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FlyBC "Site of the Day Archive " - February/2013
Rain at Mother Woodside for a few days.
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 7°C  The latest gliders from Ozone are now ready for ordering: Buzz Z4 and Delta 2. There are some delays, so if you want one for spring flying, get you orders in now! We are taking some trade-ins of previous models that will be available soon - Delta M & Buzz Z3. Our Ozone XXLite 19 demo is here now and it is amazing. Ozone XXLite Manual is here, read the advice before flying. We received a new shipment of Supair Skypper M Pod harnesses (2), Supair Skypper L harnesses (1), just in time for winter soaring. These Pods will keep you warm! All with EN certified back protection which is now a CAT1 competition requirement. FlyBC is the only full-time Paragliding School in the Lower Mainland, working the hardest to get students certified quickly and safely in 7-10 days. We sell and dispense ADRENALINE here at FlyBC. The best "over-the-counter cure" for weekday/workday boredom. Click here to find out why FlyBC is your "best and only" choice for paraglider/paramotor training at the most consistent/reliable site in North America, Mount Woodside during the summer months and in Mexico during the winter time. . FlyBC is an authorized distributor for Ozone, Icaro (new in 2013), Gradient, SupAir, Gin, Nova, Paratoys Paramotors, Advance, APCO, Wills Wing. Current Demo Gear: Ozone XXLite 19, Ozone Mantra M4-S, SupAir Skypper Pod Harnesses, SCirroco 18 Speed Wing, Addict II XS, Ozone Element II (M&L) Why Ozone over other brands? - Click here to find out why.
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|  7°C Forecast said cloudy (check) with 10 knots inflow (check indicated no wind at Sumas). At the turnoff the snowplows left a big berm so we had to hike in a few 100 meters. The snow is wet and not too deep.
Ihor probably had the best lift after the launch excitement, and I offered to drive his truck down to save the retrieve. Shafi came up with his hangglider and had a sledder too, with Gaitane driving for him. Why Ozone over other brands? - Watch this video interview with Luc Armant & Davd Daugault, Ozone Designers for their take on glider certification. All the other reasons for Ozone are listed here: Ozone Paragliders is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paragliders today, but we are still a small and dedicated team of passionate pilots. Our philosophy of building wings by pilots for pilots remains at the center of everything we do, and our core mission is to improve our sport step by step through technological innovation and intensive R&D. Ozone pilots have won just about every major competition in recent years; World, European, and countless National Championships including the Overall World Cup Title in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Ozone produced the highest performance paraglider in history, the HPP, and successfully integrated its revolutionary low-drag design into our current production wings in every class. Ozone also designed the world’s lightest paraglider, the XXLite, and the patented Shark Nose Technology which is now being featured in our serial class wings. There are countless reasons to purchase an Ozone wing, but we think the most important reason is the feeling of True Performance that we strive to cultivate in each glider that we design. True Performance is a balance of ideals – it is not numbers on paper, or competition results, but the feeling that we think sets our gliders apart from the competition. We invite you to try our wings for yourself – please contact your local Ozone Dealer for a test flight and don’t hesitate to contact us for any reason, we look forward to hearing from you! The Ozone R&D Team One of the things we are most proud of is our dedicated and full time R&D Team. David Dagault, Russ Ogden, Luc Armant, and Fred Pieri are in the air above our test center in the South of France on every flyable day, unless they happen to be on a vol-biv adventure in a faraway location, or on a record breaking XC flight. The amount of research and testing completed by the Ozone R&D Team each year is exponentially more than an average paraglider company, and our designers aren’t just a designers, but also highly experienced test pilots, top level competition pilots (Luc, Russ, Dav, Fred, and Chrigel Maurer too), and paragliding instructors as well. What this means to you: We think your Ozone wing has been tested more than any other design in its class, in a wide range of conditions and for thousands of hours by our team. Your wing’s design is the result of years of research, and is an original concept. Whether it’s a top level comp wing or a school wing, our test understands the pilot’s needs. Bespoke (Custom) Software The Ozone Design Software is totally unique and specially designed by our team, which includes engineers (Fred and Luc), fluid dynamics experts (Luc), and aerodynamicists (David Pilkington). OzCAD allows us to model innovative new profiles and designs with high efficiency. Performance prediction models give us unparalleled accuracy, allowing us to advance designs quickly and effectively. It was a crazy dream and OzCAD which gave birth to the HPP and BBHPP, which in turn led to the past 3 consecutive Overall World Cup Titles. What this means to you: Your Ozone wing performs better in every respect. A cleaner sail and more advanced profile is crucial to safety, performance, and agility. Our Wholly Owned Manufacturing Facility We founded our Parapex Manufacturing Center in Vietnam more than 10 years ago, and our colleagues there are like family to us, quite literally. Our factory is a state of the art facility and we have a personal and daily relationship with the staff there. Our close relationship with our production allows us to supply pilots far more effectively and at a much higher level of quality than the majority of the competition, which often sub-contract with external companies and have less control over the build process. What this means to you: You get your new wing faster, and it’s built better. Paragliders must be constructed to millimetre precision across the span, which is easier said than done. Highest Quality Materials, Without Exception! We choose the materials that go into each wing based on one factor alone: Quality. Since 1999 we have been performing constant performance tests and evaluations of every material available to us for use in wings, and our current list of ingredients is a direct result of our on-going testing. Each spec and weight of cloth is chosen to maximise suitability, durability and performance and minimize weight. The quality of our materials is a major part of the reason that our wings may cost more than the competition, but the cost of a cheaply built wing is always higher in the long run. What this means to you: Your wing retains its high level of performance longer than the competition. Your wing will also be worth more when and if you choose to sell it on. Industry-Changing Design Innovations Since 2009 Ozone has been the world leader in performance paraglider design. The BBHPP was the world’s first successful 2-line design, and the technology which propelled it to the top of the world competition circuit has already trickled down to other wings in our range. Highly advanced profiles such as the new Ozone Patented Shark Nose, super low-drag line plans, revolutionary single-surface designs, and advanced sail construction techniques have made Ozone wings the world’s lightest and highest performing paragliders. Our track record is, in part, proven by more World Cup Task and Competition wins than any other brand in recent years. But we think it is mainly proven by many smiling faces in many landing fields around the world. We also love to support the many adventurers who have pushed the envelope of our sport in the furthest corners of the world. What this means to you: Your Ozone wing is top of the line, and built using the latest and most advanced technology… and it’s ready for your own personal adventure, anywhere you choose to make.
