FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives" - July/2006
Quote of the Day:
"The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend." - Henry David Thoreau
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Cochrane Report - great SW winds probably made HGing fun, but a bit gusty for PGers. We are here all week so maybe it will become flyable.
Lumby Report - Norm just called and said it was great at Lumby really nice lift, Norm and Andy did an out and return from Cooper's to Mabel Lake and back. Andy had a huge grin on his face. They had 3 hours of flying. They went to Mara but no go there because it was too North - Bev
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Woodside Report - rain showers throughout the day, with sunny breaks. But no pilots were seen flying all day.
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Woodside Report - despite a windy forecast; we had James, Annette, John, Mike and Martin out flying. Our first flight had the students soaring Woodside for 45 minutes plus with a planned Harvest Market landing. They were able to stay up while I drove down to guide them in. Weird east wind in the LZ there??
| Two more flights balanced out the day with Martin H getting to cloudbase a few times. It really never got that windy at launch or the LZ, but it was on the edge at times. Interior Report - Norm didn't go to Mara because it was too South, so he went to Vernon Mountain. It was too windy to fly but the hang gliders had great flights - Bev
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Woodside Report - windy all day, but if you could get off it would have been soarable all day. Oddly, no pilots showed HG or PG?
| Mara Report - Andy and Norm flew Mara for 2+ hours with ripping, rough thermals!
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Woodside Report - the only glider I saw today was Andy's Zoom around noon, when I came up from tiling. I had some tandems booked for 3:30 pm, but it was "howling strong" by then. So I called Bridal and got the following report.
| Bridal Report - I talked to Alan on the radio around 4:00 pm, and he had just landed and didn't like the look of the valley winds. It was smooth up high but eventually we all have to land. I kept checking the winds and around 7:30 pm it calmed a bit, but not much daylight left for a decent tandem so I called the tandems off. Performance Flying Video Report - we finally got 10 copies of the new Jocky Sanderson video in stock and I watched it last night. Great footage of XC and acro flying on Ozone Buzz and Rush. Come by for a preview this weekend. Ian Hall's France Report - I am writing from a lakeside park in nearby the midsize town of Annecy which is a local mecca of paragliding (where I had an exciting flight today, more on flying later). As you will see in the photo below, the French love to hit the beach and sun and swim at any opportunity, be it with family, friends or couples. I find it very wholesome, the way families and friends hang out in close proximity in the public spaces. There is an ease to it which is to be noted, the existence of wine and bared breasts and children all goes together without the fear an d restrictions we experience in north America. The French women are to be noted to, as the have a distinct balance of earthiness and grace which is shown in the way they behave and dress, playful yet classy. I have not experienced the oft rumoured French rudeness, but then I have been in the paragliding world and trying my best to speak my version of functional French. So it’s a little more than 3 weeks into the trip and one phase closes and another opens. Stefan departed from Geneva to Munich to home 3 days ago. Since then did some chores and made my way from Geneva to Saleve, to Annecy. I had to disassemble and wash my computer in distilled water to clean out another post flight excited phot sharing beer spilling that could have cost another grand to repair (thank god im smart enough to fix my stupidity, im told it’s a dynamic balance). The reason FOR the excitement is that i had just flown the Mt. Banc glacier starting at about 10 thousand feet and then flying in from of the mountain itself, very dramatic, very big. Ive also flown some other known special places such as St. Hillaire de Trouvet (which kicked my ass a bit, but I recovered well) and of course Annecy. My flight today was scary as I was really alone for the first time and the air is punchy. The takeoff can be strong and I waited 3 hours yesterday before backing of and thumbinbg a lift down. Today I had a great takeoff but hit unstable air and had a couple of wing collapses which is unsettling. It seems around here one must really map the thermals and be ready to be quick and hard o n the brakes to avoid a frontal collapse. I have been recovering ok but I don’t like that im getting surprised by them in the first place. After today I really like to take a special manoeuvre-emergency recovery course, but there aren’t any running here nnow. I am now heading south and I don’t think I’ll fly much as I don’t want to be in any punchier thermals in the hotter Spain. I met a BC flier in St Hillaire and we might have shared the driving, gas and flying down to Portugal and back, but that didt work out, and after appreciating the benefit of a fly buddy for companionship and safety, I may end up doing less distance and more culture tourism now. I am still working on my revised plan, but will be heading to Lyon next and then south as of now. Speaking French has really helped and now and I must work on remembering some Spanish. I don’t know and don’t fathom learning Portugese, so it’s a bit of a barrier, especially ojn my own. We shall see. Ok now some pics  Soaring at Saleve - photo by Ian Hall  At cloudbase at Mt. Blanc - photo by Ian Hall
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Woodside Report - windy like all week, Andy and Derek flew a few flights early then headed to Bridal. Norm also headed to Bridal where it was less windy.
