Early Saturday morning, expecting record breaking heat. The forecasts are confused, some indicating strong winds, others much more mild conditions.
Assume worst case, be out early to maximize odds of getting in the air before the arrival of the valley wind tempest.
0745 hrs - car packed up, sitting in the drivers seat and fishing through some old burned CDs from a decade plus ago. The faded out sharpie on one is barely legible, so I pop it in and take a four wheeled acoustic time machine.
16B feat. Morel - Driving to Heaven
Not hard to tell there is an upcoming holiday. The roads are busier than normal with folk heading off to Harrison Lake to camp. Traffic is manageable and I am fortunate not to get blocked by a freight train travelling inland, the tracks of which cross my path twice.
Arrival at FlyBC, the lot is empty. Everyone is either in Pemberton or Chelan.
No early students this weekend either. Odd. With the rapid onset of summer, the valley has become rather stable and prone to blowing out shortly after noon. This daily blow out is forcing student flights to occur in a very small morning window. I would have thought they would be eager to get out and flying.
What are out in increasing abundance are the skeeters. The car provides refuge until Jim appears and starts to mill about. Following Jim into the barn, multiple boxes of Sup'Air and Ozone product pop into view.
Jim starts unpacking and sorting this verifiable Christmas day for any pilot. As boxes are emptied and sorted, I have a chance to pick Jim's brain on the business and instructional aspects of the paragliding industry. Unexpected educational opportunity.
In the midst of this, I query regarding the Carrera Plus line set to see if it has arrived.
No dice. *sigh*
Jim points out that if it wasn't for the change in the riser geometry, we could have the line set fabricated rather than wait on Gin. Frustration grows after what has been a six week wait and I begin to ask in earnest about switching back to Ozone - maybe grabbing a lightweight B to use for hike and fly (along with the start of spring) and then wait for the release of the Delta 3.*
The boxes sorted, Jim returns to the house. I lounge about until a pickup pulls in with a rather lost looking couple. Even money they are tandems.
Yep. Tandems.
Thirty minutes pass and the Atlas is loaded up with kit. A student finally pulls into the parking lot, but his body language hints he is not particularly eager to fly today. I can fully relate from my student days - I was the penultimate problem student and it is a testament to the patience of Dion at iParaglide that I made it through. I hope this student eventually finds his eureka moment as I fortunately did.
Sans student, the Atlas crawls relentlessly up the mountain. Driving to Heaven.
KMFDM - Superhero
At the top of the mountain, there is no escaping the growing heat. The two TMs (tandem masters), their charges, and I gingerly hike down the incline into the main parking area. Voices creep over the last climb to the launch area,
"Iwannagohome!"
"In a few minutes."
A family greets us as we crest the last climb. A trio of children are pacing about making it clear that staring at a haze filled valley floor does not constitute a valid use of their summer vacation.
A small collection of kit belonging to a new addition to our local flying community sits off to the left. I greet the gent (and manage to immediately forget his name for the first of three times that day) and answer his stream of queries about LZs, areas of lift, and obstacles.
It takes little time for the TMs to gear up the passengers, lay the wings out, and get set for launch. Dennis is off first and quickly finds himself in a flush cycle. Jim follows Dennis after the passing of the interloping cirrus. The hoots and hollers of Jims passenger shatters the stillness of the valley as I begin the machinations of aircraft assembly.
A faint engine noise off in the distance, a 4x4 making its way towards launch.
I wonder for a moment and return to getting ready.
Wing laid out and clipped in. I glance up to see a growing collection of neophytes appear, followed by a smaller number of tandem masters. A voice pipes up, "We have to stop meeting like this, you're leaving when I show up."
Definite deja vu. Martina is driving for Kevin and Andrei.
The cycles are now weakening and demonstrating a noticeable cross wind component due to the northern valley outflow.
A short puff of direct in wind prompts Kevin to announce, "Looks good". I suspect that is his hint to get the show on the road, they have paying customers and I am blocking up launch.
The trick to nailing a perfect launch is twofold - good kiting skills and a proper cycle. Kiting skills I know I have, the cycles - well there is not much one can do with 90 degree cross unless the goal is to kamikaze a stand of trees.
As the TMs start to unpack, I am hyper vigilant for the lack of wind on the left side of my neck (being back on to launch for a reverse pull up).
Finally a good one. A quick pull up, check, turn and three steps. Airborne. For the crowd of neophytes, a Superhero launch.
BT - Believer
The afternoon, Bridal Falls.
