Artículos en esta Bitácora
Lo Lograron | Los motores y las Agitaciones de un nuevo deporte
10 Obstáculos para alcanzar el PPG Record Mundial | Paramotores en Panamá! | Vuelo Por El Canal De Panamá
Lo Lograron
Por Robert M. Barry, Ph.D.
Sábado 3 de mayo a las 5:30 AM, recibí una llamada de Lily (la madre de Remy) reportando que ella ya estaba en un helicóptero rumbo en el lado pacífico del Istmo lista para despegar. Los Pilotos le habían informado que el tiempo era bueno del lado Atlántico del Istmo, en donde ellos estaba. Esas eras buenas noticias pues los días previos el tiempo no había sido el mejor.
Gladys y Yo nos arreglamos y preparamos a los perros para estar un día sin nosotros, nos embarcamos en nuestro viaje hasta las esclusas de Pedro Miguel, al sur del Puente Centenario.
Mientras en la Ruta, Lily nos llamó nuevamente para avisarnos que el grupo de 8 pilotos internacionales habían despegado exitosamente a las 7:30 am. (Nota: Para los que no conocen, El Canal de Panamá esta en ruta Norte - Sur, porque el país está orientado básicamente Este-Oeste. Y créanlo o no, esto nos permite ver la salida del sol sobre el Pacífico y los atardeceres sobre el Atlántico! no bromeo... vengan y véanlo por ustedes mismos.)
Estábamos cómodamente ubicados en nuestro puesto de observación en Pedro Miguel a las 8:30 am. Aproximadamente a las 8:50 am, Gladys divisó los 3 primeros pilotos mientras ellos pasaban sobre el puente Centenario y se acercaban a nosotros. Fue una vista espectacular... viendo las coloridas alas, volando en formación como si viajaran al sur. Un instante después otras dos alas aparecieron siguiendo las primeras. Pero después nada! Llamamos a Lily que estaba en el helicóptero... No hubo respuesta! Uh-oh, nuestros corazones latían rápido. Después de 15 ansiosos minutos aparecieron los últimos tres.
Nos enteraríamos luego, que uno de los pilotos sufrió problemas con el motor y tuvo que aterrizar, hizo algunos ajustes mecánicos y despegó nuevamente. Dos pilotos volaron en círculos para marcar su localización hasta que él logró despegar y luego continuaron el vuelo en formación.
Seguidamente aterrizaron juntos sin ningún contratiempo, en un sitio que se asignó en las costas del Pacífico, El grupo fue llevado al Centro de Visitantes en las Esclusas de Miraflores, donde realizaron un recorrido VIP por las Esclusas. Allí los entrevistaron los medios de Prensa, y se tomaron fotos, antes de la recepción con los patrocinadores y el equipo de apoyo. Como decía George Peppar (en A-team) "Me encanta que los planes salgan bien".
De hecho el plan salió bien. Se recaudó dinero para FANLYC y un grupo internacional de Pilotos hizo algo que nadie jamás había hecho (o que no se permita en el futuro ) - Volaron en Paramotores de Océano a Océano siguiendo el curso del Canal de Panamá.
Y en mi Mente se deletreó en Letras Mayúsculas "LO LOGRARON!". Este éxito fue posible gracias a la cooperación y el esfuerzo de muchos... particularmente de la ACP, el equipo de soporte logístico, los pilotos, colaboradores, las donaciones (todas para FANLYC), y muchos, muchos más. De mi parte Gracias a todos los Involucrados.
Los motores y las Agitaciones (literalmente hablando) de un nuevo deporte
Por Robert M. Barry, Ph.D.
He practicado desde el buceo, hasta el surf, el whitewater rafting, el ciclismo, escalar roca, escalar árboles y otros deportes por los cuales Panamá es reconocido. Pero ahora existe un nuevo deporte de clase mundial que se puede practicar en Panamá “Paramotores”.
Se preguntará, Qué son los Paramotores?
