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What's new around the Vancouver Flying scene. | Date | Site | Forecast | Precip. | Winds Aloft 3000 ft. | Comments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| July 31 | Golden BC | Sunny, highs to 30°C | 0% POP | 290° at 9 knots | Golden Report - we waited on launch for several hours and it started to look good as pilots climbed out above launch. I crossed the first gap low and climbed out on Pagliaro as I headed south in really strong lift at times. I heard Colleen behind me talking to someone else. I then heard a report of "Paraglider in the Trees!" but not the position as I headed south towards Parson. I started to lose the sun and didn't want to backtrack so I headed out over the flats finding a nice thermal that took me further south. I found a large field by the highway and as I approached noted a HG and several PGers packing up. I landed at 30 kms with Tihi, Bernard, Keith and Russell. They all claimed to be there because Max was in the trees on the mountain to the east. Max was okay but his glider had a few stab wounds. He was back in the air on a loaner ship for the balance of the Willi. As we waited for a ride we noticed a bright orange glider up high boogying south at a great rate, which turned out to be Nicole on her way to logging a 90 kms flight! Andrea and Alex R made it to 90 kms that day also! July 30
| Golden BC
| Sunny, highs to 30°C
| 0% POP
| 260° at 9 knots
| Golden Report - it rained in the afternoon.
| July 29
| Golden BC
| Sunny, highs to 30°C
| 0% POP
| 280° at 9 knots
| Golden Report - it rained in the afternoon but cleared for evening sledders to the campground.
| July 28
| Golden BC
| Sunny, highs to 30°C
| 0% POP
| 280° at 11 knots
| Golden Report - we arrived as it started raining but Jayson had gone 60 kms earlier, as others hit the deck in Nicholson.
| July 27
| Golden BC
| Sunny, highs to 30°C
| 0% POP (we hope)
| 280° at 11 knots
| Lumby Report - should read "Lumpy Report!". Norm and Nicole flew and got tossed about and others decided not to fly. Ian J was headed towards Golden in the rain - Jim
| July 26
| Bridal Falls
| Sunny, highs to 25°C
| 0% POP
| 280° at 11 knots
|
Looked windy, but no pireps!
| July 25
| Bridal Falls
| Cloudy in the AM, then sunny
| 0% POP
| 250° at 10 knots
| Bridal Report - Frank, Dean and myself launched around 5pm at Bridal Lower. Valley winds were strong, lift was smooth for a while then turned weird with turbulant lift below launch. Alan logged a couple of hours, the rest of us about an hour - Ian J.
| Grouse Report - Grouse was real nice today, Russ, Rob and I did 11 tandems today. Shannon and Ian P. got high over launch for some time. Great day! Glen T. July 24
| Bridal Falls
| Cloudy in the AM, then sunny
| 10% POP
| 270° at 8 knots
| Bridal Report - I flew over on WestJet at 8:00 pm - did anyone fly?
