600 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was closed Sunday due to the rainy forecast but it was dry enough to do some gardening but no flying.

9-4-2021
Woodside is looking wet for two days because it is a long weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Becoming cloudy this morning. Periods of rain beginning late this afternoon. High 22. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

600 metres
Rain Report - FlyBC is closed today for rain which is badly needed but Sunday looks good.

9-3-2021
Woodside is looking good


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 22. UV index 5 or moderate.\\
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC had a big day today.

Four students for PG P-2, one PPG student and four tandems!

Mattias was flying his brand new Ozone Mojo wing we just sourced for him and doing light wind reverse launches with style.



Grant on the PPG Paramotor got 5 flights and 4 hours of airtime on the newly rebuilt Blackhawk 125 Lite motor. I replaced the piston and cylinder after a student melted it down in the spring and she ran beautifully!



Grant was flying on his Nova Aonic XS and it flew very well on the motor, good stability even mid-day.

The four P-2 students got five flights except for one un-named student who decided to ridge soar herself into the clearcut below launch. No injuries or damage but a good neighbour called 911 thinking it was a crash but fortunately I called the 911 call off. I would not let her fly again until she accepted that she screwed up on her 23rd flight. First time ever that that has happened with a student!

The forecast called for +20kph of SW winds but it never materialized. Late launches were no-winders.

While I was guiding the last landings many flocks of geese flew overhead. This is quite early for them to be flying south. Gonna be a cold long winter!



9-2-2021
Woodside is looking good


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 22. UV index 5 or moderate.\\
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1200 metres
Woodside Wow Report - we had lots of students and tandems to complete today but the winds were outflow til 2 pm.

But we got two student rounds in and some very long and high flights for the students.

I lost track of Niloo while guiding some other students and Dennie reported back that she was up at 1900 metres over Woodside with Dennie (who was flying a tandem).

Gord also did two tandems today and got high both times.



We had to cancel the last flight for two students as it kept getting stronger at 7:30 pm.

9-1-2021
Woodside is looking good


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 22. UV index 5 or moderate.\\
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC re-opened on September 1 and we had a full house.

We had many new and continuing Ed Students and many tandems too.

Conditions were great in the LZ for kiting and even better on launch for newbies.

Gord did 2 tandems and climbed out on each one.



8-1-2021 to 8-31-2021
Woodside is looking good


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A few showers ending this afternoon then mainly cloudy. Hazy becoming local smoke this afternoon. High 26. Humidex 31. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

450 metres
August Report - FlyBC and the Eagle Ranch LZ was closed til September 1.

There were some big flights by some of our clients in August!

Noteable day was August 24th, with a big flight off Grouse Mtn. with a landing on Bowen Island!



Also a great flight off Benny by Kim M who has not flown for a year!



But we were real estate shopping on the gulf islands and Sunshine Coast so no flying from us but we found a new site "actually an old site Glen Taylor used to fly in the 90's".



7-30-2021
Woodside is looking good all day for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 33. Humidex 38. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1050 metres
Riverside Report - Gord was flying students all day into Riverside as we closed the Eagle Ranch LZ for improvements and vacation.

7-30-2021
Woodside is looking good all day for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 33. Humidex 38. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1050 metres
Woodside Report - Gord and I were working with students all day and they logged 4 flights into the Ranch and the HG LZ.

7-29-2021
Woodside is looking good all day for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 29. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 18 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1050 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 9 am.

Kevin, Brad and Derek were doing tandems landing at the HG LZ mid day. Great conditions ith light winds and thermals to get them above launch.

Gord was the managing instructor today with 4 students and great conditions to get Andrew in tha air after a week of kiting.

I was landing coach, sitting by the back barn in the shade.

Here is Daisy coming in to the Eagle Ranch LZ on her new SupAir Leaf Light 2.



Gord took the gang up for one last fight at 7:30 pm after an afternoon of kiting when it got too windy and thermic to fly.

Daisy landed near the Pro Circle on her 28th flight today to save the walk in to the Barn!

Big smiles all around!

7-28-2021
Woodside is looking good this morning but a bit windy in the afternoon for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 29. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (unstable)

1150 metres
Wooside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 9 am.

Su had a great day with four Woodside flights and one tandem flight at Bridal fro her site introduction.

I was busy shuttling Su up and down Woodside while another group of P-2s were flying into Riverside.



Tip of the Day: If you get "popped up" on final at Riverside make a left 90 turn down the roadway behind the big tree . . . do not go straight ahead or you will be in Blackberries (big blackberry bushes)!

Look on Google Maps for the roadway I am talking about. It cross Riverside behind the only tree.

Later in the day Colleen, Daisy, Su and I went to Bridal.

The Derek Shuttle was full so we took Norm up with us in the Can Am.

We arrived to a big flurry of activity as Dennie was assessing a posssible injured pilot that had "full stalled" from over 30 feet in the air and hit the ground hard.

They were on a Swing EN-C glider and it apparently had a fast stall and no recovery (no SharkNose tech here).

After an assessment the pilot was up and on their feet with a possible concussion and internal injuries but they were able to drive down.

I launched with Su on a Magnum 2 38 and we soared for an hour before taking her out to a standard approach into the Bridal LZ, prepping her for her first solo here.

We had a nice touchdown in the mowed grass and then after packing I guided Daisy in for her first landing here too (she is on flight #23).



7-27-2021
Woodside is looking good this morning but a bit windy in the afternoon for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 33. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1050 metres
Bridal Report - Derek and a group went up Bridal and mowed launch today, thanks for the continued maintenance.

There was still plentiful lift after 7 pm, and not too windy at Bridal while Woodside was still reporting +31 kph SW gusts at 8 pm (so not flyable).



Reminder that the Benny LZ is closed starting on July 28-31 for film work. Woodside Riverside LZ is mowed and available as is Bridal LZ.





Woodside Throwback Picture found on Facebook taken by a tandem passenger from 2008. Note where Harrison Highlands (aka The Construction Zone) is now located - just a forest and a little pond.



7-26-2021
Woodside is looking good this morning but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1350 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

Gord was launching Daisy, Maryam and David D and they were landing at Riverside for their first times today to save to retrieve.

I was in the Riverside LZ for their first approaches and then I met Derek, Jay and Andrei and we worked on a new windsock location with a permanent spring loaded base that is concreted in.



Derek, Jay and Andrei flew off and they found some thermals while I drove the tools down.

The students had one last round into the Ranch where it started to get windy by 1 pm as forecasted.

Gord, Derek, Bev, Norm and Jay flew Bridal later and had nice flights while it was still blowing +28 kph on the Zak-o-meter at Woodside.

This was Gord's view of Bridal today.



7-25-2021
Woodside is looking good this morning but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1350 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

Gord was managing the student duties on top and I did the odd landing coaching as needed.

We got four student rounds in today before it blew out.

Kevin & Brad did a set of tandems over at Bridal at 5 pm and had wonderful flights to Elk and back, eventualy landing at Brad's Ford Road property in Rosedale.



We went up for a late Woodside flight and waited a bit too long for the winds to die down.

I launched first on the Phi Tenor Light and it was magic air everywhere to 900 metres.



After a nice Zen Launch taking my time to feel the air mass, I was off and climbing with 16-20 kph of penetration and +2 m/s lift all around the mountain.



Gord was off next with Daisy on board for her ridge soaring lessons.



Jay and Colleen launched after Gord and Colleen reported getting only 6 kph of forward penetration and it was already getting late and my calculator said she would be laning in the dark if she made it out to the Ranch.

I had already flown to the Ranch and was still at 700 metres so I flew back to launch to follow her to Harvest where we had interesting landings with 30 kph of SW winds until tree top height and then we had east winds on final with very fast approach speeds!

Gord landed at the Ranch after multiple spirals and "big ears" on his new AirDesign Ride 3.

Jay did "big ears" all the way into Riverside.

7-24-2021
Woodside is looking good this morning but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1350 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

New student Arnel did very well getting his first solo flight by 1 pm.

We had a group of five tandems mid-day and all landed at the HG LZ.



It was "tandemonium" all day today with the last tandems landing at 8:30 pm.



Students got 5 flights today and Rachel finished her 25th flight with some ridge soaring.

7-23-2021
Woodside is looking good this morning but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing late this morning. High 25. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1250 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 9 am.

Gord was finishing up his last practice tandems with our recently graduated P-2s today and Ed finished his 25th flight too.



Our 11 am tandems didn't arrive til 5 pm and they had to wait til 7 pm for the winds to subside but they had great flights landing at sunset.

Here is Brad flying tandem passenger #1.



Derek launched the second tandem and it was still a bit spicy on launch so they went up easily!



Gord took Chris tandem as he closes in on getting certified this week.

7-22-2021
Woodside is looking good this morning but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing this morning. Becoming windy early this afternoon. High 23. Humidex 25. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1550 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

We had a great day and Su got her first three flights after a great tandem earlier in the week.

Rachel was out doing her last few flights to earn her P-2 rating and got a bit confused about East-West-North-South when I told her to lose height over the West Field (formerly the Corn Field).

We did get her over to the right area and it was not windy so no rotor today.



Ed had a nice long final into the circle today on the Independence Cruiser 26.



Gord was managing the launch and shuttle duties today, while I did the landings and chores.

Gord even managed to get two tandem flights late in the day in with Brian and Luke on his way to his tandem certification. I think they landed well after sunset cause they were really high when we looked out.

7-21-2021
Woodside is looking good this morning but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 22. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1300 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

We got up the mountain early and launched Daisy, Matthew and Zack and they had magic lift at 8:30 am!



It was a slow trip out to the Ranch but they came in high and had smooth landings.

We decided not to take them back up at 10 am, when we had three tandems to fly because the RASP and SpotWX both showed stronger winds by then but we had no problems launching the tandems and the magic lift was gone, but we had nice 30 minute flights and smooth landings.

I guess the students could have flown, but it is always better to be safe.

By noon it was howling on launch and in the LZ, so it was a day of indoor ground school and Daisy headed back to work.





Tunnel Bluuffs Report - Brett and a few others flew Tunnel Bluffs this week and had nice flights.C

Brett sent me this shot of orbiting around the Lions before heading south along the Howe Sound.



He and another un-named pilot flew down to land in Clevland Park below Grouse Mountain.



7-20-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 28. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1300 metres
Woodside Report - we started flying students at 8 am.

Our first flight was calm winds and some nice thermals early on.



David B is nearing his P-2 graduation and here on his 23rd flight he found some magic lift over the valley and he was parked over the Ranch at 700 metres.

He had to do Big-Ears and 360's for 30 minutes to get down.

On the second round fo flights I sent new P-1 candidate Matthew straight out to the Ranch and it was starting to get gusty and thermic but he sis very well landing almost in the circle with Gord guiding him.

Our plan was for the pilots nearing their P-2 to fly towards Harvest.

Ed launched first and was climbing over the South Knoll when the lift just quit and he was heading down.

He found some lift over Harrison Highlands and made it to a bumpy landing at Eagle Ranch with peak gusts to 25 kph.

His partner Rachel flew to the South Knoll and climbed out as did Daisy, David and Zack.

They all found the designated hay field to land it and they were stoked to do their first mini-XC flight!

This is Safety Training with a Plan-B in case one launches and it is too windy for safe flights to the west.

7-19-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 28. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1300 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at work at Eagle Ranch at 9 am.

Derek came up with the first load of students and brushed out the front of launch with his weed-whacker.



We are also coming up with a permanent windsock pole as someone keeps taking it down on weekends making it hard to see the conditions.

We managed to get 3 student flights in before the winds blew strong.

No evening flights as it stayed over 35 kph on top til dark.

