FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives" - December 2007
Valle de Bravo, Mexico
"Paragliding is definitely NOT a spectator sport." - Colleen Varcoe, January 2008
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Tenancingo Report - we headed back to La Laminche today and it was stronger as we arrived. Again I was the "wind dummy" and climbed out immediately to 3000 meters (launch is at 2100 meters). Jim launches "Despegue La Laminche" - photo by CMV Norm launched after me and I "mooched off" him as my vario konked out and was giving no audio. We climbed together to 3600 meters and I headed over the back after an hour as Norm flew back to launch to see why no one else launched. Apparently it got squirrely at launch and eventually Delvin, Colleen and Daniel V got off. I watched Daniel scratching low as I headed off but didn't see any other launches. I made it to a football field by the hotel where the car was so I could retrieve everyone else - Jim.  Football LZ in Tenancingo, near El Porton Inn - photo by JPR As I landed I got a report from Sid on Launch that Colleen had suffered a hard landing at the Emergency LZ in trashy thermic conditions, and Daniel Podregas (our other host who is a State Policeman), had mustered up ambulances, a rescue chopper and many paramedics on scene by the time I arrived. After a fast flight to Mexico City in a very fast helicopter, we arrived at ABC Hospital and Colleen got CT Scanned and MRI'ed to find she had a compressed T12 which is stable and she is leaving the hospital tomorrow. But no flying for her the rest of the trip unfortunately.  Tenancingo, Mexico from a very fast rescue chopper - photo by Canon TX1 Video Grab The LZs around here are very advanced as are the conditions with hot, thin air and fast landings. More work is needed to secure better LZs, IMHO.
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Tenancingo Report - our host Daniel Villegas took us to La Laminche for a flight around 1:00 pm (prime thermal time). He briefed us where the emergency landing fields were below launch, as the designated LZ is in Tenancingo, 5 kms over the back and you need 500 meters over launch to get there as the site is not very high. All of us made it over to town except Doug Marshburn who had the height but sunk out before crossing over. The main LZ is a rut filled field with tangle bushes and Norm had a "hot-landing" on his feet but the rest of us had okay landings. | Norm made it to 3700 meters, and Colleen reported being at 3400 meters over Christo Rey behind town. I made it to 3100 meters and had a fun flight crusing over town - Jim.  Colleen in the Las Insugentes LZ in Tenancingo - photo by JPR
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Travel report - stress free day until we landed in Mexico City! The Budget Rental Car people were incompetent and took almost 2 hours to get us a car - a beautiful Ford Fiesta that looked like it was in a demolition derby. Somehow we got all 6 bags and laptops cases into the Fiesta (and Colleen, Norm and I). | We had a terrible map and got lost for 2 hours trying to leave Mexico City, but eventually made it to Toluca and Tenancingo where our hotel was waiting around midnight.
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Driving Report - bad day to travel to the USA. Over an hour wait at all crossings as we headed to Seattle. |
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Woodside Report - from the Ranch it appeared very foggy and light snow was falling until 9:00 am. When I left to go to Chilliwack, launch was clear at Woodside and Bridal and no wind. So it was potentially flyable, but I had to go on to Vancouver where it was very snowy. Snow fell for most of the night as well leaving Vancouver looking very festive around 10 pm. Only one more sleep til Tenancingo! |
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Woodside Report - a very white Christmas indeed. It snowed all day and low clouds kept us in the house. |
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Woodside Report - Derek called as we were assembling a crew to go for a hike on Woodside Mountain. Colleen, her brother Kerry and Sister-in-Law Kathy and I were going to head up with hopes of flying down while they drove. Derek called from launch and said it was blowing down lightly (not the 13 knots from the south we were hoping for) and snow on the Horizon. | Derek drove back down to get us and were soon back hiking in to check out the snow. Some places had 30 cms of snow drifted in. I got to launch just as it started snowing and set up with hopes of an up-cycle. The light snowflakes were an excellent wind indicator (all down!).  Desperado setting up Woodside Launch on Christmas Day - photo by Kerry Varcoe After one lame attempt, where I couldn't get traction or speed (too much turkey on board) I reset lower down the slope.  Launch Attempt Number 2 on Woodside Launch on Christmas Day - photo by Kerry Varcoe This time was a charm, no down cycles and good speed hitting the lines and I was off into a blizzard. You Tube video will be posted when I get on High Speed hookup later, the files are 96 MB and 20 MB and will tie up the phoneline for a week.  Woodside Launch on Christmas Day - photo by Kerry Varcoe  In the air at Woodside on Christmas Day - photo by Jimbo Nice conditions in the air, good visibility forward. A bit wet as I went on final at Stonehenge but the wing can dry in the Barn. Derek and Colleen decided it was time to go back to the Ranch as it continued to blow over the back after I left.
