2011 Rar Race - Day 1 - Task 1

The weather improved today and it was a fun day of flying.  Classic Woodrat convergence and occasional snotty air, but the afternoon valley winds that everyone was waiting for, never materialized. 

This year the Rat Race has two races running concurrently - The SPRINT race and the RAT RACE.  The SPRINT task was 19K and the Rat Race was 59K.  I am flying the longer tasks.   The start cylinder was across the valley and an early start was important.  The launch cue was very slow for quite a while and I got a late launch and paid for it with a start at least 10-15 minutes behind the lead gaggle.  No worries - Lots of company.  The first 30km of the flight went well and I was able to make up a bit of time without getting myself into a hole or too alone.  The lift was dependable and strong with the occasional slapping around in the convergence. 

After crossing back from Woodrat Mtn. to Rabies for the last push into Sugarloaf Mtn. I was hoping that I was early enough to avoid the strong North or West that had a chance of developing.  No strong winds were encountered, but there were some seriously sinking areas the went of for an eternity.  Sink of 2000 to 2400'/min. were not uncommon and put me in the position of not wanting to push bar because the wing was fluttering in the trash, but needing to push it just to escape the sink.

I came across the valley on a direct line to goal 12 miles away, and I had some company.  We all had plans that varied enough that we got a good sampling of the air, but unfortunately none of us were finding lift.  On the West side of the valley I found some minor lift while surfing closer to the trees that I like and ended in the flats at the mouth of the final valley to goal.   I joined Hayden and we worked slowly towards goal - he with about 400' more to work with.  I eventually needed to cross one finger while I had the altitude to make it and Hayden was able to contact a nice climb, behind me, just after I left him.  He made it to goal.  I made it to goal, but it was the SPRINT race goal - 5 miles short of my intended destination.  At least there was beer at my LZ ;-)

I placed 22nd overall and 9th in Serial class.  Not a great start but I'm having fun.  Monday looks good, so we can expect another good one.  Results are online at http://flyxc.org/2011RatRace.html - here's the top 5:

1. Farmer
2. Kansas
3. Eric Reed
4. Nick Greece
5. Josh Cohn

More later -
Tim

Exhibit A

For many who view paragliders, they seem like big, slow jellyfish - unable to do precise and exciting things.  But for those who have the skills and cajones to do acro, these little buggers can do a lot.

Exhibit A -

Showtime from francois ragoski on Vimeo.


Fly Safe  -

Tim

Good flying going on in Dunlap -

A number of NorCal folks headed to Dunlap this weekend and conditions were reasonably good compared to Woodrat, OR and here on the coast, where the winds were howling. I was unable to get to Dunlap due to work commitments.

On Saturday Josh Cohn, on his new Ozone R11, flew South well beyond the distance anyone prior had flown - almost to Bakersfield.

Monday, a day with only 4000-5000' top of lift in the valley, was the day everyone was heading back to the Bay Area after flying.

Josh decided to fly.   He launched around 11AM and flew for almost 7 hours and covered around 85 miles. 

Two great flights - setting site records.   Nice flying Josh!  His Track on Leonardo can be viewed here: http://paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/458312




The California distance record is held by Dean Stratton - 147 miles from Walt's Point in the Owens, North into Nevada.

Tim

PWC Korea

Big Congratulations go out to Jack Brown, who won the PWC last week in Korea. His consistency allowed him to top the results in the two-task event.

Jack has really put a lot of effort and time into his flying in the last two years and the results speak for themselves. Jack(USA #3) joins USA #1 Brad Gunnuscio, #2 Josh Cohn, and U.S. Female pilot Melanie Pfister to make up the US World Team. Unfortunately #4 Nick Greece, won't make it since only 3 + 1 spots were available this year.