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|  22°C Marshall and Woodrat were non-flyable due to strong N winds along our route. View Larger Map Ángeles de Chapala from Kevin Ault on Vimeo. Paragliding Mexico 2013 from Richard Teszka on Vimeo.
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| 29°C 24 hours later I am in Arizona west of Phoenix with 2000 kms on the odometer and Derek & I may try to fly Marshall on the 24th.
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| 29°C When we got to launch just before noon it was already windy and thermic but there were short lulls. I launched the tandem nicely despite the wind and we were soon thru 2800 metres, and I mean fast! We found good climbs to the north peak and anywhere on the north ridge was climbing at +4 m/s. It was windy though and it was easy to get drifted back even pointing straight out at times. I angled south towards the gap to test the air there and I got some weird shakes thru the lines? You can see it in the video footage, as the shakes last about 15 seconds. I thought we were too far back so I edged forward and sure enough we were in the back of a strong thermal causing the shakes. When we hit the thermal it was so strong the glider full-stalled behind us with no brakes applied and we swung forward and the glider was behind us collapsed. I kept the hands high and the Magnum II regained flight into a big surge which I caught and we were flying again. Our driver Mario saw the whole thing unfold. Matt was busy getting his wing ready as I suggested he not fly this time. Matt thought it would be a good time to kite his glider but he got slam-dunked into the brush behind launch and that took 20 minutes to get packed up before they could come to retrieve us. We flew out to the south lakebed and the grassy area to land but it was pretty lifty and dust devils were sprouting all over the dry lakebed. We had to spiral and we were still going up? We did big-ears and we were still going up? I flew towards the green fields and the hills and it was rough and leeside there but we started to descend. As we got lower it smoothed out and we had a perfect touchdown right near the road and the policia were ther to watch us.
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| 29°C Jorge was driving unless we top-landed. Peter launched after Matt and they were both up on the North Peak when we launched. Nice climbs all the way north and we were soon at 2700 metres.
Matt flew over our heads and was pushing east and climbing and made it to the overpass area and was calling for a ride. After packing up we could not reach anyone on the radio or cell phone so we waited at the cross roads. Flor decided to hitch-hike as we couldn't get Jorge on the radio. The first truck that stopped was Mario's dump truck and he took us to Joco's entrance.
Another great flying day at San Marcos as the tour winds down.
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| 30°C Matt launched first and hit a few bumps on the way out, and a SkyRock™ glider was sinking in front of him and I thought they were both doomed for the Piano LZ but Matt found a small thermal and worked it all the way back to launch on his Ozone Element II. The SkyRock™ pilot not so lucky landed south of the regular LZ in a dusty field.
Matt came overhead and lost the lift and was plummetting down the gulleys and out to land and again he worked a small core back to launch height, this went on for 1:30 before he landed at the foot of the mountain in a nasty field full of thistles. Meanwhile, Dave E was playing with his Delta on launch and got it into the air to join the other Ozone pilots as they climbed out to the north. Nice Cus were forming on the plateau and the bowl to the north, a good sign after so many blue days.
We saw a nice Cu form right over the Cuota Highway north of our position and Dave was heading that way and reported being at 3700 metres, so he was good to go to the San Marcos Ridge. We drove north to San Marcos Launch so Matt could rejoin Dave as Dave reported in at 4300 metres over the south peak of San Marcos Ridge before heading to Jocotepec.
Matt was setting up his gear when out of nowhere comes a Red/White/Blue Delta and he sets up to top-land. Thinking it was Dave I started to film the landing and as they touched down I see a white helmet . . . oh it is Stefan, flying in from Tapalpa too, as he was just launching as I drove down to retrieve Matt at Tapalpa.
Matt launched and was climbing nicely as the high clouds came in and shut down the thermals and he was soon on the lakebed, so Stefan and I drove down to retrieve Matt and take Stefan to a place to catch a Tapalpa bus home. When we got back to Casa de Marina we met up with Dave who had flown to San Juan Cosala and back to the hotel form a most excellent XC flight. One last night for Dave, Candace & the baby so we went to La Vita Bella for dinner as the sun set over Lake Chapala.
