Hello from Valle de Bravo, Mexico. I'm sorry that I missed the first BAPA meeting of 2005, though I'm sure you will forgive me for spending the time improving my thermaling and XC skills.

I've heard that the January meeting went well and included a healthy debate on whether or not BAPA should contribute to the social competition league.

I'm glad that the membership agreed to continue to support the league. Although only a small percentage of members participate, the league is both a lot of fun and an important opportunity for pilots to improve their flying skills.

We have an extraordinary resource in the Bay Area with so many seasoned competition pilots to fly with (including the U.S. #1 and #2 pilots, Josh Cohn and Eric Reed) to learn from.

Think about it: flying the social league with Josh and Eric is like calling up Tiger Woods to play a few holes, or spending a Saturday shooting hoops with Kobe Bryant!

If you are a member who is not interested in the league, comps, or watching sky-gods like Josh and Eric fly, remember that BAPA supports many different activities including parties, clinics, and fly-ins.

Speaking of competitions, I've just flown two days of my first comp: the Monarca Open. There are several Bay Area pilots here for the meet: Josh Cohn, Tim Kuenster, Tom Moock, Enleau O'Connor, Eric Reed, Peter Rexer and Tin Ilacabach.

Josh, Tim, Tom, Eric and Tin are all experienced comp pilots, while Peter and I are enjoying the experience as wide-eyed newbies.

Two days ago I was nervous and unsure if I would like competing. Today I am fully converted. The other competitors are very supportive; I've received advice and from top pilots; and have had two of my longest, most intense and most fun flights.

I can report that though neither Peter nor I are in the top ten, we aren't last either!

I'm looking forward to a great February meeting and planning activities for the coming paragliding season (Spring is just around the corner). In March Peter and I will provide the entertainment with our experiences as first time competitors.

Fly safe! See you all in February.

Jeff

Not much of a note this month... Stuck in Valle de Bravo for a whole month! Whew, it's been tough spending every day flying and hanging out with the flying community. This place is such a collection of folks from around the globe and as always it's great to meet new friends and catch up with old ones.

My story for the month is that "Supersize Me" Morgan and Alex happened to be in Valle and Bobby Ryzhy and I took them tandem for their first paragliding flight ever. And yes, he is back in shape!

The 3rd annual Monarca Competition started today to rain and no task so there are 100 pilots sitting around playing poker, shopping, drinking, site-seeing, and a few like me trying to get some work done down at the internet cafe. Tomorrow's weather looks good and probably by the time this edition of the RD goes to print the competition will have finished and a new set of stories will be ready to tell.

Lastly, don't forget that I'm always looking for good ideas, stories, and pictures to share in the Ridge Dancer!

We have received no on-line accident reports since the last issue of RD, which is not surprising considering the time of year and the weather. I have only heard of one accident at Ed Levin where the pilot was working a 400 fpm thermal in front of the south side of the top launch at about 200' agl when he entered a 'helicopter'. He recovered from the helicopter, but was unfortunately heading back towards the hill. He managed to land on his feet and walked out unassisted. It was later discovered that he had a crushed #1 lumbar vertebrae. He feels, and this makes sense to me, that he was hit by the vortex (dustless devil) created by the thermal leaving the ground. There has been at least one other incident at Ed Levin that fits this scenario. Remember, scratching close to terrain is dangerous and unpredictable. Be especially on your toes when at all close to the ground.

This is a good time of year to take care of equipment maintenance. Some things to think about are: an annual inspection on your canopy; parachute repack; harness and helmet inspections. The last item is often ignored and shouldn't be. Last year there was a harness failure due to excessive wear that was very evident upon visual inspection. The pilot is still undergoing surgeries and rehabilitation and likely will never fully recover. Frankly he's lucky to be alive at all after a carabineer attachment loop failed and he hit the ground in the resulting high speed spiral.

We often get starved for airtime this time of year. Don't let this lead you into flying in dangerous storm conditions. Also, please remember our skills may not be what they were in the summer when we were flying more often.

May your spirits soar!

Tip Vortex

Quixada is a small town in the state of Ceara in northeastern Brazil, and is the home of the annual XCeara open distance competition. This year it was held during thanksgiving holiday week, a period my employer gave us as holiday and vacation, so it was a perfect trip for me.

