Bavarian Open 2018, Bad Hindelang

From Thursday, 31st of May until Sunday, 3rd of June the International Bavarian Open take place in Bad Hindelang, Germany. In the beautiful landscape of Oberallgäu it is a pleasure to fly. The weather forecast for all four days predicts some thunderstorms in the later afternoon - normal summer days. 79 pilots are participating from both, the German and the Austrian league as well as further international guests.

Day 4: Sometimes it’s over before it started
The last day the the Bavarian Open was supposed to be the best day of the weekend with less clouds, no overdevelopments and stronger thermals than the days before. I took off 35 minutes before race Start (a 80km task was set from Spiesser via Neunerköpfle over the flats to Mittag and back over Nebelhorn to the goal in Bad Hindelang). I climbed my way up to cloud base quickly and already felt that this day would be more turbulent than the days before. A small collapse made me chose another thermal. I went over to Iseler where the others were thermalling and waiting for the race to start. Unfortunately I went to the south west flank which - as a learned quickly - is in the Lee of The Valley Wind instead of going to the wind facing north side. I had a collapse followed by a cascade and lost quite some height although I managed to get my wing flying again quickly. Also my motivation was gone and so I was on the ground 33s before the race started. This was definitely not my competition. Let’s hope for better ones to come.

Day 3: Cancelled due to overdevelopments 

Day 2: It was all about timing
When we arrived at take off the clouds were clearing and it looked as it would be getting better for a short time. Due to the strong humidity however clouds were forming up quickly again as soon as the sun came in and when we finally had a task of 30km set, it was getting darker and darker. The window was closed again and the finally opened at 13:30. Towards Nebelhorn we saw some rain and thinking that it would soon come to us, I and a couple of others took off to not get wet. We tried to make some altitude but none of us succeeded. As soon as we landed, we saw a couple of wing climbing better and better. Those who took of later were in big advantage and made it to goal easily.

Day 1: Some day you lose, some day the others win 
After after an early briefing at 8:30 at the Head Quaters, the busses brought us soon up as close as possible to the take-off, Spießer. From the drop off point at Hirschalpe we hiked up through grassy meadows to the final take-off for half an hour - quite exhausting for the body in the summer heat with 25kg on the back, but quite relaxing for the sole with so many flowers and nice landscapes around. On the-off a 54km task was announced leading us from Spießer through Tannheimer Tal to Reuthe and back.

The race was going to start at 12:00 and around 11:15 the first pilots took off. The lifts were very weak at that time and so I decided to wait longer. When it finally went up, I took off around 25minutes before start. Unfortunately it still took quite long to gain altitude and so when the race started I still had to thermal for some time before leaving for the first way point. After the talley crossing to Iseler it was very tough to gain altitude again and sow and a few other pilots had to work for along time to finally get up. The leading gaggle was already gone for a long time and so we followed them on our own route. Over Neunerköpfle the clouds already started getting bigger and darker. After the turn point at Hahnenkamm I lost my fellow pilots that I’ve flown with together since they went a route which I didn’t chose due to the knowledge that the north flanks of the Tannheimer Tal worked well before. I started climbing my way up again when I saw two pilots on a Zeno spiraling down and with a couple of others going to land. Not having heard anything through the radio I nevertheless thought the task was stopped due to the darker clouds and decided to land in Tannheimer Tal as well.

Well, the task wasn’t stopped. The pilots who spiraled down have been close to the cloud and it sucked quite heavily. Other pilots that stayed lower at that pint didn’t have any problems and made goal easily. It probably was a good decision to land with the overdeveloping clouds all around, but I’m still sad and a bit disappointed about my decision as it would have been easy to make goal. Let’s hope for better three days to come.

And here’s some cat content for the good mood :-) (The cats at my B&B.)

UP Meru - Love on first flight

Updated on 14.05.2018

Long was I roaming around on the search for a new wing that would carry me through good times and through even better times.... My search began last year in September, when I realized, my LM6 would need a replacement sooner or later after we went through many nice flights together.
I was on some dates with a Zeno or lets rather call it appointments since I didn't feel that romantic spark. The Zeno without any doubt is a wonderful wing, with a great performance and for many many pilots, probably THE wing, but somehow not for me. It was nice and gentile, sporty, beautiful, elegant..., but we somehow didn't fully connect. There was always a small doubt in my stomach. And so I decided to stay with my LM6 for some time longer.

