FlyBC "Site of the Day April 2009 Archive Page"
"If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day." - John A. Wheeler
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Woodside Report - we were up on the mountain by 11 am, to meet Dennis R and Jim O heading up. Derek drove Steve and I up to launch so we could do a tandem for his first day. Katherine was at a job interview and missed the first flights. We stayed over the clearcuts for 15 minutes maintaining but not getting high, as we followed birds around. But even they weren't doing too well. Nice landing conditions and Steve started ground handling lessons and had forward and reverse launches mastered within 15 minutes! He was pretty tired after he ran all over Eagle Ranch kiting. Martina and Derek flew in after flying with Dennis and Jim for a bit, both landing as the air was getting weird. Norm launched last and was "duking it out" with the boys on the comp gliders before landing to go to work. Oddly, no one was getting high at Woodside and there was only one CU to the north . . . while all the other mountains had OD-ing CUs. We headed to Bridal after 4 pm, reports of strong lift there and wind. Martin N reported over Cheam at 7500 ft, asking about the legal ceiling (8000 feet). Conversations were short as pilots wrestled with the lift. Steve had a dinner appointment; so Derek, Katherine, and I headed up Bridal with solo wings and tandem gear just in case. Derek flew off first and disappeared in the bowl, eventually getting to 2000 meters before heading to Green Hill in Agassiz to land at home. We flew off tandem to show Katherine the site, and flew towards Gloria out front getting to 1500 meters staying away from the ridge as Katherine didn't like kicking trees at times. We tried a few top-landings later when she got cold, as Ken was waiting to launch. It was a bit strong for top-landing a tandem so we flew down to show her the approach. We were in the air 1:35. Brad top-landed after we packed up and launched Ken and we guided him in to his first Bridal landing. Bridal Report #2 - Big Air at Bridal today. Big Lift - 8 m/s Big Sink - 7.5 m/s. Big Elevation gains - I topped out at 2340 asl. Ass kicking thermals at around 1500 meters near Cheam and Ludwig and then smooth and cold over 2000m. Good XC - I flew to Ludwig (fast with the inflow down low) back to Elk and then to the top of Cheam before ducking down for parent/teacher interviews. I was only five minutes late. Sounds like many others had similar flying experiences. Flight length 3 H 19 M - Kevin
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Woodside Report - weird weather pattern lately, strong NE winds near Agassiz and Harrison Mills until 2 pm today. Then it calmed down, got very warm and a huge CU formed over Harrison Mills. I was busy working on the new septic field for the pilot's bathroom in the NW corner of the Barn, otherwise I would have gone flying. I think it would have been "rock & roll" with the lapse rate and changeable conditions, but it would have been no problem staying up til dark. |
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Woodside Report - another strong NE day, gusts to 60 kph. | Rather than totally abandon the day, Katherine and I headed to Diefenbaker Park for some training hill flights arriving there at 1:30 pm. She got 5 good flights to the East on a Prima and a Rush and within a few moments, the wind switched from 20 kph East to 25 kph West, shutting us down. This West wind stayed all night, but Burnaby Mountain was a long way in heavy rush hour traffic so we bailed.
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Woodside Report - blown out from the NE all day, gusts to 40 kph, good day for chores indoors. | Crazy Hangglider Stunts - first this HGer launches unhooked and the glider flies away. He retrieves it and then relaunches. . . ending up in a tree!
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Woodside Tandem Report - we had a big day for tandems with 12 to complete for Kevin Smith's birthday. Thanks to Brad, Kevin, Veronica, Greg and of course, Colleen we were able to have them all have good soaring flights by 5:30 pm. | Colleen was off first with Janice, who sat on launch and landing but they had a nice soaring flight at 11:30 am. 
Colleen off on her new Magnum 38, sweet smaller tandem, perfect for her and smaller passengers - photo by JPR Kevin was up next and his passenger also sat down/fell down on her butt during the inflation but the cycles were good enough to pick her back up to standing so she could run. Perfect takeoff as always for Kevin. Soon they were way above launch. Once Colleen was on the ground I launched Katherine on her Mojo 2 and she was out front thermalling near the construction site with Martina. The rest of the first tandems were off and soaring around, before landing at the Ranch. Conditions for the last landers were getting spicy as the winds picked up, but no mayhem despite some some solo pilots landing downwind as the winds switched. We were soon back up on top with load #2 and after launching Katherine to fly out to the Ranch, I flew this next flight on Colleen's Magnum 38 with Tyler (at 150 lbs, the lightest of this group). We were plucked off launch and soon climbing through 900 meters. Good strong lift with big sink outside the cores, we chased Norm around for a while but he got a good climb to 1300 meters and was gone towards Bear. The other tandems were in the air now and the lift was everywhere so no concentrated gaggles formed except for the "hangs" above the launch area. We flew for 45 minutes and Tyler kept his lunch down nicely, and we headed over to Harvest as we saw many gust lines on Harrison Bay. Landings as usual at Harvest were smooth but the wind was strong. As we were packing up a lone Gin pilot came hiking across the field. Jeremy had flown Bridal and left at 1600 meters but was forced to land on the other side of Cemetary Hill. He came back up with us for our flight #3, hoping to get back to Bridal, but the sky was too milky by then. Kevin and Brad did the last two tandems out to Harvest again, this flight smoother and mostly ridge lift. 
Kevin's Birthday Party, he is the third from the right with black/red jacket - photo by JPR Silvester Valley Report - Al and Rob did some bushwhacking to a remote launch at 500 meters above Silvester Road, a bit of clearing and with the help of some tarps, Al was in the air and soaring. He made it to Woodside low and didn't climb out but did make it to Riverside. Nice XC flight, probably the longest PG flight of the day. Bridal Report - according to Jeremy and Alan, pretty windy and blown apart at Bridal. Odd this time of year Bridal is more likely to stay flyable?
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Woodside Report - we started flying at 10:00 am, and I was elected wind dummy and I soared for a bit before heading to the Ranch on John's new Addict 2.
20 kph Ground Speeds out to the Ranch without bar, so not too bad . . . until the ridge at Duncan's where I hit 7 kph.
Good thing I was still at launch height as I used all of that up to get into the Ranch and it was strong South wind all the way in.