The above was edited after the straight scoop was provided by Nick Greece

Here's a great video about the Korean PWC event -

To donate to the US World Team Fund please visit http://usparaglidingteam.org/

Here's another great video showing the views and experience of high-performance paragliding -

Vol test Cam Annecy avril from Jean-Mi ARA on Vimeo.

Fly Safe -
Tim

Serial v. Open Class Revisited

The annual discussion flurry about "Serial V. Open Class Competitions" has flared up this month. . . The ignition point was a letter of resignation from Mark Hayman to Brit team leader Kitt Rudd. In it Mark criticized CIVL for making banal rule changes that essentially did little to improve safety.

Mark writes: “I know, living in the real world, that every time I attach an uncertified two-line glider to my body I am increasing my risk substantially of having an accident over flying a certified wing.”

Mark was participating in Valle de Bravo in 2009 when he watched Stefan Schmoker wrestle with a low collapse and make a fatal impact.  Mark also had a brush with mortality when he had a major event on his R10.2 that included lines wrapping around his neck as he descended under his reserve.

His message has been loud and clear. . . and, as many times happens when one raises the flag of caution, his message seems at times, to be somewhat overstated -  Perhaps so his voice is heard by the resistant masses of enthusiastic pilots who enjoy the sport as it is.

R10.2 line plan

Marks' main point seems to be that the new crop of 2-liner wings are being accepted by CIVL, and being flown by every wanna-be comp pilot, with only a superficial examination of the flying characteristics of these wings.  The prevailing views seem to be that the current crop of 2-liners (essentially a row of A-lines at approximately 25-30% chord - and B-lines at 60% chord) are very collapse resistant when flown well.  The problems become apparent after the wing goes away - the recovery characteristics are just plain bad.  Where as an EN-D (certified) glider is required to recover with proper pilot input, the 'open-class' uncertified wings aren't required to demonstrate recovery.   It's not uncommon to hear of 2000'+ cascades before the wing recovers or the excitement is terminated in a reserve toss.  Mark is simply asking, as am I, IS THIS REALLY THE KIND OF AIRCRAFT BEHAVIOR THAT WE WANT TO PROMOTE?

I've been flying a long time.  I've flown all kinds of aircraft.  But I've always known that if the aircraft departed from "normal flight attitudes" that I could recover without the need to bail-out.  Even the homebuilts - the early fiberglass competition sailplanes that had marginal stability - the 2nd generation swept-wing jets that required 'skills' - they all displayed a required, predictable level of safety and handling.  Mark's primary message is that this is not the case when flying the open-class wings of the last 2 years.

The argument to Mark's point, is that the "good" pilots have no problem on the new wings.  I agree that with the right set of skill, judgment, and luck a good pilot can successfully fly the new wings without incident.  But is that a healthy attitude when considering the sport as a whole?  Let's look at US pylon racing in the 1930s - Speed and performance ruled - The good pilots lived the longest, but even they couldn't fly aircraft that had negative stability and couldn't survive minor equipment failures without fatal consequences.  To compete with the fastest "good" pilots, many other pilots flew similar *dangerous* aircraft and died trying.  Was that the fault of the pilots, or the system that allowed dangerous machines in the air and required others to compete on that "level" playing field?


Pylon races, in spite of their popularity, didn't survive the carnage of 1933 - 1940 and the interuption of a couple of world wars.  Now the few races that are staged in the US are very highly regulated and safety is highly regarded.

So the question becomes one of scale and philosophy.  How many accidents/incidents are to occur before Mark's cautionary message becomes valid?  In my case, he's preaching to the choir. 

In a parallel logic path, the DHV in Germany is making some important moves that may get the parade moving in the right direction. Jorge Ewald translates -

From a post on the German Forum by Ulrich Prinz:

* DHV recognizes the harmonic community of Serial and Open Class pilots in Germany as a good model that may be applicable for FAI-1 events as well: Introduce a Serial class in parallel, crown a Serial Class World Champion. This would prevent pilots from lower qualification countries from giving in to the temptation to fly in the Open class, just to remain competitive. Hence the DHV will now work on the international level to introduce the Serial Class in parallel, rather than to get rid of the Open class. [which is a complete paradigm change, as far as I can see. Great, Mark Hayman - given he stays away from bikes and stairwells long enough to heal - may have a glorious come-back. Mads and other PWC old-timers may feel like after an involuntary ride in a De Lorean, though...]

