There is an adage,
'A man with one watch is on time, a man with two is confused.'
In the case of weather forecasting for paragliding, it is quite the opposite. The greater variety of sources for weather outlook one has at hand, the greater the chance of avoiding a 'better to be on the ground wishing one was up there rather than being up there and wishing one was on the ground.'
In the case of the Fraser Valley, we are very fortunate to have a number of tech savy pilots who want to help us have as safe a flying environment as possible.
Case in point:
Last Sunday, the wind forecast from Environment Canada looked particularly inviting:
* Note times are in UTC/Zulu.
Nil winds @ 3,000 feet. Looks like an awesome flying day for the Vancouver region.
But if we step beyond Environment Canada and look at the Rapid Refresh (RAP) data from the NOAA, visualized by Phil Ibis's display tool for Woodside, we see something a little different -> winds from the S/W at 15 knots. That certainly isn't nil winds when trim speed for most wings is around 20 knots. Launching would be challenging in the likely gusty conditions.
Yet another source, Canada Rasp from Andrew Berkley and Peter Spear, provides a sense of how the airflow is setting up in the valley.
Launch is at the lower edge of the reddish zone in the centre of the map (30 to 35 kph). The further west one goes, the wider the valley and lighter the wind (as can be seen by the trend to green).
Two sources contradicting our assumption of light winds based on the Environment Canada forecast for YVR.
So how did it turn out?
Note the far windsock. This was a brief lull in amongst the quintessential 'salmon swimming upstream' dance by both windsocks. Launch was rather blown out. The pilot wisely packed up.
The lesson, have many source 'watches' for weather data and pay particular heed when they are not in alignment. Might save an afternoon or more.
'A man with one watch is on time, a man with two is confused.'
In the case of weather forecasting for paragliding, it is quite the opposite. The greater variety of sources for weather outlook one has at hand, the greater the chance of avoiding a 'better to be on the ground wishing one was up there rather than being up there and wishing one was on the ground.'
In the case of the Fraser Valley, we are very fortunate to have a number of tech savy pilots who want to help us have as safe a flying environment as possible.
Case in point:
Last Sunday, the wind forecast from Environment Canada looked particularly inviting:
* Note times are in UTC/Zulu.
Nil winds @ 3,000 feet. Looks like an awesome flying day for the Vancouver region.
But if we step beyond Environment Canada and look at the Rapid Refresh (RAP) data from the NOAA, visualized by Phil Ibis's display tool for Woodside, we see something a little different -> winds from the S/W at 15 knots. That certainly isn't nil winds when trim speed for most wings is around 20 knots. Launching would be challenging in the likely gusty conditions.
Yet another source, Canada Rasp from Andrew Berkley and Peter Spear, provides a sense of how the airflow is setting up in the valley.
Launch is at the lower edge of the reddish zone in the centre of the map (30 to 35 kph). The further west one goes, the wider the valley and lighter the wind (as can be seen by the trend to green).
Two sources contradicting our assumption of light winds based on the Environment Canada forecast for YVR.
So how did it turn out?
Note the far windsock. This was a brief lull in amongst the quintessential 'salmon swimming upstream' dance by both windsocks. Launch was rather blown out. The pilot wisely packed up.
The lesson, have many source 'watches' for weather data and pay particular heed when they are not in alignment. Might save an afternoon or more.
