La Nina spoils the Ausy Big Distance season

It is well worth keeping an eye on the El Nino, La Nina cycles when planning your next paragliding adventure trip. With a strong La Nina developing (strongest since 1999), Australia is now suffering from cloudy, damp conditions and the Oz report mentions that the Australian Record Encampment has been postponed, probably indefinitely.

La Nina events are generally not good for Southern Hemisphere big distance flying with both Australia and eastern South Africa experiencing cooler and wetter conditions. Although predicted to be wetter, the Ceara area of Brazil does seem to have benefitted from La Nina with a new world open distance record; perhaps the added moisture allows earlier starts. The Eastern Pacific is predicted to drier and Argentina and Southern Brazil suffer from later frosts and drought conditions so possibily this is another place to go!

So what about Texas in July next year? Unfortunately, La Nina is also said to favor the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic basin by suppressing the wind shear that tears apart embryonic storms. (10 storms during El Nino in 2006, 28 during weak La Nina in 2005!).

With all this in mind, there is less correlation between record flights and ONI cycles in Texas, which goes to show that you only need one good day! Its just that in La Nina years, you may have to be more patient!

More news from SA

Alfredo manages another couple of 200km flights in South Africa (262km on the 9th, 204km on the 8th) but instability to the east is causing problems for record breaking flights. Meanwhile, gliding at Gariep Dam is well underway, with the first 1000km sailplane flights of the 2007/2008 season.......check out the news section.

The weather should be better for Tuesday and wednesday, so watch this space

Big Distances in South Africa

With a cold front moving up the south coast and a heat low developing to the east in land, it looks like today is going to be a good XC day with classic WNW winds.

The rumour is that 310km was flown today (5th December) by 2 Slovenian pilots and Alfredo Studer flew 255km.....watch this space

The rumours were true!

News from the South African team is that Ewa Wisnierska flew 300km from De Aar, just 2 km short of the Feminine World Distance Record, with Greg Hamerton flying 255km. The Swiss Team were flying from near Marydale and from there Alfredo Studer flew 255km.

The longest distances were flown by the Gradient Team, flying from Vanwyksvlei with Marko Novak and Primos Suza flying 310km!

James Braid, the SA Gradient importer writes

05 December 2007

Hi everyone

Just got back from a 400km recovery trip. I'm sitting here in Prieska with a group of Slovenian pilots who, forget the world record, are trying to fly 500+ km. So far there hasn't been too much to report, only the odd 120 km and 180 km flights here and there, you know, one-thermal-downwind-glide kinda stuff.

Anyway, today wasn't looking so good in the morning, lots of high level cirrus and very weak winds, but the conditions improved during the day. The JimmyTheBlade day rating was only 6.5 out 10. We decided to take a drive to Vanwyksvlei anyway to take advantage of the westerly winds, and it paid. Marko and Primos flew 310 km, landing in Colesburg. Peter landed at 240 km, just past Hydra, and I spiralled down at 215 km at De aar to help with recovery. The upper air wind strength was about 30 km/h and climbs averaged about 3m/s to 3500m ATO. If we get a good day here, these guys are going far. They're all flying SR7s, and they fly them like puppies - the performance is just unbelievable! The Swiss team also had good flying, doing 250 km, according to Walter. And Cloudsuck Ewa managed approx 300 km from De Aar, which is only a few clicks short of the current womens open distance record. An excllent achievement!

I finaly had a chance to fly the XC2, so here's a 1 minute review. Well, first flight on it took me 215 km, so it must be good. Feedback is like a serial class glider, but it's very well behaved. Recovery is very fast, and despite the glider being quite thin, it's very stable and mellow. The most I had was the odd tip tuck in nasty stuff. I was either cranking it in the rough thermals, or on half speedbar with one hand holding the toggles and the other eating chocolate. Glide and speed are very good although I didn't have much opportunity to compare with other glider - besides all the others are SR7s, so not a fair comparison. In short, a stunning glider, suitable for experienced XC pilots. The only problem with a glider with such a thin chord is that one's face and feet get sunburnt - viva the training gliders.

Tomorrow looks very easterly and irritable, so it's sleep-in time. Alister our recovery driver has done about 1000 km today, so the sleep in is well deserved. Mon and Tues are looking good.

