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FlyBC "Site of the Day Archive" - March/2011
Woodside looks flyable today, but watch for afternoon showers
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear." - Mark Twain
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Woodside Report - I drove up to Kelowna to pick up the grandkids and drove thru snow, hail and rain all along the Coquihalla. Merrit was windy but drier. It looks like we can drive to the top soon. | I got home to find my New Zealand Hanggliding license had arrived. I was keeping my plans secret but after 2 weeks of extensive training I got my New Zealand HG Tandem Permit, so I can now do Hanggliding Tandems too at FlyBC.  Jim training at the Paeroas this February 2011 - pic by CMV I am sure I will convert many of our paraglider pilots to Hanggliding for those windier days. I haven't completed our training page to include this new addition to FlyBC, but I am looking forward to some spring weather to start these HG tandems. Who wants to go first?
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Woodside Report - nice weather??? Looking forward to some sun soon. |
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Woodside Report - rain most of the day. |  Click on the picture for more details on a powerline accident at Tapalpa's La Ceja Launch, and why we didn't fly from there on our tours. Herminio came to the rescue with an aerial deployment of ropes.
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Click on the picture for more pictures from today as well as other March activitiesWoodside Report - I was heading to Blanchard, after picking up our new Ozone Buzz Z3 demo glider, hoping for a flight but it was too strong from the SE. Tom C called that he was heading out to Woodside and Tonya was already there, so I trekked back to the Ranch. As I arrived it was sprinkling rain lightly and I could see Tonya in the air . . . momentarily as she soon hit sink and was headed down fast. When Tom arrived we headed up and gave Tonya a ride to her car. We waited on launch thru hail, rain and high winds as the cell passed by. We decided it was good to go and I launched first in a good cycle whch lifted me off launch and soon I hit big sink and I was sure I was going to be in the trees below launch but pulled out in time to get over them. Next big sink was near Lower Launch where I was planning to land if I didn't get any lift! WTF? I headed south to a clearcut and caught some bubbles and tried to climb out but I was just maintaining and hitting more sink again as I ventured out towards the Construction Site. I had me eye on the swamp, the construction site as I got there and finally got some lift on the ridge past the construction site that got me over Duncan's and into the Ranch. There was a bald eagle sitting on the goal post tree that I flew right past and it was too busy hunting to care, and he wasn't flying because he knew it was bad out there. I looked up at launch and saw Tom's M3 near the ramp? Apparently he got dumped from a perfect launch stance right onto the slope in sink. He got reorganized and launched this time and his flight had less sink but very little lift, and he was soon joining me in the Ranch. We headed up in his truck to retrieve my Suburban and on the steep hill before Lower Launch his truck "konked out" with a fuel problem so I started hiking. Another hike for Jim! Hiking up Woodside without a pack is pretty easy as I stayed on the road in case someone came along. I was soon back at the Ranch and Tom's truck restarted on the flats and he got it filled up in Lake Erroch. A disappointing flying day but we flew again despite the forecasts.
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Click on the picture for more pictures from today as well as other March activitiesWoodside Report - Tom W was the only student today out at the Ranch, but lots of hopeful XC pilots arrived around noon. Tom had his first launch around noon, as cloudbase rose. He had to do some turns to avoid clouds as the air was rising all over the valley and the clearcuts, but he did well. By the end of the day he had three great high flights with the last flight soaring Woodside high above launch. Alex R, Nicole, Robin and Greg formed a plan to fly a triangle to Bridal and back, but were foiled by low clouds and rain at Bridal. Alex did a Woodside-Bear-Woodside run once and the second time he only made it back to Harvest Market. Rob S followed the group east as he launched later and resorted to soaring Green Hill for an hour before landing near there. Greg landed in Norm's Hwy 1 LZ below Ludwig. Robin and Nicole made it to the Popkum Cloverleaf LZ. Cloudbase estimate of 1500 meters was right in places. Sometimes it was lower. Mid-day I was going to take the R09 out for a few circles . . . until I saw Rob's blowout near launch on the R10.3! I decided to drive down to kite with Tom instead. We flew one last flight with many pilots staying high and soaring til they were tired. Woodside delivers again on a leeside day.
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Woodside Report - we started kiting at 9:30 am at the Ranch, as it was blowing over the back at Launch. | Tom W and Steve M came out today, with Eddy staying in town so it was a small intimate group today. We did two hours of forwards, reverses and lots of running around the field before we headed up to launch. We arrived to find Peter, Claudia and Paddy nailing down carpets and burying the edges and the cycles were just starting to come in. Thanks for the hard work! Steve got in the queue and we were able to get him in a nice thermal out front for many turns before heading to the Ranch. Tom followed Steve out for his first Woodside solo flight, after a few flights at Ashcroft last weekend. Colleen was guiding them into the Ranch where we had normal SE winds. We went up a second time, with a group of fliers that we picked up at Sandpiper Golf Course airstrip. Ian J, Brett and Leon had flown in in their planes and came up to Woodside to fly. It got good and Ian was able to climb out and land back at Sandpiper. Steve & Tom flew the second flight doing well and getting some climbs too. The last flight at 4 pm was fantastic, with many pilots soaring and getting high to the north cliffs in ridge lift. Colleen came up to fly and she suggested getting Steve up high and taking him over to Harvest Market. It was strong there as she came in backwards from 200 meters. We decided it was getting too windy for Steve for his 5th high flight and he went kiting to close off the day. Most drivers top-landed to retrieve and al the pilots were down by 6 pm. Great Day!  Woodside today on the last flight - pic by JPR
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Woodside Report - it rained a bit on the way out to the Ranch, then sunny breaks later as I was doing chores. Derek "bagged" a 15 minute flight into Riverside around 5 pm. No one else around all day. |
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Valley Report - it was howling outside all day from the NW no pilots were seen around. |
