Quote of the Day:
“The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it be? - it is the same the angels breathe." - Mark Twain
Date
Site
Forecast
Winds @ 3000'
Lapse Rate /1000'
Cloud Base
Comments
7/31/2011
Woodside might be flyable for tandems after 1 pm
Agassiz: Showers ending early this morning then a mix of sun and cloud. High 22. UV index 6 or high.
260° at 13 knots
-2.8 °
(unstable)
1300 m
Woodside Report - it was pretty breezy at the Ranch today but good for blowing away mosquitoes., and good for kiting new gliders for George & Tom.
It calmed down around 5 pm, but no one was out flying Woodside today, not even the HGers?
7/30/2011
Woodside might be flyable for tandems around noon
Agassiz: Sunny. Fog patches dissipating early this morning. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 25. UV index 7 or high.
260° at 10 knots
-2.5 °
(unstable)
1500 m
Woodside Report -
A group of fliers went up at 11 am in Lee's truck as I left for Chilliwack for errands, while Martina ran one tandem for us at Woodside around noon..
I got back around 2 pm, and Jan K and Martina both had trucks on the hill that needed retrieving so I took them up.
As I got there there were 3 HGers and a few PGers in the air soaring the west face, including our favourite ex-student Cynthia.
John M was in the launch slot and I was commenting on the repairs to his glider after throwing his reserve here a few weeks back (cost only $35), and he was waiting for a lull. I was standing there on launch, as John kited up the wing and he got lifted off the ground as he braked and instead of flying away backwards he hit brake on one side and he swung into the trees north of launch. He hit the trees with his body and the glider just fell over 6 different trees. No injuries to glider or pilot.
He was on the launch quickly as the trees are not too tall. Derek was enlisted to get the glider out and all went well getting the wing out.
It stayed windy at Woodside and we cancelled our 6 pm tandems, Bridal looked calmer on the ground but I suspect it too was pretty windy.
Rob S flew Bridal earlier and he said he had a decent flight but upwind speeds were slow at 13 kph, with huge thermals of +4 m/s mised in with ridge lift.
We will be away after Sunday night doing reconns in Revy and Lillooett til next Sunday so enjoy the weather.
7/29/2011
Woodside might be flyable for students/tandems around 10 am
Agassiz: Cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers early this morning. Clearing this afternoon. High 24. UV index 6 or high.
Woodside Report - good student flying today for Rob M, as he completed 4 flights including his first non-guided launch as he wanted me to be in the air tandem first to flollow me to Harvest Market. George & I launched tandem at 2 pm, and climbed out to 1000 meters on the South Knoll waiting for Rob to launch. Gary K launched after us and had an interesting launch.
Rob climbed out fast and we were soon heading over the back to Harvest thermalling along the river banks. Good south winds to land in so very smooth coming in. Rob is now at 28 flights and progressing well and should be signed off next trip down.
Derek, Martin, Martina, Klaus, Monica and Igor were flying Bridal and Derek & Martin top-landed to drive down. Very smooth landings there too.
Are you interested in participating in a uniquely
Canadian film project?
Pilots of all rating levels are welcome, senior rated and high airtime
pilots are particularly urged to participate, after all with experience
comes knowledge, not only of craft but of self. In order to qualify you
must have asked yourself, or be prepared to answer…yes at length, the
following question: Why do YOU fly? You must be prepared to share!
A focus group will be conducted on August ??, ! Jim and
Colleen have graciously agreed to provide the venue, the FlyBC
Airsports Hanger at Eagle Ranch, as the location for the meeting.
You are welcome to attend, alternatively you can email your answer to
macparaeden2@yahoo.ca
The focus of the film
“Coring” the reason you willingly allow your self to be lifted into
the sky. Since the dawn of time we, as a species, have contemplated
flight. Only recently, the span of a single generation, has it become
possible for individual human beings to safely and sustainably, under
their own energy, achieve FLIGHT. The focus group itself will be filmed,
the internationally acclaimed director/producer of the POTENTIAL project
will be in attendance. This will provide continuity of context should
the project develop WINGS. What better dramatic fade in than a group
of pilots sitting around taking about their “feelings”. LEVITY, as an
apropos example, will form as important a component of the final product
as it does on LAUNCH!
The location/Duration of the film
As you may be wondering…yes… cinematography will be an important aspect.
Filming is likely to occur primarily in British Colombia, however,
an eastern locale and perhaps one “overseas” locale may be within
the budgetary scope of the project. The overseas locale will be of
particular interest to advanced pilots as it may involve participation
in a remarkable and ground breaking expedition…truly the first of its
kind.
Not to dash anybody’s dreams but the lucky pilot will also require
advanced high altitude trekking experience. The camera will be operated
by an award winning Canadian master of his craft. The pretty pictures,
however, will only play a supporting role; the real imagery will be
created by those pilots daring enough to share the experience of launch
and flight into the interiorscapes they soar. If you are prepared to
Dig deep…Hold the Line, you have a real chance of creating a lasting
expression of the Canadian iteration of this glorious thing that is human
flight! The projected production timeframe is in the order of 14-18
months. Filming does not necessarily follow any predetermined chronology,
with the possible exception of the Trekk, the pilot(s) participating in
that aspect of the project would likely be involved in multiple filming
days, throughout the duration of the project.
7/28/2011
Woodside might be flyable for students/tandems around 10 am
Agassiz: Clearing this morning. High 25. UV index 7 or high.
260° at 9 knots
-2.6 °
(unstable)
1600 m
Woodside Report - we started flying at 10 am and Blake, Brian and Rob M got 2 flights by noon and then it got windy.
