Another bad day in a very bad year.

Yesterday was a tragic day in a year filled with bad accidents. Andrea was part of very keen group of new pilots this year. He took his first beginner class this spring. They were out flying every chance they could. They would travel to Innisfail to scooter tow with Kevin on his farm. Kevin was also out at the ridge with Andrea and Leif.

Leif was helping Kevin and Andrea off the ridge to try and get their first soaring flights. Leif said conditions were very good and he had no hesitation sending them off. Kevin was off first and sunk out. Andrea was off second and managed to stay up. After he had been soaring for a bit Leif suited up and took to the air. He headed further down the ridge to give Andrea plenty of room. He said soaring conditions at the time were excellent. After flying for about 20 minutes he dragged a wing tip on top of the ridge and spun into a pile of rocks. (Farmers pick rocks off the fields every year and pile them on their property; it was this pile he hit) Leif was unsure if he was trying to land. He died on impact. The glider has almost no damage.

Some of my thoughts and feelings about the accident. Hang gliding is difficult and time consuming to learn. Therefore only the truly passionate tend to stick with it. Andrea was one of these dedicated souls. As a group desperate to fly most of us tend push beyond the limits of our skill. As instructors we hold students back. Trying to keep them with in their limits and safe. Andrea did take advice he was given, not every one does. He had done his first truck tows a couple weeks ago, over 2000'. He was competent enough to control his glider. As much as we hold students back they have to progress at some point.

Air time means far less than currency. I think this applies to all of us. Andrea had been out lots this year with his keen group of new friends. Given this fact it is much more reasonable to send pilots off ridge soaring than another pilot with the same air time who has not flown for several months. They had Leif come out with them. He is the most experienced pilot on that ridge and you couldn't ask for a better mentor. It is important to have an experienced pilot help new pilots with evaluating weather conditions and advice on the hazards and how to fly the site.

While I think the accident was pilot error I think he was very unlucky. I think most of us have made bad choices and gotten lucky waking away with a broken down tube. I had my worst accident in Cochrane. I had over 100hrs at the time. I was low and worried about sinking out. I flew straight down wind thinking I would get lift over the ridge. I didn't and now was low going down wind. I tried to turn flat as I didn't want to drag a wing tip. I didn't get around into the wind and hit the ground hard. I broke both down tubes and a batten. I was pretty much uninjured other than a couple bruises. Most of the time the glider will take a lot of the impact and the pilot will sustain little injury. I've seen pilots hit very hard and walk away uninjured. I've seen landing that didn't look that bad and the pilot ends up with broken bones.

As with any fatality it is very hard on those left behind. As hang glider pilots we share a very special bond. It is always very difficult to lose one of our own. I think it is even harder on our families as they often don't understand the deep emotions we have related to flying. We ask them to just accept our passion. My heart goes out to Kevin and Leif having to have lived this tragedy. I also feel for Kevin’s wife and kids. I don't want to see Kevin give up flying but know it will be hard for his family if he doesn’t. Our season is over now and we will have the winter to absorb this tragedy. Time heals all.

BBQ task.

The forecast for the final day of the Canadian nationals was looking pretty good. Lightning strikes over the last couple days have started a few forest fires around Sun Peaks. Their was some concern about flying over the fires today. We file a notam every day and Ralph even called the Kamloops air port where the planes were flying out of to let them know too. They weren't impressed but didn't say we couldn't fly. They have that power and we have been shut down in the past. If they weren't going to tell us not to fly I felt we should be fine. Ralph also told every one at the pilots meeting not to pass over the fire low.

With a strong south wind we felt it would be better to just call a down wind task rather than have pilots fight back against the wind crossing the fires a second time. We decided on little fort at 62km. This would turn out to be a little short but we wanted to get every one back in a reasonable time to do the scoring and get ready for dinner. It turned out to be the best day so far and some pilots were disappointed we didn't call a longer task. Ten ended up making goal with Jeff the fastest of the day in just under an hour.

My strategy every day has been to launch later and take the last start so I would be on course during the strongest part of the day. Also I had plenty of thermal marks in front of me making it easier to go faster. Launching later you run the risk of not getting off the hill which never happened to me but some people did get stuck on launch. I had Tanya use the leading bonus because I believe the pilots that go out front take the most risk and should be rewarded. Taking the last start punished me on the leading points. You need to make goal and you need to be a lot faster than every one else.

The last day my plan was to take it easy and make sure I get to goal. Jeff was too far in front of me to catch but Ross was right behind me. I had nothing to gain and every thing to lose so I felt as long as I made goal in a reasonable amount of time I would hold onto my position.

I launched in the back half of the pack and climbed out over launch with Dave Bacon in good lift. Once up high I could see the large forest fire to the north. I saw a helicopter just north of launch dipping his bucket in a nearby lake. Then he was off to dump the water on a smaller fire. Not wanting to get in the way I left before getting to cloud base and flew into a strong west wind to get back out in front of the range. Once I was back out front I headed down the range and found I had a quartering tail wind. My first thermal on course was strong. It moved around a lot but stuck with it right to cloud base over 10,000'. Just make sure you get to goal. My next climb was not as strong but I stayed with it any way. I got a climb just before Barriere and my numbers went positive. I stopped for some strong lift before I left the range just to be sure. I hit some big sink in the valley and was happy I had lots of height. I chased Tyler to the Fennel peak goal which is a turn point over the mountains before heading over to Little fort to land. I spotted two pilots on the ground and several other below me circling down to land. Mike Swift had chosen a field right next to the gas station and cold beer. Dave Bacon arrived a little while later and Gary came in long after the rest of us had packed up. It was a fun day and we had a lot of spectators watching the glider rain into the field next to the gas station. It was a fun day of flying and nice to have so many in goal.

