FlyBC's Paragliding Site of the Day Octber 2016 Archive Page - from the Universe's Largest Paragliding Centre :-)

Date	Site	Forecast	Winds @ 3000' in knots	Lapse Rate °C/1000' Cloud Base in Meters	Comments
10-31-16	Canberra Spring Ridge looks good today . . . if we can find launch	Melbourne VIC Sunny. High 16C. Winds WNW at 15 to 30 km/h.	320° @ 15	-3.0°C (unstable) 1800 metres	Spring Hill Report - today showed NW winds in the forecast so we stayed in Canberra in a nice tourist park. We drove to a ridge site called Spring Hill which can be found on the local sites guide of the HGFA . Spring Hill is a NW facing ridge with a 4x4 road up to the launch areas. We were going to hike up but when we arrived the winds were as reported NW 30 gusting to 45 kph. Even the birds were having trouble getting upwind as it was very gusty. The site looks very nice though on a less windy day. We arrived in Sydney around noon and got settled into the nice Adina Apartment Hotel as Colleen's next conference starts tonight. John and I went to Sydney Harbour for dinner and drinks by the Harbour Bridge, where one can go on a tour of the top of the bridge. John says they are hooked in with harnesses and ropes, but it looks quite daring. Tomorrow looks windy from the west, and they only launch for west wind is in the Blue Mountains about 2 hours away so I will wait for East winds and Stanwell Park.
10-30-16	Flinders looks good again today	Bright VIC Rain. High 18C. Winds NNW at 25 to 45 km/h.	240° @ 15	-3.0°C (unstable) 1800 metres	Bright Report - Today showed Strong NW winds in the forecast so we are driving towards Canberra. We had rain and strong winds all the way to Canberra but it got sunny for dinner in yet another brew pub.
10-29-16	Bright looked good in the AM with strong winds from the north as a front rolls thru	Bright VIC Plentiful sunshine. High 18C. Winds NW at 15 to 30 km/h.	240° @ 15	-3.0°C (unstable) 1800 metres	Bright Report - Today's forecast showed North winds in the forecast so headed towards Bright Launch after a nice breakfast in Mt. Beauty. We found the LZ and saw about 20 gliders in the air, some at cloudbase around 2000 metres. Others just sledding out to the LZ. Colleen talked to some of the pilots and they were done for the day as it looked like it would get strong and they were newbies. They advised just driving up was fastest as the shuttles were done for the day. The road up is not too bad, gravel and narrow in places but doable in the rental car. We arrived on top to see a few beginners in the air out front doing not too bad, but by the time Colleen got laid out and ready to fly they were all in the LZ. A few other pilots were on launch and the PGers took off leaving Colleen and one lone lady HGer left on launch. Strong cycles rolled thru and then nothing, so it was not meteo wind rather just thermic cycles that were far apart. Colleen took off and got in a few turns but mostly it was a sledride out to the LZ. Odd that it was so good early on and then it shut down? I drove down to the LZ and Colleen talked me into flying too, hoping it would get better. We saw several HG trucks head up too, so why not! Apparently the Lady HGer that had taken off after Colleen had hit sink and "got flushed into the trees" (her version), and she was on the ground and okay walking out to the road. I suspect she was scratchig too close for the conditions and miscalculated the sink cycles (or was 360-ing instead of figure-8-ing. It was again strong cycles in the trees and then big lulls as I laid out the Zeno. A HGer took off ahead of me and he was on the way to the LZ pretty fast. I had a nice inflation on the Zeno, but as I turned the Zeno shot forward pretty fast which I caught with a bit of skill and hard braking and forward momentum and I got sucked off launch. I caught some climbs out to the right of launch and got above launch for maybe 10 minutes as another HGer took off on a red Moyes glider. He was trying to thermal in some weird places as I stayed out front hoping the thermals would stay solid but the north winds were kicking in, not enough to ridge soar but enough to blow the thermals apart. After 15 minutes I headed out and it took forever to ge tdown as it was thermic over the LZ and about 30 kph of N wind. The red HGer was seting up over the bigger LZ where his buddy had landed earlier so I landed in the Active Tandem LZ where someone was kiting. As I came in on final a black & white bird did an angry pass at me, clearly not happy with my presence. Colleen was down just as I packed up so we went for lunch at a local brew Pub and then Colleen soaked her feet in the river. We headed back to our cozy motel but stopped at a winery for a tasting tour. Nice vacation so far! Later we went for dinner about a 2 km walk from the motel, where they have a limo service to take clients back home after wining & dining. The limo is a 1990 Lincoln stretch limo in really good shape. Cross Country Mag had a nice article on Bright in 2014
10-28-16	Flinders looks good again today	Melbourne VIC Plentiful sunshine. High 18C. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 km/h.	240° @ 15	-3.0°C (unstable) 1800 metres	Sunnyside Report - Today's forecast showed SW winds in the forecast so headed towards Sunnyside. It was too south and too light but it was a nice place to soak up the sun and watch the surf. After a nap I headed back to pick up Colleen as her Conference ended at 5 pm and we were driving to Bright for the evening.
