Lawnmowers Fly!

Here you see a short clip with take off, ascent, soaring under clouds, spiral and then a (rough!) crosswind landing. Alex N. took me on a spin with his machine, in early September 2010.

The entire thing, except for the wing, is tiny.

In terms of paragliding, we noticed strong thermals high up. So once we have higher altitude, we should have a good chance to do more cross-country. To be explored in the next season!

Gudauri | April Flight

Flying in Gudauri, in early April. Definitely some powerful thermals there, but way out in the valley, so they are not easy to catch. Also, it isn't easy finding a good connecting thermal. Definitely a reason for more people to fly together.

In the distance, you see Mt Kazbek.



The launch is from Kudebi, at 3000 m, through fairly slushy snow.

Bakuriani | All the Basics

Bakuriani is a lush, beautifully situated resort town in central Georgia. At about 1200 m with mountains stretching to 2600 m it provides some beautiful flying opportunities, although it's unclear whether the cloud base ever rises sufficiently to provide good cross-country opportunities. Much exploration remains to be done.

So far the main flights have been limited, with some thermal soaring. About a dozen flights have been done in this region, primarily from the range to the south, which has about 600 m of elevation above the high plateau (see photo) that stretches down to Armenia. Typically, the plateau carries strong winds from the southeast, often beyond flyability for paragliders.

Likely, a week of staying here would yield some good flying. Nice guesthouses, great views, and attractive alternatives (hiking, cycling, swimming in Tabatskuri Lake) make this an inviting prospect. Flying in winter (ski lift) is possible, but altitudes are modest and winds not necessarily favorable.

Difficulty
Generally a friendly location, with many broad spaces, easy opportunities for landing, few obstacles, good launch sites, although the wind can become strong, and regional winds may become a little tricky (it is possible that there might be some regional windshear). But definitely flyable for beginners. On the plus side, good mobile phone connections everywhere.

Launch
The main launch site is a mountain range to the south, in the direction of Tabatskuri village. Once over the pass (often guarded by paramilitary personnel protecting the pipeline, requesting ID), straight up the mountain on the left (requires a 4x4), and once you are up on the ridge, looking down over Bakuriani again, pretty much anything goes as a launch site. Note that it's windy around here. We have flown over the ridge, leeside, and landed in the Bakuriani valley, but it's a rough ride.

Here is a basic video from a good soaring day, many years ago.