In the Air

Last day

2008-04-27T10:05:00.004-06:00

Heat stroke, head wind and light lift.

2008-04-25T18:39:00.003-06:00

These attributes lead me to decide to forgoe todays task after trying for 1 1/2 hrs to even get to the edge of the start circle. It was frustrating and rough and I noticed that I was keeping up but still not making good decisions. After my 3rd low save after trying to punch into the wind I said F*#K it and I headed back for the resort. I had a decent landing and then got in the shade and so far I have had 4.5 litres of water and I'm feeling better. Only 2 ridgids have made it in ansd we just watched from the top of the tower as 2 gliders landed within 2 km of goal.

No flying today.

2008-04-24T18:43:00.002-06:00

Too windy and no lift.
So we went golfing.
I am a much better hang glider pilot than golfer.

S.

We RACED!!!!

2008-04-23T21:00:00.003-06:00

I am stoked today, the task and the weather conspired to make for a day of racing and not just surviving. I took an early tow as it was so windy and dusty at launch that all I wanted was to get away from the grit and the heat. The tow went well and Russel dropped me of in a great climb right over the field. I topped it out to 2000 m which in itself was a welcome change as we haven't gotten that high yet this week in the start circle. I punched up wind as I still had 40 minutes to the first clock. I found nothing and had to run back to the field thinking I would have to relight. I got VERY motivated to stay in the air a I watched the long launch line get dustblown from only a couple hundred feet over. I worked a very light climb that was drifting me away fast, well past the point of no return but 2 km later it turned on and I took it to 2600m. Then I was at the edge of the start circle but 90 to the course line so I started to punch up wind to climbing gliders working my way into position. Eventually I got there and had a great start at the second clock @ close to 3000m. From that high you can glide a long way and I did. I was with Jonny for most of the first leg and it is always reassuring to be able to climb and glide with the best in the world. We were always punching cross wind towards the first tp then drifting towards course line as we spun up in some nice strong climbs. I skipped a climb over Picacho peak and headed for the TP getting drilled by sink all the way. I got to within 2 km of the TP and headed directly up into the wind getting lower and lower but found a climb 150m off the deck over a construction site and took that all the way up to 3000m again. I was joined by everyone that I left over the mountain and when we topped out we turned south and headed for goal 40 km away. I had a really sinky glide and missed a climb that the rest had stopped for after the 747 graveyard but I eventually found a good climb after searching around for a while that got me up and into goal. I stayed in that climb a little too long as I ended up with a 5-1 glide in but I wanted to make sure I made it. There were 14 gliders on the ground when I landed but I was really happy with how I flew. It felt GREAT to race across the desert over mountains and wilderness. And then land exactly where I had planned.

The dust bowl at launch today.

Tyler getting ready to go.

That is a lot of aluminum.

On glide towards the graveyard.

GOAL!!!!!!!

AGAIN!

2008-04-22T19:37:00.003-06:00

114 km triangle today almost the same as the first day. I waited for the second start and was high and in good position. Was going well towards the first TP, cought a few pilots. Got low over a small town and dug out from a couple hundred feet over top of a elementry school as I was watched and cheered by about a hundred kids. Got back up to 2000m and had one more climb 3 km before the TP. Tagged the TP and headed back to the same climb, topped up and headed towards the prison in the distance. Nothing to stop and turn in until I was really low right next to the swamp. Made 2 low saves in weak broken lift but I wasn't able to punch back into the wind and make any progress. I tried 4 times but finally had enough of 100 ft saves and landed next to Chopper and Philippo.

Lovin you from 6000 ft.

It is hard to take good pix and thermal.

I landed with Chris Smith and Phillipo

Chris sums up the day.

Mission imposible ( I need to stop thinking for myself)

2008-04-21T20:57:00.005-06:00

They gave us 1 1/2 hrs to launch today, I was the 3rd one to launch so when I got off of tow and all tucked in I had 1:06 hrs until the first start. We banged up against the inversion for an hr. I thought that we had further to fly than yesterday that I wanted to go early. I was at the top of the stack with Tyler, OB, jr. and a few others. The first start hit so I went....... all alone. ( Damn!) but I had a plan so I worked it. I flew really well to the first turn point, knowing that it would be soft in that area I toped up, rounded the TP and..... NOTHING. I tried to avoid the ground as long as I could but ended up dirting it in front of the prison. The day ended up being impossible as no one made goal or even the 3rd tp.

As it turned out It wasn't as bad as I thought, it just moved me down to 31st and today is a new day. We are flying a 110 km triangle similar to the first day.
I'll let you know how it goes.

I needed to get over that mountain.

Alex, my good friend from Brazil and I landed in front of a HUGE prison in the middle of nowhere.

40 minutes after we landed the first groups started to fly over our heads as we picked splinters out of our souls. If you look close at this pick you can see Rob's Canadian flag glider, he did really well yesterday.

I miss you Pooka and Shan.

Yesterday and today.

2008-04-21T10:48:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note:
Landing short got me 25th for the day.
Only 12 pilots in goal.
Today we have a 132km diamond shape to fly to the south west that will take us on a tour of the larger mountains in the area. Lift is supposed to be a bit stronger and the wind is supposed to be a bit lighter. It should be a BIG day today.

Dressed like an Italian Hang glider pilot

2008-04-21T10:14:00.002-06:00

It all seemed so familiar.

2008-04-20T22:45:00.004-06:00

It was the first day of racing today. 60 of us lined our gliders up in the desert to start our adventure. While we were waiting a few dust devils came through the launch line and tossed a few gliders around. One picked up Rob's glider and flipped it over Bruce's landing upside down on Tyler's. As we only had 1 hr to the first start gate I wanted to go early so I was suited up and second in line behind Davis. Got towed up to start a 110 km triangle. Just as last year there was an inversion that kept us only 2500 ft off the deck in the start circle. I was in decent enough shape for the first start so I took it with about 10 others who were just over my head. It was slow to the first TP but I got there high, The second leg was crosswind and went a bit quicker as I was being chased now by a group that took the second start. Got low 8 km before the second tp but dove into a dustie and climbed back out to 2400 m. Now we had to fly the last 38 km into a 15 km.hr head wind. It was going well I was even with the lead gaggle but to the right of their line as I wanted to fly over the mountain that was on course line. I thought this was a great plan until I got there and found nothing but choppy air. I tried working it for as long as I could and at times I was so close I could see the needles on the cactus. I landed in a field just south of town at the base of the mountain. It sucks to be able to see goal and not get there. Only twelve pilots made goal today which makes me feel a bit better about how I flew today. There is always tomorrow.

The resort and the launch line in the desert.

At 5000 ft on course.

The field (to the right) and the mountain that ate me up.

Waiting for my ride.

Kelly and his wife hung out with me while I waited for my ride. They are expecting their fist baby, been married for a year. He is 21 and she is 17. They met online in a pagan chat room. He is from Texas and she is from Maryland. They have been "camping" in the field that I landed in for 2 months. I wish them well and good luck.

Meetings and Americana

2008-04-20T10:35:00.002-06:00

The first pilot meeting was at the pool last night.

We went looking for the UFC fight last night and found a midway. It was a very American experiance.

The task comittee decided on a 115km down wind zig-zag. I'll let you know how I do.

Getting in the groove.

2008-04-19T17:08:00.004-06:00

Took the new toy for a little test ride today. Not very many pilots flew today as it was a little breezy but I had a good tow, good flight of about 30 minutes, took some pix and had a rather uneventful landing. A little later I borrowed a dirt bike and took a rip in the desert. What a great day, I LOVE MY LIFE!

I LOVE WESTJET!!!!

2008-04-19T15:29:00.004-06:00

Whenever I can I will always fly WestJet. They have taken me and my glider to LA, Orlando x2, Phoenix x2, and Kelowna. No Other airline supports what we do so much. I'm not being paid for this but I just wanted to say that these guys rock. Here's why.

Dave (in the picture below) was waiting for us when we got there. He had arranged for customs to come out and inspect our gliders and then we carried them down to the baggage claim area and they were loaded out through the over sized baggage claim to a waiting cart. He was great! Thanx Dave.

They made sure our gliders made it onto the plane and put all 4 into the tail. ( and they were put on top!

The ticketing agent gave us the whole front row (6 seats for us 4) and the flight attendants were a ton of fun. When I said I was bored they had me serving the other guest water and later I also helped collecting garbage. Thanx for the fun Susan and Jody.

Changes.

2008-04-19T11:56:00.004-06:00

Life feels normal again. :) After a tough year with a ton of changes in my personal life everything seems to have returned to normal.

I am now at the first big competition of the year. The Santa cruze Flats Race at the Fransico Grand resort 45 minutes south of Phoenix Arizona. It is great to be here sharing my pasion with good friends that have it as well. This is good for my soul.

As the weather wasn't the greatest in Calgary I packed up the Moyes litesped RS4 in my condo. Moyes has always been good to me and I tthank them for the use of this carbon weapon for this comp.

"are they going to fit on the plane???!!?"

My sweet loner glider getting on the plane. You can see by the weather that this is a great time to be heading to the desert!

Home sweet home for the next 10 days. ( my 5 year old has a bigger bed! LOL)

Hang gliding paradise.

The flying circus has arived with everyone unpacking and setting up their wings. We have pilots from all over the world and tugs from all over the US.

Pictures

2007-08-16T21:58:00.000-06:00

About time!

2007-08-16T21:22:00.000-06:00

In goal with Ross.

173 km in 2:33 = 70 km/hr
I love fast days. As I mentioned before I am aggressive and impatient and on days like this that gets rewarded and not punished. I made a move in the start gate that could have screwed me but instead it worked just like I had hoped and made for a relaxing time. I headed quite north by myself to a cloud that was working under the high cloud that was moving in from the south. I figured that I could just hang there for the 45 minutes till the start and just turn and drift right to the course line. I got to base and stayed there with one other pilot and it worked out just as I planned. I was high, right at the edge of the start circle and right on the course line for the first start. There where now 7 of us heading out and I couldn't see any other of the 100 pilots any were in the haze. We pushed hard under working clouds and after 30 km we started to pick up more pilots. It went by so fast glide at 80 - 90 km/hr stop in strong thermals, leave when they slowed down and glide fast. Jumping from cloud to cloud. I skipped a few weak climbs and got lower than some but was usually rewarded with a strong climb down low. I love flying fast, it really felt like a race and not a game of survival. The survival game is very important and a good test of skill but for me I love racing as it rewards my style. In order to become a complete well rounded pilot I definetly need to work on making better decisions on the soft days. It is hard to want to practice that after such a fun fast day.

I was winning until I landed short.