10-27-16	Nice strong SW winds here in Melbourne so I am going flying	Melbourne VIC Plentiful Sunshine. High 18C. Winds SW 15 to 25 kph.	240° @ 10	-3.0°C (unstable) 2000 metres	Flinders Report - Today showed SW winds in the forecast so I am driving towards Flinders. I visited a few sites I found in the Paragliding Map App, but none seemed that good for layout or wind direction. I did find a nice lighthouse at Cape Schank where there is supposed to be a site. At another site further east I met Luke and Alexis packing out a speed wing it was too cross and he was heading to Flinders Golf Course so I followed him. When we arrived there were a few gliders in the air, and as we closer they were Speedwings, so it was strong. As it got lighter the speedwings sunk out and the pilots reappeared on their big wings, here is one on his Swift 4 after landing his Litespeed. I watched a few more gliders take off and it got lighter so I laid out the Zeno on this small launch pad, kind of had to lay it cross wise to fit ala Cobra Launch style and I took off first try and started climbing above the lone HGer and about 5 other PGers. Odd that the aussies drive on the wrong side of the road, but they have the same ridge rule as us! I flew for 30 minutes and then landed down on the beach as the rules state: No top landings or golf course landings. Oddly my new Spot Tracker only recorded the takeoff and landing, I have to check the settings.
10-23-16 to 10-26-16	Woodside looks wet and rainy so we are heading to Australia & SUN	Melbourrne VIC Woodside: Rain & occasional showers during the afternoon. High 10C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.	240° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Tourist Report - the FlyBC Coaches are in Australia for a three week tour of Sydney & Melbourne. Today showed NW winds in the forecast so I am driving towards Melbourne. Colleen was smart and on a tight timeframe so she flew in a jet while I drove 8 hours. Nice fast highways but the kangaroo carcasses (over 50 in 600 kms) hows you that you should not drive at night! I got to Melbourne and our 5 Star hotel by dusk thankfully. The past few day here was spent shopping and orienting to the time zone and climate, with a few rainshowers. Colleen is busy at the conference so we just get to go out for dinners.
10-22-16	Woodside will have light outflow in the AM and some showers expected for later but Saturday looks great	Agassiz BC Mostly sunny skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. High 13C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.	240° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - we had some outflow as forecast for Woodside Launch but only Mark C got a flight as 10 other pilots waited for the outflow to stop. Colleen & I stayed on the ground as we were packing and later are heading to Australia for a three week tour of Sydney & Melbourne. Claudia led a group of pilots up Elk on Saturday & Sunday and were rewarded with nice flights both days.
10-21-16	Woodside will have light outflow in the AM and some showers expected for later but Saturday looks great	Agassiz BC Mostly sunny skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. High 13C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.	240° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Elk Report - Woodside had some early outflow, but by noon it was launchable but no one was here to fly so I did chores and shipments. Kevin, Brad & Dave from Oregon flew Elk and had amazing flights with some +5 m/s thermals and cold conditions at 'base. Kevin top-landed to warm up and then relaunched and they all flew to Brad's farm in Rosedale.
10-20-16	Woodside will have rainshowers today but Saturday looks good	Agassiz BC Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 15C. Winds light and variable.	320° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 300 metres	Valley Report - I had a nice ferry ride to Nanaimo delivering a paramotor to Richard T, and it was mixed weather from Horeshoe Bay to Harrison Mills. Some sun, some showers and a thunderstorm over Agassiz with some hail as I got to the Ranch around 6 pm. I did have some time to edit some footage from yesterday.
10-19-16	Woodside will have a brief reprieve today from the rains, but cloudbase looks like 200 metres, so no local flying unless it is a paramotor	Agassiz BC Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 15C. Winds light and variable.	320° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 300 metres	Woodside Report - we had a few hours of mixed sun and clouds with low cloudbase, so Dennie, Linda & Kevin came out to fly. Linda tested the air for the boys launching first and she had some thermalling. Dennie & Kevin caught some lift too, but Kevin was flying my cheater wing - "Zeno" and stayed aloft for 45 minutes disapearing into the soup a few times. The plan was for all of us to fly but Kevin's Alpina2 MS might not have kept my large frame in the air for that long so I drove down to save the retrieve time.
