FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives February 2008"
"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." - Confucius
Aloft @ 3000' NOAA Sounding CYXX | Rate /1000' | Forecast calc using SOAR8.XLW | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| (stable) |
Woodside Report - the free Woodside Webcam showed sunny skies around noon, unfortunately I was running around Surrey doing errands and didn't get out to the Valley until the monsoons hit at 4 pm. Derek called to say Silver Star Resort was sunny and the birds were soaring in moderate winds, No flight reports yet.
|
| (stable)
Woodside Report - once again the weather forecast was wrong, in our favour! | It must have been Helicopter Day in the Valley.  Search and Rescue Chopper at Chilliwack Airport refueling before exercises - photo by JPR  RCMP Chopper at Agassiz on Pioneer Avenue by the Rec Centre filming a recruitment ad - photo by JPR Derek called me at noon, and they were headed to Woodside as it was clearing up and the CUs were popping. Alan wasn't convinced and waited before heading up Bridal. When I arrived at 1 pm, Derek and Martina had launched with Justin and they were climbing up to 'base. Derek top-landed, Justin kept flying and Martina ran from the clouds and hit big sink. When Derek relaunched he hit some bad sink cycles and was forced to scratch on the South Knoll for 30 minutes gaining slightly then losing it. Derek logged 2 hours total, Justin probably more.  Derek on the South Knoll, note pine cones in boot laces - photo by JPR Others arrived; Ihor, Al, Rob and flights kept happening with Kevin showing up latest and getting high above launch before it went catabatic and no one else could launch. Bridal wasn't kind to Alan, as he had to hike down due to east winds.  Looking towards Woodside from Eagle Ranch at 4:00 pm, only a few birds left - photo by JPR  Eagle Ranch Training Hill, after the excavator moved the rock pile that has been near the pond for 4 years - making the Stonehenge approach safer - photo by JPR
|
| (stable)
Woodside Report - rain started around 6 am, low cloudbase all day with heavier rain in the PM. |
|
| (stable)
Woodside Report - some light virga around Woodside, but not touching down. No one out flying when I arrived at 3:00 pm. | Hemlock Update for Feb 24 - apparently Miguel and Garry K were too fast to leave due to gusty conditions in the AM, new student Blair was up skiing and said it calmed down nicely in the afternoon and it would have been perfect! Take your boards next time, guys!
|
| (unstable)
Woodside Report - Derek, Alan, Martina, Nikolai, Denis, Darren, Justin, Rob and Ihor were out today. | Flights around 1:00 pm, with full sun yielded only 30 minutes of scratching, then later with high cloud the thermals were working. Derek top-landed twice to shuttle pilots until the Bulldozer started clearing the road past the launch spur road. I arrived around 2 pm to finish Colleen's window project before it rained, and it was painful watching everyone "sky out", but it is in and sealed up! Even as late as 5:00 pm, pilots were soaring in ridge lift. The road is slippery despite the dozer cleaning off the deep snow, make sure you have good tires before attempting a trip up.
|
| (unstable)
Woodside Report - the wind started blowing hard from the NE around 4 am, and it never quit all day. The only good thing was that it blew away all the dust I created installing Colleen's new garden window in the house! Thanks to Thomm, Kelly, Derek and Martina for helping lift it up into place. | Hemlock Report - I suggested to Miguel and Garry K that Hemlock might be the only flyable place, so they headed up. Later. I heard it was howling up there too.
