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What's new around the Vancouver Flying scene. | Date | Site | Forecast | Precip. | Winds Aloft 3000 ft. | Lapse Rate | Cloudbase Forecast | Comments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 1 | Woodside/Bridal/Blanchard | Afternoon sunny periods. High 18° | 0% POP | 290° at 6 knots | -2.66°/1000' (unstable lapse rate) | 1700 m/5800 ft |
Marie Claude (M.C.) Dumont was named the FlyBC Rookie of the Year 2001 at the Eagle Ranch Grand Opening. She really earned the title and received a new Charlie Insider helmet for the award! FlyBC's Paragliding School is back bigger and better in 2002!, go to FlyBC's Eagle Ranch Page for more aerial shots taken by Colleen on Sunday Feb 10, 2002. September 30
| Stay Home
| Cloudy with afternoon sunny periods. A few showers. High 14°
| 30% POP
| 310° at 5 knots
| -2.0°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 650 m/2200 ft
|
Woodside Report - Ian J, Nicole, Allan and Derek logged about an hour each before landing to warm up. New snow on Cheam and Hope Mountains, freezing level down to 5000 feet. Winter is coming, dress warm. | September 29
| Stay Home
| Windy and Rainy. High 20°
| 100% POP
| 310° at 25 knots
| -2.4°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 600 m/1850 ft
|
Rained all day while we were installing the Hot Tub, thanks to Rob, Nicole and Bruce who helped get the foundation laid - Jim and Colleen | September 28
| Woodside
| Sunny. High 23°
| 10% POP
| 310° at 5 knots
| -2.4°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 1600 m/4850 ft
|
Woodside Report - great start of the day with students flying by 9:30 in calm conditions. By 11:30 there was weird air, as I watched Bruce McG getting trashed and heading to Riverside in quite turbulent air. Strong SW soarable winds at launch with lots of ups and downs as you headed out. The students fully understood why they shouldn't be flying after watching some almost launches, and weird flights. I took Frank for a tandem so he could sample the air, and I had my hands full all the way into Eagle Ranch, collapses, glider being turned 90 degrees with no input, no way to tell what was going to hit next. I conciously checked my reserve handle a few time (never even think about the reserve on most tandem flights!). We stayed on the ground until 5:00 pm watching others keep trying to get decent flights. | Woodside Mayhem Report - We were up at launch at 5:30 and witnessed one of the scariest events ever in 8 years of flying: A recently signed off pilot (not from FlyBC) was flying in conditions too strong for a novice and was attempting to do wingovers at about 200 feet above launch. He went out-of-control and just missed hitting Ian J who just launched. The out-of-control pilot then spiralled past Ian in front of launch. Ian's wing was waked into a collapse which Ian corrected quickly. We all ran to the edge expecting the worst, and the pilot was in the first row of trees below the HG ramp, talking to us calmly. This is the second time in the trees for this pilot in his first 5 months of flying - and we hope he considers the consequences of his actions today. This is a risky sport - and we need to manage the risks. Wingovers should be practiced at Maneuvers Clinics over water, not near launch, putting pilots and spectators at risk- J & C. September 27
| Bridal
| Mix of Sun and Cloud. High 23°
| 30% POP
| 310° at 5 knots
| -2.4°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 1500 m/4850 ft
|
Marie Claude (M.C.) Dumont was named the FlyBC Rookie of the Year 2001 at the Eagle Ranch Grand Opening. She really earned the title and received a new Charlie Insider helmet for the award! | FlyBC's Paragliding School is back bigger and better in 2002!, go to FlyBC's Eagle Ranch Page for more aerial shots taken by Colleen on Sunday Feb 10, 2002. September 26
| Bridal
| Sunny later. High 22°
| 10% POP
| 310° at 5 knots
| -2.2°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 1900 m/6000 ft
|
No pilot reports. | September 24
| Bridal
| Sunny. High 23°
| 10% POP
| 330° at 6 knots
| -2.4°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2100 m/6500 ft
|
Bridal Report - Ian J and Allan D got 45 minutes in smooth lift, while Derek K blew the doors off them and bagged 1:30. | September 24
| Bridal
| Sunny. High 23°
| 10% POP
| 330° at 6 knots
| -2.4°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2100 m/6500 ft
|
Woodside Report - we arrived at 1:30 pm, and just then the winds kicked in from the north. The eagles were having problems penetrating as they thermalled, so we installed a roof rack on the new Suburban and wasted time until 6:30 pm, when Ian J and I flew our motors in light north winds. No one flew Bridal either.
