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FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives" - November/2010
Woodside is getting heavy rans today but the weekend is looking good!
“Education is what you get when you read the fine print.
Experience is what you get when you don't"
Pete Seeger
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Coaches Corner for November 30/2010 -Woodside is getting rained out til Thursday. | I had to drain the barn plumbing last week so no fancy bathroom, just the outhouse til the Christmas Party unless it warms up. The weather forecast for Christmas Party Saturday looks good, so plan to bring a wing and fly til dark . . . or later. until the FlyBC/WCSC Christmas/End of Year Party on December 4th - Hawaiian Theme - all pilots welcome. We secured an alternate band for the event as Head over Heels was previously engaged. H1N1 has a solid dance beat & a rich blend of vocal harmonies. You’ll be on your feet all night long dancing and singing to your favourite classic rock tunes. From the Beatles to Kings of Leon, there’s music for everyone. Tap your feet, sing out loud and enjoy an evening with H1N1. For more information and upcoming events follow the link. H1N1 on MySpace Free camping, bring your RV or trailer and spend the weekend. Many folks are bringing their campers already!  Click here to find out more about FlyBC's Mexican Tour staring on December 12, 2010 running through til Feb 15, 2011 . or Click here to see the FlyBC's Mexican Tour Picasa Album We sell and dispense ADRENALINE here at FlyBC. The best "over-the-counter cure" for weekday/workday boredom. Click here to find out why FlyBC is your "best and only" choice for paraglider/paramotor training. . We are authorized dealers for Ozone, SkyCountry, Gin, Nova, Advance, APCO, Wills Wing and many other Brands. Flytec 6015 Integrated Vario/GPS in stock now for $649 PLUS HST. The Ozone Delta XS, S, M, L & XL are now available for ordering! Test flights for Gin Rebel, Sky Country Discovery III, Addict II XS and more are being conducted now, so sign up.
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Valley Report - it looked flyable early but I was doing errands and chores. Snow line was at about 1500 feet but expected to rise above 4600 feet today and thru the weekend so bring your wing on Friday and Saturday so we can fly before the party! | 
FlyBC JDC Porosimeter - we purchased a JDC Porosimeter for required DHV Glider testing. Many pilots retire their gliders after a few years as they suspect the fabric to be porose. The JDC Porosimeter does a scientific test on the fabric and determine the degree of porosity by measuring the time it takes to pull .25 litres of air thru a 35 c/m area. New glider cloth - 400 seconds. If a glider reaches 10 seconds it is considered unserviceable. We are offering a free porosity test during November 2010. A full Paraglider Testing Service with porosity testing, line stretching and cell cleaning and inspection will cost $100. This should be done annually, best in the spring after wet winter flying is completed. 
Testing Lee's new SkyCountry Discovery III with the JDC Porosimeter - photo by JPR 
Inspecting Tonya's SkyCountry SCorpion on the FlyBC Glider Rack - photo by JPR
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Woodside Report - I spent the day cleaning the hay loft for the Party coming up Dec 4, and with Mark T & Colleen's help we raised the chimney another section to help vent the fireplace in North winds. It was cold handing off the roof to install the bracing for the chimney! | Elk Gloat Report - 10:30 am Sunday, November 28. Paparazzi Twizzler and Biff Romulus hiked up Elk on Sunday arriving at the top to experience a temperature of -8C not counting the windchill. We had wings but didn't have much hope of flying since clouds obscured the LZ so we strapped on our snowshoes and hiked over to Thurston in snow that at times was crotch deep even with snowshoes. Enroute back to Elk, we had improving visibility and arriving back at the launch at 3:00 pm. We were given not only the gift of flight, but we also soared in the perfect 10 km/hr wind for about ten minutes - long enough for Papa to do a top landing. I was cruising back and forth observing a fresh wave of fog or cloud heading toward Eddy's place so I pulled ears for 70% of the flight and landed with good vis. Daryl made it to the LZ several minutes later with significantly less to see. Oh well... great flight anyway - Biff Belated Saturday Elk Gloat Report - Pulled off a great xc flight from Elk to Mt Thom yesterday. The forecast was not good at all but woke up in the morning with cloud drowning the valley with Mt Elk poking clear from the cloud layer and topped up with snow. Christine drove me to head of the trail and proceeded to hike up. Snow at the top is now waist high and had to push hard break trail. Although is was starting to fog and sprinkle snow at the launch and Eddy's LZ field in Ryder was socked in, I could see the Fraser Valley. So with that, frozen fingers and a stomped down running path I launched my trusty Ozone Swift. I flew to Prest Road (Chilliwack) with plenty of height continued to Mt Thom, bobbed around landed. Nice caper for an unexpected no fly day. We are now into winter flying, fly in snow or go to Mexico - Brad
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Woodside Report -only Gerry L showed up around noon, and ahe waited a while and then left just as the mountain cleared. It was flyable the rest of the afternoon but the fields are wet so we stayed inside and painted and did inside chores. |
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Woodside Report - it may have been flyable today early but it started snowing and raining after 2 pm. We are not sure how the road is or launch after all the storms? |
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Snow Report - an interesting drive out today as many cars were in the ditch on Hwy 1. The new Suburban worked well and 4WD was needed many times and I can report it worked well. |
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Woodside Report - it was cold but probably flyable as Ian J flew in with his Rans Coyote Ultralight and reported light outflow winds. Chris B wrote his Novice Exam and passe with "flying colours", soon to be signed off if we can get him a few more flights before 2011. |
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Woodside Report - more howling outflow winds, good day to deliver new gliders and do errands. | This cold front will stay til Friday when it starts raining . . . so we may have to travel inland to Princeton or Hedley Mexico Touring is sounding pretty nice at this point!