10-16-16 to 10-18-16	Woodside will have heavy rains and stormy winds for at least 7 days as the remnants of a Pacific Typhoon pound SW BC	Agassiz BC Periods of rain. Amount 5 to 10 mm. High 12.	220° @ 10	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Rain Report for October 16 - 18 - heavy rain forecast for Woodside Launch came true and it was very wet, but the wind warnings somewhat fizzled thankfully. Meanwhile in another part of the world it was sunny and soarable. Ozone Rapido & Zero from Victor Gordillo on Vimeo.
10-15-16	Woodside will have heavy rains and stormy winds for at least 7 days as the remnants of a Pacific Typhoon pound SW BC	Agassiz BC Showers ending early this morning then cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers this morning. Rain beginning early this afternoon. Amount 5 to 10 mm. Temperature steady near 11. Tonight: Rain. Amount 10 to 15 mm. Wind east 30 km/h becoming southwest 50 gusting to 70 after midnight. Temperature steady near 11.	190° @ 30	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Woodside Report - heavy rain forecast for Woodside Launch for the next 7 days but today we did not get much precip, and we had strong outflow winds which are usually drier conditions. Brazil Report - while we are hiding out from the monsoons, Brazilian PG Pilots have been breaking records going 564 kms on October 10th flying Gin Boomerang 10 & Ozone EnZo2. XC Mag article here . And last week Hunter had a really nice Pemby Flight on his new Ozone Swift 4.
10-14-16	Woodside will have heavy rains and stormy winds for at least 7 days as the remnants of a Pacific Typhoon pound SW BC	Agassiz BC Periods of rain. High 12C. Winds SSE at 15 to 30 km/h. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near 12mm.	190° @ 20	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Woodside Report - heavy rain forecast for Woodside Launch did not materialize here. We also avoided the strong winds experienced everywhere else in BC. Interesting look at CanadaRASP showed us in a protected zone, while everything else looks super windy (this happens sometimes in South windstorms). Generator is fueled and ready, and wired into the house if the power goes out. Still thinking of Cali trip cause it looks nice in the south.
10-13-16	Woodside will have heavy rains and stormy winds for at least 7 days as the remnants of a Pacific Typhoon pound SW BC	Agassiz BC Rain likely. High 12C. Winds NE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over 25mm.	090° @ 20	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Woodside Monsoon Report - heavy rain forecast was for Woodside Launch for the next 7 days but today was not as bad as I thought it would be. I had to do a Sumas Border run and it was raining a bit near Sumas Mtn. and then not bad on the way back to the Ranch. When I came over the Harrison River Bridge it almost looked flyable with lots of low clouds to skirt around and light outflow. Mother Woodside! Generator is ready for power outages for the next few days. The weather warnings are pretty severe. Alerts for: Fraser Valley Statements 4:46 AM PDT Friday 14 October 2016 Special weather statement in effect for: Fraser Valley - east including Chilliwack Fraser Valley - west including Abbotsford The second in a series of storms is currently over the South Coast. Heavy showers will continue with this storm but strong south or southeast winds are the main concern. Wind warnings have already been issued for many South Coast regions with the strongest winds this morning. The third and potentially most powerful storm will approach the coast late Saturday. This low pressure system will be accompanied by very strong winds and heavy rainfall. Computer weather models are predicting a range of landfalls Saturday evening anywhere from northwestern Washington State to central Vancouver Island. A worst-case windstorm scenario for the Inner South Coast would be a landfall along central or southern Vancouver Island. However, if the storm makes landfall and tracks over Washington State, the storm would not impact BC nearly as much. As details concerning the precise storm track become clearer, warnings will be issued for multiple regions throughout the next couple of days. Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to pacificstorm@ec.gc.ca or tweet reports to #BCStorm.
