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FlyBC "Site of the Day Archive" - July/2014
Woodside has been fabulous all month!
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you make look back and realize they were the big things.” - Robert Brault
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| 7/30/14 |
 Agassiz BC Sunny. High 30. UV index 8 or very high. We started at the training hill at the Ranch at 9 am, and after 6 sucessful forward launches in light & cross conditions, we moved to Mission to get some airtime. Jeff was out practicing forward launches as he was not happy with his launch at Bridal yesterday (Bridal can be hard when it is cross & light). We got 5-6 good flights off Heritage Park and came back to the Ranch as we had three tandems to fly at 3 pm. Derek, Denis & I did the tandems and Gilbert got to see us fly off in strongish winds, too strong for students for sure. Jeff had a good flight staying above launch on his Ozone Rush (as usual). It was an early end to the day as it was too hot to kite anymore.  Willi Report Nicole reported stable air today and 2 crashes of PG & HG requiring medical attention (1 tree landing by PG and 1 HG crash in tall grass in the bottom fields). Results are Here. Nic's Blog. 7/30/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 30. UV index 8 or very high. Jeff S & Phil I arrived and Jeff had one hike & fly, before they both headed to Bridal. They drove up and met up with Klaus & Monica who were hiking up to retrieve their rig and they offered to drive Phil's truck down, so Phil & Jeff both got to fly. They managed 45 minutes of ridge soaring despite the stable air. Willi Report Nicole reported thunderstorms & fires today. Results are Here. 7/29/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 30. UV index 8 or very high. Despite Brian's great runs here, he was not confident to launch Woodside quite yet so he got to watch Bill flying solo and observed many tandem flights as Denis & Derek flew 5 tandems. It was stable but if you caught a good cycle you could get above launch as Jeff & Bill were able to on the last flights.
Willi Report Nicole broke a Canadian Distance Record today. Results are Here. Martin N is still in the lead in the Intermediate Class, congrats. 7/28/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 30. UV index 8 or very high. We had two tandems to do and one new student, while Jason N flew 4 flights today "dukin' it out" with his pal Darren H.
We flew at Woodside until 7 pm, then in to Vancouver as Camilo is headed home Tuesday with a new HPAC Instructor/Tandem rating in his back pocket. 7/27/14
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|  Agassiz BC Sunny. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 28. UV index 8 or very high. We also had Jason doing laps to get closer to Certification and he had 5 solo flights today including some thermalling instruction by Colleen. Quite a few pilots out today and again Martin H was the super-star of the day staying up for several hours and top-landing his Buzz Z4 at the end of his flight to drive down after many approaches. Willi Report Nicole reported rough air in Golden on her blog (no surprise here). Results are Here. Martin N broke 105 kms yesterday bringing him into the lead in the Intermediate Class, congrats. 7/26/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 21. UV index 6 or high. Light winds and lots of lift made for some great tandem flights as Colleen, Denis, Derek & I flew many passenger/students. Colleen took Moto for his first flight at 11 am. What a great way to train students and making them feel comfortable in the air, why don't more Instructors train this way? For my first tandem, I had Keith who weighed 220 lbs and we soared nicely above launch & the South Knoll before heading out to the Ranch. My next tandem was with Anne and she weighed 115 lbs so quite a contrast but the Ozone Magnum II flew equally well with both loadings.
Jon had 4 flights total with us on his Intro Course before heading back to Edmonton, promising to come back soon. Moto got his first solo later today and he was at 1000 metres all the way to the Ranch with about a 45 minute flight! Amazing conditions! Bridal pilots were reporting in at Gloria, Elk and all over at 1500 metres. 7/25/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 21. UV index 6 or high. Camilo worked with the guys on the training hill and Denis took Raul tandem around noon. The tandem conditions have been excellent at Woodside with nice long soaring flights and little turbulence.
We discovered another west facing training spot east of Heritage Park but the wind has to be due west and strong as it is in a bowl. Nelson & Moto headed home early at 6 pm and Jon was staying in Harrison so he dropped by the Ranch with us and Camilo, Colleen & Jon got a late flight in before dinner. Jon was flying our new Gin Bolero 4 ship and made it look easy taking off in aifrly light winds. Colleen commented that it felt like glass-off conditions as it was very buoyant but not due to winds.
