Southern Para Pilots

Christmas Party

Luis goes 205km in Chile

It's gonna be long

Wednesday morning we finally were able to put together a perfect team for our goals during our trip to Antofagasta with the purpose of doing some research for 2009 and try to fly some k's on our way back.

Hernan, would be our driver and Sasha, who had been flying in Antofagasta only one month ago, and is a top Iquique pilot, would help us locate the different flying sites quicker and make our trip more efficient. He had also flown the 1200-Tocopilla part of the ridge already.

All day on Friday, we flew 4 different sites and did some more research in town late in the day. At 10 PM we were invited for a barbeque at Mauricio's (one of the local pilots) house. I already knew I was not going to get the 8 hours of sleep I needed before a long flight.

The Barbeque was great, but we left pretty late, and I had convinced myself to just fly along for a while and then land early the next day

We got up at 7, started driving at 8 and got to the (1200) launch site at around 10:30 after having been lost for a short time.

Almost cero wind with some very weak cycles was the condition as we arrived, but we were clearly above the inversion. Despite the situation at launch I thought the day was on, and got myself ready to launch. Todd and Sasha were pretty slow at that point and I decided to go on my own as soon as I was ready. My wing is slower and less performing than their hot comp wings anyways, and they should catch up quick. I was feeling pretty good for only 6 hours of sleep, but knew it was not going to last very long. Even if I got a long sled ride to the beach, I would be happy to let them know they needed to wait. Otherwise, I knew they would harry up and launch.

Got my first thermal right were I expected it to be at the next ridge. I climbed as high as I could, almost launch level, and continued to the next one. 1 spine, 1 canyon, 2 spines, one canyon, 3 spines, 1 canyon and so on

It took them longer than I thought to catch up, and they also were lower most of the time. It seems to be always the same. When you are relaxed, with low expectations, everything seems to work better. Anyway, after probably an hour, we were all 3 flying together and helping each other to build some altitude before every lee side area. The ridge was getting higher, steeper, rockier and more intimidating. At the same time the conditions were getting bumpier and bumpier. Again I thought I would not last in the air for too long, but Tocopilla was getting closer, and I already knew where at the beach I wanted to land. I decided to take some more bumps and make it all the way to the city.

It had been almost a constant so far. Every time some of us chose a different route to get to the next point, mine worked better then who ever made a different choice. I like to say: the old man can still beat the young guys, but most of the times it was probably just luck. I needed that luck though if I didn't want to be left behind, because of the difference on wings performance. As we got to the lift areas I did my best to climb up quick, and sometimes it took some tight turns towards the ridge in very turbulent air and strong lift in order to stay with them. Not something I would do constantly during a normal local flight, but I was getting more and more comfortable on my XC2, and was also still feeling very well physically and mentally. As soon as I was high enough, if I was the highest, I would leave, and most of the times they would follow. After all, I was taking some good decisions J.

As we got to Tocopilla we built as much altitude as we could right before the long glide above the city and left. Todd and Sasha took the shortest path and hit some sink. I chose my big wide path over the ocean that would leave me right at the beach (LZ) if I sunk out. Surprisingly, my path worked better than theirs, with very little sink, and as I was half way, Todd was almost getting to the next ridge (and launch site La Cruz) on the opposite side of Tocopilla. He was pretty low, and was starting to get some lift. I decided to continue, and had already visualized some other landing options. As I got there, I was only 150 feet below them. My long path had worked better, and I arrived higher to the ridge. J I had been constantly looking at my Ground LD ratio on my vario, and most of the time flying pretty slow, since I had a nice tail wind. Best glide in these conditions is always with some brake input. Apparently we were the first paraglider pilots to make it across Tocopilla

Pretty soon, we were ready to leave to the next ridge. I was still feeling pretty good, had already drained twice and was ready to go on for a while. It was around 3 PM. While flying along the next couple of points we separated ourselves quite a bit and took some different routes.

