Paul Anthem talks about meeting "Monument Rotor"

Paul Anthem:
On the second morning of flying at Monument Valley in southern Utah four of us planned on flying together out to the monoliths and mesas so that professional paramotor photographer Franck Simmonet could get some photos.
“You don’t need to get close to the mesas” he said, “just stay close to me so that you are big in the frame”.
We launched into almost no wind. It could have been because we were in the wind shadow of the huge mesa beside the LZ. Whatever it was, as I flew out to the mountainous monuments, I was doomed to misjudge the winds.
The day before I had flown out to the large horse-shoe shaped area of monoliths and felt a few mild bumps when I was right in the middle and below the top of the mesas, some of which reach almost 1000 ft. Just about everyone was flying fairly close to the towering structures-- but the wind was mild then.
Apparently, this day, the winds were much stronger AND I had completely misjudged the wind direction. I always stay away and above of the leeward side of any large obstruction but, as I slowly descended towards the largest mesa, I mistakenly thought I was on the windward side.
That’s when I heard Franck over the radio, “Go heighter, go heighter!” (Yes, I know it’s “higher” but he was saying “heighter”). By the time he radioed that warning I realized that I was NOT climbing very fast-- in fact, I think I was sinking at full throttle.
Then, maybe 20 or 30 seconds later I felt my wing start to vibrate. This is not a very happy wing, I’m thinking. I can feel that I’m loosing brake pressure on the right side (the monolith was to my left several hundred feet). Franck and Matt are a few hundred feet above and behind me. My wing was deforming in such odd and obvious ways that it prompted Matt Witchlinski to radio his concern, “Paul, are you in some bad air ! ?”
I didn’t even try to answer. SOMETHING is going to happen soon, I thought. He had barely finished his sentence when my wing was smacked out of the air.
Now, I often play around with my wing and induce asymmetric collapses but the wing is STILL flying. This was nothing like that. My wing was batted down and folded up and I was falling instantly. It happened so fast all I had time to do was let off of the throttle and hope I didn’t fall into the wing.
The wing recovered with a few violent jerks as I checked the surge. I later learned that after seeing my predicament Franck and Matt instantly turned around to avoid the same fate-- they didn’t get to see what happened next.
I’m pretty sure that Matt radioed back about ten seconds later to ask if I was alright. I didn’t answer. I was too busy concentrating and trying to control a wing that was dancing around and vibrating like I was on a drum. You know that feeling you get when you’ve vomited and you can feel it coming on again… I was waiting for it but nothing could have prepared me for the violent collapse that came next.
My wing was hit in the center and thrown back behind me and to the side. For a second I was laying back looking up at the sky. Then the balled up wing swung over to the other side and I was sideways. I dropped down and the wing swung me to the other side and on my back again. Then, next thing I know, it’s in front of me, below the horizon and smooshed up into a ball I could probably fit into my stuff sack. Well at least I can see the wing now. I drop under it again as I tense my arms in a braking position. The wing re-inflates with some rocking and surges, but thankfully, I’m flying again.
I look down and see that I still have several hundred feet of altitude. If I get hit again I might have to throw my reserve. I don’t want to do that while caught in a rotor with only jagged rocks and a cliff face below.
I don’t know if I can take another thrashing like that, I thought. I was lucky that I didn’t fall through the lines or get a major cravat… and I’m still being rocked.
I could feel that I was caught in the huge rotor- it was like a vortex. I couldn’t climb and I couldn’t get away from the monolith. The other guys had got away, maybe they can look back and see some way out. I pressed the radio button on my helmet,” I can’t get out! I’m stuck in the rotor! What should I do ?”
“Climb out”, they said.
“I can’t, it’s pushing me down!”
For a second, I considered going low but then decided that if I had another collapse like the last one that I wouldn’t recover in time. I thought about heading TOWARDS the mesa but decided that although it might get me under the down rotor, it might also suck me up and put me through the wringer again.
So I just kept at full throttle, heading away from the mesa, hands clenched on the brakes trying to keep the wing as stable as possible with every twitch and twist.
Finally, after what must have been 15 minutes, I felt the air smooth out and I started to climb again.
I headed straight back to the airport.
I had had my excitement for the day.

Paul is an accomplished pilot and the creator of the famous PPG for Morons Videos see more at:

http://ppgformorons.com/

2012 photos

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Photos

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2010 WRAP-UP

The 2010 Event
was a great success! 

 Check out Bryon's video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFuiDoonU7Q




Joe and Olivia Onofrio

The Third Annual Gathering at Monument Valley was held over the Columbus Day weekend at Gouldings Lodge and Trading Post on the Utah/Arizona border, altitude 5500ASL. Approximately 35 PPG pilots and couple of, PPC and Deltas came together from across the continent, braving the remote location and questionable weather to have a shot at the Holy Grail of Powered Ultra Lite Aviation. AND…They were not disappointed. The weather forecasts were wrong and all three days were warm and beautiful with light winds that were very flyable.



by Franck Simonnet

The Gathering has always been a different kind of Fly-In. Its non commercial, the professionals can take off their marketing hats and become just one of a group of passionate pilots sharing one of the most spectacular sites in the world. This year, do to poor planning by the “non-organizer”, the campfire was woefully inadequate, never the less we stood around it and discussed wings, motors and technique as peers rather than competitors. And… were treated to some amazing displays of flying skill during the down times.




Afternoon tour of Monument Valley Park

In the hours between morning and evening flights there was plenty to do. Saturday afternoon several toured the Navajo Tribal Park by truck and SUV. There was also new visitor center that was hosting a large display of Indian and geological exhibits that was very impressive. Others explored the area around Gouldings on foot and trail bike or relaxed around the campground and pool. An unexpected attraction came from the Navajo High School who treated us to a full blown homecoming parade complete with floats and candy tossing royalty.