We took some time out for ground school and Blake & Rob wrote their begiiner exams to qualify for HPAC membership and passed well.
Martina & I took a nice couple tandem after 1 pm and we had super flights into the Ranch.
We had to wait a few hours but we heard flights at Bridal were not too good, -4 m/s sink and only +3 m/s lift so do the math and you are soon on the ground.
At 6 pm we went back up the mountain for tandems, Brad H had 2 folks to fly and I had 2 more tandems and the plan for me was to fly and top-land.
Derek was supposed to drive but wind-dummied instead.
After 1:30 of trying to get down near launch I bailed to Harvest following Brad. The next tandem had us landing just before dark and the lights in the Valley were pretty. Rob M snuck in 2 more flights with us and logged 4 great flights today and about 3 hours of airtime!
Woodside might be flyable for students/tandems around 11 am
Agassiz: Mainly sunny. High 25. UV index 7 or high.
300° at 4 knots
-2.8 °
(unstable)
1500 m
Tandemonium Report - FlyBC's Awesome Tandem Team was hard at work today with 15 completed tandems despite leeside launch conditions slowing us down.
Rob W had to wait a bit for the last tandem with WOW-ter, but they climbed over launch and got to over 1000 meters before heading out, so Rob got the best flight of the day at 7 pm?
Thomm McE had a good flight at Bridal outclimbing the "knob bobbers" with a trip out to the Rosedale Bridge and back.
News from Bridal of a "swamp creature" climbing out of the swamp behind the LZ tree-line covered in muck from head-to-toe - including harness & wing covered in mud?
We cleaned up and headed to Eddie's Birthday Bash at Ryder Lake and saw lots of the Elk Boys & girls at the party. We left quite late after the campfire schnapps came out.
Woodside Report - Roland logged another solo flight after 2 more tandems and left for Toronto with a big smile on his face.
We had four tandems around noon and I flew Kim into the clouds a few times while we soared with Martin N. Martin left at 6 pm after 3:30 of soaring today on a marginal day.
At 7 pm, Nick & Rene arrived in a Bell 206 heli to take a paragliding tandem flight with Martina & Wow-ter with a planned landing at the Sandpiper Golf Course. Despite perfect glass-off soaring conditions that had Derek at 1000 meters at the north cliffs, they didn't brave the river crossing and landed at Bill Best's field instead.
Super day at the Ranch, but the mosquitoes are still bad. Bring bug spray.
7/21/2011
Woodside might be flyable for tandems around noon
Agassiz: Periods of rain ending early this afternoon then cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Risk of thundershowers this afternoon. High 18.
260° at 14 knots
-2.5 °
(unstable)
800 m
Valley Report - we went kiting at Agassiz High School after 11 am, cause there was no wind at Eagle Ranch and too many mosquitoes.
Roland & Larry are getting pretty good with the kiting now. It was blowing strong in the high school field at times and they managed to not get dragged too much.
There was nasty towering CUs around Woodside & Bridal and strong cycles at launch that precluded any safe flying today even at 7 pm.
We have had to re-book the FlyBC SIV2011 this summer to the Aug 12-17 timeframe due to low snow levels and high water levels. Event is still planned for Revelstoke area. A reconn trip is planned in the next few days.
Agassiz: A few showers ending this afternoon then cloudy. High 19. UV index 3 or moderate.
260° at 10 knots
-2.5 °
(unstable)
800 m
Woodside Report - Larry & Roland worked with me in the Barn Classroom for a few hours on ground school and harness fittings, and then we went out to kite on the training hill.
Mosquitoes were getting nasty between cycles so off to the landing circle where the wind was steadier and the guys were doing pretty well reverse and forward.
After a few hours of kiting we moved up to launch where Larry had a heck of a time staying on his feet, so we bailed on him trying to fly this afternoon. Roland took two tries and was soon dragging across launch and into the air. His flight path did not resemble what was laid out on the board so he lost a lot of altitude and Bert was $20 richer. But a smooth landing in the end for solo #1.
We went out to kite some more near the circle and watch Martin N flying with Roger, and it was much stronger than when Roland flew with near zero ground speeds for Martin at times.
Mid-day I contacted TrendNet about the FlyBC Webcam IP issues and we resolved the problem and the FlyBC Webcam is now back up and re-aimed.
Chelan Report - Al & Matt J headed to Chelan after Golden PG Nationals got rained out. Rob S called to say he got a Spot Message that Hammer had landed near Mansfield WA for a decent XC flight. Other reported on FaceBook about getting stuck on the Butte (and something about a Drag Queen event?).
Fly safe in Chelan in July, it can be strong mid-day there!
7/19/2011
Woodside may be flyable for tandems around 10 am
Agassiz: Mainly cloudy. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 20. UV index 6 or high.
Woodside Report - Martina & I took students Roland & Larry for first tandems ducking the clouds. Strong conditions for 1030 am, but nice in the LZ.
We had to shut the day down when it started raining, sending 5 more tandems home til Friday.
The Roland and I did a wild trip to Tssawassen because Environment Canada showed Vancouver east at 7 knots, but when we got to Highway 99 it was blowing hard SW. Then thru the tunnel to Burnaby Mountain and sure enough Richmond was east, but as we kept going it was SW everywhere else?
On Burnaby Mountain we were the only PGers, and there were reversible cycles and Roland did 10 flights down, until he could not hike anymore.
Agassiz: Cloudy. 40 percent chance of drizzle early this morning. Clearing this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 24. UV index 6 or high.
260° at 8 knots
-2.5 °
(unstable)
1100 m
Woodside Report - we started flying at 11 am as planned and got 5 tandems done in perfect soaring conditions, with me taking Woody to cloudbase.