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Merritt Report - the nice grass slopes we were flying off last week are now covered in snow. -19C on the Coquihalla Hwy and icy yesterday. More cold weather to come this week. |
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Fraser Valley Report - we never left the house all day, howling north winds and the fire was keeping us warm indoors. This cold front will stay til Friday when it starts raining . . . Mexico is sounding pretty nice at this point! |
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Woodside Report - another windy and cold day at the Ranch. This cold front looks like it is staying around until Wednesday. It seems to be affecting Northern California as well as I was looking for a place to run to but everywhere is cold & stormy? |
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Woodside Report - it howled from the NE all day long. It looks cold for about a week according to all forecasts. | When we came back from dinner in Agassiz the lights were out in Harrison Mills and I had to fire up the generator for 3 hours to watch a movie with the grandkids.
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Woodside Report - it looked flyable when I went to Abbotsford for errands, and when I arrived back at the Ranch at 12:30 pm, it had started raining and a band of clouds obscured launch. | Chile Gloat Report - Been in Chile about a week. Never rains, and if it did the city would fall apart. Its been flyable everyday, Peter MacLaren and Ihor are here as well. In the morning we bus up to the neighbourhood above town, Alto Hospicio, and its on from 930 am. First few days it was cloudy and would break into cu as we climbed to base. Flew south 23 km towards aeropuerto boundary and then came back all the way around Point Gruesa. Go north and its possible to do 35km of the ridge at Alto on a good day. Really nice light wind thermal flying over sand dunes, not ridge soaring, thermals up to 3m's. Hard to sink out, you see folks way down low staying alive. Tons of turkey vultures to help you find the lift too. Land most days at Playa Cavancha in front of the hostel, then get a fantastic menu del dia meal for $5. Its gotten progressively more blue and stable, today at Alto Hospicio we were in the rotor of the south wind and it was pretty lame weird north conditions. Apparently it gets blue and more windy as we head into summer. Palo Buque is the afternoon site and despite liking dune flying I had not gone there for the afternoon session. Something to do with menu del dia food coma I think. It was very good at Palo Buque tonight I thought. Launched next to the vehicle almost at sea level, maybe kited up 20m then off and I got to cloudbase at 800m. Possible to go surf dunes or stay high your choice. Acro pilot got too many twists on his Mctwist and wound in, threw his nice pink rogallo, and had a stand up into the wind landing. Staying at the Altazor flypark now, its a lot easier to get a ride to Palo Buque from here. Ihor and Pete Mac are on the Playa Cavancha, which has easier access to food, markets, and a nice beach. Pretty easy setup though where ever. Have a good one, think I'm back after your xmas party so enjoy Mexico - Alex R.
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Kelowna/Merritt/Woodside Report - as Kelowna looked doomed with snow & rain, I left for the coast and endured another ugly drive over the 97C connector route with deep snow and high winds, arriving in Merritt to light snow and the snow line is still above launch on sugarloaf Mountain for a few days . | When I arrived at the Ranch there was a tropical monsoon happening as I unloaded the gear. So no flying today here.
