Gumbies

Shiragadake

2012-02-03T01:42:00.002+09:00

Leanne`s first big XC

2012-01-14T20:38:00.001+09:00

Leanne takes to the skies in her first ever solo cross country paragliding flight.
初めてTOから5キロ離れた龍ヶ岳まで行きました。
FileNo.11899 http://www.hogmap.com/

First Snow on Aso- Paragliding from the Summit of Mt.Aso- Takadake

2011-12-18T23:17:00.000+09:00

Mino

2011-12-07T21:51:00.003+09:00

Mino, an east-to-west oriented mountain ridge about 700m high and 20km long, located in southern Fukuoka Prefecture, is one of the premier paragliding areas of Kyushu. North of the range stretches the Chikugo Plain, down the middle of which winds its namesake river, the longest in Kyushu. In the winter season the sun warms the plain, and the prevailing northerly winds carry thermals toward the range, providing for first-class soaring conditions. Strong days are common, but when the winds are light, a perfect combination of thermal and ridge wind soaring can be found here. Today we hit one of those nearly perfect days, flying with the area's master flyer Motoyama-san (black glider). If you ever visit Kyushu with a paraglider, be sure to stop here.

Kyushu Top Flyer ＭΩ`s blog: http://noglide-nolife.1616bbs.com/bbs/
Flying Mino HP: http://www.i-love-sky.com/mino/
Sky Cruise HP: http://skycruise.a.la9.jp/

Paragliding in Yoshimatsu and Kabuto Iwa

2011-12-01T00:13:00.000+09:00

Fall in Kirikabu

2011-11-26T08:31:00.001+09:00

Jumping off Mountains 101 - Amakusa Area-X

2011-11-14T22:46:00.002+09:00

from a distant summit we spied and geocoded a large patch of freshly-cut forest 'deep in the wilds' of the island where we live. one saturday morning before work, not really knowing what to expect, we bagged our gear and hiked up. the wind and air was not ideal: side wind, turbulence, cloud suck. while R caught a thermal for a 15-minute flight, conditions changed quickly and L experienced turbulence and cloud suck and struggled a bit to get down. we made quite a show for the local farmers who, as the case usually is, were pretty excited to see paragliders - for the first time in the flesh. we wonder how many times we can fly here before the takeoff is planted with trees.

R+Lの初めての山飛びでした。天草下島の内陸にある山の伐採地から飛び出して、下の谷の田んぼに降りました。その日のコンディションはちょっと荒れていたが、地形が良くて、かなりいいエリアを発見した。しかし、伐採地に木を植えると飛べなくなるかな。高度差320m、LDまでのL/D5:1、TOは西北西向き。サーマルリフトはたっぷり。周りは400mほどの山地だらけ。下島のどこでもまでのクロカンが出来そう。

Nippo Coast -Revisited

2011-11-02T13:02:00.000+09:00

Yoshimatsu

2011-10-26T22:59:00.004+09:00

photos by Kaoku Kai

嘉億甲斐

Kirikabu XC

2011-10-07T15:21:00.000+09:00

This weekend the conditions were once again suitable for a small road trip to Kirikabu paragliding area in Oita prefecture. Flyers from around Kyushu converged on Kirikabu to enjoy the early autumn sky. It was great to meet up with old friends and our paragliding teacher from Nagasaki.
On Monday we took our chances and stayed at Kirikabu, joined by our friends from Kumamoto and 3 korean flyers. It was the right decision, as we all enjoyed soaring toping out at over 1500m.

伐株で二日間飛びました。地元のフライヤー福岡のフライヤー大村スクールも遠征で来ていたので盛り上がりました。久しぶりに会った友達と先生は懐かしくて楽しかった。　月曜日も熊本のフライヤーと韓国からのフライヤー飛び放題でした。皆高く上がってあちこちに行きました。

Paragliding in Kirikabu

2011-09-30T14:50:00.000+09:00

Ikusaka- Paragliding afterhours in Nagano

2011-09-22T15:55:00.000+09:00

This summer we went to Nagano for a paragliding vacation. In the afternoons the mountain winds would change from south to north and all paragliders in the area would drift to Ikusaka, a north facing area to glide effortlessly along the picturesque ridge.

