Abbreviations: nw=no wind / cat=catibatic / sy = sunny / bo = blown out / tt= too thermic / ra= rain / ++ = amazing / uk = unknown/ nl = no lift / lt = light thermals / st =strong thermals / ps = partly sunny cr =cross wind

click here for Sean Toohey's log book

click here for 2003 log book

Date	Site Name	Weather	Lapse Rate	Notes
Jan 6 2007	Blanchard	ps	2.0	We got there first – but the locals were quick to get in the air. The first pilots were able to stay above take off for a short while, while later pilots had no problems staying up. Karin led the Deimosians, followed by Aaron and a nervous Samuel. By the time it was Little Dan’s turn, it was too strong for any more novice pilots. I took to the air, on my old UP Soul , and quickly climbed up, with a couple of small collapses and limited forward speed. We were all excited about flights, so Dan joined in and told us about some of his exciting left and rights turns (as he drove down)!
Dec 2	Sumas	snowy	2.0	We all wanted to get a little exercise then fly, but we ended up getting too much exercise and only only wanting to fly. We had two surprises: that the road was plowed all the way to the Sumas parking lot, and that our trusted key would no longer work on the first gate. About two hours hike got us to trail head and another half hour, in deep snow to launch. It was a weird hike, for some reason the young ones, Diane and Little Dan were the most tired, while Jon and I were in great shape. Dan’s launch attempt brought him face to face with nature, but darkness surrounded us before we could safely try again. No more 1:30pm starts!
Nov 24	Bridal Falls	snowy	2.0	After almost a month, it was great to be back in the air. Owen, led the charge and actually started going up after he launched, slightly, in the house thermal, but like the rest of us, landed in the lightly snow covered LZ after fifteen minutes. Matt had his most committed launch ever, putting some steps way over the edge; Lady Di had no problem with her wing and even managed to complete a few new maneuvers off her list, while new student David and I flew tandem. Jonathon’s offer to drive down was a big help, but only he and Matt could get back in the air before the snow arrived.
Oct 31	Diefenbaker	cr sy	?	NW conditions today at Diefenbaker, but my new Solo V student, David, handled the cross wind quite well. Only the UP Soul (DHV2) could stop his perfect inflation record.
Oct 30	White Rock	sy	?	Perfect learning conditions for my new Solo V student David.
Oct 29	Bridal	ra bo	2.0	Aaron, Jeremy and I made an attempt to find the jeep that went over the edge, a few weeks ago – but it is at least 1000’ down the face lying near the bottom (somewhere). We then decided to explore the trail to the upper Cheam ridge. After a few difficult traverses, and some sword fighting, we arrived at a wall of bushes. With only one good head lamp between us, it seemed wise to return to the truck before battling the bushes, some more, with our dull weapons. We plan to explore a new way to Cheam peak– maybe during the next rainy, windy, weekend?
Oct 28	Woodside, Bridal	ps bo	2.0	After quick introductions at my morning office (Tim Hortons), we went straight to Woodside to see why no one was in the air. I recorded gust of 22 mph, so back to Bridal for a “let’s see what’s happen” visit. As it turns out, conditions were quite mellow in the LZ. Karin went first, followed by Garbage Face (Aaron) and the first of my tandems. (Adon). Karin held her own above launch for a short while, but like the rest of us, had an extended slid ride. Aaron, when first on the next flight, but not until we had added a few more logs to the upper stairs – too allow launch conditions to calm down. My second tandem we (Andrew and I) got hauled upward, to about 300’ over, but after a short while it seemed better to be on ground. Sadly, I lost my PTT switch for my helmet kit (probably in the LZ somewhere).
Oct 22	Cheam and Woodside	++	1.8	A very exciting day indeed. The forecast was a little dubious, but with the Heli pilot’s assurance that he would wait for up to 30 minutes to check the winds, we had no problem cramming into the helicopter. As we flew past the peak, a couple of times, the pilot announced that the wind was straight up (from the South). However after he dropped us off, I noticed it was a little bit too strong, but no way to call back the pilot now. We were committed. The wind meter showed gust to 16 mph but an average of 10 mph. Karin went first and set a new record for the BS maneuver - five seconds. Movie Dave and Sean T to follow. After convincing Movie Dave to fly over the north side of the ridge and head towards the LZ (in took a few tries to explain to him what happens when you cross over too low), David and I hooked in and had a great launch. We soon were soaring all around the hikers, until I realized I was making too many sharp turns and should probably head out before my flight suit gets dirty. My passenger was excited, to say the least. The view was stunning. After a soft landing, I want to end the day on a perfect note and head home, but Stig and Aaron were keen to fly still. Woodside seem like the best call. Stig’s wedding and baby plans must have consumed most of his thoughts, when he decided to walk all the way to the woodside ramp, sit down for a moment, and then run off the end! Crazy stuff! Aaron had a blast playing with his new reverse launch logging in a few great flights.
Oct 21	Bridal	sy	1.6	Strong East conditions kept us happily kiting (reverse training) for about three hours until things mellowed out. We needed to mount the new Bridal “Hot tub”, in Marks pick up, so after a long lunch we headed up to Bridal. Brian, Gabby and Clay were already in the air – so no wind dummies needed. Conditions were quite smooth for the rest of the Deimosians: Special K, Chiu, Mark (AKA Pool boy), Aaron, Layne (AKA “Putter”), Lady Di, J-man and Matt (no nick name yet).
Oct 20	Bridal	sy	1.8	A great start to the new Bridal water irrigation system or should I say water collection system. While Karin and Di worked on adding a protective coat to the Deimos table, the rest of the boys, Chiu, Brian, Jon, Brian, Colin, Clay and I worked on the water system. We got about ¼ done when some of the pilots “needed” to fly. The 1000L tank arrives tomorrow. Brian had the best flight, maintaining just below launch, while the rest of us had very nice sled rides
Oct 17	Bridal	ps	2.0	Hooked up with Clay today (finally back from the flat lands). We did a little road work and put in the new upper stairs. The plan was to work on the water tank hole next, but just then the west wind arrived. By the time we were ready to launch the winds were much lighter. We managed a couple of flights before the south wind shut down the site.
