www.FlyingMax.com – Paragliding

Archive for the ‘Paragliding’ Category

Hang gliding and Paragliding is regulated by Transport Canada under CAR 602.29 which states in short that we can only operate in Class G airspace.
Transport makes the exception to be able to fly in Class E (controlled) airspace if you have a valid HAGAR (based on your medical)

First, what is Class E airspace?

“3.5.5. Controlled Airspace – Class E

Class E Airspace is designated where an operational need exists for controlled airspace but does not meet the requirements for Class A, B, C or D Airspace. Operations may be conducted under VFR or IFR. ATC separation is provided only to aircraft operating under IFR. There are no special requirements for VFR aircraft. Low-level airways, control area extensions, transition areas, or CZs established without an operating control tower may be classified as Class E Airspace.

Hang gliders and Paragliders can operate in VFR flight in Class E Airspace if the pilot is at least 16 years of age, is in possession of a Category 1, 3 or 4 medical certificate and has passed, or is exempted from writing, the HAGAR examination. In addition, the hang glider must be equipped with a magnetic compass and an altimeter, the flight must be a cross-country flight and the pilot must inform the nearest flight service station (FSS) of the time of departure and estimated duration of the flight in Class E airspace.”

Bottom line of the HAGAR is to make every Hang glider and Paraglider pilot aware of other air traffic (faster and IFR traffic) procedures and airspace regulations which will keep everyone safe while sharing the same airspace.

For H3/P3 pilots NOT having a HAGAR and like to go XC, the question is where and how high is Class G airspace?

In simple terms, Class G airspace is from the ground up to 12500 feet ASL or 18000 feet ASL
except if you are under an airway/air route, or under one of the shelves of airspace of a control zone around an airport.

How can you find out more about that?
The easiest way to see which airspace you’ll be in, or at what altitude the controlled airspace starts is to have a look at the IFR Low En-Route Charts. VFR Navigation Charts (or VNCs) also give you the information but it is less apparent.

On IFR Low En-route Charts anything in
“Solid Green” means Class G is up to 18000 feet ASL
“Hatched Green” means Class G goes up to 12500 feet ASL
“White” means Class G goes up to 2200 feet (670 meters) AGL. This can be lower and is indicated at the VFR Navigation Charts

How does this apply to a XC flight from Golden to Canal Flats or further?

• Golden to about Parson is “Solid Green”, meaning Class G is up to 18000 feet ASL.
• Everything south from Parson is “White”, meaning Class G is only 2200 feet (670 meters) AGL.
  • If you look at the VFR chart, south of Fairmont Class G is only 700 feet (213 meters) AGL.

I hope this will give everyone a more clearer picture and will show the benefit to have a HAGAR.

See the Low Level IFR En-Route Chart below.

 

ParaFreddo.com is coming from Quebec to the Columbia Valley and will be doing a Reserve Clinic just before our SIV at Whitetale lake. He will also be offering a Paragliding Reserve Parachute Workshop, for those who want to learn to pack their own reserves, and will be doing Paraglider inspections and trim tuning services while he is here.

Please register early (e-mail max@flyingMax.com) as we only will have limited spots available!

Reserve Clinic
9:00 am to noon June 8th 2018
Invermere Airport Hangar 5
Cost $50

Our Paragliding Reserve clinic teaches pilots to decide when and how to throw their reserve parachute. It is highly recommended to practice this once a year, particularly one day in advance of our SIV course.

Paragliding Reserve Parachute Workshop
1 day starting at 9:00 am June 11th 2018
Invermere Airport Hangar 5
Cost: $200

This workshop is essential to pilots who like to have the skills to inspect, maintain and repack their paragliding reserve and eventually want to be certified to repack reserves.

Paraglider inspection and trim tuning
Freddo is going to be in the Valley from June 8th to June 13 and will do the trim tuning here in Invermere.
We only can take a limited amount of wings to be done here and the once he can not do here in Invermere, he will take them with him to Quebec (shipping charges will apply)

NOVA Trim Tuning – $100
We will measure all the lines, analyse the trimming using special software and then put your wing back to its optimal flying condition.
https://www.nova.eu/en/service/nova-trim-tuning/

Complete control Paraglider inspection – $190
Complete control inspection (porosity check, line and tissue strength) structural check and trim
adjustment)

*these prices are higher than Freddo is listing at his website to cover fro Freddo’s travel expenses. The overall cost is still lower considering you are saving the shipping costs. More info at www.parafreddo.com

 

Tandem flying at Panorama Resort is in full swing and the conditons for flying and skiing are superb!

Sometimes we do have some very interesting flights, one of them, was last week with Sam MacMillan.

