FlyBC "Site of the Day Archive" - November/2014

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Hola Mexico y Tapalpa

“Pies . . . para que los quiero, si tengo alas para volar?" - Frida Kahlo

Locations of visitors to this page


Date
        Site        
Forecast
Winds
@
3000'
in knots
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°C/1000'
Cloud
Base
in Meters
Comments
11/30/14
No flying in SW BC as it is howling from the NE

Agassiz BC

Sunny. Windy this morning. High minus 1. Wind chill minus 20 this morning.
040° @ 15
-3.0°C (unstable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - I had planned to install some windows today but called off that plan as it was howling from the NE and supercold.

Andrei arrived to borrow our generator to power up Ryan's jackhammer, as they planned a work party on the Bridal Road to remove the sharp rocks that keep damaging trucks. Martin N & Alan D helped also and they made good progress on the road.

Andrei & Ryan came back after dropping off the generator and flew off Woodside landing at the Ranch. Oddly, it was still gusting +20 kph in agassiz from the NE? Gotta love Mother Woodside!

From Mexico20142015
Thanks to Thomm M for helping out my reno in the "bunkhouse", laminate flooring now installed . . . Bunkbed built . . . Electrical and trim next and we are ready for Christmas guests.



Elk Report - Kevin also braved to cold and hike & flew Elk today, some snow on top from the last dusting and the snow line is quite low on that side of the Valley.

11/29/14
No flying in SW BC as the snow falls on the coast and it is howling from the NE

Agassiz BC

A mix of sun and cloud. Clearing this afternoon. Windy this morning and early this afternoon. High minus 5. Wind chill minus 21.
040° @ 22
-3.0°C (unstable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - No Woodside flying as the outflow winds continue, now that I am back from a short Mexico visit . . . I know why birds head south for the winter.



Tapalpa, Mexico Report - Norm reports on 4 hours of thermalling at Tapalpa while Camilo completed 5 tandems while we freeze our butts off in Canada. Only a few more weeks til we join them!

11/28/14
No flying in SW BC as the rain falls on the coast and snow falls in Kamloops

Agassiz BC

Rainfall warning in effect. Rain at times heavy. Amount 20 to 30 mm. High 9.
240° @ 22
-3.0°C (unstable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - we had a break in the weather and the desperados were out, Samuel & Martin N met at the Ranch and I offered to drive them up as I needed a break in the renovations.

It is very wet in the Harrison Mills peninsula as it had been raining very hard lately.

From Mexico20142015
We arrived on launch after paddling through many puddles on the road to find decent inflow winds. Odd, as when I was in Agassiz 20 minutes ago it was strong outflow!

Martin launched first on his Gin Atlas and headed SE and got "nada" and he headed to the Ranch.

From Mexico20142015
Samuel launched next and went north and caught some lift.

From Mexico20142015
I drove down to find them both packing up on the gravel in the driveway.

Martin took Samuel up for another flight as I continued renovations.

After Samuel landed the winds got very strong from the NE.

Looks like a cold weekend ahead with snow and NE winds.





Alex Raymont's Chile Report - flew 214 km yesterday (Thursday), launching just north of Antofagasta and flying north towards Iquique.

Flew with a juvenile Andean Condo for part of the flight.

From Mexico20142015
Landed at dusk although it was still plenty lifty (reported 1.8 m/s at 8pm), and slept in the glider on the sand, before making his way to the Flight Park in Iquique Friday morning.

Flight Stats here.

11/25-27/14
No flying in SW BC as the rain falls on the coast and snow falls in Kamloops

Agassiz BC

Rainfall warning in effect. Rain at times heavy. Amount 20 to 30 mm. High 9.
240° @ 22
-3.0°C (unstable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - No Woodside flying for the past few days as the rains continue, now that I am back from a short Mexico visit . . . I know why birds head south for the winter.



San Marcos Mexico Report - Looks like Normando & Pedro were "duking it out this week", as I found this photo on Pedro's facebook wall.