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Click on the picture for more pictures from today at Mt. St. BennyBenny Report - another crazy adventure following Al up Benny today. When I left the Ranch at 10:30 it was howling out of the north. NOAA said NE at 15 knots. Crazy! The plan called for Rob, Nicole, Matt J and me to meet Al at the Hatzic Husky at 11:30 am. We were all on time and headed up Sylvester Rd. leaving vehicles along the route. We all brought snowshoes, except Nicole and I offered up Colleen's snowshoes earlier but Nicole said she was going to drive for us. After we got to the spot where the FJ could no longer make traction, Nicole changed her mind and hiked up with us. I tried walking without my snowshoes for a bit, long enough for my feet to get wet and then suited up. I have the old school native made snowshoes with the widetrack, not the racy aluminum ones like the rest of the guys. We only had to hike about 2.5 kms in to launch and it took Matt and Al about 1:10, Rob 1:15 and me 1:20. Nicole was slowed down as she was postholing in badly, but Rob raced down with a set of snowshoes for her (a true gent). Launch was beautiful with 2 meters of snow covering it. That was an issue with Al's first reverse launch as he broke through and "turtled". The guys tromped the snow down in front as a small runway and Al did a flawless forward launch into the leeside air. He headed south into the lee of the ridge and got lower and lower until he disappeared behind the ridge. He said later that he didn't think he could make the Dyke LZ. Later we saw Al getting up a bit south of Allan Lake and after that even higher toward Dewdney. I setup after Al and "turtled" too in the soft snow, but reset the wing and had a great cycle and was off and climbing to the north ridge. I hooked a steady +4.0 m/s climb right to 1860 meters (800 meters over launch), for the highest altitude of the group today. What a view to the north! But landing options and retrieve options with all the snow would be slim. I got excited watching Al climb to the south and made a straight line for the south ridges and hit the worst sink line. I felt like I was hitting a 20 kph headwind no matter what line I took. I got to the powerlines at launch height but never got a decent climb, and despite trying to fly to the ridge, the lee winds from the powerline valley kept pushing me away at that altitude? The winds on the ground were NW which should be giving us some ridge lift but I never got close enough to feel it. I setup to land in a field just north of Allan Lake full of round bales and had a nice landing despite landing in the lee of some pine trees and packed up. Flight was a short but fun 25 minutes,+ 4 up, -4.5 down, 1860 meter altitude max. Matt was coming into view and he barely cleared the powerline ridge and was scratching on the ridge I couldn't get to and was working it hard. He climbed out and headed south to Dewdney and back to the Dyke LZ for a nice out & return. He passed Nicole on the return but didn't join her in her climb as he was feeling airsick from the rough air. Al was reporting that he was heading from Dewdney towards Mission and after I packed up I got a text that he had landed north of Stave Lake Road. I called Thomm M and he was just getting home and he picked up Al and took him to my truck. I got a ride from a local and arrived at my truck at the same time to start the retrieve process. I dropped off my truck at the Dyke LZ for Matt. We got into Rob's truck to retrieve the FJ as Rob was still flying. I had to back Rob's truck down about 2 kms to a turnaround as it was too slippery to try turning around on the road. Rob reported a "departure from normal flight mode" when his wing did and unplanned 270 degree turn without warning (and no collapse). Rob and Nicole landed in Durieu School just as we got back from the retrieve so good timing all around. We went to the Dewdney Pub for dinner and to check out the LZ behind the Pub for future flights. My calves are burning from the snowshoe hike but what a gorgeous day! Elk Gift Report - After experiencing some spectacular flying on Oahu, I was anxious to get get back to the stellar snow of Elk Mountain. I did a late hike today, not arriving on top til 5:00 pm. Wind was weird, coming SE but gusting to 25 k and dropping down to almost nothing. Big Spring Thermals! I made a few calls and heard nothing scary from the valley. Launched in a lull and was drawn within seconds into that big spring lift. When you were in it, it was sweet but when you dropped out, it was rodeo. I almost had a collapse on my Swift which is really unusual. No vario today but I was soon at least 300 meters over and began drifting west. My hope was to land at my school in Vedder about 9 km away. Once I left the mountain, my average speed was 42 km/hr. I could see the outflow wind beginning to diminish in Chilliwack and soon I began to wonder about flying all the way home to Cultus Lake. The glide was no problem. I just knew the landing could be turbulent - a small school field surrounded by 125 ft. trees. However, I could see that the wind was also mellowing on the lake so I went for it with options to land in huge fields on the reserve if I got that NO feeling. I didn't get it and I arrived over my house with at least 1000 feet. The only problem I had was that set up a little far back from the dog-walking field (my first choice) and on final hit big sink and seemed likely to end up in the power lines that separate the two fields. My sudden u-turn made for a very fast track towards the trees and a big swoop into the other field that could have hurt if I'd hit more sink but I came in softly and feeling very satisfied. People - if you're looking for the perfect do anything, go anywhere glider, BUY AN OZONE SWIFT! - Kevin (Biff) A. 
Kevin's Tracklog today - pic by Biff
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Click on the picture for more pictures from today as well as other March activitiesWoodside Report - we headed up to launch around 11 am, to find nice cycles and birds soaring under the dark clouds. I was working on the black carpets, reinstalling them after a tough winter. Norm came up and helped me as did Richard from the UK. Richard got ready to fly as Denis arrived on launch and Richard had an extended sledder into the Ranch. Denis waited a while and eventually got his gear ready and had a nice flight getting to cloudbase before top-landing as Cecelia got her Hangglider ready. Roger & Cecilia were the only HGers out today. Norm & I worked til 2:15 on the carpets, sewing the edges after spiking them down and burying the leading edges. The sewing supplies and extra spikes are behind the outhouse if you are bored waiting for cycles. Alex and Nicole showed up as I left for Chilliwack for errands and Alex ultimately hiked up and had an awesome 1:30 flight getting high at Woodside (1400 meters), heading to Sasquatch where he climbed out, then on to Harrison Knob on the sunny side where he climbed out before getting back to the Ranch. While he was flying he heard reports of an un-named pilot who had some lines break while flying over Woodside's north cliffs, requiring a reserve toss and tree landing (with self-extraction). If you are concerned about your wing's condition, you can bring it to us at FlyBC for a spring inspection including porosity check and line testing for $100 and receive a DHV Signoff for your wing. Our Holland Flying Friends at a new site
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Woodside Report - pretty unsettled with rain and occasional sunny bits. | Derek & I worked on the Riverside gate which had been broken by a car running into it and then by pilots climbing over it. New bolts were installed to hold it together and we re-installed it. Please do not climb over the gate, open it to get thru until we can install a stile or steps.