The weather tuned out to be very good this week and Ralph and Ian did a great job of organizing. It was great to fly some where different this year. I'd love to come back here again next year. Jeff Remple finish first over all with me second and Ross Hunter third.

Need to make goal.

We had a brisk south west wind today and called an 82km task to Clear water. We tried to encourage every one to get off early as we had a risk of storms to the north. It didn't seem that good early to me so I wanted to wait for the last start time hoping the day would get stronger. My theory was good as the first themal I got into was a boomer taking me to cloud base over launch. I was a few minutes behind the last start time. Not a great start but not bad. I went charging off hard hoping to win the day big. It was a strong wind and I was getting a great ground speed. It was a long glide between climbs but I was finding good lift and climbing well. I was going by gliders low in the valley and went over John Mclintoc by a couple thousand feet. I knew I was pushing too hard when I passed a couple light thermals when I was starting to get low. Hoping to catch a low save I caught up with Ross Hunter but we were unable to dig out and landed with Tyler about 25km from goal. I only needed one climb to make it in and should have been a little more patient. John flew over our heads a short while later and was the only one to make goal. Taking the last start also cost me leading points. I was happy with my flying and shouldn't get hurt too much in the overall standings. Looks like we could have a good day tomorrow.

Another long task.

We went up Sun peaks today with a forecast for light winds. We called a 124 km task knowing it was not likely doable but the other options weren't any better so we opted to over call the day rather than under call it.

I found it very rough around launch and pushed forward not wanting to spend a lot of time in the nasty air. I was in good position for the last start time and headed out alone. I was able to catch several pilots right away but pushed a little too hard and ended up low. With the help of a few other pilots around I was able to stay off the ground and managed to spec out leaving every one else behind and low. I had a long glide to the next ridge and found Ross low and on life support. John Orders came in behind us and we managed to bring Ross back to life. The three of us worked together for the next thirty km moving at a good pace. Once we got close to the turn point we couldn't get high enough to tag it. We ended up landing by the cliff just below. Another pilot came by a half hour latter and managed to get around the turn point where the three of us failed. Not sure who but I here three may have gotten further. Hope for good weather tomorrow.

Tough first day.

We finally got our first valid day today. We called a 92km task starting at 2:00. North up deadman's valley then back to launch then west and back to the main lz. With a strong NW wind it made for a very tough head wind most of the day. My plan was to wait for the last start gate hoping the day would get stronger and I would be able to catch pilots ahead of me.

I got a pretty good start crossing the five km cylinder a few minutes after the last start time and much higher than pilots starting earlier. I was going at a good pace with Ralph catching several pilots ahead of us and many already on the ground. I lost Ralph and got low after the first turn point. I dug myself out and got slightly above cloud base and meet up with Ralph back at the second turn point. We push back into strong head wind to the third turn point. The turn point was out past the clouds and the smoke was thick in the valley ahead of us. You needed to get high enough to run out to the turn point and get back to the lift. Jeff was the only one to make it but I gave it a good shot landing ten Km short of goal. Very tough task but a fun flight. Great to get a task off and with luck the rest of the week will be better.

Another eventful day.

The Willi ended the same way it started, with some scary incidents. We went up to launch a little later so we wouldn’t have to wait on launch so long. As it turned out we waited a while as no one was staying up much before 3’oclock. As soon as a couple paragliders started climbing, pilots started piling off. I took off at 4’oclock and the wind was coming in strong from the north. I climbed up in strong lift and found it very rough. After being in the air for a half hour I had no motivation to go any where. I thought maybe I was being a bit of a whimp as every one seemed to be gone down range. I crossed over to Kapristo but didn’t like the air and didn’t want to land out. I took one more climb in front of launch but still wasn’t motivated to head back down range. I headed out to land and found several other pilots who didn’t like conditions either.

Fiona got hammered down at Parson and didn’t even bother trying to come back. She just went out to land. Just about every one I talked to found the day to be really rough with most choosing to land. Timmy flew to Brisco and Jim Scoles made it to Invermere. Both reported rough thermals all the way down the Valley. Two paragliders went into the trees. Search and rescue was called as one pilot looked like he went in hard in a bad area. He managed to hike himself out but the second pilot landed behind the front range at Spilli. She was picked up by the search and rescue helicopter. They were both uninjured to end the comp on a happy note.

We got to fly more days than the past several years but with some very tricky days. We had a lot of close calls but got lucky with no one getting seriously injured. I hope we all learned some lessons from the mistakes that were made this year and make safer choices in the future.

I managed to put together three good flights and won the Willi this year with Fiona close behind. Fiona seems to fly under the radar but is flying really well. I expect she will do really well at the nationals this year.

Kicking trees and running from clouds

I started out the day by doing an early morning tandem. By the time we get to launch the cu’s are poping already. A beginner student got a hold of me and wanted to come out for a tandem flight. She told me after that she was afraid of heights. This was obvious as soon as we launched. After the normal launch screams she started to cry and took a while before she pulled herself together and enjoyed the view. The landing freaked her out to but I think she enjoyed the flight.

