FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives" - April /2004
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| /1000' (unstable) | 7170 ft. |
Bridal Report - Today was XC day for Bridal. Several of us did Ludwig and back; Mark Fraser continued on to the Skagit Valley and Ross Lake. A headwind set up on the way back making to a slow return (I was stuck at the Butterfly for a while trying to get high enough to make the jump back to the Lakes and Cheam since I didn't want to land out), then strong on launch so headed to Gloria and back (total 35.9 km). Finally it died down enough to top-land and a bunch of us did so in the last cycle of the day, 4 of us coming in one after the other within a minute.
PS: tomorrow is Fraser Valley PG XC weekend #2 - Nicole Woodside Report - we arrived after 4:00 pm, so decided to fly Woodside as we saw Mike W, Norm, Jim M and Andy high over launch. Colleen flew solo and I took Sam (a new student) for his second tandem, we flew for an hour getting up to 1200 meters in rough air, before heading out as Harrison Bay was frothing into whitecaps! Uneventful landing in the end, but we had some penetration problems at times.
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| /1000' (unstable) 6000 ft.
Woodside Report - Jeffrey reported a rowdy 45 minute flight earlier with some un-named pilots who were playing hookie! Then later a sweet 2 hour glass off flight with lift everywhere. Apparently the new Tetra is working well for Jeffrey, who is leaving soon for the Honduras (our new destination flying resort).
| Bev's Woodside Report - Norm, Kelly, Jack, Andy and myself flew from Woodside today. Andy didn't go up and sledded down, I launched and got a few bubbles but sledded down (landed right in the middle of the crop circle "GRIN") Kelly soared for a while and then landed and Norm said it was scratchy, Jack made it high above launch. Andy & I thought it was Norm but we were fooled by the red Presta's. (Norm has to do something about this maybe that Vulcan?). Norm and I headed off to work at our usual time, Jack and Kelly headed over to Bridal and Andy said he was sticking around Woodside to fly. Alex Raymont had shown up and was flying a tandem, he didn't look like he got to soar much before he landed over at Riverside - Bev
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| /1000' (unstable) 6000 ft.
Woodside Report - I arrived at Eagle Ranch about 2:30 to see Norm heading to work.
He told me that some pilots had gone over to Bridal. I headed over there to find Barry, Jeffery, and Andy
sitting at the Lz. We sat around there for about a half an hour. When we saw a red glider launch and sink out we decided
to head to Woodside.
The conditions were fantastic when we arrived at Launch. Andy layed out first.
He launched and went up. Jeffery went next. He launched and went up the elevator also.
I launched next and found lift everywhere. Barry launched and wasn't so lucky.
He found himself low after a few minutes. Another pilot showed up on launch as we were setting up.
He launched last and was above me within a few minutes. I was ridge soaring for the first time and loved it.
Lift everywhere. I had a few new experiences on this flight.
I managed to get up a little past 1000 meters, but both Andy and Jeffery get " Sky Pig" title for Woodside though.
Jeffery reported that he reached 5,800 feet. I also experienced 10 UP! Wow!
That Vario really screams when you go up that fast. It only lasted about 3 or 4 seconds.
I maintained an altitude from 800 to 1000 meters during my flight. I decided to head out after about 45 minutes of flying.
My fingers were going numb. Jeffery and Andy stayed up a while longer and then they headed out to land also.
We all realized after we had all landed that we could have gone xc. Well ... Maybe next time. - Jim M.
| Rob reported a great flight on www.westcostsoaringclub.com - ed.
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| /1000' (unstable) 3100 ft.
Woodside Report - the day started out calm and then light showers and by 9:30 am, we had a full-on storm in progress. I left by 11:00 am for the City, where power outages and downed trees were reported. One news source said a tornado was spotted near Sumas WA caused by the instability. Good day to stay in and work!
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| or Bridal /1000' (stable) 3800 ft.
Bridal Report - I called Kelly and she was getting ready to launch and I was on my way out but it wasn't worth getting my gear from the Ranch and then heading back so I decided on motoring instead out of Eagle Ranch.
