.

Happy days

2011-07-11T04:09:00.000-07:00

Ivan and I on the opening ceremony with team India.

Geoff over Avila

2011-07-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

Lots of pilots are still here in Piedrahita, conditions are really good. Today some pilots set a task around the valley and others went cross country!
I had 5 1/2 hrs flight out and return to piedrahita - Avila and back. around 100kms. Geoff and I flew most of the time together and just before the pass we separated and I lost contact with him.

Everyone is really chilling out, the mood on launch is very relaxed. A lot of camaraderie. I liked to see the Chilean flag blowing by the gentle breeze on take off today.

Ivan Anissimov - As the comp ended...

2011-07-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

Spanish beds are shorter. I can reach both ends when stretching in the morning, but in evening I shrunk somehow. I haven’t seen fly screens in Spain yet. May be mozzie that I killed few days ago was the only one in whole country? Or may be it arrived in my baggage somehow? I hope mozzie is not endangered species in Europe…

As comp ended, that would be end of the blog, I guess. I am thinking about keeping writing, may be in more serious form about Killing the Bastard and other flying tips. For that stuff I might use blog that Martin created for me. I want to thank all of you, who support us with you positive comments. It does mean a lot to us. Usually I’m only checking my email once a week. But here I start doing it twice a day! I haven’t seen negative comments yet, and I like it that way. May be putting them in “deleted items” folder directly would save time, money and good relationship. Life is like pedestrian crossing, and right now I am not on white. FFAI is something dirty and bloodsucking, stacked to the bottom of healthy body of pilots. Now it rules it. It make its own rules and imposing it on us (see section 7b etc). Some of them is good, some ok, some is just common sense and a lot of them is plain bulls#¥t. FFAI also provides comp sanction and WPRS ranking. Comp sanction is needed mostly for WPRS ranking, as comp organisers looking after safety, etc. It is quite obvious, that WPRS ranking is not working for Australia, as well as for the most of non European countries. Our pilots have to go overseas (if they can afford it) to improve their ranking. Of course they are getting experience as well, but what happens to their ranking in next couple of years, if they only flying in our comps? Where all this experience disappeared? How is it reflected in their ranking? The very fact that our pilots have to fly overseas comps to improve their rating is a good indicator that WPRS ranking is not working properly.

Why do we keep paying FFAI and CIVIL? Mostly because we don’t care. All it takes to make them disappear into thin air is take control of our money and stop waisting it on bunch of bureaucrats with very poor safety record. First revolution was birth of World Cup about 20 years ago. The only mistake was that FFAI and CIVIL was left intact, they weren’t replaced with organisation, respected by most of the pilots and working for the pilots. Now we have this chance. Cut them off our money and they will die. Internet based ranking systems are available now and could be design to be fair for all pilots. Wouldn’t it be nice, if after FFAI/CIVIL statement about closure of 12th World Championship, pilots come up with statement about opening of The First Non Sanctioned by FFAI/CIVIL World Championship and keep it running with implementation of upgraded safety measures, offered by pilots working group. Most of the pilots were ready to continue this competition. Even if organisers weren’t ready to take the risk, organisation of the comp could be taken over by new group of people with assistance of current organisers. That would have been real World Championship and possibly last nail for FFAI and CIVIL coffin! By the way, FFAI is not spelling mistake, you can work it out. Unfortunately, time is lost, chance is gone, we got what we deserved. Two pilots died doing what they loved. FFAI and CIVIL will keep going with their terrible safety record. Hungarian pilot collected about 50 signatures for suing FFAI and CIVIL for retracting their sanction after pilots comply with all their requirements. Frustration and disappointment are suitable words today for me. Most people went flying, it is a beautiful day. I need to get my head straight first, I can’t fly yet… This is, as usual, only my point of view at this point of time. It is not my intention to upset any person, especially fellow pilots, who volunteered their time and energy for improvement of our safety under current system. Their efforts are greatly appreciated by all of us.

Ivan & Dave's proposal for alternative comp format

2011-07-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone out there know that Ivan and Dave, after discussion with the rest of us plus some Kiwis really tried to rescue the comp by contributing to a working group and coming up with a way of task setting that would improve safety. I'll leave it to either of them if they want to explain details. As you've read, it was to no avail, the comp is over, but Ivan, Dave, your efforts were much appreciated, and I do think the proposal was a good one.

Antje

Thanks to Dave, our Team Manager

2011-07-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to Dave for doing a great job as a team manager. Not only did he sacrifice his own time, money and opportunity to fly, but he kept us organised, helped launching, briefed and debriefed, and went to a series of meetings that I would have really struggled to put up with.

And he complied with Ivan's request and was always positive :-)

Thank you, Dave, you helped me a lot, shame it's all over already.

Antje

and more.

2011-07-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

Civl have suspended the certification of competion class gliders, this means that the worlds 2011 is over. In another statement by the organiser's, they said that the 2 tasks will score and this championships is valid, so there will be a prize giving and closing ceromony tomorrow.
I would like to thank the organiser's for there extreme hard work through the recent difficult days, they have done an amazing job, i would also like to thank all those that have supported the team and of course i would like to thank the team themselves, they are great guys ( and gal ), they showed themselves as great sportsmen and as great ambassador's of Australia.
The organiser mentioned somthing of a serial world championship here next year, i feel the history of competition paragliding has turned a corner, one that i have looked around before ( those old enough will remember the serial class days ). I only hope this new direction is a safer one.
Thanks
Dave

It's officially over

2011-07-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

Comp is over/canned/stopped, look for official wording at Piedrahita2011.com

I'm going freeflying next week and a bit, hope the rest of the team will join me, and I hope there will be retrieves of some sort.

Antje

and more

2011-07-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

Civl have stopped the competion on a temporary basis and may resart when a safer format is put forward. Many pilots ,team leaders and organisers are deep in disscussion about an xc open formular that has been suggested. Much disscussion to be had and any decissions will be aired here.

Day three

2011-07-07T03:38:00.000-07:00

The Australian team would like to express our condolances to families and friends of those who left us unexpectently yesterday. Rip

Today is a day off in respect for those pilots.

Task 2

2011-07-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

Both boys in goal.

1st task

2011-07-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

All Aussie pilots are back in Piedrahita, safe. Ivan made goal despite flying with a faulty tracker, Felipe was about 37 k short. Geoff and Antje were somewhat short too !!! There should be a few get pinged for airspace violations and are now wishing they uploaded the airspace file. results will be up later.

