Kozzie said..
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any eage strikes while you were in india matey? ...
They're vultures. They're really good thermal markers. They don't attack like Aussie eagles but some people have collided with them. The theory is that the vultures are concentrating on looking down searching for lunch. Most pilots are giving them a shout so they know there is traffic in the area. I shared heaps of thermals with vultures and did not get hit.
Kozzie said..
do the locals really use such dodgey gear for tandems? ...
At Solang and up through Rotang (Manali) some do. At Bir the gear is generally good and most Indian tandem pilots have decent gear. As tandem pilots they have pretty good skills.
Kozzie said...
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how many hours flight time would you reccomend before going? im still just ridge soaring so not even thermaling or xcing yet. got such a long way to go
Dunno. You get a pile of Russians in Bir and there are some very new pilots in the group. Some schools operate there and you also get the usual squad of totally incompetent pilots punting around. It's usually the somewhat more experienced pilots that damage themselves.
Bir is a very easy place to fly but there are plenty of opportunities for you to screw up.
I flew with Himalayan Sky Safaris. They offer guided flying and will nurse maid you around the sky. They are expensive but they take good care of people and they help you to stretch your capabilities. There was a relative newbie with them when I was there and he improved heaps during the trip. He did a couple of 40km flights.