Oct 14	Upper Bridal	ps	1.5	With just a few “early” phone calls, I was able to convince Aaron, Chiu, J-Man and Matt to hike up to upper Bridal- a short one hour (to the minute) hike. Light West conditions at first; so J-man, Aaron, and finally Matt, all had good launches, leaving Chiu and I. Almost immediately the wind changed to 10 k South. We tried one attempt but aborted it after a few steps, and then we waited. Soon (20 minutes) it switched back to West and we were air bourne! We did a customary Titanic, then quickly raced back up for more lower Bridal action. Layne, Special K and Mark were quick to fly (but only after we moved some ply wood for the new rain collection system). Some great launches despite the light conditions and a few slightly long landings, top off by more Wild Cat food and drinks. A very enjoyable day!
Oct 13	Bridal	sy	1.5	Aaron and I picked out the new Bridal Falls water tank then rushed out to Bridal for a few sled rides: Movie Dave and Special K were already on launch; while we were waiting for them to land, Aaron had some spare time to remember how to forward launch. Eventually we were all back on take off. Solid launches from every one except me: I had a small knot in the middle A lines, that Karin missed (probably a little too dark to see it), but fixed itself once I loaded the wing – very scenic flights for all. I tried the big ears (top side spiral); it worked okay but I think the G’s are still very high and this maneuver should be saved for emergency descents. I had a craving for a blue cheese burger – so we finished our day at the Wild Cat, followed but a few scary climbing stories. PS> the water tank should be installed sometime next week.
Oct 6-9	Saddle WA	sy bo ++	2.8	October 6 Ahhh, yet another adventure-filled weekend with Deimos. Fortunately the bad karma was behind us <throws salt over left shoulder while touching wood> and all had good experiences…well, I guess Tom was the exception this weekend, and Ed, but that was self inflicted… Anyhoo, Ed, Karin, Stig, and Owen grouped up at Tom’s (who was impatient to get on the road) on Friday afternoon and headed for Blanchard with the truck and an RV (courtesy of Ed) full of wings. Tom and Owen were faced with an almost overwhelming decision at the boarder – which empty booth to enter. TJ was flying a kite at Blanchard when we arrived with Sean hot on our tail. Tom launched to check things out as conditions were a bit cross. He made a couple of passes by launch, demonstrating two rather interesting collapses in the process. Eager to get in the air, Ed unrolled a couple of wings but conditions weren’t improving so Tom headed for the LZ followed by the rest of us in the Deimos cavalcade – Sean and TJ heading home. Ditching their car, Dianne and Jon were loaded in the RV (aka Deimos 1) and headed for Saddle Mountain, stopping for some quite decent Thai enroute. A couple hours on the road had us at launch on Saddle. It was a bright moon lit night however the ridge was blasted by high winds so Deimos 1 was used as a windbreak for the tent city that was quickly assembled, pegged down, and filled with ballast. We bedded down for a not terribly restful night frequently interrupted by slaps in the face by flapping tent material and ventures outside to re-peg, all while being concerned that your tent was the one making all the noise. October 7 The next morning was moderately breezy so those with less experience set to kiting and practicing reverses in the tumbleweed and twitchy wind behind launch while more experienced pilots flew. That was after a cup of Ed’s morning brew and viewing a low level flying video filled with lots of tips and descriptive graphics. Art and Karen showed up mid morning and Art joined those with more experience in the air. Ed demonstrated his mastery of the reverse launch by executing an epic drag thru the sticks during some blustery conditions. Fortunately for the rest of us, there were multiple cameras running so we were able to relive the arm and leg filled dust cloud that ensued immediately following the phrase “No, I don’t need an anchor.” To “Tumbleweed”’s credit, he did end it standing. Standby for the movie. Once in the air Ed found some good some good lift out in front of launch and Karin discovered it a bit later. By the time Owen was in the air, conditions were turning down leaving him sinking out and Karen scratching for a top landing. Owen elected to land between launch and the river, rather than the usual LZ thinking that he’d be the only one landing below however Karin ended up joining him. Shortly after, Jon, Dianne, and Stig launched and sank out, landing in the sand LZ near the road (on the other side of the river). As Saddle Mtn’s 1800ft rise looked less inviting from the ground Karen and Owen tried to find a way across the briskly flowing, deep river channel to no avail. Dianne became an impromptu biker chick riding on the back of the locals’ ATVs in search of a ford. It turned out that the bridge Jon could see from the top of the cliff was 5 miles away and not visible with the naked eye and the locals’ supposed crossable location “just ¼ mile upstream” failed to materialize after hiking a couple of KM and a close encounter with a large rattlesnake. About this point Tom arrived with a truckload of students and gliders. Using a rope, and much comedy, we tight lined the gliders piece-by-piece across the river and stocked up on water for the 2-hour hike up the mountain. Karen and I didn’t get to the top in time to catch a lift to the next flying site, for an end-of-the-day sledder and best glide comp, but were happy to put our feet up in Deimos 1 with a couple of cold ones and a some snacks while watching the sunset. Tom and Co. returned well after dark and a BBQ steak dinner was prepared while Julie and kids were retrieved from town. We rounded out the evening with some PG movies and headed for our tents and a more restful night with much lower wind. October 8 After a breakfast of eggs toast and cereal, we headed out for a quick sledder to the sand LZ (Special K and Owen having learned their lesson). Eddie and Jon stayed behind to fly – apparently having a quite good afternoon with perfect wind for multi-hour flights – and Dianne kept and eye on them while catching up on some marking. The rest of the crew headed to the Feathers at Frenchman’s Coulee for some climbing – a first for Stig, Special K, and Owen. Miranda showed us how it was done after Tom and Julie placed the top ropes and gave the newbies some coaching. It was a rewarding afternoon for all, even though the climbers didn’t make it back in time to enjoy the prime air. Returning to the mountain we picked up provisions for Thanksgiving dinner in Mattawa. Sadly no pumpkin pie was available, but armed with some precooked chickens, potatoes, carrots, corn, and instant gravy and stuffing, Chef’s Tumbleweed and Jon had a most enjoyable dinner prepared in a remarkable 20minutes flat, despite much heckling and assistance by all. Another 15 minutes had Deimos 1 cleaned up and we spent the evening watching movies and enjoying some local wine while a few very tempted to take a midnight moonlit flight by the almost perfect wind. October 9 After a hearty breakfast, everyone got in a flight or two before the winds picked up to the low to mid 20s grounding all but Tom who logged his first unenjoyable flight in a long while. He made numerous attempts at getting down enough to land during his 1+ hour adventure but ended up in the sand LZ when winds at launch failed to abate. We packed up camp and employed an 8-person team technique to folding wings in the gale while watching him try to land. Diemos 1 headed back along Highway 2 for a change of scenery while Tom’s family and Owen returned to the Feathers for some climbing. Miranda was eager to have a crack at another route as soon as mom and dad had it set up. It was a long weekend for the kids so once everyone had had a shot, we packed up and headed home from a weekend full of adventure, good memories, and definitely no idle time! Back at the Peace Arch, Tom and Owen revisited their border dilemma of having to choose which empty wicket to use – talk about good fortune on a long weekend.