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Merritt Report - forecast was wrong and we arrived to huge rains, except at the Quilchena Airport. We knew it was coming as it was just over the hills to the west, so we headed down to Kelowna to check out the private airports just outside the Kelowna Control Zone. | Some pretty neat airstrips up Hwy 33, and one right in Kelowna at the SE end of the Control Zone called Day Field, where we were taxiing the trike when something hit the prop, debris or sagebrush and damaged a tip! I went to GSC Props in Vernon but they had no stock so we have to wait for a week, but by then the guys BlackHawk Quads will be here from Paratoys anyway. Perhaps a trim and some sanding will get this one airborne later today??
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Coastal Rain Report - huge storms pounded Vancouver area today. Lots of wrecks on the road. Definitely no flying here! |
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Merritt Report - it was wind still in the LZ when we drove up to launch. We arrived to a nice breeze from the SW and Colleen clipped in and launched and had to stop just as she got in the air as her cockpit fell off and almost tumbled down the cliff (broken fastec buckle) . | As she was climbing back up the hill Annette launched and had a rodeo ride as she couldn't work the lift and the winds also picked up. She landed partway down the hill near the access road in no wind? It picked up too strong for others and we went down to get Annette and most folks headed home by noon as it blew out as only Merritt can in prefrontal conditions.
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Merritt Report - it was windy from the SW when we arrived on top. Cecilia and Jo the local HGers were heading up and we followed them to their favourite launch spot. | I figured the best way to test the winds was to do some "dirt-surfing" on John's Zoom as I only brought up the tandem. Good kiting conditions and I was able to ridge soar the slope and do some small "touch & go's" along the slope and back up the hill with brakes to do it again . . . until it really picked up and I was heading upwards & backwards toward the trucks! Big ears til I touched got me back into a less windy layer for a smooth landing and no dragfest. Next up was Cecilia doing the same thing on her little XTC hangglider doing bunny hops. Then as it calmed down Phil I clipped into his Buzz Z and was doing some slope-soaring until he took off and was climbing fast out towards the LZ. He was in the air for 20 minutes but never penetrated forward enough to make the LZ and chose to land near the road to save the retrieve from Hwy 97C. Cecilia was inspired and had her first real soaring getting above launch at her home site. After 20 minutes she also headed out to the regular LZ and landed near the cars. A successful outing and if it wasn't so cold and windy more pilots would have taken off. Phil`s flight video and more Merritt pictures here.
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Woodside Report - a super sweet day for all. We started around noon as the clouds started to lift, with a full Unimog load of keeners. | Colleen took Peter tandem and they soared just at cloudbase til frozen and then they flew out to help land Curt who is on flight number 4. Lots of top-landers today to warm up or retrieve trucks. 
Woodside gaggle on flight number 1 - photo by JPR After I got Curt and Chris B launched I took Celia tandem and we had a tree-kicking good time before heading out for some hard spirals into the LZ. We loaded up Peter's truck and headed back up for another flight and this time it was even better and everyone was dressed warmer. It tooks so long to get everyone launched including Curt who tried to hit the ground but missed! He had his first standup landing on flight number 5! He is ready to graduate to the Paramotor trike! Annette & John came out and had their best flights ever! They were still buzzing at dinner! 
Woodside Sunset featuring Dr. Annette Browne - photo by JPR
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Merritt Reconn Report - we met up with Cecilia (local HGer) and after lunch at Tim Horton`s, we took 3 truckloads of pilots up Sugarloaf Mountain. | When we arrived on top the winds we SE and launchable but we ``diddled around`` too long and before we knew it it was blowing more E than SE and unlaunchable. Martin N, Chris B, Louise B, Andrei, Elena, Anrei`s dad Vlad, Peter and Curt and myself were all hoping for a flight and in the end only Andrei flew off a new spot north of Hwy 5 east of Merritt. Andrei`s flight video and pictures here. Nice roadtrip, only 1:30 from the Ranch and lots of 2WD roads up to launch sites.
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Woodside Report - I almost called off the day around 8:30 am, but I persevered and it turned out prety good all day. | We headed up the mountain with Peter, Curt, Kevin O and Chris while Nikolai tagged along. We arrived to find Alan D set up which is always a good sign! 