Kuratake Paragliding Competition

2011-07-27T11:56:00.000+09:00

http://kuratakepara.info/taikai.htm

Soaring at Saruba

2011-06-30T00:05:00.001+09:00

Mt. Saruba is a 400 meter hill on the seacoast in Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. Under the right conditions, it is possible to enjoy a day of unlimited ridge-soaring on perfect, smooth sea wind. After three or four abortive attempts we finally lucked out on such a day: June 13, 2007, with 20km/h wind and a rather low cloud-deck. Psychedelic soaring among drifting clouds on Saruba led to coastal cliff soaring after traversing the 3km or so to nearby Aino. The scale is small, but the flying is fun!

Aoshima, Miyazaki

2011-06-07T11:29:00.003+09:00

"Visitors to this area often cock up the landing; if you are not careful, you’ll break your legs getting dragged across the rocks below or slammed against the seawall." These were the words of warning our impromptu host Mr. T. offered as we set up our gliders to launch from the merely 50m high takeoff in Aoshima, Miyazaki Prefecture. The Pacific Ocean sparkled blue before us, its lazy waves rhythmically lapping the wide, washboard-textured shoals. We were mesmerized by the scenery, reluctant to accept Mr. T’s words of warning. He’s just trying to intimidate us, I thought as I launched lackadaisically into a steady 5m/s wind. Moments later, I was in my element, flying effortlessly through the smooth air, dancing with birds as they soared next to my glider, tempting me to move closer to the mountain slope. Back and forth along the ridge I flew, past the sprawling sightseeing visitor center to the end of the sea bluffs and back, Mr. T’s cautions now but a faint memory.

Time slipped by quickly and a rainbow assortment of gliders filled the air crisscrossing back and forth along the coastline. The wind grew stronger ever so gradually and flying out over the sea, I started to notice little white caps forming on the water. As if on cue, Mr. T’s rough voice cackled on the radio, urging flyers to consider landing before the wind got the upper hand. Oh, Mr. T, all caution, no games, I sighed as I snapped back to reality. As a guest at this area, and since it’s my very first flight here, I suppose I should hurry and get my butt safely on the ground, rather than risk Mr. T’s wrath, I thought as I made a quick U-turn.

Carried along by the growing wind, I reached the takeoff area, and prepared to make a top landing. No such luck: what had been effortless so far today now seemed impossible. A standing wave of wind lifted me over the coastal bluff and would not release me to make a landing. Every time I dropped low and neared the hill, I would invariably get picked up again like a feather. This wasn't the happy ending I imagined. As I buzzed the takeoff in yet another attempt, so close and yet so far, I thought I saw Mr. T. knowingly shake his head in dismay. Twenty minutes went by this way, and slowly all the other gliders successfully landed. I started to panic a bit, a lone glider left in the sky hopelessly circling around. If I could just land safely, I will never make this mistake again!

As if by luck, I was finally released from the firm grip of the wind. Dropping low while I had the chance, I cruised into the narrow landing area at the base of the hill, landing lightly on my feet. There was relief on the faces around me even as courage returned to mine with terra firma underfoot. That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Kuratake Amakusa

2011-05-29T00:40:00.000+09:00

Our home area: Kuratake, Amakusa, Kumamoto, JAPAN. Could you ask for anything more?
熊本県天草市にある私たちの自慢のホームエリアの倉岳はパラの天国でしょう。

Kirikabu Video

2011-03-03T23:49:00.003+09:00

Kanemidake, Miyazaki

2011-01-13T08:43:00.009+09:00

During our winter holiday we visited the Kanemidake area in Miyazaki prefecture with our friend Mr.K. We were warmly welcomed by the local paragliding and hang gliding club members and hosted for the evening with Mrs.T and family.

