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FlyBC "Site of the Day Archive" - February/2015
Back to Mother Woodside for a sunny day!
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| 2/28/15 |
 Guadalajara Mexico Plentiful sunshine. High 28C. Winds S at 15 km/h.
The Colima Nevado erupted again, and was showing the upper level winds quite well.
He launched first and had a dodgy launch with some touchdowns and side-to-side rolling before taking off and sinking down to the fingers. I clipped Terry in and tried launching the `Rainbi` several times and was getting frontals, collapses and was cursing the wing, but when I finally launched it was clear that we had strong South (or over the back conditions at times). I hit a strong headwind and rotory air until I got out to the fingers too. We climbed out with Camilo and even above at times and we both got above launch and I contemplated top-landing but was not liking the turbulence near launch so I kept my distance. I lost sight of Camilo as we thermalled further out and Colleen reported that he had top-landed okay. I thermalled my way out to the sunny areas on the flats and we crusied around in much smoother air, but it was still 20+ kph in the air making for slow upwind speeds. We thermalled our way north to the big HG field near the crossroad and had a sweet landing in the cut alfalfa. Terry was very happy! I reported back that the air near launch was "crappy" but Matt had already launched and was getting bounced around the spines and he finally got high enough to top-land. The problem was that Colleen had already driven down, as had Camilo & Andres so we had to go back up to retrieve him as it started blowing over the back at launch. We went back up for lunch and fed the birds and saw Atuk top-landing in strong SW winds before we headed off to San Marcos.
It might even be passable by Norm's Vocho soon! Colleen is leaving tommorow for Vancouver and I follow a day later once the house is shutdown. 2/27/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Plentiful sunshine. High 28C. Winds SW at 15 to 25 km/h. We had light cycles and birds starting to thermal so Matt & Mark got ready to fly. Matt was practicing the A'S & C's technique and had a really nice launch . . . except he clipped the flag pole and broke the stabilo line so he had to fly straight out. The Delta 2 flies well without a stabilo line. Mark took off after Matt and was thermalling around but was in the Kordich Airfield when I arrived.
Matt launched well this time and missed the flag pole, and once Mark launched they were both climbing to the north peak.
I drove down to get Matt, while Mark was nestled under a shade tree when we arrived and we went back up for one last try as it seemed oddly calm over the backside. We bumped into Norm & Bev, as they parked in the shade at Chela's. Norm had flown off Los Banos and got flushed. Somehow they missed our shuttle trips up. We got back on top at 5 pm and it was strong. I hap a nap while waiting and the guys discussed strategies. A group of wild pig hunters arrived from San Marcos, with a request for some water as their truck overheated on the climb up. I had a jug of water and drove it down to the truck to get them going, while 3 of the hunters went looking for the pigs.
Then magically at 6 pm it became flyable, and Matt launched very nicely with A's & C's and was climbing fast to the north peak with no turns. Mark launched about 10 minutes later as it gusted up and we had to wait. He climbed fast too.
I figured they would fly east over the back so I started to head down and saw Matt on approach to Colleen's LZ. He was parked in strong east winds? It was strong SW on top? I found Mark as he had landed more NW in a field hidden from the view of the highway, before waiting at the Pemex for Matt. Good day: three flights, about 1.5 hrs airtime, no mayhem! The tour is winding down as Mark leaves tomorrow, Matt & Colleen leave Sunday and I have a flight home on Monday. Norm & Bev will stay til the 15th.
2/26/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Abundant sunshine. High around 30C. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 km/h. We left the hotel at 8 am, stopped for coffee at the Centro and picked up Norm and headed south. It was a quick drive with a few construction stops and we arrived at launch at 11 am, and we had perfect cycles. Mark launched first, but turned north to chase a bird and got caught in sink and was on the ground in a few minutes in Kirril's field (from a 2003 episode). Norm was off next following some French Canadians (Julie, Michel & Daniel) and they all climbed out.
We headed back to San Marcos as it was blown out by now here, Colima is "a one shot deal" due to the sea breezes. We arrived at San Marcos Los Banos Launch and it was strong, so up to the top launch where it was even stronger! We waited an hour before heading to the taco stands for dinner in Joco. 2/25/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Plenty of sunshine. High 28C. Winds W at 15 to 30 km/h. We left at 9 am to head straight to launch arriving to manageable cycles and a few vultures circling out front.
There was some light lift to the south that he worked, while Mark launched next and headed north.
Mark was climbing when I drove down but as I arrived at Kordich Airfield 25 minutes later, he was packed up and waiting in the parking lot. We decided to go back up to check it out. Los Banos Launch had good inflow cycles despite the north component in the air. We kept driving up to the top. At the top, it was howling strong, at least 30+ kph but straight in. On the dry lakebed we saw dust storms starting to form with strong NW winds, so we bailed and headed to Ajiic for the Market & shopping with Colleen.
2/24/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunny. High 29C. Winds SW 15-25 kph. After getting the tailpipe replaced on the Suburban (while Matt & Mark had breakfast at the fancy El Chante Spa Hotel just down the road from our El Chante Futball Field), we headed to San Marcos with Colleen & Karina in Karina's SUV.
