FlyBC "Site of the Day Archives" - October/2006
Winter is here!
Quote of the Day:
"Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while." - Kin Hubbard
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Coaches Corner - we will be back at Eagle Ranch on November 4-5 for more training, weather permitting. Sneak peek at the 2007 Ozone Gliders line-up new Models and Colors. New students can sign up for beginner courses in 2006 on the dates listed on the FlyBC Training Schedule.  FlyBC's Paragliding School is here for you in 2006 with different training formats and venues. We are looking for committed aviation enthusiasts who want to learn more about flying. More road trips, more clinics and more fun! FlyBC has the most pilots flying after gaining certification and we have the most years of experience in training new pilots. Other schools claim to be bigger but HPAC numbers tell the true story, FlyBC certifies the most HPAC pilots on the West Coast. FlyBC is certified with HPAC Senior Instructors/Tandem II Senior Instructors and Advanced USHGA Instructors/Tandem Administrators to serve you better. FlyBC has the only "dedicated flight park" in BC with a classroom, landing field and towing/training hill area for the exclusive use of our students and customers. Our vision for Eagle Ranch is "to create a community centre for fun loving hangglider, paraglider and paramotor pilots (and their families) in the Fraser Valley". Go to FlyBC's Eagle Ranch Page for pictures of the new layout. Sneak peek at the 2007 Ozone Gliders line-up new Models and Colors. FlyBC Paragliding now distributes Ozone Gliders in Canada/NW USA. OZONE Brochure06. Ozone Addict DHV Report.   At long last . . . the Performance Flying DVD is IN STOCK at FlyBC! Price is $60 CDN. We have finally seen the finished version, and we are quite happy to report that it is in all respects a fantastic DVD. It was professionally edited in London and NY (the sound was recorded in the BBC Studios), the content is current and clearly presented, and it is our feeling that nothing in this DVD will become outdated in any time soon. You will be able to use this DVD as a reference and an educational tool for many years to come.
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Fraser Valley Report - east wind all day.
| Jack's Snoqualmie Road Report - we thought we picked a bad route through Princeton coming back from Chelan, but Jack headed straight to Seattle on Highway 2 at the same time as we headed north on Highway 97 and it took him 5 hours to get there! This trip normally takes 2 hours, but the Snoqualmie Pass was iced over and semis and cars were all over the road and ditches.
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Woodside Report - no one was reachable by radio, but Alan thinks someone flew Woodside when the east winds abated. |
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Chelan Report - we woke up to sunny skies and WHITECAPS! It was howling from the SW but warm, so off to breakfast. | Everyone decided to drive home through Osoyoos (mistake). As we climbed out of Princeton towards Hope, traffic was moving fast until the first Brake Check. At that point the road was icy and some less experienced drivers decided to use too much brake and ended up in the ditch. And traffic was stopped for 30 minutes, finally starting to crawl slowly down the hill. We eventually got to Woodside and it was sunny, with snow down to 400 meters. And wind over the back at 15 kph. But we were home. 
Chelan Airport - Photo by Kirril
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Chelan Women's Fly-In Report - 85 pilots registered and they all flew at least 2-3 times, with some flying 4 flights. The last flights around 3:30 pm, had lots of pilots soaring the Green Monster and several top-landings by Nicole and others. Colleen arrived too late to fly unfortunately.
| Good flights with only a bloody nose as an incident from a down-wind tandem landing. A few people got dragged on launch. The party started at 7:00 pm at the Airport Lounge and it was the usual wild affair. The Canuck team did the "World's Worst Line Dance Routine", due to lack of practice. 
Canuck Team (less Martin and Mia) - Photo by ??
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Chelan Report - we arrived around 5:00 pm, and the group decided to head up to the Butte. Jack, Derek, Martina, Kirril, Norm and Jim "hemmed and hawed" for a few minutes and Norm and I took out our wings. I got dragged up and over the hill at the Green Monster launch, and then both of us got off and flew into a convergence called the "Fuji". Strong south winds at launch and north winds in the LZ and it was getting dark. Spirals and tricks to get down fast and thanks to the county for keeping the lights on in the Falls Park. No one else flew.
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| Chelan, WA: Sunny. High 15. Winds SW at 10 kph. Chelan, WA: light and variable (stable)
Woodside Report - rain and wind all day, head to Chelan WA, but not without a costume!
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Abbotsford Report - IFR conditions all day, heavy rains and windy at times. Start packing for Chelan WA and the Women's Fly-In.