Task 1 - Goal at 154 km - the view from the ground

2011-07-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

Task 1 is running as we speak, and Felipe at 95 km seems to be in the 2nd Gaggle - go Felipe. Ivan's last live tracking point (see piedrahita2011.com) is at 45km out, I think he's on the ground, Geoff seems to have gotten washed off the pass at 31 km out (known Piedrahita difficulty #2 - sinking air behind the pass for several kms) and yours truly sunk out right at the start, scratching all the way to the ground (known Piedrahita difficulty #1 - it is after all a North facing, shallow slope, and I can verify that this is not conducive to thermal formation). It was windy on launch, but not as bad as yesterday. Good luck to those still on course. And for myself, I guess I'll be well rested for a new day tomorrow.

Antje

congested goal

2011-07-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a practise task which was short and succsessful with most reaching goal, ( all Aussies made goal ). Today is the official first task . The forcast looks good for a few days so expect some ever changing results to come flowing in.

Dave

2011-07-04T23:52:00.000-07:00

The opening ceremony finished with most pilots tucked up in bed ready for the practise task with the exception of 50% of the kiwi team. at least someone is making use of the 2 story mobile disco .

Dave

Opening ceremony

2011-07-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

Great opening ceremony, done in a typical Spainish/Piedrahita style. Its now 11:20pm and the town party has just started, the 2 story mobile disco thing is pumping out euro pop at an head splitting volume and i belive is suppossed to go on till 3 am. world champs Spanish style, Nice.

Dave.

Were here

2011-07-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

Antje testing the new fai approved harness

The complete Aussie team are now here in Piedrahita and ready to do battle. All 3 blokes and 1 sheila have succsesfully passed all the very strict rego requirments. Additional to the team is myself as team leader and general dogsbody. My logistic skills were tested this morning at rego, helping some of the guys with there paperwork, there is so much paperwork and checking to be done it took about 2 hours to complete, then you had to go to another building to have your gear checked. The organisers seemingly had it all under control until the fai guys stepped in, and then the system all fell apart and instead of having your glider/lines, harness and helmet checked they just checked helmets and pilot weights !. All in all, cat 1 rego = organised chaos . Some have gone flying before having to return this evening for a mantatory pilot breifing and opening ceremony.

Dave Gibbs

1st day in Piedrahita

2011-07-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

After a 10 hour flight 3 days in Shanghai another 10 hour flight 3 days in Germany one flight of 2 hours and 1 day in Madrid, I finally arrived in Piedrahita after a short bus ride. Got my accomodation sorted and a lift up the hill straight away in a BMW, it was good to arrive in style. hehehe
The french team is here and several other pilots are training for the worlds, yesterday we had a light westerly breeze and we set a 100km task out and return.
I was so excited to try my mew wing, I received it at about 6 weeks ago but the crap winter in Sydney didn't allow me to try it out. The sky was full of Ozone wings, and the R11 are really the best wing around.
we had a gaggle of about 10, 15 pilots and the only non R11s was myself with the new Tracer and a polish guy with the UP XR and and the black icepeak 5 of Jean mark Caron.
Piedrahita is amazing, powerful thermals and big air. it only gets dark here at 10:30 and yesterday at 6:30 we still had thermal of + 5.
Our task started with a ridge run, a turn point over the flats one turn point 44 km at west and them goal in Piedrahita.
The R11 are the wings to be beaten but the Icepeak and the UP are not too far behind. I think the Icepeak 5 climbs really well. My wing is completely different from last years, it's heaps more stable and easier to fly, more collapse resistant and when on glide I didnt feel the R11s had an advantage.
We flew for almost 4 hours and I was always with the leading gaggle, the begining of the flight on the flats we had super rough stuff, I think the thermals weren't well defined and I just couldn't find a good core, I think no one could really do. On the way back it was a differnet history, nice big well difined climbs.
It was hard to go down and land due to the abundance of lift.
All in all it was great to be in the air again and having the cofidence I have a good glider, from now on the plan is to train a bit more, rest and concentrate and be ready to the real deal.
We still have a few more days of training to get to know the area better and get to know the infamous convergence lines of Piedrahita.
The rest of the Team will arrive in Piedrahita today. It will be good to catch and hear the stories from the Nordic Open where they did really well.

Stay tuned.

Felipe Rezende

Ivan, the blogging machine !

2011-06-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

28/06/11, Ivan

Morning is clear with blue sky, some cirruses high up (I should ask for right spell, as they seems to be here every day). Forecast for light wind, so we should go places.

I start getting use to routine: up at 7, pack instruments, batteries and water, go to breakfast with WiFi, check the messages, carry very heavy bag to headquarters about 300 meters (gosh, I missed my Lightness harness so much!), find shade, wait, jump on bus, get up, find shade, get launch pack, wait, punch coordinates, check map, wait for lull, get in bus and go for swim in cold river...

That was scenario for yesterday. After that we went on bus tour, courtesy of comp organisers. Local trout farm, sulfur hospital, which make me consider to quite smoking, beginning of the river, which is also highest point of Potugal, almost 2000 meters. They build it up to make it to 2000 meters.

After 9 o'clock they organized a party in Monteigas, which is about 10 km from headquarters. I missed it, too much local cheese make me sleepy.

Midi is back, he carrying his back with great accuracy, just like me on bad day. After receiving great deal of advices on what to do and what not to do from bunch of us, he went to rest for few days. Hopefully he would be fine for world.

Time to make this 300 meters walk...

28/06/2011, Ivan

Back from flying. Long retrive with changing buses and waiting for people to fill up big bus. I was first on both buses of course. All gliders transported in green track. Not many pilots keen on separation from their gliders, but we don't have a choice...

Today 80 km task suppose to be with down wind last leg, but predicted wind was from other direction, so we were pushing into head wind all the way. At the end wind become stronger, thermals were trashed on flats, pilots were struggling to get 1600 meters. I don't think anyone made goal with leaders just getting over 50 km mark. I think Matts Eliasson and Michael Bass get over 50 km, Geoff, Dave and me got over 40 km. Would be interesting to see what scoring system would do to results.

One Hungarian pilot had accident on top of the ridge on the way to last turn point. Suspected spinal injury, doesn't look too bad, that's what they saying anyway.

Geoff got cascade with twists, stall the glider, sort it out and managed to catch up and overfly most of the field by taking back route over high ground. That's the way to do it!

My tracker was beeping every 10 seconds like bloody microwave. I couldn't switch it off, buttons doesn't work. It has mind of its own and I was seriously considering to drop it. It was really frustrating when we playing yo-yo on flats pretty low in brocken with head wind over 25 km/hour.

And I appreciate my old harness without seat board even more now! Wet shorts from consrant shifting from side to side, back and forward become every day reality. I was tired and sleep in the bus again after only 3 hour fght.

