Random Pakistan Road Signs

After 4 weeks in the Northern Areas of Pakistan I am back after the most awesome flying of my life - Pakistan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Some pics are here on Brad's blog - will add some more in a while.

http://teamblog.flyozone.com/bradsander/2009/05/28/37/#comment-13

The nice trip Brad, Matt, Oriol and Patrick did out and return from Karimabad to near Gilgit a couple of days before I arrived is here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1BsvgcJcNw

Here are some random road signs I saw in quick succession while jammed in a Toyota Hiace minivan with at least 18 others on a 7hr drive back from a good flight - I think they give a good flavour of Pakistan! Northern Areas is a very stable and safe place to visit. We had warm welcomes and felt comfortable everywhere.

READ TO LIVE (in the blue livery of a local school)

BLIND THE SHOOTERS! (scrawled on a rock)

LIVE TO READ (the other side of the school)

TRUE FRIENDLINESS IS MAKING A FRIEND OF YOUR ENEMY (sticker on the back of a truck)

ISRAIL AND USA ARE THE TRUE TERRORISTS! (graffiti painted on a wall)

Brigsteer to Kendal - 2nd May 2009

Too windy again in Scotland and with david t making the big push all the way s to the long mynd, tim j and myself headed for brigsteer at the s end of the lake district in the hope that winds would be light enough there.

This looked hopeful as we passed the solway with winds still howling and it wasn't much better when we got to brigsteer where we arrived minutes before the aberdeen crew (matt, jules, scott, adrian).

After some banter with local pilot ben k we reluctantly got our wings out and prepared to launch in a lull. Brigsteer is a small ridge facing sw just to the sw of Kendal. Ben k went first and got a good cycle as he pointed into wind and went up nicely and it wasn't long before he selected a thermal and left.

Encouraged by this Jules was next to select a lull and also hit a good cycle managing to climb steadily out from launch although in the gusts during thermals he was going steadily backwards before regaining forward speed and getting high above the hill in front before getting what looked like a good climb out

I am trying to train myself not to fly in strong winds and partly because of this I took about an hour to take off after jules waiting and trying to judge the length and frequency of the lulls. But eventually i could bear it no longer and went for it to find much different air than the other two. Wind was still strong but not outrageous at maybe 25+k but there was very little lift almost as if the sea air (sea visible only 10 for 15k away) was now dominating and I spent a long half hour trying to scope some decent lift at or below take off height. This low altitude meant i couldn't explore the bit of the site that looked the best and that local pilot ed c had highlighted as the best.

Eventually some better bits came through and i was able to get 3 turns in taking me up to the top of the ridge before pushing forward and getting back into the same thermal further forward and going with it in a good 1.5m/s climb. I didn't have a great deal of height when going over the back but it felt good and i kept climbing as i drifted towards kendal.

As i got to the town i lost the thermal and from there it was a swift 3.5m/s descent to a farm on the small hills just past the town. Hey ho. Never bad to be down safe on days like this.

Jules and ben did 40-50k each going n of whitestones and on towards wardcop. Both reported wind increasing and landing going backwards...

Here are a few pics of the take off

From 2009_05_02 brigsteer

ben gets ready to go

From 2009_05_02 brigsteer

low base

From 2009_05_02 brigsteer

Blackmount - 25th April 2009

A bad forecast (low pressure, warm sector) with a big risk of over development but plenty sun tempted me, paul m and bob g up to black mount near glen coe. I had a total lack of psyche for flying and was content to let the others have several attempts to stay up in light thermic air on the e face of black mount (winds were getting pulled all directions by large clouds). Clouds were big in places already and there seemed to be plenty of mid-level instability.

As I set up after 40 minutes of sunbathing a huge gust came up the s face of black mount which made me think about launching that way but after standing with the glider above my head facing e to feel the air for a bit i took off and followed the wind round the hill - it was now blowing steadily up the n face!

Bob and i got some height and he made the move over the back at the right time while my lack of psyche continued and i landed down near the car park with the burger vans and the piper overlooking loch tulla. Quite happy to be on the ground i avoided the road and tramped the few k back to take off via deer tracks to find a rather red faced paul who had locked his car keys in his boot!

Only one thing to do! Hitch to meet bob g at the pub in bridge of orchy leaving paul to wait in the rain for the AA man. It was very pleasant sitting on the verandah with a beer listening to bob's stories of the 12m/s thermal he left after deciding conditions were a bit much!


typical warm sector clouds


gonna go bang sometime...

bob overdosed on two half pints as we waited for paul and had to have a senior moment in the car on the way back...

Ben Lawers to Glenshee - 19th April 2009

First of all, hats off to Julian for flight of the year in Scotland (again!). As he said on the phone from the pub where he was clearly several beers merry "we flew into Knoydart [half day walk out if you are lucky] and then we flew out again!". A big plus for RASP which predicted the best thermals for that area and a brilliant flight. Luckiest pilot i know!

