IHPA Free Flight Spring 2013

IHPA

FreeFlight Official magazine of the Irish Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association

SPRING 2013

Wave A particular flight, on a particular day, under particular conditions • Ager Dorin Borodescu tells us IN THIS Flying about his trip to Ager in July 2012 • Site Guide Lacken, a great site for all skill levels • Hot Shots Get the T-Shirt

ISSUE iSITES Investigate a new site from the comfort of your own home • Fly SAFE John Welch focus on safety issues

FREEFLIGHT SPRING 2013

FROM THE

editor Content Flying Wave

Hello all...

Welcome to the second edition of the newly resurrected Free Flight magazine. We hoped to get this edition out at the close of 2012 but, as is often the case with voluntary efforts, life got in the way a bit. It's surprising how fast time can slip by especially when there's a deadline to meet. Not to worry, it's still in it's infancy and no promises have been broken yet.

So here we are with a new look thanks to Pearse Cafferky who approached me with an offer to help a few months back which I was very happy about. After the first edition I was beginning to think I had bitten off a bit too much, given my complete lack of experience of putting a magazine together, with a scarcity of free time and very few ideas of how to move forward. Luckily Pearse brings with him a wealth of experience in the area of print publishing and ideas are no longer an issue. We've set up an account with a system called MailChimp, a website designed specifically to help manage Newsletters and have setup a Free Flight mailing list. You have all been added to this list initially as members of IHPA but we hope the list will expand in the future so by all means, please forward the magazine to anyone you think may be interested and ask them to sign up.

My thanks to everyone who contributed to the articles this time round. This is the life blood of the magazine, we're a small group of pilots in Ireland but everyone has a story to tell. This is your magazine, these are your stories and the telling and re-telling lets us all live the moment again; a great xc perhaps or your first experience of free flight; a close encounter maybe; a view from cloud base or an hour soaring a hill as the sun sets and the feel of the air on your face as it cools. The moments we all remember. Put your thoughts down and send them in - it doesn't have to be a candidate for a Pulitzer Prize.

Finally, a word of caution. 2012 saw a number of serious accidents and we would like to send our best wishes to all involved for a safe and speedy recovery. As the new year begins we will all be a little rusty coming through the winter months so be careful as you get back out on the hill.

I hope you enjoy this edition and look forward to seeing you all on a hill sometime soon.

4

A particular flight, on a particular day, under particular conditions

Fly SAFE

6

John Welch focus on issues to insure safe flying for all pilots

iSITES

7

Investigate a new site from the comfort of your own home.

Site Guide

10

Lacken, a great site for all skill levels.

Ager

11

Dorin Borodescu tells us about his trip to Ager in July 2012.

HotShots

15

How to win a T-Shirt

THE EDITOR David May E-mail: freeflight@ihpa.ie DESIGN & PRODUCTION Design Focus, The Warehouse, 26A Mount Eden Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

Free Flight Magazine is published by the Irish Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Ltd to inform, educate and entertain those in the sports of Paragliding and Hang Gliding. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Irish Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, their Council, Officers or Editor. The Editor reserves the right to edit contributions.

Contact Send your articles, jokes, comments, sketches, suggestions etc to:

freeflight@ihpa.ie

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

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IHPA

Online

Packed full of essential information for all free flying pilots in Ireland.

www.ihpa.ie

Flying Wave at Rossbeigh

Gilbert Glennon and Donal Cashman share their experiences of a particular flight, on a particular day, under particular conditions.

R

ossbeigh is a beautiful coastal site in Kerry that rises above Glenbeigh Village with views of the Rossbeigh spit, the Cormane peninsula and Dingle bay.

Glibert Mc Glennon and Donal Cashman arranged to meet at the Rossbeigh launch in the early afternoon of Monday 11th June 2012. They were not expecting much out of the day - a gentle soar perhaps but nothing more.

Gilbert took off first, choosing to use the lower launch known as 'The Wire' as the wind was a bit strong on top. The Wire at Rossbeigh is a tricky spot. The glider has to be laid out on top of ferns and heather and the ground falls away very steeply to the front.

One mistake could be very serious. On the day in question the wind was quite light at The Wire which did not make for the easiest of take-offs.