Now I sounds like Negative Dave. We are trying to convert him into Positive Dave by the end of this trip. He still refuse to use right terminology, like "extremelly ridge soarable" instead of "too windy". So hi is in denail so far, but we'll keep trying.

Portugal is slate country. Most of the houses, retaining walls, stairs, mountains, launches and even some of the roofs are made out of slate. On launches they luckily have shade cloth pinned down, so our lines are still in good shape.

Local people are very friendly, unlike flys. There are quite a number of them on ski slopes covered with white carpet. They just baking there under the morning sun and don't even trying to kiss you all at once, not like in Australia (I mean flys of course).

Locals are also very interested in politics. From what I understand, Portugal political system working pretty much like front loading washing machine in our accomodation: once you put detergent and your cloth in, it start pumping water and make all the right noises, but it doesn't turn or spin. And then you have to spend next tree hours trying to get you cloth back and wash it by hands...

29.06.2011, Ivan

Morning routine was dominated by yesterday's score news. Michael Bass done brilliant job on such hard day and come first, before our oun Matts Eliasson. Well done!

In first dosen we have now 4 Australian pilots, which is not bad at all. Other ways to look at it is all our pilots are in first dozen, or one third of the first dozen are Australian. Dave look at it slightly differently, he was beaten by pilot who been flying only just over year. We have to fix it, I mean turn him into positive Dave.

Would be nice to keep same placing during next comp:) Not likely though...

But if we'll raise few more Mikes in next five years, who knows, it might happens. Always good to have a dream.

Hungerian pilot is stable, no nerve damage, just fructure, so we expecting full recovery. Midy walking around, he should be all right for the World.

It is interesting to see discussion on acro maneuvers and comp gliders. I even might send some thoughts. Not sure how it wiil be taken but... Mike was laughing on Gavs email, he is appreciate support. Who doesn't?

Today we went up lower launch, wait untill thre o'clock and came back to spend the rest of the day next to river. It was noticeably colder day (of cource because I decided to leave my jumper at home) and extremely ridge soarable... Wind came down a bit as day progressed, but with cloud base of 2000 meters and only few thermals organisers canned it. Few people flew and even got up, but all agreed that with mountains around it was not safe for too many pilots in this comp.

Couple of Russian pilots decided not to wait for buses and went down by goat track. It would be about double size of Beechmont, but they negotiated it in 29 minutes. Considering that in this Slate Country there is no Australian Building Code, so when they buid these mountains, they put every piece of slate vertically. And it is sharp. Geoff's knee come second best against retaining wall other day. But Russians came down without scratch.

Tomorrow is final day of this comp, I still fiddling with my (sorry, it's actually Simon's) harness. Hopefully I should be good for Piedrahita.

Ivan

2011-06-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

26 June 2011, Ivan

Just finished flying second day of Nordic Open. Today was windy, hot day without cu's and with a lot of cirruses (I am sure I spelled it wrong, but it was the onky option on my PDF). Termals were going only to 1700 meters and we were pushing into wind. With 60 km task, most pilots landed before 20 km mark. I heard that only couple of guys made it to goal, so they would be the most unpopular tomorrow :)

Midi got dusty on landing at first turn point, and hit the ground after collapse pretty hard. Ambulance took him on stretches to hospital with suspected compression, but we all hope he would be OK. Midi was calm and didn't complained much. We'll check him tomorrow in hospital.

Yesterday was much better day.

27.06.2011, Ivan

Breakfast was very good as usually. Still wondering how they can do it for 3 euros. Midi is OK, not even compression they can see on Xray. Still in pain, but might be out of hospital soon with bag of illegal drags. So we will take him to our house from his tent. I am sure other 3 Russians wouldn't mind. It is only house in whole park, with thick walls out of slate. On ground level it is always cool like in cellar, even in day heat.

Today looks clear so far, but they expect stronger wind. Yesterday results are out. 3 pilots in goal and Mads 200 m short. Winner got 160 points, so everyone love them now. Guys deserve medals at least!

ivan's dream come true

2011-06-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

Put on your best Russian accent

Dream come true.

I got these nightmares for the last two weeks before trip to Europe: I am late for my flight, I am missing connection flight, my tickets, passport and money were stolen, my glider is too heavy and they wouldn’t take it, my bag have been lost and combinations of the above.

So I wasn’t really surprised when baggage belt in Madrid airport went empty, crowd disappeared and I was still standing there without my glider. I guess it even out the fact that I didn’t miss any flights, money or documents, despite the real chance of being late for departure in Brisbane. Road to airport was parking lot and after half of hour sitting in it, my wife took service road and scenic route.

It still made the whole trip pointless, as I can’t fly without glider. I am trying not to think about Simon’s harness and Hollywood’s radio, it is just a bit too much for me at the moment.

I can’t buy local sim card in airport, so I don’t have a chance to find Geoff Wong with his car. I still need to let him know that I am sleeping in here for the next week or until my glider arrive, whichever comes first.

After getting rough direction to closest shop which sell sim cards (apparently you can’t get there by foot), I discovered that Spanish language is actually quite different from English. To my surprise you couldn’t understand not just most of it, but mostly all of it. Needless to say, that despite friendly attitude, locals could not work out my accent and sign language either.

I recon if anyone would open sim card shop in every major airport, they would become a millionaires. And they can open money exchange inside of Chinese airports, so you don’t need to apply for the visa, if you want to buy drink or food (that two are royalties applicable).

Paris was rainy in the morning, but Madrid was quite pleasant 27 degrees, with a fresh wind. A bit strong for flying, not if I need to care.

On the way out I suddenly stumbled on Geoff and Dave Gibbs. Boy, I glad to see you guys! Dave’s glider didn’t arrive from London either. And the van he bought for traveling and living in it blew up 5 minutes into his trip.

So it could be worse after all…

By the way, maps here are in Spanish too. But because we don’t have any, we don’t need to worry. My GPS don’t have maps of Spain, so it is useless as well.

After weighing our options, we decided to go to Piedrahita, which is only 1.5 hours away, rather then trying to find accommodation in Madrid. I left Dave phone number and my email address for lost baggage office and explained to smart looking women as best as I could importance of finding my glider. Letter from HGFA office did the trick.

Roads in Spain looks pretty much like our highways and well signed. Wind is on fresh side, so landing would of been vertical. If we would of have our gliders that is. Ground seems pretty dry btw few patches of green here and there. We are driving along fairly sizable ridge line about 1500 meters with some bigger mountains behind it. It looks like old rounded hills, similar to Bright landscape with Spanish flavour. Flats looks rugged, cut by deep little creeks, littered with big rocks, not unlike area around Armidale. Sky is pretty clear with few small cu’s, some lenticular and cirruses.

