Thanks Cross Country Magazine!

How do I know it's a long weekend?

Waking up to a forecast of three days of un-flyable weather might be a good hint.

But, lone behold, in my inbox is a ray of sunshine - an email from the organizers of the Chabre Open.

In it: Free Cross Country Magazine for Ozone Chabre Open pilots!

Maybe not such a dreary weekend after all.

Divide 'EN', Conquer

Limitations

One of the lessons I learned while on my paragliding pilgrimage last summer was that the statement, "I fly an EN-B wing because it is safe." frequently heralds the presence of a pilot who is courting a tree landing. This is in part because the pilot places too much emphasis on the rating of the wing, not realizing the limitations of the current rating system.

The rating system evaluates the characteristics of wings, with the majority of attention given to departure from normal flight. Collapses, spins, stalls are all evaluated by a test pilot and the results recorded. The most benign of behaviours are awarded an 'A', while increasingly energetic ones can see awards of up to 'D' or 'F' (failure). The key points to take away from these tests are:

1. To minimize atmospheric variations across different tests, the tests are done in calm air over a lake. This in no way reflects the conditions in which we may find ourselves (thermic, gusting, lee, etc).
2. Collapses are human initiated by pulling on lines. Collapses in real life are initiated by the air at the wing. 
3. The tests are human performed and the results are human judged. While the testers try to remain as objective as possible, subtle variations in pilot behaviour and observation can unknowingly influence the results. The test pilots do their best, but they are human.
4. The most important (in my mind and the reason for this blog post), these tests try to measure the outcome of a departure from normal flight. There is no real comprehensive measurement of behaviour prior to departure.

Simply put, there are limitations to what the current wing rating system can accomplish. Once we have an understanding of these limitations, we can determine how best to use the system as is and improve upon it for our own needs.

The dividing line

The wing rating system looks almost exclusively at the behaviour of the wing as it departs normal flight. What is normal flight? Normal flight is a loaded, inflated wing directly overhead and under the control of the pilot. Anything that violates these criteria can be considered a departure.

A collapse is one example.

A stall is another.

A spiral may or may not be - the wing is inflated, loaded, and overhead - but is it under the control of the pilot? What may be a welcome experience for the acro pilot may be completely overwhelming for the inexperienced (highlighting the need for continuing education after attainment of first license, see 'Right Pilot'). So, it depends.

So while the rating system deals reasonably well with what happens during and after the dividing line, before it is a different story. The characteristics of the wing before it departs normal flight plays a significant role in how often it will. If the wing is too demanding for the pilot given the conditions, departures could be frequent and overwhelming, even if recovery is quick and without incident.  The rating system may include pilot notes pertaining to the wing, but given that the test is performed in calm air over a lake, it is unlikely to include much commentary on the handing of the wing in thermic conditions. It is this behaviour that needs a standardized, simple to understand method of reporting, much akin to the wing rating system already in place.

Suitability

To cut to the chase, I would suggest splitting Suitability from Passive Safety.

Suitability would be derived from manufacturer data, but we cannot use the data outright
.
Why?

The current situation of manufacturer ratings is hit and miss, some indicate the type of pilot, some indicate if the wing is not suitable for students, others indicate the number of air hours.

 If we could standardize the manufacturer suitability data, we can make something approaching an apples to apples comparison.  What we need is the target pilot and the air hours per season to remain current on the wing.

So, a wing could come with a pair of standardized ratings -> One from the testing facility for passive safety (the wing rating as it currently stands) and a second from the manufacturer, clearly indicating the target pilot and air hours recommended per year to fly the wing.

Perhaps: (target pilot)-(hours/year) + (passive safety). For example:

School-10 EN A, Leisure-30 LTF B, Advanced-80 EN B, Advanced-100 EN C, etc, etc.

The School-10 EN A would be suitable for a pilot under instruction, a solo pilot pilot flying over 10 hours per year, and has a passive safety rating of EN A.

The Leisure-30 LTF B would be suited for a solo pilot flying over 30 hours per year and does not want the workload of the traditional sport wings. A possible second wing candidate.

