FlyBC "Site of the Day" - March 2005 Archives
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| /1000' (unstable) | 2500 feet |
Woodside Report - rain and wind all day.|
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| /1000' (unstable) 3400 feet
Woodside Report - a strong day for wind and thermals! I arrived at 2:00 pm and Alan, Andy, Dan K, Kim S and Zach were already at cloudbase. Brett and I arrived at launch (thanks to Suja for driving) to watch Ivan launch. | It was very windy with gliders parked or going backwards, but that didn't faze Brett as he launched going backwards and sideways missing the trees! I waited for a calmer set of cycles as I got out the Keara to ensure I could penetrate. When I launched I climbed fast and was watching Zach doing some stunts (Zach Sats and spirals) always climbing back up afterwards. I got to 1500 meters just behind launch and having a fun flight being joined by 4 immature Bald Eagles that were buzzing me, with wings tucked from every direction just using me for target practice. No worries with a Gelvenor wing, they won't rip it! Alan was over the south knoll at about the same altitude, when we saw Zach spinning down and his reserve was being thrown. It took a long time for the reserve to fully deploy due to a cravatte and the resultant spins/spirals but he was soon under two canopies and heading downwind near one of the bottom clearcuts at KM2. I thought he was in the clearcut for sure, but he snagged a high tree and was secure and on the radio reporting "he was okay". Apparently he "pooched a full stall attempt" and got a cravatte! 
Zach's reserve and glider, sorry I couldn't zoom in more due to my height Nataliya and Alex drove down with Suja to see if they could help and Zach was at least 100 feet up and no branches to climb down after 60 feet and no tree rescue kit, so we called Search and Rescue through 911. I was still in the air over Harrison Mills at 900 meters trying to come down with ears and still climbing, but eventally landed at the Ranch and headed up with some gear. When I arrived at Zach's tree, he had his reserve and glider packed up in his bag and he threw it down to me. 
Zach's position 100 feet up the tree Justin and Darren arrived after flying in Savona, and Justin rigged up a throw line and got the line up to the 60 foot mark, and we pulled up a rescue kit to Zach. He free climbed to the rope kit and secured himself into the tree with webbing as we started discussing his best method to get down safely as the first of 40 SAR Techs arrived with Andy guiding them down and took over. This was now 5:00 pm, and Zach went in at 3:30 pm. 
Justin, Darren and the first SAR Techs on scene When we discussed our method of getting him down, the SAR Techs didn't like it so they sent for a tree climber with spurs to get up and help lower Zach down. This took a few more hours to get Dave (the tree guy) there, have all the ropes set up and finally get up to Zach. By now there were 4 trucks, 40 SAR techs, a TV Reporter and more gear than I thought possible. Even a generator to power lights if needed. Zach was lowered down safely, still in his harness and he was interviewed by Global TV and we climbed out back to the road and gave him a ride down to his car. I arrived home by 11:00 pm, to see the TV story "Hangglider rescued from Mount Woodside"! Those pesky hanggliders are always crashing! Good footage of the number of SAR Techs, and the lowering of the hangglider from his perch. It is reassuring to know we can call on professionals (Justin and SAR) to save us when we are flying Woodside. Thanks to Alex, Nataliya, Andy, Justin, Darren for sticking it out to get Zach out. Lesson learned, do not do acro over the trees at Woodside. Save it for Mara Lake. Savona Report - Justin and Darren went thru Chilliwack at 7:00 am and it was windy so they kept going to Savona and flew Deadman's Upper Launch. Justin flew for 1:30 and landed in a meadow to hike up 1.5 kms so Darren could fly. Darren hit 2000 meters with "ears on" and eventually landed at the Crash Pad. Both topped out at 2000 meters with climbs between 5-6 m/s and smooth air with little wind. Good call on heading there as it was pretty strong for Novices at Woodside as Alex and Nataliya decided not to launch even after 6:00 pm at Woodside. Bridal Report - not as good at Bridal, lots of sink flushed a number of pilots. You know it isn't going to be good there if Alan decides to fly Woodside.