As we come over notorious pass about 15 km before Piedrahita, it does look complicated. Wind getting stronger and blowing along the valley. I am not keen on getting low in this area.

In Piedrahita we try to get accommodation in famous La Residentia, but at 6 o’clock it was too early, so we have to come back after 7 o’clock. I wouldn’t understand that ever, but Geoff does speak Spanish! And he understand it as well! From now on I have to stick with Geoff no matter what. I still don’t have SIM card, address or internet connection, but we got Geoff, so, we should be OK!

Finally we settled in La Residentia and even done some shopping in local supermarket. Prices a bit better than in Australia, so we will survive.

By 8 o’clock we could see a dozen gliders above the launch. Mostly parked, they didn’t go anywhere in a hurry. By nine they all came down for beer in local pub. We recognise few faces, good to chat to people you met 10 or so years ago.

Piedrahita is something hard to describe. If you been to Manilla (who hasn’t?), it is nothing like it.

Buildings, roads and even fences build out of rocks. Some big rocks! About 800 years ago! Some of them anyway. And they looks that way as well. Tiny wiggly one way streets between stone walls. Big timber doors with century old handles. Most of them need adjustment (it’s renovator speaking). And a lot of storks, probably more than ibises on Gold Coast or flying foxes in Logan. And their nests are huge. And they are everywhere, including mobile tower.

All these baby stories are lies after all, otherwise Piedrahita would be at least size of New York.

I was told that storks are crap at termalling, but their nests are pretty good termal markers…

Spain is good place to be. Especially if you like beer or coffee. Not so good with tea. Most of the time people don’t understand why would someone want tea.

La Residentia is empty and echoed at the moment. View out of our window is much better than you would expect for 10 euros, including breakfast.

Dave got phone call. His glider arrived. Lucky Dave! Today is Wednesday, they promised to deliver it on Monday, in 5 days time. Apparently tomorrow is national holiday. I love the way they think and count! I also love Siesta. We have to have it in Australia!

At midnight we check my glider on internet – no traces of it. In my nightmares that night my glider deliverd to my home.

At 6 o’clock in the morning good news arrived. My glider in Madrid as well.

We drove back to Madrid, picked both gliders and got to Portugal without much drama.

On the way Geoff got us into camping shop in Salamanca, so Dave got his home now.

Training - of sorts

2011-06-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

So the Schmittenpokal (which was also the Austrian Nationals) didn't happen - it got cancelled on the first day, without a briefing, due to the bad weather forecast. No flying in Zell am See, despite being there for four days :-(

I did finally get a flight on the way back to Munich, in Koessen, thanks to Axel and Anna (and Luis!) who very kindly stopped for me to race up the hill and have a 20 min boat around complete with spirals to try out the M4 - flies beautifully. Bit of a problem landing, though: It glides so well that I ended up using most of the rather large landing padock before touching down - will have to work on that one. But all in all, so nice to be in the air again, and how light is that speedbar, and how easy does that wing turn! :-)

So, that was a bit of an unexpected end to 4 days of non-flying, where I took all sorts of other opportunities to train for Piedrahita:
Carrying small children to train for carrying my bag
Carrying my bag to train for carrying my bag
- up to launch, twice, and down again
- looking for another launch in the clouds, and up again
- onto trains, cable cars etc
- entertaining small children all day to train endurance - I'm exhausted!
- walking down from launch in Zell am See for fitness - turns out what I actually need to train is walking in my flying boots, my feet hurt!

Anyway, off to work for another week, and hoping to fly in the Harz mountains near my parents place (Rammelsberg, Goslar) next week.

Antje

Five things ...

2011-05-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Captain for chiming in!

Recently on the Paragliding Forum, Tom Payne listed the five things he'd learned the hard way in competitions. So I thought I'd do the same here:

1. Making the start gate in the best position is crucial to a good race.
Virtually all tasks in paragliding competitions in Europe are single start race starts, typically using entry starts. If you're not at the start, usually on the up wind side of the start gate near the top of the gaggle then you may as well not be there.

2. Controlling distractions is important to performing well in a task.
Being distracted means you're not flying in the moment and not concentrating on the task. Being on the Comp Committee and doing a lot of scoring means I get a lot of rules questions, it took some time to learn to put off these questions before tasks and to shut out this kind of distraction. My flying improves significantly when I do this well, when I don't I make stupid mistakes. Other common distractions include work, fear, other pilots, your instruments, and oxygen thieves on launch.

3. Going alone early in a task isn't going to win you a race.
High quality competitions have lots of good pilots, and sticking with a good gaggle is the key to pushing through the mid and early sections the race. However, if you drop behind sometimes you have to give up the gaggle, landing early as a result of pushing on too hard can be be very costly.

4. You "make" your own luck.
Different opportunities to improve your position arise during a task, being open to those opportunities enables your take "lucky" opportunities when they arise. If you tighten your focus and observation too much you miss those opporunties.

5. Being indecisive usually results in a bad decision.
Backing your own judgement gives you confidence and even making your own mistakes means you've learned from the flight.

This is your captain speaking

2011-05-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

so someone had the brilliant idea to register me as team leader (Geoff!), now I'm getting emails from the organisers about bringing an Australian flag to the ceremony etc, and no, apparently it can't be one that doubles as a bath towel.

It's all suddenly starting to get a lot more real, and I am planning to head to Austria to the "Schmittenpokal" http://www.ikarus-pinzgau.com/schmittenpokal-1/schmittenpokal-2011/
to finally fly my brand new M4. Wish me luck with the weather!

Antje

Flying Piedrahita

2011-05-22T01:21:00.000-07:00

Piedrahita is just flat-lands flying over a desert isn't it, how hard could it be?

I've flown two competitions previously at Piedrahita: a round of the British Open in 2009 and the Pre-Worlds in 2010. Piedrahita is undoubtedly a tricky a site to fly consistently.

It all starts with the launch. While it's a massive take-off (apparently to be astro-turfed for the Worlds too!), it's a north facing launch which is weird in the northern hemisphere. It works consistently because it's a reasonably shallow slope in front of launch which generates anabatic flows up the face, but there is no mistaking it for a lee-side launch. Dusties regularly rip through launch, both comps I've seen gliders flying around by themselves. Once you're in the air there's no mistaking the lee-side feel of the flying.

Tip #1: don't leave your glider lying unpacked on launch.

People regularly fail to get away from launch, and the start gate is generally after quite a few kms of running up and down the ridge to spread the field out. The tasks start early to avoid the really strong anabatic flows up the face, perhaps a little too early on some occasions last year. There is no rush to get away, make sure someone is climbing before you launch, and head straight to your first climb! If you are getting flushed off the ridge, the towns below (including Piedrahita itself) actually work reasonably reliably and earlier than the face, sometimes it's best to head directly for them rather than getting a lee-side flush to the ground.

