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FlyBC "Site of the Day Archive" - October/2012
Woodside looks good!
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 12°C Richard T arrived and picked up his new Swift 2 & Delight Harness and will soon be soaring the Big Island of Hawaii. Norm dropped in to test his Mantra M4 before Mexico and it tested good on the porosity and line measurements. Ozone is recommending line measurements vs. line stretching on the new higher performance gliders as the trim is so critical. Despite 150+ hours on Norm's M4 it was still measuring the same as the factory measurements at the time of shipping. It never got flyable today, even though there were some periods of no rain, the clouds were too low.
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| 12°C
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| 12°C Brazillian pilot flies 462 kms on an Ozone R10.2. While we northerners soak in the rain! Not as bad here as The NY Area after Hurricane Sandy!
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| 9°C We arrived to late to fly but saw the possibility as we went thru Hope. There was no flying in the Interior as it was blowing 30+ kph from the south all the way down the Fraser Canyon. Click here for the FlyBC October Album.
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| 9°C
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| 8°C I arrived at the entrance to the logging road up to Horsefly when I encountre an excavator pulling stumps and rock and generally making the road impassible. They said they should be done in a week so we will recheck the road then. Horsefly is an awesome outflow site, but we haven't flown it the past 3 years.
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|  11°C Once he showed me he could launch smoothly we headed up Woodside and he got his first solo flight at noon in perfect smooth lifty conditions, wih a perfect landing at Eagle Ranch.
He did 2 more flights but had to leave by 230 pm, but a great day for his first high flights! Denis and Martin N both ruled the skies today with 2 hours of cold soaring with the eagles in smooth thermals at up to 1200 meters. Claudia was enoying the sky too with about 45 minutes of airtime. Norm joined them later and was complaining that it was rough down low.
We went up one last time around 4 pm, but it shaded out and went leeside but Mark C, Claudia and Kevin all flew while Derek and I drove down. We were sitting at the Sasquatch Inn when Andy Adams walked in, and we had a great chat. Andy is living in the Interior enjoying mountain biking but no flying. Looks like a wet weekend so we are heading up to Williams Lake for Halloween and maybe some flying.
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|  6°C
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| 8°C
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| 7°C Environment Canada said "Sunny with Cloudy Periods" for Vernon. NOAA said 090 @ 6 knots until 4 pm (when it went to 045@6 knots). Lapse rate was -3.6C/1000 feet. So off we went towards Lumby as Cache Creek and Savona had snow showers and low cloudbase. The further east we drove, the sunnier it got! We drove straight up to Cooper's Launch and it was coming straight up and CU was forming overhead. Holger got clipped in and ready quickly and I gave him my vario to observe any thermals he might encounter, but it was still before noon in late October so we were not sure if it would work yet. Holger had a perfect forward launch on the Large Ozone Element II, and was heading out towards Randy's when he hit the first "bullet" thermal, which rattled the wing but not big enough to turn in for sure. There were a few more small thermals on the way to landing, but we concentrated on getting there high for the first flights. There was a 7-10 kph NE wind in the LZ so the flow in the air helped carry Holger to Randy's.
I drove down to pick Holger up after a perfect flight and landing and we headed back up. Holger was soon clipped in again and ready to fly and he was soon thermalling out over the flats near Randy's and managed an extra 15 minutes looking like a pro. He did mention that he needed a lot of brake to keep the glider turning, as he is used to a sailplane which maintains a turn once established in a thermal. Another good landing and I was soon down to get him. Repeat this 2 more times and we logged 4 perfect flights here today under sunny skies! I can't remember being able to launch as late as 4 pm here?  Awesome Flying in Nova Scotia - Alex and I flew my old stomping grounds while visiting my parents in Nova Scotia. Nice fall flying on the ocean bluffs around Parrsboro and the trees were at their peak autumn colors. Now on the plane back to rainy Vancouver. - Nicole
FlyBC Mexico Tour Dates have been set for Dec 1 thru March 1 and we are accepting reservations now. We require pre-paid deposits to secure rooms as this is high season in Mexico. Colima is one of the sites we visit.