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Woodside Report - Derek P hiked one early as he was off work getting an hour on his new Vulcan.
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Bridal Report - Norm and Andy flew Bridal, after Andy flew one flight early at Woodside getting 1:30 and top-landing.
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Woodside Report - we did a few early flights before sending the studnets home for the balance of the day (too hot to kite and way too windy).
| I did a few tandems after the students left, and the first one was quite wild, punchy thermals and windy! But we got the desired 40 minutes and 1000 meters over the south knoll before landing as planned at Harvest. When we arrived back at launch to do tandem #2, there was a student from an un-named school hanging in the trees north of launch (witnesses said a gust picked her up and dropped he in the tree-tops). Justin K and Derek P got their tree-karma points by removing her and then the wing. Our tandem #2 went better than the first and the air smoothed out with fatter lift bands. Tandem #3 was equally nice, flying with only Andy. We left the hill after 40 minutes landing at the Ranch in mildly thermic conditions.
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Woodside Report - a few good flights for the students, before it got too hot. We also did a few tandems mid-day, getting above launch for a few minutes. One student learned why we don't jump into the seat, causing an assymetric deflation and ending up back on launch with a few scrapes. LOAD and RUN!
| Tantalus Report - Peter G, Nicole and Ian P flew the Tantalus Range today. Apparently paragliders are not welcome at the Squamish Airport. Ian landed in a friendly farm field south of the airport. Something about a down-wind dash for Nicole and Peter G??
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Woodside Report - a few flew here before heading to Bridal, leeside then lame conditions all day.
| Woodside Report - It wasn't completely lame at Bridal yesterday. Alan and Rob launched a little too soon, and spent an hour or more scratching below at 300 metres. I waited until 4:30 or so, when I knew the ground would be its absolute hottest of the day. Sure enough I manage to find something that punched through the inversion, and did some soaring at about 1350 metres, headed out to soar near Cheam, before coming back to top land. 2.5 hours. - Robin
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Woodside Report - Andy, Peter C, Kent R, Nataliya and the Dutch folks were out flying Woodside and occasionally getting above launch. They all headed to Bridal later and had much the same flying according to Rob S.
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Woodside Report - a light day compared to yesterday, no thermals, but some tree-suck according to an un-named pilot. No injuries but the glider is "toast" as it slowed the descent through the forest canopy dropping the pilot to the ground. Kelly was not in attendance, so Andy and Nataliya helped out.
| Colleen Update - Colleen is getting "sprung free" from Chilliwack Hospital today, as she can now get out of bed and walk some distance. No long term damage expected, but I don't think she will be soaring Bridal for a few months. Apparently, she is in good spirits as she still wants to go to the Willi, at least to watch and party!
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Woodside Report - we had a tourist group booked for 14 tandems for 2 months arriving today.