2007-08-15T19:04:00.000-06:00

I love hearing stories that start like this..... lol

I got into the launch line 2 minutes after it opened and then I got to stand there for a looooong time. Everyone in front of me in the staging got in line so I didn't get to a tow until 18 minutes before the first clock. A little front was moving through with a east west line of high cloud that really softened things up. Most of the pilots headed down wind of the front towards the only cu's but when I towed up I was in no position to even try this so I headed west towards some sun and the upwind edge of the start circle. I got close but with only 2 minutes until the first start I was way too low to even think about starting and I was again completely alone so I decided to take the next 20 minutes to climb and hopefully get some friends. I got all of the altitude I needed but.... sob, sniff no friends. The cloud line was moving north and a little street right towards the first turn point was forming up in front of me. I had heard on the radio that both Mark and Berrnie had taken the first clock with most of the other pilots. I was hoping that I could hook up with some of the slower pilots at the turn point if I could get there soon enough. I crossed the start line just a few seconds after the second start and headed on a rough and bumpy glide under the street toward the first tp. Alone the whole way I stayed pretty high until 5 km out where I had to stop in some weak stuff that turned on at 1600m and got me back to 1900m and into the turn point. I looked around and didn't see a soul. I had heard that both Jon and Mark had landed already. I thought I was behind the main gaggle. I glided north, found another climb when I heard Brett say that he just got the tp. I was 15 km ahead of Brett. This is when I really screwed up. Instead of finding out their position and the position of anyone else I pressed on asuming I had to go. The problem was that I was now chasing down the front and all of the lift was shutting down under it. I could have and should have slowed right down, hung out in anything I could find and waited. Instead I glided on course and eventually landed 67 km from the 2nd tp.

Here is the bitch....
20 minuts after I landed the lead gaggle few over my head.
I had started 20 minutes behind them but had gotten 20 minutes in front of them in 65 km. They were definatly on the wrong side of the front as they had to go down wind to find lift and then cross wind under the front in really weak conditions to the first tp. As I was up wind, in the sun with lift I was able to make up all of my lost time and then some. I just read on David Glovers face book that no one had made goal. Brett, Berrnie and Ross had gotten close to the second tp. Great job guys!

The most dangerous day at a hang gliding meet.

2007-08-15T18:55:00.000-06:00

Day 6 was a rest day....... Right!

I went shopping for a gift for my daughter with the twins.

Later that night the motel we are all staying at, the Witten Inn, bought a ton of pizza, beer and vodka and redbull for all of the pilots. This turned into a huge pool party with all of the unsuspecting being mobbed, mugged for their electronics and then thrown in the pool. It was a blast but as usual with a hang gliding day off someone had to get hurt. One of the CIVL jury members from portugal broke his heel into 4 pieces when he jumped into the pool. Jonny got tackled into the pool and hit the top of his head, HARD and has a really sore head and neck this AM. The last one was Hans who may have cracked some ribs in the pool as well. At this point I went to bed so I could be in good shape to fly. Don't get me wrong, it was a blast. Hang glider pilots are some of the best people in the world and I enjoy my time on the ground with then equally as much as my time in the air.

285 km!!! That is a long way.

2007-08-15T18:19:00.001-06:00

Corina and I gliding up wind waiting for the start.

The goal field in new mexico.

Day five started with a rumor that we were going to have to go far. I had heard 301 so I was relieved that it was only 285. LOL. In the launch line I was joking with the pilot in front of me about the trike that he just got to tow him, just then my tug landed and it was Bill Moyes. Given what Davis has been writing on the oz report I just got more nervous than the guy in front of me with the trike. I had nothing to worry about it was by far the smoothest and best tow I had had so far. It was so mellow partly due to the fact that the airport was shaded out by a huge cloud but it dive give me the rare opportunity to reflect on what was happening. In that moment I felt very proud, humble and honored. I was at the World championships, flying a Moyes glider, towing behind a Moyes dragonfly piloted by the grandfather and developer of the sport that I am so passionate about. Thank You.

After a re-tow, ( the shade got me) Jim towed me out towards the start circle and dropped me off under some guys turning. This would be the last time I would see another pilot for over 200 km. I left 2 minutes behind the lead gaggle and way to the left of them. I tried to fly as fast as I could hopping to catch up to anyone. It never happened I would glide and climb when I needed to and mentally I broke down the flight into manageable pieces of 50 km with my only goal to be high at the end of my 50 km task so I could start the next one in good shape. It seemed to work and It helped to not think too far ahead. There were 3 blue holes I had to work around and chose to fly around them to the east staying right on the edge most of the time. The last 80 km it really started to dry out and the cu's which had been nice and fluffy with flat bottoms had stopped and there were just little wisps in front now. I topped up to 3200m under a forming wisp and headed out. I glided for a while without a beep but then I noticed a group turning to the west, too far off of my line to join them. As I passed by them I hit a really good climb, 3.7 m/s on my averager so I stayed in it and climbed back up while I watched the group to the west. The lift quite as the small gaggle of 5 pilots headed on course-so I set my course to intercept them. I was at least 500m above them and I was glad that i now had some help with the last 50 km. it seemed like we glided forever, as there had not been a bump in a while I was more than willing to turn almost 90 degrees off of my line towards a glider turning low 2 km to the west. 3 of the guys below me saw him to and we all started to turn when we got there. As I was climbing in the weak broken lift we drifted over the other 2 pilots that went on glide with us came in low and struggled for a little while till eventually they had to land. As I was high I left on what would be my second last glide towards goal with a 28/1. I knew I would need another climb but I wasn't hitting anything so I headed off of corse line to some dry fields hoping I would find the last climb I needed. I hit zero and started to turn working to find a better climb the whole time I was drifting north but goal was west but I was climbing. I promised myself that I would stay in the 1.5 up until I had an 11/1 into goal. The lift quit when I had an 18/1, Damn! I started to glide cross wind now heading just on the down wind side of Clovis hoping I would find the lift I needed but I had almost resigned myself to landing short, again. Just then on the edge of town I hit 2 up and I stayed in it till I had a 9/1 and raced in through some really buoyant lifty air and arrived at goal with 400 ft to spare. It was so cool to fly so far mostly alone but arrive in a specific place so far away from where I started and see a bunch of my friends there. It was cool to high five my big brother Joerge after he came in 30 minutes after me. I love hang gliding!

Day 4 We all made it!

2007-08-12T22:15:00.000-06:00

I hope.

Bruce Kavanagh shortly before he climbed right through me.

On course over Texas.

The reason I say this is from the ground I am not sure that Jon crossed the offset goal line and Bernie was a little unsure that he had crossed over it as well. I'm sure I am just being paranoid.

For the first part of the day I was very happy with how I was flying. I was mid gaggle for the first start and got it just seconds after, this was good. Then Bernie and I were chasing them down, hitting the cores and leaving when they left. This is the kind of racing I love, fast, intense with no screwing around. Too bad it only lasted for 50 km. Bernie and I dove in under the lead gaggle at well over 100 km/hr and I missed the core on the first pass. He hit it and started to core it out. By the time I made my way back they were already 500' above me and that was it, they pulled up and a way as I struggled by myself until I found it. Then I tried to chase them down again but they were too fast. The last 100 km was slow, lonely and a little frustrating but unlike yesterday I was able to gear down as I really needed to. I had to cross a large blue hole and ended up low turning in very weak broken lift just trying to survive. It felt like I was there forever (25 minutes) but eventually I worked my way across, found some good climbs and then topped out my last climb 20 km out until I had an 11 to 1 and stated to glide in. It felt great to make goal for the first time this week. I did a quick count of parked gliders and there were already 60 there but I was still stoked. The most difficult and stressful part of the flight was yet to come. The airport that was goal for the day had to be the last place I would ever pick to land a hang glider. It was surrounded by oil pump jacks, each one had a power line running to it. some of these were less than 100' from the runways. If you got past the spiderweb of power lines there were mesquite trees, cactus and tall grass hiding all of the barbed wire fences. There was very little grass but tons of pavement. The largest piece of grass right next to the runway looked the most inviting as everywhere I looked gliders were whacking on the pavement or landing in the bush around the runways. I hung on in some weak lift until a Japanese pilot had moved to the edge of the grass and I dove in right over the power lines, pushed out over a mesquite tree, back down, up over the barbed wire . The whole time I was upright with my legs spread trying to shorten my glide. I came in across the runway and hoped I would slow down before I ran into the Japanese pilot to my left and the well head to my right. I flared 25' short of both of them ( eat your heart out Rob). It was by far the most technical landing I have ever had to do. I only wish that they had some money on the spot. It was great to have all of the Canadians in goal. I am looking forward to seeing all of my team mates in goal again.

Fly like a Brazillian, what that means to me.

2007-08-12T19:44:00.000-06:00

This morning I had a chat with Andre Wolf and it was then that I discovered that my post yesterday had been misunderstood. I was very proud of how I flew yesterday. I was aggressive, I didn't waste any time in weak lift I pushed hard to catch up to the lead gaggle. After 70 km I had caught them. I was very proud of myself. I then continued to push hard and fly aggressively. When the lift would die I would leave and very few pilots would come with me. This worked for the first few times but after a long glide I was very low and tried to find the core from less than 200 ft. I fell out the side and only had enough time to turn back into the wind and land.

Those that know me know that I am an aggressive pilot, I still have a great deal to learn and that is why I come to the largest comps and fly against the best. I have a great deal of respect for all of the Brazilian pilots I have had the pleasure of flying with and I have chosen to model my style of flying after many of them. When I asked my good friend what had happened to the Brazilian team on day one he summed it up by saying that Brazilian pilots fly like men, race like men, win like men or land short like men. This style is something I look up to. With the weather conditions being as soft as they are here this year so far it has favored the cautious pilot. And if you look at the results so far many great pilots have had some very bad luck. I hope this helps you to understand what I feel and what I meant when I said that I flew like a Brazilian, I was proud.

Day 3 I flew like a Brazillian

2007-08-11T20:27:00.000-06:00

I had a shit start today. Low alone and out of position. I have learned that how you start can make or break your day. It just makes sense that if you fly with the best in the world you will: pick the best lines, leave lift when you should, glide at the right speeds for the day, stop only for the best lift and find the core the fastest. All of these things are what makes the miles whip by. But low and alone you are going to be that way for most of your flight. With Marks help we pressed on chasing down the lead gaggle that was at first out of sight but when we finnaly saw them I thought we had a chance to real them in. The guys they had dropped were reachable in front so we would go to where they just had been and found lift. As soon as it started to die we didn't waste any time and would leave together to race to the next climb. We would have to search a bit but we new it was there and would usually find it. After doing this 5 or 6 times I found the a core as mark searched around to only find zero. I directed him in right under me to no avail, I had cought the tail end of it and he had missed the train. I was high enough to reach the lead group who seemed to be turning in zero ahead and low. I glided toward them but I wasn't in a big hurry as they seemed to be suffering. I found a weak climb before them and hung out trying to to it right up just shy of Lamessa. When they looked like their climb had turned on I went to join them. I was feeling really good about myself to see Scott Barret and Dustin and a number of the French and Germans. After racing hard to catch up and actually do it I was WAS to cocky. As soon as the lift went to shit at 1800m as it had for the whole flight I wanted to go, so I did. I wasn't alone, Scott Barrett came with me all 3 times that I lead out. The first 2 worked really good. The 3rd one I struggled to find any lift, Scott found it way of to my right as I worked my way over there I was so low that I tried to turn in every little beep which hurt way ore than it helped so by the time I got under them I had just enough altitude to turn 1 360 and land. 86 km short again. This is not the Texas I flew in last year. Tomorrow I will be as patient as Bernard on Valium.

