FlyBC "Site of the Day Archive Page" - August/2009
"If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day." - John A. Wheeler
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Woodside Report - I had a few chores planned when Derek suggested hiking Mt. Cheam. Yeah, right! My last hike up Mt Gardiner on Bowen resulted in sore knees for a week.
. I went anyway, packing up a Oxygen harness and a Geo II and a bunch of snacks/water so my bag only weighed about 5 kgs. I cheated as everyone else took up full kits. We met at the Bridal LZ at 10 am, Alan D offered to drive Derek's truck to Spoon Lake where we started in the Chilliwack River Valley side. The top of the mountain is 6000 feet, and Spoon lake is about 1500 feet ASL. 
Spoon Lake below Mt Cheam, obliterated by an avalanche - photo by JPR Spoon Lake is a mess with snow and avalanche debris from a slide this winter. Martina said last year the lake was a turquoise colour and very clean. Wouter was setting a pretty good pace and Jack was steaming ahead too. Derek and Alan were staying back with Martina and I to humour us until halfway when Alan took Martina's pack and also steamed ahead. Derek then left us in the dust. It was pretty hot hiking and I had to ditch my long pants which I chose to take to ward off black flies (there were none). We crested the shale slope where the others had left their bags at about 1:45 into the hike. Not back for an old guy who doesn't hike. 1.2 litres of water gone, many granola bars and pepperoni sticks were devoured to keep me moving. 
Mt Cheam hiking team at launch - photo by JPR Nice launch cycles (10-15 kph) straight up the hill. I laid out behind Jack and with little to hookup, I was first ready and I launched by running sideways to clear Jack's wing and was off even over the flats before the edge. Very buoyant right near launch but no beeps on the way to the Saddle. With the south wind one would expect some turbulence crossing the Saddle but there was none. Some thermals along the way but the air was pretty calm. 
Mt Cheam, with Jack following me at the Saddle - photo by JPR Jack and I thermalled on Bridal Lower for a bit, and then I headed out to take video and more pictures as Derek, Martina and Wouter joined Jack on the Knob. Martin H and Al had arrived and were soon flying too in the stable air - "knob-bobbing". I headed up to help Alex and Nataliya as their truck overheated and took a load back up to Bridal after martina and Wouter landed. Easy fix as the heater control solenoid snapped and we re-routed the hose and refilled the rad. Most pilots flew and many top-landed several times (Martin H, Derek and Al). Nice conditions, just hard to get high. The beer at the golf course tasted pretty good after hiking and flying. Our Cheam Photos are now up online Our Cheam Videos are now up online
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Woodside Report - we had a very hectic day with students Adrian (first 3 solos), Josef (4 solos), Irene (3 solos), Lucian (3 solos) and 11 tandems. Thanks to Colleen and Wouter we were able to complete all 11 good tandem flights, as everyone even the 11 am group got to soar above launch. | My third tandem passenger wanted something scary so I did a SAT and the spiral exit came out downwind and low behind the Maple Tree and by the time I brought it around we were in sink and not quite near enough to the fence to clear it and if we did it would have been a downwind landing so I landed in Bert's pasture. Now the scary part was having to cross the nettle filled ditch to come to the Ranch but it was an adventure. We were completing the last tandems at 7:00 pm and it was still soarable and I was able to climb up the South Knoll and hang out there for 30 minutes (still not long enough for Tanya!), as she was enjoying it too much. 
The last tandem landing at the Ranch last night - photo by Cynthia Thanks to Martina, Thomm and lastly Alan D who drove the Van down between flights for us. Alan was up Woodside checking out timber with Mark F on a quad and was able to take the Van back to the Kettle on the last flight. Ken Hurley's Bridal Incident Report - Although the lesson was expensive (it will cost me $200 for Derek's tree falling expertise) - I take away some positive lessons from this experience. My View of Mishap: At the very least the experience of flying on the Lee side of the launch at Bridal was a good wakeup, I knew better - pilot error; experiencing what felt like and looked like an assymetric collapse due to rotor(the wing deformed into an S shape, abnormal but higher on the left side, low in the middle and slightly higher but lower than the left side of the wing on the right side), I dropped approx. 75 to 100 feet immediately. I reacted right away to get the wing flying again did a gentle brake pull on the right brake, then another gentle brake on the left side to pop the wing, then released brakes to add some speed into my forward motion when the wing re-loaded. When the wing started to fly forward again I had dropped too much altitude to fully recover a flight path out of the trouble or to attempt a turn away from the hill, So I lined the roadway to the launch up to guide my flight path, looking for a possible way to fly down the roadway and out of the trouble but all I had was sink going on. I had enough time to choose more or less a planned forced landing in the tree of my choice and basically landed with the wing spread out on top. Alan who was above me said when he looked down at the wing it looked like it was still flying as it was spread out across the tops of the trees. I was suspended straight below the wing in my harness seat approx. 30feet up an Alder tree that had no branches on it below me (fortunate as it turns out.) So I assessed my situation, then climbed up and stood on a couple of branches above me to relieve the tension on my wing and lines, assessed my situation again, up was too dangerous as the tree was too spindly near the top. I felt I could shinny down the tree safely (note to self pack rope/xtra biners), so I unclipped from harness, zipped it up and dropped it to the forest floor, then basically slid down the tree as it was leaning out from the hill, it was like going down a steep slide. Walked back to launch and used Tanya's radio to let Derek, Alan and others that I was Okay and that I was going back down to get my grandson and retrieve my wing. End result, I was a bit lucky perhaps, as no serious damage done to pilot or wing. We checked the wing out thoroughly for damage after we got all the leaves and twigs out of the lines, cleaned all the cells out and could find no visible damage. I will go kite it and do a more thorough inspection today to make sure every thing is intact. Hope you had a great party . . . Kind Regards, Ken Hurley
