How High can you Go?

In the USA, paragliders can't legally fly above 18,000 ft. In Australia, the limit is 10,000 ft, which seems low until you consider that the highest mountain in mainland Australia is only 7316 ft above sea level... The highest Mountain on the US mainland is twice that.

Around Bright, the tallest peak is Mt. Bogong at 6500 ft, this is about the same as Pine Mountain, Oregon. In the 5 weeks I have been in Bright, I have only heard of one instance where a pilot got to 10,000 ft. Now, I'm not saying the flying is better in the US, because there would be no end to that debate, the more important fact is that it's summer here and winter back home...

The site we fly from is called Mystic and it is at 2600 ft ASL - for those of you back in the North West, it is very similar to the Toutle site in elevation, both ASL and vertical to the LZ. The big difference is that the Cross Country potential is tremendous at Mystic, in 10 flights, I flew 160 miles according to the OLC mileage on Leonardo. 16 miles per flight is nothing you might say, but we aren't trying for distance, we are doing round the valley type tasks.

There hasn't been flying going on here for the last several days, we have seen troughs, clouds, a little thunder and lightning, four drops of rain, and lots of wind. But Sunday looks possible and the Mystic Cup is on if the weather cooperates.

Stay Tuned...