President’s Report for April 2006 

Ann Sasaki 

The other day as I was driving out of Pacifica, there was a huge rainbow arcing over the ocean.  I was enthralled by this lovely sight and sure that it was a harbinger of good things to come.  And, in fact, that morning the National Weather Service had finally predicted a break in the persistent wet weather pattern. 

This past month if your timing was right, you may have found some decent flying in between the showers and downpours.  However, storm fronts and unsettled weather often mean rapidly changing flying conditions. Conditions can start out OK for launching a paraglider but deteriorate quickly.  It is important to keep a close eye on indicators of change such as the ocean if you are flying at the coast, flags, clouds, trees, other bodies of water, other pilots, etc.  In addition, keep in mind what the forecast says for the whole day.  If high winds are predicted for the afternoon, then keep that in mind so you won’t be surprised if the wind picks up while you are flying.   

Jason Cook soars in the sunlight at Waddell - photo by Braden Coolidge

I think it’s also a good idea for pilots to remember that on days when the conditions are near perfect, it may be possible for almost everyone to have successful flights.  However, on marginal days, it may be manageable for only a subset of pilots, but not for everyone.  If conditions are light, it’s possible that only the light people or the most experienced pilots will stay up.  There isn’t too much of a penalty for others to launch in light conditions – they may sink out but usually this is not a problem if they head to the LZ in time.  But on days when there is either a lot of wind or a lot of lift, or both, it may not be flyable for all.  Smaller and/or less experienced folks may struggle to keep things under control.  It’s really valuable for you as a pilot to learn what your operating limits are.  If you have less experience you don’t have the body of knowledge to call upon should something unexpected or unnerving happen.  You also don’t have the muscle memory and instinctive reaction that someone who has been flying for many hours and many years may have.  If you are small, you are at a big disadvantage for stability, speed and penetration due to wing loading. 

I think it’s also a good idea for newer pilots not to be in too much of a rush.  It’s great to have goals and aspire to be like some of the experienced and talented pilots that we have in the Bay Area, but don’t forget that most of these people have been flying for a long time, in addition to having some natural talent.  One of the big drawbacks about paragliding is that you can get really hurt if you make a misjudgment.  Other sports are often more forgiving – you misjudge and maybe you get hurt but usually not in a life-threatening way. 

Another idea to consider is not having too many new variables come into play at one time.  So, for example, if you are demoing a new wing, you may want to fly with your old and familiar harness rather than trying a new harness at the same time.  If you are flying a new wing, it may be best to fly it at familiar sites before taking it on a trip where you visit other sites.  If flying a site that is not well-known or widely flown, it may be wise to only launch if conditions look perfect because the terrain is unfamiliar.  There are already so many variables when we fly, it seems prudent to not take on too many new considerations at one time. 

On the subject of upcoming BAPA events – The weekend of Friday, April 28 to Sunday, April 30, Al Baldini, Penguin and friends are organizing the Spring Elk Mountain fly-in.  Who knows what 4WD excitement is in store on the awesome Elk road!  I believe that participants are encouraged to bring firewood, libations, food to share and of course, their  paragliders. 

At the May 3 BAPA meeting in SSF, Tom Bair will do a presentation on flying in Alicante, Spain.  Tom had a great trip there early in his thermalling career.  His own photos will be supplemented by some from his hosts who live in Alicante.  Please try to come to the meeting – in order to put on our busy schedule of events and support our flying sites, we need your participation in the club.  It would be great if each BAPA member committed to working on one event or activity during the year, and planned to attend as many club meetings as possible.  We would like to have more people involved in discussing issues and making decisions.  Thanks for your contributions to the club! 

Jason and James Cook cruising at Waddell - photo by

On May 7-8  Gene Pfeiffer is organizing the annual Anderson Flat fly-in.  Gene is inviting pilots to stay at his cabin nearby the flying site.  Please see Gene’s article in the March Ridge Dancer and let Gene know if you plan to attend. ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )  Anderson Flat is very beautiful in the spring.  It is about 12 miles from Yosemite and has that granite and pine tree landscape, adorned with astounding wildflowers in the spring.  Please note that the flying site has one very distinctive feature – the LZ is surrounded by 100 foot tall pine trees.  You have to leave the ridge soon enough to clear the trees.  Gene can give pilots some general guidelines for how high you need to be to get into the LZ from the ridge.  But it’s important to use good judgment too.  If you are a P2 pilot, it would be best if you have some experience flying in the mountains and to take a conservative approach. 

On May 20-21 the BAPA Thermal and Mountain Flying clinic will be held at Potato Hill, most likely.  The clinic is full and has a short waiting list at this point. 

Finally, I would like to welcome our new members to the club.  In the last month or so, we have had about six new members join BAPA.  We’re very happy to have new members who bring new ideas and enthusiasm to the club and to our sport.  Welcome! 

I’m sure that huge rainbow I saw means that we’ll have a wonderful year of flying this year.