FlyBC's Paragliding Site of the Day Archive Page for January 2009
Manzanillo, Mexico
"Gliders, sail planes, they're wonderful flying machines. It's the closest you can come to being a bird." - Neil Armstrong
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Woodside Hiking Report - a dedicated group of desperados showed up at 12:30 today. Smart pilot Alan stayed home as he thought it looked pretty windy at his house at 10 am. We went up in the FlyBC Van and Derek's truck to 3 kms. Unloaded two sleds and Derek, Martina and I drove up to install new poles and windsocks. It was howling! We shuttled Matt J, Matt S and Al up to launch and waited awhile. No change and Martina was getting bored and frozen so we drove down to the Sasquatch leaving Al and cronies at launch to wait. I had just ordered food when Al called to say they too were heading down. I picked them up just below lower launch. We ate and headed back to the Ranch to check out the winds and it was still strong so we went kiting the R09, sure enough as soon as we pulled it out the winds died so Rob had to try forward launches. I guess we showed have stayed with plan A, heading to Blanchard, but it looked too good at Woodside to wait in border lineups and drive 3 hours for a flight? Read below: Blanchard Gloat Report! Blanchard HG Report - Many multiple hour flights were made today by maybe as many hangs as I've ever seen together on one day at Blanchard. You could barely navigate the parking lot and the sky was pretty crowded too. We were whiting out around 2600' and flew as far as Chuckanut Mt to the north and the Bow hill area to the south in a nice mix of thermal and ridge lift. Mike Kee made his return to the scene today proving his place at the top of the stack on many occasions. I wish it was all fun today but as many of you know a good friend was injured in a launch mishap. I don't have the latest update about veteran pilot Joel Johnson's condition but he was taken down the hill in an ambulance after a very long and tenuous extraction by mountain rescue. The early news was that he broke both of his legs but was in stable condition. I was in the air when it happened so I don't have the details other than his wing was to the South and 30'-50' below launch and pointing back at the hill with an obvious broken LE. Joel's many friends were at his aid throughout the ordeal and did a great job of keeping him calm and did their best to relieve him of his immediate worries. This comes at a particularly tough time for Joel as his long time partner Tia has recently begun Chemotherapy and was let go from her Job. I am sure we will band together and find a way to help our brother through this tough time. Plans are already underway to create a relief fund for Joel and Tia. If you have recent information please keep us informed of Joel's progress. - Jeff Beck Valle de Bravo Report - Sixth task individual pilots results are Task Six Results . Cumulative Results after six tasks are Cumulative Results . Eighty plus pilots in goal including Jim Orava. Notably, Helmut Eichholzer, the pilot who top-landed to attend to Stephan Schmoker after he crashed was awarded 885 points. Not much has been published but I found this post in Spanish that might shed some light on the accident . Babelfish does a so-so job s you have to read between the lines. It confirms pretty much Nicole's rendition of what she saw in her Blog. FAI World's Site was offline yesterday Mark Hayman's Blog (flying a Mantra R09 from the UK) Mads Blog from UP Anders Baerheim flying a Mantra R09 Nicole's Excellent Adventures, working hard! Keith Mac is working well with his Boomerang 6  Available at Vibe Computing from Mark DowsettWatch Keith M fly his Boomerang 6 during the tasks after 10 am PST. Watch Anders Baerheim fly his Mantra R09 during the tasks after 10 am PST using Spot.
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Woodside Report - desperadoes: Alan, Kevin, Norm and I flew Woodside after a hike from 3 kms.
Aware of the forecasted winds we didn't wait long at launch and all got a nice sled ride landing at the Barn on
nice clean snow. Ian J was in the field in his Coyote ultralight but I did not want to land where it was muddy. By the time I was packed up to go say "Hi", Ian had to take-off to beat the weather coming in. |  Woodside today - photo by JPR The R09 flew nicely now that I have figured out the dual trimmer system. I was flying it at fast trim last night. Kevin and I decided to hike up for flight #2 and didn't even get to launch before it blew out and started raining. At least I got some exercise. Valle de Bravo Report - Sixth task of the Worlds '09 with a shorter task before rest day January 31. A competitor had a massive cascade of cravattes and hit the back side of the Penon. He was pronounced dead on the way to the Hospital in the ambulance. No one is blogging tonight except Nicole, who witnessed the crash. Even the PW Mex site is down, but that could be a coincidence. No name officially released but he was on the Swiss Team. Some news outlets had his name released but until proper confirmation from the Meet Directors it is not appropriate to release it here. More info available on Nicole's Blog.
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Woodside Report - "hike" is a four letter word, but I need to loose some Christmas Pudding fat!. | Derek was tied up, so Rob and I drove to 3 kms and hiked starting at 4:30 pm. We arrived at launch at 5:00 pm. Light SW winds but definitely flyable, so I unpacked the Mantra R09. What a ship! No split A's, so don't pull it up too fast or you get a "horseshoe". I got it up second try (after unstuffing a wing tip) and flew off in nice smooth air, and I was immediately rewarded with a very fast air speed! I landed just before dark and Rob a few minutes later, he was liking the landscape as the lights in Chilliwack started coming on. Valle de Bravo Report - Fifth task of the Worlds '09 with the longest task ever. Some upsets as the leaders dirted it along the course. With 5 more days at least, it is anyone's game. FAI World's Site Task 5 Results Cumulative Results after Task 5 Mark Hayman's Blog (flying a Mantra R09 from the UK) Mads Blog from UP Anders Baerheim flying a Mantra R09 Canadian National Team News Nicole's Excellent Adventures, working hard! Keith Mac is working his Boom 6 Watch Keith M fly his Boomerang 6 during the tasks after 10 am PST. Watch Anders Baerheim fly his Mantra R09 during the tasks after 10 am PST using Spot.
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Woodside Report - despite the forecast winds, Derek and I met at the Ranch at 3 pm, and headed up the hill. | We made it to 3.5 kms, then unloaded a sled to go to the top. My right arm is still sore from the Bridal work party and it wasn't happy hanging off a sled but it was better than hiking! At launch I unrolled the new Mantra R09 . . . and it is beautiful. Almost the width of launch, with a chord about 5 feet high! A few lulls encouraged me but in the end I stood down as it was too gusty for a first flight of the year on a new comp wing. And Derek was freezing too, so we packed up and sledded down around 4:30 pm. Nice skies today, just a bit windy! Valle de Bravo Report - Fourth task of the Worlds '09, Russ ogden in goal third place on an R09, Jamie Messenger in 6th on another R09. Canuck Team had Keith McC in goal, Jim O (65.2 km), Nicole (65.9 km) and Brett Y (29 km) were landing a bit short of the 89 km goal line . FAI World's Site Task 4 Results Cumulative Results after Task 4 Mark Hayman's Blog (flying a Mantra R09 from the UK) Mads Blog from UP Anders Baerheim flying a Mantra R09, currently 9th overall Canadian National Team News Nicole's Excellent Adventures kicking the guy's butts Keith Mac is thawing out here with his Boom 6 Watch Keith M fly his Boomerang 6 during the tasks after 10 am PST. Watch Anders Baerheim fly his Mantra R09 during the tasks after 10 am PST using Spot.