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Click on the picture for more pictures and video of the EventAshcroft Report - Tom & Eddie showed up keen to fly again today, but the NW winds were too strong to even stand up in the LZ. We hit the road and drove straight to Ashcroft to fly Coyote Ridge behnd the Ashcroft Manor. Permission is required for this site from the Manager of the GVRD owned Ashcroft Ranch to cross to the site and we obtained it. One must have HPAC Insurance and a rating unless with an Instructor. The manager has had issues in the past and is firm on this. We arrived on the ridge at 1 pm, and it was coming in lightly from the east and Eddie flew off on his $100 Prodesign Compact. He bought it from a guy in Whitehorse with a SupAir harness included and it looked pretty new. After kiting it at the Ranch he was given the green light to try it at Coyote. He had a nice forward launch which I captured on video if you click on the picture to the left and scroll thru to the end of the March pictures. Nice landing conditions with some thermals bubbling off the LZ to keep it interesting. Tom had done one tandem yesterday at Woodside where we hit cloudbase for a time, and he also kited all afternoon at the Ranch going from "consciously incompetent" to "pretty darn good" in a few hours. He was ready to fly but he wanted to do a few practice inflations on Coyote Ridge first so I laid him out 100 meters from the slope. The wind picked up to where Tom could attempt a reverse launch on the Mojo2 and he brought it up straight and perfectly overhead and he turned and walked it forward under perfect control and stepped off the edge and was flying. Nice smooth control with a few turns before a perfect touchdown near the Manor. He too got bubbled up on final but managed it well. I could here him hooting from the launch area 300 feet above the LZ. I raced down and got the guys and we were soon on top again and it was picking up to about 15 kph and steady with no gusts, so Tom went first and after a few overshoots he did a forward launch and was soon above launch and heading out to the LZ. More thermals kicking off on final extending the glide but with 120 acres to land in it was safe and he landed perfectly again. Eddie was kiting his Compact behind us and got yarded off his feet a few times but managed to stay calm and he launched himself and was heading to the LZ, where he discovered the lack of glide ratio offered by a 1994 Compact into the wind and landed somewhat short of his target area. I went down and grabbed them for a third flight but by the time I got to the LZ it was howling thru the trees on the north side of the ridge. We went up anyway and it was clearly too strong for the students, but they wanted a demonstration of ridge lift, so I suited up and took the Mantra I out of the bag and was soon "dirt-surfing" along the ridge and it was turbulent in spots! Norm & I had a great flight here 6 years ago getting about 200 meters over but the lift wasn't that abundant as the sun was at our backs at 4 pm. I did some low passes over their heads and out front and got dropped onto the ridge a bit south of them and I bunched up and hiked back to the guys. It was too strong to attempt a packup here so I bunched the wing into the car and we headed home. Great day with 2 more solo flights each and the guys are getting confident in their skills and their gear. Woodside will be the next stop for them as soon as the sun comes back on Tuesday. Stewart WA Report - the Blanchard boys went to Stewart as it was howling NW winds there too, and Doug M showed how to "spec-out" in lee conditions. No one else got to fly as it shut down. New Paraglider World Record FAI has ratified the following Class O-3 (Para Gliders) World record : ================================================ Claim number : 16125 Sub-class :O-3 (Paragliders) Category: Feminine Type of record : Distance using up to 3 turn points Course/location : Quixada, CE (Brazil) - Castelo Do Piaui, PI (Brazil) Performance : 255.7 km Pilot : Nicole FEDELE (Italy) Date :05.11.2010 Previous record : 131.5 km (10.11.2009 - Kamira PEREIRA RODRIGUES, Brazil) ================================================ FAI congratulates the Pilot on her splendid achievement. ================================================ nice flight!
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Rob S & Colleen V soaring in front of Woodside, while Brock gets ready - pic by JPRWoodside Report - Everyone seemed to have fun today. We could drive to the spur road early and Al made it onto launch with his FJ Cruiser. New student Tom W, got his first tandem with me around noon and we were cloud-surfing with Peter. We "whited-out" once at 1250 meters, but it was clear out front. We had a great flight with Tom taking us into the Ranch to land. Lots of fliers out today enjoying the spring air. Lots of cold hands too! I estimated +3 m/s lift with up to -6 m/s sink, so one had to find lift and hang on to it. Near 'base it was easy. New student Eddy logged three solo flights with great landings and some thermalling. His last takeoff in light winds was picture perfect to end the day on a high note! Mid-day had Rob S launch and almost sink out before finding a thermal at Riverside, which took him into the gaggle. He crossed over to Sasquatch low with Al, and they headed west. We lost sight of them but 'base was pretty low there. Al called for a retrieve from Lake Erroch where Brock was quite suprised at Al's LZ in a creek? Rob made it to Dewdney Elementary School at the foot of Dewdney Mtn. Oddly, after mid-day the winds switched to NW in the Ranch LZ, but everyone was still flying and climbing. Last landings were to the NW and fairly strong winds made for soft touchdowns.