| September 23
| Bridal or Woodside
| Sunny. High 24°
| 10% POP
| 300° at 19 knots
| -2.2°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2400 m/7400 ft
|
Woodside Report - a few students were out to fly and had 3 great flights, some tandems. Justin K flew three tandems and the passenger loved the flights getting her orientation for solo flight later this week. It got quite thermic around 3:00 pm and we shut down the student flying until 5:00 pm. The forecasted high speed winds never materialized. | Bridal Report - Allan D hiked up Bridal around 12:00 and Tim O and Derek flew also with top landing to retrieve their trucks. Allan said he got about 200 meters over launch but no more, but very reliable lift. Grouse Report - Ian J, Nicole, Rob P and a few others flew Grouse, sled rides with a few turns below the Cut. September 22
| Bridal or Woodside in the PM
| Sunny. High 26°
| 10% POP
| light and variable
| -2.2°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2000 m/6400 ft
|
Woodside Report - many PG pilots out for sled rides, but only one HGer. Nice training conditions, but only a few soarable periods where one could stay up. Duncan and I duked it out in a nice thermal just in front of launch waking one another - Jim | September 21
| Sumas in the AM, Bridal or Woodside in the PM
| Sunny. High 23°
| 10% POP
| 090° at 15 knots
| -2.2°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2000 m/6400 ft
|
Sumas Report - as predicted the winds at launch were east at 15 knots, too strong so we waited until 1:00 pm then Colleen volunteered to fly off to test the air. It was at least another hour before Ian J launched and reported trashy air close to the hill. Then smooth in the valley so we launched Harold, Frank, Rusty and Barry and they all had perfect flights into the new LZ. Meanwhile the reports from Bridal and Woodside started pouring in. | Bridal Report - As we drove past Bridal we saw Mark F and another red glider climbing out. Woodside Report - we arrived after 3:30 pm, and Norm was in the air (total 1:45), we all launched and had great flights into Eagle Ranch. Margit flew into Riverside because she said it is too expensive to head to Eagle Ranch after last weekend :-) All the students did fine getting out to the Ranch and had time to do 360s and wingovers. September 20
| Bridal
| Sunny with cloudy periods. High 19°
| 10% POP
| 320° at 5 knots
| -2.2°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2000 m/6400 ft
|
Woodside Report - while I was driving down the "Coq" watching the cu's form, Colleen, Ian J and several others were soaring at Woodside for 1+ hours! Interior weather was rainy and windy, so it looks like the Fraser Valley was the place to be. | September 19
| Woodside/Bridal but early is better! or stay home.