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Vancouver Report - snow again here, much nicer in Valle!. | Elk Report - Long time no see... Happy New Year to you and Colleen. Just wanted to let you know that I hike and flew Elk with Al yesterday. The hike was great but I was jealous of Al's hiking harness. What an awesome experience. Love that steep launch. Just a little cycle and two steps and you're off. We got a little ridge lift just off launch for a couple turns then just a light wind out to Eddy's for great landings for both of us. Fricken cold and the hands definitely told us to wear bigger mitts next time when they wouldn't work right after landing. It felt good to fly after so long and get some rust out. My Vulcan has only kited a few times since my last flight in September. I never again want to go that long without flying. Gave out your website to a number of hikers that were interested in this great way to get down from a good hike. Hopefully some new students to come. Talk to you soon, Matt J Jesson Contracting Woodside Report - Derek flew after the winds calmed down, a bit weird in the air but he managed to stay aloft until he saw Drew load the snow machine. Jeffrey's Honduras Report - Volcan Amapala, Gulf de Fonseca is proving to be very nice. I have spent both of the last two weekends here, clearing a launch and flying. So far every day has been flyable. This may end up being a very nice destination for cold northern pilots. I think the best conditions are during the winter months. The island is very pleasant with cheap accommodation, food, beer etc. It will soon be blowing from the south and there is no launch site on that side of the mountain but perhaps next year some one will consider visiting during winter? - Jeffrey  Amapala Launch - photo by Jeffrey Valle de Bravo Report - Third task of the Worlds '09. Canuck Team had 3 pilots in goal,unfortunately Nicole was not one of them. FAI World's Site Mark Hayman's Blog (flying a Mantra R09 from the UK) Mads Blog from UP Anders Baerheim flying a Mantra R09, currently 9th overall Canadian National Team News Nicole's Excellent Adventures kicking the guy's butts Keith Mac is thawing out here with his Boom 6 Watch Keith M fly his Boomerang 6 during the tasks after 10 am PST. Watch Anders Baerheim fly his Mantra R09 during the tasks after 10 am PST using Spot.
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PG Worlds Day 2/Task 2 - a 91.7 km task with 89 pilots in goal, Leader was Brad G from Utah, coming in in 3:03 at an average of 27 kph (compared to yesterdays average of 32 kph for the leaders).
| Rougher air today according to some fliers. PW Mex FAI World's Site Mark Hayman's Blog (flying a Mantra R09 from the UK) coming in 48th Mads Blog from UP, securing 23rd spot today Canadian National Team News Nicole's Excellent Adventures kicking the guy's butts, arrived 4.7 km short of goal Keith Mac is thawing out here with his Boom 6, arrived in goal #58 Watch Keith M fly during the tasks after 10 am CST using Spot, kind of like watching paint dry!. I thought he landed short of goal watching SPOT, but it only updates every 10 minutes max, so he had turned off the unit in goal before it updated his last spot around 5 km from goal. Other notables, Jim Orava in goal again in 49th place, Russ Ogden #58 on a Mantra R09. Jamie Messenger #85 on an R09 also. Note 3 gliders in 58th spot due to scoring program.
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Wouter's French Adventure -
Just returned from a snowboarding trip in Tignes, France. At first,
the whole week looked totally blown out but fortunately the weather
changed and it was flyable on wednesday. Had three very nice flights
launching at 3000m and landing at 2100m. You really notice the different
airdensity, especially in the take-off run! - Regards, Wouter | (ps: hopefully the east outflow winds change to upflow thermals in BC soon!) Hope you like the movie: Wouter in Tignes, France Valley Report - when I flew in from Calgary it was so windy there were sand storms on the Harrison River near Woodside, and the plane used less than 1/2 the runway at Abbotsford!. Valle de Bravo Report - first task of the Worlds '09. Canuck Team had 3 pilots in goal, with Keith McC being in the top 10. Nicole was there too, but no results are up yet. FAI World's Site Mark Hayman's Blog (flying a Mantra R09 from the UK) Mads Blog from UP Canadian National Team News Nicole's Excellent Adventures kicking the guy's butts Keith Mac is thawing out here with his Boom 6 Watch Keith M fly during the tasks after 10 am CST using Spot, kind of like watching paint dry!. Salton Sea Paramotor Fly-In Report - Kirril and Leon went to the Salton Sea this weekend, 400+ paramotorists were there.  The action at Salton Sea - photo by Kirril
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Calgary Report - I would rather be in Valle than here, -27C with north winds. | Valle Reports - look below and click to read the mayhem reports. FAI World's Site Mark Hayman's Blog (flying a Mantra R09 from the UK) Mads Blog from UP Canadian National Team News Nicole's Excellent Adventures kicking the guy's butts Keith Mac is thawing out here with his Boom 6
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World's Practice Days in Valle de Bravo, Mexico - lots of action apparently. The blogs listed below tell the story and I wish I was there instead of freezing in Calgary! | FAI World's Site Mark Hayman's Blog (flying a Mantra R09 from the UK) Mads Blog from UP Canadian National Team News Nicole's Excellent Adventures kicking the guy's butts Keith Mac is thawing out here with his Boom 6
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Vancouver Report - more fog and black ice, will it ever end. | Valle PG World's Report - Mark Dowsett has arranged a series of RSS Feeds from various bloggers in Valle at Go Fly XC . Apparently a hairy day in Valle, 4 reserves tossed. Ewa landed in the lake, no details. Another pilot in th trees on a high peak waiting out the night to get rescued (it is cold up high even in Mexico)
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Elk Report - Alan and Larry hiked Elk, light tail winds at Launch, no soaring. |
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Norm's Flight Home Report - aaarghhhh! Norm is finally home after missing two days of free flying due to fog in Vancouver. | Vancouver Fog Report - foggy all day near the coast, clear in the valley and higher up.  Vancouver this morning from Cypress - photo by Ted Lorenz Jeffrey's Honduras Report - Hey everyone; A new site here in Honduras. It was windy last weekend in Teguc so I headed south to Isla de la Tigre, a volcanic island in the Golfo de Fonseca, just under 800 meters high. After a 2 hour hike up with my new friend Don David (73 yrs young and his first time to the top after 48 yrs on the island) we arrived at a nice little clearing facing the prevailing breeze. He has a beautiful voice and serenaded his way to the top. I had not told him what was in the bag that his burro was carrying or that I had plans to fly down as I was not sure if there was a launch able meadow on top. Apparently he was quite surprised when I got off the launch and told a friend that came along the he really did not believe it was real. Flight was in easy, smooth and lifty air and there is a choice of beaches and beer for landing at low tide and other options if the tide is in. From a couple hundred meters over the beach I could see a large group of dolphins teeming up on a school of fish to top off my first flight at this new location.  Jeffrey at Isla de la Tigre, - photo by ?? I will do some work on developing the launch and figuring out transport to the launch here and let people know when it’s ready. This could be a very nice destination for people escaping winter up north. Hotels are cheap and the seafood is excellent - Cheers, Jeffrey
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Vancouver Report - more dense fog, while the Valley was clear and windy, Agassiz reporting 45-66 kph from the NE all day. | Tenancingo Report - Daniel Miller's flight log from Jan 18,2009 Norm's Travel Report - Well to add to Norm's horrible adventure back home, I just heard from him. He slept on the Mexico City Airport tile floor last night. Said that was terrible. Now his plane has landed in Seattle instead of Vancouver and they won't let them get off the plane (probably because of Custom's). So he is stuck out there on the plane waiting to be able to get home, The pilots won't fly because of the dense Fog. Having navigation problems (Mexicana airlines). So he is stuck in Seattle. And he is frazzled. I was thinking about going and getting him, but then he can't get off the plane, and I don't have a passport. (Guess I had better get one.) - Bev.
