Frequently asked questions - US North West tour, July 2010

When is the best time to fly the US north west?

Spring often brings exceptional conditions, April, May and early June, problem here is that these exceptional days are sparsely mixed in with lots of not so good days.

For consistency fly late June and July

What does the tour include?

Expert guides led by Brian Webb guiding us to the right sites for the weather ahead

Extensive local knowledge of sites and meteorology

Daily weather briefs, task recommendation, goal setting and in flight support.

Pre tour skills assessment and coaching

Ongoing coaching with goal orientated skills improvement throughout the tour

Tandem training with tour pilots where beneficial

Comfortable vehicles with coordinate capable GPS

Transport from and to Seattle airport

Transport to the sites each day

Dedicated retrieve driver

Full retrieve

Laptop friendly, I need my laptop and connectivity to be able to get the best from each day, I understand how important it may be for you

We encourage each pilot to get a SPOT satellite GPS tracker to ensure we know where everybody is - all the time

What does the tour NOT include?

Airline flights, travel insurance, accommodation, site fees or national association fees

We figure most of these are personal variables better handled individually - frequent fliers / standby deals - vegetarians - company insurance - special sleeping requirements etc etc

Accident and helicopter evacuation Insurance is compulsory, sascha  sascha@tsbright.com.au at outdoor travel can help to arrange this for pilots from Australia for circa Aus $300

What do we do for accommodation?

Individuals choose how to spend the night, we will always be ending the day close by motels, hotels or camping - each evening we will drop you off and pick you up again every morning to regroup, rebrief and start the new day

What would a typical day consist of?

Meet up and get into breakfast for 8:30 to 9:00, check out the weather for the day and agree a schedule for getting up to launch. Round off the debriefs from yesterday evenings discussion of flying and cover any questions.

Catch up on the email and internet, grab some water, fruit and lunch for the day

Get to launch for 11:00ish and assess the quality of the day. Prepare gear and meet to agree on a course direction and personal goals.

Into the air by midday, early launches so we can get up for a reflight if we bomb then make the best of the day we have. Work as a group onto the course then as the day warms up start to move up the course and get a feel for the day.

Pick up all the group, grab a beer or soda, swap tall stories and head on back to town for a swim, shower and dinner

Get together for dinner around 7:00pm ish, debrief over dinner, download tracklogs, discuss highs and lows, good decisions and decisions that can improve. Check gear then hand over for the evening

What do we do if we get bad weather?

We have budgeted to be able to drive to various sites over 1,000 miles. The geography of Oregon and Washington is quite diverse and subject to different climates and meteorology. We will drive to where ever looks best for the flying we want to do. If the weather is evidently bad along the whole of the west then we will play tourist and relax, waiting for the change and being sure to be in the right place

What vehicle do we have?

The vehicle is a Dodge Sprinter, 3.5 litre diesel, nine seater with captains chairs, on board TV, xBox and laptop facilities. It has a huge storage space for all our gear, no trailer required. 25mpg on the highway with diesel at US $2.30ish a gallon

Vehicle types can change but we will strive to keep it as advertised

How does the retrieve system work?

All tour pilots will need a clear inflight radio communications system (we can work with you to help you get this properly sorted out), a GPS and a cell phone.

We all fly from the same site each day, as you fly you routinely radio to the retrieve driver your GPS position based on bearing and distance from launch . If they have not heard from you frequently enough they will ask you for updates. We can find you based on this information alone. When you land you radio and SMS (text) your GPS coordinates to the retrieve driver. If you have a SPOT you press OK and sit back.

You will need to land or walk to a vehicle accessible road, we will not haul you out of dense bush. Remember a good looking track may have locked gates so be smart and focus on landing beside paved (sealed)roads.

The retrieve driver has a vehicle based GPS that will accept your coordinates and guide the driver to you, they also have maps of the area

We recommend that pilots invest in a SPOT satellite GPS tracking system. This unit will transmit your coordinates via satellite (does not need cell phone coverage) to our driver. We can also track you whilst you are flying.

Where can I get a cell phone?

Lots of great deals out there for cell phones - check out walmarts prepaid, heaps of others as well, the word is that Verizon offer better rural coverage. If you personal phone will take a SIM card and is not locked then you can get a US SIM card and plug it straight into your own phone.

What does the tour cost?

The tour length is 15 days with a minimum of 4 guest pilots, a maximum of 8 guest pilots. The cost per pilot with 8 guest pilots is Aus$1,500, less than $150 per day. The tour cost will vary on how many pilots are on the group

Tour costs can change but we will strive to keep it as advertised

What dates are the tour over?