Day 2....Soft in the middle.

2007-08-11T20:14:00.000-06:00

Yesterdays task was a long one, down wind to Lamessa and then 1/4 tail to Crosby. I got up and into the death gaggle in the start circle. Just like the day before the lift was week and we weren't getting very high. I wasn't in great position for the 2:50 start so I went back up wind and climbed up with most of the rest of the field for the 3:10 gate. I was in the middle of the pack and we worked together very well to the first TP. I felt in the zone and time flew by, next thing I knew I was at Lamessa. After that it all went to shit. It was green and the lift was soft and it went from effortless flying to frustrated struggling. We would find only weak lift, drift off of course line turning and then punch back towards the line only to be a few km ahead. I was working hard with Primoz, Phil Bloom, Jon Orders, Kevin Carter and others. Eventually the ground cought up to me after way to many low saves and had to land. 35 pilots made goal, most flying well south of the course line. All of the Canadians landed short with Bernnie getting the closest then Mark, Jon, Me, Brett and Ross. Attilla won the day again but said that he thought that the task committee had made a mistake with the task. Given all of the big name pilots that didn't survive the first section after the TP I would have to agree with him.

Way to familiar.

2007-08-09T22:14:00.000-06:00

Today was the first task of my first worlds and I was very happy with how I flew. I was the second pilot to launch from the south line. My world ranking puts me in 48th place in the launch out of 110 pilots. This meant that in our line ( the even pilots) I was 24 back from the front of the line. The last couple of days have been very soft until later on i the day so no one was in a big hurry to get going. I loaded up at 1:45, launch opened at 1:30 and stood in the staging line by myself for 20 minutes until I saw most of the guys in front of me ( the top pilots) getting suited up and then I launched. There were 3 start gates today, 2:15, 2:45 and 3:15. It became very obvious to me that no one wanted to take the 2:15 time as we were only half way to the 16 km start circle and punching back up wind. The gaggles were pretty intense for the next 30 minutes but I made sure that I stayed with a large group as I have a history of finding myself alone at the start. It worked out well as I was fairly high and with a good gaggle. I'm not sure who was flying my glider today as I usually charge ahead and screw myself but today I hung with the gaggle and was pleasantly surprised many times as I thermalled up with Brett, Jonny, Attila, Lucas and many others. I spent most of the task within a couple of hundred feet of Brett, that was cool. But as usual I got impatient right at the end. at 22 km from goal I was climbing in a weak broken climb as the guys above me went on final. My numbers had just gone positive so rather than stick with the climb I decided to best glide towards goal and "see what happens". I flew through 2 thermals in the first few km so I thought it might work out. I couldn't of been more wrong. I glided for 15 km and didn't get a freakin beep. My numbers had gone to crap and I was low and desperate, but I wasn't alone. Scott Barrett and another pilot were needing a top up as well, when I hooked up with them I was 200 ft off of the ground and 100 ft below them. I couldn't pull it off but they did after 10 minutes they were up and away and I was pulling battens next to the cotton field that I landed in.

Brett made goal and Ross was one of the last guys into goal as well. Way to go guys.
I was 5 km short and Berrnie was 20 km short.
Mark and Jon got flushed early with many others.
There were a lot of big names missing from goal with 40 pilots to make it.

The pilts from the "even" line hanging out prior to launch.

Coming off of the cart.

Moore was at goal when the lead gaggle came in.

I hate packing up alone. I am way to extraverted for this.

2007-08-08T21:07:00.000-06:00

Today was another practice day as well as the opening ceremony.

The ceremony was held at an out door amphitheater which was very roman feeling. We were paraded in and across the stage. We were greeted by the mayor, the FAI CIVL president, the airport manager and others. The pomp and circumstance was a little weird but cool non the less. After the ceremony the town of Big Spring hosted us for a BBQ and we had a chance to visit and talk. David Glover is at the pool right now with most of the comp pilots taking bets on who will be in the top 5. The favorites are Attilla, Robert, Jonny, Primoz and Robin. I put my money on my good friend Brett, I think he will win.

Everything is bigger in Texas.

2007-08-07T22:38:00.000-06:00

Even the wind mills. These blades were freakin huge! and to top it of thy are made out of fiber glass. at over 100 ft long it was quite the trip to see them.

VG

2007-08-07T22:33:00.000-06:00

I got these2 pics that may look the same but they demonstrate the difference pulling your rope makes to a hang glider. Not only can you see more billow in the sail but the camera angle also rotates as the leading edge twists. Cool! (to me at least)

In the air over a green Texas.

2007-08-07T21:23:00.000-06:00

Today was the first practice day for the world championships. There was a practice task planned, a 70 km 1/4 tail wind dash to Lamessa. As I was hot, bored and really eager to find out if a 3 degree tip in my left wing would finally tame the right turn in my glider I towed up first, right at 1:00. The tow went well and I was towed to 2500 ft, 1000 ft above the inversion which worked great as I got to fly my glider in some smooth air. The turn was gone (thanx Brett) but the lift was light, broken and only going to 1200 ft off of the ground. So rather than drift away low by myself I landed and took another tow right away to get up wind and try again. There was more of the same and no one else seemed to be in a big hurry. I flew around for a bit trying o get a good feel for my glider( I like it). After I landed this time I went back to the hanger and had some water and a sandwich. After a hour guys started to stick so I hooked up with Ross, Brett and Bernie and we towed up right after each other and I had a great time up there with my friends. I flew for an hour, climbing out over the prisons and then punching back into the 20- 25 km head wind. I got a chance to glide head to head with a all carbon RS 4 and I am happy to say that thanx to my fat ass I glide just as well. Tomorrow we have another practice day and then the gloves come off.

Bernies and my glider with the team logo.

The staging "cluster f**k" on the first day of flying.

The launch Line, it was short as not many tried the task today so no one was in a big hurry but this will all change on thursday. I am getting mentally ready to sweat my bag off.

It is my turn now. Just starting to roll out on the dolly.

I love when I break free of the earth and start to fly. This is just a second after I left the dolly.

The airport and he town of Big Spring from a couple thousand feet.

A few friends. I did climb up to them after a little while.

The hanger is on the right and the terminal building to the left is the meet headquarters. 1/2 of the tugs we have here are tied down between the 2 buildings the other half were towing us up.

Things are starting to change.

2007-08-06T12:19:00.000-06:00

The hanger at the airport was pretty empty this morning when we got ther. Just the twins , Brett and Berrnie had set up last night when they got here.

By noon it was getting busy with pilots from all over the world assembling there wings. I am sure by tonight the hanger will be completely full.

Gilders are being delivered from all over the world.

The town of Big Spring is really behind the event. The local paper published a 12 page supplement all about the event and I was proud to see my good friend Jeff on the cover. (wish you were here dude)

There are signs all over town advertising the comp and the locals are very excited to meet us.

A local fire marshal had caught a bull snake to show us and ask us not to kill them as the aren't poisonous and are quite beneficial.

He pointed out to us how to tell the difference between a Bull snake and a rattle snake but also said to stay away from them as they can be aggressive and will bite you. I love Texas even more now!!!!

Prisons in Texas are big buisness, they are run by public corperations and are one of the main employers in Big Spring. There a couple of prisons at the airport and this one is a roadside motel that they wrapped barbed wire around and made it into a prison. Weird!

Lucas, Jorge and Adam.

Jammie Sheldon the naughty lawyer.

The twins, Brett and Berrnie in their pimpin wheels.

Biscuits and gravy.

2007-08-05T08:52:00.000-06:00

Moore and I got here early sat morning. After a good nights sleep it was time to get my gear set up on the front lawn of the motel.

My glider survived my trip in gret shape (thanx AA).

I felt very proud to put the tem logo on my wing.

And On Moores van that he bought just so we could all be retrieved in comfort.

On Moores trp down here he took slight detour and flew at Kitty Hawk.

mmm mmm good! When in Rome.

Home sweet home for the next 2 1/2 weeks.

Everyone is starting to arrive today. I had breakfast with the Italians this morning and yesterday I helped Adam Parer from Austrailia put his glider together. I am so excited to see so many friends from so many remote places all come together to celebrate what we love.

OK, OK...... I know it's been a while.

2007-08-02T17:00:00.000-06:00

This is how my last day at the santa cruze flats race ended up. My glider is pointing to a tower at the airport that was goal, 2 km away. Ahhhhh. I hate landing short!

The next stop was the Canadian nats in Lumby. This is a picture of coopers launch at one of the only times it wasn't raining. We only had 2 valid tasks, I finished second.

I did get to hang with a great group of friends for the week, made hanging out in the rain worth it.

I did get to do a few tandems though.

Good thing Chris had a full face helmet. ( sorry dude)

Jon Orders had his car decorated, the poem on the winsheild made it all worth it.

I spent a ton of time with my little girl. Emma you ROCK!
I flew in Glden almost every weekend. The picture is of Lake Windemeere, 120 km down the range from Golden. I have also been working on a little tattoo.

Impossible?

2007-05-12T23:57:00.000-06:00

That was the question I had in my head after I landed for the second time today.

We got up over the resort but we were in light lift, drifting and not getting very high. Davis, Jeff and I were punching up into the wind trying to work our way to the edge of the start circle. The first tp was 4 km outside the 8 km start circle and directly into the wind. Davis and I went out by ourselves up wind again and neither of us found anything until it was too late. Davis went down just to the south of me. I tried to save my flight by hanging on to broken lift at 200'. I was there for 30 minutes drifting in light broken lift only getting up to 400'. When I had had enough I tried to run back to the resort but didn't make it. Russel came with the tug to pick me out of the field I was in ( Thanx a lot). He towed me up again, and Davis towed up again as well. I used all of the altitude to search around fore some lift. I found nothing so I ran back to the resort with my tail between my legs and landed. 7 other pilots were there already so I felt a little better about my day. As it turned out no one was able to make it very far so the day won't be worth much at all.

One of the tugs that make it all posible. Thanx guys ( and girl)

Lined up on the ground.......

....and in the air.

Right next to our oasis is the dirt airstrip that we are towing out of.

The view I have had a couple of times this week when I have made it in.

Day 5 a 5 hour bar fight.

2007-05-12T19:57:00.000-06:00

At least that is how I felt after I landed.

A local pilot, Gene Irwin took these pictures and helped a ton during the comp. Thanx Gene. Here I am humping my gear out to the strip.

Dusties have come through launch every day. I decided to dance with this one.

The dust didn't taste so good.

All suited up and ready to go.