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| 30°C We then packed up and drove straight to San Marcos Launch and it was blowing in perfectly as Matt launched around 2 pm followed by Camilo, Dave and myself. Initially Matt got up high on the north peak, but he ventured too far south (in the lee) with insufficient height to make it back to the lifty areas and he was soon on the ground at the south airstrip area. He had a radio problem as he was not communicating with Candace (our driver today). I climbed out immediately over launch and I could tell this was going to be a busy flight, with punchy thermals of +4 m/s and similar sink in between.
Dave & I climbed together and when the lift topped out I headed further south and dove into a few gulleys that worked well. The wind on the ground on San Marcos lakebed showed a NE component which explains the roughness as it was leeside on the ridge, but the thermals were punching through the lee winds.
After an hour of getting beat up, and not getting very high I headed north towards launch as Candace arrived at the LZ to try to find Matt who went on a beer search as Chela's was closed today. When I was getting close to launch I started to hit Matt's sink and headed out to land near the truck, dusties were poppin' on the lakebed and Dave got lifted up on final, but I found a sinky patch of grass to land on.
We packed up with help from Cesar & his brother and they wanted to come up to launch with us to take pictures, so we obliged them as we drove to find Matt in the Centro. Back on launch it was getting windier but everyone got away cleanly and they were soaring the North Peak when we drove down to the Saddle to see where they were going.
Dave was still trying to climb out on San Marcos at 2400 metres so I suggested coming south to the powerlines and he caught the climb there and was soon at 2500 metres too and heading east. We drove along the highway following Dave and the report from Matt was that he was over Casa de Marina at 2600 metres still 1200 metres over the ground. Sweet! His first big XC about 20 kms on an Element II.
Some people like to "hike & fly". Not Dave, he likes to "fly & hike"! Great flying today despite not a CU in the sky. We finished the day with a barbeque at Casa de Colleen, as it is Derek's last night here.
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| 27°C It was blowing in nicely at San Marcos and we saw Poncho & Miguel flying tandems and just staying up. So we set Matt up and as he launched we saw Miguel heading out to land. Miguel later said he hit a +10 m/s thermal on this flight earlier but he hit sink and was forced to head out to land near Chela's. Matt found a few thermals over the flats but was also forced to land before Chela's near the soccer field. We went back up and by now launch was getting very crowded, lots of HGers and a group of Californians showed up too flying PGs.
After 30 minutes of soaring pointing straight out, Matt was at the top of the stack of HGers on his Ozone Element II.
I saw some later pictures on Facebook that suggested everyone got to fly down to Pedro's later.
Woodside Report - several die-hards were out at Woodside today, some grabbed over an hour of winter airtime. Colleen decided to drive to town early as I still had her wing and harness, so she missed the fun. Her new Mantra M4 is on the way getting ready for the canadian Nationals in Quebec this August. Canadian Paragliding Nationals - The Canadian PG Nats will be held at the Mont Yamaska flying site near St-Paul D'Abbotsford, just east of Montreal QC. This competition is being organized by Eric Olivier. The dates are: August 17: practice and registration day August 18-24: task days August 24: final task and awards This competition is anticipated to receive FAI category 2 sanctioning . . . we will update when the CIVL paperwork has been finalized. After many years of out-West Nationals, the East now has a chance to showcase what flatland XC flying can be like!
Colombian Paragliding - Ginger Zee went paragliding at the SuperFinal in Valle last year, and now again in Colombia. Great footage.
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| 25°C Matt launched first and was working some lift out front but stayed on the mountain too long and had to do an off-field landing on the mountain side of the powerlines, in a safe corn field.
Once we collected everyone from the LZ, we drove north to San Marcos arriving around 4:00 pm, and it was calm on the dry lakebed as we drove across. On launch we had tailwind for some time, but it got more and more inflow as we waited on top and we helped local Rueben get off and he climbed nicely to the north. Matt launched next and was climbing out with Rueben as Ben launched. Derek & Candace went last and they were soon soaring nicely with Ben.
Back to the Hotel for showers before dinner at La Vita Bella for Ben & Richard's last night on our tour. Matt has another week here.
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| 27°C Near the top at Rancho Primavera the wind turbine was blowing hard from the east, YES! We came into the top landing field entrance and the windsock there was west?? We kept going to launch and it was indeed blowing over the back lightly. WTF! IBIS is never wrong and it said east til 2 pm.
Ben and Richard were ready next and Richard tried a forward launch and got surprised by the Swift 2's ease of inflation and had to reset his wing. Ben did a reverse launch and did a perfect inflation and acceleration and was off and soaring too. He found lift at the big bump out front and was above launch
We drove down and retrieved Ben & Matt and headed to Zacoalco for lunch at Hacienda San Jose, where the guys "chowed down" after missing breakfast. Camarones Empanazadoes looked good, as did the Fajitas Mixta. We drove thru Los Pozos from the Libramento to Pedro's to check the winds on top and it was perfectly straight up, so up to launch as fast as the Suburban could go. Matt was ready first again and launched quickly and was soaring and climbing smoothly and he disappeared and I helped Ben get ready.