We arrived to nice but strongish cycles as we got ready first. Karina is pretty small but we got away without ballasting. The Fuse is a great tandem, but use the A's & C's method in strong winds.
As we thermalled south, it got pretty ratty in the air. No collapses but big pitches back & forth requiring some big brake inputs. Once to the south side of the Saddle the winds should have been going straight up that slope, but we got nothing but bumps there. I decided to head over the back of the mountain to the flats to try my luck there. Nothing but sink! We floated over the farm fields for 10 minutes checking out the winds in the fires in the valley and it was strong NW here at the Pemex where we left Karina's SUV. We setup a landing pattern into the wind and landed in the cornfield behind the Pemex. Good logistics except that Colleen had the keys for Karina's SUV and she was busy helping Matt get a wing out of a tree??? Matt followed us off launch but had a piano down to Chela's, so the retrieve was going to be up to me. Colleen arrived and they took off in Karina's rig and I had to go get mark and head back to launch to help Matt. Partway up to launch I got a text from Matt saying he had the wing on the ground and would wait for us. It was howling from the SW when we arrived so I had a nap in the truck as Matt & Mark discussed their strategies for the day. One lone HGer came in below launch, Antoine Boisselier, training here for the Worlds in Valle. He had somehow launched at Tapalpa and flown to San Marcos in the NW winds. Amazing skills!
Mark encouraged Matt to fly off as it looked good and Matt started soaring to the north peak. A few top-landing approaches were too high and Matt was practicing wingovers.
Reserve worked as designed and Matt came down in front of the old competition launch in a gulley. We hiked up to the top of the ridge but could not see him as he was not hung up in a tree. He had no radio but we were getting texts that he was okay and would hike out. When we got back to launch, Herminio arrived to do a movie stunt and gave Matt a "high five" and a beer. They watched the show from Kordich's Airfield before coming up. We watched the show as Antoinne was now the PG tandem pilot taking a camera man on some climbing slings below and facing backwards to get some shots of tricks and stalls by Heminio on his SOL acro glider.
2/23/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunny. High 28C. Winds light. We arrived on launch to very nice cycles but no birds. We waited for the birds to show us the way and Matt launched his Delta 2. We had discussed strategies for NE winds, ie: staying on the windward side of the ridges but once in the air Matt had his own ideas, none of which worked as he kept going in the lee? Eventually I talked him into heading out to the flats where he found great flatland thermals and he got back to launch altitude and we decided a flight to Sayula looked like a good goal. Norm launched next and stayed high heading south, as usual! Mark launched and had to go out to the flats to get higher, as it was all about launch timing to stay high. I drove down after paying the launch fees and chased the guys to Sayula. As I drove onto the main highway I heard Norm report in over Sayula, saying Matt was with him. As I passed the Piano LZ I saw Mark down low setting up a landing to the south in the "One Tree Field", now renamed "Burr Field" as the burrs are growing fast and made a mess of Matt's Swift. I picked up Mark, drove straight to Norm's LZ, but could not see Matt. He misunderstood SW side of town and landed in another Futball Fn anotherthe NW side of town and an epic retrieve ensued. 1.5 hours later, we found him and headed to San Marcos. At San Marcos, we got there too late and the winds were too catabatic so off to dinner early.  Woodside BC Report - Kevin reports +4.1 m/s lift and easy top-landings today. Spring has sprung at Woodside. Apparently, 20+ pilots were out plying their thermalling skills Sunday too for 2 hours under low clouds at 1100 metres, says Nicole. 2/23/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunny. High 28C. Winds light.
I saw many pilots launch & land quickly at the Piano LZ at 11:30 am, so I suggested we wait til noon. I took off first right at noon, and caught a climb right off launch. Camilo took off right after me and we were climbing together. The main problem was that I like to turn right and Camilo was right there in formations so I turned left and started to climb as he turned right and also climbed so we could map out the thermals and we eventually got above launch. It was strong and later I heard Miguel say he had a +6 m/s climb right with us (I only had a IQSonic audio only vario). We were soon through 2500 metres and well behind launch and there were 4 tandems now in the same thermal, Bob & Miguel joined us after seeing us climb out fast. After 20 minutes of fast climbs, I headed to the top-landing field and it was bumpy trying to get down as thermals were "cracking off". Just be patient and look for sink and then head in on final. We had a soft landing and Bernice loved the flight! Camilo, Bob & Miguel all landed next to us and we had many happy passengers. By the time I got back to launch all of our pilots had taken off: Colleen first off had some nice climbs further out landing at the Piano after an hour of soaring, Matt & Mark were trying to follow Norm but stayed close to launch in the "fishbowl" and never got away but they did top-land to eat lunch after 2+ hours of thermalling around. Norm last reported in near the Cross under some nice developing clouds, but we never found out where he got to as Camilo & Andres chased him.
A group of pilots from Reunion Island followed us to San Marcos and I shuttled there gear to launch as they hiked up, and Matt & Mark showed them where the lift was.
