Condor Canyon Gliders

The People who settled around Walker's Canyon had a unique problem. That being, the Canyon itself. It was not the canyon's depth that proved the challenge, nor the width; it was The Wylrd-Walker that passed through the canyon every year, destroying any attempt at long-term architecture or infastructure. As the canyon seemed to stretch from the northern end of the Mortal Lands to the south, it seemed nigh-impossible to pass goods from one side to the other, save for extremely long and, at the time, perilous boat expeditions.
Can't go around it, can't go under it, can't go through it...

The Birth of Flight

While the concept of flight has long graced the imaginations of those in the Mortal Lands, harnessing it and allowing anything that light birds or pixies to soar through the air was an impossible challenge. So the inventor of the Condor Canyon Gliders, Luigi Patricio, chose an intermediary step; gliding. Goods were loaded onto a glider attatched to a giant slingshot at one end, then launched across the canyon to gently glide to a semi-soft landing on the other side. There were many, many failed prototypes, and many, many more lost to the bottom of the canyon. Even with the advent of dirigibles, Patricio persisted.
Eventually, his hard work bore fruit.

Commercial Applications

The gliders are, primarily, cargo gliders. They ferry important goods from one side of the canyon to the other. While the weight and amount that each glider can carry is limited, the amount that are able to be launched each day mostly makes up for the load limitation. The pliots, for cetain, don't mind the extra flight time and associated pay.
Loads and goods larger than the gliders can carry are either shipped around the continent via ship, or taken down the canyon via a long and winding road before going back up the other side. The second option is not available at certain times of the year, so folks involved in the shipping process must carefully manage their calendars.

Tourism Applications

Recently, a young enterprising man has made a tourism excursion of the gliders, allowing for unprecedented views of Walker's Canyon. While the ride is popular, the amount of paperwork one has to sign and the pre-requisite training class do a fair amout of work to trim the horde before it even reaches the launch pad. The entrepeneur learned from Particio's many, many failures, and knows the risks of letting untrained personell on a glider.

Launch Closures

All work at the Canyon Glider Launch pad stops for a week during Walker season; specifically, the week the Walker Passes through the canyon. While pilots can certainly fly closer to the time of the Walker's arrival, safety regulations by the Glider Comission require the closure; if a glider breaks down and falls to the bottom of the canyon, there is a far shorter time frame for rescue than there would be in non-walker times. The aftershocks generated by the Walker can also damage the launch facilities, preventing safe launches and risking the death of the pilot.
After the Walker Passes, three days are taken to ensure the aftershocks did not damage the facilities before the launch schedule resumes.

Nickname

Canyon Jumpers

Current location

Walker's Canyon

Permissible Cargo

-Expedition supplies
-Mail and packages
-Provisions
-Medical Suppies
-Textiles
-Musical Instruments
-Mechanicals

Prohibited Cargo

-Live animals
-furniture
-glasswork
-dense metals
-Non-trained personell
-Explosives or Weaponry