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Event info

El Peñon Classic Race is coming up this February 2021 featuring Sport Class and Open Class.
This event will be held in Valle de Bravo, Mexico from Monday 22nd of February to Sunday 28th of February 2021

El Peñon is a world class Hang Gliding competition venue located near the town of Valle de Bravo.

Expand page for more details

Flying site

Valle de Bravo "Valle" is known for being a consistent site with more than 300 flyable days a year.
The best season starts on November with cloud bases over 4500MSL / 15,000 ft.
The peak season starts on January and it goes until April when the rain season starts.

Expand page for more details
  • 22 Pilots Confirmed
  • 22 Pilots total registered
  • 125 us$ Entry fee
Go to Pilot List
  • left before start of event
  • ⚕️

    There will be medical rescue services at launch

    Medic on takeoff
  • 💩

    There are toilets at, or near, the launch

    Toilets on takeoff
  • 📢

    The organisers are using Airtribune for registration, tracking, blogging and to publish scores

    Airtribune blogging
  • 🏋️

    There will be ballast water available at launch

    Ballast on takeoff
  • ♻️

    The organisers support reducing the use of unnecessary plastic at the event. This includes NOT giving disposable water bottles

    Plastic reduction

Prize funds and scoring categories

  • Hang Gliding Open Class
  • Hang Gliding Sport Class
  • Hang Gliding OVERALL

Event info

El Peñon Classic Race is coming up this February 2021 featuring Sport Class and Open Class.
This event will be held in Valle de Bravo, Mexico from Monday 22nd of February to Sunday 28th of February 2021

El Peñon is a world class Hang Gliding competition venue located near the town of Valle de Bravo.
Every year we have lots of fun in the best XC conditions, with strong and experienced competitors from which you will learn many ways to improve your flying.
This competition is organized by vuelolibre.mx and is a FAI event registered with FAI CIVL.

This is a must-do competition if you are looking to improve your flying and gain lots of flight time and XC distance.
Every year we have lots of fun in the best XC conditions, with strong and experienced competitors from which you will learn many ways to improve your flying.

Visiting Pilots, we have gathered a list of Hang Gliders available for rent. Use the link below only if you would like to rent a hang glider for the race. The list is updated regularly as more hang gliders become available.

++++ For those renting hang gliders ++++
Hang Glider Rental Reservation Form:
https://forms.gle/DforCeYbKv41Wwwd6

Hang Glider Rental Confirmation List:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wE-Q6r2b49rNs_rICn6NlyACPPlkOPn7NBqJ8xkHxtU/edit?usp=sharing


Flying site

Valle de Bravo "Valle" is known for being a consistent site with more than 300 flyable days a year.
The best season starts on November with cloud bases over 4500MSL / 15,000 ft.
The peak season starts on January and it goes until April when the rain season starts. Rainy days are also flyable for a few hours. Rain season ends in September and from then to December days are usually very mellow and nice to fly, perfect conditions for students, beginners or just relaxed flying.
The area is always referred as Valle de Bravo "Valle", it is a beautiful town where the hotels and restaurants are. The actual flying site is a 30 min drive from Valle near a small rural town called Temascaltepec. When you plan your trip always look for a stay or activities in Valle de Bravo.

Take off: This site has hosted several international and world competitions. The launch site is wide, with plenty of space for parking, setup and take off. Public restrooms available.
GPS coordinates, Take off: 19°3'41" (19.0616)N; 100°5'27" (100.091)W - Elevation : 2336 m / 7,664 ft

Landing: Official landing (LZ) is a large grassy field 2.5 kms in front of the launch. Snacks and drinks are available at the LZ.
GPS coordinates, Landing: 19°2'45" (19.0459)N; 100°6'32" (100.109)W - Elevation : 1775 m / 5823 ft

Transport and Retrieval For those who arrive by airplane or don't count with transport during the competition, we have arranged with local friends transport and retrieval service for $160 USD for the 7 days of competition. This service includes bringing your wing from the HQ's to launch and track you and pick you up from where you land and take you back to the HQ's. This is a group service so you will be riding with others. We have plenty of spots available so you can arrange for this service during registration.
If you are renting a Hang Glider from Vuelo Libre/Rudy, the rental includes retrieval service during the race.

Getting to Launch from Valle de Bravo Town: Take the road from Valle de Bravo to Temascaltepec and turn right in the Albarrada road sign. Follow the signs on the dirt road to the launch.

Weather Hazards: Strong thermals and rough air are common during this month. You must be comfortable flying under these conditions.

Flight regulation: Basic VFR rules apply. See and Avoid!.
Valle is an area with lots of flying activity. You most always be aware of other pilots flying near you. Pay attention to the small airstrip on the plateau were the landing field is. There's another small airstrip for small airplanes on the way to Valle de Bravo.
Please be vigilant at all times. Look around, look up, look down.

Interesting info:
You will find plenty of local young adults at the LZ offering you to break down your glider and put all your gear back into the harness. Most pilots will reject this because they will not trust the this task to anyone else but themselves and specially not to a bunch of kids. These kids have learned from different pilots and you will find that most of those kids can break down your glider much better than you do!. Use this service if you can, make them feel useful, they are just trying to work, earn some money and hang out with us pilots. They hugely admire us. Share some words with them if you can, they will really appreciate it. The usual "fee" for the service is couple of dollars or 40 pesos.