|
| (unstable)
Woodside Report - a brilliant call today for many at Woodside! Elk pilots reported "winds blowing over the back" early on, resulting in fast flights to Eddie's. |  Looking towards Woodside from Agassiz at 10 am - photo by Martina We were shuttling up on Derek's sleds after driving to 3 kms, the Big Blue Van is back on the road. Some hiked up to get in the air as it was the first glorious leeside thermal day and many had great flights.  The view from launch on the first run up the hill - photo by Martina Derek was the first to launch and had some nice cloud suck near the South Knoll.  Derek launching first and heading to the South Knoll - photo by Martina Then one after another pilots were making it to launch and getting nice flights. Gerry L had one of his best flights ever logging 2 hours both on the mountain and in the valley flat land flying (he wasn't going down anywhere!), and had the most interesting landing of the day too! Ask him, he will tell you.  Pilots flying all over Harrison Mills - photo by Martina There were too many awesome flights to talk about, but some key flights include students Matt J and Jonathon F, having their fifth and sixth flights in nice lifty air with nice control and beautiful launches (the kiting practice is showing!), while other more experienced pilots reported turbulence at 900 meters due to the NE flow. It was good down lower and away from the mountain. I took two tandems while the day progressed and a final hike up the mountain with Matt and Jonathon at 3:30 pm, to get to launch as it went catabatic from the NE. I slept well after that hike up and down.
|
| (stable)
Woodside Report - a perfect CU filled sky from Richmond to Mission, but clouded in over Woodside by the time I arrived. | Thomm arrived earlier and was watching the windsock on launch and decided it wasn't worth the hike from Lower Launch. By te time I arrived at 2:00 pm it was calm on launch so we didn't head up. No other pilots in the area.
|
| (stable)
Woodside Report - Denis, Kent and Nikolai were already on their way up to launch; when Mark F, Derek and Martina arrived to drive up (fortunately Derek brought snow machines!). Mark and Derek dropped us off at launch and Martina and I waited until after Denis, Kent and Nikolai flew and had short flights. | I test flew the new Ultralite and although it is only 23 meters, I had a 10 minute flight with some thermals over the new Subdivision with a nice touchdown at the Circle.  Ozone Ultralite - photo by JPR Martina flew into the Ranch after getting just above launch in the only thermal on the mountain. We drove back up to meet they guys after their snow mobile tour over Woodside, and we all flew again in similar conditions; no lift, smooth air, nice landing conditions.  Harrison Mills - photo by JPR I was heading back to town when Rob arrived and everyone else headed back for flight #3. It was truly amazing that we could fly all day with so much east wind forecast, and Mark said it was strong north on the backside of Woodside. Hemlock Report - Al and Debbie went to Hemlock today and Al ski-launched 3 flights off the Green Chair and the Skyline Chair. No wind takeoffs and landings required skis in the deep snow.
|
| (stable)
Woodside Report - Derek said the CUs were developing nicely along the north range of the Fraser Valley, but no pireps. | I was driving past Chilliwack last night at 7:04 and saw the eclipse happening over Bridal Falls. Very pretty and I can se how it spooked the ancients! Too dark to get a shot without a tripod, but others grabbed some images (google images: lunar eclipse feb 20 to find them)  Last night's Lunar Eclipse taken in Calgary Feb 20 2008 - photo by CanWest
|
| (stable)
Bridal Report - Derek must be bored with snowmobiling up Woodside as they headed to Bridal later today.
Alan drove retrieve on the sleds so Martina and Derek could fly. They logged 15-20 minutes soaring in the bowl before landing at the Swamp. |  Derek's first launch off Bridal 2008 - photo by Alan D  Martina's first launch off Bridal 2008 - photo by Alan D Blanchard Report - Delvin says they have been getting great flights at Blanchard already, and it is drivable to the launch. He logged an hour a week ago Wednesday. You need USHPA Insurance to fly there, contact us for a 30 day USHPA membership.