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Woodside Report - Woodside was working well today, with developing CUs telling folks where the lift was. About 20 pilots thermalling around at one time with Lucian "on the top of the stack". | Student flights were suspended after 2 pm due to strong conditions (thermic) but our tandems went well and after watching Mia's landing I decided Harvest Market was a better option and Nicole was driving, back from an exciting US Nats. Thanks for the drive and retrieve. Later we were going to take the students back up but we watched Josef trying to make it to the Ranch from above launch and he ended up in Riverside due to strong headwinds. Some excitement at Bridal as Ken H discovered leeside flying behind launch and put it down in some alder trees near the spur road. Wing and pilot okay. End of Summer Party Report - good friends all showed up to party last night; some after flying Bridal, some after working all day in town, some after flying Woodside. A pretty laid back atmosphere as we stayed outside to cook and hang out around the BBQs outside the Barn. Some dancing later, some drinking and later a younger group headed to Insomnia night club in downtown Agassiz. 
The food layout at the Ranch last night - photo by Cynthia
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Woodside Report - Gary K, Martin N and Thomm flew Woodside early afternoon and had mixed reports. It then got really windy after 3 pm and I suspended student fights as a front was coming through. Good kiting winds in the Eagle Ranch LZ for Lucian and Irene. | Derek, Martina, Wouter and Jack hiked to Bridal's Upper Launch and after much waiting, hiked back down to the truck to fly another day: just too strong at launch.
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Woodside Report - perfect conditions after 10 am, despite strong NE winds everywhere else. Mother Woodside continues to amaze. | Deanna came back to finish off her 2 day course and did very well with 3 solo launches, and she was comfortable enough to take pictures for our new Student PowerPoint Presentations. Alan J started his second day too and logged 3 solo flights. His previous 1500 skydives helped with canopy control and landings, but launches were a bit dicey. Old friend Lee K arrived after a year on the road in South America and flew 2 flights, Steve D flew 3 flights and Lucian was playing on his new Buzz Z enjoying spirals and cruising around the valley in no wind conditions. We felt vindicated that the day looked better than it turned out based on the forecast, when Martin H showed up at Bridal expecting a big day too. A few people flew off Bridal but the flights were pretty short there. 
The Unimog takes a trip to Langley to get a new clutch after last weekend's mayhem - photo by JPR Party Invite - we are having a party on Saturday August 30 to celebrate the end of Summer, and my Birthday (which is today). Come and hang out at the Ranch all day and fly or just come after 6 pm for dancing and partying. Belated Jeremy Report - Jeremy called this week and he was tooling around UBC on his new electric wheelchair so he can get around. He was on the road heading to the drugstore to get dental floss. Good News! as he has another 2 months to spend at UBC Hospital. Belated ShotGun Report - this week while we were flying Bridal, Al was up at Lower Shotgun, where he had a 45 minute tour of the Slave Lake area. He climbed up the "chimney" and thought there was South Wind so he stayed in the triangle formed by 3 hills and baoted around there landing at LZ2. Similar conditions to Bridal, climbs to 1100 meters before hitting the inversion, back don to 800 meters, then back up. Bridal was actually better later.
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Woodside Report - a slow day at the Ranch as I did some chores and took Dale up for a test flight of a Geo II. He flies at a spot where hiking is essential and likes the idea of a 5 kg pack vs the current 35 kgs he carries. | We arrived to see Dennis waiting for a sign that it might be soarable. Dale was not so picky and launched nicely and started climbing attracting some vultures to join him. He flew for 20 minutes and flew out to the Ranch. 
Dale soaring with the vultures over Woodside on a Geo II - photo by JPR When I saw Dennis later he was scratching the South Knoll pretty low, so I assume it wasn't a great flight as the milky clouds poured in after Dale's flight. Alan D was on Bridal Launch and waited till after 3 pm to launch, because it got so hazy. I didn't go up Bridal as I had to pick up some shipments in Vancouver.
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Woodside Report - dark clouds around Woodside made it a perfect day to get the front spring fixed on the Van, and by noon it was out of the shop and professionally repaired by Abby Spring. | 
The Orange Truck is the courtesy vehicle they lent me while the Van was being serviced so we could go up Woodside - photo by JPR Wouter and I packed a few reserves and cleaned up the place before heading to Vancouver for the evening, By 6 pm, the clouds were gone and it looked perfect.
