"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." ~Leonardo da Vinci
UTC time for checking Upper Level Winds, Airport Weather Readings...(7-8 hours ahead of PST depending on Daylight Savings) :
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Resources
XC Find - Pilots register their tracking devices here (Spot, Inreach) so you can follow along when you're stuck at work. Email Dave with your information to get listed (click on his address at very bottom of page). Please hit the PayPal button to support him!
Cloudbase Mayhem - Go download this podcast! It's full of interviews from hang glider & paraglider pilots from around the globe. You'll learn tons while listening to this as you drive to & from work. Links to the podcast on his page. He also does this by donation - link to help out is on the site.
Contests: Had a good flight? Download your flight to XContest - it's free to join, plus you can see a track log of your flight & "compete" against pilots around the world! Leonardo is another free program which makes it easy to see who flew the biggest flight each day.
To earn points to get on the FAI world ranking system you need a sporting licence. Follow the link, click "Championship Events" & choose "Licence Application", download and mail it in.
The FAI offers badges to pilots who achieve certain tasks. Info is here. They're making the application process easier, but in the meantime you can use this criteria as a list of goals to strive for to improve your flying.
History - Dayton Ohio is known as the birthplace of Aviation, thanks to the Wright Brothers! Here's a blog post submitted by Caroline (a STEM student who was studying aviation and found this great story).
Cloudbase Mayhem - Go download this podcast! It's full of interviews from hang glider & paraglider pilots from around the globe. You'll learn tons while listening to this as you drive to & from work. Links to the podcast on his page. He also does this by donation - link to help out is on the site.
Contests: Had a good flight? Download your flight to XContest - it's free to join, plus you can see a track log of your flight & "compete" against pilots around the world! Leonardo is another free program which makes it easy to see who flew the biggest flight each day.
To earn points to get on the FAI world ranking system you need a sporting licence. Follow the link, click "Championship Events" & choose "Licence Application", download and mail it in.
The FAI offers badges to pilots who achieve certain tasks. Info is here. They're making the application process easier, but in the meantime you can use this criteria as a list of goals to strive for to improve your flying.
History - Dayton Ohio is known as the birthplace of Aviation, thanks to the Wright Brothers! Here's a blog post submitted by Caroline (a STEM student who was studying aviation and found this great story).
Local Weather
Not even the weatherman can truly predict the weather. To make an educated guess if you can paraglide for the day, check a number of forecasts. If it looks good then come out flying. If it looks bad then forget everything you read and come out anyway!
Current Conditions and Forecasts:
Forecasts:
Surrounding Areas:
Flying Sites for Travel Bugs
Local flying scene:
Fellow Jet-Setters and Flying-Related Businesses:
Worthy projects around the world:
Education LInks
Books & Websites to help you on your journey of becoming the smartest pilot ever. Some of my favourites:
Books & DVDs can be ordered through Jet Set Paragliding.
Look through Cross Country Magazine's shop on their website and email us today with your requests!
Not even the weatherman can truly predict the weather. To make an educated guess if you can paraglide for the day, check a number of forecasts. If it looks good then come out flying. If it looks bad then forget everything you read and come out anyway!
Current Conditions and Forecasts:
- Chilliwack Web Cams: Local and Drive BC cameras all over Chilliwack.
- CanadaRASP: Wind predictor developed by a couple of local pilots.
- Site specific CanadaRasp: As above but easier to zoom in to specific sites.
- Spotwx
- IBIS: predicted winds and lapse rate created by one of our own pilots. Pick your launch from the sidebar on the left.
- TJ's Page for Fraser Valley and Washington State weather info
- Airport readings in the Fraser Valley
Forecasts:
- Agassiz Forecast (Environment Canada)
- Mt Cheam Forecast: Weather for the peak, choose 500, 1500 or 2100 meter forecast.
- Upper Level Winds: reading is from Vancouver area but gives general trend. Helpful for Cheam forecasts (look at 6000m reading. Wind speed in knots.)
