Taking my girlfriend to the sky

When Slovenian team was packing everything for Laragne me and my girlfriend went to test our new AEROS Target tandem. Nice evening flight from Kobala showed me that the glider is safe in all prospects, easy to handle nice in the thermals and stable on start.
Mean while I am checking all the pictures that are coming now or from blogs or from Facebook and have mixed emotions while I am not there seeing all the people and feel the rush of the competition. Well Slovenia has a realy good team this year and I am sure that it is going to be thrilling to look at results every day. So for all of you who are in Laragne enjoy the time there!

Here is the video from a easy flight with my girlfriend

Last national league comp day 118 km

After my long no flying days we got the date for the last comp in our national league. Lucky for me only 3 best flights were counted this year so I had a chance to make something out of it aldo I did not flew last 2 comps. We had this task on my home mountain Kobala and finnaly a good day was forecasted and even strogn wind from the morning calmed down. We set up a task of 118 km zigzaging the valley all around but it was interesting task with many possible tracks. I was lucky holding first position until one point on the mountain where I could not reach 30 m more to get it so I had to cross the valley and start back from quite low. Here we got together with other pilots. We flew together but the first tree outclimbed me and passed me for some minutes. I ended up 4th on this day and 3rd in overall national league. Quite lucky I guess after being grounded by the injury. My student Polona made some realy nice pictures from the competition. Enjoy them.

Rough air in Bassano or a comercial for sprog settings in Laragne :)

I was browsing my old video from Bassano this year and I remember when I flew with a camera and had a small weightless moment. Finnaly I found that spot in the video where I get a punch from above and as u look at the video it actually does`t look that bad at all but in first hand experience you get big eyes for a moment :)

Enjoy the vid, the happening is at 12 second.

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.