We had weak climbs that ended up bumping up against an inversion just like the day before. Most of the field had climbed up to a few thousand feet over the resort when Davis and I headed for the edge of the start circle hoping for a good climb like the day before. We pushed on cautiously as we weren't very high but eventually found a decent climb right were I thought it would be over a small hill with a huge water tank on it. As we climbed out the rest of the group came in below us. I was happy to be on top of Jeff, Jonny, Chris and Dustin but this quickly faded as Davis and I started to bump up against the inversion as the rest of the guys climbed up to us. The climbs were weak, rough and frustrating and stayed that way for the rest of the day. We had a very similar task as day 4 with a run east then south back west and finally a short leg NE to goal.

I got really low a couple of km short of the first tp and hung out in zero as I watched David Cameron land just 400 ft below me. A dustdevil popped off just a short distance to the south and I dove into it at 200 ft and hung on as eventually I was joined by Davis and Mark and then a few others. We stuck with this anemic climb as it drifted us east but north of the tp. Mark and I noticed a much larger dustie backwards on the course line so he and I dove for it and I was rewarded with a decent climb that Mark missed. I climbed out back up the the inversion, tagged the tp and headed south chasing down OB, Davis and Conrad. They went for the same field that Jonny and Davis were low in the day before and found a slow climb that drifted them over the desert, They were at 300 ft. Davis found the climb, Conrad missed it and landed next to the only road out there. Jeff and I worked the lift for a while then went on glide for the 2nd tp.

We found a little climb after the tp then pressed on. This leg was supposed to be into the wind but there was no wind, I was stoked. After watching a few guys land already and having suffered through the crappy conditions for so long it was nice to have some good news. It was then that Jeff and I working together found the best climb of our day. Smooth 500 to 4000 ft. As we had 1 extra turn point to tag before goal so we couldn't quite go on final yet. But we had a plan, Both of us headed slightly to the right of course line to hook up with a small mountain ridge thinking that we would find another god climb there and then we could just glide in. After spreading out and trolling the entire ridge we found nothing. As we flew off the end of the ridge we both, disappointed headed straight down the highway towards the last tp. We stopped a few times in very weak broken lift when we were quite low but it was just delaying the inevitable. We landed 8 km from the last tp and 20 km from goal.

I was over heated from fighting down low all day, I had drunken all 3 litres of water I brought with me and was getting dehydrated and I was super sore. Thankfully Belinda ( she is great ) showed up just as I got my glider to the road and gave me a cold peach green tea and a smile. I went to be very early that night after eating nd loading up on Advil so I can be ready for the next day.

Even though the day was long, I find it very satisfying to use up every bit that the day has and to fly until all the lift is gone and the shadows are long.

Day 4 My best flying day ever!

2007-05-12T18:35:00.000-06:00

This is a bit late because we have been flying every day and the heat is exhausting so I have been falling asleep early.

On day 4 I finally flew an entire day without making any big mistakes. I launched 50 minutes before the first start clock and started to climb out over the resort. I watched as Dustin started to head north and since this is his backyard and he is a great pilot I figured it was a goo decision. I was a little to his left and we were starting to get low. I had just flown through some lift when Dustin turned around as he had missed it so I went right back to it and started to climb out from 300 m. Soon we were joined by Davis, Jon, Chris and a few others. We took the climb to 1000 m when Jonny and Chris headed off towards the edge of the start circle. Davis and I decided to follow and we eventually found a good climb just outside the start circle and it gave us a huge advantage over the rest of the field as it punched through the inversion that the rest of the guys were stuck under.

When the second start time approached I was at 2300 m with Chris, Jonny and Davis and I was on top. We all went back to grab the start and timed it perfectly and started on course. As I made my turn I could see all the rest of the guys getting to the edge of the start circle 2500 ft below us. We flew right back through the thermal we were in and we were on our way.

As we glided the 25 km towards the first tp I was able to glide head to head with the guys in the most perfectly still air. We had found what I think was the very first thermal of the day that had broken through the inversion so the rest of the air mass up there had yet to be stirred up by any thermals. We glided almost he entire way to the tp without a bump in the air and Chris, jon and I were still all together. Davis started a touch lower than us and as still there. We started to climb out in the first thermal we found and I was with Chris, on top of Davis but had lost track of Jonny. We took the climb to the top, tagged the tp and started to head south towards the next tp. As we glided Davis noticed a field spitting out dustdevils 1 mile east of the course line. Chris was going for it as well. That is when I noticed Jonny who must have skipped the climb before the tp and now was low over the field. Davis hooked up with Jon in the weak climb and I started to search around for the core as I was at least 1000 ft over them. I thought I would have some help centering the thermal but Chris was no where to be seen. The climb was better up higher so I was climbing really well as Jonny and Davis struggled for 10 minutes until it turned on for them as well.

Chris had gone to the field to the west of the course line and the rest of us had gone to the east but eventually the 2 climbes joined up and I was surprised to see chris appear at my altitude circling. Jon and Davis were now climbing fast and our thermal had pretty much topped out. I singled to Chris that we should go and e poited towards the tp so I pulled on a bunch of rope and headed out. When looked over my shoulder he was still turing. As I knew that I would do better with help i turned around and as I did I found a bit better climb. Chris came over to me an we did a couple more turns as Davis and Jonny were climbing up fast and closing the 2000 ft gap fast. Now this time Cris singled methat it was time to go, so I pulled on my vg, pitched down and tucked my arms in andstarted to glide. But yet again he had pimped me an had stayed behind turning waiting for Davis and Jonny. I saw this, called him a couple of names quietly to my self and continued on. I glided straight to the tp, as I ot there the air was rough so I knew there was a climb close so I tagged the t and started to search around. I found the core just as Chris got there at my altitude. Jon joined us shortly afterwords followed by Davis. We stayed in the rough climb that eventually smoothed ou but Davis skipped it and continued on course. I kept an eye on him as Ifigured We could fly straight to him when he finds the next climb.

Chris, Jonny and I topped out the climb and headed on course where davis was turning low over a field in survival mode. We flew a few thousand feet right over him but didn't find any thing so we kept going and found another good climb over a dustdevil a couple of miles west of Davis. I let him know about it on the radio as I climbed out with Jonny and Chris.
We were 25 km out from goal, all of my glide numbers had gone positive but they wern't going on glide yet. We stayed and climbed until we had a 10/1 glide then Chris went immediately followed by Chris and I. I ws at the same altitude as Chris, 150 ft over Jonny and between the 2 of them. As we glided towards our oasis in the dessert I passed Jonny and chris had moved over and slid 30 ft underneath me to take a line closed to the small mountain ridge between us and goal. Shortly after that move I started to fall out of the sky in sink as Chris got at least 500 ft on me in a few seconds. I had to turn 90 degrees to get away from the flushing and this let chris get in front of me. I was now even with Jonny and we were both trying to chase chris down. Until now we had een gliding at 90 - 95 km/hr but as we were only 15 km out and ou glide was now a 8/1 I started to pull on more speed. I figured Jonn was hanging back so he could watch our line and come in at the end and scoop the win with some extra speed. But..... Chris and I are both big bys on gliders that are a touch small for us we were both flying at full vg and full stuff going 120 km/hr and Jonny couldn't catch us as we hammered through some crazy rough air at full speed. It was an incredible mix of emotion for me I was very excited, happy and scared as I raced in as fast as Ii could against 2 incredible pilots on the most violent glide I have ever had.

It wasn't until after I landed that I learned that Jonny hadn't passed me on the final. I was grinning from ear to ear and was quoted saying that you couldn't beat the smile off of my face with a hammer. A lot of the guys made goal and we all sat under the shae of a tree at the resort drinking margaritas and celebrating a great day of flying.

Final glide on the end of a rope.

2007-05-10T21:53:00.000-06:00

We had another great day with a a 108 km box down south, then east, north and finally back west to our oasis in the desert. I had a good start with everyone except Jeff, Dustin and Jonny who held back to take the later start in 15 minutes. We were racing fast and Davis and I were working well together on the radio. We were at the first tp in no time. Chris Smith was charging! I could tell that he wanted this one bad and I respect that because I have been a very aggressive pilot as well. Davis and I were chasing him towards the second tp, Chris was getting low but he wouldn't quit. I could tell that he would only stop for a strong thermal like the ones that we had on the first leg. I stopped in a broken climb and got behind. Davis kept going towards the base of a mountain were the 2nd tp was. He and Chris stopped there kinda low and started to turn, I joined them and shortly after so did the rest of the guys that we were hoping to loose. We topped out that climb and headed directly on course line over a empty reservoir that now was a huge swamp. There was nothing but sink for 10 km So OB, Mark and I got to the other side first and low. We worked weak broken lift FOREVER until we were high enough to move on to the 3rd tp. Chris and Davis had come through us earlier at our altitude but didn't stop for the climb (I think they wanted something stronger) and they both ended up landing at the tp, so I really put the brakes on. I was 1000 ft above Jeff when he got the tp low and headed of to the west looking for his next climb. I watched him search around for lift over some green fields as I headed a little more north over some dry dirt fields. I watched as Jeff glided directly to the ground so now I really slowed down. I found zero and stayed there for 30 minutes. It was like all the lift had just shut off. I couldn't see any dustdevils anywhere so I stayed put very slowly climbing until dusties started to pop. As soon as one was in reach I went to it and climbed in 400 up until I had a 10/1 glide to goal. There was a west wind and I was 23 km out but I had topped out the climb and decided I would try my final in. I was only getting about a 8.5/1 so I really wanted to find another climb. I was now right over the middle of town and I was sure I would find the last climb I needed to fly the last 8 km to goal. I had a 15/1 and I found a weak climb above Jim Scoles on the edge of town. But after the first 1000 ft the wind was stronger and the lift got weaker and I couldn't improve on the 13/1 glide I had and was just getting further and further away. My patience was done so I pointed it into the wind and glided it into the ground without hitting a bump and landed 4 km short. Since I was so close I called the resort and begged one of the tug pilots to come grab me so I wouldn't have to break down. The trike came and I had my first AT foot launch in zero wind ( all the wind was up higher).

My ride home and the road I launched off of.

A all Canadian wiener convention in the hot tub.