2/21/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunny. High 28C. Winds West 10-15 kph. After breakfast in Joco El Centro, we headed to Launch with Colleen, Matt, Mark and Nelson (who was enjoying his last day here today). We launched Nelson first and he had a great inflation & launch on his new Ozone Element II. Not many thermals for flight #6, but he had a good approach and miss-timed his flare but he was down safe at Kordich Airfield. after Nelson flew off, Matt & I worked on clearing some trees and brush to the south of the launch ram in order to improve airflow. I carefuly cut the stumps down low just in case someone ended up in there. Next off was Colleen and she was climbing as I drove down to retrieve Nelson.
There were light winds on the flats as I drove down.
Definitely too thermic for a beginner, rough and unproductive climbs so I top-landed to wait a bit. We then watched Matt have a few launch attempts. Then on his last launch he got turned the wrong way and went off with a riser twist right into the area we had just cleared earlier. His wing was up in a tree but undamaged and his SupAir Acro3 harness saved his butt from injury. After we sorted Matt's gear out, I re-launched to check the air for the others. Much better climbs but too strong as I got "hoovered off" and headed north. Mark launched after me and also went north as I headed south early where I saw some birds climbing near the Los Banos Launch. I caught a strong leeside thermal and at times I was parked facing north but going up so I stayed with it.
I signalled the chase crew who was headed down to retrieve Matt (who had sunk out after his next launch) and said we were headed east to Jocotepec. Good tailwind as we got 50 kph groundspeeds on trim. A few thermals but overall it was just buoyant we crossed Joco Hill.
SW winds aloft but east winds on the lake, but no shear layers. Just smooth hands off flying all the way in to a perfect spot landing in the middle of some kids.
Perfect launch conditions as Herminio & Bob launched tandems, and Nelson got a nice launch and he found dome nice thermals to get him above launch and he spent 35 minutes soaring around with some HGers and PGers before he made a perfect landing. Nice way to end off the trip! Colleen, Mark & Matt (on my Delta II) launched and soared above launch as I headed down to get Nelson.
What a great day! 2/20/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunny. High 28C. Winds West 10-15 kph. After a nice waffle breakfast in Jocotepec, we headed to the top launch. It was blowing in nicely at Los Banos Lower Launch but we did not have any takers, so we kept driving up. James flew off first on his Element II L and I suggested he go check out the gravel pits to the north as it was lifty & buoyant. Unfortunately, he called back to say okay and triggered the FM receiver on the radio and all he heard for awhile was mexican music, so he did not hear me tell him to start heading out to the LZ. After some time he clued in that there was no communication and called back to say he was heading out to the LZ which turned off the FM. Matt & others on launch were getting nervous but there was no wind so he glided out to a nice landing at Kordich Airfield. Next up was Nelson, also on an Element II, and he had a decent launch, and flew out and when he hit a small thermal I got him to 360 right, and then left and he found a nice climb and stayed with it well and got back above launch. Very nicely coordinated turns!
I drove down to get the boys, leaving Matt & Mark to manage themselves and as I drove down saw them both climbing nicely. We drove back to the top, and Los Banos was still pumping up the face. On top, James stood down as he is leaving tomorrow and he has had a good 7 days flying everyday and he wasted to end on a good note. His "spidy-senses" must have been working as as Nelson launched he faltered a bit, turned his shoulders right and flew into the flagpole snapping it off clean and launching almost into the tress! Thank goodness he was on an Element II as it flew him away! His flight was uneventful after that, no thermals, and another good approach and landing. We reinstalled the flag pole into its socket, somewhat lower, and headed down for lunch as Matt had landed before Nelson. Mark was still at 3000 metres doing well so I suggested heading out towards Acatlan and lunch.
We found Mark partway to the Libramento and went for seafood in Acatlan. we went back to San Marcos after 4 pm and it was still working at Los Banos and really strong on top. We waited about 20 minutes and it was clearly not student friendly as Matt took out his SCirroco 17 metre speedwing and set up. He had a good launch and was climbing easily on the SCirroco, and was trying to do low passes over launch but it was too lifty.
After Herminio got in the air and he started spiralling down to the ramp, it started to calm down to around 25 kph, so I got out mey Delta 2 and launched and climbed to around 2500 metres watching the show from above.
Mark got to around 3000 metres at the north peak, as I headed south following some vultures that had a good line. I was partway dowwn to south ridgeline to the Magic Hill but it was very light lift and I did not want to make the students chase me. I was able to stay above the ridge but not higher, so I headed back and met Mark at the saddle and suggested we bail over the back now. He was concerned about turbulence as it had been quite windy on the front but I said it would be okay . . . and it was as we landed at Colleen's LZ near the far Pemex.
Off to La Vita Bella for dinner as it is James' last night here. We later heard Norm had flown back to San Juan Cosala so three XC flights from Los Banos for him now. 2/19/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunny. High 28C. Winds light and variable. We picked up a Bodega Breakfast and ate on the road and when we arrived at launch at Tapalpa at 11 am, it was perfect 10-15 kph straight in and we launched Nelson first aiming for the One Tree Field. He kept geting knocked off course by thermals but eventually he headed over to the field and had a nice stand up landing! James launched next and had a better line but somehow decided he should land far from the tree and road and had a long walk in, the field is huge.
Nelson got in one more flight and James bailed on flight number 2 as it was getting too strong after he duffed a few attempts. This time Nelson landed in the regular Piano LZ with some south winds. COLIMA Nevado was belching as we drove down to get Nelson.
