Already with the approach of winter and taking advantage of the rain of the past few days, we decided to visit the Valley of Lajas. We bet to have a Valley full of fog, which translates into a morning of epic flights surrounded by incredible scenery 💪.
Not for Everyone…
But, this flight is not for every pilot. There are some requirements or demands that must be fulfilled in order to enjoy this landscape.
First, you have to be in the Valley ready to fly no later than 6:30 AM with equipment ready. You have to prepare the equipment the night before and most importantly, get up early (4 AM?) and have everything ready for the trip by car to Lajas that could be will be more than an hour in the best of cases.
Second, Once the challenges of being early and ready with the equipment are met, the next challenge is to be able to realize a Front Launch with the equipment and this in zero wind conditions. Adding that the takeoff run is on wet grass and the risk of slipping and having equipment breakage is high. Also, If you fail one or two attempts, the paraglider will fill with moisture, making it much heavier and more difficult to use on subsequent attempts.
Third, If you manage to success achieving takeoff and performing the epic flight, the next thing is the process of Landing. Again on wet grass and little or no wind, so the landing entrance is very demanding due to the high possibility of slipping and therefore with the possibility of equipment breakage.
Fourth, this difficulty was added to this particular day. And it is that the grass of the Lajas Air Park, has not been cut for weeks. Therefore, the grass was much higher than normal, and we would have to run over the track without seeing where we were stepping in the Take Off…
Who finally Arrived?
So, Knowing these rules of the game, and saying present were, Ted Sowinski, Samuel Travis, Luis Ruiz and his son Ian Darrell.
Samuel Travis was the first to leave, followed by Luis Ruiz, and his son Ian Darrell. All leaving and eventually landing with excellence. The duration of flights last from one to one hour and a half.
The only one who couldn’t get airborne was Ted, and sadly he couldn’t even try. When he was preparing to leave, already with everything settled… but… his propeller, touched and tied some lines of the paraglider which were damaged in the process. Also part of the cage of his Paramotor suffer a bit in the situation. Ted didn’t even made a takeoff attempt. So you can imagine that Ted was not very happy…😐
Once we left the place, at about 9:30 AM, Samuel Travis still wanted to venture flying near the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse. But after visiting the area, he did not find a suitable place to Take Off and also had problems accessing the place.
In the afternoon, Luis Ruiz took his son Noah Enrique to the Pico de Piedra Beach in Aguada to practice some paragliding, and with this we closed the day’s adventures.
Blessings 🙏!!!
Photos…