Gary, the gent whose name I still forget (by now I have learned he is a former skydiver, current speed flier, learned PGing in California, and lives in North Vancouver), and I camp out in the only shade to be found on launch. Eventually the valley wind will be blocked by the influx of thermic cycles, enabling us to launch. But for now we wait. I lose track of time, having fallen sleep until a pair of gents and a lady add to our number.
Several birds of prey circle overhead clearly marking climbs up along the ridge. Still no cycles.
The radio squaks to life, the accent sounds eastern European.Where there is one, there is often a hoard. Free for all ridge rules can be expected.
No time is wasted. We have a thirty minute opportunity to get ready and launch before the (potential) hoard arrives.
Gary and the two late additions are quickly away. The lady is going to drive the truck down. This leaves the gent whose name I can't remember and myself.
The cycles die.
NOOOOoooooo!
An impromptu fire pit in the upper corner of the lower launch lane leaves me with minimal room for a reverse pull up, even with a good cycle. This lack of wind means moving to the upper lane or flipping for a forward.
Forward it is ... with 15 feet of runway. I won't claim it was a pretty launch, but I managed to get away without taking any trees with me.
In the pod, I quickly turn left to face west and advance on Alan's Ridge. This spine is the stepping off point to benching up onto the plateau leading to the main ridge line connecting Cheam and Elk. Getting to Alan's Ridge requires the traversal of a bowl that is a mixing pot of thermals churned by the valley wind. One of the members of our crew from a few years ago used to refer to this area as the washing machine, having discovered some potential additions to the SIV training regimen. Gary has already climbed up and is working towards the main ridge line.
The decision to fly sans vario today means I will need to focus on feel to find lift and follow up with visual confirmation against terrain as degree of success. The Carrera thermal autopilot does its job flawlessly, the nose hunting towards nearby thermals and driving in. The churn makes for very disorganized climbs with the risers going slack at one point and necessitating a sharp jab of brakes. The wing threatens to frontal but settles back into place.
A presentation by Russell Ogden of Ozone comes to mind, one in which he comments on keeping a close eye on the wing in turbulent conditions to catch collapses as early as possible. I am normally one to go by feel when flying, using visual to keep an eye out for changes in conditions, climbs, traffic, and terrain.
But airspace is relatively unobstructed today and there is a decent lift band well out front of launch along the ridge. Maybe a good day to be made a Believer.
IIO - Rapture (John Creamer & Stephane K Remix)
In front of launch, an airborne metronome flying like clockwork. East to west, west to east.
The air is clear of distractions, two of my counterparts already setting up to land and Gary well up on the plateau. The only thing I need to keep an eye out for is the tandem laid out (the 'hoard' turned out to be a false alarm - simply a father and son duo looking to get a flight in together).
Pushing to the outer edge of the lift band, I double check no one is around and crane my head back as best I can with the tail of the Impress 3 pushing my helmet to one side.
And watch.
The wing above is in continuous motion, reacting to the medium within which it exists. Small nudges forward and back of either one (yaw) or both (pitch) wing tips. I go hands up and leave the wing unhindered, still watching. The movements become more pronounced.
Reigning the wing back in with a little brake, I impose my will on these small movements. When the right tip moves forward, I try to limit it with a small application of right brake. Same with the left. It feels strange to be applying brake inputs based on visual stimuli rather than brake/riser pressure especially when the wing and lines are dampening the output.
Odgen mentioned he uses this sort of technique in rather rough air more for collapse management, but I can also foresee value when working an inversion and trying to get a sense of where a thermal might be pushing through some distance off. The wing may start reacting with small otherwise un-felt nose twitches to the surrounding air being drawn in.
A lot more experimentation is needed, staring in Rapture, before I have this technique nailed down.
Sasha - Wavy Gravy
The sun edges towards the horizon.
Downshift.
Still in an experimental mood, I glide out over the highway. The soft, light lift from the concrete river makes for a sort of smooth Wavy Gravy-esque ride, a far cry from the toss and turn we have been finding mid day at Woodside. At a loss to explain why I don't come over here very often, I make a mental note to try to end every morning at Woodside with an end of day trip to Bridal.
I don't have quite the height to try again for the new gas station to the north of Hwy 1. My last trip with this source rendered a really nice thermal back up to launch height. Next time for sure, I promise myself.
Cross back over the golf course to hear the distinct thwack of a tee off.
Press on to the LZ.
Light winds and lifty. Figure-8 the tree line.