I had planned to spend the entire day with them, taking two at a time with 2 tandems running. | At the last minute they requested that they be finished by 12:30 pm, to return to Vancouver for another meeting. I enlisted the help of the top tandem pilots around: Greg Hemingway, Peter Graf, Kevin Ault, David Stanek and Brad Henry. Larry & Barry came over to drive for us, thanks for the help. We were all on time and the group arrived at 10:00 sharp. We were in two trucks heading up, and we had perfect cycles for the first flight and Andy was already above us at 1000 meters. The first tandems were flawless and good airtime. We arrived back on top at 11:45 am for the second group and cycles were even stronger, but we had to land by 12:30 to catch the tour bus. In the end only 12 decided to go, a couple of folks were too scared of heights and we ran out of time for them anyway. What a great outing for these Brits! Tomorrow they are going whitewater rafting on Pender Island, I hope they don't get too bored.  10 of the 14 UK tourists, the rest are in the barn drinking beer - photo by JPR As the tourists left, we headed to the Sasquatch Inn for lunch as it clouded over. While we were leaving we think we found "Son of Sasquatch", hidden in our midst.  Larry and an ancestor? - photo by JPR When we got back to the Ranch, we decided a solo flight was in order. Brad had to go back to work, but everyone else headed up. Super nice cycles, Andy was already in Harrison, so we decided a run to Harrison for a beer would be the perfect end to the day. I launced in the middle of the pack flying a Boomerang Sport M for the first time. Nice launch (no tangles or brake malfunction) and I was soon climbing over the north ridge. Everyone was climbing in different spots, with Kevin highest over the south knoll. I left at around 1100 meters toward Agassiz Mtn., finding a thermal on the way thanks to an eagle. All the way to Agassiz Mtn, was lifty and we were soon at 1300 meters at the peak. We all tried different thermals, and had mixed results. When I topped out at the same height many times, and no CU were forming, I headed towards Bear. 51 km downwind speed, and little sink until just before the Bear cliffs. As I hit Bear, I was able to S turn just over the cliffs, staying away from the trees (did I mention I have a bit of tree fear lately?). I was soon able to 360 in the lift and I was above Bear Mtn. peak. Waiting for the guys to catch something as they hit Bear, I wandered all over the mountain checking out the heli pad, and looking for top-landing spots. I was soon in a sink pattern that took me back to the cliffs to regain my lost height. I was now climbing with Peter and we circled together over the peak of Bear. I headed to Hicks first and the SW face was working well. We were soon past Hicks (my flight deck was showing 51 kms groundspeeds, and 17-20 km windspeeds), we did a few turns at the bump near Ruby Creek LZ, and soaring the face of Squawlick, Peter was further south and I was on the north ridge that connects to Dog Mountain. I topped out there and headed directly east to Dog. We lost Kevin at this point so I thought he may have crossed over to the Bridal side. Big mistake made here as I crossed the ridge to Dog Mtn, as it is a sharp spine and as I flew over it and startes sinking I was obviously going to fly into some rotor, so I flew fast as I could and it got a bit bumpy and then the entire wing fell back into a stall (I went hands up, and watched it reinflate in a few seconds). No cravattes, so I kept on course to Dog Mtn., and was climbing the first rocky bluffs in +5 m/s lift. As Peter caught up to me we circled together, gaining the height lost in the rotor. I went on glide from the west side of Dog Mtn., across the face toward the gas lines that cross the Fraser River, and we were beeping the entire time without turning. Still recording 51 km downwind speed, so not too windy to continue on with lots of LZ options. We arrived at the ridge north of the Hope Airport, where I planned to top out again, and after a few turns decided it was time to head to the airport.  East Dog Ridge is on the left - photo by JPR It was trashy out in the Valley, so I spiralled down over the Fraser, cooler air and very smooth. But I still had to fly out over the airport into the thermally wind to land. We had penetration and at times the wind sock was limp (thermally). I landed first and at 10 feet got a gust from the north that I countered and landed softly. Peter was not expecting the gust and got tipped over landing but was okay.  Peter on final at Hope Airport - photo by JPR This was my first time in Hope Airport, usually too scared to risk the winds. My FlyTec 5030 Flight Deck gave me the info all along the way that it was safe to continue, in real time with wind speeds calculated at 15-20 kms. Peter hadn't been to Hope since 1995. After we landed, it got very strong, and we had to pack up in a hangar because the gear was gusting all around.  Welcome to Hope Regional Airpark - photo by JPR Greg had gone up with Norm, to retrieve my Ford and came to get us. We also found Kevin at Ruby Creek where he tought it was less windy and he had a rough approach in the tall grass, but landed softly. This day went very well, but I still hate the trees!