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Woodside Report - after last minute Christmas shopping, a few desperadoes joined me at the Ranch and tried to fly Woodside. The Van got us to within 400 meters of launch and Brad, Bernie, Norm and Kevin hiked up while I turned the Van around and hiked back up to join them. Unfortunately the winds had picked up to 60 kph+ so we deccided to drive down and sample the left over beer in the Keg. A bit faltter than on the 14th but still tasty. |
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Santa's Track Log - VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Santa will have a large audience when he leaves the North Pole tomorrow. |  One billion people are expected to log in to track Father Christmas’ trip with the help of NORAD’s operation centre and website. Woodside Report - windy and rainy but it could have been flyable very early on but we were sitting in the Hot Tub instead keeping warm. FlyBC's Santa Wish Page is back again. Only 1.5 days left til Christmas Eve so send your message to Santa now! 
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Woodside Report - we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow up to 15 cms. | On the way to Agassiz for breakfast with Derek and Martina, we needed 4WD as the side roads weren't plowed, and the main roads were building up minutes after the plows went through. Agassiz was warmer than Harrison Mills right at Ashton Road, so the snow there was mostly slush. It didn't look like much of a chance to fly so back to the Ranch to wrap presents. Around 2:30 pm, the skies cleared up and launch was only slightly foggy and the socks said it was soarable! By the time I reached anyone, and dragged Colleen away from the computer it was time to go to Chilliwack for groceries and the daylight window was getting short. So no flying report today - Jim
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Woodside Report - light up cycles but no one around to retrieve my rig if I flew so I worked around the Ranch - Jim. |
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Woodside Report - Al and Denis braved the strong winds and flew Woodside aound 3 pm. Al helped Denis launch, leaving Al to his own methods and he "hammered off" a launch after a few tries. They were going up everywhere, and back at times. Not so gusty in the air, but no way to get in to top-land so they flew to Harvest Market, where Al's son picked them up. | Blanchard WA Report - I missed it Monday, working, but I did make it there today for some fine ridge soaring at Blanchard. There were 4 hanggliders, 2 paragliders and lots of lift. The wind started out strong from the west, about 24kph when Roger (Brock) launched. I phoned him on my way out of Bellingham and he had been airborne for an hour already. By the time I got there, (12:15) it was switching to NW with occasional W and N. I launched into a nice W cycle and very slowly climbed out above the ridge to the N topping out at 1900ft, still below the top of Blanchard Mt. The hangs were doing cloud vanishing things and Roger with his slightly better sink rate was always about 150' higher than I was. When the wind finally went full north, I screamed out to the LZ, never arrived that high before. Made an approach from upwind then decided where I wanted to land, parked there and kept adjusting my forward speed so that I went straight down. Such fun. On retrieval of the vehicles, there was a full blown snow storm happening at launch - TJ
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Vancouver Report - a good day for shopping cause it was too wet to fly. | Daniel's Tenancingo Picture Gallery - an excellent array of shots taken around Tenancingo, Mexico where we are headed for the first time on December 29th. Daniel's Tenancingo Picture Gallery San Francisco Bay Fleet Week Report - Jack Carlson sent me this San Francisco Bay Fleet Week web link and it has some pretty awesome photos of aviation related activities. Author is Bernard Zee. The F18 flying under the Golden Gate Bridge is pretty cool!