10-12-16	Woodside will have outflow winds until noon but it looks launchable now on the webcam	Agassiz BC Mainly sunny. Increasing cloudiness late this afternoon. High 14. UV index 3 or moderate.	240° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Woodside Report - there was an outflow forecast for Woodside Launch til noon so we did a reconn trip up Horsefly to check out the road and launch conditions. We went up in Chris D's big F350 but I am sure the FlyBC Van would handle the cross ditches, but you will need 4x4 and good tires to get up there, and this is the outflow season that it works well for. The trees have grown up in front of launch again in only one season, so a work party will be launched one day soon. Chris & Pete installed some ribbons on the lone snag, and as soon as we did that it went to SW from the light NE wind that we found as we arrived at noon. It was time to head back to Woodside after a quick bite at the Sasquatch Inn. When we arrived at the Ranch we found Dennie, Linda, Derek, and a few others and we all piled into Chris' truck and we went to launch to find nice reversible cycles despite outflow winds in the Valley. I flew off on the Zeno after the others had sunken, and I found a few turns in front of launch and further out but 14 minutes was all I got in nice air. Dennie went up one last time to take a work mate tandem, and it looked similar with a few more thermals as I built a nice campfire - the last of this week as the heavy rains come in all week long. We have SupAir Leaf here for demo as soon as the weather improves. august 26, 2016 Paragliding from jonas Laplace on Vimeo.
10-11-16	Woodside will have outflow winds until late afternoon so maybe a quick trip to Merritt is in order to get teh students some flights	Agassiz BC Sunny. High 16C. Winds N at 15 to 25 km/h.	060° @ 10	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Merritt Report - we had an outflow forecast for Woodside Launch so a roadtrip to Merritt started when left the Ranch at 930 am. Hwy 5 was fast and clear and we arrived to calm winds in Merritt so up Sugarloaf Mtn for Dawson, also attending was Chris D & Peter M who are doing an Instructor Recert this week. We had cross wind at launch but occasional straight in cycles as Dawson flew off on the demo Geo 4. Chris flew off on his Litespeed 17 and they both landed by the road on the Upper Bench area in NE winds. Pete followed on our demo Leaf M and also landed on the Upper Bench. Due to the NE flows I decided we could let Dawson fly the Water Tank Launch which faces NE. He did a good forward until he paused to look at the wing threatening to cause an aborted launch as it was very light. He did launch and had a short sleddie down to a dry spot in the sage. The Instructors decided not to fly as we were headed back to Woodside as Derek had called to say the outflow had stopped. We raced home to see Derek & Dennie above launch as we came out of Agassiz. We went straight up to Launch and there were nice reversible cycles as we saw Derek climb through to 1100 metres. Dawson had a nice reverse launch and was thermalling out front on the Leaf M, while Pete set up his new Magnum2 tandem to take Chris for a flight. A bit of driving but we got Dawson 3 more high flights and he only needs 6 more to be P-2 certified.
10-10-16	Woodside will have outflow winds all day	Agassiz BC Sunshine and clouds mixed. High near 15C. Winds NE 10-15 kph.	060° @ 10	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Woodside Report - we arrived back at the Ranch at 3 pm to find strong NE winds, but clear skies and of course no pilots in the air. Some folks had a fun time at Revy on their speed wings . . . Jamie Lee says he is on the Ozone Rapido 7 proto but we can now order you the production model of the Ozone Rapido 7 metre. Better be able to run fast to take off! Mt Cartier Heli Speedfly from Jamie Lee on Vimeo.
10-9-16	Woodside will have showers and low clouds so classes are cancelled til mid-day Monday	Agassiz BC Sunshine and clouds mixed. Slight chance of a rain shower. High near 15C. Winds light and variable.	060° @ 10	-3.0°C (unstable) 700 metres	Woodside Report - despite a showery forecast for Woodside Launch and low cloudbase, a group of pilots were seen flying and getting cloudsuck at times as we headed north to Spences Bridge. Un-named pilot took this shot today.
10-8-16	Woodside will have showers and low clouds so classes are cancelled	Agassiz BC Rain. High 13C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near 12mm.	060° @ 10	-3.0°C (unstable) 400 metres	Monsoon Report - heavy rainfall warning for Fraser Valley came true, good day for car repairs and indoor chores.
10-7-16	Woodside will have showers and low clouds so no classes are planned	Agassiz BC Rain. High 13C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near 12mm.	090° @ 10	-3.0°C (unstable) 400 metres	Woodside Report - showery forecast with high winds for Woodside Launch, and it became reality so did lots of indoor chores. Looks like Monday may deliver some sunny skies. For explaining Newton's Theory of Flight. Hand Glide from 80D on Vimeo.
10-6-16	Woodside may have showers and low clouds so maybe a ground school session after noon	Agassiz BC Cloudy with showers. High around 15C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.	250° @ 10	-3.0°C (unstable) 400 metres	Woodside Report - rained all day, good time for heading to Sumas to pick up Yu's paramotor.
