Porterville Flying High

During the summer time , the Western Cape with its great weather, top class facilities and many tourist attractions, draws many thousands of visitors from all over the world. Among them are those who, apart from tourism, come for sporting reasons: Kite-surfers for Cape Town’s famed SE wind and beaches, Hikers and Climbers for the mountains , and Paragliding pilots for Porterville’s excellent flying conditions. Less than 150km NE of Cape Town, Porterville lies at the foot of the Olifants River Mountains and is otherwise surrounded by wide-open wheat fields. The area enjoys long, hot summer days, and mostly gentle SW morning winds. This combination of weather and land features generates strong columns of rising air called thermals, which pilots can use to gain height, allowing them to then glide to the next thermal. Skilled pilots can repeat this pattern a few times, allowing them to set off on a Cross Country flight. Pilots regularly achieve flights lasting 3 to 4 hrs, of over 100km distance, and reach altitudes of between 2000m and 3000m above sea level. The record is a flight in Jan. 2016 by a Belgium pilot who flew a straight line distance of 188.1km from one of the two take off sites on the mountain above Porterville, to land near Calvinia, almost 8hrs later. Regularly ranked as one of the top ten paragliding venues in the world by flying magazines, Porterville also hosts the annual Western Cape Open Paragliding Competition in December. As the name implies, the competition, held over a one week period, is open to all pilots from around SA and the world. Limited to a 150 athletes, the field races each day around a predetermined course, consisting an aerial start, some turn points (usually 4-6) and a goal point. The task changes daily, dependent on weather conditions, and is typically between 40km and 110km in distance, taking between 1 ½ to 4hrs to complete. Pilots carry a GPS device which indicates the course to follow, and also records the flight track. The tracklog is analysed by means of computer after landing, to verify that the pilot correctly followed the course, and to determine timings and points to be awarded