FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives" - July/2012



Mother Woodside . . . and the weather looks soarable this afternoon . . . maybe too soarable.

Quote of the Day: “What you do today is important, because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.” - unknown author

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Date
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Comments
7/31/2012
Woodside & Bridal are looking soarable today

         23°C
260° at 11 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1500 m Woodside Report - we had a super session at Mission's Heritage Park Hill flying the students into the Park, with many good flights landing mostly on their feet.

Then tandem flying Woodside today with climbs at +5.4 m/s right after launching and into the clouds on 2 separate flights (including the last flight with Mark who tips the scales at 220 lbs!) Martina took Royce for his second tandem around noon.

Martin N was flying for 1:45 today as we flew tandems and he got low a few times but always got back to 'base.

Even after the 2nd tandems the students did not feel like solo flights so we went back to Heritaage Park til 6 pm for more ground training. And one last tandem for Sam just before sunset at Woodside.

Kevin was flying Woodside while we were in Mission and had a 1:30 soaring flight above Woodside starting later.

7/30/2012
Woodside & Bridal are looking soarable today

         23°C
260° at 8 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1250 m Woodside Report - We were flying Woodside today after 10 am, and we managed 2 tandems with the new students Sam & Royce while Mike B did his first Woodside flight (although he has 30 low tows under his belt).

It was pretty windy for me as Royce weighs just 110 lbs. We made the field with enough height to do a nicce aircraft approach into the circle but that was with open trims. Colleen flew warlier with Sam and they had a bit more ballast on board and made it in nicely to the circle too.

Martin N launched just before us and we were soaring together for 10 minutes before I headed out to land, and he hung in for 1:15 before landing (and it was bumpy coming into the Ranch for him).

7/29/2012
Woodside & Bridal are looking soarable today

         24°C
260° at 11 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1250 m Woodside Report - We had students and some tandems flying Woodside today after 10 am, and it was soarable after noon.

Colleen & I took a couple of interested potential students for a tandem and we logged about 45 minutess before heading out in sweet thermals.

It got pretty windy around 3 pm, so we took a break and sent Sam & Richard home as they had to catch a ferry to the Island. Matt stayed around still gloating about his 1:30 flight, "duking it out" with the pros.

We went back up at 6 pm and saw folks flying Bridal but decided it was too windy for Matt and Jozef so we drove down for dinner.

7/28/2012
Woodside & Bridal are cloudy today but it should clear up later

         23°C
260° at 8 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1200 m Woodside Report - We had two new students start today - Richard & Sam and they started ground school, ground handling, got a tandem each and a solo by 6 pm in our Accelerated Program. They were doing great on the field and there was no reason to hold them back as the conditions at 6 m were fantastic for beginners and seasoned veterans as the "idiot-lift" came on around 6 pm.

Wen and Matt (intermediate students) also showed up and got several flights today including a tandem soaring lesson for Wen as it got too strong for her mid-day.

Lots of pilots flocked to Woodside today as the conditions were ideal. We finished 7 tandems today and all the passengers got soaring flights!

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.

7/27/2012
Woodside & Bridal are sunny today, but it may get too windy later

         21°C
260° at 16 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1200 m Woodside Report - We were flying Woodside today after 11 am, but the low clouds hung around launch til after 2 pm so we went for lunch before taking Alex & Matt tandem. Unfortunately, it got too windy for the last tandems so we had to send them home. We had already sent the students home after lunch as we knew they could not fly safely despite their experience of 2 and 30 flights.

Thomm and Marv spent the day on launch too before packing it in and driving down due to the clouds.

7/26/2012
Woodside & Bridal are sunny today

         27°C
260° at 9 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1200 m Bridal Report - I was out Instructor Flying at King George Airpark today with a new student over White Rock and it was pretty breezy with west winds, but smooth. After the lessons, I arrived at the Ranch after 2 pm to find no cars or pilots and couldn't get anyone except Monica on the radio and she was just getting ready to launch at Bridal.