I took one tactically risky decision going all the way to the very end of a canyon where I was forced to climb up pretty high in order to make it over the next spine that had a high saddle half way up to the top. If I could not do it, that was going to be the end of my flight again. If I had to fly back to the ocean and around the point, they were just going to be too far ahead, and I did not want to fly alone and have the retrieve car wait for me. BUT IT WORKED, and I was higher and leading again!!

At the last point right before the tunnel spine (another launch site) I got really high and left. It was a pretty long glide wit no lift. They followed, but were quite a bit lower. Todd didn't make it to the next lift band and landed before the tunnel. It took Sasha quite a while to build up some altitude and make it above the tunnel spine. I was probably around 2 k's ahead of him now. Again, my flight was very relaxed, despite the VERY STRONG conditions. I knew he would catch up

We met again right before Punta Arenas, one of the difficult parts of the ridge, with a long (very long) lee side area. Todd (with Hernan now) drove ahead and radioed that there was no strong wind around the corner, but we needed to build as much altitude as we could in order to make it. We spent some 15 minutes trying to get above the ridge, but it just wasn't possible. At some point I decided to leave with what I had.

There was no long wide over the ocean possible path on this one. I stayed really close to the ridge and went around the corner. With light winds the turbulence couldn't be that bad. It was one of those situations where you are flying almost towards the mountain, but moving sideways and sinking hard waiting for that strong kick on your harness. Todd was encouraging me on the radio. He probably thought I needed some help, and he was right

I lost probably 2/3 of my altitude in very little time, but finally got that wonderful thermal. It was turbulent but doable. In no time, I was higher than I was able to climb on the windward side of the ridge. I left that one before topping it out, and again sunk all the way down to only 1/3 of my previous level, but now I was already in some decent ridge/thermal lift again. I kept going, again waiting for Sasha, but later found out he had decided to land before Punta Arenas. I was very happy to be flying my EN C XC2.

So now I was on my own and desperately needed to make some altitude to make it around the next point. It wasn't working at all, and I was starting to get tired. Half a turn up, half a turn down, upwind up, downwind down, downwind up, upwind down. At some point, they called on the radio and let me know they would drive ahead all the way to Rio Loa and wait there. Now I was forced to make it at least for another 7 to 8 k's. Good move Todd!! J

I tried my best to climb another 300 feet, and left with what I had (less than 1/2 of the ridge), convinced I would have to call them in order to drive back and pick me up. Again, the lee side thermals were working better. I managed to climb all the way to the top of the ridge, and kept on going, now assured I would make it all the way to where they were waiting.

It was around 6:30 PM as I got to Rio Loa, but the conditions were getting better and better. I decided to continue. The last time I had flown that part of the ridge, some 10 years ago, I remember eating some chocolate while I was on glide to the next lift band area. I had nothing this time. I wasn't supposed to be flying anymore buy nowL

The next 35 or 40 k's were almost just a straight flight, sometimes with big ears and speed bar to escape the clouds, in pretty gentle air. Windward side or lee side, it didn't matter. There was lift everywhere. It was just a race against sunset. Had to smile as I flew past Chipana

My vario was showing low battery and I started lowering the sound of it to finally shut it down all together in order to prevent it from stopping receiving satellite signal and with that stop my track log recording. I landed at Caleta San Marcos when the sun was just at the horizon, but I think I could have gone farther

I landed next to the road and the jeep was right there. I was a little dizzy, hungry, but extremely happy!!!

I went for a pee and as I turned around all my stuff was already inside the car. I guess we were in a hurry to get back to Iquique. I was still floating aroundJ

Before I lost radio contact with them and knowing they were in the restaurant at Rio Loa, I ordered a sandwich. It tasted great after 9 hours of bouncing around, and I enjoyed it as we were driving back to Iquique.

Thanks Hernan, Todd and Sasha for a wonderful flight that I would have never been able to do without all 3 of you!!