Mark had a really nice flight but did not commit to the Cross Ridge and he ended up in the Cross Roads LZ where we picked him up before heading to San Marcos. As we crossed the dry lake bed to San Marcos he heard Norm reporting in at San Marcos Town where he planned to land at Chela's Beer Store area. Nice +55 km flight, and he said crossing from the Cross Ridge to San Marcos was "full bar and beeps all the way". He had trouble landing as it was so lifty, I saw -3.4C lapse rate today down low in the forecasxt and it was apparent at San Marcos. One other pilot was reporting 3900 metre cloudbase and +5 m/s up with associated -5 m/s sink. We waited til 5 pm to head up to launch and only Mark & Matt flew as James & Nelson were tired and are not fond of San Marcos Launch. Matt & Mark got away clean and had nice smooth climbs and after 40 minutes they flew over the back to save the retrieve. Thanks Guys!
2/18/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunny. High 28C. Winds light and variable. We arrived to great launch cycles and Herminio & Warenka (a female tandem pilot from Colima) were doing a video shoot for an upcoming film on female athletes. They launched and did some close action footage before top-landing back on launch.
Nelson flew off first and had a nice flight with a good approach into the One Tree Field. James followed him out 15 minutes later. Mark climbed out fast and was seen thermalling with Wolfie, Stefan, Frank and others and he eventually landed at the Cross Road LZ, after 1.5 hours. Matt launched and was down low as I drove down, and I could not find him but he texted me that he had top-landed and would meet us at La Ceja for pizzas.
At San Marcos we had perfect launch conditions on top, and Nelson was practicing reverse launch techniques as Mark & Matt took off into the massive glass-off. James was standing down as he got overheated at Tapalpa. We stood Nelson down as the German Contingent arrived on launch, and we got to watch them all launch and go up. After multiple duffs and getting "turtled" we bagged Nelson up and headed to Jocotepec, after advising Matt & Mark to fly over the back. They landed at the farthest Pemex in Colleen's field. 2/17/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Partly cloudy. High 26C. Winds light and variable. We got there late as an un-named pilot got lost in Jocotepec for 30 minutes walking from EL Centro to the Hotel, one block away, but it did not matter in the long run as we had to wait for cycles til noon. Then at noon it magically started pumping in and we launched Mark & Matt & Colleen. Nice smooth lift and I told Colleen to stay in the air as I tried to launch the other new students.
Mark & Matt got a good climb and were soon at cloudbase before it shaded them out after 40 minutes while I drove down. Colleen's colleague Nadine joined us today to go tandem, so we waited for the second round to hopefully get better thermics. We arrived back on launch around 2 pm with the entire group, and the cycles were perfect for kiting & launching. Unfortunately, some of the group were having lots of issues kiting so we had to keep sending them back into the queue as they blew three launch attempts in a row . . . over and over again. We finally got Matt & James off, Mark had launched easily the first try. Leaving Nelson to kite until he was too frazzled to do any more trying. Finally, Nadine & I clipped in and the wind went tail as the clouds came over from Zacoalco. We had to wait 20 minutes for cycles, and we launched first time in a north cycle and started thermalling south towards San Marcos and the beer stores. There were some good climbs but the north winds were ragging the thermals out a bit, and it was rough in the LZ as thermals blasted off the sand. I had advised Nadine to do a butt-landing as she has a game knee from slipping on some ice in London a few weeks ago, and we had a nice soft touch down near Chela's store. We went back up with the entire crew at 5 pm, but there was only tailwinds. Tomorrow promises to be a good Tapalpa day. 2/16/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Mainly cloudy. A few peeks of sunshine possible. High 24C. Winds W at 10 to 15 km/h. It was blowing in nicely at Los Banos Launch but we have not got it ready for newbies yet, some more trimming needed. It was coming in lightly at the top launch when we arrived at 11 am, and we tried a few forward attempts with James trying to get his first solo but he was not that motivated so we stood down after three tries and let Mark & Matt fly off. Matt also had many duffs but finally got off. He was trying to soar but it was too early and he ended up in Kordich's. Mark got awy clean first try and was also doing abit of soaring but also ended up in the airfield out front. By now it was coming in beautifully at 10-15 kph and it was James' turn. He did a great forward inflation from way back and "kind of ran it off" launching at the ramp and he got a great flight with multiple 360s, figure-8s, S-turns, weight shift only turns and he had a great approach into a grassy section on the lakebed and landed on his feet.
We watched Norm fly off Los Banos and it was strong there and he climbed out fast.
Mark & Matt flew off but I deemed it too strong for a second solo as it was now 1:30 pm. I had great hopes for Mark & Matt as they too climbed out above launch. Our plan was to fly back towards Joco, get lunch and check everyone into a new Hotel as our hotel was overbooked for a few days.
Once we got Matt we drove to town, where Norm had already gone past on his Milk Run to san Juan Cosala. We got the rooms, the guys got fed in el Centro, Colleen was now with us and we headed back to San Marcos. It had gone cross now and Matt got off and had a windy sledder, so we bagged up and headed down to retrieve him.
2/15/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High around 20C. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 40%. I headed up El Chante with Mark as Colleen stayed on the beach with new student James from Victoria. It was calm on the beach but forward launch practice is always a good thing (see Kevin's report from Elk below to see why).