I had an appointment at Hansens' to get my shock mounts rebuilt on the Suburban before the weekend so I was not flying. But I later talked to Alan on the radio as he was driving George's truck down concerned over the high speed the low gears achieved as he and Martin N had top-landed to drive Ihor & George's trucks down.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/25/2012
Woodside & Bridal are sunny today

         28°C
260° at 11 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1000 m Woodside Report - I arrived at Woodside to see a few foks setting up on launch. I saw a tandem launch and do a sled-ride into the Dykes.

I had to leave after noon so I didn't get to talk to any pilots, but later Derek mentioned Alan and others flew Bridal but didn't get too high.

I had a nice flight in the Foxbat at KMFG Airpark late last night. Nice SW winds to takeoff & land into for a change.

7/24/2012
Woodside & Bridal are clearing out today

         23°C
260° at 9 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1050 m Woodside Motorhead Report - I was out test flying the 2 Quad Paramotors on our Used Page today - the Paratoys Low Boy Quad with 52" prop and also Dale's QuadCat with the MZ34 and 48" carbon fibre prop. Both had been sitting for a few months and needed tuning up but both flew great off the new runway.

I logged 2 more hours before shutting down mid-day.

No wind aloft and NW winds in the LZ. I was getting 40 kph in any direction even in the climbs.

Andrew & Bob K were out flying HGs after noon and Bob had an extended sleddy despite a huge CU over Woodside Mountain. As I left around 3 pm, I think I saw Frederic doing a tandem into the HG field too, but I had to leave so I didn't go over to confirm.

7/23/2012
Woodside & Bridal are getting rained out today

         15°C
200° at 30 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 800 m Valley Monsoon Report - we received a good share of our annual rainfall today at Woodside!

Good day for chores and errands after a busy few weeks.

A tree fell over on the Post Office on School Road yesterday morning as the ground was so saturated, but did little damage as it slid off the metal roof.

7/22/2012
Woodside or Bridal

         19°C
240° at 12 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 800 m Woodside Report - I had an hour to kill around 845 am today, so I took C-IJWX (our Paratoys Low Boy Quad) out for some airtime. I setup on the new runway on the North Side of the Ranch and we had switchy winds from "East to South to West" at about 10 kph. The motor was warmed up as I taxied out from the Barn, and I clipped in and started the takeoff run. The wing was dancing overhead and I was getting little collapses and it took til the goalpost trees (about 300 feet) to get everything stabilized and to takeoff? I climbed over Duncan's slowly even with full power as it was quite sinky. Once through 200 meters, the air was quite rough over the highway with slack risers at times? I continued the climb through 500 meters but under power I was going backwards as the winds were stronger up high. After 45 minutes I powered to idle and slowly descended into the Ranch for a less than soft touchdown as the winds were still switching around, but the tires and axles did their job!

We started flying the first of 8 tandems at 11 am, just as cloudbase lifted and Colleen & I had a nice "sleddie" into the Ranch with our first two passengers. Zerlina was very little and we had some issues with penetration but it was lifty all the way out, so we had a good margin of error. Open trims on a Magnum II works very well in these cases, but trim it slow for landings.

Denis arrived as did out other 12 o'clock passengers and we headed back up the hill to find spicier launch conditions requiring some ballasting. Of course after Denis & Colleen left with their passengers I was stuck without a ballaster? I got to watch the approaches into the Ranch and decided I would go to Riverside as the Suburban was parked at the bottom of the road. Looked pretty windy down there!

I launched with Siow into a nice cycle, good thing as he kept sitting down on launch but I kept the wing flying until he figured out how to run!

We were soaring at launch height for about 10 minutes when I hatched a brilliant plan . . . top-land and drive down to retrieve all the cars!