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| /1000' (unstable) 2600 feet
Woodside Report - it looked flyable at times, but I did not get any pireps. Windy in Vancouver after 3:00 pm, but not too strong in Abbotsford/Agassiz. |
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| /1000' (unstable) 4620 feet
Woodside Report - despite gloomy conditions and forecasts, we kept looking at the mountain from Eagle Ranch and it brightened up around 4:00 pm. Light winds in the LZ and good cycles at launch (which was clear). | I talked Colleen into going up to fly her new Zoom Race, as she got ripped off and couldn't fly Elephant Hill on Sunday due to family commitments. We arrived at launch and the cycles were straight in at 15-20 kms/hr. Cloudbase not an issue, so off she flew and quickly climbed to cloudbase. After a few minutes of soaring she headed out to test the speedbar and "wang it around a bit". Unfortunately it started to sprinkle rain and she headed out to land near Stonehenge before it really started to dump.    Dallas Road Report - Bruce McG called to gloat about some soaring between storm cells at Dallas Road. No mention of others out with him, but he did get his feet in the air! Blatant Commercial Plug attached (warning): Gin Zoom Race demo flight: (copied from Zoom Race thread on paraglidingforum.com) The wing: Construction seems good and I can promise you I have put the new coated skinnies through some stress tests by launching in windy, rocky places like Horse Canyon. There were times when one of the lines grabbed a rock during inflation and managed to prevent the inflation without breaking..this speaks well for their durability. I'm pretty heavy at around 102kg clip in (the M tops at 105), but I've always like to fly loaded in the wing. I get a sense that the lines are longer than my current wing (Ozone Vulcan) as the glider seems to sit a couple feet higher above my head (I have not measured anything to be sure). My bet is that this gives it some extra stability during normal flight, but I'm still curious what the wing is like when you wind it up and throw it around. Launching: The wing pulls up fine with no tendency to overshoot. Thermalling: This wing is much more of a flat turner than my previous Gin wing (a Bandit) and my Vulcan. Very efficient flyer that responds well to a coordinated (weight shift and brake) turn without any tendency to dive. A little outer brake control was all I needed to keep centered once I was thermalling. It seemed to climb much better than another pilot next to me in a Gradient Bliss (but I'm not sure of place in the weight range). Transitions: Had a chance to test its glide on bar while making the Blossom to El Cap and back run. As noted in an above post, the sink rate does not seem to suffer much at full bar (maybe an extra 100'/min sink rate) with a substantial gain in speed. Stability does not seem to be comprimised much on bar. Overall: This wing is growing on me the more I fly it. It does nothing unexpected and seems very docile for its performance. I flew it in some windy, ratty conditions and it never suprised me . . . good feedback through the brakes prior to any loss of pressure and it seems pretty pitch and roll stable (although, I have not had a chance to test major induced collapses). I'm still hoping to compare it to a few other wings (Mustang, Tattoo, Sigma 6) before I make a decision to purchase. Big thanks to Jeff over at SuperFly for letting me demo it.........
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| /1000' (unstable) 4620 feet
Savona/Elephant Report - a well planned day unfolded.
| 09:00 am Breakfast in Cache Creek. 10:00 am Headed to Savona for East Ridge Soaring, everyone got in the air 12:00 am Went to Upper Launch at Savona, but it was blowing over the back 12:30 am Sunny towards Ashcroft so off to Elephant Hill 13:30 pm Launched off Elephant Hill. Wow!! This is when it got good! I launched off the East side at the top and started soaring out front, several hundred meters above the peak. Good thermals and strong east wind kept me pasted against the hill at times, but good climbs under cloudy skies. I got bold and ventured towards Ashcroft but lost the lift due to east wind crossing the ridge near town, and I was now in the venturi. I couldn't penetrate back to the designated LZ as I was light on the Kantega L, so I chose an LZ next to the Ashcroft Hospital to be close to town. As I landed my daughter drove up to retrieve me! Then Norm, Alex, Jeffrey and Ed (after 14 months off) all flew and got high and stayed up for a long time. Norm went missing for a bit as he flew over the back towards the cars, and I was headed to retrieve him and saw him coming over the field at about 100 meters, and then he got sucked up to cloudbase with out a single turn. He ended up landing on the east side after getting lifted back above the Hill. Estimated climb rate a sustained +5 m/s all the way to 'base! Everyone landed in the same field by the road to Ashcroft in mildly bouncy conditions at about 4:30 pm. 
Norm (top), Alex (bottom) and Ed (middle). Jeffrey had headed out to land due to a harness problem. 
Norm getting cloud-sucked fast! A few days ago, I asked this question: When you ask an instructor for a judgement call on the wind condition at a certain local launch . . . and they comment "You are the pilot, figure it out". Do they really want you to figure it out yourself or are they saying "You aren't paying me, so why should I help you"? Answer: As a pilot at launch, always ask a senior pilot or instructor what they think about the conditions. Without exception! We are all learning everytime we fly, conditions are always changing, and we fly different gliders at different sites. Do not be afraid to ask for a second opinion. Serious pilots and instructors will always offer up advice regardless of where you learned, it is in their best interest to keep to sport safe.
