The forecast looked good for today. High of 31 and light winds out of the north west. The soaring forecast looked good with cloud base at 14,000’ and lift at 700 – 800’/min. Some model’s calling for stronger winds some calling for moderate winds out of the NW.
With my last flight being my longest ever and a great looking forecast I had hope’s of getting another shot at the 200km out and return. Now the forecast wasn’t wrong but it wasn’t the epic day I was hoping for. I wanted to launch at 2:30 to give myself enough time to make the round trip. Only one paraglider had launched and wasn’t doing well. Some how conditions just didn’t feel on as we stood on the ramp looking at a perfect looking CU filled sky. I got ready to go at 3:00. If I waited. any longer there wouldn’t be enough time to make the flight. I took off and soon realized why we were all standing on the ramp still. I struggled to stay up for an hour before the day finally turned on. I climbed out over MT7 with Doug Keller after 4:00 and had lost a lot of my motivation. Now I thought about what I had time for and what I wanted to do. I settled on flying down just past Spilli and back for a 110 to 120 km flight. We hit about 12,000’ – 13,000’ and headed south. The wind was strong out of the west and we were drifting way behind the peaks. We made not bad time heading down, staying high the whole way. Down near peak height it was rough but the air was nice up high. I flew with Doug all the way to the 50km mark where he topped out at over 14,000’. I didn’t bother getting to cloud base as the lift just wasn’t strong enough to stick with it. I flew another 5km before I turned around into a strong head wind. I was fighting on average about a 20km/hr head wind. I let myself get low and dropped below 2700m. I hit an inversion layer at that height at the start of the day but had remained above it for the whole flight. Now it was rough and a struggle to get high again. I kept pushing forward not wanting to deal with the rough air and trying to find something better. I made the same mistake in the same spot as my last flight which kept me from making it back from Invermere. I landed in almost the same spot too. Doug stayed high and made it back easy. I still managed 97km and flew for an hour and forty minutes. A good day. Well worth the trip just a little tricky. Tomorrow looks good too. I think I launch a little later and lower my expectations a bit. The days are getting shorter and we just aren’t going to get six or seven hour flights this time of year.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
100 miles
Finally. Like most pilots, I’ve wanted a hundred mile flight since I started flying cross country. I was confident after getting close several times’ last year that this would be the year I break through the hundred mile barrier. In Australia hundred mile flights are a lot more common. In Forbes they often call 100+ mile tasks. With all the rain this year conditions were softer than normal and I was unable to make goal on the longer days. Coming home my hopes were for a big flight in May on the prairies. Most hundred mile flights in Canada are in Alberta in May. With two weeks off in late May to fly, we lose half the days to weather. I did log exactly a hundred miles after olc optimization but was not a true hundred miles straight line distance. After spring was over I thought I had lost my chance as the best flying during the summer is in Golden and hundred mile flights in Golden are very rare.
With lighter winds today and getting down to Invermere fast yesterday, I was hoping to try Invermere return. It’s only been done a couple times and the plan was to get going early and attempt the round trip. I launched at 2:30 and slowly worked my way back over launch. I stayed patient to let the day build. Once the lift stopped I headed to the spine in front of Mt 7 and climbed over the peak. I looked down range and saw Pagliaro and Kapristo totally shaded in. A hand full of paragliders were low in front trying to work there way back up. I decided to get as high as I could and just skip over it if I needed to. Once I started getting into the wisps, I headed south. As I passed over Kapristo I didn’t hit any usable lift and just kept on going as planned. Once over the next peak I hit a strong thermal and climbed fast back up to cloud base. I wasn’t worried about racing but fitting my flight into the day. I wanted to make it back by 8:00 as you can’t be sure to stay up any later than that. I took the time to work most of my climbs to get near cloud base. I ran the back range on the way down and made it to Invermere with relative ease in a little less than three hours. I turned around and headed back into a 5km head wind. The lift was still strong and making head way into the wind was no problem. I got high at the Edgewater cliff’s because I was going to fly the front range on the way back. I mountains on the front range get higher as you head north which makes flying the back unnerving heading north. I flew all the way to Brisco before I found any lift low on the cliffs. I got over the cliffs while still moving north but the range is very low here. I finally get a good climb at Spillimacheen and hit cloud base. I run to get over the high peaks and continue running north. The lift is getting much smoother but still strong and getting high. I get to cloud base at Harrogate and know I only need one or two more thermals to make it home. I’m getting good glides in buoyant air but I’m aware that I’m going into the wind and need some extra height. It’s still early enough I’m sure I have enough time left in the day. I’m getting confident that I’m going to make it back. I pass up a punchy thermal to wait for something smoother and a faster climb. This turn’s into a fatal mistake. I fly into a huge shaded area and the lower I get the worse my glide gets. I concede I’m not going to make it and start looking for field’s I can make on final glide. Once I reach the field I’m not very happy with my choice but it’s too late now. I dived into the small field that had a steep slope towards the highway. I angled slightly up hill and had a strong flare and put in a good landing. After 4:55hrs I landed after flying 182km. Finally my first hundred mile flight. My truck showed up before I could start breaking down. As a reward for setting a new personal best I got to drive back to Invermere to pick up Rob Green who landed at the airport. It was a great day and even thou I made a mistake that kept me from reaching my goal I was glad to have that hundred mile monkey off my back.