At the beginning of the event there was a small problem when one pilot flew too close to the resort at the Navajo Tribal Park. We had not yet had the formal briefing and unfortunately he wasn't aware of the Navajo’s sensitivity about flying near their facilities and habitations. When the pilot ascended from the valley floor up to the scenic overlook, a good time was had by all, the resort guests took photographs and waved happily as he flew by. However what appeared to be a good opportunity to showcase our sport turned out to be exactly the opposite. The Navajo Police promptly visited our landing strip and forbid us from entering the Navajo Tribal Park for the duration of the event. There were still thousands of acres of beautiful country and more monuments than we could fly in a month, so we chose not to argue the legalities of who controls the airspace and politely agreed to stay out of the park. The Gathering continued and everyone was able to get as much airtime as they wanted. The moral here was ... If you find yourself at a Fly-In a day or two early, be sure to READ THE RULES and know the particulars of the area before launching.
Future pilots should be able to fly the whole area unfettered provided that they fly 1500 above the desert floor while within the borders of the park. In any case, it is prudent to fly at least that high in order to have enough glide to find an emergency landing and pick-up if needed.



Foot launch Trike

Sky King

Saturday night was the party in Gouldings Banquet Hall. Everyone shared hanger stories and enjoyed authentic Navajo cuisine or not depending on their preferences. Paradrenalin’s Ryan Shaw drew the lucky number for a new Rodeo Paramotor and Paul Anthem entertained us with his harrowing tale of  driving across the country in their “Quest for the Holy Grail”.




Olivia Onofrio first flight

As usual the most satisfying aspect of this event was the reactions of the veterans. Pilots with hundreds of flights were walking around grinning ear to ear talking about the “greatest flight of their career”.

The 2011 “Gathering” is planned to be held on the weekend of  Oct. 14th. 15th and 16th.

And I promise…the campfire will be tremendous!

Recap of 2009

Monument Valley 2009 Ultra flight Article


During a spring road trip a couple of years ago I discovered Monument Valley. After a few days of launching from their airstrip and flying among the massive buttes, I knew, this was a venue that had to be shared. So I posted on the Biglist hoping to get a couple of guys together for a PPG camping trip. Four months later thirty pilots assembled and, “The Gathering at Monument Valley”, was born.

This year, over forty pilots came together from as far away as Quebec and Fort Lauderdale. It is a non-sponsored event which gives it a different feel than a commercial Fly-In. be associated with are no vendors or booths, and the accompanying “equipment hype”, but also because of the diverse group of pilots who have driven hundreds even thousands of miles with one common agenda… fly the holy grail of powered paragliding. It was a rare venue where the professionals blended into the group and politics were set aside

By all measures, the second annual gathering was a great success. Almost everyone was able to experience at least one, “Epic Flight”, and the only carnage was a few bent cages and scraped arms. We stayed five miles west of the Navajo Tribal Park at Gouldings Lodge, an early nineteenth century Indian trading post where sixty years ago John Wayne filmed several epic westerns. It’s an ideal facility for a fly-in with everything we needed, campground, lodging, restaurant, grocery store and best of all a 3500 foot airstrip. Between flights the pilots could relax at the swimming pool or take off into the park by foot bike or vehicle. For one pilot, the highlight of the weekend was to see the topography he had just flown sitting in the back of a pickup.

For the most part, the weather was in our favor, a good trip to Monument Valley is fifty percent flyable and this year beat the average. While a major low pressure system 300 miles north was wreaking havoc, we relaxed under mostly sunny skies in 70 plus degrees. Friday morning was slightly bumpy with twitchy surface winds. Shortly after dawn a couple of pilots, braved the launch, and reported excellent conditions at altitude. As they approached the monuments the radio chatter got more frequent and animated. When one announced “huge lift” at his location a bunch waiting on the tarmac were persuaded and within minutes the skies were filled with wings. At 9:15 the tourist flights began arriving and everyone packed up and took off to breakfast. That evening the wind was stronger and only a few launched usually for very short flights.

Saturday morning provided the best conditions of the weekend with the majority of pilots getting long flights, deep into the Park. Some chose a particular monolith and flew to it, while others went for altitude and enjoyed the big picture. With over 100 square miles of breathtaking territory it’s possible to fly the Navajo Tribal Park for years without ever repeating a track.

This was my 17th sunrise at Monument Valley and I was looking forward to a route I’d been planning all year. It would take me into the center of the park without flying over a huge amount of unlandable terrain. After clearing the mesas surrounding Gouldings, I climbed to 1200 feet and flew south, three miles past the Visitors Center where I crossed over Wetherill Mesa into the Valley of the Gods. It was spectacular. I was surrounded by a labyrinth of massive buttes and delicate spires towering a thousand feet above the desert floor. Idling the CT 4 stroke, I quietly descended directly over "The Hub", into the Navajo's sacred valley. I looked for and finally saw the face of the rain god that nature had painted on the west facing Mesa. After a couple of big circles below 250 feet, I turned North flying past Camel and Elephant Buttes until reaching the West Mitten where I climbed to 500 ft and turned back towards the airstrip. My “Epic Flight” was in the bag.

Early Saturday evening we met at Gouldings banquet room for a speech-free dinner after which the real party began. One of the larger Recreational Vehicles hosted a PPG film festival and in one of Gouldings luxury suits fondly referred to as the Bachelor Quarters a lively Texas Hold’m Tournament was held. Others went to the nightly campfire, where both expert and novice pilots told lies, shared memories and generally discussed our sport with some of powered paragliding’s best known authorities.