From Mexico20142015
11/24/14
No flying in SW BC as the rain falls on the coast and snow falls in Kamloops

Agassiz BC

Cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers this morning and early this afternoon. Rain beginning this afternoon. Temperature steady near 7.
240° @ 22
-3.0°C (unstable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside had a few short windows with no rain and light winds until mid-afternoon when it started to rain heavily.



Volvo has a new SUV and they used a paraglider to promote it!

11/23/14
No flying in SW BC as the rain falls on the coast and snow falls in Kamloops

Agassiz BC

Rain at times heavy ending early this afternoon then cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Amount 10 to 20 mm. Wind becoming southwest 40 km/h gusting to 70 this morning then diminishing to 20 early this afternoon. High 8.
240° @ 30
-3.0°C (unstable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside was possibly flyable at around 3 pm, as it cleared up and we had a nice break from the winds but I was knee-deep in reno projects so I stayed on the ground. My gear is all in Mexico so I must put a back up kit together soon.



Blanchard WA Report - rumours have it that only a few PGers flew Blanchard but the hangies were out in full force in post frontal conditions. Doug M was out over the sea!

From Mexico20142015
11/22/14
No flying in SW BC as the rain falls on the coast and snow falls in Kamloops

Agassiz BC

Showers ending late this morning then cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Amount 5 mm. Windy early this morning. High 8.
240° @ 20
-3.0°C (unstable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - while we were shopping in the rain in Chilliwack, Tonya & Denis were flying Woodside in the clouds between showers. Desperados!



Ecuador Report - We are having a great trip, arrived in Quito safe and sound, had upgraded seats for the last leg from Atlanta, and the plane was not completely full so we were able to get a complete row to ourselves for sleeping. Spent a couple days in Quito sightseeing then came to the coast. Arrived around 4 and it was fly able so of course we went up.

It was quite strong but doable ( I've been getting some practice at higher wind tandem launches).

We've been flying everyday we've been here from 20 mins to a couple hrs it just depends on my passenger . . . if she has to pee or gets cold.

Our last day here then back to Quito and then to Peru for a few days - Derek



Mexican Tours San Marcos Report - Norm reports the new Suburban Shuttle makes it up San Marcos with ease and no overheating after the radiator modifications.

From Mexico20142015
We have contracted Andreas Gomez to be our "chofer" so we can all fly and be retrieved in style!

From Mexico20142015
11/21/14
Tapalpa today for Norm & Camilo, as I head back to BC

Guadalajara, Mexico

Abundant sunshine. High 26C. Winds light.
140° @ 10
-3.0°C (unstable)
3700 metres
Mexico Report - I had an early morning driving to the GDL Airport to fly back to rainy Vancouver

The plane left for Phoenix on time at 7 am, with a nice 2 hour layover to get breakfast in PHX.

From Mexico20142015
Nice no stress flight with no baggage and customs was quick at all stops.

Just one problem . . . it was raining heavily in Vancouver and dangerous driving conditions after being spoiled in Mexico for a week.

From Mexico20142015




Mexico Shuttle Update/Report - Normando took the Suburban to the welding shop to have the new rack installed as it wasn't ready yesterday.

From Mexico20142015
It looks very strong and should hold 6 gliders on the roof and 4-5 more inside.

The engine & transmission are strong and ready to conquer San Marcos, El Chante & Tapalpa as well as some road trips to Colima.

From Mexico20142015
11/20/14
GDL today

Guadalajara, Mexico

Abundant sunshine. High 26C. Winds light.
140° @ 2
-3.0°C (unstable)
3700 metres
Registering the Suburban Part 2 - we got a rental contract form in Chapala and made out a new contract for the house but in Camilo's address in Chapala as part of the requirements.

We then went to the Government Office in Chapala to register the Suburban in my name. We had everything but the clerk rejected the Referendo form that showed the registration paid for 2014 because the serial/VIN number was just the last 10 digits not the full VIN. The referendo copies dating back 4 years were all paid just a paperwork issue that had to be fixed in Guadalajara at the office that made the mistake.

This was try #2.