I observed many gliders in the air over Bridal when I drove by Bridal, with Nicole just over Upper Launch and Alan and a few other gliders getting high near Archibald.
I launched into strong wind and climbed above the Ranch quickly and decided to head over to Bridal to check things out. I overheard pilots discussing retrievals and that they were short of drivers so I hung around launch for a while and shut down the motor and soared with Derek. It looked like a good opportunity to top-land and help out by driving someone's truck down so I made an approach and plopped into launch safely.
| Getting off launch was another story! I made one attempt and ended up on my butt with the motor. I had help from Rob S (thanks Rob) and he laid my wing out again and I pulled it up and it overshot me as I turned but I thought I could throttle on and run it out, but spun in damaging the prop tips (mistake # 1 - should have started the motor after I got in the air). After a few more tries, I got off without power and landed in the driving range and had dinner with Bob and Kelly before heading home. Prop is now repaired, thank god for epoxy. "You can't call yourself a paramotor pilot if you haven't dinged a few props!" Rob mentioned the air was rather dynamic at times with a few manuevers to keep him sharp, but he top-landed on Lower Launch after 1H30 to drive his truck down.
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| or Bridal /1000' (unstable) 3800 ft.
Woodside Report - a leeside day at Woodside starting out with east winds at launch and on the ground. By 11:30 am pilots were launching and getting a few meters above launch, then sinking fast into Riverside or Eagle Ranch. We took a few loads up who all flew before Colleen and I "hucked off". We weren't too motivated as we saw Norm scratching lower and lower before finding enough lift to get him to the Ranch. The HGers flew but only Greg and Stewart were able to stay above launch.
| Colleen flew first and then I launched and we thermalled up above launch at about 800 meters getting 4-5 rides up the "elevator" before sinking back down. Interesting thermals, but definitely leeside. I climbed out to about 100 meters on one climb just as I was informed that we had my daughter's new boyfriend, Jamie, at the Ranch looking for us so we headed out to land. I drove a truck full of drivers up to retrieve vehicles and Norm and Colleen flew again at 5:30 pm and they still managed to have good climbs above launch to the north - Jim Bridal Comp Report - not a great day at Bridal, based on reports. Task was set to fly to Gloria Turnpoint, then east to Ludwig Turnpoint and then back to the Bridal LZ for a total distance of 46 kms. Only Annelies made the task, in fact some locas didn't even make the Gloria Turnpoint because of an inversion layer that kept them below 800 meters, the only reason anyone made the first turnpoint is due to the size of the cylinder being 400 meters allowing them to enter the cylinder from below (I have had to do this at Copper's before in light lift to get the start turnpoint). Annelies did the entire course at or below Lower Launch just staying out of the trees and missing the ridge and completed the course in style with other comp pilots shaking their heads in disbelieve! I can think of a few other legendary comp pilots with this style too, and they just don't give up. Too bad Nicole wasn't out there duking it out with Annelies, it could have been an interesting race. Jim Mansell's Signoff Report - Well ... It only took 9 months to complete my training, but with encouragement from all the other pilots and lots of patience and understanding from my wife...I DID IT! I had 3 great weekends in a row to work hard on my training, but yesterday was the best. My first flight of the day was a nice calm sledder. Flight #28. We went right back up to launch and Colleen offered to guide me on the radio on my second flight. I launched and headed over to the house thermal by the south knoll. I managed to fly right into it and started a left turn as Colleen instructed. A half a dozen turns later I was above launch. I cruised around in front of launch and managed to pick up another small thermal. After about 25 minutes of flying I was about 30 meters above launch and I was feeling elated but somewhat tired (sore shoulders and arms from brake handle death grip, intense concentration, etc.) so I headed out in sweet air for a smooth landing at Eagle Ranch to complete flight # 29. I went back with the retrieval gang and launched into very calm air for an uneventful sledder to complete flight #30. I would like to personally thank Jim and Colleen for going above and beyond to help me accomplish something I have dreamed of since I was a little boy ... FLY! - Jim M. Gerry's Excellent TOw Adventure - On Sunday Apr.25 I towed up in Merritt 3 times each time getting better . My first tow, when I went to release I couldn't as the pin had been inserted too far. My hook knife worked very well and I just cut the weak link and was free. The third tow right at the end, I hit a big time thermal and the weak link broke and I was very pleased with my glider's reaction of not doing an anticipated big surge. May 15th to 24th I join the group attempting to fly across the prairies - Gerry L.