Line up with the wind sock for final and allllmost kick the cones demarcating the landing target.
Another great flying day comes to a close.
* A subsequent whine fest on my part on PG forum has drawn the attention of the Gin Canada distributor, so hopefully it will get resolved soon.
Assume worst case, be out early to maximize odds of getting in the air before the arrival of the valley wind tempest.
0745 hrs - car packed up, sitting in the drivers seat and fishing through some old burned CDs from a decade plus ago. The faded out sharpie on one is barely legible, so I pop it in and take a four wheeled acoustic time machine.
16B feat. Morel - Driving to Heaven
Not hard to tell there is an upcoming holiday. The roads are busier than normal with folk heading off to Harrison Lake to camp. Traffic is manageable and I am fortunate not to get blocked by a freight train travelling inland, the tracks of which cross my path twice.
Arrival at FlyBC, the lot is empty. Everyone is either in Pemberton or Chelan.
No early students this weekend either. Odd. With the rapid onset of summer, the valley has become rather stable and prone to blowing out shortly after noon. This daily blow out is forcing student flights to occur in a very small morning window. I would have thought they would be eager to get out and flying.
What are out in increasing abundance are the skeeters. The car provides refuge until Jim appears and starts to mill about. Following Jim into the barn, multiple boxes of Sup'Air and Ozone product pop into view.
Jim starts unpacking and sorting this verifiable Christmas day for any pilot. As boxes are emptied and sorted, I have a chance to pick Jim's brain on the business and instructional aspects of the paragliding industry. Unexpected educational opportunity.
In the midst of this, I query regarding the Carrera Plus line set to see if it has arrived.
No dice. *sigh*
Jim points out that if it wasn't for the change in the riser geometry, we could have the line set fabricated rather than wait on Gin. Frustration grows after what has been a six week wait and I begin to ask in earnest about switching back to Ozone - maybe grabbing a lightweight B to use for hike and fly (along with the start of spring) and then wait for the release of the Delta 3.*
The boxes sorted, Jim returns to the house. I lounge about until a pickup pulls in with a rather lost looking couple. Even money they are tandems.
Yep. Tandems.
Thirty minutes pass and the Atlas is loaded up with kit. A student finally pulls into the parking lot, but his body language hints he is not particularly eager to fly today. I can fully relate from my student days - I was the penultimate problem student and it is a testament to the patience of Dion at iParaglide that I made it through. I hope this student eventually finds his eureka moment as I fortunately did.
Sans student, the Atlas crawls relentlessly up the mountain. Driving to Heaven.
KMFDM - Superhero
At the top of the mountain, there is no escaping the growing heat. The two TMs (tandem masters), their charges, and I gingerly hike down the incline into the main parking area. Voices creep over the last climb to the launch area,
"Iwannagohome!"
"In a few minutes."
A family greets us as we crest the last climb. A trio of children are pacing about making it clear that staring at a haze filled valley floor does not constitute a valid use of their summer vacation.
A small collection of kit belonging to a new addition to our local flying community sits off to the left. I greet the gent (and manage to immediately forget his name for the first of three times that day) and answer his stream of queries about LZs, areas of lift, and obstacles.
It takes little time for the TMs to gear up the passengers, lay the wings out, and get set for launch. Dennis is off first and quickly finds himself in a flush cycle. Jim follows Dennis after the passing of the interloping cirrus. The hoots and hollers of Jims passenger shatters the stillness of the valley as I begin the machinations of aircraft assembly.
A faint engine noise off in the distance, a 4x4 making its way towards launch.
I wonder for a moment and return to getting ready.
Wing laid out and clipped in. I glance up to see a growing collection of neophytes appear, followed by a smaller number of tandem masters. A voice pipes up, "We have to stop meeting like this, you're leaving when I show up."
Definite deja vu. Martina is driving for Kevin and Andrei.
The cycles are now weakening and demonstrating a noticeable cross wind component due to the northern valley outflow.
A short puff of direct in wind prompts Kevin to announce, "Looks good". I suspect that is his hint to get the show on the road, they have paying customers and I am blocking up launch.
The trick to nailing a perfect launch is twofold - good kiting skills and a proper cycle. Kiting skills I know I have, the cycles - well there is not much one can do with 90 degree cross unless the goal is to kamikaze a stand of trees.
As the TMs start to unpack, I am hyper vigilant for the lack of wind on the left side of my neck (being back on to launch for a reverse pull up).
Finally a good one. A quick pull up, check, turn and three steps. Airborne. For the crowd of neophytes, a Superhero launch.