Selection and entry fee

$125 USD payable during registration. Cash. (USD or Pesos). Mastercard or Visa.
Registration fee includes Competition entry and weekly pass to El Peñon Flying Club during the competition days.

Optional Transport and Retrieval service available for $160 USD for the 7 days of competition. (To be arranged during registration)

Prize fund and scoring categories

Awards for the first 3 places of each category (Open Class and Sport Class)

General schedule

Sunday Feb 21:
08:00 - 19:00 - Official Registration at Headquarters
11:00 - 19:00 - Practice Day

Monday Feb 22-28
08:00 - 10:00 - Registration at Headquarters (for those arriving late)
Contest flying days

Feb 28
17:00 - 22:00 Award Ceremony. We will host a closing event party at the Landing Zone.

Daily schedule

09:00 - Depart from HQ
10:30 - Meet Director / Task and Safety Committee meetings
11:00 - Pilots' briefing / Previous task official results / Task definition
12:00 - Take-off window opens
17:00 - Scoring office opens
21:00 - Provisional results (Also broadcasted daily via WhatsApp)

Accommodation and Activities

Valle de Bravo is a magical town with lots of activities. Hiking, water sports, or visit the Monarca Butterfly sanctuary (November to March) where you can observe millions of Monarca butterflies hanging from the trees.

Normally all the hotels in the area offer special rates for pilots. When you contact them, ask for a discount for hang glider or paraglider pilots. Tell them you are visiting for the competition. They most likely will offer 10%-30% discounts off the published rates.
Depending on the hotel, nightly rates per room range from $40 to $100 USD.

AIRBNB
Plenty of AirBnB options. Look for Valle de Bravo. Anywhere near downtown works.

Las Caballerizas Hotel Boutique Valle de Bravo
www.hotellascaballerizas.mx

HOTEL MISIÓN REFUGIO DEL SALTO
Address: Fontana Brava s/n Col. Avandaro, C.P. 51200
Mision Refugio del Salto is a unique hotel. It features a beautiful natural waterfall and thousand-year-old trees, witnesses to the history of Valle de Bravo. Our rooms and chalets beautifully decorated, our restaurants and delicious food will make your pleasure or business trips a new and pleasant experience.
https://mision-refugio-del-salto.valledebravohoteles.com/en/

POSADA CHELITA
Address: 16 de Septiembre #506
Simple, clean and well kept. Swimming pool in the central patio. Close to the town´s bus station
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hotel-Posada-Chelita/172913776149519

POSADA CASA VIEJA
Address: Av. Juárez # 101
Nice old town building with clean, fairly big rooms, one block from the main square
https://es-la.facebook.com/PosadaCasaVieja/

HOTEL SAN JOSE
Address: San José # 103
Pretty townhouse with veranda and garden that makes you feel at home. Some rooms have kitchenette, sitting area and big closets
https://hotel-san-jose-valle-de-bravo.booked.net/

HOTEL DALINDA
Address: 16 de Septiembre # 102
Very well kept and quiet hotel at the top of a steep little town street.
https://hotelboutiquedalinda.com/valle/

HOTEL CASA NUEVA
Address: Plaza Independencia # 5
Stylish Mexican hotel right off the main square offering good beds in high ceiled rooms. Veranda and inner courtyard with beautiful plants and various sitting areas.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hotel-Casa-Nueva/531750733503181

MESON DE LEYENDAS
Address: Bocanegra # 405
Beautiful historic building with lush tropical garden. Stylish Mexican rustic decoration.
https://mesondeleyendas.com/

How to get here

Enter through the back of the building or through the parking lot.

VueloLibre.Mx

By plane: You can arrive at either the Toluca International or Mexico City International Airport. From there you need to arrange transportation to Valle de Bravo, which is a 3-hour drive from the Mexico City Airport, and 1.5 hours from Toluca.
Headquarters: Vuelo Libre Mexico
De Manuel 100, Sta Maria Ahuacatlan
51200 Valle de Bravo, México
We can help organize transportation from the airport if needed. Please contact us with any questions you have at rudy@vuelolibre.mx or WhatsApp +52 1 722 366 8846

Bus from Mexico City:
To take a bus ride to Valle from Mexico city go to the bus station named "Observatorio" (Observatory). Taxi from Mexico City airport to bus station cost $200 Mexican pesos (approx $10 USD)
Time schedules for the Valle the Bravo bus may vary, but basically you will find daily departures from 5:00 AM up to 5:00 PM, one every hour. (For example, 5:15, 6:15, 7:15 and so on)
Be sure to buy and to ride the "Libramiento" bus route to Valle and *NOT* the "Amanalco" route. The new "Libramiento" route will take you to Valle in less than three hours via the toll road system or the new highway.

De Manuel 100, Sta Maria Ahuacatlan 51200 Valle de Bravo, México
Valle de Bravo Mexico

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Organizers

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Tasks and results

Task 1

22 Feb, 2021

Class 1, Class 1 Sport — 49.2 km — Race to goal

Task 2

23 Feb, 2021

Class 1, Class 1 Sport — 80.9 km — Race to goal

Task 3

24 Feb, 2021

Class 1, Class 1 Sport — 58.4 km — Race to goal

Task 4

25 Feb, 2021

Class 1, Class 1 Sport — 60.8 km — Race to goal

Task 5

26 Feb, 2021

Class 1, Class 1 Sport — 63.5 km — Race to goal

Task 6

27 Feb, 2021

Class 1, Class 1 Sport — 41.2 km — Race to goal

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