Hmmm? Harvest may be a better choice for Heiko, Dan and Katherine. | Colleen launched the guys first and got them climbing before sending them to Harvest as I raced there with the Unimog. I was almost there when I saw Heiko coming in downwind, Dan got turned around in time. Colleen then launched tandem with Katherine and they had a nice flight with Katherine flying the entire flight. We went back up for Katherine to fly to Harvest after Colleen launched and headed out low. I waited for Colleen to land and then launched Katherine, who was soon at 850 meters in a few passes and on her way to Harvest. We headed back up for flight #3 after collecting some additional pilots and we were back on launch around 1 pm. Norm was dancing with glee as he just got his new Nova Factor after a 1 month wait (yes, we are Nova dealers here at FlyBC). He launched first and took an elevator ride right off launch to about 800 meters, pretty spicy! I launched after waiting for a lull and was chasing Norm around the sky. We headed way out over the sandbars cause it was pretty rough near the hill, and caught a nice climb from 300 meters back to 1200 meters. After an hour of ratty air, I decided to land after watching Gary K and Brad land pretty softly at the Ranch. Some rodeo action on final for me and Norm but soft touchdowns too. Norm got about 1:30 and I logged 1:10. Major lift, some interesting frontals for me on the Large A2. Later after 7 pm, we went back up and Colleen flew first and again good speed all the way to the ridge and major slowdown after that with a dump landing. So, Katheleen was denied her last flight. A pretty good day despite the wind forecasts.
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Woodside Report - we were up on launch early at 10 am, as the lapse rate suggested a bumpy day would occur sooner than later. | James was eager to fly off and was the first ready and had a nice launch with some soaring turns in front of launch until he hit the "down elevator". Everywhere he went he was sinking fast, and not moving forward too fast. We tried some different routes to see if we could find lift but ultimately he was on course for Riverside or Joe's backyard (whichever came first). He found some lift near the lee of the Construction Zone and was able to setup nicely for Riverside. Garry H was up next and did very well near the South Knoll, climibg above 800 meters for a bit anyway, soon he hit the same "down" air as James and was grovelling near Joe's. He did find enough lift to get out of there and make it to the Ranch (just). It was getting worse instead of better as some big gusts started coming through launch. Martin and Randy were getting their HG equipment sorted and we waited to help them launch before driving down. Martin had his usual "milkrun" flight up to Mt. St. Benedict at the end of Silvester Valley (near Stave Lake), back to Woodside, on to Bear and back to Woodside. We loaded up the Unimog and headed to Bridal to see if it was better. Garry H was already on launch with another group and was waiting for a good launch cycle. He did go before we got there and was getting high all the way to Upper Launch, but reported the landing later as `not much fun`. We stayed on launch and did the site briefing before driving down after killing a few hours, because it never looked like it would be student-safe. Back to Woodside.
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Woodside Report - I didn't believe the NOAA Soundings when it said 040° at 20 knots, because many other sources said light North winds at 3000'. | Well, NOAA was right! We went to Launch at 11:30 am, after checking the telescope many times and when we arrived it was "howling" over the back. After a few minutes we left to a secret training hill about 20 minutes away which is still covered in snow. Mike did one turbulent flight where he got yarded off the ground and had to fight to get down (that is how thermic it was already). We headed back to Woodside to kite and wait out the weather. 
The Bullet 14 is unveiled at Eagle Ranch, Martin's new toy - photo by JPR Katherine got the privilege of kiting the new Bullet 14 and she was amazing on it, kiting for long stretches in turbulent air. After a bit I put her on a regular paraglider and she did even better. New Eagle of the Month coming up! We kited til it got calm, and then headed up to Launch around 4:30 pm. We met Dennis R. on his way down from launch and he was a bit pale after his hell-ride at noon. He launched off Woodside and got whacked all the way to Fairfield Island where he got blown downwind to. We waited until 6 pm, when it settled into in-flow winds at launch and in the Valley. Mike was up first and keen to fly after kiting all day. He kited for a bit at launch to test the air, then after a brilliant launch, he was soon 100 meters above launch and climbing fast. Good penetration and smooth. Still too strong for Katherine's third solo flight though so we waited. 
Mike over Woodside - photo by JPR Bridal Report - Alan was already at launch when we were back up at Woodside at 4:30 pm, and he was waiting for good cycles after a few aborts. Rob, Al, and Matt J arrived after getting Matt's truck stuck really good and Alan then launched and experienced leeside conditions near the Falls. Mixed reviews on the flights, until Al and crew went back up for flight #2 and made it past Gloria after the inflow came in. I got a call around 10 pm, that they were on the raod after digging the Ford out and retrieving everyone.
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Woodside Report - blown out til dark. |
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Woodside Report - there were a lot of vehicles parked near the first spur road off Woodside Road when we drove up for the frst flight (RCMP, Agassiz Search and Rescue, and some unmarked trucks).
Martina and Katherine were on launch before 11 am, and had one good flight before it got too windy. I had only checked the winds for <12 noon and didn't noticed the wind speeds doubling in the afternoon, so the day was done early. | On the way down the mountain, I stopped to ask why all the vehicles were at the spur road, and a guy from WCB said there was an incident with a worker who had a heart attack up that road. All the other trucks were gone at this point, and were waiting at the bottom with a stretcher in the back of the RCMP Truck, with a body all wrapped up. 
Rescue crews at the Woodside Road this morning - photo by JPR Bridal Report - Rob, Alan, Jason and Miguel all met at Woodside and hiked up and only Miguel flew. He had a short flight with a top-landing, then he waited for a bit and relaunched and made it past Upper Launch slowly, and when he turned back to launch he was back in a few minutes. Apparently the landing was straight down. No one else flew after getting reports from all over the Valley about incoming winds.
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Woodside Report - it was good getting back to Mother Woodside after 3 weeks away in California and New Zealand. | New student Katherine and I kited out in the Eagle Ranch LZ til noon and then Justin, Norm and Darren showed up and we went flying. Nice to be able to drive up to the top without chains or stress. Norm launched first and climbed out, followed by Justin and Darren all doing well in the leeside conditions. We got ready after everyone launched and I heard an odd sound in the bush - a rooster crowing??? We launched last on the Magnum after waiting a long time for an up cycle. We were climbing and chasing the solo guys around when we caught a nice climb through 1200 meters, after getting dumped in and out of the lift. +4.2 m/s up, - 4.4 m/s down at times. The transitions were a bit sharp. After 35 minutes, Katherine's eyes were rolling shut as she fought off some nausea, so I handed over the controls and she flew us out to the Ranch. 
We were circling around by the bailout swamp, with Katherine flying, when I snapped this shot - photo by JPR It took another 15 minutes to find enough sink to let gravity take hold, but she was okay by now as she was piloting. We landed in nice SE winds, completely 180 degrees away from the strong NW we were kiting in earlier. When I went up with Rob to retrieve, the solo guys were still up playing on Harrison Hill after a run to Sasquatch. Alan was reporting in from Bridal, all alone, topping out at 1600 meters . . . somewhat higher than we were getting. After I retrieved, we took another load up and after I saw the air had mellowed, Katherine took her first solo flight. She did climb about 100 meters over launch out front but it was smooth and she was controlling the Mojo nicely. Kevin was down in the LZ and gave Katherine a few tips on the approach but the NW kicked in again so she had a nice long final into a smooth touchdown, kiting the glider to the packup area. She had a nice 15 minute first flight. On the way down, I saw the rooster I heard earlier but he is a bit camera shy. If he doesn't keep quiet, a coyote will be dining on chicken soon. 
