Neddles? Where?

The forecast today looked good - still have some strong winds from the NW, but we were excited about the possibilities.  We got up early and did a sledder this morning.  Jeff and Werner got some good shots as it was smooth and we were all able to fly together.  We did a quick pack-n-turn and grabbed a ride back up the hill from Nigel to be ready for the cycles to start around 11am.
 
Strong cycles were going up launch and take-offs were difficult, but once in the air there was abundant lift, but very strong NW winds.  We were all able to make it North to the antenna's but could not push further upwind.  I got high, and headed back toward launch.  Once I made it to the end of the ridge I caught a nice thermal and rode it up to over 6500 feet.  At this point I had been flying for about 50 minutes and was absolutely freezing, so I decided to head back to Marks.
 

In a descending glide over the town, I started to warm up.  I arrived over Marks with over 2000 feet of altitude so I headed to the ridge to the SE, that leads to the Crete de Chamatte.  I arrived about half way up the hill and after about 15 minute of the most intense, low-level, tree kicking scratching I've ever done, I as at the height of the ridge.

I happened to see Jeff coming back from the South.  He had made the same transition and soared the length of the ridge to the Chamatte peak.  There was plenty of lift along the ridge but it was a mix of the NW wind and thermals and was quite rowdy.  I started getting cold again and tired of fighting the turbulence.  With the gite in site, and knowing there was cold beer in the fridge, I made a couple passes along the ridge and then set out for home.

Jeff and I arrived over the house about the same time and the entire valley was full of lift.  We were actually coordinating radio calls of where to find sync so we could get down.  We both landed at the same time and were met by Mark in the LZ.  Steve showed up a bit later, having crossed the valley at the Antenna's and made a nice triangle taking the 'Tour de Chavalet".

Werner and Jackie had flown tandem that day.  They had side hill landed near where I was scratching.  I was right over them but never saw them.  Werner insisted on hiking up the ridge and relaunching, which took them 2 hours of bushwhacking.  They relaunched and joined us at the house just in time to make a run into town for pizza and beers.

During the hike, Werner had tromped thru some sort of bush with small thorns, which collected all over his clothes.  Some of them worked with way past his pant line and down his butt-crack - thus he named his new launch accordingly on XContest!

To celebrate the day, Steve and I cooked a big meal - mushroom soup, steaks, sausages & potatoes.  And of course beer.  We even splurged and got some fancy Belgium ales.

Not a bad day and a nice 24km flight for me, although Steve ruled the day with the most XC points.

Here's a Doarama of my track.

And the XContest tracks for Jeff, Steve and I.  

Jeff & Werner go XC!

The mistral continues.  We got up early and did a sledder this morning before the winds picked up but the forecast for noon today is 35km/h at launch.  Jeff and Werner got some good shots as it was smooth and we were all able to fly together.

Steve and I elected to stay at the apartment and catch up on some work and do some video & photo editing.  Jeff, Werner & Jackie headed back to St. Vincent.

Around 2pm we got a txt from Jackie - St Vincent was working and Jeff and Werner had made an impromptu decision to try and fly back to St. Andre.  We pulled up Jeff's SPOT tracker and his location on Friend Finder and watched as they scooted over 40km south toward St. Andre.

They were on the front side of the range and could never get high enough to make the transition at Chevel Blanc.


The both landed safely by the main road at La Javie and Jackie picked them up.  The tracks are in the photo to the right.  Jeff's is Red and Werner's is Green.  Here is the link to the XContest Airbuddies tracks.

One other note - just thinking this flight would be a local ridge soaring flight, Jeff elected to fly his LM5.  Instead, Werner took off south and Jeff followed him.  This was the first time he flew it in really rough, thermic conditions and he said it handled great.  I don't think we will see his Alpina out of the bag anymore this week!



Edit: - Here's Jeff's video of the flight.


Paragliding St Vincent to La Javie from Jeff Thompson on Vimeo.

St. Vincent les Forts

The day started off cold and cloudy with lots of fog and misting rain.  We hiked up the hill to visit Nigel & Carol (and Merlin) this morning and discuss XC routes.  Nigel & Carol are another couple of expat Brits that live in St. Andre.  Nigel is a pilot to and gives us rides up the hill each day for a fiver.

We we arrived we, another pilot, Dieter, that Werner & Jackie know was already there discussing potential routes and the weather.  Carol served tea and we all had a time visit.

The mistral conditions of Sunday continued on Monday.  It was howling at St. Andre.  Werner
suggested we drive 1.5 hours north to St. Vincent les Forts.  This site is a low ridge soaring site at the north tip of the famous Dormulouse run.  We had hoped to see St. Vincent this trip, but by air, not car.