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Woodside Report - another flyable day at Woodside despite "windy" forecast.
It was strong east at Agassiz and Mission, but when I looked at Woodside Launch it was consistently coming in (or very consistent rotor?).
I was busy automating a trap door so no roadtrip adventures trying to get to the top. | Alex Raymont's New Zealand Report - Well checked out the site of the d and looks like you have been having fun. Nice photos. Nic just texted me from Mexico and said she just landed from 12 000'. So I guess she got to Tenanacingo ok! Good adventures here in NZ. Some totally epic dune days. Flew 7 of 10 hours at a place they call Pacific Pyla. Then flew a 66km out and return all at max 35m altitude on some small dunes just 45 mins drive from my dads house. Been dreaming about that for 4 years since my last visit when I realized how far this range of dunes stretched. Couple 50m walks so its not a true record style OR but great fun nonetheless. Commiting too, at one point 20km from last road down to beach, an adventure for sure. Finally saw some fishermen (you can drive the beach) and I landed and flagged them down. Said hey if you see me walking there is some serious beer money in it for you if you pick me up!  Hiking on volcanoes and other things too. Off to Oz tomorrow and maybe get to do some thermalling! Pretty coastal here. Got some pix here Let me know how the R09 is when the thermalling starts. Oh yeah, SO glad I bought an xs Addict II what with the wind here, for coastal at least. Flew an FLX and a Bobcat too. The FLX was very nice and he had it setup with bungy and no brake pulleys acro style. Very direct with options in pull angle. Hot though when you get sloppy. I jumped into my harness an inch off the ground let it have a frontal and then it dragged me off the back of the dune in 35km wind. Very suave! The Bobcat was also very cool. Pull it up without getting yarded at all in 40km wind. For here very useful, wonder about the glide for Woody. Midday summer sea breeze launches would be relaxing, but the poor glide might make it less fun in the air and for the glide out. Steep windy sites it clearly rocks. That new Ozone XT16 be the same sort of beast. Anyway hope 2009 is a good one in the valley, - Alex Nicole's Tenancingo Report - Nicole's Blog contains her first flight to 12000' and a triangle around the Tenancingo Valley in some strong convergence.
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Hemlock Report - Miguel and Kent dropped in after 4 pm to give us their Hemlock Report. North East winds of 10-15 kph at the Red Chair made launching pretty easy. Kent flew two flights as did Andre and Ryan, Miguel flew three. Little bits of lift but mostly sink and some rotor near the bottom - typical Hemlock - but they all flew! | Woodside Report - we loaded up the Unimog around noon with Rob S, Gerry L and Colleen and I. We got as far as just below Lower Launch when the icy proved too much for even fully locked differentials. Three snowmobilers stopped and offered a ride to Launch so I stayed back to chain up, when I found out the chains were for smaller tires and wouldn't fit.  The spur road into launch has a river running down it - photo by CMV The fliers arrived at launch to huge cycles of tailwind but were persistent and eventually all three flew and I was at the Ranch to watch them land. Nice clear skies for a quick sledder. The bottom half of the road is in pretty bad shape with water taking out a lot of fill, and there are 2 foot deep ditches up by 4 km that the snowmobiles had trouble with. Hopefully forestry will have the loggers repair it before it gets worse.  Colleen setting up to land at the Ranch - photo by JPR Vegas Flying Report - I'll try & keep this flight report sensible, but this IS Vegas and I've just finished my giant novelty beverage... We contacted the local flying club & were told to meet at a gas station in the middle of the desert at 10:30 this morning. About a dozen pilots showed up, including one from Washington! We drove down a dirt road to the LZ & hopped in with the locals for a ride to launch. No paved roads today! More like Bridal, in the narrow bits, without trees on the side to catch you if you drive off the road. I made a mental note to fly no matter what, as I was not interested in driving down!  Las Vegas Strip in the background from Launch - photo by ML Launch was rocky & cactus-y as expected, but the winds were higher than we were hoping for (around 15-20 km/hr). The local "Jim" said that it was barely windy at all and 'you'll be fine' and hucked off a couple of students. I was 3rd or 4th in the launch queue, thankful for the 2 locals holding down my wing through the gusts. The wind dummy had already cut 2 upper brake lines on his new wing on the sharp rocks.  Martina climbing up to Launch - photo by Derek Had a great launch & played around for half an hour. You have to clear 2 sets of power lines right before the LZ, so I headed out a bit early to make sure I'd glide over them. No problem, and another truck was there to take me back up. In the mean time Derek had launched, and was just landing an hour later when I got up for my 2nd flight. Another smooth launch and this time it was soarable, with ground speeds down to 3km/hr! At that point I headed to the LZ (as did everyone else) and we joined the gang in the post-flight debriefing before heading back to our casino on the strip. We didn't win enough at the penny slots for new wings, but there's still tomorrow! - Martina & Derek ps: Happy Birthday, Martina! Tiger Mountain LZ has been partially repaired by NWPG Club Members - Many Thanks! to those of you who showed up and helped with the LZ and highway cleanup! Jared will probably post the group photo and Kevin will (no doubt) want to buy everyone who helped a drink. You made a real difference! It took a lot of effort, but the LZ now looks great compared to the 'before' picture. Most of the coarse gravel and cobbles were removed from the northern 2/3 of the LZ and it is much smoother. The southern 1/3 of the LZ is still soft and wet, but it is mostly silt and sand. It may need some more work after it dries a bit more. Ben brought grass seed, which will be spread when the time is right. The parking lot still looks like a construction site. It needs to be leveled, compacted and covered with crushed rock. Not sure when that will happen.? We need a small dozer or loader for a couple hours and several truck loads of crushed rock. We also removed trash from the highway north and south of the LZ. Much cleaner now! Apparently, the Club has adopted that portion of the highway and we will get to clean it up again, and again, and again? Whenever it needs it. The sky cleared about 1:00PM and 15 or so of us took a test ride on the shuttle up to launch. The shuttle needs cleaning but worked fine. The road up is in pretty good shape but you may not recognize the area around the bridge. It was the first flight of the new year for most of us. Nice sled ride in a beautiful blue sky. It seemed like (and probably was) 60 degrees at launch and 40 on the LZ. Flying through the inversion boundary was like walking into a freezer. - Ralph for NWPG
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Valley Report - a group was headed up Elk early today, and the conditions looked favourable. Still a lot of snow on the groud at the Ranch. |
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Elk Report - Alan reported that Larry and Eddie hiked and flew Elk and enjoyed sled rides. |
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Elk Report - My first flight of 2009. | Another race against time beginning the hike at 3:00 pm. I felt tail wind all the way up so I was gearing up for a walk down but Elk rewards the sweaters. Light tail to calm on top. What was tricky was slippery snow. I had to anchor the wing to sort the lines and then when I tried my first inflation (reverse) I immediately stepped in goo, fall on my ass and then rolled out of the way of the fabric sliding down on me. Reset back up and did an easy forward flying out as the last rays of a smoggy sun sank into the fog. Beautiful BBS (baby bum smooth) sledder out to Eddy's followed by a brisk walk back to the parking lot. The gravel part of the road is very icey. The trail was good. No snow-shoes required. It will get icier as it melts. The flood rains washed all the snow off the lower trail (chapter one) and some of the soil as well. One hour twenty minutes hiking time today. Elk Rocks! - Kevin I saw the sun come out in the afternoon on the FlyBC Woodside WebCam and it looked so nice, just like Mexico only with snow. I am glad someone flew, as I was stuck in town working to pay off my trip - Jim
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Woodside Report - no flying today, the FlyBC Woodside WebCam was showing fog, very low ceilings and rain. |  Ozone Report - despite the gloomy economy and poor currency market, Ozone reports the best year ever for sales with over 300 gliders sold in North America and 3000+ gliders worldwide. FlyBC is the largest Ozone dealer in Canada, and possibly the US too. We closed out the year with over 35 new gliders sold, plus another 15 used Ozone gliders from our trade-in program. Our best year ever in 12 years of operation! Thanks for the support, we appreciate it - Jim & Colleen We still have 2 - Ozone Rush M used, 1 - Ozone Vulcan M (like new shape), Ozone Mojo2 (S and L demos) and 2 - Mantra I (S and M) available for testing and purchase. Call me at 604-618-5467 for details. World's First Practical Flying Car - according to developers.
