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| Date | Site | Forecast | Precip. | Winds Aloft 3000 ft. | Comments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 1 | Stay Home one more day! | windy with rain | 90% POP | 170° at 45 knots |
See what happened this time last year November 2000 Site of the Day archives (great month for airtime!) Check the FlyBC Used Page for fall sale specials! We have many new gliders in stock.APCO Presta (all new DHV 1-2 glider) - with closed valve system new for 2002! New Pictures on the used page every day. November 28-30
| Stay Home and shovel the snow!
| snow this evening
| 90% POP
| 270° at 24 knots, standard lapse rate
|
Time to build an ark - Noah
| November 27
| Woodside
| showers, snow this evening
| 40% POP
| 150° at 5 knots, standard lapse rate
|
My pilots report:
Soared in my dreams . . . as I stared up at where I know the mountains are and watched the snow come down, Winter is upon us :(
Bev
| November 26
| Woodside may be working later
| showers
| 60% POP
| 210° at 18 knots, standard lapse rate
|
Woodside Report - Alan, Ihor and myself ended up at Woodside this afternoon with Samplonious showing up later. Alan launched first, then myself into strong ridge. We cloud surfed a while until
it picked up and it was full bar to get out to the LZ. Smooth flying but definately a bit strong. Rob bagged a flight too but flew almost straight out. Flights were 30-45 minutes - Ian J
| November 25
| Sumas in the morning, Woodside later
| a few showers
| 40% POP
| 120° at 8 knots, then 160° at 6 knots, lapse rate = 2.5°/1000 feet
|
Sumas Report - thanks to Glen and family for bringing in the ATV and hauling out all the carpet, estimated we had 1200 lbs of smelly rotting carpet when we unloaded Ian's truck last night. | We need to cut some more brush around launch with a brush-cutter weedwhacker and re-seed the launch area before it really snows hard. There was an inch or two at launch yesterday as we worked. Gabriel and some student types flew off Sumas in the rain earlier, but we decided to keep our gliders dry - Jim November 24
| Sumas in the morning, Woodside later
| a few showers
| 40% POP
| 120° at 18 knots
|
Sumas Report - we went to Sumas to fly, but the wind was howling through the trees and the birds were parked above launch, so we cut up the remaining carpet and bagged it up. We only removed 4 bags on the hike out and there are another 40 to bring out. Anyone with an ATV that wuld like to volunteer their time can call Jim at 604-618-5467 or Ian at 604-270-4120. Help the environment! | Matsqui Report - we flew paramotor at a local field. We heard complaints of someone else flying paramotors near Hwy 11 that had some local residents pretty upset cause they were buzzing some fields and scaring animals. If you know who this was, tell them to find another area to fly! November 23
| Woodside
| a few showers
| 30% POP
| 270° at 9 knots; | lapse rate -3°/1000 feet!
Woodside Report - a group headed to Woodside to meet around 1:30 pm, and drove through rain, hail and wind to meet at the bottom of Woodside. Allan D, Colleen, Ian, Nicole, Rob P, Mark D all flew solo in great ridge lift and Mark's buddy Chris from Kitchener went tandem with me. Bev forgot her flight suit so she drove down. Flights ranged from 25 minutes to 2+ hours, as I saw Allan trying to top land at 4:30 pm. Some rain fell on the higher pilots, but there was sun in the LZ and various places on the mountain. | Truly a magic day! - Jim November 22
| Woodside
| rain, tapering to a few showers
| 100% POP
| 320° at 12 knots, WIND WARNINGS in Whistler and on the coast!
|
Forecast was wrong, Allan said it was rainy and low clouds all day at Woodside - Jim
| November 21
| Stay Home
| rain
| 100% POP
| 150° at 22 knots, WIND WARNINGS everwhere!
|
UUUUUGHHH!
| November 20
| Stay Home
| rain
| 100% POP
| 150° at 49 knots, WIND WARNINGS everwhere!