| Cloudy. A few showers developing in the afternoon. Wind becoming west 40 km/h in the evening. High 18°
| 40% POP
| 310° at 29 knots
| -2.0°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 650 m/2200 ft
|
Windy in Vancouver, Cochrane was blown out and I was chased by a dust storm all the way to Lethbridge - Jim | September 18
| Woodside/Bridal
| Cloudy. High 20°
| 20% POP
| 250° at 8 knots
| -2.5°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1100 m/3500 ft
|
Marie Claude (M.C.) Dumont was named the FlyBC Rookie of the Year 2001 at the Eagle Ranch Grand Opening. She really earned the title and received a new Charlie Insider helmet for the award! | FlyBC's Paragliding School is back bigger and better in 2002!, go to FlyBC's Eagle Ranch Page for more aerial shots taken by Colleen on Sunday Feb 10, 2002. September 17
| Woodside/Bridal may work
| Cloudy with sunny periods. High 19°
| 60% POP
| 300° at 9 knots
| -2.9°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1900 m/6100 ft
|
no pireps passed on | September 16
| Stay at Work
| Heavy Rain. High 16°
| 100% POP
| 220° at 22 knots
| -2.5°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 400 m/1300 ft
|
Rain all day | September 15
| Bridal/Woodside
| Cloudy with Sunny periods. High 24°
| 30% POP
| 220° at 5 knots
| -2.5°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1600 m/5300 ft
|
Woodside Report - the magic of Woodside revealed itself again yesterday! We arrived at launch at 10:30 am as we could see cloudbase lifting, but we were given only 2 or 3 windows to launch in and then the clouds closed in again, so we headed down for burgers. As we ate lunch we saw cloudbase steadily lift and we headed back for some great flights. Colleen and Ian J flew four tandems while I guided students off launch. At day's end Colleen, Nicole, Brent P, Brent L, Ian, Margit and Jack all had great soaring flights during the afternoon. Harold and Frank (new students) also had some great turns in smooth lift with Harold getting above launch from a thermal at the bailout. Margit owes $20 for outlanding! | September 14
| Bridal/Woodside
| Sunny. High 28°
| 10% POP
| light and variable
| -2.1°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2550 m/8300 ft
|
Woodside Report - about 25 PGers and 1 HGer flew Woodside in mixed conditions, pretty stable until 2:30 pm, then it started to get weird according to some pilots. We waited for a while, then sent Norm out and of course he had a great flight in smooth air getting high over launch. Students got 3 flights and had some thermalling turns on the last flight.
| Cheam Report - Klaus , Monica, Jack and Kevin hiked Cheam but only Klaus could launch. Huge thermals kicking though launch never subsided so they hiked down to Bridal Upper to get a flight. September 13
| Bridal/Woodside
| Sunny. High 26°
| 10% POP
| 320° at 7 knots
| -2.3°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 1950 m/5800 ft
|
Woodside Report - I took a new student out for his first towing experiences at Eagle Ranch and we had 5 solid tows after several hours of ground handling practice before heading into BC Place for a "North American First".
| BC Place Report - FlyBC was approached by the BC Lions to participate in "indoor paragliding", by training the mascot "Stray Cat" to fly under tow. We didn't have enough lead time to get the mascot to a proficient level so I suggested it would be better if I flew for the first event (last night). The team was assembled at 3:30 pm (Mark Dowsett, Nicole, Margit and myself) and we started some practice tows behind the mascot's ATV. This ATV is perfect as it has an automatic tranny and all you have to do is point it and squeeze the throttle!. We used a 30 meter length of spectra tied to the ATV with a standard PG tow bridle at the pilot end. We did 5 successful tows in different directions, with one lockout where I released over the stands (which were empty at the time) and flew back into the field. Just a bad layout we surmised afterwards. Mark had to leave so Nicole assumed driver chores. We tried one tow with the ATV turning at the uprights but I overtook them in the turn so we abandoned that for a straight hard tow where I release at the top. The last practice to got me almost to the roof and very near the speakers and I had a perfect spot landing where the mascot would stand. We were booked in as the half time entertainment right after the Police/Fire Dept flag football match and we had everything ready. Colleen was now spotting on the rear of the ATV with Nicole driving, Margit was videoing and Wayne B was shooting the digital shots attached below. What a team effort! The flight plan Tow me up as high as possible in a straight line, I then release and the "Stray Cat" guides me in using pom-poms and I try to land on him. How it really went! I was laid out at the end zone and clipped in and the ATV was signalled to start.  