Martina & Wouter took Kurt and friend over to look at Sandpiper Golf Course on the second set of tandems and made it back to the Ranch.
New students Roland and Larry were practicing ground handling skills most of the day in perfect winds near the landing circle.
Ihor, Martin N, Alex R, Derek and Robin (from San Diego) were enjoying solo flights logging up to 2 hours before landing at the Ranch.
An awesome day despite low clouds and drizzle in the AM.
7/17/2011
Woodside may be flyable for tandems around 11 am
Agassiz: Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers this morning. High 21. UV index 6 or high.
260° at 4 knots
-2.5 °
(unstable)
1400 m
Woodside Report - we started flying around noon, and managed to log 5 tandems and many solo flights.
We had to wait for cycles and the mosquitoes on Launch are brutal in no wind.
Colleen and I did 2 tandems each and Martina took Mike tandem on the last round.
Colleen took the SCirroco speedglider for a sledder late in the day and made the Ranch easily.
Not very many people out as most are travelling to Golden or other parts to fly.
Thomm's Report:
Driving out to Woody - the cost of fuel - $10
Driving for the group and getting eaten alive at launch - painful
Flying late in the day for a whole 18 minutes - priceless!!
7/16/2011
Woodside may be flyable for tandems between showers
Agassiz: Cloudy. Showers beginning this morning. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate.
180° at 4 knots
-2.3 °
(unstable)
900 m
Woodside Report - we called the day by 8 am, and then I thought I made a mistake as it was still clear at 10 am but then it started spitting rain and soon we had heavy rain.
Good day for chores indoors.
Then last night around 7 pm, it looked flyable again at Woodside for an hour although the clouds may have been getting an outflow push below launch.
Bev emailed from Vernon that there was rain, thunder & lightning there, but they got a break in the afternoon to take Hannah kiting on the Prima 22.
7/15/2011
Woodside may be flyable for tandems
Agassiz: Cloudy with 70 percent chance of showers. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate.
WOW-ter's Tandem Report - The forecast was wrong again for Mother Woodside as it was flyable
the whole day.
We did four awesome tandems starting at 11AM with
Angela and her 7 year old son Rylen.
We had to wait a while for a
good cycle and little Rylen couldn't wait to get in the air!
Martina flew with Angela and we had great flights flying wingtip-to-wingtip to
the Ranch where we had perfect landings in no wind.
After a quick retrieve, the next flights with Lois from Chilliwack and Rebecca from Florida
went well too. Martina had an interesting launch as Rebecca sat down a little bit early!
Martin N drove the Suburban down for us this time (thanks Martin!).
After lunch
at Kilby we drove up again and Martina and Martin N had a great thermalling flight
before heading out to land at the Ranch.
Great day despite the rainy forecast! - Wouter
7/14/2011
Woodside is rained out
Agassiz: Showers. High 16. UV index 3 or moderate.
Mother Woodside Report - I drove out from Vancouver in a tropical monsoon around noon, to arrive to dry conditions at the Ranch?
I setup the new mosquito tent on the ProCircle for tandem viewing, as it is too calm near Stonehenge for safe loitering with all the mosquitoes. Enjoy the new tent, and we have another larger one on order for Stonehenge too.
WOW-ter arrived around 4 pm to help me load the boat into the trailer and then we checked launch conditions and it looked soarable. Let's go test the new SkyCountry SCirroco wing that just arrived. It looks like a normal paraglider with a 16 meter projected area and 3 riser design (no speedbar attachments).
We arrived on launch for speed runs with me on the Scirroco and WOW-ter on the Nikita 2 acro wing, and I launched first and did a few soaring passes before heading to the Ranch. Yes, let's see if I can make the Ranch in windy conditions! I flew the SkyCountry SCirroco at trim speed (trimmers in) away from launch and Wow-ter couldn't catch me. I slowed the SCirroco down to min sink and he still couldn't catch up even on full bar on the Nikita 2.
I had tons of height coming over the ridge but lots of sink and wind in the valley as I approached made me look for bailout options: HG LZ, or Duncan's cow pastures. But in the end I had enough height for a normal aircraft approach, as did WOW-ter on the Nikita 2. It was not sensible winds but that is what we want this glider for: windy, gusty blown out days.
We packed up and Norm arrived so we talked him into driving so WOW-ter could fly the SCirroco.
WOW-ter did a small soaring flight with a nice top-landing, and then climbed to cloudbase for some wingovers. We drove down and WOW-ter was approaching the Ranch over Duncan's high but barely had enough time for an appraoch as it was quite windy.
We managed 3-4 flights today on the SkyCountry SCirroco and we are both liking it, come by for a test flight before this one gets sold. Two more are on order with 3 week delivery times. $2200 CDN plus tax FOB Eagle Ranch.
It always amazes me that we can fly Woodside when everything else is rained out, and this wing opens up even more days of flying.
7/13/2011
Pemberton by 10 am for tandems and students but it may rain
Pemby Report - we headed up in two vehicles to Pemberton with hopes of flying but it turned out to be a reconn trip for Rob M from Whistler.
We checked out the LZs, then on to Lower Mackenzie Launch where everything is in good shape, thanks to the locals including Jim & Corrine.
Then we drove up to Upper Launch where a new cabin project is unfolding, actually more of a bug shelter. The base is a solid frame of logs, with pre-fab walls of plywood. They just hauled up the walls yesterday.
Paddy has constructed a beautiful bench and Jim O has installed a sprinkler system to keep the grass seed growing on the busy part of launch. It wasn't needed today as it rained hard on us on launch. Wind was NE at 15 knots too!