There was a ‘funnyness’ in the air and the glider started to behave oddly

Once in the air lift was weak and Gilbert barely managed to gain the 50m to the top of the hill. He flew east to the next hill, again barely scratching his way to the top in weak ridge lift.

“Then the wind dropped off altogether. There was a ‘funnyness’ in the air and the glider started to behave oddly” Gilbert recalled so he decided to land to reassess the situation. Donal, who was still on

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

the hill, came down to pick him up and they both set back up the hill without any more expectation for the day than before.

However, in the space of 45 minutes the day had changed significantly and this time when Donal took off he went straight up without turning. The reason became obvious as small lenticular clouds started to form over the beach WAVE. Donal flew over to Drung and waited while Gilbert prepared to take off. Unfortunately, a short while later Gilbert came on the radio to say that the wind had picked up even more and it was now too strong to launch. Donal describes the rest of the flight:

“Normally on our main transition from Drung mtn to the lake above Kells bay, we only make about 50m above the top of the hill and this is just enough to get us across the 7km gap to Knocknadobar. On this day however, as I pushed out from the hill I found I had risen to 100m above our usual maximum height and was rising steadily. I was conscious of the increased wind at the lower level take off but as I was penetrating well I continued towards Kells bay and the monster that is Knocknadobar.

Unusually there was clag on top so I kept well out as I passed westwards.

I found myself flying over the water about 500m out from the hill with

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FREEFLIGHT SPRING 2013

plenty of height, the sun going down in front of my eyes. I glanced over my shoulder and saw this crazy sky behind me, many layers of cloud of different shapes, sizes and colours and in between were a few lenticulars for good measure. It really was a melting pot and I was sorry I didn't have my camera in my pocket as I usually do.

Top landing was out of the question due to the 30km wind Gilbert advised me of so I flew down to land on Rossbeigh beach. Another good day out for my little Icepeak. Distance flown 39km. Max height 1100metres above sea level. Incidents/Collapses NONE. Smiles? Just one really BIG one, which lasted quite a while”.

“I glanced over my shoulder and saw this crazy sky behind me, many layers of cloud of different shapes, sizes and colours”

There was a headwind as I arrived at Knocknadobar but passing the along the hill for another 4km the wind slowly changed to be at my back and I just kept climbing all the way until the end of Knocknadobar. I decided to do an about turn across the middle of Coonana Harbour and to try the almost impossible task of returning to Rossbeigh 18-20km back up the coast.

In 10 years of flying at Rossbeigh many have tried the return and many have failed. In fact I have only managed to achieve this feat on two other occasions, one of these accompanied by Gilbert and Kevin. Today was a day when I again succeeded.

Gilbert, who was still at Rossbeigh, came over the radio and asked why I was flying so far out to sea. I replied that the whole place was going up and that I was higher than I had ever been at Knocknadobar. I found myself sandwiched between the top of the the clag and the next layer of cloud about 200m above. so I decided to push out from the hill further than I normally would.

The return crossing of Kells Bay is usually the deathknell for all PG's as the 5km distance to cross back to Drung is a bit too much for whatever height one can get and any hint of a northerly wind will put even the best pilot on the ground in no-time. On this day however, I had a bucket load of height at Knocknadobar to see me safely onto Drung and then back to Rossbeigh.

✻✻✻

Frank Manning, another pilot who has experienced wave at Rossbeigh had this to say of his flight “Rossbeigh is one of the most beautiful sites I have ever flown, no xc but was lucky enough to fly in Wave for some time while the Lenticulars formed above me. While in phase under the clouds it was smooth and constant lift. No turbulence, but when it came to landing it was gusty and I descended straight down with no forward penetration. It was such a beautiful experience to be able to maintain height over the beach, relaxing while watching a basketball match that was taking place below.” ■

Editor’s Note: My thanks to Gilbert, Donal and Frank for taking the time to describe their experience and hopefully there will be more like it in the future.

For those who are not familiar with the site, we will be republishing an article in a later edition of Free Flight written

by Gilbert Mc Glennon which describes the route from Seefin, above the Caragh River to Ballycarbery castle, just North West of the town of Cahersiveen, a 27km flight affectionately know as ‘The Rossbeigh Run’.