Oct 1	Bridal	sy	2.5	Great conditions at Bridal for Rick, Eric, Owen and myself: after hearing of yet another crash at Woodside (this one serious - a helicopter was rushed in to help a down hang glider pilot), it was hard to find a wind dummy. So I went first, but could not climb high enough to top land. After a quick drive up, everyone was flying, mostly extended sled rides. For our last flight, we waited about 20 minutes for the sun to drop below the clouds, offering some light thermals and oro graphic lift. With some last minute wing and harness swapping, Owen launch a little too early and missed most of the lift, however Eric climbed about 500’ above (for the first time ever), then I initiated Rick with his first baby Titanic. A couple more flights for Rick and he’ll have his rating.
Sept 30	Bridal and Woodside	sy st	2.0	Sadly, Samuel’s name was drawn yesterday. After six years of teaching I knew that one day, after more than 100 students, that one of my boys would get hurt – it’s the law of statistics. The clouds were low on Bridal so we convoyed to Agassiz School for some morning kiting. Shane, Matt, Mark, Chiu, Lyane, Robert, Owen, Karin, and Samuel aired out their wings; Sam’s mom even gave it a try! Some lunch then up to Bridal for some para-waiting and Deimos landscaping (Rob was already there working on his own project)…the new upper steps look great! Winds were cross (SW) but Shane and Karin each tried a reverse inflation, then aborted to wait for better conditions. When the lull came, Shane, Karin and Matt flew down to the LZ to meet my tandems. With strong conditions reported at Woodside, I ended the day for all low flight novice students, but the remaining pilots still had hope. Strong winds on Woodside launch (12 to 16 mph gust), a pilot on deck waiting for a lull, and advanced pilots in the air, so I grounded the rest of my novice students. Kevin and I launched tandem, and had no problems penetrating the upper winds. Samuel and Rob launched shortly afterwards and were soaring nicely. Karin, and “Kevin’s Karin” watched our landing then we quickly packed up. We were surprised to see Samuel in the clear cut when we arrived at the turn off – still sitting in his harness. Shane was working on his wing, and passing hunter and Matt were on the phone with 911, with the rest of the WCSC pilots and Deimosians quickly helping out in every way. I quickly grabbed a blanket and a down jacket to help keep Samuel warm, while Karin assumed the position of tender pulse taker. Samuel said that he tried to top land, but was low and left of launch (venturi country) – he then decided to force a landing in the clear cut, but the air was too unstable and he landed very hard next to one of the ugly stacks of dead trees. Most of us followed the ambulance to Chilliwack and got to see Samuel in good spirits. It looks like he’ll have a sore back for a few weeks but will be back at it in a month or so. The last thing he said was “I want to come on your Thanks Giving trip”!
Sept 29	Bridal	sy	2.0	As winds were not conducive to a pleasant afternoon at Diefenbaker, the venue was shifted to reliable Bridal. Owen and Mark beat their way thru sluggish Friday afternoon traffic, arriving at the LZ in the definitely later afternoon. Heading up the hill post haste (although forgetting to fill the grass watering cans), Mark launched followed by Owen. Conditions for the first flight were similar to the second round on Sept 28 with SW-erlies producing a bit of wind shadow and cross in front of launch. Launches were reasonably good and followed by the usual selection of maneuvers before landing in next to no wind. It's a pity the pool wasn't out as there were a couple of darn good landings, though if no one see's it... The second set was a repeat of the last few sunset flights with no wind launches, although there was a bit of lift here and there. Owen landed after a few asymetricals (with another almost spot-on performance) and Mark found a bit of lift (some of it where he didn't want it) after getting in afew more frontals (apparently he couldn't get enough). Sadly we must report that following his spectacular overshoot but decent landing near the 150yard marker, Pool Boy is no more and is now (hopefully temporarily) "Putter".
Sept 28	Bridal	sy	2.0	Aaron called to say that he was delayed in traffic, so visiting pilot Shawn, Owen, Karin and I raced up to launch to have a quickie. Karin was slightly above for a while, but like Owen sank out after a half an hour. After adding Aaron and Sean to roster we were back on launch. Aaron's one hour sleep was a little too much and he elected to drive instead. I was the only pool boy today, but Owen was a close second when he almost bounced in on his third flight.
Sept 25	Deifenbaker	sy	?	No blood, no outdoor sex, just good old fashion paragliding. BM was probably the best hill to train on tonight, but Deifenbaker was the next best; both Robert and Chiu were able to get air bourne on the main hill, quite a few times before darkness arrived.
Sept 24	Bridal	sy	2.0	Well, today had an “interesting” start. Tom and Karin met Owen, Sam, Mark, and new student Rob at Bridal in late morning to give the winds a chance to shift to Westerly. About 1/3 the way up we encountered a jeep with a broken driveshaft abandoned mid-road. An Isuzu Trooper-like vehicle had squeezed past moments before but it was a little tight for our liking. It was about that point that the possibility of having a “normal” day went right out the window. The owners soon reappeared and after a few minutes we persuaded “broken driveshaft” to coast downhill a few feet to a wide spot so we could continue the ascent. However we only made it a couple hundred feet up the road before we reencountered the “Trooper”, this time stopped at a slight angle to the road, in a cross ditch at a stream. This put us at point blank range to see it pause briefly before rolling slowly backwards towards and off the edge of the road. We watched with amazement/horror as the lone driver gave us a dazed look before the rear of the vehicle hit a rock and proceeded to flip backwards end over end down the steep rocky creek bed. Hearing sounds worthy of an action movie we were all out of the truck long before the crashing noises ceased, the vehicle far out of sight. Pool boy (see September 23), Sam, and Rod immediately proceeded down to the vehicle (or rather what little there was left of it) to do what they could while a radio and first aid kit were found and sent down with Karin. Fortunately the driver was able to walk up the 400-500ft slope, remarkably the most obvious concerns being head and posterior lumbar lacerations and neck pain. Following 5 minutes of negotiations necessary to persuade a pair of Sunday drivers following us to back down into a pullout, Tom and Karin drove the victim to the bottom with shock setting in en route. Not to be left out, “driveshaft” made a repeat appearance again blocking the road during his slow descent. When Tom asked to pass, as we had an emergency, he received several non-compliments most beginning with the sixth letter of the alphabet. He eventually sneaked past in the weeds and when “driveshaft” arrived at the bottom to see us transferring the bloodied patient to the waiting ambulance and fire truck he was most apologetic – much to Tom’s amusement. Pool boy, Sam, Rob, and Owen walked down to the bottom of the road to meet up with the truck, tossing the larger nuggets off the road as we went. In the process we unexpectedly had our own bizarre encounter, thus nicely rounding out the half hour of intense entertainment. Rounding a sharp corner, we came upon a rather frisky couple energetically going at “it” in the rear of a pickup parked right on the side of the road at what will hereafter be known as Carnal Corner. For some reason they didn’t offer us a ride down when they passed us a few minutes later… After making a statement to the police and taking the obligatory photos of Tom in the RCMP truck, the remainder of the day proceeded as usual with mostly light wind launches and minimal soaring. Eddie showed up prior to the first set of flights and thus missed out on the excitement but joined us for the subsequent two sets of flights. Rob enjoyed his first tandem and launches were pretty good across the board with a bit of wing swapping going on toward the end of the day. The pool made a second appearance with no on-target landings but a few close tries and a couple of overshoots. And the grass seeding project continued on the lower and upper launches, complete with its first watering – fingers crossed for success in this department. Owen.
