Brief history

Puli is traditionally famous for it’s clean water and it’s reputation for being home to the prettiest girls in Taiwan, which the locals attribute to the water. It lies at the exact geographic center of the island and is probably the largest city that isn’t near the coast. The town sits at 450m AMSL and is surrounded by the foothills of the central mountain range which has it’s two highest peaks (close to 4,000m) within 60km of Puli. These days, it’s well known as being the town closest to the epicenter of the devastating earthquake that struck on September 21nd 2001.
The road up to launch is good at the moment having been under repair for all of winter ‘02. We pilots are lucky in that the road is necessary to access the drainage system alongside it, which has to be maintained in order to stop the mountain sliding down onto the houses below. The county government has (so far) been doing a stellar job of maintaining it. This was my regular site until the earthquake. I tend not to fly this site anymore as it does get very crowded.

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Flight

The sculpted launch deck could have been made less flat, but the front rolls away into a slope that is one step from being a cliff. There is a slight rise to lay out on, so the glider is a little higher than your boots. This is a major improvement over the old launch deck, but is still most definately an intermediate launch. The launch is very short so it doesn’t lend itself to quick inflations in light conditions. It is often very windy and / or thermic on launch so good reverse launch skills are required. There are power lines strung just 20m behind the launch so it would go very badly if you were picked up and dragged back there.
Note that Tiger Head launch is only 200m above the large valley floor. Thermals start suddenly in the morning and are usually rough and broken at launch height. If the trees you can see down the mountain are not moving with wind, do not launch. Since the hill itself makes a considerable ridge lift, the wind at launch will usually be straight in, even when the prevailing wind is due north or due south. If the wind at launch is cross, it’s usually a bad sign. In season the base wind is usually from the north.
There is a plot of land which was cleared for construction in 2003 and this has again been cleared into a moderately sized square of dirt. It’s still bordered with steep walls, ditches and power lines, so it’s not recommended for those without good spot landing skills. There are some other possible LZs which feature power lines and concrete walls at the upwind end, and possibly trees or other obstacles to the sides, and none are much larger than a tennis court. Puli is a site which is very deserving of a look around the bottom of the hill before flying and is definately not for beginners…
The drive time between the launch site and LZ is about 15 minutes so long as the road is intact.

Soaring

The house thermals are on the spurs to the immediate left and right of take-off. On the left, go to the dirt gulley on the front of the spur. On the right, go to whichever side is facing the prevailing wind. One you have climbed out from launch it should be possible to thermal up to the 900m peak behind the launch, but be careful crossing the lake unless you have enough height. Although the bowl back there is often lifting, it would be bad to go down in there. Once at the back peak you have options to cross the valley to the north of Tiger Head mountain and explore the peaks over there. Or, you can go south towards Sun Moon Lake. Be careful as there are not many landing places in that direction.

Puli launch

The remodeled launch on Tiger Head Mountain showing the widened take-off area. Those thin strips of land you see at the foot of the hill are the potential bombout landing areas. The area at the bottom left of the photo is part of the top-landing area.

The lake behind the launch ridge. Nowhere to land down there, so be sure you have enough height before going over the back. The one place you could land down there is a military base. I don’t think they welcome drop-in visitors.

Puli lake

Issues

Tiger Head mountain is just outside town at 650m AMSL. As you’d expect for a low launch at a thermal site, it can be quite rough even when climbs are only in the order of 3m/s. There is another hazard which I think is unique in the sport, a booby-trapped betelnut ‘orchard’ right behind the launch. One local pilot was unlucky enough to set off a home-made anti-personnel device while attempting a tree rescue and got 30 or 40 shotgun pellets in his legs for his efforts. The plantation is the one that’s seriously fenced, on the other side of the road from the launch. The ‘keep out’ signs are for real kids…
Local pilots are friendly lunatics. The winter season can see a large influx of northern pilots and the site can get dangerously crowded at times. Your host was involved in a mid-air collision caused by total ignorance of ridge rules.

Weather and season

It’s possible to fly most of the year, but conditions over-develop very quickly in the summer months and thunderstorms at 2 or 3pm are regular enough to set your watch by. September through March are generally flyable without problem, though October / November and then March / April are the months for clear skies, high bases and wonderful post-frontal blue days. Altitude record at the site is 3,000m, but cloudbase is more often between 1,200m and 2,000m.

Suitability for beginners?

No, No and No again. Puli is a low launch in an inland valley thermal site. Most often, if it is flyable at all, it is going to be rough. There is no nice mellow morning breeze to use for easy top to bottoms. There will be ridge lift long before there is any wind in the landing area and it’s very common for strong thermic activity to begin wihin a half hour of the first breath of wind on the hill. The landing areas are very small indeed. Pilots who can land in them consistently earn RLF (Restricted Landing Field) ratings which are only available for intermediate and higher pilots. Although the late afternoons are mellower than the midday hours, the landing areas are all great thermal sources and can be relied on to release a thermal just as you are on final glide. The obstacles around the landings are also most unfriendly.

Site rules

There are now (posted 03/09/06) some new site rules in places, as a result of the activities of one foreign hillbilly living on top of the mountain living in a shipping container. He’s been ejected from his shack now, but there is still some bad feeling toward foreign pilots in general.

1. Pilots must possess valid and recognized pilot licenses.
2. This site is classified as being intermediate/advanced. Novice pilots are required to fly under the supervision of an instructor, and to have informed a local (meaning Puli) instructor or site officer that they are flying there.
3. Pilots unfamiliar with the site should accept direction from the site officer present.
4. Only instructors with licenses issued by the local associations (meaning
   Taiwan) may instruct students or allow their students to fly.
5. Top-landing on the launch area is forbidden on weekends or public holidays.
6. Pilots not wearing helmets, without radios or reserve parachutes are not permitted to fly.
7. Before inflation pilots must have checked legstraps, waist straps etc. are all fastened and tightened correctly.
8. All pilots flying tandem gliders must hold either advanced or instructor ratings.
9. The safety of all pilots is their own responsibility.

Courtesy of the Nantou Paragliding Association.

Getting There

Tiger Head launch is located just a kilometer from the east edge of Puli town. Puli is about an hour from Taichung by car and about two hours on one of the frequent buses, depending on traffic. Since Highway 14 is the best link for such tourist spots as Hohuanshan or Sun Moon Lake the traffic can be horrific on weekends and holidays. Hopefully the new Freeway 6 will reduce the travel time somewhat when it finally opens. There are no rail or air links to Puli.

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