I suggested "big ears" to Ben and he executed a nice entry and descent all the way to the LZ with "ears" and a good landing, just a bit long on final which he recognized. Both Ben & Matt got over an hour on this flight. Richard was still in the air as I drove down, but was in the LZ as I arrived 15 minutes later. We went back up to launch at 4:30 pm and it was still blowing in nicely and everyone was off clean first try and soaring. Ben asked for a shorter flight this time as he was getting tired but we still managed to find a thermal and climb out above launch before heading out to the LZ. Richard & Matt were doing "formation flying" all over the ridge and some great shots were taken by Richard that we hope to feature here soon. As I drove down I stopped at the saddle to check their progress and they were high enough to go over the back, so I said "top up" before flying out. When Ben and I were driving back up the mountain we saw them heading over to the Joco Highway and the designated pickup LZ, where we found them packing up.
Back to Joco for dinner and a stroll through town to end the day.
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| 29°C Ben launched first and had a perfect launch, flight and landing on flight #16. Matt had a bit of soaring on the first flight before the winds picked up.
Woodside Report - Denis posted on FB that he flew Woodside for 2 hours with 3 top-landings, spring is coming soon! No other reports from Woodside today. Meteorite seen and videoed by many in Russia - 400 injured by debris.
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| 29°C I was on the road to Casa de Marina when I saw my oil pressure drop to zero, WTF! I looked in the rear view mirror and saw smoke billowing out the back. Sh*t! I killed the motor and pulled over and looked underneath and the engine was covered in oil but I could see no damage? I called Derek and he arrived after a few minutes with Ben & Richard on board his truck and he towed me 2 blocks to the mechanic where we left the Suburban for some TLC. We drove to San Marcos arriving at 10 am and it was blowing hard over the back, contrary to the IBIS Wind Viewer Forecast . We didn't wait long but did call Juan Carlos at La Ceja Launch to see what was happening and he said it was good and to come to Tapalpa. Derek drove fast and we got to Tapalpa within an hour and at 11 am, it was blowing from the SW over the back there. Crap! Back to San Marcos again. We arrived to good SW cycles at San Marcos and Ben launched and had a sled ride down to Pedro's LZ, with a really nice approach. He said the landing was a bit fast but there was little wind in the LZ. Richard launched next and got a few passes and was at launch altitude when we drove down. As we retrieved the guys, we noticed some dusties forming on the lakebed and it looked pretty thermic. By the time we got to the access road to launch, it was blowing hard on the lakebed and a dust cloud was forming. We headed to Jocotepec so the guys could change and we picked up the Suburban, all repaired. Apparently, a rock or piece of metal had bounced up and punctured the oil filter and released all the oil. It was back on the road in an hour! At Jocotepec the dust storm from San Marcos was now very evident in town, we made the right call bailing instead of heading to launch.
I found a nice retrieve vehicle on the way to the airport . . . I wonder if the Canadian Feds would let me take this into Canada? It was a Volkswagen once? It is also Mexican street legal with Jalisco plates. Looks pretty fresh with a chromed engine and 4 seats. Might get pretty dusty driving up San Marcos with no windshield or doors though.
Not much flying today (only one flight) but some good sightseeing and fun at dinner.
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| 29°C I drove down leaving Derek & Richard to launch themselves and everyone was on the ground at Pedro's packed up when I arrived as it was too light for soaring. When we got back on top, I got Ben ready and the cycles were getting much stronger and he brought up his wing perfectly and as soon as he moved forward he got lifted off. He was drifting toward the trees to the north of launch and fixated on them as I was telling him to "go left". He hovered over the trees for 30 seconds and then cranked on his left brake and dropped back on launch in a heap, uninjured. His first top-landing! We moved his wing behind the truck and check his gear, all good. In the ensuing 15 minutes the cycles got very strong and no one else tried to launch. as we waited it got strong on the bottom too with dusties rolling across the sand, and strong northerlies kicked in.
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| 27°C I think we made the right choice as Ben hadn't flown here yet (and hasn't flown since our SIV in August). Ben & Richard had a nice mellow flight down to Pedro Kordich's LZ while Dave had a "shit-kickin' hellride" and he flew out early at El Chante.
When I got to the LZ; I could see Dave, Derek & Richard swapping "top of the stack" honours and maintaining nicely. Dave E had top-landed to cover his sunburned legs at this time. Ben and I raced up yet again and he had a few aborts but it was much stronger (we heard later that Derek & Dave took 5 tries each to get off, lessening the pressure on Ben). Ben flew off in a lull and was sinking before I talked him through a thermal and he was soon above launch and soaring with Richard.
Dave was relaunching and headed south right away and got a climb high enough to fly towards Jocotepec. Richard was heading out to land too as he had a few collapses and it was getting windy. After everyone repacked we headed up to retrieve Derek's truck and headed to Joco for showers & naps at about 430 pm. Three flights for Ben and 1:30 of airtime, not bad for a 12 flight student! Richard logged 2:15 total airtime in 2 flights too. We headed to La Vita Bella for drinks and dinner just before dark, a safe day for all here in sunny Mexico.