* DHV (especially Charlie Jöst, their president) will task the DHV technical department with finding new test criteria for competition wings (in collaboration with the other testing houses). This because it is now understood that today's testing criteria are not applicable to competition wings, which were built for actively piloting pilots

It's great to see a European entity, with an official acronym, working in a reasonable fashion to actually make some positive changes in the way Serial class is viewed.  Stay Tuned!

Tim

News Item Oddities

I must admit, I'm a bit biased against Powered Paraglider pilots. . . Most of the ones I've met have been, well, a bit, um . . . odd.  They are the recumbent bike riders of paragliding.  A few of them have insisted on the title, "Captain" or "Super-(insert-name)" and generally, they have not impressed me with their flying judgement nor people skills.  But that bias aside, I'm betting you'll wonder what this guy was thinking - especially his choice of flying attire.

From the Buenos Aires Herald:

A man was arrested in Puerto Madero this morning, after having managed to paraglide around the city centre for a number of minutes, attracting the attention those pacing the streets, Naval Command officials reported (PNA).
A spokesman for the PNA said that “around 9AM this morning a man landed after paragliding and was swiftly arrested by PNA agents.”
“The paraglider managed to fly for a fair few minutes around the centre of Buenos Aires, including over 9 de Julio avenue, Teatro Colón, San Telmo and finally landing in Puerto Madero,” the source added.
Hernán Pitocco, the sportsman in question, said in an interview that he took off from Venezuela and Belgrano streets where there is a little park. He mentioned that the “glider isn’t regulated,” and furthered that, “at no point was I endangering the lives of others.”

I've spent quite a bit of time walking the Avenues of BA and wonder what this guy was thinking.  There is very little open space in that city and LOTS of wires, but he managed to find a way to get in the air and back down.  Maybe he's a dapper lawyer whose car wouldn't start that morning, so he decided to take the ole' Powered PG to work.

One of the few open areas in the city.

Apparently Hernan is a skilled acro pilot who was participating in some kind of Red Bull 'event' over the city.  Here is some video of his short flight - I think I can see why the authorities were concerned.  No matter how you present it, this isn't good for our sport.  The problem with PPG is that they can exhibit their stupidities over large metro areas, over crowded beaches, or over events, souring the taste of the sport to many, in one flight.

Here's a video of his takeoff:  According to Ad Age, Red Bull was filming an ad where a businessman was stuck in traffic and decided to fly above the traffic - after all, "Red Bull Gives You Wings."
Bad use of judgement by the Red Bull Producers in my opinion.  How do you feel about this abuse of the "publicity machine"?
Y'all fly safe out there.
Tim

NorCal XC League - Dunlap - April 2011

In his new book on XC competition flying, “Flying Rags to Glory,” Mads Syndergaard writes extensively about the subconscious and its ability to process more information and react many times faster than the conscious mind. This weekend, at the first gathering of the NorCal XC League in Dunlap, CA, I tried my best to use the principles mentioned in the article, with some success. I also proved that there is a bone-headed, impetuous, 25-yr-old lurking inside this brain that I need to get the reins on.

Waiting for a cycle at launch - Photo by Bad Patrick

Saturday we assembled on launch and Jug lead an informative pilot briefing. Over 30 pilots from All over California, Colorado, and more than a handful of foreign pilots were in attendance. Notably missing was Eric Reed who had made an epic vol bivuac journey through the entire length of Nepal and was finally released from a month of house arrest in Sikkim, India, this weekend, after all charges regarding “permits” were dismissed.