Our new Woodside Mascot after last year's fawn, and a few years back a crazed grouse that would fly into the Van windows - photo by JPR
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Bridal Report - Martina reports the view is great coming back from Ludwig on an out-and-return. | 
Martina coming back from the Butterly towards Bridal LZ, note apron strings dangling - photo by JPR New Zealand Report Day 15 - our last day here, so we stayed close to the airport. We planned a trip to KareKare, a few kms south of the dreaded Piha Beach, but lost Gary and Vicki along the way at Hwy 16. Very easy to get lost driving on the the side of the road at breakneck speeds! Some nice dunes at KareKare, but the wind was blowing NE at this SW site. we are tourists at this point as the planes leave at dusk. 
One of the few houses at KareKare - photo by JPR 
Maori Statue at KareKare - photo by JPR We separated from Annette and John after lunch in Titiranaga, and found ourselves driving around a neighbourhood called Mangere near the airport. We saw this very nice hill that was approachable from either side and found a road up to the top. Mangere Mountain is not high, but it is a volcanic cone right in a housing development with a sports field halfway up and a hiking track to the trig at the top. 
Mangere Mountain and the top of the NE facing slope - photo by JPR The wind was blowing straight in and Colleen was trying to convince me to have one last flight into the sports field, but it was getting late and I was tired and survived all the wild adventures so far . . . so I declined and we drove down. Once we got into the airport, through customs and security, we found a display dedicated to Jean Batten. Jean Batten was New Zealand's foremost female pilot and she broke many records during the 1930's. 
The Percival Gull Jean Batten flew in pristine shape - photo by JPR 
The Percival Gull from another angle - photo by JPR 
Jean Batten's story - photo by JPR 
In 1934 Jean Batten flew solo from England to Australia, achieving the fastest time for a woman pilot. She is pictured (left) with Governor General Lord Bledisloe and Lady Bledisloe at Rongotai airport, Wellington, on a visit to New Zealand after her epic flight. Two years later she broke all records, by both men and women, for the England–Australia flight. - photo by Wikipedia Jean Gardner Batten CBE (15 September 1909–22 November 1982) was a New Zealand aviatrix. Born in Rotorua, she became the best-known New Zealander of the 1930s, internationally. In 1934 she flew solo from England to Australia. For this achievement and for subsequent record-breaking flights, she was awarded the Harmon Trophy three times from 1935 through to 1937. in 1924 she was enrolled into a secretarial school and studied ballet and piano and at the age of 18 wanted to become a pilot. Batten was created Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1936. In 1938, she was the first woman to be awarded the medal of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, aviation's highest honour. World War II was the end of her flying adventures, and she retired from public life. She became a recluse and died alone in a hotel on Majorca, from complications from a dog bite. Because of her striking looks and her reclusive tendencies, she became known as the "Greta Garbo of the skies". Major flights: 1934 – England - Australia (women's record) 10,500 miles in 14 days 22 hours 30 minutes, breaking Amy Johnson's record by six days. 1935 – Australia - England in 17 days 15 hours. First woman ever to make a return flight. 1935 – England - Brazil: 5000 miles in 61 hours 15 minutes, setting world record for any type of aeroplane. Also fastest crossing South Atlantic Ocean, 13 1/4 hours, and first woman to make England - South America flight. 1936 – England - New Zealand. World record for any type. 14,224 miles in 11 days 45 minutes total elapsed time, including 2 1/2 days in Sydney.
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Duders Report - Gary and I drove to Musick Point, one of the east facing sites in the Site Guide, but couldn't tell where to launch.
When I returned and looked at the guide again, we were at the correct place. It is actually just inside the Golf Course with top-landings on the golf course and NO bottom landings at High Tide (which it was at this time).
Gary and I then headed to Duders Regional Park as the forecast was for East 15 knots. | We hiked up to the East facing top-launch that is actually an ag-spray plane runway, about 500 feet long on top of the ridge. Lots of room to kite and fly, but the wind was just under soarable speeds, but good for removing sand and debris from the gliders. We were up there for 2 hours and no change so we drove back to Auckland for dinner. 
Gary kiting Vicki's Buzz on the runway - photo by JPR The Fabulous Baker Boys from September 2008 - a video journal about 5 hiker-fliers flying off Mt. Baker WA, 10700 feet ASL.
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Mangawhai Heads Report - we headed north to Mangawhai Heads, 90 kms from Auckland as the forecast was for East winds 10-15 knots. | Just John, Gary and I were flying as the girls started their Conference this morning at AUT Auckland. We used the directions from the Cloudbase Site Guide and it worked well except that the bathrooms had been moved (but the water tank was in the correct place still). We walked the beach and found some cool dunes below launch. 
A aerial view to the south, far south is the Bird Sanctuary. Below is the dunes and you can see Gary and John on the flat launch - photo by JPR We hiked up the jungle track to launch, about 50 meters above the Beach and there is a flat launch (probably good in light winds) and a steep chute launch like Te Mata Peak for higher winds (where I launched). We were assessing conditions and noticed the whitecaps getting closer together and noticed a storm cell in the distance dumping rain headed our way. Kinda like Piha! I saw blue behind it so I suggested lunch in town while this passed. Great take-aways here, so we bailed for an hour. When we got back to launch, it had improved. The winds were 25-30 kph so a light touch was required to ensure no overshoots occurred. I tried once in a lull and it was too light? Second time was a charm and I was soon soaring with the gulls. 
Jim soaring Mangawhai Heads north, New Zealand - photo by JPR I was getting pretty high right in front of launch as the dunes were kicking off a thermal bubble. so I topped out and tried a run to the north heads, but there is a huge gap to cross and I am a bit lazy for hiking if I sunk out so I tried it a few times before climbing out again. I am sure it is possible to cross the gap and continue soaring the North Heads (maybe tomorrow?). 
Aerial view north to the North Heads - photo by JPR 
Jim soaring way out front over the Ocean to show Gary how to get down. Great Barrier Island in the background. - photo by Gary Gary was concerned how to get down as there was "idiot-lift" everywhere, so I flew out over the ocean quite far and was still maintaining. I made a few runs to the gap north and that was the way to get down to land, after 45 minutes of soaring. I landed right below launch on the sand and hiked back up to help motivate the guys off launch, but it got stronger as a new storm cell moved closer.