Our friend Mr.K summed up the Miyazaki area well

the breathtaking view of the distant mountains of Takachiho and Sakurajima coupled with the large and grassy landing area make Kanemidake a prime paragliding area. The specially constructed wooden launch platform ensures a memorable take-off.

友達のK川さんによると

遠く高千穂や桜島を望む風光明媚なロケーション、広大な芝生LDの素晴らしい宮崎の金御岳エリアです。ハンググライダー専用に作られたランチャー台からのテイクオフは多少プレッシャー.

Listen here comes Santa Claus

2010-12-23T09:30:00.003+09:00

In Canada Santa comes on a sleigh, in Australia surfing on a surf board, and in Amakusa paragliding!
カナダでサンタはソリを乗って来ます、オーストラリアではサーフで来ます、天草の倉岳では空からパラグライダーで飛んで来ます。

Santa cheered on by some preschoolers as he paraglides from Mt.Kuratake, in Kumamoto, Japan
熊本県の倉岳からサンタがパラで飛んできました。幼稚園の子供たちは大喜びになりました。

Our paragliding teacher パラの先生

2010-12-12T21:51:00.000+09:00

琴平のH先生のフライトの映像です。楽しんでください。さすが先生だ。
This is our paragliding teacher.

Kuratake Blog

2010-12-05T00:17:00.005+09:00

We recently started a blog, together with other Kuratake paragliding members. The name of the blog is Kuratakepara, and we will attempt to bring you regular updates regarding the condition of the kuratake area. please stop by and take a look.

Kirikabu - Fall Colors Paragliding

2010-11-24T00:12:00.001+09:00

This long weekend we had great fun paragliding, managing to fly 3/3 days, though it rained on day 2 in the morning. Day 3 was possibly the best; after studying the weather reports for several hours we made an excellent decision to move from Nagasaki to Mt. Kirikabu in Oita, which was probably the only place in Kyushu where one could fly on a day of otherwise strong north wind. Conditions were excellent with strong but smooth wind that allowed unlimited soaring on the lift around the mountain. Several other paragliders and hang-gliders took advantage of this cloudy but beautiful day to enjoy each other's company in the air, as well as the late fall colors.

Koshiki 甑島

2010-10-22T22:44:00.011+09:00

On a long weekend in September, we busted out our touring kayaks, borrowed a tandem kayak Whalewatcher from WFKayaks and made the traverse to the Koshiki Islands.
9月の連休良い天気に恵まれて、友達二人と一緒、WFKのホエールウォッチャーをWFKの水野さんから借りて、甑島の遠征をしました。

一緒に行った植田さんもレポートも書きました。是非見てください。

Past blog entries about Koshiki Island can be found here:
甑島のブログ：
Koshiki Island　Exploration　
32N 130E
Koshiki-jima Revisited

Black Sand

Ushibuka- Ganze

2010-09-12T23:51:00.005+09:00

We had a pleasant little tour today of the seas and rocks off Ushibuka under beautiful and active seas and skies. With all the paragliding we're doing, it's been a little while since we got out on the sea. It's the height of the kayaking season in Amakusa with bright (and usually calm) seas and skies, temperatures of near 30 degrees for both the air and the sea, and gentle currents from the south bringing in clear water. Wow, we are so lucky to be living here.

美しい空と荒れた海の中で牛深の沖でカヤックを楽しみました。最近パラをいつも練習しているので海に行くのは久しぶりでした。9月ごろ天草の海の温度も空気の温度も30度ぐらい、その上に南からの穏やかな流れの影響で海水の透明度が高いのでカヤックのベスト季節だと思います。天草は最高！

Daikanbo 大観峰

2010-08-30T07:46:00.000+09:00

Paragliding at Daikanbo, Mt. Aso, Kumamoto, Kyushu, Japan.
真夏の阿蘇の大観峰でフライトを楽しみました。