Donal’s Outward Track

Donal’s Return Track

Rossbeigh

Kells Bay

Drung Mountain

Coonana Harbour

Knocknadobar Mountain

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

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FREEFLIGHT SPRING 2013

FlySAFE

The price of safety is eternal vigilance John Welch, CFI Flight Culture, reminds us of the issues to focus on to insure safe flying for all pilots

I

’ve read several articles recently about the importance of your reserve parachute and most of them have been pretty well written, however I think that by focusing on reserves the bigger picture is getting overlooked. If we start with the reserve and gradually expand our focus, perhaps the next piece of equipment that you should think about is your harness. I think most of us are aware that the width between hang points can affect recovery, especially if you exceed the certification test limits but how carefully do you check the condition of your harness, especially the webbing and buckles? Have you thought about whether the impact protection offered by your harness is really adequate? Unquestionably the “air bag” type harnesses offer much better impact absorption. Modern air bag harnesses are much more streamlined than the older ones and are inflated as soon as you put the harness on. Although it’s not really a

safety issue, air bag harnesses tend to be lighter and pack up smaller than the old style foam protection harnesses. Some of the best ones will turn inside-out and double as a glider bag. While you’re checking your harness you should follow the reserve bridles all the way to the attachment points. A few years ago I was checking over someone’s kit on one of our overseas trips and despite the fact that he’d just sent it off for a repack, the bridles attached to the reserve weren’t attached to the harness.

Do you get your glider inspected annually and inspect it yourself properly before taking off? I’ve come across a whole range of defects on gliders; some are obvious like holes in the fabric, burst cell walls or damaged lines but some are less so. Are you aware that if you get your lines wet they’ll shrink then when you fly the glider the A’s and B’s stretch out again (because there’s more tension on them) but the C’s and D’s don’t. The net result is that your glider flies slower (and nearer to the stall

point) and inflates like a dog. I’ve also come across a glider whose fabric was so warn out that you could poke your finger through it.

Then there’s the flying. I’ve seen many accidents that have occurred as a result of an inappropriate response following a collapse. Could you deal with a big collapse? Do you know how to recognise the symptoms of an impending spin or stall? In nearly everywhere else in the world it is accepted that once you’ve gained your basic qualification and have 10 or 15 hours you’ll go on to do a SIV course. I really believe in the value of these courses and if you haven’t done one I’d really urge you to consider it.

I hope this has made you think a little bit more about some of the things that you should be doing to improve your safety.

Good luck to you all and safe flying.

John Welch, CFI Flight Culture, www.flightculture.co.uk

It’s a date...

IHPA AGM 2013 Tom Maher's Inn, Templemore, Co. Tipperary, Saturday 6th April, 8pm - 9pm Food and drink are available at Tom Maher's, and there is likely to be a session after the AGM, so bring your instruments if you play one!

Parachute Repack

Garda College sports hall - Templemore, Sunday 7th April, 11am (at the front gate) A parachute repack session will be held in the Garda Training College sports hall on Sunday morning.

Please be at the front gates of the college by 10.45am.

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

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iSITES Handy online tools to help in your search for new flying sites David May explains some tools and techniques to help you investigate a new site from the comfort of your own home.

H

ave you ever wanted to check out a new flying site, one you may never have flown before (or perhaps nobody has ever flown before) without having to travel to the site itself? There was a time when there was no alternative but to go there in person. Nowadays there are a number of tools available online that can provide a great deal of information on a particular location before you ever leave your house. In particular, I find a combination of the following tools to be very useful:

Zooming in on that location we can see more detail (Fig 2). A steep east facing bowl with a flat top and quite a bit of level ground at the bottom that could provide good launch/landing options.

Activating Street View by dragging the ‘little man’ from the red box on the left and drop it on any road to get a view from that spot (Fig 3). we can check out the road network close by and also get a view of the mountain itself (Fig 4).

1. Google Maps: Terrain View and Street View (http://maps.google.com) 2. OSI Maps: Ortho View and WIND (topographic) View (http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer) To illustrate the process I will take a site I scouted out in Mayo in 2010 - Lough Nadirkmore in the Tourmakeady Mountains. At the time there was little to no site information for the Mayo region and I spent a lot of time looking through maps, etc, to find potential flying locations. In this particular exercise I wanted to find a site that could take an Easterly.