Cloudbase was 1000‘ above launch, so Jug built a short task that kept the pilots within the Dunlap valley and had 3 valley crossings. I launched early and explored the area while feeling out any conditions that might be hazardous. It was a buoyant day with slow climbs but dependable lift. The start went well and I made it to Hill 49917 and Last Chance in the lead gaggle. I got a bit low at last chance before finding lift and I watched Josh and his armada of GTOs heading back to the ridge to tank-up before the crossing to Granny’s Knob.

Note the hard right turn to "Damn Kitty"

As I climbed to near cloudbase, I caught a glimpse of a bird circling in lift West of my position (on a direct line to Granny’s) and decided to head directly to Granny’s. I had company as Natalia, Max and I headed out on a low-percentage glide on course. Our move paid off as we contacted some nice lift near Granny’s and we tagged the fix and glided across the valley to the ridge at launch, before the other gaggle had headed out for Granny’s. When we climbed up at the ridge I was feeling pretty good and was contemplating the best route at the next crux in the route - the glide to Airstrip. . . but I had completely forgotten about the need to tag Big Cat on the way to Airstrip. I rolled out and pushed some bar, drank my water and futzed around to get a granola bar out of my pocket, when I noticed my 5020 pointing 90 degrees to the right of my heading - “OH Fudge!” - I had spaced on Big Cat. This blunder cost me dearly and was the beginning of the end for me. I tagged the (now renamed) Damn Kitty turnpoint and, instead of taking a deep breath and reminding myself to reassess my situation, turned to cross the valley to Airstrip. This move was my undoing as I arrived with very little altitude at Granny’s with which to find a thermal. I was low, alone, and whether I was leading or not, I was in terrible shape. The flight was extended with short, trashy, drifty climbs, but soon ended in the valley with two turnpoints to go.

I should not have let this blunder cost me as much as it eventually did. I should have taken a cleansing breath, marveled at the beauty of nature, and taken the time necessary to climb on the ridge and make a sensible crossing. I also had completely missed the cues that the day had matured and the winds had picked-up from the West.

Note to self - When you screw-up, reassess and recover intelligently.

Three pilots made it to goal and deserve congrats for using the day well. Results for day one are HERE.

A view of launch on Saturday morning.

On Sunday the early cloudbase was lower and we considered doing the same task as Saturday’s. A ‘do-over’ was popular last year since it allowed those of us who had mental lapses to refly the same task. As the sun warmed the valley, cloudbase rose substantially and we decided a task similar to the first 3 waypoints on Sat with a run down to Sand Creek and back to the pizza place in Squaw Valley was doable. I launched early and found the lift to be very weak and sporadic. I eventually found some lift on the correct edge of the start cylinder about 5 min. before the start. The climb took me away from the cylinder and when the start time came I was forced to penetrate back to the start against the traffic of, what seemed like 25 wings, all passing me on their way to the first turnpoint.

I made the start cylinder and caught a good climb which allowed me to get back into the hunt. By the time I had hit the first two turnpoints I was running just behind Josh and was feeling good. The crossing from Granny’s to Big Cat (Damn Kitty) went very badly for me and I spent the last 35 minutes of my flight trying to put together a decent climb on the ridge behind Damn Kitty. I eventually landed at the St. Nicolas ranch in defeat.

Meanwhile Jug and Alex were the only two pilots to get beyond the ranger station and they eventually landed in the Sand Creek area. Josh landed at the Ranger Station, no doubt in disgust that I had blown it so bad in the crossing ;-)

Congrats to Jug and Alex for the best flights of the day! Sunday's results are HERE.

It was a great weekend with many pilots in the air and many first-timers. There was very little drama and no incidents.