I was soaring the South Knoll and getting ready to line up a landing when the ceiling dropped and we were getting "whited-out", so "big-ears" and "full open trims" out toward Riverside. We were still going up and not moving forward very fast, but I could see Riverside. After 10 more minutes of "near-IFR conditions", I opted for Harvest Market, not sure of my altitude or speed with no GPS we headed over the back. Once I could see Cemetary Hill I knew we were good as we arrived there 100 meters over the Hill. Nice landing winds and Siow landed on his feet. Tom Chromy came and got us as he we was waitng at the Ranch to go flying.

We had one more set of tandems to do except that the one person never arrived so Denis did the last tandem with Jennifer in strongish launch conditions, and Tom took Sean for a practice tandem on Tom's new Ozone Magnum 38. We suggested Harvest Market as a good option as it looked windy in Harrison Mills. Both tandems arrived at Harvest Market to find light east winds? Some interesting downwind landings I heard.

We watched an un-named tandem pilot land at the "Dykes" and also get surprised by the east winds there.

A not too busy day but we completed 8 tandems with 3 pilots and dodgy conditions and it didn't rain on us too much. And the pre-frontal winds didn't arrive until near dark, so we were pretty lucky.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.




Brad's Montana Report -The original plan was to fly Mt Jumbo at sunrise, a hike n fly launch 650' above Missoula, MT , but I was called in for a morning meeting so I canceled.

As soon as the meeting ended at 3:30pm, I took off to the trailhead. The temperature was 104F, for 1.5 hours I felt like I was walking in barbecue.

Finally, on top at 5pm, with the thermals ripping up in bursting cycles through parched grasses , I managed my wing up like a lively bucking animal. It was a tippy toe launch and I was immediately above launch. Not exactly a fun flight, in these conditions I have one rule, "pay attention!".

I eased across the 1 k ridge for a typical roller coaster desert landing. I had a dinner barbecue so the flight had to be short. It was great experience and another site under my belt - Brad H.




Biff & Richarnd's Golden Ears Adventure
7/21/2012
Woodside or Bridal

         22°C
240° at 6 knots -2.8°C (unstable) 1500 m WOW Woodside Report - We were flying Woodside today after noon, and it was soarable with the decent lapse rate.

Denis, Colleen & I did a set of tandems at noon and we were all at cloudbase at 1100 meters within minutes of launching. Unfortunately Colleen's passenger was not feeling well after all that fun, and they had to head out to the LZ. Springlike conditions but smooth.

We flew out to exciting conditions at the Ranch with lots of lift and switchy winds in the LZ, but we all had good landings. Even over Duncan's place Sarah & I were climbing almost back to launch altitude.

Our last set of tandems arrived at 3 pm, and Denis & I flew as Colleen chased us over to Harvest. It turned out not too windy as we were only getting 50 kph on the GPS on the downwind. Brothers Levi & Jesse both got 40 minute flights and some great views of the area.

Congratulations to Andrew Berkley on achieving his PG Tandem Rating, after flying his last 2 flights with Tom Chromy today. Tom also completed 3 more practice tandems. They both logged several hours in the sweetest air today!

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.





Our Euro Son Wouter had some fun is Austria


Brad's Montana Report - am in Missoula Montana working this weekend and there two local PG sites in town. Today I flew Mt Sentinel, in Missoula Montana apparently one oldest hang gliding launches in world. The 820' launch is a brisk one hour walk from the LZ and I was the only pilot for the day. Hot too, tomorrow is forecasted for 39C. I plan to hike n fly mt jumbo in the early morning - Brad H.

7/20/2012
Woodside or Bridal

         21°C
240° at 12 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1000 m Woodside Report - We definitely were not flying Woodside today, and we heard Thunderstorms up Hemlock Valley.

A good day to work on the new Hangar Facility and get the MiniMax indoors and out of the rain. who thought it would rain in mid-July?

Even King George Airpark was un-flyable today with gusty crosswinds and low ceilings, but Ground School went on anyway for hours and hours . . . . now just the TC test and a few more solo hours.