10-5-16	Woodside may have outflow and clouds so maybe a roadtrip to Cornwall will work	Agassiz BC Cache Creek: A mix of sun and cloud. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate.	090° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 1900 metres	Benny Report - there was an outflow forecast for Woodside Launch, so I planned a Cornwall trip early on but no one else wanted to roadtrip. While in Chilliwack doing errands I stopped in at GVP, the local CanAM dealer to look at the new 6 person Defender ATV. They gave me the sales spiel and showed me the price at $20,000 plus taxes. They also said that farmers love these units and everytime one goes out on demo they get a new sale. I asked "How much for a demo?", they replied "Free" so I took one home with me and test drove it up Mt. St. Benedict following Al's FJ. Smooth ride and it does the cross ditches without slowing down. It also has a dump bed big enough for 5 gliders, so no need for a roof rack. It was quite fast on the way down after I watched Martin N & James F fly off, 25 minutes to the gate. I tested top speed on the road and it was over 80 kph uphill, thanks to the 1000 cc motor. As I was driving back to the Ranch with the Defender on a trailer toward Hwy 7, I saw Paddy and then Martin, Derek and James all doing the downwind run towards Woodside. Big development from my vantage point. Fish was meeting me at the Ranch to do his graduation flight (last minute), and write his P-2 exam. We ran up Woodside in the Defender and it was a breeze even though I went up in 2WD. Fish flew off as James came overhead on his way from Benny. It was nicely lifty as Fish climbed out on his new SupAir EIKO 20. When I arrived back at the Ranch, there was quite strong outflow winds in the LZ, nice for landing into. Congratulations to the XC Pilots: Martin N, Derek, James and Claudia who all made it to Woodside and Eagle Ranch. Is it coincidence that they were all flying Ozone Swift EN-B gliders? Maybe . . . but they are all excellent pilots and today was a great day considering it was October 5th.
10-4-16	Woodside may only be good for ground handling and some paramotoring between showers	Agassiz BC Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High 16C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.	250° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 600 metres	Woodside Report - it rained earlier but we taught some paramotoring with Richard at 3 pm, cloudbase was too low for Woodside Launch to be visible but the fields were dry and clear above.
10-3-16	Woodside after noon due to outflow forecast but we have some ground training to do before then	Agassiz BC Sunshine and clouds mixed. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 16C. Winds light and variable.	250° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 900 metres	Woodside Report - I was doing double duties today: helping Jessica get tuned up for her first solo flights & geetting Richard ready for his first paramotor flight. Richard did a great job and was in the air first try on our new MiniPlane Top80 unit and he flew around for 30 minutes while Jessica kited. Jessica had 10 forward launches all perfect form, while Richard motored overhead. After the fun on the ground, we started flying at Woodside today after noon. Derek & Martin N joined us and they launched first to check the air. Then Jessica had her first launch and she did very well. Derek hit some sink and was in our Eagle Ranch LZ and guided Jessica in for her first perfect landing. Martin N found some sun and managed to stay aloft, while Richard launched for the first of three PG flights after his motoring fun. I raced down and collected Jessica, Derek & Richard and this time Derek stayed up with Martin as the others sledded down. By the end of the day, Jessica had done three perfect flights . . . a good start to a long PG Career hopefully.
10-2-16	Woodside after noon due to outflow forecast	Agassiz BC Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 19C. Winds NW at 10 to 15 km/h.	250° @ 5	-3.0°C (unstable) 1500 metres	Woodside Report - we were flying at Woodside today after 11 am. There was outflow expected and Agassiz said "NE 18 Gusting to 29" on the EC website, but it was inflow at Woodside Launch. I just had Billy here and he logged four flights and some nice thermalling. Billy is now up to 10 flights and his launches are very solid as he got off first try everytime while other P-2 pilots were struggling to get off. We finished off at 5 pm after completing his "online log book", we are now using Google Drive to manage student log books as we have too many students to do it manually. And they can view their progress and what needs to be worked on to graduate. Reports from Benny said 18 pilots came out to fly there and Derek & Martin were sitting on Hwy 7 looking for a ride as the got shaded out betewwn Dewdney & Deroche. The PWC Comp is on at La Reunion France, and as usual Phillipe Broers is filming the event. World Cup La Reunion task 1 Sunday from Philippe Broers on Vimeo.
10-1-16	Woodside early until it rains	Agassiz BC Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers this afternoon. High 16C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.	250° @ 12	-3.0°C (unstable) 800 metres	Woodside Report - we were flying at Woodside today after 8 am. There was rain on the radar over Vancouver & Bellingham but it held off here til noon, and by then we had done three student flights. Dean & Eric both flew in light winds and then they wrote their P-2 Exams and did very well. They have graduated to P-2 Status as of today! The wings were a bit damp as the grass never dried off all day, but the Inspection Rack upstairs is a convenient place to let them dry out.