The Advanced-80 EN B is meant for an experienced XC pilot who flies often and can manage a demanding wing but may not want to post departure behaviour of EN C.

The Advanced-100 EN C. If you are considering this, I can only hope you know what you are doing by this point.

The point of all of this?

Ultimately, the point of this proposed combined rating system is to divorce us from the idea that passive safety and suitability are one in the same. When we realize that a wing rating does not always reflect the workload we may face in the air under that wing, we begin to see the limitations of the current system. From there we can research further, hopefully finding the right wing to then combine with right conditions and pilot.

Happy Hunting.

Video: Woodside Paragliding 2014

A short collage of footage from a pair of flying days at our local hill, Mt.Woodside.

Fizzy Easter

Easter Sunday morning and the club LINE chat group was abuzz aplenty.

Despite dire forecasts, including "Paragliding not recommended today in Vancouver, Chilliwack, Whistler, Pemberton, Bellingham or Seattle.", options were being put forth - Blanchard, Whitby, Pemberton and Woodside.

By 1030 a consensus with a group heading for Woodside, expecting little more than sled rides. The weather this season has frustrated many of us to the point that we will take whatever airtime we can get.
A glance out the window hinted there may be more than sled rides in store, with the sky starting to clear. A coin toss of sled rides vs. overdevelopment.

Take a chance, indeed.

Noon. Meeting up with George, Martina, Lee, Andrei + 1 (I wasn't sure of Plus One's name, he was rather quiet), we pile into one vehicle and make our way to launch. It doesn't take long before Norm, Bev, Alex and Nicole appear and round out the days hopeful airborne cohort.

The sun is more or less absent with high cloud. The winds contradict the macro forecasts and are in fact consistent with CanadaRasp and the Phil Ibis windgram -> light W to S/W.

George is first off, as usual, and heads south. He is quickly followed by Lee and Martina and the trio of Skywalk wings scratch their way along the south knob.

And find lift, light lift, but lift nonetheless.

Even with the sun blocked out, the combination of high lapse rate (forecasted by the Ibis wind gram up to 800m) and the ambient light is enough to form thermals. Looks like a textbook example of what Kelly would call a fizzy day with frequent, short lived, wide gradient thermals and a low cloud base.

Now queued up on launch is Tonya, all smiles with her brand new polychromatic Sky Country EN-B 'Scooter' (I suspect a chant of 'Faster! Harder! Scooter!' would be lost on this crowd).

Tonya launches and heads north in opposition to the Skywalk triumvirate. Looking at how quickly she climbs out, I gather north of launch is the place to be.

I follow Tonya, both in queue order and in turning north. The mini ridge separating launch and the north rock face is working, though requires a decent amount of commitment by way of kicking tree tops (see 'short lived' in the description of fizzy conditions). A number of figure eights later and just above launch height, I glide south to line up with the clear cuts and what the Flymaster Nav has guesstimated to be the wind at this altitude.

Lone behold the Flymaster delivers.

It doesn't take long to cross 1100m to the S/E of launch.

In the process of the climbing out, I am joined first by Alex, then by Nicole. The gravity defying duo begin the trek along the mountain towards Agassiz and I entertain the thought of joining them. Noticing how small a gap there is between the top of the mountain and cloud base, this would leave me little margin for error -> either ending up in the white room or cutting the edge of the CTR over Agassiz prison.

I stick with boating around above launch until my stomach and cold get the better of me about an hour later and I head to the ranch to land.

Bev had already landed, packed up, and about to get a ride back up from Derek for another go.

Round two it is.

Launching around 3PM, the cloud cover has cleared to the point that hard edge shadows can be seen.

More lift!

Take a calm fizzy day, add sun and we end up with wings that are both shaken and stirred. While the climbs were not particularly strong (topping out around 3 m/s), the edges were now honed sharp - especially low over the new north clear cut.

A pair of small thwacks dictates a change in gears.

Bank it up and hold on.

