The weekend is coming - yippee!

The weekend is coming, the weekend is coming - yippee!

This weekend is the first annual "Golden Glassoff" for paragliding and hang gliding pilots. I'm SO looking forward to it. It's a costume party, plus friendly flying competition out in, you guessed it, Golden, BC.

After stressing over finding a half-decent costume I never did find, I decided to settle for something less than ideal. Oh well, whatever. 5 years from now, nobody's going to be like "Oh yeah, you were that chick who wore that crappy costume in Golden".

Too bad I haven't flown for a couple weeks now - I'd love to get some practice in. I truly have been busy lately, and combined with the still crappy weather, there have been very few opportunities to fly. Everytime it seems like a decently flyable day, the windtalker out in Cochrane reminds me that the wind is blowing out of the Northwest. And when I look at the mountains, there's snow on them...I still have SOME hope of flying off Prairie this season yet. We'll see.

Over the last week or so, what I have been doing is researching how and where to take the HAGAR (hang gliding air regulations exam). Being a requirement for intermediate paragliding pilots, I figure now's as good as time as any to get it. Unfortunately there are so many friggen politics with Transport Canada involved, that it's just silly. Long story short, there are some local flying centres (for airplane pilots) which offer the exam. It costs about a hundred bucks, and all you get is the exam - no prepping material, no nothing.

I don't want to put 100 of my hard-earned dollars on the line attempting to pass an exam I don't have much of a chance doing. I need to study! HPAC (the Hang gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada) is trying to smoothen this ridiculous and expensive test-taking process, as it was only changed recently. Apparently Transport Canada administered the exam in the past, and it was about $35. HPAC did develop a study guide that's available online though - at least this is a start. http://www.hpac.ca/pub/?pid=95

A couple of us might try to round up some other pilots interested in taking the exam, and try to get a group test-taking rate or something. Maybe we could all share the knowledge we do have about the material on the exam, and make sure everybody passes. I can't wait until I pass this exam, and I can't wait too until this weekend!

Crappy weather, or beautiful weather, this weekend will kick ass!

Paragliding can be embarassing...

Ho hummmmm.....not flying sucks! The weather is crappy and cold, so there hasn't been any flying happening for almost two weeks out here.

Lately though, I've been meeting lots of new people, and for some strange reason when they ask me what I do for fun, I get embarrassed when I tell them I paraglide! wwweeeeeiiirrrrrrdddd.

I dunno, maybe it's because paraglide is such a "cool" sport, and there's a part of me that thinks others think I'm doing it because of the "coolness" factor? Man, even though there's nothing further from the truth, sometimes it's like you've almost got to convince people that you like something because, maybe you don't seem like the type who normally would. It's like yeah, here you've got (at first glance, anyway) this young girl who's sometimes overly courteous, professional, and business-like, and yet she likes flying and drinking beer with paraglide pilots? Jeez, I can see why people've got me all wrong!

On the other hand though, when you think about it, most people in the sport are middle-aged men who seem to have been in the sport f o r e v e r. So, it's a cool sport that is manily comprised of people over 35...my thinking is that by the time you're this age, you've attained as much sanity as you'll ever have, so paragliding can't be THAT crazy. Hucking yourself off 30 foot cliffs from a mountain bike usually seems reserved for those below the age of 30 or 35. Hmmm.... it seems our elders have learned that young minds tend to mature quickly after a couple skull fractures and broken limbs.

I never get sick of the look on people's faces when I tell them I like to fly. First they ask the usual questions about jumping off cliffs, suicidal tendencies pilots must have, and then they ask to be named as a benefactor of your will. Ok, maybe not quite, but pretty close! What a contrast it is between talking casually with pilots who say, like to get the blood going by doing acros, and then talking to some business dude who gets a rush from driving like 3 miles an hour over the speed limit. Diversity rules!

Well, I've been working a lot lately (ok, a lot for ME), to save money for flying. Now's a good time to work because the weather is crap, so you know you're not missing anything. At the same time though, I get all antsy when I think about the flying other pilots are doing right now while I'm stuck on the ground....wait for me guys!

Meditation for the day: My time will come, my time will come, my time will come.

Sled Runs Can Be Fun

Ahhhhh, another flying day has passed.

Nothing to brag about today, but even 2 sled runs off Cochrane hill were nice today. The first was literally about 2 minutes long, the other slightly longer, as it was slightly soarable. Nothing like last night, but there was definitly some ridge lift.

I talked to my instructor today, and sure enough, he felt that although kiting my glider in yesterday's strong winds might result in being dragged backwards at times, things would have been fine in the air. Kinda sucky that my lack of confidence prevented me from having some nice soaring flights last night, but c'est la vie I guess. One opportunity has passed, another will come.

Well, a possible trip to Utah is almost a definite no-go at this point, but I'm still optimistic about flying in the winter. There's a high-flight course in 2 weeks in Golden BC, followed by a party, so I'll definitly try to make it out for that. I'm also looking at going to Mexico or someplace, over the next 3 months. Everything is really preliminary at this point, but I'm already counting up my AirMiles! Becoming a better pilot takes practice, and in my case, I'll have to travel a bit to get some in over the next few months. It's all good though - travelling rocks!

Mmmmmmmmmmmm, flying rules.

Soaring Opportunity Lost

Well, today was a better day.