We drove in to Guadalajara and traffic was light . . . until we got to old town and the traffic was stopped because there was protest parade regarding the 43 students killed in Iquala. It is a holiday called the Day of the Revolution and people were marching against the government who is being blamed for the killings.

We got rerouted and finally got in to the main Government Office and there was a big lineup . . . kind of similar to any ICBC office at home.

We waited and got the paperwork corrected and the registration was put in my name at Camilo's Chapala address and I paid the 1160 pesos and we were headed home.

As with all our dealings with the Government, we had to do 3 tries, but we got it done!

I am now a legal owner of a Mexican Built 1987 Suburban and the last step is to get insurance to be fully legal as Mexico now requires a minimum of 300,000 pesos liability coverage (new laws).

We decided to forgo trying to fly San Marcos today as it was late and we had SE winds on the lake, but it looked great for El Chante as big CUs were popping everywhere.

11/19/14
Tapalpa today

Guadalajara, Mexico

Abundant sunshine. High 26C. Winds light.
140° @ 2
-3.0°C (unstable)
3700 metres
Tapalpa Report - in the morning we stopped at the Government Office in Jocotepec to register the Suburban, but the clerk would not do it as the rental contract for my house proving I had a real address was not in spanish.

The landlords are gone for 10 days so Camilo said we could do it in Chapala after he made me a new contract in the next day.

So off we went in the new Suburban on a roadtrip to Tapalpa to sort out mechanical issues and we got the first one just the other side of Zocoalco.

I noticed the temperature rising despite going down the long hill to the sayula Laguna, so we stopped at Pepex and the fan belt had fallen off the water pump.

We had to get one of the Llantera guys to help reinstall the belt and it was a quick fix but the alignment of the alternator pulley is way off centre.

We drove to Sayula to buy some tools just in case it happened again where there was no help.

We made it almost to the top of Tapalpa and at the last bend in the road it happened again so we stopped at the top landing field and reinstalled it again.

When we got to launch the cycles were very light and no birds were climbing out in the hazy sky, so I decided to forgo a flight even though we had Andres here to drive for us. He was watching Keana so he would have his hands full if the belt popped off again.

From Mexico20142015
Norm & Camilo flew off together and were working the thermal in front of the hump as we drove down.

From Mexico20142015
No problems with the belt on the way down and the guys were packed up and almost at the highway when we arrived.

The new truck goes downhill very controlled with the standard transmission which holds her back well even in high gear.

We drove back to San Juan Cosala with no belt issues after another 100 kms, but I stopped at Samuel's Shop and he started working on aligning the alternator by cutting a mounting spacer.

From Mexico20142015
We also removed the radiator and blew it out and completely removed the airconditioning condensor and compressor to make better airflow. The fan clutch was suspect so Samuel welded it on permanently to ensure we get good cooling for San Marcos as it is going to get hot in the next few months here.

From Mexico20142015
We also replaced the spark plugs and did an oil change for peak performance.

11/18/14
Tapalpa today

Guadalajara, Mexico

Abundant sunshine. High 26C. Winds light and variable.
140° @ 2
-3.0°C (unstable)
3700 metres
Car Buying Report - we started out with a list of Suburbans to look at and by #2 we had a beautiful 1987 model with new paint, standard tranny and good tires for 26000 pesos.

Ready to conquer San Marcos with 9 pilots! Only one seat left! LOL!

From Mexico20142015
11/17/14
San Marcos or Tapalpa today

Guadalajara, Mexico

Abundant sunshine. High 26C. Winds W at 10 to 15 km/h.
280° @ 2
-3.0°C (unstable)
2700 metres
San Marcos Report - Normando & I headed to san Marcos to try and grab a ride up to launch as the rental Nissan car would not make it very far!

The road is very bad this month after the rainy season, and will affect my car buying decision (that and the fact that I already have some booked up weeks).

We managed to squeeze in with Pedro in the Bunker II and it made it all the way to the top with 8 pilots, gliders but no trailer.

From Mexico20142015
There were 7 HGers in the air when we arrived and they were staying up no problem (asciendo).