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Woodside Report - Andy flew Woodside early (as usual) and was soaring at 10 am, when I left for Richmond. Apparently, it got pretty windy as he was headed up wind full bar and still not penetrating as he headed for Harvest.
| Derek and Alan volunteered to help me with my tandem retrieval, and we were hiking in to the area near the north cliffs around 6:30 pm and were trying the sling-shot method of shooting a line over the canopy. This didn't work well and we used the tried and true method (Stihl) and the wing was on the ground and bagged up by 8:00 pm. Inspection revealed no damage! The knot is still in the brake line and it is 26 inches from the handle, apparently a mystery knot because I still can't figure out how to inflate and kite a wing up with that much brake pulled and still take off with no one noticing?
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BFAR Report - we started out flying tandems early at Woodside for BFAR, and had a few solo students flying too.
Dave, Greg and I went up for the last Woodside tandems around 2:30 pm, aiming for Harvest Market landings as the wind had picked up.
| I strapped in my passenger, Rob from Bellingham, had a perfect inflation, and off we went . . . for about 30 seconds before a massive brakeline tangle had us slowed down and turning toward the hill at near stall point. I was pulling out the hookknife to cut the brakeline, while leaning and braking left and a huge thermal broke off of the cliffs north of launch and dropped us onto the tallest dead snag on Woodside! Crap. We slid down about 15 feet onto a branch and assessed our situation. No one at launched noticed anything odd with the takeoff, but we had a knot stuck in the pulley, fully engaged with 18-20 inches of brake pulled. We just ran out of time to cut and run as we were being pushed into the hill. No injuries, and we got a line up to us and secured both of us to the tree trunk and prepared for Search and Rescue to come on scene. A tree-climber came up and checked our security and setup some pulleys to lower us down, and we were on the ground safe and sound. Wing still in the trees, until tomorrow. There are 2 kinds of pilots: those who have been in the trees and those that will. Thanks to Andy, Gary, Kelly amd others who helped locate us. And special thanks to Chilliwack and Kent-Harrison SAR-techs! Fortunately the other 35 tandems went better than ours! ps: Gary H is cruel, I called Colleen when I got on the ground and she had already seen pictures! 
Photo by Gary Hachey thru the telescope
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Woodside Report - good cycles from 9:30 am, in fact it was too strong by 11:30 am. We did a few BFAR tandems at Woodside, then David and Kevin did the rest at Bridal Falls. Gary got another 2.5 hours, apparently not hearing me on the radio that it was getting too strong to stay aloft, he landed at Harvest. Andy and Al flew later at Woodside and logged another 2+ hours before the BFAR Party.
| BFAR Report - while we were experiencing strong launch cycles at Woodside, Bridal was shaded over and launch was light and cross. Around 7:00 pm, the sun came out and everyone was soaring nicely.
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Woodside Report - Gary and I headed to Woodside around 1:35 pm,
and Andy had already been up for 45 minutes.
We arrived at launch to fairly strong cycles, but managed to get a clean launch for Gary
and he climbed nicely thanks to his new Vario. I launched and flew with Andy and Gary for about an hour,
getting up to 1000 meters, but cloudbase was pretty close with imbedded CUs, so we were cautious.
| I worked on top-landing for a while before having a safe touchdown, and I suggested Andy take Gary to Harvest. Apparently, something got lost in translation as Andy was at Harvest and Gary was still soaring. Gary finally landed at Harvest 2 hours later. Grin may have to be "surgically removed". Later; Derek, Jack and Andy had another flight landing before dark at Harvest. Andy logged 5:45 in flight time today. ps: Bridal was in cloud all day.