As I bowed the ATV accelerated and I was launched into the air.  The tow continues as the crowd cheers and gets louder and louder, I can hear nothing because of the crowd, just stay on the tow!  As I near the lights and speakers, I release and control the surge as I start a turn over the uprights and start aiming for the mascot.  Remember there is no wind so you can land in any direction! So I execute a 180 degree turn and head for the mascot just landing in front of him so I keep running and I knock him over as the crowd roars.  It was all over in 30 seconds but the crowd loved it and WCSC and FlyBC got some free advertising on the big screen for our efforts. note how the orange glider is the BC Lions color! just a fluke. September 12
| Bridal/Woodside
| Sunny. High 28°
| 10% POP
| 290° at 12 knots
| -2.4°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 2050 m/6200 ft
|
| Grouse Report - Justin and I launched at around 5pm in light but straight in cycles. Scratched around the cliffs in skinny / light thermals with some punchy ones mixed in for good measure for about 5 rounds of the tram . To much work, so flew out to land approaching from the east landing in "Romans back yard". YEAH BABY !! ( insert Austins voice here ) !! September 11
| Bridal/Woodside/Grouse
| Sunny. High 26°
| 10% POP
| light and variable
| -2.5°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1750 m/5800 ft
|
Woodside Report - about 10 pilots flew Woodside and Norm was the "Sky King", getting about an hour of airtime and managing to land before having to leave for work. Good flight Norm! The remaining flights were a lot of work in ratty lift, described as lee-side conditions. | Tow test report - a tractor is too slow to sustain towing even with a tandem. Bridal Report - Klaus and Monica hiked to Upper and Klaus flew off, no reports on flight time. September 10
| Bridal
| Sunny with Cloudy Periods. High 25°
| 10% POP
| 350° at 5 knots
| -2.5°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1700 m/5500 ft
|
Grouse Report - Ian J bagged a sled ride later in the day, no other pireps - Jim
| September 9
| Woodside
| Cloudy with occasional showers. High 20°
| 40% POP
| 180° at 8 knots
| -2.9°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1100 m/3500 ft
|
Woodside Report - springtime finally hits Woodside! I had to test fly a new glider today so I talked Colleen into taking me up for an early flight at about 2:30 pm. I launched and was experiencing some very weird air with bullety thermals and lots of sink in between. I kept getting sucked up into the one low cloud about 150 meters over launch and had to keep on ears to stay low, so as I saw Colleen drive off launch I played around for a bit before heading out to Eagle Ranch. Even the LZ had strange conditions with a NW wind, allowing me to land right beside the telescope tent. | Then Alan D called on the radio and we decided to go for a second flight, and by the time the three of us had launched , Mark F and Rob S showed up so we had three cars on launch, meaning someone was going to have to top-land. Alan and Colleen were getting good altitude and I made my own way up above launch and flew for a while before trying a top-landing approach, and as I flew over launch I was too high but started sinking down to the lower launch area. I was kicking trees before catching a thermal back up to launch (small and drifting from the north). This was replayed many times by Mark, Rob and myself as we all tried to get into top-land. After about 30 attempts by various pilots, we all gave up and just concentrated on flying. There were some exciting moments as clouds formed around us at cloudbase - right around 1100 meters as predicted, but we managed to stay clear of the "white room". Well some of us anyway :-)  After about two hours of flight time, we were running out of thermals and all the men landed in Riverside as Colleen made her way to Eagle Ranch landing last - Jim September 8
| Woodside
| Sunny with rain developing in the PM. High 19°
| 40% POP
| 170° at 13 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable!! lapse rate) 1000 m/3300 ft
|
Woodside Report - good student flying and even some soaring at times, but the rain came in at 2:00 pm and shut everything down. Jan K did dome paramotoring in the barn which was a first - no pictures available at this time.
| September 7
| Woodside
| Cloudy with sunny breaks, risk of a thundershower. High 22°
| 40% POP
| 230° at 6 knots
| -3.2°/1000' | (unstable!! lapse rate) 1240 m/4500 ft
|
Woodside Report - warnings of wild rodeo air went unheeded as many pilots took to the air at Woodside. Colleen and I flew tandems around noon and I was fortunate to find enough lift to keep us up at the south knoll for a while before heading out to let the student fly the tandem.