| July 23
| Bridal Falls
| Cloudy in the AM, then sunny
| 10% POP
| 290° at 10 knots
| Woodside Report - Norm, Ian, Nicole and Lars flew Woodside (testing the new LZ) and got a couple hours of airtime - Jim
| July 22
| Blanchard WA
| Cloudy
| 40% POP
| 290° at 9 knots
| Blanchard Report - a great teaching day with some students getting 5 high flights. Ian J got 30 minutes soaring the west side, but it was mostly sled rides. | Bridal Report - it cleared up around 3:30 pm and Kevin A was seen soaring lower launch according to radio reports. Woodside Test Reports - Allan D, Rob S and Norm were soaring Woodside. No reports on the landing conditions when Bev called me, 'cause the boys were still soaring. The trail is getting better, but bring flagging tape and small folding saws to clear as you walk out. Don't forget to call Lars Taylor at 222-7894 to inform him of your test flights (intermediate/advanced only please!). July 21
| Bridal Lower
| Sunny with cloudy periods
| 30% POP
| 290° at 8 knots
| Hemlock Report - we flew students from the Green Chair run into the LZ for a few hours until it started raining :-( | We then headed to Bridal to go to Upper Launch but got the report that it was socked in. Ian J, Mark F and Allen D were headed to fly a test flight at Woodside. Roman and Jan Karnik had already done their test flights earlier. Bridal Report - Great day for ground school and some kiting, but launch was obscured (upper and lower). We kited until 4:30 pm, then headed back with Bev and Norm and Jack to do some trail work at the proposed Woodside LZ. The trail is getting better, but bring flagging tape and small folding saws to clear as you walk out. Don't forget to call Lars Taylor at 222-7894 to inform him of your test flights (intermediate/advanced only please!). July 20
| Bridal Lower
| Sunny with cloudy periods
| 30% POP
| 290° at 8 knots
| Bridal Report - the valley winds kicked in strong and pilots didn't launch until 6:30 pm. Short flights of 40 minutes reported. Winds at Chilliwack reporting 12-18 knots. | Woodside Report - Colleen and I "took one for the team" yesterday at Woodside. We worked until 6:00 pm, then raced out to do a test flight, disheartened by the strong winds, but we kept going. As we arrived at launch, the windtalker reported 270° at 10 knots and Colleen launched first. And she went up. I launched and also went up and in thermals (at 7:45 pm) we were going backwards. We could have soared all night! But we were there to test the "proposed LZ" and so we headed out. I measured 35+ kms/hr wind speed as I flew over the LZ at near launch height. The air was turbulent in places, and super-smooth in other places. It took a long time to get out 30 minutes or more and I flew upwind past the Duncan's main farm over the river thinking this would be the smoothest. It wasn't! The river had lots of wind lines all indicating SW wind. All the way down to 100 meters was busy keeping the glider stable over my head (but not as bad as I expected). At one time I started coring a thermal off a sandbar and climbed quite nicely before breaking off to head over to the LZ. The approach was a modified aircraft approach with many figure 8's thrown in at the end, into a smooth no wind landing. Weird air above as can be expected due to mechanical turbulence at Woodside, but the last 100 meters was super smooth and buoyant. But we had to run out the landing. If you plan to fly, take flagging tape to mark the trail out to the highway. We missed a few key spots and it is possible to get lost. Also take a folding saw and improve the trail as you leave. It is getting better every hike out. Colleen and I followed the procedure and called Lars at 222-7894 before we flew Woodside. Please give the Duncan's the courtesy of a call to Lars. July 19
| Blanchard WA
| Cloudy, ceiling 5500 feet currently
| 40% POP
| 230° at 6 knots
| Bridal Report - Russ Ondeck and Doug Beer flew Blanchard, Jack C. got his first 2 Blanchard flights but there was little lift - Jim | Pilots flying Mara (Skyline launch) and Sicamous are not to land in the Crystal Sands Resort property at any time. This property is located on the South shore of Mara Lake & is strictly private property i.e. it is not open to the public. July 18
| Whidbey Island
| Cloudy, ceiling 6500 feet currently
| 40% POP
| 300° at 6 knots
| Woodside test flight reports - The WCSC Executive has arranged for test flights only into the proposed Woodside LZ. | This LZ is 1.86 km south of Woodside Launch for a 2.5 to 1 glide. The LZ is surrounded by trees on all sides and is 1500 feet x 500 feet approximate size.  Note the nice sink rate (-0.9 m/s) on the Simba (blatant commercial plug). Flight conditions were soarable for 20 minute flights with a wind speed at launch of 20+ kms/hr. Some thermals bringing up fluff along the ridge. Wind speeds measured by Brauniger IQ-COMP/GPS were 240°at 20 kms at 300 meters and 240°at 14 kms just prior to landing (which was no wind/run like hell landings). No sticky boots allowed.  The LZ has been roughly mowed but there are lots of sticks and brambles left on the ground. We need a work party to clear this area and remove the sticks. There is no road in to this LZ but a rough hiking trail has been cut that leaves from the NE corner of the field. It has been flagged but take a folding saw to improve the trail as you leave. To gain approval to fly a test flight you must call Lars Taylor at 222-7894 to inform the Duncan's that we are likely to be flying in to this test field. July 17
| Blanchard WA
| Cloudy, ceiling 5500 feet currently
| 40% POP
| 230° at 6 knots
| Who flew?