Sam is working for “Sunrise” channel 7 in Australia (which has about 8 million live viewers) and they did a episode here at Panorama.
I did meet with the film crew the night before to discuss details and if I would be able to mount some cameras on the tandem wing.
First, I stated that the weather might be kind of challenging due the high winds and if the conditions are good, I would be able to get at least a camera mounted into my wing for filming from the top down. Then they saw the footage of my “Santa” flight with a trailing camera and asked if I would be able to add this. Again, my answer was if the conditions would be good I should be able to do it, although, the trailing camera can be very challenging. Later this evening they saw a video me flying with the Canadian flag and they asked if I could do that tomorrow as well. Again, my answer was, if the conditions are good, we might be able to pull that off. I knew that this would be my most challenging take off, as I have never had a trailing camera, wing mounted camera, selfie stick and Canadian flag at the same time.

The next day, we got up by snowmobile to get set up early as they needed the material for the live show. The conditions at the takeoff where okay, meaning we had no wind and light wind from behind (which is not the best). I decided to set up all the cameras and the Canadian flag as this seams to be a cool project and all would be worth the effort.

The only part I did forget to check more carefully was if my passenger could ski!

Once Sam was on the mountain and I found out that Sam can not ski at all, I knew I was up for a challenge. Actually it was quite entertaining to get him onto the skies and trying to get him to ski 5 feet. But being ready for takeoff in challenging conditions with all the extra cameras and gear and a passenger who does not know how to ski added a “little” spice to the project.

Everything went well and you can see the archived video of the flight and the vow to Shania Twain what was at the live breakfast show at
https://au.news.yahoo.com/…/38638…/sam-mac-goes-paragliding/

And here is my video of the takeoff and flight with the takeoff part Sam was talking about at the show. 

 

The last couple of days, Penny and I have been talking lots about the upcoming xAlps, starting in a couple of days! We have lots and lots of great memories. What is going on there right now? … everyone is now in Fuschel am See, checking in, going through the safety and race meetings, working on the final touches of their gear, going over the route again and again, meeting fellow pilots, supporters, photographers, runners, and you name it…. It is a huge family!

We feel very privileged to have competed 4 times in the race. The xAlps helped shape us into who we are, how our relationship evolved, and what our family is today.

Yes, we would love to participate again, but we also know how much commitment it takes to be there and we are now at a different chapter of our lives. We created lifelong friendships over the years of racing, and we learned a lot, but it was time to move on, and pursue other goals and adventures in our lives.

Our thoughts are with everyone there, as well as Hannes’s family and friends, being the first race without him. It won’t be the same, and he will be sorely missed.

Penny, the kids and I wish all of the xAlps teams, the competitors and supporters, and everyone involved in the race, all the best, good health, and a lot of fun, in the very unique and personal adventure of the 2017 Redbull X-Alps!!! (www.RedBullxalps.com)

 

This year is a fantastic snow year here at Panorama. At the same time we had so far an incredible year of flying. Andy logged over 50 flights in 2.5 month and I have not even counted how many tandems I have done this season.

Thanks again to Panorama Mountain Resort and all their staff for this awesome season and to make this place so special!

Next weekend we have our 21st annual Easter meet  at Panorama Mountain Resort and so far the weather forecast is looking pretty promising and I am sure it will be a lot of fun again.
If you can, book your room and come for the good flying and socials we have.
If you like to rough it in a outfitter cabin, contact Brent and Tanya to arrange for a bed in their cabins.

See you in the sky and happy landings,
Max & Penny

 

 

 

The 2016/2017 ski season at Panorama resort is open and has been since Dec 9th. The flying season will be open once the Sunbird Chair is in operation. Currently Panorama is working on the ski runs to open the terrain to our landing site. Once this is in place, Panorama will open up the Sunbird chair lift which is needed to get you from the landing site back on top of the mountain.
It sounds like this should happen in the next couple of days, but until then, there is no flying at Panorama as of yet.

Once again, for this season, Panorama is very supportive of pilots with a special fly/ski ticket this year.
Please keep in mind that this special day pass is for pilots who are going to fly only! If you are at the take-off site and it is not good to fly, you can leave your wing at the launch site and ski until the conditions improve. Please do not abuse this special deal, or we will be in jeopardy of losing this privilege.

The take-off and landing is the same as the years before.

Please respect the following points:

• No flying over the bottom high-speed Chair (Mile 1 Quad) area at all (see picture below)
• No landings at the village. Only land on designated landing site or on Golf course if it gets to windy.
• No launches after 3:00 pm
• Cross lifts with at least 150 feet
• Pilots need to have skis or a snowboard to get a ride with the lift
• Contact RK Heliski before you head up the Mountain at 250 342-3889.
  This is just to let them know we are flying as they will inform their pilots of the activities.

