Aspres 2014 activity report
17 pilots came during the relatively short periods of time when aerotowing was provided; some of them from far away:
Australia, Ireland, Portugal, England, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland & France.
They discovered an airfield and an area they appreciated and they all wish to come back… J
Were specially appreciated: easy flight operations due to the vicinity of the camping place and the airfield, the generous thermals, and the beautifull landscapes.
Most of the gliders were Swiftlights (10, of which 4 motorized), but we also were happy to have 3 Archeopterix flying with us.
102 aerotows were performed, considering the flight hours of the so launched ultralight gliders, and adding those of the motorized Swiftlights, the amount of cumulative airtime is around 500 hours.
– 2 student pilots made a training course in the twinseat Swift of Avia Airsports
– 1 student pilot made a training course in a twinseat glider (Bijave) of the local gliding club
– some hangglider pilots made discovery flights in the twinseat Swift.
Some good flying days made possible to beat world and european records:
Best out & return: 399Km
Best flat triangle: 408Km
Best FAI triangle: 380Km
And our flight operations were 100% safe
2015 prospects
• A local trike pilot completed his aerotowing training course and is now fully operational.
• 3 Ultralight tow planes are also available from now as a backup.
So we will have a continuous and reliable aerotow availibility (not like in 2014 when we organized only 7 weeks of aerotowing)
For this reasons the flying activity should more than double…
The 2014 flying season in France and the neighbour countries was the worse than ever: July was the coldest since 1959 in France and in August Paris got 90% of the yearly rainfall amount. We couldn’t imagine worse conditions to start the ultralight glider activity in Aspres. In 2015 the weather can only be better, so we really trust in much more flying 🙂
