SAFA Skysailor Magazine

6 SKY SAILOR July | August 2023 PWC Pegalajar, Spain 2023 by Ruth Jessop Pegalajar, in southern Spain, is an excellent starting point for long XC flights of up to 200km being flown regularly. It is becoming increasingly well-known as a competition site, having already held successful Spanish Championships, Pre-World Cups, National and Regional Leagues. The take-off is only 80m above the bomb out, allowing for a variety of wind directions (W, NW, N and NE). Yet, climbing out is usually straightforward, with a combination of flats and mountains, and cloudbases above 3000m. Thermals are well defined, and it is possible to fly most days from March to November. A wide variety of tasks are possible: Tri- angles combining mountain with flat terrain sections, pure flat terrain, along the fast exit ridge and back, square tasks taking in the edge of the valley, crossing the valley… Landing can sometimes be tricky as Andalusia is covered in olive trees. Fifty-six pilots taking part in the competition have the highest ‘A’ qualification. It promises to be an extremely high calibre, exciting PWC. Pilots are coming from far and wide: Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Japan and the Philippines. Task 1 With sunshine and olive groves stretching out as far as the eye can see, a 86km task was set to the north. It was windy on launch but once pilots were in the air, everything was a lot less stressful. There were a few clouds on the course line, but it was mostly blue skies. It was a perfect introduction to the flying conditions in Pegalajar. Virtually everyone got high immediately, climbing to the top of the forecasted lift at 2400m. A classic fast