After the tour we dropped in on Jim O at home and heard tales of great flying up in Pemby, just not today.
We took the back road to Lillooett and Lytton to avoid the Vancouver traffic jams and had a sunny drive home to Mosquito Ranch (renamed from Eagle Ranch this month).
7/12/2011
Woodside by 11am for tandems and students but it may rain
Agassiz: Mainly cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers changing to 70 percent chance of showers this morning. High 19. UV index 5 or moderate.
Woodside Report - Tandems arrived late at 2 pm and by then the Mosquitoes had sucked most of my blood.
Martina & WOW-ter did the tandems while I drove and they had a nice soaring flight with an Agassiz family. Not as nice as Martin N who logged 2+ hours at Woodside.
Tom Clark was working on brushing out the Upper Bridal Road and has a vision of a launch on Archibald, details to follow.
7/11/2011
Woodside by 10am for tandems and students but it may be blown out by 2 pm, so we may head to Bridal
Agassiz: Sunny. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud this morning. High 24. UV index 7 or high.
250° at 14 knots after 2 pm
-2.9 °
(unstable)
1700 m
Woodside Report - I was working on a greenhouse project and driving so Denis could fly practice tandems with Chris B today. The mosquitoes were thick even wearing a head net while working.
Jon & Sean were doing HG tandems too, and the last HG I saw in the air soaring was Charles M who landed at the Ranch as it was too east at the HG LZ for his liking. It looked soarable after 2 pm.
7/10/2011
Woodside by 10am for tandems and students but it may be blown out by 2 pm, so we may head to Bridal
Agassiz: Mainly cloudy. High 22. UV index 6 or high.
Woodside Report - new student Jenny bagged 3 solo flights and left with a big smile and some brochures to pick out a new glider! We also flew 9 tandems today and they were all soaring flights getting above launch and we had some very excited passengers today.
Click on the picture above to see Dan's reaction to flying tandem with Tonya!
Biff's Euro Report - Our time in France has ended...tomorrow we take Brad to Geneva for his
flight home. Judy and I carry on to tour Italy for three weeks so
there may not be many flying reports forthcoming but let me summarize
these past ten days.
Every day was flyable...we flew eight days. Two were travel or climb days.
In Chamonix, we flew three great thermal sites:
Plan Praz with it's awesome view across to the Mt. Blanc side. We went
up for one last sled today before it over- developed.
One valley over, we flew, Plan Joux, and La Charme, both great
afternoon site with huge rock faces to 2800 m.
A significant memory of one of those flights was noticing several
wheelchair pilots in the air with me and doing very well in the
challenging air. Later, I learned that they were in the final legs of
a big XC flight with their instructor. Reminded me of Jimbo's
willingness to take on the challenge of releasing disabled people from
the bonds of gravity.
Up in the sky, we're all just working the lift!
Last Wednesday, our weather finally crapped out, but, no problem.
Eddy, Brad and I drove for one hour to the world famous Lake Annecy
and had a flight.This is a site from which up to six hundred people
launch a day famous for it's distance and triangle XC's. We arrived
at the LZ complete with its five tandem operations and a
bar/restaurant and were invited to hop into a shuttle on short notice,
a little too short because we left all photography equipment in the
car.
Didn't really matter though, because despite one of the most
perfect launch sites I've ever seen, once we were airborne, there was
no picture taking. All of us including the locals had the sh*t
kicked out of us and it was a case of how long a person wanted to
remain in those conditions, even on a Swift.
Eddy, Brad, and I all
landed within minutes of one another in a 30 k wind. We heard shortly
after that on launch it was blowing 60 k!
On the same day, we passed through the famous St. Hillaire site only
one hour south, but it was late so we decided to find a hotel and fly
the following morning. We tried fruitlessly for an our to find a
hotel, and then gave up. But this is France- nothing is far away, so
after a quick all-you-can-eat Vietnamese meal, we hit the motorway and
drove all the way to Eddy's Dad's place on the Mediterranean Sea.
Thursday was not looking good anywhere for flying but we still
scored....after a delightful experience at a French Federation Du
Naturalist (aka, nude) beach and a real estate/coffee tour.
Later, at about 6 pm, Eddy thought it might be good at a local site
above the FFN beach. Andre argued that the wind would be all wrong but
Biff, Brad, and Eddy did the 20 minute hike anyway.
This coastal site is perfect in every way but one- you can only
top-land. If you sink out, you're in the bush, the rocks, or in the
Med!
Fortunately, Eddy's instincts were better than Andre's. The wind was
only slightly cross at 15-20 k. I kited my Swift first and sure
enough, it lifted me and soon I was at the top of the 300 meter ridge
with awesome views of the Mediterranean Sea, the sandy beaches and
even what appeared to be the ruins of a castle below me. Landing in
the increasing lift proved to be challenging with lots of wing-overs,
big ears, and spirals required to touch back down at launch but the
air was absolutely smooth and easy to work, especially after, Annecy.
All of us had super flights before packing up to head to Andre's for a
visit with his family, and a jam session. Andre plays a mean blues
harp and Eddy is a kick-ass keyboard player. Brad did a great job on
the bongos....but this is supposed to be about flying, n'est pas?
Actually the best part of a flying trip IS meeting the people and to
Edmond and Andre and your family, merci!
But it's not over. Brad and I arose early on Friday and blasted
north back to St. Hillaire which was just drying up after an huge
thunderstorm. St. Hillaire is actually a village perched 400 meters
over the valley, on top of a huge limestone cliff, twenty k long.