The state of Ceara is arid at that time of year, with a flat landscape covered by crop fields, lakes, and broad areas of nasty brush. It is also very windy, which is why Ceara is the preferred state for cross-country record attempts. The wind also makes for exciting launch conditions: reports from previous years included a number of incidents, from comical to expensive to painful. Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for the distances achieved, the winds were much lighter this year. Anyone who can launch at the Dump on a windy day would have little trouble.

Chico Sanchez, who also handles the more famous events at Governador Valadares in the south of Brazil, organizes the competition. The admission price includes transport from the airport, nice resort accommodations near the town, and a breakfast spread each morning. It also covers the bus to launch every day, and - very important - retrieves after the flight.

To simplify the retrieval, the course was laid in a straight downwind line with a series of towns as waypoints. Pilots in flight would periodically transmit their distances, and if at the end of the day a pilot could not make contact, the retrieve drivers would know his last reported position. Each had an overnight kit in case they were stranded.

The pilots were a truly international group, as only Brett Zaeglein and I were from the USA; the other pilots came from Brazil, Argentina, and various parts of Europe. The official language of the event was English. Brazilians speak Portuguese, and I don't - although I had a beginner book with me - but my restaurant Spanish worked more often than I expected. If two or more Frenchmen were together the official language was French, and you had to get used to that.

Each day began with a decadent buffet breakfast, then we would load ourselves into the buses and ride to launch. On a killer day we might arrive there at 8:30 AM and be in the air by 9:30, but we had no killer days. Instead we would arrive by nine or ten and see overcast skies, then get our gear sorted and wait for the clouds to clear up. When blue patches start appearing and the sun would strike the hillside, the action would start. On a strong day the wind would increase to 17 mph on launch and the pilots would scramble for position

I preferred to launch as soon as I saw at least one person soaring, since I wanted to be right in the thick of it when a big thermal came through. Most days everyone else had the same intent, so although there was a lot of space to lay out there was often a traffic jam.

The top of the hill sits at about 2000 feet MSL, just a thousand feet above the flatlands. That is not a lot of room, but with the wind and thermals it was seldom a problem staying in the air. After launch I would work the ridge lift and try to maintain a central position, until me or another pilot - usually one that had ventured far out front - found a thermal and began circling. That person instantly became everyone's best friend, and the rest of us would converge on him. With a good climb and a good gaggle we would quickly reach cloud-base, about 5000 feet at that time of day, then turn away from launch and fly downwind. Late in the afternoon cloud-base would lift to nearly 8000 feet.

I was warned at the beginning that the first 20 Km were the most difficult and I took it conservatively. It was in that first 20 km each day that the gaggle would disintegrate. People in the rear would be left behind, sometimes catching up later. Some pilots were more aggressive, dropping the gaggle and heading in odd directions to meet good fortune or ill. Often I would see a pilot climbing and I would speed toward him, but get to him too late and either spend long minutes finding his thermal or not find it at all. And so it happened that every day, about an hour after leaving launch, I would be alone and making my own decisions.

Once on course I found the flying quite different than what I see in California. Although there were a few strong climbs each day, the majority of them averaged less than 200 fpm, with soft edges that demanded long periods of concentration. The land was flat and the lift dictated by the layout of the clouds: no cloud, no lift. Cloud streets were almost never arranged along the course line, so the best success for the day required that you look further than just the next white puffy. I discovered this the hard way when I found myself under a decayed cloud surrounded by miles of blue, and hit the dirt at 120 km with hours still left in the day. On my next flight I paid better attention and flew until nearly sunset to the magic 200 km mark.

Whenever I landed I had an audience. Children, large numbers of them, ran from every direction, no matter where I came down. We pilots were the most exciting and exotic things they had seen in a year, dropping from the sky like astronauts. All they wanted was to get as close to the action as possible, which made it difficult to pack and get going. On a few occasions an adult would arrive with a motorcycle and give me a ride, with glider on my back, to the nearest collection point. Tandem dirt biking is underrated in my book.

After the flying ends a new adventure begins, The Retrieve. Trucks with drivers were stationed at strategic points along the way, but the roads - or at least good roads - were inconveniently arranged. It was rare to have a paved road directly below the course line. This was unsettling for an IFR (I follow roads) pilot like me, but by luck or skill, I nearly always managed to land in a handy place for pickup. (There was just one day where I landed in the middle of nowhere, but that day deserves its own overlong and boring story.) Even at its best the retrieve would take many hours, and we would not get back to our rooms until very late at night.