|
| (stable)
Woodside Report - I headed out around noon to unload all the gear from the Outdoor Show, and to meet up with the 3 new guys for their first Woodside high flights after getting some training hill flights in Savona a week ago. | There was quite a crew out today; Robin, Rob, Nicole, Alex R, Derek, Martina, Al and new guys: Matt J, Matt S and Jonathon F. Some folks hiked in from Lower Launch, until Derek showed up with the sleds and we did many runs getting everyone up, big thanks. I only got the sled stuck twice in the mushy deep snow off trail. My first line on the road worked much better, but we got up to launch and it was flyable and smooth for the students. Alex tried the Addict II and reported it had great trim speed and the speedbar works as advertised, easy to activate and immediate speed increase. He tried "slope soaring" the training hill backside but it didn't work? Conditions were a bit on the lame side, so forwards for the newbies, but they did well (only one small crash due to a frontal) and flew down to light NW winds at the Ranch (thanks to Alex for guiding them in as I couldn't see them too well in the low sunlight). As the boys packed up the winds picked up a bit so they kited until dark - keeners! Not much lift today, but it was sunny and flyable despite the Windy Forecast. Robin got the longest flight launching first around 1:00 pm. Pictures to follow later. Kirill's HG Trike Report - Kirill went out for a Trike Adventure on Sunday at AirFlow on King George Highway. He reported +1800 ft/min climb in the trikes and was quite excited.  Kirill suiting up for a flight - photo by ?  Kirill over Mud Bay near Crescent Beach - photo by KT
|
| (super un-stable)
Woodside Gloat Report - We had a great day today! I'm sure you'll get glowing reports from Derek and Martina as well,
but it was actually soarable, with Derek and Thomm getting about an hour, myself about 45 minutes, most of it above launch height,
soaring the south knoll (leeside thermals) - Robin
|  Derek getting ready at Woodside, with Mt Cheam in the background - photo by Miguel B. Outdoor Show Gloat Report - We also had a great day today! Herminio dropped by and was surprised to see his video on the big TV, what else would one play at BC Place but Never Ending Thermal? We sold another 4 tandems and have some new pilots from the Chilliwack area starting soon, one lives in Rosedale just moved from Alberta, so we are looking like the 2008 season is stepping up if the weather cooperates. More questions about "slope soaring" in Vancouver???? Where do some people come up with marketing hype like that! I think the BBB should get a call - Jim
|
| (stable)
Vancouver Outdoor Show Report - a busy day at the FlyBC Booth at BC Place, thanks to Thomm for helping sell our wonderful sport to the interested masses. | We sold 5 tandems at the booth, and the folks can't wait to come out and fly!. We had without a doubt the busiest booth on our section, people were lining up to test the newly designed free-standing FlyBC simulator commenting on how "it felt so good!" to be in the harness.  A few folks asked about "slope soaring" in Vancouver . . . when we had to set them straight that there were
no soaring hills in Vancouver, just training hills for bunny hops (I am not sure who is telling them they can "slope soar"? hmmm?)The tandem draw winner was Olaf Miller, and he has been contacted (sorry Thomm it wasn't the hottie you wanted to win). We also had visits from Martina and Derek (who passed his Boater's Exam at the Show - congrats!), Gerry L and his bride were also there and Gord Golda from Pembie dropped by to gloat about his recent Dominican trip. Thanks for dropping by the exclusive FlyBC Booth!
|
| (stable)
Fraser Valley Report - rain all day, hopefully it will wash some snow off the Woodside and Bridal roads. | Vancouver Report - rain all day too, good day to be setting up a booth for the Vancouver Outdoor Show at BC Place. We are right next to Pacific SkyDivers, so it will be a fun show, come see us in booth 117 near the Golf Driving Range.
