FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives" - April/2003
| Date | Site | Forecast | Precip. | Winds Aloft 3000 ft. | Lapse Rate | calculated by SOAR8.XLW | Comments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 30 | Bridal/Woodside/Grouse | Cloudy with sunny periods and 60 percent chance of afternoon showers. High 18° | 60% POP | light and variable | -2.8°/1000' (unstable lapse rate) | 1500 m 4700 ft. |
Bridal Report - About the same weather as yesterday, but way less windy, so a bunch of us met at Bridal LZ. The windsock was showing big cycles, and we were all soon in the air. The air was kind of rough down low around launch; smoothed out as you got higher. Lots of lift in the bowl and no problems getting to Gloria; Rob S. went to Elk and later on top-landed to drive down. Carl hiked up and joined us for a short flight and we all landed around 7-7:30pm - Nicole
| April 29
| Bridal
| A mix of sun and cloud. Increasing cloudiness with 40 percent chance of showers in the afternoon. High 21.°
| 40% POP
| 310° at 6 knots
| -3.1°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1500 m | 4700 ft.
Edmonton Report - lots of huge puppy CUs by 11:00 am, but I couldn't find Ted to tow me up, plus I had to work inside.
| Valley Report - Mark F flew 5 hours on his new Summit! Allan flew 3:45. It was quite strong off launch, Allan climbed out in a few passes. April 28
| Sumas
| Mix of sun and cloud. High 19°
| 0% POP
| 100° at 13 knots
| -3.1°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1500 m | 4700 ft.
Grouse Report - Peter G reported huge springtime conditions at Grouse after launching off the Cut. He flew everywhere for 2 hours, nearly reaching Seymour. Landing was quite exciting as he kept getting popped up even with ears on! Peter witnessed a crash at the Peak Launch as someone launhed, took an assymetric and pounded into the hill which is soft snow. They hiked down after that.
Justin and Mark D flew later experiencing some bumpy air, also launching off the Cut.
| Valley Report - bad call on the winds, it was howling up to 40 km/hr most of the day. Only one Russian flew off Bridal and everyone else drove down. The birds were parked over Eagle Ranch trying to head north. April 27
| Woodside
| Cloudy with a few showers. High 15°
| 50% POP
| 260° at 3 knots
| -2.9°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1115 m | 3625 ft.
Woodside Report - there is an unofficial site competition going on between Bridal and Woodside (some pilots are boycotting Woodside . . . or so it seems, could be the hike out of Riverside or the fees being charged?). But today the competition was easily won by Derek, Roman, Rob S and Mark F at Woodside. A little over three hours of airtime in huge leeside thermals that took all four of them up to 1500 meters way out over Kilby Park. There was huge sink at times on the mountain that could flush you from above launch all the way to the deck in a few minutes due to the NE flow aloft, and then you would get plucked up at over +7 m/s with your legs flailing trying to keep balanced!
| The last flights off around 5:00 pm were in either no wind or tailwind launches and then we were totally shut down as it picked up to over 10 km over the back. Bridal Report - Allan, Norm and Ihor were over at Bridal and Norm logged over an hour getting to 1400 meters, Allan's airtime was 2.5 hours. Similar sink and lift situation as above. East wind in the LZ. Blanchard Report - Went to Blanchard as there was nice development on the coast but no rain. Light NW winds on launch and a couple PGers in the air when I arrived, so I joined them. Thermals were rather ratty and generally rough air, but got nice and high a few times. After about 1.5 hours the wind started to pick up so went out to land; it very quickly became windy in the LZ and later - pilots landing were coming in backwards! - Nicole April 26
| Woodside/Bridal
| A mix of sun and cloud. Fog patches early this morning. High 15°
| 10% POP
| 260° at 6 knots
| -2.9°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1115 m | 3625 ft.
