PARAFLY PARAGLIDING
BAJA FLIGHT LOG - 2002
Saturday
2/23/02 We picked up everyone at the San Diego airport and
went to Torrey Pines where there were more than 30 paragliders in the air soaring in an
onshore breeze. We headed to Black Mountain where the beginners did inflations on the
flats and the more experienced pilots hiked to the top. Martin got a flight from the
300-foot launch in fairly strong winds just before dark. The others wisely opted to hike
back down.
Kim gets her first flight from the ridge.
Sunday
2/24/02 The beginners went to Cantamar to get their first
flights from the sand dunes there. The more experienced pilots went up on the ridge. Kim,
Winston, Michael and Aaron got their first flights from the ridge. Chip, Martin and Matt
all got soaring flights. Martin soared for an hour and 15 minutes and landed on the beach
by the villas. Aaron got his first 45-minute flight in, quadrupling his previous airtime.
Monday
2/25/02 The beginners returned to the sand dunes at Cantamar. Kim,
Winston, Aaron, Chip, Martin, Michael and Matt returned to the ridge to soarable
conditions. Martin had a flight in excess of an hour, landing on the beach again. All the
others got in soaring flights as well.
Tuesday
2/26/02 Jamie joined the group on the ridge. Light on shore
breezes prevailed all morning. Rebecca, Dan and Joe got their first flights from the
ridge. The more experienced pilots soared. We returned to the ridge late in the day and
got more flights in before dark.
Matt's view of the ridge from 500 feet above launch.
Wednesday
2/27/02 The beginners went to Black Mountain in San Diego for
flights off the 300 foot hill. Cycles of sun and fog played tag on the ridge throughout
the morning. Most pilots got two flights in. Kim got her first 30 minute flight off the
ridge, sometimes disappearing into the clouds. Winston got his first good soaring flight
in and all the others on the ridge soared as well.
Thursday
2/28/02 Low pressure brought us very buoyant air and a steady
onshore breeze at 14-15 mph. All the beginners got flights off the ridge. The more
experienced pilots got soaring flights ranging from an hour to over two hours. Martin,
Ruth, Aaron and Matt all made it to the beach for lunch at the villas. Kim landed just
east of the highway and hiked back to the villas. We returned to the ridge early in the
afternoon for more flying until sunset.
Dan gets his first flight from the ridge
Friday
3/1/02 We arrived at launch at 9:30 to find winds at 15 mph with
gusts to 17. Matt got launched and got a half-hour flight before it got too rowdy and he
flew to the beach to land. Martin had great difficulty getting his canopy under control
with gusts up to 20. Conditions were too strong for the others to fly. Everyone got
flights in late in the day when the winds subsided.
Saturday
3/2/02 Santa Ana winds picked up from the east by 9:00 a.m. when we
arrived at launch. We waited for half an hour as the winds from the east increased in
velocity. We left the ridge by 10 a.m. in order to go back to the villas to pack for the
trip back to the San Diego Airport.
Matt's view of the Baja Seasons Resort just before his landing on the beach.
2002 was one of the best years we have ever had in the Baja. Members of the group flew 7
out of 8 days, with numerous multiple hour flights and beach landings. Almost everyone on
the trip got their personal best flights in. The cooperation between our more experienced
Para 3 pilots and the beginners was great. My compliments to Matt and Martin for all the
assistance they provided. All the beginners got their Para 1 ratings. Michael got his Para
2 rating and many of the beginners are close to getting their Para 2 ratings. The range of
conditions from light on shore breezes to the cycles of sun and fog on Wednesday to that
exceptionally buoyant air on Thursday allowed pilots to experience very different flying
conditions each day and provided everyone with some very valuable meteorological
experience as well. It was a real pleasure teaching paragliding in the Baja this year, and
I think everyone came away from this trip with some great experiences and new found
friendships. It was an A+ year!
Contact us at 1-800-PARAFLY or paraflypg@comcast.net for more information.
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