|
| (stable)
Fraser valley Report - it looked grey so I stayed in town, no pireps. |
|
| (unstable)
Woodside Report - I had updated the Site of the Day, and headed to work when Derek called to say it cleared up at Woodside. | Sure enough, when I got back online at the office the Free FlyBC Woodside Webcam showed clear skies and CUs developing. Derek, Alan, Al, Denis, Jeremy, Thomm and Miguel all flew, Martina flew later. It was easy to stay up when the sun came out . . until it overdeveloped and shut off the sun and pilots were dropping into Joe's. Al was able to top-land and went back down on the Derek Snowmobile Shuttle Service, Thomm hiked most of the way up and it was very tough post-holing in the soft snow.  Thomm laying out at Woodside, note the blue sky and a dog! - photo by DK First thermic day at Woodside for 2008, maybe one more Thursday if the rain holds off. Miguel's YouTube Videos from today: Al launches Woodside This Addict M is for sale soon. Martina launches Woodside Jeremy launches Woodside Thanks to Miguel who also flew later. Whidbey Island Report - Alex and I went to Whidbey Island for the first time in about 2-3 years I think, and my first flight in almost 6 months. There are a few changes to the Fort...the parking is now "by donation" instead of mandatory, and the area behind launch and just in front of the parking has been cleared extensively with bathrooms and a BBQ area...it's now possible to land back there if absolutely necessary (which has happened already according to the locals!). Very cross from the NW meant only a small portion was actually soarable; I landed out during my attempt to cross to the NW side, and had to hike back along the beach. Afterwards we went to the NW side where it was straight in and launched from there. It stayed on all afternoon until dark, several hours of nice soaring on the NW side for us! - Nicole  Nicole flying Whidbey Island WA, no dogs in sight! - photo by AR Flying in Tenancingo Mexico - Hi everyone, I am writing from Tenancingo where the weather is mostly sunny and the temperature is 20 – 25 C. The conditions are very similar as Valle de Bravo as it is about 2 hours away from there. Yesterday I was working on our new adventure “Casa del Piloto” a house for pilots to stay when they are here. Then I got a call from one of our local visionary pilots, who is building a world class Launch at La Malinche. I went up with him and helped for about an hour when I decided to pull out my glider and do some flying before it would shut down.  Bernie labouring in the Hot Mexican Sun - photo by DP I launched at about 5:30PM, which is usually late at this time of the year, to still make it up 2350m, which you need over launch to head to Tenancingo. I was bobbing around 120 – 140m over launch and thought that my landing will be in San Antonio, an alternate LZ just below the launch. I was as far down as launch height when I caught the last elevator at about 6:15PM all the way to 345m above launch, of course that was my sign to head to Tenancingo. What a feeling when you can pack up and walk 300m to your house - Bernie S (Mexican House Boy)  Bernie climbing the Wall north of launch - photo by DP  Bernie heading to town - photo by Bernie S
|
| (unstable)
Woodside Report - there were some flyable windows between 9:00 am and noon, but Derek couldn't see the back side of Woodside so he didn't head over. I saw launch from chilliwack at 10:00 am, and it was clear but I was headed to Vancouver to order some FlyBC Shirts and posters for the Vancouver Outdoor Show (Feb 16-17 at BC Place). |
|
| (unstable)
Vancouver Report - drizzle all day, and the snow is finally staring to melt at the Ranch. |
|
| Savona: Suuny. Wind becoming west 20 km/h early this afternoon. High plus 4. (unstable)
Savona Report - we were on the hill by 7:45 am, as the guys had to be at a party in Surrey by 3 pm!. | Up to the Crash Pad for flights down into the Toilet Bowl. It was sunny and no wind, so forwards were a must. These guys did reverses all Saturday and no forwards, so this will be interesting! One by One they got the wings up and off they flew. Perfect form, leaning through the risers, loading as they launched in no wind. Perfect landings too in no wind, avoiding the sagebrush. Three new students, three new wings on order and they should be terrorizing Woodside on the next sunny day.  Jonathon launching at Savona, note the blue sky - photo by Matty Salton Sea PARATOYS Fly-In Report - About 500 people in some 100 gigantic RVs congregated to engage themselves in powered paragliding (foot launched and wheels), and delta wing trikes here at Salton Sea, California this weekend.  