The competition lasted eight days, with two uncounted declared-goal days. A description of everything I saw, experienced, learned and endured would be too long for anyone to read. It is both burned and blurred in my memory. I collected almost 600 km and 33 hours, I learned to eat, drink and pee in the air, and made at least three low saves every day. I was clumsy at the beginning but got better with each flight.

Is XCeara for you? If you want to fly every day without a break, for long hours each day, if you want to age years as a pilot, and if you want to fly and fly until you think you can't stand to fly another minute, then XCeara is the place to be. I plan to return next year.

Winter paragliding opportunities are out there. One of them is the Para-ski Clinic offered graciously by Ed Stein and hosted at Alpine Meadows ski resort. (http://www.skialpine.com/)

I had the opportunity to join about 10 other SF Bay Area pilots at last years January 31st para-ski clinic.

1st Task of the Day: The Paperwork and Introduction:

Each participant came prepared with their skis (no snowboarders in the group this year), their wing and USHGA Card. We met in the main lodge upstairs cafeteria. Ed collected personal information and distributed liability waivers. There is no charge for the clinic but, in order to fly a $20 membership due was collected to join Sierra Sports Flyers. Sierra Sports Flyers carries the USGHA site insurance.

2nd Task of the Day: Carry Pack and Taking Chair Lift

Preferences do vary on methods of carrying the pack. It was certainly agreed that carrying the pack was a major chore. Generally the objective is to keep the weight as minimal as possible, pack as evenly as possible, adjust straps to your liking and body style. Adjustment of the straps should also limit the bags unwanted movement and keeping the weight close to the back prevents a large moment arm. Some packs are better than others.

When in the lift line, prepare to load by having just one shoulder strap on. Just like my sailing days you give "one hand for you and one for the ship" the ship being the 40-pound pack of canvas. I used one arm to carry the bag and poles and leave the other free to grab lift chair. I may choose not to bring poles next time - more on that later. Ed recommends foldable Leki poles for this purpose. Once it's your turn, you shuffle into position, time the chair and simultaneously use one hand to steady yourself and the other to place the bag right next to you. I like to lock my arm over the backrest once seated. As long as you're prepared to balance the heavy weight, sliding off at the top is uneventful.

3rd and Real Task of the Day: The Skiing

The weight of the pack is very noticeable and certainly carries momentum. Skiing is an aggressive sport much like launching a paraglider. To be effective and have good edge and maneuvering control a skier must apply fwd pressure to ski boots, keeping your weight, hands and eyes fwd. Performing the skiing task was particularly hard because of the weight pulling you back and the hesitation of a new or unfamiliar experience of carrying a pack. A tight bag, going slow and keeping a wide stance was the best bet.

We meandered our way to the south facing bowls on the backside with a few flat easy traverses. The backside consists of a large open flatter area at the base and a swooping ridge that caps the massive south facing bowl (http://www.skialpine.com/trail_map.php#). Ed tells us that on the good days you can spend lots of time up and over the ridge as thermals generated at the base work their way up the face of the bowl. We took the Sherwood Lift to High Yellow Peak. This would be our first black diamond run of the day and we all stuck together and skied cautiously. The hardest part for the group was traversing off the groomed terrain to the out of the way practice area. The snow was crunchy and broken in places requiring the occasional side stepping up to a better crossing location. The altitude did affect some people's performance. Each of them said they would prepare a bit better before coming again.

4th Task of the Day: The Paragliding Part

Now at the practice location we surveyed the site. Ed described landscape characteristics and we set up two ski poles with yarn for a windsock. It was a beautiful day with a slight down slope drift between obvious upslope cycles. We were only a couple hundred feet above a large open meadow that would be used as the LZ. The flight plan was to launch, glide down and land 90 deg to the left. We would not get high. Our objectives were learning launching and landing technique. In the spirit and understanding of the rules we would avoid flying near or above skiers, groomed terrain and stay well away from lift and lift towers. Upon landing away from groomed terrain you would gather your wing quickly and move aside.

Once in place everyone put there gear aside and one volunteer was selected to be the first. Familiarity moving about in boots or skis on steep terrain is a bonus.