Click here for more pictures from today's non-flying fun at The Ranch & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/19/2012
Woodside or Bridal

         27°C
240° at 6 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1000 m Woodside Report - I was running errands in Vancouver til 1 pm, and arrived at the Ranch at 3 pm to nice mosquito-free conditions in the sun.

I was working on turning the small barn into a hangar for the MiniMax Ultralight and it went well using the Husqvarna saw to cut away the beams and plywood. I may need a new chain after sawing up some nails!

Brock arrived around 5 pm after work but no one was flying here so I suggested Bridal may be a place to get a ride up.



Bridal Report - I heard Klaus, Monica, Lee, George, Martina and Martin N were flying Bridal and getting a few hundred meters above launch (or was it feet?). Martin managed to top-land to retrieve a truck.



Golden Ears Report - Biff Romulus and Richard the Lion heart braved searing temperatures, ubiquitous black flies and did I mention the 1400 meter climb to fly from Golden Ears summit on Thursday.

It took 6 hours of slogging up what has to be the longest creek bed hike in BC as well as lots of snow and some mud. We landed on the Pitt Lake dike at approximately 5 pm with smiles on our faces and black flies in our teeth - Biff


Biff & Richarnd's Golden Ears Adventure


Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Golden Ears & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/18/2012
Woodside or Bridal

         24°C
240° at 8 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 800 m Woodside No Fly Report - We were planning on flying Woodside after 9 am, but the temp & dew point collided to cause low clouds ue to an incoming marine air mass.

So Darryl wrote his Novice Exm instead and was out of here by 11 am. Congratulations on an 86% pass mark.

I headed to KGA after noon and had a long ground school session and watched some students try to crash the Coyote!

Mark C was the only one to fly Bridal as it was IWT conditions.

7/17/2012
Woodside or Bridal

         30°C
240° at 13 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1400 m Woodside Report - We were flying Woodside after 10 am, and got Darryl 3 more solos and some thermalling instruction.

It did get windier here after 3 pm so we did more ground school, watched Performance Flying and built a MiniMax airplane.

Some folks went to Bridal to fly as it got windier here, but I didn't see any gliders much above launch.

We went back up at 7 pm, and waited for another 45 minutes as Tom flew his HG over our heads but he said he wasn't sure he was going to make the LZ as he flew out. It stayed windy past dark.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/16/2012
Woodside or Bridal

         29°C
240° at 9 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1400 m Woodside Report - We were planning on flying Woodside after 10 am, but we had a cloud layer that obscured launch for an hour so we didn't launch Darryl til 11 am for his first Woodside solo flight.

It didn't matter as I got him one more solo before I headed to King George for a ground school session, leaving Martina & Derek to tend to Darryl and they got him a total of 6 more flights for an awesome day.

Derek took a group up Bridal in the mid-afternoon and they had to endure a mosquito flock as never seen before there.

7/15/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         19°C
260° at 10 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1100 m Woodside Report - we were planning to do some flying and it looked good at 8 am, but when I headed to Lake Erroch for gas I drove hrough a huge thunderstorm that never quit all day long.

We did ground school for new student Darryl, here for the week to get his Novice Certification, until it was obvious it was not going to clear up. We sent him to Vancouver to meet friends until tomorrow.

All the tandems were cancelled too, as it was raining everywhere until after 3 pm. At least the new runway is getting watered without having to irrigate!

7/14/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         28°C
260° at 11 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1400 m Woodside Report - Colleen, Denis & I flew 7 out of 8 tandems today, with no problems until the last flight when the winds got to strong to launch my last passenger. We got Colleen & her passengre in the air and they were having a great flight for 45 minutes and they headed out to the Ranch at the perfect time as it blew out strong in the Valley after that.

I was being too patient with solo pilots duffing launches and should have stepped in to assert our tandem priority, but I thought it would actually calm down as the afternoon rolled on. We waited for 35 minutes but the winds were not abating so we drove down. Later at home over dinner the trees were still bending over, so it never calmed down.

