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FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives" - OCtober/2002




















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Date Site Forecast Precip. Winds Aloft
3000 ft.
Lapse Rate

Cloudbase Forecast

Comments
November 1 Sumas Sunny. Northeast outflow winds. High 12° 0% POP 120° at 7 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
2400 m/7700' FlyBC's Paragliding School is back bigger and better in 2002!, go to FlyBC's Eagle Ranch Page for more aerial shots taken by Colleen on Sunday Feb 10, 2002.

" Halloween Flyin pics by Chris"

"Halloween Flyin pics by Hal Smith "

See what you missed by staying home last weekend.

October 31 Sumas Sunny. Northeast outflow winds. High 11° 0% POP 110° at 11 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
2400 m/7700' no pireps

October 30 Woodside later Sunny. Northeast outflow winds. High 11° 0% POP 040° at 9 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
2400 m/7700' It looked calm as I flew over Harrison Lake at 5:00 pm, but I didn't see any PGers at Woodside - Jim

October 29 Stay Home Sunny. Northeast outflow wind 30 to 50 km/h diminishing this morning. High 13° 0% POP 060° at 25 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1000 m/3300' no pireps

October 28 Bellingham WA Cloudy clearing this afternoon. High 12 ° 30% POP 320° at 5 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
550 m/1900' Blanchard Report - light winds and mist until 1:00 pm, was fine for sled rides

October 25 Chelan WA (Women's Fly In all weekend) Sunny. High 14 ° 0% POP light and variable -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
3000 m/10000' Women's Fly In 2002 Report - Day one (Saturday) dawned to a sunny day with light winds and pilots flying off the south launches all day. 85 pilots signed in with many who didn't bother for a possible total of 100 pilots and additional support crews. Many pilots flew in costume including a few of the FlyBC crew.

There was some great soaring later in the day with Nicole and Alex R top-landing along with Morgan from Spokane.

There was great party in the Pilot's Lounge at the Airport where everyone camped (froze).

Day Two - mostly sledders but an estimated 300 flights were logged that day.

Very safe event with no crashes and one one ripped wing when a pilot landed too close to a light standard and ripped up his wingtip on an old Quantum.

Note the cute "Blushing Bride" who flew in the wedding dress!



Wizard of Oz Team


Ted gets a "Perm and Dye" job




Purple People Eater



Bride and PPE



Bride flies!



At the Party



Cowardly Lion and Ugly Bride



Purple People Eaters sing-along



Snake Charmer and Elf

October 24 Woodside, Grouse, Bridal Sunny. High 16 ° 0% POP light and variable -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1000 m/3200' Woodside Report - A few of us flew a number of flights and it was coming up nice. Norm flew and landed (had to go to work) I flew and Allan flew, later I flew again and Rob S flew, then later Andy and Derek showed up and bagged 2 flights. It was soft smooth air sledders but what can you expect this time of the year. We all had a blast anyway - Bev

Grouse Report - Grouse was real nice today. Straight up on launch. Launched at 2:00 pm, the lift was around the cabins, bottom of the cut. Flew out after 35 min. Had some time to kill before work so went up again. 30 min. Had the Mtn. to myself - Glen T.

Point of the Mountain, UT Report – launch and fly all day !! Definitely the best time of year to fly at this site. Conditions were awesome – flying from sun up to sun set. Hope your fall is going well and have fun at the fly-in this weekend. Hope to be out flying with you soon!! - Derek T.

October 23 Sumas or Eagle Sunny. High 17 ° 0% POP 080° at 13 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1000 m/3200' Vancouver Report - I took off at 7:00 am in a fog bank on a jet heading to Edmonton and later heard that the Vancouver airport was backed up all day, only specially equipped jets could get in or out. The alternate airport for Vancouver was Victoria, and occasionally Abbotsford.

October 22 Sumas or Eagle Afternoon sunny periods. High 18. ° 0% POP 070° at 16 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1000 m/3200' Woodside Report - Bev said it was blowing over the back at Woodside, so they headed to Bridal where Allan D, Derek and Tim O got sledders.