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| /1000' (unstable) 4620 feet
Savona Report - Jeffrey soared Elephant Hill early in the day, top-landing to get his car as he started to sink due to the wind switching directions. He was then met by Norm, Alex, and Natalyia at the Dump Ridge at Savona where we found them kiting. From there we went to Lower Launch (too windy), and then after a bit of a wild goose chase I launched off Upper Deadman's Launch and soared until dark landing at the housing subdivision below launch. Alex and Nataliya both flew too, but it was getting too dark for anyone else to fly. I was over the LZ and climbing up to launch height easily in nice smooth lift as the sun set. No Hangies were flying but they had good flights yesterday according to John McC. |  Savona just before sunset, looked like this all day!
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| /1000' (unstable) 4300 feet
Woodside Report - many pilots out for Good Friday. Andy and Nataliya showed everyone the A to Z's of staying up (Nataliya on Atis and Andy on Zoom), skying everyone out as they launched into the perfect soaring window, that others missed. | Thanks go to Norm, Garry and Ivan (Nataliya's son) for welding the Suburban frame back together, it should hold for another season of easy use up Woodside and Bridal with 12 of our "close, personal friends". Great social event at the Sasquatch later with many pilots that never stay out after flying joining in for food and drink. Question: When you ask an instructor for a judgement call on the wind condition at a certain local launch . . . and they comment "You are the pilot, figure it out". Do they really want you to figure it out yourself or are they saying "You aren't paying me, so why should I help you"?
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| /1000' (unstable) 6400 feet
Woodside Report - a great day at Woodside for all. Andy had over an hour flight before noon, landing at the Ranch to watch ne ground-handling with new student Stephen from Bellingham. There was an unidentifed blue glider above launch for a long time getting quite high and we thought it was Justin. He then disappeared so we thought he went XC. | We all went up to launch at 1:30 pm and heard the unidentified glider pilot trying to get his wing out of the trees north of launch! Good intro to the sport for Stephen. Stephen was kiting on launch as Andy launched and climbed to 1200 meters in a few minutes, then Barry launched and reports of smooth air prompted me to launch Stephen to follow Barry out. They both stayed in the air for about 20 minutes in super buoyant air, as the clouds moved in to shade the valley. Stephen has one more shorter flight later in the afternoon, and decided to forgo the last flight as it turned catabatic. But Barry, Alex and Natalyia both flew the last flight. Bridal Report - I talked to Alan at noon and Mark F and he were heading to Bridal. It was looking OD'ed already at noon, but later it cleared up as clouds came over Woodside. Mark headed to Hope and was picked up by Norm by Hwy 1, according to Bev (I assume Laidlaw). I overheard Robin and others at launch but many were driving down so it may have shutdown by then. Mark's Real Bridal Report - "No not Laidlaw!, I landed in the big field beside the Hope Airport. Was an awsome day, topped out at 2300 meters over Mount Barr." Fairly strong lift but not the rough type, 6.8 meters per sec max lift, left Hunter @ 1500 meters but still not high enough to make Hope Mountain, flew back to the Hope airport with about 20 km headwind. Alan was able to fly from Barr back to Ludwig then toplanded at lower bridal, very nice, never been done before, as far as I know. Very cold!! no pics. Early launch 1:15, with a little more patience it could have been a good XC, NEXT TIME!! - Mark F.
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| /1000' (unstable) 3750 feet
Woodside Report - another day of howling winds in the Fraser Valley. Everytime I checked Agassiz's winds it was 25-47 kms/hr and gusting. |
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| /1000' (unstable) 3400 feet
Woodside Report - gusting to 50 km/hr from the North all day. The CU forming in Vancouver looked good, but were being pushed fast from the North as well. |
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| /1000' (unstable), get your B-Stall technique ready! 3400 feet
Woodside Report - Andy flew two flights joined by many eagles, but landed early due to concerns over over-development. I arrived around 4:00 pm just as it started dumping hail and snow from a big cell over Eagle Ranch. |
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| /1000' (unstable) 2500 feet
Woodside Report - there was a flyable window late afternoon. Light winds at launch, clear of clouds and rain, but chores kept me on the ground. Monday is drying out, but Tuesday looks like the best day coming this week. |
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| /1000' (unstable) 2666 feet
Woodside Report - upper level wind forecast was off by several degrees (from the north). The high level cloud was definitely SW, but on the ground solid North winds. At launch Garry H waited for several hours but the up-cycles were too short and the down cycles were 20+ km/hr! Many kiters in Eagle Ranch, getting tuned up, but ultimately no one flew. |
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| /1000' (unstable) 2666 feet
Woodside Report - I arrived at the Ranch at 4:00 pm and no one was on launch or flying.