Once you've reached the start-gate, there's still more difficult ground to cover before you can really get flying. Generally the winds seem to be from the west in July, due to the heat low in the Mediterranean, which means you'll need to cross the infamous "pass" on the N-110 at Casas del Puerto. The first time I flew over it was at 3900m and I didn't notice it was there. The next few times I wasn't so lucky. Generally the start gate is before the pass, so it's important to set up with a good gaggle because the thermals out in the valley tend to move around. Choose a side (north or south) to cross the valley and find your next climb, I've had to ridge soar right into the pass, which is best avoided on a windy day because of the venturi effect and the lack of good landing options. Going across too low can easily see you getting flushed on the lee of the pass.

Tip #2: cross the pass as high as possible, and exercise caution to make sure you can to the next climb.

Tasks tend to head out to the east and generally run up to Avila. This can be a very quick section, with a convergence line regularly setting up on the north side of the valley leading to Avila. It's a great time to really push-on if the day allows it. It would be great to continue to follow the convergence if you could just follow it along the range, but airspace intervenes around Avila and the tasks I've flown generally head north across a plateau from there, although some tasks will end around Avila or head back into wind towards the aforementioned pass. It's likely you will have to leave the convergence onto rising ground and then get away from the convergence to your next thermal, it's easy to find yourself and your entire gaggle on the ground wondering wtf happened. I wish I knew a consistent way to escape convergence, but the best advice I seem to be able to find is don't fly to the end of the convergence, exit well before the end. So that often means heading north a lot earlier than Avila. Again, a good gaggle is key to getting across this section, there is good terrain on the other side of the plateau.

If the task continues to head into the flats to the north and north-east then it's because it's a windy day. Clouds and thermals can be regular, or they may be streeting with local convergence. Obviously you need to fly the day, getting low is probably best avoid due to mechanical turbulence. It'd be great to top out all the strong climbs, but airspace is around 3000m, and with thermals exceeding 5m/s and over 1km in radius it's easy to get caught out. Flying is more typical of flat lands flying; features work, especially all the small villages. Later in the day it's possible to encounter mountains again, even though they may look enticing, my experience last year was the flats are consistent until very late in the day and it's probably better to stick with them. One key thing flying in Spain is the large number of soaring birds really help out, although none seem to climb as well as wedge-tailed eagles.

Tip #3: keen observation of the birds will help immensely!

I've heard of competitions where the flying has been completely in the other direction, but I've only ventured out there on a few occasions, so I'm not sure my advice would be helpful :-)

Going to the Worlds 2011 ...

2011-05-17T06:11:00.001-07:00

After some good flying last year and some average flying at Bright and Corryong this year, it looks like I'm to lucky to sneak onto the team heading to the Worlds. Felipe, Antje and Ivan accepted places ahead of me. So all the pressure is on them :-).

About 6 weeks until the competition starts: some of my gear is still in transit. Thanks to some arbitrary rules changes by CIVL, I'm waiting on a new set of lines and some extra harness padding for this one competition. Allowable harness/protector combinations are still not clear and CIVL haven't bothered to clarify their rules. Typical bureaucrats: make some rule changes and then wash their hands of any responsibility for compliance. You only find out if you comply when you turn up at the competition. It really begs the question: why aren't new rules implemented and tested at lower level competitions before being implemented in Cat-1 competitions?

Anyway, enough ranting, back to my gear. Sticking with what I know: R10.2, Kanibal Race, and the 6030. I'd like to be out there flying regularly in preparation, unfortunately the weather in Victoria is looking good for a snowy start to the ski season. I had to wipe ice off my windscreen last Wednesday, in the afternoon! It looks like I won't get in any meaningful flying until the Nordic Open in Portugal. So, that means my preparation will have to be more on the mental side of flying. Some of which I might regurgitate here as a way of consolidating my thoughts and making me spend some time on it. At the moment I'm back to flicking through 'Secrets of Champions'.

World´s roundup

2009-02-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hi All
Final post before we board our plane bound for LAX. What an event!! Flyable every day scheduled but not for the feint hearted. Strong high altitude convection played it´s part on some 20+ reserve deployments with an average of 2 to 3 per day. This and a mix of careless ambition saw nearly the same amount of tree landings. In this respect we were very lucky not to see more injuries than what panned out. The last task was stopped due to 2 reserve deployments (one involving a mid-air) resulting in our first hospitalised injuries from this form of grounding. With 2 helicopters on course, the task was stopped, leaving no mysteries as to who the podium positions would be. A big congratulations to them all. Please review the results on the competition website if you haven´t already done so.
Statistics aside, it has been a fantastic and educational site t0 fly. Very technical with rewards and punishment readily dished out on witt versus whim desision making.
As team leader, I am very proud the way our team performed in these unique conditions. All projected an outstanding display of sportsmanship and were well received by the international community in doing so. Personally, my results were disappointing however have felt I´d learnt a lot from failures.
We all greatly apreaciated your comments of support and were very happy to have shared the experience with you. Keep up the ambition for the next Worlds and enjoy the comradary of what we have seen in the international community. It´s at a very healthy place.
Shane.

Day 10

2009-02-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

Just got back to download my flight and then off to see how Antje is. I haven't seen any of the other guys but I'm sure you'll get an update when they get in. A 117km task was set today to help finish things off with a bang. I had another good start and was in touch with the leading gaggle most of the way. I was held up on a plateau crossing and let them slip away. Was heading to the last turnpoint and had pegged them back to within reach of about 1 km when my stabaliser line decided to retire early for the day. So with my left wing tip flapping in the breeze and a glider that had straight flight issues, I found it very hard to keep in touch. Eventually I landed at the 92km mark. Hmmmm....
Signing out as I've got to check on Antje.
Shane.