Rock Wall Report - we had an outstanding number of volunteers show up to help construct the new rock wall that defines the party and spectator area at Eagle Ranch. 26 tonnes of rock were moved and placed in about 3 hours! When the gravel fill is placed we will have a 24'x48' raised deck area for bonfires, picnics and for just sitting in the shade between flights. Thanks to everyone that helped - Jim & Colleen.
| Woodside Report - at about 10:00 am, while we were building the rock wall we watched some pilots launch and appeared "parked" on their way out to Riverside LZ. Evelyn and Andrew had to turn tail and head to Agassiz where they landed safely. One un-named pilot misjudged the approach into Riverside and has earned the new nickname "Ornament" after ending up hanging in a tree! I think he forgot to read the FlyBC Tips section on high wind approaches. We tired to fly around 6:30 pm, and it was still blown-out. The HGers flew but it was basic ridge soaring, Martin said he could slow the Stealth and go backwards so it was blowing at least 35 km in the air. Grouse Report - Saturday at Grouse was awesome. Had to slog it up in knee deep snow to launch. Widespread lift with cloudbase 1000 feet above the summit. Only Peter Graf and myself in the air, but Peter was already flying an hour and a half before I got there. At about 4:30 I think a front came through and within minutes there was massive development everywhere and we had to fight to stay out of the white stuff. I just kept heading away from the mountain and going up-up-up all the way to the upper levels (at 1500 m!) I think it was the kind of day you might have been able to fly to Kits (if you were so inclined to log your last flight at Grouse). I flew an hour and a half and landed early because my feet got wet on the hike up and my toes were frozen solid. Lucky I didn't have to run on landing! - Ian M April 25
| Woodside/Bridal
| Cloudy with afternoon sunny periods. 40 percent chance of showers. Morning fog patches. High 13°
| 30% POP
| 290° at 6 knots
| -2.9°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1115 m | 3625 ft.
Bridal Report - lots of pilots arrived at Bridal expecting great flights, but Allan and Nikolai ruled the day logging 4 hours! Mark F went the furthest landing near Laidlaw. | Woodside Report - Norm, Bev, Andy and I were the only pilots at Woodside and we enjoyed great thermals getting up to 1550 meters, Andy enjoyed boating all over Harrison Mills. Norm and I logged over 1:15, landing when we got cold - Jim Grouse Report - Grouse was on today, showing the best of spring conditions. The clouds kept the peak shrouded till about 4, and it was a tough slog to the peak, but well worth the wait and effort. There was lift everywhere. I cruised around for just over an hour, but then had to head back to go swimming with a 6-year old. Reminds me of the days when Grouse offered up excellent flights as late as 7 pm. Cheers, Peter April 24
| Stay Home today
| Showers. High 13°
| 60% POP
| 190° at 6 knots
| -2.9°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 700 m | 2340 ft.
Rain for the past 47 days! Ugh!
I hope it is better for the Rock Wall Project Saturday Morning. | April 23
| Stay Home today
| Periods of rain. High 13°
| 70% POP
| 160° at 16 knots
| -2.9°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 966 m | 3140 ft.
Woodside Report - Allan and I hiked into the cliffs to the right of launch at Woodside to look for the missing camera, after two hours we gave up for the day. It was launchable but spitting rain once in a while so we didn't feel like getting our gliders wet so we drove down. | April 22
| Bridal/Woodside
| Cloudy with afternoon sunny periods. Fog patches early this morning. High 17
°
| 0% POP
| 180° at 6 knots
| -2.8°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 966 m | 3140 ft.
Woodside Report - Derek T, Keith, Harold and I flew Woodside. Everyone got above launch for some time. Harold's second flight was very nice, smooth +2.5 m/s lift and he logged 35 minutes. I launched a bit earlier than Harold and managed to get 49 minutes - Jim | Bridal Report - Nikolai, Igor and several others flew Bridal getting from 25 minutes to an hour. A lot of grovelling to get above launch. Island Report - Dallas has been on for 4 of the last 5 days. Yesterday I flew at lunch for 45 minutes and again after work for about 3 hours. At one point, there were 9 gliders in the air. The mountains have also been on with very long thermal flights at Prevost on Tuesday and Saturday - Bruce McG. April 21
| Bridal
| Cloudy with a few showers. Locally windy this afternoon. High 15°
| 0% POP
| 350° at 11 knots
| -2.4°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1300 m | 4000 ft.
Fraser Valley Report - forecast was way off! It was beautiful at Woodside until about 1:00 pm, when cloudbase descended and stayed below launch all day. Rain started around 4:00 pm. | April 20
| Savona
| Cloudy, then sunny periods. East winds all day. High 17°
| 0% POP
| 190° at 5 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1800 m | 6000 ft.