I couldn't even get anyone on the radio? And it was flyable. I drove to Joe's for a ride and he wasn't there,
so I drove up and Andy's Jeep was on launch. I finally saw Andy way own low, not getting anything as he flew out to land at Abe's field. Rather than risk a sled ride with no retrieve options, I drove down to get Andy. | Andy's radio was malfunctioning so he never heard me. We drove back to get his truck and it was coming in stronger so he talked me into a flight. Same flight, no lift except over the hill west of Joe's. 15 minutes airtime, packed up in light rain that started just after I landed at Abe's. No one else was out all day, and it was flyable all afternoon.
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| /1000' (unstable) 2666 feet
Woodside Report - when I arrived at the bottom of the mountain at Woodside, and we started loading up 8 pilots, Kevin A decided to head home because it looked lame. Low cloudbase, light winds, no birds.
| But we went up anyway, and as we arrived it was in fact light and lame, except there was a bird soaring the north ridge! Okay so we will send off Andy to check out the air (he has already logged 3 hours airtime today, so he can afford a sled ride). Andy was soon above the south knoll and Alex and Natalyia launched and climbed out too. Alex was actally above Natalyia for the first time in several months! The air was fat and smooth, lift everywhere. The other pilots that came up to retrieve their trucks, soon gave up on not flying and we were all in the air. Rob S climbed highest over the north ridge at 1000 meters, but there was lift everywhere. Rob had borrowed Derek's flight suit, but was forced to top-land to give it to Derek once Derek commited to fly. The rest of Robs flight was flown slow to reduce wind chill factor. I flew in below Rob on the north ridge and got all the way to the north side low but didn't climb out well. But didn't sink either, it just looks a long way from launch, except the Keara is so fast and glides so well, I didn't worry. We all flew around an hour and I decided to top-land to get the Suburban down, but Darren was in my approach path obviously deciding to top-land too. He dropped in softly halfway down the slope, as we had a beautiful smooth north wind coming across launch to slow the approach (not bad for a beginner pilot! But I did caution him that top-landing can lead to broken limbs). I dropped in right behind him and Rob S top-landed 10 minutes later to drive Derek's truck down as everyone flew out to land before dark. Later in the Sasquatch there were lots of big grins all around.
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| /1000' (unstable) 2400 feet
Woodside Report - raining in Chilliwack by 9:30 am. Never got really windy here, but a report from Comox from a new pilot indicated hail and snow on the Island.
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| /1000' (unstable) 4800 feet
Woodside Report - it looked so good on the WebCam that I had to head out from work after 2:30 pm.
Arrived at launch by 4:30 pm; to see Andy, Barry and Derek up high soaring all over the place.
Quite strong on launch, 20-30 km/hr - just the way I like it to launch the Keara.
Up I went, to join the boys on the North Ridge getting to 1000 meters but not above. Ridge with ratty thermals up to +5 m/s,
-5.0 m/s sink in places too! I was trying to talk Derek into a Chehalis XC flight but he thought it was too windy,
so went over the back straight for Agassiz. Too late for any lift, landing at 6:00 pm. Andy had flown to Agassiz twice in one day. Bev and Norm were out but didn't fly, preferring to go to work instead?