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Woodside Report - Derek said he was heading out to fly Woodside as it was clearing up around 2:00 pm. No pireps. |
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Woodside Report - the problem with forecasting a flying site is that you have to do it early in the morning, and a lot can change during the day. The Environment Canada forecast looked promising with a few showers, but by the time noon rolled around it was raining everywhere in the Valley until midnight. | Alex Raymont's Euro Report - How are you doing? What's the valley been like this summer? I heard that Colleen got hurt. Please send her my best. I've thought that those fields below Gloria looked tight, especially if the wind or a powerline made it more challenging. Anyway tell her I say hi. France was awesome. Almost 2 hours a day average for the month I was there. Interesting xc with lots of potential for out and returns and various returning tours. Gonna post on the west coast maybe with some pix. Now in Scotland visiting my mom after a family reunion in England. Today was way blown out but found a dune site that has potential if the wind ever lightens and gets smooth. Hoping to be on walkabout for a bit longer. Saw you had a new Magnum. How is it? Saw a fair few in France with the pros there. Got a nice 2.5 hour test fly on the Addict S race. Real nice, felt comfortable right away, very much like a Mantra, just easier less wingspan to manage. Strong therms and 40km xc with a windy landing, liked it a lot. Not sloppy feeling, and doubt it gives much away to the Mantra at normal speeds. Hope the BFART weekend is good to you all - Alex ps: The Magnum is awesome - jim
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Woodside Report - Derek said it looked okay to fly around 5:30 pm, but was busy working so he stayed home. Some showers in the area all day, Thursday looks promising. |
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Woodside Report - it was cloudy and windy until noon, when I left for Chilliwack. Around 5:00 pm, it got sunny and nice to fly but I was in Vancouver then, no pireps. |
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Woodside Report - light winds and no thermals made for a great student day. Three flights for most pilots, two tandems for me. Some interesting landing approaches by new student Ray, who got three solos today after ground school and tandems yesterday. |
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Woodside Report - the students were all smiles after today! James logged 3.5 hours, Derek and Mike around 2 hours. Pavan has his first solo flight after 3 tandems over two years. It was perfect all day, with higher winds around 6:00 pm, but it was flyable all day. Strong launch cycles for practicing reverse launches later, so it was good all around. |
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Bridal Report - no students so we headed to Bridal around 4:45 pm, and a load was soon at launch.
Colleen, Rob and Klaus launched and were soon headed for Gloria. Derek had been up with Alan for 3-4 hours,
top-landing upper and lower, in good conditions. Last time I saw Colleen she was at 1500 meters,
and the other guys were lower. Soon, I heard Rob saying they were too low and would have to land-out
above Nixon Road. As they got lower, radio contact was tough.
As Colleen was landing she either hit rotor or spun the wing, but she had a hard landing in a field under Gloria.
Rob landed with her and helped her (thanks Rob!).
After a check-up at the Chilliwack Hospital, she has a dis-located wrist and sore butt, but otherwise okay. Thanks again to all who helped with radio relays and location assistance. |
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Woodside Report - we arrived late in the day to do some chores,
and we looked up around 6:00 pm, to see Andy soaring. Up we went. Kelly, Colleen and I jumped in the van
and when we arrived at launch Andy had top-landed to say Hi, and off all four of us flew.
We managed to get to the towers and flew for an hour and it kept getting stronger.
I top-landed at 7:30 pm to drive down and it was tough to get down anywhere near launch.
The Keara still works and is for sale for a "smoking hot deal" for qualified pilots. |
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Woodside Report - it was already windy by 9:30 am, but good for kiting practice. We went up to launch around 1:30 pm, to lay some sod, and I was convinced it was flyable but marginal due to the wind, so we drove down. No one was flying Bridal (that we saw). |
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Woodside Report - new student Gordie and recently returned student Dale came out to the Ranch at 9:30 am, to start ground school and as we were working in the Barn it started to rain. I went out to answer a call, and as I exited the Barn standing under the eaves a flash of lightning went off over the Barn, followed by an instantaneous clap of thunder (no delay). I thought the day was done at that point. But we persevered on the Ground School for a few hours, then headed outside to see sun and enough wind to dry the grass so we went up for a tandem. Gordie was doing well flying the tandem, and was soon kiting in the LZ. The air was very smooth with 10-15 k straight in cycles. By 3:00 pm, we were up for his first solo flight and he did a perfect approach and landing. Flight #2 was even better as he stayed above launch for 15 minutes, soaring with a few eagles, before heading out for another good landing. | Bridal Report - Jack, Derek, Andy and Alan flew Bridal. Alan reported the air was nice, but by the time the others launched it got ratty. Windy with torn up thermals. I was sure I saw two gliders soaring Gloria, but no response on the radio.