7/24/14
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|  Agassiz BC Rain ending this afternoon then cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers. High 18. UV index 3 or moderate. Friday looks like the start of a long dry stretch of weather, finally. 7/23/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly sunny. Increasing cloudiness this afternoon. High 24. UV index 8 or very high. Kamloops suffered far worse today with reports of 50 mm of rain in 20 minutes causing flash flooding and landslide on the Yellowhead as the Dome fell on to northbound lanes. Revy fun with Matt & Bill practicing tandem acro! 7/22/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly sunny. Increasing cloudiness this afternoon. High 24. UV index 8 or very high. Mid-day rains stopped some training but the skies opened up for a late night flight for Jason, who is enjoying the Geo 4. What a difference a day makes, yesterday good lift +4 m/s . . . today inverted sled rides. 7/21/14
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|  Agassiz BC Mainly cloudy. Clearing late this afternoon. High 22. UV index 6 or high. I dragged out my solo gear and shook off the moths and cobwebs. SupAir Delight Harness with a front mount reserve and the new Gin Carrera demo ship, that was test flown a lot in Revy but this was my first chance flying it. Some of the guys in Revy had trouble launching the Carrera and I think it was conditions, it is fast but I brought it up very nicely and even though the wind on Woodside switched to south as I inflated the glider it behaved and launched smoothly. The Carrera has Gin's new EPT Technology (basically SharkNose tech) and it inflates easily but is a fast glider and one needs to damp the inflation part way up or it can overshoot. Ala Ozone Delta 2 or any faster glider. While the Carrera earned a EN-B rating it is recommended for pilots that fly more than 50 hours a year. That said it was extremely stable even coming into trashy air near launch trying a top-landing approach. I flew for an hour over Woodside and heard Kevin & Martin struggling near Bear Mtn., Camilo had been at cloudbase a few times and I tried many different approaches to top-landing but gave up as it was too strong near launch. I had no vario but some climbs were estimated at +4 m/s. I topped out at 1200 metres a few times, which is what IBIS forecasted.
We retrieved Kevin's truck from Woodside Launch and headed to Bridal for a late afternoon flight and got there to see many gliders in the air. Camilo & Kevin flew and Martin & I drove and folks were getting 2+ hours soaring the knob. Back at the Ranch, Derek & Lee were doing a set of tandems but it didn't glass-off as hoped. Reports from Dale at Fly Hills in Salmon Arm reported 1:30 long flights there at 8:30 am! 7/20/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers. High 19. UV index 6 or high. A group of tandems were scheduled to be flying today and I think they got off two rounds landing east of Riverside. Oddly it looked windy but there was little ridge lift? Maybe too south? Reports from Dale & Rod at King Eddie said they got 2 - 45 minute soaring flights today after waiting in the rain too. 7/19/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers in the morning and early in the afternoon. Local smoke. High 24. UV index 6 or high. Camilo, Colleen & I headed south and stopped for lunch in Salmon Arm with Derek & Kendra.
When we rounded the corner near the Ashcroft Manor we saw smoke . . . who would be burning on a windy day? As we got closer the fire crews were battling a small fire line near the Reserve, and a heli was dropping water as well.
The forestry camp before:
Meanwhile . . . Rod reported back that he got 3 hours kite-boarding on his 7 metre (small) kite on Swan Lake near Enderby in huge rollers and swells. I guess we made the right call heading home! Some interesting launches at a Spanish Acro Meet, reminds me of launching students at Woodside! LOL! 7/18/14
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| Agassiz BC Increasing cloudiness. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. Local smoke. High 24. UV index 3 or moderate. We had to dodge race preparations on the mountain roads and decided to head to Mara Lake for an evening flight. We headed up Skyline Road around 4 pm and managed to get 4 pilots off before it blew down the mountain, not what was forecast at all, light winds in the Lake. SIV Box and in the air too. No lift as it was cloudy & hazy from forest fires.
7/17/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny this morning then a mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of showers late this afternoon. Risk of a thunderstorm late this afternoon. Local smoke. Wind becoming northwest 20 km/h near noon. High 30. UV index 7 or high. Camilo drove the first round and everyone got one SIV flight before it blew out. Oddly, when the pilots were flying in nice air it was gusty in Revelstoke.