I got ready first and the cycles seemed light on launch but not to be fooled I lifted the Delta 2 softly to gain control if the thermals grabbed it . . . and it did get grabbed and I was going straight up and back after inflation, and was soon at 2500 metres at the north peak.

I watched Normando get body slammed at launch by a gust and then Camilo took off on his Chispita and was soaring with me for a while.

Fabio was already in the air and he and I thermalled a bit as I waited for Normando to launch and get up to my altitude, now about 2800 metres.

Lift everywhere and very smooth but windy with 8 kms of forward speed.

Normando launched but was not able to climb as high as me on the north side so he headed south past the Saddle.

I lost sight of him as he climbed and drifted towards Joco, but he must have come forward and I missed him because he got to the end of the South Ridge where the CUs were forming all day (and he saw some HGers playing in the clouds at 4000 metres estimated). He said he caught a good strong climb there and was at 3700 metres when he headed east. Of course his radio was not working so I dod not know where he was so I flew back to Pedro K's LZ and all the way back I was climbing through 3200 metres when I was trying to get down before dark!.

From Mexico20142015
It was not a good day to be wearing shorts and a T-shirt as I was frozen despite having a nice SupAir XA-13 pod harness and a wind proof jacket. +28C on the ground (1400 metres) with a -3.3C lapse rate means it is damn cold at 3200 metres!

Good time to try B-stalls as the spirals were pretty tame -6 m/s as I was light on the Delta 2 L. The B-stalls were pretty easy as long as you don't over pull the B's (cause then it goes wonky but is totally recoverable).

Big ears work pretty well too, cause they stay in without holding the outer A's . . . but slowed me down too much and I was going backwards. Still pretty windy from the NW but oddly the wind in the LZ was from the east. Classic San Marcos restitiution (glass off) with catabatic flow down the mountain, yet launch had inflow cycles and it was +30 kms/hr in the air. There was going to be a nasty shear layer somewhere and I spiralled through it but it was still pretty rough.

I saw some guy on an Icaro below me hit the shear layer, unprepared and apparently he had a hugh collapse or frontal and ended up way short of the runway.

I landed and Camilo handed me a cervesa and it was already getting dark.

2.25 on the vario and sweet flying as about 20 pilots flew and everyone stayed up as long as they wanted!

11/16/14
San Marcos today

Guadalajara, Mexico

Abundant sunshine. High 26C. Winds W at 10 to 15 km/h.
280° @ 8
-3.0°C (unstable)
2700 metres
San Marcos Cluster Report - we had SW winds today so we got our phones sorted out in Joca and then headed to San Marcos to hitch a ride up to Launch as our rental car is a bit too low.

We arrived to see some HGers launch and soar around noon.

We met Pedro K at the Club but he was not going up until some others arrived in aboyut an hour . . . Mexican time.

The others arrived at 2:30 pm and stood around for another hour. Then they started loading gliders on the trailer. Another 45 minutes passed.

We were finally rolling in the Jeep Wagonneer called the "Bunker II", with 8 of us crammed in and 2 on the trailer with the gliders.

From Mexico20142015
Partway up a steep section the Jeep dies and we started hiking up to Launch as the sun was rapidly setting.

From Mexico20142015
We arrived on launch with about 30 minutes of daylight and Norm got ready first as some strong gusts rolled through but mostly it was NW wind aloft.

From Mexico20142015
Norm got a lull and brought up his wing on the ramp and despite having a big cravatte he flew off.

Ten minutes later he was still trying to get the cravatte out. He finally did get it out by pulling the outer A to release pressure and then the stabilo line popped the rest out.

I fumbled around with tangles and no good cycles and finally bagged my Delta 2 as I could not see anymore.

The Jeep died again on the way down the hill with an apparent carburetor problem.

It's alway an adventure in Mexico.

11/14-21/14
Woodside looks blown out with strong NE winds so I am heading to Mexico for a week

Guadalajara, Mexico

Sunny. High 25C.
080° @ 5
-2.0°C (stable)
2700 metres
Tapalpa Report - There was no Woodside flying for the past 8 days as the north winds continue, so I am doing a short Mexico trip to get a house & car sorted out for the Tours.

