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).
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 soaring, but gusts of 20+mph were
too much for us. After about an hour or two the wind
calmed down enough to strap my Dad it for our first
flight together. He got a little quiet just before launching,
but got excited after we were airborne. The goal was
to land at Harrison (where Julie and the clan were),
but instead we flew almost to Agassiz. After some exciting
inflations, Karin and Jonathon had her fill, and decided
to drive down. After a great dinner at Harrison, we
drove up to Bridal – but it was just for the view
- another great day in FV.
June 17
Whidbey
sy cr bo ++
2.9
Perfect
training conditions for new students TJ and Matt. When
the wind picked up, the direction was North West (10-15
kph) – advance conditions. Only my self, Karin
and other advance pilots were flying.
Around 8PM the wind stepped up a notch and changed to
West. This allowed TJ, Matt and Jonathon a chance to
experience some high wind soaring (on Tandem). A great
way to spend Karin’s birthday!
June 14
Bridal
ps lt
2.0
1:00
pm - exit 95 Tim Hortons. Tom, Daniele and Jonathan
headed to Bridal falls. No wind in the lz - We were
met by Karin and Shane. At lower launch Alex and Natallia
were getting ready. Karen pulled off a perfect no wind
launch and managed to get up and stay up over launch
for 20 minutes. Jonathan managed to let nothing get
in his way (including the lower wind tape) on his 1st
launch, also stayed up over launch for 20 minutes. Daniele,
took a couple of tries to launch and once she was in
the air managed some nice wing overs. Shane joined us
for the 2nd and 3rd flights, which were more or less
sled rides. Tom pushed the limits of Shane's Vitamin
with a near SAT - Spiral, asymmetricals, B-line stall
and a front tuck. Jon.
June 11
Whidbey
sy cr
2.1
Our
pit stop at the local grocery stored paid off –
we ate and drank every thing while kiting and waiting
for the on shore winds to arrive, and push the fog away.
Even when Samuel volunteered to be sacrificed to the
Whidbey soaring god "Ebey", it was still not
enough. Soon afterwards, Daniele, TJ and Pierre volunteered
to pack it in - and the wind picked up nicely, but too
north and mixed up for ED and Karin and me – so
we packed it in too. I had one trip to the beach - but
no high flights on this trip. Another really fun learning
and relaxing day.
June 10
Bridal / Woodside
nw
2.1
Because
the lower launch was clouded in, we had a chance to
warm up with a few inflations. Later, Steve and I flew
first, followed by the rest of the crew (Eddie, Movie
Dave, Karin, Rick, Gautam, and Steg). After a second
tandem with Irene, and more flights from the boys, we
headed to Woodside for one last flight. Mark and I managed
to have a beautiful evening flight with a soft landing
next to the cows. I was very impressed with the launches
and most of the landings from everyone. Shane did a
great job guiding the new students into the middle of
the air - many thanks.
June 9
Burnaby Mt
++
2.0
One
of my favorite BM nights this year. Alex showed us why
he’s was champ last year with a few very long
flights. Lots of great top to bottom flights from the
new guys and galls (Steg, Rick, Gautam and Daniele),
and free ice cream for the luck pilots who had time
to join us at DQ at the end of the night.
June 6
Makenzie
++
2.5
The
close take off I had with Darren, with me as a passenger,
must of messed up my guidance system – on the
next flight I landed in the last 7/8 for the first time
in more than 300 Pembe flights – or maybe it was
the weird drinks from the night before!
June 5
Makenzie
++
2.8
Near
perfect conditions for the tandem course with many great
ideas shared.
June 4
Makenzie
ra cr
2.0
The
next day wore me out with many challenging landings
and last second saves (mostly luck I think). First flight
students with new instructors is a tough combination.
On Eddie’s first solo flight he used the popular
“apply full brakes technique” to position
himself in his harness (good thing he was on the Vitamin
on his first flight) – exciting stuff. Ted would
have flown, but a last minute emergency forced him to
race back to Vancouver. Ed’s friend John, with
Ed as his instructor (for just five minutes), aced his
second inflation and ran all over the field –
just to prove the KISS system. Great presentations from
most instructors (especially Mark’s air regulations
presentation). Great seeing Brian, Gab and JF in the
air again.
June 3
Makenzie
cr bo
3.0
At
the end of a very full day of kiting; we headed up to
launch and tried to join JF at 5000’ but the south
wind was too strong and I forced a nice landed on the
“beach”.
May 31
Sumas and Bridal
lt
3.0
The
new Sumas lower launch had the best air but a big tree
was still in the way (not for long I hope). Using the
standard launch we managed a handful of interesting
flights for Shane, Daniele, Stef and myself.
After a short wait at the Sumas LZ and a few “French”
hugs goodbye (Exit 95), we were off to Bridal for some
“acro” action. Shane had a nice welcome
back flight (no big tricks), while Karin demonstrated
her new one brake launch technique (“near”
incident report to follow), followed by a baby acro
show. Daniele did great on her second flight, but she’ll
need a few more flights until she is able to talk (without
yelling) on the radio. No second tandem flight for Peter
and I, due to a sudden arrival of strong leeward winds.
May 29
Deifenbaker
sy cr
2.0
Great
progress with all the students: Daniele was dialed in
on her forwards and most reverse launches, Sanjoy was
so high he needed to flare (but he forgot - too excited
I guess), and our newest student was doing great until
his knee made a funny popping sound (while walking around
– an old war injury).
May 28
Sumas
bo
2.0
We
gave up more than twenty hours of our personal time
to work on two new Sumas launches. The bushes are now
cleared but the ground is way too uneven to use safely
– probably another 20+ hours to even the ground
for safe launches. The first launch, “The Cliff”
was flown this winter, and is launchable if you have
strong reverse skills; the new “Lower Sumas”
launch will not be ready for a while yet – due
to a medium sized tree blocking the takeoff and uneven
ground. Thanks Shane, Samuel, and Karin for your hard
work.
May 26
Whidbey
sy lt
2.5
Steg,
Daniele and I cruised down to Whidbey for a little kiting
in the sun action. The wind was West, up to 5 mph, just
a little too weak to fly however -minimum of 8 mph needed.
Daniele's forward launches are close to perfect now
(on flat ground), we just need to see if they will work
on our Fraser Valley launches and later work on her
reverse launch.
May 21
Whidbey
cr
2.0
Since
the wind was too light to start kiting, I held an impromptu
tree rescue clinic –Samuel struggled a little
when his 4 to 1 pulley system locked up, while everyone
else (except “gotta-fly-Eddie”) managed
to repel out of our tree with about ten minutes of hang
time - Eddie was too excited to hang in a tree and was
keen for a kite /fly rematch. Throughout the afternoon,
we had more dreamy training conditions, but a little
too north for high flights. We left only after the rain
told us to.
May 20
Whidbey
++
2.0
We
arrived just it time to watch the winds switch to west
10-15mph –perfect! While Shane, Karin and Samuel
were soaring, I was helping Ed, Daniele and Lucien with
their forward and reverse launches. Everyone was quickly
learning the basics of the reverse and forward launch
in the perfect Whidbey wind. A few of the local pilots
took chances during the light cycles and ended up at
the beach; including Shane and Karin. By the time they
hiked back up, conditions were on and it was Ed’s
turn to fly. Ed’s launch was fine but his turns
were a little heavy handed, so I asked him to land after
just a few seconds. Shortly afterwards, the wind picked
up to 15-20 mph and it was time for an “instructor
only” high wind kiting and flying show (from myself
and two other instructors). At around 8pm the wind started
to lighten up, but we were too hungry to fly anymore.
After a great Mexican dinner, I suggested that we do
some midnight kiting- the wind was perfect for night
flying but far too cloudy and dark to try (not to mention
illegal).
May 19
Burnaby Mt
++
2.0
Daniele
had me all to her self, for about three hours, while
we continued her Solo
222 course; then the other Deimos boys arrived,
bring exciting aborts and a few top to bottom flights.
Lots of fun for all.
May 18
Burnaby Mt then Bridal
++
2.5
It
was the first time the girls out numbered the boys 2
to 1.
The tricky conditions at Burnaby mt. prevented our latest
Solo 222 student,
Daniele, from taking her first solo flight; but instead
we flew tandem for about 2 hours until we had enough.
Karin was back on the horse with lots of baby acro but
no spirals (just yet). Special thanks to “Style
Alex” for the ride back up.
May 15
White Rock
++
2.0
Sanjoy
called me up and was very excited to work on his forward
launch, so I invited him out to our local training field.
The winds were close to perfect from the north west:
allowing him to pre-inflate and do quite a few good
forward launches.
May 13
Woodside and Bridal
++
2.5
We
got high and stayed high for most of the day. Shane
looked a little awkward on take off (his first high
flight in a long time), followed by Karin. Gautam, after
a few aborts, he had a perfect Deimos style take off.
As Cameron and I were coring a light thermal, we watched
a yellow glider “abort” in the tree to the
right of take off, minutes later another pilot tried
to hit us, forcing us to leave the thermal; moments
later he flew in the venturi (left of take off) and
almost got sucked into the trees over the road up (scary
stuff). If you are new to a flying site, ask the locals
about the house thermals and rotor areas and anything
else that could save your life.
Later we hooked up with Dion and his crew (he needed
a second instructor) and went to Bridal with my advance
students. We had great take off conditions but tricky
air was every else (due to South wind). Shane, Karin
and Gautam complaining of being too high and cold, but
continued to stay high. Karin’s baby acro show
turned into a real acro show when her head got stuck
looking at her wing – weird stuff! She had tones
of height so no problem. On my second tandem with Ted,
I let him take us into the LZ, but we set up a little
too high and landed just past the centre of the LZ (first
1/3 is better). Dion’s boys (and ladies) all managed
to have good landings except one: a landing conflict
with a tandem pilot caused her to rush her base leg
set up then land short on the road. I had radioed the
tandem to spiral down, but they only did a small spiral
and a little too late. Rick’s patience paid off
and we had an amazing hour and a half tandem flight
getting about half way to upper launch in super smooth
air. Rick was able fly the wing for most of the flight,
and later do all of the landing set up and slightly
fast flare. I guess he was pretty excited!