It was definitely soarable this afternoon with thermals mixed in with some ridge lift. Bridal was totally socked in so everyone came to Woodside to play. We had some fun soaring with Normando & Thomm on the South Knoll and the air was strong!

Apparently the mosquitoes were really bad in Riverside, so bring bug dope and a head net if you landing there. The Ranch is okay out in the LZ as it was recently hayed, just some bugs around the barn.

I finished laying out and mowing the new airstrip at the Ranch yesterday. Runway 27/09 is just in front of the Goal Post Trees and offers 725 feet of smooth turf to land on with one bump in the middle that will be filled in soon with fine gravel/dirt to reseed. The MiniMax Ultralight is now registered and a ballistic parachute is being manufactured so it should be in the air as soon as I install it.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/13/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         27°C
260° at 11 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1400 m Woodside Report - the forecast for the Valley said: Risk of thunderstorms and hail this afternoon. Wind light except gusting to 80 km/h near thunderstorms late this afternoon.

Well, we flew until 5:30 pm, doing 4 tandems with the help from Denis and Derek. We also got 3 solo flights for Marc's last day here this session including "the most exciting launch of the day" whe ne rushed an inflation and he allowed an overshoot to occur but the Element said "let's go!" and flew him off straight.

We flew all the flights to the Ranch in moderate strength winds and it was all good. No Harvest Runs yet this season.

As we dropped Marc off in Chilliwack at the Greyhound we saw a lightning strike near Elk Mountain, and then a massive downburst occured as we headed into downtown. No gustfronts though.



Pemby Report - good conditions in Pemberton as seen on FB: FlyBC Alumni Sam Danniels (our wheelchair pilot from 2010) top-landed on Copperdome with Mike M & Brad M & Al C to spend the night vol-biviuac-ing.

Apparently the landing was not so smooth as they were rebuilding his wheels with PG line?

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Pemberton & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/12/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         26°C
260° at 12 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 800 m Woodside Report - I started flying Marc for the first of 5 solo flights around 10:30 am, as soon as the winds picked up on Launch after several hours of kiting in the Ranch LZ.

We had some really good speedbar practice for all these flights as we fitted hm into the new SupAir Altix2 Harness with all the extras!

We had to suspend flying around 4 pm as it got too strong for student flights but we got one more flight just after 7 pm and he made it out to the Ranch easily bu tnot with tons of height.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.




Bridal Report Update from July 11 - Valiantly trying to stay aloft 200 meters below launch. I took me 1 hour to get to launch height and another 2.5 hours to get to upper launch. Once above 3000 it was cool and smooth. Time to do the same thing this afternoon. And the good part is there are no mosquitoes - Martin N



Pemberton Report - several FaceBook Gloat Reports from Pembie indicate good soaring conditions launching from Upper Mackenzie to get above the Inversion and on to XC. If you drop below the inversion you are on the ground fast.

7/11/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         28°C
270° at 11 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 800 m Woodside Report - We were flying Woodside after 9 am, and Marc logged 4 solo flights before it got too windy to fly mid-day here.

When I drove past Bridal I watched Martin N valiently trying to stay aloft about 200 meters below Bridal Launch.

7/10/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         27°C
270° at 10 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1100 m Woodside Report - We were flying Woodside after 9 am, and the forecast for the Strait of Juan de Fuca saying high wind warning was true but okay for tandems.

Good day of new student Marc as he got a tandem flight, and 3 solo flights today.

We had to suspend Marc's flights mid-day not for thermals as it is very stable, but for winds and safe penetration, until 6 pm.

Denis helped with 2 tandems and I did 3 tandems myself, good launch conditions and fun dodging hay bales on final in our field. (they are now picked up)

Martin D's wing is now removed from the trees at Woodside, thanks to Derek & Alan and no trees needed cutting as Alan scaled the tree which oddly had branches down to the ground.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/9/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         28°C
270° at 6 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1100 m Woodside Report - We were flying Woodside after noon, with a nice couple for Masha's Birthday. and the Strait of Juan de Fuca hit us during the last flight mid-day here making the landing a bit bumpy on final.