Sept 23	Bridal	Sy	2.0	Today was a busy day with Dave, Karin, Sam, Owen, Mark, Dianne, and tandem passengers birthday Ashley & her SO. Shane also came out to assist with launching/landing. After a couple of warm-up inflations at Rosedale and we headed up to Bridal. Karin and Dave lead the charge while Rick and kids showed up to spike the picnic table together securely. Rick elected to drive down as his son wasn’t happy about the prospect of riding down with anyone else, much to his sister’s vexation. About this time Eddie, Shawn, and Matt showed up at the LZ so Tom flew off with the birthday girl (who quite enjoyed her flight) and Shane launched the rest of the crew into relatively quiet conditions. In an attempt to sharpen the students’ landing skills, the kiddie pool made its debut. After posting a $1 ante, pilots could make a bid for the pot by committing to a “pool” landing while above 500ft, with each attempt costing $5. The first set of landings were a bit on the haywire side still with at least one pilot trying to avoid paying green fees on the nearby links. However, over the course of the day, with most pilots making three if not four flights, the landing distribution tightened considerably. Tom pulled off a tandem pool landing and Mark helped everyone stay in the air a bit longer by lightening our wallets considerably when he succeeded in collecting the $100 pot on the last flight of the day, thus redeeming himself from the previous day’s misadventure and gaining the name “Pool boy” (previously “Fence king”). Spare moments at launch were occupied by pilots testing their gardening skills by tilling and seeding areas of the lower launch with grass. Owen.
Sept 22	Bridal	ps	2.2	We were a impatient and rushed up to launch, a little too early, and had to wait for about an hour for the East wind to switch to West. Time to work on the upper steps some more... Karin, Jonathon, Mark, “Little Dan”, Stig and Rick all had good launches, however Rick had a nasty knot in his C line and had to ride big ears into the LZ. It seemed like the no wind LZ was just a little too difficult for most pilots and many landed wide or long (weird). My new student, Bart and I had a nice tandem flight then later I flew a couple of times, top landing to help with the next launches. Karin completed her 500th flight today - congrats!
Sept 16	Bridal	++	2.8	What an amazing day – one of my favorites. We started the day kiting at Rosedale, and then most of us headed over to Bridal to check out the conditions. We arrived just in time for the West wind. Karin had the sky to herself but not for long: soon Samuel, Mark, Owen and Will and I were all soaring up to 1000’ over. Jonathon and Diane finally finished their warm up and were patiently waiting for us to land. Samuel managed a top landing to help drive the Deimos truck down. The next flights were much stronger, unfortunately, too much for my new student Owen and he got to watch for a few hours. While Jonathon and Samuel took turns top landing, the rest of us got to play with our wings. Our third flights were just dreamy with lots of impressive clouds to stare at – topped off by a great meal at the Wildcat.
Sept 15	Sumas	st	2.2	Great soaring conditions at Sumas (if you wanna hike for 4 km) -there was a new lock on the upper gate stopping our adventures cold. We (Anne AKA the bee lady, Stig man, Karin and myself) then headed to the Dykes for some gardening and kiting practice.
Sept 11	Bridal	cr	2.5	Ed aborted first attempt or two (I was in the air, Joanne was on launch) then launched fine. It was a bit cross between thermals, he went to the right. He flew around launch (I was higher up between launch and Archibald) He had 2 top landings, I saw one, it was right where it should be, I was below launch on his second. He followed me out to land, said he spiraled (I didn't see it). His landing approach was good, strong wind above but none at ground so he glided to land at halfway or so with a nice touchdown (no big ears). Total flying time about an hour, wind/themals lifty/sinky seemed to switch to more SW at the end (Robin agreed) air felt weird below launch and pushed me out from the hill when I decided I'd had enough. Nice colours on the trees. Karin
Sept 10	Woodside	++	2.4	While some pilots warmed up at Rosedale others adjusted their harnesses, and trimmed their gliders, and then eventually, we all headed over to Woodside. Quite the circus as usually – and we added to it. The “pressure” was too much for many of my new students, causing some exciting aborts, and confused glider control. Mark nailed his launch on his first try, and then Aaron, after many tries, aced his first Woodside reverse launch. I finally decided to put all the new pilot flights on hold, and proceeded to take “little Dan’s” girl friend (Tina) on a dream flight to Harrison. We had a little problem on take off when my launch anchor decided to let us go, too early, causing a harsh abort, and some bush action; but the next attempt (with two anchors) worked great. An hour or so later we were all back on take off, in lighter conditions, allowing the rest of the Demosians a chance to take their flights: Owen, Chiu, “Big Dan”, Karin, and Chris on Tandem. My last flight got a bit evil (forth time in a row) when I replaced Owen for the evening acro show – Aaron and Dan tried their best to save “Owen” up to the last one hundred feet - my acting must be getting better!.
Sept 9	Whidbey	++	?	We arrived just in time for the first flights of the day. I gave a few intro tandem flights to Aaron and Mark, and then helped Aaron take his first Whidbey solo flight. However, ten minutes later, he landed on the beach to avoid causing a conflict with a local pilot. Mark, Owen, and Anne, worked hard and had many nice inflations, but conditions were too light for their first soaring flights. I took one for the group a tried to soar with a Vitamin 32 but eventually selected the beach as the best LZ option.