Day 2 in the desert

2007-05-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

I woke up very sore this AM! The forecast for today was much the same as yesterday. Top of lift @ 15000 ft and 800 ft/min climbes. I launched much earlier than yesterday but again I struggled to get a good start. They all waited for the last clock but I was way too low to try and chase them I was with Dustin climbing finally climbing well and we left on course 10 minutes after the last start gate. Dustin and I glided out together on the first glide, me well North of course line and Dustin well north of me. I found the first climb and Dustin who had been getting a better glide came over to join me. He came in well below me but climbed up through me as I was taking pictures of him. I left that climb at 2000m when it started to gt rough and weak and started to glide And glide and glide and glide....... I got really low and Dustin was no where to be seen. After what felt like a hour of just avoiding the ground I finally found a climb that got me out of the hole I put myself in. Then it was a lonely trip out to the first turn point. I got a few climbes on the way as I really did not want to get low again as it was really rugged with few to no places to land for the last 15 km out to the turn point and back. I tried to stay up around 2000m and climbed in some pretty rough trashy lift to stay there. I got to the second tp of the figure 8 task we had relatively high and then I hit the best thermal of the day 6-8 m/s to 3600m. I was still going up like a rocket but my vario told me that I had goal with 1000m to spare so I swithchedmy vario to my final glide page and started to watch the glide ratio get better and better. I was 48 km out and was gliding at 110 km/hr. It wasn't until I was 8 km out from the 3rd tp that I realized that the glide ratio is calculated to the next turn point and not goal. I slowed down, my 1000m buffer was now 160m so I found a little climb 15 km from goal that got me up to a 8/1 glide and then cruised in 500 ft over at 110 km/hr. I counted 6 gliders on the ground as I did some wing overs to get down before i landed close to the pool. It turned out that 1 of the gliders was not in the comp so I finished 6th for the day. Dustin first then Chris and Jeff, within 4 seconds of each other. Later Davis and Johnny came in, then my tired ass. After landing short yesterday I was stoked to make t in......Then hell broke loose.

Dustin and I climbing in our last thermal together.

enjoying a Margarita at goal.

The peanut gallery

A wall of dust approaching 30 minutes after I landed

When it hit it hit hard.

Life in the desert

2007-05-08T10:40:00.000-06:00

Mark and Jim "tuning" Marks glider

Rob's and my glider by the pool after our check out flight the day before.

Don't store gliders in the shade of a tree. The birds crap on them.

Pilot meeting by the pool.

Harness transport. (sure beats carrying them)

Game face on.

If the dirt is dark it is probably a mountain.

You would not want to land out there.

The same as yesterday but in the other direction.

2007-04-18T16:54:00.000-06:00

Bernard is my hero.

Scrappy light lift.
No sun.
Thick cloud cover.
Wind.
Low slow climbes.
No Patience.
No Goal for me.

This is NOT goal.

But...... Bernard is a different story.
He was in 2 minutes behind Jonny, the day winner.
One of only 15 into goal.
One of only 3 or 4 people to make goal on both days.
Bernard ROCKS

Mark made it in as well today on a very difficult day.
Jim, Rob and myself all landed within a couple of km of each other right on the edge of a large lake that we needed to cross. I was able to stay in the air, low but I was unwilling to try and cross the lake so I faltered around in the wind and the scrappy lift until the ground rose up to meet me. Ross was high enough to get across the lake but landed on the other side with a bunch of other pilots. It looked like a goal field except for the Giraffes and Zebra's in the field with them.

Getting ready for the day.

OB always makes me laugh.

One of the 2 launch lines.

lots of wind but not a lot of lift.

2007-04-17T20:51:00.001-06:00

Bernard is my hero!!!!
More on that later.

The last few days have not been great. There was a front that moved through early Sunday morning that had tornado warnings and high wind. When the front hit it dropped 6" of rain on us in 20 minutes. There was still a lot of wind on Monday so no flying again.
So here are my choices....
Hang with Mark = sit in the club house with a laptop all day.
Hang with Rob = stay in bed until after lunch.
Hang with Jim = watching him and Cha Cha smootch and hear "I love you... I love you more" all day.
Hang with Bernard = go to the mall and go shopping.

I went shopping.

On Monday thanks to the help of Awesome Bob I made some ear covers for my Skyline helmet out of a couple of a mouse pad and installed a push-to-talk. Later that evening the wind mellowed out enough to get a tow in. I have had a lot of help from Craig and mostly Gerolf to get my glider flying right, I have towed it a ton trying to get it tweaked and I think I might have it sorted now. I got a 1 degree tip from Craig last night which I hope will get rid of the last little bit of turn it has. I will find out today.

The task yesterday was a 110 km dogleg with a 1/4 tail wind to the first turn point 1/2 way out and then a little more down wind to goal. There was very little lift at the start as we all sat on the ground and watched the rigid just hang out and not climb. Finally after 45 minutes the flex wings started to launch and slowly the sky filled up with wings. The thermals were REALLY crowded and my neck is sore today from trying to keep track of everyone. I watched a couple of near midairs and was glad when we finally went. As the lift was sooo light and we were only getting 2500 ft off of the ground no one wanted to go so everyone waited until the last gate at 3:30 to go I had a good position at the start... too good. I ended up leading out and had a long glide but was alone to try and find my next thermal. It took me a while to did myself out of that hole as the most of the field passed over my head and found the climb above me. I then made a typical "Scott" decision and flew very aggressive trying to catch up. I ended up low one too many times and landed short of the turn point across the road from a elephant farm. Bernard was smart, patient and was 8th into goal of only 9 pilots that made it in. I am very proud of him for flying so well, the field here is very good and he showed that he is world class!
Mark and Jim landed 10 km further up the road from me and Ross and Rob were closer to Quest. It is a new day and the weather looks promising so we will be flying again. Look for results on the Oz report.

The set up area.

In the air with the Italians.

Team Canada.

There to here.

2007-04-14T11:00:00.000-06:00

The trip went great. It was wild to see 4 hang gliders go on the plane at the same time. Rob picked us all up and we went to the air port and checked in with no problems. Mark was there waiting for his gear so he could clear customs. The flight was smooth, they had seated us all together but the plane was empty enough that we all had a whole row of seats to ourselves. As soon as our gliders come out of the baggage area Jim was there with the van and we made our way to quest after stopping for dinner. The tent trailer was all set up as well as the tent so we just started visiting and catching up with old friends. It is great to be back. Yesterday we put our gliders together and all did some flying. Rob was the first off and eventually we all followed doing extended sled runs as there was very little weak broken thermals. I had 3 flights, each time tweaking my glider a little bit trying to get it to handle just right (Brett I miss you). Last night Rob, Mark, Bernie and i went out for the funniest meal I have ever had. After we had talked and joked with the waitress for about an hour it as discovered that she thought we were all Gay! The guys thought that she thought I was gay so I asked and it was then that she said that she thought we all were. I guess in Florida if you are friendly and polite you must be gay. Last night we played poker until 1 am with Rob winning the game and $120. I thought I had him with a full house, Queens and 4's but he had the only other queen and beat me. (bugger!) After a great home cooked breakfast of French toast and fresh fruit ( thanx cha cha ) we tore our gliders down because it is blowing pretty good and is supposed to get much worse tomorrow.

Thanx to Westjet all of our gliders got here in one piece. Westjet Rocks!

We put our gliders back together right outside of Camp Canada by the lake.

Going for another tow.

Team Muller.

Our waitress Brenda and here new Gay friends.

The wind starts to blow and will get stronger today and tomorrow.

Visiting under the shade tree.

A view of the club house.

Between Oz and Florida

2007-04-10T13:56:00.000-06:00

After getting home from Oz I just jumped back into my home life. Hangin with the kid, work and the gym. A few things were different. But most of it was all the same.

I still don't pick up after myself. This pile of gear from Oz stayed this way on the basement floor for a month.

My Daughter was thrilled to have a new boyfriend to play with. Brett stayed with us for 2 months since he got his first real job here in Calgary.

Spent about 4 hrs in the air soaring at Cochrane when the Chinooks blew in.

I am flying real fast, no really I am.

Ross, Rob, Bernard and myself short packing our gliders on Bernard's drive way on Sunday. we all get on the plane on Thursday to go to Quest for the Flytec championship. The 4 of us are hooking up with Mark and Jim so 6 Canadians will be there for the comp. I am also so looking forward to seeing all of my other good friends again.

Inspiration

2007-04-10T13:07:00.000-06:00

Many great men have inspired me throughout my life.

Leonardo for his creativity.

The Idea of Santa Clause for his generosity.

Christ for his compassion.

Boyde Coddington for his fashion sense.

And the Team of Jeff Squared for their high level of heterosexualness.

So I decided late this winter that I would try to be more like these incredible men who have influenced my life so much. I came upon the one thing that all of these great men had which I do not, a BEARD. So over a vast amount of time (6 weeks) I toiled at being more like my heros, but is was all for not. I am either too sensitive or not near man enough to do it, it was too hard and uncomfortable to be a man like my heros so the beard had to go.

Not wanting to completely waste my efforts I decided to document the unveiling of the real me.

Hairy and unhappy

The first step: pork chops and a goat. ( sounds like a meal)

The Pro wrestler.

I kinda felt like an extra gay Paul Sr.

This was inspired by the Killers.

I felt very French.

ahhhh much better.

After all of the hard work I have been doing since Oz ( nothing really that is why I havn't posted anything). I really need to go flying! More on that soon.

Last days

2007-01-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

The last 2 days in Bogong where like all of them which looking back wasn't all that bad. Sure we didn't fly and the weather was awful but after 6 days of similar weather we were used to finding other things to do and I had actually started to worry less about not flying and just enjoyed the moments. I was invited out to lunch with one of the locals and we went up to the Anaperna winery for lunch. The food was delicious and I was so stuffed by the end that we decided to take a walk through the vineyards before heading back. You can see in the back ground how close the recent fires had gotten to the homes in the area.

I am very proud of my friends! Jeff raced smart and hard on the only comp day we had and finished 2nd just 3 seconds behind Lucas Bader. It was his best finish ever and he deserved his placing. Unfortunately we all didn't get the chance to knock him out of his spot ( I don't think I could have as he is flying so well ). I just love the look on Jeff's face, I don't think you could have burned the smile off of his face with a torch. Way to go Dr. I sure this won't be the last time that Jeff is on a podium. I am so impressed with how Jeff's flying has evolved, he is my inspiration and in the next couple of years I hope my skills turn on and I will be able to race head to head with him at the 09 worlds.

My big brother Jorge is the nicest guy I have ever met. And now he has a trophy to show it. It was a very moving moment when Heather Mull read aloud the comments from the numerous votes for the sportsmanship award that was created to honor her brother that passed away last year. Jorge won hands down and it is an honor to say he is my good friend and I miss him already. I am lucky as we all are to travel, fly and hang with a great group of fellow pilots and I will get to see most of them at the Flytec comp on April.

"I don't know why we do this crazy shit...."

2007-01-19T00:16:00.000-07:00

"But is sure is fun"..C.M.