7/16/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny in the morning and early in the afternoon then a mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of showers late in the afternoon. Risk of a thundershower late in the afternoon. High 30.
Chris D got one wing wet when he miscalculated a spiral dive on a speedwing and landed short getting his reserve wet. I suggested flying the wet reserve on the next flight and deploying it to see how fast it would open. chris decided to make it exciting and spiralled up an XS Addict II before throwing his reserrve . . . resulting in a leg up deployment with his feet stuck over his head caught by the paraglider lines landing him on his back. He was okay but got the wind knocked out for a few seconds. The last flight was a classic "glassoff" with abundant lift everywhere and the SIVers were as high as launch when they arrived over the Box. Then late night cocktails at Dingo's before bed, long days here in Revy.
7/15/14
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| Agassiz BC A mix of sun and cloud. Risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon. High 33. UV index 8 or very high. First they went to the Tram Launch facing north and it was not going to work. Brad & Chris had 2 tandems to do so I asked for them to go first as my boat had become grounded due to the water level dropping, and I needed a hand to get it refloated. I finally found the frogs that caused the conservation Officers to disallow mowing at the RC Field and they are tiny and there are hundreds of them.
Once the boat was floted, the SIVers started heading off with Bill G, Camilo, Jeff & Matt doing some nice stalls and spins. Oddly, it was strong North winds aloft turning to south on landing? Camilo decided to go for a swim out to the boat and found out how cold the water is in Canada.
7/14/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 32. UV index 8 or very high. They also had a mid-day set of tandems that turned out to be quite windy with south winds at lower levels and while Chris made the RC Field, Brad elected to head to Catherwood LZ. No thunderstorms here, but the HG National Comp in Golden got rained out with thunderstorms today. When I arrived at the RC Field around 4 pm it was very windy with whitecaps so we stayed on the ground, after securing the boat.
Taking a Chance on Cheam July 2014 from Kevin Ault on Vimeo. 7/13/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 32. UV index 8 or very high. It was getting a bit hazy due to several close forest fires.
Dave A was having some issues initiating full stalls on his Advance Espilon 7 but we think the brakes are tied a bit long. Maybe some acro handles would give him more purchase on the brakes? No one in the drink today. Colleen tried to end up in the drink as she locked into a spiral dive that took 8 turns to recover. The last flight of the day had pilots skying out to 3500 meters in glassoff conditions, trying to crross to Begbie but it was a bit late for that as it was 8 pm.
7/12/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 32. UV index 8 or very high. We had a good turnout for the briefings at the Powder Springs Inn at 9 am, reviewing "Performance Flying" with Jock Sanderson. Colleen headed up with a full truck of experienced and non-experienced SIVers as I got the boat ready. The water levels are perfect, the snow just went away allowing access to the top without hiking. More good luck than good preparation on our part. The winds were calm and launch cycles perfect if not a bit strong for newbies. We had some nice airshow action with heavy water bombers flying through our SIV Box, but no conflicts. We had two great rounds with some great maneuvers by James B & Dave A and not to be outdone Matt Francis showed us how to wingover into the water!
Big thanks to RMR, Chris Delworth & the locals that brushed out the RC Field and got everything ready. 7/11/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 28. UV index 8 or very high. It is getting very stable at Woodside but reports from Bridal had top landers and some nice soaring, so that is the place to be for solo pilots. Sad news from Pemberton, BC - Jud, a PG pilot and shuttle driver, from Pemberton was attempting a vol bivuoac flight to Copperdome to meet up with some others and failed to make it there and a Search & Rescue operation was launched. Unfortunately, the S & R folks found him too late as he had thrown his reserve and had been badly injured and did not make it. Jud did not have a radio or a SPOT Tracker device, which complicated matters. If you have plans to go XC, please get a SPOT and a good radio! Chelan Flats 2014 Report - a more mellow task. Results here. 7/10/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 28. UV index 8 or very high. Denis & I worked together and got 7 tandems completed and launch & landing conditions were perfect. Tessa & Sam A were out flying and they logged 4 more solo flights including reverse launch training. The last tandems happened at 8 pm and it was still soarable, with Derek & Jesse getting above launch.