October 21 Woodside (leeside possibility) Cloudy with fog this morning. Afternoon sunny periods. High 17. ° 20% POP 090° at 6 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1000 m/3200' Woodside Report - despite warnings of leeside conditions, 10 pilots headed to Woodside. Alan D was in the air when I arrived at 3:00 pm, Bev, Norm and Andy had already flown and Norm had to leave for work. We loaded up the Suburban and Nicole, Ian J, Alex R, Bev, Andy, Rob S and I flew off into some very interesting air. Thermals that were punchy and springlike, yet very strong. Tight turns were required to use the lift efficiently. I was flying the UP Summit which turns very tightly and I was glad to be on it today, some thermal felt like they were only 1/2 a wing span wide!.

I spent half the 1:10 flight trying to top-land which proved hard to do (unless you were Rob S - who top-landed 3 times and then drove the Suburban down). Nicole and Alex were flirting with the clouds at "base" several times, at about 1000 meters.



The fall colours are beautiful, the eagles were fat and well fed due to the spawning salmon on the Harrison, the sun was shining brightly and the forecast east winds never materialized. In fact the flight out to Eagle Ranch was slow due to the SW inflow breeze at altitude (arrived over the Eagle Ranch LZ at 400 meters). A great flight, and hopefully not the last thermals of the season - Jim

We are headed to the Women's Fly In next weekend in Chelan, details to follow.

October 20 Woodside Mostly Cloudy with a few showers in the AM. High 16° 40% POP light and variable -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1300 m/4200' Woodside Report - many pilots and students phoned early to see if it was worth coming out and the forecast looked promising but was calling for a few showers so I let them make the call. The optomistic ones were rewarded with 3-4 great flights. Heck, I even got a chance to fly for a while because Kara drove down a few times.

Students were showing off their "no wind launch" skills early, but the flights were very buoyant and they had a chance to test their skills before landing in no wind too. Ian J flew up to Woodside Launch on his "Acme" Paramotor and buzzed us in the fog before the first flights.

Rob S. logged the longest flight, a reported 27 minutes, and he got above launch for some time.

It was quite busy at Eagle Ranch, Ian and Leon were trying to launch their motors later and the wind was not cooperating (many attempts), James brought along 5 of his kids and they were climbing trees and racing around on ATVs, there were gliders landing every 10-15 minutes off Woodside, and the hay crop is now in round bales (that look like marshmallows) all over the LZ, so landings need to be more precise. Lots of fun.

Grouse Advisory - Went up Grouse Mtn. today hoping for a flight. Cloudbase was low, but I was hoping it would lift in time for a flight, as the sky was clearing out with blue holes over the downtown. Got to the peak chairlift area near the bear enclosures and was informed that the peak area and approaches, including the launch area (and probably the back trails), were temporarily closed due to blasting operations going on. Staff said this would be going on for the next week or so, then the peak area would be re-opened to the hiking public. So it's probably a good idea to call ahead to find out if the launch is open for the next while if you want to hike up and fly - Nicole

October 19 Woodside, Bridal Upper, Deroche if cloudbase rises (otherwise the Interior is looking like a possibility) Mostly Cloudy. High 16° 40% POP light and variable -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1300 m/4200' Woodside Report - good student flying if you are patient. The clouds kept forming and obscuring launch, launch conditions were light requiring good forward skills. Daisy, Barry and Frank all flew today and they are really doing well! I even had a chance to bag a flight chasing Jack out to the LZ. No lift, super smooth air.

Woodside Outhouse Progress Report - I was amazed at the great progress Martin H and Rob S made on installing the new outhouse at launch. It looks very secure and we had a little work party building up a retaining wall and installing some rocks around the perimeter of the wall to keep the banks secure. Great progress, thanks guys!

Jack, Rob and Martin and others moved a lot of soil filling in the holes at launch today, the grass is growing in places and may take over the winter.