My biggest weakness in this sport is my utter lack of patience and there are few things that test that patience more than circling forever in sub 1 m/s bubbles. So when fate smiles and provides me with a decent climb, I am all over it.

Only to have fate frown.

It is 330 and I need to be packed up and on the road by 4 to be able to make it to the in-laws for dinner.

While cut a little short, all in all a great day and not a single sled ride.

Sports Psychology and Paragliding: Here and Now.

Evolution is not out friend

We are engaging in a activity for which evolution did not equip us and has potentially life threatening consequences. What nature did equip us with was a sense of 'this isn't right' and the thought of dangling below a collection of lines and fabric (especially in less than stellar conditions) is a pretty sure fire way to trigger that instinct.

Sports Psychology to the Rescue

There are elements of sports psychology that can be adapted over time to allow a pilot to free up mental energy that would otherwise be wasted on irrational fear (the 'this isn't right' feeling with no identifiable cause). I briefly mention the difference between rational and irrational fear in my blog post 'Fear Factor' along with one way to convert the irrational variant into a rational one and then address. But if the fear still remains irrational, even though we know we are up to the challenge, then we can begin to leverage some psychological tools to help alleviate that fear.

The Reset

I am not much of a tennis fan, but my wife is and especially of Rafael Nadal. One thing I noticed is that he has a routine to how everything is done and where everything is placed. Some may write this off as simply being OCD, but it can also act as a means of mentally hitting the reset button. We see it time and time again with athletes who cannot hit this 'reset', they can't seem to let go of the last point or last play, especially if the outcome was negative. A negative mindset establishes itself and becomes self reinforcing. Any fan (though I suspect there are not many these days) knows this all too well with the Vancouver Canucks hockey team -> an absolute mental train wreck. This was a team that was in the finals a few short seasons ago and now cannot even make the playoffs.

Being able to reset brings us into the 'moment' and enables us to get our minds back on task. Preflight presents an opportunity to do this -> I go off to the side, away from everyone, and focus on sorting through every piece of kit in a specific order. I am putting myself in 'flying mode', blocking off any thoughts or concerns that are not involved in a successful flight. Once laid out and ready to launch, I give one last check of leg straps, brakes and A's, reset my mind with one controlled deep breath, and go. I don't give doubt a chance to enter the equation from preflight through launch and it manifests itself with launches that others have described as 'zen-like'. 

I am in my zone and doubt has no place here.

Active Reset: Breath Control

If doubt does enter, the use of breath control as a means of reset can help. Most forms of mediation begin with breath awareness - inhale for a fixed number of counts, hold for a few more, then control the exhale. As an example, I was taught inhale for a slow three count, hold for two and exhale for two. By using a conscious slow count, we are focusing on our breath and bringing our attention to the immediate - away from what has either just happened (regret) or what might happen (fear). This technique can also help bring under control a stress induced climb in heart rate, reducing the chance of going full on 'Condition Black' where rational thought and fine motor skills go out the window (also known as 'Fight or Flight'). 

Passive Reset: Totem

On a more subconscious level I have a 'totem' (for lack of a better word) on my flight deck. This totem is a Mil-Spec Monkey velcro morale patch, a big red Staples 'Easy' button. It is my reminder that when things get a little challenging (and/or dicey) that paragliding is 'easy'. I envision myself, like an idiot, hitting the big red Easy button and everything becomes as if I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. The point of the 'totem' is to take my mind off of whatever just happened and to get me back in the moment.

Now that the reset has allowed our mind and body to settle, we can begin to plant a positive mindset and refocus our attention to the task at hand. 

Now Reboot

The reset has made our mind as calm as a moonlit lake (or at least we'd like to hope). Now it's time to get back on task. If we leave this too long it is quite likely whatever yanked us from our 'zone' previously will do so again, requiring yet another reset. So being passive at this point will not do, it requires active intervention.

Enter self talk.

Active Reboot: Self Talk

By using self talk, we are forcing ourselves to focus on the idea we are trying to plant in our mind. The key to this is to focus only on the positive, as any negativity will quickly become self defeating. It also needs to be quick and to the point, as focusing on the reboot is taking time and effort from the actual activity we want to return to.