Chelan Flats 2014 Report - a huge 204 km task. Results here. 7/9/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. Becoming windy near noon. High 27. UV index 9 or very high. There was still a lot of snow on the hike up and it got a bit dangerous so Martin & Judy (driver) headed back down and only Kevin & Camilo launched after summitting.
Grouse Report - Justin K invited me to come fly Grouse today but I had no wing so I had to decline. But as it turned out, no glassoff was delivered instead a short sled ride. Chelan Flats 2014 Report - a short task to Coulee Dam was called in order to miss the smoke from several fires. Yesterdays task was called mid-flight due to smoke on course so no scores. About 40 pilots made goal including Andrew B & Jimmie O from Canada. Results here. 7/8/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. Fog patches over eastern sections early this morning. High 29. UV index 8 or very high. Dave L was out for his 5th & 6th high flight, doing well on the Geo 4 demo. He had one interesting landing as the bottom dropped out on him over the corn, too deep to make it into the grass. One more for the Cornhusker's Club! He had another nice flight following the tandems to Harvest Market for his last flight, after soaring the South Knoll and climbing out like a pro!
Pemberton Report - So the old car is holding together, I'm in Pemberton and having a great time on my super safe Buzz Z4. I am writing to tell you how safe it is, this is not just hype, the thermals in Pemby are wicked and unforgiving as well as rewarding. I hit 10,000 feet today and had several collapses. Each collapse popped out before I could even react, though it gave me the opportunity to use active piloting. So yes I had the best flight of my life and out climbed many on better wings but it was the safety that came into play at least seven or eight times. It wasn't just me but everyone was taking big hits. The idea is that you can tell other students just how freaking safe this Buzz Z4 is and how high you can go on a safe wing. Hope you are well, Rob Wilson and yes 10,000 feet for a newbie. 7/7/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny except cloudy near Hope early this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 28. UV index 9 or very high. Denis launch with the first passenger and had a nice launch. My passenger decided to stop running and was even pushing back a bit and we got into the air and then settled back on launch after bumping into the only rock on launch. He was okay and I took the wing back up and this time he ran as instructed and we got off before the end of the carpet. Pilots on launch thought we were off as it was a solid inflation and the initial run was good so they didn't even see us touch down. The rest of the day I was limping around as I pulled something in my knee but it is not swollen so I should be back to flying trim in a day or so. Kevin, Derek & Denis finished off the rest of the tandems today and Samuel got 2 more really nice flights with thermalling practice most of the day. Folks went to Bridal later in the day but didn't fly as they thought it was too windy but at Woodside it calmed down as NOAA/IBIS predicted. What was not predicted was the early outflow except in CanadaRASP. 2014 Chelan Flats Report - Nicole was reporting a good day with a diversionary task to avoid a wildfire area that is close to town. Most of the Canucks in goal today with a 102 km task! Tom M was a few metres short of goal, probably cursing his flight computer! Results here. Ozone's Team World Record Camp Report - the Ozone R&D team was in Texas attempting to break the current 502 km record set in South Africa in 2008. Cross Country's article here. Ozone's news report here. 7/6/14
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| Agassiz BC Cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers this morning. Clearing this afternoon. High 24. UV index 5 or moderate. We were able to do 6 tandems simultaneously around 1130 am, and then it started to drizzle so we called off the last 4 tandems as it looked unlikely we would fly in 2-3 hours.
Chelan Report - Nicole reported back that they had a good day with a 106 km task and many of the Canucks there made goal (or almost). A HREF = "http://www.flyxc.org/files/Sunday_Serial.html" target = "blank">Sunday's Chelan Results here 7/5/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. High 21. UV index 7 or high. John & Annette flew earlier and had a nice sleddy, Annette's favourite flights! New student Kelly had completed 2 hard days of ground school and tandems and was ready for his first two solo flights flying a new Gin Bolero 4 and he had good launches and solid landings! He was overwhelmed with glee as he drove back to Salt Spring Island. Denis & Derek & I flew a few sets each in very light conditions and the last set we arrived on launch just as a cell unloaded over launch. It was a short burst and no winds associated with the cell so when it cleared Denis took off, then Derek who flew east to avoid another rain cloud coming. I launched after the cloud passed by and had a nice dry flight out to Eagle Ranch and the ProCircle. John & Annette flew earlier and had a nice sleddy, Annette's favourite flights! We then headed to Vickie's "going away party" in Chilliwack on the west end of Chilliwack on a Fraser River estuary where I caught a nice glimpse of Mother Woodside from a different angle and it looked flyable still.
