August 2010
2 posts
The Accident
Daniel, Guto, and I got up the ramp a bit before 11am. It had been a long week at work and I was telling the lads on the way up I was needing to clear my head. We hadn’t seen anybody flying as we drove up so our hopes weren’t that high.
It was blowing an easterly cross wind across the ramp but there were patches when it would swing round to the northeast and look flyable. Every time...
Mezzanine
Daniel, Guto, and I got up the ramp a little after midday. The forecast was for a perfect day of solid northeasterlies, but it had been blowing a light norwester since sun up. Nobody was excited, except for the fact it was the weekend.
We socialized a bit on the ramp until the wind dropped a bit and it was nearly 2pm. Although there was a solid inversion layer covering the southern side of the...
July 2010
5 posts
Plan B
Despite the forecast of another day of strong NE winds turning NW, Daniel and I got up the ramp early. We arrived a little before 10am and spent the next 2 hours waiting for the wind to drop. There were only a couple of campers there when we arrived, but by midday the ramp was full, and the wind had dropped enough to make taking off possible.
I prepped my glider, but the wind was shifting north...
Stress relief
Saturday was blowing a strong wind all day and everyone ended up going down to the chácara for a bbq and I went to the office to get a few things done. Today looked like it was going to be the same but about 2:30pm the wind started to drop a bit. The ramp was full of people wanting to fly but nobody wanted to be the test pilot that took the leap.
I decided that I wasn’t going to miss out...
Falling Over Backwards
Jussara, Gabi, and I got up the ramp just before 2pm. The wind was fairly strong and coming NNE. When we arrived the first pilot had just taken off and had been shaken around in the turbulence so much that nobody else had followed. It was another 20 minutes before 2 other pilots took off, and they went right along the ridge to escape the turbulence, but were still a bit shaken and came down about...
Bird Strike
I had seen the forecast and the wind was supposed to be a strong northeasterly in the morning and swing northwesterly in the afternoon. I didn’t want to miss my chance to fly this month as things were pretty busy, so I got a mototaxi up the hill early and got there just after 9am.
The wind was just a little too strong when I got there and I waited about 30 minutes as I slowly prepped my kit...
June 2010
4 posts
Forced Exit
I had been in São Paulo this morning and got back a little earlier than I had expected, so I decided to sneak up the hill and see if I could get in a quick flight. It had been a nice afternoon but by the time I got up the hill it was about 4pm and the wind had died almost completely. I wanted to fly, even if it was just going to be a short flight so I talked to Ademar about driving the car down to...
Low Pressure
Jussara and I got up the hill a little before 2pm after having watched the end of the All Whites world cup match at the Baiana. It had been really windy yesterday and I had waited all afternoon for it do drop without luck, so even though it was blowing northwesterly today I had to give it a shot.
The wind was light and some pilots had flown in the morning with varying degrees of success. I saw...
Giving Something Back
Daniel, Andre, Angélica, Alan, Carol, Jussara and I got up the hill a little after midday. It had been pretty cold in the morning but the sun was shining bright with a light southerly breeze so we were expecting to see some good thermals.
When we got there though we only saw 2 pilots flying, but everyone else was getting ready. Daniel and I prepped up and he took off first. I had to wait in line...
Titanic's Maiden Voyage
Guto, Jussara and I had spent the day cleaning the bach and getting everything ready for the party so when we finally made it up the hill it was after 4pm. After months of waiting my new wing was finally waiting for me up there though, so I wasn’t going to miss the chance to test it out. There was no wind at all and we were going to have to do alpine starts off the southern ramp.
The wing...
May 2010
8 posts
Missed the Boat
I spent the morning taking care of a few chores and as such Jussara and I only got up the ramp after midday. Daniel called out on the radio as we were coming up the hill and was already at over 2000m. When we got to the top though he had landed back on the ramp and was waiting for Mário and Guto to get ready.
I rushed to get ready but when I finally was the area in front of the ramped was...
Sheep
Jussara and I got up the hill around 11am and nobody had taken off yet. It had been cold over night and the ground was taking a long time to warm up. The sky was clear blue and a few wisps of cloud were starting to form over the ramp but they wouldn’t last long before dissipating. With the sun shining I knew it wouldn’t be long so I lay on the grass and waited watching the clouds...
Early Riser
Daniel, Guto, Jussara and I got up the ramp just before midday. There had been a bit of lift for ridge soaring along the northeast ramp earlier, but it had died just before we got there and the thermals were starting to kick in. Daniel and I raced to get our kit ready as quickly as possible and took off.
Daniel was already flying high by the time I was ready and I took a quick look to check he...
