Soaring, shoals and seals

You too could look like this !

tandem Hanger climbs out in the sea thermals

Looking like we meant it after a cracking flight

With Sam, middle son, down from Cardiff for Christmas hoping for a Tandem flight we sneaked out to Carbis Bay armed with hanger and para but on arrival it was definitely hanger weather.

On a time schedule it was a swift rig and withing minutes we were up and away in cracking conditions and an empty sky. Playing with the sea thermals was fun and Sam had a good time flying the glider himself. Conditions were good enough to slip into Carbis bay where we took a good look at Peachy's residence. A large shoal of bait fish which have been around for a while now were in the bat and the seagulls were going mad. In amongst the fish were the seals which were easy to spot as the dark mass opened up in front of them showing the sand with the seals in the middle. After 30 minutes with cold fingers we popped back in on top and swapped Sam for Kaz and repeated the exercise this time joined by Paul H on his seated hanger looking very smooth, super.

Good to see newly qualified Mike C out there with a few other Para hopefuls showing he his keen and up for it.

A quick derig saw us on our way back to the warm. Merry Christmas everybody

Thermals on at St Agnes

We took the opportunity to nip out for some flying having "caught up" on some paperwork and after a brief visit to Perranporth we headed to St Agnes as the wind veered to the North. Conditions were chilly but fun with plenty of sea thermal around for Kaz and myself to play with but also making timing at launch important.

A nice lady from the National trust came by litter picking and was very sociable, if you happen to see anyone dumping garden waste ( and any other waste for that matter) please make a note of details as they are having to keep clearing it up from both St Agnes and Chapel Porth.

Looks like plenty more flyiyng before Christmas if you can get there and take the cold!

Cracking at Carbis

Shaun W gets it sorted

Bob H up and away on his first soaring flight

MikeC (left) and Bob H share the lift

Bob(left) and Mike at the end of a GOOD day

I love it when a plan comes together and today it just that. Based on a good forecast we headed to Carbis Bay armed with both hangers and para's for some hill work. Kaz and myself sneaked in some nice flying along with Steve M before the students arrived in fun conditions.

Shaun W was first there and had a great morning practicing ground handling as he is not ready for the hill flying yet having had only one day on the winch so far. he did really well and was soon keeping it up in reverse and flicking into forward and back again like a natural. all good stuff and pretty much the foundation of Paragliding so looking forward to how he gets on back in the field next time out.

Next Mike C (Perranwell) arrived closely followed by Bob H (Devon) both up for some hill soaring with Mike on his second day of it and Bob on his first. After a bit of ground work Mike was up and away having a super flight before popping back in on top like a pro. His day just got better and better and by the end of play he had four flights in the bag with a mixture of light, moderate and breezy enough conditions and even a couple of Asymmetrics to finish off his CPC and hill conversion in one go. Well done Mike on getting there enjoy yourself and fly safe out in the big blue sky.

Bob not to be out done was off as soon as Mike landed and did really well getting his first soaring flights under his belt. With super take offs he flew nice and smoothly sharing the air with the other pilots and settling in quickly. By the end of play he had racked up three flights all with good top landings and increased his experience massively. Only one more day and Bob will be there too so watch out for him. Big smiles all round and well deserved they were.

Graham M took to the air on his hanger as the wind filled in and this encouraged (not that he needed it) Paul C (Plymouth) to land his Para and get onto the hanger for his second soaring flight. Whilst graham soared high the wind eased back a little and by the time Paul took off it was a bit on the light side again. However he did a great job scratching around and converting onto the Calypso before beach landing with yet another huge Paul grin. Next time out with a bit of luck he will complete his CPC and hill conversion if only the wind holds.

A nice day in super sunny weather with plenty done and new pilots out there, keep an eye out for them. Get your thermals on for the next few days...........

Playing at Perran

Turned out to be a day off with no students wanting to take advantage of the soaring weather still nice for us. having done plenty of office work in the morning we headed to perran for the afternoon and joined those who had been there from the crack of dawn, well just before that for some!

We had a fun time in lovely if still a little chilly conditions playing on Paragliders in a mixture of ridge and thermal lift but generally very bouyant. Good to see ex student Sam k flying nicely and putting in the airtime along with a whole bunch of other ex students, in ract they all were!

Looks like towing tomorrow if anyone is up for it let us know quick or it will be another day off....

Santa at Sennen

Steve M climbs out after launch

Mike R enjoys his first flight

Ray M joins in the fun

Mike R on his second flight of the day

Santa dropped in to say hello

Good to get out after a bit of a quiet spell and what a lovely day to be out and about. With a moderate NNW we headed to Sennen to get some hill soaring work done with conditions being on for both hangers and Para's (where were you Bob?). Shaun (not Stuart) W came along to see what was going on as conditions were a bit on the breezy side for towing.