Antje falls victim to Mexican bug

2009-02-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

A long 24 hours weighed heavy on our team Gal having been laid up in bed with the one thing all here are trying to avoid- the dreaded Mexican bug. The doctor has called, tested, pricked, and prescribed much to Antje´s better health. She says she is feeling a little better however still has a fever of 39 degrees C. Needless to say she couldn´t make it to the hill and is doubtful for tomorrow as well. I have cooked her up my Wife´s recipe of sloppy rice tailored for such occasions and stocked her well with Gatoraid. It might be a while until she is well enough to make it to this blog to read your generous comments that keep rolling in so please send her a ´get well´text/call on her Mexican mobile number: +52 7221331516.
James took line honours todaybeing the only Aussie in goal so a big Hoohaa for him. Last I saw of him he was at HQ being laiden with Advance bounty by one of their main men so I don´t think his efforts are going unoticed. I dropped 4km short of goal that may have seen my best run yet as the guy I left glide with made it in the 20s he thinks. It´s all speculative of course, because.... I landed short. Gav ended his great run of goal scores by falling short on a tricky leg of the coarse which took it´s fair share of misfortunates. Great day´s flying none the less with bases of 4000m and long convergence lines.
2 days to go to end this marathon event. Everyone seems a little stretched with an average of 4 hours air time per day. The sky seems to be compliant giving us her big farewell in all matters of speaking. Anyway signing off for another day. We had a Tequila Sunrise for Ali´s birthday the other day, so when Antje´s better we´ll toast up a few for your´s today (Mexico time) Brian.
Shane.

Antje, our beacon

2009-02-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

...Yeah, big cheers to Antje. She really is the inspiration to this team. She has spent most of this event out on her own yet still has what a lot don´t have here, the ability to task it out unassisted. Look out for her return swan song- season ´09.
...
What do you get when you camp two pilots in a king bed together? About every shared communal disease (less the ones tranferred by contact for you dirty minded buggers!). I have succombed in a big way to Gavin´s head cold and after spending an hour at 3400m and close to freezing temps waiting for the start gate, my head was about to explode. One glide to the first turn point was all I could muster. Unfortunate given it was my best start yet at poll position. Rewarding though to hear the rest of the team bolster our standings here. Well done to all.
Off to bed to see if there is any substance in these expensive Mexican medications.
Shane.

antje cracks the ton !!!

2009-02-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

big big pat on the back for miss daehler, she just cracked a 114km goal for a distance PB and her first 100km flight, superb. first aussie into goal too, followed by myself and james. nice day, good clouds and 3700m base. freakin cold at altitude tho, the wind chill had to be about minus 5. 70 something in goal i hear. great task tho, big climbs, superb flying.

yesterday was interesting, easy task after our rest days, supposedly, but with 4 nappy chucks, 3 mid airs and 3 tree landings and a final glide across the lake made for a memorable day. i felt edgy about a 9to1 glide across the pond but made it in with 100m. one select serbian came in late and cleared the bank by 1m, landed tail just over the edge to a huge roar, a windsurfer had to put down to avoid him, awesome stuff.

gav

More from James.

2009-02-01T15:58:00.001-08:00

Today's a rest day, and we need it. I've made gaol 3 time and had 3 short flights, This is the Worlds and they are setting world class task, a mistake and that's the end of the day for you. The area and flying is demanding so this rest day was looked forward to by everyone. We expect that we will have another straight 6 days of flying to the end of the comp. Must unusual but not for Valle.
James

From James.

2009-02-01T15:56:00.000-08:00

I've seen the butterfly, I'm taking it quiet, and only having the few quiet Ales after flying. I've made shore of plenty of sleep and good food. I've found Valle so much nicer then Mexico city, and like any Paragliding spot the locals are into the sport and know how to treat these poor paragliders.
I've been lucky to get to goal 3 time. Day 3 was only a 19km Flight, when I pushed to quick on a slow day. Today around 35kms, came back from the flats by the 3 kings (had a big wait for the kings to pop a thermal, then back over the road back to Valle over the air strip, it was total shade and with only broken weak climbs we drifted over the golf/horse/ bulls/polo/Hi tension power line so low, I lost the lift at tree height and landed, A pilot 50ft above me climbed out. It took him half an hour to get to base. I was packed up and walking to the road when the gaggle glided on.
I just keep in mind that the worse part of the flight is the thermals of El. Penon, G spot and of course the aptly named Crazy thermal Masa, Oh what fun 149 gun pilots in STRONG lift, base at 2820m (that 600m above the top of the masa), You leave the thermal and hit even stronger lift that pops you into the cloud, you came out the side, turn so not to lose too much height, and have gliders pop out the cloud right on top of you, You lose height so quickly with the equally strong sink, so it straight back into the strong lift to do it all over again.
You may ask arnt there 150 pilot in the comp, yes 149 guns and a little "Aussie battler" who know when to take it easy.
Now collapse, Yes I've had a few, in fact I've had the works, today's best was a ascetic when in the cleft of El Penon 80ft from the rock face with other glider close, so I'm trying to control direction, away from the face, and between the other gliders. The best Collapse I saw was yesterday a comp glider took a hit which went into a cascade, he was totally out of control till he got a grip on it, about 5 big collapses in a row with little directional control, as he was entering a thermal, the thermal still had hold of him at the end, he had gain about 500m when he got it under control. Ohh what Fun is Crazy Thermal Masa.
Below are links to some photos and my flights.
James

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=jamesflys&target=ALBUM&id=5295768068876425793&authkey=nuxGvFAfgIU&authkey=nuxGvFAfgIU&feat=email

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/158719

memorial sunday

2009-02-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

memorial day today, we all went up to launch and had a bit of a service for stephan and flew with bunches of flowers which was a really nice gesture. a lovely day with smooth climbs and a high base and everyone just glided back to town and dropped flowers over the lakeside LZ. a quiet respectful day. with so many tasks it was nice to have a bit more rest too, to prepare for tomorrow and the rest of the comp. a quiet evening on the sunset deck i think. gav

Eat Sleep Fly

2009-01-31T14:18:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone, we've got a rest day today, and so I've finally made it onto the blog.

You probably have read about the tragic accident yesterday, and all I could add would be 3rd hand, so I won't comment any further.

The last 6 days have been gruelling - eat sleep fly was about all I was capable of doing, oh, and then I needed some energy for the odd walk out. It's an amazing area to fly in, but the air is rough as guts, especially in the area in front of launch and at the start gate. Bright will be a breeze after this ...

7 more tasks seems both a lot (and the weather is so consistent here that this probably really means 7 more tasks), and then it doesn't seem a long time at all before we're leaving.

I am glad I'm missing out on the heatwave in Melbourne though!

Anyway, thanks to everybody who posted, and thanks also to those silent supporters that read this, it means a lot that you are following what's going on here.

Antje

life's an adventure

2009-01-31T11:45:00.000-08:00

hi all. writing this in a much sobered mood on a much needed rest day. long day out for me yesterday decking up in the high ground after 55km practically on the top of a remote peak when i got flushed with no glide out. i spent the afternoon and evening drinking with the locals in a tiny mountain village and then got a ride with the SOL beer truck when it came to make deliveries. many remote beer deliveries later i finally found our retrieve and got home at 1am on a day that was tragic for all of us. an epic retrieve pales into insignificance compared to the price others paid on this day. our thoughts go ut to stefan's family, team and close friends. such a top pilot at the top of his game, and such a nice guy too, a big loss for us all. a very sobering atmosphere here today with everyone just forgetting the racing for a while and lying low out of respect for a friend. take care all when in the air, the edge is often very near. gav

When seconds decide us.