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New Zealand Report - we awoke to strongish North Winds, which don't work at the Napier sites, so we packed up and headed to Auckland with a side trip to Tauranga (where we heard there was some dune soaring). | When we arrived at Tauranga, it was beautiful and sunny, but light winds so lunch and then on to Auckland. "Mount Maunganui" is a nice hill near the Beach where HG and PGers fly, but you need a road permit to get to the top. The local club is having a costume fly-in here on May 16th, but we will be back in Canuckland then. Bridal Report - I launched at about 3:45 and flew for three hours between Elk and Cheam finally landing to hear that un-named pilot? had thrown his reserve and was high in a tree near the Lougheed Highway. As I write this, Agassiz Search and Rescue are plucking him out of a tree. I don't know any other details but it got windy at Woodside and stayed that way til I drove home at 7:30. I'm looking at my Variometer right now and the stats tell the story: 5.8 m/s lift, 3 hours 18 minutes airtime. Max Altitude 1576 m, max sink 10.1 m/s down !!! - Kevin A. Wouter's Flying Holiday - Pics Here The weather looked really good for the Easterweekend so we travelled south to the Vosges, in the eastern part of France. Really nice conditions so 8 hours of airtime in three days. Flew a couple of tandems in strong thermals and had an excellent flight on a Rush2. Gotta love those Ozone wings! Lots of people in the air because its a traditional opening of the season weekend, so really nice parties in the evening! Here are some pictures and movies of flying in the - Wouter
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Ocean Beach Report - we met at the LZ at Craggy Range Winery and watched someone flying a Gin Zoom off Te Mata Peak,
we didn't see them launch but they were having no problem staying up.
We waited for awhile to see if they would land to tell us where they launched but we got bored and drove out to Ocean Beach
for more soaring as the forecast was for NE 10-15 knots. | Ocean Beach Panorama, click here. Gary was off first and managed about 25 minutes just staying above launch height, while the others were struggling to get off. Colleen finally got a turn to launch and started soaring just as it shut down and soon her and Gary were on the beach, when Vicki launched first try and had a little sled ride to the beach. 
Colleen and Gary soaring Ocean Beach, New Zealand - photo by JPR We later went back up to Te Mata Peak so I could try a flight there and after a few tries at a NE facing launch I was experiencing the same problem with meteo wind conflicting with thermal winds over the back. The only launch spot that would work was was the "daunting cliff launch" and I wasn't feeling too confident as it was "howling". After an hour of waiting for it to calm down, dinner was calling so I packed up. Tomorrow is a travel day back to Auckland so the girls can attend their conference, but we may sneak a flight in before noon at this great location.
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Te Mata Peak Report - we went to the Craggy Range Winery at the base of
Te Mata Peak near the LZ for breakfast but they were only open for Wine Tasting with lunch available at noon. John was extatic as that was exactly what he wanted to do. | We had a nice breakfast at the Cheese Factory on the way to the top, and arrived at the top to meet Gary who had been scoping out launch locations for an hour. It was coming up on all sides and a huge CU was forming over Te Mata Peak. Dusties were kicking off all over the peak and even the birds weren't flying. "Spidey Senses tingling", I suggested a drive to Ocean Beach about 20 minutes east of the peak to check out the ridge soaring as it was meteorologically South East. We found a nice launch but it was too cross and too gusty, and a bit of rotor probably from the hills south of this launch. 
Ocean Beach, New Zealand facing north toward Cape Kidnappers - photo by CMV We headed back to Te Mata Peak and John and Annette arrived at the LZ after John had visited 10 wineries, barely functional at this point I am sure! Up on top, Colleen was trying to talk me into launching by the East facing HG Ramp, but it was too strong without a safety margin due to the fence in case of blowback on inflation.  The NE facing HG Ramp is past this fence - photo by CMV We walked down to the other NE facing saddle, about 50 meters lower, but no fence and while still a cliff launch not so "daunting" as the Peak Launches. That is until you sat there for a few minutes and felt 25 kph+ prevailing winds from the east, and 20 kph thermal winds coming from the back continuously. We sat for 45 minutes expecting the thermals to die down, as the sun got lower but it never happened. Too much heating during the day and big instability evidenced by the huge CU earlier. And still no birds flying, so I stood down and we took the whole crew sans Vicki (who was working in her room) to Ocean Beach for a late evening soarfest. Gary, Annette, John and Colleen hiked up to a launch spot above the Lifeguard Tower and the winds were now much straighter than earlier in the day. I drove down to retrieve them and to do some photos.  Gary launching his Rush at Ocean Beach - photo by CMV Gary was off first after a few duffs, and got above launch for a few moments and landed on the sand as planned. Annette was off first try and got a little longer flight landing next to Gary as the dusk approached.  Annette launching her Rush at Ocean Beach - photo by CMV John was off last and pretty much landed longest and closest to the path in to the road on his Tetra. Perfect landing conditions, straight down the beach at about 10 kph.  John on final at Ocean Beach - photo by CMV
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Napier Report | We arrived at Te Mata Peak, 400 meters asl and started looking for a launch site and first found the HG Ramp. Legendary that a wire-crew fell off several years ago when he forgot to let go when the pilot yelled "CLEAR" and fell off a 300 meter cliff. A memorial plaque has been installed in his honour.  The NE facing HG Ramp overlooking the Craggy Rock Winery where the landing paddock is situated - photo by JPR We found the PG Launch, over a fence and a bit west of the HG Ramp. I climbed the fence to the consternation of my fellow PGers, and found the launch indeed "DAUNTING!", bring up the wing and step off a 300 meter drop. The wind was straight in but after my tree adventure in Piha I thought a kiting session would be appropriate measure to ensure the lines were intact and that the glider would still fly.  The NE facing PG Launch - photo by JPR  The NE facing PG Launch - photo by JPR We moved further west to a flat launch area that would require enough speed to clear the fence, again over the same 300 meter drop, so I could kite and test the air. I was having trouble getting a solid wing until I went higher on the parking lot and flew down to where I was kiting and then I dropped out of the sky. A rotor or a hole was setting up where I had been kiting, so we bagged up and headed for dinner, this looks like more of a morning site so we plan to be back tomorrow.  I'm flying at this point, a few meters off the ground before touching down before the fence - photo by CMV Napier Road Report - we drove from Rotorua to Napier through some beautiful forested areas, mostly tree plantations, that were very well maintained. It looked like some of the clearcut area would make good flying sites too.  A tree plantation as we went through the mountains to the Coast - photo by CMV