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| Bridal after noon for the comp pilots /1000' (unstable) 6000 ft.
Woodside Report - as instructed by Nicole, we stayed away from the comp venue, which was chosen as Bridal. We flew a couple of tandems with 2 new students at 11:30 am and the air was quite active already and Colleen and her student Sam and me and my student John both climbed above launch quickly. | Then we regrouped and headed back up for a second tandem with Jan Karnik's cousins at 2:00 pm, which were stable flights. But we all flew again, 2 tandems and the rest of the FlyBC gang. And then the last flight was just for Colleen and I! Colleen launched first and found the first of many thermasl to get her above launch, with only her and Mark T on his HG staying up. I launched (eventually) into a nice cycle that took me up above launch right away and I bounced between 800 - 1100 meters for about 45 minutes before letting one thermal drift me over the back past the towers. Colleen reported frozen hands and headed out to Eagle Ranch. I was in "dream-land", floating in 0.1 m/s up and just enjoying the view when I looked back towards the SW and I was on top of the flat top of the transition between Woodside and Agassiz Mountains. Too low to glide back to Woodside and getting close to having to land in a clearcut if I hit sink. So I headed towards the SE where the mountain drops away. Fortunately one of the clearcuts yielded enough lift to get me on the way to Agassis Mtn. I passed over the Prison CYR at 350 meters and had a great climb to the top of Agassiz Peak before heading to Bear. Bev was excitedly reporting that she landed at the Harvest Market (doing a little victory dance, I suspect!). I was only getting 40 km/hr groundspeed on GPS and no sink until I hit Bear, where I decided it was more prudent to head to Harrison Lake Beach, than to try to head into Seabird Island. Total flight time 1:26, max lift +5.6 m/s, max sink -3.6 m/s.  Just past Agassiz Peak looking towards Harrison 
 Nice thermals over Harrison Town kept me flying a bit longer.  Landing on the beach is a treat for the tourists. Bridal Report - We overheard some comp action later in the day after Ian and Bob sacrificed themselves to the thermal gods and "wind dummied" for the comp. I heard some retrievals happen near Annis Road near Chilliwack. Details of Day One at WCSC Comp Page . Go Annelies! Bev's XC Report - When I finally got launched I got high enough to go for my first baby steps of leaving my mother Woodside. I got up to 800 meters and off I went over the back towards Harvest market, I have been planning this for some time and today was the day. I came over the market with a lot of height and so bled off some height and landed in the big field. I was so excited and had a big ass grin. I wasn't so sure I was going to be picked up, so I got out on the high way and stuck out my thumb, something I haven't done since my teen years. Many vehicles past by, and the finally a Native lady stopped to give me a ride, she was very friendly and drove me straight to the ranch. (She may later come and check out the flying). I know going over to where I went wasn't the biggest xc, but it was big to me for my beginnings. When I had landed I saw Jim flying towards Harrison, and I thought that one day that will be my next venture. It was such a different experience to see new scenery and just go, I so loved it (BIG GRIN) it brought back great memories of when Colleen flew over and I got to pick her up, I know how she felt, because now I want more LOL - Bev
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| /1000' (unstable) 6000 ft.
Valley Report - Colleen said the wind was "howling" all day at the Ranch, no pilots showed up except Mike W late in the day.
| Fraser Valley PG Comp Info - Saturday's meet will take place at Bridal Falls. Pilots meet at Golf Course Driving Range LZ at 12 pm for registration, GPS waypoint downloads, and general information. Nicole 604-375-1257, or VE7 NCL on 146.415 MHz - Nicole
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| /1000' (unstable) 6000 ft.