Jeff Goin, (quien estará en Panamá por el evento) lo describe muy conveniente de esta manera... "Powered paragliding, también conocido como paramotores, es una forma de aviación ultra liviana, en la que el piloto, con un pequeño motor en su espalda, llamado (paramotor) puede volar y controlar las funciones de elevación del Velamen (ala). En muchos países, incluyendo los Estados Unidos, existen mínimas regulaciones para practicar este deporte y no requiere licencia. El vuelo suave a baja altitud, la sensación de amplitud, poco equipo y mantenimiento requerido, fácil de transportar y los aspectos de seguridad para este tipo de vuelo le dan grandes méritos.
De acuerdo con la Asociación de Paramotores de los Estados Unidos, se puede alcanzar una velocidad de entre los 15 y 45 mph, en altitudes que llegan a los 18.000 pies, aunque por lo regular se hace por debajo de los 500 pies de altura.
Según Wikipedia (enciclopedia), el paramotor pesa entre 45 a 80 libras, peso que es soportado por el piloto durante el despegue, pero después de este breve proceso el paracaídas sostiene el motor atado su espalda. Luego el piloto patea el asiento que se despliega y puede sentarse confortablemente, suspendido por el ala inflada del paracaídas. El control posee palancas de freno a cada lado y una válvula reguladora sostenida en la mano.
La suave brisa tropical de Panamá, facilita los despegues y la playas desiertas de 25, 50 y hasta 100 millas, proveen un buen escenario en donde pueden obtener varias horas de vuelo, los entusiastas de los paramotores. De hecho, el incremento de la popularidad del deporte, propició la visión de uno de los aficionados panameños. El piloto de PPG Remy Swaab, ha concebido la idea de realizar un vuelo transítsmico, desde el Océano Atlántico al Océano Pacífico, como algo que los diferencie.
Después de confirmar con la Federación Aeronáutica Internacional, y determinar que dicho vuelo calificaba para un Record Mundial. Se pusieron en marcha las ruedas y se realizaron los contactos, dando como resultado la organización de este evento para establecer un Record Mundial.
Un pequeño y selecto grupo de 8 a 10 pilotos de PPG de 4 diferentes países intentaran en los primeros días de mayo, en Panamá, establecer este Record Mundial, con un vuelo en Paramotor desde el Océano Atlántico hasta el Océano Pacífico sobrevolando el Canal de Panamá.
Muchos de nosotros aquí en Panamá, vemos a este grupo suspendido en los arneses, balancearse en medio del aire, temblando por la vibración producida por el motor en su espalda, y les podemos asegurar que estamos presenciando la agitación y el surgimiento de un nuevo deporte en Panamá.
10 Obstáculos para alcanzar el PPG Record Mundial
Por Robert M. Barry,Ph.D.
Sentado en mi escritorio, evaluando las tareas pendientes para alcanzar el Record Mundial de Vuelo en Paramotores de Océano a Océano, los siguientes asuntos pasan por mi mente al mejor estilo del David Letterman Show:
- Los Pilotos se extravíen (Panamá, como en otros países de Centroamérica, no hay mapas, ni rutas señalizadas.)
- Inclemencias del tiempo (Tenemos 2 estaciones por año, la estación seca y la lluviosa. La lluviosa comienza alrededor del 1ero de Mayo. “O sea Diluvio Tropical”).
- Problemas Mecánicos (Desde “No puedo encender el motor” hasta “Oh … se detuvo el motor en pleno vuelo")
- Cocodrilos en el Canal de Panamá, (Esto esta relacionado con “... se detuvo el motor!”)
- Lagartos en el Canal de Panamá (Lo mismo del punto 4)
- Caimanes en el Canal de Panamá (Lo mismo del punto 4)
- Sobreprotectores agentes de seguridad del Canal con enormes Armas apuntándonos (los cuales no leyeron los memos donde se informaba del evento)
- Cocodrilos en el Canal de Panamá, (Lo mismo del punto 4 … Por la gran cantidad)
- Lagartos en el Canal de Panamá, (Lo mismo del punto 4 … Por sus enormes tamaños)
- Caimanes en el Canal de Panamá, (Lo mismo del punto 4 … Por su velocidad)
Paramotores en Panamá!
Por Robert M. Barry, Ph.D.