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Woodside Report - we had a rather boring day today . . . thank goodness! | Steve D, Lucian, Wouter, Martina and Ryf were flying Woodside while I was driving and they all had pretty nice flights. Lucian was "sky god" today flying the Mojo3 S and showing Martina how to fly the inversion. Steve D has mastered the fine art of brake control on launch and had 3 really nice flights. Wouter took Lauren tandem for her 20th Birthday on the Magnum 41 and soared nicely just above the inversion for 35 minutes. Dad was very proud as his daughter looked sure calm and relaxed as they flew by many times. Bridal Report - we assembled a load for Bridal and went up at 4:15 pm as Alan was still soaring around 1200 meters. Good launch cycles. Lucian flew first and got 45 minutes. Martina was top-of-the-stack at 1320 meters today. I was flying the Octane FLX and soared below her for about 15 minutes gaining altitude before going out over the valley to test the maneuvers on the FLX. Wouter was "ragging out" the 6907 nicely. New student Alan was kiting in the Driving Range when we landed on him, actually next to him. Alan D top-landed and drove our truck down, so I could fly, thanks again. Pictures to come later.
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Woodside Report - see quote of the day above. | Many strange things happened today! We were up on launch early with Jesse, Rob and Phillip and I decided Phillip should go first as he needed the most attention last night, although when he did launch he had a brilliant flight almost hitting the circel landing on his feet for his first solo. Phillip brought the wing up perfectly but as many new pilots will do, he sat too soon and was soon surfing gravel on his butt. Second try his wing came up perfectly and he ran two steps and then sat in his harness too soon and was butt skidding down the right side of launch and freaked out and pulled brakes to his butt but not enough to stop just to launch. No problem until his foot hit a bush and spun him up in his risers and he launched with a twist & half facing launch! I encouraged him to twist out and fly away which he did. I was readying Jesse's wing when I looked up to check Phillip and he was heading SE towards Agassiz I guess? After repeated calls on the radio (he had two on) I finally got him headed to the Ranch. as he was closer to Colleen I handed him off to her, and she started her routine. So the routine was broken when Phillip turned left and started heading to Duncan's barns?? As she lost sight of him I took over and was telling him to turn back to the Maple Tree and the Ranch and to watch out for powerlines. He flew straight for a minute and with perfect precision landed in the only tree in Bert's back 40 acre field! Right smack on top, no other pilot could have performed this perfect landing. 20 acres of field on either side of this tree. He was now 40 feet off the ground suspended in his harness. Training was suspended as I raced down and climbed the tree with a climbing rope to lower him down. Philip just "froze" and was not responding to commands nor following the route prescribed in ground school and extensive briefings. We always insist that a pilot can recite the flight path before launching to ensure they can land safely in case of a radio failure. In this case it was "brain" failure as both radios were functioning well. Bert Duncan and family were very amused as not much happens on a Sunday morning in Harrison Mills. Bert was out in the garden harvesting cukes when he heard voices above, coming from Phillips radio, and saw him head straight into the tree and he asked Phillip if he was okay from the garden. We left the glider in the tree until later when Wouter, Aaron and I went back to retrieve the remains. 6 blown cells in the middle of the glider and many ripped lines make this a write off as it was a 2000 model and not worth a lot, despite its low airtime and number of flights. First damaged glider in 13 years! Wouter wants to make a Fiesta speed wing by sewing the good cells together into an intact glider. Good idea! Wouter can test it! 
Phillip's tree and wing is visible on top as Aaron and Wouter approach the delicate task of removal - photo by JPR 
Phillip's tree and wing is visible on top as Colleen flies over it on a subsequent flight, Phillip is already out of the tree - photo by CMV 
Phillip's tree and wing is visible on top from another view - photo by CMV Back at the Ranch it was already getting windy, and a few folks were in the air when we heard "RESERVE", and when we looked up we saw a bright red reserve heading for the top of the South Knoll. Thomm was thermalling right over Heiko when he saw a cascade of surges and just as the glider was flying perfectly the reserve was tossed. This often happens as the pilot releases the brakes to throw the reserve and the glider does what it was designed to . . . fly. Fortunately Heiko was uninjured and hung around until the rescue crew arrived: Kelly, Heiko's friend Sweda, Mark F, James, Cynthia, Gerry and ultimately Thomm after landing (who had to bring up saws to cut Heiko's reserve down). James climbed the tree 40 feet with no branches to get a climbing rop to Heiko who had been shopping for a rope kit on Saturday but went to drink Beer instead of driving from Metrotown to MEC on Broadway. Hmmm? Rope kits are pretty much mandatory flying in BC. After several hours, while Wouter and I were flying tandems, they managed to retrieve Heiko, the glider (undamaged) but the reserve is still there out of sight but ripped badly. When we were flying tandems the air around the South Knoll was very strong and spiky, so I suspected Heiko had experienced a surge that he failed to check and went into a cravatte or collapse. We were soaring at launch height for 15 to 20 minutes, with Greg B soaring around launch when I caught a "boooooomer" that took us to 1200 meters and cloudbase in 2 minutes! Wouter joined in the thermal with us and I saw Greg racing over here too, and when I het the top and it was getting wispy I flew us out to Limbert Farms as planned with our driver John. Even over the Limbert field between Cemetary and Hopyard Hills we were climbing. We overheard conditions at the Bridal LZ described as bumpy and thermic over the LZ, so it sounded similar and later we heard someone telling pilots to "get out of the air" as it got windier. 
