May 27th,2010

So, with the weather and the wind being unfavorable for flying. myself and a student came down to Boulder, CO to get some work done. The weather was quite nice today with very stable conditions and light winds. Loren (student) got three flights in and then flew a tandem with Kris Husted.
Good news. Paraglide Vail is now the importer for Aircross Paragliders. Today I got the chance to fly the new entry level glider called the U-Fly. It was quite nice. Pilot weight is 87 to 110 kg. I hooked in at 98 kg all up weight so was in the middle of the weight range. The glider launched easily and seemed very pitch stable. Even though it was a short flight, the glider seemed to turn very easy and did not have a lot of roll reaction once releasing the turn. While flying it seemed to cut through the air nicely and was damp. Perfect for the beginner and safety conscious intermediate pilot. On the flare the glider retained nice energy and it was a very easy landing. I am hoping to get a soaring flight tomorrow, and I will have more info. I like the risers, they a thin and very easy to manage. Tune in for more info.

Local flying Update

Hi Everyone! Well, finally some good news. We had one day of great flying and Wolcott finally gave it up. Between weather systems we had a reprieve and last Thurday the winds turned out to be west at a reasonable rate. The flying turned out awesome, and we got an hour and a half flying window, with climbs to 2,000 feet over launch.

Unfortunately, we are in another stormy weather pattern with no precip, but high winds. It looks like this may move through by Tuesday of next week, and we can have a full 5 days of flying conditions. It looks dry and great direction for Wolcott again. Check out the pics.

Cheers!

Waiting

Here is an update. No real update, excpet the weather has been basically snow, rain, and wind. It looks like we may get some nice weather, but there is some wind forecast for the weekend. I may be down in Boulder for the next few days. Will update as needed.

Flying over the Weekend

We finally got some weather to fly over the weekend. Just one day. On Saturday several of us went up Bellyache, and got a couple of flights in, including tandem. Had my first two tandems of the year, and it felt great to get some airtime. Weather was cloudy, but it was unstable enough to get some soaring in. On my second tandem I was happy to get about 500 feet over launch. That was a surprise as the cloudiness was keeping most of the ground in shadow.
In the afternoon we went up to Wolcott as it seemed it was going to be a great day overall wind and weather wise. The afternoon cleared off and it was just partly cloudy skies. Right over Wolcott some nice lenticular and wave clouds formed, and of course the higher winds aloft reached the ground and we were getting gusts to about 30 mph at times. This was not at all what the forecast said. We waited at launch until about 6:45 pm with no diminishing wind. So we bagged the evening. It was funny, because there were no wave clouds to the north or to the south of us.
The road up to the Wolcott luanch is dry and in great shape. So when the weather finally decides to straighten out we will be flying in the afternoons and evenings.
I will be out of town until the 17th of May. I will be blogging daily after that. Blues skies everyone.

Flying May 7th

We fly tomorrow, Friday May 7th. It finally looks like we will be getting a reprieve from the inclement weather we've been having. So, hopefully we will get some morning flying in with a chance of the afternoon working as well. Saturday looks like it may be descent at Wolcott. If we can't drive up to the upper launch, some of us may drive as far as we can and then hike. The other option is to launch off the small site Ravens Ridge and bench up to the upper ridge.
Let's hope we can get some air time.

Otto's Ridge

Well, not much new to say except we spent two days at Otto's ridge, and got skunked. The weather was good, but the wind was from the west. Otto's faces east. However, it was kiteable so got some great ground handling in. This was nice as I have only had one flight since November. Garret, who is a Vail local, was in the neighborhood and decided to head to Reeder Mesa. There ws no wind there.
Back in Vail now, and the ind is still blowing. It does look like we may have the wx settle down for Friday and Saturday. Hopefully we can get in the air. I will post daily or every other day with updates.
Cheers!

Snowing Again

It's Sunday afternoon and it's snowing again. So, tomorrow morning we are going to leave at 5:30 am for Otto's Ridge in Mack, hopefully for a little air time, and so warmer weather. We will be staying through Tuesday afternoon, when it looks like the wind and weather is going to take advantage of us again. I will take some pics and share them for those of you that have never been to Otto's.
Otto's is similar to POM southside. It faces east, and gets the drain from the mountains. The soaring window usually lasts until about noon. Conditions a typically smooth until about 10 am and then it can begin to get a little thermic. It is great option if you don't want to drive all the way to the POM.
After this next bout of weather it looks like the weather may stabilize for a little flying in the mountains. We'll keep you posted.

Been A Long Winter

Hi Everyone, Well it has been a long winter, and I am glad it's over. Unfortunately, winter has not left us, and we had a foot of snow dump within the last 3 days. I have been excited to get airborn, but right after skiing had ended I had to go to Maine and visit the family, and it snowed there. Can't get away from it.

So big plans for the summer, and I hope we can get the Vail ball rolling soon with at least some descent flying weather to scrape the rust off our flying skills. Bellyache, our morning site, was in good shape and dry before the snow came in. So with some warm weather it should only take a couple of days to be launchable. Wolcott on the other hand looked good, but with the new snow the mud on the road will probably hold us off for a couple of more weeks. Usually we can drive up to Wolcott by mid May.

Though I have slacked on writing this blog, I will be making every effort to updat at least 4 to 5 times a week. So please stay tuned for local updates of the flying here in the Vail area.

Unfortunately, there will be no paragliding at the Teva Mountain Games this year. However, I am planning to have a fun fly-in, Colorado league comp during the Games. It is the first weekend in June. I will keep everyone posted as soon as I have more details.

I will leave a picture that Dale Covington took thermaling in the leeside of a 7,000 foot south face during the Nationals in Utah. Talk to you on Monday.

Cheers