The crowds and a few trikes at Salton Sea CA - photo by KT Every conceivable size and shape of powered paraglider flying was found here.  More trikes at Salton Sea CA, and a few PPGS in the air - photo by KT At times it was difficult to fly due to congested launch and airspace. Dozens of PPG pilots and trikers swarmed Salton Sea shoreline and neighboring settlements.  Trike-ing over the Salton Sea - photo by KT The weather was beautiful the whole time. Light laminar winds, clear skies and warm sun. Hours of flying, contests, stories and broken props - Kirill  Kiting Contest at Salton Sea CA - photo by KT Killarney Australia Comp Results At this year’s Killarney Classic, Trelawney Burgoyne bagged 2nd place in the serial comp with his Mantra M2! Nice work, Tre! Unfortunately Tre’s instrument (GPS Tracklog) failed him on the final day, moving him from 2nd place overall to 2nd place serial; blasted electronics! (This reminds me of the Comp in Lumby 2003 when Colleen was the only pilot to make goal and her GPS died and I remembered her backup eTrex was still running and she got her points, so always fly with a backup GPS!).  The M2's down under - photo by Dave Gibbs  Trelawney and Gavin on glide - photo by Dave Gibbs Full comp results here
|
| Savona: Cloudy. 40 percent chance of flurries changing to rain showers this afternoon. Snow level rising to 1300 metres this afternoon. Wind becoming east 30 km/h early this afternoon. High plus 4. (unstable)
Savona Report - we had three new students come out for their first taste of paragliding.
Unfortunately, it was too cold to get the camera to work, but we worked in the Savona School field for a few hours,
then Dangerous Dave showed up and said it was less windy near the Punch Bowl so we headed up toward the South.
We got all the way to Ashcroft where is was too light to even kite, so back to the Dump Ridge. | We found it still too strong at the Dump, so up to the Crash Pad where we kited til dark. These guys (Matt, Jonathon and Matty) were damn good by the end of the day. Hopefully we fly tomorrow.
|
| (unstable)
Woodside Report - Hey Jim, as you can see, it was "completely soarable" when we went up to launch today. We were able to drive almost to the 1km mark, but probably only because of the weight of the snowmobiles on the truck. Spring can't come too soon - Martina
|  Martina launching at Woodside - photo by Derek
|
| (unstable)
Woodside Report - very windy all day, more snow fell in the past few days. | Cache Creek Report - sunny with light winds, says Derek K.
|
| (stable)
Vancouver Report It started snowing by 3 pm and continued thru the night. The Woodside Web Cam looked like 6" of snow or more fell yesterday. | BURNABY (NEWS1130) - SFU students who were hoping to leave the mountain will have to spend the night there. Roads in and around Burnaby Mountain have been made impassable thanks to this afternoon's snowfall. Transit buses are not making it up the mountain. The university kept the residence dining hall and Renaissance Coffee Shop open until 11pm for students who are stuck. Mats and blankets have been provided for students who will have to sleep in the gym overnight. There are young children stranded at the daycare as well. Evening classes were cancelled at both SFU and at Douglas College. Snow isn't just affecting Burnaby. TransLink is detouring buses away from upper routes in Coquitlam and North Vancouver. SkyTrain and most buses are still running with minimal delays. As the weather turns from snow to rain this evening, callers to our newsroom are still saying the roads are very poor. Drivers are reporting bad conditions in the hilly areas of Coquitlam. Cars without four wheel drive and snow tires can't get up to Westwood Plateau.
|
| (stable)
Vancouver Report - it stopped snowing and raining around 2:00 pm, and the sun came out. But it was still very windy. | Poorly attended WCSC Meeting, I guess everyone is away on vacation but we watched Derek & Martina's slide show as well as Robin & Diane's pics from Europe. Very pretty locations featured in slovenia and Austria. I discussed the possibility of a Hemlock Valley Resort Fly-In on March 21-23, pending approval from Hemlock Management and some complimentary lift tickets. Everyone seemed in favour of that date at the Meeting. Last Minute Airfare Specials - Flight Centre has flights to Oaxaca for $370 total for Feb 13-20. There is apparently a great site there that we haven't flown, anyone interested in an adventure can email me.