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Cochrane Report - west winds at 15+ km/hr, sunny and warm. Perfect conditions . . . if you aren't stuck in an office in SE Calgary!
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Woodside Report - Dennis was spotted flying Woodside, no pireps however. Probably the last flying day for the week!
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Wouter's Report - So, there I was. Up over Woodside for my very last flight
in Canada this season. It was getting pretty late
but around 18:25 a perfect cycle came up and I was
even able to soar the ridge for a while. It was getting
darker and darker so I headed out to the barn. But just
before I came over the landing field I felt a "bump" and
started circling. A strong last thermal picked me up and
before I knew I was high above launch. Kept climbing
with over +10m/s climbs and soon I was able to see
Vancouver, Abbotsford and Hope! After a while
it got kinda chilly and I guess I fell asleep, it was
to dark to land anyway.When I woke up I saw a beautiful sunrise and below me was one huge layer of clouds. 
After I spiralled down through the clouds I landed in flatlands that seem so familiar to me.. All those people that talk to me like they know me for years.. weird.. 
This morning, the weather looked good for woodside,
grabbed my gear but, damn, 7000 km is a long drive...My paragliding "cold-turkey" is bad, Jim. What did you get me into? We'll keep in touch. Safe flights, Wouter
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Woodside Report - another leeside day, but pilots were getting in the air by noon.
| Lots of pilots out trying to get their last flights before the rainy season hits. Sky-diver and paraglider, Adam R, came out to try his new base rig. Plan was to take him tandem and drop him off over Riverside. We used the standard harness setup, with him in front wearing his base rig inside the passenger harness. When we were over Riverside, he unclipped the leg and chest strap and just fell forward into an arch. First one was at 1700 feet, with a 4 second delay before opening. On heading opening with a good canopy, but sore crotch because there was no slider on the canopy. Once he jumped, I flew back to Eagle Ranch for a ride back up to launch. Colleen took pictures from behind us but they are pretty grainy, but you can see Adam free-falling below the tandem if you look close. I will enhance the photos and post them soon. The next base jump (actually not a base jump - BASE stands for Building, Aerials, Spans, Earth and there was none of those in our jump), went equally well with an exit at 1400 feet with a 1 second delay and me landing in Joe's backyard as I was too low to make it to the Ranch. Lumby Report - Flew Coopers and Vernon, Norm on Sat and me on Sunday. Calm sledders very little wind to no wind. It was nice getting some flights in Derek and Martina met us up there and Derek flew Coopers and Martina flew Coopers twice. My kids took their motor bikes out all over the mountain sides. And I had fun with my grandchildren so it was a great trip - Bev
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Eagle Report - okay . . . so Woodside was a bad call. Only 2 pilots got off Woodside today (Jozef and Ihor) in the lee conditions. So we headed up Eagle around noon.
| We arrived to perfectly straight in conditions after a 1 hour commute. Mark J went off first, and he got to thermal for about 10 minutes before heading out followed by Darren. 
Mark Johnston over Eagle Launch - Photo by JPR Both of them made the Ranch with tons of height, then the students all flew landing on the beach in front of River's Edge Restauarant at the Sandpiper Golf Course. Unfortunatley for James and Thomm the conditions worsened until it was barely safe to launch so James bailed but Thomm squeaked on off, also landing at Eagle Ranch. In the end 7 pilots flew off with great launches and we got to fly. The road up to Eagle is graded for the first 2 kms to the first spur road, then deep cross ditches to the top. The GMC Van never scraped once even with 9 people on board, and the ride down empty took 40 minutes. Sunday looks like a replay as more east winds aloft. Kirill's Motoring Report - I launched at 5:30 pm. It was still blowing hard at 2500ft over the back of Woodside. Smooth enough within 1000ft though. 
Kirill heading east on the Motor - Photo by Kirill
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Woodside Report - Alan (3+ hours), Derek (1.5 hrs), Martin (2:45 hrs), Mia (0:45 hrs), Andy (? hrs), Dennis and Martina flew Woodside at various times
and had great flying. Leeside thermals and lots of airtime.
| Martin says it was his longest flight ever on a PG, but couldn't top-land so Mia was forced to hike to get their rig. He is no longer a "chimp", however that launch attempt a few weeks ago almost relegated him back to "chimp" status. Mia was never a "chimp"!