The
normal way to access the launch of the world's biggest paragliding
festival, Le Coupe Icare, is via a funicular, a little train that
starts off on a level and eventually climbs the vertical cliff up to
the village. Brad and I went up the first time at about 11:00 am and
had a reasonably good flight...I got high enough to take some shots
down on launch.
The conditions were pretty light so rather than go up
right away to fly, we decided to try something completely different: a
via Ferrata. This is a newer but very popular sport in Europe where
you follow a very steep route that involves rock climbing but you
always have holds, either in the form of rebar rungs, ladders, or easy
rock and you can continuously clip in for safety.
The routes come in a
various degrees of challenge and on this day, Brad and I sort of got
lost and ended up on the route described as "extremely difficult". We
had to climb a cliff that was vertical or overhanging for about 500
feet....Pretty tiring on the old arms and combined with the easier
sections we climbed for about two hours straight.
We were sore, tired, sweaty but overjoyed to find that the Via Ferrata
ended up at launch! We turned in our rented climbing harnesses to the
Flight school that we obtained them from, grabbed our wings and were
soon laying out on the carpet for a second flight.
St. Hillaire has an
easy low angle launch but it does terminate in a vertical cliff, so it
was a little embarrassing when I launched in a calm/tail cycle, ran
down, was lifted off my feet but touched down hard right at the end of
the carpet, unloading my wing, requiring a full on leap followed by a
brief frontal collapse and recovery by the Swift.
Brad told me later
that there were several gasps from the looky-loos who saw my faux pas.
However, I turned my embarrassment to determination and worked my ass
off until I was higher than every other pilot in the air eventually
going down range both ways and having a pretty super flight.
In summary, we've had an incredible time here....fantastic sites that
demonstrate how paragliding was borne in a world of climbers and
breathtaking scenery. Great launches but challenging air that needs
tons of respect. And best of all, new friends brought together by a
common desire to experience the world from a bird's eye view - Biff
7/9/2011
Woodside by 10am for tandems and students but it may be blown out by 2 pm, so we may head to Bridal
Agassiz: A mix of sun and cloud. High 22. UV index 7 or high.
Woodside Tandemonium Report - somehow we trained new student Jiani (Jenny) on ground school, ground training and training hill stuff including 2 tandems, plus pulled off a total of 20 tandems today at Woodside.
The Awesome Tandem Team consisted of Martina, Colleen, Jim, Wouter, Tonya and everyone was doing great soaring tandems from 10:30 am til 6 pm.
The first set of 4 tandems was another Stag Party.
The last flight of the day had 2 sets of couples out for Man Appreciation Day, where the ladies had many surprises laid out for the men. I say we need more of these days!
One incident occured today at Woodside involving a solo pilot who threw his reserve and landed in the new clearcut by the road. Pilot landed uninjured and his SupAir light reserve worked flawlessly, and is now repacked and in a new deployment bag. A cascade of collapses, parachutal stalls and then a big surge made this pilot sure he had no other choice - and he made a good choice throwing.
7/8/2011
Woodside after 1 pm but it may be blown out
Agassiz: Showers ending this afternoon then cloudy. Windy. High 15. UV index 3 or moderate.
Bridal Work Party Report - Woodside looked too windy and the mosquitoes were nasty so we headed to Bridal to work on launch.
Impromptu work party of Rob S, Thomm and myself was formed with weedwhacker, chainsaw, loppers, hedge trimmers to followup on Rob's road trimming a few days ago.
After 2 hours of sweat and 2-stroke smoke we managed to mow the entire launch, trim the trees in front of launch, and the remove some alders on the top landing approach area. Looked very nice when we left launch around 5 pm.
PG Worlds Competition - has been cancelled in Spain after 2 fatal accidents and many more injury accidents. Team Canada (Brett Hazlett, Claudio Mota and Keith McCullogh) are headed home.
7/7/2011
Stay Home til Friday afternoon
Agassiz: Increasing cloudiness with 30 percent chance of showers late this afternoon and risk of a thundershower. Becoming windy early this afternoon. High 19. UV index 3 or moderate.
230° at 11 knots
-2.6 °
(unstable)
1600 m
Woodside Report - we were at Woodside at 8 am. But Mother Nature dropped cloudbase to 300 meters til late afternoon and then it was too windy.
The weather made it a good day to reflect on the safety of aviation: Two pilots died in a Cessna 152 doing mountain training exercises near Harrison Lake on Tuesday afternoon, two competitors at the World PG Championships Wednesday were killed in separate accidents during a task and did not throw their reserves in time, and a famous long-time PG pilot Xavier Murrillo was found dead in the Andes after 4 days of seaching during a reconn flight for the X-Andes Competition. All were experienced pilots but pushing boundaries. I think aviation is safe if one maintains a safety boundary, weather can play the biggest part in flight safety. Fly Safe!
Woodside Report - a super busy day with 4 students and 4 super solo flights ending the day at 4 pm.
We even did four tandems too with the help of Awesome Tandem Team (Wouter & Martina).
A totally blue day with forecasted winds to pickup around 3 pm, but we snuck in one last flight at 4 pm, which got the students well above launch as it was lifty all the way out and it took them 30 minutes to land.
Everyone left with a smile, hoping for more days like this to complete their HPAC Novice Ratings soon.
7/5/2011
Woodside after 11 am for a few tandems then Bridal is calling again after 3 pm
Agassiz: Sunny. High 27. UV index 7 or high.
260° at 9 knots
-2.8 °
(unstable)
1700 m
Woodside Report - Wouter & Martina flew 4 tandems here and then we headed to Bridal at 3 pm, where we did 2 more tandems which were a bit too much for Ray's girls. Strong lift at both places kept the tandems bouncing and sometimes even collapsing!