Savona Report - we pretty much got blown out for students, I took my wing out once on the Dump Ridge and it was gusty and too strong. So we headed back to Woodside. | Woodside Report - Colleen flew at about 5:30 pm and took about an hour to fly to Eagle Ranch. She launched in light conditions, but it got progressively stronger as we waited for her to land. She was at 900 meters over the LZ flying straight out! Idiot Lift! Bridal Report - there were many pilots flying Bridal when we drove by, Robin was above Allan and Allan was at 1400 meters and saying something about east winds? They all had great flights it sounded like on the radio. April 19
| Savona
| Cloudy, then sunny periods. East winds all day. High 17°
| 0% POP
| 190° at 10 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1800 m | 6000 ft.
Ashcroft Report - we arrived at Savona's Dump Launch around 10:00 am as the rain started to fall. Everyone agreed with heading back to Ashcroft because it was dry there when we drove through. | We headed up Coyote Hill near the Manor, to check out the wind as Kim Jenner was taking a HG friend up there too. We arrived to find a strong east wind perfect for this site, and Nikolai launched first soaring up high. Norm followed and also fly high, catching some thermals with the ridge lift. Al, the HGer, flew a few passes but went too far north and sunk out. We decided it was too strong for the new students but Barry flew down to the Manor after I saw Norm and Nikolai land and had a good flight (first since November). I couldn't talk Colleen into flying 'cause she was too hungry so I flew her Simba S down the ridge getting high above the radio towers in Norm's thermal. After lunch the students all flew 3 flights into the Manor LZ, so it turned out to be a good day. This site is in dispute, as Kim has flown here for 25 years, but it recently changed hands into the GVRD who plans to turn Ashcroft into Vancouver's next garbage dump and tthe resident leaseholders are concerned about flying liability. Contact Kim before flying this site at the Ashcroft Manor. April 18
| Woodside
| Fog in the morning, then sunny periods. High 12°
| 30% POP
| 190° at 10 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1290 m | 4000 ft.
Woodside Report - we flew around 11:00 am and had really nice flights but it was too strong for students, so we took them tandem. Lots of ground handling until lunch, when we saw 6 HGers take off and soar for 2+ hours. | A group of 2 trucks headed up with hopeful PGers wo waited for 3 hours for the winds to die down at launch, and they finally headed for dinner. After dinner we alll went back at around 5:30 and flew until dark, with Robin landing last. Nicole regained her status after yesterday! There is a reward for my lost Fuji Digital Camera, which ejected itself between two dead snags above the cliffs 200 meters north of launch. It is silver and may still be intact if it fell thru the trees. - Jim April 17
| Woodside
| Periods of rain and risk of a thundershower developing this afternoon. High 13°
| 30% POP
| 220° at 10 knots
| -3.2°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 900 m | 2950 ft.
Wow! What a day!!
| Blanchard WA Report - Jack and I headed to Blanchard after I had to drop off a shipment to Alaska. We arrived at Blanchard to see Doug Beer launch and climb out nicely. Jack launched and sky-ed Doug out and got above launch before I decide to launch on my borrowed Quarx. I soared in front of launch for a while as Nicole and Alex R showed up and then I climbed above the back row of trees until the sun got blocked, then I started sinking slowly at first until I got below launch, then it was a fast ride down. No reprieve and no sun as Jack got a ride back to pick up the Suburban after his nice flight. Then as I sat in the LZ resting, I saw Nicole launch and start climbing, and she did really well . . . for a bit then she hit the same sink I rode into the LZ. I was watching her fly out over the tree line and I answered a call on the cell and when I looked back she was gone?? Then Alex (the Sky God) launched and made us all look like chimps! He cranked a few tight S turns over launch, then he started a nice tight circle that started over the back trees and continued to over 4000 feet (my estimate). He got bored up there and flew out in front of launch and stayed there for a while before finding the same thermal and drifted back again way up high. Not bad for not flying for 6 weeks. Woodside Report - Allan and Norm and some HGers flew Woodside in strong ridge lift, Allan logged an hour, Norm about the same. It was unlaunchable for some time due to strong winds as the HGers were "wired off". April 16
| Woodside
| Mainly cloudy with a few showers. High 14°
| 30% POP
| 210° at 9 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 900 m | 2950 ft.
| Woodside Report - Robin and Andy flew in light lift, then it started raining at 4:00 pm. Russ Lecate from 1130 AM says it rained every day in April 2003! April 15
|
Woodside spring flying
| Cloudy with a few showers mainly this morning. Afternoon sunny periods. High 14°
| 30% POP
| 220° at 9 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 900 m | 2950 ft.