Werner figured that the lower takeoff, and the fact that it was shielded from the winds by the bigger mountains to the NW near Veynes.  Sounded better than sitting around watching the trees blow over, so we piled in the car and headed north.

I drove this time, I didn't want to arrive green again.  Once we pulled into the parking lot my jaw dropped.  The scenery was insane.  This was the most beautiful view from a takeoff I have ever seen.  The blue of the lake, the hue of the lavender fields on the opposite hillsides and those mountains in the distance were breath taking.  Click on the pic to the left for a larger, more stunning image.

The winds were light so we dug in and started parawaiting on the carpeted launch.  Soon cars started pulling to the lot and before you know it there were at least 100 pilot waiting on launch.  Every so often someone would dare to huck, and immediately sink out.  It was very, very light.  Jackie decided to take a turn and soon Werner was on his way down the hill to pick her up.

After a while, Jeff and I decided to huck. We both had extended sledders, working some slight lift on the north end of the hill.  Even for a sled run, it was an amazing flight just because of the view.  Of course my GoPro was malfunctioning so no video!

Right as we were finishing packing up, Steve pulled up to give us a ride back to lauch. As we were coming up the hill, Jackie launched again and we pulled over so Jeff could get some good shots of her in the air.  Werner took a short flight and was able to top-land, but it never really turned on.  After more parawaiting we decided to bag it and head back.  More meat on the grill and beers for dinner.  Another good day!

Hike and Fly

We awoke Tuesday to a forecast of a Mistral wind.  A Mistral is a local phenomena to southern France & Provence.  It is a strong, cold dry wind from the NW, that is caused when there is a high over the Bay of Biscay and a low over the Gulf of Genoa in the Med.  The wind funnels down the long, thinning Rhone river valley that acts as a venturi.  Top speeds of up to 90KM have been recorded.

Given the conditions, we were looking for lower elevation sites that would be shaded from the strong winds.  Luckily Werner knows the area well and suggested we hit Greoliers, about hour to the south.  Greoliers is a hike up site and is south facing and usually a good ridge soaring site as the sea breeze from the Med moves north.

After an hour of Werner's best Michael Schumacher driving thru the mountains we made it, but I was a bit green from the ride.  The hike up wasn't that bad, unless you are a fat, out of shape Alabama redneck.  There was a gentle breeze at launch and our hopes of soars were decreasing.  We had a good time fooling around, taking pics and enjoying the outdoors.  Finally, Jackie and I launched and took the inevitable sled ride down.  Just as I was landing I felt a bubble of lift but it was too little too late.  But at least I flew!

Jeff was coming in behind be and was a bit smarter.  The LZ is actually on a terrance before dropping away to another 700 or feet to the valley floor.  Jeff got over the lip of the terrance as was able to work some light lift before he landed.  Werner did his usual Cuv imitation and caught a thermal and benched up the upper rider where he had stronger winds.  Steve worked his way more east and was staying up, but starching.  Wasn't long before both of them joined us in the LZ.

We loaded up and headed back to St. Andre.  Upon arrival we didn't see any gliders in the air (not expecting to either) but decided to head up to the west launch to see if the wind was going to lay down enough for an evening sledder.  When we got there it was blowing straight in at around 12mph - perfect to soar the ridge.  We all launched and had the entire ridge to ourselves in butter smooth air.  It start to shut down after about an hour and we all headed for Mark's LZ.

Earlier we had grabbed some steaks so the evening meal was tossed on the grill and cold beers were enjoyed by all.


Here's a brief video of the evening soaring session.



La Chavet Soaring from Rob Reynolds on Vimeo.

 

Welcome to St. Andre

I made it into St. Andre around 9pm last night... the drive too forever as I kept getting stuck behind trucks and caravans on sketchy mountain roads.  Jeff and Steve had cold beers and cheese waiting on me.


Soon after I arrived I got to meet Elena, half of the dynamic duo of Mark and Elana and our hosts for the week.  We are renting a gorgeous apartment at the end of their farmhouse.  Beautiful
accommodation and there is a LZ in the front garden.

Shortly after meeting Elana, Werner & Jackie arrived from Switzerland.  Jeff meet them last year and had a blast hanging out and flying with like minded people, so they coordinated their vacation with our trip.

After a good nights sleep, we headed up the hill for a morning sledder off the south launch.

Wide open launch and an easy flight to get things started.  The main LZ in town is at the confluemce of 3 valley and can be windy and turbulent,  and Mark's LZ in front of the house is just slightly better.  But no issues as we all had great flights.  Toward the end of the flights we all notice the bubbles of thermals, so once we landed we wasted no time in packing up and heading back up the hill.