After a quick breakfast we headed up for an early start to the day as it was looking good already. I got set up right away and suited up to go. I declared a 200km out and return task and wanted to get going. Doug Litzenburger took off ahead of me and I launched soon after as several paraglider pilots were already getting up. It was 1:30 and I was climbing out over launch. I got to cloud base and headed south. Once over Mt 7 I made a few turns to top up and headed over to tag my start circle. I turned south and was on my way.

I was going good finding the best lift and pushing down range at a good pace. By the time I got to Parson I had passed all the paragliders that took off before me. Cloud base was a little more than 3000m which isn’t really high but not bad. I started losing my focus and was slowing down. I tried to keep pushing until I was very low at Spur Valley. I was flying through a lot of shade and not finding any lift. I got drilled crossing the gap to Edgewater and had to claw my way along for the next ten km. Once I hit Radium I found strong lift and shot up to cloud base. I had to divert around the large black cloud so I wouldn’t get sucked into it. I looked back to the north and it looked the clouds were starting to clear out and the sun was shining on the mountains again. I decided I would head back after I got my turn point as long as I didn’t have a big head wind to fight back. I got a great glide all the way to my turn point near Swansee and made my turn.

I took too long to get to Invermere but if I could make it back in two hours I could still set the 200km out and return record. I’ve made it to Invermere in two hours so I headed back with renewed focus. I made a few turns in strong lift and was getting great glides under the black clouds. Once back to Radium I could see it was still totally shaded from Spur Valley as far south as I could see. I wasn’t going to turn around now and head back south. I made my decision and now I will have to just go and hope I can find some sort of lift. I was pleased I was able to make it through once. I found some lift in the shade at Spur Valley but that would be it before a long glide to the deck just south of Spillimacheen. Total distance was 150km and I was in the air for four and a half hours. I was disappointed that I didn’t make it back but still a good flight. Tomorrows another day.

Fly with caution.

Today's forecast was again for a strong chance of thunder storms. When we arrive on launch it doesn't look very good and no one is staying up. When the sun pops out from behind the clouds I grab my glider and start setting up. Nicole, Greg and a few other paragliders launch about half an hour after the sun comes out and struggle to stay up. I suit up as their is a storm forming across the valley which I fear could come over and end the day. Greg is reasonably high and Nicole is still trying to stay off the ground. It is still early by Golden standards but I decide it's time to get going.

I have a hard time getting up too but find enough lift to get me to 7000' with a couple other pilots. Once the lift stops I head south to the punch bowl directly below Mnt 7. I'm reminded why we call it the punch bowl. I continued on to Willi's knob on the south end of Mnt 7 which works well. I climb out to 9000' with a few paragliders. We all head south and get drilled. Every one turns around and heads back to Mnt 7. I climb up again over Willis knob while the rest of my group head back to launch.. I get back to cloud base and look at the storm across the valley. It's time to go land or get going south. I turn south and get a much better glide this time.

With cloud base being so low I need to stop and climb after short glides if I want to stay over the range. I get back to cloud base over Kapristo and keep heading south. Climbs are week and broken. The air is very turbulent for the poor lift I find.

Once down at at Spilli I start down the back range as it is much faster to stay over the high peaks. With cloud base so low I soon jump out front so I don't get caught behind the front range. I continue to push south getting lower and lower. I get high enough height over the low hills at Spur Valley to get in front of the cliffs at Edge water. I find my first good thermal of the day and climb to 10,000' before I pull out of the strong lift. I gain another 700' flying away from the strong lift before I get away from it. The cloud wasn't very big or dark but I was glad I pulled out early as I never like to get into clouds. I make a few turns in stronger lift on the way to Invermere and arrive there low. The Valley here is shaded and I go into survival mode to stay off the ground until the sun comes out. Finally I work weak lift high enough to connect with stronger lift. I get back over the high peaks south of Invermere and push on to Fairmont.

I can see big storms forming to the north east and push harder to keep well ahead of them. I get a good climb over the last big peak at Fairmont and head south towards Canal Flats. I've never been this far south before and head towards ridges I hope will be working. Finding only very week lift I head out to the huge fields at Canal Flats. Many flights end here because you have a big jump with no landing fields to the south. It's late and I'm not at cloud base. Today hasn't been a very good day any way and I'm not going to push further south knowing I'm probably going to have difficult landing options. I burn off 3000' of extra altitude and land into a south wind. I get packed up before the gust front hits and into the local restaurant before the rain starts. Lucky for me when I call for a ride Guy's wife is in Radium looking for him. Soon I was picked up and heading home in good time.

It was tough flight but felt rewarding to make it so far on such a difficult day. Total distance was 148km. Now I need a better day to make Wasa!

Luck was on my side.