BT - Believer
The afternoon, Bridal Falls.
Gary, the gent whose name I still forget (by now I have learned he is a former skydiver, current speed flier, learned PGing in California, and lives in North Vancouver), and I camp out in the only shade to be found on launch. Eventually the valley wind will be blocked by the influx of thermic cycles, enabling us to launch. But for now we wait. I lose track of time, having fallen sleep until a pair of gents and a lady add to our number.
Several birds of prey circle overhead clearly marking climbs up along the ridge. Still no cycles.
The radio squaks to life, the accent sounds eastern European.Where there is one, there is often a hoard. Free for all ridge rules can be expected.
No time is wasted. We have a thirty minute opportunity to get ready and launch before the (potential) hoard arrives.
Gary and the two late additions are quickly away. The lady is going to drive the truck down. This leaves the gent whose name I can't remember and myself.
The cycles die.
NOOOOoooooo!
An impromptu fire pit in the upper corner of the lower launch lane leaves me with minimal room for a reverse pull up, even with a good cycle. This lack of wind means moving to the upper lane or flipping for a forward.
Forward it is ... with 15 feet of runway. I won't claim it was a pretty launch, but I managed to get away without taking any trees with me.
In the pod, I quickly turn left to face west and advance on Alan's Ridge. This spine is the stepping off point to benching up onto the plateau leading to the main ridge line connecting Cheam and Elk. Getting to Alan's Ridge requires the traversal of a bowl that is a mixing pot of thermals churned by the valley wind. One of the members of our crew from a few years ago used to refer to this area as the washing machine, having discovered some potential additions to the SIV training regimen. Gary has already climbed up and is working towards the main ridge line.
 |
| The mixing bowl. |
The decision to fly sans vario today means I will need to focus on feel to find lift and follow up with visual confirmation against terrain as degree of success. The Carrera thermal autopilot does its job flawlessly, the nose hunting towards nearby thermals and driving in. The churn makes for very disorganized climbs with the risers going slack at one point and necessitating a sharp jab of brakes. The wing threatens to frontal but settles back into place.
A presentation by Russell Ogden of Ozone comes to mind, one in which he comments on keeping a close eye on the wing in turbulent conditions to catch collapses as early as possible. I am normally one to go by feel when flying, using visual to keep an eye out for changes in conditions, climbs, traffic, and terrain.
But airspace is relatively unobstructed today and there is a decent lift band well out front of launch along the ridge. Maybe a good day to be made a Believer.
 |
| Empty airspace in front of launch. Great time to experiment. |
IIO - Rapture (John Creamer & Stephane K Remix)
In front of launch, an airborne metronome flying like clockwork. East to west, west to east.
 |
| The lads heading for the LZ. |
Pushing to the outer edge of the lift band, I double check no one is around and crane my head back as best I can with the tail of the Impress 3 pushing my helmet to one side.
And watch.
The wing above is in continuous motion, reacting to the medium within which it exists. Small nudges forward and back of either one (yaw) or both (pitch) wing tips. I go hands up and leave the wing unhindered, still watching. The movements become more pronounced.
 |
| Wing based hypnosis. |
Odgen mentioned he uses this sort of technique in rather rough air more for collapse management, but I can also foresee value when working an inversion and trying to get a sense of where a thermal might be pushing through some distance off. The wing may start reacting with small otherwise un-felt nose twitches to the surrounding air being drawn in.
A lot more experimentation is needed, staring in Rapture, before I have this technique nailed down.
Sasha - Wavy Gravy
The sun edges towards the horizon.
Downshift.
Still in an experimental mood, I glide out over the highway. The soft, light lift from the concrete river makes for a sort of smooth Wavy Gravy-esque ride, a far cry from the toss and turn we have been finding mid day at Woodside. At a loss to explain why I don't come over here very often, I make a mental note to try to end every morning at Woodside with an end of day trip to Bridal.
I don't have quite the height to try again for the new gas station to the north of Hwy 1. My last trip with this source rendered a really nice thermal back up to launch height. Next time for sure, I promise myself.
Cross back over the golf course to hear the distinct thwack of a tee off.
Press on to the LZ.
Light winds and lifty. Figure-8 the tree line.
Line up with the wind sock for final and allllmost kick the cones demarcating the landing target.
Another great flying day comes to a close.
* A subsequent whine fest on my part on PG forum has drawn the attention of the Gin Canada distributor, so hopefully it will get resolved soon.
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