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Derek and Martina's Excellent Arizona Adventure -
It's nice & sunny here in Arizona. | We arrived yesterday & contacted an awesome local instructor who took us to a launch near Phoenix this afternoon. The first launch we drove to (on a paved road! - it's in a city park) didn't work out as it was blowing over the back, so over to the north launch. After a comfortable 20 minute hike we got to a launch that looked something like Lower Bridal did about 10+ years ago before any work was done on it. Yikes! Steep, cliffy & wide enough for one wing.  Martina getting ready on the North Launch - photo by Derek And this was the "big" launch on the north side. The sun was close to setting by this time so it was no-wind forwards for us first 2, and Derek pulled off a no-wind reverse at the end. We'll be meeting up earlier tomorrow and should be able to get in a good soaring flight - the terrain is similar to Savona/Las Salinas...cactus everywhere except the LZ which is a paved parking lot - Martina & Derek  Martina launches the North Launch - photo by Derek Reserve Toss Sequence from Tenancingo, Mexico January 2009 - taken by Brad Henry, pilot was not Scott McA from Bellingham as previously reported.          
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Manzanillo Report - incredibly stable and light to no winds made it a bit smoggy in town. We had to be at the airport by 3 pm, but we didn't fly in case we got stuck behind the gate or whatever.
| When we got on the plane we were greeted by the lovely Suja, who was the head flight attendant on our WestJet charter. We haven't seen her for over a year since she and Brett moved to Calgary. Brett is in Brazil for a month and she decided to stay home and work. The plane took off directly to the south and over Manzanillo Bay, where we launched and landed many times. The launch is 10 miles from the airport, but a 737 eats up 10 miles pretty fast climbing out. Hi Jim, Christine & I are back home. Thought I would end off the trip with 2 nice pics of flying off Toluca Volcano.  Brad launches Toluca Volcano - photo by Christine  The group on top of Toluca Volcano - photo by Christine Through out the trip I was extremely impressed with the Ozone Geo II as an all round Mountain Wing in harsh and high altitude conditions. I will be taking this wing or it's predecessor to Mt. Aconcagua for sure! - Thanks Brad. Savona Report - Hi Jim & Colleen, Checking the "site of the day" and enjoying the pictures and commentary. The Kamloops contingency has not had much opportunity here this winter but a day at "The Dump" had us ridge soaring for the afternoon. Les, Dave, Jim, Harold, and myself got some much needed air time. All flew, all safe - Terry B.  The Kamloops Flying Group at Savona Dump Ridge, note the clothing required to fly in Kamloops in January - photo by Terry
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Tapalpa Report - we headed east to Tapalpa at 10 am, and arrived at launch around 12:30 pm. The day was looking pretty stable with haze and no CUs. | There was a few HGers setting up, and one paraglider in the launch slot, and one tandem PGer in the air struggling to stay up at the microwave towers. A couple of vultures were way out front climbing but the rest of the birds were missing? Colleen was getting setup after the PGer launched and he and the tandem were "duking it out" out front and when they got above launch enought to come in and top-land they both did back at the entrance LZ. Colleen launched after one of the HGers, and Bob appeared from the other free launch past the microwaves (Tapalpa now costs 100 pesos a day to fly). Some of the locals launch from the free launch to protest the fees, as this has been a free launch for 15 years before Rodrigo and Felipe bought the land. Colleen wasn't getting much lift and Bob wasn't doing any better and they were both out at the end of the ridge working small bubbles. Colleen was heading out toward an LZ, when she caught a small but strong thermal and she was coring up nicely to launch height but too far out to get back to top-land. She lost this one, and was heading out again when she caught a low save near the ground that took her back to launch height again. Eventually she was on the ground near the highway so I drove down to get her. The highway to Tapalpa has been upgraded with two passing lanes and new guardrails which makes the drive up much faster. Unfortunately the road in to launch is still rough and rutted but you can't have everything. On the way down to Colleen's field I noticed where all the vultures were. They were sitting in the feed lot area directly east of launch and sunning themselves or whatever vultures do when the flying isn't great.  The locals relaxing at Tapalpa - photo by JPR Colleen talked me into flying and there were some CUs starting to form behind launch. We drove back up and there was no one in the air, but I got ready fast as the cycles were starting to die. I launched and got a few beeps near launch that I should have turned in, but I thought the lift out front would be better and there was NE wind to drift me back to launch. Unfortunately, I hit sink all the way to the end of the spine where I got the thermals finally that took me back to launch altitude. Good spikes and pretty good drift so sometimes S-turns were better. I got above launch several times but the drift took me to the towers, not where the CUs were. I got high and started letting the drift take me toward the south but you should never leave lift, unless you see a bird or other glider getting up there. I found the sink again and was trying to get upwind to the previous lift but the gulleys are pretty ominous if you get low. I continued downwind toward Sayula and was catching scraps of lift when I decided landing near the highway would be easier to get retrieved and was heading out when the flat-land thermalling began. I maintained at 300 meters above the deck most of the way out, getting higher then getting dumped in the sink. Lots of powerlines feeding the irrigation pumps, and some high tension lines feeding the towns make it important to keep your eyes open. I was climbing nicely over a dry field with 4 intersecting powerlines and stayed there for sometime topping up when I made my move to the highway and was rewarded with some serious sink over a cabbage farm. I had to land there instead of risking the next set of lines, and landed crosswind on a road next to the workshop in the cabbage field avaoiding crop damage. The workers were getting into a truck so I packed up quick and got a ride to Sayula Centro where I met Colleen. She told me the gliders who launched after me got up above launch so I guess I launched too early, but Tapalpa often blows over the back at this time so you launch when you can.