Heiko safely on the ground describing his ordeal - photo by Cynthia As we returned to the Ranch the rescue crew arrived and was sorting out ropes, glider and harness. Heiko said he felt he was being pulled up and back (thermal) and freaked out and pulled more brake and the glider stalled. He didn't respond immediately, and hen he did let up to the brakes it was too soon and the glider was surging in front and he had to brake hard as he went weightless. It then stalled again with a riser twist and that was when he decide to throw the reserve. By the time the reserve came out the glider was flying and Heiko had a 10-12 second reserve ride to the trees. At 5 m/s that is a 50 meter distance to the trees, pretty low so probably the right decision if one is unsure of what the glider is doing. 
Knitting Bee at Eagle Ranch - photo by JPR We had three more tandems to do and many student flights but it was still gusty at 7 pm, as Martin H flew a last flight and had no problem staying up and penetration looked okay but it wasn't student conditions so we called the day and went for dinner. 
Martin braves the sky - photo by Mia Quote of the Day: "If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day." - John A. Wheeler Weekend Damage Report - new springs for Van $700, new clutch for Unimog $2500, new glider for school $3200, new reserve for Heiko - $550. Entertainment value - PRICELESS! The good news it that no one suffered any injuries other than to egos.
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Woodside Report - We had a great day today with new students Phillip, Jesse and Rob learning to kite, and finally getting a solo flight at 7 pm. | The winds were too strong for even experienced solo fliers most of the day; but Colleen, Wouter and I pulled off 5 tandems and they were all 45 minutes + over to Harvest Market LZ. It was a birthday treat day with Rob getting a 2 day course for his birthday and Ann & friends going for tandem flight before heading to Burnaby for "All-You-Can-Eat Hot Pot". We are seriously down on vehicles as the Van has broken front leafs (being repaired on Monday), and the Mog had the clutch destroyed by over-rev'ing on the trip down (who knows when that will be fixed), so if you are coming flying bring a 4X4.
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Woodside Report - a lazy day cleaning out the Barn and painting the Pilot's Lounge (thanks to Steve D and Wouter), to prepare for the new 50" Plasma TV. We now have a 48" rear projection TV available for the taking, ask Jim or Colleen for details. | After painting we had to go flying to let the paint dry before installing the TV Wall mounts, so I took the Octane FLX for a spin. Steve was flying his Mojo2, and Wouter was testflying the Mantra M2. Steve D headed out after a few minutes of soaring, Wouter was climbing high at 'base and I launched and soared for a bit before top-landing to swap wings with Wouter while I drove down. The Octane FLX is a purpose built acro wing, but it also felt very nice soaring in ridge lift today. It is 20.5 meters projected so it felt pretty fast. The lines are thick for 12G loading and they sing as you fly. Stall point is very smooth and predictable as I "stuffed it in" from 8 feet over launch. Wouter did a near-death spiral over the training hill and it wound up pretty fast and had lots of energy to climb out and position him for a flare.
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Woodside Report - I was out coaching new students Deanna and Kerry and they were doing very well on the training hill, reverse and forward launching and they were ready to fly . . . but they opted for tandems first. | Colleen took Kerry tandem on the Golden XL as it was getting windy already as Jason didn't make the ranch on his Buzz (time for a faster wing?), but Lucian made it on his Buzz. I took Deanna and we climbed above the inversion and smoke for 20 minutes but it was "spicy" getting there. Kerry took a break because she was feeling airsick and I took Deanna for another even "spicier" tandem ride with a planned Harvest landing with Lucian following me. I was just about to radio to Colleen that it was too strong for Lucian when I heard her tell him to use his brakes to control the surges. Too late! Good thing he is on a Buzz! Lucian made it to Harvest for the first time with lots of height. Tom C and Auddie from Idaho flew too landing at Riverside and the Pump Station. We decided to go to Bridal as it was blowing out here and we had 2 tandems there at 6 pm. Kerry and Deanna are coming back as it doesn't look like it will calm down tonight. Bridal Report - we arrived to see the Ozone Gaggle of Louise, Rob and Robin experimenting on some different ridges while it looked pretty breezy at the bottom. They had been in the air for sometime when the shade came in forcing them off the "Knob". Martin N flew for 4 hours + skimming trees and almost making it to Upper Launch before the shade came in. We assembled a Mog-Load and raced up the hill arriving to lame cycles that ultimately blew down. Colleen took Alan J (a new student) tandem while Lucian flew again. Good solid forward launches from everyone including Jason (who looked pretty stressed at the no wind/down wind launch conditions). I decided to take Sharon another day as the rides were short and drove down. Apparently all good