| We then started ground handling as Colleen, Harold and Kelly retrieved the Suburban and we watched lots of pilots sledding into Riverside, no lift to be had despite the lapse rate. Then it started to sprinkle rain and we went to lunch. After lunch it got sunny and we had ideal towing conditions for two new students as Harold flew another flight. As we were towing, Margit and Robin S launched with Nikolai and they stayed up for 45 minutes on the south knoll. A great Woodside day all around - Jim Grouse Report - Went up to Grouse today as it turned into a nice sunny day in Vancouver. Like the past few days, there was big development over the back but the front was clear. Got to launch to nice strong cycles and cu's forming over the chalet. Launched and flew over the chalet area and got to 1500m+, playing around the clouds with the occasional big-ears to escape the cloud-suck. A bit of SE wind and was starting to develop Big over the Chalet so headed over to the Cut where it was smoother and just as lifty. A bunch of other pilots joined me and we flew the Cut for bit until I decided to land. Just about one of the nicest days at Grouse this year! - Nicole September 6
| Grouse for the Fence Party
| Cloudy with sunny breaks, High 21°
| 40% POP
| 310° at 6 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1780 m/5860 ft
|
Grouse Flight Report - Showed up at the Grouse Mtn. fence replacement work party early so decided to go up for a flight. Big development behind the mountain but the tandems were doing business and Ivan T. had just flown, so Rob S. and I went up. Nice strong cycles and lots of lift - I was late for the fence thing so had decided to fly straight out and not hang around - and was getting nice 3m/s up all the way out, no turning required. Landed in turbulent conditions with the fence just starting to be reassembled (last fenceless landing of the year!) so helped out with the tall fence pieces. | There were 15+ pilots there helping out so the work went really fast! After a few mistakes figuring out which fence piece went where, the fence was back up for another winter. Then we all headed over to Mark D. house for a BBQ. Lots of food and a nice evening watching the development over the North Shore slowly dissipate. Good party Mark! - Nicole Grouse Fence Party Report #2 - I would like to thank all those that came out and helped put the fence back up at the Grouse LZ today. It was nice to have such a large group, split evenly between hangliders and paragliders to participate in this task. I see the beginning of a new trend here. It was followed by a great BBQ at Mark Dowsett and Steve Thoss's home, with team members and guests having a great time socializing and enjoying the night. Thanks to Mark, Donna and Steve for the hospitality! Who knew that a work party could be so much fun? - Justin Kyllo September 5
| Woodside
| Cloudy with sunny breaks, High 24°
| 40% POP
| 270° at 9 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1780 m/5800 ft
|
Woodside Report - we got there late to hear that Bruce and Jeremy went over the back in windy conditions. Ian J was circling high over launch when we arrived, and by the time we got to launch he was pretty well parked so we waited, and waited and waited. Then we drove down and kited for a while at Eagle Ranch. While Colleen was kiting a white dove landed next to her and just stayed there for a while. I went over to it and picked it up, and it appeared quite tame and wasn't nervous around us. I finally held it up into the wind and it flew off into some trees to the north. |  We went back up to launch later and even at 7:00 pm it was too strong to launch comfortably so we headed back to town. September 4
| Woodside
| Cloudy with sunny breaks, possible Thunderstorms, High 21°
| 40% POP
| light and variable
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1780 m/5800 ft
|
Woodside Report - Bruce and Jeremy launched after 1:00 pm, with Jeremy staying up for 2:45 and landing near Agassiz Research Station, after topping out at Bear Mtn and not knowing where to go from there. | I took Bruce back up and Robin showed up at the same time so Bruce, Robin and I launched and climbed out quickly to 1200 meters before heading over the back (Robin's Presta was outclimbing me on the Summit L most of the time). It was the plan for Bruce to follow me to Harrison for ice cream, but I hadn't talked to Robin about it so I yelled at him "Let's Go!" as I turned east. He shouted something that I didn't hear and didn't think he was coming until I reached Agassiz Mountain and saw him right