| Woodside Report - I expected to see Allan in the air when I arrived at 12:30 but I couldn't get him on the radio. There was an eagle that started circling over the ridge by Duncan's and it was at cloudbase in about 5 turns. Norm showed up and we discussed the winds howling thru the LZ and neither of us felt like proving our skills. Norm went to work and I mowed until it started raining at 4:00 pm. The winds at launch were always good, just gusty in the LZ due to the unstable air mass getting sucked up to the clouds. April 14
| Sumas | or Woodside leeside flying Cloudy with sunny periods. 60 percent chance of showers. Risk of a thundershower this afternoon. High 14°
| 60% POP
| 170° at 14 knots
| -2.4°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 840 m | 2750 ft.
Woodside Report - Allan, Rob S, Derek, Andy, Norm flew Woodside in fairly strong leeside conditions, last report had Allan in the air for 2 hours with lots of daylight left.
Cloudbase was about 1200 meters so they couldn't get too high. | I overflew Woodside at 6:30 pm enroute to Abbotsford on a 737 but the cloud cover was pretty solid but not too thick. Interesting to note that WestJet flew right over Woodside, just above the clouds and stayed just above the peaks all the way to Dewdney and right in our normal soaring airspace. This is a great reason not to enter clouds! April 13
| Oceanside OR
| Showers early in the morning...then a chance of showers. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Highs around 55F°
| 30% POP
| 250° at 11 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 800 m | 2950 ft.
| No pilot reports locally, but it was raining all day in Coquitlam. Oceanside OR Report - Another great day at Oceanside! Yesterday the winds were not strong enough to stay up so lots of sled rides and pilots stunting their way to the beach. Today it started out strong again from the SW (the HG's were out), then it eased enough for the PG's to launch. Some pilots launched on the W launch to avoid the mud-pit at the SW launch; some exciting launches due to the rotor and the line of trees out front. After a bit of flying Maxwell, the air was starting to get really crowded so I jumped the gap over the town and flew down the coast to Netart. Flew the rows of condos on the bluffs with about 3-4 other pilots, then we all headed back to Oceanside just as a squall was headed in. About 70-80 pilots in total attended and it was a fun weekend! - Nicole April 12
| Blanchard WA
| Becoming cloudy. A few showers beginning late this morning. High 16°
| 60% POP
| 200° at 11 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1640 m | 4950 ft.
Oceanside OR Report - Got to Oceanside this afternoon and it was ON! Actually it was pretty strong and the HG's were wire-launching, but it eased off and soon all the PGs were in the air too. Beautiful scenery and lots of coastline to soar! Landing is on the beach right next to the parking lot; launch is a bit muddy right now with all the recent rain so lots of dirty gliders if you don't bring your wing up properly the first time and have to bring it down in a puddle (mine's still clean)! Got about 1000' over launch and stayed up for about 2 hours until it was getting dark. Lots of WA and OR pilots around, haven't yet seen any BC pilots. Awesome site!; the fly-in starts today and I will send reports later on.
Nicole | Sumas Report - I just got home (12:45 pm) after having a rather interesting flight at Sumas this morning. Me and Mark Fraser went up and the wind seemed like it should be great for a 3 hour ridge soaring flight. Well Mark launched and didn't get anything but sink and I launched 2 minutes later and couldn't find anything that wasn't going up (?). At first it was nice, but the higher I got the slower I was flying until the best I could do was to crab sideways to the south at a couple of kmph to get away from the mountain. Once I lost a little height it became pretty clear what was going on. Just below launch it was blowing SW while at launch it was blowing NE. Anyways, went throught the wind sheer layer, landed and packed up before it started to rain after a 20 minute plus flight. If only I had been flying something slightly faster and much more water resistant - Rob S. Calgary Report - looked good in the morning, then it switched to NW which doesn't work at Cochrane Hill, so I went to the trade show as it started raining (yes folks it does rain in Calgary!) - Jim April 11
| Woodside
| Mainly cloudy with periods of rain developing this evening. Locally windy. Low 6°
| 40% POP
| 170° at 20 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1340 m | 4350 ft.
Woodside Report - Norm, Andy, Allan, Luke, and Myself flew; some soared, it seemed like a bit lee
side today, south east - Bev
| April 10
| Woodside
| Cloudy with sunny periods. 40 percent chance of showers. High 14°
| 60% POP
| 160° at 10 knots
| -2.0°/1000' | (standard lapse rate) 1340 m | 4350 ft.