Wing Layout:

Find a good place to layout. With the open space we had a choice of various pitches and angles to set up on. Since we will be launching with skis there is no need to run but you will need a steep enough slope to have enough force by gravity to allow a clean forceful fwd launch. We helped layout the first contestant's wing perpendicular to the slope pitch and the direction of launch. Just like any layout be careful not to get debris (chunks of snow) into leading edge. With the slope and people walking above, the task sounds easier than it is. The quality of the layout is important. If you fail your launch you must redo all the timely steps on snow, at elevation and not wearing the most maneuverable of clothing. As normal, a nice horseshoe shape with cells open, wing tips and trailing edge pulled toward you and cleared riser lines is a must. The slope is slippery and without assistance from some tricks the wing will slide. A few methods work well: One is to place snow on top of the wing in locations that will not slide when in place and will slide off once wing begins inflation. A second method is to pinch or fold the topside of the wing in multiple places not too far from the leading edge using clumps of snow stuck together. Pinning the wing tips with snow also helps.

Once the wing is laid out and stationary you can perform the normal preflight. You do however need to do a few extra items: Stow ski poles and extra equipment. This is where not having any poles or having small foldable ones come is handy. The Leki poles I had could be shortened greatly but they still managed to grab an outside line on take off and provided a serious "big-ear" on one side. An additional requirement when flying at Alpine is to secure your skis to your person by a lanyard. I was able to attach the line through my ski binding and around my ankle. If used regularly I will fix small carabineers to the lanyard for this particular use. A speed bar would not be used with this setup.

Positioning and Launching:

You must be careful approaching the risers and when walking near the wing and lines, your sharp and hard ski edges will be unforgiving to the wing and line material. When preparing the wing take some line slack and toss the loose lines up towards the wing and away from you feet.

There were two prescribed methods of take off that day. Both methods require a forward launch. 1st method has the pilot's skis across the slope of the hill and once ready performs a quick 90 deg turn downhill. The 2nd method has the pilot facing downhill with skis in a wedge shape or snowplow straightening skis to start moving and begin launch. When performing the wedge takeoff it helps to build a small platform that allows you to move about a little to double check cleared riser and get positioned before sliding away from the wing. Unlike a foot launch you cannot vary your speed or increase or decrease the force on the wing, gravity does all the work. The steeper the slope the less the wing needs to rise to be above you, it comes up quicker and you are airbourne quicker. A more gradual slope would allow a longer transition to flying and can be both more or less difficult depending on people's skiing and launching abilities. It is important to give slack in the lines to aid in the snapping up of the wing. Because the force will be fairly great against the risers it is vital that you pin your elbows at your side to prevent shoulder shock and injury.

Flying and Landing:

Once the wing is up it may require a little surge damping with a little brake application. I found that at the increase altitude level and addition weight of ski gear drastically increases your flying speed. Sitting back into the harness was not a requirement since the flights were short but getting into harness should be considered when setting up without the use of the footrest. Tighter leg straps may be required if a harness is difficult to get in. Landing with speed or potentially downwind is not as much of and issue since you are on skis and do not need to run out a landing. With a little application of brakes and a slightly downward sloping hill I extend my flight barely above the ground for another 100+ft.

Each of us performed at least one launch and landing getting progressively better each time.

The P4 pilots had hopes of flying off the top that afternoon but the slight over the back conditions had gotten too strong.

want to thank Ed Stein for generously providing his time and his expertise in paragliding and for his tireless work with the resort, which allows paragliding at Alpine Meadows.

You don't need to just take my account of the day. Ed has tentatively planned two para-ski clinics this winter. I would discourage people from just going out without some hands-on instruction. There are some genuine risks that are specific to launching on skis/snowboard that should be addressed on the snow.

The Sierras are huge and offer some great outings from the organized resort experience to overnight backcountry XC skiing. I try to do both. Contact me anytime for information or to join me at Kirkwood (www.kirkwood.com) to ski or Alpine Meadows for both (http://www.skialpine.com/) (I will look to join Ed this winter).

Get out and play! See you there.

General Members Meeting

The January meeting was conducted by Vice-President, Rolf Bienert; New president Jeff Wishnie was in Mexico on a flying trip. Officers present were Ann Sasaki; Safety Co-Director, Tom Moock; Site Director, Co-Activity Directors Chip Sheppard and Rich Leggett, out going Treasurer Stefan Schulz and Pete Norlander; Secretary. A total of 17 members were present.