May 12
Burnaby Mt
cr sy
2.0
A
big crowd of Deimos students at BM today. Art was king,
but Guatam was the winner of the most exciting flight
of the day (twice).
May 11
Bridal
ra
2.5
My
weather prediction was a little off, but Jonathon, Karin
and Harv still managed to fly – some flights were
shorter, and wetter than others. Yes Harv is back, but
for how long2.0 Later, new Solo V student Rick joined
us at Exit 95 for some basic training - after a little
more time at our training hill, on Friday, he should
be ready to fly solo this weekend!
May 9
Bridal Falls
++
3.0
Conditions
were perfect for XC today. Our goal (Karin, ED and I)
was to fly to Woodside and back to Bridal Falls. At
Ludwig, Ed and I decided to cross the valley (first
ever tandem to cross I think) and try to get to Bear
Mt. or Harrison, but 1:26 (hours) and 23.33km was all
we could manage (Flight 999).
An extra 500’ would have helped a lot, but instead
we sunk out in the shade of the nearest hill just 200’
form the sun baked west slope. Meanwhile, Karin set
her personal best with the longest and farthest flight
ever, slightly better than Samuel's recent flight, scratching
her way back to the Bridal LZ from Butterfly. Well done
Karin!
To celebrate my 1000 flight: I threw some baby acro
tricks, and demonstrated how to land in the last 7/8
(roll up area).
May 6
Blanchard/Whidbey
++
2.0
A few tense moments at the boarder and we were off
(minus Doug – he did not follow Tip
13 and had to wait for his wife to return home).
Even though it looked great for Whidbey, I thought
that I would send the USHGPA rated pilots off Blanchard
then race off to Whidbey. The ½ hour plus food
delay would soon be regretted. As we got closer to
Fort Ebey we could see lots of pilots in the air –
very exciting. Ed and I launched first, followed by
Karin, then a tandem with Ros. I paused to help teach
the fine art of the reverse launch to Ed, Gautam and
Dave, but 15 minutes later the wind had died down
and everyone landed. That’s when Doug arrived
(only after having a very long talk with the Blanchard
“site director”).
On a sad note: one local pilot landed hard and required
the Oak Harbour fire department to carry her away
(hopefully she’ll have a quick recovery).
May 5
Burnaby Mt
sy cr
2.0
The
cross SE wind was no challenge for most of our new students:
Ed, Sanjoy, Gautam, Lucian and Doug. I tried one flight
from the top but the air was too cross for students.
May 4
Bridal
++
3.0
Karin kicked off the day with a nice reverse launch
followed by a solid forward from Jonathon, I on the
other hand, struggled with my passenger and barely
got up to minimum speed, and had to fly just left
of the rock (not my preferred line for an east day).
First flights were smooth but just extended sled rides
with“sinky” conditions all around LZ.
My instincts told me to land the standard West approach,
but the wind sock was slight East. At about 70’
I noticed a sudden “lack of air” and dropped
into to the LZ. My hardest touch down since Ari use
to fly (over a hundred tandem flights ago). Jonathon
also had some trouble hitting the LZ. Our second and
third flights were great: Karin flew to upper and
Jonathon climbed high on Dave’s Style. Tack
and I did the usual, launch, sink a few hundred feet
below launch, find a few thermals and fly to Archibal.
Karin's flight shown above.
Apr 29
Spain
++
2.0
Spain is great, it is day 4 here and a front
moved in so no flying today, but it's ok, the weather
has been in the high 20s the last three days
(with 13 flights).
I have been flying two sites, one easy coastal
site, La Herradurra, and one site 30min inland;
Otivar. The coastal flying has been easy and
relaxing, the inland has been challenging. The thermals
have been either light and bubby, or big and
bumpy. I like the big stuff, it is easier, and less
bumpy than Woodside last month. The light thermals
have been tough to get high in, and the 5 to 1
one glide ratio give you little time to scratch
around before you need to head out to the LZ. I have
had two amazing flights at Otivar, on Monday,
over an hour each, and I came down when I wanted.
I
did one awesome XC and return to a nearby peak
over a huge gorge. You need at least 500m over
launch before you can attempt it. I had almost 900m
over before I tried. It is the first of 4
stepping stones that will get you XC to the coast.
One
hotel guest made the coast with the guidance of
Dirk (our guide), that day, but it was very
challenging for him. Dirk worried that my glide ratio,
and skill level was not up to the task. So I
happily stayed behind and flew high over the local
mountains, out climbing a group of Austrian pilots.
The experience has been great, and I have used
all my Deimos skills to make the LZ. The Otivar LZ
is very thermic, and sits on a pinnacle, it can be
very hard to get into, you can hit both big sink,
and bigger lift as you come in to land. I have
needed the big ears to the ground and I have had to
use spirals to lose height (as I was going up
with at 2+m/s full bigears on my way to the LZ).
Hopefully I will have some good pics to show you
and more stories, It looks like rain the next two
days, so I will only get one more flying day in
before heading to Barcelona on Saturday...
Take care,
Sean
Apr 30
Bridal
++
2.8
I woke up with a smile ‘cause I thought I would
get to fly XC solo today, even better in the FVXC
comp, but instead it turned out to be an amazing day
of tandem flights for my new Solo V students. Marcus,
Stig arrived about an hour late, but it did not matter,
conditions were not on yet. Karin and Art launched
first and had some low saves. Fedja, after a few attempts
decided that he should wait for better conditions
to launch (tandem), but in the end flew a 30Km (solo)
flight. After setting a new record for the longest
wait while hooked in (maybe 45 minutes), Marcus and
I launched and went up quick. I had a minor problem
with the B-line handle that took about five minutes
to fix, but by that time we were too low and eventually
landed after 45 minutes. Steg’s flight was similar;
he was so comfortable in the air, I allowed him to
land us and even kite the wing to the roll up area!
Fun stuff. My eager student Lucian arrived three hours
early and was still waiting on take off (patently).
We launch quickly and sunk out to 1100’ and
we were just about to head out to land when the clouds
parted and the sun came out. It seem to take forever,
but we eventually climbed up to Fedja and Art. I invited
Art to join us for some XC, but he like the ridge
lift too much to follow. The buoyant air allowed us
to fly almost to Gloria at the height of launch and
back to Art. This time Art was keen to follow, so
we went east to just past Cheam and landed in a huge
green grass field. A two hour 11 Km XC flight for
Lucian on his first day!
April 29
Whidbey, Bridal
BO, ra
3.0
I
was practicing our paradriving: Vancouver to Whidbey,
Whidbey to Vancouver, Vancouver to Bridal, Bridal back
to Vancouver. Way too windy to fly Whidbey (maybe 50km/h).
Apr 28
Burnaby Mt
++
2.0
Amazing
training conditions allowed many top to bottom flights.
New student Lucien, progressed extra fast and will be
able to fly solo very soon! Doug was solid, Samuel managed
a couple of inflations, and Jonathon showed why you
need good boots with traction! Mark was there too, but
his back was too tired from lifting all day, and he
could only help layout wings, sort lines and take notes.
Apr 25
Bridal
lt bo
2.4
While
Karin and I were catching up, I actually forgot to pack
my solo wing – I guess I really wanted to fly
another tandem XC flight. We arrived about 2pm and conditions
were still a little too strong to fly (although Denis
was flying); a good time to teach the Blade launch and
frontal landings. 3:30pm. Back on take off, we were
watching the “Denis top crash/land show”
– mostly good landings actually. Karin and I launched
and forty five minutes later, we slowly climbed above
launch. Sean needed a few aborts, but had another clean
launch, and a beautiful soaring flight.
Apr 24
Burnaby Mt and Bridal
sy
2.6
We
spent a few hours at BM with new students Sanjoy, Mark
and Lynn, but the south wind was a little too much;
followed by a quick pair of flights off Bridal (first
Sanjoy then Mark).
Apr 22
Sumas/ Bridal
cr sy
3.0
East wind forced us to check out Sumas, but even
the local birds were having problems flying, so back
to the Dykes for some “Real TV” moments.
New student, Stefan, managed a few seconds of air
time, while Dave and Rob showed us their new tricks.
We heard Brian and Gab were flying at Bridal so off
we went. The launch was quite tricky (NE), but we
all managed to get away clean. Sean, Stefan and I
immediately dropped about 1000’ but rode a series
of light thermals up to about 3,300’, then after
a couple of hours flew XC to the Annis exit. Dave,
Rob and the rest had great flights too, climbing almost
to the peak of Cheam.
Apr 17
Burnaby Mt, Bridal
Falls
ra ps ++
2.8
Another
amazing day of flying adventures; we started with some
training flights at Burnaby Mt. then moved out to the
Valley. While the rain was visiting Woodside and Bridal
we went to the Dykes to kite, but no wind was present.
While waiting at the Bridal LZ, I forced Mark and Jonathon
to write the HPAC student exam (they scored high marks).
First flights were extended sled rides, but after the
sun arrived it was time to go up! While Mark and I were
setting up to launch, Jonathon surprised us with a baby
spiral and extra low exit, fly by maneuver (never to
be repeated I hope). Then Mark and I flew to cloud base
and half way to Butterfly and back. The air was so buoyant
that we probably could have flown to Woodside, but we
decided on a 4G Titanic instead.
Apr 12
The Chief
Bo
2.7
Jonathon
was feeling ripped off (he could not fly in yesterday’s
epic air at Bridal) so I agreed to meet him in Squamish
to fly the Chief.
There was almost no wind at Lion’s Bay but huge
gusts were noticed about a 1/3rd of the way up to the
first peak, so we turned around to try and salvage the
rest of the evening.
Apr 11
Bridal
++
3.0
The
best flying day of the year (so far): Samuel took the
first and last flight of the day at Bridal, flew with
me almost to Ludwick and back to take off, broke/tied
the Deimos record for most flights in an afternoon (five),
scratch back up to take off from the bottom cliff (200’),
and completed all of his maneuvers and flights for his
novice rating. Amazing! His only mistake was deciding
not to wear his flight suit, causing him to head out
and land. Sean arrived just near the end of the day
and could only gain a few hundred feet above.
Apr 8
Woodside
ps bo
2.5
A
quick flight on a old favorite wing, UP Soul, followed
by more hiking up Woodside. A quick change in the wing
encourage me to wait and see, just when I started to
pack up, Rob put on an unplanned acro show, on his new
wing, but exited cleanly.