Bridal Report - Another good-looking day at Bridal, some high cirrus but not enough to shut things down. Arrived on launch and a bunch of people already in the air so we laid out. Thermals were quite punchy and sharp-edged all the way up to the Saddle, and they stayed that way up higher too. Did a fly-by of Upper launch about 10' but didn't land since it didn't look like good re-launching cycles. Headed over towards Cheam, rough thermals all the way. A bunch of us played around the base of Cheam for a bit until I got tired of all the rough air, then headed back to Lower launch and top-landed to drive Ihor's truck down. It finally smoothed out near the end as we were soaring the knob (of course!) - Nicole
| Woodside Report - A beautiful day at Woodside today. I arrived at 11 as Andy was landing from his morning sledder. Then Ihor, Roman, Andy and I went up for a flight. As we packed up after our extended sledders (also rough thermals over at Woodside), Barry was landing, Norm had driven Barry's truck down so we had another retrieve vehicle. Up we went for another flight, and I tagged along on the next retrieve too to bag another flight. Barry ended up flying again, and Andy was good enough to drive retrieve one more time. Another flight meant 4 for me today, with 3 each for Barry and Andy! - Martina
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| /1000' (unstable) 2800 ft.
Bridal Report - The Bridal week-day regulars came out; Alan, Derek, and Fred were already in the air when we arrived. Got to launch and I waited a bit for a sun cycle; got up to Upper Launch to top-land in the brand-new, grafitti-friendly snow :). Strong wind and it almost felt like ridge soaring the upper ridge between Upper launch and Gloria. Brad and Derek joined me at Gloria for some cloud-surfing (cloudbase at 1700m), then I headed out to the valley to overfly Rosedale, still at Saddle height over the 'downtown' area. Strong wind layers headed in to land but light on the ground. Most other people didn't get away from Lower launch and scratched about a bit in sinky air. Alan got to Ludwig and back - Nicole
| ps: sounds like Bridal will make for interesting task setting for the Fraser Valley PG Comp this weekend
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| /1000' (unstable) 2800 ft.
Woodside Report - I was out working on the Ranch and it looked great for flying around noon, light winds aloft and on the ground but no drivers. As I drove back to the city after 2:30 pm, I hit rain near Abbotsford - Jim
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| /1000' (unstable) 3620 ft.
Woodside Report - Yesterday was awesome, I finally got launched, and I was soaring thinking if I can get above 834 m I am heading over the back, except that seemed to be where it stopped in that spot, so I boated around looking for lift and getting up having a blast, and then Norm launched, he did a few turns and I went over to him but he got away as usual, then he came closer over to me and pointed over towards your place, and there it was the ruin of our fun, the front was heading in and looked ugly so Norm and I headed out, we for the first time flew out side by side for awhile then Norm went in a different direction and I continued on my flight path, a plane was heading about close to my height and directly (as it seemed towards me) so I did some wing overs, I noticed the plane veered off in a different direction after the wing overs so hopefully he saw me. Norm landed first, and then me. We looked up and Andy was heading over fast and he had ears on because it was continuous lift on the way out, (I think it was continuous cloud suck lol) anyway he landed and just as we finished up packing, the rain began, and the gusts were nasty, so our timing was bang on thank goodness. All in all it was a memorable flight :) - Bev
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| /1000' (unstable) 3600 ft.
Woodside Report - a strange day for weather in the Valley, folks were calling saying it was raining in Vancouver when we were in full sunshine, we flew a flight around noon that was very nice, good thermals for the advancing students and lots of altitude to do 360s and big-ears practice. Then the HGers started showing up for Day Four of the XC comp and as they were setup, it started raining hard. We went to lunch at the bottom (about 10 of us) and watched Rob, Jack and Alan fly off as the rain stopped. Rob wasn't in the air long and met us at the restaurant as we finished up. When we arrived back at launch it was sunny and the HGers had all packed up and gone except for 2 who flew down.
| It was quite strong at launch and Rob tried to huck himself off first and ended up in a heap on launch as the FlyBC crew hauled him off to the Suburban for medical attention (sprained ankle). He eventually drove himself home later. Colleen launched, Bev, then Derek, me, Norm, Jack and we all had really nice flights with Norm and I hitting 1100 meters around 6:00 pm. +3/6 m/s up this late in the day was very nice. We had mowed a small landing circle and Colleen, Norm and I managed to hit it.