Our second flight was more what we were looking for.  I launched and scratched around for a while to the east of launch, while Jeff, Werner & Steve went west.  Jackie, the sensable one, stayed on the ground as it was gusty and starting to look like it would overdevelop.


After boating around for a while, I got a really nice, extended climb that took be above launch so I decided to top land and get the car.  No sense in having to ride back up the hill in the dark to retrieve it.  While I as packing up, Steve came in and top landed in style to check out the conditions.

There were over 20 gliders in the air and most were on big ears to avoid being pulled into clouds.  After figuring that it wasn't going to OD, Steve took off again and I finished packing and headed down.  A quick stop at the market for more beer, cheese and bread and I picked up Steve in the Main LZ.  We go back to the house just in time to watch Jeff and Werner land.

Great day flying!

Here's some video from the second flight of the day:

 

Vive la France!

Well, I finally made it to Nice.  Quick post here from my cell as I wait for bags.  Got into Madrid early and cleared customs in record time - enough time to make the earlier flight, which was WIDE open... not even 10% full according the the seating chart on Iberia's website.

Long story short, Iberia customer service sucks.  Rather than move me to the earlier, wide open flight and thus freeing up a seat on the SOLD OUT afternoon flight - they decided they would rather try to extort 1100 euros out of me to change my ticket.

The lady kept repeating that my ticket was too cheap.  "You have the cheap ticket".  Guess what lady, your company sold it to me.  Not sure she understands how the airline industry works but if you have a customer wanting to trade a high demand seat for a low demand seat, you make the swap and your company profits.

So I spent the day in the Madrid airport, drinking the local brew, eating ham sandwiches and catching up on emails.   Its almost 5pm here now, looking forward to getting on the road to St. Andre.  Jeff and Steve arrived this morning and got some flying in already, so I am behind!

Never again Iberia.  Never, ever again!

Off to the Alps!

Tomorrow I leave for our annual paragliding trip in Europe.  After visiting Switzerland 4 years in a row, we decided to try something different this year - France!

The Jungfrau is a great place to fly and visit, and we have a wonderful setup with the apartment we rent from Diane this year, but the weather there has been very unpredictable for the last 3 years.  On top of that, peak flying season there is late spring/early summer and that is hard to do with my work schedule.

This year we decided on St. Andre in the Maritime Alps of Southern France.  Jeff and Steve visited there for a long weekend last October when they were in France for work and had a blast, so we are giving it a go!  Not to mention that both the British and Eurpoean PG championships where held there last year!

St. Andre is only 1.5 hours from Nice by car, and Jeff found a great apartment (gite, in French) for us to rent from a British couple.  He's also a pilot (HG & PG) and has lots of local experience so we plan on pumping him for advice.  They certainly cater to pilots, as you can tell my their website at Fly St. Andre.

I'm flying out late tomorrow to Madrid on my ole standby, USAir, and then I have a 9 hour layover before getting into Nice around 4pm on Friday.  Why a layover?  Well, USAir couldn't get me a decent, upgrade-able ticket into Nice, but could get me to Madrid for $600 bucks AND a free first class upgrade.   My Madrid to Nice leg is on Iberia for only 160 euro.   I'm going to need to collect bags, clear customs, and then take a bus to another terminal and recheck bags.  Everything I have read online suggests that things move slower in Spain and this process could take 3 hours.  The first available connection is 2 hours after I land and I don't want to risk it.

Next post will be from France!

Motor XC Saturday

I hit EKY early this morning for a little motor XC.  Flew out to the west to check out the strip mines east of the I-20/I459 interchange.


Check out either the XComp GPS track or the Leonardo track.

Motocross & Paragliders

Jeff, Cuv and I were back in SoCal this weekend.  I was in LA for meetings Thursday & Friday and was able to get some flying in at Torrey Pines in late Friday afternoon before picking up the other two from the airport.

We crashed at Ron's Friday night and then headed to Elsinore on Saturday for the final MX race of the season.   It was hot and dry but the race was exciting (despite having to walk over a mile to a different Will-Call for our pit passes).  We got to hang out with Christina and the Rock River team and stayed hydrated with Bud Lites.

After the race, we decided Ron needed a new grill, so it was off to Lowes.  Jeff promised it would fit in the back of the rental.  It didn't.   We got lucky as an older guy was leaving and asked if he could help.  He had a truck and was headed right past Ron's, but his small truck bed was filled with an old grill he had just acquired for 5 bucks.  We were able to fit this grill into the trunk, put the new one for Ron in the bed of the truck and we were off!