Apr 6
Woodside
lt ps
2.8
A
few morning delays squashed my plans to go skiing, so
I headed to the valley to see if it was sunny enough
to go XC. Although the laps rate was good, clouds blocked
most of the lift, so myself and about ten other pilots
had extended flights – no one climbed higher than
launch (while I was there), but the sun was slowly moving
toward launch when I left. Jim was nice enough to pick
me up, cutting off about half my hike back up the road.
Apr 4
woodside
cr st ++
2.8
Unlike
Gabby and others, Sean managed to escape
the office just in time for the arrival of the
first strong thermals. In a desperate attempt to
climb higher, he forgot above the glide into
Riverside and had to force a big ear landing at
Joes place (same as what Denis did earlier but
without the bramble bush experience). After I had
a “bumpy” flight to Harvest Market, in strong
NE
conditions, we raced back up to see everyone back
at cloud base (4000’). Soon, Sean and I were very
high and I offered him a choice: spiral dive or
XC trip. He said “I’d love to do a spiral
dive”.
With a little too much aggression, he was over
the falls before his 360 was complete and in a
three turn dive. All that was needed for his
Deimos Novice rating. For me, I just needed to top
land (safely) and drive the truck down.
A few tries later I managed a nice landing. It
wasn’t the big XC day I was hoping for, but still
a pretty exciting and event full day.
March 31
Diefenbaker
sy
2.5
After
2+ hours of hang testing every harness in stock, Jonathon,
Samual and I then played around with the new Aeros Trainer
and the U-Turn Infinity until the catabatic wind arrived.
March 25
Woodside / Bridal
++
2.8
Conditions
were perfect on launch: no crowds, easy winds, pilots
already going up. Sean took a few tries to control his
wing, but eventually he was above launch with the gaggle.
By the time I was ready to launch, with new student
Eric, Sean was complaining of being too high and having
too many time outs in the “white room”.
After watching the tandem before us sink out, I decided
to wait for a strong cycle. It paid off. Two thermals
later I join Sean at 5200+ feet.
We crossed the river, on our way to Little Nic, and
saw a number of pilots sinking out, so we turned back
and landed at the “Lazy LZ”, while Sean
squeaked a low glide into Riverside.
Second flights: the wind was picking up, quickly, so
I thought that Bridal would be a good option (in hind
sight I should flew my second tandem at Woodside). Sean
had a couple of interesting inflations, but finally
got clear of take off and was quickly going up. The
wind started to switch, and before we could even hook
in, the launch was closed. I looked up and saw Sean
parked, and suggested that he tries to head towards
the LZ, with full speed bar and big ears, but it was
too late. He now had no options but to fly down wind
to a new LZ. We were glad to hear about his safe landing.
March 24
Bridal
bo sy ra
3.0
Julie
and I tried to drive up to the Bridal Falls lower launch,
but we were stopped by a down tree. We then snow shoed
up to the traverse, had lunch, then started back down.
Using a rope and a little tug from my Explorer, I was
able to pull the tree to the road side.
March 19
Sumas, Woodside
++
2.8
A repeat Sumas adventure from a week ago, but this time
we needed a rock to open the key box, manage to drive
a little farther, shoveled more snow, and required chains
to complete our retreat. It was quite clear that we
were not wanted at Sumas this day. We heard reports
of pilots getting high at Woodside so off we went. On
launch, it seemed like it was a hang glider only club,
with five gliders ready to go and 20+ PG pilots standing
around. Weird. Soon all pilots were in the air and climbing
high in convergent air near Eagle ranch. Weird. New
student Katie and I quickly climbed to about 3600’
then after about 45 minutes did a XC trip to the Sasquach.
Fedja, and new student Bruce, managed a great low save
over the “Lazy” LZ and climbed to about
2500. I finished the day with a quick trip over the
back to towards harvest Market.
March 18
Woodside
++
2.8
It was finally Lynn’s day to fly, but first
we needed to launch Matt, Sean, Samuel and Movie Dave.
Gusty conditions challenged the boys, but with a little
temporary ballast, they were all in the air.
Lynn was a little nervous, after watching all the
“exciting” launches, but I was able to
get us clear of launch after a couple of tries. The
lift was everywhere, so everyone got high. Our second
flights were much the same, getting to about 3000’.
At one point I encourage Samuel to follow us to cloud
base, but he seem to find his own thermal and missed
his only chance to fly XC. We tried one last time
to get Sean to do his first spiral, the last
flying task for his novice rating, but he could not
get high enough, in the miniscule lift at the end
of the day. Maybe next week2.0
Mar 17
The Chief
sy cr
2.6
A
last minute change in plans had Samuel and I hiking
the Chief on a sunny afternoon. I placed our chances
of flying at 60% but when I saw that there was still
snow on take off I lower our chances to less than 40%.
The winds were light with a slight SE component. Samuel
inflated his wing a few times then smoothly stepped
off (a repeat of his Sumas launch months ago). By the
time I was suited up, the winds and changed, and conditions
were quickly degrading. Six tries later, I managed a
clean launch and a great flight. My old friend Tony
was driving by and stopped to watch the action, then
saved us a long hike by dropping us off at the base
of the mountain.
Mar 12
Woodside
++
2.5
Another
spectacular day of flying and other adventures: the
road up to Sumas was a little too snowy for the Explorer,
and required a full retreat at about the ¾ mark.
Plan B – Mt Woodside. New student Dan and girl
friend Miranda were surprised to see so many pilots
at launch and above. After Karin, and Sean flew, and
climbed to about 500’ over launch, Dan and I launch
and scratch desperately, but could only manage a few
hundred feet above take off. Dan’s 280 lbs was
a little too heavy for the light thermic conditions.
After a soft landing and quick retrieval of Fedja (he
tried to XC to Little Nic) we were back on take off.
Karin and Sean were much higher now, and just waiting
for me to join them. I jumped on Dan’s Arcus and
slowly climbed upward. After a little top landing demonstration,
I suggest that we fly XC to the Harvest Market. While
in the air we heard outrageous stories of a run-a-way
Range Rover (with bald tires) dodging my parked Explorer
by just seconds (Miranda had to gun it). As the full
moon crested Mt. Cheam, we all landed smoothly and then
celebrated our day with some great food and drinks at
the Wild Cat.
Mar 11
Deifenbaker
cr
2.0
The
gusty west wind made things very difficult for our new
student Lynn, but she worked hard and managed a few
seconds of air time.
Mar 10
China Park
cr
2.0
Too
many snow boarders made training impossible at BM, so
we forced to train at the "Clark" hill.
Mar 3
Woodside
ps ++
2.5
We
felt truly sad, for all the M.I.A. students, as we drove
out to Mt. Woodside. When we arrived, the experience
pilots were waiting for the first thermals to arrive,
while the new pilots were having extended flights up
to about 45 minutes. Soon the thermals arrived, allowing
many pilots to take their first cross country flights
of the year. New student, Mark managed his first tandem
and two solo flights, while Sean scored four great flights,
climbing to up 1000’ over launch. Fedja, was able
to soar for a few hours, and only landed to guide Mark
into riverside. What a great day for all!
Mar 2
Burnaby Mt
nw
2.0
New
student, Mark, managed a few good launches, while the
regular Deimos boy's fine tuned their forward and reverse
launches.
Feb 28
Woodside
bo
2.2
Plan A: to hike and fly off Elk was changed to, sit
in a truck and play Black Bridge, twice, then get
challenged by some strong gusts, then soar for about
an hour in the smooth February "breeze"
at Woodside. Only the darkness and a little snow storm
forced Ted and I to land. Karin preferred to drive
down, than set a new personal record for launching
in windy conditions.
Feb 20
Burnaby Mt
lt
2.0
Surprisingly
good conditions for new students Mark and Dan starting
our Solo V course.
Feb 19
Sumas Mt.
sy cat
2.0
It’s been many weeks since the boys had a chance
to kite their wings, so we spent about an hour warming
up at the Sumas field before heading up. I was surprised
to see so much snow and ice on the upper road (after
being in CA for three weeks) – nothing the Explorer
and Land Rover could not handle. Zak launched first,
followed by Karin, Sean, and Jonathon. After an earlier
aborted take off, new student Saied and I managed a
tricky launch, followed by an exciting Titanic maneuver
(probably a little too exciting) and a smooth landing.
After a quick bite, we headed up for more, but only
Sean and Zak were able to launch. The West wind had
arrived making the first 30 seconds pretty bumpy. For
a demonstration of skills, the “old Zak”
showed us a full stall and SAT attempt on the Aeros
Vitamin. A pretty fun day full of great flights.
Feb 18
Dieffenbaker
cr bo
2.2
The
winds at Exit95 were too strong (and cold) to even think
about kiting in, so we headed back to Diefenbaker. Sadly,
the North, West and South wind followed us, so no high
flights to report.
Feb 17
Dieffenbaker
cr bo
2.0
Some
of the worst training conditions I’ve ever seen,
but new our student Mark managed a few good inflations
on the flats.
Feb 15
Oceanside
cr
2.0
Light,
cross winds and almost no beach prevent us
from flying. Probably one of the prettiest places
to parawait on the whole trip.
Feb 14
Woodrat
++
2.0
Local
pilots Jim and Paul gave us a lift up to
launch. Even though it was noon, the thermals
were not strong enough to launch. After Paul
showed us his low save, we all launch and slowly
climbed to about 5000’. One hour was all we could
handle (too cold), so I announce that I was
planning to top land, and Karin followed . Karin
fixated a little too long on me and ended up
staling her wing at about 6 feet, landing hard on
her bump air. Our second flights were quite
different, more or less ridge soaring with
almost no thermals. A great day of flying.
Feb 13
Salina
st
2.0
The
Santa Ana wind was still hanging around, so
we found a couple of little soaring sites.
Only the local birds were able to stay up.
Feb 12
Ave S/L
st
2.0
Silmar
was blown out, so we chassed another group
of HG pilots to a remote desert site.
I managed a few minutes of air time on a small
hill near by, but it was still way too windy to
even think about heading up to launch. Karin’s
old friend dropped by and told us of another site
that may work. The new site was a little too cross
to fly but perfect for some high wind kiting.
