02 September 2007

Finns Leaving Gréolières


The Finnish group of paraglider pilots enjoyed more good days all through the week. Tuesday with flights in Gourdon topped with evening flights at the stunning Roquebrune site above Monaco. It was not easy to start as landing is allowed only after 7 PM and at that time there is little or no wind from the front. But in the end 5 pilots managed to run themselves into the air and have a nice flight down to he beach.
Wednesday was cloudy with storm warnings and we went to the Gorge du Verdon where we enjoyed the scenery and watched how more than 20 huge vultures flew across the gorge.
Thursday morning again went to Groudon but the conditions were weak and turbulent. In the afternoon a few pilots joined me for an afternoon flight in Gréolières; and our walk up the mountain was rewarded with excellent conditions and long flights. It was actually difficult to get down! On Thursday I myself flew a demo Ozone Mantra 2 glider (see picture above). After some 20 minutes I got used to the light handling and started to make really use of the smooth excellent conversion of every movement in altitude; it is a very nice glider indeed. If only I could find a sponsor....
Friday was a Gréolières day again; the weather was no longer stable and the sky quickly overdeveloped (see picture below). But we had our timing right and everybody got a nice flight; and most another nice flight in the afternoon. In the evening we had our last dinner at the famous Barricade restaurant; with pizzas and various french alcoholic beverages! As the good weather continued we all had one last flight on Saturday morning. Then a quick shower and down to the coast. After a lunch in Valbonne and a quick swim at the beach in Nice it was time to get to the airport....

1 comment:

Robert said...

I've uploaded some more pictures here.