Atarse con una correa a una silla, bajo un paracaídas modificado con un ventilador de aspa impulsado por un motor de cortadora de césped en tu espalda, te permite formar parte de la Asociación de Paramotores de Panamá.
Hoy en día la tecnología del deporte ha avanzado muchísimo, dejando atrás esa cruda imagen . Hoy, el Velamen "ala" (la cosa que parece un paracaídas nos permite maniobrar) provee el deslizamiento y el piloto es aerotransportado, con un motor de dos tiempos y una propela, todo colocado con un arnés en su espalda.
Este deporte relativamente nuevo, originado en Francia durante los últimos años de la década de los 80, se ha extendido rápidamente a muchos países del primer mundo. Hoy,hay un pequeño grupo de entusiastas aficionados a los Paramotores en Panamá.
Nuestro grupo intenta distinguirse entre la comunidad global de PPG, estableciendo un nuevo Record Mundial. Existen records por altitud. Los hay por distancia. Pero hasta la fecha, nadie ha volado sobre una extensión de tierra cruzando de un océano a otro. Este intento de establecer un nuevo record mundial comenzará a orillas del Océano Atlántico, volando sobre el istmo (siguiendo la ruta sobre el Canal de Panamá) y terminará en las Costas del Océano Pacífico. La Federación Aeronáutica Internacional, ha reconocido que será la primera vez que se intente una hazaña como esta, lo que permite calificarla como un Record Mundial.
Este evento aeronáutico depende de las condiciones meteorológicas. Sin embargo, después de años de análisis, sabemos que tenemos una buena oportunidad, en los primeros días de mayo de 2008, para realizar el evento.
Adicionalmente, La Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) ha dado el permiso para que el Equipo de PPG pueda volar sobre el curso del Famoso Canal de Panamá. Obtener este permiso es algo sin precedentes (debido a las obvias medidas de seguridad), lo que da alto reconocimiento al evento.
Este pendiente a las actualizaciones sobre el evento en este website.
Vuelo Por El Canal De Panamá
Por Jeff Hamann
Was he a complete crank or just a well-meaning optimist? One thing I knew for sure, the likelihood of securing permission to fly powered paragliders the length of the Panama Canal was doubtful at best. But, it sure was an interesting prospect! I made a mental note that, as unlikely as it was, I’d stay in contact just in case he did manage pull it off. Remy Swaab had a dream of flying the length of the Panama Canal. He’d read about our other trips and thought we could be enticed to join him on his historic endeavour. What he didn’t know was that I had cruised the canal on my own boat and the thought of being able to fly it as well made it an even more exciting prospect to me. Thus began the exchange of emails and phone calls that was to last for months before I tentatively signed on.
The Panama Canal acts as the ultimate nautical shortcut by allowing passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Work began on it as early as the 16th Century but didn’t finish until 1914, by which point an estimated 27,500 lives had been lost. In engineering terms the 77-km-long water course is one of the most ambitious projects ever completed, and one that certainly changed the face of the world - without it a ship has to travel approximately 15,000 km further to get from one side of Panama to the other! Worse still, it has to round the treacherous Cape Horn at the tip of South America, a voyage that has claimed many ships and lives.
Remy was born in the Netherlands, but grew up in Panama where he fell in love with both the people and the country; he and his mother have now lived there for over 29 years. His passion for the Panamanian people was an important element in his plan, so much so that he’d made it one of the project’s goals to raise awareness and funds for the Fundación Amigos del Niño con Leucemia y Cáncer, a local foundation dedicated to providing care and comfort to children suffering from cancer and leukemia (www.fanlyc.org). Even with good intentions, however, the bureaucratic hurdles would be formidable.
The Panama Canal Authority (PCA) has thousands of employees and generates 3-5 million dollars of revenue per day. Ships make the passage on a carefully orchestrated schedule requiring advance reservations and measurements, involving Panamanian pilots, tugs, multiple dams, and six locks. Why would they be willing to consider any activity that could compromise all that? However, Remy must be very persuasive because, after months of negotiations and meetings, the PCA not only gave him permission to fly the canal with seven other pilots, they even offered assistance in tracking us with their cameras and retrieving any downed pilots with their water and ground support staff. Amazing!