Here is what you need to be able to fly at Panorama: 

• Novice Rating (P2 rating)
• HPAC Liability Insurance
• NO Speedwing flying, Paragliding only
• Access to launch sites only possible with skies or snowboard.
• All pilots to sign the 2016/2017 waiver
• Pilots are required to get in touch with Max Fanderl (max@flyingMax.com) to get the waiver forms
  • Send your HPAC membership number, expiry date and rating

More details at https://flyingmax.com/area/panorama/

Seasons greetings and happy landings

Max, Penny & the kids

 

Based on how long ago I posted my last blog, lots of people are wondering what is happening,

It was a very busy summer with paragliding, ultralight flying, working with TrappeurHomes.com and ColumbiaRiverPaddle.com. The summer flew by, and it is hard to believe it is almost winter.

So, what’s new with flyingMax?

Besides certifying new pilots, running a SIV at Whitetale Lake, doing “Discovery” flights with my Quicksilver ultralight, guiding in the Dolomite’s, visiting a SIV workshop in Annecy and attending the Nova pilots meet, I renewed my paragliding instructor rating and accepted the invite as a Senior paragliding instructor.

For my instructor re-certification course I traveled to Claudio Mota in Drayton Valley, AB. It was the best thing I ever did and was able to brush up my towing skills.

 

Everything feels like all the pieces are falling into the right places:

• Re-connected with my old friend Juergen Kraus to get all the support to run a “soft” SIV at Whitetale lake.
• Working more extensively with the Quicksilver in regards to Ultralight flying and instructions.
• Re-certification instructor course with Claudio Mota and brushing up my towing skills.
• Accepting the “Senior” instructor status to to be more involved with the HPAC instructor certifications.
• purchased a “Scooter” winch (650cc Suzuki)
  • to offer another option to “foot” launch for supervised P2 flights.
  • use the winch for teaching powered paragliding
• got approved as a Transport Canada Ultralight School in the Columbia Valley (Flight Training Unit #5031)

Based on all the above pieces falling in place, I have the following plans for 2017:

• For the 2016/2017 ski season
  • signed a contract with Panorama Mt. Resort to fly tandems at least 5 days a week
  • offer ski launch workshops
  • offer supervised P2 flights for P1 pilots
• Powered Paragliding lessons
  • Running Ultralight Ground School (min 20 hours)
  • Practical PPG lessons
• Run a paragliding instructor course in the early spring
  • Instructor course based on the on the minimum HPAC requirements
  • Instructor course including ultralight ground school, HAGAR course and practical instructional tips (1 week)
• Run one P1 course through the College of the Rockies in early spring.
• Plan to run another “soft” SIV in May
• Explore the Alps tour in September

Happy landings to everyone and looking forward to the next season.

Max & Penny

It was pretty much a seamless switch from flying with ski’s at Panorama to Mt. Swansea in the valley. In the mean team the College of the Rocky Mountains were hosting a couple P1 courses and we currently running a P2 program for the new P1 pilots. Now coming up we are running a Security In Flight and P2 flights at Whitetail Lake BC Date: June 17th -19th Location: Whitetail Lake, BC Instructors: Max Farndel & Patric Stettler This unique opportunity to learn the dynamics and limits of your wing will be held at the beautiful private flying site of Whitetail Lake in BC. This site offers a generous amount of height to practice maneuvers over the safety of water. During the evenings, there will be lectures on cross country strategies, weather, and air regulations. There will be two instructors, a safety boat and video. There are also a variety of ways to participate. There is a maximum number of people that can take part in the course. All courses include shuttle rides to launch, life vests, two BBQ dinners, two breakfasts, and camping at Whitetale Lake. We only have a couple spots left and they will run out fast. Click here for more details at

 

Thanks again to everybody (pilots, family and friends) who came and made this such a special event!

We had 3 days of great flying conditions and one of them with lots of nice thermals. Frank Kernick​, Deryk Yuill​ and Max Fanderl were able to fly out into the Windermere Valley on Saturday.

First prize this year was shared with Chris Wilson​ and Max Fanderl​, 2nd was Frank Kernick.

A big thank you again to Sheri and Diana for all their help with registration and at the LZ, and also to everyone else who helped make this such a great event.
I would also like to thank Panorama Mountain Resort for supporting this event, and paragliding at the resort, for 19 years. The resort and all the staff are amazing!