Woodside today - photo by JPR Nice CU on the mountains around us, and nice cycles for training the students. Alan launched and was staying up nicely. Nikolai followed him and they were "duking-it-out" near the South Knoll. I launched Chris and Kevin and they were thermalling and had nice landings to the west at the Ranch. Curt had a nice launch for his second flight ever and decent landing as the winds reveresed as he arrived. I took Peter tandem as his arm is still bruised and sore from a kiting incident last week, and we stayed up nicely as we tried to top-land to retrieve his shoe that blew off on takeoff. I decided a top-landing with socks is not that safe and we flew down to the Ranch for some spiral fun! Martina took a load up: Normando, Ian J, John M and Martina flew off and had great flights with the Eagles above Woodside. Back up for another flight and we did the same pattern. Alan and Nikolai were still up but sinking slowly as we tandemed off. We had another great tandem landing after spiralling into the LZ. We had to do a retrieve run to get all the trucks but it was an awesome day for November 10th. Alan and Nikola logged at least 3+ hours. Ian J managed to take off his Coyote to the west on a new runway in no wind.
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Blue Grouse Report - we were out scoping the paramotor options in Kelowna for the guys, and there is a new development near Hwy 33 that has created a NW facing ridge soaring site! Could be interesting and the owners are paraglider friendly. | We got up to Blue Grouse just as the snow came in from the west so we were denied a flight but the guys now know the site. Interesting drive home on 97C! Snow, fog and no plows?
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Woodside Report - no fliers, but there were many launchable (and possibly soarable) windows today. I did chores including working on the webcam network which mysteriously failed a week ago, one webcam is fixed, the live one keeps failing. |
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Woodside Report - we had a late start mostly due to the time change, but a few people got flights today. | Peter & Claudia, Colleen and new student Curt flew early before 11 am. Curt got above launch as did Peter (who top-landed to retrieve Claudia). Curt has had two motor flights on a trike and did his first free flight today, floating off launch in a nice cycle and landing softly (on his knees?). Late starters got a mixed bag, Colleen on flight #2 was way up high before heading out at 900 meters for Curt's second flight and barely made the Ranch in -3 m/s sink. After seeing Colleen's flight, followed by Gerry L also up high but not able to make it out, we decided Curt was good, but didn't want to test his skills. Tonya launched and sunk like a rock into a sleet storm over Riverside. After those flights a cell came over Harrison Mills and dumped rain & hail. No more flying today.
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Woodside Report - we had ample opportunity for ground school and gear discussion while the mountain cleared. We got up to the top around 3 pm and as it cleared it started blowing down lightly, then harder so we drove down. | We tried the new ATV towing system with Chris and Peter and it worked pretty well. Chris said it was smooth! Peter had a faceplant and a sore elbow so he didn't think it was so smooth. The drum from our payout winch will fit the ATV hub with a little machining so static testing will resume next weekend.
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Woodside Report - I didn't get out til 1 pm, and it was already starting to rain. Traffic around Vancouver was crazy today as I did chores and cars were crashing all over? |
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Woodside Report - it is the start of November and we had 5 students out today! Amazing turnout! Unfortunately the forecasted upper level winds of +15 knots never touched down on Woodside. We saw the clouds a few hundred feet up heading east but we never got more thatn a few lame cycles all day. | Lee tried out his new SlyCountry Discovery III, and loved it! Even in no wind he could reverse launch it! Joe was out after 6 months for his second of a 2 day Beginner Course and had 2 solos flights in light winds and claimed the "Best Launch of the Day Award" for both launches! Chris was out too adding to his log book with 2 more solos in light winds. Peter and Curt were out training on our paramotor trike and we tried to get them a solo footlaunch but it was too lame at launch by the time they got up there, so we opted for some "trike taxi-ing" and Curt got a short flight when he over revved the motor and he broke ground for a few hundred feet. He loved the feeling of being in the air! Elk Hike&Fly Report - Lots of pilots on the Elk today: Tom, Ivan, Eddy, Carl, Larry. All flew earlier and had extended foofies. I started hiking at 1:50 and arrived at the Top at 3:00 to SSE wind at 10-20km/hr. Sweet! The air was wonderful - I could get about 100 m above and made it almost to Thurston before hitting the lee side sink hole close to the west shoulder. Made it back to Elk in about 2 minutes! Continued soaring til the tap was turned off and headed to Eddy's for tea and sausage. Flight time: 42 minutes. Elk rocks! - Kevin SkyCountry EVO X Prototype Report - this video of a proto flying in Quebec, note the cold weather comp gear! A 2 liner proto is ready for the spring comp series.
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Woodside Kiting Report - very strong outflow winds all day at launch, but good kiting conditions for Brett and 3 other new students. Some draggings occurred! Even Jason came out later to kite and was having a good time until it went light around 5 pm. | We brought out the SkyCountry demo Speed Wind "DeSCent 15" for some kiting fun and Brett was able to kite it up the side of the training hill and launch off the back side in +30kph gusty conditions for 30 minutes, where one could not even think of kiting even a xtra small paraglider. 