My personal struggle to fly well but not take stupid, low-percentage risks will be foremost on my mind next month. I need to take Mads’ advice and listen to my subconscious (The Force, if you will) but temper the crazy 25-yr.-old that wants to dash around the course without the intelligence to fly with my buddies and not venture out on my own early in the task. I need to mature as a XC pilot. When I was a kid I wanted to be a pilot when I grew up.  Since then I've heard it said that, “You can either be a pilot OR grow up . . . but not both.”

Well, I’m going to try.

Fly Safe -

Tim

Himalayan Odyssey 2011 - Update - Free!

Good news from Eric's Facebook post -

Himalayan Odyssey - Update

A recent dispatch from Antoine Laurens indicates things are going well for the guys.  He writes:

The other day , i had a call with Brad….
First of all, they are fine, and they are expecting out of Sikkim very soon…Maybe , he will be able to make it at the Ghana Festival.
Brad and Eric were participating at a flying festival, organised by local Sikkim pilots, and I supposed, they were a bit the “stars”. They really enjoyed, as many pilots came, especially from Nepal for the venue.
So, everything is going well, and it s again only a timing question…
their case are in the hands of Politics…Mainly, their  relation with Sikkim police is very good and they are treated like special guests.
wish you good luck guys and hopefully, you ll make it out soon.

 Good Luck Brad and Eric!
Tim

Cuesta Flight 4/8/11

Driving past Cayucos at 11 am

The XC Skies forecast models all said Friday might be sporty so I headed up to Cuesta for some rodeo action.  On the way to the mountain I snapped a couple of shots along the coast.

The development was already fairly active by 10:30 so I knew it wasn't a question IF it would overdevelop, but WHEN.    

Ready for aviation on launch at Cuesta

The conditions at the hill were looking good, with nice strong cycles blowing up launch, but cloudbase was only about 1500' over launch.  The clouds in the gap across the grade were even lower.  I talked myself into thinking the base would go up when the temps increased and proceeded to set up my gear.   Today I used all the goodies - hand warmers, good gloves, balaclava, and I was still cold.

The flight wasn't spectacular but it was quite interesting as I negotiated my way along course (up wind since that route was clearer) around and often through graupel.

Some might say that today would have been a good day to stay on the hill - If my timing hadn't been what it was, I might agree, but today was all about timing.  I was there early enough to get in the air before life got complicated with dark cells over the launch.  I also was in the air before it got gusty on the ridge.  Visibility was good and the big clouds weren't an issue until later in the flight, when I flew into a large bit of precipitation that covered me and my gear with graupel.  Other than that bit-o-fun the flight was enjoyable and interesting.

Today was my first experiment with my Helmet Hero HD camera and the imovie software that came with  my new Apple MacBook Pro.  I hope you enjoy the bit of perspective that a half mile of altitude and very little protection from the elements can provide.  The 90 minute flight has been trimmed to a little less than 11 minutes.
 
Cuesta flight from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.
A chilly flight with some overdevelopment and precip. It was more fun than it looks!


EDIT - Here's my flight track - http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/430033

Tim

2011 U.S. Paragliding Team Fund-Raising

The U.S. Paragliding Team Inc. is a non-profit corp. set up to help subsidize the expenses of our U.S. PG team.  They have made it easy to make tax-deductible donations to the team and the fund raising has begun.

The team consists of Brad Gunnuscio, Josh Cohn, Jack Brown, Nick Greece, and Meredyth Molocsay.  Team Leader is Rob Sporrer assisted by Jeff Huey.  Our standing in the international stage has been improving over the last few years and these pilots are the standouts in US Paragliding and responsible for much of the improvements in our US ranking. 

If each of us threw $20 in the pot it would take a large bite out of the costs and overhead incurred by the team as it attends competitions in Spain this Summer.  To make a tax-deductible donation go to www.usparaglidingteam.org and click the 'donate' link.

Fly Safe -
Tim

Himalayan Odyssey 2011 - Update - Not so bad . . .

Killing time in Sikkim.  Photo from Eric's Facebook post.