7-18-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon but a bit windy for students mid-day


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 29. UV index 10 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Gord was in charge of students and was landing their flights at the HG LZ for faster retrieves and a different flight path.

They got three flights in before it got too thermic.

Recent sign off Brian had a great thermalling flight and now thinks he wants a Swift 5.



The tandems today were brilliant again as was the last flight for the students around 6:30 pm, Daisy got high and finally got to thermal.

There was a report of a reserve toss and tree landing at Benny today.

SAR was called and the un-named pilot was down by dark.

7-17-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 29. Humidex 29. UV index 10 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Tandemonium - we had seven tandems to do today and we started at 11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm and 6 pm and they all had great flights.

Every tandem flight was over 45 minutes and the passengers all kept their lunch down!



Derek did one last tandem landing after 8 pm into the mosquito zone, do not hang around after sunset!

7-16-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 26. Humidex 29. UV index 10 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - I took Daisy up the mountain early and we launched her with the HG LZ as the alternate landing field.

It was going up everywhere at 9:30 am just before the big winds appeared.



She had a nice long flight and her first landing in a different field!

Then it got very windy as a cold front rolled through the area.

7-15-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 29. UV index 10 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Gord was manning the students today and we had Daisy flying in the morning with newly graduated P-2s Brian and Zack flying with her.

7-14-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 26. Humidex 29. UV index 10 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we were back flying with Daisy, Niloo and Kevin and they got three flights during the day.

7-13-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 27. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 9 am.

Niloo and Daisy were here to fly with Gord, while I worked with Kevin and Brenda in the landing field.

Both newbies did well kiting both forward and reverse and they were ready to fly by 2 pm, but it got too windy.

Niloo and Daisy got two flights before it got strong.

We took a lunch break and waited for 5 pm for the winds to drop below 20 kph.

Linda, Dennie, Derek went up in their truck followed by Gord in the Can Am.

Derek and Dennie launched first and soared around while Gord got the students ready.

Gord launched Daisy, then Niloo and finally Kevin.

Brenda is sitting out til she gets a tandem tomorrow.

It "glassed off" and the students got high and had long flights landing in the sunset.

7-12-2021
Woodside is looking too windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 27. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is closed today due to high winds.

Reports said it was blowing +30 kph early in the day so just some speed wing kiting.

I arrived at Cooking Lake Airport in an UBER to wait for my Cessna 172 Taxi to take me to Bonnyville Airport.



A very nice little airport just east of Edmonton International.



Yvon arrived in his 172 and I piled in and we were off to Bonnyville at a blistering 102 knots.



An hour later and we were on the ground and getting the paperwork done on the Lake LA-4 I bought.



The Lake has been sitting around for 10 years with occasional test flights but the curent owner lost his medical and had to quit flying it.



I have to get it ferried to High River to get a new annual and some snags fixed but it is a solid bird with low engine and airframe hours.

I got back to Abbotsford on WestJet late in the evening but it was a worthwhile trip.

Not my Lake Amphibian, but this shows you the possibilities!



7-11-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon but a bit windy for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 27. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 9 am.

The RASP said +25 kph by 1 pm so we got up early and the students got 3 flights by 1 pm.

The five tandems came at 11 am an by 2 pm and we had them completed with the last round heading to the Harvest area.



The students stayed in the LZ while we were doing tandems and kited til it calmed down enough to fly at 5 pm.



We got a good round of student flights after 6 pm with some soaring.

I had to bolt to the Abbotsford Airport after the students landed to fly to Edmonton to pick up my new plane arriving there at midnight.

7-10-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 28. Humidex 33. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - I took Niloo and Ken up for a first flight at 9 am, while Dennie kited with new students.

Ken failed at launching 5 times so we bagged his gear up and Niloo launched after one duff.

I took Brad and Kevin up for a tandem at noon and it was already too strong for students.

The RASP was off by at least 15 kph. But the guys got off clean and soared til their passengers got a bit airsick so they flew to Harvest after 30 minutes.



Meanwhile . . . back at the Ranch the new crew of students was doing very well as we bid Ken adieu.

Good news from the bottom of Woodside! A car scrapper came and got the wreck that had been hauled down last year and carried it away on a flat deck trailer.



There is a load of garbage left behind but I might do a little work party this week with the Tacoma and haul it to the dump.

We waited til 6 pm but the winds never abated, reading gusts to 33 kph on the Zak-o-meter so the students went home.

Salmon Arm Report - Normando flew Fly Hills west of Salmon Arm today and got to 3500 metres and flew south to Armstrong. Not sure why he stopped here? Maybe wind?

Pemby Report - Gord flew Pemberton today to secape the students and had a good XC flight to Goat Mtn. landing at the Beer Farm. No mention of Zack and Matt? Is there a story?

7-9-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 27. Humidex 30. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
WWoodside Report - FlyBC was training all day long with Gord and Tayt managing the students while I prepped gear and worked on the ground with kiting and the odd landing.

Students got 4 good flights, and Ed got the flight of the day soaring with Tayt and he got high and logged about 45 minutes in the air. He only came down because he was feeling airsick. Remember to look at the horizon when you are flying (oh and watch out for other pilots too).

Andrew the Hangglider said "We all went shortly after 4pm. there was lift and we were able to maintain about 2200-2400. One of us managed to find a fairly constant thermal (launched 30 minutes later) and made it to 2600+.

One of the HG students got the longest flight at 45 minutes also!

We went back up after the students went home at 6 pm and some soared and some found sink.



This is Linda and Colleen just off launch last night.

When I saw how lame it was I drove down to save the retrieve of the Defender.

7-8-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 23. Humidex 26. UV index 10 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - we had a full load of 6 students and they got 4 flights each.

We had an early start at 9 am and it was lifty already at that time.



7-7-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 23. Humidex 26. UV index 10 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - we had lots of students today and they got 4 flights before it blew out.

Wwe received the first Gin Explorer2 S today and it flies great. We had recently graduated P-2 Zack flying it for three flights and he did great on it, but it is a bit hot for a newly minted P-2.

Gin Explorer2 Small - 75-95 kgs for more details.

7-6-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing this morning. Hazy early this morning. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 29. Humidex 31. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt and Gord teamed up and took care of the students today.

They got 4 flights in again today landing at Riverside.

David was paramotoring early but the engine overheated and would not restart, so he had to go free flying.

Derek, Bev, Colleen and I went flying at 7 pm and we managed to stay up for an hour!

I was flying the Phi Tenor Light Large (for sale now) and it flew quite nice. I got a low save by the dead snag and cimbed up to 900 metres.

7-5-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing this morning. Hazy early this morning. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 29. Humidex 31. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt managed to get 4 student flight done before it got too windy.

Tayt and his gang went for some speed flying runs at Bridal last night after work too.

Who stole the Bridal LZ windsock and pole?

7-4-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing this morning. Hazy early this morning. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 29. Humidex 31. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were closed Sunday.

7-3-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing this morning. Hazy early this morning. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 29. Humidex 31. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were closed for the weekend.

7-2-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 32. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Gord & Tayt were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with 8 students.

We had some students at 3 flights, some at 24 flights and some that were just starting to ground handle.

And we got three flights in before it blew out.



7-1-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 37. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Gord & Tayt were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with many students.

I finally got fuel in the T337B and we had to wait for the smoke to clear as the forest fires grew in the night.

We tried to head out around 3 pm and got as far as Cache Creek and had to return to Kamloops.

In the 25 minutes were were gone, Kamloops went IFR! So we had to request Special VFR to get in.

Finally at 6 pm the skies opened up enough to get airborne again and we climbed out over the airport and did a VFR-over-the-Top flight to Hope and then int Chilliwack.



When we landed at Chilliwack it was still blowing 20 kph from the SW.

6-30-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 38. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt & Gord were back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

I flew the T337B to Bonnyville AB today with the new owner William to get him some hours for his insurance requirements.

2:45 to Bonnyville Airport direct via Edmonton International, where we landed in strong 20 knot crosswinds with thermals!



I looked at a new bird - a 1974 Lake LA-4 Turbo - and I liked it and gave them a deposit cheque. I will pick it up in early July.

On the return leg I noticed that the new owner had not filled the fuel tanks properly and opted to stop in Kamloops for fuel.



Big mistake as the only fuel truck on the airport was overheated and could not dispense fuel, and we waited til dark for it to restart with no luck.

So we spent the night in a Travelodge.

6-29-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt & Gord we were back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

More errands and gear shipping to happy clients.

Four flights before it got strong for the students.

Gord did another tandem with newly signed off P-2 Matt.

6-28-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 38. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with 6 students and Tayt & Gord were manning the troops today while I ran some errands.

Daisy got her first high flights and logged three great flights on the AirDesign Susi 3-18.

6-27-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am and had a large group of students.

Weekdays have been so much more productive for students.

6-26-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 40. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt & Gord were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am.

I had to go into Vancouver to pick up Bob, who has been in a vet hospital getting her radiation therapy this week.

She was very happy to get home.

6-25-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 38. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with students for another fun-filled day.

I had to remove all the wheels off the Can Am Defender as we shredded a rear tire yesterday and I needed to get a new set installed.

The original set lasted 4200 kms of Woodside FSR, so not bad!

I installed a set of 30x11x14 which are 3" taller and it makes the quad more stable as well as adding ground clearance.

6-24-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 8. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with many students.

I lost count but I saw at least 8 students come and go today!

I helped out so Gord & Tayt could do some tandems.



The air has been very inverted as you can see by the smog layers.

6-23-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 39. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with students.

Gord is working on his practice tandems and had a nice soaring flight today on our AirDesign Ride3 tandem.



6-22-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
MA mix of sun and cloud. High 42. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

The students are amazing, kiting in 42C heat for hours to improve their launch skills.

6-21-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 38. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 8 am.

The heat wave has started so we are starting early these days to beat the heat.

6-20-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
MA mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were closed for the weekend so Colleen and I could go house shopping in the Interior.



6-19-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
MA mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were closed for the weekend so Colleen and I could go house shopping in the Interior.

6-18-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 23. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am for the students.

Tayt got them 3-4 flights before 1 pm, then it blew too strong.

6-17-2021
Looks like a Shuswap day for me


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
MA mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 24. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt and Gord we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am managing the students.

I had an appointment with a realtor in the Shuswap looking for FlyBC's Okanagan Base for 2022.

I rented a boat from Red's Marina in Sicamous and wandered around the various arms looking for a house.

There were some pretty places to hang your hat by the lake!



Meanwhile back at the Ranch . . . lots of kiting going on!



6-16-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
MA mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt and Gord were managing the students today and they bagged 4 flights before it blew out.

Students are pretty self sufficient now and they are getting ready and sorted by themselves so it is just a matter of "hucking them" and helping them "hunt thermals".

6-15-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with many new students.

Luke is almost done his P-2 Course.

6-14-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 28. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt was managing students back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am.

I had a flying appointment with the Skymaster and did some circuits at CYCW airport.

I did get windy and thermic after 1:30 pm so it was a good kiting day.

6-13-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 21. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt and Gord were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with many students.

6-12-2021
Woodside is looking good this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 21. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt and Gord were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am with many students.

6-11-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am flying students til 1 pm.

We did get a late flight in after 7 pm that was glorious.

6-10-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
MA mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tayt ws in charge of the students today as I had an appointment with the new owner of the T337B for an orientation flight.

As forecasted it did get windy by 1 pm so the students were kiting at the Ranch as we flew over.

The water levels are high and Rowena's Airstrip is partially flooded.



6-9-2021
Woodside is looking good


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am flying new student Luke on his Advance Pi-23.



6-8-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
MA mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 18. UV index 9 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (unstable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - we were back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am.