Up on El Chante we had nice SE cycles and the birds were circling out front. Mark has not flown since he was here last year, too busy with other sports back home so it took some kiting to get the kinks out before he launched and scratched around. He landed in the triangle field below as I drove down through town.
At Los Banos Launch it was blowing tail and there was rain on the Zacoalco side.
We waited for some time and finally gave up and drove down.
There are some snaggy sticks still lying here and there so it would be nice to have more wind to stabilize the wing and check for tangles. We drove back to the top launch and behold . . . it was coming in straight and strong! Yessss! I got James clipped in fast and Colleen had laid out the Gin Fuse Tandem and we were off first try after kiting the wing up and picking a good cycle to launch into. James took control and flew us out to the South LZ just below Los Banos Launch where there was no wind. We had a beautiful landing and watched Mark follow us in. Good training day so far for James. We packed up and walked to town and Colleen arrived at the same time and we raced back up to try to get one more flight in. It as now 5 pm and we had 2 more hours of daylight. We arrived to nice cycles but by the time Colleen got laid out, it started spitting rain and the cycles died. Denied a last flight but we had a good day so far. James was ready for his solo flight too, but we have many more days and the weather looks sunny for the balance of the week. We headed to La Vita Bella for dinner & drinks as Matt arrived from Whistler today.
Elk Rewards Program Opens its Doors - Feb 15.15. The RASP forecast was dodgy - 50/50, I’d say with lots of outflow predicted . . . enough to send many pilots off to ski or snowshoe - the guaranteed option. However, three of us, Al T, Gary P and moi, decided just to “go for it”, prepared to enjoy the splendiferous day regardless of whether we could fly or hike back down. Al even took his full rig so he got plenty of exercise. We arrived on top around around 12:30 to pretty calm conditions with the odd nice little thermal puffs to encourage us. We took our time thinking it could only get more thermic. However, by the time we were set up, those puffs had all but disappeared and we were having to use our support crews to uncurl our wings from the tail winds that were the new “cycles”. What encouraged us was the large number of birds working the weak lift all over the place. A few even got above launch. Eventually we all launched into calm air between the down cycles and started working it. There were some nice moments of lift and some some strong sinky cycles, so we bobbed and bobbed. Each of us tried to go east only to begin sinking and beat a hurried path back to the lift that was out a ways in front of launch. I took my turn and got low and felt like I was scunging for quite a while as Al and Gary ventured east again.
I was still at 1,000 meters when I got over the Fraser Valley so I flew out to the corner of Prest and McGuire before turning back to Prest and Bailey to land in very smooth 15-20 km/hr air. What a day! Soaring with so many thermal marking eagles and ravens was surreal. The cherry on the cake was when the landowner, Mr. Mceachern came out to chat and officially give his permission to use the field with a reminder NOT to leave any items, (particularly of the solid sort) that could mess up the blades of his machinery. This news was most welcome as years ago, he had told us not to land in the field.
Savona Report - WTF, Savona or Mexico? You decide looking at this photo, no snow and driveable to launch in February.
Best purchase I've made yet. Thanks Jim & Colleen - Dale 2/14/15
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|  Guadalajara Mexico Cloudy with light rain this morning. High around 20C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. There are new launch fees at Tapalpa, now 160 pesos or $12 USD per day. Quit complaining about the Riverside Landing fees!
We were not the only desperadoes as Herminio, Humberto and a few others were here hoping to do tandems for Valentine's Day. Jeff got ready at 11:45 am, and had good launch cycles and a non-rainy window and flew off and got some mini-cloudsuck and some moderate South headwinds.
Meanwhile . . . back at Eagle Ranch it was sunny with low cloudbase. Looking forward to heading back in a few weeks.
2/13/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Rain showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. High around 20C. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 90%. But we were optimistic as there was brighter skies towards Tapalpa. We arrived on Tapalpa Launch at 11 am, and it was blowing straight up. Cloudbase was right at launch and birds were soaring.
We arrived back on launch and I was hurrying the guys to get ready fast as the wind was switching to SW. Only Jeff got off before the switch so we drove down to find him sleeping under a tree in the LZ as it started to rain on him. We headed to San Marcos and the new Los Banos Launch hoping for a flight as it was SW on Tapalpa, but we arrived to find tailwinds? At least we salvaged the day and got a few flights in. This is the first rain since December 28! Europe looks like it has better snow than BC right now! Speedflying Chamonix // Plan Praz (Brévent) 2015 from Marius Beck Dahle on Vimeo. 2/12/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunshine and clouds mixed. High around 25C. Winds S at 10 to 15 km/h. Colleen launched first to cool off after hike. She even beat us up to launch! Don & Richard decided to wait for San Marcos, but Jeff S was keen to fly following Colleen into the air. They both landed at the Futball Field to the screams of little ninos. The French folks started hucking off as we drove their rigs down to the Futball Field, where Colleen was treated to exciting landings! We then headed to San Marcos where Norm was working on the new Los Banos Launch and we dropped off the weedwhacker and the chain saw. It was coming in nicely at 1 pm at the new launch site, nicer than El Chante. We drove to the top and Jeff flew off getting "hoovered into the air", confirming what I thought . . that it was too strong for beginners. So we drove down to San Marcos Town to get some drinks and wait out the winds.