The latest news out of Sikkim is good, relatively.  The guys are comfortably under house arrest.  They have been ensnared in a kind of "catch 22" bit of red tape, but they are optimistic about the final outcome.

For a complete update see this XC article with the latest info.  It clears up the timeline and shows the complete lack of intent by these two pilots to flaunt the laws of the area. http://www.xcmag.com/2011/03/himalayan-odyssey-pair-bailed/.

And here is the latest from the HO team blog - http://himalayanodyssey.org/blog/?p=569

Tim

Himalayan Odyssey 2011 - Update - Arrested ?!

The news out of India is a bit disturbing.   According to the Telegraph, out of Calcutta, Eric and Brad have been arrested in the small, land-locked, Indian state of Sikkim.  According to the article in the Telegraph,  the guys, "were arrested yesterday in Sikkim for travelling to the strategic border state without the inner-line permits mandatory for foreigners. The two had valid passports and visas for entering India. Preliminary reports suggest they flew in without the permits because of a misunderstanding."  

With officiousness, that is endemic in India, "The foreigners were found roaming in a bazaar in Uttarey, a town in West district in Sikkim. They were picked up by the police after they failed to produce the permits.

Deputy inspector-general of police N. Sridhar Rao said the two Americans had used paragliders to sail into Sikkim and had landed on the flat terrain of Dhaap, near Uttarey and close to the India-Nepal border, on March 14." . . .

"The DIG said foreigners must take the permits from check-posts at Rangpo and Melli, the two main points of entry into Sikkim. “Neither Reed nor Sander had the permits and they were charged with entering Sikkim illegally.”

They have been charged under the Foreigners Act for not carrying documents necessary to enter restricted areas in the country. Police officers said that if convicted, they could be jailed between two and eight years and/or fined Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000."

So - The guys have set the bar exceptionally high, by flying from Himachal Pradesh, across the length of Nepal to land in the land-locked Indian state of Sikkim.  In doing this epic feat the pilots, who have valid Indian Visas, failed to check in for permits at check-posts at Rangpo or Melli. These border check-posts are on roads - not an option for those who chose to vol biv through the Himalaya. . . What's an adventurer to do?

Let's hope this, like most official SNAFUs in India, can be remedied with a simple monetary transaction.  And please don't let this minor bureaucratic hurdle eclipse what they have accomplished.  It's impressive - It's inspiring - and I'll be the first to pony up $100 to bail them out of the Indian hoosegow.
Tim.

Himalayan Odyssey 2011

At this very moment, a couple of paraglider pilots are doing something special. They are truly exploring areas of Western Nepal that have not been seen from their perspective - or with the degree of difficulty.

I knew Bay Area pilot, Eric Reed was headed to India for the trip last month, but I had not stayed on top of events because frankly, these guys aren't the 'PR' kinda guys. I tuned in today to find that Brad Sander and Eric are the only pilots continuing East on their quest to "Vol Bivouac" from Himachal Pradesh, in Northern India, across Nepal to Pelling, Sikkim, India. I can (and do) only imagin the amazing scenery and epic struggles as they fly-hike-camp-repeat their way across the most imposingly beautiful terrain on the planet.



View Himalayan Odyssey Paragliding Expedition Route in a larger map

This is serious adventure and I wish I was there. To stay tuned, go to http://www.himalayanodyssey.org/ and explore their site -

Eric Reed's Track - Click image for larger view

The live-tracks are using SPOT units to broadcast position information. I am very glad to see that these units are working reliably in obviously extreme conditions. I recommend SPOT units for anybody flying XC.

Here is Eric's Live-Tracking Page, which can be viewed at http://www.himalayanodyssey.org/spot_eric.html


Good luck Brad and Eric! I'll buy the beer to lubricate the best stories this summer.