Normando & I flew on November 14th arriving at midnight and stayed at Casa de Marina until the house was ready for us to move in gear.

Nice casita in the Raquet Club one block from the pool & clubhouse area.

From Mexico20142015
We headed to Tapalpa arriving around noon to join in the Party in the Sky, organized by local hangie Yakin.

There was barely room to lay out a wing as Red Bull tents and spectators lined launch.

From Mexico20142015
I got ready right beside Camilo who was doing tandems for the Party, and flew off after him on a nice Ozone Delta 2 with a SupAir XA13 harness (new everything for me, but it worked well).

One of the local hot PG pilots, Atuk, was already in the air and I was following him but I gave up as I found a stronger climb as he headed south and was sinking. Normando had launched by now and was also headed south to the sunny areas. I stayed in my climb remebering the sage advice "Never leave Lift".

The climbs were ragged and spiky and it was best managed on a paraglider as we can turn tighter. The 3-4 HGs below me were just bombing through the small thermals and not getting up.

I flew for 30 minutes and watched folks starting to sink out all around and I was 300 metres over launch so I headed in for a top-landing. It had gone SW on launch so I opted for the big fields in the back rather than miss an approach and then sink out.

It was sinky over my field, and later I heard the field by the road was very rotory, so I am glad I bailed on trying that field (plus I was closer to launch & food & beverages).

Normando had landed at the bottom LZ, but I could not get him on the radio (what a surprise?).

He eventually caught a ride with a pilot from Victoria (whose name escapes me).

Pedro was running pony rides for the kids and everyone was having fun at the "Party in the Sky".

From Mexico20142015
We drove back to San Juan Cosala in the dark and opted for street tacos in Joco.

11/12/14
Woodside looks blown out with strong NE winds

Agassiz BC

Sunny. Windy. High plus 4.
080° @ 25
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - It has been very cold and windy at the Ranch and no flying has been happening for sure.

11/11/14
Woodside looks blown out with strong NE winds

Agassiz BC

Sunny. High 7.
080° @ 25
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Eagle Ranch Report - No Woodside flying as it blew strong from the NE on Remembrance Day.

11/10/14
Woodside looks blown out with strong NE winds

Agassiz BC

Sunny. High 7.
080° @ 25
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - No Woodside flying today as the winds were blowing up to 70 kph from the north.

Not much fun working out in the winds doing renovations, but at least it wasn't raining.

11/9/14
Woodside looks possibly flyable after noon

Agassiz BC

Rain at times heavy ending this morning then cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. High 10.
240° @ 10
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside was in cloud until around 3:30 pm when we finally saw the launch emerge but it was quite wet on the ground so we kepting working on renos.



From October 2014
The GIN GTO 2 is a high performance wing, suitable for a wide range of experienced XC pilots — from improving, ambitious pilots transitioning from sports class, to competition pilots who wish to fly a more compact wing within a wider comfort zone. The GTO 2 slots into our range between the Carrera (performance) and Boomerang 10 (competition).

More info here

Now available here at FlyBC.

11/8/14
Woodside looks possibly soarable after noon

Agassiz BC

A mix of sun and cloud. Becoming cloudy this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 12.
240° @ 15
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside stayed dry today but the winds were lame to catabatic and only a few people flew.

We did not even go up to launch until after a few hours of ground school as it looked pretty calm. When we arrived, we saw one un-named pilot had caught her wing on a small tree below launch and tore her wing.

We waited and waited as it blew SE, and then magically we got some cycles and 4 pilots that were ready flew off (running madly). And then it blew down some more so we headed down.

From October 2014
As we arrived at the bottom it started drizzling.

Mexico is looking better every day as the weather locally turns sour!

11/7/14
Woodside looks possibly soarable after noon

Agassiz BC

Cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers early this morning. Clearing this afternoon. High 13.
240° @ 15
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside looked possible but we were working on window frames until around 1 pm, when Eric took me out to the LZ to see Martin N, Degas and others soaring above Woodside under some nice CU.