- Farm Zone Radar: A rare map that doesn't cut off the weather at the Canada/US border. Also gives a forecast rather than just a recap like the other radar maps.
- BC Doppler Weather Radar Map: Check precipitation for the province.
Surrounding Areas:
- Drive BC Webcams: Choose your region to get an idea of the weather. Especially helpful to see if clouds are obscuring launch or if it's raining.
- Wind Map (Washington State): Unfortunately the map cuts off at the border, but if you're planning on a quick trip south (or just want to get hypnotized) check this out
- Wind station links for Golden, BC Also Invermere, and Cochrane, AB.
Flying Sites for Travel Bugs
- Hampton Inn Chilliwack: Click on this link to get a special rate for friends of Jet Set Paragliding! Close to the highway so quick access to local flying sites, our annual HAGAR course or whatever other reason brings you out to the Fraser Valley.
- Tourism Chilliwack: Coming to the Valley to paraglide anyway? Check out even more fun things to do when you're here!
- US Flying Weather: Planning a trip south of the border? Check here to see if it will be flyable for you.
- Paragliding Earth: Find a flying site wherever you are traveling to.
Local flying scene:
- West Coast Soaring Club: Join in the lively discussions or find gear on the forum, pay membership dues & find out about local events.
- Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada (HPAC): Our governing body that deals with insurance, ratings and national issues.
Fellow Jet-Setters and Flying-Related Businesses:
- Skywalk Paragliders: I'm a Team Pilot for Skywalk and am thrilled to represent a company that offers such high quality products (4 year warranty on gliders! An industry first) who focus on fun, safety and developing an encouraging, supportive community.
- Thermal Addict Air Sports: Looking to buy Skywalk products and more? Contact George here
- Squash Falconer: Because pursuing goals like doing a hike & fly off Everest is amazing.
- Thermal Tracker: My friend's school in Oregon who puts on fantastic tours to Ecuador.
- Bamboo Chutes: This company makes a variety of items from recycled paragliders. I use my messenger bag for carrying around all my paragliding extras: radios, snacks, etc.
- Canadian Aerosports: Need to repair your glider? Give Chris a call, his roots are in skydiving but he does lots of work on paragliders too.
Worthy projects around the world:
- Karma Flights: A tandem paraglider pilot from Washington has set up a site where people can donate to help children around the world. I'm honoured to be a member of the team, and happily donate tandems if you wish to give money to this worthwhile cause.
- The Cloudbase Foundation: Hang glider & paraglider pilots helping children where they fly.
- Rio Muchacho organic farm: On the coast of Ecuador, they're changing local perceptions about (eco)farming. Worth a visit or stay for a while and volunteer!
Education LInks
- HAGAR info: Want your HPAC Advanced Rating? You'll need to write a HAGAR exam ( for Transport Canada). Sign up for our study course to prepare yourself for this intensive test on regulations. Follow this link to find offices that administer the HAGAR exam. If you prefer studying on your own you can also purchase a comprehensive 100 page study guide from Jet Set Paragliding.
- Ham Radio Licence: Don't forget your Ham Radio Licence if you want to talk to each other to arrange rides up the hill, find out how rough the air is or plead for a ride after your awesome XC flight. Information on obtaining your licence is here, and a link to the exam generator study tool is here.
- Free Map Tools: Fun site to visit on a rainy day.
Books & Websites to help you on your journey of becoming the smartest pilot ever. Some of my favourites:
- Understanding the Sky by Dennis Pagan. You'll probably never read it all, but it's a good reference for all your weather questions.
- Thermal Flying by Burkhard Martens. Also Cross Country Flying, his follow-up book and as good as the first. Just like a school textbook! Full of great info for pilots wanting XC and thermalling tips.
- Cross Country Magazine. Get 6 glossy magazines each year with excellent articles and product reviews.
- http://www.para2000.org/ A good website for comparing wings.
- http://www.paraglidingforum.com/ The international paragliding forum, great for travel tips & comp info.
Books & DVDs can be ordered through Jet Set Paragliding.
Look through Cross Country Magazine's shop on their website and email us today with your requests!