Until at the BaWü Open somebody said to me: "why don't you try the UP Meru? I promise, you'll love it." And I thought, ok, why not. It can't do any harm to get to know each other and arrange some get together.

I asked for a tester and two weeks later received it, a day before the Mosel Open 2018.
As with every new wing, I was a bit nervous before the first flight. Especially since it was in a competition, with a lot of wind, on a new takeoff... not the ideal thing, normally.

I decided to take off late, to don't be stressed too much if I would struggle in taking off. Since the type of task was a race to goal with multiple start gates, I wouldn't lose too much time through that. The only disadvantage would be to maybe have to fly on my own or at lead with slower pilots, I thought.

Picture by Joel Debons

The take-off:
The take-off was quite a mess to be honest. The wing went here and there, but not really above my head where it should go. I was so late, that the last start gate was opening within 5 minutes. And not relaxed at all. After several attempts, I finally maded it in the air.
My learning: The Meru has no shooting tendencies at all during start, which, compared to the LM6 -  a wing that almost starts on its own - makes it slightly more inert, when lifting it up. The Meru wants really to be guided above your head but therefore doesn't lever you out. When reverse launched, it want's to be only lifted with the most inner A-line (not the whole riser). Once I figured that out, it was quite easy.

The flight:
After I was finally in the air, I went right from takeoff, into a thermal and minutes later I was above take-off and soon approaching top of lift. When I left towards the first turn point 10 minutes after the start gate, it was the first time that thought "cool, I'm under a new wing!". It was so intuitive, so easy to handly, so much fun to circle, so much "me and the wing as one piece" that a barely realized that this was something new. It felt like we were flying together since years, like we understood each other without any doubt. The flight went on like this, with strong winds, strong thermals, some tough parts that required a lot of patience in weak climbs... and throughout all that flight, I felt completetly, safey, secure, happy, one with the wing. I reached goal on that day as the first woman and 22nd overall and with a big smile in my fest. My best ever result. I can't say much about the performance in direct comparison to Zenos, Enzos or Booms, since I for long parts of that flight was on my own. On the next day, we had some close flying together and it seemed we were flying similar in terms of glide and speed.

Collapse:
On the second day, not long after the race started I could experience, how the Meru behaves, when things are not that smooth. The turnpoint was set in the middle of the lee of a hill and no matter how high you were, you have been washed down. When approaching that turn point, the Meru talked to me, loudly and determined. It collapsed for around 50%. But didn't even bother to turn. It was easy, manageable, trustworthy.

Landing:
Well, it glides... very well. So you'd like to have some space. Thanks to it's direct and intuitive handling, it's however quite easy to also get it landed on the spot.

What else?
Is there a down side? So far I couldn't find a lot. Maybe, that it's only available in one color. The Meru is now available in two nice different color schemes (http://www.up-paragliders.com/en/news/item/634-meru-new-size-and-new-colour-option) and also in the making for heavier pilots up to 130kg.
For sure that it's only available in two sizes, which for me is not a big disadvantage, but for heavier or a lot lighter pilots it might be. Luckily it flies very well - also in turbulent conditions, also with strong head wind - in the middle of the weight range, which I'm exactly at on the MS size. I have the feeling, it doesn't have to be fully loaded and rather likes it a bit lighter.
The dyneema lines: Most lines of the Meru are made of Aramide, only the main lines are made of dyneema. Dyneema has a bad reputation, but also the Trango XRace uses this type of lines as main lines and so far I didn't hear any complaints. Probably UP found a way to solve the known issues. I'm pretty sure otherwise they wouldn't have used this configuration.

Am I going to fly it more?
I definitely will! For me the Meru has everything I was looking for as a wing: Intuitive handling, great ability to climb in both strong and weak conditions, great gliding performance, good handling on the B-risers, safe feeling, direct handling, great feedback. I know, I'm using a lot of superlatives :-) But that's how it is when you experience love on first flight!
I flew the Meru now also in heavy spring conditions with strong winds and lee side thermals in Greifenburg, Kärnten during the Hessen Meisterschaft. It gives a lot of feedback in these conditions but not in an aggravating kind of way. It wants to be flown, but is honest in its reactions. I'm still excited! 

