Valle Del Bravo, March 2018

[wmelo]

I have just scheduled 1 week at Valle del Bravo for Spring break 2018 (http://flymexico.com/)
Who else is planning to go? Who has already used flymexico services and would like to share her experiences so I do not do the same mistakes?

Regs, Walt

[wmelo]

Well, my trip to Valle de Bravo was not very successful.

I arrived in the pousada (Inn) Sunday morning. Jeff stopped by the afternoon. We visited the main LZ (named Piano) and then we went to the taking off area.

Both the LZ and the taking off area are huge.

I had my 1st flight Sunday PM. I think I took off by 6:00pm. It was an easy flight (lift). Share the sky with a few PG. Landed a few minutes earlier in the main LZ. 1st day was therefore a success.

2nd day AM, we decided to have an "earlier" flight and land before lunch to avoid the difficult conditions in the LZ during the day. It was a thermal flight. It was a good practice. Flew for 1h. Got to know the local thermals: typical spring thermals - strong and narrow. After 1 hour landed safely in the main LZ. Therefore, 1st part of the 2nd day was also a success.

2nd day PM, we decided to fly again by 4:00pm. Conditions were good. Many pilots flew that day over the penon. I used again a Falcon 195. After trying to move up in a thermal I derived and sunk badly. Then the problem really started! I sunk terribly and realized I would not make the LZ. I found myself between the "spine" and the LZ: a terrible place to be without landing. I ended up "landing" (using PG vocabulary) or crashing using HG vernacular on the rocks.

Miraculous I did not break anything besides my cell phone, fly-master, two down-tubes. My iPhone 6plus (a huge phone) saved my leg: it got the hit and bended. I got a strong bruise. After seeing the doctor Tuesday, I decided to return to USA.

Pictures of the crash as available in the following link. I hope those will help other pilots to avoid the issues I had.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/G6m78uEBMczZljaR2

[Joe Schad]

Walt, I am glad you are ok. All the stuff can be replaced but you have to stay alive and fly again. We will be back in the area the end of next Week. We have a few stories from our two months in Temecula.

Joe

[markc]

Whoa! I'm sure glad that the damage seems to be mostly 'hardware', as opposed to 'software' Walt!

It's hard to know based on the photos, without more info about the site..... But do you think you simply scratched a bit too low for the conditions? I know that it's easy to stretch the envelope a bit, especially when trying to make the most of a flying trip in an exciting place.

[wmelo]

I posted all the pictures of this "flight." The lack of experience with the site, the lower performance glider, the cross wind are all components that resulted in this crash. However, the most relevant one is the fact I should have balled out when I was below the ridge, i.e., bad pilot judgment! As you can see in the pictures, after I have done the last 360, I faced the wind, sunk below the 2nd ridge (aka spine). From there, it was just a desperate straight flight trying to reach the LZ.