It’s raining paragliders!

Today it was raining men
and women,
paraglider pilots all.

LongSword Vineyard is nestled in the Applegate Valley just west of Woodrat Mountain. Woodrat Mountain happens to be the launch site of The Starthistle Fly-in, an annual hang glider/paraglider fly-in that happens Memorial Day weekend.
See http://www.rvhpa.net/starthistle2006/index.htm for information and pictures. It is also the site of one of the largest sanctioned paragliding competitions in the US, the Rat Race See http://www.ratracecomp.com/index.php for information and pictures.

A month or so ago, Paul Murdock (http://www.garywest.com/where.htm) landed in the field by the tasting patio. One of the more unusual business meetings I’ve had. Paul asked me if LongSword Vineyard would allow paragliders to land here during the Starthistle Fly-in this year. How could I say no to a guy who just dropped in out of the sky? Besides, it sounded like fun, so I said “sure!”

So Memorial Day weekend arrived along with rain showers. Saturday rained out. Sunday, some pilots got to fly in the afternoon. Monday morning was noticeably clearer. The task for the day was for the pilots to land at LongSword Vineyard. What a treat for the customers lucky enough to have happened upon my vineyard that day. Brightly colored “wings” soared in waves. Riding the thermals, bright yellows, blues and orange paragliders whirled into colorful cyclones over Woodrat Mountain. Over 100 pilots in the skies at the same time! Shortly after 2pm the first pilot floated down into the field next to the patio. I greeted him with a glass of wine. Over the next 3 hours, over 30 pilots landed in the field. I offered a glass of wine to each pilot. One fellow shouted “A glass of red, please” as he barely skimmed the top of the arbor. Most landings were graceful. The pilots just stepped out of the air like they were stepping out of a carriage. Some were less so; another pilot breached the birch trees as he careened into the field. Neither tree nor pilot was harmed in the process; we cheered them all.

What struck me most was the ear to ear grin on each pilot’s face as he or she walked over to the patio. They positively glowed. Those of us on the patio were captivated by the aura of excitement. Next year, I want to fly into my vineyard!