|
| (unstable)
Woodside Update - Justin had launched Sunday in his snow shoes, he didn't want to put them in his back pouch. The hike up was okay until the final left through the cutblock (we just stayed on the sled tracks). The last 300m section was not tracked and the snow was almost waist deep for me as I had no snow shoes. It was calm at launch with bird fart cycles, and I was able to do a reverse on my third attempt after the cramps subsided!!!!! I think I will pack lighter next time - Darren.
|
|
| (unstable)
|  Hemlock's Sky Line Chair - photo by JPR Hemlock Valley Resort Report - Derek, Martina and I met Andy up at Hemlock, but Andy is out of the flying game for a few months with a skiing knee injury. We went through all the briefings: Hemlock requires a copy of your HPAC Insurance Card on file, and reminded us about not overflying lift lines. We headed to the SkyLine Chair and went straight up without checking the winds as we could feel NE on the ground north of the big condos (our chosen LZ).  Hemlock's Sky Line Trail Guide - photo by JPR Derek launched first in the strong North crosswinds, and headed to the NE facing ridge and got some nice lift but you had to commit to flying away from the LZ and downwind. He landed first at the ski-out trail we checked out.  Martina at "The Face" Black Diamond Run, where we flew off - photo by JPR Next off was Martina, after shaking off first site jitters, and she also found some nice lift maintaining nicely. She also landed with Derek, flights were approximately 8:30. I launched last after sorting out my wing from the last snowy flight, and made it straight to the ridge and was going up near the treeline. I flew close to the trees for a few turns and then headed out to the huge sink near the LZ. I set up with 200 feet above the landing spot and barely made it, like hitting the down button on an elevator with a no wind to tailwind landing. Snow flying everywhere as I butt-skidded in! Nice to be flying Hemlock after a 2-3 year hiatus. Nice to be accepted at a Resort, get a hiking pass for $8.00, have a nice flight landing next to your car and no hiking or retrieve problems. If you fly Hemlock, call me for a briefing and make sure you go over the rules with Laurence (the Ski Patrol Director) - Jim Woodside Report - we got back to the Ranch to see Justin and Darren flying off Woodside after hiking up, daring lads with all the NE wind.  Justin coming in to Eagle Ranch - note snowshoe landing gear attached? - photo by JPR Apparently, this has been done before with a surfboard? . . . see video below! Elk Parahiker Report -A large group of parahikers converged on Elk today Sunday, Feb 3. Eddy, Ivan, Dave S. Alan D, Luke, Larry and Brad Henry all flew the early shift while Judy and I didn't begin hiking until 12:30. Brad and Eddy experienced pretty calm conditions on top and at Eddy's LZ. The rest experienced some lift and turbulence coming in over Eddy's as a north wind set up and began to roll from the microwave towers north of Eddy's. Several pilots found themselves a little too far south of Eddy's and had to work hard to penetrate north opting for the large bailout field just south of Eddy's place. By the time Judy and I arrived on the top, everyone had landed but Eddy warned me of the north wind and to watch out for rotor and difficulty penetrating. Oh, Great. I had deliberately timed the hike hoping to catch some pre-frontal lift from the south but all the way to the top it was blowing from the north. Fortunately on top it was only about five k down so a good run would get me off. Launching the Geo 2 is a snap. I reversed with light tail wind, turned and ran and immediately discovered my left brake was wrapped around the riser - a typical occurrence with the shoestring risers even though I had checked them twice. Rather than aborting on the run, I just let go of the brake and went into warp speed, the glider launching flawlessly with no tendency to overshoot. I sorted the brake out and headed as far away from the rotor as I could checking for penetration on the GPS.  