| July 16
| Stay Home
| Cloudy, rain
| 100% POP
| 250° at 7 knots
| I only saw the sun once around 4:30 pm, in Burnaby. Not a fly-day - Jim
| July 15
| Whidbey Island
| Cloudy
| 50% POP
| 260° at 10 knots,coastal forecast shows W at 10-15 knots in the PM
| Bridal Report - we arrived with students at 10:00 am and Colleen and Matt flew before it started to rain. Cloudbase was just above launch height, but the weather pushed in. | July 14
| Bridal
| Cloudy in the AM, Sunny PM, highs to 22°C
| 30% POP
| 290° at 10 knots
| Hemlock Report - we flew students off the Green Chair all morning before heading to Bridal at 4:00 pm. Derek is a new student and he was above launch on his first flight, getting some bumps but kept the glider flying smoothly.
| Bridal Report - pilots flew for 2 hours +, some top landings to drive down vehicles. It was too windy for students (12-18 knots at Chilliwack), then it was too light to launch at 7:00 pm. July 13
| Bridal
| Sunny
| 0% POP
| light and variable
|
Bridal Report - when I flew over at 6:30 pm, it looked blown out. Did anyone fly? | Pembie Report - Jim Orava and I scrambled to decide on a good site - as the winds were strong east at 9am ! We chose the Currie bump and had excellent results - nice climb to about 4000' in thermal and convergence. Things got a little dicey after an hour so we XC'd across to the airport. We called it right as things really turned on - so I jumped in the glider and flew to Hurly over to Whistler and back up at 10000' awesome day !!! Cheers - Derek July 12
| Bridal/Grouse
| Sunny, highs to 26°C
| 0% POP
| light and variable
| Calgary Report - Alex R spotted soaring at Nose Hill, when it was too strong for students - Jim
| July 11
| Bridal/Grouse
| Sunny, highs to 26°C
| 0% POP
| 280° at 6 knots
|
Bridal Report - "another one bites the dust", a pilot launched despite a huge asymmetric and crashed 30 meters to the right of lower launch, apparently cracking his ankle. Pilots must have their wings under control on this launch site! The dip on launch can cause a wing to unload and surge into a collapse. If it is not feeling good, abort! - Jim
| July 10
| Bridal/Grouse
| Sunny, highs to 26°C
| 0% POP
| 270° at 7 knots, a ridge of high pressure is pushing in from the NW. Strong valley winds may kick in!
| Bridal Report - Mark Fraser logged 3 hours landing at 7:30 pm, we arrived too late to get above launch but Colleen and Ed flew and had nice flights - Jim
| Grouse Gloat Report - Myself Justin,Tom Clark,Josef went up to launch. Nice cycles still coming up at 6.45 pm. Launched into "ratt crap" over the cliffs and got tired of fixing collapses and headed down to the bottom of the cut.Scratched around there for a bit and hooked into 3.5m/s up and took the ride to stay above launch for about one hour total flight time. A bit bumpy but very nice fat lift, flew out with 900+ meters over the l.z. and boated around in yet again more rock and roll over the houses with some bubbles over the l.z. Too much fun!!!! - "Gimpy" McEachryn July 9
| Bridal/Grouse
| Sunny, highs to 30°C
| 0% POP
| light and variable
| Grouse Report - Brett, Shannon, Joseph and I thermalled above the cliffs getting above launch for about 1 hour. When you ventured back from the cliffs it was sinky everywhere else. The landing zone (LZ) is getting more stable and it is much safer with the fence down - Jim R. | Bridal Report - none July 8
| Mara Lake BC
| Sunny with cloudy periods
| 0% POP
| light and variable
| Mara Report - We started the Safety Clinic in the morning and Brent had a great set of maneuvers: Spin 360°, recover into a cravate, countered the cravate, popped out the cravate, into a great spiral and straight to the LZ in Crystal Sands resort. South winds kicked in suspending our maneuvers flights in the afternoon, so we all went flying! Norm climbed to 7,000 feet. I took off upwind towards Enderby and made it to the ridge behind the Enderby cliffs and headed back rather than risk flying through the rotor, no problem landing back at the normal LZ. 3 HGs and 5 PGs were all that flew in the afternoon. | Grouse Report - the flying was excellent. I made two trips back to Crown - Peter July 7
| Mara Lake BC
| Sunny with cloudy periods
| 0% POP
| light and variable
| Mara Report - the SIV clinic went off well. Ten attendees including Diane and Ed who aren't yet signed off but were able to go through B-stall, full frontal collapse, asymetrics and spirals. Everyone seemed very pleased with the flights they had and they were able to do 3-4 sets of maneuvers each flight because it was very buoyant in the air. Aaron got in two flights as well (we are losing a driver).