Colleen flew off last as I drove down to help Norm & Francisco (the faller) get the last trees off Los Banos Launch.
Meanwhile, Wolfie had launched from Tapalpa earlier. He had flown to San Marcos and did a return flight to Zacoalco where he could catch a bus back to Tapalpa for about a 65 km out & return on his Ozone Rush III. 2/11/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunshine and clouds mixed. High around 25C. Winds W at 10 to 15 km/h. We stopped at the new Los Banos Launch and the birds were already soaring and we had solid straight-in cycles.
We drove down and got Don, Jeff & Norm and headed back up. It was still blowing in nicely at Los Banos Launch, as we kept on going to the top. This time it was 1:15 pm, and it was too strong for Don, so Jeff setup and launched and started climbing. The plan was to get Jeff to fly towards Jocotepec so we could go for lunch and wait out the winds. Jeff got to 2500 metres before heading east. He caught some valley climbs but they were short-lived as the sky shaded over. He landed at the Pemex and we picked him up. We got back to San Marcos around 4:30 pm, and it had calmed down considerably. Reports from Tapalpa were saying that they had thunderstorms and rain earlier but we were dry. Across the valley on the Zacoalco ridge it was raining though. Jeff & Don launched with instructions to head out at the first signs of wind . . . Don did a straight glide to Chela's but Jeff insisted on staying in the air too long and got caught in some south winds and he could not penetrate so he had to land at Kordich Airfield.
A decent day despite the forecast thunderstorm threat. 2/10/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. High 26C. Winds light and variable. We arrived at EL Chante Launch at 11 am, to find nice 10-15 kph SE cycles. I suggested Don go first as Jeff takes some time to get his multiple GoPros setup and I did not want to miss an opportunity for the students to get a flight. Don had a few aborts and then had one of the hairiest takeoffs ever as he hammered the brakes on the Element II on and off multiple times, and the wing just hung there waiting for him to relax and he flew off! Jeff had a few aborts too, but was last seen soaring over El Chante town before landing at the Futball Field.
We then headed to the beach to kite but we had light winds suggesting San Marcos might be on! Off to San Marcos at we got a nice set of flights for the three guys, with Richard climbing above launch on his shiny new Buzz Z4! Don was above launch too for a few minutes on his Element II but it was short lived.
Norm and I hoped the new South Lan=unch would work but the winds were fickle today. 2/9/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunny. High 27C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. We could have slept in as it was too strong to fly until after 1 pm with gusty east winds. Herminio took off on his normal sized SOL glider and was getting trashed about before he top-landed. He waited for 30 minutes before taking his tandem out and taking Florenzia for a ride and top-landing nicely after 20 minutes of soaring around.
Richard launched next on his 4th solo flight and headed out to join Don. We found a nice thermal and Richard was climbing fast and smoothly up to around 3000 metres and only had one big surge when he forgot to keep brake tension on . . . resulting in nothing as he is on a Buzz Z4. He topped out and I suggested a flight to the HG LZ at the Crossroads where there are huge alfalfa fields right next to the highway up to launch. He made it with lots of height despite a north headwind.
2/8/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 28C. Winds SW at 15 to 25 km/h. First item on the agenda was to do some kiting at Kordich Airfield, while there was some lighter winds and lower temps. Forecast high today is 28C, and no clouds so it will get hot on the ground. We now have Adam, Jeff S, Derek (who is leaving today), Richard & Don on tour. This is why we have a Suburban! With Colleen & I there is little room for gear. We also had Samuel the Mechanic meet us as he wanted to go flying today. Good light wind kiting conditions at the bottom of San Marcos and everyone got a few runs in looking like "SuperStars", hopefully the muscle memory kicks in for the launch sequences. Pedro had gone up with some begimmer HGers and they were launching and landing as we packed up. I set up a simulator to fit harnesses under the BBQ Pit roof as we had some fit problems with the new guys harnesses. All the adjustments were complete and we were on the road to the top. We had good cycles for launching, but we sent Jeff first as he was signed off last fall and has had some great flights here already.
We started to get a good climb around the 15 minute mark and near the North Peak when he said he was not feeling too good. I headed out to Kordich Airfield and it was going up everywhere. Dusties were forming all over the lakebeds. I headed south to the Saddle, infamous for sinky air and we were still going up as Samuel unloaded over the right side. I was trying to get down over the green field north of San Marcos town and it was not allowing us to sink even sith big ears. Why is it that when you want to go up, it is sinky around here but today when I want to get down it is so lifty. After 20 minutes of big ears, spirals and searching for sink we landed right near Chela's on a grassy strip reserved for pukey passengers that is a short walk to water or beer. Jeff was now at 3500 metres and headed east towards Joco. Colleen drove down to get us at Chela's and chase Jeff down and get some lunch. The other guys were disappointed but happy they did not go through the "washing machine" air we endured. We had lunch in Joco after finding Jeff near the El Chante turnoff as he could not get thru through the Joco Gap, and were back on launch by 5 pm as it settled down for the new guys.