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Cost of gas today - $90 | Cost for a used tire - $45 Cost for Lunch - $10 The look on Eddie's face after his first solo flight off Coyote . . . priceless! Interior Road Trip Report - we arrived at Merrit around 11 am and headed up to Sugarloaf Mountain to find the winds were South and East and not coming up the hill. Thomm went for a walkabout looking for a slope facing the wind while Eddie and I changed the shredded tire. We headed up to Savona after getting a used tire, and arrived there to smoking east winds and lots of cactus! Lets go to Cache Creek. We arrived at Cache Creek to no wind so up Elephant Hill. We almost got the Suburban stuck, so we walked to the top and the winds were light and all over the place. Draining I think. Down to the bottom launch towards Ashcroft, tail wind. We drove south to Coyote Hill and after getting permission we were allowed to go to the top where it was cross and down. after repositioning Eddie's Mojo a few times he had a good forward launch and was in the air! He had a good landing in light winds and was all smiles, but it was getting too late to do another one so we headed back to Woodside.  Eddy on his Ozone Mojo at Coyote Hill - pic by JPR
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Eddy kiting the Mojo - pic by JPRWoodside Report - we had a great day at Woodside, starting at 10 am, we were out kiting in the NW winds right by the ProCircle. Eddy was out for his Paraglider Beginner Course and Paramotoring Lessons to follow later and we got him out on the Mojo and he did fantastic learning to reverse kite immediately and he had 6-7 perfect reverse inflations and launches down the NW facing berms. After an hour of intense kiting, we elected to go up to launch for a tandem when Gary P arrived to try out the Gin Rebel. We drove up in the XL-7 and made it all the way to the spur road easily as a loader or some other logging machine had been up the road earlier in the day and the snow was melting fast. Nice warmup hike into launch. We setup, despite the weak cycles and cloudy skies, and had a perfect launch and what started out as a sled ride . . . when magically we felt some bumps way out in front of launch and we started tracking some smaller thermals and they became one steady pipe to cloudbase! We are both pretty big guys and that Magnum was getting `hoovered` into the clouds! Gary launched the Rebel as soon as he saw us climbing and he had to look around for a long time before he climbed out. Patience was the order of the day when you got low, but it paid off and Gary was soon at 1200 meters. I had no vario but estimated we were at `base at 1400 meters. It was rowdy at times, so I couldn`t let Eddy fly so we thermalled around for 30 minutes enjoying the lift. Once at or around 1200 meters it was all easy lift. We ventured all around the mountain and it felt leeside but we had only one small collapse. We flew out to some sunny spots snear the construction site and we could feel the north winds coming over the north ridge line bouncing us around so we flew out to Mill Road so Eddy could fly. He was very smooth and not wimpy on the turns either. He made the approach over Duncan`s Maple Tree and I took over and we landed in the circle mid-field as soft as a feather. Nice! Gary stayed up longer and flew out to the Valley and back to the constrcution site where he climbed back up to 1200 meters one more time enjoying the Rebel apparently. We packed up and when Gary landed we took the Suburban up to retrieve and Gary flew again and had another 45 minute flight before we went for lunch. Al and Thomm arrived and we went back up at 2:15 pm, and Al took to the sky and was soon getting `yanked up to the clouds`, and we watched him getting tossed around near cloudbase. Gary launched for the third time and was staying out front where it was smoother, and Al soon did the same thing. They both got super-high out by the construction zone and Al tried a run to Sasquatch and got flushed. Landing we still facing NW and strong winds made for tough penetration if you got too far downwind of the Ranch, but smooth. After Gary launched, it went lee on launch so we were denied a flight. Back to the Ranch for more kiting for Eddy. Later we made one more run up to launch as we saw up-cycles in the telescope, this time with Brock as Al headed home. Again we were denied so no solo for Eddy, hopefully tomorrow is better. 
Al on his Addict II just before he hit the rodeo air - pic by JPR
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Woodside Report - I was at the Ranch and Johannes wrote his Novice Exam and passed with 82% in order to obtain his IPPI2 Card for Euro flying. | We then headed up the mountain around 3 pm, as it had cleared and the rain passed thru. We got to the 4 km mark, near Derek's "Scary Corner" where the snow started. It was too deep to continue on without chains. It looked pretty windy in the tree tops too, as we retreated. On the way down we drove thru hail and rain. WA State Report - Blanchard flier TJ reported good soaring on FaceBook, and el Diablo (Jim from Whidbey) reported 4 hour soaring window at Ft. Ebey. Tandemonium from Cade Palmer on Vimeo.
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Another pilot at Kahana Bay - pic by PMBiff Romulus reporting from somewhere in Hawaii - not sure where exactly because Diana, my sexy British GPS bitch, won't cooperate here. This morning she turned what should have been a 45 minute drive NE to Kahana Bay into a two hour geriatric tour except I couldn't find any restrooms for my achey breaking bladder. Even more discouraging were the howling east winds tearing the tops off the 2-3 meter waves roaring into the golden beaches. Sand was flying across the road like millions of blond Beatles so I had little hope of all this bladder pain materializing into the amazing soaring flight that I eventually had. Kahana requires a steep fifteen minute hike and I actually went up alone just for some exercise as the locals were dubious that the wind would abate. As it was several of us ended up at the launch and to contort the actual order of events slightly, I launched into winds that were hitting 20 mph and was hovered up to the height of the rocky peak above in seconds. Cloud suck and ridge lift combined to create conditions where I could stay near the mountain and get sucked towards the clouds or fly far out over the turquoise sea losing only a little altitude. My pattern allowed me to come back over the ten or so pilots who were just sitting on launch watching me wing over and spiral low enough that I could hear them whooping for me. I wondered why they weren't joining me - later I found out that their instruments were measuring up to 26 mph gusts! Eventually I had an embarrassing landing on the beach (wasn't as straight in as I thought) and helped a few others get their wings under control as they landed. Great group of people. There were offers of cool beverages and fragrant herbs waiting for all. Now as I write this the wind has returned with a vengeance actually shaking the magnificent B and B I'm staying in and these winds don't change in the foreseeable forecast future so this might be it - BR (aka Kevin A). Another Fraser Valley No-Fly Report - I was out at the Ranch for chores and saw no chance of flying all day, but the snow appears to be melting on the mountain. I will try to drive up today to report on road conditions.
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Woodside Report - we saw some sun around 2:30 pm, but then it got super-windy. Alan says Bridal had strong SW winds all day according to the clouds. | Abbotsford Airspace Details - after my Friday WestJet flight into Abbotsford, I have been researching the actual approach and they come awfully close to the Sumas Launches. Click here to load the approach map into your browser, or right-click it to save the file for review in your image editor Click here for NavCanada news on the RNAV Approach
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Ranch Report - no flying today as rain came down all day. | Good day for inspecting gliders and doing porosity tests. Good news for Al as his Addict II with over 400 hours came in at 128 seconds on the leading edge in his porosity test. Good to fly until his Mantra M4 arrives later this month. Martin was rigging a new sail on his ATOS VR upstairs and used up most of the top floor. Norm and Bev dropped by to retrieve Norm's wing, left here to dry last weekend. He is putting up his Delta M on the Used Page, a god buy and less than a year old.