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| 28°C Strong thermic gusts pounded through launch so I killed time cutting some danger trees to the right of launch as the hikers arrived on top. We drove straight to San Marcos hoping for a break but as we arrived at the launch road we could see huge dust storms going across the lakebed, so we bailed for EL Chante LZ and some kiting for Ben & Richard as they haven't flown their gear for some time. Kiting was very productive in the SW lake breezes and the local kids had a ball chasing the paragliders around the futball field.
After a few hours of kiting we headed for lunch at the restaurant next to Casa de Marina and felt the winds try to pull the roof off the deck while we were eating. Undaunted Richard, Ben & I headed to San Marcos after lunch as it was forecasted to drop down after 6 pm, leaving us one hour of daylight. We spent an hour at Pedro Kordich's LZ listening to the hangar doors bang in the winds. It was strong from the south.
The wind kept dropping down, and we could see the smoke in the distance change from south to west just as the sun was hitting the far mountains, just around 6
As he was climbing I calculated that he would be hard pressed to land before dark out at Pedro's LZ, so I suggested that he fly through the saddle to land near the highway. We lost site of him for a few minutes but he said he had a few collapses in the saddle due to the leeside conditions. We caught site of him driving down the road again and his radio started to "konk out" so we could not hear his position reports. Because the highway is divided, we had to drive east first before doubling back to the last place we saw him drifting downwind, but as we approached the turnaround spot I caught sight of his glider in Steve's Camera Field right by the access road. Perfect. We had to pack up in the headlights as it was pretty dark. Not a minute to spare for his as he pulled big ears before landing because it was lifty all over the back valley. Woodside Report - Colleen reported that many pilots had great flights today, some up to 2 hours of soaring. Some forgot their gloves and froze. Some had Facebook gloat reports. Colleen was sad her glider got left in Mexico to save lugging it through airports.
Elk Report - Steve D reported that many pilots at Elk also had great flights today followed by lunch and shnapps at Eddie's.
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| 28°C Tianguis is a central american traditional open air market concept that still exists today. Tianguis del Automovil Planetario is a automotive themed Tianguis.
Ben's flight was on-time but he was beat from no sleep so we went for lunch and dropped him at Casa de Marina for a nap instead of going kiting. Derek & Dave didn't bother flying either as the clouds overhead were whistling by El Chante. The first decent development we have seen signals a break in the inversion we have enjoyed the past 10 days, but the upper level wind forecast seems a bit strong. After Ben's nap we went to Jocotepec to look around and it was very quiet, with most stores closed and only the taco stands open in the Centro. Apparently the country fair/fiesta is on in Chapala, 22 kms away, so we may have to go there tonight for some action. My last trip to GDL tonight was at midnight to pick up Dr. T, and he and his gear arrived safely and we were back at Casa de Marina at 1 am. Woodside Report - despite the low clouds today, many took to the skies for sleddies at Woodside. Facebook was full of gloat reports and videos from the usual suspects.
Good news for gliders Saturday, February 9, 2013 Postmedia News The government is looking at changing regulations to allow paragliding and hang gliding in Canada's national parks. By Andrea Hill - For Postmedia News OTTAWA — Hang gliders and paragliders may be able to soar over new frontiers if proposed changes to the Canada National Park Act are adopted. The activities are currently forbidden in national parks because of existing regulations that govern aircraft access. But recommendations put forward by the Privy Council Office last month outline how these regulations can be amended to allow gliders to take to the air in parks such as Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. “I think it has a great deal of appeal,” said Bruce Busby, vice-president of the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada. “It would be a big draw, not just for the people who participate, but also for the families and the general public to watch such a nice looking sport.” There has been a demand for years to have hang gliding and paragliding activities approved in Canada’s national parks, particularly in mountainous Banff and Jasper, said Parks Canada spokesperson Ed Jager. So in 2008 when the department began developing a standardized means of evaluating what activities should be permitted in the nation’s parks, it included gliding on its list of specific activities to examine. Two years later, Parks Canada approved hang gliding and paragliding as acceptable park activities along with mountain biking, kite-surfing, community gardening and guided tours that include zip lines. Individual parks were allowed to conduct local assessments to determine whether to pursue these activities, which had been deemed safe and of low environmental impact. But despite the announcement, parks couldn’t give gliding the green light because hang gliders are considered aircraft under the Canada National Parks Act and so are forbidden to operate in the parks. Parks Canada began taking steps to change that regulation. Jager said the proposed changes won’t be in place by this summer, but hopes Parks Canada will soon be able to work with the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association to identify good sites for gliding and to develop plans for how these activities will be introduced and operated in the parks. The prospect is worrying for some, however. “I have a concern about any activity that’s being flaunted as an attraction because there’s a thrill involved,” said Mike McIvor, president of the Bow Valley Naturalists Group. “To me these are things that, in fact, are distractions from the essence of the park.” He added that hang gliding and paragliding could negatively affect species such as mountain goats and birds nesting at high altitudes that are particularly vulnerable to human disturbances. But Busby said such concerns are unwarranted. “Typically we have a much lower footprint than, say, hikers,” he said. “We would hike up to a launch spot and then we would launch and our feet would leave the ground and not touch again until we get to our landing spot down at the bottom.” Once the regulation changes come to pass, Busby said he plans to be one of the first gliders to lift off in Banff, which he said will “without doubt” become Canada’s premier gliding destination. Regulations on paragliding and hang-gliding in provincial parks vary. © Copyright (c) Postmedia News
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| 28°C Dave launched first and Derek had already decided not to fly, and part-way through Dave's flight I heard an excited "I just went thru a 5 m/s monster that spat me out!" He was reporting in that he would be landing on the beach near my mechanic again. Apparently most of his Delta disappeared and he had to full-stall it to re-open just in front of the ridge. I met up with everyone around 3 pm and we headed to San Marcos with great hopes as the winds were forecast to be south, and Dave had already found great lift at El Chante. We got up to San Marcos Launch and it was windy but straight in. Derek decided not to fly again. I got off in a lull and sunk like a stone, I headed south to the gulleys that always work and there was nothing. I headed to the bumps near town and nothing. The only thermal I found was over the north end of San Marcos town and it was drifting me over town but there are limited LZs in town (actually none!), so I kept pushing upwind to the north and eventually found myself in a cornfield near the Centro. Maybe a 15 minute ride down, would have been perfect for students. Derek has "the uncanny ability" to pick what days to drive and not fly. Dave launched after I landed and had a few more turns but landed near San Marcos too forcing Derek to drive down the front road. flx fire 002 from felix rodriguez on Vimeo.