2009-01-30T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
I write this rattled by the death of a pilot today. Out of respect for his friends and family I won´t mention his name however it all shall be revealed in time.
We all respect that the nature of the sport has it´s inherit risks but it´s not until you witness the final seconds from joy to finality that certain renewed perspectives are drawn.
We were in the 2nd transition from the start gate when most of the pilots were pushing along the rock face they call the ¨wall¨. The aforementioned pilot was about 50m in front of me on my line when he copped an assymetric collapse that turned into a pretty benign cravat. He is a very experienced test pilot and handled his direction with no real problems. His main concern was the height loss and lack of landing options as he was sinking out in front of the wall, no doubt giving reason for pause to throw his reserve. Besides he never looked like he would loose control of the situation provided height remained on his side. I can´t be sure what his intentions were from here but after I made a full turn in the strong thermic lift coming off the rock face to get a renewed perspective of his circumstance, he was already lying lifeless on an steep incline weathered into the rock. I then attempted to loose height to land on a small bald rock edge overhead. An extreme landing at the best of times, however in these strong thermic conditions, very dangerous. His position was radioed in immediately and within minutes there were people on the scene from a direct road from launch- about 1km away.
Discussions with another eye witness described him making initial contact with the rock face from which cleared the wing of it´s cravat. The strong thermic updraft then turned his wing up and over towards the cliff.
Our thoughts and condolences goes out to his family, friends and team members. We are blessed each day we reflect on the positive experiences this sport brings. We are also blessed that nature has such an intimate role in the lives of paragliding pilots. Our successes and experiences in this sport are only in a small part a design of our own genius. The balance is owed to nature. What awesome hold it has on us...
...
Antje and I made goal. Unfortunately James and Gav landed out. Well timed rest day for the competitors tomorrow then a new canvas for some of us.
Shane.

...more day 5

2009-01-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

Just read Gav´s post as I haven´t seen him yet tonight so congrats there. I had dinner with James as he was back early as well. He was dissapointed to miss the 2nd turn point but took a responsible attitude not to push it into trees which rewarded an accompanying pilot. I haven´t heard from Antje so hope to update you when I know more. My day, again hard and fast. 4th to first turn point. 1st to 2nd turn point. On the deck before the 3rd. Moved off line away from the convergence line that put me on the deck yesterday only to find another hole. Interestingly, yesterday´s line saw the whole pack high and far. It´s a difficult one to read as it moves constantly however there were better clouds forming on the route I took. A deception that is common according to locals.
A more dissapointing side of the comp is the amount of cloud flying that is going on. The concensus is that it´s too difficult to deal with so the organisation are only prepared to keep bidding that pilots to not do it. There are consistently 500m or greater gains in altitudes for pilots who maintain their lines in strong convergence lift on long glides, skying out through the sides of clouds at the end of these lines. The other concern is the amount of tree landings. There is an average of about 2 to 3 per day. Some are unavoidable through loss of control over trees however there are many who are putting themselves out there in up or in circumstances. Average of 1 or 2 reserve throws per day as well but that can be expected given the trimmings of most of these protos.
Aside from that huff, it is a very pleasant place to be both on and off the ground. Thanks guys for your postings. Your support doesn´t go unfelt.
Another day tomorrow then one of rest.
Shane.

day 5

2009-01-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

just 1 more day till the rest day, were hanging for it, i've racked up 20hrs and 400km in 5 days and everyone is starting to drag. heavy head cold for me today so early to bed. big one today, 114km out to some pretty far reaching terrain. i fell 16km short so a bit bummed with my 4 1/2 hrs and 98km. maybe 40 or 50 in goal today so sorted out the field a bit, a 30km head wind back to the mesa plateau hammered us. lots in the trees today. feeling better about my flying tho, slow the first couple of days but today i kept with the lead gaggle for 85km which in this field i'm chuffed with, headwind then scattered us to the wind, litterally and half of the top ten didn't make goal either so will shake things up a bit. rough day for the aussies and kiwis today with none in goal, hard day tho i must admit. finding it very hard to crack the top half of the field. we'll keep on at it tho.
now for sleep, sweet sleep. gav

in the air

2009-01-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

couple of shots of our time in the air, nice big start gaggle from task 2 i think, nice start with my buddy anders barheim from norway. and check this out for a launch director, don't mess with any man holding an automatic rifle.

pics of valle

2009-01-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

about time to get some picture up i reckon, our home for 3 weeks and our haunts. the taco man is gold, $1 for a taco, 3 and you can barely walk, doesn't come any better. our street where our terrace house is and the red bull mobile DJ hummer, wouldn't be a comp without it. yesterday was pink floyd day, nice.

Days 3 and 4.

2009-01-28T19:20:00.000-08:00

Well three of the team seem to be motoring along getting some consistent results only to be slowed by a flat tyre of a team leader- having spent more time in the long retrieve routes than over the volcanic terrain of the Valle area.
Yesterday I again managed to hit the 2nd turn point in the lead group of 8 pilots however was a little bit lower and was thermic soaring up the face of a mountain until muscled out by the balance of the lead gaggle of some 90 pilots. Oh yeah, the face in question was only about 80m wide.... I and a group of others who couldn´t stomach the carnage dropped off to our dooms on the deck in very stable midday conditions. Antje and Gav did better by taking a couple of more glides further on course. In all it proved a day to stay in the air early to reap the rewards of an improving day.
Today Gav followed by James and Antje all made goal. Antje made the speed section however was 100m out of range of goal at time of task close but still flying. Bad luck there. These guys are really doing us proud in tough racing conditions. No excuses for me as I took a different convergence line than the leading two gaggles in an attempt to make up some ground only to find the virtual waterfall at the end of it. Shame, as I kept higher than most until the turn of furtune.
Bring on day 5.