Call the PCA approval a minor miracle or a major accomplishment, but it was only the first step. Before Remy was done, there would be numerous visits to the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA), the Panama Canal Railroad Company (PCR), the National Police, the Coast Guard, and the Navy. The CAA agreed to issue NOTAMS and redirect air traffic to the busiest airport in the country to accommodate our plans. The other officials all approved his flight plans and some even offered their assistance. But, the icing on the cake was the helicopter escort for photography, safety and coordination that he was able to arrange from private sources.
Remy’s dream of flying the canal was finally looking like it could become a reality. We set a date of May 3, 2008 and started making airline and accommodation reservations. Eight pilots from Germany, New Zealand, Canada, USA and Panama made the list and sent their passports to the PCA for security clearance. We were on!
As the day approached, Remy was caught in a whirlwind of press conferences and last minute meetings with the CAA and the PCA. Our group of five North American pilots arrived in Panama City on April 30 where we finally had the pleasure of meeting Remy Swaab, the giant-slayer. Our gear had arrived the day before via Miami. It was scheduled to go by ship, but delays and a cancelled boat required some tense eleventh hour airfreight arrangements. By 10 pm we were all together enjoying dinner around the corner from Remy’s apartment in Panama City.
We chose to fly from the Atlantic to the Pacific to take advantage of the more common northwesterly winds. May seemed to be the best month to attempt the crossing as it sat squarely between the summer winds (Dec-April), which frequently come over the isthmus from the Atlantic at over 60 km/h, and the winter rains that normally begin by June. However, the day we arrived it was overcast and windy and not much better the next. For two days we struggled with poor conditions, only managing to make a couple of practice flights to check the equipment and iron out any problems, until finally the day arrived. We met in the lobby of the Colon Melia at 5 am Saturday May 3 for the ‘Big Crossing’. The sky was full of stars and the air was finally calm. Remy’s dream was looking possible. We arrived at the locks just as they opened for a ship to enter, so were forced to wait 30 minutes before we could cross over to the Ft Sherman side. We still arrived at the airfield by 7 am. The escort helicopter arrived from Panama City reporting good and improving conditions. Anxiously, we laid out our wings and pre-flighted our gear. The 5 km/h wind was from the SW; strong enough to assist on launch, but not strong enough to be a headwind problem. We all launched in quick succession at 8 am. Cameraman Phil Russman was first to go, electing to fly my small Eden 24 so he could manoeuvre around us better for photos. Phil also used Tony Lusby’s spare Black Magic so Michael could fly his Black Devil. The small wing and 120 cc motor extended his run-out off the side of the paved airstrip and through a few mud puddles before he finally lifted off into the warm, humid, calm air. We all resorted to forward launches and were in the air within three minutes.
The PCA had defined a very specific route for us to follow, one that kept us out of the shipping lanes, except for the two spots where we would need to cross over the canal. The first seven kilometres took us over the mangroves and muck of the large Colon harbour where over 25 ships waited their turn to enter the canal. Then our first canal crossing occurred where the harbour entered the cut at Gatun giving us a great view of the three Atlantic locks with ships entering and leaving. Past Gatun there were no roads or towns near the canal for over 20 kilometres and worse still, no good landing options!
Because the Canal Zone has never been logged and the water level only varies a couple feet, the jungle is nearly impenetrable with trees overhanging the shoreline by three metres or more. The railroad that roughly parallels the canal is overgrown and straddled by overhead electric wires, but at least it was a way to get close to the canal where no roads existed. The best emergency landing option seemed to be the water near the tracks, but we’d need to swim quickly to shore. The PCA warned us about the crocodiles and Remy told us of a death the week before we arrived!
The PCR had offered to put an emergency vehicle in the middle of this section for us and it was a relief to see the white car on the sidetrack as we flew over at 900 m. When the land was flooded to create Lake Gatun, it covered the jungle and left many islands dense with foliage. We saw menacing dead treetops still sticking their skeletal remains up through the surface in the shallower areas of the lake. The water varied in colour from bright green in some isolated ponds to muddy brown at one river mouth.