We later heard that there was a Search & Rescue Mission near Harrison Lake looking for a downed Cessna 152 on a mountain training flight. Not nice conditions for a little plane with a big load.
Biff's Chamonix Report - Life and Death on the Aguille Midi.
All flying is banned on the North side of the Chamonix Valley during
the summer months, ostensibly due to the high number of heli-rescues.
But there is a place that beckons the para-alpinist like no other. The
Aguille de Midi, at 3842 m is reachable by an amazing gondola.
To be a
paraglider pilot, one must be comfortable with heights but this is
something other. Brad and I smuggled our wings onto the gondola today
if only to experience the breathtaking view.
The upper tower of the
cable car perches over an abyss like none I have ever seen. People
were experiencing panic attacks as we slowly reached the station and I
felt vertigo and wished I had a parachute handy. As you leave the
gondola, you step onto a bridge between two rock towers with drops of
thousands of feet below.
As I stood there waiting for Brad, an Irish
woman approached me sobbing. It was then I noticed the young woman
slumped on the bridge deck crying as well. The older woman commenced
telling me a story that had me in tears.
Her daughter was about to be
married to a young climber who had perished right below us just three
days ago. He had wanted to get one more big climb in before tying the
knot, but he and his partner had fallen just below the Aguille du
Midi.
I hugged the woman and told her how sorry I was. Her story shook
me up and it didn't take much at that altitude with those drop-offs.
You see, while there is a launch site at the Aguille du Midi, you have
to be climber to get to it. After crossing the bridge, you enter an
ice tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, there is another viewpoint and a
gate with a warning sign. MUST HAVE CRAMPONS, ICE AXE AND A ROPE.
After the gate, there is a narrow snow ridge that drops steeply down
for about 200 ft. The ridge has a path just wide enough for one person
to walk. On both sides, a steep slope ends in a vertical drop, on the
left, that drop is probably 3000 feet. Technically, not difficult, but
you can not make a mistake!
As we put on our crampons, the irish women
came to the gate and grieved loudly, tossing small bouquets of flowers
into the abyss. It was all I could do to begin walking down that path.
Frankly, I dreaded going back into that gondola. Brad too was very
shaken up and the steep descent was one of the scariest things I've
ever done.
What allowed us to continue was the site of a beautiful snow dome a
short distance away facing Chamonix and a perfect upslope wind. There
was also this palpable tension of knowing that hundreds of people were
watching us prepare to leap off into the forbidden zone.
I got ready very quickly pulling out the glider last and having it do
a weird 360 on my first attempt. However, the second was textbook,
except for the light touchdown just before the slope dropped off and
then I was in another dimension. To fly off the Aguille du Midi is to
have entire mountain ranges below. The town is almost directly below
but so far below as to look like a google earth map.
Meanwhile, in the Chamomix LZ, Eddy was waiting for us. He saw us and
exclaimed, "keep your balls tight boys, you are very high"!
We crossed the valley to the legal side, but some locals saw us and
began talking. Eddy covered for us by saying we were some really hot
pilots from Canada who had launched from the Plan Praz and worked our
way up. This settled them down for awhile til they saw that we were
obviously flying little 1/2 wings and began asking questions again
about were we had launched. Right about then, Brad and I hooked some
monster thermals and got really high again. Eddy was able to say,
"look, I told you they were really hot pilots."
Fortunately, the normal strong valley winds had not kicked in and we
had great landings, quickly shedding our layers after launching at 10
C and landing at 30C.
After this we drove to another gondola, went up and another stunning
two hour flight making this the best day yet.
But they've all been really, really good. Knock on wood. - Biff
7/4/2011
Woodside after noon for a few tandems then Bridal is calling again after 3 pm
Agassiz: Sunny with cloudy periods. High 24. UV index 7 or high.
260° at 12 knots
-2.6 °
(unstable)
1600 m
Woodside Report - a busy tandem day with three Woodside tandems with one group and only Martina to help as Wouter was headed to the Interior for the week.
Perfect conditions at Woodside Launch with 15 kph inflow cycles and bubbly thermals to play in around launch.
Landing at the Ranch around 2 pm was not windy but bubbly as the hay is drying and thermals are popping in the sun.
New tandem landing technique is working with 6 for 6 perfect landing and no "sitters" - email me for details.
Bridal Report - old friend and pilot Duncan came out for a tandem yesterday at Bridal and we weren't disappointed! I forgot the vario at home but it wasn't needed except for the post-flight gloating.
We launched around 5 pm and headed towards Upper Launch following Derek who launched just before us. He wasted no time and was soon sitting on Upper Launch while we flew in front of Upper and headed west. Not much lift there so we headed back to Archibald where there was a "monster" waiting for us by the bowl. Estimates of +6 m/s sustained thru 1600 meters where the west winds got stronger. If you got bored you could head back there and go high.
Folks were doing the run east before we launched but most stayed west of launch as the winds picked up.
After 1:30 of trying to keep the Magnum inflated my arms were burning and we tried a few top-landing approaches (10) and the closest had us 1 meter off the launch as we got "hoovered up". Later a number of top-landers got in to retrieve their trucks, much later with as much work.
I gave up the controls to Duncan so I could rest over the LZ and we had a super smooth landing. Nice to see Duncan back after a 7 year hiatus.
The new Ozone Anti-G device demonstrated by Dave Norwood over Chelan, a safe way to get a high performance glider down fast.
7/3/2011
Woodside after 1 pm for a few tandems then Bridal is calling again
Agassiz: Rain ending late this morning then a mix of sun and cloud. High 20. UV index 6 or high.
