Eighteen years ago, I launched my first expedition in the Andes to discover the wave phenomena of which airline pilots spoke while trembling and the rare glider pilots which returned from it had their eyes twinkling. During all these years, strengthened by our alpine...
Until that day in 2017 when I go to Italy to look for a Stemme S10-V (Limbach engine) on behalf of Jean-Pierre, a Franco-Chilean friend, whom I export to him, then he says to me: “You can use it in Chile whenever you want.” Then glider pilots tourists tell...
Jean-Pierre questions the DGAC (Civil Aviation Directorate) and obtains the authorization to use his Stemme at Calama airport (photo) during November (latitude 22 °S, just above the Tropic of Capricorn), the San Pedro runway (photo) not being sufficiently...
Il nous faut maintenant construire une base de données des aérodromes, pistes crashables (il n’y a pas de champs vachables), volcans et autres sommets de référence. Les cartes aéronautiques ne sont pas disponibles facilement : il faut se rendre au siège de la DGAC à...
The Atacama Desert stretches for about 1,000 km in length and 200 to 300 km in width, between the Cordillera de la Costa and the Cordillera de Domeyko (see section below) but the tourist area around the famous volcanoes covers around 500 km long and less than...
We will therefore go from heaven to hell by choosing Calama, whose public airport is completely secure, 1,450 flights in November and the agreement of the DGAC (national FAA) to practice our activity there for a month with a permanent clearance to FL240. Little...
The Chuquicamata mine alone represents nearly 7% of national GDP, copper representing 50% of this GDP. It was not possible to visit the mine because of the social situation, but a small drive along the barriers allowed us to realize the importance of this site...
It is interesting to come back to the particular social situation following the events of October 18th, now that I have seen it from the inside and no longer through the European media, which have long represented the situation with a superficial, partial and often...
Regarding our expedition, canceling everything two weeks before departure did not seem relevant to me. It was a good decision because, apart from a few diversions to get out of the city escaping from burnt tires blocks, or find the shops closed for the day, or give up...
THE METEOROLOGICAL PREPARATION (OR RATHER THE UNPREPARATION). Given the many uncertainties and complications during the preparation of the expedition, which was almost abandoned a few weeks before departure, we set off rather unprepared to go “fighting the volcanic...
Was particularly successful, even if it took ten days to run in the system, ceilings of 7,000 to 8,000 m in thermal (most often blue) not being part of the meteorological standards. The forecast was limited to two days, sufficient for our goal, the discovery. The main...
November 26th is a good example of forecast, going from general (public) to detailed (private): the SIGMET map of South America (left) shows a strong 90 kt NW flow at FL430 located “only” 600 km south of our flying area, confirmed by the circumpolar jet...
Track of the Nov. 7 flight out and return downwind of the volcano Licancabur, and photo. The white areas are not snow (we are at the Tropic of Capricorn!), but either rock salt, gypsum, sometimes borax, or a mixture of everything. We will almost reach the altitude of...
We quickly realized that there was not much to expect from the dark charred ridges of the volcanoes. On the other hand, the ground at the feet of these volcanoes was often of a magnificent red or yellow color which well reflects heat, is made of another...
Contrary to the usual latitudes in the northern hemisphere (45 °± 5), the observation of the pressure and geopotential fields and frontal systems at our latitude (22 °S) gave us practically no useful information. In one month, we haven’t seen any front passing....
One of the deciding factors in favor of the Atacama expedition was the story and photos of a Swiss glider pilot returning from this place, who also participated in our expedition. There were splendid cumulus clouds blooming at 9 a.m. local time, whose bases stayed...
The topographic profile below stops at the Bolivian Altiplano, La Puna, whose average altitude is around 4,000 – 4,500 m. The airport of the capital La Paz, to the right of this sketch, is at more than 4,000 m. This plateau slopes gently towards the North East,...
The first takeoff toward the volcanoes. The mythical Licancabur thrones majestically in front of my window every morning, as the air is very clear, it is perfectly visible but is nevertheless 110 km from Calama, and you have to be at its foot at least at 5,000 m, if...
I launched the “Atacama” expedition in the hope of bringing back memorable souvenirs about “volcanic” thermal under cumulus. In fact, we’ll be living in the “Bolivian winter”, technically the altiplanic winter, which kills our beautiful clouds...
Never a flying expedition has been so improbable and close to cancellation. I did everything to go to the end, against all odds, strikes, social violence, refusal of insurers: I was abandoned by most of those who had supported the project, including all the French....