The new launch to the south looks great but it is not for North Winds as it was draining down there tonight.
We heard Norm flew home from Tapalpa to San Juan Cosala getting to 3700 metres midvalley, a good day for all. 2/7/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico A mix of clouds and sun. High 24C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. We had nice launch conditions as Colleen flew off after Derek (who was flying the Mojo3 XL today).
The Piano LZ is not named for its shape, rather that if you fly like a Piano (with a bad glide ratio), you end up there!
Jeff S was here and had not flown his new Buzz Z4 much this summer, and was "stoked" to get in some flights as he just arrived too last night. He got high to the south but also hit some good sink and almost did not make the LZ. He thanked the powerline thermals after he landed. Adam was not feeling good today, headache and dizzy, so he offered to drive as I took Don tandem for his first high flight. We climbed out at least 300 metres over launch in a few minutes and it was clearly too rough for student flights now as the sheer layers were quite dramatic!
We stopped at Chela's for refreshments and looked for Francisco the Faller to discuss the new launch cleanup. As Camilo was talking to Chela, the President of the Ejido that owns the land where the new proposed launch is situated came by. Camilo asked for permission to clean off some trees and Senor Fausto Corona approved the launch! Francisco arrived on San Marcos Launch with his chainsaw as Jeff & Camilo had already launched so Adam & I took him down to the new launch to start working.
He is coming back tomorrow to finish the job and with the right winds Norm & might try it out! Meanwhile Jeff & Camilo got to 3000 metres and Camilo headed east to the Joco Malecon on Adam's Element II (the Element II is Ozone's most basic trainer but it still does awesome XC).
Richard launched after Derek as I got back to launch, and hit some nice lift and had a good approach with some guidance from the top. Don and I kited for about 30 minutes but never got a solid wing so we drove down, more kiting in the am. It took some time to locate everyone and it was very dark as we drove home to Joco for dinner.
2/6/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico A mix of clouds and sun. High 24C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. We arrived at 11 am, to hear Granger's Rangers had flown one sleddy so far, as the guys got ready in nice laminar NE winds. Yesterdays kiting session paid off as both Adam & Derek had brilliant launches (especially compared to some of the others). Some light thermalling on flight #1 took both pilots to the Piano LZ where it was blowing due north.
We headed to Sayula for lunch and chainsaw shopping. First stop the Comida China for Adam & Derek, as I went to the shop which was closed. They have many more choices than the Joco shop but it did me no good today. Right after lunch we headed back up to Tapalpa Launch as we saw some gliders soaring. It was Stefan, Wolfie & Russell (the Whitehorse Crew) all soaring above launch, looks good as the guys get ready for flight #3.
Thermals were drifitng them south so I suggested an alternate field just south of the avocado trees. It is a huge field right next to the dirt road. I watched them set up and land perfectly in 15 kph north winds before I drove down. Russell & Stefan top-landed as I drove down, and Wolfie was with my guys in the alternate LZ so we gave him a ride to the Crossroads as we headed to San Marcos.
2/5/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico A mix of clouds and sun. High 24C. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 km/h. We arrived on launch at 1030 am, and Jonathon from QC launched first as he has his student Phil here QC training, so we had a wind tech. We also had many birds showing that it was lightly soarable and smooth.
Adam had a few duffs trying to reverse so we opted for a forward launch and he got off very nicely.
After the boys landed, I took them to the El Chante Malecon for a 2 hour kiting session and left them to their own resources to learn how to control the wing and by the end they looked smooth both forward & reverse launching.
Adam talked me out of buying a chain saw, instead we got some Bow Saws that proved ineffective, but the new weed whacker works well.
2/4/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 24C. Winds light and variable. We arrived at 11 am and some of Granger's Rangers already had flown a sledder doen to the Piano. Adam & Derek got ready and were off first time with nice reverse launches (gear checks completed perfectly). Derek was finding some nice lift out past La Amiga and Adam found some further north. I suggested Adam stay with the lift and let if take him to the big Crossroad LZ but then Granger suggested his wife could pick our guys up as she had already left to drive down. I recommended Adam fly back to the Piano LZ and he made it with plenty of height as it was light south winds. Norm launched after Adam and was last seen further south before he caught any good climbs.
Granger arrived at San Marcos just after us as the Suburban powered out on the long climb through the rocky section. It was a fuel pump problem again so I backed down to the flats to get her going. Everyone got out and walked down. Granger's Nissan 4x4 could not make it up the hill either as his front diff was not engaging. Bad day for trucks. I thought we just did not have enough gas in the tank so I drove down to the closest Pemex and filled up, but we then powered out a kilometer past the rocky section completely dead. I replumbed the electric fuel pump removing the fuel filter recently installed because I had an air leak somewhere so the pump could not make suction, thanks to Adam for being our second mechanic! We finally got the fuel pumping and got the guys up to launch to find perfect launching conditions and the "glassoff" setting up. We heard that it was too strong til just before we arrived and the early launchers were already on the ground. Adam & Derek both got to soar and Derek landed at Kordich Airfield. Adam was having so much fun thermalling in the northwest winds that he drifted almost to San Marcos town and had to pick a different field.
