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La Victoria 2000 - Hang Gliding Competition
From : Leopoldo Turco leodavinci@cantv.net and Francisco Aguerrevere faguerre@otepi.com.ve In the name of AVVA (Venezuelan Autonomous Flying Association) we invite you to participate in LA VICTORIA 2000. This well recognized cross country contest will be held at La Victoria (a small city located in Aragua state of Venezuela) between March 12 an 18. It is possible that you have read about us in Cross Country,Drachenflieger or Hang Gliding Magazines, because many top competition pilots have been here: Mark Gibson, Eric Raymond, Tony Barton, Judy Leden, John Pendry, Larry Tudor, Dennis Pagen, Mark Chick, Robin Rhodes, Mark Bennet, Luis Rizo, Jason Prior and many others. Following we provide relevant information for the competition:
Dates: March 12 - 18 / 2000
Transportation: All transportation will be provided by a Tourism Company named VIVA Trek Tours Venezuela. This company is owned by a Paraglider pilot (Douglas) and is well equipped with four-wheel drive cars for retrieval. email: viva@telcel.net.ve Tel/Fax: 58.44551683
Estimated food costs:
Minimum prizes:
The site: La Victoria is a small city located in Aragua state of Venezuela, the northern country of South America. We have a very huge launch site that can accommodate about 200 hang gliders and allow 5 or 6 gliders launch at the same time. You can go from the local hotel to the launch in about 25 minutes, through a road that is partially paved and partially dirt but in excellent conditions. The "normal" launch is faced to the south and the "official landing zone" is at the north side of the mountain, so you must be aware of that small detail not to land on the hill (although it is not uncommon). But it is very easy to get up in a thermal right at the first turn and go for a cross country flight. Normally, the wind blows from NE, and the flights are usually to the SW. Many routes selected for the competition go across several small valleys, so one must fly over some small mountains, but there are a lot of good landing places in the valleys because Feb-March is the sugar cane collecting season. There are a lot of towns along the task routes where you can wait for the retrieval car. It is very important to have a good VHF-FM 2m radio for communication with retrieval, judge, etc. Usually after a good fly (not an out-and-return), the pilots arrive at the hotel between 21 hrs and 23 hrs. The flights: There are extremely good conditions every day during our best flying season, allowing 7 flyable days of 7. You can accumulate a lot of hours in a week, and all of them are in very enjoyable flights, with good scenery (big lakes, mountains, small towns, big cities, cultivated fields, etc.). Usually the competition has out-and-return flights, race-to a-goaland triangles offering tasks of around +100 km courses. We have very similar conditions every day, so it is not a problem to learn fast to recognize the place from the first day. The place is recommended for pilots rated from Hang 3 and up, but beginners can fly early in the morning or later in the afternoon, and even at noon, depending on the conditions of that day. Cloud-base is usually at 2500 to 3400 msl, and the valley is about 350-600 msl. Thermals are very close each other, so it is relatively easy to maintain altitude. The competition: We always have a lot of fun during the championship week. No matter who is winning (usually Sandy Dittmar, our national champion, or who is in the last position, every pilot have fun. - The competition will be a FAI Class 2, so you will have points for international ranking. - Car renting is from US$65.00 per day (normal car, not 4x4) to US$115.00 per day (4x4 Station Wagon). - A van for 7 gliders/pilots cost around US$180.00/day with driver (includes gas and food for driver), in La Victoria area. If you plan to hire them for a trip to other flying places away of La Victoria, I think we can get a good deal, offering to pay for the gas, hotel and food for the driver. Let me know that in advance. - It is not necessary to have a 4x4 car around La Victoria area, but in other areas (Caracas, Guatire, Merida) almost is mandatory. - There are other accommodation options in the area, from rooms in a paraglider pilot's house which include breakfast for around US$15.00 per person, to another house near the launch site (US$20.00 with breakfast and dinner), to another hotel a little bit higher in price than the Onix. Please notify if you are planning to attend, so we can arrange transport,hotel, etc, for you.
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Skydiving Photographers
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Thanks! Robbie Culver Skydreams Freefall Photography
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PULSE 03 Video
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