Update Finally

Here is a quick update for the last month we have been flying. I can't believe that it has been a month. The weather has gotten a little better, but for a good part of June, we had wind. When the wind finally quit, we had thunderstorms. So, short flying windows have been the norm this month. We have had some afternoon flying, but minimal.

Soon, I will be leaving for the competitions in Washington state. Lake Chelan is one of the best thermal and cross country flying sites in the world. On the eastern slope of the cascades, on the bank of the Columbia river, Chelan butte will be the start for the US Nationals from JUuly 10th to the 15th, and after that the Paragliding World Cup will be taking over. Some of the best pilots who fly the World Cup regularly will be there. It will be exciting to fly with these guys.

The dates are from the 17th to the 24th. I think there are a couple of practice days and then the 6 day event. I will be blogging. Hold me to it, as long as I have a computer connection. So, please check daily starting on the 8th of July.

Here are a few pics from the last month of flying.

Cheers

June 1st update

So, finally we have been having warmer weather up here, but the jet stream, the troughs, the pressure gradient winds are still buffeting us daily. The forecast from the National Weather Service, and the actual weather has been off quite dramatically. We have to take it one day at a time. We did have a couple of evening flights off Wolcott now, but generally we get blown out. Even our mornings have been short lived with wind blowing over the back by 9:30 am. That is 2 to 3 hours too early.

We have a nice evening at Wolcott on the 3oth of May. It was a late launch with strong winds steady at 18 to 25 mph. We got off about 7 pm and flew for about 45 minutes or so. I guess you have to say, take what you can get.

Now that Paraglide Vail is the Aircross high performance paraglider importer, I had the chance to now fly the U-Sport which is it's LTF 2-3, EN-D performance glider. It was the large, so I had to load up with 25 pounds of ballast. The high end weight wise is 253 pounds. I flew the glider at about 235 pounds which was low middle for the range. I was amazed at the stability of the glider, even though I was on the light end. It lunched like a charm. I loved how it turned, and felt like it cut through turbulence like a knife. I do think this glider should be flown on the higher end of the weight range, but I was never concerned on it's handling being light. For a 2-3 the brake length seemed to have a londer travel then other gliders, but all you had to do is fly with an extra rap around the hands. I can't wait to have other pilots give this glider a try and get some awesome feedback.

The Teva Mountain Games are coming to town. Unfortunately, we have been taken off the roster since in three years we never got a task off to showcase our sport. This year the weather looks better then ever, so we will be attempt to fly as if the games are on. Keep your eyes to the sky in Vail for gliders flying in, and stay posted to the blog for the daily flights and weather conditions.

Cheers