James 'Jimmy the Blade' Braid

How far can you throw?

Don't download this its horribly addictive!

Gradient XC2 test results look good!

The Gradient XC2 Test Results are out and they look amazing for a wing with this performance. Have a look at the CEN site here, and para2000 performance predictions here.

Keep an eye on the South African weather

With an La Nina in force, the weather is South Africa is likely to be changeable. One of the best forecasts come from the South African Weather Service which has its own aerosport section

Have a look at the latest Satellite and Rainfall overlay, Thunderstorm probability, spot graphs showing expected Convective Cloud Base and Thermal Strength. The De Aar 5 day forecast is here. Wind guru provides usefull weathermaps.

Look out for 20,000ft ft cloud base, with zero thunderstorm probability and a strong WNW airflow and the record will be on!

The race is on for 500km in South Africa

Greg Hamerton reports that two teams - South African and Swiss - will now be in De Aar this winter. You can follow the South African's progress at http://www.x-sa.co.za/. Greg promises regular photographs and written updates and you'll get a chance to see a lot of behind-the-scenes action and learn about cross country flying in South Africa.

Good Luck to everybody involved

Paragliding Open Distance World Record Smashed

The SOL paragliding team flying SOL Tracer gliders have just set a new Open Distance record of 461.5km from Quixada, Brazil during the 12th XCeara competition.

Many congratulations go to Frank Brown, Rafael Salladini and Marcelo 'Ceceu' Prieto who landed within 10m of each other after a flight over 10 hours.

The Tracklogs can be found here. Also look at the XCNordeste and Sol web sites.

Meanwhile the push for the first 500km flight continues with the Swiss Team of Alfredo Studer and André Bussmann travelling out to South Africa at the end of the month. The Gradient Factory Team are already there filming for their new catalogue. Have a look at FlyGirl's web site here and Ojovolador here.

Skywings Golden (2) Review

Here it is, the Gradient Golden 2 review from October 2007 Skywings!

http://www.gradient-wings.com/images/stories/reviews/golden-2-review-skywings.pdf

Steve Uzochukwu writes 'If I were able to choose any new DHV1-2 or EN B glider that I have test flown for my personal flying, this would be the one. I can't give a higher recommendation than that.'

and no, we didn't bribe him!

First Gradient XC2 arrives in the UK

The first XC2 28's have arrived in the UK. The 26 and 28 have been certified and are ready for order. The 24 and 30 should be ready by the end of November. Photos and flight test to come!

Dave Prentice goes 'Suprone'

Distance world record chaser and Gradient pilot Dave Prentice has designed a supine harness for paragliders. Have a look at his invention here!
and his web site here

Download the Latest Gradient Catalogue

Here!

Gradient, gliders of choice in the '100 Club'

The '100 Club' lists all 100km (straight line) flights flown in the UK

Gradient wings have been used on almost 1 in 4 flights (23%); more popular than any other manufacturer by far.

Click on the following links to have a look!

http://www.cloudbase.me.uk/xcleague/100Club.htm or

http://www.cloudbase.me.uk/xcleague/100Club2.xls if you want to search the database.

Flying with Eagles

Meet Cossack, a 2m wingspan Steppe Eagle, formerly owned by Female paragliding legend Louise Crandal and now by Oxford University.

http://www.archive.org/details/Paragliding_Video-Louise_Crandal-Cossack


I had the pleaseure of flying with Cossack whilst doing a two day tandem assessment with falconers Martin Cray and Joe Binns in SE Wales, culminating in a top to bottom at Pandy where Cossack came in and fed on food suspended from the tandem and landed with us in the bottom landing field.

Martin is planning on running Parahawking courses and Flights with Eagles. If you are interested
phone him on 07970375316.

UK Gradient Pilots, 5 British Records and XC League Results

..
With the end of the 2006/7 UK XC Season just a few weeks away, UK Gradient pilots have had one of their best years ever !!