landings, and Heiko decide to go golfing at the end of his flight :-) When we were finally home at Eagle Ranch from a night out at the WildCat Grill we were greeted with a lightening show over agassiz and the Butterfly areas. Hopefully no fires started. Belated Rush 2 Report - First introduction to my Rush 2 - Love at first sight :)  This is just before we opened her up on launch and breathed some life into her for the first time. Soon after she had her first taste of flight. Forty minutes of gentle thermals, easy turns and small ventures into the upper valley. This was then followed up by some mild wingovers and dampened spirals on the way down to the LZ. We eased into position and set up for a nice glide on final. A light flare and I was down, the Rush stayed overhead and accompanied me as I walked to the west end of the LZ. I turned back to face her and after a little bit of kiting, gently set her down on the grass. I think she liked it!!! Can't wait to take her out again - Louise
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Woodside Report - the forecast NE winds made Woodside unsafe for the morning. As the day wore on, smoke filled the valley from the Interior carried in by the NE winds. Brian and Lewis (Harry S's son) were up on launch around noon and while the windsocks were indicating "up cycles" in the telescope, when we got on launch we could see the rotors from the NE winds clearly in the cottonwood fluff getting "vacuumed" out of the gulley. | Good lesson in micro-meteorology for the students. We could also here the thermals ripping through the trees, only they were going down the slope! We decided more kiting was in order and we could wait for Brian's last 2 flights as he was flying out at 10 pm. By 2 pm, we were back on launch and the odd down cycle occurred but we had nice reversible conditions and Brian went first as he is almost "signed off". Perfectly smooth conditions, a bouyant flight with no wind in the air, yet Rob and Al were up on TopGun launch and it was strong North there at the same time. Mother Woodside was blocking the North winds and the thermals were smooth. Lewis had his 2nd and 3rd high flights today and I could tell he was having fun on the Mojo3 as he was carving nice turns all the way to the Ranch and landed right in the circle both times. Brian achieved his required number of high flights and has about 10 hours airtime logged as the past 9 days was really nice for soaring. By 3:30 pm, I had to bail for the border to clear a new Gin shipment and pick up the new Sprint M for Dave C, and pick up the Ozone Octane FLX demo unit, here for 2-3 weeks. Come and try the FLX soon, it is designed to handle all the acro tricks with ease. Ozone Octane FLX Video - "How easy is it to helicopter the Octane FLX?"
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Woodside Report - Brian, Justin, Darren, Steve D and a visiting pilot from Idaho flew Woodside today . Good soaring around 1 pm, we were expecting strong south flows but it was easy to make the Ranch even around 3 pm. Brian is 3 flights away from signoff. | Bridal Report - a group of us met at Bridal to deliver a new Rush II to a very excited Louise (who needed a new wing). A Mog-load went up and we had decent cycles and some made it to 1100 meters, not as high as Alan who climbed to 1300 meters earlier just shy of Upper Launch.
Louise hugging and smelling her new Ozone Rush II - photo by JPR Louise later flew off and soared the "Knob" til everyone else had landed and Alan drove her rig down. Brian needs 2 more flights at Woodside to finish his certification tomorrow morning, good thing the weather is so nice! Norm Report - Norm and Bev dropped in on Monday and I forgot to correct my report that it is his left ankle and he is getting around on crutches and only has a splint so he should be driving soon, at least automatic transmissions. His doctor said his injury was minor compared to a new pilot who came into Chilliwack Emergency this year who had shattered his leg on his first flight at Bridal. How come there is no incident report on this injury? Perhaps an instructor is unaware of the Accident Reporting requirements of Transport canada or the flight was unguided and a renegade flight?
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Woodside Report - we spent the day doing some renovations waiting for the leeside winds to abate and went up the mountain at 1 pm.
Derek, Martina, Justin, Darren, Colleen, Aaron, Brian and I filled the Van and when we arrived there were decent cycles. | We all flew off with mixed results. Colleen, Martina and Derek soared for a bit before the sink cycle took them down to the Ranch. Justin and Darren skied out with some eagles. Aaron had a sledder and Brian was destined for an outlanding in huge sink when I suggested aniother path and he was soon back at launch height. I launched as Darren and Justin headed out over the Vallley logging 30 minutes trying to get back in to top-land before heading to the Ranch. Later flights were pretty nice with a glass-off at 7 pm. Aaron outsoared everyone on the Mojo 3! including his Mom. Three more flights for Brian towards his Novice Certification. 
Aaron and Colleen in the "Glass-Off" - photo by JPR Bridal Report - nice conditions there as we overheard Martin N toplanding, Louise exclaiming how nice it was with the vario singing.