230° at 13 knots
-2.9 °
(unstable)
1500 m
Woodside Report - we flew one set of tandems at noon, with strong launch conditions but super smooth climbs in mostly ridge lift.
I was the wind technician on the Magnum 41 with Wouter following me with the Magnum 38. We flew for 45 minutes landing at Harvest Market LZ where we arrived at Cemetary Hill at 600 meters and climbing under a nice CU. As always, a smooth but windy approach awaited us with feather-light touchdowns.
The kids we took were very happy with the tandems and the three video cameras captured all the action! Martin N was at the LZ to help with the retrieve. Thanks Martin!
I didn't see any other PGs fly today but the HG tandems were busy at Woodside after we left. I think Shawn had 4 planned.
Eric came by last night and mowed the Eagle Ranch LZ so haying operations will happen this week and the LZ will be like a golf green for a few months again!
The chalet provides a wonderful breaky. We waste no time. Eddy's plan
today involves taking a leisurely ride up a cable car to the Plan Praz
llaunch site for an early flight, mainly to get some altitude.
The
launch site is beautiful and busy. We are directly above Cham and
across from Mt. Blanc. We watch several tandems launch and then a
horde arrives, maybe thirty pilots, many students.
Even this huge
launch cannot hold all the wings and We vie for a place.
Tandem pilots
just walk in front of us and throw their wings down. Eventually I find
a small corner to throw my wing out on and run off in the little puff
coming up the hill. The terrain is alpine with meadows and huge rock
faces much higher than launch. I am soon soaring above and to the west
of launch. The air is spicy but the Swift makes it easy. I can barely
make out Brad's wing the sky is so crowded.
We play for about 45 minutes and then make our way out to the landing
in the middle of town. From here we spend a few hours exploring this
historic town, grab a bite and make our way out to Plan Joux, one
valley over for some big air.
On the drive over we observe wings and
gaggles of wings all over the place- apparently there is big comp on.
Plan Joux is beautiful pea gravel launch (elevation 1400 m asl) with
three restaurants a short walk away. There are a few pilots launching.
Strong freight train thermals come through and it is a little cross
but those in the air are soon specks above us. I want to be a speck. I
lay out beside a mother of two small children and the wind goes calm
and even tail. The mother and I wait for about five minutes.
Eventually the mother gets a little puff and does a great forward. I
follow the mother west for a few hundred meters and she hooks one.
What's good for the mother of two is just fine with me and as she
completes her lazy circles, I wind the Swift up and seek speckdom.
Minutes later, the mother carries on her merry way 1000 meters below
and I continue to cloud base at just below 3000 meters. The air is big
-my vario tells me later that my average lift was 5m/s but I don't
have single tuck on the Swift. A kid in candy store, I cross the
valley to the launch we didn't go to, fly back and follow the same
ridge as launch to a corner where I can look into Switzerland, and
then fly back to launch.
I only head out to land because we can't be
late for supper at the hotel or they might not give us free wine.
The landing is spicy and it's hard to come down in the field
surrounded by houses and power lines but I manage.
Brad, Eddy and
Andre have all had great flights as well and the only downside to the
day is that our super car goes nuts enroute home - something wrong
with the abs brake system, and the computer is very unhappy in
general.
The car didn't want to turn off, or lock up. Even Katrina the
GPS wasn't working. I've already got a call into Renault and we told
them to come tomorrow- after we've gone up another gondola to 3200
meters and flown back to Cham. So it's all good out here in France - Biff reporting from Europe
7/2/2011
Woodside after 10 am for all
Agassiz: Sunny with cloudy periods. High 26. UV index 8 or very high.
Woodside Report - an inverted day kept most pilots below Woodside Launch but it was good fun for 4 of our tandems today, all smiles in the LZ.
Ian J got above launch for a time, and later some HGers were above launch but the masses headed to Bridal where strong +6 m/s thermals awaited us!
At Bridal, we took up a load of 8 up in the Suburban and everyone launched but Colleen who sacrificed a flight to be our launch coach, official photographer & driver this afternoon.
I was flying the Ozone Delta S demo and even though I was 20 kgs over the top, it climbed fast and was virtually collapse resistant. I took some nice thermals above Archibald but there was some good sink below Upper Launch.
I tried a few top landing attempts but gave up just as Wouter top-landed to drive Derek`s truck down.
Norm was gloating after flying out to Agassiz and back and then climbing back up to 1700 meters before landing, loving the M4.
After 1:30 I headed out to land and we headed over to the golf course for refreshments before heading back to the Ranch after visiting the Koffee Kettle Art Gallerry for Martin Nowoselski's Art Show opening July 2, 2011 at the Koffee Kettle.
Agassiz: Cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers this morning and early this afternoon. Clearing this afternoon. High 21. UV index 5 or moderate.
230° at 10 knots
-2.6 °
(unstable)
1400 m
Woodside Report - it was a good day all day long: no nasty strong thermals, but one could stay up for a few hours. Some XCs toward Agassiz townsite. Students could fly all day long safely. Mother Woodside delivers again despite forecasts.
Martina & Wouter did 2 WCSC Volunteer tandems which put $280 into the WCSC coffers for David & son Martin and they had really nice tandems (too nice for Martin apparently as he was a but green on landing). During their flight I counted 15 gliders all soaring near the South Knoll together.
I took Phil's nephew Brandon tandem and we had a really nice flight around 4 pm, "duking it out" with Martin N and Derek testing out the Delta M and we pulled a few SATs in front of launch which may have triggered a motion sickness issue so we flew out with "big ears" all the way to the Ranch after 35 minutes of thermalling.
