Task 3

It was raining on the way to launch, the cloudbase was very low and the morning was cold, very cold; however, we Colombian pilots know very well that none of these signs should discourage us from driving up to launch and so we did.

Pilots set up and the Task Committee decided for a 70km task for the Open Class and a 43km one for the Sport Class. It did not really look promising, but it looked flyable and knowing this magical place, we knew anything was possible.

The main concern was wind on take off. During set up, the wind kept blowing from the back with small windows where we'd get -simultaneously- tail wind at the back and some front wind on the ramp. Critical launch conditions.

Being a new site, we were not exactly sure what would happen. The window opened, but the wind didn't really improve. The Start Gate was moved back by 30 minutes, but the wind did not really improve. The conditions still were not promising. 

The situation got to the point where it was not really enough to offer all pilots a safe and fair take off and conditions out there, but if we waited longer it could mean nobody would get to fly. In order to enhance safety, reduce the luck factor and still allow pilots to enjoy a flyable, but maybe not raceable day, the task was stopped and automatically invalidated (according to S7A rules).

As a big joke, a couple of minutes after it was stopped, the wind started blowing from the front and, as the minutes went by, the wind increased and the conditions for launch improved; however, the soaring conditions became weaker as the launch conditions improved. Most of the pilots, except 7 pilots were still able to go for a free flight and enjoyed the day.

We've had 4 flying days and 2 Tasks, not bad, still accomplishing what we came here to do: HANG GLIDE!

Tomorrow will be another day....

Christian Castro sent us some pictures:

Our new take off seen from the back.
Lots of space for setting up on this side and there is an area just as big a couple of feet away!

First pilots taking off...

"Coche" Sport Class pilot leading the comp flies above launch as he gets ready to do a low pass...

Task 2

The day was much more promising than yesterday, no cloud on take off and the sun was shy, but visible alright!
Cloud formations on both mountain ranges were visible as well as some clouds out in the valley; looking good!

Task Committees and Meet Director decided to send the Class I pilots on a 114km task with an initial leg of 8km to the "Bolivar Antenna", then crossing the valley southeast to San Pedro (north of Buga); from there they flew up north to Obando and back a little ways south to the HUGE goal field!

The Sport Class went to the same initial turnpoint, then back to take off and then one long leg to the same HUGE goal field. It totaled 50.9km.

1 Sport Class pilot in goal, Jose Alfredo Marin AKA "Coche"; his brother Juan Camilo AKA "Cochecito" (the pilot who flew the whole distance the day before) came in 2nd landing 5km short of goal, followed by Camilo Betancur, landing 7km short.

Open Class had lucky 7 pilots in goal lead by Pedro Garcia (ESP), closely followed by our very own Daniel Vélez; then a gap of 13-17 minutes where Rudy Gotes (MEX), Dustin, Zac and Wolfi flew in. Another 15min later, Raul Guerra (ECU) crossed the line.

No pictures for now, but I will try to get some published tomorrow.

Don't forget to check out the scores on the right hand side menu!

Task 1

Check out the results on the Results Page!


When we looked out the door this morning, the sky was grey and a high layer of clouds didn't make it look  promising... However, let's not forget this is Roldanillo! After the cloud finally raised over launch, subtle thermalling conditions started to be visible and the hint of a fine day was perceptible.

This new take off is definitely offering lots of new experiences. Today, for instace, we had the largest crowd I have ever witnessed at a hang gliding competition!  Look behind Salvador Bongiorno (VEN) as he runs off the mountain: (picture Christian Cardona)

For Class I a 94.6km task was set with a 30km leg north to the Higueroncito Antennas, then further NE to Zaragoza and a final leg to the Roldanillo airstrip.
5 in goal with Pedro Garcia (ESP) finishing first and taking the perfect 1000 points this task was worth! Zac Majors (USA) came in 2nd and Daniel Vélez (3rd).
Nice surprise was to see Alejo Trujillo make it to goal as we were leaving the field; he managed to stay in the air 4 hours 10 minutes needed to get there!

The Sport Class flew about 43kms sharing the first leg of the task with Class I. Afterwards, they crossed the valley earlier -at a somewhat easier spot-  towards La Victoria and finished up at the Roldanillo airstrip as well.
One pilot made it in, a young local pilot who is flying really well. Unfortunately, he miscalculated and jumped the gun by mistake, I guess you could say it is part of the learning process and the drawback of not flying a 6030! Still, he had a great flight.

Not bad for a first competition day at this Hombres Pájaro Colombia 2014 edition; let's see what the rest of the week has to offer!

Pedro starting his final leg (photo: Christian Cardona)

Here we go!

Yesterday was the official practice day and it went great!

Most of the pilots wisely decided to go see the new take off we will be using during this comp and they loved it. Well, it is as perfect as it can be:
- Large, flat set up areas
- Nice wind
- Thermals as soon as you glide out a little bit
- A small "tienda" (store) with drinks and snacks

This is Carlo Olarte (VEN) trying out his glider (picture: Natalia Jaramillo)

We have a total of 30 Open Class and 9 Sport Class pilots including pilots from Austria (Wolfi), Colombia, Ecuador (Raul & Jelko), Guatemala (Dieter), Spain (Pedro), USA (Dustin & Zac) and Venezuela (Alexander, Carlo, Marcos, Salvador and Wilmer).

We are looking forward to having a great comp and hope you want to come back or, if you didn't make it this year, make it next year!

The pilots flew north from take off towards Roldanillo, a flight back to our HQ town. Some landed in the "official" Roldanillo LZ "La Pista" and other, well as usual, scattered around. Zac started off with one of his cool stunts and decided to land in the beautiful and grassy Municipal Stadium and, with the help of a bunch of kids, walked his glider through town back to the hotel!

Natalia sent this picture from "La Pista", Wolfi coming in (notice how those two on the right side are jumping out of his way!)

Let's see what this week has to offer. Stay tuned!

Welcome to the Blog !

Welcome to the "Hombres Pájaro" blog!

We are quite happy that you visit this blog hoping you will find useful information and / or have the opportunity to join us in the near future to enjoy flying in this great competition!

The "Hombres Pájaro 2014" will be held from January 18th till the 25th and is being dedicated to the loving memory of our friend and awesome pilot Luís Rizo-Salom.

This page will be dedicated to updates and news, which you can sign up to follow by email if you wish, at the bottom of this page.  This way you will keep track of the updates and have first hand information!
You will also find other pages in this blog containing information that may result handy, so feel free to surf our site!

Registration is NOW open, go to the "Registration" page and follow the instructions. Remember the only way to guarantee you a spot is to complete the process, including payment!

Keep in mind that January is a busy month in our "Free-Flight Paradise", so if you'd like to rent a hotel room, check the "Lodging" page and send us an email through the "Contact Form"!

More info will be posted soon, in the meantime take a look at Raul Guerra's (one of our guest pilots) video about flying in Roldanillo!