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Paeroas Report Day 2 - Easter Meet is a success with many pilots flying today and going XC, at least a few kms. | Annette, John, Gary and Colleen flew two flights while Vicki kited and I drove and retrieved (back still sore).  Colleen, John and Annette were crammed into this shuttle vehicle - photo by JPR  Colleen, John and Annette were crammed in with 10 other pilots - photo by JPR  Nicest PG rig we saw so far, but it doesn't hold as many as a 'Mog - photo by JPR The last flight was a classic "restitution" flight, or "glass-off" as we call it.  Colleen's view of the Paeroas Launch, with many hanggliders still on launch - photo by CMV Annette had to try for 30 minutes to land, flying out over the valley and still going up. Everyone else was loving the lift and smooth air, and Colleen went XC back to the campground following Xen on a Boom Sport.  Colleen's view of the Paeroas last night - photo by CMV  Colleen chasing the Boom Sport to the campground - photo by CMV
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Paeroas Report - we arrived at the meeting places at the Waiteke Hot Springs Resort at 10:30 and hopped in Dennis's HG Van after offering my services as a driver. Vicki, Gary, Annette and John were late and missed this ride but eventually all showed up on launch. | Two tandems were in the air already and at 'base. It was crossing from the NW and getting windy, so after a quick briefing, Gary launched and was soon at 'base too.  Gary heading to cloudbase at the Paeroas - photo by JPR Lots of interesting launches by the PG pilots, and all at once about a dozen HGers took off too.  A gaggle formed north near the transmission towers later around 3 pm - photo by JPR It got pretty strong around 3 pm, so we all drove down to the Waiteke Pools for a soak before heading to Rotorua for dinner. Gay walked 6 kms back to the pools after his 65 minute flight landing at the bailout LZ, rather than flying downwind to the pools, as he wasn't sure of the landing options (good call as it got windier).  A view out over the Waiteke Valley, the Landing Paddock is centred in this picture near the silage pile - photo by JPR Woodside Report - Kevin was taking Derek's daughter Chrissy and her friend Jody tandem and they got above launch around 11 pm, otherwise everyone had exteneded sledders except Rob on his new R09. I hear the weather is turning ugly for a few days. Valemount Report - After being denied several times in the past few weeks due to weather, & wind I finally managed an awesome flight from the Mt. Terry Fox repeater site (8600 ft) on Wednesday. I arrived at the site in my ‘Mog” to find light winds & +3°C which was a far cry different from Saturday with 25-30 Knot winds, knee deep snow, and -10. It is still too early for any thermal activity but I still tried to work the slight ridge lift with little success. Still it was a great 30 minute flight back to the hanger with unusually calm winds in the main valley. As Borat would say, “Nice, very nice.” - Rick M.  Valemount Transport Vehicle - photo by ???
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Paeros Report - in a big hurry today we left Rotorua for the Waikete Valley at 9 am, to head to the Easter Meet and arrived at the pools to see
no one in any rush to do anything because it was leeside at this site. |  A view out over the Waikete Valley Thermal Area, near the pools my back is yearning to soak in - photo by JPR Most had traveled to the Kaimais Range to the other site which faces N into the wind. This site is North of Rotorua, so we were doing the typical drive chasing the wind. We arrived at the site gate and had to sign in, some form of WCB requirement as we drive through a working quarry. There is a $5.00 NZD fee per pilot per day payable at the lockbox at the gate. Xen Zambas, the Auckland Club President, met us there and I volunteered to drive his rig down as I am still battered from Piha, loving those Ibuprofen Caps. We all loaded into his Cherokee, and we drove up to the top launch at Kaimais. It was brutally cold and we were at cloudbase where it was very windy. The hangies were setting up, making comments about bag-pilots having to fly off the mid-launch, as three pilots flying Ozone Bullets pulled up.  A view out from Kaimais Top Launch - photo by JPR We were heading down, so we didn't get any Bullet Launches on camera but we saw them from below. These guys were having a ball! They would launch, and wang around in front of launch, climb out and then spiral in for a top-landing. . . over and over again. While the hangies just launched and cloud-surfed, the Bullet Jockies were very busy stunting. They ultimately flew down and landed in the quarry above on one of the roads, except Mike who came over head at the mid-launch and did a barrel-roll on a 10 meter Bullet, rounding out as he flared to land! Too close for my liking but apparently he has been practising for months doing these rolls. Pretty cool to watch these Bullets flying when everyone else had to stand down.  The crowd at Mid Launch - photo by JPR The Mid Launch crowd were waiting for it to straighten out, but Alan was launching students down to a small paddock below. It was trashy and thermic and didn't look like much fun for a few minute flight so only four students flew before the rain started to fall. I had driven down with Xen and the others were going to fly down or hike down, but apparently the rain dampened both plans, so I waited in the car while they hitched rides down. Most pilots headed back to Waikete Valley to try a flight off the Paeros, but we ent back to Rotorua for a hot tub soak and a nap.  Seen on a car at Mid Launch - photo by JPR
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Travel Day - we left Piha on the West Coast mid-storm to travel to the Waikete Valley Thermal Pools where the Auckland fliers are meeting for their Easter Meet. It reminded me of the pilgrimage to Chelan in the Fall for the Women's Fly-In, last meet of their season and mild themals expected. | We arrived in Rotorua to get a hotel and check out the town. This is in the centre of the Geothermic Region where hot pools form naturally and most of the town is heated by geothermic hot water. There are many public parks and paid attractions where you can see boiling water and mud right in town.  One of the many natural hot springs in Rotorua - photo by JPR
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Piha Report - we drove out to the West Coast to Piha today, to find a small dune site with trees behind it separating the dunes from the house and powerlines behind. |  Piha Beach, looking north toward the dunes - photo by travelintospain We arrived to find the winds perfectly straight in from the SW but not really strong enough to keep me in the air on the small Mantra.  Jim kiting on Piha Beach, note footgear and hiking harness - photo by CMV I was kiting up the hill when the rain started spitting and instinctively knew a squall was coming, so I was bringing the wing down and I got gusted into the air, so I turned around . . . hands up and I was heading backwards for the trees. It all happened too quickly to get the speed bar depressed, and I was skidding over the tops of these 12 foot high gum trees, still heading backwards when I saw a clearing and I pulled the A's to frontal the glider into a soft landing. Phew, that was quite scary. No sooner had I touched down when the glider reinflated and I was picked up over another tree and slammed into the ground. Hmmm, should have had hiking boots on and back protection. I quickly unclipped and watched Gary skidding down the beach out of control as the wind swung from the north. I was yelling at him to get unclipped, as he skidded by and up the dunes and disappeared into the trees too.  Gary dragging down Piha Beach, note tracks - photo by CMV No one was running to help Gary or me so I guess they assumed we were okay. When I got my wing packed up and hobbled back to the car, I saw Colleen and Vicki packing up under a tree near the car park. They were smart enough to to get out of the wind! We drove down the beach towards Gary and Colleen and Vicki hiked in to find Gary all covered in sand and dirt and okay. They packed him up by the road and we were off to find a hotel for the night. There are no hotels so we end up in 2 different B & B's and go to the Local RSA (like the Legion) for dinner and drinks to sooth my sore bones, just as another monsoon hits the coast.
