Dates
Instructional Days - Friday, Nov. 8th (arrival) to Wednesday, Nov. 13th (departure) - (P-1 to P-4 level)
Iquique Days #1 - Wednesday, Nov. 13th (arrival) to Monday, Nov. 18th (departure) - (P-2 to P-4 level)
Iquique Days #2 - Friday, Nov. 8th (arrival) to Monday, Nov. 18th (departure) - (P-2 to P-4 level)
Iquique Days #3 - Monday, Nov. 18th (arrival) to Tuesday, Nov. 26th (departure) - (P-2 to P-4 level)
Organizers
Tour Leaders
Guaranteed flyable days!!!
Get a refund if you can’t fly everyday due to weather conditions!
Early payment discounts!!!
Check our discounted payment schedule down below.
Tour Descriptions
This year we divided the tour into 4 different segments that offer similar programs as far as the Iquique Days options. The Instructional Days will overlap with the first part of Iquique Days #2. Pilots that sign up for the Instructional Days will receive more dedicated instruction focusing on perfecting ground handling, ridge soaring and basic thermal flying skills. The Iquique Days #1 are meant to be a complement for the Instructional Days, in order to make it worth the trip. Very few pilots take just the Instructional Days.
Instructional Days (6 days, 5 nights) Fri, Nov. 8th (arrival) to Wed, Nov. 13th (departure) - (P-1 to P-4)
This package trip is focusing on P1- P4 pilots who would like to improve ground handling, launching, landing, and flying skills. The first 3 days of this tour will focus on intensive basic training with many instructors available to help you adapt to Iquique’s unique high wind launching conditions. This is a perfect opportunity for pilots who fly less than 30 hours per year or for any level of pilot who would like to improve basic skills. We will be focusing on kiting and launching to ensure that low airtime pilots will gain good control and knowledge, and advanced pilots will get pointers that will take them from good to great! Most visiting pilots are humbled when they arrive to Iquique and find that they don’t have as good of kiting or launching skills as they thought they did. So if you aren’t sure you have those skills, you need to join this trip! We will also be coaching you throughout the flights and will have instructors at launch and landing. With radio communication we will also help you stay in the air longer by pointing out where the thermals and ridge lift are, and we will have at least a 1:3 instructor to pilot ratio to allow more individual attention throughout the first 3 days. Then for the remaining 3 days we will have at least a 1:5 instructor to pilot ratio to provide assistance..
Iquique Days #1 - (6 days, 5 nights) Wed, Nov. 13th (arrival) to Mon, Nov. 18th (departure) - (P-2 to P-4)
This 6 day long tour in Iquique will be focused on novice (P2) to advanced (P4) level pilots who would like to log some airtime and work on thermaling, launching and kiting skills on their own. Novice (P2) pilots are required to attend the Instructional Days before joining the Iquique Days. All pilots attending these days are required to have good launching, flying, and landings skills. If you do not have good high wind launching skills then we expect you to sign up for the Instructional Days. Iquique and the surrounding flying sites are superb training grounds for less experienced pilots but will also satisfy the advanced level pilot who would like to improve overall skills. Less experienced pilots will be able to log many hours of airtime plus practice in the moderate wind conditions at the dunes. More advanced pilots will be able to fly until they are exhausted and hungry! The conditions are excellent for fine-tuning thermaling skills, flying small out and return XC flights up and down the ridge, working on top landing skills, and perfecting your kiting skills at the world famous Palo Buque flying site! During the last 2 days, we will try to do some short XC flights.
Iquique Days #2- (11 days, 10 nights) Fri, Nov. 8th (arrival) to Mon, Nov. 18th (departure) - (P-2 to P-4)
This 11 day long tour is basically the same as the Iquique Instructional Days and the Iquique Days #1 combined. But, this option does not offer any training during the first days. All pilots attending these days are required to have good launching, flying, and landings skills. If you do not have good high wind launching skills then we expect you to sign up for the Instructional Days. Iquique and the surrounding flying sites are superb training grounds for less experienced pilots but will also satisfy the advanced level pilot who would like to improve overall skills. Less experienced pilots will be able to log many hours of airtime plus practice in the moderate wind conditions at the dunes. More advanced pilots will be able to fly until they are exhausted and hungry! The conditions are excellent for fine-tuning thermaling skills, flying small out and return XC flights up and down the ridge, working on top landing skills, and perfecting your kiting skills at the world famous Palo Buque flying site! During the last 2 days, we will try to do some short XC flights.