The tour is scheduled to start on 24 June through to the 8 July 2010 and is designed to coincide with the US competition season.

Rat Race 2010, 13-19 Jun

2ToFly NW USA Tour , 24 Jun - 8 Jul

Chelan XC Open, 10-15 Jul

Chelan PWC, 18-24 Jul

2ToFly SW Canadian Tour, 26 Jul - 9 Aug

Canadian Nationals, Golden

US Nationals, Sun Valley, 28 Aug - 5 Sep

The t our will follow the Rat Race competition at Woodrat, Oregon (great learning environment - an advanced week long Mystic cup before the tour (highly recommended - I will be there). The tour will finish in time to get to Chelan for the XC Open and PWC then the Canadian Nationals at Golden.

What is the philosophy of the tour?

This is a 15 day flying tour, dedicated to providing pilots with the best opportunity to maximise their flying. We provide the infrastructure to help you to achieve. Rather than base ourselves at one site we will drive the km's to fly whereever is on and right for the group.

If we can't fly or realistically travel to a site to fly then we will chill and play tourists

Who is organising the tour?

Brian Webb

How do I book?

For Australian pilots

Send a Aus $750 deposit to Sascha at Travel Scene quoting reference T10179

This deposit is 100% refundable until the course is confirmed on or before the 31 March 2010

Once the course is confirmed the deposit is non refundable, the balance is required by the 30 April 2010

Please don't book flights until you have a confirmation from me that the tour is running. We will be depending on a minimum of 4 guests before we confirm

Do I need a VISA to go to the USA, Canada or Australia?

It is now mandatory to obtain a visa for travel to USA.  The visa is applied for online and must be done 48 hours prior to departure or entry to the States will be denied. Canada does not require a visa if you are from Australia

How much is medical and evacuation insurance?

QBE offer a good deal for circa Aus $300 - contact Sascha on  sascha@tsbright.com.au

How can I get a good price on an air ticket to Seattle?

Contact Sascha at Travel Scene - she finds amazing fares - sascha@tsbright.com.au

How can I get from LAX or SFO to Seattle?

Contact Sascha at Travel Scene - sascha@tsbright.com.au

Try Orbitz - they regularly have good fares

Should be able to get one for circa US $100 each way

How much is accommodation?

Motels vary from US $30-100, camping is often around US $10 per night

Where can I get camping gear, do I have to bring it over?

I buy once I get to the US - at Walmarts everything is very cheap and the search function works well - a good size 2 person tent circa US $50 - you can get pillows, stretchers (cots), pots, camping stoves.

We can pull over at a Walmarts after the pickup from Seattle

How much is food?

Pretty similar to Australia, cheaper than Europe and we will always be close to grocery stores or diners

Do I need to join any US organisations to fly?

For sure, you will need a temporary membership of USHPA to qualify for their 3rd party insurance, US $25. We can help you with the paperwork required here

Which sites are on the itinerary?

We fly where the weather presents the best opportunities to us

We start off in Seattle where there is a an interesting launch called Tiger Mountain, overlooking the city.

Good place to get over the jet lag and shake out some cob webs

Chelan is 4 hours to the east across the Cascade mountain range - if the weather forecast is good we will head that way - Chelan can be awesome

If the weather pushes us to go north then we look towards Lumby, 5 hours, and Golden 9 hours in British Columbia, Canada - more likely to be heading 8 hours south towards Pine Mountain, Lakeview and then Woodrat, Oregon

If we need to go east then Joseph, Oregon is 8 hours and Sun Valley, Idaho, 11 hours, are possibilities

Ideally we will be playing in between Woodrat, Pine Mountain and Chelan

How much luggage can I take into the US on an International flight?

Check with your airline but flights into the US often allow 32kg of checked luggage

What is involved in the skills development?

An important part of the tour is individual and group goal orientated skills development.

We work with each pilot to identify areas of opportunity to develop and improve individual skills. We discuss and agree strategies to work towards measurably improving those skills. We jointly identify achievable goals that over time demonstrate how well those strategies are working.

Some of this opportunities are discussed and developed before the tour via an internet based remote skills development process.

All of these opportunities, strategies and goals are documented and become part of a skills improvement package that you take away with you to continue to use and develop your flying.

What radio do we need?

The US use a 2 metre frequency range allocated by their association USHPA

151.5050, 151.6250, 151.9250, 151.9550, 158.4000

Ideally we all use 2m, bring your UHF as we will cater for both.