After the large high pressure that had limited our flights during the first part of the expedition passed the team were excited about the challenge we faced. We were getting better and better skys and again the team were in the air chasing kms
BUT.....
After 35kms Cat was again forced down due to over development with Niel landing at 27km, he was then picked up and taken back to our accomadation by the local police! very friendly. Both pilots had seen the potential for the day but were happy to have landed without incident, unfortunatly the same could not be said for John and Tom who were flying the tandem. After Cat and Neil got away the wind increased and after an "interesting" time on take off the pair ended up trying to run off the high groud speed they had which for a moment it looked like they might do but as the wind gusted they ended up on the road with bumps and grazes!
John worked extremly hard the next day in what was always going to be difficult conditions, in very technical conditions John and Tom managed to creep down wind adding more distance to the team total. John´s efforts during this flight were acknolaged by the entire team.
The weather again did not want to play as front after front passed though causing a mix of humid cloudy mornings with LARGE thunder storms in the afternoon. Tom flew today but was grounded after a short time due to several storm cells building near by.
As we near the end of our time here the entire team feel lucky to have had the chance to play a part in this expedition, the area has hinted at the potential it holds for cross country flying but it hasn´t come together for us yet. The people have been amazing, always stopping to chat and asking questions about our strange equipment.
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Settling In
Friday 15th. Another difficult day, with the surface wind direction continually changing, making take-offs very difficult, as well as having 40-degree surface temperatures to contend with. Neil made an excellent decision and got away early to make 25km before being forced to land by a huge storm development in front of him. The rest of the group had experiences ranging from continual sink on release to some very small and aggressive thermals. The storm development ended the day early, but to be truthful, we were all glad to be out of the heat.
Our north Face clothing really showed its value today. Due to the natureof the terrain (lots of scrub) and the intense UV it is essential to fly in long trousers and sleeves, and in particular we found the North Face base layers exceptional; drawing sweat away from the skin and keeping cool on the ground but providing surprising warmth with the cooler temperatures at altitude. The light weight trousers with zip-off legs are also a big hit - very cool but providing a wind-proof barrier at cloudbase.
Saturday 16th. Today we woke up to a thick layer of stratus but with a forecast for it to clear. By 11am, the first holes began to appear in the clouds, and as we set of at noon, cumulus clouds were beginning to form. A light easterly wind offered us a 200km route following the available roads. Though none of us managed that distance, Martine pushed out 76km, Tom hit 66km, Cat touched down at 55km and Neiled chased hard but landed short of the 50Km mark! Each flight was curtailed by a combination of over-development and very few out-landing options (impenetrable forest as far as the eye could see).
Our north Face clothing really showed its value today. Due to the natureof the terrain (lots of scrub) and the intense UV it is essential to fly in long trousers and sleeves, and in particular we found the North Face base layers exceptional; drawing sweat away from the skin and keeping cool on the ground but providing surprising warmth with the cooler temperatures at altitude. The light weight trousers with zip-off legs are also a big hit - very cool but providing a wind-proof barrier at cloudbase.
Saturday 16th. Today we woke up to a thick layer of stratus but with a forecast for it to clear. By 11am, the first holes began to appear in the clouds, and as we set of at noon, cumulus clouds were beginning to form. A light easterly wind offered us a 200km route following the available roads. Though none of us managed that distance, Martine pushed out 76km, Tom hit 66km, Cat touched down at 55km and Neiled chased hard but landed short of the 50Km mark! Each flight was curtailed by a combination of over-development and very few out-landing options (impenetrable forest as far as the eye could see).
Saturday, 16 February 2008
First days
We met at the bus station in Carlos Paz with a mountain of bright yellow North Face kit bags and a correspondingly large heap of Sky glider bags. Somehow (????) we managed to get the whole lot plus all of us into a renault Scenic and headed into the Altas Cumbres mountains for a 3 day warm up.Although the conditions were quite light we were able to make several flights and fine tune our kit.
Tues 12 Feb. We left the mountains at 6 in the evening andf headed for Quimili in the far NE of the country. The drive was long....very, very long. We arrived at 4-30 in the morning but were up and ready to go by 9-30. Wednesday was a blue thermal day with strong, gusty surface conditions and only Neil and Martine got off for quick flights. Neils release was quite spectacular; just after release he fell out of a strong thermal, suffered a big deflation and while trying to recover put his glider into a spin. Neil put his experiance from the Flight Culture SIV trip to Lugano to good use, induced a full stall, recovered and continued to battle with thermals but no real distance was made.
Thurs 14 Feb. Again, the day started blue but we quickly had Cumulus developing and conditions rapidly improved. Although the sky looked good and we were getting 900 m off of the winch, the 1st climb was very difficult with averages of less than 1 m/s. Neil managed 35 km but Martin really excelled with 125 km.