Amir was here to complete his final 2 flights towards earning his P-2 Licence.

He was thermalling like mad on his second flight showing the experienced pilots where to find lift!

If you are flying Grouse say hi to Amir, he is the Guest Services Manager.

New PPG student Ryan also got 2 flights off Woodside oday and did really well.

We are flying him on one of our Independence Cruisers as his used PPG wing has some skinned lines and we need to replace them.

We have been impressed with Independence as a supplier during COVID as they have most gear in stock and get it here in 3-4 days after ordering it.

It rained later in the day as it overdeveloped but we had a successful day despite the forecasts.

Derek, Martin N, Norm all flew Bridal around 1 pm and it was going up everywhere and uncomfortably so!

Derek mentioned spending 25 minutes escaping cloud suck. Not student friendly.

6-7-2021
Woodside is looking great all week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny. High 26. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - busy day with 2 new PPG students and 1 PG student and Tayt was working with them in the LZ.

I took John up for a high flight around 1130 and it was already thermalling well!



A bunch of pro pilots were out today and they went to Sasquatch, Green Hill, and different places and top of lift was about 1400 metres.

Alex said the air was ratty down low and better up high.

He ventured to Sasquatch Mtn. and got to around 1200 metres there.

We went up later to Woodside at 6 pm and the lift was still pretty strong.

I launched after Alex flying one of our used Ozone Alpina 3 ML gliders (available for sale) and for a rare moment I was above Alex.

Derek, Tayt and then Colleen launched too.

We all got up to around 1100 metres swapping top of the stack honours.

I flew around for 45 minutes and then started focussing on top landing to drive the Can Am down to save the retrieve.

As usual . . . after 5-6 passes where I got popped up on final I made one last attempt and I was soon sinking to 400 metres.

I was not sure I could even make Riverside at one point and I was eyeing up road landings.

Then a magic bubble appeared from the dead snag and I was slowly climbing above launch and I came in lower and got the usual pop but it got me about 10 feet over the carpet and I just slowed the A3 down and hovered straight down on the middle of the carpet (no flapping just slow flight).

Tayt tried a few times too and soon found out Woodside is an easy top landing!

Derek and Alex headed to the Golf Course, with Colleen just behind them.

Tayt left at 400 metres towards the Golf Course but had to land on the south side of the bridge.

6-6-2021
Woodside is looking damp today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
30% Chance of showers. High 16. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1000 metres
Woodside Report - we had no students as the conditions looked too weird.

We did have 5 tandmes booked for a stag party and it looked possible so I told them to be here at 1130 am.

Of course best laid plans fell apart and some of the passengers were late as were some of the tandem pilots but we got Derek & Tayt and 3 passengers up to launch by 1230.

I raced up with the rest of the group and Derek & Tayt had already launched and had a sled ride.

I launched first with Ben and we caught some nice ridge/thermal lift and were soon at 1000 metres.

I of course dressed for a sleddie and had just a hoody and light gloves on.

At about 30 minutes Ben was shaking despite having a down coat on cause it was damn cold at altitude.

We flew out to the Highlands area and were still at 800 metres when Dennie said he thought a rain squall was heading to Woodside and suggested bailing to Irwin's airstrip.

Brad was low as we crossed back over the South Knoll following Dennie to the east.

I was sure Brad was going to be in Riverside.

We came over the Cameron Road area and the wind was a good 30 kph in the trees!

We setup into a nice hayfield south of Limbert Road and hovered in for a soft landing.

I looked west and here comes Brad on his tandem, as he managed to climb out and make it over here too!

Job done! Five tandems completed and five happy but cold clients!

And then it started to rain as we waited under a tree waiting for Norm the Shuttle Bunny to arrive (Thanks Norm!)

6-5-2021
Woodside is looking wet all weekend (of course)


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain at times heavy. High 15. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - rained out so we go a day off.

6-4-2021
Woodside is looking great all week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny. High 31. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - it was too windy for safe flights today after 10 am, so lots of ground handling for everyone.

It was so windy a large cottonwood tree was blown onto Mill Road.



6-3-2021
Woodside is looking great all week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny. High 31. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - busy day with many PG students and Tayt was managing them well with Gord's help.

Again today it got strong mid-day so Gord and Tayt went for a solo flight.



I stayed in the LZ with Peter and Bert and we did some more towing preparing them for the PPG solos.

6-2-2021
Woodside is looking great all week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny. High 31. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - busy day with many PG students and Tayt was busy.

PPG Students had more tows and Peter got a high flight!

We got blown out by 2 pm after 3 student rounds.

6-1-2021
Woodside is looking great all week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny. High 31. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - busy day with many PG students and Tayt was managing them well.

I was doing PPG Training with Peter and Bert and we had some good tows today getting them high enough to do a circuit and land into the wind!

The tow rig is working better than ever and the Ozone Roadster3s are towing straight and not falling back even with heavy pressure!

5-31-2021
Woodside is looking good again today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly Sunny. High 30. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we were busy with students again this sunny Monday but it got windy by 1 pm.

We did some tows for the PPG Guys.

Tayt started instructing with us today and he was thrown into the dep end with 3 students of varying skills!

He even fit in a tandem today with two young ladies and Derek's help.

We got three flights in by starting early but had to stop flying later.

We did go up at 6 pm and Linda got a flight despite a crowded launch area as a group was filming a DJ Video and had tons of equipment setup on launch. An un-named HG pilot would have had a helmet fire trying to setup his ATOS and trying to launch around this crowd, but Linda pulled it off on her GEO 4.



5-30-2021
Woodside is looking great again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. High 26. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we had a busy day with 7 students of varying levels and they all got 3-4 flights today.

We had one tandem booked but they cancelled at the last minute freeing me up to help with students.

5-29-2021
Woodside is looking good


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A Mix of sun and cloud. High 30. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we started towing Bert and Peter today and it went really well.

Our Phoenix Winch System started right up and after putting some carb cleaner in the gas I could tow efficiently to 400 feet and allow the guys to do some circuits.

We did about 7 tows each and they system worked well getting them ready for paramotoring.

The Ozone Roadster3 tows very well and does not hang back under tow pressure. Also the Roadster 3 does not surge much after releasing.

5-28-2021
Woodside is looking good today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. High 28. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Peter and Bert are here for paramotor lessons and we started with a hang check for the weight and balance of the Kangook Paramotors.



Both units are broken in and their new Ozone Roadster 3s are ready to fly!

But ground handling and towing comes first.

5-24-2021 to 05-27-2021
Woodside is looking wet til Thursday afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers early this morning. 60 percent chance of showers late this afternoon. Risk of thunderstorms late this afternoon. High 16. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Rain Report - FlyBC was closed for a few days for rain, but we got lots of gliders shipped out.

5-23-2021
Woodside is looking good today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 22. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we started flying at 10 am and it got windy again mid-afternoon so everyone was out kiting in the Eagle Ranch LZ.

Do not ever stop kiting!

5-22-2021
Woodside is looking good today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 19. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we started flying at 10 am and it got windy mid-afternoon so everyone was out kiting in the Eagle Ranch LZ.



5-21-2021
Woodside is looking good today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 19. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we started flying at 10 am and it got windy mid-afternoon so everyone was out kiting in the Eagle Ranch LZ.



One of our new Independence Cruiser gliders in the LZ.

Very impressed with the fit and finish and they have decent performance for an EN-A wing.

5-20-2021
Woodside is looking good today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 16. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Day One of Brian's P-2 Course and he did well kiting and was in the air by late afternoon.

We had him flying one of our Nova Prion4 demos and he had his first solo flight on it.

5-19-2021
Woodside is looking wet til Thursday afternoon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers early this morning. 60 percent chance of showers late this afternoon. Risk of thunderstorms late this afternoon. High 16. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - no flying today as it rained most of the day.

5-18-2021
Woodside is looking windy today and rain is coming


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain likely. High 19. UV index 7 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - no flying today but lots of landscaping and weed whacking in the hail and rain and it was very windyS.

5-17-2021
Woodside is looking windy today and rain is coming


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain likely. High 19. UV index 7 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - no flying today but a good errand day and some truck upgrades were completed.

5-16-2021
Woodside is looking good today and we are training students.


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 24. UV index 7 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we started flying before 9 am and only managed to get 3 flights in for Brandon before it blew out.

We noticed some smoke over behind Sasquatch Mtn. early on but thought it was a normal slash burn but then I remembered that the fire ban starts May 15 (yesterday).

Then I noticed emergency crews stopped on the highway trying to locate where to go.



No choppers or water-bombers so we kept flying as it was far enough away from us.

Normal procedure is to stay 5 miles away from Forest Fire Activities but there were no NOTAMs posted by 12:30 pm when we quit flying due to the winds.

BC Forest Fire Department posted this picture on Facebook saying that the firee was "of human origin". Campfire left unattended probably after some partying likely?





Bridal Report - Martin N got away early and had a great flight and it got strong and windy there and pilots had to fight there way into the LZ later as it got very thermic.

Reports of an un-named pilot tying up launch after multiple aborts prompted me to post this reminder . . . if you blow more than three launches in a row or if your equipment is not properly set-up please move to the back of launch and let others have a turn. Also, resetting a wing over and over for someone without reminding them of the launch protocol at WCSC sites is not helping the situation, tell them to move out of the launch queue.

5-15-2021
Woodside is looking good today and we are training students.


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 24. UV index 7 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch Saturday at 10 am.

Brandon was flying well until we had to stop as the winds picked up to over 30 kph around 2 pm.

We got in 4 flights before that time.

Some folks were flying Bridal and reported it to be quite strong!

5-14-2021
Woodside is looking good for students


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am.

Cody got his first solo flight in this morning and Colleen guided him in for his landing but he opted for a 360 into the LZ and pooched his landing and hurt his ankle. He was out for the day.

No turns other than 90 degrees close to the ground folks!

Brandon followed Cody out and had a brilliant thermalling flight!



5-13-2021
Woodside is looking windy this afternoon.


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - we had our normal mix of students plus two new ones doing a P-1 Course.

Cody and Aiko spent the afternoon in the LZ kiting until it got too windy and gusty.

It was too windy for cody to fly and Aiko opted for a tandem flight for her first flight so I took her tandem at 6:30 pm.

It was strong and gusty in the air and despite being on a new AirDesign Ride 3 small tandem we were pretty unloaded for the conditions.

Aiko go to fly for part of the tandem flight until it got too rowdy.

Tandem flights are a very important part of the training curriculum . . . and don't let anyone tell you different. Unless they are not a tandem instructor or afraid to fly themselves!

We were parked over the LZ for about 20 minutes but had a great landing as did Brad & Jay on Brad's tandem.

Student Brandon followed us out on a NOVA Prion4 and did not do any turns, just a straight line to the Maple Tree and into the LZ.

5-12-2021
Woodside is getting some nice student conditions but is is getting windy in the afternoons (Sea Breeze).


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - Amir and Brandon were flying and Amir has caught the "thermal bug".

Four good flights today for the students today despite it getting windy mid-day.



Derek came over for an evening flight and managed to squeak out an hour.

5-11-2021
Woodside is getting nice student conditions and we are not having to travel.


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this afternoon. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodsid Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch all day after 10 am.

Brandon, Lorne and Leylan were flying here at Woodside.

Here is Lorne climbing out well in front of Woodside launch.



Despite living in Pemberton, he has found he can build his skills better here as there is less chance of getting caught in winds like the "Whistler Express" in Pemby. Smart Pilot!

Martin and a gang were doing laps at Bridal the past two days.



One day I will have enough nearly signed off students to take them to Bridal, but it is not appropriate for students under 10 flights.