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Coopers Report - a beautiful Cooper's Day! We filled in the required Lumby Air Force paperwork and headed up the hill early arriving at launch by 10:00 am to light cycles. Everyone launched well and had extended flights, with Annette doing the Valley Tour, out to Saddle and then back to Randy's LZ. | We went back up and Colleen launch first and started climbing, Annette followed her and was soon above Colleen in another thermal. I ignored her for awhile until she got high and behind launch drifting back. Everyone else had good launches and stayed up for a good series of flights. I launched with Doogie (john's son) and we we soon "duking it out" with Glenn D on another tandem and we were soon above launch as they landed at Bob's. We waited over the LZ for Doogies Mom to arrive in the Van but she took too long so we went in to land. It was so buoyant over the Valley you had to look for sink to descend into the LZ. Bridal Report - after driving back from Cooper's, we decided a last flight at Bridal was required for the students. Now down to two: John and Annette, as everyone else went back early or stayed at Cooper's. It wa a sledder, but good for John and Annette to test the different Launch and LZ.
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Blue Grouse Report - after getting lost we got to launch to find it was crossing from the North. Colleen flew but her radio was not functional so we thought silence meant it was not good, and by the time she landed it was very cross.
|  Blue Grouse Launch looking North - photo by JPR Baldy Report - when we arrived at Vernon Mountain, the flag was blowing from the North and down, so no point driving up. We elected for a Baldy flight and everyone was really tired and it showed in their launching. It was still 32 degrees and light cycles so you had to work to get off. Thanks to Leah for driving down.
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Cornwall Report - we arrived at launch at 11:00 am, with 8 eager pilots.
Perfect cycles with no wind in the LZ.
Quite a few pilots above launch with James C and John T getting highest.
Some tree suck for Annette as she brushed the only tree on launch with her stabilo line and came to a rest on the ground (swearing up a storm!). I even blushed!! We had her in the air in a few minutes and she landed at the Manor as I drove down.
| Savona Report - we decided Savona was the best call for the afternoon. As we arrived several HGers were above launch, and one beaked in at the International LZ as we drove by. We were soon at the Upper PG launch, I took John's son tandem and we were soon climbing at 4.5 m/s in front of launch. John launched next and was soon on the valley floor as we circled overhead. We came over the Crash Pad LZ and soon climbed above the radio towers, so back to launch to watch more mayhem. No one launching?? We flew back to the LZ and we were not coming down, so we flew around for a while. We headed to the new gas station west of Deadman's Creek and ten back to the LZ not losing a meter (foot). Too much excitement for Doogie, as we circled over the LZ chasing our shadow, so I had to "big-ear down" to ease his stomach. As we drove back to retrieve the Van, I heard Colleen asking Greg where he was? Apparently he got too low and had to land in a tree near Lower Launch. I searched him out, found him and Doogie and I got him down and his glider too! No injuries but to pride. This is tree landing #2 for this particular glider (a red Swing Arcus I, #1 was not by Greg), so Greg thinks this glider has a built in tree fetish!  Christmas Decorations in July - photo by JPR Trees: 2 Pilots: 8. James had the longest flight getting to 2900 meters and having to big ear down to get a ride to dinner. Kamloops Report - we were talking to Andy and Ed on the radio from Savona launch and they were flying "the Dome" at Kamloops. Later in my tandem flight, Ed was calling saying he was at 3400 meters "getting his ass kicked", but he was still talking on the radio so it must have been okay. Andy was silent at that point. Woodside Report - Somewhere around 1ish it was coming up in nice strong cycles but not expecting much with this high pressure system hanging around. A couple of others launched into extended sledders but someone managed to get about 50 metres over so I was a bit stoked. I strapped my Canadian flag to the back of my harness (forgot the camera)with very optomistic hopes of getting to Harrison. Got over launch and climbed immediatley but realized the flight was not to be when I got smacked by some sharp and unorganized air without any real altitude gains(maybe 100 metres over). The rest of the family was on launch waiting to hear where I was going ,so not wanting them to wait until I scratched my way around to see if I could make it to Harrison I headed to your place and landed in some pretty funky crap over the lz. Actually it was a good thing as we drove to Harrison and it was very gusty and windy at the beach so it wouldn`t have been much fun landing anyways - Thomm |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
May 2006 Site of the Day archives - more rain that ever imagined in the Fraser Valley. Very few soaring flights and even less XC.
