Governador Valadares
Governador Valadares
is a Mecca for paragliding. Talk to anybody who knows anything about
paragliding! If you mention Brazil most people will think of
Valadares,
famous throughout the world for its good, consistent, cross-country
flying. That is the main reason why so many national and
international competitions are held here, year after year.
Valadares
once again hosted the PWC in March 2009.
Ibituruna
is a huge lump of volcanic rock, towering 990 metres above
Valadares and
the landing field at Feira da Paz. Because of its height above the
surrounding landscape, it tends to act like a magnet, drawing
towards its peak all the thermals in the vicinity. It is an
exceptional starting point for those big XC flights.
The
take-off is well maintained and has plenty of room. During the
Brazilian Open competition, which Valadares hosts every year, it can
accommodate more than 150 pilots. Valadares has also been the venue
for the World Air Games, and the PWC a few times. We always try to
avoid flying these sites during competition time. Not surprisingly,
some people can find being in the air with that many pilots very
intimidating. If it can’t be avoided, we will take off after the
competition pilots have all gone. It can be quite educational, and
sometimes entertaining, to watch them all fighting for pole
position.
The main
landing field in Valadares is massive. You could easily lose a
football pitch inside it. It is situated close to the city centre.
Only 10 minutes walk from the hotel and about 2 minutes from the
nearest bar.
In
addition to the main landing field there are massive bomb-out fields
before getting to the river, so having insufficient height for the
crossing should never be a concern.
As far
as the flying is concerned, one of the best things about Valadares
is its consistently reliable weather.
During
February, March and April the thermals are usually big, smooth and
relatively calm. It’s a fantastic place to develop and fine-tune
those thermalling skills. With cloudbase normally reaching about
6,000' above the ground, you’ll have plenty of time and space to
polish up your technique.
Later on in the year, particularly in August and September, the conditions can get noticeably stronger. Cloudbase frequently exceeds 8,000' ASL (approximately 7,500' above the landing field) and climbs of over 8 metres per second can be found. This is not the time for inexperienced pilots but the more adventurous ones may achieve some big distances.
Whether you come here with 10 hours, post CPC, or hundreds of hours, Valadares has a lot to offer and provides an excellent opportunity to increase those personal bests. Valadares is generally considered to have some of the best cross-country flying in the world. The record for this take-off, set in February 2006, is currently 206km. Flights of 100km are quite common and it is not unusual for pilots with relatively low air-time to come here and fly 50km.