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Woodside Report - another busy day at the Ranch. Leeside conditions brought out the "big guns" as many Bridal dwellers flew at Woodside in the morning. | We started the day out at 9:30 am with student flights and soon we were into the 9 Tandem Flights we had to complete today. Wouter, Kevin, Colleen and I were pretty darned busy but we were finished and eating dinner at the Sasquatch by 5 pm! Several of the first tandems got 45 minutes or more airtime. My first passenger Sandy got a great ride as we "duked it out" with Kevin and his passenger and we arrived over the Ranch at 800 meters and "bled off altitude" with a strong spiral dive. The next tandems were great too but as I got into the air with my last passenger Tammy, the air was calmer and we had a shorter flight into interesting landing conditions. Norm and I entered the pattern at about the same height with us behind him. He hit some lift over the corn field as we plummeted from tree top height straight down with no forward speed and we touched down softly but Tammy forgot to run and fell over, but I held her up. Norm apparently made one last turn too low and was heading downwind trying to turn into the wind and got dumped mid-turn and hurt his ankle. Fortunately lots of doctors and nurses in the field to attend to him as Gary K plummetted in right after Norm, and Alex W was there already too. Off to Hope Hospital for X-rays to confirm a cracked bone that will require a 4 week cast. Unfortunately it is Norm's right ankle and he won't be much use as a driver! Cynthia's last flight of the day was accompanied by a jump into the seat too soon and she let out a primal scream as she thought she was gonna crash! . . . but she made it away from launch. |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
June 2009 Site of the Day archives - dry all month locally so lots of flying, Al has been test flying the new ShotGun launch near Stave Lake having great flights out to Woodside.
May 2009 Site of the Day archives - local flying is getting great with nice XC's! Bridal was working well. The new bathroom was installed in the Barn at Eagle Ranch enriching the FlyBC experience.
April 2009 Site of the Day archives - we escaped the local weather by flying in New Zealand for 3 weeks. We will be heading back soon!
March 2009 Site of the Day archives - we were flying locally in snow, relying on Derek's sleds and chains on the 'Mog to get up Woodside.
February 2009 Site of the Day archives - the Worlds PG Championships in Mexico was hard work for the Canucks, the tasks and speeds were unreal.
January 2009 Site of the Day archives - Manzanillo, Mexico was a BLAST, many new sites flown and we have a new tour Destination for 2010.
December 2008 Site of the Day archives - the annual FlyBC Christmas Party was a cold success with Head over Heels entertaining us all night. And we left early for Manzanillo, Mexico on Dec 28th.
November 2008 Site of the Day archives - some soaring between rain storms, and it was pretty dry in Agassiz.
October 2008 Site of the Day archives - we went ot the Women's Fly In on Chelan for the annual Halloween Costume Fly-In, great conditions there to offset the wet month on the West Coast. Steve Fosset's crash site was found in Nevada after a year of searching.
September 2008 Site of the Day archives - great student conditions at Woodside and Bridal all month, with 10 students getting signed off this month, a record.
August 2008 Site of the Day archives - our second SIV Course of the 2008 season went well at Sale Mountain near Revelstoke (except for a few water landings and minor injuries). Wet all month at Woodside except the weekends.
July 2008 Site of the Day archives - our first SIV Course of the 2008 season went well at Sale Mountain near Revelstoke.
June 2008 Site of the Day archives - a few good soaring days at Bridal, lots of new students this month.
May 2008 Site of the Day archives - the cost of gas is keeping pilots at home and the weather isn't helping either. One good XC in May for me, leaving Woodside with Norm and Martin H and ending up at Elk at 1600 meters before landing by Hopyard Hill. 3 hours and 85 kms later by the GPS.
April 2008 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years but we flew every day we could.
March 2008 Site of the Day archives - more snow and still hiking to launch at Woodside! But some major airtime for the locals committed to coming out to fly.
February 2008 Site of the Day archives - more snow in BC than I can remember in 25 years of living here. We are still hiking to launch at Woodside!
January 2008 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years so we went to Mexico and logged many hours of airtime, while it snowed heavily in BC.
December 2007 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years so we went to Mexico on Dec 29th for three weeks.
November 2007 Site of the Day archives - Colleen and I went to California to fly the new Falcon A-16 Advanced Ultralight prototype and it flew very well. Some good soaring days at Woodside, some folks were still trying to fly Bridal but that is a waste of time this late in the season.
October 2007 Site of the Day archives - mid-air at Woodside caused Martin H some paraglider damage, some great soarable days. The Women's Fly In was a success with the Canuck Team taking top spot for the theme of "Celebrities in Rehab".
September 2007 Site of the Day archives - we re-discovered and flew 'Horsefly' Launch for the first time, some mayhem at Woodside due to tree-suck, lots of good soaring in afternoon glassoffs, a great Indian Summer until late in the month when the rains came early. Derek, Martina, Robin and Diane went to Europe. Kirill went to Australia for a paramotor Fly-In.
August 2007 Site of the Day archives - fun two weeks at Mara Lake, followed by steady flying at Woodside and Bridal, making up for the dismal spring and summer.
July 2007 Site of the Day archives - good flights at Bridal, some mayhem at Woodside from visiting pilots.
June 2007 Site of the Day archives - more crappy weather on the weekends. Some awesome flights between showers as Norm and Thomm flew to Mission on the last day of the month.