behind me! It was slow going to Agassiz Mountain as I clocked 17 km/hr on the way. The thermals at Agassiz are quite small so I pulled around the side on a gulley to let Robin climb unimpeded and as he got near the top of the mountain I pulled back into the house thermal and climbed up too. I lost sight of Robin as I topped out at 1450 meters and headed to Bear Mtn, where I found no lift. But then I saw Bruce below heading for the Golf Course to land. Bruce went over the back too, behind Robin, but thought I was too low to make it so he played it safe and headed to the Gas Station to the east of Woodside for a Coke, and when he saw us going up he headed back towards Agassiz Mountain, but got there way too low so he bailed to avoid the CYR. XC tip: If you have left strong lift at Woodside and get to 1200 meters, it is a safe bet that there will be stronger lift at Agassiz Mountain and you shouldn't loose more than about 300 meters on the transition (in theory). As I gave up at Bear Mtn., I saw Robin approaching Harrison Beach for landing on the east side of the lagoon, that is Robin's wing on the beach near the water.  I flew over the Sand Castle area on the west side of the lagoon to check out the action before locking into a -10 m/s spiral to show off for the crowds before landing.  Total flight time: 1:17, maximum climb rate of +4.8 m/s, maximum altitude of 1450 meters, distance 10 kms. Fun factor - 10/10. I called Agassiz Taxi at 796-2424 (remember this number), and Robin and I hopped in to retrieve Bruce down the road and talked the cabbie into taking us up to launch. Total cost $31.25. Much faster than hitch-hiking.  As we arrived at launch to reclaim our trucks, Jeremy was at launch with a big grin. He had relaunched and soared for 20 minutes before top-landing to drive down as we arrived. Hats off to these aspiring XC pilots, this is Robin and Bruce's first XC flights and Jeremy is getting to be an old hand at XCing after flying the interior this summer. Bridal Report - Allan, Klaus, Kevin, Rob S and Derek flew Bridal and had great flying. Allan said he was near Cheam, and on towards Ludwig Peak before heading back to land at the golf course. We heard Klaus heading home to land near his house. Grouse Report - Looked really unstable over the North Shore, with huge towering cu's forming. But by the time I got to Grouse it was dissapating so I headed up. Got to the launch with nice strong (reversible!) cycles so I launched and went straight up over the cliffs. Climbed out to 1400 m and headed back towards Crown peak but it got sinky so headed back to the cliffs. After a while got cold so headed over to the bail-out cliffs and played around there, then headed out to land. As I was packing up I saw 3 other gliders maintaining at the cliffs; looks like another great day at Grouse! - Nicole September 3
| Woodside
| Cloudy with sunny breaks, possible Thunderstorms, High 18C
| 40% POP
| 280° at 10 knots
| -3.0°/1000' | (unstable lapse rate) 1280 m/4000 ft
|
Woodside Report - Ian J, Derek, Allan D, Bruce McG, Nicole and I were at launch just after 3:00 pm. I sprinkled some grass seed on launch while Allan launched and started climbing out. Pretty soon all of us were in the air bobbing up and down, getting way above launch (Allan and I) and then hitting sustained -3 m/s down below lower launch, grovelling in the south bowl and then climbing out again. Ian J top-landed to locate his sunglasses while we were grovelling, then re-launched. Nicole, Bruce and Allan headed for Riverside, while Ian and I headed for Eagle Ranch.
| Woodside Report Flight #2 - we drove up to retrieve and we all relaunched for much nicer flying on the second flight. I headed for the towers immediately after launching and took the two pictures above from approximately 1700 meters. Everyone had fantastic flights with little or no sink, basically hands off flying in smooth lift where I flew, taking pictures and getting cold up high. Ian J and Bruce went tandem, with fantastic trim speeds as I tried to chase them out to land. Derek and Allan top-landed to drive down, first top-landing at Woodside for Derek (who hasn't flown Woodside for 7 years) - Jim September 2
| Savona/Cornwall
| Cloudy, High 23°C
| 40% POP
| light and variable
| -2.0°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2100 m/6800 ft
|
Savona Report - east wind off the lake so we went to the East Ridge to fly, but it was a bit strong as Bruce and I soared for short flights and top-landing. Way too strong for the students so we headed to Cornwall to check out our luck before heading home.