The forecast was for light east winds and chance of thunder showers. I got off launch late after Ross and Doug. Once I got off the hill I climbed out fast to 4000m right over launch. I stopped over mount seven in strong lift for a few turn to top up a bit. I pushed hard trying catch Ross and Doug. I caught up to them at Spilli right at the edge of the storm coming from the south. Ross and I pushed closer than may have been wise before turning around. Ross said he raced all the way back to get away from the storm. I felt like I was far enough in front and not pushing really hard coming back. I wanted to head north to get a little extra distance. I climbed over mount seven to 3500m watching the storm behind me guessing how much time I would have before the gust front hit. I watched Doug climbing up from low thinking that was a bad idea as I thought I was pushing my luck. I head across the valley toward moberly and then turned and came back to land at Nickleson. I had a nice landing in no wind. I took off all my gear and started to talk to Ross and he said gust front. I turned around and saw the dust kicking up across the street. Seconds later it hit us hard. Several pilots were parked over the field with paragliders going backwards. Serge, Doug and Dave Bacon all had very hard landings and were not able to control their gliders at times coming into land. Half a dozen paragliders were blown back and landed in the swamp. Lucky no one was seriously hurt. I would like to say I had good judgement landing before the front hit but the truth is I was a little lucky getting in before it got ugly. More storms forecast for today so lots of people taking the day off with the weather looking good for the rest of the week.

Heading back to Germany!

Thanks to the US team some how piling my glider on with thier's,(I'll see if I can get a photo) I hopped a train back to Douselldorf. More presice a new friend dropping me off, a bus, a cattle car that sleeps people, a sub way across Paris (hurry your going to miss your train), a bullet train (holly crap thier fast), another train and a cab to the airport. It was interesting but would have been super stressful if I would have been trying to get back in time for my flight. Getting around France is tough as no one speaks English. I had no idea I needed to goto another train station when I got to Paris.

I thought about touring the south of France before heading back but decieded to head back to Germany first and then rent a car and goto Holland. I thought about Berlin but it's a bit of a drive. I offered to take some luggage for the Americans as the Van they rented was over flowning, literally. They had bags strapped to the top of the gliders. As Jeff said, "we look like the beverly hill billys. Lucky for me they declined my offer. I thought I would have lots of room on the train. I was wrong!

First the bus had almost no storage underneath it. I had to hold my harness in with my foot and then slam the door closed fast.

Next the cattle car train. It was an over night train so the cars are made for sleeping. One car has six cot's. The compartment is just wide enough to walk into with beds on both sides three high. Again just over head storage. I put my bag on an empty cot, lucky for me.

The sub way, well it's just like our trains. Good thing it was Sunday and not rush hour traffic. I had more room on the subway than the rest of my trip.

The bullet train has a little shelf for luggage which was already filled with other passengers luggage. Lucky the overhead storage fit my largest luggage. People just weren't very impressed getting hit in the head with it.

The last train again had only over head storage which was just big enough for fanny packs. I filled two empty seats with my bags. Got lot's of funny looks but no one said any thing. Not that I would understand them any way. Finally back to Douselledorf and piled all my crap into a cab.

Ran out of time.

Sorry I didn't finish my last post as I ran out of change and time. The big upset the last day was when Manfred landed at the first turn point, this left it open for Alex or Jonny to win. I'm not sure what Manfred did but I think he may have been trying to shake off pilots following him around. Jonny finished second on the day but too far behind Nene to get enough points to catch Alex in the over all results. Alex had heard that Manfred went down early and said the last hour was the hardest flying of his life. Many of these guys have been trying to win the worlds for a long time and with Manfred in the field, having won three world titles, it's a tough task. With the worlds only happening every two years you don't get many chances in your life time to win. Just ask Andre Wolfe or Gerolf.

The Americans did really well. With Jeff winning the first day and Dustin finishing 7th and Zac 4th. I was really impressed with the US team. They could be a force if they all stick with it. Several others in the past have shown so much potential then fade away. I feel really lucky to have been a part of the worlds this year and had a great time. The great thing about these comps is the new friends you make and seeing old friends you only get to see at comps. This was no exception and I meet some great new friends that did a lot to help me out. I felt like an orphan that the world adopted. I look forward to trying to make it to Italy in two years.

Huge upset!

We had a good forecast today with little chance of over development. The forecast was for noth west winds which caused some indecision on which launch to use. After sending us to the lower north launch they changed thier minds and sent us to the uper south launch on Chabre. This sucks for me because I get to set up as far away from the parking lot as possible. It's the hottest day we've had yet and I am nearly dead by the time I get my glider to the rigging spot. Not to worry as the poor launch conditions mean I get to wait a long time before I will get to launch.

Our line moves the slowest and we are launching to the south while the other two lines are launching to the north. Half a dozen pilots from our line move to the other lines after they are cleared off. I am the third or fourth last off and find some weak lift to get me above launch. Eventualy it turns on and I get to cloud base five minutes after the second start window. I don't want to wait another 15min as we have over 150km to go. I just need to get there. I push hard by myself and get good glides and manage to catch a gaggle from the second start at the first turn point. I continue pushing and doing well catching up with pilots along the way. Just before Gap I get low and have to take a slow climb which will eventually turn on and get me back to cloud base. I make over the second turn point and no one is climbing very well so I just keep going. I glide to the dirt with a lot of other pilots around the second turn point.

I was happy with how I flew today just wish we could have had more days so I could have gotten into it a little sooner. More later on my trip home.

Looking like a good day.

Looking great as the launch opened.

Major Screw Up.

We had high hopes for a good day today hoping the rain would stay away long enough to have a task. The sky looked good when we arrived at the top of Aspes and the wind started to blow in nice again today. The task committee called another short task of 113km. People were in line early again but their didn't seem to be as much panic to get off as yesterday. With launch conditions looking perfect I decided to wait to launch and spend less time avoiding mid airs. No one looked like they were getting very high but I needed to get into the air in order to make the first start.