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Click on the picture for more pictures and video of the Event WCSC Reserve Clinic - Jason W did a great job organizing the Reserve Repack Clinic and 40 pilots showed up for attend this important safety session. It is always the same folks that come out and support the other pilots. Thanks go out to Jason (host & DJ), Rob S, Robin, Nicole, Stewart, Martina, Veronica, Al, Matt J, Martin, Rudy and Jon O (and all the others that pitched in to help with repacks and organization) We had several noteable occurences: one tandem PG harness was mis-rigged thus that a reserve toss would have flipped the pilot upside down (which was fixed), and a HG pilot showed up with some used gear he bought that had a BRS rocket deployed reserve tagged January 1991 which could have been highly unstable that Martin deployed outside (video is on the picture link above). Otherwise everyone had good throws and deployments this year which is great considering previous years where we have had 8-9 total failures due to bad packs or configurations. I lost count of the repacks I did, but I think I did 9 PG reserves. Thanks to those who wandered by my table and lent a hand! If you missed this clinic, FlyBC will be organizing another Repack clinic this spring to be held at Eagle Ranch. We didn't have any of this rigging problem at the clinic this year.
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Friday Flight Report - I hopped an eary WestJet flight home and we came into Abbotsford with the new RNAV Approach and it was clear enough to see it visually. | As we broke out of the clouds I could see we were over Deroche and headed to Sumas Mountain low. Good terrrain clearance between the Sumas Peaks but if one was flying a PG or HG and heading to Tim Hortons there could be a conflict.  WestJet approach into YXX at 600 meters ASL - pic by JPR I talked to the pilot and he said that is now the standard WestJet approach into YXX. If you are flying Sumas please be aware of this new approach and maybe even call the Abbotsford Tower when flying here. Have a safe day and think of the Japanese Disaster and how lucky we are here in the Lower Mainland, for now.
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Cochrane Report - I headed out to Cochrane after installing a new water tank at Mom's place. Vincene & Keith were working hard getting ready for their reserve clinic on Saturday too. | It was +8 C on the way there and in two hours it dropped to -3 C, ultimately hitting - 13 C by 10 pm. If you don't like the weather in Alberta, just wait 5 minutes!  Snow cell heading for Cochrane AB - pic by JPR
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Another Road Trip - I flew to Calgary for a family visit and emergency water system repair at the old homestead. |  Old Farm House in Dewinton, AB - pic by JPR I got a siphon system working with a garden hose, temporarily as no one can get in to dig because of the ice. Fortunately there is a chinook for a few days to melt some of the ice.  There is a spring-fed water tank in the trees, but the outlet pipe froze under ground forming an icy cascade down the hill - pic by JPR
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Ranch Report - no flying as it rained lightly all day and some snow at night. |
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|  Huge Black CU over Woodside - pic by JPR Woodside Gloat Report - Al, Rob S, Matt J, and Nikolai went up in the first load and specked out fast and headed east. We were hearing reports of being over Bear and Green Hills, and then Rob reported he was at Bridal Lower at 600 meters! He flew with Alan there for a time and spent about 2 hours on Bridal before making it back to Harvest West (the pump station on the east side of Woodside Mountain). Rob's flight detail here Nikolai landed somewhere near Green Hill and went back to retrieve Al & Matt at the base of Bear. Something about Matt & Brocolli & mud? In the meantime, the second load consisted of Gary P, Robin and myself getting up to just past 3 kms for a short hike in to launch. Great cycles and wild looking air around launch as I readied the R09. I got the R09 overhead and was hoovered off launch and was going up everywhere, but the lift was very sharp-edged causing some huge collapses even with brake pressure. A bit freaked out being so close to the north cliffs, I ventured further out to re-adjust my harness and was still going up fast. There were weird pockets of air pushing me sideways resisting brake input for direction, Robin felt them too and thought it was north wind layers getting pushed into the thermals. Gary had launched on his Buzz and was climbing well, but also ventured further out worrying about cloud-suck. After many uncomfortable minutes near launch I headed out to a forming CU near Joe's and stayed there getting organized, but bailed out to the river after a bit. Weird how the R09 felt so good yesterday and so jittery today in a bit stronger air, I should have hung in longer as it did settle down later). Gary was shadowing me, and I was feeling bad that he thought he should end his flight early as I was heading out. West winds again at the Ranch probably due to another snow cell over Sasquatch for any easy touchdown at the ProCircle. Meanwhile, Robin had launched and was soon at 1680 meters, in front of the black cloud (sometimes in snow), and was doing well. He flew out to Harrison Knob and back and was still going up. Later Derek and Kevin joined him on the mountain too. A good day for all as the last day of possible flying for a week came to a close.