Woodside Report - Bev says two pilots were getting up high at Woodside on PGs, no identification but if it was later in the day it was probably Mark F and Derek.
| April 9
| Sumas may be possible
| Mainly cloudy with a few showers. High 13°
| 60% POP
| 160° at 10 knots
| -2.0°/1000' | (standard lapse rate) 900 m | 2900 ft.
Woodside Report - might have been good, rain quit at 10:00 am. I flew over the valley on Zip heading to Winnipeg, and it was thermalling already! | April 8
| Stay Home for a few more days
| Rain at times heavy. Total rainfall amounts 40 to 60 millimetres. Windy. High 13
°
| 100% POP
| 180° at 33 knots
| -2.0°/1000' | (standard lapse rate) 900 m | 2900 ft.
Rain, glorious rain! I sound like a farmer! Head east for drier weather.
| April 7
| Stay Home for a few days
| Periods of rain. Windy. High 11°
| 40% POP
| 170° at 13 knots
| -2.6°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 750 m | 2450 ft.
Vancouver Report - looked like winter all day, lots of rain and wind. Hopefully the weather will improve for the Oceanside Fly-In in Oregon this weekend!
| Point of the Mountain Report - this is what it was probably like at the Point!  Colleen on an Ozone Vibe at Point of the Mountain, Utah April 2003. April 6
| Woodside
| Showers ending late this morning then cloudy with sunny periods. High 9°
| 40% POP
| 170° at 13 knots
| -2.6°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 750 m | 2450 ft.
Woodside Report - we started flying by 10:30 am and Gary and Jim T flew first. Jim T got centered in a nice thermal over the bailout field and rode it well above launch getting a nice smooth ride on his Allegra. Gary had his second flight in choppy air and had to get a bit of help with directional control as the thermals were steering him north.
| Later Bev, Derek, Kelly, Colleen, Nicole, Ian J, Jack flew and got really high fast, having to avoid the clouds. Martin H and Mia were out on their Russian Topless HGs and had long flights. It started to get very windy on the water below and the PGers headed out to land all three LZs were rough. Reports from Martin and Mia confirmed the rowdy air in the old Duncan LZ too. We were shut down for the rest of the day, typical of this time of year because the mountains are so "lifty" they suck all the air out of the valley like a chimney causing high winds on the ground, you should get out early and you can have great flights before noon - Jim  Lil Nick Report - The road up is only ~30 minutes now! Got to launch to strong winds so waited a bit. Mark Fraser and Rob S. launched first (straight up!) and were ridge-soaring, but it looked strong so the rest of us waited some more for the wind to abate, then we launched in more mellow conditions. Some of us landed on the sandbar by the river, others landed in the field at the end of the road, and Rob top-landed in a cutblock behind launch to drive down. Nice to fly a less-used site! - Nicole Blanchard Site Report - Jim, Just to let you know Blanchard got 3 Big truck loads of fill today for the west launch to make a nice even slope. I was told about it from Delvin but I could help because I was working. I guess the Seattle club footed the bill which was pretty cool of them. I hope its nice Monday because I would like to take a look at it and hopefully fly. I am planning on going to the Oceanside flyin next week, sounds like fun - Russ O. April 5
| Woodside or Bridal
| Cloudy with a few showers. High 9°
| 20% POP
| 210° at 16 knots
| -2.8°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 750 m | 2400 ft.
Woodside Report - we had a great day at Woodside all around! | Thanks to Derek for chopping the stumps in the orchard, with help from Rob S. Thanks to Jack, Jim T, Garry and others that helped finish the outhouse installation, now in service. We had a great crew of new students out Saturday despite the gloomy weather. As the picture shows it definitely got better in the PM.  I took Charley for a tandem on the first flight as it was too strong for students. We soared getting above launch after catching a thermal over the cliffs and we were doing pretty well for a couple of 200+ pound guys on the tandem! Norm and Gabriel were also in the air. We were just cirling over launch when I was seeing some white above us so I told Charley to weight-shift to the right and we started spiralling. Only one problem . . . we were in huge cloud-suck and the spiral was making us go up! We were now entering the "whote room" when I pulled "ears" and we started descending slowly. As we descended into the clear, Gabriel flew right below us unaware of our position at the time until I yelled at him so he could avoid us. We lost Norm for some time above the towers, as he B-lined out of the soup. Three gliders, three advanced pilots, in different places on the mountain and we all got "hoovered" into the cloud with no warning. This is why canopy reduction techniques are so important to learn at an early stage in your flying. We went up for the last flight and Jim T and others flew off after Rob S, Kevin A and Jack had a small thermal flight. Jim T logged 25 minutes on his flight, spending 15 minutes over the plowed fields to the west of Eagle Ranch, and he was very happy. Gary flew his first solo flight and landed with a big grin, actually laughing on his way in.  April 4
| Woodside or Bridal may be possible later
| Cloudy with sunny periods. 60 percent chance of showers with occasional hail. High 10°
| 60% POP
| 280° at 9 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 975 m | 3165 ft.