May 2007 Site of the Day archives - flyable every weekday, but the Fraser Valley XC Comp got crappy weather on the weekends, although it was student flyable.
April 2007 Site of the Day archives - good flights are starting. Some complete triangles from Woodside to Bridal and back, some "musical triangles" from others.
March 2007 Site of the Day archives - fifth month of crappy weather on the Coast. We went to Santa Barbara for some flights, and to dry out. Some good days were also recorded locally.
Febuary 2007 Site of the Day archives - fourth month of crappy weather on the Coast. So we stayed in Mexico.
January 2007 Site of the Day archives - third month of crappy weather on the Coast. So we went to Mexico to fly Colima, Tapalpa, and San Marcos, while Brad and gang headed to Tenacingo, Mexico.
December 2006 Site of the Day archives - more ugly weather on the Coast. Severe winds damaged trees and property so not much flying happened. Some good flight reports from local PGers travelling world-wide.
November 2006 Site of the Day archives - the wettest November on record. We flew a few good flights but mostly we were rained out.
October 2006 Site of the Day archives - lots of good days with 3-4 hours airtime. The Women's Fly-In was on again in Chelan with about 18 Canucks, and a good day Saturday with 85 registered pilots.
September 2006 Site of the Day archives - still soarable in the Fraser Valley, little or no rain. Colleen is back flying! Some mayhem in the valley.
August 2006 Site of the Day archives - a great flying month everywhere, we had a super successful SIV clinic at Mara Lake with everyone SAT-ing and heli-ing.
July 2006 Site of the Day archives - road trip to Lumby, then on the 8th Colleen spun in below Gloria cancelling her summer plans (but she is recuperating well).
June 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Valley dried out, and we flew most days and every weekend.
May 2006 Site of the Day archives - more rain that ever imagined in the Fraser Valley. Very few soaring flights and even less XC.
April 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Easter Bunny was "run over" on Kilby Road, plus the train wreck on April 1.
March 2006 Site of the Day archives - a new pilot was born, Chloe. We also flew a few days between showers, some long flights up to 4 hours. A few Out & Return Flights to Deroche and Bear.
February 2006 Site of the Day archives - another wet month with some soarable days (2).
January 2006 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South for great Mexican or Chilean flying.
December 2005 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South.
November 2005 Site of the Day archives - rain, snow and not much flying.
October 2005 Site of the Day archives - Women's Fly In in Chelan yielded two soarable days before the snows hit.
September 2005 Site of the Day archives - dry most of the month. Some great 4 hour flights at Woodside getting to cloudbase most days. Three crash-landings in the same clearcut by pilots scratching too low, but no injuries.
August 2005 Site of the Day archives - road trips to the Interior gave us an opportunity to rag out some gliders at FlyBC SIV 2005 (Part II). Also a great road trip to Savona.
July 2005 Site of the Day archives - good flying all month, no rain but some windy days shut us down. The Willi started in Golden with a few good days, but one tragedy as Charles Warren perished in a crash near Harrogate.
June 2005 Site of the Day archives - too much rain, but good days to fly between showers.
May 2005 Site of the Day archives - our Instructor/Tandem seminar yielded some good flying. Our May 2005 SIV Clinic had a good turnout, with many wet wings/pilots! Many nice flights at Woodside and Bridal, with some long "out & returns" at Bridal.
April 2005 Site of the Day archives - some great soaring at Woodside and Bridal. Sad news from the US Hanggliding Nationals as Chris Muller crashes at goal.
March 2005 Site of the Day archives - we had to head out of town to Savona a few weekends due to wet weather on the Coast. Wetter than normal according to Environment Canada.
February 2005 Site of the Day archives - some good soaring despite early time of year. Flights as long as 3 hours at Woodside, some good flights at Whidbey Island for first timers, too!
January 2005 Site of the Day archives road trips to Mexico, not much flying locally due to strong north winds and rain. Record rain kept Eagle Ranch quite wet for kiting.
December 2004 Site of the Day archives a dry month with some good soaring including a fantastic day on Dec. 11 where we thermalled for 2+ hours!
November 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain. We installed a fireplace in the barn to keep pilots warm between winter flights.
October 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain, but sweet soaring between showers. Many new students signed up and making quick progress. We missed the Women's Fly In for the first time in 9 years, and there was some interesting flying on the Sunday!
September 2004 Site of the Day archives rainiest September on record for the first 3 weeks, made flying difficult. But Alan and others logged some pretty nice flights later in the month. Lots of student tandems for both Colleen and Jim.
August 2004 Site of the Day archives Great Maneuver/SIV/ACRO course at Mara. Jack got wet! Some great soaring at Woodside. Norm made it 68 km from Mara to King Eddie, Derek made it from Lumby to Enderby the opposite direction for 67 kms. We also did our BC roadtrip from Ashcroft to New Denver, and flew everyday.
July 2004 Site of the Day archives the Willi was on at Golden. We missed the mayhem due to work and school commitments but Norm did a great job representing the West Coast.
June 2004 Site of the Day archives Canadian Nationals came off with many great rounds. Pemberton-Whistler Championships were blown out most days so we headed to Cornwall.