Mark your calendars for next years meet, as it will be the 20th!
March 24, 25, 26, 2017.

Max, Penny, Katia and Erik

Click here for more pictures

 

 

What an incredible ski and fly season we have so far at Panorama Mountain Resort. Lots and very good snow and amazing flying conditions.
Due all the pictures and videos posted in the last month we have more and more people planning to come to Panorama to fly in winter.

To make things easier for everyone new and as a refresher I will post parts of last years post again.

All the best and happy landings

Max & Penny

===========================================

Winter in Canada, for most paragliding pilots, means to either dream about flying or going south to find warm thermals.

In Invermere however, we are a bit different, as we are very lucky to have the great Panorama Mountain Resort, which offers downhill skiing, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, amongst other great activities, and also welcomes paragliding pilots.
January and February are super smooth months to fly due the cold dense air and it lets you enjoy the extra glide you are getting with it.
At the beginning of March, when the snow starts melting off the trees, you will see the beginning of the nice, wide and smooth thermals, and start doing your first XC flights of the year. The thermals are typically wider and smoother than in the spring and early summer months, as they generate from a bigger area (the trees), in comparison to generating from dry ground (the ski runs with no snow) and are great to work slowly into XC flying for the season.

We have been flying at Panorama in the winters for about 20 years, but it seems that a lot of pilots avoid coming as they are probably thinking of the cold, harsh winters of Alberta. Sure, it can be cold here too, but remember, it is usually about 10 degrees warmer on this side of the Rockies.

 

I would like to share some tips here in my blog to help others who are interested, and who were not able to be here for this weekend.

Panorama offers 2 launch sites:

• First choice. and most used launch site is 2/3 up the mountain at the top of Roller Coaster, below the outhouses. (870m vertical). This is where the Cappuccino Hut used to be for those who remember it! This is an easy, but shallow launch site and accommodates up to 5 gliders facing NW.
• Summit Launch “Roy’s Run” (1200m vertical) is a steep, wide open launch (up to 4 gliders, strategically layed out) facing W to SW. This launch is only for good skiers. It can be a tricky launch site to set up your wing as the slope is steep and the wing tends to slide down while you get into your harness. As well if the wind picks up at all, it will slide down too. Do not set up your wing at the very top of Roy’s run layed out on the “easy way road”. This will be conflicting with the ski traffic.

For the two different launch sites you need to adjust your launch techniques simply due to the nature which they are.

At the Summit takeoff, overall, the wing inflates very fast and will have a tendency to overshoot due the steep terrain. The summit take-off site does not allow you to make any mistakes as things happen very fast, and you can end up in the trees beside the run very easily if you do not work with the wing at the speed required.

If you are just getting used to winter flying, I do recommend to start 2/3 up the ski hill on the shallow launch. The tricky and unusual part at this launch is to lead the canopy for much longer than you are used to. Furthermore, you also need to be more patient and allow yourself and the wing to pick up speed for take-off. The takeoff process on skis at this launch site are way slower than you would do by foot.
This is why we position our self for the launch position as close as possible to the trailing edge and be a bit offset from the centre of the wing. This way as you turn downhill to start skiing you can ski (turn) into the position where you want to inflate the wing and be in the centre of your wing. If you start with tension on the lines, you might inflate the wing sideways as you stand sideways to the hill with your skis and might not have enough momentum to inflate the wing due to being sideways to the hill and with your skis on.

See the following 2 videos. One shows you when you do not guide the wing for long enough and not being able to get airborne, and the second video shows you how much you need to charge forward and patience you need to get airborne.

 

I want to thank Panorama Mountain Resort again for all their support to the pilots, for the sport, and allowing us to fly for so many years.
Please respect Panorama Mountain Resort’s basic rules so we can enjoy it for many more years.

• Novice Rating (P2)
• HPAC Liability Insurance
• NO Speedwing flying, Paragliding only
• All pilots to sign the 2015/2016 waiver
• Pilots are required to get in touch with Max Fanderl (max@flyingMax.com) to get the waiver forms

Please respect the following points:

• No flying over the bottom high-speed Chair (Mile 1 Quad) area at all.
• No landings at the village. Only land on designated landing site or on Golf course if it gets to windy.
• No launches after 3:00 pm
• Stay at least 150 feet above lifts and ski runs
• Pilots need to have skis or a snowboard to get a ride with the lift
• Contact RK Heliski before you head up the Mountain at 250 342-3889.
  This is just to let them know we are flying as they will inform their pilots of the activities.

More detailed and current information about of flying at Panorama Mountain Resort is at https://flyingmax.com/area/panorama/

Here is a video of a flight from Panorama to Invermere