5-10-2021
Woodside is getting some nicer conditions this Monday and we are back teaching all week.


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Brandon is here doing his P-2 Course after a successful PPG Course 2 years ago.

We had three flights today and the last flight was nicely soarable.



5-9-2021
Woodside is looking okay but we are taking the weekend off.


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we took Mother's Day off and had a nice lunch at the Golf Course but did not see anyone flying Woodside today.

Big flights at Pemberton as folks headed east toward Lillooett Lake but not further.

Some pilots landed out in Darcy, one went to Lillooett town.



5-8-2021
Woodside is looking okay but we are taking the weekend off.


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
040° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is taking the weekend off for Mother's Day.

Reports of a crowded launch here at Mother Woodside and some instructors not following launch protocol and tying up the launch for tandem operations, not cool!

5-7-2021
Woodside is getting nice student conditions


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch Friday and it was flyable all day and the students are progressing well.

5-6-2021
Woodside is getting nice student conditions


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am and we had new students Nathan and Amir were flying hard all day, there last available days this week.

5-5-2021
Woodside is getting nice student conditions


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness early this morning. High 24. UV index 8 or very high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch Wednesday at 10 am and we had new students Nathan and Amir were flying hard all day.

No pics as I was too busy guiding them.

5-4-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have Strong SW winds forecasted later


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 30 percent chance of showersin the morning. High 21. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - we had four students today and it was busy for me.

As the only instructor now at FlyBC (excepting Colleen who is an unpaid employee) I ran the ground school, kiting and launching jobs.

Fortunately I had a good crew of students today. Nathan was back and pretty self sufficient today.

Mike was a former glider pilot and hangglider pilot from way back and had done one high flight in Pemby.

Amir is a Grouse Guest Services guy and has talked to many pilots signing them in and could not wait to become a paragider pilot!

Finally Brandon is a paramotor pilot with 31 flights and knew how to kite already so he was also pretty self-sufficient with his own techniques.

We kited for 4-5 hours and finally around 6:30 pm we headed up the mountain.

There was one P-2 PG pilot geting ready and Linda and Josh on their HGs so we had wind technicians.

It was quite gusty but by 7:00 pm it was manageable for students.

Mike launched first and thankfully the Independence Cruiser did what it was supposed to despite the flailing arms and legs and it flew Mike off!

Colleen waited patiently in the LZ as it took a long time for the students to get out to the maneuvering area.

Next off was Brandon and after another flailing attempt, he settled down and had a perfect launch.

Amir did his own set of flailing and was off skimming the ground and was off and climbing to 1200 metres all the way out to the Ranch.

Finally Nathan had his turn and he did a perfect forward launch and was soon higher than anyone as I drove down.



Bridal Report - the big guns went to Bridal and there were about 21 pilots flying there.

Bev reported flying for 2 hours and heading across to Agassiz High School for a landing later.

Great work Bev!

5-3-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have Strong SW winds forecasted later so we are going up early


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers. High 15. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - I had one new student arrive for a P-2 Course so he got great supervision today.

We went through all the ground school stuff, simulator training and then out to the LZ to kite.

Nathan was on one of our new Independence Cruiser gliders and they work very well in all wind conditions.

We started with forward inflations but the winds picked up so I showed nathan the "A's & C's" method and he mastered it fast!

After many hours of kiting we returned to the classroom for landing briefings but the conditions never became calm enough to fly so went shut down at 5 pm.

Pilots were flying Bridal but they landed sooner as the winds got a bit nasty.

Bench Report - A group of pilots hiked up to Dewdney Bench (a secret site) and flew all the way to Agassiz and then south to Bridal before "dirting it" in Rosedale.



5-2-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have Strong SW winds forecasted later so we are going up later in the day


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 22. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - we did chores all day and then Derek decided we should go for a late flight.

We arrived on launch at 6:30 pm to find it a bit gusty and NW but Colleen got off first and climbed fast to 1000 metres.

I was off next flying a used Ozone Alpina 3 ML that came in on trade and it flew very well despite my overloading it by 5 kgs!

Colleen and I soared above while Derek launched his tandem and we were all soaring together when Ricardo launched.

I was contemplating heading to the golf course for beers and dinner cause Jacek offered to drive for us (thanks Jacek!), but the rest of the group wanted to head to Agassiz.

Ricardo climbed out fast too on his Ozone Swift 5 and we were all at 1000 metres or more when I headed east towards Hopyard Hill.

No beeps over the disappearing sandbars as the river is rising but I continued on hitting Hopyard at 700 metres.

School field was in easy reach but I saw Derek coming in low below me so I headed north toward the UBC Research Farm and found a small climb to make way for Derek's approach.

Colleen and Ricardo were far behind and high.

Derek had a good landing and I swooped in behind them a few minutes later.

As I was doing the approach I heard many sirens from ambulances and fire trucks headed north out of Agassiz.

I captured Colleen and Ricardo's landings and you can hear more sirens in the video.

Great flight for Ricardo as this was the first time he had ventured east and he had a super landing approach!



By the time we packed up Jacek called to say an accident on the east side of Woodside on Hwy 7 had closed the road indefinitely.

We headed to Derek's house as all the restaurants are closed on Sunday in the Bible Belt.

At 10:30 pm the highway was still closed but Degas offered to drive the long way around to come and get us in Derek's truck.

We were home at midnight.

The golf course would have made more sense tonight but who was to know?

Vlad flew a nice flight earlier at Woodside and made this video!



5-1-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have Strong SW winds forecasted later so we are going up early


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers changing to 70 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 15. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we did not fly at Woodside because it was too windy but some adventurists flew Tunnel Bluffs and had some good airtime.

4-28-2021 to 04-30-21
Woodside is getting some some rain until the weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers changing to 70 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 15. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Rain Report - lots of chores and inspections completed during the rain including the new flat deck for the GMC 2500 so we can ditch the trailer.

Big thanks to Norm for the welding help.

I had to add some Suspension Enhancements to aid in levelling the extra weight but so far it is working well and is well below the legal GVW.



4-27-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have Strong SW winds forecasted later so we are going up early


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers. High 16. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we went up to Woodside Launch at 10 am with Leslie to test out her new Independence Cruiser 23.

It was on the edge and the "Zak-o-Meter" was reading SW 15 gusting to 26 kph.

There were lulls but mostly it was gusty in the trees with NW cycles and very thermic.

The birds looked smooth but I was not willing to risk it so we headed to Dewdney Bench.

We received word that the Blue Roof LZ owner is not happy with paragliders landing there, so the Bench is now an Cross country site only . . . unless you can glide to Dewdney Elementary.

It was too gusty there as well so we headed back to the Ranch for some kiting.

Leslie kited her new ship for several hours.



On the way out to the LZ I spotted a Blue Heron feasting on bugs at the foot of the training hill, it did not seem to scared as I approached.



It moved away and then flew off and circled the Ranch making angry noises at us as it flew away.



We called the day and it never calmed down enough to fly.

4-26-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have Strong SW winds forecasted later so we are going up early


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers. High 16. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Team Desperado met at the Ranch at 4 pm and they dragged Colleen out of the office to fly.

It was quite cross and got stronger after Norm, Derek and Martin N flew off.

John W took a few tries and by the time he was off and headed east the conditions deteriorated and Colleen drove down with Bev.

Norm, Derek and Martin N (on John W's Geo 6) flew to Agassiz High School, with John W landing at Harvest airstrip on Martin's Swift 5.

I stayed in the Barn doing chores (wisely).

4-25-2021
Woodside is getting some clearing later today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 16. UV index 5 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1100 metres
Woodside Report - Team Desperado arrived around 1 pm and we went up Woodside in the CanAm.

There were threatening cells in the distance but as usual Woodside had a "blue hole" that we could fly in.

Bev, Martin N, Derek, Norm and I all flew.

There was some pretty good lift all the way to cloudbase (1100 metres) and into the clouds if you weren't careful.

I was test flying Brad's Bonanza2 and it took me sometime to figure out how to launch a heavier wing but I was off and climbing with little need to search for lift.

Derek and Martin pushed way out into the Valley and were still going up.

Norm circumnavigated the Harrison Mills peninsula and came back to launch low and got beamed right back up.

Martin mentioned that the cells over Hemlock Resort were getting closer so we ran towards Harvest Market.

artin found some sink at Cemetary Hill and landed at Irwin's airstrip.

Norm had a great line over the Fraser River and I followed him and he was going up all the way while I was just maintaining.

We went along Hopyard Hill and I finally got a small climb at the east end that took me into Agassiz High School where there was no wind.

This is what the sky looked like right after I landed.



Derek and Norm followed me in and we waited for Bev and Martin to come and retrieve us.

We had to go back up to retrieve the CanAm so Colleen joined us and Norm, Derek and Colleen flew off for a late flight.



4-24-2021
Woodside is getting some rain today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain. High 16. UV index 5 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - finally got some chores done as it rained all day long.

4-23-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have Strong SW winds forecasted later so we are going up early


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Increasing cloudiness. 40 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 16. UV index 5 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1300 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch Friday at 9 am and we got four good flights in for Jungmi and Jeff.

Martin N and Lorne were also flying and had a good flight to Sasquatch Mtn. and back to Eagle Ranch.



Students got to practice some skills today: big-ears, rear riser turns and hands-off flying.

4-22-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 25. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1500 metres
Woodside Report - it was blown out at Woodside but I had no students.

Reports of big lift and rough conditions at Bridal with many pilots getting blown backwards at the LZ.

I took a few guys up Woodside at 2 pm and we drove down as the thermals sounded like "freight trains"!

4-21-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 25. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1500 metres
Bridal Report - pilots were flying Bridal from 1 pm on til dark, some got above Cheam Peaks (2000 metres). Big lift and not too windy.

We were flying Woodside Leslie had three nice flights.



We had her landing at Eagle Ranch, HG LZ and another un-named field!

And then it got too windy for anything but kiting.

4-20-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 25. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1500 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch with students.

Leslie came out to continue her P-2 Lessons and she had a good day with many new skills to master.

Rear riser turns, Big Ears, new landing spots (some intentional . . . some not).



She was flying our latest trainer ship - the Independence Cruiser 23 - good for smaller pilots with a 50-80 kg range.

The Cruiser has a three riser system with good handling and has good speed for those windier days.

We ordered a few more so we will have a 23 and a 29 in stock for training.

While I was hucking Leslie for her three flight today before it got too windy, the pros were flying in Pemby.

Curtis and Gary P had a goal in mind and flew towards Lilloett and beyond.



Igor led the other group on a merry chase down Harrison Lake where Peter, James E and Alex had to make a strategic move as they hit the Fraser Valley winds. They opted for a route that headed east north of Bear Mountain that took them to Laidlaw where they landed.

Igor made it to Bridal LZ.



Again big shout out to Igor (Ozone Zeno), Alex (Ozone Alpina 4), Peter (Ozone Delta 4) and James E (Advance X-Alps O3) for this daring flight!

4-19-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but no students so an errand day


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 22. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1500 metres
Seymour Report - I had no students so I was doing errands while James F led a merry band of pilots around the North Shore Mountains.

The group took off from Mount Seymour and headed NW to Squamish and then down the Howe Sound to cross over West and North Vancouver to land back at Mount Seymour to retrieve their cars!



Just a coincidence? All the pilots were flying their new Ozone Alpina 4 gliders and many had their personal bests today over "tiger country"!

4-18-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have NE winds so no flying here expected


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 25. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
040° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1500 metres
SAvona Report - Jay and I flew the Cessna T337B to Kamloops to retrieve Colleen's pickup truck and meet Jeff & Jungmi at Savona.

Forecast said nice light winds at 8 am.

