Dustin Martin's Colombia Tours

[lplehmann]

Fly With Dustin

This is being written on top of a jungle mountain launch 3,500 feet above the wide Cauca Valley east of Cali, Colombia. For the second year in a row I have come down here as a client of World Distance Record holder Dustin Martin's Fly With Dustin tour service. Last year I flew twenty seven hours over two weeks, averaging two hours a flight. This year I'm averaging the same in a shorter trip.

We all know how much more convenient travel is with paragliders, and Dustin's business provides hang glider pilots with the opportunity to travel as easily to one of the world's premier soaring sites. Indeed, one that is a major destination for touring paragliders from around the world. It's really simple: book your tour, pack your clothes, grab your harness and head for the airport. You will be met in Cali by Dustin and taken to a local resort hotel at the base of the mountain.

The next morning you and one or two other clients will begin the long, spectacular drive up to launch with a very clean WW U2 (he has one 160 and two 145s). You'll then set-up and launch from one of the nicer, steeply sloped launches I know. Dustin picks a daily task to fly along the N-S mountain range, flying with and guiding the clients on his T2, but only flying VG loose (He'll still smoke you. He is that good). After landing you'll be retrieved and returned to the hotel where after a dip in the pool, dinner and night's sleep you'll do it all again in the morning. It's a dreamlike Groundhog Day vacation. At the end you simply get on a plane and go home with a tan, some muscle fatigue and many fine flying stories. There is no such thing as a flying certainty in this sport, but this is awfully close to one. not

The reason for writing this is to call to your attention that this will be Dustin' last season doing the tours. Indeed, he is scheduled to stop in mid-February although if he were to get enough last minute interest he would go until March 1. For any of you with the flexibility and interest, I wholeheartedly urge you to take advantage of this vanishing opportunity to conveniently fly your brains out in a novel environment, on good equipment and with instruction from one of the worlds truly brilliant pilots. Anyone interested should go to Dustin's flywithdustin.com website for details and contact information.

Pete Lehmann
ps The OZ Report has a number of pictures from here, one of launch taken from a drone. Davis too is renting a glider from Dustin for the Hombres Pajaro comp in which I'm flying.