2/3/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 21C. Winds SW at 10 to 15 km/h. after breakfast I stopped at the Ferretaria to buy a weed whacker for some new launch building, as I was in a rush I did not get them to show me how to run it. Mistake #1. We arrived up at San Marcos Launch at 10:30 am, to strongish cycles but certainly manageable ones. We tried to start the weedwhacker but "no fuego". It was odd that it already had fuel in the tank? Derek suited up first and had a good inflation and turned to go but dropped his left hand on the forward run and skidded through the red anthill on his side and slid to a stop unhurt. He bundled up his wing and tried a few more times getting frustrated so we stood down and got Adam ready. If you blow more than 3 launch attempts in a row, it is time to stop and re-assess the conditions and/or attitude. In the meantime, Bev walked too close to the anthill and the ants were already pissed off by Derek's slide through their home and attacked her. We are renaming the launch to "Ants-in-the-Pants" just like Chelan. Adam had a brilliant launch with good loading and a proper run and he was off before the ramp on a perfect track and had about a 20 minute flight with a perfect landing. It was blowing about 25 kph at the bottom so he floated in to Kordich Airfield.
He moved forward, upwind of the LZ and found some normal air and did figure-8s back into the LZ and landed almost the space place as Adam. A perfect flight for his 3rd solo. Both guys are flying Ozone Element II paragliders and they are the prerfect tool for training in Mexico. Solid launching gliders and super stable in turbulence, and with good performance in high winds, we are very happy with these ships. Thanks, Ozone! We drove down to get the guys and came back up to check out the new proposed launch spot, now called the Toilet Bowl as there is a cast away toilet there?
The nice thing with this spot is that it is just off the main road and any car can make it in here, so faster turnaround for students. The south LZ is right in front of the launch too. We went back to town as it was getting too windy to fly with dust storms forming on the south lakebed, so we headed to town to go kiting and get the qweedwhacker fixed. Back at the shop, where they don't speak english I was telling them in my limited spanish that it would not start. They took the unit to the local repair shop and they guy took it apart and found the piston was scored and he was trying to say there was no oil in the gas because it was not tinted blue. I explained that the Truper brand oil is not coloured. Long story short, he put it back together and we headed back to the shop.
I suspect someone bought the unit, forgot to mix the gas and fried it and brought it back and they resold it without testing it. After the fiasco with the weedwhacker we went to the San Juan Cosala beach to kite but it was pretty strong unless you were Norm or me, as we kited the Element II M, but if you were not careful you could get dragged in a gust.
Tomorrow looks like a Tapalpa Day! We haven't flown in NZ for about 5 years, maybe it is time to go back??? 2/2/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Cloudy this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 21C. Winds SSE at 15 to 30 km/h. Chance of rain 60%. We passed the Lagunita on the way to the highway and it was showing light east winds? Why not try El Chante as it is close and won't take up too much driving time. The road up was a bit greasy but the new offroad tires (HighFly) worked very well and we arrived on launch to perfect inflow conditions with a calm glassy lake. Perfect for the boys second solo flights! Adam tried about five times and ultimately ended up with his Element 2 on the barbed wire fence behind launch as he refused to load his wing. We removed it undamaged and gave Derek a turn. Derek did a perfect forward inflation and was off and soaring the launch face with nice turns.
Adam got off after a few more duffs again not loading the wing getting up on his toes, and got to soar too! Even higher and the lake was still calm below.
Perfect flights for the boys! It was looking like it was switching to SW so we headed up San Marcos and when we got to launch there were some ripping thermal coming up the launch face, way to strong for students or me!
On the San Juan Cosala Beach it was getting very calm but we practiced running reverse launches and the guys did really well controlling and running under the wings. It was a pretty successful dy without a 4-5 hour drive! Here are the boys posing under El Chante Launch!
2/1/15
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| Guadalajara Mexico Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 21C. Winds SW at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain 90%.
At Kordich Airfield it was blowing +30 kph from the SE, too strong even for student kiting. We headed south on the Libramento to Tapalpa. At the Tapalpa Piano LZ it was light and variable, and Miguel said it was "over the back" on launch. We kept going towards Colima and it was windy on the Cuota Highway, and we hit rain just 20 kms from Colima . . . but I am an optimist and kept going. As we rounded the turnoff to launch, we saw a glider in the air and heard spanish radio chatter on 145.950 mhz. It was Warenka, a local female tandem instructor, who was soaring and trying to top-land on her solo glider as we got to the top. We had a small rain cell pass through and some of the pilots hid under the overhanging roofs to keep the rain off their gliders and when the cell passed a few pilots flew off. It was lifty and bouyant, not rough at all. Colleen flew off and went soaring for 20 minutes while we got Adam ready for his first solo flight.
As the wind picked up again to maybe +10 kph Adam reverse kited his Element II and was off and flying on his first solo flight. Artsy rendering by iPhone on this shot!
As Adam landed in the Piano LZ, we started to get stronger winds so I was showing Derek how to use As & Cs and he got a nice wing and I had him fly off for his first solo off a high launch. He had flown some training hill flights and was ready for the big hill. I drove down to get everyone and we went back up hoping for another flight but it was getting late and a few raindrops got us so we headed home. We arrived back in Joco at 8:45 pm, a long but productive day! |
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