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Valley Report - it rained most of the day with some small window to fly between 3 and 6 pm.
| Honduras Report - Last weekend I had a trip to San Pedro Sula, having been invited to a concert and party in Omoa, a sixteenth century fortress on the North coast. Concert was great with musicians from all over Central America playing different kinds of music. Saturday morning I remembered Christian saying he had the name of some one who hang glides in San Pedro, so I got the name from Christian and managed to find his number. Gustavo, basically self taught, has been flying this site for 25 years and has a personal collection of 7 hang gliders. He was very eager to show the site, (I had actually flown it once before, about 2 years ago) and gave me a nice rundown of conditions, landing options etc. The first time I flew this site I was told by a local non-pilot that it got very windy after 11 am so I flew it early in the day. Gustavo however explained that it is an afternoon site, the best time to launch being about 3:30 pm. On the Saturday, Gustavo did not bring his glider because he thought there would not be enough wind so I ended up flying by myself. Gustavo definitely has this set up for hangliders, very compact launch with a big block of concrete that is in the way for a paraglider but is his launch ramp. After getting in the air though, I was rewarded with an hour and a half of beautiful smooth lift above some of the most incredibly lush jungle I have seen so far in Central America. The vultures are particularly accustomed to sharing the airspace and seem very curious. Several times while I was flying I could hear a whooshing sound followed by a vulture diving with wings folded only a few meters away. They seemed to be playing rather than showing aggressiveness. I managed to fly out quite a ways over the city as well before heading back to land. Gustavo seemed quite impressed with the performance of the Zoom so we made plans to fly again on Sunday. 
Jeffrey over San Pedro Sula - Photo by Gustavo This time he also brought his glider so we managed to fly together. Gustavo however launched in dying conditions and didn’t manage to get up really high like me. It was probably the smoothest flying conditions I have had in several years, hard to describe how relaxing, and the beautiful scenery to top it all off. Best thing of all is having made the connection to a local pilot who is equally passionate about flying - Happy flying, Jeffrey 
Gustavo over San Pedro Sula - Photo by Jeffrey
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Woodside Report - some east valley wind, but it looked flyable all afternoon. Some CU around noon . . . and then the gloat reports started coming in!
| Apparently Dennis was out around noon and it was blowing over the back, but by the mid-afternoon Alan, Derek and Al arrived and it paid off. Climbs to 1200 meters. Derek apparently had given up and was headed to Riverside at 500 meters when he felt a "bump" and took it to 1200 meters again. Alan called it right yesterday, a good day was expected after all the rain on Sunday/Monday. ps: this is October.
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No pireps
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Woodside Report - a great day for working indoors getting chores done - heavy rain all day.
| International Helicopter News Report - how to get famous world-wide, get heli-rescued in Chilliwack. Chopper Team Saves Paraglider October 5--A Chilliwack man was plucked off a mountainside in a dramatic helicopter rescue on Sept. 26. Police received a call for help at approximately 4 p.m. to assist Hope and Chilliwack Search and Rescue teams in recovering an injured paraglider in the Sowerby Creek area, approximately 15 kilometres southwest of Hope in the Skagit Valley in British Columbia, Canada. The paraglider was taking off when his chute hit the top of the tree, causing him to hit the ground, adds Paulsen. The paraglider “came to rest approximately 200 feet down a steep embankment and bluff.” Forestry workers in the area witnessed the event and went to assist the man, providing first aid until paramedics and police climbed down to the man’s location. The 40-year-old male paraglider was found in stable condition but in pain from injuries sustained during the fall. Valley Helicopters and the Chilliwack Search and Rescue long-line rescue team flew the man off the mountain. Posted on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 Posted by rotornews Contributed by rotornews Helicopter Association International news link
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Woodside Report - it was foggy everywhere but Woodside from 9:00 am on. We didn't go up the mountain til noon, when it started cycling up, but Kirril had several motoring flights testing the air for us and he said it was smooth. A bunch of folks were down in Riverside raking up blackberry stems (thanks to Rob S and Nicole's organization).
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Kirril buzzes launch - Photo by Wouter About 8 pilots out and they had two sled rides as predicted. At 5:00 pm, we went up for a last flight and is started to "sock in" at launch and we were "whited out" for 15 minutes or so with 22 km+ cycles thru launch. Perfect!! 