Sept 8	Deifenbaker	sy	?	We plucked a few cherries tonight: a new Tequila, Bodyguard and U2 were tested. A fun night with lots of flights for everyone except the new/old HG student Anne (she just started). We finished the night with a race between Vitamin (Owen) and Tequila (Aaron); Vitamin was quick to inflate, but the Tequila was a little faster, both had the same glide. Mark, Chiu, Karin, Dan G, and Dan S all had great forward launches, all night long.
Sept 5	Bridal	sy	2.1	The light west conditions improved for Ted and my tandems, with a couple of moments above launch. Our first landings were a little long but eventually we were hitting the spot. A beautiful afternoon of flying.
Sept 3	Blanchard and Whidbey	sy	2.2	Even though the forecast for Whidbey was not quite perfect, we (Karin, Samuel, Diane, Steve and Chiu decided to go anyhow – worst case we would practice our reverse launches. Our USHGPA insured pilots (Karin and Diane) had good launches and great landings off Blanchard’s West face, and then we invaded the Oak Harbor grocery store. The prediction was for flyable conditions at 5pm so we could take our time shopping for the perfect meals. When we arrived, the wind direction was alright but only strong enough to kite. We had great success with the “Deimos stage one” reverse launch and I’m sure all students would have been able to fly if it was just a few km/h stronger.
Sept 2	Sumas and Bridal	sy smokey	2.1	Great launches from most of the Deimosians today - Rick, TJ, Shane, Ed, Mark, Matt, Karin, Chiu, Jon and Diane! We started the day at Sumas with a couple of flights to the Oval LZ, then headed off to Bridal for a few more flights. New student Chiu got confused with the words “kill it” but still managed to have a good launch and landing (his first). Many interesting landings (mostly long and fast due to the slight east wind), but the most interesting event happened at Sumas when we saw a dog jump out of a moving truck, while on a leash – lots of yelling and a few water bombs later, we managed to stop the truck before it entered the highway on ramp! Scary stuff!
Sept 1	White Rock	++	?	A wedding party took over Deifenbaker Park, so we decided to train in White Rock. Mark and Chiu worked hard while Samuel (and his mom) swapped out the PPG risers on the Vitamin 38 for PG risers. New student Chiu is a nateral (another jedi) and will likely do his first flights (tandem and solo) on Saturday. My new tandem wing (U2) will arrive on Tuesday, but Gab offered his wing this weekend - time for some Titanics?
Aug 31	Deifenbaker	cr	?	Tricky conditions at Deifenbaker, but new students Chiu and Owen did great!
Aug 27	Bridal	++	2.4	I was glad to have mostly advance students today (I felt very tired and it showed with my “French” flying style). Except for Samuel, we were all slow moving, but eventually the thermals showed up and we were are all getting high. Dianne had three flights and was top of the stack for some time (her longest flights) and had great landings with just a few hints from the peanut gallery (Jon and Karin); Later, Fast Eddie and Matt drifted in just as the thermals arrived then quickly climbed out on their respective adventures. Karin, Eddie and I toured the base of Cheam, for about an hour, and then returned to lower launch to take a break while Karin set her personal longest flight of 3+ hours.
Aug 26	Bridal	++	2.5	Every day a new adventure. Morning glides for Shane and Karin, Samual showed us some new acro, Jonathon had his first shot of (Skywalk) Tequila, while Diane, Ted and Aaron got back in the air with good launches and landings. Fast Eddie arrived for round two on his motorcycle complete with his gear and the tandem wing. When bad things happen from good intentions we can only hope it’s for the best in the big picture…the trusty Windtech Bantoo was unable to survive it’s injuries and has moved on to the place all good gliders go, having given so many the best ride of their lives. Midday brought the thermals, Shane showed us where they were, soon Eddie (after a top landing), Samual and Karin were west of Upper Bridal, then east to below Cheam for over 2 hours of flight time. Samual topped it off with his first ever top landing! Jonathon went for more Tequila, while Ted, Diane, Aaron and Matt soared the launch, and practiced mini acro. Diane included harness acro to retrieve her second radio, for another fine landing. Evening brought smooth air for Shane, Eddie, Jonathon, Matt and Diane. Matt had a blast in his first spiral, all caught on helmet cam! The lack of wind shut down Aaron’s last launch attempt, so Tom jumped into his set up and flew out to do his asymmetric for him, which of course progressed to a SAT and spiral…opps, “forgot” to tell our landing instructor that it wasn’t Aaron…he figured it out soon enough…sorry Shane! Thanks from all of us for your instruction, advice and humor this summer! Karin
Aug 25	Burnaby Mt	++	?	Before the masses arrived, I managed a good flight to set the best glide and best kite distances. Karin held the best glide distance for a long while until Gabby (AKA the flipper) shattered it. The best kite record was eventually broken by Deimos pilot of the year Art Sanderson and the best team flight, world record actually, was set by Art and myself, when we managed to kite the wing around to the front of the trees (first time ever!). There was a few DQ’s (tree touches and failed landing gear) but I think everyone else had great flights. A special thanks goes to Gabby and Westcomb – they gave away more than $1000 in gear at about ten cents on the dollar! In the end, Gabby won best glide and donated all of the prize money, Art won $100 for best kite and team flight (with me), Karin won best female performance (received a vest), Aaron won a Aeros T-Shirt for most flights, Fast Eddie received a Westcomb adventure jacket and bottle of fine wine for his $300 donation and the rest of us probably had sore legs for the next few days. About $700 was raised for the new Bridal Falls web cam – hopefully the WCSC and BCHPA can help pay for the rest. Many thanks from all of us at Deimos Paragliding. See you next year!
Aug 24	Bridal	++	2.2	A dream day at Bridal (Matt, Eddie and Karin) - more to come. The cloud bank along Bridal lifted slowly all day, we were in the air by 4:00. Tom first, sharing the thermal with an eagle over launch then top landing. Back in the air, Tom, Eddie and Karin headed west along the bottom of the clouds along Upper Bridal and over to Gloria through the buoyant lift and sometime sink. Alan, Rob and Martin joined us in the sky while we flew back to launch where Tom landed to meet Matt, and Eddie had his second ever top landing, with big ears! Karin had her first Bridal top landing (first mountain site top landing that wasn’t a top crash!) We all got back in the air and headed east this time, following the thermals along the ridge to below Cheam, Karin leading the way, Eddie being thermal marker and Tom spiraling down to help Matt keep up until Matt was doing fine on his own. Tom lead us over the ridge for some spectacular scenery before we turned back to glide to launch on the still lifting air. Tom top landed while Karin and Eddie did baby spirals over the LZ, followed by Matt with wingovers and an aircraft approach attempt. Tom and the Sigma then had a SAT rematch before joining us in the LZ. What an awesome evening of flying! Karin
Aug 23	Deifenbaker	cr	2.2	Strong SE conditions at Deifenbaker, but good progress from all the students (Peter, Anna, Ted and Aaron).