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Vancouver Report - big rain drops all day. | Christmas/Holiday Time Suggestion - hug someone today. Be aware of others at this sensitive time of the year for many less fortunate.
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Woodside Report - Derek said it was very windy early as they headed towards Mission with clouds up high going over the mountains fast. Oddly, as I drove to Chilliwack to return the propane heater we rented for the Party, the skies parted and it got sunny at Woodside. I had already committed a meeting in Coquitlam so I headed back into town, but later Al called as he was heading out so I may get a late flight report. |
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Woodside Report - it was a slow morning after partying late Saturday night, and eventually Derek, Martina and Jack arrived to try a flight, but it was blowing over the back lightly and the impending wind warnings didn't make us feel too good about flying. The winds never materialized at the Ranch but closer to Vancouver there was already power outages and falling trees. |  160 meter parafoil wing designed to cut fuel costs for Freighters - photo by Xinhua/Reuters A high-tech kite to slash fuel consumption and cut greenhouse gas emissions, known as the "SkySails" system, pulls the coastal vessel MS Beaufort in this undated handout. The MV Beluga SkySails, the world's first commercial merchant ship to use the system, was launched in Hamburg on December 15, 2007. The "SkySails" system on the MV Beluga uses a huge kite to catch strong winds up to 300 metres above the surface and is projected to cut fuel costs by about 20 percent -- or about $1,600 per day. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Woodside Report - it was flyable early on, but the forecast rains hit around noon. I was too busy getting the Barn ready and helping Kevin setup his instruments. In the end we had so many circuits going in the top floor, the power meter looked like it was going to spin off the pole. | Party Report - a fabulous party with visits from many old and dear friends. The band "Head over Heels" was fantastic and they played all night.  Head over Heels in Concert in Harrison Mills - photo by JPR  Lead Vocals by Adriana - photo by JPR News Flash - We finally found out who the "unnamed pilot" was.  Unnamed Pilot being greeted by Colleen - photo by JPR There were lots of dancers all night, some even swinging on the simulator rope with the odd wipeout (covered by the waiver, fortunately).  Dancing up a storm at Eagle Ranch - photo by JPR
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Woodside Report - heavy rain but no wind as forecasted warnings said. Don't forget your wing on Saturday, it may be flyable. |
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Burnaby Report - crappy driving in Burnaby around 3 pm, when the snow started to stick at higher elevations, actually needed 4WD to get going at times. | New SupAir Light Reserves are flowing in now - the lightest and most proven hiking reserve on the market, come see it this weekend at the Party.
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Brad's Excellent Mexican Report - Sorry about the the late report. Been flying every day
and we did not have decent internet the first week in
Yelapa. | Flying in Yelapa, was everyday, very typical coastal flying with one exceptional high soaring day. Christine and I sent time touring the many watefalls and hangin with the local Canadian genre subcategory paraglider pliots. Everyone was awesome and welcoming. Many thanks to the local pilots Chris and Allan.  Brad over Yelapa - photo by CloudDog We have been in Tenacingo since Dec 8 and flying high and hard. Bernie Scherler and Bob Vickers joined me to fly this new area. The difficulty here is deciding which site to launch. All are accessible and close. I have attached picture of three site we have flown our two favorite so far are La Malinche and Malinalco. The Tenancingo fly-in was a great event with pilots from Germany, France and Canada. They had flags from all pilots countries including Canada, nice touch and welcoming.  Brad over Christo Rey at Tenancingo, Mexico - photo by CloudDog We are the only foreign pilots in the area now and skies are ours. The launches are about 2100 meters, our flights are usually 3000 - 3500 meters once we are in the lift band (low compared to Feb this year which took us to 4000 plus meters) . We have established a LZ beside the house we are staying at and we have found an incredible LZ restaurant who will play our PG dvd for us on big screen.  Opening a new Launch at La Malinche - photo by CloudDog  Malinalco Launch at Tenancingo - photo by CloudDog
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Woodside Report - I was heading out to complete the insulation work on the Barn for this Saturday's Gala Christmas Party and Rob C called to see if we were flying. He met me at the Ranch and we headed up to find the wind had switched to fairly strong tail. He was patient and got a lull and was able to try Big Ears and Rear Riser turns on Flight 10. Unfortunately the sunset came before he could try Number 11. No snow until I drove back to the City where Langley was getting dumped on. | Saturday's forecast is calling for showers but I am hopeful we can fly before the Party, so it will be a "Fly In" Party.
