It's cold and wet this morning. The forecast says rain, rain, short pause, then more rain. I am curious to see what the organizers can salvage of the day, otherwise it certainly looks like the comp will be a two tasker at best (Thursday looks good but Friday looks like storms). Another early trip to …
Continue reading Celebrating mistakes during a Paragliding Competition.
Brrr. It's cold and dry this morning. Sitting outside at 6AM for the daily Skype check in with spousal unit, I am bundled up in fleece, jacket, and balaclava. Cold morning means active air. Dry, active air means a task. And a task there will be. Inland flying comes with a certain degree of predictability weather wise. …
Wake up to a full on northerly gale a blowin'. Wind blades a whippin', trees a bendin', and lenticulars a formin'. The Mistral is paying us a visit. You can guess what that means... No task. Chabre 2014 - the comp that never was? But the organizers have a plan to salvage the day - …
Continue reading The judge declares a Mistral, the pilots appeal to St.Vincent.
Low rumble off in the distance. A minute passes. Another, closer. Another minute. Yet another, nearly overhead. Pat. Pat..Pat. PatPatPatPatPatPatPatPatPatPatPatPatPatPat.... A quarter hour must have passed - one could easily keep time with the metronome like quality of the passing storm cell interval. During one deluge, I enquire at the restaurant downstairs as to what …
A 4 AM start here in Marseille. Everything has to fall into place travel wise if I am to have any chance of making registration and the mandatory pilots meeting at 0930 in Laragne. 0615 - Hotel Shuttle After a quick breakfast, the hotel shuttle drops me off at the bus stop in front of the …
Thursday starts with my very own personalized "The Terminal" experience. Advancing a paraglider laden cart through a patrol circuit of domestic, international and US departures. For 8 hours. The only thing breaking the monotony - a visit to the bag wrapping store. Ten dollars for peace of mind that I won't need to dry a soaked through reserve from a …
Limitations One of the lessons I learned while on my paragliding pilgrimage last summer was that the statement, "I fly an EN-B wing because it is safe." frequently heralds the presence of a pilot who is courting a tree landing. This is in part because the pilot places too much emphasis on the rating of …
Easter Sunday morning and the club LINE chat group was abuzz aplenty. Despite dire forecasts, including "Paragliding not recommended today in Vancouver, Chilliwack, Whistler, Pemberton, Bellingham or Seattle.", options were being put forth - Blanchard, Whitby, Pemberton and Woodside. By 1030 a consensus with a group heading for Woodside, expecting little more than sled rides. The …
Evolution is not out friend We are engaging in a activity for which evolution did not equip us and has potentially life threatening consequences. What nature did equip us with was a sense of 'this isn't right' and the thought of dangling below a collection of lines and fabric (especially in less than stellar conditions) …
Continue reading Sports Psychology and Paragliding: Here and Now.
On the threshold of your flying career, a school selected and dreams of joining your winged brethren. Counting down the days till the commencement of training, you have likely scoured the internet in search of information. Inevitably that search will come across video of flights with less than ideal outcomes. These outcomes are entirely preventable, …
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