Easy to recall, to the point, and positively focused.

A paragliding flight has four phases: launch, landing, thermalling, and transition. Each phase can have it's own unique self talk.

Again, easy to recall, to the point, positively focused.

Example: Thermalling Self Talk

For thermalling, I compressed the lessons learned from Austrian Arena to, "Smooth and Relaxed. Four for ninety. Open the turn, close the turn.".

"Smooth and Relaxed."

Thermals, by their nature, are turbulent. If we are stiff in our body or jerky in our movements, we will not be able to get in sync with the air and will end up with a less than pleasant experience (likely necessitating yet another reset). Or worse yet, commit the cardinal sin of swinging through and accomplishing nothing more than thermal wingovers - converting altitude into speed. 

"Four for Ninety."

Many pilots are guilty (myself more often than I would like) of not banking a wing up sufficiently when working a thermal. This element reminds me to be aggressive and to really get into the core.

"Open the turn, close the turn."

The core of a thermal rarely makes itself immediately known to us. It shifts, slides, and changes shape. By opening and closing the turn at the appropriate time, we can reduce how long we spend outside the core as we try to centre on it. In a subtle way, this self talk is telling me, "yes you have lift, but are you sure this is the core? Keep looking."

Prior Practice Prepends Perfect Performance

In other words, don't expect to read this and have it magically work for you the next time out. 

Find somewhere quiet and begin to work on your breathing exercises. Focus on your breath count - inhale for 3 (or 4 or 5, whatever works), hold, exhale. The key is to let whatever distractions, internal or external, to come and go by focusing on the breath. Bring yourself into the moment.

Go find a totem for your flight deck. Perhaps a particularly politically incorrect morale patch that cracks you up, a memorable quote to stick to your vario, or a keychain sized stuffed T-Rex. Something visual that can help break a prior train of thought.

Develop your self talk. Pick a positive phase (or phrases) that will get you focusing on what you need to be doing right here, right now. 

Put it all together. Visualize which component of flying you are engaged in - the sight, the sounds, the smells, the sensations. Reset with a controlled breath. Visualize glancing at your totem. Mind is clear. Reboot with self talk. Smile, it's amazing day to be in the air.

Notice there is no mention of a negative event triggering the reset/reboot. The reality is, I use this every time I am not on task or I am changing tasks - be it taking a collapse, falling out of a thermal, entering a new thermal, leaving a thermal to go on glide, or setting up an approach with a cold beer waiting in the LZ.

It's all in your mind

Paragliding is easily a 90% mental activity. Knowing this, it would be foolish to ignore the wealth of sports psychology tools that have already helped countless athletes attain the top of their mental game. No one solution works for everyone, and frankly half the fun is discovering what will work for you.

It has begun...

Slow starting.

Apt understatement of the year when used to describe how the season is shaping up.

A particularly long and dry autumn of yesteryear found itself offset by an equally wet and long late winter/spring. The result: Three months giving up a grand total of two flights.

Under normal circumstances, this would not be of much concern - the flying season will start when it is good and ready. But these are not normal circumstances. The Chabre Open and the 100km XC course are just around the corner and I admit at the beginning of this week I was not feeling particularly optimistic about being prepared given the trend.

Strange how an opinion can change so much in a single day.

Tuesday's forecast? Promising. Lapse rate is unstable to launch height at 600m followed by varying degrees of conditional instability up to 2000m. Winds from the S/W @ 6 knots changing to W @ 14 kts late afternoon. All in all, a little rock and roll down low through out the day with climbs becoming wind torn as the day progresses - nothing I hadn't dealt with before.

There is little doubt that it will be flyable, so at the crack of dawn I email into the office and let folk know I will be taking a half and half. Half day of work from home (from 6 till 11) followed by a half day of vacation (11 onwards).

Fast forward to noon, the passing of logging trucks punctuate the serenity I enjoy while sitting at the base of Mt. Woodside. A SUV eventually pulls in and the driver, Gary, suggests sticking around as Kevin was on the radio and not more than five minutes out.