Kevin setting up on Elk - photo by Judy The flight was smooth typical sled ride until I got to Eddy's at about 800 metres. Suddenly the vario started to go off and I got ready for a rotor whack from the microwave tower. Things got a little pitchy but the vario didn't quit so I decided to see what I could get. I must have been in an area of massive thermal because it was going up like a typical spring day (3-4 metres/sec). I quickly regained four hundred metres and found lift all over the place along with some turbulence which didn't even cause a flutter on the Geo 2. Ivan offered to pick me up at Tim Horton's but I didn't want to fly out into the north wind so I played for half an hour spiralling and wing overing down and then going straight back up. Any time I needed a little bit of speed, I punched the speed bar resulting in a big increase in speed without any discernable decrease in stabilty. Eventually I felt my feet freezing in my boots and needed to work very hard finding and coring sink to land in Eddy's LZ which was quite sinky being close to the Microwave tower. Flight length 45 minutes! Thawed out with wonderful landing schnapps and blueberry kuchen ala Eddy's wife Monica. The Geo 2 proved itself to be a really fun and easy to fly wing today. It inspired confidence even without a reserve. It should be a great wing to take to Tenancingo, Mexico in March - Kevin A. Pre Worlds Last Task Report - the last task was only 50 kms, landing at the Lake LZ Boga Boga. Cumulative Results here
|
| (unstable)
Elk Report - Al and Kevin joined the Elk Hikers today and flew off getting above launch for sometime. | Woodside Road Report - Derek and Martina attempted to drive up and only made 100 meters, the Ranch has about 40 cms of snow. Hemlock Update - I made contact with the authorities at Hemlock Resort and they said we have permission to fly there. The usual caveats: HPAC Insurance, reserve, helmet, don't over fly lifts and stay out of the trees. I will post what time we are heading up there, as Sunday looks like an east wind day again. Valle de Bravo Report from Mexico Team Canada is in 11th Place Task 6 results in Valle
|
| (unstable)
Hemlock Report - huge snowfall, Al said it was very white up there. | Hemlock's Web Link look at the Skyline Lift 360 Panarama and see who you can see! Al also mentioned we may not get into the Ranch as the snow is banked up at the entrances by the snow plows, bring a shovel. Valle de Bravo Report from Mexico Team Canada is in 3rd Place Task 5 results in Valle Jim Orava and Will Gadd made goal again, 101 kms. Task completed by some in 3.5 hours, very fast as again there was some out & return legs and the wind was an issue. Heading to Tenancingo, Mexico for Holidays and Flying??? Brad and Bernie's Casa is ready for you! "Casa del Piloto" is built in classic Spanish colonial style, with a small water fountain courtyard and bright colors. For the convenience of our guest we feature a bar, chef’s kitchen and living area with fireplace, full modern amenities such as internet, TV and phone. "La Malinche" Bedroom with one double bed and full tile bathroom attached. "Cuatro Vientos" Bedroom with four single beds and full tile bathroom attached. "Ixpuchiapan" Bedroom with 2 beds and access to a full tiled bathroom. Tenancingo offers four paragliding launches a few kilometers from "Casa del Piloto" and a large LZ 300 meters from the house. For a few pesos you can take a taxi close to any launch. It is in a region of central Mexico with many other excellent alternate sites 2-4 hours away such as Valle de Bravo, Morelia , Iguala , Puebla , Fortins de las Flores and Oaxaca. Please contact us at Casadelpiloto@gmail.com for more information. Fly high, go far, land safe! Bernie Scherler Entertaining Tenanacingo Videos Entertaining Tenanacingo Videos Picture Gallery 1 Picture Gallery 2
|
| (unstable)
Vancouver Report - there were clear patches and nice CU in Vancouver and Richmond but the North Shore Mountains were obscured. More snow in the Valley. | Pre Worlds Report Task 4 - a 75 km criss-cross task through the Mesa 3 times made for some exciting flying. One reserve toss on glide to goal. Task 4 results in Valle |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
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.
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
| FlyBC Home | APCO Glider FAQ | Paragliding History |
|
Box 79, Harrison Mills, BC Canada V0M 1L0 Mobile: 604-618-5467 E-Mail: FlyBC E-Mail |