The day started overcast.....again. So we went to the pilots meeting at 9:00 and were told to come back again at 11:30 to see if it would get better. I walked to town to make a phone call home and on the 2 km walk back it started to rain, then pour. I was pissed. I was soaking wet, grumpy and it was going to be another no-fly day here....again. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse some a#$hole figured he would "measure my sense of humor" by swerving off the road and soaking me by driving through a puddle. More on this later. I changed, the day got called, went for lunch and when I got back the sky was blue the sun was out so I hooked up with the Jeff's and we decided to throw the gliders on the car, grab our driver Biddy and head up mystic for a flight. Any flight would have been cool, this one was amazing. Mystic is only 1500 ft, another front was coming in so we raced to set up. OB was first in line, I was behind him and Montana had just walked up when he asked OB " so do you want to go first?". He didn't even wait for the response he just sprinted down the hill with OB chasing after him and me 5 seconds behind OB. The 3 of us played a low level game of follow the leader over the treetops and ridges for a couple of passes and then headed out to the LZ for an "expression" session. OB and I were next to each other 100 ft apart and about the same altitude when I noticed him pull a bunch of rope. Montana got to watch as we both dove our gliders and pulled up into wing overs, OB going right and me going left. I did 2 or 3 I can't remember and as I came out of my last one so was OB. Montana was exiting a loop and I watched from 100 ft above him and 500 ft off of the ground as he dives into a second one. He came up over and then settled out and flew upside down for what I am sure was 4 seconds. I watched as he came over the top and pushed the bar out to get it to wrap, and when it didn't I saw him bring the bar to his chest and then after a couple of seconds the nose finally went down and he followed it around. It was one of the most intense things I have seen while in the air. I flew over him screaming and yelling and I could hear him doing the same. The 2 jeffs came in on either side of the road at exactly the same time with me a few seconds behind. I immediately unhooked myself from my glider and ran across the road and gave Jeff a high 5 and a hug. It started to rain, hard just after we landed and we got soaked and basked in it as we packed up. This flight was what most non pilots think hang gliding is. It was fun, exhilarating, exciting, a bit scary and when we were done you couldn't beat the smiles off of our faces. It was just what we needed.

Soaked but happy in the LZ at mystic.

Bowling and the Blues

2007-01-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

Once again the day gets called off due to weather. So far it has been: too smokey, too windy, too hot (roads closed due to fire index), too cloudy and stable and now today too cloudy with base below launch and rain. What is next, a tornado or maybe a tsunami from the lake? After waiting through the 9:00, 10:30 and 11:30 pilots meeting we head up the steep rough road to Mt. Emu only to wait up there for an hour in the rain until the day was called as clouds were forming below us and the upper clouds were only a few hundred feet over our heads. On the way down the gliders shifted and our PVC rack packed it in. When we got down the mountain some of the pilots that stayed up could be seen flying, which made it even worse.

I really need a hug. :(

Now I hope that this system seems to have worked itself through so we can get at least the last 2 days of flying in. I would like to leave hear not only with fond memories of the people I have met but also the flying I have done.

The view of Mt. Bogong after we came down from Emu

The Swedish tear with Andreas (on the right) who has helped the Jeff's immensely with tuning tips and techniques. Their duct tape weapons are gliding as well as anything else.

I have to thank the owners of the Alpenhorn. Not only have they done my laundry but they have been gracious enough to let me use their private computer in their house to post my blog. Thanx a lot!

Jorge has taken well over 1000 pics this trip and I will share some of them with you later as he is putting them on cd for me. Here he is last night at lawn bowling. 50 pilots showed up to drink beer and trow stuff.

A big thanx to Heather and Carol that despite the bad luck with the weather have done an admirable job trying to keep us entertained.

Hit the spot.

2007-01-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

Not really but I was closer than some and had a nice landing that didn't require any new parts. So a total success. Last night after getting back from Buffalo I ran around trying to find the Ozzy equivalent of crazy glue to fix my battens. I got to the only open store in town just as it closed and begged them to let me in. They did, Thanx. I then took Jonny's advice and repaired the cracks. I ended up gluing my fingers together a couple of times but I think they are as good as new. I hear that this cracking is a problem with all of these battens but with no spares here I think they will work just fine until I can get them replaced.
We sat up on launch at Mystic until 2:30 today hoping that the grey overcast day would break. It didn't so the organizers came up with a spot landing contest. No one was really interested until they offered up $500.00 to the winner. I have never seen 30 gliders set up so quick. Like all of the flying activities it was well organized with spotters, scoring, a launch order and rules. Olav from Norway won with a perfect long ground effect glide right to a no step flare on the center of the target. OB and Montana tried to tie their gliders in knots before trying for the spot with OB short and Montana real long. I was long as well but I opted for the safe landing past the spot versus the hail Mary flair. It was nice to fly and I had a chance to "test" my batten repair and it is all good. As usual here after we fly we went to the best ice cream shop in the wolrd for a waffle cone. They make unique small batches of very light creamy ice cream and it is the best. Everyone stops there and sits on the patio and lies to each other about their flights. I have been there 3 4 days in a row now and I am experiencing ice cream overload. I hope the last 3 days of the comp are flyable and taskable so this portion of my trip won't be for not. Tonight the organizers have arranged a BBQ and a night of lawn bowling. Should be fun. L8R

Mt. Buffalo

2007-01-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

We got the wind from the north that we need to clear the smoke out of the valley. It has a catch though. A north wind is a hot dry wind and it increased the fire index so much that Mystic was closed due to fire hazard. The only other launch that faces north is Buffalo but as it is a cliff launch it is only safe in calm winds. A number of pilots thought it would be a waste of time to drive 1 1/2 hrs there when it would most likely be unlaunchable but enough of us wanted to try so we went. I wanted to go because it was our only chance to fly and if we had a day off I figured hiking in this beautiful and rugged place would be the best way to spend it. Sure enough it was too windy but due to the fire hazard all of the hiking trails were closed as well. So much for that idea. As it was scorching hot we stopped for the worlds best ice cream (again) in Bright and then did the only thing that you can do on a supper hot day, we went swimming again.

The pilots getting the bad news at launch.

What you see before you make the leap of faith.

The canyon.

Steve Moyes removing 50 lbs of ballast from his harness bag, put there by a couple of his "friends".

Red Bank swimming hole, cool deep water and a rope swing. Fun but I would rather be flying.

My little girl ( on the left ) learning to ski. I miss her so much, it is hard to be away for soo long and especially hard when we are not flying. I am really proud of her and I can't wait to give her the biggest hug in the world.

OB Rocks and I fly like one.

2007-01-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Day 3 task 1
We were up on Mystic again. I was over in the alternate launch again with the Jeffs and Davis. There was only a little smoke in the air today and the wind was coming straight in at launch. The task was a just over 100 km. Up the Ovens valley, across through the Happy valley into the Kiewa, north a few km and then back to the airport. I was almost done setting up my glider when they called one of many pilots meetings that day. When I came back to finish putting my glider together I had a little problem. 4 of my 6 carbon under surface battens had been crushed about 2/3 of the way up. I am not sure what had happened but I was a little pissed. I taped them up and put them in anyway as they still seemed quite stiff. I launched 18th right after Davis and found lift just to the left of launch. It was rough, punchy and I was unable to make a complete circle in it without getting tossed out and losing everything I had gained. The big problem was that everyone else was having the same problem and I was getting increasingly uncomfortable. I left the "death Gaggle" to try to find some air I could have by myself just long enough to get above the mess. Not a good idea, I got flushed in the biggest way I have ever been flushed before. I ended up groveling 100 ft over the trees at the base of the mountain as 2/3 of the pilots that were in the air landed in the bomb out lz. I finally succumbed and landed it a nice tree rotor. Me and my glider were ok but I was quite unhappy. Montana Jeff pulled a low save out of the valley but couldn't survive the sink and valley winds and went down a few km later. Our hero Jeff O'Brien got up above the inversion after 1 hr and raced hard to finish 2nd for the day 3 seconds behind Lucas. I am very proud of my friend this is his best result ever and has been flying like a pro this whole trip.

I got invited to play a pick up game of cricket. This is the national passion here and it was great to play with these guys in the campground. I am still not sure about all the rules but a I do know that I can't bowl worth s#$t but I did smack it out of the park a couple of times.

On the ride back we went through a lot of area that had just been burned. These fires have ravaged the entire area.

More smoke and 3rd place.

2007-01-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

It was smokey when we woke up this morning. Thinking that the day would be canceled a bunch of us went to the meet headquarters after the great BBq at the ting the lake. The pub was quite full as they were hosting the "Mt. Beauty Idol" competition. After critiquing all of the contestants I was challenged to go up and do better. I was in a tough spot because the girl up before me sang a Kelly Clarckson son better that she does. But I did it any way, gave it my all and did a wicked version of "if I had $1000,000" by the Bare Naked Ladies. To thunderous applause I won 3rd place and a bunch of Jack Daniels stuff. It was a fun night but I really did not want to get out of bed this AM. At the pilots meeting it was decided that we would drive over to Bright and to the Mystic flight park hoping that the northerly winds would clear out the smoke so we could have a task. We hung out on launch playing games and having a water fight for a couple of hours when the day was called. The Jeffs had set up and decided to try and fly over the range and back to the Mt. Beauty airport while Davis Biddy (our driver) and I drove down the hill for some excellent ice cream in Bright. The forecast is for more northerly winds so I hope the smoke clears up soon so we can have a comp. I love it here but I came to fly and would rather be at home than just killing time.

What I saw at the edge of the start circle looking north on the course line.

Barry Bateman on Mystic launch.

Playing marbles to kill some time.

The forest after the fires on the mountain between here and Bright.

Celebrating my victory with friends Joerge, Tink and Dave.

Smoke, Vertigo and a big fight with myself.

2007-01-12T23:48:00.000-07:00

With a not so good wind forecast and fires to the south it took a while this AM to decide where to go. We drove up Mt. Emu and didn't set up right away as the wind was light and cross. there was a lot of smoke in the valley but it seemed that It was clearing. They called a 90 km out and return back to the airport goal in Mt. Beauty. As I am one of the lower ranked pilots here on the WPRS I am at the back of the launch line but we are allowed to launch early if we put our name on a list. I was the 4rth person off the hill behind Davis and just in front of Montana Jeff. \Despite the smoke the lift was 300-500 up and easy to find. The ground was a nother matter. I could always see the valley but to the East I couldn't see the tops of the moutains below me due to thick smoke. I climbed up to 2800 m to the top of the smoke and was getting a little scared. I could see the yellow of the valley to the west but at times I could not see the ground below me and could see nothing in front of me at all. I worked my way to the edge of a 30 km entry syart and hung out there at the top for 30 minutes. I have never been so torn, I did not think it was smart or safe to continue on course but it took me 30-40 minutes to finnaly convince myself of it. I glided out in the derection I thought the airport would be as I could not see it through the smoke. It took 1/2 hr to get down and when I did the first pilots I saw on the ground were Steve Moyes, Dave Seib and Jon Jr.. It was they that I was told that the day was canncled and I was really proud of myself for making the decision not to continue on. After I landed all of the othe pilots started to show up and things got interesting as the smoke moved into the valley and the winds started to get strong from the east. Tonight the meet is throwing us a BBQ at the lake. More tomorrow.

(:00 Am pilots meeting at the pub.

Checking out launch.

The slot.

Task commity meeting.

Most of the gliders on launch.

The Alpenhorn is in the center of this pic. It is where we are staying for the week. The owners are great and the place is as well.

Dave from England is staying with us this week, cool guy and it was cool to fly with him for a bit today.

OB coming in for a landing after a tyour of the valley.

Montana Jeff and the world champion. No it's not Oleg.