Woodside Report - about 7 PGers and 3 HGers flew Woodside between rain and snow showers. The HGers had the best flights getting way above launch, and the air was very ratty when the PGers flew. We went back for another flight before dark that was very smooth. Thanks to Thomm McE for the great homebrew in the LZ! | Bridal Report - a bunch of pilots were at Bridal, a few got sled rides before it started to blow down. April 3
| Woodside or Bridal may be possible later
| Mainly cloudy with a few showers. Risk of a thundershower early this morning. High 10°
| 60% POP
| 250° at 7 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 975 m | 3165 ft.
| Bridal Report - an interesting weather day! I saw Nicole sitting at the Bridal LZ at 2:00 pm, so I stopped to say hi and it was blowing hard from the west with some towering CUs in the vicinity. I headed to the Ranch to do some stuff and overheard a bunch of pilots on the radio meeting at 3:30 so I headed back with my glider. We went up in Derek's truck after the winds died down, and it was coming up cross at launch as Rob installed the new large windsock FlyBC donated to him. I laid out and waited for a straight cycle for 30 minutes, and as a snow shower started falling at launch so did the cycles, so I launched. I felt some of the strongest lift I have had at Bridal 4.5 m/s up just off launch and after 2 passes I was way above launch and visibility was quite good in the snow showers, but I big-eared down to be safe but kept going up! So I flew out towards the LZ aand still had a good climb rate but the air was very smooth. I flew back at the hill a few times but visibility was getting bad so I stayed over the highway and was floating around in the snow, it was rather cool to fly downwind and see the snow catch up with me as opposed to pelting me in the face (kind of conflicts with the upwind/downwind theory). Of course, as I got lower the snow turned to light rain and I had a fairly damp glider as I landed at the driving range. Total flight time was 40 minutes. Rob S and Nicole McL launched after me and had nice flights, not too bumpy but I left before they packed up.- Jim Blanchard Report - For an update, I had a second soaring flight yesterday. 1 hr 47 mins and got about 800 ft above the launch. Man I love this sport - Rusty April 2
| Stay at Work
| Mainly cloudy with a few showers locally heavy. High 11°
| 80% POP
| 110° at 8 knots
| -2.8°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 750 m | 2550 ft.
Bridal Report - Alan, Derek and I flew at lower Bridal. Another hour of airtime for Derek on his new Sport - Rob
| April 1
| Stay Home
| Cloudy with showers. Risk of an afternoon thundershower giving small hail. High 11°
| 80% POP
| 140° at 29 knots
| -2.5°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1050 m | 3350 ft.
Alberta Report - snow and wind for the first day of April. | Bridal Report - Alan, Derek and I flew at lower Bridal. Alan and I launched @ 4 pm in interesting conditions with 15+ kmph NE winds, 200 metres over launch max.& 3 m/s lift. After getting bounced around for an hour we didn't feel like attempting to top land so we landed @ the swamp to meet Derek who went for a sled ride as the sun set behind some clouds on the horizon - Rob March 31
| Lil Nic or . . . | Bridal Lower if the upper level winds are lighter Sunny Breaks with a few showers possible in the PM. High 11°
| 30% POP
| 240° at 19 knots
| -2.5°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 850 m | 2650 ft.
Woodside Report - it looked beautiful in the AM, but I had to leave for Alberta before anyone started flying. Nice thermals were starting up the hill at 9:30 am. Watch for the weekend, good conditions forecast for Friday on. | Cochrane Report - Greg H was seen thermalling above Cochrane Hill before the front rolled in from the north. |
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 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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