The forecast for the local soaring sites wasn't great on Sunday, so we ended up back at Torrey, along with Ron and his visiting fraternity brother, Smith, from Birmingham. Good flying in very light conditions and Smith got a long tandem.


The main purpose of this trip (other than the motocross) was to test out Jeff's new LM5 and Cuv's new Delta 2.  The LM5 is a beautiful glider, handles great and glides like crazy.  Of course we weren't able to test it in thermic conditions so I'm still hesitant about flying it in big air.

I also liked the handling of the D2, even thought I was under the weight range.  Of course it was easy to stay up in the light conditions when you are light on the glider. 

Oh, Jeff's motor student, Joe, was out at Torrey working with Phil Russman on his P2, so we got to see both Joe and Phil and share a post flight beverage.

Thanks again Ron for the place to crash!

Next up in 2 weeks - our Alps trip!  This year the destination is Saint Andre in the French Alps!




Brief wing testing video:

More EKY Fun

Hooked up with Curtis and Mark at EKY this morning.  The light breeze and high overcast made the air smooth as silk.  Easy launches and landings as we chased each other around the airport.  I'm so glad the management at EKY is ultralight friendly!

Chasing Greg (Paramotor Style)

Meet up with the rest of the 'Bama gang at Cleveland today to burn some premix.  Greg and I got up first and I had a blast chasing him around the area.  He's pretty fast all loaded up on that trike.

Saturday at EKY

Curtis joined me yesterday at EKY (Bessemer Airport).  We did a little jaunt around the local area.  Gotta love having an entire GA airport to yourself on a beautiful Saturday morning.

Video evidence of our fun:

Back to Blossom

Another business trip to LA, so I spent the weekend in San Diego at Ron's new place in Vista.   Jeff and Cuv joined me and we hit blossom again.

We all made it to El Cap this time - special thanks to Phil Russman (Lite Touch Films) for the encouragement to make the jump over the valley when I didn't think I was high enough.

Here's my track.

And a Doarama of my flight.
 


Here's Jeff's video:

Motor fun!

Sorry for the lack of updates - not much flying going on recently.  I used the down time this winter to get some motor maintence out of the way.

Anyway, I got my usual Saturday before Fathers day Hall Pass and used it to go flying!

San Diego Weekend

Rob C, Steve and I had business on the west coast, so we all met up in San Diego for some flying.  Jeff straggled out and joined us.

Rob, Steve and I flew Soboba on Friday and it rocked.

Then we hit Torrey Saturday morning, then Blossom Saturday afternoon and Sunday.  Great time and excellent flying, especially Blossom, although no one managed a run to El Cap and back.

My Soboba track is here.


One of my Blossom tracks here.





Some video from Blossom:

Ozone Ultralight 3- Mini Review

Received an Ozone UL3 in a 25M late last week. Incredibly light and small. 


I laid it out against a S swift 2 and a MS Geo3 - looks to be the same size and shape as a small Element 2.  The size of the risers is sick - so small, thin and light!

Photo comparison of the UL3 on the left, compared to a Swift 2 on the right, along with the light risers:

I put about 4 hours flight time on the UL3 last weekend at Torrey Pines. It was all ridge lift with the exception of one climb in the house thermal on the south side. Glide is better than expected and because I am light on the wing, I was usually the highest glider on the ridge.

My all up weight is 79kg and I was flying the 25M size with an Advance Lightness harness.

The good:

• launching is a breeze... very stable overhead too.
• very responsive, once you learn to give it quick, deep inputs
• surprisingly good glide - a bit less that 7.5:1 but I think I am light on the wing.
• typical smooth ozone handling
• love the light weight and packing size
• love the light brake handles - very comfortable, especially with taking a wrap.
• very easy to make a flat turn, without the need of outside brake

The not so good:

• the light risers are a pain in the ass to sort
• no brake line snap - just some velcro that doesn't work well. will be modifying that.
• glider seemed very slow (but I am coming from an A2/Swift2 as my usual wing)
• the speed system requires a good bit of pressure to engage
• weighshift is not that great, but once you get in a turn initiated, its easy to keep it in the turn without needing brake

Love the glider, but I think I am going to sell it and get a 23M. I got the larger size because I intended to use it for vol biv trips and wanted a better glide, but I think the 23 will be just fine and also give me a bit more speed for mountain flying where there are high valley winds.

Here is a quick video of a short flight in very light conditions at Torrey... I top landed after a single pass rather than risk a hike up from the beach.  


UL3 First Flight from Rob Reynolds on Vimeo.