Feb 11
Sultan Seas / Elsinor
++
2.0
With
a little help from PPG legend, Wayne Mitchler, Dave
was flying his Vitamin 30 all over the desert
sky. When it got a little too hot to train, Dave
suggest that we head back to Elsinor. A quick 2+
hours drive and we were back on the Edward
launch. I took the U-turn Infinity and the
Deimos Zip harness for a ride, while Dave and
Karin sorted them selves out. After about an hour
or so, I was about a 1000’ over launch, while
all
but one other pilot had landed. Karin had another
LZ glide problem but spotted a nice landing on
the hill side. More tennis the next day, and
then Dave was sent back to the rain and wind of
BC.
Feb 10
Elsinor
++
2.0
Dave
and Karin and my self spent the first night
biving on the “E” launch - alittle “cool”
according to Karin. The thermals started around
10am but were followed by weird lee conditions.
In one of the “up” cycles Dave launched
and then
repeated his Del Cerro experienced and landed
short in the “Elsinor dumps”. Karrin also
missed
the LZ but landed fine. After a friendly
E claw hand shake from an “E-Team” member,
we headed up
for a second flight off the Edwards launch.
While Dave was in the air I announced that he
just got his Novice rating. Karin, managed a
proud moment when she saw the top side of (Fly
hard legend) Mitch‘s new comp wing.
Feb 9
Del Cerro
lt
2.0
Dave’s
early arrive allowed us to play a few
games of tennis, in the hot California sun,
before flying. After a quick briefing by a local
pilot, Dave had a good launch (in slight
conditions) followed by a short flight to the
bail out LZ.
Jan 26
Dumps
++
2.0
Light
conditions in the morning made us try the
upper launch. Fred was the wind dummy, followed
by Samuel and myself. After two aborts, Samuel
was eventually hauled into the air with twisted
risers, he then calmly waited for his wing to
straighten out. I gave the boys a short reminder
of the do’s and don’ts then we all did our
thing
for the next 4-5 hours. We all had many flights
and low saves. At 4pm the boys were done, even
though other pilots were still flying!
Jan 25
Dumps
cr st
2.0
We
arrived in the late afternoon and a few
advance pilots were already in the air. Fred and
I joined them, while Samuel watched and waited
for calmer winds. After a very exciting ground
spiral I finally gave Samuel back his wing so
that he could start flying, but it was still too
strong.
Jan 24
Pilot's Butte
++
2.0
Too
much snow to even try to drive to Pine Mt. Launch so
we gave up and started to drive south. While near Bend,
we found a great little hike and fly site, right in
the city!
I launch first a quickly climbed above launch, followed
by Samuel and Fred. Ratty conditions in the LZ , resulted
in a slightly less than perfect landed for Fred and
my self, but Samuel aced his landing on his new Infinity.
Jan 23
Silos
lt
2.0
A
full day of kiting and short flights. I managed
to climb above the take off for just a few seconds.
Fred and Samuel managed some great photos.
Jan 18
Elk Mt.
cr
2.0
With only a 9% chance of flying, I convinced Karin
that we should go for a little hike.
My new carbon tip poles were useful when we encountered
ice on the last third of the hike (crampons recommended).
While we parawaited, we tried our hardest to get a fire
started, but in the end we were force to hike down,
due to a thick low blanket of fog. Of course, after
we were down it looked flyable – it was fun just
to be outside.
Jan 15
Hatchet
snow, windy
2.0
Our
initial plan to ski at Manning were changed when we
saw a 45 minute line up just to buy tickets, and later
when Julie reported that the Deimos truck had a problem
and she could only maintain 30 kph max. It turned out
that Manning Park was packed because Mt. Baker and Hemlock
were closed (too much snow they said). As for the truck:
a long tow into Hope, a hook up with some interesting
back yard mechanics, and some catalytic converter rework
(plugged), I was back on the road to Dave’s chalet.
The net day, Dave and I hike up to his new site “Hatchet”
and we each managed to soar for a while. Dave’s
flight was a little more interesting when he had to
battle a small cravat for the first minute or so.
Jan 8
Sumas, Woodside
cr
2.0
After
an hour at Burnaby Mt, complete with top to bottom flights,
we headed up to Sumas (but there was strong west wind)
then finally to Woodside. Cross conditions were challenging
most pilots, but Jonathon had very little problem and
logged a couple on smooth sled rides. PS> the Woodside
community will be a little “cleaner” with
the crystal meth plant removed (located just across
the street from Joes place).
Jan 7
Elk Mt
++
2.0
Horrible
weather was everywhere except Elk Mt. After a quick
1.5 hour hike up we were rewarded with an hour plus
flight. The LZ would disappear now and then, so we just
kept on flying. Finally I convinced Steve to head out
to the LZ, but not until we spiraled to the top of the
clouds (about 500 above the LZ). We must have been in
the air a little too long ‘cause Steve’s
landing gear stayed in the locked position. Sadly, I
crunched his finger (with my knee) when we toppled over.
Not the best way to end a great day of flying.
Dec 29
Sumas
++
2.0
Even
with the short day and ugly forecast, we managed two
flights each, complete with Karin going over the falls
for the first time, Movie Dave climbing up to almost
launch height and going XC, and me doing a few asymmetrical
spirals. One more day and Dave should get his novice
rating – just a few things left to fine tune!
Thanks Steve, Karin and Dave for helping me with the
trimming of "bushes" just below take off.
Dec23
Dieffenbaker
lt
2.0
Great
conditions for Karin to test her advance launching skills
(aborts, knotted brake lines and cross brake lines).
Dec 18
Elk Mt.
cat cr sy
1.0
Even though conditions looked bad, we decided to
hike up Elk “just to look around”.
We heard that Denis had just launched – this
gave us some missing optimism. Gab decided that he
had to fly ‘cause walking down was not an option.
After an exciting minute or so, Gab’s wing started
flying normally, so that prompted the rest of us to
gear up. Sean launched next and quickly locked in
the big ears followed by myself.
Denis, after see us in the air, drove over to the
LZ to help out in the retrieval process.
Thanks Denis - much appreciated.
Dec 14
Sumas
sy ++
1.0
I love my new job! Samuel and Karin and I spent an hour
or so warming up at the Dykes, perfecting our high wind
launches; then after a long lunch, we headed up to take
off. Samuel was the elected wind technician, and had
one of the best launches ever, going straight up to
soaring heights. I joined Samuel for a short flight
just so see if the U-turn Infinity can out climb my
old Sigma4 - and it did! I managed a quick top landing
to give Karin a chance to fly. It took her a little
extra time to get in the air (one “abort”)
but soon she was soaring the cliffs and enjoying an
amazing Fraser Valley sunset. An awesome day!
Dec 11
Dieffenbaker
foggy
2.0
Samuel was not into a long para-hike, so we spent
the morning playing with his new Infinity, then had
a great but rushed lunch.
Thanks Samuel!
Dec 10
Sumas
ps lt cr
0
Quite a comical day: first Movie Dave drives towards
the LZ (thinking that we left him at Exit 95), but we
were just buying some food; then Sean launches and discovered
a new LZ, probably a first for any pilot; then in an
attempt to find out what happen to Sean, I rushed my
launch, in strong lee conditions, and just managed to
“split the uprights” to the right of launch;
then Sean gets his truck stuck and it won’t turn
over! Sean posted a great flight log on our MSN site.
Dec 7
Sumas
ps lt cr
2.0
Karin
called me early to see what’s up2.0 I told her
that I needed to mount the new Sumas lock box, but we
could fly afterwards. She said, as usual, “sounds
good to me!”
The snow was a little tricky in places, on the way up,
but no real problems for my Explorer. We used snow shoes,
for the approach, more for fun than necessity. Karin
waited for a light cycle then had a great forward launch,
followed by some “advance maneuvers”. Except
for some minor problems at McDonalds, we had a great
day.
Dec 4
Whidbey
sy cr
2.0
Conditions looked pretty gross, around White Rock and
the Fraser Valley, so we headed south to Samuel's favorite
site, to test fly the new U-turn wings. We "warmed
up" for a few hours, at a local Oak Harbor school
yard, trying lots of different reverse launches and
the latest Deimos launching tricks. It's true the Infinity
and Bodyguard can launch without touching the risers
- a very cool option. When Karin, Samuel and TJ were
ready, we headed back to our secret site; the Fort was
way too cross and strong to even kite, but our new site
was great. We flew until it was too dark to see!
Dec 3
Elk Mt.
++ ps
2.0
No
reservations received today, so I went for a little
hike up Elk Mt. I had a “little” trouble
with the last icy hill, in the Escort, but still managed
to escape the ditches (un-like some people). Ivan and
the boys were just in the air when I arrived at the
parking lot, which only encouraged me to move faster.
The hike up was a little tougher than I remembered (1:45),
but when I arrive at take off the winds were near perfect.
With the help of a few hikers, I launched and cruised
around until my hands were numb (five minutes worth),
then landed close to the car. Some good clean/cold fun!
Nov 26
Whidbey Island
bo, cr
2.2
On
the radio we heard pilots parawaiting (at Woodside and
Elk) so we decided, to keep it safe, and head down to
Samuel’s favorite site. At Whidbey, the wind meters
were pushing 25 mph, so off to my favorite near by kiting
site. While there we could see two pilots flying at
the landing, but parked; so we continued to practice
our reserve launches. After about an hour or so, we
raced back to the Fort, but pilots were already packing
up. They said the West winds switched to South and were
a little too strong. I pulled out a Vitamin 30 and managed
a few nice flights, but Alex and Natalia had their hands
full and could maintain airborne status just a few seconds
at a time. Movie Dave and Sean wisely elected to watch
the action with both feet on the ground!
Nov 25
Whidbey Island
bo, ra
2.0
The
rain and wind seem like it was going to comply with
our wishes to fly, but this all changed while we were
driving down. The winds doubled, and then tripled to
almost 50 mph!
Dave said it was the most wind he has ever seen!
