www.FlyingMax.com – Paragliding

Posts Tagged ‘Panorama Mountain Resort’

Happy, healthy and prosperous 2019 from flyingMax.com.
We are looking forward to a great new year with lots of adventures and flights!
Here is a video of Penny and Max flying into the new year!

The 2018/2019 Panorama Paragliding season has started.
If you plan to fly at Panorama, simply read the Panorama paragliding guidelines , then send me an e-mail with your HPAC number (including valid until date) and your paragliding level of experience to max@flyingMax.com, in order to get the Panorama Paragliding waiver form. This form is required for you to get you special priced Panorama “ski/flying” ticket from guest services. For first time paraglider pilots to Panorama, we will need to set up a meeting prior to your first flight for an orientation of the take off/landing spots and review the rules.

Happy Holidays and all the best for 2019!
Max & Penny

Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy 2018 from our family (Max, Penny, Katia & Erik) to everyone who knows us.
2017 has been a very good year for us and we like to thank everyone who has been a part of it. This does not only mean business, it means everyone who has been a part of our life’s.

In the mean time, here are a couple pictures and videos of the last couple days at Panorama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

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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

 

 

The Weather Network  was checking out the weather station and snow reporting at Panorama Mountain Resort and found a exciting way to get down the mountain.

Very excited about the video below as I think this is exposing our sport very well nation wide.