Aug 21	Burnaby Mt and Bridal	++	2.8	We tried Anna’s favorite site, Port Side, but the SE wind was present. China Park was “sort of” working for us until the “soccer team” showed up and bullied us to Vanier park (which was the best choice).
Aug 20	Woodside and Bridal	++	2.5	We Eric, Rick, Karin, Peter, Anna started the day with a quick trip to riverside then an easy XC to Harvest base. Shane and the boys (Samuel, Eddie, Matt and TJ) join us at Bridal for more adventures in the sky.
Aug 19	Bridal	++	2.5	Even with Anna and Peter calling in sick, there was a huge Deimos crew flying today. Layne was the star, flying almost two hours on his third flight. He needed just a little guidance at first then he was cruising along just fine, almost climbing back to launch height. Jonathon finally when over the falls to complete his Deimos novice rating; Matt took his first 40% hit and kept flying; Kris tried some baby acro moves; Samuel played quietly in the corner; Eric slid in a last minute flight; Shane worked on his top crashes; Mario took his first tandem flight; while fast Eddie worked on the final touches of the Deimos table.
Aug 18	Deifenbaker	cr	2.0	Woodside report: So there was no brass band but I did three flights at Woodside. Couldn't raise anyone at Bridal. Almost soaring but actually scratchy. Twenty five minute flights. On my first flight I few over the landing zone and looked down at the sock. The wind had switched direction. So I set up the opposite direction (boy, can't wait until I brag to tom about this). Mid landing the wind switched back, and gusted up. And my vario wents nuts. Lots of lift. I flew the entire length of the field, fast. Landed just short of the brambles. Kind of. If I tell you what really happened I'll just look really stupid so I'll stop the story here. Dave Bridal report: Eddie and I had a nice little flight this afternoon, winds seemed so light (WSW?) that is was mostly thermic lift, but no one was getting high.. although Alan, and then Rob, were up for quite awhile, never really getting up to Upper Launch height though that I could tell..but both went east along the ridge a little ways. Ed did well up over launch on his Style while I groveled below launch before finally sinking out to land..... of course since you weren't watching we both had good landings..and good launches! Karin Deifenbaker report: The West wind was too much for any flights (although Mario tried just once from the South slope), but we still had fun kiting the wings with new students Anna, Peter and Mario. I ended up recruting Samuel (as usual) - thanks.
Aug 17	Bridal	sy	2.2	I spent the morning teaching my new visiting students (Birena and Luke) followed by a great lunch. Then raced out to Bridal to help finish the Deimos table. Ed and I were keen to put the final table pieces together. While Ed was king of the saw work, Karin and I took a “moment” to go flying with Tony and Glenn. Rob loaned me his wing for the flight – always fun to try new gear. I tried for an hour to top land but eventually it was time to land. I tried to get Rob on the radio for permission to do some high G acro (but no answer), so just did some wing overs and baby spirals. When we came up Rob and Ed had all but the top layers done. The table is perfect. Hopefully, the general public will respect it for many years to come.
Aug 16	Bridal	++	2.5	Ed and I spent all day preparing the new Bridal table and hauling it up to launch. Some strong thermals came through the take off at time but no time to fly.
Aug 13	Woodside	Ps	2.3	Nice conditions at Woodside today: after watching a few exciting aborted launches, Brad and I (with our passengers) were in the air soaring the bump to the south of launch. Always nice to fly with the birthday girl, no acro but I gave her a Deimos T-shirt just because it was her day! I made it home, this time on time, for a huge B-day party for my two girls (Cabrinha and Miranda - now 2 and 4). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grouse Mountain Day 2 Eddie, Karin and Seattle pilot Richard hiked up the Grouse Grind while their paragliders made the trip up to launch in the care of fellow Seattle pilots and the Grouse Mountain Resort shuttle. Conditions allowed reverse launches into stable air for a spectacular glide into the thermic LZ. Eddie nailed the spot landing, while Karin on long glide got a foot into the outer ring. Trevor made 3 flights ( the noon LZ conditions sounded challenging) before catching an airplane east, while Samuel arrived for a late afternoon flight (flight report Samuel?) A wonderful experience to fly Grouse, many thanks to the GMFT, visiting pilots, and Grouse Mountain Resort for all the support, shuttle service, BBQ (awesome!) and fun! Karin
Aug 12	Grouse	ps	2.6	Solid flights from the intermediate students: Karin, Samuel, Michael and Eddie. Apparently Eddie landed in the first LZ ring on his second flight. Trevor was a little tight on his first landing but I think he did better on his last flight of the day. I was in a hurry to see my GG for a huge family dinner in Chilliwack, and ended up rushing my set up resulting in a 15’ short spot landing near the pool in a low angle wing over (exactly what I tell me students not to do).
Aug 11	Sumas	ps	?	I was impressed and pleased with our results today, but a second trip will be required, with helpers alarmed with rakes and hoes to complete the cliff launch. Myself, Dan, Matt, Karin, and Colin (my wife’s father of almost 70), worked for many hours to add a new launch at Sumas. Attempts to level the new third launch failed (too steep for the rotor till) resulting in some interested pulley systems. The cliff launch may be used now, but once we get a couple of inches of snow, it will be perfect!
Aug 7	Bridal	++	2.6	Perfect flying conditions for new student Aaron and the rest of the regulars (Samuel, Eddie and Karin). Steve and I set a new Titanic record, chasing Aaron in to land and Alisha and I had a nice long (hour plus flight) getting about 1000’ over. Karin tried her first B-line with perfect, almost too boring to watch exit. Eddie and Samuel were just a few feet short of getting me to do fifty push ups.
Aug 6	Bridal	++	2.6	Rick was the star of the day with three flights and a low save (below the Bridal falls cliff). I had an hour plus flight (on my Sigma4) to Gloria and back, in weird air, and eventually top landed just in time for another tandem flight. Samuel and Karin had fun chasing each other up to Upper launch and back a few times.
Aug 5	Bridal	++	2.6	A full Deimos day full of great tandems and solo flights. In short, TJ got back on the horse; Eddie went over the falls and got his license to kill; Shane’s in love with the princess but she has to go back home to U-Turn; Dan had one good, one bad and one ugly launch, Rick needs a good harness; Stig and Karin were just solid. After a hour plus tandem to 4600' it looks like we have another solo pilot (or two) starting soon.
