The West Coast Soaring Club is the home to paragliding
and hang gliding in the
Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions of British Columbia,
Canada. The coastal
mountains of southwestern Canada boast some of the
best flying on the continent,
with soaring sites to suit all pilot skill levels
and styles. The club's primary
objective is to develop and maintain safe soaring
practices in our area.
Enjoy the site, and come back often!
What's
New ...
BFAR
- A BIG Success!
Thanks to
all who came out, flew, and partied with us at BFAR
2008! The weather was excellent, the food and
party were fantastic, and a good time was had by all.
Competition
results will be posted shortly, but in the meantime,
Click
here for a brief rundown
(All pictures
courtesy Ihor Trufyn)
The
"Big Top" served as BFAR HQ
34 discounted
tandem flights were flown in excellent conditions
- Here, Greg Hemingway
poses
pre-flight with a smiling passenger
BFAR
even had several hang gliders flying Bridal Falls
this year - come fly again soon!
Grouse
Mountain Fly-In Details Announced
The
31st annual Grouse Mountani Fly-In
will take place August 9th &
10th, 2008.
Paraglider and hang-glider
pilots are invited to soar the skies
over spectacular Vancouver from
the Grouse Mountain launch, located
at an elevation of 4,100 feet above
the city.
Pilot registration will start at
8:30 am in the Cleveland Park LZ
and the mandatory pilots meeting
will be at 9:00am each day.
This is a fun flying event and the
registration fee (less than $50,
exact amount TBD) includes a Skyride
pass for an unlimited number of
flights over the weekend and food/beverage
at a social event.
Click
here for all the rest of the details
Annual
WCSC Awards handed out at rained
out party
Well,
a few die-hard souls, mostly valley
local pilots, came out and partied
at the Bridal Falls golf course.
The BBQ tasted just as sweet in
the rain! The day produced
very little flying, other than a
few desparate sled rides at Woodside
(launching in tail and drizzling
rain ...).
The
Fraser
Valley XC weekend resulted in
no tasks, so next we proceed to
Pemberton on May 31st / June 1st
for the second and final weekend
of the series.
However,
the annual WCSC awards were announced.
Only one recipient was on hand to
receive their award. The others
will be contacted, and arrangements
will be made to get the awards to
them. Congratulations to everyone.
|
- Corinne
Stoltz-Orava |
| |
Corinne has
done so much for the Pemberton
flying scene in the past year
(and prior), helping with
tenure issues, securing alternate
landing zones, promoting WCSC
membership, helping to arrange
and organize local pilots,
and much more. She also
serves on the WCSC board of
directors, representing Pemberton.
Congrats to her!
Keep up the great work! |
| |
Nicole
McLearn presents Corinne Stoltz-Orava
(right) with
the
2007 "Most Valuable Member"
award |
|
- Natalia
Polchenko |
| |
Almost everyone has been
given a ride up to launch
by Natalia, somewhere, sometime.
She had to sit out much of
last year due to injury, but
she still came out, and was
always happy to drive the
rest of us die-hards up the
mountain. Thanks for
your continued willingness
to drive, and your generous
spirit! |
| |
Nicole
presents Natalia Polchenko
with the 2007 "Driver
of the Year" award |
| |
"Fast Eddie"
is the kind of guy you want
on your team. Smart,
funny, clever, extremely motivated,
and motivatING. His
attitude is infectious, and
he makes you want to get things
done. 2007 WCSC President,
Rob Samplonius, thinks Eddie
is the perfect guy for the
Presidential Cup for 2007.
Eddie was the prime motivator
behind the great picnic table
up at Bridal launch, and has
helped in many ways behind
the scenes to improve the
Bridal Falls flying site,
including helping to pave
the way for the new, soon
to be completed, sign at the
LZ, and some exciting changes
coming up perhaps later this
year. Glad to have you
around, Eddie! |
| |
Eddie
basks in the glory of his
2007 "Presidents Cup"
award :-) |
|
- Chui-Yuan
Fang |
| |
If you want to know what
the perfect "WCSC Member
Pilot" looks like, take
a look at Chiu. He learned
how to fly last year with
Deimos
Paragliding, and took
to the air like a natural.