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Woodside Report - Wiley was out at Woodside around 11 am, and it was blowing over the back with light up-cycles, but he didn't feel like being his own "wind technician" today so he drove down. It just got worse as the day went on, but he was entertained by Ian J landing at the Ranch in his
Rans Coyote Ultralight. |
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Woodside Report - light snow in the AM, but launch was clear all day. | Desperado Rob C came out again and flew 4 flights landing at the Ranch and Bill Best's for a change of venue. Wiley joined Rob for the last flight. Light wind launches and super smooth in the air - "hands-off flying" great for first flights. Rob chalked up 7 flights this weekend for a total of 9 high flights and tones of kiting at Diefenbaker Park.  Rob Going - photo by JPR  Rob Going - photo by JPR  Rob Gone - photo by JPR It was actually clear on the other side of the wispy cloud. Stephen's Ski & Fly Adventure - Just sending you a short update on flying conditions this past weekend in my neck of the woods: Dec 8th Went ski touring with some friends in the area of Flute, Piccolo and Oboe (Behind Whistler). The snow conditions were great above 1800 meters. 10 cm of powder snow on top of a solid crust layer which was holding firm. The visibility was good and the winds were light. An ideal day for speed flying in the back country. Had enough energy for 4 hike and fly circuits will my buddies farmed out the powder...  Stephen Speed Flying - photo by Phil more photos here: Stephen and Others at Oboe near Whistler
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Woodside Report - when I awoke to 50 kph North Winds at Eagle Ranch at 7:00 am, I was betting it wouldn't even be a safe Horsefly day, but by 8:00 am, it calmed down and even switched to SW winds? | The first hopeful pilot was Jan K, who called from Abbotsford to say it was "howling" there. I told him to keep coming out as we had calm conditions here. He didn't wastre any time and headed straight up Woodside around 9:00 am and had an interesting flight - good launch cycles but strong North wind in the air caused some penetration and rotor issues near the hill. As he got closer to the Harrison River it was still "capping" but at the Ranch it was the regular SE direction at landing. He hit a few layers of turbulence but ended up with a nice approach and touchdown. New student Rob C came out and got his 3, 4, 5 flights after a 1.5 year hiatus, thanks to Rob S for checking the air around 10:30 am. Perfect launches and landings for Rob C, including a "no-winder" at the end of day. Other desperados out today included Alex W, Thomm, Fast Eddie, Karen, Jonathon, Diane, Denis, Justin, Darren, Gary K, Wiley, Kirill (QuadCat-ing). No dogs on launch today, except one shepherd who doesn't bite! Norm came out without wing as he doesn't want to wear out the Rebel before Mexico! An amazing turnout for an "iffy day" but it yielded some soaring for Rob S (the only one above launch today for a few minutes), and extended sledders of 12-14 minutes for most flights. Some folks got 3 flights others 1 or 2 depending on how fast they packed up. Bridal Report - Alan D, Klaus and Monica all hiked up the Bridal Road in the past two days. Many trees down on the road, impassable by car. Very icy even hiking, so don't attempt driving up there for some time. Woodside road is completely clear of snow all the way to launch.