We arrived at 11 am to find strongish SW winds in the Toilet Bowl. Jay took Jungmi's 23 metre Independence Cruiser out for a spin.

He got plucked and we put it away before Jungmi arrived.

It got windier so I took the kids to Kamloops to Singh Park for some kiting.



It was fine there for about 30 minutes and then it got really gusty and I had to save the students from getting dragged.

We packed up and they headed home to Sasquatch Mountain and their cabin and I made my way to the Kamloops Airport for my return flight.

Nice fast 45 minute flight to Chilliwack with lots of bumps and 1500 foot per minute thermals over Merritt.



Later in the day I took Colleen, Derek and Rob S up Woodside and we had nice cycles and everyone was soaring. Derek made a few top landing approaches but did not land and then it was all over, no more lift.



I drove down to save the retrieve.

4-17-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have NE winds so no flying here expected


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 25. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
040° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1500 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch but the winds were NE again.

4-16-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but NE winds


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 25. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
040° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1500 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch doing Glider Inspections but no flying as it was too windy.

4-15-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today but we have NE winds so no flying here expected


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 25. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
040° @ 15 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1500 metres
Woodside Report - I took the day off to get jabbed as the winds were too strong.

4-14-2021
FlyBC is getting some sun today in Savona


Agassiz Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Sunny. High 16. UV index 6 or high.
Savona:
040° @ 5 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC was up early at Savona for today.

We started flying off the Toilet Bowl at 8:30 am with light wind forward launches.

After 3 flights here we then headed up to the Mid-Launch where it was blowing strong enough for reverse launches.



We did 3 more flights off this launch until 1 pm when we headed home.

Oddly when we passed by the Internationa LZ the winds were easterly? I guess we were flying in pure thermic winds.

4-13-2021
FlyBC is getting some sun today in Savona


Agassiz Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Sunny. High 16. UV index 6 or high.
Savona:
040° @ 5 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC is in Savona for the week.

We were not disappointed today!

We had perfect 10-20 kph east winds til 3 pm.

The Dump Ridge was working very well and the retrieval with the CanAm Defender made it easy to do laps.

We had three eager students and Mickey was also here monitoring the student progress.

Everyone was an independent pilot and I did some checks throughout the day but it was quite easy taking care of this crew.

Leslie had been very cautious the past four days and not ready to launch Woodside despite her great kiting skills, but once she saw the Dump Ridge she was eager to fly!

At the end of the day she had 8 flights on her logbook.

Leylan was doing well but he has a sky-diving background and took to kiting very fast.



The winds today were a gift and everyone got super-confident in the higher winds.

We had some soaring, some top-landings and some side hill landings too (Leslie).

We took out the paramotor and Glenn got in a great flight around the Dump area for 30 minutes.



Meanwhile the rest of the crew kept flying off the Dump Ridge until 3 pm.

At 3 pm the winds switched and we headed to the Mid-Launch and we got 3 more flights there.

It was nicely thermic and the flights go some very high with nice landing conditions on the Crash Pad.



By the end of the day Leylan and Glenn logged 17 flights!

4-12-2021
FlyBC is getting some sun today in Savona


Agassiz Forecast

Savona Forecast:
Sunny. High 16. UV index 6 or high.
Savona:
040° @ 5 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Savona Report - FlyBC headed to Savona for the week after retrieving Glenn's wing out of the trees.

We spent a few hours sorting out lines and geting it back in flying shape, thankfully no damage and Scott got it out of the tree by 10 am.

We arrived in Savona at 4 pm and started flying off the Toilet Bowl and then the Mid Launch and we got in 4 flights before heading to camp.

4-11-2021
Woodside is getting some sun today and it is gonna be busy at Woodside as the RASP looks really good


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. Clearing this morning. High 13. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after noon

-3.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch on Sunday at 10 am.

We need not have headed up to launch til noon, as the outflow winds kept a lot of pilots on the ground til then.

About 45 eager pilots flying around today.

We had a busy roster of students with varying levels of skills.

By the end of the day most flew.

Around noon Peter S was first off launch and headed east.



Soon a bunch of pilots were climbing out at Woodside also headed east with Hope as the turnpoint for many.

I started launching my students once launch cleared out and there were some great flights.

Around 3 pm we were launching one of our paramotor hopefuls and he botched a few launches, and when I was trying to get him to stop as he frontalled his wing the wing reinflated and he flew off . . . with a tangle!

He almost cleared the trees but he settled in safely and I had to go get him secured.

While waiting for SAR, I managed to get a climbing rope up to him via his reserve which he dropped down close to my location.

After 100 throws I managed to get said rope up to him (with a climbing sling and biners).

I was all ready to belay him down (he is an experienced rope guy), when SAR arrived and they would not help me as they have a rope protocol that involves tree climber/arborist and a double rope backup system. I obliged them and they took over which took about an hour.



Wing is still up in the trees so don't call 911!

Meantime Colleen took over on launch and launched some new students and they flew for about 90 minutes in the nicest air we have seen for years!

At 7:30 pm, I took Dennie up for a tandem and we launched a new stuent who has had a month of kiting and was finally ready to fly. Colleen was in the LZ to guide him in to a nice soft touchdown.

As I drove down around 7:30 pm pilots were just arriving up at the Kettle after many long XC kms.



Looks like Vlad won the XContest flight of the day, but Igor was also along with an expired InReach so I guess they were tied?

Many great flights to Hope and back on this light wind day!

4-10-2021
Woodside is getting some rain and winds today so no flying


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers this morning and early this afternoon then a mix of sun and cloud. High 12. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 45 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

1100 metres
Woodside Storm Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch on Saturday but we had rain, hail, and very strong SW winds all day. And there is new snow at Hemlock Valley and on all the surrounding mountains!

4-7-2021 to 4-9-21
Woodside is getting some rain and winds for a few days so we were closed for flying


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers this morning and early this afternoon. High 8. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - lots of errands and chores done while it was raining for three days.

4-6-2021
Woodside is getting some sun finally


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 12. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is back at Eagle Ranch training.

We got Jeff, Jungmi and Glenn their first solo flights in early with Colleen guiding them in.



Leslie was a bit timid so we went tandem on my new AirDesign Ride 3 and we were pleasantly surprised as we logged over an hour of thermalling fun and Leslie got to fly for 15 minutes or more.

Martin and Bev had flown before me and they flew pretty much straight out and I found out later that they hated the air.



Meanwhile Leslie and I had a nice thermic flight with no weirdness.

I flew out several times to Harrison Highlands and we always climbed out from there.

After an hour I headed out to the Ranch and we flew over at 600 metres to see the windsock straight out and gusty from the South!

Rather than have a weird landing after such a nice flight we headed over to Sandpiper Resort and landing on the practice green near the swimming pool. Light winds and a smooth landing on out feet.



We spent the rest of the day kiting with the students.

4-5-2021
Woodside is getting some sun Monday


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. High 12. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is back at Eagle Ranch on and training 4 new students for PG & PPG.

I drove up to Kamloops Airport early and flew the Cessna T337B home to Chilliwack to show it to some prospective buyers.



We started Ground School at 10 am and by 1 pm we were out kiting in the Eagle Ranch LZ.

It was too windy to fly the students off the mountain but we had a great 4 hour kiting session.

Meanwhile KVA and Andrei flew two tandems for us.



4-2-2021 to 04-04-21
Woodside is getting some rain and winds all long weekend (of course) so we went to Sun Peaks for the weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers this morning and early this afternoon then a mix of sun and cloud. High 12. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Sun Peaks Report - last days of skiing at Sun Peaks but it was too windy to fly.

4-1-2021
Woodside is getting some flyable conditions today after noon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. Becoming cloudy this morning. High 11. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

1000 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am and we had a great kiting day with two new students.

Nice steady 15-25 kph east winds made kiting fun!



3-31-2021
Woodside is getting some flyable conditions today after noon


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny. High 15. UV index 6 or high.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - I got to do some personal training today as I took a new airplane out for a few circuits.

Ryan was a PPG pilot and decided Ultralight Flying was easier on his hips so he bought a shiny new Zenith 701.

This plane was built by EA Structures in Chilliwack and the owner offered to give me a few hours checkout to satisfy the Insurance Company.

We did about 5 circuits before we had to stop due to too many birds on the east end of the runway.

This is a very light and short coupled airplane compared to my T337B, so one has to be light on the rudder pedals.



Meanwhile, back at Woodside we were up on launch at 11 am and the outflow was quite light in the Valley.

I had Steve and Lorne in tow and they both had 17 flights at the start of the day and are quite self-sufficient.

The first flight was a sleddy.

The second flight was much better despite the inversion and Lorne stayed in the air the longest even though he launched first of three pilots.



We got in four flights today and the last flight was very light requiring forward launches.

I met up with KVA later and he and Paddy flew off Benny after a hike up and they made it out to Dewndey Pub but decided to land instead at the Elementary School to the cheer of school kids.

They said 1100 metres was the top of lift.



A few folks went up Bridal and it was hard work to get above launch (800 metres) but they still squeaked out 2 hours.



3-30-2021
Woodside is getting some flyable conditions today despite the cloud cover


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. 40 percent chance of drizzle this morning and early this afternoon. High 10. UV index 5 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

1000 metres
Woodside Report - I was here at Woodside to fly students all day long.

First flights started at 11 am once we got some cycles.

James. Renatta and Martin Z were installing the new weather station that Martin designed and built, bured deep in the forst away from vandals hopefully.



Steve and Lorne were my two charges today and they are both around 15 flights so it is pretty easy getting them ready and off launch.

On flight #2 Lorne was heading out to the Ranch when he got a nice thermal and worked it from about 100 metres back to launch height.

Lots of hopeful folks and despite the cloud cover some great flights were had with many ending up in Agasiz High School LZ.

Water bombers were out practicing and the Lockheed Electra was going through the Valley many times.

Jacek got this shot of the Electra over Cemetary Hill.



Steve went home after three flights but Lorne stayed and we got him a nice soaring flight around 5 pm.



last flight of the day saw Derek, Wolf, Norm and others getting up to 1000 metres and flying home to Agassiz.

3-29-2021
Woodside is getting some very strong thermic conditions today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly sunny except mainly cloudy near Agassiz this morning. High 10. UV index 4 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 2 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

2000 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch at 10 am and we were going to have to fly students early as it looked windy this afternoon.

The winds never materialized and the lift was smooth and abundant.

First launch off the mountain was Steve on his NOVA Prion4 and he did very well for being away for many months.



Nice bouyant flight for Steve with NW flow in our LZ.

Second flights were more lifty, with flights of around 30 minutes for Steve.



Nice shot of Ken launching his new Ozone Swift 5!

And here is Ken climbing out, at one point he got to 1100 metres where he froze.



KVA launched and was reporting crossing the Fraser toward Elk at 1400 metres.



Kevin was being chased by a OD-ing CU that was dumping virga and it outran him by Ford Road in Rosedale where he "dited it".

Martin N and Normando were last seen over Hopyard Hill low, but they caught a climb ovver the sand bars and were then seen at Bridal Falls where Martin got high.

And then out of nowhere . . . big sink and they were both in the Bridal LZ.



Reports from Dewdney Bench where AXL launch after a short hike and he did the run up to Benny and back landing near the Native Orientation Centre east of Mission.

3-28-2021
Woodside is rained out


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Hevy rains and high wind warnings. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 65 kph after 1 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - we had rain, hail, some snow and very strong winds all day.

3-27-2021
Woodside is rained out


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy with 30 percent chance of drizzle. High 10. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 1 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - as expected we had some mist and drizzle so I called the day off. There were a few flyable moments though.