Nice landing conditions all day at the Ranch with a warning to land at the main circle as the ProCircle has many mosquitos waiting for your arrival.
Brad & Biff's Chamonix Report - Reporting from Chamonix France the birthplace of mountaineering.
We are with fellow Canadian Edmond Rivere and his brother Andre.
We took a tram this morning from to 2000 meters to a launch called Planpraz. Stong spiky thermals even early morning.
What a great flight like a spring day at Bridal.
We are planning the logisitcs to fly from Mt Blanc in a couple of days.
The route is very specifc because of no fly zone starting in july.
We report more later -
Brad Henry
6/30/2011
Woodside after 11 am
Agassiz: Showers. High 14. UV index 3 or moderate.
230° at 12 knots
-2.6 °
(unstable)
1100 m
Woodside Report - we were out at the Ranch by 11 am, waiting for 2 tandems and a new student to arrive and by 1 pm gave up and went to lunch. I guess they forgot?
Shayne went up for a Hike & Fly, but it turned out to be a Hike & Hike, because it was too strong for his liking. Better safe that sorry!
April 2011 Site of the Day archives - many long XCs in the Fraser valley by many pilots, and we roadtripped to the Ashcroft area many times to get flights between rain storms and snow storms.
March 2011 Site of the Day archives - got home from 2 glorious months in Mexico & New Zealand to try to fly in the Valley, but due to rain & snow we roadtripped to the Ashcroft area many times to get flights.
February 2011 Site of the Day archives - last days of the Mexico Tour went very well and then I headed to New Zealand to meet Colleen in Auckland and we had a great time flying there for 2 weeks.
August 2010 Site of the Day archives - unstable conditions made for some great days at Benny and Woodside. Al & I had a Delta Day with me stealing Colleen's Small Delta and he on a Large one and we went over the back to Seabird on a strong day.
April 2010 Site of the Day archives - worst April in years weatherwise but we managed to do some awesome tandem groups and some nice flights with Justin, Nicole and Norm flying to Mission late in the month.
March 2010 Site of the Day archives - Crappy weather in the US on my return trip from Mexico. But when I arrived back at the Ranch there were some great days soaring Woodside.
February 2010 Site of the Day archives - super flying in Mexico for the FlyBC Mexican Tours. Good XCs. The locals were already flying at Mother Woodside back in BC due to the warm weather!
October 2009 Site of the Day archives - Women's Fly-In in Chelan WA with the Barbie Theme, took first place honours again! More good soaring flights of 2 hours plus on special days.
July 2009 Site of the Day archives - the FlyBC SIV in Revelstoke was a blast, 280 SIV flights and only one wet pilot intentionally that is. Jeremy wished he had landed in the water.
June 2009 Site of the Day archives - dry all month locally so lots of flying, Al has been test flying the new ShotGun launch near Stave Lake having great flights out to Woodside.
May 2009 Site of the Day archives - local flying is getting great with nice XC's! Bridal was working well. The new bathroom was installed in the Barn at Eagle Ranch enriching the FlyBC experience.
December 2008 Site of the Day archives - the annual FlyBC Christmas Party was a cold success with Head over Heels entertaining us all night. And we left early for Manzanillo, Mexico on Dec 28th.
October 2008 Site of the Day archives - we went ot the Women's Fly In on Chelan for the annual Halloween Costume Fly-In, great conditions there to offset the wet month on the West Coast. Steve Fosset's crash site was found in Nevada after a year of searching.
August 2008 Site of the Day archives - our second SIV Course of the 2008 season went well at Sale Mountain near Revelstoke (except for a few water landings and minor injuries). Wet all month at Woodside except the weekends.
May 2008 Site of the Day archives - the cost of gas is keeping pilots at home and the weather isn't helping either. One good XC in May for me, leaving Woodside with Norm and Martin H and ending up at Elk at 1600 meters before landing by Hopyard Hill. 3 hours and 85 kms later by the GPS.
March 2008 Site of the Day archives - more snow and still hiking to launch at Woodside! But some major airtime for the locals committed to coming out to fly.
November 2007 Site of the Day archives - Colleen and I went to California to fly the new Falcon A-16 Advanced Ultralight prototype and it flew very well. Some good soaring days at Woodside, some folks were still trying to fly Bridal but that is a waste of time this late in the season.
October 2007 Site of the Day archives - mid-air at Woodside caused Martin H some paraglider damage, some great soarable days. The Women's Fly In was a success with the Canuck Team taking top spot for the theme of "Celebrities in Rehab".
September 2007 Site of the Day archives - we re-discovered and flew 'Horsefly' Launch for the first time, some mayhem at Woodside due to tree-suck, lots of good soaring in afternoon glassoffs, a great Indian Summer until late in the month when the rains came early. Derek, Martina, Robin and Diane went to Europe. Kirill went to Australia for a paramotor Fly-In.
August 2007 Site of the Day archives - fun two weeks at Mara Lake, followed by steady flying at Woodside and Bridal, making up for the dismal spring and summer.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
Click on the picture for more pictures from the tandem flights today at Woodside as well as other July activities
Click on the picture for more pictures from the SCirroco 18 test flights today at Woodside as well as other July activities
Click on the picture for more pictures from Pemberton today as well as other July activities
Click on the picture for more pictures from Woodside today as well as other July activities
Click on the picture for more pictures from Woodside today as well as other July activities
Click on the picture for more pictures from Bridal today as well as other July activities
Click on the picture for more pictures from Woodside by 
Click on the picture link to see more Euro pics.
Brad & Biff's Chamonix Report - Reporting from Chamonix France the birthplace of mountaineering.