Nov 20
Sumas
sy
0.5
A
lazy start to another Deimos adventure day: we meet
our new HG friend, Andrew, at Exit 95 then headed up
to launch. Light student conditions allowed Karin, Art
and myself good launches and fun extended sled rides
mixed with some acro moves. While waiting for our new
friend to drive my truck down, Karin had time to practice
her new “Deimos style” forward launch. The
wait seemed a little too long, so we piled into Dave’s
car to find Andrew (slightly lost half way to the LZ).
I placed our chances at 40% for second flights, but
the crew felt that those were good odds and we headed
up again. We banged off some of the fastest launches
this year, followed by a few Vitamin SATs and a “slightly”
less than perfect ground spiral – another Kodak
moment missed!
Nov 19
Woodside
sy
0.1
Yesterday's adventures greatly limited the pilots
flying to just the Rookie of the year.
Sean was little too relaxed (or tired2.0), and blew
his first attempt with a full frontal, but managed
to stay on his feet. After a quick regrouping, he
banged off a good launch, followed by three more flights;
of which he successfully competed two trips towards
Harvest Market. Well done!
Nov 18
Upper Bridal
cr ps
0.1
A huge adventure day almost epic some would say!
We decided to for go a day of sled rides at Woodside
(mistake #1), and instead try to hike a hike off the
top of Bridal. The Explorer cut through the snow to
about 3/4 of the way up, then we were forced to start
hiking. After a short “15 minute traverse”
we finally arrived at the Saddle (some younger pilots
more tired than others). Just then three ATVs arrived
and offer free lifts to summit (how perfect mistake
#2). The ATVs could only gain 1/2 the summit road
so again we were forced to hike the remaining kilometer
or so.
Conditions were bad all the way up but we were hopeful
for a small miracle (mistake #3). After a few desperate
attempts to fly by Karin, we started down the "very
long" road to the truck. After more than five hours
of hiking, we were finally back at the truck and ready
to eat and enjoy the Deimos end of the year party (already
started at the Deimos headquarters).
Nov 13
Whidbey
bo
2.0
My prediction was for West winds around 4pm, but at
that time we were still measuring NW gusts up to 40kph!
The local said it was flyable around 11am (a couple
of hours after we arrived). I guess we needed Matt to
join us with his perfect Whidbey record!
Nov 11
Dieffenbaker
cr ++
2.5
Gusty conditions proved to be too much for most of us,
and a little too expensive for me, but needless to say,
a lot of fun.
Nov 6
Whidbey
Bo CR ++
2.8
One of my favorite days this
year!
Blanchard was blown out and
cross, so we raced down to Whidbey.
After showing the boys a few
different high wind launch techniques (like Cobra,
the Deimos Hump, AB line…) I got Sean to "carry
me" over the edge. Using a combination of Cobra
and Deimos reverse styles, I got my wing to carry
me up the embankment and eventually flew above the
South end trees. I finally headed back to the Fort
and managed to control a small collapse just before
landing. Time to go home2.0 Not yet! We found a beautiful
South East hill that offered Dave, Sean and even new
student Will, many two to eight minute flights. Dave
and I took turns finding new and exciting not so perfect
launches and landings, while Will and Sean perfected
their techniques.
We plan to return
to this new site soon!
Oct 29
Blanchard
cr sy
2.5
We
were not quite sure, if Blanchard was the site of the
day, but we're smartly rewarded with fine weather, a
few extended sled rides, and a chance to practice our
new reverse launches. Dave managed to get above launch
a few times, while Sean seem to hang in the air forever,
taking almost 20 minutes to glide to the LZ. Their second
launches were near perfect. Great Deimos style launches
from the young Jedi's!
Oct 27
Dieffenbaker
++
2.5
Amazing
conditions at Dieffenbaker Park, allowed Jonathon to
test fly every wing in the house. After a few hours,
it looked like the Skywalk Tequila (M) was the leader,
followed by Style 26. We just need to size him up for
a harness next.
Oct 26
Woodside
sy ++
2.3
We
thought that we were first to fly, but soon Barry and
Andy arrived and told us of their extended sled rides.
Karin launch first and slowly climbed to about 1000’
over launch. Soon Andy had joined her. After about half
an hour they both sank out. I decided to launch, and
slowly climbed out to about the same height (on my new
Tequila).
Barry and Andy re-launched and we were all joined by
a dozen eagles and hawks. At one point I leaned forward,
in bird position, and a near by eagle (10') flipped
over and got a little aggressive, so I slowly leaned
back in the harness to avoid any chance of an attack
on my new wing! Sean arrived just in time to picked
up Karin and then headed up the mountain. I spiraled
down to top land, but missed my approach and was about
15’ up with just 15’ left (a little to risky
for a full jet flap maneuver), so I decided to head
out to Riverside. Sean managed to launch, but shortly
after (4pm) the catabatic winds arrived. A super fun
day!
Oct 24
Grouse Mt.
cr
2.2
After a slightly longer ride up the old tram (new
tram will be down for another 3 weeks they said),
and a easy hike to the launch, I was still on the
edge if I should fly or not. I decided to fly on my
only free solo day (since I don't know when, maybe
three years). I had a clean launch, but I needed to
use the Tequila jet flaps a few times while on my
way to the LZ. Minus 400-800 feet per minute sink
holes.
In hind sight, it was probably a better day to go
rock climbing!
Oct 22
Sumas/Bridal
Sy cr
2.2
A brilliant day: complete with lots of adventure
and team work. We first met at Exit 95, then after
listening to the local (non) flight reports, we decided
to head up to Sumas and do some launch work. BTW,
the washed out area has been repaired! After about
an hour, we were ready to push someone into the sky.
Movie Dave went first followed by Sean and myself
(Karin elected to drive down). After a quick Wendy's
pit stop, and we were back at it, but this time
Bridal. Karin went first, armed with her new Deimos
tricks, and soared for about a half an hour, followed
by every one else. When the sun went behind the clouds,
the take off was quickly closed down. We were packed
up and were ready to go, when I talked the crew into
waiting for the next sun opening. In ten more minutes
Sean, Dave and Karin all aced their launches, and
then put on their own acro show. We finished with
a great dinner at the Wild Cat, with beers and more
cool stores.
Oct 21
Sumas Dykes
Bo sy
2.0
New Deimos Solo 222 student, Karin and I headed to
Exit 95, with hopes of flying Woodside, but instead,
we were greeted by high SE winds. Time to do some
exploring! We found a cool little soarable hill, but
will need to wait for the next true East wind day
to fully test it. I did managed a short test flight
but sank out.
Oct 19
Blanchard
cr bo
2.0
In a desperate attempt to get airborne, we headed to
the boarder and straight to launch, in hopes of a beautiful
soaring flight. The winds were SW all the way there,
but turned to SE on launch. The drive home was quite
nice - more quality time together!
Oct 9
Hedley
cr bo
2.0
We
managed a few morning flights before the strong East
winds arrived. Later in the afternoon we explored a
new site, and almost flew (but strong catibatic winds
arrived before we could take off).
Oct 8
Hedley
lt ps
2.0
The
casual and friendly atmospheres of the Hedley fly’n
crew seem to be contagious. First, Art showed us his
new “green monster” launch, for about 500’,
followed by good launches from Jonathon and later Karyn
(tandem), and new birthday boy Glen (tandem). We all
had up to four flights each, complete with solid landings.
Art kicked an old ghost from his SiV closet when he
did his first complete B-line stall (complete with no
cravats or death spirals). The full turkey dinner to
follow was the perfect "icing on the cake"
- a great day for all! (no show from Doug S).
Oct 7
Sumas west dykes
bo ra
2.5
After
demonstrating a less than perfect high wind inflation,
at the Sumas West Dyke, followed by a few hours of exciting
student inflations, we headed to Keremeos.
Oct 1
Blanchard
sy
2.5
Since the valley looked way too unstable for our students,
I made the call for Blanchard. We arrive to perfect
student conditions, and blue sky. Beautiful! Matt had
to work the lift at first, but soon needed bigears to
escape the white room. Sean join him, and together the
circled each other in easy smooth lift. We pulled Ted’s
wing out of the bag, but were disappointed when we discovered
that the Soul was in the Vitamin bag. Ted was forced
to do some practice launches and then be our “
driving bitch”.
After a great lunch at the local café, I flew
first and had to battle for lift with a single HG
and flew for about an half an hour then top landed
to talk to the local HG instructor. As the sun went
down so did the lift. Matt and Sean managed another
flight each, in smooth sweet Blanchard air.
Sept 27
Woodside, Bridal
sy cr
2.2
Samuel,
Sean-T and Jonathon were joined by Movie Dave, and new
student Doug, and Dave Merrick today. With a little
student take off help from Dion, they all had great
flights (some more exciting than others). Movie Dave
had a couple of great inflations on his Aeros Vitamin,
but he lost style points when he immediately pulled
in his landing gear, way too early, and just missed
hitting the ground. Jonathon had the flight of the day
when he showed us how to use the Skywalk jet flaps to
lever your self into your harness (scary stuff), then
flew into the venturi to the left of take off, followed
by his radio going dead. With lots of upward and downward
yelling, Jonathon repeated his early landing pattern,
then added some last minute advance/unorthodox brake
pumping, and another Jet Flap stall experiment, and
finally landed softly on target.
Aftre all students landed, we decided to head to Bridal
for some evening Titanic action. Dave finished the day
with a twitchy B-line and a cute spin landing. A great
weekend full of adventure a stories!
Sept 26
Woodside
sy cr
2.5
Despite
the forecast for a high lapse rate, the flying conditions
remained “acceptable for all pilots”, for
the entire day. With the help of Arthur and Dion, the
boys managed a full day of challenging launches and
landings. Samuel (now flying Dave’s old Style)
had to react quickly, when his wing turned quickly to
the left during his first inflation, and then did a
great job to extend his flight by trying to core many
small thermals; Sean-T was solid as usually on take
off, but had a couple of interesting moments while landing;
Jonathon had a great take off, but he too was challenged
by the Riverside LZ; followed by Will (no problems).
Ted, with two strikes on launch, and a warning that
he may be benched for the day, managed to (finally)
commit to the wing and get air borne. Later, Amine and
Trevor bagged a flight or two landing while the sun
was setting. I managed a couple of nice tandem flights
with just a few small wings-overs mixed in for fun.