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| /1000' (unstable) 3600 ft.
Woodside Report - we hit the road at noon and had our first flights by 12:30 pm. Good soaring getting above 11 meters fast! Four of us headed over the back towards Agassiz to avoid landing in approaching rain showers (that never hit Eagle Ranch). Some pilots soared for three flights while the folks at Bridal had sledders.
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| /1000' (unstable) 1900 ft.
Woodside Report - scary looking towering CU, with virga on all four quadrants. Barry was out looking for a flying buddy but everyone stayed home because of the weather.
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| /1000' (unstable) 2200 ft.
Fraser Valley Report - small flyable windows, punctuated by heavy rain showers. Not a good day at all. Even Alan was happy to be working at the mill!
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| /1000' (unstable) 2600 ft.
Woodside Report - nice development between noon and 3:30 pm, light surface winds but no pilots showed up. Bridal HAD rain when I drove past.
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| if you are patient /1000' (unstable) 2600 ft.
Woodside Report - the webcam looked good from 2:00 pm on. The Abbotsford NOAA also looked good. But no pireps.
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| Bridal for Intermediates /1000' (unstable) 5100 ft.
Bridal Report - Nicole and a group were over at Bridal and watched Ivan T have a sketchy flight on big ears with cloudsuck and fairly windy, so they drove down. We had already decided to stay at Woodside because it was sunnier.
| Woodside Report - we arrived at launch at 3:30 pm to good cycles but as we started to setup it got "strong". I called the Chilliwack windtalker and it was reporting 230 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 19 knots so we waited. It looked calmer on the ground about 20 minutes later and the reports calmed to 220 degrees at 11-12 knots (no gusts), so I took off with Lee's son Dustin for a tandem. We climbed straight up and back until I opened the trims. Rather than risk hanging out in front if it got stronger we headed over the south knoll towards the river, we were now at 1000 meters and above the Bridal Cloudbase layer (which was well defined). We overflew the river and headed south into the wind and we maintained the entire way over the river islands towards Rosedale, as we approached Hopyard Hill I decided it would be safer to land in front of the hills than in the lee if we sunk out heading to Agassiz, so I turned back to the field beside Harvest Market gas station. We had a smooth descent hovering into the field and Jack arrived from Bridal as we packed up. Total flight time about 35 minutes. When we headed back to Eagle Ranch the other side of Woodside was very trashy south winds, making the decision to head over the back the "wise choice" - Jim
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| Sumas, alternate if SE winds /1000' (unstable) 6200 ft.
Woodside Report - I helped Kirril and Jan K get their paramotors in the air for a few hours prior to heading up the mountain. Kirril reported a beautiful day from 4500 feet AGL. We later flew Woodside and 12+ gliders were soaring for 1+ hours with Tom Hasek getting highest after a 8 month hiatus from flying. I top-landed to help a student launch and relaunched later and soared back to 1100 meters with ease. We had to retrieve some vehicles so another trip up the mountain with 7 pilots was undertaken before Jeffrey's party.
| Bridal Report - Not as many pilots as previous days but a few flew Bridal. Heights achieved were reported at 1500 meters with rough air up high, smoother at launch. Ian J motored over from Bridal twice to buzz us at Eagle Ranch but never dropped in to say hi. No top-landings at Upper due to snow and slush and no wind to relaunch. Mark D flew his HG from Lower causing a regulatory question posed by Alan . . . "I thought Hanggliders weren't allowed over here". Hemlock Report - Andy had a special flight at Hemlock getting 1500 feet over the Red Chair Launch, but he didn't go XC 'cause he wasn't sure of his LZ choices if he sunk out. He has them "scoped-out" now.
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| /1000' (unstable) 6200 ft.