Thomas and I hiked up Prairie Mountain out in Kananaskis Country, just to check out where some paraglider pilots like to fly. The hike was about an hour and 15 minutes, and pretty steep about 3/4 up. I figure that with a glider on my back, it would take me an extra half hour.

The top of Prairie is almost meadow-like, so launching shouldn't really be difficult. The valley winds from almost all 4 directions seem a bit tricky, but the flying out there looks good. The LZ is a bit narrow, but regardless, should be pretty landable in most wind directions. I'm looking foward to my first flight out in K-Country!

After that, we headed out to Cochrane, where it surprisingly turned ridge-soarable. My soaring skills are still much to be desired, so I really got in a sled-run, with a side hill landing while the winds were still around 20 k's. Some of the other pilots got some great flights in with airtime past the 15 minute mark, so it was definitly a good day for some.

When the pilots who racked up the airtime were flying, the wind was coming in, at I would say, somewhere around 25 k's an hour, with stronger gusts. I didn't feel comfortable launching again, although I think once in the air, things would have been ok. My instructor seemed occupied with other students, so I didn't want to bother him, although it would have been interesting to see how he would have felt about me launching with winds that strong.

Today's conditions felt like a roadblock: were these conditions I should be expected to fly in normally? They were on the stronger side, but I guess technically, my glider could handle it without major difficulty. The bigger struggle came within - I didn't feel confident playing around in such strong winds today without instruction, but maybe I should have seized the opportunity, in what was a somewhat supervised environment. Then again, who wants to get dragged, blown back, or popped up while practicing? Hmmm...tough call.

*Sigh*, better flying is just around the corner, dammit! Hopefully over the next month I'll be able to accumulate more airtime, and improve my flying skills. It seems like there are a good number of people who are taking flying vacations over the next few months, and it looks like I will have to plan something out on my own. I of course want to fly with my pals, but lately politics seems to be getting in the way of things. I'm hoping to hook up with a school somewhere in North America, and go down south to fly for part of the winter. I guess that means I'll have to start saving!

Darn it, I should first prioritize pushing hard in the next month to get as much flying done while the season is still flyable here in Alberta. Sled runs, or not, practice is practice. I will have to watch the winds over the next while, and fly when I can. I'll definitly do a big trip this year, but that costs money. Driving out to nearby flying sites costs gas, but that's about it.

Less procrastination, and more flying!!!!!!!!!!!

Paragliding Idiocy

Well, I'm an idiot.

My desperation to get my glider out of its bag backfired on me today. I went to a couple fields close to my place, seeking a good place to groundhandle. I found such a place at a nearby school.

As I was laying my glider out, I already had an audience of 4 or 5 kids. I wasn't too keen on them being there, as it was somewhat gusty, but I figured it would be okay. After inflating my glider a few times, they all demanded that I fly. I explained to them that it wasn't that easy, but after they pointed to a small hill behind me, I figured a 5 second flight was doable.

I reverse-inflated my glider, turned around, and started pushing forward. Suddenly, my forward momentum was stopped. I looked around and saw half my wing in 2 trees. FUCK! How could I be so blind? I spent the next 45 minutes untangling my wing, from 2 young trees, about 12 feet high. Thankfully one could bend the shit out of them, and they still maintained their form. Two women helped me out too - it was an experience to say the least. Needless to say, that's the first and last time I attempt to groundhandle there. I hope the neighbors didn't take pictures!

After my glider was free, one of the women mentioned that she always dreamt of paragliding. She then said she was scared, as her friends' friend died doing it. Apparently, as she described it, his wing turned him, and he slammed into some rocks. Asymmetric deflation I'm assuming. Her story wasn't one that I really wanted to hear, but I suppose the reminder of safety always has to be at the back of one's mind.

Well, my glider is in a knotted disaster, so I have a project for tomorrow. I really hope there's no damage - I'll have to check the lines over especially well. I'm covered is scrapes and scratches from the trees, and the lacerations on the palm of my hand hurt like hell. Nothing worthwhile comes easy, and on days like today, I'm certainly learning that.

Somewhere, someone had an amazing flight today. Maybe tomorrow will be my turn.

Flying on the Brain...

I've got flying on the brain again...my friend/instructor Tim told me flying is worse than heroin. I really wouldn't know for sure (I doubt he knows for sure too), but I think he's right.

Every spare minute I have is occupied with thoughts of flying. I then try to think of creative ways of making a living doing it. It's frustrating because as a new pilot, once's options are very limited. I have some ideas that I'll put on the back burner for now, but I'm going to have to start implementing some of these ideas soon if I want to make them my new reality.

I've spent the last couple days browsing Chris Santacroce's various websites. It's funny because on one hand, as you discover more about him and his world, you want to become part of it, and yet, you discover how little you really know about the sport, and then one's ignorance seems scary.

I've thought many times about approaching different people, and telling them how I want to make paragliding my life, but then that little cynical voice kicks in, and things seem almost impossible again. I try to place myself into somebody else's shoes, and if I were the one being approached by a newbie who wanted to go further, what my reactions would be. They range from skepticism, to enthusiasm, to just plain laughter!

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm waiting to hear on whether a potential trip to Utah is a go, and if it is, I'm going to consider it training on becoming a better pilot rather than simply a fun flying trip. If Utah doesn't happen, I'll have to take things into my own hands and figure something else out. I'm going to make this new dream of mine my new life.