Sept 23
Burnaby Mt
sy
2.0
A
few flights from top to bottom, and lots of improved
launches from the new students – another fun night
at Burnaby Mt.
Sept 17
Bridal
cr sy
2.2
After a short warm up kiting session in the LZ, we
rushed up the mountain only to wait in the clouds.
Half an hour later Matt was in the air (first flight
since he’s been married), followed by the rest
of the boys: “Movie Dave”, Samuel, Steven,
and Sean (first flight).
Great launches and acro flying from all (especially
Samuel – Matt forgot that Samuel has been away
for a few weeks and ran him through a full series
of maneuvers on his first flight).
The next flights were a little tougher due to a light
south wind: a fast launch for Matt, followed by the
rest. Steven survived a last minute abort from the
lower section, but did much better from the upper
launch in zero wind conditions. My passenger and I
finally launch (fast); while in flight I got my passenger
to fly us “over the falls”, but after
three or more turns I had to take command back of
the wing, before things got too interesting. I managed
to spice up the landing (just a little).
Sept 11
Mt Woodside
ps bo
2.3
It
was a day of hurry up and wait. Waiting delays at Exit
95, and in the training field, and on launch, allowed
the west wind to sneak up the hill. Soon only pilots
with reverse launch skills could fly. After about an
hour or two, the status was upgraded to advance pilots
only. Gab and Brian arrived around then. Brian had a
difficult launch (pretty exciting to watch from above)
followed by Gab and maybe one other pilot. I flew tandem
with both Sean T. then Ted, for about three hours getting
to about 3000’ AGL.
Sept 2-5
Mara Lake, Mt Vernon,
Mt Baldy
cr bo ++
2.0
The weekend started slow, with just a few flights,
between windy cycles, but finished with a bang. Lots
of firsts for almost everyone: during the first few
days, Dave and Brian did their first full stalls,
Brian did a death spiral to 70 feet and almost splashed,
Michael missed the LZ completely, Ted did his first
high flight (tandem) while Art, Doc and myself managed
just a few flights with no huge acro to boast about.
On the last day, we watched a Muller SiV pilot fall
into his wing after a failed loop attempt, then fall
to within seconds of his life, but somehow managed
to throw his reserve (just in time). Five minutes
later a helicopter dropped by to see if they could
help. That was our queue to leave Mara and start the
XC flights. With Doc gone, conditions should be perfect
(he has a reputation for bringing bad air to Mt Vernon).
When we arrived the CU's were huge, but on take off,
the wind was quite cross for the first hour. I launched
first, but side hilled after 30 seconds. A local pilot
went next and found a great thermal just right of
launch and was on his way. I re-launched and after
about ten minutes, I too was on my way to base. Brian
and Dima went next and we were all up at 6000' and
climbing. Art and Michael launched almost an hour
later and they too got high, but we were already half
way to Lumby. As I approached the town, things got
pretty exciting: first I saw a leaf fly past me at
7000' , then a branch, then an entire tumble weed
plant! I thought Dorthy and Toto were next! Conditions
quickly changed to full lee, forcing a quick landing
next to the road. Michael, after an hour caught up
to Dima and tried to follow my flight path, but after
I told him that he would likely crash if he continued,
he (finally) turned back and managed to land safely
(with some embarrassing novice errors). That was Michael's
longest flight (10km).
After a quick dinner at Whitespot , and a comparison
of vario flight logs, we headed home, still pumped from
our weekend of flights.
Aug 26
Burnaby Mt
cr
2.0
Another great BMBGC with lots of classic footage
provided by Mia, Brian and Natalia.
Dave open the event with some amazing flying in strong
cross winds, followed by a volley of wild launches
from most of the other pilots, including the occasional
radical wing over (Art).
Alex was clearly the pilot to beat this year, setting
his mark quite far on his first flight. I thought
he was lucky at first, but then he matched his distance
a second time! After the awards were handed out, and
the sun was setting, Art was still going for gold
(he was disqualified for clipping a tree on his second
flight) and was determine to pass my distance marker;
it was only with a few helpers that he could come
close. My legs still hurt from chasing him down the
hill with limited pushing success. Results will be
posted soon.
Aug 25
Burnaby Mt
++
2.0
One of the best BM training sessions this year: everyone
flew from the top of Burnaby Mt in light straight cycles.
Aug 21
Woodside
BO
3,0
Traffic delays caused us to arrive a little to late
at Woodside, and before the new students (Malek, Wil,
and Glen could fly the strong West wind arrived. I
managed a couple of nice tandem flights get just a
few hundred feet above launch. We then spend the afternoon
kiting in Bill Best field. Some exciting kitting moments
as usual!
Aug 19
Burnaby Mt
cr
2,5
Another
tough night at BM. I did manage a flight from top to
bottom before the south wind arrived.
Aug 14
Whidbey
cr
2.0
The
West wind never arrived (as predicted), but conditions
were perfect for forward and reverse wind launch training.
Great work from Will, Sean and Janice.
Aug 13
Grouse
++
2.0
Perfect conditions for this great event. I started
the day with a Vitamin30 and a little doughnut kicking
in the LZ, followed by three tandems and one of my
softest tandem landings (on the spot).
Philipe became famous with his "ultra-long-hope-my-wing-has-a
20:1 glide-ratio" landing, while the hang gliders
made it look easy.
Aug 12
Dieffenbaker
cr sy
2.0
Not
the easiest conditions to start training, but new the
students Will, Malek and Sean did great. Lots of flights
near the end of the day.
Aug 6
Woodside
sy st
2.5
A small group allowed Malek and I a couple flights
in a real mixed bag of air, eventually landing because
I was cold (no flight suit). Since there were no pilots
ready to fly, Movie Dave got to play with his Vitamin
in breezy conditions: he needed about fifteen minutes
to pull off his first Deimos style standing take off
followed by a slightly long landing - just what the
doctor ordered!
Aug 5
Burnaby Mt
++
2.0
New students Malek and Will did great on their first
day on the hill. Meanwhile, with a little help from
Dave, intermediate student Michael, discovered some
new tricks to launch his wing (AKA the heaviest wing
ever made by Pro Design). All his problems were removed
when he flew the Vitamin (so his technique is there
but his wing is not).
Many thanks to Shane and Dave.
Aug 1
Grouse
bo
2.8
Even
though the airport winds were at least 41 kph, Megel,
Dave and I managed a few flights before the West wind
settled in. Dave, Anna and myself elected to ride the
tram after Megel claimed to have his wildest landing
ever (I saw the video and it looked like strong lee
conditions in the LZ, but he "McGivered" a
safe landing still).
July 31
Bridal
++
2.8
Samuel,
and my new "crazy friends from Quebec" were
all over the mountain getting up to a max height of
5200'; Samuel managed to follow me almost to upper launch
before falling out of the last thermal and was forced
to hang out at about 1500' over lower launch. After
more than three hours of air time we were getting a
little tired and called it a day.
July 30
Grouse
++
2.5
A
busy day at Grouse with no stop flights all day long.
July 29
Grouse
++
2.5
After
one aborted take off - Samuel and I managed a clean
launch and soared the cliff for about half an hour.
July 27
The Chief
++
2.0
The
winds were perfect for testing a new East facing launch,
followed by Dave, but by the time Matt was able to launch
the winds were less than perfect. A few minutes went
by and then we heard that Matt was in the air. Matt
and Dave were super hyped after landing (Matt even huged
Dave - after breaking a line on his forward he was pretty
happy to complete his last flight as a single guy).
July 23
Bridal
Woodside
Bridal
++
2.5
Samuel was not able to train this Friday and it resulted
in his worst launch to date. Matt even yelled!
A little too busy at Woodside, so we raced over to
Bridal, but the South West wind was missing up the
air, a little too much for our new students. We still
managed half hour flights. So back to Woodside. On
Samuel's second flight, we waited for all to launch,
then we spent almost 45 minutes, perfecting his launch.
Eventually he managed to kite his wing, for more than
30 seconds before taking off. Conditions were a little
bumpy at first, but he scratch his way up to about
500' over, while the rest of us were about 1000' over.
Dima ripped through our easy student maneuvers and is
ready for our next SiV clinic (coming soon)! Matt had
the pleasure of adding a couple of hours of air time
on my new Skywalk Tequila.
July 17
Bridal
++
2.2
Plan A (Woodside) was changed to Plan B (Bridal) when
Jonathon and Diane arrived 45 minutes late. Dave Merrick
tried to escort Chris up to upper launch, but eventually
had no choice but to fly solo. Diane and Jonathon's
first flights went so well that someone asked how many
flights do they have2.0 and I answered one!" Just
when I thought I had two more perfect Deimos students,
Jonathon showed my why the Aeros Vitamin is the best
wing of choice for new pilots. Matt continued to land
students in perfect style: Diane's landing took more
than twenty minutes! Racer Joe had some fun: with two
flights totaling more than three hours air time, a sun
burn worth talking about, and 1.75 perfect landings
(a little short). Trevor went over the falls and performed
some extended asymmetricals and was rewarded with his
Novice rating. Congrats Trevor!
July 16
Burnaby Mt.
lt
2.5
Samuel, Chris, Jonathon and Diane spent the afternoon
at Burnaby Mt. The high light was when Chris tried
his new spin landing (at the bottom).
July 14
Grouse
lt
2.0
After Kerry and I had a nice tandem flight off Grouse,
I raced up for more tandems with Chris and Harv. I
had to do some quick piloting when Chris almost fell
at the end of the take and more fancy work when our
wing decided to dive into the LZ at 70 feet (with
Harv).
July 10
Woodside and Bridal
cr sy
2.5
To speed up the launch process Dave, Movie Dave,
Chris and Fias all raced up to Woodside launch, while
I waited for Art and Gautam. My optimizing trick did
little to speed up the launch delays, since there
were already about fifteen pilots preparing to launch.
Even though adding more Deimos students would have
probably improve the hit to miss ratio, we all agreed
to head back to Bridal for some XC action. Dave Merrick
and Nicohli (wind dummies) were both rewarded with
flights just pass upper launch, while the rest of
us waited for conditions to improve. Even though Gab
and Brian showed us that conditions were still soarable,
I was not convinced, and encouraged all of the Deimos
students to call it a day.
