FlyNirvana BLOG

The wind at Shelar was bang on this weekend and conditions were buoyant not just by the ridge but all over and it was possible to sail about for hours on end. After some floating about, exploring different areas of lift and going where i pleased i headed out to land by the  car park   Colin landed soon after me and Rushikesh came in next. I sat quietly on a rock  watching the sun slip behind the hills and the paragliders fade in the dying light. Soon Sanjay came by on the bike after the training session was done and we headed back home to Native Place.

Joel a gregarios Belgian pilot visited us for the first time and made the most of the lifting conditions. Arvind and Sam came over after a long break from flying and got started once more on the ground handling field. Hiren tells me that Sunday was a good day too with many gliders in the air and lift everywhere.

 Peace Bliss & Happy Landings

Astrid Rao

Sanjay Rao Nirvana Adventures

Crosswind dominated the long Easter weekend.  The north wind component continued from the last weekend with a little more strength and stubbornness – consequently very little flying happened. Some of us managed to catch a window of opportunity and get airborne for a significant amount of time but one could actually see the cycles in action as a wave of pilots who had managed to get up one minute all drifted earthwards as the lift dissipated. Gokul who got up early when the direction was good took advantage of the north component and headed back to tower hill and the highway. While some pilots got top to bottoms or simply had to give in and walk down.Sunith who is now 13 years old accompanied us to the site and did some grueling ground handling in the hot sun. He was supervised by Vinya and as I watched their interaction memories of them playing together as children flooded my mind. Scenes from 10 years ago, running around barefoot in the sun, up and down the hills and fields along with the rest of the Shelar kids. Happy days, happy memories.I  had been looking forward to 3 flying days and a lot of other excitement as well. The wind may not have blown favorably but there were other factors and incentives to keep us happy. We had just completed the first round of 100 courses with the air force, there was old friends Mike and gang at Native Place to catch up with, Steve’s staggered birthday bashes that went on through the week, an Easter egg hunt with Irene Anna & Stephan and the standard post breakfast cool off in the lake to look forward to as well.Peace Bliss and Happy LandingsAstrid Rao Nirvana Adventures

Hi All,

The east west transition is complete and we now have a consistent west wind blowing every afternoon. Flying at Shelar is on as usual.  Here are the highlights of the last few weeks.

Mother, daughter & hammock:

Captain Shyam came for the weekend in the begining of the month. At that point we were still moving between Tower Hill and Shelar. While he was away flying Anisha and Anaya enjoy a peaceful relaxed afternoon at Native Place. 

A very special flying lesson at Native Place:   

A Pair of fledgling  bulbulls fall out of their nest in the bamboo growing inside the central courtyard at Native Place and a few of us  get to witness their parents give them thier first flying lesson.

Welcome back Michael:  

Michael is back in Kamshet once more from Hong Kong along with Ian, Mark and Ben. Shelar Mama was mighty pleased to see an old familiar face and greets him with his inimitable gusto.

Nirvana’s Air force and civilian training continues to run through the month: 

EP and CP batches in progress for the air force during the weke and all you wonderful people on weekends. 

Peace Bliss & Happy Landings

Astrid Rao

Nirvana Adventures

On Saturday I went flying after an entire month and a half. I could not wait to get up in the air and was hoping for good conditions. We got there early and after some ground handling walked up to takeoff. Due to the cross wind  pilots had to take off, make their way  in tail wind to the venturi and the little  SW. facing ridge  left of takeoff to gain height. The wind being quite strong people were able to gain enough height in this area and fly over the cliff and once at the upper cliff level the sky was all lift.

 There were many pilots at takeoff and things were going slow as we had to give each one a chance to gain height. I dallied a while at takeoff and when I did get connected the wind had started to play up- on and off it went and I thought ‘oh oh! It is going to be a top to bottom for me today‘

I looked up to see all the other gliders soaring high over the cliff behind takeoff.  As soon as  the opportunity presented itself  - I inflated , ran hard, and flew straight to the venturii With a few tight figure of eights I was soaring high –  Once I got up it did not take much to stay up -  it was easy lift and super smooth  conditions and we all sailed along effortlessly.

After an amazing dreamy flight I landed a happy woman ready to head back to the city on Sunday morning.  Sinchan, Soren, Kunal and Ashwin who shared the air with me that day were all hoping the weather would do a repeat performance on Sunday. They reported to me that conditions changed and what was ‘maska i.e super smooth on Saturday turned boom boom on Sunday.  Well J – that’s what the weather has a reputation for doesn’t it?

Peace Bliss & Happy Landings

Astrid Rao

Nirvana Adventures

Last weekend we gathered at Kamshet to fly  and hang with  Rinul a Nirvana club pilot and frequent visitor at native place. She leaves to go abroad to study and will be away for two years.  We  have already had a round of farewell parties and now it is Rinul’s turn – and a bunch of us ( Dwane, Dylan, Daniel,  Astrid, Sanjay, Hiren, Nidhi, Sinchan, Harsh, Pankaj, Sudhir and Soren ) gathered to fly with her for the last time this year.  She  is off to Australia to study. Rinul completed her CP course  this season and has packed in as much weakened flying as possible since then. She has already got her flying in Melbourne sorted out –  her glider has been ordered and shipped and Sanjay put her in touch with Marc Mitsos who will introduce her to the sites and give her any assistance she will need –

Fly high & safe Rinul  - we are going to miss your bubbly exuberance.