Tues 12 Feb. We left the mountains at 6 in the evening andf headed for Quimili in the far NE of the country. The drive was long....very, very long. We arrived at 4-30 in the morning but were up and ready to go by 9-30. Wednesday was a blue thermal day with strong, gusty surface conditions and only Neil and Martine got off for quick flights. Neils release was quite spectacular; just after release he fell out of a strong thermal, suffered a big deflation and while trying to recover put his glider into a spin. Neil put his experiance from the Flight Culture SIV trip to Lugano to good use, induced a full stall, recovered and continued to battle with thermals but no real distance was made.
Thurs 14 Feb. Again, the day started blue but we quickly had Cumulus developing and conditions rapidly improved. Although the sky looked good and we were getting 900 m off of the winch, the 1st climb was very difficult with averages of less than 1 m/s. Neil managed 35 km but Martin really excelled with 125 km.
Friday, 8 February 2008
The Team are ready
After all the preparation the Flight Culture Expedition Team will meet in Argentina this Sunday and the latest attempt on the Paragliding Open Distance World Record will begin.
The final team have faced various hurdles along the way including injuries and very tight training schedules but the most commited have come though and we all stand on the start line proud of the attempt we have put together.
The Flight Culture Expedition Team:
John Welch CFI
John is a chief flying instructor (CFI) registered with the British Hang gliding & Paragliding Association (BHPA) & founder of Flight Culture. John began paragliding in 1987 while living in the French Alps and it was in France that he began instructing. Returning to England in 1994 he went on to gain his UK instructor and tandem rating and worked for two schools in the south of England before setting up Flight Culture in 2000.
John is an instructor examiner, serves on the BHPA executive committee as well as being the safety officer for his local club.
In addition to his paragliding qualifications, John is a PADI diving instructor and a qualified First Aid trainer
Tom Hassall
Tom brings a colourful array of experience to the team. His sporting prowess includes representing Great Britain in Kayaking. Tom has flown cross-country at numerous sites throughout Europe, including the UK, Southern Alps, the Pyrenees and the Canaries. After competing in Greece in 2004, Tom quickly established himself as a competitor locally. Tom also instructs for Flight Culture. A professional paramedic, Tom ia also the Team Medic.
Neil McCain
When you've been paragliding, you know why birds sing. That's how I feel about this amazing sport, anyway! I took it up in 1995, after seeing a kids' programme that featured brave souls running off mountain tops under day-glo coloured wings. It seemed that the sport was for adrenaline junkies only then, and I had my fair share o f hair-raising adventures! These days, paragliding has matured into a thrilling sport for everyone, where the safety of the gliders and the quality of the teaching has improved immeasurably.
Cat Hassall
Cat has been a serious snowboarder for many years and recently turned her eyes to the sky. A dedicated and focused individual, Cat brings alot to the team not least her always usefull medical knowledge and ability to stay calm when things get "interesting?!?".
Along side this UK team we will fly with some of Argentinas top pilots.
The team will be keeping this page updated regularly so add us to your fav's page and wish us all luck...
The final team have faced various hurdles along the way including injuries and very tight training schedules but the most commited have come though and we all stand on the start line proud of the attempt we have put together.
The Flight Culture Expedition Team:
John Welch CFI
John is a chief flying instructor (CFI) registered with the British Hang gliding & Paragliding Association (BHPA) & founder of Flight Culture. John began paragliding in 1987 while living in the French Alps and it was in France that he began instructing. Returning to England in 1994 he went on to gain his UK instructor and tandem rating and worked for two schools in the south of England before setting up Flight Culture in 2000.
John is an instructor examiner, serves on the BHPA executive committee as well as being the safety officer for his local club.
In addition to his paragliding qualifications, John is a PADI diving instructor and a qualified First Aid trainer
Tom Hassall
Tom brings a colourful array of experience to the team. His sporting prowess includes representing Great Britain in Kayaking. Tom has flown cross-country at numerous sites throughout Europe, including the UK, Southern Alps, the Pyrenees and the Canaries. After competing in Greece in 2004, Tom quickly established himself as a competitor locally. Tom also instructs for Flight Culture. A professional paramedic, Tom ia also the Team Medic.
Neil McCain
When you've been paragliding, you know why birds sing. That's how I feel about this amazing sport, anyway! I took it up in 1995, after seeing a kids' programme that featured brave souls running off mountain tops under day-glo coloured wings. It seemed that the sport was for adrenaline junkies only then, and I had my fair share o f hair-raising adventures! These days, paragliding has matured into a thrilling sport for everyone, where the safety of the gliders and the quality of the teaching has improved immeasurably.
Cat Hassall
Cat has been a serious snowboarder for many years and recently turned her eyes to the sky. A dedicated and focused individual, Cat brings alot to the team not least her always usefull medical knowledge and ability to stay calm when things get "interesting?!?".
Along side this UK team we will fly with some of Argentinas top pilots.
The team will be keeping this page updated regularly so add us to your fav's page and wish us all luck...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