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|  Alex, Nicole, Al above the south Knoll - pic by JPR Woodside Report - Al broke the first trail up to launch around noon, getting stuck at 3 kms with Alex, Nicole and Rob S. They got into the air first and Alex went to cloudbase at 1200 meters immediately. The rest followed. There was an un-named pilot flying an old Aeros Style that kept disappearing into the clouds. Not so safe with all the traffic today? Our group left in Thomm's truck an hour later and we made it nearly as far as and we parked in a turn-around near Peter & Claudia's Rav4. About a 30 minute hike in to launch with some post-hole-ing near the top. Great launch conditions with lots of eagles around to mark the thermals. Damn cold though. New student Steve (who flew 9 solo flights in Mexico this winter) was back to try out his new Ozone Mojo, and he hiked in bravely with us. He did his second reverse launch ever . . . perfectly and was off and soaring with Colleen.  Steve soaring on his new Ozone Mojo Paraglider - pic by JPR I was the last to launch in our group as I was waiting for Steve to land as I was guiding him from the launch. I got pretty cold just standing there, and by the time I launched I was nearly frozen. I clipped in to the Ozone R09 and had a sweet inflation and was soon climbing out in front of launch with Thomm. I did about 3 passes in close and was already feeling the pain as the wind whistled thru my gloves. I intentionally went out further to sink and get some warmer air but was instantly pulled up to 'base with an eagle and a red-tail hawk! So much for warming up! Normando was thermalling around out front too but had some nice warm sheepskin mitts and looked very comfortable. Thomm had borrowed Colleen's electric gloves and was looking pretty warm too, as he wasn't shaking his hands like normal. The lift was smooth and even the boundary areas were not very rough on the R09. I had two ice blocks for hands at this point and I headed out to the Ranch as fast as the R09 could go. There was a huge snowstorm developing on Sasquatch, where Rob S had been trying to thermal a while ago and it looked like it was going to hit the Ranch so I spiralled down which just made my hands colder. Oddly there was west winds in the LZ and pretty strong at times, getting dumped out of the snow cell. I landed nicely in the circle and then it got really windy.  Snow storm on Sasquatch Mountain - pic by JPR Thomm and Normando decided to stay in the air a bit longer and had in interesting ride in. Thomm commented that it only got windy at the treetops, so it was a gustfront from the storm. Really nice spring flying with easy lift everywhere. Go buy some warm gloves to enjoy your flights this time of year (that is where I am headed this morning, as I seem to have lost my favourite gloves over the winter). Verbier Report - new student Rob sent me these pictures from Verbier yesterday. Appparently conditions were pretty good there too.  Gliders over Verbier, Switzerland - pic by SB
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Blanchard Report - reports of a great day surfaced on FaceBook and no hiking required. It was clearer near the coast as it OD'ed inland. | Woodside Report - about 20 desperados out today, hike & flying. Derek drove up first and got everyone out at 3 kms and pushed up to 4 kms. We took Thomm's truck up and started spinning out at Lower Launch, so we turned him around and he almost backed over the cliff with Tom Chromy on the tailgate. After a few tense moments we got him to a safe parking spot.  Thomm almost lost his truck and Tom C off the edge at Lower Launch - pic by JPR Alex & Kevin broke a fresh trail in from 3 kms through the forest, which our group followed (Norm, Colleen, Tom C, Gary P, and myself).  Norm and Martina very excited that Norm was hiking . . . and made it all the way up - pic by JPR On Launch there was a large group waiting for the sun, but it never got here. In the end we all flew off, with me having some trouble as I was used to launching in +30 k winds and forgot how to run?  Jon O, Morgan and Roger hiked this glider up to launch and Jon got to fly it down - pic by JPR No one got above launch and it was sledders all around but it wasn't windy and we didn't get too wet when it snowed a few times.
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No Fly Report - we got back to the Ranch around 7 pm, but no flying today due to outflow winds and rain. |
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Whidbey & Blanchard WA Report - flying at Whidbey was suspended as well as Blanchard as there was a strong SE flow as I drove north toward the border. | I arrived to a snow drift that was impassable at the Ranch, but hopefully it will melt in the next few days. Road to launch is snowy as well but I see some tracks in. Some hiking may be required on Tuesday, the first day that looks flyable here in the Valley. Customs Tip for folks leaving Canada: Get Customs Canada to give you a "green card/slip" detailing your gear before you leave Canada so you can prove it is yours on your return. For the first time in 15 years of cross-border travel, they wanted me to provide receipts for my gear (5 paragliders, 3 harnesses, paramotor). I explained that most of the gear was between 3-5 years old and I had receipts at home, but do not carry them with me. Fortunately, the folks at Commercial Customs vouched for me being a frequent user and they released me without the receipts.
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Sand City Report - I woke up to rain and 40 mph SE gusts, so I headed straight north with a great tailwind. | Good thing as gas prices went to a high of $3.70 a US gallon, up at least $0.40 in two months (someone is sticking it to us!). I made it as far as Chehalis WA before stopping after 12 hours of driving, no snow on the Sisikiyous (thank goodness). This Video just released with some old friends in San Marcos Mexico: Horacio, Herminio & Florenzia, Pedro Kordich. I was there that day but apparently asleep as I am not on screen?
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Santa Barbara Report - I was hoping to be flying at Bates, near Santa Barbara today then leaving around 3 pm to travel north. | 
Flags looked good at Bates Launch off the 101 - pic by JPR I arrived around noon to see 4 locals waiting for the winds to strengthen, and we waited an hour. Dave decided to try his luck on his APCO Vista L, and launched and headed south towards the south ridge. 
Flags on the top of the south ridge at Bates looked promising - pic by JPR Dave did about 4 passes on the south ridge getting popped up but never got above launch and he landed on the railway tracks in front of launch to hike up. 
Dave down below launch getting ready to hike back up - pic by JPR Just when Dave arrived back up on launch, the afternoon AMTRAK Tran rolled by heading south and fast! 
AMTRAK running south below launch - pic by JPR No one else flew and we all left for other duties, like driving back to Canada. |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
January 2011 Site of the Day archives - Mexico Tour went very well with 8 attendees getting great airtime and safe guidance from us at FlyBC.
December 2010 Site of the Day archives - weather was so bad in BC, that Colleen and I had to book 5 days in LA to get a flight.
November 2010 Site of the Day archives - we had some sweet soaring flights at Woodside, and a really cold cold snap that limited flying for a week or more.
October 2010 Site of the Day archives - we had some sweet soaring flights in October at Woodside, and Robin flew to Hope in less than an hour!.
September 2010 Site of the Day archives - the wettest September in history had us running up to Savona and points east to fly, but we "got-er-done".
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.
July 2010 Site of the Day archives - fantastic road trip to Revelstoke for 11 days of SIV Training and super weather.
June 2010 Site of the Day archives - wettest June on record so road trips to Savona a few times. Deltas are rolling in now!
May 2010 Site of the Day archives - nice flying in the Valley.
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!
January 2010 Site of the Day archives - nice flying in Mexico for the FlyBC Mexican Tours. Good XCs.
December 2009 Site of the Day archives - our first time in Mexico for a full December and we flew everyday. 40-50 km XCs from Tapalpa.
November 2009 Site of the Day archives - very few flights as we had record rains and high winds.
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.
September 2009 Site of the Day archives - more decent flying weather with a few road trips to escape wind by heading to Savona.
August 2009 Site of the Day archives - best flying conditions in years with little rain. My first hike up Cheam with pals went well.
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.
April 2009 Site of the Day archives - we escaped the local weather by flying in New Zealand for 3 weeks. We will be heading back soon!
