The West Coast Soaring Club is the home to paragliding
and hang gliding in the
Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions of British Columbia,
Canada. The coastal
mountains of southwestern Canada boast some of the
best flying on the continent,
with soaring sites to suit all pilot skill levels
and styles. The club's primary
objective is to develop and maintain safe soaring
practices in our area.
Enjoy the site, and come back often!
What's
New ...
BFAR
2008 coming soon - and a special
announcement!!
BFAR
happens on July
19-20, 2008, and it will
be awesome!
Click
here for everything you need to
know about BFAR
The
WCSC is proud to present "Head
Over Heels", local pilot
Kevin Ault's classic rock band,
at the Saturday night BBQ!
If you've ever been to a "Heels"
party, you know you are in for a
fantastic night of music and dancing.
Check out the band's website for
a sampling of their music, bios,
pictures, and even a list of the
songs you may hear.
Annual
WCSC Awards handed out at rained
out party
Well,
a few die-hard souls, mostly valley
local pilots, came out and partied
at the Bridal Falls golf course.
The BBQ tasted just as sweet in
the rain! The day produced
very little flying, other than a
few desparate sled rides at Woodside
(launching in tail and drizzling
rain ...).
The
Fraser
Valley XC weekend resulted in
no tasks, so next we proceed to
Pemberton on May 31st / June 1st
for the second and final weekend
of the series.
However,
the annual WCSC awards were announced.
Only one recipient was on hand to
receive their award. The others
will be contacted, and arrangements
will be made to get the awards to
them. Congratulations to everyone.
|
- Corinne
Stoltz-Orava |
| |
Corinne
has done so much for the Pemberton
flying scene in the past year
(and prior), helping with
tenure issues, securing alternate
landing zones, promoting WCSC
membership, helping to arrange
and organize local pilots,
and much more. She also
serves on the WCSC board of
directors, representing Pemberton.
Congrats to her!
Keep up the great work!
|
|
- Natalia
Polchenko |
| |
Almost
everyone has been given a
ride up to launch by Natalia,
somewhere, sometime.
She had to sit out much of
last year due to injury, but
she still came out, and was
always happy to drive the
rest of us die-hards up the
mountain. Thanks for
your continued willingness
to drive, and your generous
spirit!
|
| |
"Fast
Eddie" is the kind of
guy you want on your team.
Smart, funny, clever, extremely
motivated, and motivatING.
His attitude is infectious,
and he makes you want to get
things done. 2007 WCSC
President, Rob Samplonius,
thinks Eddie is the perfect
guy for the Presidential Cup
for 2007. Eddie was
the prime motivator behind
the great picnic table up
at Bridal launch, and has
helped in many ways behind
the scenes to improve the
Bridal Falls flying site,
including helping to pave
the way for the new, soon
to be completed, sign at the
LZ, and some exciting changes
coming up perhaps later this
year. Glad to have you
around, Eddie!
|
|
- Chui-Yuan
Fang |
| |
If
you want to know what the
perfect "WCSC Member
Pilot" looks like, take
a look at Chiu. He learned
how to fly last year with
Deimos
Paragliding, and took
to the air like a natural.
Not only is he a fantastic
new pilot, with great flying
chops and excellent decision-making
skills, he has also embraced
club membership and involvement,
regularly attending club meetings
and events, and helping out
with maintaining the club
web site. Well deserved,
Chiu. Congrats.
|
| |
2008
WCSC President, Robin Sather
(right), presents
Chui-Yang Fang with
the 2007 "Rookie of the
Year" trophy
|
Next Club Meeting
- in Pemberton!
Yes,
you read that right - The next official
club meeting (after the "Start
Of The Year" party) is happening
in Pembie, and will be a party to
help raise funds for various local
projects.
It's
happening on May 31st, at the Community
Centre. Come fly with us for
the day, and then join us for the
party at the day's end. May
31st / June 1st will also be the
2nd weekend in the Fraser
Valley XC Series, and will happen
in Pemberton, probably from McKenzie
launch.
|
April 2008
Eagle
Of The Month |
|
|
|
 |
Congrats to
Matt
Jesson
Fly
BC student, who couldn't
find Harvest Market,
after
flying over the
back
at Woodside,
so
he just carried on
and
flew all the way
to
Agassiz!
|
|
Other
Nomimees:
Xenon
Pilat - a Deimos
Paragliding student, who is
excelling at reverse launches and
doing some great flying already!
(The
WCSC awards the Eagle Of The
Month award to a WCSC
member pilot who achieves
a personal goal, conquers a new
challenge, or takes their own personal
flying to a new level. This
could describe a 20 year veteran
pilot setting a new world record,
or a novice pilot celebrating their
first 5 km cross country flight.
Nominations
are accepted from the membership,
and a vote is taken at the following
month's club meeting. "Eagles"
take home a special plaque, bragging
rights, and lots of glory.
Contact a director with your nominations
now.)
BC
XC League - On again for 2008
Click
here for all the details about this online contest,
open to anyone flying anywhere in BC.
Interested
in going for a Tandem paragliding flight?
 |
If
you're just checking out paragliding, and would
like to experience what it's all about, the
best way is to take a tandem flight. Almost
anyone can do it, no experience or exceptional
athletic ability required. Check it out!
Click
here for a listing of Tandem paraglider
pilots who would be happy to take you up for
a flight!
(Photo
courtesy of Angus
Tapper, Queenstown, New Zealand) |
| (These
pilot's names are listed here as a BIG thank-you
for helping out so tremendously with this year's
BFAR. If
your name is not listed, and you'd like it to
be, contact a club
director). |
Online
Membership Application and Payment Now Active
You
can now submit your membership application and/or
renewal online, and pay using Paypal!
Note
that you do not have to be a Paypal member to
pay online. All you need is a major credit
card. You will be given the opportunity
to become a Paypal member when you pay, but this
is optional.
Also
keep in mind that you will still need to mail
in a signed waiver (or deliver it in person at
a meeting, etc.), before your membership is active.
We may eventually have a fax option set up, but
currently mail or hand delivery are the only options.
The waiver wording has changed somewhat this year,
so everyone needs to sign a new one, even if you've
signed one (or several) in the past.
This is all new for the club, and
hopefully makes this process more convenient for
you, as members. Please be patient, and report
any problems or questions you have to the
webmaster.
Click
here for the online membership application / renewal
page
Want
to learn how to fly?
Our
sponsor schools are in full swing, and many new students
are finding their wings. Check out our local
flying schools, and other sponsors on the Sponsors
page.
At present, we only have paragliding schools available
in the lower mainland. There are also a couple
of hang gliding options available in the province.
See the links page
for a more complete list of schools and clubs, or
contact a club
director.
Click on the Sponsors
link to find them.
| Looking
for new gear?
Have something to sell? |
 |
| The
West Coast Soaring Club has an active For
Sale area, located on our forum
page. If you're looking for good new and
used hang gliding and paragliding gear, accessories,
clothing, electronics, and sometimes even vehicles,
check it out.
Click
here to view the For Sale forum.
Anyone can view ads, but you must be a registered
forum user to post your own ads. Ads are
free to post.
Click
here to register as a forum user.
You can then log in to the forum, and post your
ads. |
Want
to contact a WCSC Club Director?
Click
here for the About Us page and a full list of
WCSC board members with contact info.
Last updated:
13 May 2008
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