Tim

Cayucos 3/5/11

Fun Day at Cayucos - We had a fairly strong East until 1PM then it came in from the ocean with some convergence.  I launched early and paid for it with a short extended sled-ride.  Jack launched a bit later and got teased with some lift along the highway.  I drove Jack up to his car and decided to fly again.  The winds were much brisker and Northy.   I launched and got hammered until contacting some good convergence over highway 1.

Coming if for landing.
Photo by Buzz Morasca

Coming if for landing.
Photo by Buzz Morasca
Click for larger photo

After 40 minutes or so of flying along the shear zone, I landed on the beach.  As I came in for landing, Buzz caught me with his camera.  Thanks for the cool shots Buzz!

Tim

Winds of Change

It's the off-season in the Northern Hemisphere and there is a noticeable shift in the winds.  This competition season will be interesting at worst and exciting at best - There are many changes coming this year.

CIVL Plenary 2011
Our Sport is evolving.  As always, change brings with it some insecurity and controversy.  What are the unintended consequences of good-intentioned rules and regulation?   The PMA, DHV, and BHPA all are proposing changes to the rules at CAT 1 competitions that would restrict the use of prototypes and/or uncertified wings.  The logic is that there are meaningful minimum safety certifications required for harnesses, helmets, and reserve parachutes - How can we possibly exempt the wings from all but the minimum inspections while saying that we are trying to increase safety?  And I must say, I agree with this logic. . . although I do worry about unintended consequences . . .

It's important to ask questions to define and weigh a couple of the goals of our competitions -

• Are we striving to provide a venue that allows for a competition that is pure competition between pilots, with an acceptable intrinsic margin of safety guaranteed by specified, restricted, equipment ( as in a Serial Class Only, One Design, etc.) or,
• Are we striving to provide a venue that is a proving ground for new technology that may help the sport by providing better performance and safety through better design?

Until now, our relatively immature sport has been trying (fairly successfully) to include both of the above goals in our competitions.  These goals are now being found (by some) to be mutually exclusive, however.

I want to see our equipment evolve further.  It's very exciting to see the performance and handling of the modern wings improve year-over-year.  But does the inclusion of these wings in ALL competitions satisfy the first goal?  These are only a couple of the issues - 

For more discussion, with top-ranked pilots from all over the world, view this post on the PG Forum.  

I think we will, eventually, see some restrictions in equipment in all competitions except the PWC (the PG equivalent of Formula One).    I know this option has idealistic roots and may not be feasible in a market as small as this sport; but I truly believe this route is best for the sport.

Other News -

RAT RACE 2011

The Rat Race  June19th-25th will actually be two competitions in one.  There will be a "SPRINT" version for newer pilots, those on lower performance wings, and those who just don't like flying for more than 3 hours.  The tasks will be structured so as to have the two fields occupying the same air, along their separate courses, while the sprint task will be shorter and less into wind.  I think the enjoyment level for many of the newer pilots will go up since getting to goal provides a smile.  I like the idea of this format and hope it is successful in reality.

As always, the Rat Race will have a mentoring program that is geared to help those who are new to the sport.

LONE STAR NATIONALS

Held in Hearn Texas, the Lone Star Nats  Aug. 14th-20th is breaking new ground for paragliding in the US.  It will be a tow competition - Every pilot will be towed up to altitude, prior to the start, by one of the many tow-rigs.  This is being met with some resistance because everyone who's towed has a memory of one fiasco or another - often involving panic, long delays, or just frustration.  The thought of having 8 to 12 winches towing up 60-100 pilots, in the hot sun, has many of us thinking that the hardest hurdle in the comp will simply be getting into the air.

But I'm an optimist.  I'm hoping to be able to make it to this comp because, if it's successful it will open the doors for a whole new type of competition and thousands of miles of unexplored XC territory.  I'm actually pulling for Dave Prentice and his crew.  They know they're under the gun and they appear to be working hard to provide a safe and efficient operation.

It's going to be interesting - But why shouldn't it be?  It's Paragliding!

