Weather Info
Explanations of the tools below and more
Introduction to weather for ultralight pilots
NWS forecast Southeast OK
NWS hourly forecast Southeast OK
Mesonet station Wister, OK – current conditions
Poteau, OK – current conditions at the Poteau airport
Kiamichi – current conditions near Panorama launch
WeatherLink station at Buffalo Mtn – requires a free logon (more info)
MesoWest stations Ouachita Mountains – current conditions
Weather for Aircrews – Basic weather info for non-professionals
Pivotal Weather – an outstanding site for anything weather but it requires some work and know-how
SPC Balloon Soundings (every 12 hours)
UoW Balloon Soundings – usually available before the SPC soundings for 72364 (ELP)
NOAA Satellite image of moisture and clouds over the USA
Windy – animated map of winds and other data over the surface of the world
Wind History Map – actual vs. forecasts
Weather Spark – monthly, daily, and hourly graphical reports anywhere on earth
SkyVector Aeronautical Chart – road maps of the sky including TFR's
Introductory videos and information about paragliding.
On schedule – please contact us for training locations, cancelations, weather issues, and/or dates.
Last week we had a deluge - and it takes that long for the runoff to reach a river. The Poteau River was high enough that it moved inland (from the right in the above photo). Fortunately, yours truly was in the air and did not have slosh through the fields.
Jamie is a high school teacher at Poteau High School and helping acquaint her students with aviation. She has come to the right place! We welcome her to our increasing roster of local pilots seeking to enjoy life as a bird!
Ready to be towed up! Jamie is progressing very fast in her training due to, in part, being in good physical shape. Pilots need to be able to run 30 yards in 6 seconds or less to enjoy optimal safety launching and landing.
With towing, getting altitude in order to do maneuvers safely is EASY. She had (6) flights today. The emphasis for P1 is to launch and land safely. Everything is done under radio instruction.
Jamie gliding along in the air above the airport.
Tuesday was on of the busiest training days via towing at the Poteau Airport in recent years! Britton Shaw and Had Robinson each operated a winch for over 6 hours, putting pilot after pilot into the air for the P4 certification. It's a tough test: pilots must continually land within a (10) foot radius of the LZ marker. Keith Hamrick was key assistant who made sure that the towline stayed on the turnaround pulley. Thank you, Keith!
We all had the privilege of FAA air traffic controller, Jim Fuhrman, to ensure that there was never a mix of paragliders and general aircraft the entire time. This was critical help that the student pilots and tow operators had to have and that off-loaded a huge concern to a professional. A BIG THANKS TO JIM!
Today's students were: Todd Peele, Shelli McDaniel, Chris McDaniel, Branson Rhoads, Mike Farney, Stuart Wilson, Joey Levin, Dennis Blackstad, Paul Condron, and Jim Fuhrman. We will continue our training the next fine day we have during the spring weather hiccups.
Britton Shaw needed some testing done of the air around a proposed launch area at Panorama that would allow pilots to enjoy the site when winds are largely from the north. Yours truly spent over an hour in the air, both in average sunny conditions around the LZ and also when it became shaded. In sunny conditions, the LZ (blackened from a recent controlled burn) was very active and the air around it was as sinky as it gets (1-1.5 m/s down). The proposed launch site is about 1,000' further from the LZ and 100' lower which makes it an intermediate, advanced site
Panorama LZ in partial shade. Note: the recent burn left a layer of ash everywhere that get on your glider. It is especially thick outside the grassy landing strip. It is not greasy, thankfully.
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