Powered Paragliding. A most Personal form of Flight

This morning was the beginning of the longest day of the year and coincidentally its Fathers Day. I set the alarm for 4:45 to make it out before sunrise and as has been the norm lately. I launched 10 minutes after dawn.

It was a Downwind launch, fortunately, I had plenty of room because the climb out was fast and low. It seemed to be absolutely calm with no hint of breeze at the surface but take off was fast and climb out was slow. I used left brake to stay over the runway while splitting the trees on either side. For the duration of the flight the wind was 8 to 10 mph from the southeast.

It was mildly bumpy with mostly clear air interspersed with patches of disturbed air.

Landing was fast and smooth.

Tech notes. It’s time to start thinking about installing a brake. If I’m going to be landing fast on pavement I need to stop before the wing drops and gets dragged .

It’s time to start thinking about trying out the Throggle.

Another nice launch. The most notable thing was landing with both brakes and wing tips. I’m going to have to view the video but it was rough.

This was a moral boost. Again the Apco inflated beautifully. It’s not slow … not fast … it’s just right.

I listed the MacPara for sale as soon as I got home.

It was bumpy again but I pushed it and found clear air at 1000 feet.

First flight with the old APCO LIFT EZ. It was a pleasure. The wing came up predictably. It was like old times. Landing was fast with trims in neutral.

I would have stayed up longer but it was very bumpy and didn’t look like it was going to be better higher up.

The Bone Island Regatta has been a significant event for many Fleet 6 members.  The 158-nautical-mile course begins at the Venice inlet jetties, rounds Smith Shoal, down the straights, around Tank island, and concludes at Key West.

Jay Nadelson, owner of the C&C 110, Playmobile, has competed in this race for many years alongside various Fleet 6 members, including Jan van Heek, Jim Nuzzo, Joe Onofrio, Rudy Trejo, and the late  Bob Sween.

This year’s race was a memorable one. Despite a stalled front north of Sarasota and an approaching low-pressure system, the team maintained a strategy to reach off the wind from start to finish as the winds continued to back.

In 2019, Playmobile set a course speed record of 28.5 hours, with line honors. this year, we surpassed that record by 6.5 hours, finishing just under 22 hrs.

Our progress was not without challenges. During the race, a snapped halyard sent our Code Zero into the water. After a quick recovery, Joe Onofrio climbed the mast without hesitation while under sail to run a new spinnaker halyard. Later, a brief literal 15 second 30-knot squall caused the halyard to break again, forcing us to continue through the night with only a jib and main. (At 3am, in pitch dark, he respectfully wasn’t ready to go back up the mast lol) 

Around sunrise, with backing winds getting close to 75 apparent wind angle, the crew executed a difficult sail change. With limited halyards available, we successfully transitioned from a jib to a spinnaker using only the jib halyard in 20knot winds. Raising a spinnaker of that size  without a jib blocking the wind is not an easy task. This maneuver increased our speed by nearly 3 knots.

 We ended the race, rounding the Tank island shoals, with a 50 degree left hand turn to the finish  bare headed, swapping the spin back to the jib successfully protecting our lead.

Jay Nadelson did an exceptional job executing our strategy and maintaining the team’s focus. It was a successful and memorable regatta for everyone involved and all who tracked our progress.