Not only is he a fantastic
new pilot, with great flying
chops and excellent decision-making
skills, he has also embraced
club membership and involvement,
regularly attending club meetings
and events, and helping out
with maintaining the club
web site. Well deserved,
Chiu. Congrats. |
| |
2008
WCSC President Robin Sather,
presents
Chui-Yang Fang (left)
with the 2007 "Rookie
of the Year" trophy |
Next Club Meeting
- in Pemberton!
Yes,
you read that right - The next official
club meeting (after the "Start
Of The Year" party) is happening
in Pembie, and will be a party to
help raise funds for various local
projects.
It's
happening on May 31st, at the Community
Centre. Come fly with us for
the day, and then join us for the
party at the day's end. May
31st / June 1st will also be the
2nd weekend in the Fraser
Valley XC Series, and will happen
in Pemberton, probably from McKenzie
launch.
|
June 2008
Eagle
Of The Month |
|
|
|
 |
Congrats to
Martin
Henry
(former
HPAC Emperor)
for
his 227 km FAI
triangle
flight, a personal
best,
on his ATOS,
down
in Mansfield, WA.
|
|
Other
Nomimees:
(None)
(The
WCSC awards the Eagle Of The
Month award to a WCSC
member pilot who achieves
a personal goal, conquers a new
challenge, or takes their own personal
flying to a new level. This
could describe a 20 year veteran
pilot setting a new world record,
or a novice pilot celebrating their
first 5 km cross country flight.
Nominations
are accepted from the membership,
and a vote is taken at the following
month's club meeting. "Eagles"
take home a special plaque, bragging
rights, and lots of glory.
Contact a director with your nominations
now.)
BC
XC League - Going Strong!
Click
here for all the details about this online contest,
open to anyone flying anywhere in BC.
Interested
in going for a Tandem paragliding flight?
 |
If
you're just checking out paragliding, and would
like to experience what it's all about, the
best way is to take a tandem flight. Almost
anyone can do it, no experience or exceptional
athletic ability required. Check it out!
Click
here for a listing of Tandem paraglider
pilots who would be happy to take you up for
a flight!
(Photo
courtesy of Angus
Tapper, Queenstown, New Zealand) |
| (These
pilot's names are listed here as a BIG thank-you
for helping out so tremendously with this year's
BFAR. If
your name is not listed, and you'd like it to
be, contact a club
director). |
Online
Membership Application and Payment Now Active
You
can now submit your membership application and/or
renewal online, and pay using Paypal!
Note
that you do not have to be a Paypal member to
pay online. All you need is a major credit
card. You will be given the opportunity
to become a Paypal member when you pay, but this
is optional.
Also
keep in mind that you will still need to mail
in a signed waiver (or deliver it in person at
a meeting, etc.), before your membership is active.
We may eventually have a fax option set up, but
currently mail or hand delivery are the only options.
The waiver wording has changed somewhat this year,
so everyone needs to sign a new one, even if you've
signed one (or several) in the past.
This is all new for the club, and
hopefully makes this process more convenient for
you, as members. Please be patient, and report
any problems or questions you have to the
webmaster.
Click
here for the online membership application / renewal
page
Want
to learn how to fly?
Our
sponsor schools are in full swing, and many new students
are finding their wings. Check out our local
flying schools, and other sponsors on the Sponsors
page.
At present, we only have paragliding schools available
in the lower mainland. There are also a couple
of hang gliding options available in the province.
See the links page
for a more complete list of schools and clubs, or
contact a club
director.
Click on the Sponsors
link to find them.
| Looking
for new gear?
Have something to sell? |
 |
| The
West Coast Soaring Club has an active For
Sale area, located on our forum
page. If you're looking for good new and
used hang gliding and paragliding gear, accessories,
clothing, electronics, and sometimes even vehicles,
check it out.
Click
here to view the For Sale forum.
Anyone can view ads, but you must be a registered
forum user to post your own ads. Ads are
free to post.
Click
here to register as a forum user.
You can then log in to the forum, and post your
ads. |
Want
to contact a WCSC Club Director?
Click
here for the About Us page and a full list of
WCSC board members with contact info.
Last updated:
22 July 2008
|