Testing the SkyCountry demo Speed Wind "DeSCent 15" - photo by JPR Elk Report - Tom Chromy reported a sweet flight off Elk Mtn this afternoon. 20 minutes. Wondering how the outflow winds affected the landing though? Belated Flora Ridge Video from October 17 - Hike & Fly - Brad, Biff and Daryl - looks like an Ozone Ad! Flora Forever from Kevin Ault on Vimeo.
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Woodside Report - a great day for students and experts alike. Chris logged two thermalling flights and his first Riverside Landing (when he sunk out). Norm, Ihor, Dennis, Nikolai, and Kevin A were all seen kissing the clouds at 1200 meters. Norm was definitely late for work as he was seen packing up after 3 pm! Martina came up in a later load and was thermalling around with Kevin and Derek, but also had to race off to work after 4 pm. I was denied a flight as the cycles of trucks coming up didn't match Chris' landings so I was driving most of the day. Some pilots logged 3+ hours at 'base today (is it really November 2nd?) Some folks were still flying at 5 pm, when Dennis straggled back to the Ranch from an XC to Harrison Beach. Some interesting launches late in the day . . . ???
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West Coast Soaring Club AGM Report - a good group turned out to discuss issues and possible solutions. | The Board of Directors is pretty much the same: Al Thielmann - President Veronica Dubak - Secretary/Treasurer Martina Lang - Membership Robin Sather - Web Wrangler Jason Warner - Events Director  Jim Reich - Site Director |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
September 2010 Site of the Day archives - the wettest September in history had us running up to Savona and points east to fly, but we "got-er-done".
August 2010 Site of the Day archives - unstable conditions made for some great days at Benny and Woodside. Al & I had a Delta Day with me stealing Colleen's Small Delta and he on a Large one and we went over the back to Seabird on a strong day.
July 2010 Site of the Day archives - fantastic road trip to Revelstoke for 11 days of SIV Training and super weather.
June 2010 Site of the Day archives - wettest June on record so road trips to Savona a few times. Deltas are rolling in now!
May 2010 Site of the Day archives - nice flying in the Valley.
April 2010 Site of the Day archives - worst April in years weatherwise but we managed to do some awesome tandem groups and some nice flights with Justin, Nicole and Norm flying to Mission late in the month.
March 2010 Site of the Day archives - Crappy weather in the US on my return trip from Mexico. But when I arrived back at the Ranch there were some great days soaring Woodside.
February 2010 Site of the Day archives - super flying in Mexico for the FlyBC Mexican Tours. Good XCs. The locals were already flying at Mother Woodside back in BC due to the warm weather!
January 2010 Site of the Day archives - nice flying in Mexico for the FlyBC Mexican Tours. Good XCs.
December 2009 Site of the Day archives - our first time in Mexico for a full December and we flew everyday. 40-50 km XCs from Tapalpa.
November 2009 Site of the Day archives - very few flights as we had record rains and high winds.
October 2009 Site of the Day archives - Women's Fly-In in Chelan WA with the Barbie Theme, took first place honours again! More good soaring flights of 2 hours plus on special days.
September 2009 Site of the Day archives - more decent flying weather with a few road trips to escape wind by heading to Savona.
August 2009 Site of the Day archives - best flying conditions in years with little rain. My first hike up Cheam with pals went well.
July 2009 Site of the Day archives - the FlyBC SIV in Revelstoke was a blast, 280 SIV flights and only one wet pilot intentionally that is. Jeremy wished he had landed in the water.
June 2009 Site of the Day archives - dry all month locally so lots of flying, Al has been test flying the new ShotGun launch near Stave Lake having great flights out to Woodside.
May 2009 Site of the Day archives - local flying is getting great with nice XC's! Bridal was working well. The new bathroom was installed in the Barn at Eagle Ranch enriching the FlyBC experience.
April 2009 Site of the Day archives - we escaped the local weather by flying in New Zealand for 3 weeks. We will be heading back soon!
March 2009 Site of the Day archives - we were flying locally in snow, relying on Derek's sleds and chains on the 'Mog to get up Woodside.
February 2009 Site of the Day archives - the Worlds PG Championships in Mexico was hard work for the Canucks, the tasks and speeds were unreal.
January 2009 Site of the Day archives - Manzanillo, Mexico was a BLAST, many new sites flown and we have a new tour Destination for 2010.