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| 29°C Good cycles and a few vultures around today so we were hopeful. Dave launched his Ozone Delta nicely and was soon soaring around the cross area, and the front of launch getting higher.
As I went further east I was slowly descending with some little thermals here and there to pop me up, but no solid climbs. Dave did better almost at ridge height but he too was slowly descending. No problem for me as I headed out to the nicest beach/front lawn LZ imaginable and landed to the SE in perfect laminar lake breeze. I left the wing out so Dave could find me as I had not briefed him on the exact location of the mechanic and we both were radioless.
The exit from the beach is a public access road/drainage canal that came out right at the Suburban. Perfect plan. We drove back to Derek's house below El Chante and they were already back from the drive down. After lunch at Rincon de Frida, we headed to San Marcos later and Candace & I suited up for our tandem flight. Launch cycles were initially very strong, perhaps requiring some ballasting, but by the time we clipped in it went light. We had to wait for a cycle and I kited the wing up in one cycle and it was lame so I dropped the wing down. Next good cycle was 4-5 minutes later and we took it, still light but kiteable and we had to run off the ramp. We climbed immediately and headed north to the north peak, where we just had to point NW and had steady climbs. at the north point the lift got quite strong and we could "figure-8" pointing NW as "360ing" drifted us back too far. Once we climbed thru 2600 metres I headed south to the gap. Derek was just launching by that point as we flew overhead. We hit the first gap low as we were in the lee all the way there with NW winds, and didn't get a good climb on the windward face. I headed out to the lakebed LZs and at the lone hump by the road, we were treated to a nice thermal that started small and weak and soon grew as we climbed above the ridge. There were many birds thermalling near us in another thermal 1 km south but the mantra is "never leave lift" so we kept climbing as the thermal drifted us back to the ridge. While we were thermalling dueing this flight we were getting "pelted" by sugar cane ash from a fire that was easily 10 kms away. Good reason to wear sunglasses. We tried a bit further south and lost the lift so back to the same thermal and we were maintaing on the ridge line with an escape route over the back to save the retrieve as we didn't know how Ayla was doing with Daddy Dave. I never saw Derek after launching and as the lift got lighter on the ridge I decided to bail over the back and into the tall grass field near the Pemex where there is cold beer and refrescos. We had a NW tailwind all the way to the LZ but as I circled overhead it appeared to be east so a series of turns watching the tall grass confirmed the light east wind and we headed in on final in no wind, which Candace could not quite run out but we had a safe landing. After packing up in the tall grass we headed to the highway and I checked my pocket for cell, keys, wallet and found my wallet missing. I had just had it when packing, so back to the tall grass and we hunted around and Candace spotted it in the grass. Glad she has good eyes! Now I had beer money. Derek was on the radio reporting in and said "don't lose it now", referring to his height on the ridge past the first gap. He got high enough to bail over but not enough to fly home as planned, so we watched as he landed in the field just past the pond and we were homeward bound.
Woodside Gloat Report - I hiked up to the 2k mark on Woodside, hitched a ride on the running boards of a Dorman Lumber semi. There were storm cells moving in from the west but good winds with a slight north component. I launched without having to take a step and got hoovered up nicely. Flew to the north cliffs. You won't recognize the area. They have created a huge clear cut which connects with the other clear cuts on the top. All the timber is lying along the roads and waiting to be picked up. Apparently the bull dozer was clearing roads up to 7k but couldn't go any further because of the snow. They are hauling timber at 5k. I got snowed on from the onset. After 15 minutes I saw an un-named pilot walk onto launch. I was well above. It was a new Air Design Volt laid out on launch. Said pilot launched into sink and was at Riverside in no time. They should have named it the "Air Design Anvil" and not the "Volt". I was down to 250 m at Riverside and played with a thermal for about 5 minutes. I got about 25 m out of it a few times but the drift wasn't the greatest. Half an hour later I landed after two snow squalls and some rain - Martin N
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| 29°C We arrived to the main Launch to see the odd bird soaring but no CUs and a hazy layer around launch height made it look pretty stable compared to yesterday's 4500 meter cloudbase which took Stefan to the top. I was kiting the M4 on launch for a bit feeling out the cycles, and then launched just before noon. A few bumps here & there but no solid climbs until the end of the big hump in front, where I started to turn. +4 m/s once established and I was above launch in 10 minutes and feeling out the thermal. If I went a few seconds left or right I was in sink, so this lone thermal was all I was going to get. I milked this baby to 2400 metres and hung out near launch watching Dave & Derek kite their wings as the wind switched to South. South is good for top-landing on the main launch area, so I made one approach and was on final and landed right on Dave's wing (actually his lines, which I stepped over and dropped the wing on launch away from him).