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Manzanillo Report - a lazy day around town, pretty stable so we did tourist stuff, like looking at Beach front Houses for FlyBC Mexico 2009-2010. | Cochrane AB Report - looks like Keith got his new Boom 6 in time for the World's in Valle.  Keith and Matt B soaring Cochrane in -15C weather, Valle should be warmer - photo by Vincene Tiger WA Report - huge flooding in the Tiger Mountain area continues.  Tiger Mountain LZ is flooded - photo by Steve Acord Full Moon Report Saturday Night Special: Biggest Full Moon of 2009 from space.com If skies are clear Saturday, go out at sunset and look for the giant moon rising in the east. It will be the biggest and brightest one of 2009, sure to wow even seasoned observers. Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle. One portion is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to our planet than the farthest part, so the moon's apparent size in the sky changes. Saturday night (Jan. 10) the moon will be at perigee, the closest point to us on this orbit. It will appear about 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during 2009, according to NASA. (A similar setup occurred in December, making that month's full moon the largest of 2008.) High tides Tides will be higher, too. Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. Scientists call these perigean tides, because they occur when the moon is at or near perigee. (The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee.) This month's full moon is known as the Wolf Moon from Native American folklore. The full moon's of each month are named. January's is also known as the Old Moon and the Snow Moon. A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes. At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead. Try this trick, though: Using a pencil eraser or similar object held at arm's length, gauge the size of the moon when it's near the horizon and again later when it's higher up and seems smaller. You'll see that when compared to a fixed object, the moon will be the same size in both cases.
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Tapalpa Report - after a quick check of the weather by the pool at 8 am, and reviewing the NOAA Soundings Chart for Guadalajara, Colima and Manzanillo Airports for 12 noon local time I discovered east winds at all three sites. MMGL was showing 120 degrees at 11 knots at 6000 feet, Tapalpa launch altitude (or pretty much straight in to launch). The lapse rate was less than standard, even inverted.
| We hopped in our VW Pointer and headed east to Tapalpa and saw east wind on the smoke stacks at Manzanillo Bay, light NE at Colima an hour later, and when we arrived at Tapalpa Launch at noon it was coming straight in. We had to takes some shots of the local lawn moving crew. We need some of these at Bridal!  The lawn maintenance crew working full time - photo by JPR  The weather to the North and the Cross looked overcast - photo by JPR Colleen got ready and I was watching the birds and there was a gaggle of 3 vultures climbing in the distant house thermal and climbing fast. Colleen launched and was maintaining along the spines to that thermal, and when she hit the house thermal she was up and climbing fast into the clear air above the inversion.  Colleen above the haze - photo by JPR Colleen continued to climb and flew around for 15 minutes, when I noticed another glider over south of the microwave towers. A blue Windtech doing some "funky spin-thermalling", they would start to climb in the core, then spin the glider a full 180 to 360 degrees and continue the climb. This wasn't a "chimp" not knowing how to turn, but someone having fun. They lost it and twisted up a few times, but my video was from so far way it is hard to see it well. The Windtech pilot flew south halfway to Sayula and back a few times before I headed down to locate Colleen as she had disappeared from sight as she flew North. I found Colleen at the new LZ, along the main road just west of the crossroads at 4.3 kms away from launch. The old LZ is in crops and the alternates are full of harvested corn so snaggy and dirty. She was packed up and ready to drive for me, so back to launch. The Windtech pilot was still in the air and disappeared behind the microwaves and was in a serious sink cycle as they plummetted down the gulleys toward the house thermal. Getting very low before they snagged a core, I was getting ready to launch and the cycles at launch were almost tail. Perhaps the day was done as it was almost 2 pm? Then Windtech guy was soon above launch and coring up. I got a nice cycle and launched and was circling right off launch, not as nice a thermal as the house one, but still nice and I gained a few hundred meters before entering Windtech guy's core. We flew in this core for about 10 minutes and he got higher and was drifting back toward launch at 2400 meters, when he hit sink again and was working the launch ridge while I stayed out front. When I headed back to the flats behind launch it was lifty, but not as strong as the original core. I watched Windtech guy fly over launch and do a 180 in to top-land near Colleen. It turned out it was Bob from Guadalajara (a Mexican we have flown with here many times). His english is a lot better than our spanish!. I ventured south toward Sayula and it was working well as I drifted up slope toward the west, similar to climbing towards Upper Bridal, not turning just ridge-running. I stopped several times when the lift increased above +2 m/s and circled but the drift was taking me north (odd as the LZ winds were coming from the north?). I surprised three vultures when I climbed through them halfway to Sayula, I guess they weren't aware of thermalling right-of-way rules. At this point Colleen was starting to drive down and I told her that I was heading to Sayula and further if I could make it. I came to the hills that form the new launch site we discovered 2 years ago and was thermalling at Tapalpa Launch height just above those hills near a powerline when the lift got lighter. Maintaining was possible, but I hit some rotor or something that was giving me huge sink in places, so I kept my options open and headed out towards Sayula. The birds also weren't doing as well and the sun was getting a bit low and over the back of the hills now. I picked out an LZ behind the Cemetary and was ridge soaring the hill in front of that field with some vultures but was sinking slowly on every pass until I touched down on terrafirma. Nice north wind right to the desk and not even a thermal to bump me on final. Flight time 60 minutes, +4.0 m/s lift, -6.4 m/s sink, distance 10 kms. Nice to have a standard Tapalpa flight, after a few years of "let-downs" due to bad winds or storms. I was packed up by the time the local kids arrived and showed me the way back to town through the Cemetary. Colleen was trying to reach me from Sayula, but hundreds of concrete and rebar built houses shielded our conversations making it tough for her to understand me. I told her I was in the west most Centro by the old church. Then we found out there were 3 Centros and 2 old churches so we reverted to street names, the Mexican kids heard the street name Calle OCampo and one of them raced off on his bike to find Colleen. She said there was a kid chasing her down, so I said slow down and follow him and he took her right to me. Easy to find a gringo lady driving around in circles I guess. We were soon on the Cuota back home to Manzanillo, and arrived back before sunset for a nice seafood meal on the beach at La Bigotes.  Manzanillo Sunset around 6 pm looking out over the Pacific - photo by JPR We headed back to Club Meava and had a swim and drinks before retiring to the room for movies and sleep. For those who haven't done an All Inclusive Vacation, this is an ideal Club to come to for mixing Paragliding and relaxation. Many pools, free drinks and "all you can eat" restaurants, excellent entertainment all day long for non-flying partners. paintball, zip-lining, archery, spanish lessons, scuba, you name it - you can do it! All for just a few bucks more than a direct flight would cost for a week long vacation. Google "Club Maeva" and you will find YouTube videos and pictures in abundance to do your own research. We booked a month ahead with FlightCentre. San Diego Report - We got into San Diego yesterday & drove right to Torrey Pines. There was enough wind to kite, but the only pilot who dared to launch ended up on the beach. The forecast was for Santa Ana winds the rest of the week but we stayed strong in our onshore-winds-faith. Today started off with no wind in town, and by the time we arrived at Torrey the winds were perfect! Unfortunately there was a lot of fog, but the TP guys said to go for it. "Just keep an eye on the fog as it can move in fast." Enough said! I was the first one off & was up and over at the golf course in no time. It was an awesome flight - only about 6 of us in the air and a surreal sight being surrounded by fog. We got just over an hour and are hoping the north winds hold off one more day - Martina & Derek  Foggy at Torrey Pines - photo by ML Jeffery's Honduras Report -ˇFeliz ańo nuevo! I have officially started flying tandems in Yuscaran. Shot above is the beginning of a nice 1hr flight in late afternoon air, the 4th flight so far on this wing. It flies so nice and feels very secure and stable in the air. Locals call it the flying pumpkin (calabasa)……  The flying calabasa over Yuscaran - photo by ?? I wish every one in the flying scene a happy and safe year and many trips to cloudbase, Jeffrey Cultus Lake Report - Took these at 5 pm this afternoon after checking out Eddy's place in Ryder Laker - his house is fine but lots of road damage right from the bottom of Elk View. Came home to see this.... - Kevin.  