April 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Easter Bunny was "run over" on Kilby Road, plus the train wreck on April 1.
March 2006 Site of the Day archives - a new pilot was born, Chloe. We also flew a few days between showers, some long flights up to 4 hours. A few Out & Return Flights to Deroche and Bear.
February 2006 Site of the Day archives - another wet month with some soarable days (2).
January 2006 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South for great Mexican or Chilean flying.
December 2005 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South.
November 2005 Site of the Day archives - rain, snow and not much flying.
October 2005 Site of the Day archives - Women's Fly In in Chelan yielded two soarable days before the snows hit.
September 2005 Site of the Day archives - dry most of the month. Some great 4 hour flights at Woodside getting to cloudbase most days. Three crash-landings in the same clearcut by pilots scratching too low, but no injuries.
August 2005 Site of the Day archives - road trips to the Interior gave us an opportunity to rag out some gliders at FlyBC SIV 2005 (Part II). Also a great road trip to Savona.
July 2005 Site of the Day archives - good flying all month, no rain but some windy days shut us down. The Willi started in Golden with a few good days, but one tragedy as Charles Warren perished in a crash near Harrogate.
June 2005 Site of the Day archives - too much rain, but good days to fly between showers.
May 2005 Site of the Day archives - our Instructor/Tandem seminar yielded some good flying. Our May 2005 SIV Clinic had a good turnout, with many wet wings/pilots! Many nice flights at Woodside and Bridal, with some long "out & returns" at Bridal.
April 2005 Site of the Day archives - some great soaring at Woodside and Bridal. Sad news from the US Hanggliding Nationals as Chris Muller crashes at goal.
March 2005 Site of the Day archives - we had to head out of town to Savona a few weekends due to wet weather on the Coast. Wetter than normal according to Environment Canada.
February 2005 Site of the Day archives - some good soaring despite early time of year. Flights as long as 3 hours at Woodside, some good flights at Whidbey Island for first timers, too!
January 2005 Site of the Day archives road trips to Mexico, not much flying locally due to strong north winds and rain. Record rain kept Eagle Ranch quite wet for kiting.
December 2004 Site of the Day archives a dry month with some good soaring including a fantastic day on Dec. 11 where we thermalled for 2+ hours!
November 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain. We installed a fireplace in the barn to keep pilots warm between winter flights.
October 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain, but sweet soaring between showers. Many new students signed up and making quick progress. We missed the Women's Fly In for the first time in 9 years, and there was some interesting flying on the Sunday!
September 2004 Site of the Day archives rainiest September on record for the first 3 weeks, made flying difficult. But Alan and others logged some pretty nice flights later in the month. Lots of student tandems for both Colleen and Jim.
August 2004 Site of the Day archives Great Maneuver/SIV/ACRO course at Mara. Jack got wet! Some great soaring at Woodside. Norm made it 68 km from Mara to King Eddie, Derek made it from Lumby to Enderby the opposite direction for 67 kms. We also did our BC roadtrip from Ashcroft to New Denver, and flew everyday.
July 2004 Site of the Day archives the Willi was on at Golden. We missed the mayhem due to work and school commitments but Norm did a great job representing the West Coast.
June 2004 Site of the Day archives Canadian Nationals came off with many great rounds. Pemberton-Whistler Championships were blown out most days so we headed to Cornwall.
May 2004 Site of the Day archives great flying at Woodside and Bridal. We held a very successful SIV Course at Mara Lake, and hope to run another one in August if they keep the forests open.
April 2004 Site of the Day archives good flying in the Valley. The Fraser Valley Cross Country PG Series was successssful.
March 2004 Site of the Day archives Nicole won in Brazil, otherwise the month sucked for flying time.
February 2004 Site of the Day archives some local flights extended to an hour with vigourous scratching above the trees. Good paramotor month.
January 2004 Site of the Day archives Mexican road trip yielded 20 hours of flight and a wet Canadian January kept most local pilots on the ground.
December 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew a few times but it got really cold at the end of the month as we prepared for a gala New Year's Party for 40 of our close personal friends and neighbours.
November 2003 Site of the Day archives windy and wet with the odd good soaring day, not many pilots out these days.