| July 6
| Bridal
| Sunny
| 0% POP
| 270° at 7 knots
| Bridal Report - we drove by the LZ at 6:30 pm on the way to Mara Lake and the wind was strong and no cars were visible in the LZ. Blown out!
| July 5
| Whidbey Island
| A ridge of high pressure is moving through causing moderate to high winds at elevation, may be too windy at Bridal.
| 0% POP
| 290° at 14 knots
| Windy on the coast all day. Chilliwack windtalker was calling 12-18 knots all afternoon, no pireps.
| Bridal Report - Allan D said it was blown out all day - Jim July 4
| Bridal/Grouse
| decent lapse rate - Valley at 27° and 6000' temp of 11° = 3°C per 1000 feet
| 0% POP
| 290° at 8 knots
| Bridal Report - Allan D said it was blown out all day - Jim July 3
| Bridal
| normal lapse rate - Valley at 30° and 6000' temp of 16° = 2°C per 1000 feet
| 0% POP
| light and variable, but valley winds may pick up!
| Bridal Report - Glen Taylor didn't want to tell us that Bridal was soarable yet again. But he said it was ratty and he had to top-land to eat his sandwich.
| Grouse Report - the fence was removed from the LZ and it is now ready for HGers to fly. The trees should be topped in a few weeks. Thanks to the crew that did the work; Bill Picha (crew Chief), Noel, Glen, Justin, Thomm, Russ, Miguel, Aaron, Darryl S., Steve T. - Jim July 2
| Bridal
| decent lapse rate - Valley at 26° and 6000' temp of 9° = nearly 3°C per 1000 feet!
| 0% POP
| 290° at 8 knots, valley winds be less than yesterday in the afternoon.
|
Bridal Report - it was good. Very Good! See attached picture of Top Landing Club at the Upper Launch. Ian Porter made it to Hope airport, Thomas Hasek almost made it to Hope too, after top-landing upper and re-launching. |  Grouse Report - Grouse was real nice today, Miguel (Mike) and I did 7 tandems. Peter Graf had a couple good flights, one solo and one tandem, he got a couple hours. Mark D. had a 2 hour flight at the end of the day. It was coming up real nice at launch for a change all day - Glen T. July 1
| Bridal
| sunny breaks in the PM, decent lapse rate!
| 0% POP
| 290° at 5 knots, valley winds will kick in in the afternoon.
| Happy Birthday Canada! |  Bridal Report - too much to list. Pilots (including Lars) flew from Upper after waiting in the clouds for several hours, 2 flat tires on the vehicles that went up the back. Many pilots at lower launch, some our students who did fabulous launches! Some personal best flights with Monica (6:15) edging Ian J (5:45) out of SkyPig of the Day awards. Ian J top-landed 5 or 6 times (I lost track). Lots of other top-landing by pilots that drove their trucks to lower launch. Bridal was on! - Jim |
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!