Luis

Nathan Hits the Big Time - First 100km

Hello Everyone, Here is the story I promised. The flight started with all the tour pilots in the air. As there had been timing problems on the first day from Chipana, we were all glad to be headed out together. We were 8 pilots and two guides. We also had one unofficial guest. It seemed another American pilot was tagging along and flying towards the back of our group.

We flew together well with Luis helping people to find lift if needed. We all crossed Rio Seco together and things were going very well so far. Todd and Luis know these hills very well and did what I thought was an Amazing job keeping all of us flying in the right direction and out of harms way.

It was at this point that we reached about halfway in the flight. I was already at almost three hrs, and on par with (then) my longest flight ever. I find that significant because it was at that point, it seemed, some mistakes began being made. Todd gave multiple warnings about the next windward bowl area. The ridge creates a funnel of sorts and the compression zone over the lip is very strong during gusts. You can be lured too far back by the hope of lift on the next turn. But if you don't find it, all you do find is a strong headwind and with no lift you sink behind the lip. Luckily most of that area is plateau. An advanced pilot from Canada and our unofficial guest got caught and were forced to make high wind landings on the top. Luckily neither were hurt and they both hiked down from the lip together, as launching was not possible in the high winds. It seemed silly to some that despite Todd's best warnings and a similar incident there the day before that anyone would have treated that situation so lightly. It was fun the next day at breakfast to offer the pilot our radio freq for not so small a fee if he ever wanted to tag along with the "best" tour guides in town again. With Todd's guidance, he might have had a better flight.

We lost our next two people near the airport. The oldest pilot in our group had had enough and wisely decided to land. Another pilot forced the next crossing without enough altitude to make it to the next lift band. Thinking right up until the last minute that he would make it cost him valuable time to prepare his landing. Within seconds of touching down the pilot realized his error and quickly turned 180 degrees back into the wind. The turn called for far more energy and altitude than he had and he accidently spun his wing trying to complete the turn. The subsequent altitude loss and impact created a puff of dust around him that worried everyone who saw it. He let us all know he was OK and was going to try to kite back up and relaunch, but instead he went for a mid desert retrieve by the trusty 4WD van(those things are crazy tough).

From there it was on to Palo Buque. The wind seemed to have lightened considerably when we reached that familiar territory. The other tours pilots as well as the local guys on the bottom seemed to be having no luck getting up to the top . The cloudbase was lower than usual and Todd said that we needed to be as close as possible to the clouds to have enough altitude to continue. One of the pilots actually touched down and landed in the Palo Buque Sand scratching for altitude. The rest of us headed around the point with Todd in the lead. Luis stayed to wait for my roommate to relaunch. We were single file and all watching each other. At times we were even using Big Ears to maintain our safe distance from the clouds. We were watching and trying to gather as much information as possible about the air around us. We saw no whitecaps on the ocean when we headed around the massive Punta Gruesa. The pilots remaining were the best of the group in my opinion. I was the least experienced by far and felt lucky to have made it that far with the pack. Everyone made a confident decision to proceed.

The air around the point seemed smooth and trouble free. Todd was leading and I was behind him. I noticed that I was in consistent sink and looked behind me to see how the rest were faring. I was not alone. We were all sinking and began looking for the best landing spot. Todd began instructing people to be ready to disable their wing when touching down as it already seemed that the lower we got the stronger the wind was. We all made our upwind turn at about the same time over the golf course. That put the pilots that had been in the back furthest upwind. The turbulence near the ground where I was flying was intense, The three pilotsupwind landed going backwards at about 8-10 miles per hour. The two pilots most upwind landed in the PLF position and almost instinctively disabled their wings. One had an extra bounce but was alright. Their position further upwind gave them the least amount of obstacles to avoid. The third wing down was landing at the back of the desired area due to the extreme downwind drift. His wing took a small collapse that turned him slightly out of the wind and increased his ground speed. His lines contacted power lines just below the wing. They held just long enough to create a slight pendulum effect then broke. He is a big guy and landed on his side without rolling much. He ended up with broken ribs, and perhaps a bruised ego. He was reported to be making jokes and doing just fine last I heard.