The first step is to open Google Maps (http://maps.google.com), browse to the area you would like to examine and turn on Terrain view (Fig1). This view allows you to see how the terrain is orientated into wind and quickly identify sites of interest. For the purposes of our example I have identified a likely candidate for an East wind with a red box.

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

Fig 1. Google Maps, Terrain View

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FREEFLIGHT SPRING 2013

At this point in the process, we have a good idea of the site: orientation to wind, height, how steep it is, the terrain (bog, forest etc), possible take off/landing options and how close we can get to the site via the public road network.

Next open the OSI Map Viewer and zoom to the area in question.

There are two very useful views available via the OSI Maps • WIND view (topographic) • Ortho 2005 (aerial)

Fig 2. Google Street View showing the public road structure around Lough Nadirkmore. I dropped the ‘little man’ near a possible access road to the bowl – see the images below for views from different points.

Fig 5. OSI Maps: WIND (topographic) view.

The OSI WIND view is a topographic view of the terrain and as such provides good information on the height and steepness of a particular site. From the image above we can see the site is East facing, 600m high and very steep. It has a relatively flat top and a lot of flat ground at the base. The WIND view can also provide extra information such as forestry (in the case above there are no forest areas marked) and possible access routes to a site - note the dotted line that runs from the road in the bottom right up into the middle of the bowl. This suggests some sort of road or forest track, well worth a closer look.

If it is drivable, it would bring us another 120 metres higher and closer to the site than if we had to park at the end of the public road and hike the rest.

Fig 3. Google Street View: a view of where you turn off the main road towards the mountain (next to the ‘little man’ in the image above). It’s much easier to find your way through the back roads if you have seen the various turns beforehand.

Next switch to Ortho 2005 view to get an aerial view of the site:

Fig 6. OSI Maps: Ortho 2005 (ariel view).

Fig 4. Google Street View: a different angle giving a better view of the bowl itself. Note how steep it is, the lack of trees and the abundance of landing options.

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

From this view, we can see that there is definitely some sort of road leading right up into the middle of the bowl (I added the red arrow to highlight the road in question). You can zoom in quite a bit using Ortho 2005 view – it provides greater detail than Google Satellite View and full coverage of the country.

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FREEFLIGHT SPRING 2013

Switching back to Google Street View, and following the side road that we identified earlier (fig 3) we see the road quite clearly as it leads around the shoulder and into the bowl behind:

As it turns out, there is a gate on the road at the far hedge line but is not locked and the road is accessible by car. You can drive right up into the bowl which is large and flat and provides ample landing options.

So, there you have it. Before setting a foot outside your house you already know how to get to the site, it’s characteristics (orientation, height, type of terrain, launch/landing options etc), you’ve had a good look at the mountain itself and the various landmarks, turnoffs along the way so that you can find your path through the back roads without going astray.

This particular site I have not yet had the chance to fly. As far as I know the bowl has never been flown so, if you are in the area and up for a bit of adventure, why not give it a try. I have hiked to the top and flown the south face (Binnaw) that you can see in fig 7 above. Be warned, it is a tough hike and very steep. Beautiful view once you get to the top though. ■

Fig 7: Google Street View: road that leads up into the bowl, with Binnaw in the front.

Photos of south side of Lough Nardikmore and Binnaw. © Dave Tweedie IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

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SiteGuide

FREEFLIGHT SPRING 2013

Lacken Blessington, Co. Wicklow A great site that suits all skill levels and is only 50 mins from Dublin City Centre.

Overlooking Blessington Lake and giving spectacular views of the Wicklow Mountains, Lacken is an ideal site for the novice and experienced pilots alike. From the car park there is a commanding view of the midlands to the west allowing you to track the approaching weather and confidently gage wind strength over the lake.

For beginner and novice pilots the western slope (A) is perfect for short hops that perfect all those early take offs, landings and ground handling experiences. Indeed on weather-right days Fred Lahiff can usually be found there putting students through their paces.

For more experienced pilots Black Hill is were the best flying can be found.

A ten minute walk up the path from the car park leads to a large slope area for take off (B). It suites W-NW direction but avoid if wind is any more northerly as rotor can come from Lugnagun, the small hill out in front.