March 2009 Site of the Day archives - we were flying locally in snow, relying on Derek's sleds and chains on the 'Mog to get up Woodside.
February 2009 Site of the Day archives - the Worlds PG Championships in Mexico was hard work for the Canucks, the tasks and speeds were unreal.
January 2009 Site of the Day archives - Manzanillo, Mexico was a BLAST, many new sites flown and we have a new tour Destination for 2010.
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.
November 2008 Site of the Day archives - some soaring between rain storms, and it was pretty dry in Agassiz.
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.
September 2008 Site of the Day archives - great student conditions at Woodside and Bridal all month, with 10 students getting signed off this month, a record.
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.
July 2008 Site of the Day archives - our first SIV Course of the 2008 season went well at Sale Mountain near Revelstoke.
June 2008 Site of the Day archives - a few good soaring days at Bridal, lots of new students this month.
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.
April 2008 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years but we flew every day we could.
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.
February 2008 Site of the Day archives - more snow in BC than I can remember in 25 years of living here. We are still hiking to launch at Woodside!
January 2008 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years so we went to Mexico and logged many hours of airtime, while it snowed heavily in BC.
December 2007 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years so we went to Mexico on Dec 29th for three weeks.
November 2007 Site of the Day archives - Colleen and I went to California to fly the new Falcon A-16 Advanced Ultralight prototype and it flew very well. Some good soaring days at Woodside, some folks were still trying to fly Bridal but that is a waste of time this late in the season.
October 2007 Site of the Day archives - mid-air at Woodside caused Martin H some paraglider damage, some great soarable days. The Women's Fly In was a success with the Canuck Team taking top spot for the theme of "Celebrities in Rehab".
September 2007 Site of the Day archives - we re-discovered and flew 'Horsefly' Launch for the first time, some mayhem at Woodside due to tree-suck, lots of good soaring in afternoon glassoffs, a great Indian Summer until late in the month when the rains came early. Derek, Martina, Robin and Diane went to Europe. Kirill went to Australia for a paramotor Fly-In.
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.
July 2007 Site of the Day archives - good flights at Bridal, some mayhem at Woodside from visiting pilots.
June 2007 Site of the Day archives - more crappy weather on the weekends. Some awesome flights between showers as Norm and Thomm flew to Mission on the last day of the month.
May 2007 Site of the Day archives - flyable every weekday, but the Fraser Valley XC Comp got crappy weather on the weekends, although it was student flyable.
April 2007 Site of the Day archives - good flights are starting. Some complete triangles from Woodside to Bridal and back, some "musical triangles" from others.
March 2007 Site of the Day archives - fifth month of crappy weather on the Coast. We went to Santa Barbara for some flights, and to dry out. Some good days were also recorded locally.
Febuary 2007 Site of the Day archives - fourth month of crappy weather on the Coast. So we stayed in Mexico.
January 2007 Site of the Day archives - third month of crappy weather on the Coast. So we went to Mexico to fly Colima, Tapalpa, and San Marcos, while Brad and gang headed to Tenacingo, Mexico.
December 2006 Site of the Day archives - more ugly weather on the Coast. Severe winds damaged trees and property so not much flying happened. Some good flight reports from local PGers travelling world-wide.
November 2006 Site of the Day archives - the wettest November on record. We flew a few good flights but mostly we were rained out.
October 2006 Site of the Day archives - lots of good days with 3-4 hours airtime. The Women's Fly-In was on again in Chelan with about 18 Canucks, and a good day Saturday with 85 registered pilots.
September 2006 Site of the Day archives - still soarable in the Fraser Valley, little or no rain. Colleen is back flying! Some mayhem in the valley.
August 2006 Site of the Day archives - a great flying month everywhere, we had a super successful SIV clinic at Mara Lake with everyone SAT-ing and heli-ing.
July 2006 Site of the Day archives - road trip to Lumby, then on the 8th Colleen spun in below Gloria cancelling her summer plans (but she is recuperating well).
June 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Valley dried out, and we flew most days and every weekend.
May 2006 Site of the Day archives - more rain that ever imagined in the Fraser Valley. Very few soaring flights and even less XC.
April 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Easter Bunny was "run over" on Kilby Road, plus the train wreck on April 1.
March 2006 Site of the Day archives - a new pilot was born, Chloe. We also flew a few days between showers, some long flights up to 4 hours. A few Out & Return Flights to Deroche and Bear.
February 2006 Site of the Day archives - another wet month with some soarable days (2).
January 2006 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South for great Mexican or Chilean flying.
December 2005 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South.
November 2005 Site of the Day archives - rain, snow and not much flying.
October 2005 Site of the Day archives - Women's Fly In in Chelan yielded two soarable days before the snows hit.
September 2005 Site of the Day archives - dry most of the month. Some great 4 hour flights at Woodside getting to cloudbase most days. Three crash-landings in the same clearcut by pilots scratching too low, but no injuries.
August 2005 Site of the Day archives - road trips to the Interior gave us an opportunity to rag out some gliders at FlyBC SIV 2005 (Part II). Also a great road trip to Savona.
July 2005 Site of the Day archives - good flying all month, no rain but some windy days shut us down. The Willi started in Golden with a few good days, but one tragedy as Charles Warren perished in a crash near Harrogate.
June 2005 Site of the Day archives - too much rain, but good days to fly between showers.
May 2005 Site of the Day archives - our Instructor/Tandem seminar yielded some good flying. Our May 2005 SIV Clinic had a good turnout, with many wet wings/pilots! Many nice flights at Woodside and Bridal, with some long "out & returns" at Bridal.
April 2005 Site of the Day archives - some great soaring at Woodside and Bridal. Sad news from the US Hanggliding Nationals as Chris Muller crashes at goal.
March 2005 Site of the Day archives - we had to head out of town to Savona a few weekends due to wet weather on the Coast. Wetter than normal according to Environment Canada.
February 2005 Site of the Day archives - some good soaring despite early time of year. Flights as long as 3 hours at Woodside, some good flights at Whidbey Island for first timers, too!
January 2005 Site of the Day archives road trips to Mexico, not much flying locally due to strong north winds and rain. Record rain kept Eagle Ranch quite wet for kiting.