|
West Coast Soaring Club elects new Directors | Margit Nance - President (PG) Charles Mathieson, Sec/Treasurer (HG/PG) - umpteenth term Dan Keen, Webmaster/Editor (HG) - fourth term Kelly Rand, Comp Director (PG) Bev Lawlor, Membership Director (PG) - second term Robin Sather, Safety Director (PG) Rob Samplonious, Site Director (PG) Nicole McLearn, Social Director (PG) - second term Congratulations to the new Directors, please support them in their efforts to develop safe soaring in our area! November 19
| Stay Home
| rain
| 100% POP
| 190° at 35 knots, forecast to be reduced in mid-day
|
Power outages in White Rock, heavy rain everywhere else . . . Welcome to winter flying in BC!
| November 18
| Sumas
| sunny
| 0% POP
| 140° at 28 knots, forecast to be reduced in mid-day
|
Sumas Report - we arrived to moderate conditions, but elected to visit the hangies at the HG launch for a second opinion and watched Greg B, John, and Charles M launch into 35 km+ SE winds and go straight up! It was more sheltered at the PG launch and we weren't getting a true reading. So we bailed and drove down for lunch. | After lunch we noticed the wind had dropped so we headed up again for another try. Nicole, Ian J, Rob P, and I launched into still moderate SE conditions and got between 30-60 minute flights. I landed just before dark in light winds in the LZ. - Jim November 17
| Sumas
| sunny
| 0% POP
| 080° at 23 knots
|
Sumas Report - Delvin and I flew Sumas with similar results, rough air close in with little lift because the wind was too cross. Estimated wind speed was 35-40 kms as I was headed backwards towards Abbotsford (with bar)! No one else flew - Jim | Paramotor Report - these are the days when a paramotor is excellent fun. Launched the Chunky Monkey motor with the Octane L in light NE winds and flew over Yarrow for a while. Nice view of the valley, unencumbered by launch conditions. Buzzed the crowd of para-spectators before landing. Modified clip-in points are working very well, glider clips in in normal location and the motor floats behind the pilot without vibration. Pictures later. Grouse Report - Russ, Heino, Justin and 3 others flew Grouse in light winds. Some small thermals, they had to land on the side hill because there were soccer games going in both fields. Interesting how different the wind is between Sumas and Grouse despite the close proximity and layout of the sites. November 16
| Woodside in the PM
| sunny breaks in the PM
| 60% POP
| 300° at 12 knots
|
Woodside Report - Ian, Ihor, and Allan were at Woodside and I went over there after class. They didn't fly, but I did a smooth relaxing flight over to the Best field. It was great!!!
I love It!!!
Ian picked me up over at the Best field and Allan drove the roo for me. I did get light lift on my way out but nothing to turn in and stay up. btw The cross ditches are back in - Bev
| November 15
| Stay Home
| rain later
| 40% POP
| 230° at 15 knots
|
rainy all day :-(
| November 14
| Stay Home
| rain later
| 40% POP
| 230° at 15 knots
|
rainy :-(
| November 13
| Stay Home
| rain later, locally windy 30-50 kms forecasted on the ground
| 40% POP
| 230° at 15 knots
|
Landing Field Options at Woodside: | 1. CrashPad (or Riverside LZ) is safe in strong winds so far, we have landed there in gusty conditions and experienced no rotor if landing in the NE part of the LZ near the hiking trail exit. 2. Bill Best's Field - originally we contacted Bill in the spring after the Woodside closure to set up a deal (with Bill's permission) to land there. He allowed us to do test flights this season and we have had 30 pilots into this field ranging from low airtime pilots flying DHV I paragliders to Advanced pilots flying DHV 2-3 paragliders (also some hanggliders have landed there too, only one un-named paraglider pilot failed to make the glide out this season). Beware the rotor from the trees on the south side of the field, set up over the north side in SW winds. Bill will be charging us next year so try out the field. Bail out options include the Dike that borders the Harrison River, and the road that connects the dike to Hwy 7 (private road). There are power lines that border the private road to the dike. November 12
| Stay Home
| rain, locally windy
| 80% POP
| 170° at 30 knots
|
Whidbey Report - some thought Whidbey might work, but it was 28 knots, gusting to 31 most of the day.