Some of the faster wings were now a couple of kilometers out front, so they circled over the small town of Gamboa while the rest of us caught up. We were now over landable terrain again, and circling the small settlement with its old golf course and manicured sports field was a welcomed reprieve after the jungle we had just passed.
Remy warned us that it was common to encounter turbulence near Gamboa, and we did. Gamboa was over half way across the isthmus and the nearby mountains marked the high point where the two ocean weather systems battled for supremacy. It was also late enough now to feel thermal activity, but we never hit anything over 3/10 on the bump scale. The total flight was mapped out at about 80 km, which was pushing the fuel range for a few of us and could have been a problem if we had encountered much of a headwind - Jeff Goin even rigged up a twolitre reserve tank out of a plastic soda bottle just in case. But the worry of running out of gas was over, as we were now over halfway to our destination and the wind was still calm. We made a few more circles around Gamboa then made the final dash south for the Pacific. Our second crossing of the canal occurred just south of Gamboa and gave us a great view of a couple ships passing by. Then as Phil was shooting video of Tony over the canal, his motor quit at 500 m. He made four attempts to restart it without success and bent his helmet cam in the process, his camera running the whole time enabling us to relive the incident with him later.
The PCA is in the process of widening this section of the canal so the jungle was cleared and there were haul roads crisscrossing the west side. We could see big drilling rigs and evidence of recent blasting, but they had delayed any dynamiting that day in deference to our flight. Phil was fortunate that his engine-out occurred there and not over the previous 20 km of jungle and water. Choosing a cleared area, he landed at the side of the canal on a narrow haul road. A PCA vehicle with two security guards greeted him almost immediately. Fortunately, they were aware of our plans and permissions and were only there to help. Phil wasn’t ready to give up yet and managed to restart the motor, but it would only run at a high idle. By carefully maintaining at least 3,500 rpm and with help from the PCA guards, he managed to re-launch. Jeff and I waited around for him while the others continued on. Now we were in two groups. Impressively, Phil managed to nurse his ailing motor all the way home, while all the time eyeing bail-outs and continuing to shoot video.
Meanwhile, Remy’s mother, Lily, was watching the whole affair from a helicopter and communicating our progress and problems to the PCA, PCR and the helicopter pilot who relayed info to the CAA. She was one busy lady with four radios and the helicopter headset. Everyone was relieved to hear her report that Phil was back in the air, at which point she had to leave us because the chopper’s fuel was running low. We slowly descended as we passed the Centenario Bridge, carefully avoiding the adjacent high wires. Container ships were heading north out of the Pedro Miguel Locks as we approached the first lock on the Pacific side. Nearing the busy airport at Albrook at 200 m, we could look right down the runway. Fortunately the CAA had changed the traffic pattern and routed planes around us. We were to find out how important that was the next day when a light plane passed within 30 m of me!
Remy had worked hard organising press conferences and TV interviews in the lead up to the event and, as a result, many spectators watched us as we flew the section between the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks. Finally, we passed to the south of the Bridge of the Americas and descended below the potential air traffic as we approached our destination. The tide was low and the sand bars and mud flats extended out a half mile from the landing spot. The skyline of Panama City was to the east of us and container port facilities lined the exit of the canal into the calm Pacific Ocean.
We were met at the landing site by multiple TV cameras and reporters wanting interviews. Many of the staff and kids from FANLYC, the charity for whom our journey had raised money, also came along to witness our landings. All eight pilots made it and everyone was ecstatic. Next stop was a celebratory lunch in a dining room at the Miraflores Locks from where we could look down upon the passing ships. More cameras and reporters met us there too, but we were eventually able to relax and enjoy our accomplishment over a nice meal. Remy arranged for a special canal tour after lunch and we were allowed to walk across the top of one of the locks to the central work area between the two waterways. It was a real treat to see the workings up close.
A photo of Jeff Goin was printed on the front page of the newspaper the next day and we made more than one evening TV newscast. All of us were a bit nonplussed by the media attention given to the flight. Remy applied for a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) record and was encouraged to make a formal application. Whether or not we officially make the record books is irrelevant, though. We are all grateful to have been part of the team that made Remy’s dream come true, to have flown over an amazing landscape, and to have helped raise over $ 30,000 for sick children in a developing country.