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Woodside Report - strong north winds all day and night, no flying except a few brave eagles. |
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Horsefly Report - I arrived at the Mill Road turnoff to see Darren and Jeremy chatting. Justin had launched off Horsefly after a hike and we were trying to see him, but he was soaring the Bowl so we couldn't see him. I went to the Ranch to get the Van and my wing. Conditions on the ground were "spicy" with strong NE winds. | By the time I was heading back, Justin had landed at the Golf Course coming straight down and Darren retrieved him. Al arrived at the time we all got back to Bill Best's field and we headed up in the Big Blue Van. We passed Justin's Explorer at the 2 km mark, and continued plowing through snow until the top where the snow was mostly gone due to inversions or wind. Nice launch cycle for me, off first and smooth all the while soaring in front of launch, then on to the Bowl to stay clear of the others launching. I kept getting higher and it was smooth. I saw Darren take off and he had some major gusts causing some porpoising. He climbed out nicely at the east toe of the mountain and Al, Jeremy, Darren and I were above launch. Justin was driving down, but I thought, "why not try to top land?". I came over launch at about 50 meters above and felt the strong North wind and some of the gusts that Darren had hit and bailed back to the Bowl where it was stronger there - pushing me back unless a thermal was kicking off. Hmmm. Mayne it is time to head out? Smoke at Chehalis was showing light North. The River looked okay from a distance, just some ripples. Until I got over at 560 meters and saw the whitecaps!  The view out to the Harrison River and Eagle Ranch from Horsefly at 700 meters - photo by JPR I tried to stay upwind of Bill Best's and had plenty of altitude coming over the River but there was no way to penetrate even with bar, so I resigned myself to a non-precision landing somewhere. Too many powerlines around Bill Best's field so I headed back to the Community Centre Field on School Road, bigger and no powerlines and had a smooth uneventful touchdown as I watched Al and Darren land at the Market Garden on Mill Road. Jeremy had the best plan today - fly his small Vulcan and stay way upwind even to the point of being in the lee of Woodside Mtn. and he scooted into the Ranch for a turbulent landing too, all safe and accounted for.  Looking back at the pictures I took on the drive out, it was very pretty and you can see NE wind in the CU's forming on Nicomen Mountain - photo by JPR
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Woodside Report - after all the snow, I was curious how bad the road to Woodside Launch would be so I drove up around noon. It was raining hard on the south side of the Fraser but Woodside was clear. | All the snow was gone, and a lot of water was running down the road near the bottom so there is some erosion but I got to the Launch Parking easily. Nice launch wind, probably soarable. I was fixing the windsocks when Joe drove in with Tonya. I headed back down as I had work to do so I didn't see Tonya flying, but Justin said she was above launch when he drove across the Harrison Bridge and rushed up to launch. Unfortunately launch was covered by cloud for sometime so he had to wait, and after it cleared she was gone and he launched into sinky air landing at the Ranch. So two pilots flew today, despite the iffy forecast.
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Woodside Report - a boat would be a suitable form of transportation in the Fraser Valley. Many roads and fields are submerged. Eagle Ranch is secure, but I didn't try driving to launch yet, I will check tomorrow. |
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Woodside Report - rain most of the day, more expected this week until Thursday when it dries out. | Valle de Bravo Report - the locals got tired of getting charged to get to El Pinon Launch and are developing another launch nearer to the Pinon called "the Wall". Perhaps we will see it in January 2008 when we are near Valle.
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Woodside Report - snow all day, but not windy as predicted. Thomm helped reorganize the Barn for the upcoming December 15 Christmas Party - the stage is all ready for "Head over Heels". Our thoughts were of all the lucky pilots already in Mexico and Brazil and soaring at 3000 meters! |
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Woodside Report - very windy all day but light snow, not building up like in Vancouver. |
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Woodside Report - no flying here. Winds from the north at 50-60 kph all day. The steel pole I used to install the webcam windsock folded over within one day! | |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
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.
Augusr 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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