Out of Reach
After a fun night at the bach drinking Tequila and playing Pictionary, Daniel, Lu, Juninho, Alan, Carol, André, Angélica, Jussara, and I made it up the hill around 1pm. Nobody was flying when we got there but everyone had started prepping and Gilmar and Kiko led the way. I sat with Márcio and Stéfano and watched them fly for a while but it seemed the only thermals they could find were near the...
Christening
After having a good clean up at the bach for the guests Daniel was expecting and lunch at the Fazenda Aldeia, Jussara, Juninho, and I made it up the hill around 2pm. It was blowing a strong northwesterly when we got there and I was pretty sure it wasn’t likely to change. There were about 30 pilots there all waiting for the wind to change some had opened their gear out and some not.
After...
Face Down
Jussara and I got up the hill around 1pm. We hadn’t seen anybody flying all morning, and they were just starting to take off as we were driving up. I prepped and took off from the northern ramp.
The breeze wasn’t very strong but I found a thermal quickly and soon had some height. I got up to a little over 2000m but couldn’t seem to get any higher. I remembered some of the guys...
Clear Skies Ahead
Daniel, Guto, Jussara and I met up at Antônio’s and fished in his pond for a while before going up the hill. The sky was completely blue, without a single cloud, something I hadn’t seen in a while. There were a few buzzards circling but none really high.
We took off from the southern ramp a little after 2pm. There were a few other guys flying but only 2 had gotten above the inversion...
April 2010
6 posts
Shadows Fall
Guto and I both took the day off work to sort out some things at the bach and of course went up the hill to see if we could get in a flight or two. We got up there around midday and the wind was blowing a strong 20-25km/h northeasterly. It was odd as the wind would swing round more easterly and come back. It was a little unsettling as the ridge runs east west so a more easterly wind generally...
Ramp Clown
I woke up early at the bach and looked up at the ramp to see nothing but blue sky. It had been a while since I had seen it like that with the sun shining bright, and I was sure today was going to be better than yesterday.
Guto woke up a little later and we had a big breakfast as we expected to be flying all day long. When we got up the ramp it was nearly 11am and people were starting to arrive...
Narrow Top Landing
Daniel dropped me off at the bach early in the morning to sort out some things with the groundsman. As we were turning up there we noticed how much drier things were getting as the wet season is coming to an end and there were already 30-40 buzzards circling behind the bach and it was barely 10am.
Daniel went to pick up his nephew Juninho and then we went up the ramp together and got there...
Test Drive
After a few weeks of work with no chances of flying, I was amped to have Easter weekend to catch up. The second round of the São Paulo state championship is also being held over the weekend so I decided I should enter myself to see if I could pick up a few tips from flying with the top guns.
Daniel and I got up the ramp just after 10am and there was already trouble with the competition transports...
March 2010
1 post
Backward Buzzards
Daniel and I had spent 4 hours on the ramp on Saturday waiting for the clouds to open up only to give up when the rain started so today we were determined to fly. When I got up the ramp about 11am with Jussara, Daniel was just finishing preparing his kit on the southern ramp. It was packed with people and about 10 unopened gliders were spread out on the ground waiting for someone brave enough to...
February 2010
12 posts
All Talk
Daniel, Lu, and I headed up the hill after midday. The sky was looking marvelous with light cumulous forming everywhere, and we kept talking the whole way about how we were going to fly all the way back to Pinhal.
When we got up the ramp eveyone was taking off, and by the time we had prepped most of them were already way above us. I was concious of the 11mm of rain that had fallen yesterday and...
Good Morning Mr Tyler, Going Down?
After watching a morning of strong winds on the metrogram, Daniel and I saw it drop and made a break for the hill around 1pm. When we got there everyone was already flying, and we unpacked and prepped as quickly as possible to join them.
I took off in the light breeze but went straight up due to the large thermal activity. The strength of the thermals was surprising due to the sky being...
Collapse
Daniel, Lu, Thiago, Jussara, and I got up the hill a little after midday. It was blowing a northwesterly and only Xuxa and Cesar were flying tandems. There were plenty of people there but they were all waiting for things to improve and nobody wanted to take off.
Daniel and I were not planning on sitting on the ramp for a long period of time as it didn’t look like things were going to change...
Pulled the Plug
Daniel and I got up the ramp a little later then planned after stopping for a swim at a waterfall on the way up the hill with Jussara, Lu, André and Angélica.
When we got up there the hill was packed with tourists there for their Carnaval break and those that had come to fly were already way up above the ramp. Daniel and I didn’t want to waste any time and quickly prepped and took off in...
Home Coming
Daniel and I got up the ramp about 9am. It was blowing a northeasterly of around 28-32km/h and we decided to wait a little before taking off. We began opening our wings out at around 10am when the wind dropped but before we were ready it came up again and tangled everything up. We waited until 11am before trying again.
I did everything to protect myself against the strong wind. I set my glider...