I had a slow climb at first and I was not getting quite as high as some of the other pilots a few hundred feet above me. A few minutes before the first start I hit a strong climb. You know you found good lift when the people around you all slot in under neath you. You know you've hit great lift when half the field comes charging toward you. I topped out a couple minutes after the first start and I watched a couple people head out on course. I figured I would go on course and most people went. My GPS wasn't navigating me to the turn point and I started to wonder if I programed in the task wrong some how. A lot of pilots write the task on a piece of tape and put it on their base tube. I was starting to wish I had done this so I could change to the first turn point. Even If I could stick with the group a 400m cylinder is hard to hit with out an instrument. As I was getting to the top of the first thermal on course it hit me. An 11km start circle! I was out side the start when the time switched over. I had to go back and get a start or score zero for the day. I got drilled when I got back to Aspes and took 1/2hr to get back to base. 15min late for the last start and on my own I just wanted to make it to goal. I stayed over the mountains on the way to first start point but still managed to get low just before the first turn point. I worked weak lift trying to get as high as I could before the turn but just drifted farther away. I saw several gliders on the ground around the turn point and finally I just pushed forward and got the turn point. When I hit the cylinder I found lift and gained some height. I had taken so long that I decided to just push forward. I hit a boomer down low and took it right back to base. I could see rain ahead but thought I would push forward. I was under the first really dark cloud and it was really lifting. Looking towards the turn point it was obvious I wasn't going to make it ahead of the storm. I punched in the camp ground coordinate and headed home. A few others did the same after the task had been stopped. The back the times up 15min from when the stop the task. I probably won't even get the first turn point. This is really going to hurt my score for the day. On the bright side I don't really have very far to fall any way. I heard several guys made it in to goal before they stopped the task. Some of them won't count when the back the times up. That would really suck. Sounds like Obrian may have missed it by a minute. Zac said he had goal on glide when the task was called. Hoping for good weather tomorrow.

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!! I hope you all enjoy the fire works tonight.

Todays forecast was for thunder storms again. They sent us up Aspes and tried to get us off as quick as they could. It's a bit of a drive and not easy to send 120 pilots off on a task. They called a short 89km triangle landing back at the base of the take off. It's an open launch when we fly at Aspes as the set up area is massive so when your ready to go you step into the launch line and go. With pilots getting stuck on launch yesterday every one seemed keen to get off right away. I find it amusing that these are the very same pilots who complain about having to fly around for 1.5hr waiting for the start. I just sat and visited with Jamie and some of the ground crew watching every one pile off trying to climb out while not running into the other twenty pilots that just launched. It's bad enough 1000' over never mind 20'. It's not the marginal launch conditions of yesterday it's blowing straight in, just walk off when ever your ready. You still need to wait for the first start in over an hour. So I finally go back get suited up and bring my glider down to the front. By now most of the field is waiting at cloud base as it gets darker and darker. I throw my self off with only about ten people left on the hill. I climb up to base with 25min left to spare. I won't have to wait this long as the clouds get bigger and darker I see pilots heading out towards the valley. The task has been canceled. Back to the campground to avoid having to do retrieve. When I get over the campground I count forty gliders on the ground and another forty in the air with me. I watch glider after glider land hoping I will have some space with the half dozen gliders I'm going to have to land with. No traffic control and no motor to stay up and wait until it's clear. When it's your time your gonna land. I did a standard aircraft approach into the Field and wondered what the guy beside me was doing. I took another look at the wind sock and the wind had turned 90 degrees. Oh shit new plan. Turn into the field and put out the air brakes so I don't run out of field. An early flare and drop down behind the guy who landed just before me. It was a fun flight and I think its good to get every one flying even if we don't get a task to keep everyone from getting too stressed.

The author of the Irish blog getting jiggy with one of the locals.

A great day ruined by bad weather.

Sorry for not posting sooner. We had a pasta dinner put on for all the pilots last night. By the time I got done flying I didn't have any time before heading off to dinner.

The forecast was for thunder storms yesturday so the task was some what short and they tried to get pilots off as fast as possible. Sadly the launch conditions were very difficult and getting the whole field off was not an easy task. Many people were complaining they didn't have the chance to get the first start. This is normal. It was only a big issue today because the task was stopped and you get scored to where you were when the task is stopped minus 20min. So the earlier you left the further down the course you could make it. Even with my poor 105th launch slot I was still able to get off and at cloud base 2min after the first start.

Given the high chance of showers and the way the sky was looking I deceided to head out on course rather than wait 18min for the next start. This turns out to be a wise choice when the task gets canceled. I head down the ridge instead of on course line as I'm hoping to find better lift along the ride. Talking the long way around staying over the high ground the whole way works well until I get to the turn point. Low at the turn point, I struggled to get back to cloud base. Once pilots catch up from behind we get back to cloud base and head on course. As we get closer to the turn point it's obvious the day had been cancelled as the sky was looking ominous. I was going to head away from the storms to nicer looking clouds and maybe wait to see if the sky would clear so I could make it back to the camp ground. Then I noticed Julia spining down. I looked down and saw 40 hang gliders already on the ground at the sail plane port beneath us. Looks like a party so I started to spin down as well. It was a long way down considering we had just gotten back to cloud base. It was my best scoring day so far. As long as it dosn't get thrown out on protest.

It was a fun day of flying too bad it had to be cut short.