Desperado - note the fog in the windsock! - Photo by Wouter When it started to clear to the north I launched the Boom Sport and headed north climbing all the way. I climbed through 800 meters in three passes, then connected to the tower cliffs north and was through 1050 meters immediately. There was a cloud layer at 600 meters extending from the ridge closest to Duncan's farm all the way to Vancouver, and I was 400 meters above it by the towers (and no camera). My ground speed was 5-8 kms at trim speed. Norm launched and I expected to see him up with me soon, but he scratched the tree-tops for 4-5 passes and was soon heading out to Eagle Ranch. 
Nice climbs between cloud layers - Photo by Wouter 
Actually it was totally clear below and east of me - Photo by Wouter 
Norm flies - Photo by Wouter Wouter asked if it was okay to fly, and seeing Norm's flight I said "Go for it!". Same for Wouter, sink all the way. I checked the time and I had to start flying out soon, calculating a 45 minute run to the Ranch from the north towers at this speed. I hit the edge of the clouds and was still going slow at 600 meters, so I had to spiral down below them to maintain VFR and once below the clouds I sped up to 28 kms ground speed. Very defined layer! Good landing conditions, lots of time to pack up before dark - Jim 
Norm on the way out to Eagle Ranch - Photo by Wouter 
Beautiful Sunset - Photo by Wouter Elk Report - Daryl, Kevin, Ivan and 6 others flew Elk. Some had short flights, but Daryl got 2.5 hours, top landing, soaring and all. They were above the Valley fog too most of the day. Wouter Woodside Report - Despite the weird weather an excellent flying day, no long flights though, just old-school sleddin' :) Once again, I'll miss Woodside for sure! It'll be fun telling the people back in Holland about the crazy instructor that teached me paragliding! - Safe flights, Wouter
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Cheam Report - Nicole, Alex and Rob hiked Mt Cheam to avoid the crowds and planned a flight to Riverside. Just after Rob and Alex had arrived, Nicole was getting ready to go when a chopper landed on top and deposited some of Chirico's group on launch, eventually 20 Seattle Pilots were on top getting ready to fly to Highland Helicopters in Agassiz. Nicole got away between the first and second load, and flew to the closest sandbar to Riverside. Alex and Rob were on the otherside of Woodside near the Castle House.
| Woodside Report - when I flew over Harrison Lake around 2:30, I couldn't see anyone at Woodside but apparently Alan had been up for a few hours while others sledded in to Riverside.
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Calgary Report - minus 2 degrees in the morning (BRRRRR!), warm in the afternoon but SE winds so no flying.
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Bridal Report - Alan was overheard at Upper Launch commenting on the birds flapping to stay up. Heavy smog in the valley due to no wind and high pressure, not clean air like after the outlfow weekend we just had.
| Harold and Terry's Excellent Adventure at FlyBC this past month.
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Woodside Report - I couldn't reach Alan on the phone or radio so I assume he was flying Woodside. Poor lapse rate and light winds so it may have been short flights, but at least it isn't raining yet like Calgary!
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Woodside Report - a great day overall, started with more north wind in Eagle Ranch for some kiting,
then up the mountain around noon with 8 pilots.
The plan was for everyone to fly and either stay up or head to Riverside for a ride up with Joe.
Mark flew 45 minutes on his 11th flight doing very well in the leeside thermals.
Most headed out to the Ranch after 30-45 minutes and I drove down to facilitate a second flight.
Apparently it was quite rough for even experienced pilots, although they made it look smooth (typical leeside day).
| Then the next flight was amazing, I launched the Boom Sport right after Mark and Colleen was guiding Mark on his 12th flight and he logged 1:20 before I signalled him to follow me out farther from the hill and the heavy traffic. Many pilots were out for the day and some even followed ridge rules. Wouter had a great flight, one of his last before heading back to Holland, getting near the "top-of-the-stack" despite having no vario. Overall great climbs with huge sink between the lift, like when trying to top-land! We landed in smooth conditions and a last load was heading over to Joe's for a ride up when we left for town. Weird day, leeside, not a stellar lapse rate, no CUs forming but excellent climbs with interesting drifts. And no mayhem!
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Woodside Report - we partied pretty hard on Saturday night and took our time at breakfast working on hang-overs
and getting re-hydrated. Around noon it stopped blowing from the north in Eagle Ranch and we went up with a load of 8
hopeful fliers. I was elected "wind dummy" and took Jennifer tandem after a few attempts at launching.
It was definitely lee-side and the birds were fine up high but a bit wobbly lower.