B. Just for you. He tried to eat me, it was the size of an oatmeal cookie.....Ick.

Cool houses and cool water

2007-01-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

Spent the day trying to relax, recover and rehabilitate. I went for a long walk, found a physiotherapist and booked some time. I have had a problem with my hands going numb for years and it gets really bad when I fly. I have been to 3 doctors, 1 surgeon, acupuncture, active release and physio and I still have the problem. The guy I saw today has given me a bit of relief but I think the killer anti inflammatory I got will help more.

As I had some time to kill I went for a walk and found the coolest group of houses I have ever seen. www.svarmisk.com.au

A view of town and the valley.

OB doing a back flip off of the rope swing into the river.

I think OB is going pee. :)

Registration is this evening at the pub. It will probably be the usual, too much paperwork and too much beer. We fly tomorrow, I will let you know how it all goes. The glider I fly won this comp last year so I plan to just let it do it's thing. I hope it remembers how it won so it can do it again.

2 days off, I need it.

2007-01-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

Over the last week I have been in the air for over 24 hrs and flown around 1000 km of xc. We have 2 days off before the Bogong cup and my poor wrists need the rest.
We packed up the car (it all barely fit) and made our way 5 hrs south to Mt. Beauty to get set up for out next comp. It is a really cool place, I love it. Mt. Beauty has 1 of every thing you need and it is a trendy little resort town full of hip people and modern architecture.
I have been feeling home sick today, I miss my daughter a great deal and I missing having my sweet heart in my arms.

I don't know if all of you are interested in pictures of birds and kangaroos but I know my daughter would be so excited to see them so I take the pictures and post them for her, luv u. Go team!

Loaded for bear and on the way to Mt. Beauty.

Mt. Emu

Some kind of parrot, his girl was hanging out and squawking just to the Right of the frame.

Jeff and I got the thing bouncing really good.

What I am doing now.

Racing all by my self.

2007-01-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

The goal line.

Day 8, Task 6
What I have learned this meet:
I can fly with the big boys, I climb and glide well enough to keep up and did it on 4 of the six days.
The start is the most important piece of the puzzle. Without a good start you are at a huge disadvantage. I am able to keep up with the lead gaggle but I am not able to catch them. Even when I left with them but much lower it still worked out quite well.
I need to stop losing concentration at the end. On the 2 days I landed short it was because I got cocky and figured I had it in the bag. Stupid!
My mind and not my gear is holding me back, Thanx Brett at moyes Canada and Vincene at Muller Windsports. Their support is greatly appreciated.
I have good friends Jeff O'Brien and Jeff Shapiro and I am glad that I have gotten to know them both better.

The task for the last day was a 125 km out and return. We had a 1/4 tail wind on the way out with a 1/4 head wind on the way back. I was in a great position at the top of the gaggle at the edge of the start circle at the first clock. I wanted to fly with the top 30 who would start in 15 minutes. As we were drifting out of the start circle and away from the course line I decided to punch up wind to get a more down wind shot to the turn point. I thought it was a good idea (thinking for myself again) When I left I had a few pilots with me but after a couple of km I was alone. I had good position but ended up flying the whole course except the last 25 km alone. It wasn't the fastes way to fly the course but it was very rewarding. The air was very rough and I was pissed off at myself for my start. I battled with myself about whether or not I could do it ( i was very negative). I got really frustrated after the turn point when I was at 1500 m getting poked in the face by short pieces of straw and dumped/flipped so violently that scared me so bad because I thought I was about to tumble. After I cleaned my shorts, I continued on and caught up to a group and worked until my numbers worked and had a good glide into goal.
It was very satisfying to finish in goal on the last day. We checked in, downloaded our GPS and went back to clean up before the wind up party.

The winner "little" Jonny Durand

Good friends and great traveling companions.

Doing great until I started to think for myself.

2007-01-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

aussi pilots reaxing with bull whips before the task.

Only part of the gaggle at the start gate.

The farm I landed at, 15 km from goal.

Look carefully there is a kangaroo in the pic.

Day 7
After last day I was felling better about my flying. I got a good start just 1000 ft below the highest pilot and raced on course for a big out and return. I was kepping pace with the lead group as more and more pilots dropped off. We never lost them on glide, they just stayed behind in a thermal when the lead group went and were never able to catch up. I would go wenever the group would go but I was usually below them. We blazed out to the turn point and back towrds Forbes but I was getting low and really needed to top up. Thn I saw it... a dust devil 1/2 km wide so I dove to it and got a killer climb that put me in the middle of the lead gaggle. Now I was with Jeff O'Brien, Chris Smith and the rest of the rockstars. We raced back towards goal and I was able to keep up wich was real cool. Then I thought I was making a good decision, the lead gaggle went to the left of course line and had found a weak climb. Since I was gliding on the right side of the gaggle I was closest to a ridge line that was just to the right of course line and was pumping on the way out. I glided to it with a couple of others in chase but when I got there all I found was 300 up so I continued down the ridge looking for a boomer. I never found it and was unable to hang on to zero to keep me in the air. Jeff Remple was with me and he hung out over were I landed for 20 minutes until it turned on and was able to make the last 15 km to goal.

Day off stuff to do.

2007-01-09T03:49:00.000-07:00

I have had trouble getting on to the net so here is my backlog, in order.
Day 6
It was windy, raining and grey today so we had the day off to do Stuff. Here is some of it.

Steve Moyes reaction to being told that the reason Brett is not here is because he is "looking for a job".

Jeff after a parrot shit on him. :)

Jeff S showing off some climbing moves on a Vampire jet.

The world famous Wasabi duck a little pissed with the drought.

Long fast and ran out of room.

2007-01-09T03:12:00.000-07:00

All of us staged up and ready to go.

Ralph getting his game face on.

130 km out on course.

OB and I in goal.

Why we couldn't fly any further.

The average task here has been over 200 km each day and task 4 was no different. We started a little earlier today as they wanted to call a 300 km task! The forcast didn't support it so instead they called a 237 km task towards Manilla. They added 30 minutes to the front of the launch window so i towed up early and worked my way into position for the top 30 race start @ 2:30. I was 1000 feet below the main gagle for the start and 1000 ft above Davis (his glider is easy to pick out). As it was blue, the climbes were week and we were only getting to 1500 m in the start gate my plan was to stay with a group and work together to do the task. I picked a good group, I was in the chasing gagle with some really good pilots like Olli, Joerge, Davis and 12 others and we spent the day trying to chase the lead gaggle down. We glided fast, all spread out, searched out the thermal cores and worked together well. The miles flew by, the first leg just over 100 km to the turn point seemed to happen so fast. The second leg to goal was a little bit tougher as the climbes started to get weeker and further apart. As we aproached the goal, a grass airstrip at the base of some mountains. My numbers were looking good and we were all climbing in a broken themal. I was right in the middle of the gagle when my vario said that I had a 12/1 into the goal. After flying into the ground the day before I was nervouse but there was a glider turning in front of me a few km so I could top up if I needed it. I was the first from our group to make a run at it and I flew through a bunch of lift so as my numbers got better I sped up. I crossed the line just a couple of seconds before a few other guys from the group I was with. It was a 30 day for the rest of the Canadians. Barry was 30 km from the start, Ralph was 30 km from the turn point and Jeff was 30 km from Goal. My team did well with davis and Jeff O beating me in by a few minuts and Jeff s just short after losing his VG up his down tube and flying for 80 km without it. The task was long but we couldn't have flow any further as the mountains got in the way. I think this was my best all around day of racing that I have ever had.

Not necessarily hang gliding.

2007-01-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

We are staying at the Apex caravan park and this river is on 3 sides of the park. It used to be like the local swiming pool run by the town but after too many people drowned they sold it off and built a pool.

PLEASE! Don't tell the rental car company. ;)

Would you like to sit on these?

They think Joerge and I are brothers.

A dusty going through the launch line.

Kinda artsy. On glide from base, I think the sun and my shivering contributed to "the look".

Thanx to Clay for lending me his camera for all of these pics and Ralph for letting me use his laptop to post it all.

Another 100+ miles, and we all made it....almost.

2007-01-06T05:02:00.000-07:00

It was quite windy today. The launch lines were set up perpendicular to the wind so the tugs could have more room to land. It became quite interesting as things started to kick of and there would be a dustdevil rip through the launch line every 5 minutes. No one was in a big hurry to get going so I walked right up to the front of the launch line and towed up 6th from our line. I have been lucky enough to have bobby tow me on the previous 2 days but today I had a wild ride behind a trike. At 1000 ft I had had enough and pined off/locked out/broke my week link, either way I was off the line and in some lift circling out. There were 5 start times today, every 10 minutes with the top 30 having a race start at 2:30 and the first gate at 2:10. It was practically a race to the start circle as it was 25 km away. I took 3 thermals to get right to the edge of the start circle and hung out with Jeff O'Brien and 1 other pilot and waited for the 2:30 gate. I was a little confused as we were in a perfect position but we were all alone. Where were the top 30? Jeff and I stayed plastered at base circling in and out of the start gate and I think I got my start at 2:30:03. My best start ever. The 3 of us went on a pretty long glide towards the first turn point and started to search for the core when the lead gaggle caught us to up and we topped it out and continued on to the turn point.

At the turn point I had been dropped by the 7 pilots left in the lead gaggle. Thanx to the help of Robert Reisinger I found a ripper to base at the turn point and headed of for the last 120 km to goal. The sky was now completely overcast but climbs were still there just not nearly as strong as the first leg. I hooked up with Joerg for 40-50 km on this leg and we flew together well. At this point I think I reeled Chris Smith and flew with him for a bit and ten he went to the right of course line and I stayed right on top of it. I was at base under a grey cloudy sky 67 km from goal, My numbers had just gone positive so I switched to final glide mode and went on a really long glide to 24 km out. My Numbers had fallen apart a long time ago but I was now on the edge of the weather system and the sun was shining. The thermal I found was weak and punchy and had a high pressure feel to it. I stayed and climbed until my final to goal was 12/1. I had a 20 km tail wind so I thought it would be a breeze. At 17 km I was low my glide had been destroyed again so I found another weak climb and stayed in it until I had a 10/1. I went on a best l/d glide towards the goal with a plan to speed up when it hit 8/1. I landed 4 km short unable to pull myself out of the weeds. I wa on track to finish in the top 15 for the day, I am a little tiny bit pissed, oh well there is always tomorrow. I am satisfied with how I flew today I was fast when I could and i was able to change gears when I needed to. I just ran out of air at the end and didn't have very many options left to save the flight.

So in the last 2 days I have flown over 400 km and been in the air for 9 hrs. This place rocks! Jeff, Barry and Ralph made it in as did both of the Jeffs. Check out the Oz report for Davis' flight. It should be good.

Jonny doing the task briefing.

A pic of the Forbes airport as I climbed out. I know it is upside down but it is hard to thermal a glider in 1000 up and take pictures with your left hand.

Forbes

On Task

....still on task.

What 4 km from goal looks like.
What goal looks like with Jeff Shapiro tagging his first of many goal finishes this trip.

Jeff Shapiro, one happy, cool dude.