Irish blog: the translation

The Irish blog is even better when you know the whole story. If you follow the Oz report, you will know that a Hungarian pilot had his sporting licence pulled by the FAI and he couldn't fly. The reason they pulled his licence was for fighting on launch at two other competitions. After being warned the first time and signing a paper stating he would be have he did it again. The fight was with Israli pilot Amir (with the under wear on his head. Amir had some sort of relation ship with the hungarian pilots wife. She is a dental assistant.

Julia flew into unlandable terain and had to land in the tree's, Warren followed her blindly also having to land in the trees.

Another off day

They sent us Aspes today expecting the winds to go west. They were blowing hard over the back when we arrived on launch and I was slow to set up. The wind did drop off and cycle up but was never very good and it wasn't very soarable so pilots were in no hurry to launch any way. After several hours on the hill the day was finally called and we broke down and drove home. Hopefully we fly tomorrow.

Back to the competition!

Every one was glad to get back to flying today. The forecast was for strong climbs, light winds and 3000 meter cloud base. Sounds perfect! The task committee called for a 166km FAI triangle. Launch opened at 12:45 and the first start was 2:00. Some pilots didn't want to launch and hang around that long.

It's a good idea to get off Chabre early as the winds tend to go west in the after noon. I'm way back in the ordered launch so I don't have a huge wait for the start. The start circle is only 2km away from launch so you don't need a lot of time to get in position. I had a good launch and found good lift off to the right of launch. I could see a huge group of pilots pasted up against cloud base at the edge of the start circle. I tried to take slow climbs and stayed over launch to avoid the mess at edge of the start circle. I had forty minutes to wait for the first start and was just having a pleasant flight. I was watching the clock to try and time getting into optimal position for the first start with out spending a lot of time in the mess at the edge of the start circle. Cloud base turned out to be 2300 meters sadly and it wasn't too hard to get to base. Five minutes before the start I was getting in a panic to find some lift and get to base. I joined a couple other pilots 1.2km from the edge of the start circle in a strong climb. I wanted to be closer but this was going to have to do. With two minutes to the first start it looked like the entire field was charging in under us. They had lost their lift and now were 700' below us. With less than a minute to the start and 1km away I hit base. This was going to work out perfect. A large group headed on course and I was near the top with lots of guys lower and out in front of me. The fast guys were already leaving us behind after the first thermal. With so many guys on course the faster guys hit the lift out front and climb above the mess behind them and I arrive trying to avoid hitting other pilots and not climbing efficiently. We thin out a bit but I get the first turn point in good time. I want to stay high with the low cloud base but soon after the turn point I'm low and alone. Unable to get back up I land early.

I am meet by a very pleasant farmer and two very excited children. We tried our best to communicate but no one seems to speak English here and my French sucks. I feel like I'm missing out because as I've said before one of the really cool things about flying xc is meeting interesting people. The invited me in for a drink and we tried to have a conversation but sadly it was mostly just awkward silence. I think the French are missing out by refusing to speak English just as I missed out today not being able to talk to some very kind people. I have been told the younger generation is learning English.

This is where I landed today.

Another painting

This is another really cool painting.

Cheese.

I have dinner at the campground every night and the food is excellent. It's a four course meal with an appetizer, main course, cheese and dessert. Normally they bring five to seven kinds of cheese and drop what would be, I'm guessing, about $100 worth of cheese in Canada on the table for five or six people. I will let my cheese expert let me know what she thinks this plate would be worth. Oh and of course plenty of wine and coffee.

More paintings.

I would like to talk to the artist and ask the inspiration for these paintings.

Local artist.

Some paintings are displayed at meet head quarters. I really like these paintings. My understanding is they are for sale. I don't know how much but if they are affordable and I can figure out how to get it home I may buy one. If any one is intersted let me know and I can enquire about the cost.

I think this is my favorite.

This one is also very cool.

Another weather day.

Too windy today so we didn't even bother going up to launch. Tomorrow looks good and I've heard we should have some very good day's ahead of us.

I felt they called the day a little early yesturday but it turned out to be the right call and great timing. Most of the pilots were able to launch and land at the campsite. Here is a short video of some of the people landing after me.

It was pouring rain as the pilots behind me came into land yesturday. I was very impressed with most landings considering the pounding rain.

The Irish blog.

I've had the pleasure of sharing the offical retrieve with the Irish team great bunch of guys and a very entertaining blog. http://www.irish-hg-worlds-2009.blogspot.com/ . Also see www.ozreport.com for more coverage and a list of the other bloggers.

Short and Sweet.

The forecast was for over development and thunder showers today so we rushed to get off early. A short 100km task was called but as the clouds got darker they cancelled the day and pilots launched to free fly. I was towards the back of launch so was one of the last that choose to launch. The launch is steep off the north side of Chabre and with a good breeze blowing in take off was easy. I headed down the ridge and started looking for the camp ground. Every one seems to know the name of every peek with in two hundred miles and I have no idea which way is north. I find myself totaly lost here. The camp ground was easy to find as many had already landed and dozens were circling over head. The air was smooth and it was very pleasant flight. I slotted my self in with the other half dozen pilots on final approach and put in a perfect landing near the edge of the feild so I wouldn't have to far to get out of the way. With 100 gliders in the landing feild it takes up about a third of the landing area. So a some what small feild is made even smaller. Not only was it raining gliders it started raining hard less than a minute after I touched down. I was very impress with how well evey one was landing in the down pour. Only one broken down tube. Most landings were very good. Hopefully we have some better days ahead.