Cultus Lake Jan 8, 2009 (yikes) - photo by Kevin Tiger Creek and Shuttle Truck Update from Issiquah WA - I just hiked down to the truck and everything was still intact as of 8:00 pm tonight. The water has receded considerably and it appears as though the urgency to do anything has passed, at least for the time being. The rear of the truck is barely hanging on by the hitch receiver and the passenger side frame rail, although it appears to be on firm ground. The damage to the truck appears to be minimal, at this point in time. My suggestion would be to anchor the rear of the truck with a come along and chain to a stout tree 15 feet up stream to prevent the truck from sliding into the creek bed. The south side of the bridge is also washed out and so the bridge is not accessable for any type of equipment to get close enough to extract the truck. The bridge does appear to be solid and doesn't appear to show any signs that it may give out.  Tiger Shuttle Truck on washed out road - photo by Phillip I will be available all weekend to do what ever is necessary to secure the truck for the time being. If we have any engineers in our community that are willing to come out this weekend and and give their professional advice, it would be much appreciated. Please call me at the number below if anyone with experience in this area is available to come out and take a look this weekend. I will be in contact with Sam Jarrett with the DNR tomorrow to get his take on what needs to be done. I strongly urge EVERYONE to stay away from the truck until an expert on these situations can be consulted. Sincerely, Kevin White (206)387-1682 Bob Hannah's Tiger Report - The pictures were taken by a local resident while I was there this afternoon. I was driving up with a chain saw to work on clearing the upper stretches of road. I was looking forward to access by the shuttle to the top in coming days...... Most know the location that I left the truck at yesterday, since we used it for a staging area the last time we had a wash out. It was about 100 feet up the road, up hill from the bridge. The entire stream bed is full with debris over the top of the bridge. Apparently there was a log dam up stream that let go all at once, flooding out the narrow channel. There had to be a wall of water more than 20 feet higher than when I was there at 3:30 yesterday afternoon, to cause the disaster we are left with. Water level at the time was about 8-10 feet below the bottom of the bridge. Estimates by govt agencies were that it would not come up more than a couple more feet in the overnight hours. The truck may end up as a "bridge" until the DNR can schedule work during the summer. The existing bridge is now totally ineffective with the new stream channel. I think the back end of the truck will drop about 8-10 feet with the erosion of the stream channel down to bed rock, but will still be above any further high water mark. Mike did not have coverage for this event, so I hope that the community will come together to make this situation whole again. 90% of the LZ was under water and covered with a debris field when I went by at 4:30 this afternoon. If we look on this as an opportunity, we might be able too plow and grade it and start over with a level playing field, if we can get help/permission to do so. As Tom mentioned, there may be money from FEMA to cover a lot of the costs - Bob Hannah
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Volcan de Toluca Report Launching at 14200 feet - Our day started with a waked up call at 4:30am that was Daniel Pedoroza banging on the metal door at Casa Del Piloto eager to go. Still dark we dragged our butt’s out the door in to 2 vehicles for the 2 hour drive to the Mt Toluca Nevado Volcano. Lovely Christine joined us as our driver in the 2nd vehicle. We wriggled our way up to the entrance of the Toluca Park and arrived at the parking lot at 4000 meters. | We walked for 1 hour to the east side of the mtn were we have scoped out a launched at 4300 meters. Yep, another 300 meters straight up and Norman Lawlor was not impressed, but he knew in the back of mind that the possibility was excellent so he slogged his way up.  Normando loves hiking! - photo by Brad I had been there 3 times over the years and have been unable to fly and today looked like it was going to happen….  The "hike and fliers" on top of the Toluca Volcano - photo by Brad Finally with everyone at on top, at 11 am we decide to launch on the north side with the prevailing wind at a perfect 5-10 k and fly around to the east side for thermals and to our destination a small town called Zaragoza 9 km as the bird flies. We launched in order with Jack a guest pilot, Scott MacAllister, Bob Stockman, Norman Lawlor, Doug Marshburn and I last as the safety. With the high altitude you had to run hard but everyone launched without a hitch. The flight was smooth, maybe too smooth, tweaking the every fart thermal we could find. The views were expansive and awesome. We landed in the same order we flew with safe landings. Eventually we all re-grouped, high fived, passed around beers and roasted chicken. Our turn around ride was 2 hours, long trip and logistics for a 30 minute high mountain flight! - Brad Manzanillo Report - we have been trying to find a site we "scoped out" a few years back near Manzanillo but are not having much luck. We headed towards Barra de Navidad today and thought we were close but no luck. The coastal sailing forecasts said NW winds at 11 knots around noon, but by 1 pm we had 20 knots+ and huge whitecaps and rolling waves, so our plan to fly the site near the Power Plant was foiled so we went to lunch on the Beach. We are staying at Club Maeva and all food is included but we took a break from the normal routine and tried a seafood restaurant on the beach. My meal was great . . . Colleen's not so good.  The power plant smoke stacks are situated to the east/left of the local soaring ridge, shot from the seafood restaurant - photo by CMV Even the birds were staying grounded due to the winds which finally abated around sunset as we arrived back to Club Maeva. We suspect Colima would have blown out fairly quickly due to the sea breeze, so no road trip today. Site of the Day Update Report - it is very difficult updating the "Site of the Day" from Club Maeva. The wireless link here is a bit slow and unstable, but the views around the pool are great while waiting.  The Club Maeva main pool area, olympic sized with 3 restaurants surrounding it - photo by CMV Monarca Cup 09 is on in Valle de Bravo - and it sounds like good flying conditions with long tasks. Cumulative Results here after day 3 . Jamie Messenger from Britain in in third place on an Ozone R09! Local Canucks include Amir Izadi, Jim Orava from Pembie, and Denis R from Vancouver.
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Tapalpa Report - It was Colleen's turn for Tapalpa and we raced down the Cuota early. | As we passed Colima, it was hazy and light wind, so we kept going. Past Sayula, we noticed no wind either so we raced up the hill from the Piano (all paved road), and arrived at the top to see strong SW winds over the back???? We hadn't checked the soundings before we left 'cause we were in such a hurry. We didn't wait long, and were soon back on the road to Colima, arriving at launch there at 2:30 pm. It was strong SW now, and the locals caution pilotas about flying in the afternoon due to the seabreeze. We bailed back to Manzanillo to look at FlyBC's new base of operation: A three level, three house property on the ocean with lots of room for travelling pilots and students. It is similar to Casa del Piloto, needs lots of work after years of neglect - a Mexican malady with properties.