After Myself and Martin checked out conditions Paul C from Plymouth led the way with his first hill flight on a Hanger after having learnt on the tow and already being a Paraglider pilot. He did a fine job and after a bit of a wobbly start soon settled in and smoothed out. With the lift coming and going things were not easy but he hung in for a solid 15 minutes before a sink cycle saw him drop below the top and heading to the beach. An unorthodox landing saved a bit of a walk up but also saw some restyled uprights.

Whilst Martin R help Paul back up Mike R ( St Germans) took the opportunity as the lift returned and put in a cracking soaring flight playing in plenty of lift before popping in for a first class top landing so completing his hill conversion again having learnt on the tow. Big smile lots of hand shaking then he was up and away again this time as a qualified pilot under the guidance of a coach (Martin), well done and have fun Mike, it was a pleasure to teach you.

Steve M and Ray M held up the Paraglider side with Steve making the most of conditions although his second flight was cut a little short by the appearance of Santa on the roof top of a nearby house .............

Andy r turned up just too late as the wind dropped and veered to the North and missing the excitement. Still and interesting day and hopefully the start of a few more.

2 - 1

A ray of sunshine in a chilly week saw us out in the tow field on what was a lovely day making us feel privileged to live and work in such a super place. Unfortunately a combination of student illness and ailments saw us down to only one but what a super day they had.

Shaun W (Camborne) came along to start his Paragliding course and had 1 to 1 tuition in the morning as he worked through the basics and then in the afternoon Tim joined us on the winch giving a student to instructor ratio of 2 to 1 !

With that kind of attention it was no wonder that Shaun progressed well putting away 8 flights and moving through release flights and into 100's by the end of the day. We had an early finish as the sun dropped behind the clouds and the temperature dropped but having already put two days worth in we were well ahead.

"That's the best day ever" was the quote so must have done something right !

Wild Wednesday

Martin gets hios first taste of soaring whilst Kaz rigs

Keenness is always a good thing and Martin H was keen to get his hill soaring underway having been trying to learn for over 5 years and finally ending up with us, is that a compliment or not ?? Any way based on a possible forecast he made the journey down from Bristol to meet us at Perranporth. The showers were heavier than forecast so we remained inside the van catching up on a bit of theory and checking out Mike C's CPC exam, which he passed, well done Mike and hoping for the rain to stop.



It did and we were out rigging in no time. After a quick flight test to check conditions Martin was clipped in and ready to go. Steve M was already in the air on his Paraglider showing there was plenty of lift under the dark clouds. Martin did a super take off and was soon up there soaring the ridge in fine style. Settling into prone easily he smoothed out to enjoy the experience and almost looked relaxed! As the next shower approached he came in to perform a perfect top landing just before the wind picked up and the rain returned.

Back into the van for a debrief and congratulation coffee whilst the dampness passed. Unfortunately whilst it did stop raining the wind veered to the North stopping play. Still one soaring flight knocked off another two and he is sorted, lets hope it's soon.

Towing Tuesday

Rob hang checks Adrian as things get going at the start of another fun day

Trev takes to the Mars and loves it

The lovely weather continued and we made the most of it with a cracking day in the tow field where plenty was going on. The Hangy boys were out in force with Adrian A (Gloucester) and Rob S (Devoran) being joined by Trev H (Paignton) whilst Mike C (Perranwell) held up the Paragliders end.

Adrian and Rob did well working deep into their EPC's and finishing off the day with release flights and gentle turns and big smiles. Trev had a super day moving onto the Mars , higher flights and bigger turns to arrive nicely at the end of his EPC flying tasks by the end of the day.

Mike got back into towing and had a go at Asymmetrics and generally enjoyed the sunshine between flights. It was a happy bunch by the end of play all looking forward to the next one.

Another lovely Monday

Rob S gets going on his EPC with some nice flights

A week to the day Adrian A (Gloucester) returned to continue his hang gliding EPC and was joined by Rob S (Devoran) who was on day one of his, yes the same Rob that saw us at Vault last week.

The guys had a cracking day with Rob working through the ground work during the morning session then getting going on the winch after lunch. They both put away 10 flights in total and moved through initial low flights into untethered 20' by the end of the day and even put in some good landings! As the sun got lower two very happy if a little tired guys packed up looking forward to a nice bath and more of the same tomorrow.

Kaz sneaked off with Bill to enjoy some nice hill soaring at Carbis making it two days on the trot at that site.

Hanging about at Vault

We headed to vault bay to hopefully catch a slot as the wind backed and increased. Whilst we had to wait a little it did do as predicted and although to breezy for paragliders we had a fun time on the hangers.

Paul H (Red Baron) put in some more time and development on his seated Falcon having great fun and looking so relaxed. gay J let me fly her Sport2 135 and what a toy it is before having a go herself and zooming around the sky. Then i managed a quick fly on Kaz's eagle 145 to finish off the day. All very nice.