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Auckland Report - Colleen, Annette and Vicki had to work at the Conference today at Auckland University of Technology, but they didn't miss out. Gary, John and I headed to North Head and it was blown out as a front approached, we went shopping nearby and went back 2 hours later and it was still howling. It blew hard right until dark and it rained a few times, hopefully it will clear out in a few days before the Comp in Rotorua. | Lower Bridal Report - I launched at 4:33, flew for 1:57:30. I bumbled around for 45 minutes with Martin N, and Alan watching from above before I figured out how to use the wind-blown disoragnized lift down low. Alan had taken a while to get high, so when he got up over Upper Launch he just hung out there until he headed out to land. After that I go my act together, got up to 1184 m ASL (3900 ft) went on glide to Elk, got there at about 900 m ASL and scratched around before climbing back out to 1095 m ASL (3600 ft ASL). On the way back to Lower Launch I found a nice one that took me back to 1180 m so that when I got back to Lower Bridal I was in good position to watch Al working his way back up the face of Lower Bridal to 'hammer' a top-landing. Other pilots out today included Martin N., Matt (#1) and Matt (#2), Alan, and of course Al "The Hammer". The lift was as dis-organized as yesterday at Woodside, with the added disadvantage of a bit of wind. Once you got a bit of height (over 800 m), the wind was less of a problem and the lift was a bit smoother and more consistent. I did manage to find a core that was going up at 3.5 m/s (700 ft/min). The snow is pretty deep on launch and on the top 1/4 of the road. We only had to hike for about 25 minutes into launch. - Rob.
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Auckland Report - we did lots of site re-conn's today as it was light NE wind, hoping for a good blow at one of the NE facing sites. | We drove first to Shakespear Regional Park North of Auckland. Beautiful park that is also a working farm. We hiked up to the top, 100 meters ASL, and the wind looked promising but it dropped off to hardly kite-able.  Colleen, Vickie, Annette, John, and Gary at Shakespear park - photo by JPR We watched a jogger approach from the north and Annette always friendly said "Hi!". The jogger lady started in on a tirade about being close to God, and how we should pray so WestPac (the heli search and rescue squad) doesn't have to come to get us. We said it wasn't flyable, and she said that was God's will and got a bit psycho on us, before Annette waved her off. She had a Dutch accent so maybe not a local?? We kited for a bit and then headed down to the cars for a rally road trip to Duder's Park south of Auckland. It is on the site guide as PG2 friendly but high tide was coming in, and there are many fields to land in there. More hiking here but a nice trail and great vistas.  The first trailhead offers this view to the North - photo by JPR We kept on hiking to the NE facing slopes and the sky was amazing. Nicely developed CUs if we could have towed up, but we were looking for a soaring ridge and this site has ridges facing every direction. We did have a time constraint as the gates are closed at 5 pm, and it was 3:30 pm already.  The highest point on Duder's looking SE - photo by JPR We all arrived at the top most point facing NE and the wind was almost soarable but cross.  The view to the North at the launch spot we chose - photo by JPR Colleen suited up and was going to try making it to the Beach to the West. Unfortunately the wind was too cross to generate any lift on this ridge and she had a short flight to a side hill landing where she hiked to the Beach where I could pick her up in the car before the gates were locked. No one else was motivated for a short flight.  Colleen launches to the North - photo by John As we hiked out, two girls on horseback came flying up the trail towards us laughing while they galloped. They stopped at the top where we were packing up for a photo opportunity.  This picture is for you Bev - photo by JPR  This picture is for you Norm - photo by JPR Woodside Report - Woodside, launched at 2:49, flew for 1:59:21. I bumbled around for 45 minutes until Martin got on the radio and started going on about how Mia's Buzz seemed to be above the R09 an awful lot, and that maybe Mia needed to show me how to thermal. After that I go my act together, got up to 1084 m ASL (3500 ft HG speak) went on glide to Sasquatch, got there at about 400 m ASL and scratched around down to 338 m ASL (1100 ft ASL) before climbing back out to 912 m ASL (3000 ft ASL), went to Riverside for the out and returm landing. Other pilots out today included Martin N., Martin H., Martina, Robin, Alex, Greg, Veronica, Kevin, Miguel, Norm, Blackbox, Daryl S., Laura, Brad H., Kent, Tom C., and a few more un-named pilots. The lift was a lot more dis-organized today than yesterday, though I did manage to find a core that was going up at 4.2 m/s (850 ft/min). Also it was more difficult to get really high though the winds were light and variable from the east. Kevin tried heading east to Agassiz Mtn. and ended up at Harvest Market shortly thereafter. The snow that was covering launch yesterday has all melted and dried up. PS Kelly found her glider today - Rob.