3-25-2021
Woodside is flyable today after 10 am


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers near the mountains this morning. High 12. UV index 5 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 1 pm

-3.0°C (stable)

1000 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch doing training at 10 am with John and a few others.

It was very cloudy at 11 am.



We waited for a break and a lull and then John was off and climbing . . . disappearing out in the soup on "big ears".



John got 2 flights today while others got some nice soaring and a run to Harvest as it got stronger.



Wolf flew for over an hour landing at Eagle Ranch in light conditions.

3-25-2021
Woodside is getting rained out today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain ending this morning with a mix of sun and cloud. High 13. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Reportr - FlyBC was training students today and we only had one show up so he got special treatment.

We arrived at launch at 11 am to find some clouds forming to the south.



John got ready as did Wolf, and when the clouds cleared enough for safe flight John was off with a great forward launch.

The cloud filled in so I could not see John's flight path but he had a good approach and landing in no wind.

Wolf took off and was able to stay up for an hour despite all the cloud cover so it was unstable.

We raced back up around noon and by then Martin N and Don had arrived after hiking up.

We got John ready again and this time he had a nice reverse launch and we found him some lift to the SW and he was above launch and thermalling like a pro!



John had a great flight and he landed near the circle on his feet again!

Other pilots started flying and everyone stayed up with ease all over the Valley and Mountain.

Martin made a run toward Sasquatch and the storm brewing over there dumped him into the airstrip at the Golf Course.

Norm ran away from the storm and was last heard over Green Hill an hour later.



We went back up after the rain storm receded, and Malcolm came up this time for his first flight in 2 years. He tried thermalling too hard and hit the NW winds and failed to make the Ranch.

John flew after Malcolm and had tons of lift and Colleen took the guiding duties so I could drive down.

3-24-2021
Woodside is getting rained out today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain ending this afternoon then cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. High 9. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - rain most of the day and later when ths sun did come out the clouds blocked launch.

3-23-2021
Woodside is getting nice conditions today, and I will be doing a shuttle run at 1 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy with 30 percent chance of drizzle. High 10. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch doing lessons for paragliding and paramotoring after noon.

Lorne and John were my only students today so it was pretty mellow.

We went up for the first flight at about 11 am and we had light in-flow cycles and the mist was showing the thermal formation.



It was quite cloudy but we could see sunny spots on Harrison Bay and Chilliwack showing blue holes were coming.

Lorne launched first with a nicely controlled reverse launch and was off and looking for thermals. There were none at this point.



John got off with a forward launch and had a great landing near the circle.

We went back up at 1 pm with Martin N and Kevin in tow.

It was much stronger with thermic cycles and Lorne got off nicely and was thermalling out near the Construction Zone.

Martin and Kevin launched and started to get to 900 metres right away.

Martin reported only 7 kph forward speed at 900 metres.

John and I kited on launch for some time but it was too gusty as he was pulled off his feet a few times and I had to save him! We bagged up and headed down.

Kevin followed Martin over to the Sasquatch range but bailed when he saw the white caps on Harrison Bay.

Martin kept going and eventually landed at Sandpiper Airstrip.



Kevin was back over the Ranch at 500 metres asking for wind reports and then disappeared over Woodside.

Plenty of lift everywhere but gusty.

Kevin reported in as he headed east towards Agassiz landing at the high school.



The rest of the day we spent kiting in the LZ as the winds never dropped as the rain front approached the coast.

3-22-2021
Woodside is getting nice conditions today, and I will be doing a shuttle run at 1 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Showers ending this morning then mainly cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers. High 9. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1200 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch doing lessons for paragliding today.

As forecast the rain was on and off for the morning and then we went kiting in the afternoon.

Wind on top was gusty and strong and the sky was Over-Developing all around us. Even Martin N declined flying!

But we had a good 4 hour kiting session with Lorne and John.



The new Independence Cruiser came in for smaller pilots and we chose the "Colorful" option. Looks familiar?



Reminder about the waterbomber training, as we had a Q400 doing training laps up and down Chehalis and Harrison Lakes today despite the over developing skies.

Folks were flying at Blanchard WA and reported bumpy skies . . . not that we can go there!

3-18-2021 to 3-21-2021
Woodside is getting three days of rain of course because it is a weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain. High 13. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

900 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is getting rained out for three days.

3-17-2021
Woodside is getting rained out


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain. High 13. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

900 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC took the day off due to rain.

3-16-2021
Woodside is getting nice conditions today, and I will be doing a shuttle run at 1 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 13. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

900 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch doing lessons for paragliding and paramotoring after 1 pm.

I flew in in the Skymaster from Kamloops Airport at 9 am, after going VFR-on-Top from Merritt to Hope.



Great way to get back and it only takes 42 minutes from CYKA to CYCW.

I was taking Lorne up for flights and he got in some really good thermalling today on his two flights.



Yes, that is Lorne on top of the other very experienced paragliders.



Alex R was out trying his new Ozone Alpina 4 and he was not disappointed. He fleew from Woodside to Dewdney and back and then top landed to warm up while I was launching Lorne for flight #2.



Claudia was seen enroute from Benny as well.



3-15-2021
Woodside is getting nice conditions today, and we will be doing a shuttle run at 1 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 13. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

900 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch doing lessons for paragliding and paramotoring after 1 pm.

Tony and Dennie were managing three new students and one intermediate student who has been doing great Woodside flights the past week.

Claudia and Peter were flying off Benny and flew to Woodside and Peter made it back to his car at Cascade Falls Park.



3-14-2021
Woodside is getting rain


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain. High 13. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

900 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks avoiding the rain.

3-13-2021
Woodside is getting rain this weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain. High 13. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

900 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was at Sun Peaks avoiding the rains.

3-12-2021
Woodside is getting nice conditions today, and I will be doing a shuttle run at 1 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 13. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

900 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch doing lessons for paragliding while the XC crew went to Benny.

Looks like Tom G was the only one posting on XContest there but he had a good last flight on his Swift 5 before it came back on trade for an Ozone Alpina 4. The Swift5 was sold in a day or two.



3-11-2021
Woodside is getting nice conditions today, Tony will be managing the operation as I have to take the Skymaster to Kamloops


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 12. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - despite the inversion at 600 metres, a few pilots got very nice flights with some early XC flights to Agassiz.

Martin N and Kevin ended up at the CrossRoads Esso.

Martin's tracklog is an combination of yesterdays flight to Sasquatch Mtn. so I cut it off, today he flew Woodside and then east to Agassiz Mtn. and then Green Hill before landing.



Tony had just one student today and Lorne got 3 very nice flights but we had to hold him off for flight #4 as it got too thermic.

New paramotor student, Spencer, managed about 6 flights even flying mid-day on his Ozone Ultralight 4 and his new Kangook paramotor.

He burned up about 6 litres of fuel so about 2.5 hours of paramotor time to get him halfway to his required 5 hours and 30 flights.



Claudia had a nice flight at Benny (flying with James and Paddy) but not sure why her tracklog stopped on top of a mountain?



Looks like spring is here, dress warm for the higher and longer flights.

3-10-2021
Woodside is getting nice conditions today, Tony will be managing the operation as I have to take the Skymaster to Kamloops


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 11. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1000 metres
Woodside Report - we were all ready to continue training for Bentley when he decided paragliding made him too nervous despite having 4 great high flights here this week?

He had fun but his fun factor was not enough.

Tony was then able to go flying with Martin N and Curtis.

The day started out great with nice CUs everywhere at 11 am.



Conditions at launch were great when I dropped the guys off on top.



I headed to Chilliwack Airport to fly to Kamloops to drop off the plane for the weekend and spring break week.

I pre-flighted the plane and headed east and near Hope the weather turned to snow but I kept going until I saw the cloudbase had dropped to about 1000 feet over Hope. The traffic webcams in Boston Bar were okay but no safe way to punch north so I turned back to Woodside to enter the circuit at CYCW.



Big over-development at Woodside.

Harrison Lake was also clouds to the deck.

Martin reported great flying for 1:30 before the OD. He was able to fly over to Sasquatch Mtn. where he arrived at 500 metres. He saw the OD forming and headed back to Eagle Ranch so he would not have to walk back and arrived over the Ranch at 900 metres in big cloudsuck.



A strong gust front came through as he was approaching the LZ and he said it was the roughest air he had ever encountered and he was quite busy keeping his wing open right to touchdown.

Over at CYCW I entered the circuit and it was bumpy and thermic but I had a nice landing despite the strong north crosswinds.

As I taxied in the hail started.

After tie down I had to walk to the muffler shop where I left the Tracker earlier for a new exhaust and I got rained on pretty good.

Back in Harrison Mills as I drove home I stopped to get this shot of the Sasquatch Range, all new snow down to 300 metres after the storm.



3-09-2021
Woodside is getting nice conditions today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 12. UV index 3 or moderate.
Agassiz:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

2400 metres!!
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch doing lessons for paragliding and paramotoring today and Tony was managing the students.

Lorne was here on Day Two and aftr a great ground based day yesterday he was ready to fly, as was Bentley who is on Day 3.

At 10:30 am, Endre (a seasoned P-2) launched and flew out low to the Ranch after scratching around for a bit.

We watched is rather unconventional approach over the corn field when his wing tightened up and he pointed straight north at about 30 metres and he got "tractor-beamed" up to about 500 metres. He was doing "big-ears" forever to get out of the strong lift and despite the fact that the wind on the LZ was SE he was fighting a NW headwind aloft.

When he finally landed behind the training hill, he yelled "Don't launch the students!".

We waited an hour for the sun to shade out before launching the students after everything had mellowed out and they had great flights.

Lorne was all smiles after his first solo flight!



Bentley had a great flight too and was working on his turns.



A large group of pilots came out because the RASP looked awesome but the clouds came in and shaded us out so it was good for students but not so good for the pros. But everyone had a good day.



Martin was captured by Rod here in this photo coming into Eagle Ranch.



Derek landed just before Martin right next to the firepit where I was burning "blow-down" as the winds went to NW in the LZ.



Bev was doing a "happy dance" in the landing circle as she tried out a "new-used" Gin Verso harness to improve her landing odds. Ask her about it!

3-08-2021
Woodside is getting outflow winds til 3 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 10. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
040° @ 25 kph until 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - Tony took students to Mission as it was howling from the north in the LZ here.

When they returned at 3 pm, Bentley was ready to fly so I took him up the hill after dropping off Martin, Denny, Endre and Tanner earlier.

When we first headed up there was light tailwind on the launch.

By the time we arrived and taped and pinned down the new carpet it was blowing straight in.

Martin, Endre and Denny got up to 1500 metres right away.



When we got back up with Bentley, Norm and Tanner at 4:30 it was just turning back to outflow but we got enough puffs to get everyone off for a shorter flight (but Martin and Endre were still in the air).

Wind in the LZ was strongish NW so a different approach than normal but great for training flights.

Alex and Nicole came by to say hi after flying Benny with Peter & Claudia and they got to 1600 metres there.

This is Peter's tracklog (Alex left his tracker on so his tracklog looked a bit weird with a sidetrip to Sandpiper Golf Course and then home to Burnaby!).



Spring is here!

3-07-2021
Woodside is getting rained out today but Monday thru Friday look great


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Showers beginning this morning. Risk of a thunderstorm and hail this afternoon. Becoming windy near noon. High 8. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we did not get as much rain as forecasted but it was windy . . . too windy for ground handling but good for ground school.

3-06-2021
Woodside should be flyable after 3 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Chance of showers mid-day. High 8. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch and we had 4 new students for a P-1 Course.

Tony manned the classroom duties while Martin N and I headed up the mountain to fix the carpets that had been shredded up with all the winter storms.