Beach Head
After a few mornings tanning at the beach in Ubatuba and then heading for the ramp in Caraguatatuba in the afternoon I managed to make it there on an afternoon that wasn’t going to rain. It had been good all day and I was expecting to find the small ramp packed with people wanting to fly. However when I arrived I was surprised to see only 3 tourists taking photos and no pilots whatsoever on...
Closing Time
Jussara and I got up the hill around midday. It was blowing a solid northeasterly like yesterday but the sky was a little different. The clouds were forming a little thicker and all had dark bases. I assumed things were going to be a bit better for flying distance with the stronger up drafts, but then the darker clouds were also putting a lot of shadows over the ground so I wasn’t sure.
I...
Clear Skies Ahead
After all the rain that had fallen in January I was surprised to have 2 days in a row without much more than a fleeting shower. The ground had dried and there was no rain forecast for the weekend so Daniel and I had planned to get up the hill early. When we got up there it was a little after 9am and it was blowing a 25-30km/h northeasterly.
There was nobody else on the hill but Juarez, so we...
Quickie
I spent the weekend away working in Brotas and as such didn’t get to take advantage of the good flying weather on Sunday afternoon. I woke up extra early today though to get in a quick flight before going to the office. I got up the ramp at 9am, and it was blowing a solid 25-30km/h northeasterly.
I unpacked my kit quickly and waited for a low spot before trying to inflate. The low barely...
January 2010
6 posts
Window
I woke up just after 8am and the hill was covered in cloud. I was sure it would clear shortly though and there was a northeasterly blowing, I could tell from the direction of the clouds derivation, so I knew it would be good.
I had some breakfast and sorted out some bits and pieces and got up the hill around 11am. It was blowing a light northeasterly by that time and the cloud had cleared. There...
Giving Something Back
Saturday morning didn’t turn out as smoothly as I had hoped and by the time I got up the hill with Jussara it was after 4pm. Luckily for me though it hadn’t been a good afternoon and I hadn’t missed anything. Everyone was just doing direct flights down to the northwestern landing spot.
I wasn’t going to screw around, and after the long week I’d had I thought even a...
Road Rules
Jussara and I got up the ramp around 1pm and there was a light northeasterly just like the day before. I took off quickly and flew back and forth along the front of the ramp for nearly an hour. It was pretty tedious as the wind wasn’t strong enough to ever get any height and I had to struggle the whole time to not lose any. The only other people flying were Xuxa and Cesar, who were both...
Top Landing
Jussara and I got up the hill around 4pm. Despite the changing forecast and the gales early in the morning it had apparently turned good around 2pm and Márcio, Andre, and Xuxa had all flown. They said it was turbulent but good. I was disappointed to have missed it, as the wind was at that moment almost too little to fly along the ridge, but I was going to give it a shot.
I did 3 flights along the...
Noroca
Jussara and I got up the hill around 1pm and the wind was a light northerly. It had apparently been more of a nor’wester and was slowly turning northeast. We all waited for an hour or so thinking it would get better but then it turned back to the northwest. Noroca or Nor’wester seems a bit like a swear word on the hill and I could see everyone’s faces drop.
Geraldo, Mário, and I...
False Hopes
Daniel had gone up the hill early and it continued blowing a strong northeasterly all morning as had been predicted. He decided it was a little too strong after having trouble in strong winds the day before and came back down to the bach to prepare a birthday barbeque for Lu.
I was a little more hopeful however and sure that the wind wasn’t as strong as he had said, and that it would be...
December 2009
6 posts
Curtain Up
I didn’t want to let the year end without one more flight so despite the heavy rain forecast I went to spend the night at the bach. When I got there the sky had cleared and it was looking good, and I knew I had a chance of flying.
I woke up early and went out onto the porch to see if it was worth the effort. The sky was blue but the hill was shrouded in a blanket of cloud that covered the...
Falling Short
It’s Christmas eve and Guto and I got up the hill around 9:30am to get some early lift. Thiago had been there since 8am and said it had been good. We got in around half an hour of flying along the front of the ramp before the northeasterly died and we had to land at the northern landing spot.
It was kind of up and down the whole time with some turbulent spots which made it a little scary...
Braking Up
Daniel and I got up the ramp about 3pm. We both had things to sort out in the morning and the forecast hadn’t looked that great anyway. After lunch though things cleared up and the wind switched round to the south so we decided to give it a shot.
When we got up there everyone was still sitting on the ramp waiting. The wind was a little south-southwest and everyone was apparently waiting for...
Rotor
It had been almost 2 months and I was itching to fly. I was a little nervous that it had been so long and I would be a little out of practice, but when Daniel and I got up the ramp at about 9:30am it was blowing a good northeasterly and I didn’t want to miss it. Although there had been no rain forescast, the grass was wet up there so I assumed some had fallen over night, or early morning. I...