We launched and pretty much went straight up to 900 meters right off launch. A few turns confirmed we would have east winds up this high but it was smooth (only one 30% collapse). But Jennifer wasn't looking too secure with all this altitude (and said she was hungry) so we headed out to Kilby Store on the west end of Harrison Mills. It was smooth all the way out and we didn't descend very fast but it was definitely east on the ground, as we landed vertically in the chosen field near the store.
| Colleen decided to head down as it wasn't student friendly and even the more experienced pilots didn't like the look of all the east wind at launch, but GUR showed up as they were leaving and got off and had a "hell ride" all the way into the Ranch, lots of collapses and rough air. I guess we lucked out? Just a matter of timing. Maybe tomorrow will be better? A few of the pilots took time out for "parawaiting line-dancing lessons" on launch. 
Line Dancing Lessons - note the windsock! - Photo by Gary Kinney
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Woodside Gloat Report - we had strong north wind (just as Rob S had predicted from MM), so kiting in the AM. Around 1:00 pm the cycles were coming up launch so we headed up, Thomm launched first and didn't inspire me as his wing was doing some weird stuff due to the leeside crap. So we waited and were just driving down when Norm arrived and laid out.
| I was talked into flying too and took the Vulcan for a spin. We flew together for about 25 minutes but it wasn't student conditions so we flew out to land. Then we loaded up and headed back after more kiting and started launching students around 3:30 pm, and it was super smooth and lifty everywhere (fat October air) and after the last student was safely away I took Jennifer tandem for her first flight. Apparently about 800 meters and 30 minutes into the flight she started shaking from the cold, and my van was at launch with no driver so we top-landed (nice and smooth) and drove down to go for the last flight. 
Kelly and a very low HGer - Photo by Wouter The last flight was also very smooth except that it got windy and it took 45 minutes to get out, and sunset was about the same time so it was pretty dicey getting everyone on the ground before dark, but we made it. Overall 3 flights, and about 3 hours airtime for the experienced fliers.
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Woodside Report - I arrived at 4:00 pm to hear Derek K was heading up the hill with Rob S and
Alan D in Joe's jeep. | I was needing a flight fix after being in the US all week so I dragged Colleen up the hill, meeting the other Derek as he hiked up and we proceeded to launch. The others were just at launch height after 15 minutes or so, but climbed out nicely after that. I launched and headed north where I saw birds soaring, wrong call . . . . too sinky. I scratched over to the south knoll and worked there for 15 minutes while Rob joined me and we worked our way above launch in light thermals up the gulleys. After 35 minutes I figured it would get lighter so I top-landed to drive down as I had to meet Dr. T and Derek at the Ranch to get them their new harnesses (after 3 months of back-orders). Colleen flew out to Harvest Market where I retrieved her, lift all the way and really cold up high. Mitts required now. The first group to launch flew until dark requiring a Rob-spiral to get down before the light shut off. It was an Ozone Gliders day at Woodside; 3 Mantras, 2 Vulcans and an Addict.
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Fraser Valley Report - it looked cloudy but flyable, some bumps at 9,000 feet, Hope didn't look too windy.
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no pireps.
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Valley Report - no rain despite the forecast. A bit windy around 5:00 pm, but otherwise flyable.
| More Safety Thoughts - It has been a disturbing year for safety in BC, and I am trying to come to grips with the issues: three serious crashes on the weekend at Woodside, a PG fatality in Moberly Lake at the start of the month (investigation in process), one serious crash last week at a new site, several tree-landings (crashes this year - including myself on tandem) and many more un-reported accidents make me think we are fooling ourselves into thinking the sport is safe. A few new students last weekend had second thoughts about continuing the sport when Kamloops Dave crashed on two separate days, even though they flew safely and in complete control.
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Fraser Valley Report - it looked great in the morning when I flew over on the way to New York on AC103, but that was pretty early. No pireps.
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Woodside Report - a good start for students but by 1:00 pm, it was too bumpy. Good climbs recorded up to +6 m/s all over Woodside. Alex, Martin and a few others headed to Bridal landing at Seabird Island. No hangs out today?? A Kamloops PGer crashed after just getting in the air and had to be helicoptered to Royal Columbian (now we know why there is "oops" in Kamloops!). I hope he is okay soon. Last flights around 5:00 pm had everyone high on the mountain, while Jack reported similar conditions at Bridal.
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Chloe wants to be an instructor (don't do it!) - Photo by Megan |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports
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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