I climbed in the same old spot and was soon above Derek so I headed in to the climb he was in and we were thermalling together for a few turns and then I went on glide to the HG LZ from 2000 metres. I found a climb on the south end of the HG LZ and Derek joined me as we thermalled there for 15 minutes gaining a few hundred metres but not more. We both headed in to land and pack up before Candace drove down to help with the retrieve. We found Dave & Stefan at the libramento near the Piano LZ, before we headed north to San Marcos. After lunch at Zacoalco we went to San Marcos where we flew again. We were getting entertained by Herminio and his tandem antics as he took a new pilot for an acro flight and then an XC flight south. Good launch winds, strongish thermals but not big as we climbed to the north. Derek again caught a nice one to 3000 metres, Dave not far behind at 2400 metres but I could not break thru 2200 metres before getting "spat out" of the smallish thermals. No problem with landing out front but when I went south I was in -3 m/s sink for much longer than the +3 m/s lift. Derek went past the first gap to the second gap and was just hovering there. Not climbing much but not losing much either but it didn't look worth it to scratch over there to sink out front, so I thermalled around the first gap until I hit the top and bailed over the powerlines. Candace kept stopping in Derek's truck because her child was crying and not liking the drive down so I had lots of time to thermal and top up as I crossed into the back valley and almost to the Pemex. Derek & Dave made it to the field just east of the Pemex and we all regrouped just before 6 pm. Oddly, not as good a day as yesterday, but we flew and got 2 hours of airtime so no complaints as I looked at the Agassiz webcams and rain later in the day. Alex Raymont Sighting - reports on FaceBook of an epic 212 km Straight Line flight in OZ by Alex, picture looked like an amazing cloudstreet and high base. His personal best! Felicidades!
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| 27°C I then headed to Febrero 5th, a section of Guadalajara where one can find any car parts needed, looking for a new seat for the Suburban. There are guys called "Coyotes" that flag you down and then find out what you want and start phoning around to locate said item. I found a guy from Colorado that spoke english that helped with the conversation about the seat. They said 1600 pesos for a new seat, so I said okay. That is about 4 times what I pay for one at Pick-a-Part but mine is getting pretty bad. After removing my seat and waiting 20 minutes the price went up to 2000 pesos? I said no, and then reconsidered and said I want to see the seat. , looking The english speaking guy ran a tire store across the street and he took me on his scooter to the wrecking yard, through rush hour traffic at breakneck speeds with no helmet. The most dangerous thing I have ever done in Mexico! When we got there the seat was worse than mine, so I bailed on the whole deal. an upholstry shop in Ajijic quoted me 450 pesos to recover the seat so I will do that before the next group arrives. I then headed to meet Derek & Dave Edgar & Camilo at San Marcos later today. The plan was for everyone to fly and land by the Pemex where Derek's truck was stashed, but Camilo sunk out immediately. Then Dave looked doomed too, but climbed back out.
Dave flew over the back too as I drove back up the hill and we saw him packing up near the bull ring at Pemex, so the retrieve was easy. I talked to Stefan around 5 pm and he was bragging about getting to 4500 metres over Tapalpa today but had to top-land to retrieve a German Guest at the bottom.
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| 27°C Camilo, Claudia, Colleen, Derek & I were the only folks on the hill until the Zacoalco Policia showed up as Derek & Claudia launched tandem. Camilo had launched first and disappeared for some time but reappeared coming back from the south, as Colleen launched into beautiful cycles.
I saw Derek near the second gap but there was little lift and the north winds started to pick up. By the time I got to the bottom, all the gliders had landed after an hour of soaring. We headed back up and we saw some HGers soaring. Cycles were much stronger as we saw Poncho & Miguel launch on PG tandems and get plucked off launch and straight up. I was reconsidering flying as I saw the tandems launch, but then a PG pilot with 15 flights got into the launch slot and had a clean launch so I had to go now. I was laid out further back out of the way of some launching HGers and brought up the M4 and got lifted off the ground momentarily and twisted up and fell to the ground rather clumsily and then relaunched cleanly next try and was off and climbing to the north. My GPS said 20 kph headwind and the climbs were a bit ratty near the north peak. I got to 2500 metres before attempting to head south and lost it all in the first gap, and was getting flushed when I caught a climb from 1700 metres back above launch . . . but I could only point north as my GPS read 5 kph groundspeed as I was parked. I got high enough to head over the back but it was ratty enough out front that I decided to stay out of the lee. As I got over the LZ I could see dust devils popping out on the salt lakebed and I stayed over the green fields for as long as I could in case I needed to bail away from the lakebed LZ. Nice landing wind and very buoyant onto final. We headed to San Luis Soyatlan for an education on Vampiros - a local drink made from sangrita, tequila, orange juice served in a plastic bag with a straw.
