Manavis Tsivi - New Flying Site

In the last two years, a crew has been exploring flying over Sagarejo, under the guidance of great local pilots, Here is a video that shows some of the great possibilities, in this case in April. 

More on this soon. 

Getting Thermal Forecasts in the Caucasus | Meteoblue

How can you get thermal forecasts in the Caucasus? In the Alps you may have other tools, in the Caucasus you can draw on Meteoblue.

How does this work? Check out the quick info video. (Note that this may require a basic subscription to Meteoblue.)

We will test this out more in the future, and share updates from time to time. 

Gudauri Paragliding Route

We have been having great flights lately. Here is one such flight from Gudauri, last Sunday. The wind was good (South-East), not too strong. It had rained the day before, but thermals still developing.

Here is the flight.

Key lessons:

1. the break-out thermal after launch is likely to be on the mountain before Kudebi, shown on the bottom right. Kudebi itself often is inconsistent. 
2. going along the ridge facing North is likely a good idea. I could have taken this even further. 
3. above Ukhati, good to get maximum altitude. It's not entirely easy, as there is convergence of winds. 
4. once you crossed the valley, keep on that broad face, to get up. I went toward Kanobi, and there is no lift there, because of valley winds. 

Great day, can't wait to go back.

Where to get Weather Information for Flying in Georgia

Where do we get weather information when flying in Georgia? Over time, we found the following the most useful resources. 

Meteoblue.com, which in my personal estimate is 80% right. Sometimes it misses details by 20%, so wind is not entirely strong enough for soaring, or the wind change happens a few hours earlier than predicted. But on balance it's proven fairly reliable. (Disclosure: my brother works there, so this assessment is not independent -- but conversely I can say I spent quite a few years watching the service, in flying, windsurfing and kiting).

YR.no - Norwegian weather service. Some paragliders use both YR and Meteoblue and believe that if both agree, then this really is the final & best weather forecast.  

Tbilisi Airport Information: ATIS: 132.8 MHz, with hourly updates. Almost always accurate. The highest recorded windspeed at TBS airport that allowed us to still fly in Rustavi was 12 knots, but that was borderline. Above 5 knots per hour from the Southeast is typically promising for the Tbilisi Sea flying site. Occasionally the online service, here, lags. 

Always watch out for lenticular clouds, as a sudden increase in windspeed (once more than doubling in 45 minutes) can be a bit unwelcome when in the air. 

Any other suggestions? Let us know. 

Flying high in Tianeti

Up to now, the flying site in Tianeti primarily worked for soaring. The peak draws the thermals from the entire region below, making it a reliable flying site in almost all conditions when the wind is from the South, or Southwest.

However, there have been a number of  longer flights from this location, typically heading out East.  Roland flew 15+ km, a good way towards Akhmeta, on our very first flight there in 2007, landing in a small clearing. Conditions that day turned rough, with the wind coming in from Southwest (unusual) with average speeds above 30 km shortly after Roland had launched.



The highest altitude in Tianeti was about 3800m above ground, which would be about 2000m above the launch site, on April 28, 2008. Above is the footage. We launched as usual, catching the thermal on the right shoulder of the mountain. Curiously, we did not find a single other thermal once we had topped out, when we were flying east, so that it ended up being a glide flight into the neighboring valley, north of Tianeti city.  It seemed that we had found one rare day with one rare gap in the inversion, but we did not stumble on any others.

The key point here is that there is still a long-distance flight waiting to happen from Tianeti, on a good & strong spring day, when you pierce through that inversion, to then fly on and on.

Clouding Up in Rustavi | GoPro

Catching up with processing some of the old recordings. Here is one of a good Rustavi flying day that was bright and sunny, and within 35 minutes the clouds had closed in, the wind got stronger, and it was high time to land. You see the difference from cut to cut.



Long video (and I forgot to switch off the camera at the end, so there is a glimpse of me reflecting on weather patterns with Nodari & the Boss) --  I still love the panoramic perspective of the GoPro in these wide-open spaces.

 More to follow.

Flying in Rustavi, July 2011

You have seen it before, but this video by Levan Iasashvili (in the air with Alex Iskandarov) gives you an even better idea of the gorgeous time one has in Rustavi when the wind is right.

Great video, guys!