July 9
Bridal
sy
2.5
Harv worked very hard all week and was rewarded with
a 45 minute flight getting to about 500' over launch.
Except for sitting down too quickly Dima had a good
launch and quickly join Harv for perfect soaring conditions.
Great to watch.
July 8
Dieffenbaker
sy
2.5
Near perfect conditions at Dieffenbaker – Diane
had the highest flight of the night. Harv demonstrated
why we sometimes abort take offs.- great progress
from all students.
July 1-4
Makenzie
sy
2.5
A very frustrating weekend, full of para-waiting
and para-sleeping. No tasks called within four days
(the right call in hind sight) I only managed one
flight in slight lee conditions; other pilots managed
to soar the East launch. Even Miller creek was not
working!
The high light was hiking around my favorite site
Birkenhead. We have lots of great idea to perfect
this site.
June 25-26
Bridal and Woodside
++
2.5
Saturday was the better of both days, with many flights
for all students (old and new) at both Bridal and
Woodside, then back to Bridal.
Sunday was a little disappointing, but we still managed
a few flights before the clouds settled in. Gautam
managed his first solo flight, but had some problems
managing the wing while taking off (strange since
he has been aceing his take offs for weeks now).
June 24
Dieenbaker
++
2.0
Another great evening at Dieffenbaker: Diane, Jonathon,
Gautam, Trevor, and Samuel all managed to get some
air time.
June 19
Bridal Upper and Lower
++
2.5
After I finished ranting about students not doing
their homework assignments, we all had great flights.
Chris showed us that he is always100% committed to
his launch and did a great job to recover his wing.
Ryan and I quickly drop below launch, on our tandem
flight, but then hooked into one thermal that took
us to cloud base followed by a twenty second huge
Titanic from 4000' . Twila' s tandem started well
but after two steps she sat down (time to abort).
The next try was better and we had a very nice flight.
Conditions were still on at 3:30 for Diane first flight,
we launched and slowly made are way up to upper launch
and top landed to zip up the flight suit and enjoy
the view. Strong 15kph winds made for a perfect reverse
launch and back up we went, eventually flying to about
300' below the peak of Cheam. After almost three hours,
we returned to lower Bridal and tried to top land,
but conditions were not right (I was getting physically
tired) and elected to float down to the LZ. An amazing
experience for us both!
Unfortunately we missed the Acro show from my new
Swiss friends, Marcus and Daniele (flying a Vitamin
25 and Edel Live).
June 17
Dieffenbaker
++
2.5
One of my favorite training nights this year! I think
that we should train at Dieffenbaker more often. New
students Jonathon, Dianne, Samuel and Gatham all flew
with great style! I got to test out the new Skywalk
Poison.
June 12
Bridal and Woodside
cat st ps
2.2
Spirits were pretty laidback at my office so the
conversation quickly drifted to cravat stores of horror,
reserve deployments and high wind escape plans. I
guess we were mentally preparing for windy conditions
today. At the Bridal LZ, Matt spent almost an hour
with new students Gautam and Jonathon, talking about
Bridal landing techniques and take offs; then we headed
up. Jonathon and I had a long take off, followed by
Movie Dave' s (near perfect three step take off) and
Matt. Michael wisely elected to drive down when rain
and no wind arrived.
At Woodside pilots were slowly launching in strong conditions,
too strong for students, so Jonathon and I did another
tandem. About six other wings were above launch but
we were just a little too heavy to join them (or maybe
it was our evening plans pulling us down). A nice day
of flying and for Gautam (kiting).
June 9
Burnaby Mt
nl
2.5
Light lee side conditions at Burnaby Mt, provided
challenging launches for Michael and Gautam.
June 4
Woodside
++
2.5
Visiting pilot Manuel, and new student Gautam and
myself raced out to Woodside. Great conditions allow
myself, and an hour later, Dave Merrick to fly to
Harrison. A new best for Dave!
I gave Amine' s younger brother a tandem flight he'
ll never forget: we launch and quickly climbed to 4700'
then hooked into a 1000ft/min thermal, did big ears
to escape the clouds, but still went in for a few seconds,
did a baby Titanic then finished with my softest landing
ever, right on the beach (like movie stars). Fun stuff!
Later Gautam and I flew tandem and had a very nice XC
flight until we were lectured by an 85 year landowner
on American f__ing politics and the 711 attack”
really funny stuff (for the first half hour).
Sometime landing at the regular LZ can be easier!
June 3
Woodside
++
2.5
Strong conditions at Woodside allowed for two great
tandem flights lasting for more than an hour each.
May 29
White Rock
++
2.0
Many
thanks to Ivan, Beau, Julie (#2), Samuel, Trevor, Art,
Mark, Ali, and Brian for giving up their Sunday to help
us move to our new house. Special mention to Art for
his B&E skills (turns out the key was in the truck
all the time)!
May 28
Bridall Falls
++
2.5
New student, Samuel, (finally) did his first solo
flight off Bridal falls! Earlier flights were basically
sled rides, but a couple hours later many pilots could
stay up as long as they wanted. Only tears could make
them land: myself, Matt, Art and Movie Dave had to
force our way to the LZ in order to comply with previous
engagements. However Chris remained in the air for
more than three hours only landing 'cause he got bored!
(3:22 a new record for Chris).
May 27
Burnaby Mt
++
2.5
Perfect student conditions at BM (many flights from
the top of the hill for all).
May 23
Blanchard / Whidbey
sy cr
3.0
Perfect student conditions at Blanchard: I launched
and quickly climbed a 100 to 200' over the NW launch,
but a few minutes later I was below launch and on
my way to the LZ. Brian followed with similar results.
Once Samuel finally arrived with the truck, we decided
to continue to Whidbey (plan A). We had perfect training
conditions for about two hours, then the NW wind arrived;
slowly it picked up and soon a local pilot launched
and climbed to about 300 feet, followed by myself
and Brian. After about a half an hour of flying, Brian
decided to follow me on a one way XC trip north. The
results: we broke Brian' s Whidbey distance record
then turned back and landed on the beach. By the time
we hiked back to the fort it was blowing 21-27 mph.
May 20
Burnaby Mt
cr lt
2.5
With a promising forecast of West winds, we raced off
to Burnaby Mt for a few hours of ground schooling, but
the wind was more like North East (no upper launches).
May 15
The Chief
cr st
2.0
It was my birthday wish to fly the Chief today, but
is was not meant to be. Brian, Mark, Julie, Miranda,
Cabrinha and many more hiked up in record time only
to parawait in condensing fog, there was a few windows
to launch in, but we were more happy to just hang
out. The fog was replaced with 20kph East wind, so
we hiked back down.
May 13
Dieffenbaker
cr ps
2.5
Samuel
showed great promise and is almost ready for his first
solo flights. Trevor and Harv worked on mastering the
reverse launch.
May 7
Woodside
++
2.5
One of my all time favorite days at Woodside: new student
Samuel and I launched and basically flew directly to
Harrison (slightly slower than you can drive there (31
mins); Arthur and Matt took turns being top of the Sky,
for many hours. While Matt guided Arthur over the back
side for a little XC action, Lee and I finished the
day with an hour plus long soaring flight. It would
have been perfect if it weren' t for Lee' s aborted”
take off first thing in the morning. The boys were in
the air so long they needed a two hour rest before their
last flight!
May 6
Burnaby Mt.
cr
2.3
New
student Mel had a tough day to start learning at BM,
but still manage a few launches.
May 1
Bridal
++
2.5
Dave Merrick was the air technician for the day but
then proceeded to fly past Cheam to Butterfly and back
to a near perfect top landing, I demonstrated more death
spirals and a few tandem top landings (check out the
gallery later for a cool picture); but in the end Trevor
out did us all with a three hour plus flight! At one
point he dropped way below launch but sometime later
climb back to five hundred feet over – an amazing
day.
Apr 30
Bridal
ps
2.0
Movie Dave had solid launches all day; Chris had one
good and one bad launch, and Matt was just plain solid.
Matt asked me to demonstrate a proper downwind landing,
but I ended going for a rather interesting death spiral
(enjoyed by all).
Apr 29
Burnaby Mt
cr st
2.0
New
student Samuel did great but got eaten by too many bugs,
Movie Dave and Trevor aced most of their take offs.
Only one or two flights from the top (too cross).
April 23
Makenzie
sy st
2.5
Since the soccer field was in full action until 2PM,
we had lots of time to talk about landings and approaches,
and then do some head to head racing in the Pemberton
school field (Trevor won on distance).
On take off, a few local pilots were waiting to see
if the upper winds would improve, so I took the opportunity
to show off my usual kiting tricks. Although the wind
up was great, my kiting proved that we were still
in the lee (probably of 30 KPH East wind).
While we were waiting, Brian went for a little dirt
bike riding, but came back with a little road rash
-nothing three first aid kits could not fix!
A few hours drifted by, then one advance pilot could
not wait any longer, and smoothly threw himself into
the air, followed by another and then Denis. They
all got high quickly (without any big collapses).
I thought that it was still unsafe for Trevor and
any tandems, so we waited a little longer. Soon, Samuel
and I launched and climbed to over 4000' , but the
air was too unsettled for a long XC flight so we top
landed for a quick switch with Trevor. Trevor' s aggressive
weight shifting was helping, but sadly, it was a little
too late to climb out of the launch area. We were
treated with a tree side 50% collapse, while flying
low at 70' , which was fixed in a timely manor avoiding
any tree action. Mean while Lee, spent the afternoon
training with just the kite (since he forgot to grab
his harness). Another great sunny day at Pembie.
April 22
BM
sy cr
2.0
A
great at Burnaby Mt: we started new student Samuel with
the basics; Steven was in heaven doing flight after
flight on "his" new Skywalk Mescal; Trevor
showed us how to reverse launch in low cross wind conditions
and how not to check your lines; Shane tested out the
repairs to the Vit30; and Lee did quite a few good forwards.
April 16
BM
cat ps ra thunder
and hail!
3+
Another
strong afternoon at Burnaby Mt.. however Art and Trevor
did great in these difficult thunderstorm conditions.
Spectacular stuff! Hail rain hail sun wind... (no flights
from the top today).
April 9
Bridal Falls
sy cr ++
3.0
Saturday brought another fine
day of aerial adventure for the Deimos clan.