Dave H left two large sections of landscaping material with us last year and we used one piece to fix the middle of launch last summer where the rednecks lit a fire.

We used the other piece to fix the front of launch proper today.

Martin worked the pick axe while I rearranged the carpet and re-pinned it down with spikes and big washers. It is too wet to tape up the seams and washers so beware of the snag potential.

We were able to drive the carpet down into the launch area using Colleen's Tacoma but the spur road in from 4.5 kms is a challenge with 18 to 24 inches of soft snow.

Two young 4x4 dudes helped us carry the carpet up to launch as it was one big roll too heavy for us two old dudes.

Partway thru the job, Grant & Martin Z arrived on launch and helped us finish the digging and the placing and we had everything pinned down nicely in a hail storm.



Grant and Martin Z hiked back down to the trail building party that Alex R & KVA had organized while we packed up the Tacoma.

The results looked quite nice.



The area on the north side of launch is still shabby but secure, we need another 30'x 20' of material to finish it off.



On the way down our 4x4 dudes were attempting to dislodge the smashed up wreck at 3.2 kms, so we suggested dragging it down to the highway so the authorities could tow it away. The "Catch 22" of vehicle abandonment on a Forest Servie Road is that ICBC or the RCMP won't take responsibility for the removal unless it is reported stolen so it sits. Even Forestry won't deal with it unless it is leaking fluids into a creek.

We drove down and apparently the wreck made it down alright as I found this picture on the 4x4BC Facebook page.



Martin Z also took this shot of the wreck as he hiked down to his car.



We will see how long it takes to get picked up now. But watch out for spare parts on the road for some time as the wreck looked somewhat smaller at the bottom of the road.

Great reports from the trail builders after 8 hard hours of trail blazing.

Many saws and tools were used.

The trail starts at the 3 km spur road and there are pink ribbons to mark the skidder trail that leads up to the forest trail now marked in blue ribbons.

Estimate of a saving of 1.5 kms of hiking by using this trail.



Great work by everyone involved.



When we got back Colleen and I headed out to the LZ to help Tony and all his new students were kiting up a storm as it was too windy to attempt first flights today.

By 6 pm everyone could forward and everse launch with confidence.

We just need a calmer day to execute some flights as the Ground School and Ground Handling and Landing Briefings are completed.

3-05-2021
Woodside rained out


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning late this afternoon. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 12. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC had a good errand day but no flying, but got the gear ready for a student weekend.

3-04-2021
Woodside should be flyable after 1 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning late this afternoon. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 12. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was back at Eagle Ranch but it was raining all day.

3-03-2021
Woodside should be flyable after 1 pm


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. High 10. UV index 2 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 5 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we up Woodside around 1 pm in the canAm Defender and it made it through all the bad spots just fine with 5 of us on board with gear.

We arrived on launch with sunny breaks and light up-cycles and Bev got ready and flew first but she missed all the good lift.

Nice SE landing conditions in the LZ.

Next off was Martin N and then Derek and they "duked it out" on the South Knoll for a good hour, while Norm and I were faced with outflow on launch for the same amount of time.



We drove down and met up with KVA who decided it was trail building time today.



We arrived in the LZ as Martin N was packing up and Derek caught a climb over the highway and was almost back to launch as the wind switched to strong NW in the LZ for smooth landings.

3-02-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for the week and beyond as we get rained out again on the Coast


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers early in the morning. High 8. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - we were coming back from Sun Peaks when Derek called to say they were heading up the mountain.



This is what our LZ webcam showed as we started the drive home. Some blue bits were coming in.

Martin N had hiked up, KVA and Alex R/Tom G had driven partway up.

Derek, Bev and Norm drove to 3.5 kms and hiked the rest of the way in as the road was very icy.

Reports after they landed of many top landings and Martin N topped out at 1440 metres as the RASP had predicted.



Bev was Driver of the Day and Photo Journalist. She caught Alex trying to get down to topland.





Appratently the air was very smooth from 1400 metres down to 500 metres and then it was mixed up all the way into the LZ.

3-01-2021
FlyBC is off to Sun Peaks for the weekend and beyond as we get rained out again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers early in the morning. High 8. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for the balance of the week, as the coastal weather looks wet.

Today was too windy to take a wing up the mountain as it gusted to +40 kph most of the day.

But it was sunny!

Reports of an icy road up Woodside and a "so-so" flight with a big blowout for Martin N had everyone else hiking down to the truck, waiting to fly another day.

2-28-2021
FlyBC is off to Sun Peaks for the weekend and beyond as we get rained out again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Wet snow mixed with rain ending this morning then cloudy with 60 percent chance of rain showers. Local snowfall amount 2 to 4 cm. Becoming windy this morning. High 7. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Sun Peaks Report - Sun Peaks looked gusty from the SW so we went Cross Country skiing on Holy Cow.

Skiing was ok until I landed on my back on a steep downhill, no injuries!

Then at another steep downhill turn at 2 kms, Colleen lost it and had a yard sale!

I went back to help her up and she had injured her wrist so she got a snowmobile ride down to the Clinic.

The rest of Holy Cow was fast and I didn't fall again thankfully!

2-27-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for the weekend and beyond as we get rained out again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Wet snow mixed with rain ending this morning then cloudy with 60 percent chance of rain showers. Local snowfall amount 2 to 4 cm. Becoming windy this morning. High 7. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for the weekend and beyond as we get rained out again at Woodside.

Colleen and I went downhill skiing and I showed her some new launch spots off Sunburst Chair.

It was strong from the SW so we went to Grannie Greenes just below the Sundance Chair and it was blowing straight in but a bit gusty.

I tried a different technique, kind of a sideways reverse launch, with a quick turn downhill.

The gusts made the wing come up a bit quick and you can't sidestep or run under the wing and I failed to stop it fast enough so it collapsed but not enough to land on my head thankfully.

Once it was on the snow I just started moving forward and eventually a gust got it overhead.

Not elegant but it worked. More practice needed in gusty winds.

2-26-2021
FlyBC is off to Sun Peaks for the weekend and beyond as we get rained out again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Cloudy with sunny breaks. High 7. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 20 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Benny Report - a group of hike & fly pilots went to Benny to fly today.

Mixed reviews: Martin N & KVA got away to Dewdney and back, while others got sled rides.



This was Martin's tracklog, somehow KVA left his SPOT off?

Jonathon & Thomas had great flights with cloudsuck and Jonathon liked Norm's Swift 5 so much that he bought it!

Colleen & I went skiing at Sun Peaks but it was too windy from the SW to fly, but the snow was great

2-25-2021
FlyBC is off to Sun Peaks for the weekend and beyond as we get rained out again


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Wet snow mixed with rain ending this morning then cloudy with 60 percent chance of rain showers. Local snowfall amount 2 to 4 cm. Becoming windy this morning. High 7. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 30 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Road Report - FlyBC was planning to be flying Friday at Woodside but it was too cloudy, so off to Sun Peaks for the weekend and beyond as we get rained out again. There is 4" of new snow at Eagle Ranch so I don't know what the road will be like?

2-24-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. High 4. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1400 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC was at Eagle Ranch today shipping gear and setting up John W's new harness while the desperadoes assembled.

A truck went up at 2 pm, while Martin and others hiked up. The road is somewhat icy at 4 kms so have good winter tires.

After delivering a new Ozone Dragonfly 18 to a Keremeos client, I went out to watch the action as Bev came in to land. apparently it was too cold for her.

Derek and others stayed up for over 1:30 before succumbing to the cold.

Dennie got a nice shot from above launch.



I had to go to Chilliwack Airport to meet a potential buyer for the Skymaster so I took it for a warmup flight and buzzed launch at 4:45 pm and folks were still soaring including Kevin who was waving at me.

Reports from Elk said "good soaring" til your hands fell off - from Klaus & Monica.



David S also reported a nice soaring flight at Elk.



Spring is just around the corner!

Bennie also delivered today for Alex, Claudia and Peter according to XCFind!

2-22-2021
FlyBC is off to Sun Peaks for the weekend and beyond as we get rained out again at Woodside


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Showers. High 6. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
040° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside is rained out again with low cloudbase, so no flying.



2-18-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks


Agassiz Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Mix of sun and cloud. SW winds at 25-40 kph in the alpine. High 2. UV index 1 or low.
Sun Peaks:
240° @ 30 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - Colleen was working and Brad said that it looked like light winds in the alpine so I packed up my wing and headed out to the hills.

Sun Peaks has windtalkers on all the lift lines and most are online to check the winds. They also agreed that the winds were light SW.

By the time I got to the top of OSV, there were light up cycles . . . followed by big gusts from the West.

Not so good, so I went down the Cruiser Run to the west of the Sunburst Chair and it was even gustier there and the clouds were "scudding by" from the west.

The new Cruiser Launch looks good, nice and wide and far from the lift lines.



I bailed and headed home to drop off the wing and stopped at the middle of the Rambler Run to scope out a new spot.



By the time I got home it was howling from the SW.

I guess I have to stop sleeping in, but I did find some new launch spots.

2-17-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside today doing errands and chores but it is raining so it is off to Sun Peaks for the weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Showers or drizzle. Windy this morning. Temperature steady near 7. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Kamloops Report - I headed up to Kamloops Airport to pick up the Cessna T337B and return it to its parking spot in Chilliwack after the Polar Vortex left BC.

Another crappy Coquihalla drive through ice and slush.

Weather was sunny with broken clouds at the airport.



Uneventful departure from CYKA despite bird crews trying to scare away the snow geese.



Heading west towards Savona and the clouds were still low at around 4000 feet.



Lots of snow on the hillsides and the air was smooth except for some leeside hill action.



The sky opened up further west as the valleys got tighter.



Good ground speeds of 165-175 mph in the Fraser Canyon and little traffic.



Some tailwind before Hope according to the NE in the clouds higher up, but still smooth.



Hope town is still snowed in as I flew over at 4000 feet on the descent into Chilliwack.

A few planes in the circuit at Chilliwack after crossing over Eagle Ranch to descend into the pattern.

Easy landing to the east and a quick taxi to the tiedown. Thanks to Bev & Norm for the ride back to the Ranch.



Woodside Report - Woodside beckoned the "desperados" at around 330 pm.

Derek was off work, it was Dennie's Birthday so Linda brought him over and I dragged Colleen away from her computer.

I hauled the CanAm out of the barn and got it ready to take us up the mountain.

So many stuck trucks this past few days made me a bit concerned about the drive up Woodside but the mighty CanAm did not even slip even in the deep snow.

In fact it was so easy that I drove down into the parking lot to unload.

Kevin was just getting ready to launch as he hiked up earlier.

He got off in a westerly cycle and was soon high over the South Knoll.



Derek, Dennie, Linda then Colleen launched and they were struggling to stay up as the sun got shaded out.

Kevin was in a better spot and stayed up above the Knoll for some time as everyone else descended.

I was just packing up to drive down when Kevin top-landed and offered to drive down, but conditions were so lame that I told him to relaunch and enjoy the flight down to Riverside.

A gang of pilots was at Benny and I later found some great XCFind tracklogs. Alex and Peter got ambitious and overflew Mission North.



2-17-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside today doing errands and chores but it is raining so it is off to Sun Peaks for the weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Showers or drizzle. Windy this morning. Temperature steady near 7. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Coaches Corner - FlyBC is at Woodside for a few days but if it keeps raining we are going skiing at Sun Peaks until Monday.

2-5-2021 to 2-16-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside today doing errands and chores but it is raining so it is off to Sun Peaks for the weekend


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Showers or drizzle. Windy this morning. Temperature steady near 7. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
240° @ 25 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC has been not flying for some time as the cold arctic air was too cold to even kite even though it was sunny.