December 2008 Site of the Day archives - the annual FlyBC Christmas Party was a cold success with Head over Heels entertaining us all night. And we left early for Manzanillo, Mexico on Dec 28th.
November 2008 Site of the Day archives - some soaring between rain storms, and it was pretty dry in Agassiz.
October 2008 Site of the Day archives - we went ot the Women's Fly In on Chelan for the annual Halloween Costume Fly-In, great conditions there to offset the wet month on the West Coast. Steve Fosset's crash site was found in Nevada after a year of searching.
September 2008 Site of the Day archives - great student conditions at Woodside and Bridal all month, with 10 students getting signed off this month, a record.
August 2008 Site of the Day archives - our second SIV Course of the 2008 season went well at Sale Mountain near Revelstoke (except for a few water landings and minor injuries). Wet all month at Woodside except the weekends.
July 2008 Site of the Day archives - our first SIV Course of the 2008 season went well at Sale Mountain near Revelstoke.
June 2008 Site of the Day archives - a few good soaring days at Bridal, lots of new students this month.
May 2008 Site of the Day archives - the cost of gas is keeping pilots at home and the weather isn't helping either. One good XC in May for me, leaving Woodside with Norm and Martin H and ending up at Elk at 1600 meters before landing by Hopyard Hill. 3 hours and 85 kms later by the GPS.
April 2008 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years but we flew every day we could.
March 2008 Site of the Day archives - more snow and still hiking to launch at Woodside! But some major airtime for the locals committed to coming out to fly.
February 2008 Site of the Day archives - more snow in BC than I can remember in 25 years of living here. We are still hiking to launch at Woodside!
January 2008 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years so we went to Mexico and logged many hours of airtime, while it snowed heavily in BC.
December 2007 Site of the Day archives - worst weather in years so we went to Mexico on Dec 29th for three weeks.
November 2007 Site of the Day archives - Colleen and I went to California to fly the new Falcon A-16 Advanced Ultralight prototype and it flew very well. Some good soaring days at Woodside, some folks were still trying to fly Bridal but that is a waste of time this late in the season.
October 2007 Site of the Day archives - mid-air at Woodside caused Martin H some paraglider damage, some great soarable days. The Women's Fly In was a success with the Canuck Team taking top spot for the theme of "Celebrities in Rehab".
September 2007 Site of the Day archives - we re-discovered and flew 'Horsefly' Launch for the first time, some mayhem at Woodside due to tree-suck, lots of good soaring in afternoon glassoffs, a great Indian Summer until late in the month when the rains came early. Derek, Martina, Robin and Diane went to Europe. Kirill went to Australia for a paramotor Fly-In.
August 2007 Site of the Day archives - fun two weeks at Mara Lake, followed by steady flying at Woodside and Bridal, making up for the dismal spring and summer.
July 2007 Site of the Day archives - good flights at Bridal, some mayhem at Woodside from visiting pilots.
June 2007 Site of the Day archives - more crappy weather on the weekends. Some awesome flights between showers as Norm and Thomm flew to Mission on the last day of the month.
May 2007 Site of the Day archives - flyable every weekday, but the Fraser Valley XC Comp got crappy weather on the weekends, although it was student flyable.
April 2007 Site of the Day archives - good flights are starting. Some complete triangles from Woodside to Bridal and back, some "musical triangles" from others.
March 2007 Site of the Day archives - fifth month of crappy weather on the Coast. We went to Santa Barbara for some flights, and to dry out. Some good days were also recorded locally.
Febuary 2007 Site of the Day archives - fourth month of crappy weather on the Coast. So we stayed in Mexico.
January 2007 Site of the Day archives - third month of crappy weather on the Coast. So we went to Mexico to fly Colima, Tapalpa, and San Marcos, while Brad and gang headed to Tenacingo, Mexico.
December 2006 Site of the Day archives - more ugly weather on the Coast. Severe winds damaged trees and property so not much flying happened. Some good flight reports from local PGers travelling world-wide.
November 2006 Site of the Day archives - the wettest November on record. We flew a few good flights but mostly we were rained out.
October 2006 Site of the Day archives - lots of good days with 3-4 hours airtime. The Women's Fly-In was on again in Chelan with about 18 Canucks, and a good day Saturday with 85 registered pilots.
September 2006 Site of the Day archives - still soarable in the Fraser Valley, little or no rain. Colleen is back flying! Some mayhem in the valley.
August 2006 Site of the Day archives - a great flying month everywhere, we had a super successful SIV clinic at Mara Lake with everyone SAT-ing and heli-ing.