When we clear the final rise, Woodside launch unfolds to a flurry of activity. A dozen plus paragliding pilots in varying states of readiness mill about, soon joined by a quartet of hangglider pilots. An apparent hive mind, realizing with the weather as of late that today is an opportunity not to be wasted.

The first half score of pilots are quickly off and heading west towards Sasquatch while the remainder of us pause, an unexpected wind now blowing over the back.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Wonder if we will end up sitting here till nightfall, destined to become grue bait in the fading light.

The battle between wind and thermal continues for what feels like an hour before a victor is declared. The victor grants me a launch window and I waste no time getting up and away.

I quickly head north towards the rock face house thermal only to find it churned up and climbs demanding an increasing active flying payment. I can climb here, but wonder if the gap between launch and the south knoll might provide more consistent (and comfortable) lift.

Venturing south to find smoother lift, I climb and bump against what appears to be an inversion at 1330m. This would certainly help explain the lack of cumulus formation over Woodside while many of the higher mountains are already popping off clouds.

The patience battle begins, playing out with the ebb and flow of sink and lift. In due course I am joined by both a blue Niviuk (Claudia)  and an orange one (Paddy). Guy on the green Maverick makes a brief appearance and begins to work back towards the peak of Woodside. Having not been much above 1400m at this site and zero experience working the back ridge towards Harrison, I wait rather than follow Guy - convinced the inversion will break.

Patience is eventually rewarded as stair stepping higher with the terrain behind launch, a 3 to 4 m/s climb breaks through and takes our mobile of gliders up and back towards a newly forming cloud.

At 1800 m an eagle joins my climb, but quickly flies off to the N/E. Continuing my circle, I keep an eye on the eagles progress as it flies to about one third of the distance between Woodside and Agassiz mountain.

And begins to circle.

A quote from a far too short lived sci-fi series of the 90's comes to mind: Take a chance.

Leaving everyone else behind, I hoof it to my new thermal marker to find a climb waiting.

Claudia and Paddy soon follow suit.

Eventually we glide our way to Agassiz Mountain, locate another climb and cross the valley book ended by Harrison and Agassiz to arrive at Bear Mountain.

Bear Mountain. The stepping off point for the big Fraser Valley crossing that links our two main flying sites - Woodside and Bridal Falls. Flying to Bear is akin putting your toe in the deep end of the pool. Once you fly there, you know at some point you are going to have to go on faith and dive in.

Take another chance?

The increasing wind has other ideas and turns Bear into a bit of a rock concert. Out of our trio, Paddy fares the best and is able to land on the windward side of Green Hill. Claudia ends up low, but through sheer tenacity manages to eek out enough of a climb to make the open fields to the south of Bear. I am in the wind shadow of Green and chance upon a potential low save about 50 m over what is a good LZ. Mind you working low, small, sharp edged thermals when one should be setting up to land is a sure fire way to spin a wing. Common sense invades my plan for flying glory and I set down.

A call on the radio from Paddy indicates that James is on his way with the truck if anyone needs a retrieve. Score!

A small step towards the rite of passage that is the Fraser Valley crossing, but as they say...

Sic parvis magna.

The flight.

Those of you about to fly, we salute you.

On the threshold of your flying career, a school selected and dreams of joining your winged brethren.

Counting down the days till the commencement of training, you have likely scoured the internet in search of information. Inevitably that search will come across video of flights with less than ideal outcomes. These outcomes are entirely preventable, as the adage goes - 'launching is optional, landing is mandatory' (and in these cases, the landing was not voluntary).  To minimize the risk of such a 'negative flying experience', a combination of right conditions, right wing, and right pilot are essential. It behoves the fledgling pilot to learn to identify each element of this combintation early on if they wish to enjoy both a safe and productive flying career.

Right conditions.

If the weather can be compared to a toddler with a penchant for stomping, we are the ants that scurry amongst its feet. We have no influence on its mood or behavior, all we can do is to know when it is best to remain below ground.

