Back again!

Last week I made the test flight and the hand is working good. First I wanted to go with an Atlas glider just to see how the hand is working but it was better ecery day so I decided to make a flight with my Combat. We went together with one of my students who was flying an Seedwings Kestrel glider. After the start my compeo shuted down and I was not able to make it work again. Seems like the pressure in the pitot tube made it shut down... That is what I saw later on the landing. So, I flew with out it and it was no problem to fly with out it. The day was realy nice and it was interesting to feel the air a bit different after a long time. Observing the height every turn and trying to feel drops and ups while moving trough the air. We made it to the 3rd mountain the last one to where the students made it, or, I let them. We climbed to the cloud base and I waved to him that we fly to the mountain ridge in the back of that mountain. It was superb feeling to see him flying at the peak of mountains with me.
So the compeo is now on its way to Germany to get fixed. I hope that it will be soon.
After that there was an Outdoor show in Kobarid just 15 km from my home town. Paragliding race, kayaks, downhill bikers, climbers.....
A week of celebrating the outdoor sports. It was nice to see the paragliding gang again. There are always sleeples nights with them and of course a lot of fun :) On the last day they made one seperate competition just around Kobarid to let people see the competition from the ground. There was camera crew in the air and on the ground transfering live to the center of Kobarid. Realy good organised week.

From now on fingers crossed for some better weather....

Here is the video from MTB race that I made

Dual MTB race on OUTDOOR show in Kobarid from Matjaz Klemencic on Vimeo.

D-Bagging at outdoor show

Rehabilitation is coming to an end (I hope)

Since my last visit to a doctor the hand is working almost perfectly. It is interesting that I can lift heavy loads but almost not able to cut bread with a knife. It is just one position that is hurting and I belive that I don`t use this one in the air. So how to know this? By trying to fly of course. Today I might take a scholl glider and try the moving of the hands in the air. I tried with a speedbar and hooked in a harness but you can feel everything only by trying to fly.
In the mean time I was able to do other stuff. I can say that I had a realaxed time with some BBQs next to our river with our club members. One time we got together to say goodbye to our club member and his girlfriend who are going on a 1 year trip around Asia by public transport. They went with the car for a piece of road where they will leave the car. So, why not draw something on their car. Well let he pictures speak for themselfs :) In betwen I worked with our students who suprised me with a 2 h fligh around our valley. Here comes the time where they will need to make the licence and I get them of my chests :) Another group is coming now so we will work with them now from begining. They have a hill lessons made so now the mountain jumps are coming.
In betwen the weather was working great for me as there was not that many realy flying days and it looks like it is all improving now. Actualy here are the temperatures like in the mid summer... We will see what next months brings...
So I hope that the wind calms down today and in the evening I get a touch of the air again.

Working with the students

The two travelers

We will see what police will have to say about it :)

Waterfall Kozjak in Kobarid

The club gang

GROUNDE(A)D(TH)

One month ago I easly fell of a motorcycle and catched myself on a hand. It was a small pain that lasted for a long time but I had no problem with it. I wen`t to Bassano and the pain was almost gone. After coming back to work with some heavy lifting it started with pain again. I wen`t to see a doctor and they diagnosed a ribbed musle in the hand and forecasted a long rehabilitation of two months... Tomorrow I will meet a specialist who will scan my hand trough CT to see if I need a surgery or not. I hope that I don`t need one, because after that I maybe even won`t be able to fly this season anymore... I fell on a hard ground in one day, from goals that I made for myself this year to a zero. As I work trough student service I also don`t get payed for beeing off from work. It all depends of tomorow so fingers crossed.
Anyway there will be at least 2 months of time to realy work with our hanggliding students here. First group is slowly proceding to a licenced pilots and another group is coming now to make their first mountain flights.
On Saturday we were spending our time at office near landing and as I looked to the sky I saw a very fammiliar glider in the sky coming in for a landing. It was no one else as Elio Cataldi who flew from Vitorrio Venneto near Bassano to our place. It was nice to meet whole Cataldi family again and have a nice panckaces in the evening.
So fingers crossed for tommorow, let`s hope for the best.

The video from Bassano

Here is the video that I made from Montegrappa trophy. Thanks to Nena and Irena for a stady hand :)


Montegrappa trophy 2009 from Matjaz Klemencic on Vimeo.

Last task cancelled, Slovenian team holds 3rd position in Bassano

On the last day of competition the wind conditions on the start were not good enough to make a safe start of competitors. Even in the air all the local pilots said that it would be very turbulent in the air if we start. Many of the pilots did not even assembled the gliders.
After a 4 nice taskes it was a good desicion to cancel the task on the start and leave Bassano in nice memories.
So Slovenian team made it to a 3rd place in overall team scoring. Well done.
The competition went trough with a nice flying, strong conditions and from time to time very turbulent air. The organisation was on a high level, only the number of competition pilots and free flying pilots in the air was from time to time quite scary. That is why there were some mid air qolitions too.
Overall results:

1 RUHMER MANFRED Icaro Laminar Z9 14.8
2 HEINRICHS Gerolf
Moyes LITESPEED RS4
3 REISINGER ROBERT
LITESPEED
8 GRICAR PRIMOZ
Aeros Combat L
11 PETERNEL FRANC
Aeros Combat L
44 ALAN SATTLER
Aeros Combat L
66 KLEMENCIC MATJAZ
Aeros Combat L

WOMEN

1. CORINNA SCHWIEGERSHAUSEN
2. MONIQUE WERNER
3. TOBLER CAROLE



For my flying I can`t say any good words about it. Seems like that first day with a problem on the landing left me something in my mind so I was truly comp relaxed finnaly on the last task, but still to late :)
For the future of my comps this year there is still a question where will we go. It all depends of the money yet again...

124 km task, finally at goal

As I have made all mistakes I could this week,I finally made it to goal. Even if the sky looked worst than any day before they set up a task of 124 km. The day was again rough with a strong thermals somwhere even if we had a high layer clouds and the sun was only on the half of the task. So a lot of flying this year here in Bassano, parody to the last one where we had cold weather with only one official task. Finaly the whole Slovenian team was in goal as I made it :) Our team is now 3rd behind Austrians and Italians. Tomorow, they said, we will have a short task as many pilots have to go home. We hope for the best...

Feeling exausted after the landing :)

Third task somwhere around 115km

Seems like we will fly all 5 days here in Bassano. Today they set up a task to the east side of Bassano with crossing the Piave river. The air weas quite rough again. Soon after the start I saw a Litespeed RS turned around on the ground with a rescue chute beside. The guy was ok, he was trying to avoid the paraglider in the termal and touched another hang glider in the air. The glider and he is ok. So we were avoiding the clouds again on the start, they were a bit higher today so it was a bit but just a bit easier. I was trying to cross the Piave river tree times and it seemd like it won`t be enough to rich the safe area on the ridge, because there was almost none landing below that ridge. Wineyard by wineyard. I had enogugh one wineyard on the first day and I have blue thies now :)
So I ended up on crossing... Seems like I am having a big problems this competition here, it is not a problem to fly and be with the others, problems are in desicions...
I don`t know who was first but still Rhumer was in second or first, Gerolf was third. Primoz in first 10 and Franc in first 20. Alan was short few km before goal.
On the landing it was quite scary when one pilot came realy low and touched the top of the tree and crashed below. He is ok. Another one landed and got a good punch in the back with a nose of the glider. I don`t know how is he.