Wind Direction: N

W

The Landing Zone (C) is the large area in front of the car park but can suffer from venturi, so care is needed on approach. If to strong, fly out and land in basin (D).

While Sorrel Hill (E) takes SW direction it requires strong conditions for soaring which can lead to rotor in the LZ, so best to avoid.

E

S

General Information: GOOGLE MAPS CLICK HERE GPS COORDINATES: Take off: 53째 7'54.07" (53.13169)N; 6째26'33.19" (6.44255)W Landing:

E

A

ELEVATION: Take off:

441 m.

Landing:

276 m.

TAKE OFF:

From Sorrel Hill (SW) or Black Hill (W-NW), depending on wind direction.

LANDING:

Anywhere.

GETTING THERE:

In the village of Lacken, need to turn into the narrow road (next to the shop) and drive about 2 km up to the carpark.

WEATHER HAZARDS:

Mountain area - weather can change quickly.

Car Park

D

C

B

53째 8'14.15" (53.13726)N; 6째26'29.51"W (6.44153)W

FLIGHT Airspace in the area needs to be REGULATION: closed for helicopters - to do so phone 00353 1 4037514 and inform about flying activities.

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

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Ager 2012...

...a dream holiday!

Dorin Borodescu tells us about his highs (over 3000m) and lows (a few close ones) of his trip to Ager in July 2012.

M

y trip to Ager started back in March when I first began thinking about possible flying destinations for 2012. I liked the idea of taking part in a competition, not for the competition itself but rather for the simplicity of it; pay the fee, show up on the day and fly; the rest is taken care of. I also liked the thought of flying with and learning from more experienced pilots. So I checked the competition calendar and decided on the Ager Nordic Open in July, dropped an email to the forum to see if anyone else might want to join, booked the flights and then… waited.

Finally on July 18th my girlfriend Chelsea and I packed our bags and headed to the airport with all the attendant excitement at the start of a new trip. There were issues at Dublin airport with extra baggage charges and again in Spain with the rental car company but we put it all behind us once we got on the road and headed into the mountains.

Arriving at Ager at 3am we promptly put up the tent and fell asleep to a beautiful cool breeze and dreams of flying. 3 hours later I was already awake and sorting

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

my kit. The forecast was good and I could already feel the buzz as I gazed up at the ridge and launch at Coll d’Ares.

There are four main launches at Ager. Access to the launches is by a newly surfaced forest road that winds up the mountain in a series of hairpin bends. It takes approximately 30 minutes to get from our base at the campsite Vall d'Àger to the main Coll d'Ares launch.

Soon I was in the air and cruising the ridge (Above Photo). I noticed at the end of the ridge some gliders getting pushed back with the stronger wind so I decided to attempt the crossing to the next ridge by pushing well out into the valley first. A few other gliders followed me and 4 of us attempted the crossing.

Turns out they were following me, thinking I was a local and knew what I was doing, as I was taking a completely different path than the others. I arrived low at the far side and had to scratch my way up again, the proximity of rocks and the hot air gave me 2 big collapses but happily the glider responded well and recovered fast.

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Once back on top I was rewarded with a beautiful view (Photo 1) and as I was already pleased with my first flight I heading for Vilanova de Meia to land (Photo 2). But at the village I picked up an unexpected thermal so I went with it, drifting back onto the main ridge and down the valley for a very enjoyable 43.8 Km flight. Rounded off the day with a swim and relaxed as the sun went down! Perfect.

Next day 20th, with more confidence I decide to go further taking off at 12:30 in light conditions. I followed more or less the same path as before but faster this time, pushing along the first few ridges quite low until almost at the end I finally managed to pick up some height and jump back to the higher ground.

I followed the main valley, passed the city of Isona and linked up to the main ridge Abella de la Conca , with its amazing 2 towers and stunning view. I considered following the ridge (I discovered a few days later that the route along Abella de la Conca was the way to Organya) but the way looked very remote and I decided against it, turning W instead out into the valley towards Trepm (Photo 3). Conditions were improving and I was maintaining height easily as I passed La Pobla and on to Senterada. The valley began to narrow at this point (Photo 4) and I lost height as I pushed to the next ridge. What happened next was not my best moment.