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Martina & Derek's California Adventure - We're having a great trip so far, even though we're not in Mexico like you bums. | California is great - it was snowing over the OR/CA border when we drove in, but by the time we got to Santa Cruz to visit our paragliding friend it was beautiful and sunny. Our first day in the area wasn't flyable, but we made up for it yesterday! We were about to leave & head further south when we decided to check out Lake Court in Marina one last time. It was on! We were a bit rusty with our high wind launches, but as soon as we just let the wing drag us through the sand to launch then we were fine. There were only 3 of us in the air so we could scratch as close as we wanted to the dunes and topland at will. We soared until sunset (see pic of Derek) and landed with big smiles! - Martina .  Derek coastal soaring in California (note no snow!) - photo by ML Brad's Tenancingo Report - After spending New Years in Acapulco, we were back in Tenancingo Jan 4th to join the boys for some flying at La Malinche. It was a start of a great flying day with a little haze and cumus popping from the the King's bed to right of launch. I was the first in our group to launch (it was early), right into a royal flush! I was sinking so fast I thought geez I am going to bomb out even before the official LZ. I hug as hard to the hill as I could then I headed straight to the Cabana's LZ. About 100 ft from the landing deck my vario went beep, then beep beep and again and again. Locked in my Ozone Geo II and Bingo!! nailed the thermal to 2800 meters. Very sweet save.... Daniel Miller was right behind me in his 2nd flight in a very used Fly Design Boxtair he had bought and I delivered. The Boxtair was twitchy, launched terribly and this by the way will be his last flight on this wing. After 30 minutes or so ridge soaring La Malinche a group of 4 pilots joined me at cloud based and we worked sweet air in the flats of Tenancingo with the plan to fly to Tecomatlan soccer fields. We were near our goal when a radio reported that Daniel's wing stalled and went into a helicopter spin (what is with that??!) stopping hard into a cement wall. Long of short we landed beside him simply amazed that he is walking and talking to people around him. I have posted a picture of the red beast launching, a careful eye will see all issues while Daniel Launches the Flight Design. WE all very happy he is ok, he is now forced to reverse launch cause he broke 3 ribs! I told him I would talk with my friend Jim Reich to provide a newer safer wing within his weight range - Brad  Normando top-landing at Malinalco after going XC - photo by Brad  Doug M. top-landing at Malinalco after going XC - photo by Brad  Scott's reserve ride at La Laminche on the first few flights - photo by Brad
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Tapalpa Report - after a week of coastal jungle flying, we decided a trip to Tapalpa was in order. | It is a 2 hour drive on the Cuota and 198 pesos each way, but the flying here is very nice. We arrived at 12:45 pm, a bit late but it was still coming in to this East facing launch. Giles had just top-landed with a tandem and some other paragliders were above launch as I shook all the sand out of my kit. I clipped in and waited for a cycle and took the first one and was soon "duking it out" with an orange Advance who always turned the wrong way.  Colleen took this as I launched in video mode, so I frame grabbed this still - photo by CMV Then a HGer launched and was shadowing me in the rough air. I have been spoiled by a week at Manzanillo and smooth coastal air, as I was hitting +5.5 m/s lift with -5.9 m/s sink around it. The orange Advance got out of there and was climbing above launch and the HGer was coming in too close for comfort, so I went to the further out house thermal and was experimenting with bank angles and playing in the cores when I could centre in them and was maintaining and climbing above launch at times, but the thermals were tracking due north, not getting me back to launch to top-land so Colleen could fly. After 48 minutes the sink was getting the best of me and I was heading out to the Piano, when I hit some low save thermals but they didn't get me away. I feel very rusty, but this was a good flight and we are coming back tomorrow to try again and let Colleen fly this time. We were back at Club Maeva by dark and enjoying our "all-inclusive Margaritas and Dinner" after a shower, so a good day all around. Kelly's Port Moody Report - something about geting stuck in her 4x4! I can see why, is this a trend for next years weather?  Kelly's Parking Lot at home in Port Moody, BC, Canada - photo by KLR
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El Toro Report - Colleen bagged the first flight launching into nice cycles for a change and was immediately climbing over Theo's Antennas. Very smooth, fat lift and she was soon at 1000 meters (launch is at 750 meters). | Colleen had company with 6 big vultures circling below her trying to get up to her altitude when I drove down.  Colleen took this as thermalling above Theo's antenna - photo by CMV Not sure of the glide out, Colleen left high and arrived over the beach at 400 meters above the sea. This is when she learned it was high tide and she had to find a non-populated, dry area to land on. After packing up she walked to the main road where I picked her up. My turn now, so we drove back up and arrived to see the cycles crossing from the north. We could also see the birds ridge soaring the north slopes . . . hmmm! Launch faces SW, and the wind is coming from NW so 90 degrees cross and Theo's antennas are higher than launch and could cause a rotor so beware. After a lame attempt at checking my lines I bunched up and put the Mantra back on launch and found I had a complete mess. Lineovers and stuck tips and a 15 minute resort and I was back in the launch slot. I took the only straight cycle for another 15 minutes and launched into the NW air and was climbing in ratty, turbulated air just under Theo's antenna. The air was quite strong from the NW and I was watching for rotor as I climbed up to the ridge top, but the wind kept pushing me south so I was clear of the rotor. I left the mountain at 850 meters and then hit the really strong valley winds crossing from the right as I glided out. A few thermals along the way to top out in, but mostly a smooth crosswind glide as I crossed the golf course at 366 meters. I could see the laguna by the golf course was getting small caps, so I knew the wind was still NW which lines up perfectly for a beach landing here. I still had a high tide and landed pretty much in the same area as Colleen and packed up on the dry sand. I was completely packed up except for my flight deck when a "rouge wave" came from behind and floated my pack and flight deck up before I could grab it. No damage except to my camera which got splashed and the lens stopped retracting, so off to Walmart to get a new camera. Incidentally, Colleen's camera had a frozen lens after her flight so sand is an issue for digital cameras with zoom lenses, so keep the cameras stowed in a zipped bag before landing. We are getting the idea that el Toro is a great soaring site in some conditions, but cloudbase is lower than inland and the flights are affected by the sea breeze quickly, so watch for changing conditions. A great break from the snow and cold!