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Auckland Report - we had an awesome flight on Air New Zealand leaving Vancouver at 9 pm, arriving in Auckland at 6 am ready to go flying. I slept about 10 hours, and watched two movies and arrived rested. | Colleen and I rented a Suzuki Swift from the Airport and were soon at the Hotel and unloaded and we got a NE wind forecast showing we need a NE site. We went on to Auckland's HG and PG Club Site and discovered three sites that looked good for NE: Kennedy Park, Glover Park and North Head. A Google Map based site guide here for Auckland Fliers. Glover Park wasn't working so on to Kennedy Park where the locals were standing down cause the birds were getting too high? I had the small Mantra I so I clipped in and off I went soaring with the gulls for an hour, trying to top land on launch but it was too strong.  Jim at Kennedy Park - photo by Colleen I was told that they land on the beach in these conditions, but as I was flying the tide was coming in and I would have to hike up a lot of stairs, so I calculated the best way down was to get behind the treeline where there was a gap of clean air and just descend over the Park area proper.  Jim top-landing at Kennedy Park - photo by Colleen It worked well and I just hovered down in smooth air stalling it out at about 10 feet. Beautiful grass to fold up on and we were soon on the way to North Head where Colleen saw gliders flying when I was soaring Kennedy Park. We arrived at North Head to see three gliders soaring: a Gin Beetle with a small child as passenger, a Nova Factor and a Gin Zoom and they were all maintaining on the small ridge bust just. Colleen was watching and decided the ridge was a bit small for her first flight there and all the traffic.  Gliders soaring North Head, a site very near Auckland - photo by JPR This site has a spectacular view all around, and you can see downtown Auckland where we are staying from the top launch which faces due South.  Downtown Auckland from North Head - photo by JPR We saw a lone glider soaring the Takapuna Head near the Elementary School, which has an amazing soccer field behind it for top-landing. None of these sites seems threatend with closures despite the closeness to town.  Colleen kiting at Takapuna Head, just a bit too light to jump the fence near the edge - photo by JPR The tide was fully in now and the wind was calming so we drove back to town to gloat with Annette, John, Vickie and Gary who are all in town for the Nursing Conference too. A great start to a 2 week holiday. We are still connected via Skype: contact flybcpg on Skype and watch when we are connected. Have fun in the Fraser Valley, flying sounds amazing but we don't miss the cold and snow. I forgot my sunscreen and I look a bit red right now. Hopefully it will turn into tan and not peel! - Jim & Colleen
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Woodside Report - everyone had a good flight today: Rob and Robin headed for Mission, Al had an interesting landing in someone's back yard, Norm logged 4.5 hours, Alan spent a few hours waiting for cycles at Bridal but had a good flight finally. |
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Woodside Report - Derek & I had a couple of drivers, er...guests...for dinner & looking over at Woodside it looked worth the trip over. Kevin & Nicolai were on launch telling us it was shaded in & blowing east, but we decided to drive up anyway "for a look". We bumped into Al & James right at the bottom & followed them up the hill. Al lived up to his name & Hammered through all the way to launch (to the disbelief of our friends) but we gave up at around 3 1/2 km. There's snow all the way down to lower launch again, hopefully the warm weather this weekend will melt it off. | The clouds parted and Kevin & Nicolai were already at cloudbase by the towers when we got to launch so we threw ourselves off as quickly as possible. I fumbled around in the air in front of launch but was determined not to get skunked like I did last weekend! Went to the south knoll to join the eagles and boy, were they in a playful mood! I must have spent 10 or 15 minutes flying with them - they'd come join me in a thermal, fly away, come close again & lead me to another thermal...it was one of those magical moments that you try to describe to non-flying friends that words never do justice too. Derek called me over to a good thermal and after getting up to 1200 metres I decided to head towards Agassiz. I definitely had Harvest on glide and was hoping the cloud suck would take me home. At Cemetery Hill another bald eagle was circling in something really light, I took a couple turns and then a big breath & radio'ed Derek I was heading further east. A few more random tugs up from some friendly lift & I was happily setting up my approach over the gym in Agassiz. A perfect south wind awarded me with a soft tiptoe landing, and shortly afterwards Derek came & landed beside my wing. Our ride pulled up 5 minutes later so we hurried home to give our drivers a well-deserved dinner!  Martina at Agassiz - photo by Derek Flight time: 40 minutes, distance: 8.12km. It may not sound like much to most pilots but it's the first time I've flown home and I'm as excited as if I'd flown 10 times the distance! - Martina Kevin's Gloat Report - There were not many pilots out today but those who showed scored! Nikolai and I hiked up late arriving at 3:45 pm. There was a foot of new wet snow in the last few days. We couldn't launch until 4:30 due to a big fat cloud over the mountain drifting from the north. When we did launch it was hooverville to base which was about 1200 meters. Shortly after I launched, Derek, Martina, Al and James all launched and had great flights. Martina and Derek landed in Agassiz. Martina was STOKED! Nikolai landed at Harrison Beach. James and Al landed at the Ranch. Me? I was trying out my new super balaclava and was so toasty warm, I just cloud danced for 2 hours getting up to about 1460 m in lift up to 9 m/s and sink down to 10 m/s. Good old rocknroll spring! Alan also had a great flight at Bridal after waiting for over two hours for some up cycles - Kevin A
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Los Angeles Report - a cloudy windless, day so no soaring. I checked out a site near Palos Verdes that looked great but without the wind it wasn't going to work. I also found a site near Dockweiler State Beach that does HG training, but they also had no wind. |
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Santa Barbara Report - we had a great Ozone Meeting in the morning and adjourned to the Elings Park Training hill to check out the conditions as the Upper Level Winds were too strong to mountain fly. | The conditions were totally cross and we went for lunch on the Beach to check out that site, and waited . . . and waited. Eventually we all went back to the Hotel and shopped or took naps until Dinner.  A ridge soaring site is on this hill, note the streamers - photo by JPR  It was warm and swimmers and surfers were having fun - photo by JPR April Fool's Highlights - Upside down YouTube til 4 pm! And Kelly thought I was joking about getting the summer off, but I am a free agent as of March 30, 2009. |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
February 2009 Site of the Day archives - the Worlds PG Championships in Mexico was hard work for the Canucks, the tasks and speeds were unreal.
January 2009 Site of the Day archives - Manzanillo, Mexico was a BLAST, many new sites flown and we have a new tour Destination for 2010.
December 2008 Site of the Day archives - the annual FlyBC Christmas Party was a cold success with Head over Heels entertaining us all night. And we left early for Manzanillo, Mexico on Dec 28th.
November 2008 Site of the Day archives - some soaring between rain storms, and it was pretty dry in Agassiz.
October 2008 Site of the Day archives - we went ot the Women's Fly In on Chelan for the annual Halloween Costume Fly-In, great conditions there to offset the wet month on the West Coast. Steve Fosset's crash site was found in Nevada after a year of searching.
September 2008 Site of the Day archives - great student conditions at Woodside and Bridal all month, with 10 students getting signed off this month, a record.
August 2008 Site of the Day archives - our second SIV Course of the 2008 season went well at Sale Mountain near Revelstoke (except for a few water landings and minor injuries). Wet all month at Woodside except the weekends.
July 2008 Site of the Day archives - our first SIV Course of the 2008 season went well at Sale Mountain near Revelstoke.
June 2008 Site of the Day archives - a few good soaring days at Bridal, lots of new students this month.
May 2008 Site of the Day archives - the cost of gas is keeping pilots at home and the weather isn't helping either. One good XC in May for me, leaving Woodside with Norm and Martin H and ending up at Elk at 1600 meters before landing by Hopyard Hill. 3 hours and 85 kms later by the GPS.
April 2008 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years but we flew every day we could.
March 2008 Site of the Day archives - more snow and still hiking to launch at Woodside! But some major airtime for the locals committed to coming out to fly.
February 2008 Site of the Day archives - more snow in BC than I can remember in 25 years of living here. We are still hiking to launch at Woodside!
January 2008 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years so we went to Mexico and logged many hours of airtime, while it snowed heavily in BC.