Chances lost and found

2009-01-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

Day 2 saw a 91km task on a trickier day than the first. All team members were a little more settled in and James proved a serial glider is no handicap for careful decision making, making goal where quite a few top pilots fell short. Antje also fared well unfortunately just falling short but in a respectable position at the time, being ahead of both Gav and I.
Gav, James, and I took what we could on the previous task and all grabbed excellent starts up front. I lucked out with a better line to the first turnpoint and sustained a good position holding the lead at the second only to make a decision that decided my fate for the rest of the day. Pushed on to higher country which the Americans said was the right one if the cloud bases were higher. The remaining lead gaggle put the breaks on at the turnpoint and took a patient slow climb. Gav smoked in from the second gaggle 4km back but shared my fate when we both tried to recover our loses by being flushed by venturi. Gav took a better recovery climb and got a good jump on me but we both were forced by strong drift into taking an alternative route round to the last turn point than most of the field containing both James and Antje. Gav managed to grab the last lift the day had to offer after we both passed the last turn point and make goal while I landed short.
That´s paragliding.... having 25 kids get stuck into your gear while your back's turned and run off with it- well, that´s Mexico. It was dark when I got home so haven´t fully checked my inventory though I do know one of my gloves is some amego´s catching mit tonight.
Off to bed for round 3 tomorrow.
Shane.

day 1

2009-01-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

task 1 down, 75km race to goal via 4 TP's with every man and his dog in goal. nice relatively easy first task flying across the main area and a good intro to racing here. eric reed from the US won the drag in his icepeak 3, shane and i in at the end of the second gaggle, maybe 60-70 back, slow start, playing catchup. ok for a first day tho me thinks, nice conditions. james came in about 30min later and antje unfortunately met the ground near one of the TP's out in the flats, (kind of flats) slow going out there. full results should be at www.pwmex2009.com but all in good mexican time. i think physical endurance will be a big factor here, i'll be surprised if we don't fly everyday, so tiring for sure. ok taco time. g

Day 1 done with...

2009-01-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the team took a rest day to do some site seeing. We planned to go and visit the monarch butterflies. Three of the four made it. I made it to the toilet just in time, dozens of times in fact. 12 feet between the bed and bathroom, well rehersed with the mexican bug as a drill seargent. To cap it off we had the opening ceremony last night which was a bit of a challenge to my well-being to say the least. The ceremony was spectacular with the whole town turning out for the march and fireworks to cap it off. Then it was an early retirement for me with the rest of the team attending the dinner.
After an early start for the team leader briefing, we were away on our first task today. A 75km taks with a mix of covergence, thermic soaring, and thermals. As warned by others who fly here a lot, local knowledge goes a very long way. There are a good mix of house thermals and known convergence lines and sink holes, the latter taking victim on the team at times. Gav and I traded places a few times from the middle of the field. He took the final honours though finishing a couple of minutes in front of me, followed by James who got caught out low on the final turn point which burnt up some time. Antje unfortunately didn´t make it in and have yet to see her so bad luck to her.
Anyway, off to the supermarket for me for some ´soft´food supplies. It´s looking like a fully flyable comp so will keep you posted when we can.
Cheers,
Shane.

nappy changing time

2009-01-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

hmm, well today showed us a little more of whats in store i think, tough day, rough as hell with 4 nappies being thrown out and a lot of people landing out, way out, still hiking kind of out. the worlds top chicks had a nappy throwing competition in fact, eva went into the lake and anje collected some follage on the very top of a very big and very inaccessible peak, long night there. so we're starting the nappy count, well we might start it when the comp starts but we're warming up. i lucked out and jagged a ride with the argentinian 4x4 retrieve but james made it back to the townside goal, it's his birthday after all so good he had a good one. we will go out for a fancy team mexican dinner if antje makes it back by night fall, still hiking......nothing $1 beers and taco's can't fix. : ) g

2009-01-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

Howdy all,
Gav & I are humorously interpreting our Mexican keyboards to give you all an update of Valle de Bravo.
In a few words, ¨Fun funky flying¨. Good strong convergence from launch boosting pilots to heights of about 3100-3300m at a slow rate of about 8m/s. Seems to be quite a technical area. Gav & I are camped out with the Kieth MacCullogh (Canada), Matt Beechinor (USA), Anders Baerheim (Norway), and a few other groupies/squatters- all whom know the area very well so it has been a bonus to pick their brains over 90c coronas of an evening.
Caught up with all the usual suspects with most arriving today. As usual the poor crew of the worlds (us) are a standout with the only old gliders in the sky... Great to see the protos coming into the LZ back in town after a days flying. Some spanking new designs and a lot of purring going on with inquisitive pilots comparing feathers.
Returning to the flying again, James has been here a couple of days before Gav, Antje, and me to test fly the area with a couple a tales that I´ll let him fill you in on. The rest of us had our first flap yesterday and was generally enjoyed all round. Gav flew to town with the main gaggle and scored some good height and glides. He got some great shots over the lake of the town and I believe he is uploading them now.
I took the unusual choice of venturing out on my own (;b) to the north-west of the lake only to be told after arriving at the LZ in town later that afternoon that that is unchartered territory. Ahh, ignorance is bliss. There was also a first with one of the Germans landing on the summit of the volcano (I assume dormant) to the south-east of launch and reflying after a bit of site-seeing.
Well, winding down to the start of all things purposfull in 4 days. We are feeling pretty keen to bring it on so keep an eye on this spot for more updates.
Happy flying,
Shane.
PS: A Norwegan visiting pilot had spent four days flying with four reserve chucks, the final one entangled with another pilot in front of launch. Please someone tap me on the shoulder if this ever becomes my fate... Ciao.

once upon a time in mexico

2009-01-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

30 hours, 3 airports, 1 flat tyre and no sleeps and we´re at valle! and awoke to the consistently superb conditions we´ve all heard about. it´s wierd to fly a site where you don´t bother about the weather, just assume it´s all good and kickass thermic conditions because it always is. we all had a nice 40km triangle around the main local peaks on tuesday followed by $1 beers and $1 tacos in the lakeside LZ, life is good. in essence valle is very much like bright, on a lake, with the whole thing jacked up 1000m, the valleys are at 1500m, tops at 2500-2700 or so and bases have been about 3500m, so altho the number is reasonable it´s very technical, low to the ground flying. as always at a worlds everyone is scoping out the new ships, it´s a bit of a changing of the guard tho, niviuk icepeaks are everywhere and kicking it, ozone R09´s are reasonable common place and keepin up well, boomerang 6´s look sharp but are fairly rare, the advance boys are flying old protos, and mercuries and magus´s are pretty much unheard of, what a change from manilla. a lot of the old faces are on new makes. but in such strong and consistent conditions, speed and lines will be of the essence and this will be a race of races. ok taco time, i´ll try and upload some more photo´s shortly. cheers, g

and they're off .....

2009-01-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

and they're off, james will be the first one to mexico. shane gavin and antje will be at valle de bravo on monday the 19th for a week of training flights prior to the comp. final preparations have been hectic brushing up on our spanish and getting a task for taco's and corona. oh, and also flying like mad, new gliders, mid summer conditions, busy days.....