BaWü Open 2018 - 6.April to 8.April 2018

Day 1:
The first day of the first competition this year waited with sunny weather and a prediction for very stable conditions and a strong inversion. In the morning fog was lying in the valleys which quickly lifted up and brought us a bright blue sky.

After the general briefing at 9:00am and some waiting time we went up to the take off at Breitenberg near Pfronten to have the task briefing there at 11:30.

The task committee came up with a task along the Falkenstein ridge going 5 Times back and further over 7 turn points.

I took off around an hour before the race start which was at 14:00 in NIL wind conditions. With quite some running through the heavy and deep snow I was in the air and soon after above Falkenstein.

With steep south facing rocky flanks, Falkenstein is known to locals to provide turbulent but strong climbs being disturbed by the Bavarian valley wind coming in from north.

Additionally the day was providing a stronger easterly wind which provided additional turbulences. After being one hour in these exhausting conditions between 1300 and 1650m, between strong ridge lifts and inversion, the race started just when I had the lowest height. 

Additional cirrus clouds made the thermals on the south side of the ridge weaker and weaker and my impatience brought me back to the ground 10min later together with half of the other pilots. Only 15 made it slowly and patiently to goal with improving conditions later on the day.

On day 2 the conditions should be better. Let’s hope for more luck and patience!

Day 2:

The forecast for this day mentioned light Föhn winds. So I was sceptical at first how the day would develop. Having a deeper look into wind forecasts and the pressure difference between Innsbruck and Pfronten showed soon that there was nothing to fear for today. The day promissed to come with blue thermals with a max altitude at around 2200m and no low inversion like yesterday.

We went up to takeoff for a briefing at 11:00am and received a task of 60km from Breitenberg/Pfronten along Falkenstein to Buchenberg, Tegelberg, Trauchgauer and back over the flats to Pfronten. Weather on top was like in summer. Only the melting snow on the slopes along with NIL winds made takeoffs for many pilots difficult. Luckily I didn’t have any problems there.

The race was set to start at 14:00 with window open at 12:00. Having yesterday in mind I decided to start later to avoid staying in rough air before race start for too long. I took off 30min before start and it paid off well. I had a good altitude and Position when the race started and could easily make the first 4 turnpoints in the vicinity of Pfronten.

I then followed the Falkenstein ridge until the end towards Neuschwanstein and decided to cross to the next ridge at a point where it worked well on flights I did there before. From my previous flights I knew that not too much altitude was needed to do the crossing so I went on quite low. Well, today it didn’t work. Instead the valley wind washed me down in the lee within no time. I had to land after only 15km of the task and watch the others thermalling high above my head.

Day 3:

Today the forecast predicted even more Föhn than yesterday. When I arrived at the cable car in the morning I was pretty confident that we wouldn’t fly. Nevertheless a briefing was scheduled at 10:30 at take off so we went up. On the way up we checked the weather again and saw that the forecasts improved massively. The strong winds should now only start after 16:00 so a short task of 30km was set.

The race should start at 12:15 leading us over Falkenstein back to Breitenberg over Vils to Alpspitze and some kilometers into the flats to finally land at the official landing in Pfronten. I took off 38min before race start and other than many pilots at this time went directly to Falkenstein which again paid off. It was a bit chaotic right before start when all pilots were there since the maximum height we could reach at that time was only around 1600m.

Conditions were improving every minute though and so we could quickly make the first three waypoints. After that it took me a while to get up again but I found strong climbs on Falkenstein and could go on together with some other pilots. In the flats we found a nice climb again which brought as almost back to goal. Just some circles on the last turnpoint and we could make it - so I thought. In the end literally 3m lift were missing. I landed 20m before the goal line. I could have easily made it with just one circle more at the last turn point. But that’s the game :-)

I finished 90th overall. There’s definitely at lot of room for improvement.

Nevertheless it was a great end to this competition with a beautiful day and so much fun! I’m looking forward to the next (Mosel Open end of April).

Thanks to everybody who made it fun and especially to the organizers! It was really great!