Dave Merrick started off the
day with a gentle sledride off of Bridal to warm him
up for some higher flights to come. With Dave on the
ground, Karyn helped by serving hotdogs from the VW
while enjoying the sun. For the next round of action
Dave, Art and Tom flew out into some nice lift right
in front of launch and headed up well above take-off.
Soon they were talking about cross-country plans (Hope
or towards Elk2.0 The decisions are hard to make).
Art was pretty excited about this day, as he was higher
above launch than he had ever been at Bridal. He also
chuckled to himself as he looked down to see more
experienced Dave and Tom scurrying around to find
more lift. Then Tom and Dave could start their chuckling
as Art had to pull on big ears with the cold penetrating
his wimpy gloves. Art headed down for more clothes.
Art met up with Brian, Gab, Meagan and Cheryl in the
LZed and headed up for another go. Tom expertly top
landed to get a compass after the whiteroom was inviting
him in. Dave also smoothly top landed as things appeared
to be easing off also. With afternoon upon us, Tom
hopped back into the air. Gab and Meagan scooted out
for a tandem. Then Art managed a non-pilot-induced
(according to video evidence) abort which resulted
in extra dirt on his Grade 8 ski pants (a.k.a. flight
suit). After laying out again and a little excited,
Art popped off of launch with a little more grace.
Brian joined in soon thereafter. The lift from the
morning was not as evident and gliders slowly came
down to meet in the LZed. Meagan felt her tandem cruise
was long enough to make her a little queasy but you
could see many of the pilots could have played a while
longer. Enjoyable flights for all. Plenty of time
in the sky and pilots look forward to springing off
again. An impressive height recovery was made by Dave.
At one point Dave said over the radio that he was
almost back up at launch. Art thought he was about
to see Tom2.02.02.0s truck arrive2.02.02.0. Instead
Dave2.02.02.0s purple Style came bounding up from
below. Great work Dave. Keep flying, even if your
teeth do get cold from the smiling.
Arthur Sanderson, The Ridge
Riding Thermal Monkey
Apr 8
Burnaby Mt
sy st
2.8
Art
comments about strong conditions were quickly proven
when he launch from the parking lot and few for many
seconds. After about an hour, the conditions mellowed
out, long enough for all of us to fly from the top to
bottom.
Mar 25
Blanchard /Whidbey
bo
2.8
After
2+ hours at the boarder, we raced off to Blanchard,
just as we were about to launch the gust front arrived,
shutting down the site for all but the HG boys (who
were sometimes parked). Our new US friends, Steve and
Mark showed us to a new site” for SE winds. It
was on our way so no harm in looking...Steve went first
but quickly landed as the gust line hit. A few minutes
later Brian pulled and pushed me into the air, a few
times, before the winds finally encouraged me to top
land. Probably the hardest and most dangerous site I'
ve ever flew.
Mar 24
Sumas /Bridal
Sy, bo
2.8
It was time to investigate the wash out” and
clear cut” situation at Sumas Mt: so with just
a few calls, Steven, Brian and I headed up to launch
on our mt bikes, while Cheryl guarded the trucks.
We all agreed that the ride up is much harder on two
wheels than four! In my opinion, the road is safe
enough to drive up for now, but should remain closed
to the public to prevent further erosion. The clear
cut is also pronounced but should not affect the take
off conditions too much. After an exciting ride back
down, we headed over to Bridal for an afternoon soar.
Pilots were already high, but we arrived a little
too late to join them. Brian followed my example
and missed the LZ by a few feet ( low spirals are
sometimes hard to exit).
Mar 13
Bridal
sy cr
2.4
With
a little convincing, Amine, and new students Sam and
Cameron and I, raced off to Bridal for some afternoon
tandems. The strong East wind was perfect to start teaching
the basics. Two hours later, Zak was first in the sky
and started his upward trek, then soon joined but ten
or more pilots. Perfect conditions on take off, for
Sam' s first tandem flight. Our flight included some
bird and light thermal chasing getting just a few hundred
feet above our take off. Interesting flying the East
slope for a change.
Mar 12
Woodside / Bridal
sy cat
2.4
It
was the big day for Racer Joe: if Joe nails his next
launch, he will complete his Novice rating. Everyone
and their dog was para-waiting at Woodside, so we went
to Bill Best field to practice (AKA play) with our reverse
launches. Art and new pilot Alex, were styling in the
perfect East wind and soon Joe joined in on the fun.
A couple hours later, a few bold pilots were in the
air and so we rushed up to join in the game, but after
just a few minutes wait, it was obvious that Woodside
was not going to be safe to fly so off to Bridal. When
we arrived, many pilots were getting high, but our timing
was too slow, we just managed a few solo flights. Joe
nailed his launch and his rating. Congratulations from
all of us at Deimos Paragliding!
Mar 5
Woodside
sy cr
1.8
Light conditions allowed for lots of flights, especially
with just ten or so pilots on launch. With new student
Scott, we had a near perfect one step take off, but
could only manage to stay at launch height. We spent
the rest of the time scratching it out in light orthographic
lift. Scott said he was ready for a little acro action,
so I introduce him to my famous Titanic maneuver, however
we were too low to make it a full Titanic! On my third
flight, I decided to go on a little XC trip towards
Bridal, then found a small, square shaped field, too
sweet to pass up; so I set up for a Death Spiral pulling
out at just inches from the ground then climbing back
up to thirty feet. I' m not sure if my wing tip touched
the ground, ‘cause I was too busy trying to not
hit it! Scary but fun stuff.
Feb 27
Woodside and Bridal
sy lt
2.1
After
some quick introductions (Gabby' s back), we headed
off to Woodside. The light cycles, coming straight up,
allowed lots of easy launches, and the light thermals
were able to keep most pilots up for half an hour or
longer. Gabby demonstrated his famous fifteen minute
landing, staying 200' AGL most of the time. The new
Deimos truck worked great, although a little slower
than the last Explorer. On the second flights, Racer
Joe was a little too excited and rushed his inflation:
I yelled stop!, so Joe pulled full brakes (which corrected
the surge) and he was now in the air. Art did his first
bigears-to-the-ground-approach, perfectly, while Movie
Dave landed himself, overshooting to the half way mark.
Not too bad. Dave had his best forward launch ever!
After two flights each, we decided to
try Bridal, for some extra action. The road up was a
little snowy but not a problem for the XLT. Conditions
at take off were first un-flyable, so we watch some
locals shoot clay pigeons with great accuracy. Conditions
improved shortly, enough for Gab, Two-Tries-Brian”,
Art and myself to fly. Art had the flight of his life,
when his B-line stall went bad, his quick thinking and
training, allowed him to recover, and amazingly he managed
to land in the driving range.
Feb 21
BM and Sumas
sy bo
2.2
The
forecast was for high winds, so instead of parawaiting
at Woodside all morning, we spent the day training.
Conditions at Burnaby Mt were surprisingly flyable;
perfect student conditions actually. Art had the longest
flight of the day, but after some controversy, I elected
myself victorious for the longest flight (but I still
have not seen those promised push ups Art!). After a
couple of hours at BM we headed out to Sumas, to our
favourite soaring site. At 35 km wind, it was just right
for me to try some of my new kiting tricks. Gradually
the wing calmed down allowing everyone to do a little
soaring (anchors were mandatory). Art and Joe showed
the most improvement. When the wind finally became boring,
we could hear that pilots were now flying Woodside.
We all agreed it was too much effort to pack up for
Woodside (accept Amine), so just Amine and I headed
back to BM to test out and repack our reserves. Amine
put on a little acro show for the crowd, a flight that
would even make Matt proud!
Feb 12
Blanchard and Whidbey
sy bo ++
2.5
Nine point five out
of ten! That' s how fun the day was.
We started the day at Blanchard: Shane went first and
just as we thought he was done, he cored a small thermal
to get back to launch height very exciting to watch.
By the time Art and Dave geared up, the best they could
manage was an extra long sled ride. Alex and Natali
caught up to us in Oak Harbour, just in time to follow
us to Fort Ebey. Art, Dave, and Shane had great launches,
in moderate conditions (much the same as last weekend).
The wind started to die down a bit, so Alex and Natali
took turns flying (first time soaring). Natali, had
her share of challenges, with her new fish maneuver,
and crazy hands” landing technique. Meanwhile
Art had his hands full, when a local tandem pilot tried
to join with him, not once but four times. Art attempts,
although not very obvious, to shake off this pilot were
ignored Art' s new Vitamin is just too hot I guess.
Dave surprised us with his new cross wind landing,
and he finally got to do a little wing walking on my
Style!
Around 5pm the white caps returned, and the action
started: most pilots including myself made safe but
interesting landing, at the same time, the local tandem
pilots prepared to take off2.0 Crazy stuff! About 5
minutes later there was tandem pilots being dragging
all over the place!
Always a treat to hang out and fly with some of the
best Deimos students.
Feb 5
Whidbey Island
sy lt ++
2.5
It looked like the valley would
be a little too strong for students, so we decided to
head down to Whidbey Island. A great call: the weather
and wind were great, offering too many flights to count.
I also go to test out the new Vitamin 25 and Skywalk Tequila.
The Vit25 may be my new acro machine, the next time I
fly Mara (this spring).
Joe and I did a few tandem flights with some pretty fun
touch-and-goes, while other pilots struggled with the
wind. One local tandem pilot impressed us by dragging
himself and his passenger through my new Vit25 (no damaged).
Jan
29
Bridal Falls
ra cr
2.0
After
discovering that the Sumas road had been washed out,
we had no choice but to head out to the valley. Bridal
had low clouds but looked flyable - so we headed up.
Arthur had another solid lauch on his hot new wing,
and yahooed his way in to the LZ. I had to abort my
first launch but managed to control the Sigma a little
better on my second try. Moments later I was at cloud
base and need to do some baby spiral to keep out of
the white room.
A driver passing by (Brad) was
so impressed with us, that I offered to drive him up
to launch so he could watch the action first hand (on
the "Exploder's" bumper of course). He later
said that it was the best day of his life!
We each had three flights. A
great way to start the season - thanks to Murray for
driving all day.
Quote:
" The wind gods
decide where we can fly, we just have to listen to them
"
tc
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