White Ghost.

2007-01-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

On my way to the first turn point yesterday, I was 1000 ft lower and a minute behind the lead gaggle. As I glided along chasing the group in front of me something very odd cought my eye. Off to my right was a parachute. I have never been so confused in my life. Parachute are supposed to have a glider and a pilot attached to them. It was slowly desending, not inflated, a white ghost with the bridal dangling below. I scaned the sky trying to figure out what had happened. After looking around and not seeing anything that looked abnormal. I told myself that maybe it had accidentaly deployed and had been cut away... I desperatly hoped. I watched as it slip down through the air until it came to rest on the ground. It didn't make any sense to me at all. After trying to take it all in I continued on the task unable to fully comprehend what I had seen.
It wasn't until I got to goal that the true horific tragidy of the day became clear. After a viloent tumble the pilots hangstrap broke at the slider detaching him from his glider. As he fell he deployed his chute but tragically the opening shock ripped it from his harness and he continued to fall. I can not imagine how his family and friends are feeling but I offer them my deepest sypathies at this horrible time.
I didn't know Andy, I am not even sure that I had met him. But I do know that by the end of our time here we would have been friends. This is one of the biggest reasons that I fly. Hang gliding has provided me with this increadible opportunity to spend time with other people that share the same deep passion that I have. Joerg and I talked a great deal last night about how lucky we are to have this conection with so many amazing people from all walks of live and every corner of the planet. I fly because I have to fly not because I like to fly, no other activity has brought me so much.
Yesterday was filled with contemplation. I went to the park, layed out my harness on the grass in the shade of a tree and double checked all of my gear to ensure that what happened couldn't happen to me. I spent a lot of time starring up at the clouds and smiling knowing that I will soon be back up there dancing under them. Above the world, above the problems of life. And only another hang glider pilot can understand what I mean and I am fortunate that I get to share this with them. I continue to try and understand what happened but mostly I am just happy to be alive and thankfull for my life and all of the people in it that I treasure.

We will fly today...... I will bask in every second of it.

234km and we all made it!

2007-01-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

What a day! After talking with Ralph and Barry this morning our stories are quite similar. But first, here are some pics from yesterday.
The launch lines at the airport.

Jeff O'Brien setting up his duct tape speed machine. Jeff is doing really well so far.

Jorge is one of the nicest dudes I have had the pleasure of knowing. He is always smiling just like this.

This is Paul and his son Ty. Paul is a local who is driving retrieve for us. He rocks, he doesn't get lost, beats us to goal and is funny as hell. he makes the long rides back really interesting as he is more than willing to put any of us in our place. Especially Davis!

Waiting for my turn to go play hang glider.

The day was described as "perfect". The cu's started popping at 10:30 and kept getting better. I was the 25th to launch from our line as there is an ordered launch with 15 priority pilots in front of me. Like yesterday I was lucky enough to have Bobby tow me up again and he drop ed me of in a nice thermal that I stayed and climbed in for 15 minutes. I wasn't climbing that well as I was trying to undo a knot in my zipper string so I could zip up. Once I had that sorted I worked my way to the edge of the start circle and tried to get into position. I wasn't able to get to the lead gaggle by the start time so I glided off with the other 25 pilots I was with. Things were going well to the first turn point. Climbs were strong and consistent. At the turn point I had a brief encounter with the crankiest bird I have ever seen. He dove at me once so the second time he took a run at me I turned towards him as quickly as I could and then he didn't bug me again.
The group I was with thinned out more and more so at 100 km out I was by myself with only 134 km to go. I got low at 80 km from goal and had to push the reset button and take whatever I could find to stay in the air at 1000 ft off of the deck. 20 minutes of circling in zero It turned on and I took it back up to 2800 m. By now the climbs had gotten soft, the glides long and the shadows even longer. I was 69 km from goal and gliding conservatively and stopping to climb so I stayed high. It wa slow going. All of the clouds were gone, I was climbing in 50-100 up with up to 3/4 vg to try to squeeze out every inch of lift. At 39 km out my numbers went positive so I tried to top out what I had and I went on glide at full rope with my lips tight and my arms tucked in. At 20 km out I had a 16-1, I wasn't sure if I would make it and I have landed short too many times to risk it so I stopped in a 50 up until I had a 12-1 and did the next 10 km at best L/D until I had a 10-1 and then pulled the bar in and crossed the finish line at 100 ft going 110 km/hr. It felt soooooo sweet to fly so far away from where I started and to land and be greeted by friends.

Davis was the first from our team to make goal. He is doing well in his bet with Gerolf, if he can keep it up he might be going home with the glider that he is flying.

Besides all the Canadians, Davis And Jeff O were in as well so we immediately tore my wing down and loaded it up to go and find Jeff S as he landed 40 km short on the other side of a river. We got to him at 9:30 and made our way back to Forbes by 1 am. We have the day off today and won't be flying as the day got cancelled. More on that tomorrow.

Picked up right where I left off.

2007-01-03T02:05:00.000-07:00

Today was just like my last 2 days in Texas. I made a couple of stupid decisions and landed just outside the start circle. Son of a B#%$h. I havn't heard from the other Canadians yet but my team of Davis and the Jeff's did really well.

We had a 1/4 tail wind and a 157 km task to the west. Lift was light and patchy at the airport and the wind kept pushing me further and further from the course line. I made a couple of low saves and climbed up to 1400 m and tried to punch into the wind to get to the other side of the course line. But every time I got low and desperate and had to drift down wind in scrappy lift. I got too low going into a small treed area and tried to ridge soar the tree line for a couple passes but ended up in a nice feild next to the high way. Belinda was nice enough grab me as soon as I was packed up.
From what I have heard, Davis was 12th into goal today and has taken the lead in the competition he has with Gerolf as he landed short today. I have heard that there are about 30 pilots in goal. Todays results will change the launch order a lot. We have an ordered staging for launch with the top 30 ranked pilots getting priority launch, 15 in each of 2 launch lines with every one else in the 2 launch lines lined up in order of their world rankings. Then there are us in the "C" line. I love the "C" line, Thanx Bill Moyes. The "C" line is filled with all of the pilots that they wern't sure of their AT experiance, and ordered based off of their world ranking. I am 9th in line but no priority pilots AND we get all of the best tug pilots. It was great to be towed up by Bobby Bailey right into the lift at exactly the time I wanted to launch.

This is our little room at the Apex trailer park. 2 beds 3 guys no room. I sleep on the matress on the floor between the beds and the sink.

There was a bit of confusion with some gear that Clay and I ordered from Brett. Jorge was suposed to bring it from Skyline but when I saw him he didn't know anything about it. I eventually found them with Seppi after talking to every german pilot here. This is Clays new salad bowl.

I love the names of stuff around here!

To answer a couple of questions: Ralphs nick name is BGR, Jeff O,Brien's Blog is called Life, Work and Hang Gliding.

Birds, Beds and pimpin Wheels

2007-01-01T17:02:00.002-07:00

This is the meet head quarters in Forbes. Like everything else in the town it feels like i have entered a time warp. Every building is pristine, just like it was 65 years ago. A lot of the pilots are staying in the hotel as you can see.

There are parrots everywhere here. I thought they were smart birds but yesterday there was a small flock of them that would fly ahead of us in the car, land and would only move once we almost hit them. They did this 4 times in a row.

Met up with Ralph, he has been up flying at Manilla and his last flight there was a 129 km out and return. He is driving around the country in the pimpiest of boogie vans. He has met a lot of Ozzy pilots already and they have already given him a nick name.

New Years eve in Sydney!

2007-01-01T03:33:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!
A friend at home (thanx Amina)gave me the low down on where to go for new years eve. Man was she right! I think Sydney puts on the best show in the world for new years. Afetr finding a place to crash for the night me and the Jeffs hopped on the train back to the city center and headed ( along with a couple hundred thousand others)down to the harbor and circular qye and the Rocks. At 9 pm the sky lit up and explosions pounded down as the sky was alight with the biggest fire works display I have ever seen. The fire works were launched from the harbor bridge and the sydney opera house and from our location right in the middle we had the best seats in the house to watch the show. After the 9 pm show most of the families and kids headed home and the party really started. At many locations in the rocks there were lound music pumping in the streets and the intersections turned into dance clubs. We wondered around the packed streets dancing and meeting tons of people who were all having a great time. At 12 we were down at the water front again and watched a even bigger fire works show than at 9. there must have been over a million people out in sydney and 1/4 of them were in the area we where. The Jeffs and I agree that this was the biggest party any of us have ever seen. I hope you all had a great new years eve. I was glad That I was here but sad that I didn't have my sweetheart to kiss at midnight.
More tomorrow on parrots, road kill Kangaroo's, seeing a bunch of familiar faces and friends and the trip from Sydney through the Blue mountains to Forbes.

We made it!

2006-12-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

Had to move to a different terminal with my gear. It was 2 km away!

The famous Hg photographer Jeff O'Brien.

Bondi Beach.

The Jeff's with Bondi beach in the background.

Great guy!

And so did all of our gear. After one of the longer days in my life we have arrived in Oz. I left Calgary Friday morning @ 10:30 and after 3 airports and roughly 8000 miles I am now sitting in an internet cafe at Bondi beach. It is a muggy 25c here wich is quite the change from where I was 33 hrs ago. We are going to "the Rocks" tonight to catch the fire works, in the mean time we are going to chill find a place to crash and clean up. I am stoked to be here with two good friends that love hang gliding as much as I do and am looking forward to seeing a bunch of old friends tomorrow. The last pic is the guy that helped Bernard and I to get our gliders on the plane when we went to Texas after we were told NO 4 times, THANX DUDE. It was good to see him again.
P.S. westjet rocks! The Jeffs paid $200 to get there gliders to LA and Westjet only charged me $42 Can.

Packing sucks!

2006-12-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

When you travel on a plane you are only allowed 3 pieces of luggage. I am going to Australia for 3 weeks, I have 1 hang glider and 1 harness, that leaves me with only 1 carry-on to put 3 weeks of clothes into. I am apologizing to everyone in advance for I will be wearing the same pair of shorts in every picture (ick). I have been obsessing this time about what to bring this trip compared to others. I keep trying to remind myself that it is just another hang gliding comp and trying to forget that it is on the other side of the planet. But now that I have every available inch stuffed there seems to be a theme. All of my gear resembles a fat person wearing spandex. So me and the fat ladies will be getting on the plane tommorow and heading to a much warmer place. ( my place today after a nice little storm last night.

2006-11-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

It has been -25 c here for the last week. I am Leaving for Oz on Dec 29 but with weather like this I wish I could go right now. Making this decision to go was a tough one as it takes a bunch of time and money to go to the other side of the plant to go play Hang Gliders. At least once in every Muslims life they must go to Mecca and for Hang Glider pilots our Mecca is the Australian comp season. I will be flying in the Forbes aerotow meet from Jan 3-10 and then the Bogong cup from 13-20. I hope that the practice pays off and helps my performance at the worlds at Big Spring Texas in August.