Iquique Days #3- (9 days, 8 nights) Mon, Nov. 18th (arrival) to Tue, Nov. 26th (departure) - (P-2 to P-4)
Continuing with our Iquique Days, this part of the tour is still designed for P-2 (novice) to P-4 (advanced) pilots. During this portion of the tour, we will try to fly some other sites and also seek for some 60 to 100 km XC flights during the last 4 days. All XC flights will be lead by Todd and Luis, and radio contact will be mandatory. Pilots for the last days of this week need to have experience in strong thermal conditions and turbulence since we will be flying during the stronger mid day conditions. Any P-2’s that are still hanging in will probably have to land earlier during the XC flights, and before any of the difficult crossings. The experience of flying 20 or 30 miles will still be exhilarating for most pilots at this level. Iquique is probably the most consistent flying site in the world, and we will be flying everyday! Good, high wind launching skills are very important for this week!
Commentaries
Iquique is located in the northern part of Chile along the Pacific Ocean, 120 miles south of the Peruvian border. The city has a population of 250,000 and is thriving due to the duty free zone and mining in this northern part of Chile. This area is also known as the Atacama Desert, which is why the flying conditions are so consistent. It NEVER RAINS, and the winds are always coming from the Pacific Ocean, generating incredible lift along the 300 mile range between Iquique and Antofagasta. The ridge varies between 1,500 and 4,000 feet altitude and XC flights can be done in both directions quite easily. In November, the breeze normally starts blowing at 10 AM, and lift lasts until 7 PM. There are several takeoffs near Iquique and all of them allow pilots to reach beach landings while flying above the city and the dunes. There are many other launches to the South and to the North.
Palo Buque, a site just outside of Iquique, became famous when the SAT Team shot their first video here. The launch is at the “bottom” of a 3,000 foot sand ridge! Yes, depending on the wind, you only need to kite your glider up 30 feet or so and then you can soar all the way up to the top of the ridge to practice top landing, skiing in the sand, start an XC flight out to the airport and back, or just enjoy the beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean while soaring over beautiful sand dune formations! You will probably see some of the top acro pilots performing infinity tumbles too!San Marcos and Chipana are our classic XC flying sites where we get special permission to fly past the airport all the way back to Iquique! This site allows pilots to fly a over 100 km if conditions are good! The thermal/dynamic flying conditions in Iquique are so consistent at this time of the year that a 40 km XC flights is possible almost everyday from these sites! After a hard day of flying it doesn’t get much better then to dine out at one of Iquique’s many restaurants to feast on Chile’s reputable seafood and pisco sour.
Accommodations:
We will be staying in the four-star Terrado Club Hotel. Everyone will have a “double room” with a private bathroom to themselves. Each apartment style hotel room (department superior) has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, spacious dining/living room, kitchenette, and outside balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The hotel is incredibly nice, and is a short walk from one of our morning/mid-day beach LZ’s. Grocery stores, a mall, ATM’s, restaurants, and other convenience stores are all within a short walk from the hotel. A top buffet breakfast is included every morning to make sure you are powered up for a full day of flying!
Terrado Club www.terrado.cl/inicio-terrado-club
2873 Emilio Recabarren Avenue (ex Avda Aeropuerto)
Playa Brava Iquique – Chile
(56-57 463100)
The Price Includes
- 1st class accommodation (1 double room for each person, 2 rooms per apartment – breakfast included)
- Transfers to and from the airport on arrival and departure days
- Transport to and from all flying sites
- Daily weather updates
- Site information and flying tips
- Launching supervision
- Radio communication with guides and drivers during flights
- Flight retrievals and retrievals back to launch site
- Flight retrievals
- Free edited movie of the trip
- Free custom designed 2013 T-shirt
Prices
- Instructional Days - (6 days, 5 nights) $ 1,990
- Iquique Days #1 - (6 days, 5 nights) $ 1,490
- Iquique Days #2 - (11 days, 10 nights) $ 2,690
- Iquique Days #3 - (9 days, 8 nights) $ 2,190
- Per day rate any week $ 290
- Extra cost for single room apartment per night $ 50
Discounts and payment options
For either partial or total advance payment the following range of discounts will be applied proportionally to the received amount.
If you book 2 portions of the tour 10 % (in addition to any discount down below)
If you book 3 portions of the tour 15 % (in addition to any discount down below)
Before June 10th, 2013 12 %
Before July 10th, 2013 9 %
Before August 10th, 2013 6 %
Before September 10th, 2013 3 %
Late bookings after October 10th, 2013 add 5 %
We accept cash, checks, credit cards, and PayPal
Refunds
We are so confident with this site’s reliability at this time of the year, that we will refund each grounded pilot $200 per day if 50% of the group (including guides), are unable to fly for an entire day due to weather conditions.
Requirements
Current USHPA P1 certification (or equivalent), VHF radio (capable of receiving and transmitting on USHPA frequencies such as 151.925), certified equipment that you are familiar with (no new, unfamiliar gliders please), reserve parachute, helmet, and a good, humble attitude so you can learn heaps and have lots of fun!
Bookings or Questions
Click here to Send a message to Luis or Todd
Guide Information
Click here to See Guide Bios
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