Concentrating on pushing further along the ridge I did not pay much attention to the big power line that was running along the valley on a converging course. Soon I found myself low on the ridge, below the height of the power line and no lift to be found! I passed under the lines without any difficulty but it was only then I noticed the other lines further along which were blocking my exit. I had effectively boxed myself in with very little room to manoeuvrer and very little time to think! I had to circle down quickly and focused on the only landing option I had – squeezing into the tight strip of land where the trees were cleared for the power line. Far from ideal indeed but the alternative did not bear thinking about. Luckily I landed safely with nothing damaged but my pride and a broken seatboard.

My head was spinning; how on earth did I let myself get into such a situation?

Tiredness played a part and a lack of concentration; in the effort to extend my flight I did not pay attention to the terrain as the valley narrowed and landing options IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

all but disappeared. Oh well, a lesson learnt!

On the plus side, the flight was 73.2 km my best to date. Chelsea came to pick me up and we went for a swim in one of the mountain lakes, had a bite to eat and then back to base and a well earned rest.

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2

3

4

5

The next day (Sunday) we took a break from flying and did some sightseeing. It’s a beautiful region and we had a great time just taking it easy. Monday 23rd was the start of the competition. More than 100 pilots, at least 50 of them accomplished competitors (http://www.nordicopen.eu/2012/). The task, my first ever competition task was 71.5km to goal. I landed 6km short – my lack of any competition experience was obvious, relaxing too early and losing valuable height. Over 80 pilots made goal on the first day which showed me the high level of the pilots and I knew I would have to learn fast if I was to make any sort of showing at all.

The next day was a difficult task and many of us got caught low in a strong valley wind just 14km out and had to land. Meanwhile, Chelsea took a tandem flight, her first ever flight and she had a great time flying along the ridge with the main gaggle.

Although the competition was over for me that day it was still early afternoon so I decided to fly again. I took off at the lower launch site (Raudoral) this time as the wind had increased and I quickly got to 2500m. I decided to take a different route than before and switched to the east side of the Valley, continued to Tremp and along the lake (Photo 5) that I had passed on the opposite side just a few days earlier.

Ager was quite hazy in the distance now and cloud base was rising all the time and soon I was at 3000m and heading into the higher mountains (Photo 6). The views were amazing and conditions looked good and I started to think I might even be able to cross the mountains all the way to France! But, I decided against it as I didn’t have a Spot device and it would mean a long retrieve, I would more than likely miss the next day of the competition.

So I changed direction, crossed the valley to the east and connected with the far ridge.

Just as I arrived about 50 Griffen vultures took off and we flew together for a bit. It was quite a show – luckily they were more interested in the carcass of a dead cow than in me (or my wing) and I headed on to the next ridge without incident. I was low again now but I had learnt my lesson and was PAGE 12

FREEFLIGHT SPRING 2013

more patient this time. I was rewarded with a super thermal that brought me right back up to 3000m, unreal. I continued on for another 10km, forest in all directions so I was careful to follow a road just in case.

Another thermal and I was back at 2800m with a smile from ear to ear. I could see the impressive Pentraforca Ridge in the distance but I decided to call it a day - it was already 6pm and I was happy with the flight so I went on a final glide, landing near Seu d’Urgel (Photo 7) at 6:30pm not far from the Andorra border. A 98.3km XC, WOW, I was over the moon. As ever, my eternal thanks to Chelsea who came to pick me up.

The next day we all watched as a 3 year old child took off on a tandem flight (Photo 8).

He was so happy, screaming “I’m Flying, I’m Flying” … and I thought to myself that every time we take off we are just like him, maybe not shouting it out loud but the joy of flying is the same. The task this day was a difficult one and after 55km tiredness led me into a bad decision, choosing the wrong route that left me with a big flat area of forest to cross before goal so I said NO and landed.

classical XC. Some parts need to be fast, some parts you need to take slow and be patient and every now and again you need to take a risk to cross a difficult section, I was happy to reach my first goal but more satisfying was the feeling that I was learning.

6

7 8

Thursday was cancelled due to a storm and we watched it pass from the restaurant in candle light as the power went out. There was still time for a relaxing restitution flight in the evening after it passed – Ager is well known for that.