5 British (Local) Records: http://www.cloudbase.me.uk/xcleague/records.htm

Straight Distance
John Silvester, 194.0km, 29/07/2007, Moel Elio to Chepstow, Gradient Avax

Straight Distance to Declared Goal
Neil Roberts, 134.5 km, 30/07/2007, Long Mynd to Bicester, Gradient Avax SR7
Mark Watts, 116.6 km, 18/04/2007, Combe Gibbet to Lewes, Gradient Avax SR7
John Kennedy, 114.0 km, 21/03/2007, Wrekin to Cirencester, Gradient Aspen 2

Gain of Height (Multiplace)
Richard Westgate / Gary Puhl, 1903m, 08/08/2007, Sarn, Gradient Bi-Golden


British UK XC League http://www.pgcomps.org.uk/

2. Neil Roberts ...Gradient Avax SR7 704.0 km
3. Mark Watts ...Gradient Avax SR7 673.0 km (some flights on Axis Mercury)
5. Burkitt Rudd ..Gradient Avax SR7 568.4 km


British Weekend League

1. Burkitt Rudd .........Gradient Avax SR7 380.8 km
2. Steve Etherington Gradient Avax SR7 309.6 km


British Winter League

2. John Kennedy ....Gradient Aspen 2 171.0 km
3. Dave Thomson ...Gradient Aspen 2 167.8 km
4. Robert Matthews Gradient Aspen 2 143.4 km

Cool video by Antoine Montant, including amazing INFINITIES

http://www.turnpoint.de/Gradient/video/antoine.WMV

Gradient Avax XC2 is here!

The long awaited successor to the Gradient Avax XC has arrived.

It has a formidable aspect ratio 6.38 and a high number of cells (73) to ensure a clean airfoil. The weight has been kept very low: size 28 only weighs 5.8 kg!

Have a look at the Gradient Website:

http://www.gradient.cx/en-gliders-avax_xc2-0-0

and the discussion forum:

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=83678

The wing is being certified as CEN C. The EN standard is replacing DHV in most European countries (more info at

http://www.bhpa.co.uk/pdf/En926-2summary.pdf,

para-test)

Gradient 500km Record Encampment

We are planning to return to South Africa for more record breaking in November / December 2008. Teaming up with South Africa's Gradient Importer, James Braid, the aim of the expedition is to be the first to fly over 500km on paragliders. James has already found some great new take-off sites to the west of out previous launch point at Vosburg.

You don't have to be a Gradient pilot to join the adventure, so if you are interested, let us know!

Petra and beyond

I have just come back from a quick adventure in Jordan. After two days enjoying the comfort of the Marriott Hotel on the Dead Sea, we headed out in the most dented hire car I've ever driven armed with a list of flying sites in the GPS thanks to Paraglidingearth

(http://www.paraglidingearth.com/en-html/index.php?pays=108)

A short drice to Mt Nebo proved unsuccessful, with a shallow take-off and the wind blowing along the slope from the south. We headed south, via the the magnificent Crusader fortress of Kerak to the historic city of Petra.

We almost flew at Dana on the way, a Southwesterly cliff launch overlooking an incredible valley. A moderate valley breaze tempted us to give it a go but we were put off by a strong N'ly upper wind indicated by the clouds just 500ft above. The decision was made when a cloud formed just behind the site and drifted over the bowl to get ripped up in a swirl of rotor.




We finally arrived at Palaces Road take-off above Petra at 15.30 to find perfect conditions. We launched the tandem into a light breeze and managed to climb on the mountain behind to 6000ft before pushing forwards over the historic site. We definitely had the best views of the
fabled Jordanian sunset.

Over Palaces Road

Wadi Rum

Seven Pillars of wisdom at Sunrise

Gilt edged! the Gradient Golden 2 test report in Fly and Glide Magazine

The latest Fly and Glide magazine contains a review of the Gradient Golden 2.

The report is totally positive: 'With a new profile and the improved materials the glider shines in many disciplines, begining with simple launch handling, up to the easy thermalling. Likewise the Golden 2 scores well for security and is therefore one of the reference gliders in the 1-2 Class.'

The test report from the Fly and Glide 09/07 can be downloaded here (in German, can someone translate for me!)


http://www.turnpoint.de/Gradient/documents/fly0907_S020.pdf
http://www.turnpoint.de/Gradient/documents/fly0907_S021.pdf

Golden 2 review in Gleitscherm Magazine

http://www.gradient-wings.com/images/stories/reviews/golden-2-review.pdf

Interested in a Gradient Golden 2?