Learning to know when the toddler is likely to be let loose upon the yard is a critical part of our early training. In essence, become a personal weather channel. Failure to do so (or to heed signs that are staring us in the face) could result in a similar experience:

The outcome for this individual could have been much, much worse (competition or not, there was no excuse to fly in those conditions - a complete failure in judgement by an experienced pilot). Knowing when we can fly is important but knowing when we shouldn't is paramount. If there is one reoccuring contributor in paragliding incidents, the conditions would be it.

Right wing.

While we may not have control over the weather every day, we do have control of the wing we use every flight.

Finding a wing that fits our flying style takes time and may not happen with our first wing. But we can ensure we start with a wing that is suitable for our experience level. Wings are certified with EN and/or LTF ratings between A and D. A wing with an A rating is typically well suited for a students first flight, while a D wing is meant for only the most experienced and skilled of pilots. Many pilots at the beginning of their career assume that two wings which share a rating are equally safe to fly. While this may have held some validity five or six years ago, wing development has progressed to the point that not all wings of a class flock together.

Thermik magazine of Germany has subdivided each EN/LTF class based on behavior and suitability (relying in part on manufacturer recommendation), coupled with current examples:

A – Beginner
A1: Especially suited for schooling and first flights
A2: Beginner wings that offer good handling, high safety and flying pleasure for a long time 

B – Intermediate
B1: Classic basic intermediate wings with high safety, good handling and sufficient performance. Wings for a lifetime!
B2: All-round-intermediate wings in the middle of their class
B3: Since several years very big XC-flights are being flown with these wings. Top pilots feel completely at ease under these wings whereas some of them may be too demanding for average pilots. 

C – Sports Class
C1: Good-natured sports class wings with high safety margin for their class, but having handling characteristics similar to high performance wings.
C2: “True” sports class wings with safety comparable to most former DHV-2 wings.
C3: Demanding sports class wings for Top XC-pilots with a high level of piloting. Comparable to good-natured high-performance wings from a few years back (DHV 2-3)
C4: These wings bridge the gap to the EN-D class. Piloting demands are comparable to those of high-performance wings. 

D – High Performance
D1: These wings are high-performance, but still have manageable flying characteristics for very experienced pilots.
D2: Demanding high-performance wings that require extremely experienced pilots.
D3: Certified 2-liners and extremely demanding high-performance wings.

A pilot having completed their first half dozen flights is likely looking to progress to an A2 (or if particularly talented, a B1). Migration to B2 should only be done with significant consideration and dialog with an instructor. A B3 shouldn't even be in the picture prior to the completion of a SIV course and accumulation of moderate XC experience - they are not suitable for new pilots and manufacturers make this abundantly clear in the user manual with statements like "not suitable for training" (or a definitive absence of "suitable for training" that may be found with their A and B1 offerings). A B3 frequently makes a great second wing, but not a good first one.

Right pilot.

Train. Train. Train.

Training is an investment in ourselves. The most fundamental form of training is ground handling (aka kiting). By making ground handling payments into our training investment, we begin to build the muscle memory that will form our pilotage skill base. It is quite evident on launch which students have been investing in themselves (including time on the training hill), their launches are smooth and aggressive. On the opposite end of the spectrum we see chaotic, apprehensive launch attempts that frequently become cringe worthy - the end result for those who do not place much value on ground handling.

Even upon award of our first license, the training must not end. Find a coach to further work on launching, landing, and, especially, thermalling. Just because we went around in circles a few times in lift, we are certainly no masters of climb. Thermalling is an art form that takes years to refine to an acceptable efficiency. A coach can cut out a lot of trial and error (especially the all too common error of blaming and seeking to replace the wing). Dedicated thermalling courses overseas are an option as well, if money and time are no barrier.

Going even further, if your former instructor (and current coach) agree - a combination of reserve clinic  and SIV should be a goal prior to completion of the first season post license. A desire to understand how to deploy the reserve and the characteristics of a wing when it departs normal flight are the hallmarks of a safety conscious pilot.

A very busy first season no doubt, but a very sound investment - one that will pay out a dividend of right conditions, right wing, and right pilot.