October 18 Woodside, Bridal Upper, Deroche Sunny. High 19° 0% POP 160° at 6 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1400 m/4800' Grouse Report - Grouse was really nice today. Cheryl and I went up this afternoon and watched the new cubs Grinder and Coola run and play in their new home. We then hiked up to the peak and basked in the sun for quite some time as it was so warm up top! (I layed in the sun for 45 minutes with no shirt, on Oct. 17th?). The conditions were great as we watched a bird soar out in front of launch for quite awhile. It was blowing straight up at launch and we had a great flight and then landed with big smiles on our faces! - Justin

Woodside Report - Allan logged 1:30 in light lift, while Glen T was skunked by low clouds forming just below launch.

Dallas Report - Ian J logged 6! hours at Dallas, while Bruce McG was testing his wing's ability to fly through rotor, report follows:

"Although this is not a "reportable" accident by HPAC guidelines, I think it appropriate for me to write something. Please put this on the today's page.

I made a mistake at Dallas today that could have got me hurt, bad.

I crossed Finlayson point. Upon arriving, I found that the wind was more east than I had thought. I'd crossed earlier and found it quite flyable and returned into a bit of a headwind. This time, it was so East I had to scratch for some time on the other side to get back up above the cliff. A friend from Vancouver, Ian had also crossed, and on the way back had landed on the West side of the point. I headed back, and noticing Ian on the ground decided that it was probably too much to try a crossing, and headed to land next to him. About 20 feet over the edge of the cliff I took a huge collapse in rotor. Thinking it was just a frontal, I pumped to try to flip it back out. I was dropping rapidly, and even though I was deep into the brakes the wing yawed and suddenly dove. I pendulumed under the wing and hit the cliff hard about 10 feet below the cliff, I missed the nice soft shrubs and hit hard on the dirt. The momentum of the wing, and the now Westward wind (rotor) pulled me up to the fence.

I though I was going to be badly hurt, but my helmet and airbag did their jobs. I got the wind knocked out of me, and have a sore neck and back but I don't need medical treatment and there was little or no great damage (a scuff on my helmet).

Lesson learned:

I have, including today, at least 73 hours at Dallas since January. I've crossed the point when the wind was a bit East, and made it back safely. I've also elected to land on the other side and re-launch on the East side of Finlayson point. Having made it across in slightly East wind twice today impaired my judgment. I was cocky, and the wind was far more East than I thought.

Basically, I think I was just cruising "my" ridge instead of thinking like a pilot the whole time. In retrospect, if I'd never seen this site before, I would have looked at where I crashed and EXPECTED to find rotor there (and kept away!). Rotor was predictable. A nasty fall was a natural consequence of flying at that place in that wind direction.

I got off easy.

May all of your mistakes be completely original, and entirely un-predictable." - Bruce McG.



October 17 Woodside, Bridal Upper, Deroche Sunny. High 22° 0% POP light and variable -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
2000 m/6200' Malahat Report - Ian J and others flew off Malahat for sledders. Dallas was not working either.

Woodside Report - PGers - 0; Trees - 1, safety report to follow I am sure??
October 16 Sumas, hike either 0.8 km or 8 km to the towers Sunny. High 22° 0% POP 090° at 6 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
2200 m/6800' It's gonna snow in Winnipeg today, so I will be working rather than flying. Have fun on the sunny West Coast!

Grouse Report - Flying report, Steve H. took my wing up the tram for me and a friend and I hiked the Grouse grind. There was no east wind as predicted . It was coming up straight and light. Very warm up there. Flew in shorts, not bad for mid Oct. Steve squeeked out 40-45 min. Dan and I were heavy on the tandem,20-25 min.Better then I thought it would be. Headed back to work, great day! - Glen T.

October 15 Woodside Sunny. High 20° 0% POP 050° at 5 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
2200 m/6800' sled rides??