Readsome of the comments about the GOLDEN II found in the "Paragliding Forum":

I flew my new Golden 2 26 (80-100) @ 94 all up today. BRAVO to Gradient for making an AWESOME wing. Great sink rate, Speed AND handling. Go get ya a test flight for sure or just order one you will love it!

Hanggliders pilot for 14 yrs just turned Biwingual

It was interesting to see that "Gleitschirm" consider Gradient handling to be in a class of their own, "legendary" was the word they used, as I recall. Regards , Charl

I just bought and tested both. The Golden II is faster than the #####. It also handles more to my liking. Giving the choice I choose the G2 ALL DAY. Faster, Better handling and so on. Just My real world results. Oh yea Brand New ##### for sale

Ground handling very easy and seems to bite into the small stuff if asked to. It made me look very good at a small site near Folkestone watched by school kids asking if I was going to fly down. 15 minutes and one nice cycle later, up to 250 ft and a very ordered top landing on the slope. Thank you Gradient for making me look impressive!!
Steve U

For the last few weeks I was fortunate enough to test-fly a Golden2. Wow what a nice 'all-rounder'. Coming from a ######, everything seems better - in more then one way Mario

Flew one the other day. I loved it. Fairly soft with a lot of information transmitted back to the pilot. Light, soft and moderately long brakes. Fairly damped in pitch and roll. Mildly energetic and reasonable speed at trim. Mid range 1-2 I would say. Performance up with the best and feels very fast on speed bar. Handling felt exceptional to me. Not ultra quick or crisp but very very nice. I had a big smile every time I flew it. Rob

I just completed a 3-day maneuvers clinic on my new Golden 2. I had 2 flights on this wing prior to the clinic and had recently been flying the Golden 1. I'm not very experienced but thought I would share my experience and the instructor's comments. I pulled extremely large frontals and asymmetric, on normal glide and 60% speed bar? all was benign. Locked in spiral dives was easy to enter and recover from. The wing had little tendency to dive on the (large) asymmetric collapses on speed bar. On the third day I was comfortable enough to move into full stall recovery and experienced 5 of these ( wow!). Very stable wing, had great recovery from all maneuvers and I gained a lot of confidence. The instructor commented that it was the best wing in the group of 9 gliders out there in terms of its' recovery from these maneuvers. I'm a happy pilot. Steve T.

Etc. etc....

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=8782&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90

Gradient 2nd and 5th in British Championships

After one of the most successful series ever with 13 tasks over 3 legs, Gradient Avax SR7 pilot Steve Etherington took Silver at the British Championships with Neil Roberts in 5th and Burkitt Rudd 14th.

In Serial Class the Gradient Aspen 2 cleaned up with 5 gliders in the top ten (Julian Robinson 2nd, Simon Raven 4th, Graeme Mccarthy 6th, Mark Trig 7th, Jon Collie 9th).

Congratulations to all pilots involved.

NEW WORLD RECORD on a Gradient Seven !

During the 34th Coupe Icare at St. Hilaire, Antoine Montant D-Bagged from a helicopter at over 2000 meters and established a new Infinity Tumbling record of 120 revolutions on his 18m Gradient Seven. The previous record of 108 tumbles was set by the legendry Raul Rodriguez in 2006.

http://www.coupe-icare.org/GB_home.html

Antoint Montant wins Vertigo 07 on Gradient Seven

Antoine Montant won Acro Vertigo 07 flying the special acro glider, Gradient Seven 18. Vertigo is the highest rated acro competition in the world. To add to the value of this success, in the First Swiss Acro Championship held together with the international Acro Vertigo, the top three places were taken by pilots flying Gradient Sevens.

1. Internationally: Antoine Montant, FR

1. National: Herve Cerutti, CH

2. National: Yves Berlowitz, CH

3. National: Remo Niederer, CH

Gradient Warranty

Gradient gliders have built an outstanding reputation for outstanding design and immaculate quality over a period of more than 10 years. From 1st May 07, Gradient is adding a new feature to its excellent service: gliders damaged (even if it is the owner's fault) during the first year will be repaired for free (some conditions apply). Gradient guarantees that the glider will be returned within 14 days

http://www.gradient.cx/en-service-gradient_waranty-0-0