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| 7°C We started at the Dump Ridge and got three flights each there, including Holger who just started this morning and was kiting well from the start. It got a bit strong from the east, so we headed to Coyote Hill near Ashcroft and got three more flights there and the Dimas's had to leave early, leaving just Holger to fly so we went back to Savona where he logged 3 more Dump flights and then it switched to NW so we headded to the Toilet Bowl where he got 3 more flights there by 6 pm. Total count for Holger - 12 flights on Day One! And only one abort near the end of the day as he was getting tired. Click here for the FlyBC October Album. What Holger does in Germany! HWW12 Impressions from Holger von Fritz on Vimeo.
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| 8°C I drove through heavy rains all the way to Boston Bar where a blue hole opened up and the first new snow started appearing on the hills. I forgot to check DriveBC for a road report and was stuck at Lytton for 20 minutes for rock scaling, but heard later that the Coquihalla was a mess with lots of snow and ice. I met Dimas Sr. & Dimas Jr. at the restaurant in Savona and we headed right to the CrashPad training slope where Dimas Jr. did very well even with a cross wind component and slippery snow on the ground. We moved to the Toilet Bowl Launch area and he did a few more perfect inflations and was soon soaring down to the bottom where he had a first perfect landing running the glider into the clear spot out of the sage. Dimas Sr. also flew down and had a perfect flight. This went on for 3 more flights each until we broke for lunch. After lunch we drove up to Upper Launch where it was slightly catabatic, so down to Lower Launch, Same conditions so back to the CrashPad wherre it was blowing east? Over to the Dump Ridge where it was blowing in nicely and the boys did 2 more flights and Dimas Sr. got in his first top-landing as it got stronger as a squall approached from Kamloops. A great day, with wet feet as the snow melted, but the guys logged 6 flights each and perfect approaches and landings. More fun planned tomorrow. Click here for the FlyBC October Album. Woodside Desperado Report - Tonya and Ryan were out flying today. Strong winds and occasional rain and hail reported. A Cessna 172 crashed at Chilliwack Airport apparently blown off course by winds with no injuries thankfully as the plane ended up in a drainage ditch.
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| 13°C
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| 13°C Russ Ogden is Ozone's main test pilot, very skilled pilot.
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|  13°C Denis had already flown and I missed him in the air, as I looked several times when the sun came out and the development looked good. He grabbed 40 minutes of flying with 9 eagles and top-landed to drive home. Andrei K & Claudia S were also out just before 4 pm, and were flying with Derek & Jan. Derek managed over an hour, getting to 900 meters at the North Cliffs with many eagles too. There were 3 trucks on launch so Derek drove everyone up to retrieve, while I sat in the Chilliwack AirCare and got a Pass! Now we just have to figure out why the Suburban's brakes won't bleed properly so I can prep it for Mexico.
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| 13°C
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| 16°C Derek helped me pick up the new FlyBC Shuttle Bus - Ford E350 Diesel 7.3 IDI Powered with seats for 12 pilots and lots of inside storage. We plan to hire a driver and keep the shuttle going on flyable days starting next spring, picking up at the Ranch and the bottom of the hill too. Pictures will be released soon. Ozone Test Pilots in Lachens, France this fall.
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| 15°C
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| 14°C
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| 14°C Looks like even the interior is getting rain and wind, so another weekend off.
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| 13°C Unfortunately, Jason tweaked his shoulder/back bunching up up the Element 2 on his last run and was unable to fly a tandem with me, so he offered to drive down and I launched solo on the Magnum 2 tandem and thermalled around with Denis for a bit before heading out to land and debrief Jason on his morning flights. I forgot my gloves and it was pretty chilly just at the Inversion layer. Denis flew for 1:45 before landing at Joe's. Martin N, Derek, Joe C and Ihor all flew the second run and Derek almost broke thru the inversion. Andrei & Laura bagged almost an hour at Bridal too today. Click here for the FlyBC October Album.
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|  18°C After noon we headed out to the training hill where the cycles were good and Jason did about a dozen perfect inflations and runs, before we switched him to reverse inflations which he mastered quickly.
Mt. Laughington Hiking Report - Attached picture from Mt Laughington yesterday shows what it looked like above the inversion.
Very nice cycles coming up in the late afternoon, too bad I didn't bring my wing . . . instead I had my camera to snap lots of pictures of the amazing the fall colors - Claudia S.