October 14 Sumas Sunny. High 14° 0% POP 090° at 7 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
3000 m/9900' Sumas Report - Norm and Bev tried to get up Sumas and encountered a new gate 8 km from launch, a bit far to hike in. Interesting how Crown Land can get gated to keep us out, but we can't lock others away from our launch sites? This is the time of year we need a SE facing site.

Woodside Report - a few Hgers flew Woodside in lee conditions, very stable not too many turns. Even Rob S abandoned flying to install some deck boards at Eagle Ranch.

October 13 Cornwall

we will be flying Cornwall Sunday, Woodside Monday
Sunny. High 14° 0% POP light and variable -2.4°/1000'
(unstable lapse rate)
3000 m/9900' Interior Report - we made our way up to Cornwall by 10:30 am, and arrived to light snow showers and winds over the back, we bailed and headed to Savona where the groups broke into beginner and advanced pilots, beginners flying off the "Crash Pad" into the "Toilet Bowl" and advanced pilots flying off "Deadman's" into the "Crash Pad". We had 4 flights off the training slopes and Colleen's 13 year old second cousin Alex had his first flight off the Dump Ridge.



Bev flying off Deadman's

None of the advanced pilots got much lift but they all made the Crash Pad, and two Vancouver pilots were noted hanging under bags this weekend, Gerry LaMarsh (on his new Sport) and Charles Matheson (on his Matrix). Charles hit me up for the Woodside Outhouse fund and FlyBC donated $200 toward the new facilities.

October 12 Savona/Deadman's

we will be flying Savona today and Cornwall tomorrow
Sunny. High 14° 0% POP light and variable -2.4°/1000'
(unstable lapse rate)
3000 m/9900' Savona Report - typical Savona weather! Started out light east winds but almost everyone was late or lost so we got up to the Dump Ridge late and it was howling (too strong for students, but Norm had a few short flights that Adam captured on video), and we went to the school to kite. Later after everyone showed up we headed to the Dump Ridge again. Again it was deemed too strong as I flew an XS Santana and was having trouble staying out front and had to side hill land cause it was too strong on the top of the hill.

We then decided to go to Cornwall, so the convoy was off, 4 vehicles met at the Manor and we all 12 piled into the white Suburban and Bev and Norm followed in the Subaru. When we got to the top, thru a bit of snow and ice, we were treated to sweet launching conditions and Colleen flew first. Her ride was a bit bumpy off launch for 5 minutes but she wasn't talking on the radio so we waited. Finally she turned on her radio and said it was pretty smooth after launch, so Norm flew, then Brent L. and then Adam. None of the after launch maneuvers inspired the students to fly, so I flew Frank's Orange Sky glider down to save packing it at the top. Everyone made it to the Manor LZ, except me. And as I landed just before dark, it was clear that the whole mountain went catabatic, as I landed tail wind in the field across from the manor (it switched 180 degrees from the last flights). Tomorrow the students will fly early hopefully.

October 11 Bridal Clearing. High 15° 0% POP light and variable -2.4°/1000'
(unstable lapse rate)
1000 m/3100' Blanchard Report - Jack, Harold and Frank and I went to Blanchard to get some flights and deliver a wing to Russ O (an old WA client) and they all flew three flights in light lift. Dan, an Alaskan pilot, ended up flying into the trees and was getting a team together to retrive the wing as we left. No injuries.

Woodside Report - Nicole logged 3 hours while other flew many flights, some landing when it got rough and going back to relaunch. Glen T finally came back to Woodside after flying Grouse all summer, welcome back. Bev had fun going tandem with Ian and landing on Norm in the LZ at Eagle Ranch.
October 10 Bridal Clearing. High 13° 0% POP 330° at 16 knots -2.5°/1000'
(unstable lapse rate)
800 m/2700' Blanchard Report - After many times changing my mind where to fly today decided Blanchard was the correct call. Thomas Hasek and I headed down (bring along a passport for the border) There is some serious attitude from certain individuals there, that I won`t elaborate on here!!