Task Two

The forecast for today was for a chance of thunder storms in the high mountains late in the day and west winds. The task was a 126km out and return down the valley to give pilots a chance to stay out of any possible over development. Cloud base was forecast to be 2500m and turned out to be 3000m.

I didn’t get a great start and headed on course five minutes after the first start. Taking the extra height turned out to be a good idea as the strategy for the day would be to stay high. I found a couple good climbs on my own and soon started passing pilots struggling low. I teamed up with a couple other pilots and we were going not bad. We were keeping just a head of a gaggle charging hard from behind us. It is so cool to see an armada of gliders charging up from behind while climbing out above them. The fast gaggle was catching up but I pushed out to try and stay a head. I ended up on my own at 600’ over the ground when I finally found strong lift to get me back up. I would flounder around for a long time with many other pilots trying to get to cloud base before heading out into the blue for the turn point. I finally got back to cloud base and headed to the second turn point 14km away. I found some strong lift out in the blue and topped up to make sure I stayed high. As I approached the turn point I watched two pilots, one head on course and one head back to the clouds we just came from. Both were much lower and neither was doing great. I decided to head down the course line and hit the dirt.

I need to try and stick with other pilots as it can be really hard on your own.

More photos.

Bill Moyes and Rob

Geroff and Denis doing sprog mesurments.

Setting up to get messured.


Manfred and Flip Civl presidnet.

Davis doing the oz report.

Rob and Julia Dutch and Russian.

Opening parade.

This was where the parade ended and they gave speaches to start the championships.

Task One.

Today's task was 161km triangle back to the camp ground. I was near the back of my line but got into the air and had a nice climb up to cloud base in time for the second start. I made a small mistake at the start and let the gaggle get a head of me when I should have been with them. I had an easy go for the first 50km when it got tricky. I struggled to the second turn point and landed soon after with about 10 other pilots. I made it about 70km. I will try to stick with the gaggle a little better tomorrow.

Jeff O'brian took the second start as well and sound like he won the day. This will be a huge upset. I don't think any one would have given Jeff much of a chance with what many consider the best feild ever assembled for a hang gliding comp. Hopefully he can keep himself near the top of the standings. We had a couple of mishaps today but I don't think any one was injured.

The first day of any comp is normally really bad for me so if I can improve on today I will be happy with my results.

Getting ready

I will make a quick post while the internet is working. The Danish team finally arrived at the air port to pick me up after fighting traffic. They are a great bunch of guys and I hope I can talk them into coming to Canada to return the favor some time.

I've arrived in Larange and managed to buy a tent and I'm now camping in the Netherlands. Got my glider back together and spent the better part of an afternoon waiting to get my spogs measured. As far as I know thier has been no issues with the sprog measurements. I need to down load way points and get a phone but after that should be ready to go. The forcast is wind over the next few day's so not likely to be flying soon. Opening cerimonys today. Can't wait to get flying.

I'll post picutes soon.

On the road.

Well I have lots of time to blog just had to figure out a little German and the computer key boards here.

I was surprised at the number of people at the Calgary air port and had to do the air port 200 yard dash as they were calling out my name to board the flight. I've never taken more than five minutes to get through security in Calgary and I stood in line for 20. At least I wasn't the last one on the plane.

Once in Vancouver Christine was all ready circling waiting for me to arrive. Thanks for dropping my glider off for me Chrissy! Once I found out where the Air Berlin check in was I headed over and the line was already long 4 1\2 hrs before the flight. ze Germans like to be early.

Check in was a breeze as the Jeff's had already paved the way on Monday. I had the same staff to deal with so they knew what they needed to do. After paying the $40 over size baggage fee, we took my glider out to the curb where a truck was brought up to take it out to the plane. A baggage handler was instructed to ride in the truck to hold the glider. They must have figured this out after the Jeff's gliders fell off the truck a few times. The Air Berlin staff was very accommodating. I was told my glider had been loaded on the plane when I boarded.

Arriving in Duessel Dorf I found my glider in what appears to be good shape. Another couple was picking up their bike and asked what I paid to have my glider shipped with me. "$40" I responded. Their jaw hit the floor, "we paid $200 for the bike" which is considerably smaller that my glider. I explained they had special pricing for selected sporting item's. I guess bikes aren't really a sport. Once the baggage carousel stopped my harness was still no where to be seen and every one was gone. I've never had any luggage lost on me before and was not thrilled that this would be the first time. The glider isn't much good if I don't have a harness. The customer service girl was very pleasant and assured me they would ship it to me when it was located. That's not going to help me next week. I told her I would be at the airport all day waiting for my ride. She suggested checking back in a couple of hours. Sure enough two hours later I tracked her down and they had found it. Thank god! Luck is on my side so far.

Now I'm just waiting for the Danish team to pick me up in a few hours and we're off to France. I'll be glad when I can lay down and sleep....tomorrow.

Relearning my boy scout lessons.

Be prepared! I've been flying for ten years and flying cross country for the last eight. I should have learned these lessons years ago.

John Jensen had a couple of students that were doing their first truck tows and asked if I would do a couple of tandems with some other students. He was considering starting a little later than Saturday but I suggested that we start early as the soaring forecast was for the day to turn on early. We got out to the tow site about 8:30 and got towing about 9:00. After we got the guys off on their first tows I set up the tandem glider to do my tandems.