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| 22°C She had 6 good flights off Heritage Park Hill, no aborts despite cross winds, and great landings too in the fog. We headed back to the Ranch and headed up the mountain, with me as wind tech and Derek as launching coach. Nice cycles and smooth in the air and Ramona had a perfect launch & perfect landing almost in the circle! Yippee! We flew Ramona one more time, this flight I flew again but with new student Jason on tandem and we guided Ramona in to land after Derek launched her. It was getting a bit rough on the next flight so we went for lunch at Sandpiper Golf Course and waited out the winds. Back on launch an hour later and Derek flew off and reported smooth air and Ramona had another great launch (9 flights today and no aborts!). Derek guided her in and we waited on top for cycles for Joe & Calim, but only Calim got off landing just before legal dusk (it is getting dark much earlier as fall settles in). A few other die-hards were out today: Ian J, Ihor, Martin N rounding out the Woodside Crew. Klaus flew Bridal and managed a 45 minute scratch-fest below launch too. Click here for the FlyBC October Album.
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| 21°C I spent the day unpacking and doing domestic chores to get ready to go back to full-time PG training this week. Hedley Report - Denis posted a Youtube Video showing him above launch at Hedley and the air looked clear and smooth for the Fly-In. No report on how many people attended, sorry we missed it Euro Tour Refresh - we just completed a great three week holiday through Europe and drove approximately 6500 kms to see the sights & sounds. Trip Highlights: Saleve near Geneva, Switzerland - Corinne Stolz-Orava's home site. Cable Car access to the NW launches, and paved road drive up to Les Crets S/SW Launches. Awesome scenery but too windy to fly the one day we were there. A must see location to stay for a week, you can rent a room at the B&B up at Les Crets for 40 euros a night. The Swiss-French border runs through this area and you never know what country you are in.
Annecy, France - south of Geneva is a Paraglider Mecca with many launches and a great infrastructure with shuttles and landing zones all around. Colleen flew a sled ride off Montmin on our first few days in Europe, along with about 60 other pilots on a cloudy day. Hotels run about 60 euros a night with breakfast included. Nicole & Alex camped at a Doussard campground for cheaper and the shuttles picked them up there.
St. Hilaire de Touvet, France - the home site for Coupe Icare, a free flight festival that is in its 39th year. Three days of flying, product shows, acro demos, Costume Competitions, attended by 40,000 people. Awesome flying location with a funiculaire cable railway to the top, and an LZ a short walk back to the funiculaire. We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express at the bottom as most of the local rooms were booked up, but many stayed on top in the B&B's for less than 50 euros a night.
Canazei, Italy and the Dolomites - a great mid September destination with cable cars to most launch sites, huge LZs and a few drive up sites with easy top-landing options. The Dolomites are awesome and we saw 100 paragliders, hanggliders, speed-fliers all flying here despite some days blowing at +25-30 kph in the air, but smooth. We spent 5 days here in Hotel Irma for 48 euros a night each including breakfast and a three course dinner. Great ambience with pilots here from Holland & Austria all staying here too.
Gourdon , France - head office for Ozone and we saw why they are based here. +300 flyable/soarable days of a year makes this an ideal testing ground for new designs. We flew Gourdon and Lachens launches and saw another 15 sites all within 45 minutes drive, facing every direction. We saw Russ Ogden and the Ozone team test flying a new Ozone Buzz Z4 prototype and they were doing the entire EN test protocol and top-landing to try other protos too. Good flying here for the 2 days we were here, and Nicole had a 90 kms O&R flight at St. Andre not far from here. Hotels are in the +130 euro range as we are in the South of France near Nice, but there is camping all around.
Saint-Vincents-les-Forts, France - a cool site near a huge lake that reminded us of Chelan, WA. Apple orchards and mountains all around here. The launch is small with a top-landing area 6 meters lower near the parking area, not recommended for beginners. We saw some locals doing a small triangle flight here but Alex & Nicole had some nice XCs here. There was camping and hotels here but we did not price them out as we were heading north that day to get nearer Frankfurt Airport.
Interlaken, Switzerland - a beautiful Swiss town surrounded by two lakes and the Swiss Alps. Many launch sites serviced by trains and cable cars. The main LZ is a retired army airstrip, with another big LZ in the town park. Get your credit card ready as a cheap hotel is 170 euros and they were all full. Dinner is also pricy unless you eat at McDonalds in downtown. Jack & Derek stayed here a few years ago and found a cheaper place but this was a last minute idea to fly here on the way home and we did no research. Great flying conditions the two days we were here with 60-70 gliders, sailplanes and sky-divers all sharing the sky.