Woodside Report - flyable after 10:30 am. Colleen had a nice soaring flight getting above launch before we headed to Bridal for the Advanced Students.
| Bridal Report - We all flew Bridal with Colleen top-landing after 1:45 to drive down so I could fly. A few hairy launches but no mayhem with 25+ pilots launching at Lower Launch.
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| or Woodside /1000' (unstable) 5200 ft.
Woodside Report - a few pilots flew around noon and it was stable, with occasional down cycles at launch. So we headed to Bridal.
| Bridal Report - East wind at launch made it a "launch from the top" day. Our group launched last after 20+ flew off, most getting above launch in punchy east drifted thermals. I took Jeffrey's dad tandem and Jeffrey flew wih us most of the flight getting above the Saddle but on the ay to the Upper Launch we encountered "huge sink" and headed abck towards Archibald. Ian, Nicole and Rob top-landed Upper and there is some graffity stomped in the snow . . . I got close but all I could make out was "Ian is a girly-man"? Not sure who wrote it, Rob or Nicole. Nicole reported getting to 2200 meters above Cheam during her flight - Jim Hemlock Report - Andy reports getting 8 flights at Hemlock! Klaus had a rough landing and was seen limping at Bridal - hope he just sprained it, send him your regards.
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| or Woodside /1000' (very unstable) 6100 ft.
Woodside Report - Today we went over to the ranch just as Tom M was landing. Tom's vehicle was upa t launch so we drove up. I drove for Norm since there wasn't anyone to do retrievals in the time we needed to be for work. Norm told me his plans was to fly over the back towards Aggassiz and land where he now works, and if not he would land by the Harvest market. he ended up landing at eagle ranch instead. He was soaring above the knoll for awhile but couldn't get high enough to fly over. Jeremy showed up and he flew for awhile and was still seen scratching as Norm and I left for work. I didn't see anyone above launch from the back where I work which is a good thing for me as it really doesn't motivate me for work while seeing gliders way up high :) I suspect everyone was flying over at Bridal - Bev
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| /1000' (unstable) 3100 ft.
Bridal Falls Weather Report - my daughter was driving back from the Interior around 4:45 pm and said it was beautiful weather and light winds as she passed Bridal, unfortunately she didn't look up to see how many gliders were aloft.
| Bridal Falls Flight Report Update - it must have been rougher on Tuesday than I thought. My rib cage is bruised where my biners are positioned! And my arms are sore! Man, am I out of shape for thermalling. This after 20 hours of flying in Mexico in January - Jim
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| Woodside /1000' (unstable) 5100 ft.
Woodside Report - when I arrived at Eagle Ranch at 12:45 pm, Andy and a New Zealand pilot were already high above launch and Norm and Bev were heading up. I overheard Bev later reminding Norm that it was "time to land" at 2:15 pm so he had a good flight.
| Justin captured a Woodside Web Cam shot today and marked a few pilots he could see in the picture (I think it was Andy and Derek NZ pilot).  Bridal Report - punchy thermals but good climbs if you could core them up. +5 m/s sustained. Alan and Nicole got highest but only to 1300 meters, just shy of the goal of top-landing Upper Launch today. Most pilots got 2+ hours and battled the sometimes rough air. I was test flying Andy's new UP Kantega and it flew beautifully, with 4 launches and 4 top-landings (the last one so I could drive Kelly's Jeep down). Nicole, Alan, Petr B, Rob S also top-landed to handle driving duties - Jim
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| Woodside /1000' (unstable) 5100 ft.
Woodside Report - Norm, Myself, Barry M, and Jeffrey all flew Woodside today, I launched first
and went straight up, then Barry, which decided to fly out and land, then Norm,
and then Jeffrey, the 3 of us were extremely high but real punchy thermals, so
punchy I finally gave up and landed. Upon landing it was quite thermic and had
to use control all the way to the landing, but everyone landed great, including
me :-) Norm and I left to go to work and Barry and Jeffrey went over to Bridal. I
think Spring flying has arrived - Bev
| Bridal Report - Derek reports 10 hours in three days! He said Rob S, Jeffrey and Derek were the only ones to break thru the inversion and hit cloudbase. Rough up high due to the increasing winds.