Friday 27th was cancelled also just after the start, but I was already heading to land at that time as I didn’t like the look of the sky (Photo 9). So Chelsea and I took a bunch of the guys swimming to the mountain lake we had been at a few days ago – we had a laugh on the way up as they hadn’t a clue where we were going and the lake is quite high in the mountains. It’s a beautiful spot, the water is crystal clear with lots of fish and a few of the group went scuba diving and took some movies under water. Despite the big NO FISHING sign there were 2 police men fishing happily. The LAW – I guess it’s the same everywhere, eh?

28th Saturday was a 58.5 km task with an start early to avoid the storm front. The task was an elapsed time format so you chose when you cross the start line and start the clock! I decide to start early and it paid off as I got to goal in the beautiful area around Oliana (Photo 10). Only about half the field made goal on the day so I was very happy with my efforts. I started to understand the way to approach the tasks as it is a completely different story from a

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

Sunday 29th was the last day and a 64.7 task was called, probably the most difficult task of the comp. The top pilots were all very close in points at this time so a challenge was needed. Lots of the leading pilots landed out on a crazy 7 km section with a strong head wind and going to the lee side of a mountain! It was a difficult section: if you got high you hit the strong wind and would lose all your height again as you push forward without gaining any ground! After 20 min of this game, I changed my approach and stayed low on the lee side, away from the wind, keeping just enough height to stay up but no more and worked my way along like this until I reached the top of the mountain. At this point, I got as high as I could and went for goal! Just 38 of us reached goal on the final day (Photo 11, next page) – hard work indeed but very satisfying.

That evening there was a barbeque and the prize giving with lots of talk and laughter. I came 66th overall of 105 pilots and 13th out of 34 in my class (sport class with wings up to EN C). I was thrilled with the result and loved the experience of competition and flying with so many other pilots.

We still had another 2 days of vacation and I was pumped to try and get in a really big flight – studying maps and getting some local knowledge but it wasn’t to be as the wind turned SE which doesn’t suit so I had some fun flying locally.

9

Overall it was a great holiday and a fantastic learning experience with more than 30 h airtime and more than 530 km XC in total.

I have uploaded the main flights on my Leonardo page at http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo /tracks/world/alltimes/brand:all,cat:0,class:a ll,xctype:all,club:all,pilot:0_7748,takeoff:all Not the easiest conditions to fly in though with 1 or 2 reserves thrown most days in the contest, 2 of which were quite close calls (one reserve opened only a few seconds before the ground) and the helicopter was called twice. Happily though there were no serious injuries.

10

I had quite a few collapses over the course of the week and I started to get used to

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FREEFLIGHT SPRING 2013

them after a while, just dealing with the glider and continuing on. I was flying less aggressively in thermals after the second day – normally I try to stay tight in the core but this didn’t work so well as you end up falling out of the thermal almost stalling the glider! After the first day my arm hurt so much as the thermals were strong and banking in required a good pressure on the brake so I started to wrap the brake line to work with my arm higher as it gave me a stronger position to work from.

Finally the time came to head home. We left the camping gear there as I intend to go again next year (camping facilities were great), for more flying. Ager is a super flying destination with lots of potential for XC with many different routes and of course, the restitution flying was something else.

Highly recommended.

Fly high in LIFE... and in HEART! 11

Dorin ■

Ager Catalonia, Spain Ager is situated around 140km NW from Barcelona in the beautiful province of Catalonia at the foot of the The Serra del Montsec mountain range. The Serra del Montsec is a limestone system that is more than 40 km long and covers a total area of 18,696 hectares, spreading across the districts of La Noguera and El Pallars Jussà. The rivers of La Noguera Pallaresa and Ribagorçana have left their mark on the landscape in the form of the spectacular gorges of Mont Rebei and Terradets, which now divide the sierra into three separate parts. From west to east, these are: Montsec d'Estall, and Montsec d'Ares and Montsec de Rúbies.

A

B

Ager

C

PARAGLIDING EARTH CLICK HERE GPS COORDINATES: Take off: 42°2'47" (42.0464)N; 0°44'45" (0.7461)E Landing:

42°1'1" (42.0171)N; 0°44'44" (0.7457)E

ELEVATION:

Take off:

1560 m.

Landing:

741 m.

IRISH HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

A = TAKE OFF (COLL D'ARES) B = LANDING FIELD (PIG FARM) C = CAMPSITE

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