Meanwhile there I was in the air with Todd. I had not lost the altitude to land and seemed to be staying put. My wing was doing the "snake dance' as Todd calls it. I was preventing collapses constantly. Active piloting was being redefined for me second by second. My first call was for Todd to give me a plan to get out of there. His first instincts were, based on where I was, to have me go for the water. I had already seen fishing boats just beyond the surf break in my initial survey and they were well within reach. As I thought for a second about the seemingly desperate situation, I heard Todd say that back and to my left was a small ridge that was making lift. We needed to climb out of that area to escape. The ridge was small and the wind was strong. The lift and sink were so erratic that one minute Todd was high enough to go but I was on the bottom. My wing was still all over the place. He stayed with me and we fought to get enough height to go together. At this time the ambulances started arriving for the pilot with the broken ribs underneath me. Not good background music. I heard Todd try to communicate to Luis not to continue around the point. One of the radios on the ground was being keyed, and Todd was not getting through. I seemed to be higher and had been bumped off channel before by other radios. I tried to rebroadcast the warning. I held the button down and repeated "Do not come around the point" until I had to let go and grab more break. I probably should have stayed on my brakes but I felt Luis and my roommate needed that info. I heard that Luis received the message. They landed on speed bar with big ears. The wind was strong where they landed but they had escaped the turbulence. Luis gave me a big smile later that night when we talked about the warning they were glad to receive.

After at least 5- 10 mins of fighting to stay on that small ridge, Todd and I were at ridge height and I told Todd I was sure I could make the Waiquique beach. Todd agreed, and we turned what we thought was downwind. I made the turn and waited for my groundspeed to increase. Even on full speed bar I was at a standstill. I radioed to Todd about my progress. He instructed to hold my course. We were in a gust cycle that created enough rotor to stop us in both directions. I was scared, but Todd was right. A few seconds later we began moving out. We had plenty of altitude and even used big ears to counter the lift we were moving through. We arrived at the beach in what seemed to be the most stable air I had ever landed in. I did light symmetric spirals over the beach and landed with no wind whatsoever. We weren't even 5k downwind from where we had been in trouble and there was no wind. I even had the presence to waive to the blanket full of beach bunnies laughing and taking pictures as I landed next to them. I felt too macho to kiss the ground in front of them. I wanted to. Instead I had a bit of a Russell Crowe "Gladiator" moment as I knelt next to my wing, got a little bit of sand to rub in my hands, and said "Oh Yeah That's Good!" under my breath.. Todd landed just after and we got in the van waiting for us. We picked up the pilot remaining at the golf course and got to the fallen pilots wing to see it flying from a power pole like a warning flag to any that might see. It was a significant image for me to be sure.

I am not sure exactly how to summarize all this. It was truly an epic day for me. Every single pilot along the way had made their own set of decisions.

Flying with pilots from all over America was an excellent opportunity to pit what I've learned against what they have learned from their respective paths. Some were self taught and others, like us, learned from an `expert'. I had fewer years of experience than all of the pilots there, yet felt that my training made me better prepared for this 100-K milestone than many others. If we'd known in advance that the final leg of the flight would be so harrowing, I certainly wouldn't have volunteered to be the pilot to try and fly through it and many others might not have chosen me out of all the pilots in that situation due to my lack of experience. However, I felt highly equipped (with Todd and Luis's guidance) to make strong decisions based on the skills Luis taught us all. His consistent voice in our group and our individual flying careers is something we may never truly know the value of. Until we are tested…

I plotted the line on Google Earth from Chipana to the beach I landed at. It is over 125 k. I think Leonardo will say it is a little less but Wow. Watching the route from the plane headed South to Santiago was the best. And to have flown such a great distance with only the power of the sun and the wind was truly epic. The variables we encountered and the choices we had to live with were exactly what I would have expected from something not easy to achieve. My thanks to Luis and Todd and every other pilot that has helped me to arrive safely where I am today. I am a paraglider for life.

Fly Free,

Nathan