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| /1000' (unstable) 5100 ft.
Savona Report - Excellent student conditions with one more experienced student climbing from Lower Launch to well above Upper PG Launch and flying til he made himself sick! We headed back to fly Woodside after noon cause it was too strong - Jim
| Woodside Report - we arrived at launch around 4:00 pm, with a full truck and the HGers were long gone. I saw many retrieval trucks heading east to locate the "down-wind drifters". Andy and Bev launched and climbed out fast followed by Colleen and Norm. Colleen reported 6 m/s up and too strong for students quite yet! After an hour it calmed down but Norm was still high above launch, so off went the students and they did a great job. It is always amazing to see the progression a trip to Savona makes to a new pilot. From day one with absolutely no skills or idea how PG works, to having flawless launches on the third day at Woodside is very rewarding - Jim Bridal Report - Another excellent flying day at Bridal; mellower than yesterday though. Arrived to launch and nice cycles so people started setting up. A couple of scary launches, but everyone ended up OK despite going over the edge or pounding in below the rock. Hard to get high over launch but several thermals got us up and over, and on our way to Upper Bridal. I top-landed and hung out for a bit, built a snowman and fed the birds, then relaunched and headed back to Lower. Still people launching when I drove down - Nicole
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| /1000' (unstable) 5100 ft.
Savona Report - our three new students had many great beginner flights off the Dump Ridge and the International Hill. By the time we had them ready for the Lower Launch flights it started to blow down. No epic flights from experienced pilots as the clouds stayed all day, making it a perfect training day. Kirril became an official paramotorist getting a few hours of airtime - Jim. | 
Sarah on her first really high flight! 
Tom on his first high flight from Lower Launch 
Urban Assault Vehicle on retrieve duties 
Norm's favorite tree . . . NOT! Kelly's Bridal Gloat Report - 2 hours and too cold to get the landing gear down on approach, thus a three point landing (feet . . . then nose). She reported getting very high everywhere she flew.
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| /1000' (unstable) 4750 ft.
Savona Report - we left the Fraser Valley around noon, when it was clear that the north winds weren't going away. We arrived to nearly soarable east winds on the dump site, great for first time students to kite their gliders. We had a few flights and packed up before dark for a great first day!
We decided to stay up here and stay out of the way of the HG XC Championships at Woodside this weekend.
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| /1000' (unstable) 4750 ft.
Woodside Report - Norm and I went over to Woodside today, Many hang gliders there. I drove for Norm as I didn't feel too good. It took Norm 3 tries to get off of launch the third being the charm. He went straight up and got quite high. I drove down, and when Norm landed, he told me that going up was quite the ride as he felt like he was going through a mixer on the way up. He thought for sure he would get a collapse but he didn't. It was somewhat thermic upon landing and so he controlled the glider all the way down to the ground, which was a good lesson for me to see. Norm says this was his first highest flight this year off of Woodside and it felt like the spring conditions, maybe spring is here now??
Many pilots were over at Bridal and I saw a blue wing flying in front of launch while I was in Aggassiz working - Bev
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| /1000' (unstable) 2250 ft.
Woodside Report - when I flew over Woodside at 9:00 am on the way to Newark NJ, it looked flyable with developing TCUs. Colleen reported rain in New Westminster most of the afternoon.
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March 2004 Site of the Day archives Nicole won in Brazil, otherwise the month sucked for flying time.
February 2004 Site of the Day archives some local flights extended to an hour with vigourous scratching above the trees. Good paramotor month.
January 2004 Site of the Day archives Mexican road trip yielded 20 hours of flight and a wet Canadian January kept most local pilots on the ground.
December 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew a few times but it got really cold at the end of the month as we prepared for a gala New Year's Party for 40 of our close personal friends and neighbours.
November 2003 Site of the Day archives windy and wet with the odd good soaring day, not many pilots out these days.
October 2003 Site of the Day archives Women's Fly In was great fun, some good soaring days mid-month, most of the students are signed off.