Derek worked with new student Marc and by end of day he was kiting like a seasoned pro! But it was too windy to fly tandem or solo untl dark, so tomorrow we will get him in the air.

7/8/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         31°C
270° at 8 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 900 m Woodside Report - we were very busy with no tandem helpers today, completing 10 tandems between Colleen & I. Fortunately conditions were good, and we only had a few small holdups due to un-named student pilots on launch.

Matt had a good day perfecting his reverse launches and getting some nice soaring in on flight #3.

We had some interesting landings as the field was geting hayed today and "thermals were a-poppin" in the dry grass. Perfect approaches with huge sink at times, but all were safe landings.

A big thanks to Derek & Thomm for driving and organizing things.

The yellow Gradient is still in the trees at Woodside as the GPS coordinates we received were wrong and you can't see the wing from below.

Jack logged 2 hours "knob-bobbing" at Bridal, no one could get up and away as it was so stable, but they soared.

7/7/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         29°C
270° at 6 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1000 m Woodside Report - this morning was a motoring lesson and we I got a nice flight on C-IJWX a new Paratoys Paramotor with MZ34 power. I was launching from the big circle and was off within the circle and climbed to 1500 feet in a nice thermal over Scary Corner to show the guys how it is done. They tried to no avail so we pulled out C-IJWZ (a Paratoys Low Boy Quad) and they did their first motor solos on that which is an auto-launcher. Then back to some free-flying later.

We had a lot of students and tandems today but it all came together nicely thanks to the Awesome Tandem Team: Colleen, Denis & Tonya.

Colleen did 4 tandems, and the others did 3 tandems each while I managed the students.

We had a few personal firsts today: Wen did her first solo after 2 tandems, the paramotorists got 2 solo quad flights to round out their training, Chris got 5 solo flights on dya 2 of his training and looked like a natural.

At the end of the day Tom was working with his dad Joe and student Matt, and they witnessed Martin D bounce off a rock on his launch into multiple twisted risers and then stall back into a tree. We were doing ground school and the final exams in the Barn and missed it all.

The cops showed up on launch as some in Chilliwack called 911, and Tom didn't think to call any rescue efforts off.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.






Bridal Report - it was a stable day at Bridal with Alan just getting above launch. Later there was a report of a glider in the trees there too.

7/6/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         28°C
270° at 6 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1250 m Woodside Report - we started early to maximize the number of solo flights for our Alberta crew, and they got 5 more solo flights and they tried some motor inflations in the late day heat.

New solo student Chris started this morning and worked with Derek on ground handling and I took him for two tandems around noon and by 4 pm he as flying solo and logged two flights by 8 pm. He was flying our new Mojo 4 student wing and liked it's performance especially when it was windier on flight #2.

Colleen took my new Magnum II for a flight with Malcolm and they were soaring nicely despite his 230 lb bulk! Then she took Birthday Girl Alex (a girlfriend of a pilot from Smithers) tandem and they also had a really nice glassoff flight around 7 pm.

Long day starting at 9 am and ending at 9 pm, with just a short lunch break but everyone did really well.

It is starting to "bake out" in the Valley already as Kevin did a tandem at Bridal and was only able to get to the Saddle, but he was in the air for an hour.

Pemberton's sounding are looking much better with lift to 2850 meters, where tp of lift in the Valley is only 1200 meters.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/5/2012
Woodside and Bridal

         23°C
270° at 5 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 1250 m Woodside Report - we started a bit later than planned due to light winds on launch but by the end of the day Duncan & Gordon had logged 5 flights, some paramotor ground handling and some ground school.

Conditions on launch at Woodside were superb, with 15 kph winds straighht-in all day. The later flights got the students easily above launch with nice landings too.

The Ranch was mowed yesterday for haying so expect to see some raking and baling in the next few days.

I built a new bridge from the landing circle and we expect the dry weather should dry up the excess water, so gumboots are not needed for walking back in to the parking lot.

