Jaca 2017 - Week 4 Day 6

At last, a great day. We have flown every day under intense sunshine and so the average has been very good, but I would sacrified a day to get a brilliant day, but it happened anyway. After quite a late start the thermals were really popping. It was the classic technique: transfer from Stage One to the Firebreak ridge then up the Stage Three, dodge a blizzard of paragliders and then along the snowy stuff to Ordesa in the K21. Jim had to go early and so lucky Nan was able to fly as long as she wished. Weighing up the performance of a K21 again the conditions further on, we turned back and headed as far as possible west. We drifted down to the start of the firebreak ridge again which suddenly generated a thermal to 9000ft, so we explored the dragon's teeth ridge to the east before coming back to de-rig.

Jaca 2017 - Week 4 Day 5

As usual the day started with brilliant sunshine. After a while, it seemed a shame not to have a launch. Both Lasham gliders and assorted Finns took off and fell down. After a pause further attempts were made. Athough the inversion was strong, a huge tow or a inching your way up the "firebreak" ridge would get you to the high stuff. Towards the end of the day, when hangar packing seemed next, Jim volunteered for another tow, and managed a further 1:30hr on Stage One in the Duo while dicing with the local vultures and Astir. The airfield restaurant put on a sumptuous feast which left us all staggering away and doing deals from the local pushers of Gaviscon.

Jaca 2017 - Week 4 Day 4

The wave was predicted to need a long tow and so the tug trundled up the Hecho valley at a height which required the tugees just to hang on through the usual rough and tumble until it was safe to release. Passing the normal hot-spot near Hecho village the height still seemed rather low, so we and the tug carried on up the valley where it became even rougher. After casting off in some rotor we discovered how to lose all weight in 1 second. We went back to Hecho and after some messing around in some better-behaved rotor we eventually climbed up into the smooth lift and cruised about serenely. After feeling highly superior for a while, it was time to find somewhere to go down. Tricky, but we made it back, though there was a place where we were going up at 4 knots with half air-brake. The same trick on the second flight was not possible. We never connected and after valiant attempts in fleeting surges, we declined to the point where landing back seemed probable. At this point Jim Pritchard revealed his avian ancestry by climbing up in the valley to the inversion layer with his fellow vultures. A few fruitless attempts were made to get back up into the lumpy bits, but eventually the flight became local soaring. On one sortie northward, we hit a gust so strong that we even thought that we might have hit a solid object. Dinner and De Colores https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48vNfKUHWRw at Toya's tonight

Jaca 2017 - Week 4 Day 3

Every day seems to start the same but ends differently. There was more of a north-easterly coming from the mountains and it got stronger during the day. The start was the earliest so far (1pm) and led to much wolfing of tapas. If you connected with the thermals low down, it was possible to climb up to 3000m downwind of Collorada and just cruise about. The second flights were supposed to be where the first flights left off, but they never are.  Mid-way through the day you are trying to find some descending air to get back for the hand-over. Half an hour later you launch telling P2 how easy it has been and then you struggle to get away and so appear totally incompetent. We eventually climbed up again in the middle of the valley and tried to get into the high stuff again, but there was a long blue gap to the Pyrenees because the wave was going down there. Suddenly every thermal shut down and there was a mass landing. Even after waiting for the rush to subside there was still a surprise in store for us. The down wave in the valley was there on the downwind leg as well. OK it was probably started 100 feet lower than recommended, but normally you always end up with too much height on the base leg, except for today. Blimey! That was exciting. El Porton tonight for eats.

Jaca 2017 - Week 4 Day 2

'Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wave...This was another day that dawned bright but with some cloud that took until 1pm to disperse. The wind was stronger and so there was the possibility of wave. The usual surge near Javierregay in these conditions rewarded the brave who pulled off tow at 1500 above the site. The problem was where to go after that from 7000 feet. Various excursions up the Hecho valley resulted in scuttles back to almost circuit height before the K21 cruised off to the the ridge running up to Canfranc from Jaca. At just the right moment the cumulus that had been cycling burst forth once more and it was possible to climb up to 8700 and then up to the snow-line. Having learned how to do it, the next flight should have been a repeat. However the trip up the Hecho valley caused the same scuttle back to exactly circuit height and so the K21 landed. Everyone had long flights and the day was finished off at Anaya at Puente la Reina.

Jaca 2017 - Week 4 Day 1

This week's team includes: the variably named Nan Appleyard/Worrell, Jim Pritchard, John Caton and Jon Bareford with David Williams and John McCullagh as instructors. The weather was brilliantly sunny and after scraping ice off the windscreen, it seemed like the cloudbase would be awesome. It wasn't. Firstly there was no cloud, except in the distance, and secondly it was difficult to get above 6000 feet. Jav in his K6 disappeared for the rest of the day after two attempts with extremely high tows but the rest of us could only just stay airborne, though fortunately for long periods of time. With the ground only a few hundred feet below most of the time, there was little opportunity for photos. Most of us headed off to Casa Fau for a unending selection of tapas selected by Mike Evans. JM