December 2004 Site of the Day archives a dry month with some good soaring including a fantastic day on Dec. 11 where we thermalled for 2+ hours!
November 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain. We installed a fireplace in the barn to keep pilots warm between winter flights.
October 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain, but sweet soaring between showers. Many new students signed up and making quick progress. We missed the Women's Fly In for the first time in 9 years, and there was some interesting flying on the Sunday!
September 2004 Site of the Day archives rainiest September on record for the first 3 weeks, made flying difficult. But Alan and others logged some pretty nice flights later in the month. Lots of student tandems for both Colleen and Jim.
August 2004 Site of the Day archives Great Maneuver/SIV/ACRO course at Mara. Jack got wet! Some great soaring at Woodside. Norm made it 68 km from Mara to King Eddie, Derek made it from Lumby to Enderby the opposite direction for 67 kms. We also did our BC roadtrip from Ashcroft to New Denver, and flew everyday.
July 2004 Site of the Day archives the Willi was on at Golden. We missed the mayhem due to work and school commitments but Norm did a great job representing the West Coast.
June 2004 Site of the Day archives Canadian Nationals came off with many great rounds. Pemberton-Whistler Championships were blown out most days so we headed to Cornwall.
May 2004 Site of the Day archives great flying at Woodside and Bridal. We held a very successful SIV Course at Mara Lake, and hope to run another one in August if they keep the forests open.
April 2004 Site of the Day archives good flying in the Valley. The Fraser Valley Cross Country PG Series was successssful.
March 2004 Site of the Day archives Nicole won in Brazil, otherwise the month sucked for flying time.
February 2004 Site of the Day archives some local flights extended to an hour with vigourous scratching above the trees. Good paramotor month.
January 2004 Site of the Day archives Mexican road trip yielded 20 hours of flight and a wet Canadian January kept most local pilots on the ground.
December 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew a few times but it got really cold at the end of the month as we prepared for a gala New Year's Party for 40 of our close personal friends and neighbours.
November 2003 Site of the Day archives windy and wet with the odd good soaring day, not many pilots out these days.
October 2003 Site of the Day archives Women's Fly In was great fun, some good soaring days mid-month, most of the students are signed off.
September 2003 Site of the Day archives good conditions until the last days of the month when it got stable. Most days were flyable at Woodside or Bridal.
August 2003 Site of the Day archives Forest closures made the end of the month a non-flying period unless you headed to Blanchard. FlyBC SIV 2003 was a great success with 9 stunt pilots and no deployments or crashes.
July 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most days early at Woodside until it got windy, then over to Bridal. Good Golden flying reports from the "Willi".
June 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most weekdays at Bridal, Woodside worked most weekends. Bridal Air Races had one great day with only two tree landings!
May 2003 Site of the Day archives not a great weather month on the coast, especially on the weekends but a few pilots managed to get some great airtime at Bridal. The Nationals were held in Lumby and it didn't rain!
April 2003 Site of the Day archives rain for 28 of 30 April days, but we managed to get a few flights in between showers. Even the golfers were complaining!
March 2003 Site of the Day archives some high spring flights in early March, but not a great weather month. Still no HPAC Insurance!
February 2003 Site of the Day archives some nice long spring flights in late February. HPAC Insurance expired on Feb 14, so many pilots stayed home instead of getting USHGA coverage.
January 2003 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month in BC so we bailed and headed to Tapalpa Mexico for three weeks. Norm and Lucille had a great XC flight the first day we arrived.
December 2002 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month.
November 2002 Site of the Day archives not a great flying month, lots of rain in the beginning and then super stable and inverted for the balance of the month. Even the Savona Road Trip wasn't that great. Looking forward to Mexico!
October 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable some days, great fun at the Women's Fly In 2002 in Chelan. Allan logged 15 hours and only flew a few days. Most of the students are ready for signoff soon to get ready for Mexico trips!
September 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable most everyday! Some scary incidents at Woodside. Fun flying at Ashcroft.
August 2002 Site of the Day archives More spring-like days with super lapse rates, great fun up-country at Revelstoke and Mara, with some good XCs for all.
July 2002 Site of the Day archives Some spring-like days with super lapse rates, but still rather wet at times.
June 2002 Site of the Day archives another rainy and windy month with great lapse rates, some great flights at Bridal with some getting above Cheam Peak. The Club Cup was nearly rained out but they got one valid task in on Sunday June 30.
May 2002 Site of the Day archives an extremely rainy month with the more spring mayhem, another reserve deployment at Lil Nick and a pilot crashed at the top of Deroche Mountain, uninjured but with a ripped glider and long hike down the mountain. Colleen placed 5th place at the Canadian PG Nationals in rainy Lumby!
April 2002 Site of the Day archives a rainy month with the usual spring mayhem, one reserve deployment at Woodside and a pilot hit a parked car at Bridal LZ, fracturing his leg.
March 2002 Site of the Day archives a few great days days with lots of snow and rain mixed in.
February 2002 Site of the Day archives two epic days already (4.5 hours and 2.5 hours!).
January 2002 Site of the Day archives Mexico vacation shots, some local flying but it was wet on the coast.
December 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, wettest December on record, some good days sprinkled thru the month.
November 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, had some good days at Woodside +2 hours, lots of rain later in the month.
October 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, but great flying at Chelan at the Women's Fly In.
September 2001 Site of the Day archives starting to get pretty stable, more sled rides forecast for October.
Aug 2001 Site of the Day archives Mara, Bridal, till some great flights locally
July 2001 Site of the Day archives Road Trip Month, Golden, Mara, points east!
June 2001 Site of the Day archives Great Month, 3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower! Some getting up to 6 hours in a single flight!
May 2001 Site of the Day archives Unstable Month, 2-3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower!
April 2001 Site of the Day archives Rainy Month, not as much airtime for some pilots
March 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring has Sprung!
February 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring is in the Air!
January 2001 Site of the Day archives - Mexico Flying Trip
December 2000 Site of the Day archives
November 2000 Site of the Day archives (great month for airtime!)
October 2000 Site of the Day archives
September 2000 Site of the Day archives
July - August 2000 Site of the Day archives
June 2000 Site of the Day archives
March - May 2000 Site of the Day archives
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