July 2006 Site of the Day archives - road trip to Lumby, then on the 8th Colleen spun in below Gloria cancelling her summer plans (but she is recuperating well).
June 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Valley dried out, and we flew most days and every weekend.
May 2006 Site of the Day archives - more rain that ever imagined in the Fraser Valley. Very few soaring flights and even less XC.
April 2006 Site of the Day archives - the Easter Bunny was "run over" on Kilby Road, plus the train wreck on April 1.
March 2006 Site of the Day archives - a new pilot was born, Chloe. We also flew a few days between showers, some long flights up to 4 hours. A few Out & Return Flights to Deroche and Bear.
February 2006 Site of the Day archives - another wet month with some soarable days (2).
January 2006 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South for great Mexican or Chilean flying.
December 2005 Site of the Day archives - some flying on Elk and Woodside, smart pilots headed South.
November 2005 Site of the Day archives - rain, snow and not much flying.
October 2005 Site of the Day archives - Women's Fly In in Chelan yielded two soarable days before the snows hit.
September 2005 Site of the Day archives - dry most of the month. Some great 4 hour flights at Woodside getting to cloudbase most days. Three crash-landings in the same clearcut by pilots scratching too low, but no injuries.
August 2005 Site of the Day archives - road trips to the Interior gave us an opportunity to rag out some gliders at FlyBC SIV 2005 (Part II). Also a great road trip to Savona.
July 2005 Site of the Day archives - good flying all month, no rain but some windy days shut us down. The Willi started in Golden with a few good days, but one tragedy as Charles Warren perished in a crash near Harrogate.
June 2005 Site of the Day archives - too much rain, but good days to fly between showers.
May 2005 Site of the Day archives - our Instructor/Tandem seminar yielded some good flying. Our May 2005 SIV Clinic had a good turnout, with many wet wings/pilots! Many nice flights at Woodside and Bridal, with some long "out & returns" at Bridal.
April 2005 Site of the Day archives - some great soaring at Woodside and Bridal. Sad news from the US Hanggliding Nationals as Chris Muller crashes at goal.
March 2005 Site of the Day archives - we had to head out of town to Savona a few weekends due to wet weather on the Coast. Wetter than normal according to Environment Canada.
February 2005 Site of the Day archives - some good soaring despite early time of year. Flights as long as 3 hours at Woodside, some good flights at Whidbey Island for first timers, too!
January 2005 Site of the Day archives road trips to Mexico, not much flying locally due to strong north winds and rain. Record rain kept Eagle Ranch quite wet for kiting.
December 2004 Site of the Day archives a dry month with some good soaring including a fantastic day on Dec. 11 where we thermalled for 2+ hours!
November 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain. We installed a fireplace in the barn to keep pilots warm between winter flights.
October 2004 Site of the Day archives more record rain, but sweet soaring between showers. Many new students signed up and making quick progress. We missed the Women's Fly In for the first time in 9 years, and there was some interesting flying on the Sunday!
September 2004 Site of the Day archives rainiest September on record for the first 3 weeks, made flying difficult. But Alan and others logged some pretty nice flights later in the month. Lots of student tandems for both Colleen and Jim.
August 2004 Site of the Day archives Great Maneuver/SIV/ACRO course at Mara. Jack got wet! Some great soaring at Woodside. Norm made it 68 km from Mara to King Eddie, Derek made it from Lumby to Enderby the opposite direction for 67 kms. We also did our BC roadtrip from Ashcroft to New Denver, and flew everyday.
July 2004 Site of the Day archives the Willi was on at Golden. We missed the mayhem due to work and school commitments but Norm did a great job representing the West Coast.
June 2004 Site of the Day archives Canadian Nationals came off with many great rounds. Pemberton-Whistler Championships were blown out most days so we headed to Cornwall.
May 2004 Site of the Day archives great flying at Woodside and Bridal. We held a very successful SIV Course at Mara Lake, and hope to run another one in August if they keep the forests open.
April 2004 Site of the Day archives good flying in the Valley. The Fraser Valley Cross Country PG Series was successssful.
March 2004 Site of the Day archives Nicole won in Brazil, otherwise the month sucked for flying time.
February 2004 Site of the Day archives some local flights extended to an hour with vigourous scratching above the trees. Good paramotor month.
January 2004 Site of the Day archives Mexican road trip yielded 20 hours of flight and a wet Canadian January kept most local pilots on the ground.
December 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew a few times but it got really cold at the end of the month as we prepared for a gala New Year's Party for 40 of our close personal friends and neighbours.
