We just got back from another short road trip out to Drayton Valley to get some high tows at Air Adventure Flight School. Thermals weren't great but we scratched as best we could. Andrew managed an hour long flight but most of them were 20-25 minutes. More importantly (for me), I was much more confident in my launches and landings than I was when we here a few weeks ago for my first "post-ankle-surgery" flights.
It was awesome to get up high again and take in the views. There's so much colour this time of year with the canola and flax crops. And I really appreciated the farmers who were baling hay which made for some nice big, clear landing zones!
Andrew high in the sky. (Just right of centre.)
Tow launch
As per usual, Andrew way above me.
Blue sky day. No clouds. Very light thermals.
New helmet! You can actually see my face now in my flying selfies.
Claudio had a couple paramotor students while we were there.
Andrew found a random hill in Montana to fly off of.
I'd been wanting to get out to Air Adventure in Drayton Valley to get in some short tow launches to test out my ankle. The timing worked out perfectly as Jon (a pilot/instructor who just moved back to Saskatoon after being in California for 10 years) was working on getting his Canadian instructor rating and needed a couple "students" to join him there.
Humorously (or not) I came in hard on my very first landing and definitely tested the ankle. It survived! I was way more nervous than I thought I would be and felt like a complete beginner again. Ugh! Hopefully things will come back quicker next time out.
Due to rainy weather, we only got in one day of towing and then spent the next half day re-packing reserve chutes. It's always comforting to have someone knowledgeable overseeing this process when we only do it once a year and it's a vital safety backup.
Jon instructing under the watchful eye of instructor examiner Claudio.
Re-packing reserve chutes
From Drayton Valley, we headed south and stopped for the night at Back to Nature Retreat, a lovely B&B near Water Valley, AB. We spotted a couple fox who were busy hunting for their supper.
This one leaped high in the air and dove head first to the ground. Presumably he found some supper!
They have such long tails.
From there we headed down into Montana, spotting various deer, hawks and other birds.
A deer in a colourful flower patch.
Andrew kept looking for suitable hills to fly from and he spotted this one just south of Choteau. I hiked part way up while he went up higher and along the ridge to find a good place to launch from. The wind wasn't quite strong enough to soar the ridge but he still got a nice 3-minute flight which I managed to do a decent job of videoing.
Andrew hiking along the ridge to find a launch area.
Just one of the many wild flowers near Choteau
Further south we stopped at Three Forks for the night and went for a short hike at Headwaters State Park. This is the headwaters of the Missouri River where the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin Rivers meet (hence, Three Forks).
Last week, Andrew and I, along with other Saskatoon pilots Kegan and Steph, headed to Drayton Valley, Alberta, to take a paragliding tow operator's course at Air Adventure Flight School. Kegan had purchased a Quantum payout winch and we all wanted to learn how to use it safely and properly. The instructor, Claudio Mota, came highly recommended.
We started out by learning how to use Air Adventure's Cloud Street winch on a short stretch of runway for quick turnarounds. It also gave Claudio an opportunity to see what our skills were before we moved on to learning Kegan's winch.
Andrew operating the winch.
Setting up for quick release. This loop goes through here and then this loop goes . . . and then this other loop . . .
Andrew took this series of photos of Steph launching, releasing and landing.
Ready to launch?
On the move . . .
Off the ground . . .
Getting higher . . .
Release!
Getting ready to land.
Once we got the hang of that, we moved on to figuring out the best way to use Kegan's winch. There was some trial and error involved as we became more familiar with it and made some adjustments. Huge thanks to Gerry (owner of Air Adventure) who, in the space of a morning, welded together a hitch extension to raise up the winch, even adding a step to make it easier to get into the box of the truck!
Getting ready to go. Kegan checking the wind sock to ensure wind direction is still okay.
Video of me being towed by Steph (operator) and Kegan (driver). Filmed by Claudio.
Then we moved out to the road for more practice and higher tows, using the Cloud Street winch.
And when it was too windy to paraglide, Claudio's 8-year-old son, Noah, taught us how to fly the Ozone Imp. He was a good instructor, just like his dad! :-)
Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the facilities at the Flight Park . . . which were great!! A small classroom/office; a "clubhouse" with outdoor/covered kitchen facilities; bathroom and shower; and camping area. Very nice!! We'll most certainly be back!