Fly Safe - Tim

MDO 2/20/11

Today was a good day at MDO. I got back from my 8-day trip and was very happy to get back into the air. It was a beautiful day with 10 pilots on the ridge. Fortunately it was a large enough lift band that it allowed all to fly without stress.

Direct link for full screen view - http://tinyurl.com/mdo22011

Nova Dasalla - First US Pilot to Infinite

Nova Dasalla is a Bay Area pilot that has been on a quest for years.  He's had his struggles and his successes, but he has shown that a goal and a positive attitude is what it takes to make your dreams a reality.

Here is a short video of Nova's journey. It also shows why I don't do acro.

Tim

Nova Dasalla - acro paragliding - "Infinite Stumbling" from avonorca on Vimeo.

Whaleback Improvements/Fundraising

All photos courtesy of Scott Harding www.scottharding.com

I'd like to pass along some info regarding the ongoing improvements to Whaleback (near Mt. Shasta, California) and the need for additional funding to make the project successful.  I've been in contact with Scott H. of the Rogue Valley HG/PG club and he indicates that many generous donations from clubs and individuals have helped the club approach their goals for the launch site and LZ improvement projects.  They have applied for a matching funds grant from the Foundation for Free Flight and will make their presentation to the FFF in the next week or two.  

Click photo for larger version
Photo by Scott Harding

I've never flown this site, but hope to this season.  The conditions are very conducive to long XCs that cover beautiful pristine scenery.  The project will improve the launch area by enlarging the set-up area considerably and providing a larger launch area and a launch towards the SW. Your donations go to one of the most active clubs, when it comes to site improvement/relations in the US.  For complete information, and a link to make donations, visit: http://rvhpa.org/news/whaleback-launch-improvements/ 

The Future configuration of Whaleback launch

Please consider donating funds to this project, if only to guarantee the site's future and your ability to fly the site in the future. Donations from the community are the only way such a project can succeed.

Donations made in the next week or two will count towards the hoped for FFF matching grant.
Please do your part to improve this amazing site.

Tim

Cuesta Today

Today turned into a nice day for flying, and Dan, Dave M., Jeremy, Adam & I all got a good taste of the best of Winter Cuesta. . .

We got to the top around noon and were greeted by light Easterly puffs.  Birds were working weak lift in front, so we were encouraged.  Within 30 minutes the light East had filled in and all the birds, all the flies, everything disappeared for an hour.  We ate & told stories until things got still and the birds reappeared.  Around 2pm it finally looked better, so Adam & I got suited up. He grabbed his hang glider since he could do a no-wind launch easier than the rest of us.  He launched well and sank out immediately to 200' below launch.  Soon he contacted a good, if rough,  thermal and climbed to 4000'. 

Meanwhile, I was standing in the chute ready to go and waited at least 15 minutes for a puff.  Finally I got a very light puff, allowing me to get in the air and immediately climbed to 4500 and that was it.  The conditions on launch improved and all got off well.  It was quite cold at altitude but the lift was abundant and smooth above about 2500'.  It was possible to move around quite a bit and I followed a weak lift line Northwest at a bit of an angle to the ridge for a couple miles before falling off the bubble and heading back to home turf again.  When I headed out to the LZ it was quite lifty so I flew all the way to Hwy 1 and still had enough altitude to head back to the LZ.  I thought about landing at Dave's (I had 1600' over the Hwy) but he's out of town and it just wouldn't have been the same without a ginger beer to celebrate. . .

Top of climb for Adam & me was around 5300' and it was good to see the models proven correct. . . It wasn't looking too good there for a while & I was worried that I'd cried wolf too early in the season ;-)  Congrats to Dave M on popping his Cuesta cherry and the guys on sticking with me for 2 hours for the payout. 

My Flight track is HERE.  I've got some cool video of the fun, but haven't figured out an adequate way to edit it without losing most of the quality.  Today I'll take stills and have some pics.

Tim