With lighter winds today and getting down to Invermere fast yesterday, I was hoping to try Invermere return. It’s only been done a couple times and the plan was to get going early and attempt the round trip. I launched at 2:30 and slowly worked my way back over launch. I stayed patient to let the day build. Once the lift stopped I headed to the spine in front of Mt 7 and climbed over the peak. I looked down range and saw Pagliaro and Kapristo totally shaded in. A hand full of paragliders were low in front trying to work there way back up. I decided to get as high as I could and just skip over it if I needed to. Once I started getting into the wisps, I headed south. As I passed over Kapristo I didn’t hit any usable lift and just kept on going as planned. Once over the next peak I hit a strong thermal and climbed fast back up to cloud base. I wasn’t worried about racing but fitting my flight into the day. I wanted to make it back by 8:00 as you can’t be sure to stay up any later than that. I took the time to work most of my climbs to get near cloud base. I ran the back range on the way down and made it to Invermere with relative ease in a little less than three hours. I turned around and headed back into a 5km head wind. The lift was still strong and making head way into the wind was no problem. I got high at the Edgewater cliff’s because I was going to fly the front range on the way back. I mountains on the front range get higher as you head north which makes flying the back unnerving heading north. I flew all the way to Brisco before I found any lift low on the cliffs. I got over the cliffs while still moving north but the range is very low here. I finally get a good climb at Spillimacheen and hit cloud base. I run to get over the high peaks and continue running north. The lift is getting much smoother but still strong and getting high. I get to cloud base at Harrogate and know I only need one or two more thermals to make it home. I’m getting good glides in buoyant air but I’m aware that I’m going into the wind and need some extra height. It’s still early enough I’m sure I have enough time left in the day. I’m getting confident that I’m going to make it back. I pass up a punchy thermal to wait for something smoother and a faster climb. This turn’s into a fatal mistake. I fly into a huge shaded area and the lower I get the worse my glide gets. I concede I’m not going to make it and start looking for field’s I can make on final glide. Once I reach the field I’m not very happy with my choice but it’s too late now. I dived into the small field that had a steep slope towards the highway. I angled slightly up hill and had a strong flare and put in a good landing. After 4:55hrs I landed after flying 182km. Finally my first hundred mile flight. My truck showed up before I could start breaking down. As a reward for setting a new personal best I got to drive back to Invermere to pick up Rob Green who landed at the airport. It was a great day and even thou I made a mistake that kept me from reaching my goal I was glad to have that hundred mile monkey off my back.
100 hours
I’ve been putting a lot of effort into improving my skill and ranking over the last three seasons. Breaking my collar bone two seasons ago put an end to that season. Last season I was hoping to get 100hrs for the season. The weather turned poor in the late summer and fall. I stalled at 92hrs. I got a great start this season in Australia in January. After some good flights in Arizona I thought I might hit a 100hrs by early summer. Again I was stalled by terrible weather all summer. Finally the sun came out and I was able to break the 100hr mark this season.
After day’s of wind and rain the last day of the Willi we finally got some good weather. The first couple of pilots to launch weren’t climbing very fast so I waited a bit for the day to get stronger. By the time I got off the hill at three thirty I was the last one in the air. New York Dave and Doug Litzenburger were able to get a short flight during the week so I needed a big flight if I was going to make up the points. I climbed up over launch and headed to Mt 7. I got high over the peaked and headed south. The wind was 10km/hr out of the north as I pushed south. The climbs were strong almost to cloud base and I was able to stay high above the range. When I got to Edgewater rain cells were dumping rain across the valley. The clouds were shading over the mountains below me so I pressed on to the sunny peaks ahead of me. I was looking behind and ahead of me trying to decide if I should push further south or try and turn around and head back to Golden. I was able to make it down to Invermere in two hours and confident of a big flight as it was only 5:30. I hit a south wind at Radium and was thinking of heading back. I arrived over Mt Swansee just over the top and ridge soared until I got a weak broken climb that I tried to stick with. I gained about 500’ before I lost it. Unable to find anything else I ended up landing at the airport early in the day. Doug Keller arrived just after I was packed up. Doug Litzenburger came in a couple hours later followed by New York Dave on his way back from Fairmont. He was turned around by a wall of rain. Kal picked up Leaf in Edgewater on his way to grab the rest of us. I was hoping for a bigger flight but landing in Invermere always feels like a success. It was fun reliving the flights on the drive home and comparing notes with each other. I was glad to finally break through the 100hr mark.
After day’s of wind and rain the last day of the Willi we finally got some good weather. The first couple of pilots to launch weren’t climbing very fast so I waited a bit for the day to get stronger. By the time I got off the hill at three thirty I was the last one in the air. New York Dave and Doug Litzenburger were able to get a short flight during the week so I needed a big flight if I was going to make up the points. I climbed up over launch and headed to Mt 7. I got high over the peaked and headed south. The wind was 10km/hr out of the north as I pushed south. The climbs were strong almost to cloud base and I was able to stay high above the range. When I got to Edgewater rain cells were dumping rain across the valley. The clouds were shading over the mountains below me so I pressed on to the sunny peaks ahead of me. I was looking behind and ahead of me trying to decide if I should push further south or try and turn around and head back to Golden. I was able to make it down to Invermere in two hours and confident of a big flight as it was only 5:30. I hit a south wind at Radium and was thinking of heading back. I arrived over Mt Swansee just over the top and ridge soared until I got a weak broken climb that I tried to stick with. I gained about 500’ before I lost it. Unable to find anything else I ended up landing at the airport early in the day. Doug Keller arrived just after I was packed up. Doug Litzenburger came in a couple hours later followed by New York Dave on his way back from Fairmont. He was turned around by a wall of rain. Kal picked up Leaf in Edgewater on his way to grab the rest of us. I was hoping for a bigger flight but landing in Invermere always feels like a success. It was fun reliving the flights on the drive home and comparing notes with each other. I was glad to finally break through the 100hr mark.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)