We followed the hordes down from glencoe to ben lawers and after an hours walk up I spent at least 25 minutes sorting out the bracken clusterfuck that i had collected the day before in my lines. The thin lines on the xc2 love to tangle...


sorting out my lines in a sheltered spot as trias and another glider explore the south bowls


david t up and away

Meanwhile Trias was up and away with a few tip rustles and andy b scared the crap out of me flying the lee side of the spur and taking both hands off to get into his harness when only 10m up... David T was up as well and i chuckled as he rose up to my level from a take off lower on the spur exclaiming "f**king hell" as he rose erratically in the slightly leeside air (high level air was coming in from WNW as shown by the cracking cloud on the NW side of the mountain but at low levels the wind was WSW)

I waited for a good thermal and when i felt a cycle coming up the Tarmachan side of the spur launched and climbed out immediately without having to go near the anabatic lee side flow in the sunny bowls on the SSE face of the spur.

Apparently others were not enjoying the sporty conditions and there was radio chat to this effect which prevented some taking off. Ha! one of the advantages of not having a radio! I guess I wasnt in the same air as some because none of it felt even uncomfortable to me.... A push forward after the first climb got me into a climb above chris who had just taken off just after me and soon we got to base and headed downwind almost due west taking a little of the white room on the way.

I used the white room to push n over the main ridge and this got me a much better line than chris but it didnt hold him back much as he found a good one from lowish over a lee bowl a glide later to get back in the game. That put us both at base under a good cloud peeking out over the wide valley at the e end of loch tay which heads past the village of Kenmore.

Chris was in pootle mode not wanting to venture into the huge blue hole but i was impatient and went for it unaware that david t (as i found later from his igc file) had gone a similar route and we both got a weak climb off the bump in the middle of the valley (drummond hill) just past kenmore.

Disgusted at my move into the blue, chris was eventually forced into a route along the high ground on the n side of the valley and he found a bit of lift as he got level with me. Having climbed a bit i now had enough height to make a move a couple of k n to connect with the same spot and it was one of those unfair ones where i was high enough to get up but chris was low in the disorganised stuff and couldn't climb.

From there I made a bold move over the high ground covered in forestry to the n of weem hill - it was a necessary step to get back to the clouds and I eventually got a slow but good climb off the convergence cloud over farragon hill (slightly nw met wind meeting southerly anabatic). By this time i was aware of an inversion around 900m and a very distinct shear layer between the more northerly upper level winds and the lower winds at maybe 1200m.

It was definitely slow down and circle mode as the climbs were weak and it was impossible (for me) to stay in the same core through the various layers. Drift was as low as 10kph at times now in spite of being 20+ at take off but by being patient I had good height to cross the a9 over pitlochry. Although i was very tempted to push nw to a great cloud over ben vrackie (thats what decked david t) the clouds were cycling so fast i decided i would be better to head for wisps due e where there was more ground clearance.

Although that worked short term (for the next couple of glides) I got suckered into following wisps more and more se which i eventually realised were not true cumulus but the edge of the sea breeze front. My last glides were approaching the Drumderg windfarm still going due e but the windmills were showing wind on the surface due s and when i got low in the glenshee valley I was pushed north in the sea breeze for a k or so before landing (65k ish)

If only I had pushed NW earlier (would have been tricky... it was quite blue there) i might have been able to connect with the sea breeze convergence at glenshee proper where the air coming up from tbe braemar side meets the southerly flow... and flown over lochnagar.

Next time!


landing spot in glenshee after squeaking over power lines to avoid landing in a sheep field


the remains of the sea breeze front which suckered me too far south

Ben Toaig to Glencoe - 18th April 2009

More good weather and off to Ben Toaig near Bridge of Orchy for a SE wind predicted with bob g, trias, chris c and andy b.

Good thermals but with climbs going to only just above the peaks limited the early action as we flew across to join a large horde taking off on the se spur of Meall a Mhuridh.


weak looking clouds during the walk up ben toaig


bob g setting up

Eventually we headed down the coe with Al Brown but failed to follow him on a better line to the cloud forming to Meall a Chrulaiste (?) next to the Kingshouse so bob and i bombed near the Devils Elbow path while chris' typically bold move down the n side didnt work either.

From there we walked up and took off again with bob getting a fine climb out from just above my head to a freshly forming cloud street and proceeded to do the out and return along the aonach egach while i bombed again (it was that kind of day) and then walked up in a sweaty rush.

Eventually i laid my wing out at the level where bob had climbed out to see paul m (northumberland) climbing out at the same level as me only to find true dispair as my seemingly nice grassy take off had lots of tiny dry bracken sticks only 5cm long which tangled so badly in my lines that i was unable to take off!

I had to walk down - flying along the aonach eagach remains an unfulfilled ambition!


looking e to meall a chrulaiste and the kingshouse and the street forming due to e winds and strong sun on s faces - the street was even better the other direction along the aonach egach. this grass patch proved impossible to take off from...