We used Paraglidingearth.com to find the sites and get the site briefings and it worked out very well. We ran hard to see all these sites and dodge some rainy weather but recommend being here around September 7th for three weeks landing in Geneva to start off the trip. Gas is between 1.60 - 2.00 euros a litre. Tolls are expensive in Italy but you go fast, if you want more scenery stay on the non-toll roads. The German Autobahn is a treat with no speed limits and the fancier cars averaging +200 kph, so stay out of the fast lanes. We rented a Fiat 500 online for 20 CDN per day plus insurance and when we arrived they only had larger Opel vehicles which worked out better as we hd a lot of stuff, but probably burned more fuel. We averaged 7 litres per 100 kms according to the in dash computer screen. We had a borrowed Garmin Nuvi GPS that got us lost a few times, and by the end of the trip we ignored it most of the time and used a road map. Click here for the FlyBC Euro Album 2012.
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| 17°C
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| 22°C A quick trip to the tourist info office confirmed where to get the cog-wheel train up to Schynige Platte, where you hike 500 meters to launch mostly flat or downhill. The launch was rather stark with a few ribbons and a slippery grass slope to lay out on, and we were ot even convinced this was the launch as there is a row of trees in front of launch one must cross over that could be cut down (Derek?). Colleen launched first as a group of local arrived and suggested she start higher up the hill and they laid out her wing higher up. She had a good launch cycle, but we were definitely in SW lee winds on launch. And she cleared the trees easily. I launched next in a nice cycle and got popped up and dropped just over the trees, but missed them and was soon soaring the ridge heading SW. Another 2 gliders launched after me and we were ridge soaring the SW point nicely and some thermals started popping off and I was soon high over the peaks at about 2200 meters. It looked like one could head south down a narrow valley with some nice peaks, or west or east and go XC. Trains everywhere to get home too, but I had to get on the ground to drive towards Frankfurt soon. Colleen had landed earlier and as I had the car keys she had to wait for me at the main LZ (a retired military airstrip), that had RC planes, a car rally, RC race cars, farmers picking up hay . . . oh and skydivers and rescue choppers all working the same area. I headed upwind toward the west lake and had slow penetration that direction. I could see the tandems and some of the glider from our launch landing in town at the park, in the lee of the big hotels and getting turbulated somewhat on final. I spiralled down and got downwind of the LZ and it was rough and pitchy, I pulled big-ears to drop through the turbulence but I was still going up? The area I was landing is between 2 lakes and it appears that a convergence sets up over town with cool air over both lakes pulling in towards the airstrip which is a perfect trigger point with hot pavement and moving vehicles. One must just wait and be patient, or seek a sinky patch to the NE which I did. The windsock in the LZ was pointing every direction including up, but it was SW in the air, so I landed that way softly. Colleen hiked to get the car at the train station as I packed up. Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun & the FlyBC Euro Album. We got a SPOT Message & text that Alex & Nicole had an nice 25 km Out & Return flight near St Andre.
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| 26°C After finding the LZ for Les Crets (SW) site, we drove up the paved road to Les Crets to find it howling windy despite a light SW forecast? We had lunch at the top and waited for the wind to calm down. It never did and in fact the whole north route to Interlaken was very windy until we arrived in the Interlaken valley and saw paragliders soaring and flying with ease. Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun & the FlyBC Euro Album. We saw later on FaceBook that Alex & Nicole had an awesome +90 km Out & Return flight near St Andre.
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| 26°C We ignored Nuvi and started driving uphill and found the launch and some other eager fliers. We had perfect cycles maybe even a bit light but we watched as the first pilot on a Gin BoomX launch and head straight to the castle to thermal up. He was followed by two ladies on Gin & Nova gliders headed over there too and they were soon thermalling 300 meters over. It was starting to fill in with high cirrus as the next 2 launched and were not getting high, in danger of sinking out even. The site guide says specifically not to bottom land in private fields so we decided not to launch as it looked "iffy". The last 2 to fly did "squeak in" to top-land as the others headed SE where I saw a LZ earlier in the town Nuvi sent us to earlier. We headed north to St. Hilaire but saw no one in the air as it as NW and not flyable there. Later we got a text from Alex & Nicole that they were swimming in the Mediterranean Sea with some "super-stars", so no flying for them. Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun & the FlyBC Euro Album. Speed Flier Alert on an Ozone Speed Wing in the Alps!