Aug 4	Burnaby Mt	++	2.0	The evening glass off was just turning on when a Burnaby Park Ranger asked us to leave. Apparently a memo was issued that prevents any paragliding activity on the hill (more news to come soon).
Aug 2	Bridal	++	2.5	The SW gusts were a little too strong when we arrived, but after about an hour of waiting and lots of good idea sharing (about upgrading the Bridal launch), SanJoy and I were out soaring in perfect air near upper launch. We, Eddie, Jonathon and Shane (riding the “Princess”), were all climbing upward. Eventually Eddie and Shane were playing tag and Jonathon was hanging around take off waiting for Diane to fly. She had one try near the end of the day but a full frontal, near the edge, ended that idea. Sanjoy had a good lunch, but had some serious problems figuring out where to land and just missed the LZ and landed in the bushes near the old snag (no damage). A bad way to end a great day of flying.
Aug 1	Deifenbaker	++	2.5	Moderate SSE winds offered some challenges for most of the students (TJ, Samuel, Sanjoy and Dan), but all managed some air time by the end of the day. Students Dan and Sanjoy are almost ready for his first solo flight (planned for this weekend).
July 31	Bridal	++	2.5	Dan and I raced out to Bridal to research my irrigation idea. It turns out a rain collection system makes the most sense. Great conditions on launch, and we were 1000’ over in just a few minutes. At Gloria (about an hour later) it was decided that the air was a little to bumpy so we went back to take off to relax. I took this opportunity to test fly the new Infinity II – thermals like a dream, a little too easy – followed by more acro and some of the easiest B-stalls ever!
July 28, 29, 30	Makenzie	bo sy	2.5	No flying in Pembie this weekend. On Saturday evening we went up to take off for a “how to measure a rotor” course. Sunday morning, at Narin Falls camp ground a cougar was sighted just a 100 meters from our tent (time to put the girls in the truck).
July 26	Bridal then BM	sy ++	2.5	Finally some thermals that a heavy tandem could spec out in! Karin was first off with another solid reverse; Jonathon was one for two on his aborts for the day; Eddie was just having fun (out in front of take off) and poor Diane had watch (again, a little too strong). Visit P3 pilot Jaan and I quickly flew to upper launch then rushed back down to terra firma to join some of the boys at Burnaby Mt. - a "little" late. Finally at Burnaby Mt: Dan G. was waiting for us to show up to open up his wing, Aaron was battling the UP Soul with some success, and new student Dan S. was getting a little air time on his first day with Deimos. Diane was queen of the hill with her first top to bottom flight.
July 23	Bridal	hot cr	2.5	Pilots Ed, Rick, Eric and Sanjoy cancelled their day at the last moment (probably due to the “heat”), which left only the hard core pilots (Layne, Stig, Diane, Jonathon and Karin for the morning training session). Layne and Stig managed a few flights in light conditions, but Matt, Diane and Jon arrived a little too late and had to wait until the wind calmed down. I had a nice flight with Ivan but we had an extra hard landing due to the strong wind gradient. Some passengers are a little harder to launch – it took five tries but Alex and I finally got airborne. On abort number #4 I noticed that my reserve handle was pulled (probably caused from the abort) – if we were airborne I would have ended up in the trees! Near the end of the day, Jonathon tried to finish his last flying maneuver; he went over the falls but a little too soon and will need to try again (maybe on Wednesday).
July 22	Woodside and Bridal	hot	2.2	Morning sled rides for Stig, Rick, Ed and Eric. We broke for brunch and then more flights at Bridal. Diane and Jonathon eventually showed up for the afternoon flights. The lure of the much awaited Titanic was too much for Eddie, that he had no choice but to delay his son birthday dinner – I wonder if it was worth it. For me it was!
July 21	Bridal	super hot ++	2.5	A great afternoon for flying: Samuel, Rick, Eric, Ed, Stig, Matt, Karin and my two tandems all flew in light soaring conditions. It’s been more than six years, but both my tandems give me a generous tip for their flights – it really made my day! Latter we had a great meal at the Wild Cat then battled the bugs on launch while we snuggled into our tents for the night. A four star day indeed!
July 17	Deifenbaker	++	2.0	Great SE conditions for new students Rick B., Sanjoy, Layne and Diane. Diane and I tried some new types of tandem launches, with some success, but special gear is required to stop my arms from pulling out of their sockets!
July 16	Bridal	++	2.4	Better conditions on Sunday allowed for Samuel and a few others to fly to upper launch. Some other students showed up, but could not fly (no reservation, no gear).
July 15	Bridal	sy	2.5	Lots on flights all day long. Shane was the pilot of the day with his first top landing at Lower Bridal. Students: Paul, Samuel, Fast Eddie, John, Matt, Karin, all had great launches and landings. I had some problems when my forth and last passenger of the day tripped at the edge, but somehow managed the save the wing for a nice flight.
July 14	Mt Woodside	sy	2.5	Amazing flying in some of the smoothest air of the year. A little too windy earlier, but after a hour or so, everyone was airborne – up to 2.5 hours for Samuel. Eventually we all landed at HM. Fun stuff and a little XC.
July 10	Deifenbaker	sy	2.0	The SE wind was perfect for training. Many interesting launches from the new students.
July 7-9	Whidbey	cr sy	2.0	Even without the “wind sox of doom”, a many human sacrifices, we still could not fly; we ate, sleep, camped, answered “8+ tough discussions”, drank, kited, ate, completed students exams, drank some more and practiced our tree rescues – but any flying we did was very little. The North wind dominated the site with high winds (up to 20+ knots) in the evenings.
July 5	Deifenbaker	sy	2.0	Amazing conditions for training, with many interesting flights.
July 4	Bridal Falls	sy	2.5	Pilots at Bridal had reported slight east wind (on launch), so we slowly waited around LZ until we saw Andy in the air. It paid off with hour plus flights in moderate West wind. My new student, Layne, arrive a little late, resulting in too little wind to launch our “heavy” tandem. Eddie and Karin had a few aborted take offs, but managed a flight each.