September 2003 Site of the Day archives good conditions until the last days of the month when it got stable. Most days were flyable at Woodside or Bridal.
August 2003 Site of the Day archives Forest closures made the end of the month a non-flying period unless you headed to Blanchard. FlyBC SIV 2003 was a great success with 9 stunt pilots and no deployments or crashes.
July 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most days early at Woodside until it got windy, then over to Bridal. Good Golden flying reports from the "Willi".
June 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most weekdays at Bridal, Woodside worked most weekends. Bridal Air Races had one great day with only two tree landings!
May 2003 Site of the Day archives not a great weather month on the coast, especially on the weekends but a few pilots managed to get some great airtime at Bridal. The Nationals were held in Lumby and it didn't rain!
April 2003 Site of the Day archives rain for 28 of 30 April days, but we managed to get a few flights in between showers. Even the golfers were complaining!
March 2003 Site of the Day archives some high spring flights in early March, but not a great weather month. Still no HPAC Insurance!
February 2003 Site of the Day archives some nice long spring flights in late February. HPAC Insurance expired on Feb 14, so many pilots stayed home instead of getting USHGA coverage.
January 2003 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month in BC so we bailed and headed to Tapalpa Mexico for three weeks. Norm and Lucille had a great XC flight the first day we arrived.
December 2002 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month.
November 2002 Site of the Day archives not a great flying month, lots of rain in the beginning and then super stable and inverted for the balance of the month. Even the Savona Road Trip wasn't that great. Looking forward to Mexico!
October 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable some days, great fun at the Women's Fly In 2002 in Chelan. Allan logged 15 hours and only flew a few days. Most of the students are ready for signoff soon to get ready for Mexico trips!
September 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable most everyday! Some scary incidents at Woodside. Fun flying at Ashcroft.
August 2002 Site of the Day archives More spring-like days with super lapse rates, great fun up-country at Revelstoke and Mara, with some good XCs for all.
July 2002 Site of the Day archives Some spring-like days with super lapse rates, but still rather wet at times.
June 2002 Site of the Day archives another rainy and windy month with great lapse rates, some great flights at Bridal with some getting above Cheam Peak. The Club Cup was nearly rained out but they got one valid task in on Sunday June 30.
May 2002 Site of the Day archives an extremely rainy month with the more spring mayhem, another reserve deployment at Lil Nick and a pilot crashed at the top of Deroche Mountain, uninjured but with a ripped glider and long hike down the mountain. Colleen placed 5th place at the Canadian PG Nationals in rainy Lumby!
April 2002 Site of the Day archives a rainy month with the usual spring mayhem, one reserve deployment at Woodside and a pilot hit a parked car at Bridal LZ, fracturing his leg.
March 2002 Site of the Day archives a few great days days with lots of snow and rain mixed in.
February 2002 Site of the Day archives two epic days already (4.5 hours and 2.5 hours!).
January 2002 Site of the Day archives Mexico vacation shots, some local flying but it was wet on the coast.
December 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, wettest December on record, some good days sprinkled thru the month.
November 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, had some good days at Woodside +2 hours, lots of rain later in the month.
October 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, but great flying at Chelan at the Women's Fly In.
September 2001 Site of the Day archives starting to get pretty stable, more sled rides forecast for October.
Aug 2001 Site of the Day archives Mara, Bridal, till some great flights locally
July 2001 Site of the Day archives Road Trip Month, Golden, Mara, points east!
June 2001 Site of the Day archives Great Month, 3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower! Some getting up to 6 hours in a single flight!
May 2001 Site of the Day archives Unstable Month, 2-3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower!
April 2001 Site of the Day archives Rainy Month, not as much airtime for some pilots
March 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring has Sprung!
February 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring is in the Air!
January 2001 Site of the Day archives - Mexico Flying Trip
December 2000 Site of the Day archives
November 2000 Site of the Day archives (great month for airtime!)
October 2000 Site of the Day archives
September 2000 Site of the Day archives
July - August 2000 Site of the Day archives
June 2000 Site of the Day archives
March - May 2000 Site of the Day archives
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