2-4-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside today doing errands and chores but it is raining hard


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Periods of rain. High plus 5.
Agassiz:
240° @ 15 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

500 metres
Woodside report - Woodside received heavy rains today but it was a good day to reorganize the Barn for an upcoming Beginner Course this Monday Feb 8th.

2-3-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside today


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 6. UV index 1 or low.
Agassiz:
050° @ 5 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - I was doing shop work changing lines and doing porosity tests when the gang went to fly Woodside.

We had light outflow winds on top but the thermals powered through and gave nice reversible launch conditions.

Bev launched first folowed by Martin N and they soared up to 1050 metres for over an hour in nice spring-like thermals.



Snow from 3 km up with some icy sections on the road but nobody got stuck.



About 8 pilots flying here and they all got nice flights.

Jacek says he got to 1200 metres before an un-named pilot knocked him out of his thermal as he was setting up to top-land, so I had to drive him up later in my Tracker (with studded tires, a 2021 addition).

A blast from the past . . . Jeremy arrived on his motorcycle and drove it up to launch to say hi to everyone.

He came down to the Ranch and borrowed a SupAir Taska and harness and had a nice late afternoon flight. This Taska is for sale for $1200 and is like new shape.



As I drove down I was treated to a nice sunset! Is is really February?

Jacek made a nice video for Bev's first flight on her new Ozone Swift 5.



2-2-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside for a week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain at times heavy. Wind light west shifting early morning to east 10 to 15 km/h. High near minus 6 C.
Woodside:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

400 metres
Woodside Report - Derek and Martin arrived at noon but it started raining so we had a fire in the barn to keep warm, and it never cleared up all day.

2-1-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside for a week


Agassiz Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Rain. Wind light west shifting early morning to east 10 to 15 km/h. High near minus 6 C.
Woodside:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

500 metres
Woodside Report - we were at the Ranch but it was raining and foggy so no flying.

1-31-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Snow. Wind light west shifting early morning to east 10 to 15 km/h. High near minus 6 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - it was snowing heavily and fog right down to the base of the hill so we drove back to Woodside thru rain and snow.

1-30-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Snow. Wind light west shifting early morning to east 10 to 15 km/h. High near minus 6 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC was skiing at Sun Peaks today, lots of new snow but cloudbase was too low to fly.

Woodside looked wet.



1-29-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Mainly cloudy with afternoon sunny breaks developing. Wind light west shifting early morning to east 10 to 15 km/h. High near minus 6 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks skiing but it looked good at Woodside but no one flew.



1-28-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Cloudy with occasional light snow beginning late in the morning. High near minus 2 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week and there was more new snow so we went Cross Country Skiing - 11 kms today and only one fall each.

Bev drove a group up Woodside today and they flew but it was not epic.

The drive down for Bev was epic as she almost slid into the ditch on the icy drive down. Time to use low range and never touch the brakes!



The cycles changed quite quickly to down so no more flights.



1-27-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Cloudy with occasional light snow beginning late in the morning. High near minus 5 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks and it was snowing so Colleen and I went downhill skiing.

Bev, Norm, Martin and Derek were at the Ranch visiting Bob but it was not flyable, too much NE wind.

1-26-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Cloudy with occasional light snow beginning late in the morning. Amounts 1 to 2 cm. Wind east to southeast 8 to 20 km/h. High near minus 10 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week and we received more new snow so it was not flyable.

Derek and the Desperado Team went up Woodside and got a short flight today.

1-25-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Cloudy with occasional light snow beginning late in the morning. Amounts 1 to 2 cm. Wind east to southeast 8 to 20 km/h. High near minus 10 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks and it was snowing all day.

We signed our paragliding waivers and got our Paragliding Passes and the Guest Services Staff arranged for a special hiking pass for non-skier pilots.

This hiking pass is $25 a day and get one up the Sunburst Chair where you can walk a short distance east to the OSV run for foot launching in East or light winds.

Unfortunately cloudbase was too low to try out the OSV Launch today.

1-24-2021
FlyBC is heading to Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Cloudy with occasional light snow beginning late in the morning. Amounts 1 to 2 cm. Wind east to southeast 8 to 20 km/h. High near minus 10 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is at Sun Peaks for a week.

It was raining and lightly snowing at Woodside yesterday so no one flew.

Cloudbase was pretty low too!



A 4x4 person posted some pics on FaceBook as they drove up to 10 km on Woodside, just light snow on the road.



Colleen and I went Cross Country skiing to check out some nearer LZs for flying at Sun Peaks. Hole 15 is a great runway and just above our condo.



1-23-2021
FlyBC is heading to Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind northwest 10 to 15 km/h. High near minus 11 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - Colleen and I are at Sun Peaks for a week and today we went skiing.

We woke to -12C temps and light snow but there was blue sky to the West.

Colleen was trying out her new stance on her snowboard and I was skiing.

At 1 pm, we went up to the Top of the Mountain and it was blowing +20 kph over the back . . . but down below Crystal Chair we had inflow cycles again.

I laid out by Ozone Alpina 2 and got all ready, but it got blown by a gust and I failed to lay it back pout properly hoping it would inflate with some speed. But alas no, I skiied a few hundred feet and no go.

I had to bunch up and hike back to the start point and the second time was a charm!

I bit thermic and rotory in the air but a good flight to land behind Brad's condo on the golf course where I landed in 20 kph of east tailwind but the powder snow was good to land at speed. Loving the skis for landing. Bev should come and try it!

Colleen got my launch as did some skiers.





Woodside Report - Derek and about 15 other pilots flew Woodside today.



The first round of flights were extended sledders as the winds started to pick up and the thermals started to form.



The second flight had pilots up for over an hour with many complaining of cold hands.



Alex flying off into the sunset tonight.

Thanks to Claudia and others for the pictures I scraped off the WWW.

Reports from Bennie of 2 hour flights from 10 pilots flying there.

Spring is just around the corner!

1-22-2021
FlyBC is heading to Sun Peaks for a week


Kamloops Forecast

Sun Peaks Forecast:
Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind northwest 10 to 15 km/h. High near minus 11 C.
Sun Peaks:
050° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

1800 metres
Woodside Report - FlyBC is at Eagle Ranch today until 4 pm, but no flying today as it was howling out of the North at 50 kph.

1-21-2021
FlyBC is at Eagle Ranch on January 21


Woodside Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 8. UV index 2 or low.
Woodside:
190° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - FlyBC was at Eagle Ranch today after noon but it was blown out with strong NW winds (outflow).

But Brad had another good day at Sun Peaks.

Sun Peaks Flight Report - Launch @1pm lovely light cycles up. Clear blue skies. Forecast was light north winds. - 11 when I launched but sunny radiant heat helped.

Caught an everlasting thermals just past the Crystal chair to the left. Soared up to launch height again and again, could have gone higher but my hands were toast in 20 minutes.

Continued soaring for 30 minutes easy smooth thermal but the cold capped my earnest.

Decided to fly home to the Sunpeaks East village and landed behind my place.

Cold mid winter thermals, two words unexpected and awesome!! I going to the specialty store in the village and getting -20 mitts and boot covers - Brad

Summary :

43 minutes of winter beauty, lift sustained 1.9ms, top lift 3.5, max sink 3.5. Local paragliding friendly factor 9/10! Fun factor 8/10, need mitts! A nice shot of Brad flying by one of the local photographers.



Brad's proof of a great flight and no collapses.



1-20-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks today


Woodside Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 8. UV index 2 or low.
Woodside:
190° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - Brad and I met with the Sun Peaks Ski Patrollers today and I showed them some launch spots for different conditions.

The best launch for light winds is the Crystal launch Point just below and between the Crystal Chair Line and the Burfield Chair Line.

Remember you must remain 100 metres away from lift lines horizontally and vertically!

This is the view SE from Crystal Launch down into the Valley. We had a "blue bird" day today!



The location on the map is here.



There is also an east facing launch at the top and just east of the Sunburst Chair on the OSV run. Layout to the east side of the run so skiers can see you.



You can land on any of the Golf Course Fairways but we find Hole 10 is the easiest access back into the Village or back to the Chair Lifts.



Brad launched first today after we gained approval from the Ski Patrollers.

He had a duff that looked like he might have snagged a brake line on the snow but I reset his wing and he was off and thermalling around.

1-19-2021
FlyBC is at Eagle Ranch on January 19


Woodside Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
A mix of sun and cloud. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 8. UV index 2 or low.
Woodside:
190° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Terry came out for lessons but it was too cold with strong NW winds so we just did Ground School, no one flew.

1-18-2021
FlyBC is at Woodside today


Woodside Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Sunny. High 6. UV index 1 or low.
Woodside:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - I had a new student starting P-1 Lessons today and we had to fire up the Barn fireplace to run ground school lessons.

Terry was very attentive and we had a good simulator session before heading out to the LZ to kite.

We had nice E winds at 10-15 kph and Terry did very well with his forward launches.

He got pretty tired so we went up to Launch to watch Derek, Martin, Dennie, Andrei and Norm fly off as Bev offered to drive. Martin was off first and he got up right away.



Derek was off next and he was "grovelling" on the South Knoll for 15 minutes before he climbed out above Martin.



We drove down and restarted kiting and the winds switched to NW in the LZ.

We watched Derek, Norm and Martin land as the lift died after 1:20 of soaring for Martin.

1-17-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks this weekend but back at Eagle Ranch on January 18-19


Woodside Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. High 6. UV index 1 or low.
Woodside:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Report - Team Desperado was out flying at Woodside while we travelled back to the Ranch.

Good reversible conditions at launch and in the LZ, with 5 pilots flying and some longer flights according to Bev.

1-16-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks this weekend but back at Eagle Ranch on January 18-19


Sun Peaks Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Mainly cloudy. High 6. UV index 1 or low.
Woodside:
240° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Sun Peaks Report - still no flying allowed yet at Sun Peaks but we are having a meeting with management on January 20 to get things approved.

But the skiing has been great with small lift lines as the resort is operating at 20% capacity.

12-28-2020 to 01-15-2021
FlyBC is at Sun Peaks until January 17


Sun Peaks Forecast

Woodside Forecast:
Clearing this afternoon. High 6. UV index 1 or low.
Woodside:
040° @ 10 kph after 1 pm

-2.0°C (stable)

800 metres
Woodside Gloat Report - Colleen and I have been up at Sun Peaks since after Christmas skiing and snowshoeing staying away from the coastal rains.

But the local "Desperado Team" led by Derek has been getting some flights in.

Mostly "sleddies" in light outflow conditions this month but Derek, Martin, Andrei, Bev and Norm have been out several times and most flew.

Today (January 16) was one of such days but this time it was lifty with some strong SW winds at launch.

Derek had to remove a few fallen trees at the 3 km mark and others had hiked from there.

The carpets were all torn up due to last week's windstorm but Tonya and others had repaired it pretty well by the time Derek's truck load had arrived on top.

Martin launched first, followed by Derek and Claudia and later Andrei and Norm. Bev drove for the team.

Apparently it was quite lifty and they could cloudsurf up the front of the growing CU.



Claudia as usual got some great shots of the flying action.

It is going to be hard to identify the pilots involved as Derek and Martin have new Ozone Swift 5 gliders and I can't remember what they ordered?



It was lifty for their entire 1:41 flights and they arrived at FlyBC Eagle Ranch at 600 metres to land in smooth conditions.

Derek said it was not even that cold in the air.

Spring is just around the corner!





FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports click to select the month and year you wish to review.



FlyBC Airsports
Box 79
Harrison Mills, BC V0M 1L0

Cell: 604-618-5467
E-Mail: FlyBC E-Mail
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