The wind was out of the east with an occasional south breeze. The forecast was for north winds on the ground and upper winds from the west. I got a low tow with my first passenger but managed to find some lift and climbed out to 7000' at 11:00am. The lift was smooth and I had no trouble staying up with my light passenger. It was time to land so I could get going on my own. After another short flight with my second passenger I was anxious to get my glider set up and get going.

The wind was now out of the south. Mike and Steve towed up first. I had a chat with John and Moore before to make a plan for the day. I suggested Empress as a goal for the day with the upper winds forecast to be straight out of the west. John questioned the wisdom of this goal as the pilots in air were drifting north. The area from Bassano to Medicine Hat was supposed to have very poor lift. We were on the edge of it and it looked good if we went straight east or better yet head north a little. I was confident that the west winds would kick in and empress would be a good goal. I suggested going north with the drift and head east when you hit the west winds as conditions should be even better a little north of us. The last thing I mentioned was you should get 8000' to 9000' over the tow road and upwards of 14,000' later as you head east.

Considering this last statement I don't know what I was thinking as I suited up to go. I dropped one layer and wore just my cutters instead of my heavy winter gloves. I looked at my camel back in the back seat of my truck opting not to bother taking it with me. It would have been a good idea to have something to eat before taking off too.

I towed up to 1500' under pressure I was sure was going to break my week link. The guys are just learning to tow and I'm happy if I get towed high enough to get away. I found some scrappy lift and started drifting north. I wasn't getting up and just getting further away so I headed back to the tow road for a relight. I found solid lift 700' off the deck and climbed out to 7000'. The lift wasn't great and I wasn't getting very high. I went on glide and almost landed at Standard. I hung on over a ridge just north of town. I finally got a good climb as a huge dust devil started forming just below me. I topped it out and was on my way.

I was just south of the Red Deer river when the wind turned west. I headed east and got high just before crossing the river. The lift was strong up high but tough when you got low. I was climbing over 11,000' and freezing my ass off. Glides were great up high but I was dropping like a stone once under 8000'. At least I would stop shivering. Their was plenty of broken lift down low which I used to stay off the ground in order to find the good lift to get me back to cloud base. I was heading on glide at 11,000' as I couldn't stand the cold. I left one thermal and flying at trim climbed over 12,000' at 1200 ft/min. I wasn't worried about cloud suck as the clouds were spread out and not very big. I think cloud base was around 14,000'.

I was starting to feel a little air sick. After four hours in the air the cold and dehydration was taking over. I'd had enough and started scanning for a good place to land. When I went on glide I spotted a little town to my north east. I headed towards town thinking I could just make it. I was about eight km out when I his some lift. I took it up 1000' to give me enough height to scope out the best place to land. I scanned the town looking for some place I might be able to get something to eat. I spotted the golf course and figured they should have food in the club house.

I landed right next to club house exhausted and frozen. Before I was unhooked I had a glass of water and ordered something to eat. This was definitely the right place to land. The people in Oyen are some of the most hospitable I have meet any where. They did every thing they could to help warm me up and feed me. Every one was interested in hearing about my flight and kept me company until my ride arrived.

I have to thank Moore for picking me up once again. This is not the first time he has picked me up after a long XC flight. No one knows the country better and he's always great to visit with on the long drive home. Not only did he make a six hour round trip drive to pick me up he also brought his own vehicle so it didn't cost me a fortune for gas in my truck. Thanks again Moore your the best.

The friendly staff at the Oyen golf club. I really recomend landing there.

New personal best distance.

With a great looking soaring forcast I wanted to get an early start. I was the first one to tow up at 12:30. I towed up into a blue sky with nice looking clouds to the north. I got under a the only wispy cloud just starting to form over the tow road. I climbed to 9000' and headed off to the north. Leaving early and flying into the blue I started off cautious. Turns out I didn't to as their was plenty of lift already.

As I crossed over the Red Deer river a large cloud started devloping from the west and was shading the ground below me. I was able find good lift in the shade and got high again before flying back into the sunshine.

I got really low over Big Valley. I spotted a ridge on the west side of town and managed to gain some height to stay in the air. I continued north looking for better lift to get me going again. At about a thousand feet just north of Big Valley I hit my best climb of the day. I flew straight into the core and climbed at 1000 ft/min all the way to 11 000'. When I pulled out I had the bar stuffed and still climbing. I ran until I got away from the lift. After that I stared leaving at 10,000'. That's getting back in the game in a hurry.

The first time I recognized where I was from the air since I crossed the Red Deer river, was when I was climbing over Stettler. I know the city quite well and knew I was close my longest open distance flight. I was cruzing along nicely thinking it would be great to fly to Double Dam. This is where the Miles in May comp. started and our prefered tow site in northern Alberta. I didn't think I was there yet but saw a little town on the high way in a river valley I was flying over. I started looking at the ridge trying to find our ridge soaring site. I headed a little east looking for the golf course. Scanning for the pavement heading east from highway 56 I was sure I wasn't far enough yet. I was low and needed to be looking for lift not trying to figure out where I was. Now I was looking for a landing field. I landed after 4 1/2 hrs 200km from take off.

Leif was towing guys from Double Dam just 10km from where I landed. They ended up flying 146km further north. Cal came and picked me up after he was retrieved and drove me back to Calgary. Nothing like flying 200km to another flying site and have your buddys there drive you home. Micheal landed in Viking 3hrs after I landed for a distance of 250km. What a great day.