|  Derek at 900 meters over launch! Andy already headed east by now.  "Whoa, looks rough up there! Hold on tight Derek!" - Mark Fraser via email :-)
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| /1000' (unstable) 4800 feet
Woodside Report - I was in Chilliwack for the morning and when I arrived back I saw Colleen flying in on Martina's Allegra, after getting above launch early on. | Even Alan was soaring Woodside early, as Derek talked him into helping with the launch irrigation project. Of course, Andy was also helping lay out pipe. I worked until around 3:30 pm, then Colleen offered me a flight as Andy, Darren and Justin were already getting ready to fly. I arrived as Andy had just launched and the cloud cover was coming in. It didn't affect Andy as he climbed high on the south knoll, as Darren waited for the sun. I launched right after Darren and it was easy ridge soaring with the odd punchy thermal thrown in to keep you sharp. Darren and Justin both did a great job of "keeping the wings overhead", as they both flew for 1:30. Andy logged the most airtime at 2:00. We had a good time on the north ridge near the towers, but it was windy getting back out! I top-landed to drive one of the vehicles down as I found it too windy on my way to Eagle Ranch, but there were no keys! So I relaunched after discussing the keys with Andy and made it to the Ranch with plenty of height the second time. Bridal Report - Derek and Martina and Alan headed over to Bridal around 2:00 pm, joining Ivan and Larry. I overheard Ivan saying it was windy in the air. Alan later flew towards Gloria and bailed, getting back to launch low. Derek top-landed and then relaunched as Martina was driving down after kiting on launch for a while. Apparently the conditions at Woodside were stronger.
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| /1000' (stable) 4800 feet
Ashcroft Report - new students Julie and Mark got one flight off Coyote Hill before it got strong from the North, so we headed to Woodside hoping the forecasted winds to be westerly.
| Woodside Report - when we arrived Jim M was kiting in strong north winds, launch was cluttered with HGs and a few PGs, waiting for up-cycles. We decided to go kiting and had 10+ PGers kiting simultaneously in Eagle Ranch, very pretty. Everyone was doing very well despite the strong conditions (good practice, probably better than flying). Eventually three HGers flew and climbed high. Mark D and Garry H flew their PGs and got high too. It wasn't until later that Derek got off the mountain and the rest drove down as it was too leeside. 
Photo by Neil G. Bridal Report - Bridal was the place to be! Quite a few transmissions on the radio indicated good soaring conditions, and Alan was still in the air when we went up to retrieve vehicles around 5:00 pm.
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| /1000' (stable) 4800 feet
Ashcroft/Savona Report - the forecast called for the winds to die down in Savona,
but we had 40+ km winds all day, so we headed to Ashcroft after some kiting in the Savona school.
| We arrived at the top of Elephant Hill and it was still too strong, so we headed over to Coyote Hill behind the Ashcroft Manor and did some kiting on top. Justin and I managed to get a few flights and some thermally, ridge soaring with some top landings and side-hill landings (Justin's first or each). It was judged to be a bit strong for the beginners so we headed off to eat. Tomorrow promises to be better.  Photo by Ken Sigfusson, 1946 showing the antennae at the Forestry Camp (long abandoned) Woodside/Bridal Reort - Martina says we didn't miss much at Woodside . . . but Mark D was reported getting 2+ hours at Bridal, the best flight out of 30 other pilots.
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| /1000' (stable) 2300 feet
Woodside Report - Darren and Justin were out flying, but had left before I got a report. It was low cloudbase at 4:00 pm when I arrived, so I didn't bother heading up as the forecast soarable winds never materialized.
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| /1000' (unstable) 2300 feet
Woodside Report - Derek, Martina, Andy, Lee, Darren and Justin were all sledding at Woodside (some claim 20 minutes), before Derek talked the first three to go to Bridal. Bev and Norm flew together sometime before 2:00 pm. The latter stayed at Woodside and Justin showed me how to thermal with a small cravatte (apparently it makes a Fiesta climb better!). After spending 30 minutes watching the bottom of his wing, I flew out to try Abe's backyard. Interesting approach, similar to landing in the parking area at the Ranch, but less forgiving.
| Bridal Report - I received a message that the conditions were less than stellar at Bridal. Pretty much sledders too.
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| /1000' (unstable) 2300 feet
Woodside Report - it was Andy's day apparently! One hour of cloud surfing, while others had extended sled rides. I was headed out at 3:00 pm when the traffic made me reconsider my folly! Derek, Alan, Jack, and Andy all flew a few flights, nothing spectacular despite the development. I captured this picture on the new WebCam around 4:00 pm as the CU were decaying and it looked good.
|  Woodside from the FlyBC WebCam link above, today
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| /1000' (standard lapse rate) 5000 feet
Woodside Report - it was flyable from sunrise until about noon, when light rain started to fly. No one was flying, after the excellent flights the day before, as they were all at home gloating!
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| /1000' (standard lapse rate) 2750 feet
Woodside Report - we didn't get out to Woodside until 5:00 pm, and at first glance couldn't see anyone in the air?