October 2003 Site of the Day archives Women's Fly In was great fun, some good soaring days mid-month, most of the students are signed off.
September 2003 Site of the Day archives good conditions until the last days of the month when it got stable. Most days were flyable at Woodside or Bridal.
August 2003 Site of the Day archives Forest closures made the end of the month a non-flying period unless you headed to Blanchard. FlyBC SIV 2003 was a great success with 9 stunt pilots and no deployments or crashes.
July 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most days early at Woodside until it got windy, then over to Bridal. Good Golden flying reports from the "Willi".
June 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most weekdays at Bridal, Woodside worked most weekends. Bridal Air Races had one great day with only two tree landings!
May 2003 Site of the Day archives not a great weather month on the coast, especially on the weekends but a few pilots managed to get some great airtime at Bridal. The Nationals were held in Lumby and it didn't rain!
April 2003 Site of the Day archives rain for 28 of 30 April days, but we managed to get a few flights in between showers. Even the golfers were complaining!
March 2003 Site of the Day archives some high spring flights in early March, but not a great weather month. Still no HPAC Insurance!
February 2003 Site of the Day archives some nice long spring flights in late February. HPAC Insurance expired on Feb 14, so many pilots stayed home instead of getting USHGA coverage.
January 2003 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month in BC so we bailed and headed to Tapalpa Mexico for three weeks. Norm and Lucille had a great XC flight the first day we arrived.
December 2002 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month.
November 2002 Site of the Day archives not a great flying month, lots of rain in the beginning and then super stable and inverted for the balance of the month. Even the Savona Road Trip wasn't that great. Looking forward to Mexico!
October 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable some days, great fun at the Women's Fly In 2002 in Chelan. Allan logged 15 hours and only flew a few days. Most of the students are ready for signoff soon to get ready for Mexico trips!
September 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable most everyday! Some scary incidents at Woodside. Fun flying at Ashcroft.
August 2002 Site of the Day archives More spring-like days with super lapse rates, great fun up-country at Revelstoke and Mara, with some good XCs for all.
July 2002 Site of the Day archives Some spring-like days with super lapse rates, but still rather wet at times.
June 2002 Site of the Day archives another rainy and windy month with great lapse rates, some great flights at Bridal with some getting above Cheam Peak. The Club Cup was nearly rained out but they got one valid task in on Sunday June 30.
May 2002 Site of the Day archives an extremely rainy month with the more spring mayhem, another reserve deployment at Lil Nick and a pilot crashed at the top of Deroche Mountain, uninjured but with a ripped glider and long hike down the mountain. Colleen placed 5th place at the Canadian PG Nationals in rainy Lumby!
April 2002 Site of the Day archives a rainy month with the usual spring mayhem, one reserve deployment at Woodside and a pilot hit a parked car at Bridal LZ, fracturing his leg.
March 2002 Site of the Day archives a few great days days with lots of snow and rain mixed in.
February 2002 Site of the Day archives two epic days already (4.5 hours and 2.5 hours!).
January 2002 Site of the Day archives Mexico vacation shots, some local flying but it was wet on the coast.
December 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, wettest December on record, some good days sprinkled thru the month.
November 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, had some good days at Woodside +2 hours, lots of rain later in the month.
October 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, but great flying at Chelan at the Women's Fly In.
September 2001 Site of the Day archives starting to get pretty stable, more sled rides forecast for October.
Aug 2001 Site of the Day archives Mara, Bridal, till some great flights locally
July 2001 Site of the Day archives Road Trip Month, Golden, Mara, points east!
June 2001 Site of the Day archives Great Month, 3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower! Some getting up to 6 hours in a single flight!
May 2001 Site of the Day archives Unstable Month, 2-3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower!
April 2001 Site of the Day archives Rainy Month, not as much airtime for some pilots
March 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring has Sprung!
February 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring is in the Air!
January 2001 Site of the Day archives - Mexico Flying Trip
December 2000 Site of the Day archives
November 2000 Site of the Day archives (great month for airtime!)
October 2000 Site of the Day archives
September 2000 Site of the Day archives
July - August 2000 Site of the Day archives
June 2000 Site of the Day archives
March - May 2000 Site of the Day archives
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