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Manzanillo Report - another lazy day on the coast. Slept in til 9:30 am, then off to the Cafe Bar to do Internet Updates next to the pool. |  Maeva Amigas - photo by JPR The female Maeva Amigas were practicing dance moves with their choreographer and I snapped this picture on my phone. They do this several hours in the morning, then start the entertainment that runs daily (aerobics, water basketball, water polo, then do nightly shows from 9:30 til 11:00 pm, and then cap off the evening with dance contests in the Tropical Hut bar til 2:00 am. Busy work for the Maeva Amigos. We went real estate shopping for FlyBC's Mexican Base, and found some sweet properties just above the Santiago Beach. Prices are down from last year but not the 33% drop seen in Phoenix or Vegas. The forecast was for NE winds aloft and we could see the CU developing on El Toro and curling on top from the NE as it hit 1000 meters, so we weren;t in a hurry. But by 2:30 pm, I was getting edgy without a flight yet this year so Colleen volunteered to drive me up to launch. When we arrived at 3:00 pm, a late start for this site again, the cycles were perfect and coming in pretty strong. The view from Cerro del Toro today - photo by JPR I quickly setup and launched and was soon at 'base. Unfortunately 'base was only 100 meters above launch. The local birds were happily thermalling with me, they don't seem to mind paragliders at all. I have been attacked by the same vultures at Tapalpa, but probably only when near nesting areas near the Cross.  Above Theo's antennas on the NW side of Cerro del Toro - photo by JPR I wasn't worried about cloudsuck despite +4 m/s lift near the clouds because the clouds were so small in area.  At 'base at Cerro del Toro today - photo by JPR I ventured right through some of the clouds and was soon above cloudbase. Very smooth and you could go "hands off" to take pictures despite the strong lift, very mellow air here so far. Incidentally, one can fly in shorts and a T-shirt quite comfortably, boots are recommended so you don't twist an ankle but carry your flip-flops to wear after after landing to hike back to the Hotel.  Above 'base at Cerro del Toro today - photo by JPR I was doing fine staying up, and ventured to the NW side of El Toro, to get to the sunny slopes and was maintaining there but you are getting farther from the beach and there is a powerline that ascends the mountain you have to be careful of on this slope that is hard to see. The sun was obscured on the SW slope due to development and the birds left and I was scratching in front of the antennas in the shade when I saw a CU develop out front in the sun. I headed out there and was only getting 24-28 kph on glide. Hmmm! Windier than before, but I have the golf course on glide. The lift was very weak as it was now 4:00 pm and the CUs were disappearing quickly. I came over the golf course with pretty good altitude and expected some lift off the highway and the houses so I continued toward the hill in the picture below. The hill hides the beach LZ and Club Maeva's walkway to the hotel. There are some smaller fields to land in, one is visible at the far toe of the hill by the beach clear of powerlines. As the wind was from the NW I expected some ridge lift and thermals off the hill too, but I arrived just at the top of it and snuck around the corner to align with the beach and got only one quick beep before crossing the powerlines to land on the beach. Flight time was 30 minutes.  On the way to the Beach LZ - photo by JPR After the flight, the hike back to the Hotel, and a swim . . . I was ready for a nap! I woke up around 9:30 pm, to get dinner and start partying. Time is warped in Mexico with the siestas and parties til 2:00 am every night. Tenancingo Report - Norm flew to Toluca, 43 kms to the north. He is ruling the sky in Tenancingo.  Norm up high with Doug lower - photo by Robert Stackman Here's a photo of Normando skying out over La Malinche on his way to Toluca Volcano while trying to mark the lift for Doug. Doug eventually landed softly today in the "piano". Norm had his highest flight ever over Tenancingo. Christo Del Ray was just a "spec" - Bob S.  Norm's suspected flight path - photo by Google Earth Belated pictures from Casa del Piloto in Tenancingo  Several NW US pilots, some Germans, a few Canucks and the locals all partying at Casa del Piloto - photo by Normando Belated reports from Martina and Derek - they were in Woodrat, OR for New Years and took in the local paragliding party and got the first flight of the year on New Years day. They are headed towards La Salinas, Baja Mexico to escape the weather in Agassiz.
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Manzanillo Report - we had a lazy day after New Years Eve, due in part to the hazy skies not motivating us to drive up el Toro. | Another day with little wind all day made ridge soaring impossible, so we did some site reconn work. We found a nice ridge near La Ventanas, up wind of the power plant, with two launch possibilities.  La Ventanas Ridge Site - photo by JPR We then went down to the beach to check it out, you can drive right down to the sand which is very black.  La Ventanas Beach, the sand is much blacker than the photo shows - photo by JPR  Colleen got surprised by the surf, and the water is very warm - photo by JPR The air finally cleared up later in the night as we splurged on a gorgeous restaurant called "la Recife" near the hotel. We headed up that way to locate a launch site that we saw many years ago that the road seems to have been decommissioned by man or landslide. There is no safe flight path in this bay, even if you could find a launch area.  La Recife just as the sun goes down - photo by JPR Tenancingo Report - second hand reports coming through from Bev, indicate Normando has flown XC to Malinalco - about 25 kms to the NE of La Laminche Launch. The same flight had Doug M top-landing after skying out at that site. We also heard from Brad that the Malinalco Launch site has been planted with corn, a shame as it was very nice for launching and top-landing. The Hammer's African Adventure - Hey Jim, We've been away for he last few weeks in Africa, so we've missed all that snow in BC. After doing a little hunting safari in S. Africa we've toured around Kenya and got to a new site ; Sagalla Hills. Hopefully It will post up on the "world famous" FLYBC site with pics. This is a very un developed but beautifull site over and near the Tsavo Reserve. We saw Lions, Elephants and the all the other exotic animals. After bouncing our way up to this remote village site in a rented 4 wheel Subaru we saw the flat plains below and tried to find a suitable launch site. The locals we met at the top pointed to the rock bluff were they saw some German pilots fly off. (See picture.) That was a "no-go" as it was in the rotor leeside.  Al scoping out a new site in Kenya - photo by Debbie So I walked around some mountain mud houses to the other side of the mountain and was rewarded with some good cycles straight up.  Al searching for a launch site in Kenya - photo by Debbie Only problem was some brush and a tree which was quickly chopped down for firewood to clear a pathway for launch by the guy who lived there. Nice.  Al created a new site in Kenya - photo by Debbie The kids gathered around and were so curious with the white people and the paraglider mostly. - Al  Al "wow-ing the kids" in Kenya - photo by Debbie  Al flies in Kenya - photo by Debbie FlyBC has received the Ozone R09 Medium for demo flights, unfortunately it arrived December 29th after we had left getting delayed by FedEx over Christmas. "Valley Crossings" should be easier now! November 4, 2008 - Ozone releases the newest Comp Glider the R-09 Dav's Designer's Notes: Mantra R09
The concept: Maximum Performance in the Open Class Competition Wing Category, in order to support our international XC / Competition team. The R07 was a well received comp wing with high performance and perhaps the best climb on the PWC and also highly comfortable – but we needed to improve on the top speed in order to have it all.
New Features: The airfoil is a completely new type. The thickness, camber, and the general shape have all been improved, with the aim to retain the positive features of the R07 while yielding higher top speed. Speed is a factor of wing loading: we have reduced the size to achieve a good compromise between climb rate and speed.
The arc has been revised in order to achieve the highest performance possible for this geometry. The planform remains the same except from the tip which has been redesigned to work with the new arc.
We’ve also managed to make a 15% reduction in total line drag, which translates into a straight benefit in performance!
The tension straps running across the span are now made with Mylar: This gives more cohesion to the wing, and guaranties longevity of performance.
New “shrink tabs” for the brake attachment makes the trailing edge even cleaner, and also creates more tension in the trailing edge during the turn.
Profile-enhancing rigid construction on the leading edge has also helped to give the R09 a 10kmh top speed increase! In order to maintain the shape of the nose, two types of reinforcements have been added inside and outside, at the front of the airfoil: the result is a cleaner airfoil shape, and the stability of the openings allows a higher top speed with less sail deformation – this helps prevent collapses and inefficient excessive sail movement.
The R09 is also the first model to have a new generation of trimmers. Pilots may choose either performance or stability while previously; the choice was to either set your accelerator system to one feature or the other.
Please find tech specs below. Please note that custom colors are available for the standard cost of 100 Euros extra.
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FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
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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