Rat Race

July 2, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

From Zurich I flew back across the pond to try my hand at my first Rat Race, an annual comp and fiesta held in Ruch, Oregon off Woodrat mountain by Mike and Gail Haley. This was the 11th year of the event and nearly all the best pilots in the US as well as global superstar Michael (Mickey) Sigel were in attendance. I flew to Portland, rented a car and drove to Redmond, Oregon where I found Nate Scales sitting on a bench outside the airport. He’d just driven in from Sun Valley with his motor home and had arrived about 3 minutes before I did.

Niviuk Peak 3 Review

June 18, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

We had two super windy days after the Riederalp/Interlaken flight so I trained down to Verbier to pick up my bags, spent a night with Mike and Stu and celebrated with their graduating group of new pilots, who were all pretty thrilled with their new-found sky skills. Then the next day I carried on to Geneva to meet with Patrick Roser, the Swiss Niviuk dealer who had a couple very special presents for me- the new F-Gravity 2 acro wing, and the Peak 3 X-Alps (ie light weight version). I tried to control myself from just ripping open the bags right at the train station.

Globetrotting

June 17, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

I’m going to hell for my carbon footprint, of that I am sure. After our two days in Bassano and more rain in the forecast Bruce and I broke 8 straight nights of culinary extraordinaire at the Abbazia and headed for the Dolomites. Figured we might as well take some walks if we couldn’t fly.

Chasing Chocolates Part II

June 6, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

When Bruce and I got to launch on Monday at Bassano we were encouraged to have Nicole Fedele and Damiano Zanocco on launch. A good sign that we were in the right place on this most difficult of springs in Europe for finding decent weather. A lot more cloud was showing early, but things looked like they would work.

Russ Ogden Talks, We Should Listen

June 1, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

Last year at the Sun Valley PWC and then afterwards at the Open Distance Nationals some bad ass pilots took the floor on the non-flyable days and shared their knowledge. Veteran comp pilot, Ozone test pilot and all around good dude Russell Ogden spoke about safety, going far, and how to handle new comp wings.

Rain, Wind, Pizza and Dicey Landings

May 24, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

After one short flight in Fiesch and a continued blurry forecast we hit the road in the Niviuk mobile for the only place in Europe that held any promise- Bassano, Italy. Many people are saying this is the wettest (ie worst) spring in history. Whatever the case may be, it has been dismal. But the flying forecast was for two good, maybe even great cross country days.

What to Do, What to Do?

May 20, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

Arrived Paris two weeks ago with Nate Scales, my Sun Valley flying buddy with huge plans of massive triangles in the Alps. Spring flying in Europe is spicy, strong and when you get the days completely RAD, but the days don’t come often. Patience is the key. My flying partner Bruce Marks arrived in the middle of April, got three back to back days of 8 hours+ in the air in the Wallis area (Fiesch, Riederalp, Zermatt, etc.) but since then it’s been…challenging.

Jody MacDonald Paragliding Images in the Paraglider.com

May 19, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

The new all things paragliding website TheParaglider.com just posted an awesome feature…

The Mayhem Begins!

May 15, 2013 by Gavin McClurg

Been thinking about getting a flying blog going for some time now. I’m sitting in Fiesch, Switzerland with my good friend and flying partner slash fellow addict Bruce Marks. It’s raining non-stop, it’s nearly June, the mountains are getting buckets of snow…and we can’t fly. So I can dream about things like our trip last fall across the Sierra Mountains. Hope you enjoy.