Eric wanted to test fly the Delta 2 ML so I got it for him and I was getting my gear too when I noticed Rudy was geting ready to hang a french door in the garage reno. So I sent Eric up by himself and helped Rudy.

I went out to check how everyone was doing and watch Joe top-land (or top crash?) as Eric was getting set up. Joe got up and drove a truck down for Degas.

Martin N was still soaring around and we heard later he got 2:45 total airtime in one flight (not bad for November!).

From October 2014
Eric flew around for a few hours too before top-landing to drive down his own truck.

A big shout out to Dale who came out with his concrete cutting equipment and blasted some rocks off the launch road, the launch proper and then flew down on his new Ozone Swift 4! Thanks, Mr. Dale!

Meanwhile back at the Ranch I was finishing reno stuff as the sun set pretty damn early these days.

Jan K was out and got some great photos today and drove for Andrei & Rod on the last flights. Jan's Album Here

From October 2014
11/6/14
Woodside looks dangerously windy with wind warnings all around the Fraser Valley

Agassiz BC

Rain. Amount 10 to 20 mm. Wind becoming southwest 60 km/h gusting to 90 this afternoon. High 15.
240° @ 52
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Valley Report - Woodside was dry and not too windy early on but by 2 pm the winds were quite strong. An un-named logger said they got blown out after 2 hours this morning.

11/5/14
Woodside looks wet today

Agassiz BC

Rain. Amount 10 to 20 mm. High 13.
240° @ 15
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Rain Report - Woodside got some rain all day and it was a chore day, but maybe Friday looks possible? Too windy Thursday for sure!



These folks have Mad Skillz . . . or maybe they are just mad? Do not try this at home! #Speedflying #barrelrolls #swooping #speedwings

Follow my gaze .. from Jan Thinoks on Vimeo.



11/4/14
Woodside looks soarable today, maybe bring a speedwing too?

Agassiz BC

Rain ending this morning then mainly cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers. High 14.
* 240° @ 21
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside cleared up around 2 pm but it was very windy on the ground. Maybe a speed wing would have been okay?



The Kamloops Fliers were soaring the newly trimmed Toilet Bowl today on their Ozone Fazers.

From October 2014

11/3/14
Woodside looks wet today

Agassiz BC

Rain. Amount 10 mm. Temperature steady near 10.
240° @ 30
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside had heavy rain today, even the geese were staying down low as they flew south.

11/2/14
Woodside looks like it may be flyable Sunday

Agassiz BC

Rain starting after noon. High 12.
240° @ 5
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside looked okay in the morning but by 1 pm it was drizzling, good thing we called off the students in the morning.

11/1/14
Woodside looks like it may be flyable Saturday & Sunday

Agassiz BC

A mix of sun and cloud. High 12.
240° @ 5
-2.0°C (stable)
700 metres
Woodside Report - Woodside had low cloudbase but we were on launch at noon to see Denis fly off tandem with a student and he reported that he was climbing but we could not see him as the hole closed back in. He got 40 minutes on that flight and he said the eagles were flying with him.

From October 2014
We went back down with new student Richard and did some ground handling and we watched many pilots take off and soar for 2-3 hours, and launch kept closing in and re-opening.

Great kiting winds as Richard & Moto were practicing reverse launches at the Eagle Ranch LZ. I had mowed the training hill & landing circles earlier and it paid off as the grass was nice and dry.

Later we took Moto up for a flight to try his new SupAir Altirando RS harness and he had a great launch but kept drifting downwind as he almost disapppeared in the clouds. Derek & Kevin were soaring just below the clouds and both got several hours in nice lift.

From October 2014
Norm had set up just behind Moto but launch closed in and to quote Norm "Now is not the time to do something stupid. (as he readies for a 5 month Mexican Vacation).



Saltspring Report - Denham & Eileen went over to Saltspring Island this weekend and found a nice launch on Mt Erskine.

From October 2014
The eagles were soaring there too.

From October 2014




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