| Cornwall Report - as we passed through Cache Creek, the wind switched to west at 20+ km/hr so we thought we would be unable to fly but we wanted Bruce McG to see the site, so up we drove to the top. As we arrived at launch, it was blowing in perfectly from the east despite the upper level clouds coming from the west, it was now about 13:30 in the pm, a bit late for this site but after procrastinating for a bit I hauled out my Summit and clipped in (after getting a wind report from Kim Jenner, HGer and Manager of the Ashcroft Manor Teahouse - east at 15-20 miles per hour). I did several inflations to ensure I was not launching into rotor but it was okay so I went off and started climbing in front of launch.  I flew along the east ridges getting some lift along the way, plus some sink in areas as it was quite shady below me on the way to the Manor LZ. It was definitely South wind as I drifted toward the LZ.  When I hit a sunny patch on the foothills north of the LZ, I started to climb at 4+ m/s so I started turning tightly to ensure I had enough height to make the LZ, cause it was rough in the transitions. Before I knew it I was at launch height, north of the LZ and I could see Cache Creek as an alternate LZ. But I was not penetrating much as I am light on the Summit, so on came the speedbar but it was rough so I pulled "ears" and "full bar" and was able to move forward slightly and just maintain my height. I came over the hayfield to the north and started assessing the wind strength, and it was howling! The trees were bent over and swaying, it was from the south and there were mixed thermals kicking off (can you say rodeo?) Bruce had already launched and Colleen was setting up when I finally told them it was a "shit kicking hell ride"! Colleen bagged her wing and Bruce asked if he could too, but he was half-way out. I elected to land in the huge hayfield across from Ashcroft Manor to give me some dragging room rather than hitting a fence or building, and held the "ears and speed bar", until about 2 meters off the deck in smooth air. Then the shit really hit the fan as a thermal broke off and I went up about 6 meters and started going backwards at 20 km/hr, as I fell out of the thermal. I decided to let the airbag harness do its job and tucked as I hit on my back and did a backwards flip and started grabbing lines to kill the glider. I only went about 10 meters before stopping. I got on the radio as Bruce came over the field and told him to hold "ears to the deck, no flare" and he held speed bar on too and had a great landing, pulling the A's to kill the Carbon and we headed over to the Manor for lunch as Colleen and Harold drove down. What a great site, when the wind is not howling! - Jim September 1-September 2
| Savona
| Sunny, High 29°C
| 10% POP
| light and variable
| -2.0°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2180 m/6700 ft
|
Savona Report - a great day for everyone. Lots of PGers flying from 9:30 am on, then the lift turned on and the HGers joined us for a great flight with most getting high. Colleen was the "Queen of the Sky", getting two very long flights between guiding students. When it got too strong for student flights we moved to the Crash Pad and flew them into the Toilet Bowl for some 3-4 minute flights. It never got too windy despite the forecast - Jim
| Grouse Report - Went to Grouse as it looked unstable with lots of cu's forming around the peak. Launched and hung around the cliffs in broken lift for almost an hour, eventually making it back to launch height. Then the clouds came and shut out the sun, so headed out to land. Went back up for another flight but it was blowing down so had to take the boring way down the mountain :( - Nicole August 31
| Savona
| Sunny, High 29°C
| 10% POP
| light and variable
| -2.0°/1000' | (stable lapse rate) 2280 m/7000 ft
|
Cornwall Report - Colleen, Harold and I flew off Cornwall as Kelly drove for us. Overcast skies gave us a little lift along the ridge with light south winds in the landing area. Nice site, Kim Jenner manages the Ashcroft Manor Teahouse where the LZ is located so stop and have lunch after you fly.
| Savona Report - Colleen and Jim T flew off Deadman's Upper PG Launch as the rain started pelting us, John McC was in the air on his HG, we watched Stewart T land his HG earlier. Bruce McG showed up as we went to the pub and he took some Islanders up to fly after the rain passed us. Golden Report - Golden has been on all week! Very little to no wind, nice change but a little slow going anywhere, 5.5 hours to get to Edgewater, pretty slow! 7.5 meter lift, (smooth lift), climbs to 3750 meters nice! Wednesday the same, Hugo and I flew to Table and top landed, hiked around for an hour or two, watched Bob Gardner and Greg Hemingway play around in front and above Table. We relaunched and flew back to lookout launch, ariving a couple hundred meters above, then climb back up to 3000 meters finishing with an out and return to Pegliaro, not a bad week! I'll send pics later, see you next week - Mark F. |
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 Clup 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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