That is because we were looking too low! | About 12 gliders in the air all at 1500 meters and still climbing in clear skies. We got to launch around 5:15 pm and Colleen launched first, but it was too late. There was a lifty layer above launch but nothing at or below launch height. This was confirmed when Ian J made a top-landing approach a bit high and overshot and was soon in Riverside. Ultimately, Nikolai flew 3:00 and top-landed, Nicole 2:00 and top-landed, Rob S 2:00 and top-landed, Andy (top of the stack and fastest according to Nikolai - on Zoom) flew to Agassiz at least once. Derek, Ihor, Larry, Jim M and several others I did not recognize all had fabulous flights. Nicole said she got tired of looking at the top of Ian's glider, particularly because it was so small, so far below :-)
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| but it is going to be leeside /1000' (standard lapse rate) 3750 feet
Woodside Report - Derek had a 45 minute flight, and a sledder. Martina flew. Bev didn't, but tried.
| Bridal Report - Derek & Alan & Martina were heading to Bridal for a flight around 3:30, so we met them up top and I flew off with Derek. Sledders, but good to see the launch is sprouting grass all over, and someone planted some small trees to control erosion (Rob?). Who left their wingtip in the snaggy tree at the LZ?? It is near the top of the tree, and there are lines attached to it? 
Derek getting ready to "pound it off" . . . downwind!
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| /1000' (unstable) 3750 feet
Ashcroft Report - we had major wind up here! Norm, Martina and Derek went up Elephant Hill and measured the wind at 82 km/hr! It blew hard all day right til dark.
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| between showers /1000' (unstable) 3750 feet
Woodside Report - Derek and Martina flew a few flights with Andy. Some light lift but nothing epic. But they were flying rather than working like you!
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Marion Evelyn Varcoe August 5th, 1927 - February 25, 2005 Our beautiful mother Marion passed away peacefully after a brief but difficult and painful struggle. She passed into the presence of the Lord surrounded by her loving children Colleen, Mavourneen and Kerry, and her grandchildren Aaron Jarman, Sarah and Dylan Ryan, daughter-in-law Kathy Varcoe, sons-in-law Jim Ryan and Jim Reich, and her priest, Reverend Ethel English. She was also survived by grandchildren Megan Reich LeBlanc and Alex Reich. She was predeceased by her son, Vance Emmett Varcoe and husband Sidney Edward Varcoe. Born in Killarney Manitoba on August 5th, 1927 to Elizabeth Tinney and Gideon Mosher, Marion graduated as a Registered Nurse from the Grace Hospital School of Nursing in Winnipeg in 1949. With brief breaks when her oldest three children were young, Marion worked as a nurse until her retirement from her supervisory role at Langley Memorial Hospital in about 1981. Mom was an amazingly loving and supportive mother and grandmother, instilling in us all a strong sense of the importance of family. She had a wonderful close relationship with her mother, and the tradition has continued. She loved all manner of flowers, plants and birds. She loved to sing, write stories and paint. Mom's adventurous, good hearted spirit and gleeful sense of humour will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her. A Memorial service will be held in Ashcroft BC, at St. Alban's Anglican Church on Saturday, March 5th at 1 pm. All are welcome to share memories and celebrate Mom’s life. Those who wish to make donations in her memory may do so to the Canadian Cancer Society.
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| /1000' (unstable) 3750 feet
Woodside Report - Andy flew earlier and landed at the Ranch around 11:00 am. | I had a few students start basic ground handling today and they did very well! We headed up around 1:30 pm to fly, and the students offered to drive a few cars down, while we flew. Norm went first and was soaring the South Knoll doing well, so Alan launched followed by the rest of us (Colleen, Darren, Andy, Jim, Derek). I logged 45 minutes but got cocky and made a few top-landing approaches while Nicole & Ian J were launching and eventually I got too low (it always happens when you leave lift). Alan logged his usual 2.5 hours+, many flights were over an hour and Derek and Colleen vied for highest altitude gain. Andy flew to Agassiz twice!
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| /1000' (unstable) 2250 feet
Woodside Report - no pilot reports. |
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| /1000' (unstable) 2550 feet
Woodside Report - Andy, Martina and Derek were up at launch spreading grass seed when the clouds cleared, unfortunately by the time Andy got his wing laid out it socked in again. Thanks to the guys for taking care of Woodside launch for all of us.
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| /1000' (unstable) 3000 feet
Woodside Report - beautiful conditions all morning.
We drove through rain on the way to Vancouver, but the WebCam showed sunny breaks over Woodside much of the day. Apparently Darren flew a few flights while Andy drove, sledders I guess?
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Picture taken at sunrise, Feb 28/2005 |
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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