FLYPA
Flypa'11!
Flypa flying area
A wonderful place for the continuous practice of the cliding training
The Orotava Valley takes part of an ideal natural setting for the training of the paragliding alumni and the improvement of the former pilots. It is not only a gliding area of a great tourist appealing, but at the same time and because of the special aerial characteristics, the setting in between the midlands of Santa Úrsula and the slopes of Tigaiga and La Corona in Los Realejos, allows the regular and secure practice of the paragliding practice, without any greater technical level as it happens in other places of Tenerife.
From the point of view of the just arrived pilots, the number of settings and weather conditions could seem complex, but a quiet glance at them will let them find out the splendid characteristics as an area which is suitable for the evolution and advance of the new pilots. Regularity The weather of the Canary Islands is characterised by a remarkable constancy and regularity as regards its climatic conditions. What could be an unbearable boredom for the worried meteorology scientist, it is an unquestionable advantage for the pilots during their first glidings outside the slopes of their school. The island of Tenerife has got a special shape which gets the wind effect as an aerodynamic profile. In its south east area it works as an opposite break which accelerates the wind speed, but towards the northern area it works in the other way round, breaking the speed of the trade winds and making a local depression precisely in the Orotava Valley.
Regularity
Here, time is literally regarded as “what comes”, since the sea reflects any variation respect to the atmospheric conditions in advance just to take the necessary security measures.
If we sum up to this fact that the setting keeps its climatic characteristics as regards almost any of the meteorological conditions which affect the archipelago, we can conclude that if we live in the trade winds kingdom, the Orotava Valley is the King door.
Variety
The hillside of La Corona, in Los Realejos, is still standing its regular function during all the seasons, as it were a gliding factory , the withdrawal of the trade winds during Winter time and its change during Spring and Autumn makes easy the search of the other areas of the valley and its surroundings.
For instance, the soft winds coming from West and North West take the opposite side, the slopes of La Orotava and the midlands of Santa Úrsula, the ones that acclaim for a greater support. Looking at the north area, the whole valley spreads its borders and starts its activity in the coast cliffs, as in Los Patos beach. At present, it is under the improvement and enlargement of the takeoffs in that place.
Finally, we cannot forget the gliding majesty from the north takeoff of Izaña around 2.300 metres over the sea level. It is exactly placed at 33 km from the back road and with the special permission of the National Park of El Teide, it makes easy the gliding over any area of the valley, crossing the air layers with different characteristics and allowing the new pilots to familiarise with the height glidings at the same time they enjoy an incomparable natural setting.
Adaptation
As the day goes on and the Sun changes its position, the valley is fitting its conditions to each period. Morning times look frequently clear allowing the starting of the propagation since early hours, what provides the thermal ascendancy under La Corona takeoff when the opposite side is still standing dark. In proportion to the day going on, the thermal temperatures are getting amplitude though it is not common that they take the power of those we see in the South West of Tenerife.
At midday a layer of typical groups of stratums is often established all around the valley, locally regarded as “an ass paunch”. It creates a process of rolling of the air mass which coincides with the coming of the trade winds “modified” by the island shape. The slope of La Corona turns into a float , an air mattress which allows the gliding with the typical softness of the coast cliffs till sunset.
The change often takes place the other way round in the oriental slopes, and in the evenings it is suitable for the mild thermal ascendancy in the oriental slopes of La Orotava and the midlands of Santa Úrsula.
Choices
Though the climatic conditions could be stable in the islands, the bad weather is also taking its effects. It is the time when the huge back stratum of the island and its big central massif in a triangular shape, with the average heights over 2.200 metres, makes its effective blockade action against the fronts and storms.
During at least 340 days a year, one of those sides keeps in defence the quiet conditions enough for the practice of paragliding, and it is the time when we need an effective choice to go on practising the gliding activity, and afterwards we will always be at 1 hour of journey from the Orotava Valley.