Anyways ....... there were a couple of paragliders flying when we arrived scratching wayyyyyyyyyyyy low and managed to regain enough height to get back over launch. It was bizzare as the wind was northerly and the lift was out over the water?? After watching this for quite some time and observing the change in the wind direction ( more west ) and strength we launched. Very nice with some broken strong thermals mixed in to keep your attention. There were about six paragliders in the air with room enough for everyone. Hands were frozen and I top-landed with Thomas not long afterwards to drive down with bigass grins on our faces as it was one of those Blanchard days when it was worth the effort to wait it out and have a great day!!!! - Thomm

glad to hear you are enjoying the new Proton! - Jim

October 9 Stay home one more day at least Occasional drizzle. High 16° 100% POP 290° at 12 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
300 m/1000' Woodside Report - windy at launch and landing and I couldn't talk Allan D to come flying so I worked on the hot tub and deck - Jim

October 8 Stay home one more day at least Occasional drizzle. High 16° 100% POP 290° at 8 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
300 m/1000' Rain and low cloudbase all day, maybe Savona will be better this weekend!

October 7 Stay home for a few days Occasional drizzle. High 14° 100% POP 290° at 11 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
600 m/1900' no clearing today

October 6 Whidbey for the PM Occasional drizzle. High 14° 40% POP 290° at 6 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
600 m/1900' No pireps, Whidbey looked like mist all day, Blanchard may have worked for a few hours.

October 5 Woodside (a long shot) Fog and occasional drizzle. High 15° 60% POP 280° at 12 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
700 m/2400' Woodside Report lots of low clouds obscuring launch, otherwise flyable with light winds and no rain. Thanks to Norm, Bev (for helping with the deck) and Rob S for chopping up the trees. And thanks to Colleen, for putting up with my obsession.

October 4 Woodside A mix of sun and cloud. High 16° 0% POP 280° at 8 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
1000 m/3100' Woodside Report - hats off to Jack Carlson, who worked alone all day at launch. But he didn't fly because he thought the valley winds were too high, and he couldn't get us on the radio. We were trying to call him to say it was good to go.

October 3 Stay Home until later it may clear Clearing late afternoon. High 16° 100% POP 330° at 5 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
700 m/2600' Woodside Report - Ian J, Rob S, Ed R (Kamloops flier), Colleen, Derek, Allan, Jack and I flew from 4:00 pm on. Cloudbase was as predicted at 700 meters so cloudsuck occurred at times. Flights ranged from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. Rob S toplanded to drive my Suburban down and he lent me his Octane for a flight (thanks Rob). Ed forgot to leave his keys with his truck so a plan to drop the keys was formulated and later abandoned as he finally top-landed too as cloudbase was dropping (not pretty we were told but he got in - not bad for a second season pilot. But beware all top-landings dramatically increase the risk of an incident occurring).

October 2 Stay Home Rain starting late afternoon. High 18° 100% POP 250° at 16 knots -2.4°/1000'
(unstable lapse rate)
800 m/2800 ft Woodside Report - Robin dared the elements and had a great soaring flight. Woodside can be a magic mountain some days, when it looks bad everywhere else.

October 1 Woodside/Bridal/Blanchard Afternoon sunny periods. High 18° 0% POP 290° at 6 knots -2.66°/1000'
(unstable lapse rate)
1700 m/5800 ft Woodside Report - soaring at Woodside with average flight times of 40 minutes. Bev was top of the stack! Jack sunk out :-(

I caught a last minute sled-ride test-flying a new glider.

September 30 Stay Home Cloudy with afternoon sunny periods. A few showers. High 14° 30% POP 310° at 5 knots -2.0°/1000'
(stable lapse rate)
650 m/2200 ft Woodside Report - Ian J, Nicole, Allan and Derek logged about an hour each before landing to warm up. New snow on Cheam and Hope Mountains, freezing level down to 5000 feet. Winter is coming, dress warm.

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 Clup 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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