November 2003 Site of the Day archives windy and wet with the odd good soaring day, not many pilots out these days.
October 2003 Site of the Day archives Women's Fly In was great fun, some good soaring days mid-month, most of the students are signed off.
September 2003 Site of the Day archives good conditions until the last days of the month when it got stable. Most days were flyable at Woodside or Bridal.
August 2003 Site of the Day archives Forest closures made the end of the month a non-flying period unless you headed to Blanchard. FlyBC SIV 2003 was a great success with 9 stunt pilots and no deployments or crashes.
July 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most days early at Woodside until it got windy, then over to Bridal. Good Golden flying reports from the "Willi".
June 2003 Site of the Day archives we flew most weekdays at Bridal, Woodside worked most weekends. Bridal Air Races had one great day with only two tree landings!
May 2003 Site of the Day archives not a great weather month on the coast, especially on the weekends but a few pilots managed to get some great airtime at Bridal. The Nationals were held in Lumby and it didn't rain!
April 2003 Site of the Day archives rain for 28 of 30 April days, but we managed to get a few flights in between showers. Even the golfers were complaining!
March 2003 Site of the Day archives some high spring flights in early March, but not a great weather month. Still no HPAC Insurance!
February 2003 Site of the Day archives some nice long spring flights in late February. HPAC Insurance expired on Feb 14, so many pilots stayed home instead of getting USHGA coverage.
January 2003 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month in BC so we bailed and headed to Tapalpa Mexico for three weeks. Norm and Lucille had a great XC flight the first day we arrived.
December 2002 Site of the Day archives lots of rain all month.
November 2002 Site of the Day archives not a great flying month, lots of rain in the beginning and then super stable and inverted for the balance of the month. Even the Savona Road Trip wasn't that great. Looking forward to Mexico!
October 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable some days, great fun at the Women's Fly In 2002 in Chelan. Allan logged 15 hours and only flew a few days. Most of the students are ready for signoff soon to get ready for Mexico trips!
September 2002 Site of the Day archives Still soarable most everyday! Some scary incidents at Woodside. Fun flying at Ashcroft.
August 2002 Site of the Day archives More spring-like days with super lapse rates, great fun up-country at Revelstoke and Mara, with some good XCs for all.
July 2002 Site of the Day archives Some spring-like days with super lapse rates, but still rather wet at times.
June 2002 Site of the Day archives another rainy and windy month with great lapse rates, some great flights at Bridal with some getting above Cheam Peak. The Club Cup was nearly rained out but they got one valid task in on Sunday June 30.
May 2002 Site of the Day archives an extremely rainy month with the more spring mayhem, another reserve deployment at Lil Nick and a pilot crashed at the top of Deroche Mountain, uninjured but with a ripped glider and long hike down the mountain. Colleen placed 5th place at the Canadian PG Nationals in rainy Lumby!
April 2002 Site of the Day archives a rainy month with the usual spring mayhem, one reserve deployment at Woodside and a pilot hit a parked car at Bridal LZ, fracturing his leg.
March 2002 Site of the Day archives a few great days days with lots of snow and rain mixed in.
February 2002 Site of the Day archives two epic days already (4.5 hours and 2.5 hours!).
January 2002 Site of the Day archives Mexico vacation shots, some local flying but it was wet on the coast.
December 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, wettest December on record, some good days sprinkled thru the month.
November 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, had some good days at Woodside +2 hours, lots of rain later in the month.
October 2001 Site of the Day archives pretty stable locally, but great flying at Chelan at the Women's Fly In.
September 2001 Site of the Day archives starting to get pretty stable, more sled rides forecast for October.
Aug 2001 Site of the Day archives Mara, Bridal, till some great flights locally
July 2001 Site of the Day archives Road Trip Month, Golden, Mara, points east!
June 2001 Site of the Day archives Great Month, 3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower! Some getting up to 6 hours in a single flight!
May 2001 Site of the Day archives Unstable Month, 2-3 hours of airtime for some pilots every time they flew Bridal Lower!
April 2001 Site of the Day archives Rainy Month, not as much airtime for some pilots
March 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring has Sprung!
February 2001 Site of the Day archives Spring is in the Air!
January 2001 Site of the Day archives - Mexico Flying Trip
December 2000 Site of the Day archives
November 2000 Site of the Day archives (great month for airtime!)
October 2000 Site of the Day archives
September 2000 Site of the Day archives
July - August 2000 Site of the Day archives
June 2000 Site of the Day archives
March - May 2000 Site of the Day archives
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