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Saichia

Brief history

Saichia was the first site in Taiwan opened to paragliding and is probably the busiest. It enjoys the largest landing area, the best thermalling conditions and XC potential. Saichia Flight Park was officially closed by court order in 2004. The last official site administrator (Saichia Area Development Association) relinquished control of the site after the death of a passenger on a commercial tandem flight in fall 2004. The launch area and facilities were vandalized at that time by the father and friends of the dead passenger, but since the agreement to transfer the running of the site they promised not to further disturb the peace. The site then came under the the informal control of a local microlight and tandem paraglider operator surnamed Hsu, but more commonly known as The Assassin.
Pingtung County government had ordered the flight park closed, but the launch is on private land. The court had no power to intervene since the land owners had decided to let pilots fly from there. From time to time someone would call the police and complain about the illegal flying there, but all they could do was come and ask us not to fly.

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Current situation

The current situation is that the land is going to change hands, at least in title. The steel shelter at the back of launch that was erected in 2003 has now been torn down. The tree saplings that had been planted all over the launch deck are now gone. That means it is now possible to fly at Saichia at this time. However, the defacto site manager is demanding NT$150 per day for a personal accident policy which you could buy yourself for NT$85. We've been told the rest is for the land owner, but of course you won't get a receipt for this. As of right now, only the tandems are flying there, and probably a couple of their buddies. Most of the solo pilots are boycotting the site. In 2005 a heavy 'Japanese Tax' was levied. At the moment, visiting foreign pilots are being asked to pay NT$800 on arrival (up from NT$500 in winter 2006/2007) and NT$150 per day for 'insurance'. This could change at any time however, so be prepared to spend even more.

Maolin Scenic Area Administration would very much like to come in and administer the site, but the land owner will not allow this at present. They have been trying to get a compulsory purchase order on a land rights violation for years.

The toilets are out in and out of order, and there is usually no running water on launch.

Flying

Launch is at 415m AMSL on a ridge well inland, but the land between here and the coast is about as flat as Holland, the LZ is at a mere 67m AMSL. The launch faces west over the plain and Kaohsiung is visible on a clear day. The site works in many wind directions as it is sheltered by tall mountains behind. It's often flyable even though the upper winds are easterly. Obviously, the more westerly component there is the better. The large valley to the north is able to pull a seabreeze in later in the day and this catches many novice pilots out, you'll see them hanging in the mango trees downwind. It also makes flying back from Liukuei a challenge. In south wind conditions launching can be difficult and unless you make a perfect launch you stand a good chance of flying into rotor beneath the edge. Actually I rate this launch as intermediate. The launch is about 15 minutes drive from the LZ up a decent, but narrow ashphalt road.

Soaring

The house thermals are in the bowl just to the left of launch, and the small hilltop a few hundred meters to the right. The whole ridge that climbs away to the left of launch will be working on a decent day.
Cross-country potential is pretty well limited to a 30km route to Liukuei, in Kaohsiung county. It's a trip along the ridges, peak-to-peak, with a couple of tricky crossings thrown in for good measure. There are places to outland if it doesn't pan out. The brave can continue on to Bulao or Baolai, but the landings are few and most are very small and difficult at the best of times. Once the south wind has kicked in, they are very dangerous. It's of course possible to fly out to Liukuei and back again. Many locals consider this a pilot's 'coming-of-age'.
On the days where there isn't much wind or upslope breeze and the thermal action is away from the ridge, the usual targets are the large bridges and small towns out in front of the launch, about 5 and 10km out. This makes a fun round-trip and the landing options are pretty good if you don't make it back. Some real heroes once made it from here to Taitung county, over mostly vertical terrain with dense forest cover and no hope of retreive.

How to fly to Liukuei

Looking west from launch. Those clouds are about 40km away, over the Kaoping river.

Saichia's launch, looking north. That peak in the distance is Koshr mountain.

The site office vandalized during the visits by the family and friends of the dead tandem passenger. Reminders of the tragedy are everywhere.

Issues

The site's long history and good access has made it popular with pilots from Japan and Korea in the winter months. The flying attracts crowds of spectators from nearby cities who will wander around, walk on your lines, spit betelnut juice on the grass and let their dogs crap anywhere they like. It adds a surreal circus-like element to the atmosphere. You'll know if you made a dodgy launch from the crowd reaction, they sure do love a show.

Saichia has suffered greatly from political infighting in the last few years after some bozos took a chainsaw to the trees in back of take off without a permit, and then the spate of fatalities. The site has gates to prevent people driving right onto the launch or trying to start a barbeque on it. But, the gates aren't always locked.

As of now, there are no site rules. No licenses are required, no safety regulations are enforced. Ridge rules or right of way are not followed here. Every man for himself.

Weather and season

The best season is usually from November until April when humidity is low, and day / night temperature variation is highest. Cloudbase in winter is usually at about 1,600m, site altitude record is somewhere over 2,000m. I have broken 2,000m a few times.
Summer conditions are more humid and tend to low cloudbases (900m +/-), early OD, cloudsuck and sudden thunderstorms.

Suitability for beginners?

Saichia's LZ is the largest in the country and the least obstructed at that. It is however a perfect thermal cooker so care has to be taken beyond early morning as conditions may become too rough for beginners around 10am or so if the sun is out.
The launch itself is more hazardous as some of the local pilots get overzealous in 'helping' pilots off the hill, either by encouragement or physical pushing. My advice is not to trust anyone you haven't seen making consistently good launches themselves, and not let anyone but your own coach come anywhere near you while preparing for launch or during tha actual launch itself. The launch can be considered a cliff and a tumble down it will be painful.

How to get there

Saichia is about a 40 minute drive from Pingtung City. You can drive in from the 2nd Southern Freeway (No.3), Jiuru intersection and head in on local highway 27. Directions here. There are also buses from Pingtung into Saichia villiage. Pingtung has an airport but there are flights only from Taipei domestic and international airports. Kaohsiung is a 20 minute train ride away from Pingtung and may be the better place to transfer to.
It's possible to rent vans in either Pingtung or Kaohsiung if you have an international driving permit and a local guarantor. Typical price for a nine-seat van would be NT$2,000 per day. If you want a van with a driver plan on about NT$4,000~4,500 per day.

Where to stay

There are plenty of hotels in Pingtung city, but the Eaton Hotel is now the best bet, it's a short walk from the railway station. Rooms from NT$1,300 a night if you point out the fact that you are a pilot and a friend of Les'. Twin-bed rooms are NT$1,700 a night.
Ignore the coupons for breakfast, it's terrible!

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