Sounded like nice flights at Bridal yesterday in the afternoon.



Nicole just texted me that Alex flew from Chelan Butte to Reardan, WA for a personal best of 180 kms!


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7/4/2012
It may be flyable around Savona for the week, so we are going flying early

         23°C
270° at 6 knots -2.9°C (unstable) 2000 m Savona Report - we had an awesome day in Savona flying 6 flights off the Dump Ridge and it was mildly soarable for Duncan & Gordon.

They are doing really well for the 3rd flying day and mastered reverse launches with ease on the Ridge in +15 kph winds.

At about 2 pm, we bailed for Woodside as they are yearning for longer flights and higher launches.



Woodside Report - we were up on Woodside Launch by 6 pm, and the guys got 2 really good flights to round out the day landing nicely in or near the circle.

New footwear requirement for flying at the Ranch: Gumboots or Hipwaders, as the water level has risen to fill some low spots near the circle. We built a temporary bridge last night but be careful crossing it as it is not built to code.

We overheard some pilots at Bridal having fun getting 2-3 hours of airtime.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Savona/Woodside & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/3/2012
It may be flyable around Savona for the week, but today looks like a short one with T-Storms forecasted

         17°C
280° at 21 knots -2.7°C (unstable) 2000 m Savona Ground School Report - since we are going to be in Savona for a few days anyway and we have to do 20 hours of ground school, we may as well do 12 hours of it straight today. Glad to have the trailer up here to avoid the rains.

We were doing the Meteo part of the course when we analyzed Calgary's forecast and saw significant precip in the radar and a huge -3.3C lapse rate and I mentioned thunderstorms and possible tornadoes could happen. Environment Canada agreed with the T-storms but not a word about tornadoes. Later reports of 5 possible tornadoes and falling glass in downtown Calgary skyscrapers was on cbc.ca!

We did ground school til 6 pm, when the rain quit for a bit and we headed up to the Dump Ridge and Gordon & Duncan got two sweet ridge soaring flights between showers. Then back to the trailer to finish ground school.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Savona & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/2/2012
It may be flyable around Woodside today until 2 pm, but \i am heading to Savona for the week

         16°C
220° at 10 knots -2.7°C (unstable) 1200 m Savona Report - headed up to Savona for a few days with Gordon, Marco & Duncan from Calgary.

Typical roadtrip, leave at 6 am, stop in Boston Bar for breakfast and arrived exactly at 9 am as planned. One small hitch as the battery in the Suburban had sounded flat a few times lately and sure enough it dies in Savona. Thankfully I bumped into Stewart T who was here for the Longest Day HG Meet and he boosted me to get to the local garage where they changed out the battery.

Duncan arrived first and was flying by 11 am off the Dump Ridge after an intense kiting session. The others arrived at noon and were also soon kiting in the School Field and by 4 pm Gordon was also flying with Duncan. Marco was not so sure about flying but was great at kiting, so maybe a tandem for him tomorrow morning. By the end of the day we had launched off 4 different directions of the compass, but we flew 5-6 flights.

The water in Kamloops lake is very high but the Steelhead Campground is high & dry. Water is flowing past very quickly so boats beware.

Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun at Savona & from the FlyBC July Album.


7/1/2012
We are hopefully flying around Woodside today after 1 pm

         18°C
230° at 12 knots -2.7°C (unstable) 900 m Woodside Report - we cancelled all the tandems today as it looked like a chance we were going to get blown out according to NOAA.

But it turned out we could have done all the tandems, as Martin N led the Canada Day Desperado Team today along with Gary P, Steven H, Tom M, and Gerry L.

Gerry got the longest flight at 16 minutes when he found lift over the HG LZ. Other flight paths yielded 8 minutes due to heavy sink.

My last tandem was here late at 4 pm, and we got 12 minutes and had to take Gerry's path to even make the Ranch!

Thanks to Norm & Bev for driving for us, and Thomm who drove for the others.





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