New Members/Visitors

Two new members attended the January meeting. Mayumi Honda, a pilot for 7 years. Mayumi flies a Gradient, Golden. She learned to fly in Japan. Also joining us was Peter Rexer. Peter flies a Zoom. Welcome! We hope to see you both at future meetings and flying!

Officers' Report

Vice President - Meeting called to order by Rolf Bienert. Rolf distributed the 2005 BAPA calendars. The calendars are a product of the creative photography of our club members. If your photo was selected, you get a free calendar! At the time of the meeting Rolf had a few extras if you forgot to reserve one ahead of time and would still like one.

Safety Co-Director, Ann Sasaki reminded us that flying the Dump in front of the Westlake Cliffs during the winter months requires special attention to the beach at the base of the cliffs. The winter storms and swell often result in there being no beach at all People have been observed flying way north of the Dump when a safe beach landing was not possible.

Activity Co-Director Chip Sheppard outlined the activities planned for the upcoming year. Many of the popular activities from previous years are planned for the coming year. These will include a thermal clinic, a Spring fly-in at Ed Levin, a picnic at the beach in the Summer, a Potato Hill fly-in and new this year, a cross country clinic. Your suggestions for additional activities or improvements are encouraged.

Out going Treasurer, Stefan Schulz reported $3,461.00 in the club account. Two new members were added in December bringing the total membership to 162 people. Not with standing that when non-renewals are dropped from the club membership in April, the membership will decline. Stefan said that this is the highest membership the club has had to date. Our numbers are growing!

Reminder - If you haven't paid your dues, please do so as soon as possible.

Old Business

Minutes From Past Meeting - A motion was made to approve the December minutes as published in the December Ridge Dancer newsletter. The motion was carried and approved.

Jug Aggarwal reported on the results of the 2004 Cross Country Social League Competition survey. The consensus was to hold it again. Many people expressed their preference for a schedule that was better adhered to. A number of last year's participants said they would be willing to go longer distances for a better site. An equal number said they would compete more often if the meets were local. All but 4 of last year's 29 participants are P4 pilots.

Jug Aggarwal made a motion to allocate $500.00 for the 2005 Cross Country Social League Competition. Last year's expenditures included $240.00 for the trophies and $250.00 for the annual computer software fee. The motion was approved.

Josh Cohn thanked everyone who financially contributed and the club for its contribution in support of the 2005 American Team at the Paragliding World Championship competition to be held in Brazil later this year.

A permit has been secured to fly at Mori Point in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Mori point is a North facing site. Although Mori Point and Montara Mountain are not regular flying sites, by having permits with the GGNRA, the long term strategy is to develop a good relationship with the GGNRA for other more desirable sites that may be GGNRA controlled in the future.

Tom Moock reported that the situation at Dunlop is still ambiguous. The launch is secured but an LZ is not. While random landings can be accomplished at various places, the lack of a central LZ or bail out LZ prevent any fly-ins.

New Business

Juan Laos expressed concern on the sfbapg list that Windy Hill might be in
danger of being lost as a flying site due to lack of usage. Rolf Bienert said he would talk to Ed Stein about organizing a group site introduction so that the number of approved pilots can be increased.

Rich Leggett will establish a committee to explore activities that would develop the skills of P2 and P3 pilots. Some of these activities will help prepare folks who want to go on to the XC League when they are more advanced pilots. An example is the use of a GPS to monitor and follow a flight track. A clinic conducted on the ground would allow pilots to develop GPS skills before doing so in flight. Ed Levin County Park is being look at as a likely location for the first of these skill development activities.

Atta Pilram and Chip Sheppard volunteered to help Site Director Tom Moock look for sites in the Vacaville and Napa area. Gene Pfeiffer will be consulted for procedures.

Entertainment

The entertainment for the evening was provided by Chip Sheppard. Chip presented a power point slide show of his paragliding trip to Europe last summer. Chip flew in the French Alps. The trip started near Lake Annecy, located a little South of Geneva Switzerland. The flying continued on subsequent days at La Clusaz, site of past World Paragliding championships. La Clusaz is near Mount Blanc and is located in the Chamonix Valley. The scenery is spectacular. We also learned a little about some of the non-flying attributes of that beautiful region (for those that may not be pilots and must entertain themselves while their significant others are airborne.) Thank you for sharing your adventure with us Chip.