| November 11
| Sumas
| clear, rain in the PM
| 40% POP
| 150° at 24 knots
|
Sumas Report - the upper level wind forecast was wrong again, smoke going straight up in the valley so the clan headed to Woodside as it was starting to rain at Sumas. | Woodside Report - 7 paraglider pilots flew woodside in light lee conditions landing in Bill Best's field. November 10
| Sumas
| clear
| 0% POP
| 150° at 21 knots
|
Sumas Report - Colleen and Ian J had great flights, even thermalling a while at Sumas today.
| Elk Mtn. Report - ridge soaring in 20-30 kmph SSE winds, lift up to 3m/s, Kevin Ault max altitude & distance getting close to 2000 m @ Thurston peak, Carl had the longest flight = over 3 hours, Charles M. had his first flight off Elk, other pilots: Rob S., Ivan T., Eddy S., Chris H. & dog, Tom H., and Alan D. who had the shortest flight(15mins) due to a severe line tangle - Rob Samplonious November 9
| Woodside
| clear
| 0% POP
| 200° at 9 knots
|
Woodside Reports - sled rides for everyone.
| November 8
| Woodside
| clear
| 0% POP
| 200° at 9 knots
|
Sled rides again.
| November 7
| Woodside
| clear
| 0% POP
| 240° at 10 knots
|
I couldn't update the page today, sorry. No internet connections where I was in Toronto.
| November 6
| Woodside | (its a long shot) showers in the AM
| 30% POP
| 240° at 10 knots
|
Woodside Report - Bev said it looked sunny and no wind in Hope, but she had to go to school so no flying for her.
| Island Report - For once, it has been better to be trying to fly on the Island. A lot better. Jayson flew Skirt as long as he wanted to today, in light thermals getting 400 feet over launch. Skirt Mountain LZ is 15 minutes from downtown Victoria, the Launch is a 30 minute walk from there, or a 10 minute drive (in nothing less than the banana truck). Then he went and flew Dallas - Jim November 5
| Woodside
| showers in the AM
| 30% POP
| 240° at 10 knots
|
Did anyone fly or try to fly? Ian J says it looked skunked out, but it was sunny in Toronto - Jim
| November 4
| Stay Home
| showers in the AM
| 80% POP
| ??
|
Rained all day in Agassiz. | November 3
| Woodside
| showers in the AM
| 40% POP
| 170° at 12 knots, soarable
|
Elk Report - Kevin Ault had the flight of the day! 1:20 soaring in strong lift. Mark, Allan, Kevin, Ivan and other hiked up to Elk and had good flights in SE winds. | Sumas Report - blowing N all day, we headed to Woodside. Bridal Report - we saw someone flying off Bridal at 2:30 pm, not soaring though! Woodside Report - sled rides into the Best field for 6 PG pilots. No wind launches, no soaring. Didn't want to hike out of the Crash Pad. November 2
| Woodside | (if you have nothing better to do than hang out waiting for the cycles) showers in the AM
| 40% POP
| 170° at 12 knots, soarable
|
Woodside Report - lots of pilots at Woodside today. Allan D got 29 minutes scratching in light lift, but mostly sledders.
| November 1
| Woodside
| rain tapering to showers in the PM
| 60% POP
| 220° at 12 knots, soarable
|
Looked windy and rainy so I don't think any one flew. I got the Upper Level Winds from the early report and after 8:00 am they reforecasted 220@20 knots. Even the airlines were having problems penetrating west as they were all running late! - Jim
| October 31
| Whidbey Island
| Winds southwesterly 25 to gales 35 knots easing to southwest 15 this afternoon.
| 30% POP
| 240° at 15 knots
|
Another no fly day, Ian J headed with a group to Woodside as the forecast west winds never materialized at Whidbey. Woodside was blown out at 40 k/hr +. Oddly Blanchard was on all afternoon with south winds - Jim
| |
October 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, but great flying at Chelan at the Women's Fly In.
