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Motorheads go Soaring

By Don Jordan
Photos by Bruce Brown
Feb 2, 2005

Don Jordan, A PPG Instructor who survives the winter by spending it in Mexico, welcomed three fellow motor pilots to join in some PG (Paragliding) at the renowned soaring site Valle de Bravo. This is their story as told by Don Jordan.

I met three Ohio PPG pilots, two of whom are instructor/dealers, and drove us to Valle de Bravo, about 2 hours West of Mexico City. We had signed up for a week of PG lessons & flights from the well known site named El Pinon, elevation about 7,700' ASL. Much of the footage from the "Try Hard" video was filmed there. Monday Jan 10th was our 1st day. Two of us had flown PG before, the other two had not, so we launched early at 9:55am. I went 1st for a 12 minute sled ride to the LZ, which in Mexico is called the "piano", as in "I went down (or fell) like a...." ! It was a very mild day, so we were able to get in two flights that afternoon, one at 3:10 pm & 4:40 pm. Both were also sled rides, mine :14 & :10. Since it was about an hour ride up, another hour ride back to the hotel, we had spent about 10 hours in the process, which for me produced a total of  :36 min. of air time. On that 1st day I was already missing my motor!

Several of the other three did better. Normally for new pilots there is only one flight in the morning & a 2nd in the afternoon, avoiding the mid day heavy thermal periods. That day had been overcast, however, so that afternoon we got in two. As the week progressed, we discovered that our "bump" tolerances were improving to the point that we could fly later in the mornings & launch earlier in the afternoons. On Tue. I got in 64 min. air time on two flights.

Wed. morning was overcast, so we decided to go to one of only two places in Mexico where the Monarch butterflies gather for the winter. Estimates of the number varied from 5 to 10 million in the tiny part of the forest we visited, covering perhaps 1 acre. We rode horseback about 2/3 rds of the way, hiking the last & steepest part to 10,200' ASL. The sun broke thru the overcast for several minutes at a time, after which we could see wings starting to flutter & a few flying, but the cold 50*F air kept most of them covering tree trunks & branches. We never did see the mass exodus to the watering hole we had been told about. After an hour or more we became chilled & returned to the horses for the ride back down. Wed. at 3:20pm produced another sled ride for me lasting all of :19 min. One of the other pilots in the group, again not one of us four, headed out cross country. He overflew several good landing fields & landed in a tall pine tree. Hanging some 25' or so above the ground, he threw his reserve, slid down the lines & dropped the last 10' for so to the ground. It was dark by then with the wing 45' up in the tree. The next morning his gear was gone & he had to pay a $300 ransom to get it back from a farmer who had cut the branch, dropping everything to the ground. In the process his digital camcorder was smashed & the paraglider ripped & torn.

Thursday was not much better for me, two flights lasting :36 min. So far 4 days & 8 flights = 2hr 48 min. One of the pilots in the group (again not one of the four of us) was hit hard while in a thermal, his wing collapsed, he spun 5 revolutions before recovering into a surge & forward collapse. He had partially deployed his reserve when his wing stabilized & recovered. Earlier that day he had a 60% collapse where one wing tip had wrapped around the opposite one. Again it had redeployed successfully. His nickname became Acro Dave. There were several other collapses & spins that we heard about but did not witness.

Friday was much better. My morning flight launch at 10:35 lasted :56 min. during which I caught several thermals, once climbing 2,200' over launch to about 9,900' ASL. I had almost sunk out to the "piano" which is about 6,000' ASL when I found myself inside one which shot me up 3,200'.

Our instructor had briefed us to watch other pilots & if they were climbing in a thermal to rush over to join them in order to enter the thermal & climb. This led to some very hairy times, with many pilots orbiting in tight spirals upwards like a hive of bees. I was climbing behind another pilot named Heidi when off to my left I heard someone shout "look out!" I watched as he shot by me and collided with her, collapsing the right 1/2 of her wing & the left 1/2 half of his. Fortunately their bodies did not collide, their wings reinflated & they flew apart. Heidi continued to fly for another 30-40 min. during which time she had a full frontal followed by a 50% asymmetrical collapse. She finished the day doing a tandem with her boyfriend that afternoon. He did not do a proper preflight of the harness & failed to notice a carabineer was not attached. On launch they both swung to the attached side, the wing spun, & they were hurdled into the brush below. Fortunately neither were seriously hurt.

In another incident a pilot was rapidly closing on another, so he started down on the brakes until he stalled the wing & went into a spin. He was able to recover about 200' over the forest. Since I had managed to gain the required 1,500' over launch, I headed out "over the back" to a soccer field where a wind sock was installed & regularly used as a LZ. 1st one of us four to go "over the top" ! Proud was I. That afternoon I didn't launch until 5:20 pm due to high winds & had a :40 min. flight.

Saturday morning was our last flight. I Launched at 10:30am for a wonderful 1 hr. :14 min. flight. Got to 2,760' over launch & headed out "over the top" with the only other one in our foursome to do so. He landed about 1.5 kilometers short, and I managed to make it to the coveted Joban LZ where we lunched most days, some 6.7 mi. from the launch site. I had climbed a total of 6 laps and 5,940' during the flight. What a blast!

Saturday morning saw some 30 pilots arrive from Norway making the launch site very crowded with perhaps 60 pilots. One of them got into an spin, panicked & threw "the laundry". His reserve parachute opened, but he came down hard in the forest & broke his leg.

That afternoon we went to see the launch site situated high above the beautiful lake which surrounds Valle de Bravo. There is a tiny landing strip just along the lake shore that had been marked with a large circle for those competing in the spot landing contest. We watched as 1/2 dozen launched, then headed down to watch the landings. It was a good 1/2 hour drive down & by that time they had all landed, several in the shallow water next to the LZ. Kevin Biernacki, a very experienced instructor for Superfly in Salt Lake City & a member of the US Paragliding Cross Country Team, had launched in a tandem with his wife Christie. They had ridden up to the launch site with us that afternoon & were competing in the spot landing contest. On approach to the LZ, in the oversize tandem wing, Kevin misjudged the clearance & snagged the trees lining the shore. The wing hung up in the tree, penduluming them into a wood & concrete dock. Both had serious injuries, with Christie suffering the worst, being out in front. The were airlifted in a helicopter to a hospital in Mexico City in stable but serious condition.

I roomed with fellow instructor Bruce Brown for the week. We both agreed that we had been exposed to a much more dangerous form of flight, mainly due to the thermic conditions they seek out to stay airborne. For the two of us, PPG is far less risk since we advocate flying in mild conditions, early morning or late evening. In addition we have the option, thanks to the motor, of flying out of situations that might prove dangerous otherwise.

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