Colleen is off to Vancouver tomorrow and is going to miss the rest of the tour as she has to go back to work for a few weeks
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| 30°C There is a holiday this weekend and many Guadalajarans are down in Chapala enjoying the sunny weather and the lakeside malecons.
On the way to the airport, we saw many VWers as there was a huge VW Rally driving down the Chapala Highway with hundreds of Beetles, Squarebacks, Vans and assorted dune buggies all out for the weekend. After we dropped off Mark we headed into town with a plan to drive out Lopez Mateos to San Marcos. Derek was meeting us there after lunch. Once at San Marcos we could see the wind was favourable and the three of us went to Launch. Strong cycles as Colleen launched first and Derek followed immediately thereafter. I watched them soaring and considered a flight and top-landing but opened a NewMix instead. There was some CU to the south but it was blue thermal soaring on the San Marcos Ridge, with some vultures pimping off Colleen.
Another gorgeous sunny Mexico day and much slower than the past two weeks with so many FlyBC Tour Guests. There was a huge CU over Cerro Garcia to the south side of the lake that looked threatening but it never amounted to any precip.
Don Ho-ing at Woodside from Ihor Trufyn on Vimeo.
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| 29°C Good launch cycles and even some lift despite the clear skies with no CUs forming. Mark flew out after 10 minutes landing behind the hotel, while Colleen landed at the Malecon Beach.
Back to the hotel and a waiting cab to take the guys to GDL for their flights home. We flew everyday for 14 days with Sean, Lee, Chris, Mark C & Steve, and only a few missed flights for some GI problems for a few guests. Sean logged 25 flights and 15 hours during his stay. Some really good thermalling by everyone too! After lunch at Herman's Mark C, Colleen & I drove up San Marcos and found 3 HGers in the air and watched Yakin launch his HG as Mark C got ready.
Colleen was not feeling up to flying, so she insisted I guide Mark C over the back. I got ready and the cycles were much stronger now, and I got the M4 up and stabilized and as I was kiting her forward I got slammed to the ground by a northerly gust. Hmmm? Okay another try and I was off and the GPS was saying I had a 20 km headwind heading north and climbing but the thermals were small and ragged. I got up to 2500 metres and headed south where Mark C was already soaring the second gap and doing really well. I lost most of the 500 metres I had gained off launch heading over the first gap, but with north winds I know there will be a thermal on the windward face near the powerlines so I kept heading over the gap. Sure enough, it was lifty at the face and I climbed back to 2200 metres and it was rough! I hung in and let the thermal drift me towards Mark but he headed too far downwind and into the sinky leeside bowl and was now below ridge height fighting upwind to regain his altitude. I stayed just before the second gap and was climbing but the windspeed had increased and I was parked facing north, but climbing. We were not getting high enough for a Joco crossing and it looked like Mark was almost back to the ridge height, so I headed to the first gap face and worked my way upwind and then over the back. It was trashy, sinky and turbulent all at the same time as I crossed the powerlines and headed downwind to the Pemex. I caught a thermal over the bull ring near the Pemex and spent 5 minutes climbing as I watched Mark heading upwind but he didn't get enough lift to cross over so he headed out to land near Chela's and Colleen drove down to get him as I set up to land. It was windy, thermic and bumpy as I set up in the grass field. The horses on the other end didn't even see me land but some neighbourhood kids did and they helped me out of the field and to the Tienda for some cold water after I landed. We called Gerard and he said La Vita Bella was re-opening after a month of renos, so we headed there for dinner. Good food as always and a much bigger kitchen area and the place was packed. Airhogs on Groundhog Day from Kevin Ault on Vimeo.
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| 28°C We arrived to a light inversion and CUs developing on the north ridge lines.
We headed north to San Marcos and we found great launch conditions with north wind in the air. Lee headed south to the first gap, and he climbed there before heading to the second gap where he bobbed around between 2100 and 2200 meters before heading out to land with the others on the south lake bed near Chela's.
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| 29°C
We raced back up with a full truck and everyone launched again as the winds switched to South as forecasted, and the last three almost had to drive down as it swung to SW and West for 10 minutes. Sean & Mark C caught a good climb right off launch and were above the ridge and heading north but forgot all the briefings we had earlier the past few weeks and a few moments of indecision made the XC to the Cross impossible so they headed out to the HG LZ. They were definitely in the right place on the ridge to head north and Mark C was the highest at 10,000 feet (he flies the American non-metric system). Maybe tomorrow will be even better for another try before everyone heads home to the cold north.
Colleen launched and was soon soaring with the group, and I drove down to get the few on the ground, but as I arrived I saw 3 more of our group packing up so we waited for them and headed back to launch.
I sent the guys home to the Hotel in my truck and drove down to retrieve Colleen & Derek down near Chela's Beer Store. By the time we drove back to Jocotepec it was dark after another long successful FlyBC Tour day.
Butterfly Dreams on an Ozone EnZo from FlyBC from Brett Hazlett on Vimeo. |
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