Astrid & Sanjay Rao

Ps. Apoorva we missed you

Nirvana Adventures

 We have been busy the last two weeks training naval cadets and officers from INS Shivaji ( Lonavala) and INS Trata ( Mumbai) The conditions were great,  training went on without a hitch and the students got many flights each. INS Trata students stayed at Native Place and enjoyed not just the training experience  but the sylvan  surroundings and peace at Native Place.Astrid & Sanjay Rao Nirvana Adventures

While driving up to Kamshet on Thursday afternoon I scanned the hills in the east. The wind seemed to be bang on and as I approached Tower hill I spotted a few gliders peacefully floating about in the sunshine. As I watched them glide about gracefully in the sky I felt this desperate urge to be up there with the wind in my face and a song in my head.The wind was smooth and consistent and I could almost feel that amazing sensation of being high up above it all. It’s been a while since the season has started and I have not yet had a single flight. Tomorrow – I must get out there.So the next day I went to the site with Dylan, Ravi and the rest of the gang to find strong gusty winds and a long long unfruitful wait. The skies are evading me but this cannot last. Saturday came and I decided not to go to the flying site but head out with the students and do some ground handling and what do you know – we had no wind at all but out at the tower we could see gliders floating in the distance.  Damn! Another opportunity missed. Sunday turned out to be my lucky day. A nice hour and a half long flight and an uneventful landing in catabatic wind. Whew!It was a great long weekend. I had promised Saurin that I would see him before the week was through. There was a great bunch of students and pilots at Native Place.  David, Graem, Soren  Bruno, Femka and Tjhis  from across Europe. Vijay from Hyderabad as well as as a group of students from the Indian Navy.The season has begun beautifully for me. Can’t wait for next weekend!Peace Bliss & Happy Landings Astrid Rao Nirvana Adventures

October 2nd saw the first wave of flight enthusiasts converge at Kamshet for a first taste of paragliding. The majority came in from across the country - Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi. We even had a couple on their honeymoon who signed in for the course from Hong Kong and a student from England.It is great to see the hillsides now a vibrant green (post monsoon) come alive with graceful colorful paraglidiers, and enthusiastic excited students. Nirvana Adventures

 We have been planning on acquiring a simulator for a while now to teach, allow people to learn & practice important flying skills in a safe environment, while keeping them inside their ‘comfort zone’.Steve took the job on a month ago and to his credit, sitting in rural India = Kamshet using the local infrastructure and expertise he succeeded in producing India’s first paragliding simulator.Steve Reed says “Our simulator is designed to allow the student to learn and practice many necessary skills without having to worry about the consequences of mistakes.The instructor can now break down complex tasks into smaller parts, which is not always possible in the “real world”, and the student can question as much as they need to until they understand completely the task being taught.Take the speed bar for instance, often students are surprised by the force needed to apply speed bar. No matter how well we brief they say ‘it was so hard to push it’ or ‘I was frightened something would break’ – but once they have done this exercise on the simulator, they know what to expect and consequently are much more comfortable doing it in the sky.The simulator also gives us a chance to impart more instruction when the wind is unsuitable for flying/ground handling.”It’s another little step in our quest to provide better quality training and creating safe knowledgeable pilots.Peace Bliss & Happy LandingsAstrid Rao Nirvana Adventures

I spent an interesting day on the hill with Apoorva and Celine. Both of them had finished their Elementary Pilot (beginner) course and having logged more than 10 flights each from ‘Shinde Tekdi’ ( the training hill) were looking forward to learning how to soar. They were here to do  instructional tandem with Steve and then continue with the Club Pilot ( novice) tuition.It was Apoorva’s first time at Tower Hill and she admitted to be daunted by the height and the distance to the landing. Later she told me “ The tandem flight changed all that’ . I felt so much safer and confident because I was taking off with my instructor. As a student everything goes so fast and there is so much pilot input on short flights that one has to concentrate on. With Steve behind me I got a chance to relax and focus on the tasks at hand.”“Yes I was given the controls in-flight and the tasks are harder on the tandem but you are confident that they are not dangerous but simple normal maneuvers. The instructional tandem helps inculcates a safe attitude  and one is able to grasp the instruction quicker and progress at a relaxed, confident pace.  for the first time I actually enjoyed the view from the top.”“After the instructional tandem when I flew solo I had a clear idea about soaring and knew what it was all about – before that it was just theory.  I knew exactly what I was doing and what was expected of me.”Over the next few days both girls breezed through the CP tasks. soaring beats, efficient turns,  big ears, speed bar, active flying etc. all briefed, practiced and honed.Peace Bliss & Happy LandingsAstrid Rao Nirvana Adventures