May 2004 Site of the Day archives great flying at Woodside and Bridal. We held a very successful SIV Course at Mara Lake, and hope to run another one in August if they keep the forests open.
April 2004 Site of the Day archives good flying in the Valley. The Fraser Valley Cross Country PG Series was successssful.
March 2004 Site of the Day archives Nicole won in Brazil, otherwise the month sucked for flying time.
February 2004 Site of the Day archives some local flights extended to an hour with vigourous scratching above the trees. Good paramotor month.
January 2004 Site of the Day archives Mexican road trip yielded 20 hours of flight and a wet Canadian January kept most local pilots on the ground.
December 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew a few times but it got really cold at the end of the month as we prepared for a gala New Year's Party for 40 of our close personal friends and neighbours.
November 2003 Site of the Day archives windy and wet with the odd good soaring day, not many pilots out these days.
October 2003 Site of the Day archives Women's Fly In was great fun, some good soaring days mid-month, most of the students are signed off.
September 2003 Site of the Day archives good conditions until the last days of the month when it got stable. Most days were flyable at Woodside or Bridal.
August 2003 Site of the Day archives Forest closures made the end of the month a non-flying period unless you headed to Blanchard. FlyBC SIV 2003 was a great success with 9 stunt pilots and no deployments or crashes.
July 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most days early at Woodside until it got windy, then over to Bridal. Good Golden flying reports from the "Willi".
June 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most weekdays at Bridal, Woodside worked most weekends. Bridal Air Races had one great day with only two tree landings!
May 2003 Site of the Day archives not a great weather month on the coast, especially on the weekends but a few pilots managed to get some great airtime at Bridal. The Nationals were held in Lumby and it didn't rain!
April 2003 Site of the Day archives rain for 28 of 30 April days, but we managed to get a few flights in between showers. Even the golfers were complaining!
March 2003 Site of the Day archives some high spring flights in early March, but not a great weather month. Still no HPAC Insurance!
February 2003 Site of the Day archives some nice long spring flights in late February. HPAC Insurance expired on Feb 14, so many pilots stayed home instead of getting USHGA coverage.
January 2003 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month in BC so we bailed and headed to Tapalpa Mexico for three weeks. Norm and Lucille had a great XC flight the first day we arrived.
December 2002 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month.
November 2002 Site of the Day archives not a great flying month, lots of rain in the beginning and then super stable and inverted for the balance of the month. Even the Savona Road Trip wasn't that great. Looking forward to Mexico!
October 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable some days, great fun at the Women's Fly In 2002 in Chelan. Allan logged 15 hours and only flew a few days. Most of the students are ready for signoff soon to get ready for Mexico trips!
September 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable most everyday! Some scary incidents at Woodside. Fun flying at Ashcroft.
August 2002 Site of the Day archives More spring-like days with super lapse rates, great fun up-country at Revelstoke and Mara, with some good XCs for all.
July 2002 Site of the Day archives Some spring-like days with super lapse rates, but still rather wet at times.
June 2002 Site of the Day archives another rainy and windy month with great lapse rates, some great flights at Bridal with some getting above Cheam Peak. The Club Cup was nearly rained out but they got one valid task in on Sunday June 30.
May 2002 Site of the Day archives an extremely rainy month with the more spring mayhem, another reserve deployment at Lil Nick and a pilot crashed at the top of Deroche Mountain, uninjured but with a ripped glider and long hike down the mountain. Colleen placed 5th place at the Canadian PG Nationals in rainy Lumby!
April 2002 Site of the Day archives a rainy month with the usual spring mayhem, one reserve deployment at Woodside and a pilot hit a parked car at Bridal LZ, fracturing his leg.
March 2002 Site of the Day archives a few great days days with lots of snow and rain mixed in.
February 2002 Site of the Day archives two epic days already (4.5 hours and 2.5 hours!).
January 2002 Site of the Day archives Mexico vacation shots, some local flying but it was wet on the coast.
December 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, wettest December on record, some good days sprinkled thru the month.
November 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, had some good days at Woodside +2 hours, lots of rain later in the month.
October 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, but great flying at Chelan at the Women's Fly In.
September 2001 Site of the Day archives starting to get pretty stable, more sled rides forecast for October.
Aug 2001 Site of the Day archives Mara, Bridal, till some great flights locally
July 2001 Site of the Day archives Road Trip Month, Golden, Mara, points east!
June 2001 Site of the Day archives Great Month, 3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower! Some getting up to 6 hours in a single flight!
May 2001 Site of the Day archives Unstable Month, 2-3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower!
April 2001 Site of the Day archives Rainy Month, not as much airtime for some pilots
March 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring has Sprung!
February 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring is in the Air!
January 2001 Site of the Day archives - Mexico Flying Trip
December 2000 Site of the Day archives
November 2000 Site of the Day archives (great month for airtime!)
October 2000 Site of the Day archives
September 2000 Site of the Day archives
July - August 2000 Site of the Day archives
June 2000 Site of the Day archives
March - May 2000 Site of the Day archives
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