7/4/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly sunny. Increasing cloudiness this afternoon. High 22. UV index 8 or very high. Etienne was out test flying the Swift M and found some nice thermals at 10:30 am, staying in the air for an hour! Not bad for 15 flights!
We started flying tandems at noon and the lift was even better by then. Etienne & Martin were soaring the South Knoll with me before we all headed to Harvest Market.
The last tandems at 4 pm were phenonemal with lift to 1100 metres and smooth air above launch (not so nice at launch height) as the front was rolling into the Valley.
7/3/14
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| Agassiz BC Cloudy. Clearing this afternoon. Becoming windy late this morning. High 22. UV index 5 or moderate. I go to watch Kelly's progress on the new webcams though.
We had perfect launch cycles and everyone got off quickly and started soaring up to 1050 metres, flying wherever they wanted. Martin N, Derek & Kevin were "dukin' it out" near launch and Kevin's new M6 looked pretty good climbwise.
After everyone got off I drove down to get Colleen & my own gear, but by the time we got up there it was shuttng down and pilots were just maintaining but not high enough to top-land (except Kevin).
Colleen probably got 45 minutes on her flight and as suggested landing at the Big Circle is mosquito free as it is windier there. First Footage of Canada's First Ozone Mantra M6 from Kevin Ault on Vimeo. Ozone R&D Team is in Texas chasing records - Details here! 7/2/14
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| Agassiz BC Mainly cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers early this morning. Clearing near noon. Becoming windy late this morning. High 27 except 30 near Hope. UV index 8 or very high. They had nice flights but headed to Harvest because they were still convinced it would blow out. Nice conditions at Harvest Market at 130 pm. Sam & Martin N launched on their Rush 3 & Rush 4 and Martin of course went up high and Sam had to grovel for 40 minutes before landing at Riverside. Martin eventually did land at Riverside too after 1:40 when he got shaded out. Meanwhile, Tessa & I were kiting on the Training Hill at the Ranch and she is perfecting her reverse launches. She got picked up pretty high a few times in thermals and had one interesting landing (thank goodness for airbags). We went back up for the second set of tandems and launching went well after waiting for a lull and Denis was off and headed to the Ranch after getting low as the wind completely died?? What happened to the forecast?? We waited til 5:30 for Maggy and her group to arrive and it looked good in the telescope and we headed up. Denis took the heaviest passenger as it looked a bit windy when we arrived and they got off in a lull and soared around for 15 minutes before heading to Harvest Market. It got windier & windier and eventually I called the last two flights off as it looked too dangerous as the winds really picked up as Denis headed east. They had a nice landing and were all packed up when we arrived. The last tandem arrived at 730 pm, and we headed up after the sign in and no one was dressed very warm and we shivered on launch for 40 minutes waiting for the wind to calm down and then we launched and went straight up to 950 metres where we soared unti we saw the truck driving down and we headed to Harvest Market where we saw the sunset behind Woodside as we came over Cemetary Hill at 900 metres. Hmmm, how to lose lots of altitude smoothly? Lots of laps out over the flats and we landed in no wind at Harvest.
7/1/14
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| Agassiz BC Sunny. High 32. UV index 8 or very high. It was very lame conditions today and only Simon managed to stay up test flying his new Ozone Alpina 2. Thanks to Camilo for driving, and to Denis & Colleen for being Awesome Tandem Pilots in adverse conditions! The Ozone Chabre pilots had their first task today in Laragne, a 40 km task north to Aspres via a few TP. Alex Raymont reported arriving into goal first after leading most of the way, but as it was elapsed time and not a R2G he actually ended up 3rd for the day after hitting some shade and having to slow down. Fellow Canuck Mark Carter landed in Ventavon. Results of today's task can be found here . XROCKIEs 2014 is finished! And the Frenchies made it to the Mexican Border from Mackenzie Yukon all the way south on their Ozone Alpina 2s. |
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