Hot & Sticky at the Bridal Falls Air Races (BFAR)

BFAR is an annual event hosted by the West Coast Soaring Club here in BC to raise money for the club.

Solo pilots pay an entry fee for a chance to win tasks including highest altitude, furthest flight, best picture, etc. Tandem pilots are asked to do free tandems where all proceeds are donated back to the club. There are t-shirts for sale as well as a steak dinner where tickets are also sold.

It is quite a popular event and on the weekend it was my first time participating.

I was asked to do tandems, and they went very well. I had excellent passengers who were super-stoked and we had great launches and landings. It's nice when tandem flying comes together so well.

The organization of the event was also excellent and the weather for flying was great, but man, it was too freaking hot! It was over 30 degrees Celcius for sure, and my guess is that it was more like 35. In any case, I am a big baby when it comes to heat. After doing my second tandem, I didn't feel too well and after being offered a chance to do some solo flying, I declined and instead drove home missing the dinner and a live band. I didn't feel well that night, but the next morning was worse as I started throwing up and I felt like I had a terrible hangover. Needless to say, I didn't do any flying that day.

After spending 5 months in Australia, one would think that I've become accustom to the sun, but after getting sick in AUS, it's almost as if I'm more sensitive than ever. Super-sucky...I drank TONS of water Saturday night and throughout the day as well, wore a hat, and tried to be in the shade as much as possible. Next time I suppose I have to do these things even moreso.

In any case, attending BFAR was very cool. At one point there was more than 40 gliders in the air and people along the Trans Canada hiway were stopping to take pictures. It's a great event to raise the profile for paragliding and money for the club.

Flying-wise, I won't be doing any anything for just under two weeks, at which point I'll be heading to Golden. I'll be there for over a week and my goal is to fly my first 100k's - can't wait!