July 2	Makenzie	++	2.0	Morning.. We're awake, and yes the flags are blowing up the hill. Jonathon, Karin, Eddie and Matt are in the air followed Steig and new student Paul for a smooth ride in the cool air to the dirt field. Tom spiraled down on Samuel's wing while Samuel, Diane and Maureen showed up with impeccable timing for retrieval, and we were on our way to a delicious breakfast..and coffee..and a new day. Midday... Ted joins us already baked by the heat of his early weekend adventures..and up we go again! Karin launches for 30 minutes of rock and roll in the house thermal followed by Eddie, but too soon they're practicing parallel landing approaches to the dirt field...Matt, Ted and Paul not far behind, all landing well after a bit of fun in the bouncy air. A quick retrieval from Tom and Samuel, Mickey D's ice cream and another dip in the lake (or a nap, pilot's choice!) and we're ready to go again. Evening... Hmmm, all the locals are still on launch except two wings in the sky..parked heading south..so we wait while Tom kites on launch and we witness the squirrelly air...but soon it mellows and off go the top locals and Tom through the rough stuff to the ridge and up, up, up...followed by reports on radio of 40k winds in the LZ...only signed off pilots can launch and Samuel does, exhibiting his skills through the rough air, choosing not to fly high, sampling the strong lift over the LZ and electing to land in the smoother conditions at the dirt field. Matt unhooks and packs up, Ted head off on his bike to his next adventure, cars are retrieved, cameras are found, and we all meet up at the school LZ to find pilots landing in the calmer winds, and Tom on radio at pretty darn near 6000 ft. After several B-line demonstrations and really big ears, Tom joined Mike Miller to descend in a parallel spiral dive, and coordinated landing, in the busy field. Jonathon, Fast Eddie, TC, Samuel and Matt just after their 6000' flights. What a great weekend!
July 1	Makenzie	++	2.0	Canada Day! Morning.. We awoke in our tents and sleeping bags on launch to watch the wind switch from down to up...in the harness and off the mountain for a smooth flight down to the river sand bar. Tom, Samuel, and Eddie demonstrating fine landing approaches while Karin didn't, and resorted to wingovers to land...possibly due to lack of morning coffee....A quick Mickey D's breakfast (with coffee), and back in the trucks only to be surrounded by the Pemberton Canada Day parade. We waved some flags, then we were off to the school ground to be joined by Shane, Shona, baby Charles, Bill, Paul, Jonathon and Diane. New students kited, then back up to the mountain we went. Midday Shane, Jonathon, Karin, Eddie, and Matt launched and headed to the house thermal over the rock cliffs where the thermals were punchy and hard to stay up in, but Karin managed to find the best one out there and climbed to over 5000 feet into the cool air with the vario beeping at 1100 fpm... then back to the hot valley air and large dirt landing field while Tom flew down tandem with Bill, on his first flight ever. Hot, hot, hot we convoyed to the local lake for a cool swim and a rest...then back up the mountain for some evening air! Evening.. It started strong with Tom and Paul on tandem soaring over launch until finally able to complete a top landing, challenged by timing their approach to fit into the local pilot landing pattern. Samuel and Jonathon flew off, Shane launched Eddie and Matt, and Karin hid from the heat as driver with Paul. Tom launched the tandem again with Bill and the "magic lift" turned on! The boys were somewhere up there 4000 plus over the valley practicing their decent maneuvers in the lifting air while Tom guided them up the valley to a cool green field. Matt had the flight of the day, going highest and landing last under radio guidance, while Samuel took the challenge of the stronger landing conditions and worked his decent down to the dirt field. An epic flight for all! Back up the mountain for another evening under the stars and well earned steaks, chicken, salads and "beverages" ...thanks Eddie and Diane!
June 30	Makenzie	++	2.0	Evening... It was blowing up as we arrived at launch and by 7:00 pm, Karin, Eddie and Matt were in the air. Samuel thermaled up over launch before descending with big ears to fly with the blue glider he thought was Eddie, but it wasn't Ed! (So many blue gliders!) Matt launched, and soared the ridge with Samuel until Tom joined them above the rock cliffs for a last chance to climb out...Matt flew out to land in a large field of hay bales while Samuel continued on to join the locals in the school LZ. Meanwhile, Karin climbed up to join Eddie for over 1.5 hours of fat lift and thermals, flying slow circles around thermal edges while "fast Eddie" cored the center like a wild man. Tom worked his way up from the cliffs in time to herd Karin and Eddie upwind as the valley wind picked up. Out over the valley the vario beeped up with big ears, but here and there we found our way back to earth to a no wind hay field landing....then off to be joined by Stig and Maureen for a fun pizza place dinner.
June 29	Bm and Bridal	sy	2.5	New students Mark and Anna had tough conditions at our training hill today, then at noon we packed things up for the valley. While Anna and I were soaring around, about 1000’ over, Eddie, Karin, Mark-T, Matt-N, Daniele, Pierre, Dan, Rick were gearing up to launch. Rick provided us with another interesting launch, but the Vitamin corrected the surge. Dan was not as lucky on his wing, and ended up driving down.
June 26	Bridal	sy	2.0	All pilots the launched near 6pm got to soaring (Karin, Mark and Shane), but the rest managed extended sled rides (Daniele, Ed, and Jonathon). Matt had the launch attempt of the day (it may take a few more days to reprogram him).
June 25	Whidbey	sy	2.5	The forecast for West wind at Whidbey was a little off, but the weather man was right on the money for “lots of sun”. At 7pm we left for pizza then returned to high North wind (15 mph) – wild stuff, but no chance of flying.
June 24	Bridal	sy	2.4	Super busy day at Bridal Falls – even Harv made a guest appearance! Lot’s off great flying and mostly good launches from Ed, Rick, Eric, Karin and Samuel. Ed and Rick were “King of the hill” with flights of about two hours each. Ed gave me a good scare when he boldly flew were no pilot has gone before (both radios batteries were dead so all I could do is yell at him from a 1000’ up).
June 23	Woodside	++	2.8	A very unpredictable day indeed; Margit called me, just as we were leaving for the FV that a visiting pilot, Mogi, needed a site guide for the day. No problem but what to do with his luggage2.0 We decided to leave it with Megil (at Exit 95). The first tandem flights had the best thermals and allowed us to fly for about 45 minutes up to 1000’ over, but the second tandems were a little too mixed up for every one, and for Megil a few minutes too long (I landed just in time). Anna and I had a stellar 1:20 flight landing at Harvest Market (with Karin right on our tails). The day was not over then: we had to catch up to Mogi’s luggage, in New West, before the gun store closed at 9pm (long story).
June 21	Woodside & Bridal	bo sy	2.9	It took a while to herd all of the Clark’s to one place, for this special flight, but it was worth it. Bridal was unflyable (too south) so we headed to Woodside. One HG was already s