December 2007 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years so we went to Mexico on Dec 29th for three weeks.
November 2007 Site of the Day archives - Colleen and I went to California to fly the new Falcon A-16 Advanced Ultralight prototype and it flew very well. Some good soaring days at Woodside, some folks were still trying to fly Bridal but that is a waste of time this late in the season.
October 2007 Site of the Day archives - mid-air at Woodside caused Martin H some paraglider damage, some great soarable days. The Women's Fly In was a success with the Canuck Team taking top spot for the theme of "Celebrities in Rehab".
September 2007 Site of the Day archives - we re-discovered and flew 'Horsefly' Launch for the first time, some mayhem at Woodside due to tree-suck, lots of good soaring in afternoon glassoffs, a great Indian Summer until late in the month when the rains came early. Derek, Martina, Robin and Diane went to Europe. Kirill went to Australia for a paramotor Fly-In.
August 2007 Site of the Day archives - fun two weeks at Mara Lake, followed by steady flying at Woodside and Bridal, making up for the dismal spring and summer.
July 2007 Site of the Day archives - good flights at Bridal, some mayhem at Woodside from visiting pilots.
June 2007 Site of the Day archives - more crappy weather on the weekends. Some awesome flights between showers as Norm and Thomm flew to Mission on the last day of the month.
May 2007 Site of the Day archives - flyable every weekday, but the Fraser Valley XC Comp got crappy weather on the weekends, although it was student flyable.
April 2007 Site of the Day archives - good flights are starting. Some complete triangles from Woodside to Bridal and back, some "musical triangles" from others.
March 2007 Site of the Day archives - fifth month of crappy weather on the Coast. We went to Santa Barbara for some flights, and to dry out. Some good days were also recorded locally.
Febuary 2007 Site of the Day archives - fourth month of crappy weather on the Coast. So we stayed in Mexico.
January 2007 Site of the Day archives - third month of crappy weather on the Coast. So we went to Mexico to fly Colima, Tapalpa, and San Marcos, while Brad and gang headed to Tenacingo, Mexico.
December 2006 Site of the Day archives - more ugly weather on the Coast. Severe winds damaged trees and property so not much flying happened. Some good flight reports from local PGers travelling world-wide.
November 2006 Site of the Day archives - the wettest November on record. We flew a few good flights but mostly we were rained out.
October 2006 Site of the Day archives - lots of good days with 3-4 hours airtime. The Women's Fly-In was on again in Chelan with about 18 Canucks, and a good day Saturday with 85 registered pilots.
September 2006 Site of the Day archives - still soarable in the Fraser Valley, little or no rain. Colleen is back flying! Some mayhem in the valley.
August 2006 Site of the Day archives - a great flying month everywhere, we had a super successful SIV clinic at Mara Lake with everyone SAT-ing and heli-ing.
July 2006 Site of the Day archives - road trip to Lumby, then on the 8th Colleen spun in below Gloria cancelling her summer plans (but she is recuperating well).
June 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Valley dried out, and we flew most days and every weekend.
May 2006 Site of the Day archives - more rain that ever imagined in the Fraser Valley. Very few soaring flights and even less XC.
April 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Easter Bunny was "run over" on Kilby Road, plus the train wreck on April 1.
March 2006 Site of the Day archives - a new pilot was born, Chloe. We also flew a few days between showers, some long flights up to 4 hours. A few Out & Return Flights to Deroche and Bear.
February 2006 Site of the Day archives - another wet month with some soarable days (2).
January 2006 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South for great Mexican or Chilean flying.
December 2005 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South.
November 2005 Site of the Day archives - rain, snow and not much flying.
October 2005 Site of the Day archives - Women's Fly In in Chelan yielded two soarable days before the snows hit.
September 2005 Site of the Day archives - dry most of the month. Some great 4 hour flights at Woodside getting to cloudbase most days. Three crash-landings in the same clearcut by pilots scratching too low, but no injuries.
August 2005 Site of the Day archives - road trips to the Interior gave us an opportunity to rag out some gliders at FlyBC SIV 2005 (Part II). Also a great road trip to Savona.
July 2005 Site of the Day archives - good flying all month, no rain but some windy days shut us down. The Willi started in Golden with a few good days, but one tragedy as Charles Warren perished in a crash near Harrogate.
June 2005 Site of the Day archives - too much rain, but good days to fly between showers.
May 2005 Site of the Day archives - our Instructor/Tandem seminar yielded some good flying. Our May 2005 SIV Clinic had a good turnout, with many wet wings/pilots! Many nice flights at Woodside and Bridal, with some long "out & returns" at Bridal.
April 2005 Site of the Day archives - some great soaring at Woodside and Bridal. Sad news from the US Hanggliding Nationals as Chris Muller crashes at goal.
March 2005 Site of the Day archives - we had to head out of town to Savona a few weekends due to wet weather on the Coast. Wetter than normal according to Environment Canada.
February 2005 Site of the Day archives - some good soaring despite early time of year. Flights as long as 3 hours at Woodside, some good flights at Whidbey Island for first timers, too!
January 2005 Site of the Day archives road trips to Mexico, not much flying locally due to strong north winds and rain. Record rain kept Eagle Ranch quite wet for kiting.
December 2004 Site of the Day archives a dry month with some good soaring including a fantastic day on Dec. 11 where we thermalled for 2+ hours!
November 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain. We installed a fireplace in the barn to keep pilots warm between winter flights.
October 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain, but sweet soaring between showers. Many new students signed up and making quick progress. We missed the Women's Fly In for the first time in 9 years, and there was some interesting flying on the Sunday!
September 2004 Site of the Day archives rainiest September on record for the first 3 weeks, made flying difficult. But Alan and others logged some pretty nice flights later in the month. Lots of student tandems for both Colleen and Jim.
August 2004 Site of the Day archives Great Maneuver/SIV/ACRO course at Mara. Jack got wet! Some great soaring at Woodside. Norm made it 68 km from Mara to King Eddie, Derek made it from Lumby to Enderby the opposite direction for 67 kms. We also did our BC roadtrip from Ashcroft to New Denver, and flew everyday.
July 2004 Site of the Day archives the Willi was on at Golden. We missed the mayhem due to work and school commitments but Norm did a great job representing the West Coast.
June 2004 Site of the Day archives Canadian Nationals came off with many great rounds. Pemberton-Whistler Championships were blown out most days so we headed to Cornwall.
May 2004 Site of the Day archives great flying at Woodside and Bridal. We held a very successful SIV Course at Mara Lake, and hope to run another one in August if they keep the forests open.
April 2004 Site of the Day archives good flying in the Valley. The Fraser Valley Cross Country PG Series was successssful.
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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