Bwoy, what a treat to have six pilots on Skyline last weekend!
Saturday was only good for extended ’sled rides’, but Sunday offered better lift and Francois even made it to Ivor and back, while Conall, Neil and Dale enjoyed a nice afternoon ridge lift.
from L to R: Henry (NL), Neil (UK), Jurgs, Dale, Conall, Francois (F)
Jurgs
Dale giving an interview to JNN
Lately the media are getting interested in paragliding again. Maybe it is because people are seeing more wings in the sky on weekends. JNN (thanks to sports host Dwight Frazer) aired some footage about paragliding in their sports section at 9:45pm.
Jurgs
October 19, 2009
I was up pretty high and had some time before I had to set up my landing approach so pulled out the ol’ camera and took a video.
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Dale
Sep. 26th: Conall goes ridge soaring. He get’s some strong lift which surprised the s#!t out of him and made his heart beat faster. Jurgen joins him for another 10 min before they decide to land in plenty headwind at UTECH. Conditions often get a bit rowdy before a rainstorm!
Conall and Jurgen soaring together at Skyline
Christine & Nicky prefer to watch from the ground
Thanks, guys it was fun!
Jurgs
Last Saturday was ‘over-shadowed’ by big rain clouds. One short sled ride after a lot of parawaiting. (September / October are traditionally the months with the highest rain incidences.) Big down pour before midday.
Jurgs
Jeremy parawaiting
Great conditions today and Dale and Conall were able to do their maiden flights from Skyline. Congrats, guys! You just went to the next step. (Oh yeah, Jeremy Minel also did his first flight from Skyline, but he is a veteran with 100+ flights, so it doesn’t really count)
We are happy to finally have company in the air.
It’s about time!
Jurgs
Dale and Conall after their maiden flights from Skyline
On the last weekend of August Dale and Conall were supposed to do their maiden flights from Skyline. However, when I launched at about 10:15 am, I realised that it would be too strong for them and we called it off.
Nevertheless, AK and I got beautiful lift under a big cumulous cloud sitting right above launch and we only came down to land at UTECH front field (after half an hour) because it looked like it would start spitting soon.
Jurgs
Soaring over UTECH
After having had several tows and being easy with the reverse launch technique, we practice foot launches from a mountain slope without limitations in landing space:
First flights from Caymanas hill (video)
update: site discontinued for beginner pilots in 2010 (see comment)
In the second step we will leave the ground below our feet by being pulled into the air suspended under the wing, similar to para-sailing on the beach.
If you wonder how we do that, check out those links below taken at the Caymanas polo field a few months ago:
As the term suggests, ‘ground handling’ is the first step for a paragliding student before he/she learns to fly. We need to learn to control the wing on the ground before we can go into the air with it. Check out those links to get a better idea:
Groundhandling at Palisadoes beach - advanced
Mad Mike Küng - The Master himself!
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Where to learn paragliding? Right here in Jamaica.
Call Jurgen, USHPA instructor, 366.5265 or send him an email.