Chasing it

KAVU athletes, Nick Greece and Jeff Shapiro head to Brazil to attempt to "collect kilometers" while flying the skies over the legendary Quixada.

By KAVU

November 21^st, 2017

First thing's first!

Proper nutrition

Nick's flying food needed to be sorted so, massive doses of sugar and caffeine, along with gummies of course, gave the confidence needed to look up at the classic Quixada skies with hopes of a full-day adventure in the air. Our friend and retrieve organizer, Paulo gave us cards with "in case" phone numbers to put in our harnesses (along with the gummies) so that if we landed in remote places and there was issues with our GPS - live tracking devices.... it would be "no problem!"

We met friends, James "Kiwi" Oroc, Tyler Bradford, Brett Zaenglein, Stefan Rolen, Gavin McClurg and eventually, Chris Banford and Koen Vancampenhoudt. Wild days ahead seemed inevitable!

Almeida

Our good friend Almeida, is a long time hang glider pilot and a local legend in Quixada. He has built a hotel called Pedra dos Ventos which, hosts pilots from all corners of the world and allows them a beautiful and comfortable place to prepare or recover from the amazing long flights that are possible here. Along with pools and amazing food, comfortable beds and a friendly staff of locals, he has cut multiple launches right above the hotel that are great for afternoon and evening glass offs, as well as long XC flights!

early morning ritual

We'd wake up each morning at 4:45am, grab a quick breakfast, grab our wings, gear and head up the hill to the notorious launch at Quixada. Because the wind is so strong here, two things are true. The "push" helps cover big distance while on cross country flights and, launch is always exciting!

We choose to launch each morning as early as we can....often around 6:45-7am. That way, the wind is reasonably laminar and semi-smooth. When the sun rises a bit and thermals start to roll through, the gusts and dust devils that also roll through launch makes timing more than important. It's intimidating but, with some of the best pilots smiling and readying gear, the atmosphere is an equal amount of respect and stoke!

the man!

Dileone is a local pilot who knows this site as well, if not better than anyone else. It's his job to stand on top of launch and with expert eyes, decipher when the next "lull" in the wind was coming. He would bend down, shield his eyes from the sun, and when the timing was perfect, say "now, go!"

Not 5 seconds later, but now! You hear him give the command and if it feels right to you, you pull the wing up and bring your "A" game to get off the hill safely and in control. 10 seconds later, your a few hundred feet over launch and soaring in the morning wind with around 2 hours to wait until the thermals get consistent enough to consider "going over the back" and commit to your attempt to fly far.

Jedi mastery

In this vid, the middle two pilots are from our crew. The first (second in the sequence) is non other than KAVU O.G., Nick Greece. Nick is one of the best pilots in the world and was a huge source of information and guidance on this trip for those of us that were new to flying in Quixada. The next is Tahoe based pilot and ninja, Tyler Bradford. Tyler absolutely crushed it while in Brazil with huge flights and the tenacity of a pit bull. I was lucky enough to have a flight with Tyler where we were sharing thermals and glides all day, for nearly 10 hours, and landed close to each other around sunset. It was a flight I'll remember for all of my days!

The last pilot shows (actually) a fairly typical launch in Quixada. He gets smacked around a little but, shows commitment and the determination necessary to get in the air. Wild indeed!

Tyler Bradford soaring before the start

tandem world record!

While there, it was an unexpected bonus to hook up with our friends, Julien Irilli and Katia Lafaille. They traveled from France to Brazil to attempt the World record for "declared distance to goal" which, they did! What impressed me most was that they did so with huge smiles on their faces, while filming and... not just keeping up with the solo pilots flying "race wings" but, often leading! Julian is an amazing pilot! For me, crossing paths with these two was not only inspirational but, a highlight of the trip.

look at those skies!!!

After we land....

...The adventure begins!

The people in the Brazilian state of Ceara are amazing! Kind, gracious and so helpful, they often will come out to greet pilots as we land, and either help to get us to our retrieve drivers or, take us into their homes, feed us, give us water or juice and a hammock in the shade to rest on while we wait for our pick up. Unbelievable and so appreciated. I was completely blown away by how generous the culture and the locals were!!

On a longer flight with Tyler, we landed 5-6 kilometers apart and with an epic amount of luck, there was a tiny store....directly between us, stocked with cold beers! How good is that!!!!

Nick found a friend

Never know who you'll meet after landing out. But true to form, even this goat was friendly;-) "Good goat...."

Going big

After Nick and I had an epic run together the day before, he put his game face on and true to form, sent it! On his last flight this year in Quixada, Nick flew over some serious "tiger country" to land over 360 kilometers from launch! Although he didn't get back until the next day (with Tyler who, also had gone big), he was smiling and feeling ready to head home with another mission considered successful!