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| 24°C After a hand-drawn map, then Google Street View tour we were off to find the launch. We also programmed the Garmin Nuvi to find the top and we found the LZ where some students were gettting picked up and we followed the shuttle back to the clubhouse and school LZ. They were staying on the ground as it picked up with strong NW as forecasted. We found the top of the mountain and there were launches in 4 directions, and it was windy from the NW up there too. Colleen hiked up to the top and found the "table de orientation", a ceramic map/compass device to locate distant mountains. I tried to nap but was interrupted by a Belgian on a motorbike also looking to fly. A swiss tour group also arrived and was looking for a launchable place. We drove down the North side of the mountain on a paved road and found the secret unmarked Ozone Van parked in a cul-de-sac, so we parked and hiked in to see Russ, Dav & Fred testflying the Buzz Z4 protos. They were doing the same maneuvers as the EN Test Labs do in strong thermic conditions, then top-landing to swap gliders and re-test again. This was not easy top landing today as it was blowing 25-30 kph and thermic, but they managed 6 or 7 top-landings each when we were there. Freakin' awesome piloting! The one main obstacle today on launch was a nice hunting dog, that was lost apparently that wanted to get the big flying birds aka paragliders. He went nuts when the guys came in to top-land and/or relaunching getting in the way. One bystander was holding the dog so I assumed it was his dog. The dog got away and was chasing Russ when I collared him and took him back to the bystander. It reminded me of this Pink Panther movie scene: Clouseau: Does your dog bite? Hotel Clerk: No. Clouseau: [bowing down to pet the dog] Nice doggie. [Dog barks and bites Clouseau in the hand] Clouseau: I thought you said your dog did not bite! Hotel Clerk: That is not my dog. When I took the dog back to the man on launch he too said "This is not my dog". We went for lunch and found a cute little shack in a small town 3 kms away and had a nice veggie tort and when we got back to launch the guys were just leaving having done their testing and trimming and were done for the day by 3:30 pm. These test runs are what makes Ozone handling so precise, three different testers all trying out new protos to get the correct feel and safety we expect for our customers. I got to launch to see the Swizz Group had launched and was heading out to land. I got setup and launched in a nice lull, and was soon over the top of Lachens soaring easily but it was still pretty windy (+25 kph) in the air. The other pilot that launched with me was also over the peak and there was a sailplance east of us too and lower soaring the peak. My camera was stashed and the Contour died so no pictures from me today, but Colleen got some good shots. Later we got a text from Alex & Nicole that St. Andre was a "gong show" with a HG crash on launch and 2 PG accidents in strong lee conditions; but everyone was uninjured. They landed after 30 minutes after seeing the mayhem. Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun & the FlyBC Euro Album.
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| 26°C I also looked at the XXLIte in the shop and noticed a few neat things. It is a 2 riser glider with no facility for B-stalls, extremely light with spectra risers and no metal parts at all (not even maillons). We can start ordering a demo next week. I did get a chance to Gourdon myself despite low cloudbase. I opted for the main LZ landing after some light soaring, although others were going for the Kennedy LZ south of Bar-sur-Loup. The Site of the Day was delayed as the Hotel wifi server was blocking my FTP client, and the hotel staff could not fix it, but I am now back online. Oddly, the pictures were downloading to Picasa okay? Click here for more pictures from today's flying fun & the FlyBC Euro Album.
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| 26°C We made good time as the Italian Toll Roads have tunnels through the mountains and you cruise at 130 kph legally, and as we hit France it started to rain. When we arrived in Gourdon, it looked possible to fly but we stopped for lunch and directions and it OD-ed as we finished lunch, so we could not fly. Good day for sightseeing though as we have never been here before and the 500 year old buildings look pretty cool. Alex and Nicole are nearby in St. Andre but I didn't get a SPOT Message so I suspect they got rained on too. Folks back home need not feel bad for us not flying everyday, as this is a nice holiday with flying possibilities, and there is much to do when the weather is bad. We now know that August 15-Sept 15 is probably the best time to be here in Europe. Click here for more pictures from today's non-flying fun & the FlyBC Euro Album. |
FlyBC Paragliding Past Site of the Day Reports click to select the month and year you wish to review.
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