Mike c came along to check out the site and Rob turned up to discuss taking up hang Gliding in addition to his paragliding and looked pretty convinced by what he saw so we hope to get him started soon.

Sunny Monday

Adrian gets going on the Hanger with phippsy in hot pursuit

Trev cracks smooth landings and release flights

Graham H gets airborne on the Paraglider with legs akimbo

We were due a bit of good weather and boy did we get it. In the tow filed it was like summer with light winds and plenty of sunshine getting us down to T shirts for a lot of the time.

Adrian A (Gloucester) was along for a go at hang Gliding having tried it back in the late 70's and had a good day working through the basics before getting onto the tow line and putting in some nice first flights although some work is still required on the landings.... Things have changed over 30 years and he was impressed at how much safer and controlled the training is and just how much easier it is on the tow line, he will be back soon i think.

Graham H (N.Devon) came along for a taster day of paramotoring and also had a fun time playing with the paraglider doing really well and putting away 3 super flights getting up to 60' whilst cruising 200m across the field before performing nice stand up landings. To round off his day we introduced him to a power unit, strapped it onto his back and gave him the feel of what is to come should he pursue the sport. a quick demonstration flight showed him how it all works to and seemed to convince him it was the way to go.

Trevor H (Paignton) made a showing and had a great time on the Hanger moving deeper into his EPC with release flights and gentle turns as well as sweetening up his landings so big smile from him.

Good to see Bill N along being as helpful as ever and thanks to winchman Graham M for doing a fine job with the "sticks". It was nice to be back in the field after a bit of a break and lets hope for more of the same soon.

New Toy

Gary (foreground) get in touch with his new Buzz Z3

With Wednesday looking like the only slot this week we set out to make the most of it. By 08.30 we were at Carbis bay to hopefully catch the breeze before it backed and eased. Too late it was already off to the west so we headed to Perranporth where guess what, it was off to the North.



Still patience is a virtue and as Gary V had just taken delivery of his new Ozone Buzz Z3 we got it out checked it over and played ground handing despite a strange wind direction. Malin L joined us to hopefully complete his hill work and joined in the fun.



Slowly the wind came on the hill although always very light and a few took off and sneaked in some airtime followed by slope landings. Finally pretty much as soon as Malin had to leave it filled in and backed up with some nice sea thermals Gary got in the air on his new wing. He enjoyed a lovely flight in up and down conditions finding the Z3 just the ticket.



Nice to get flying back in the UK and hopefully the weather will improve soon ......

Fantastico Finalio and more best evers!!

Lisa gats set to go with full support of the gang

Michelle making the most of it

Pilots gather on Lijar along with a couple of giants (or are they dwarfs?)

Barry sets off on his best flight ever of the trip

Gliders spread out towards twin peaks with space for all

So the last day of our trip dawned bright and blue and with a good forecast for Lijar. light SE. Everyone was up early as we needed stuff packed so we could fly as late as possible then grab the kit and head to the airport. We were first up the hill and first off the hill with the guys all doing excellent demo flights for Fly Spains new class of students.

The first flight were pretty much downers but all good practice and Michelle managed to stretch it out with some ridge soaring whilst Cathy did it with some gentle thermalling. We got a quick turnround in and were back on top before most of the other groups were even up there one flight ahead.

The guys opted to wait for a bit for things to warm up so we ate lunch and watched the fun. By early afternoon it was looking good so it was take off time as gliders climbed in the thermals. Michelle made the most of it as usual having a cracking flight then top landing and doing it all over again with a big smile on his face. The guys and girls had a ball all doing us proud with good launches despite quite a bit of pressure from the assembled masses (over 90 pilots were on site).

Conditions were excellent and soon we had pilots all over the sky thermalling away. trying to keep tabs on them was a full time job but as time went by they were all sorted. Lisa had a fine time practicing her thermalling and finding herself a nice quiet bit of sky. Wanda remembered how to fly and thermalled away with Mark way out front occasionally joined by Barry and Chris as they wafted by. Even Kaz and myself got in on the action and had some cracking flying joining the other pilots, I managed to team up with Michelle and we made a valiant push to twin peaks being within spitting distance as land by time approached. Another 30 minutes would have seen it but we did not want to push our luck too hard!

Landing by the tree everyone was bouncing especially Chris and Barry who both upgraded their best ever flights for the 3rd time in the trip!

It was a fantastic day to end the holiday on with conditions as good as they get. We headed back to the house then it was off to the airport where things went nearly according to plan although Easy jet pulled the old "Oh it's Sports equipment trick" putting a slight damper on it.

So ended Algo' 2010 and what a beauty it was with 19 days flying out of 22 and the majority of the pilots achieving personal bests and everyones flying progressing in one form or another.

Thanks to all who came along hope you all had a good time one way or another and thanks for your your help in making it such a good time. Next year is provisionally booked so get your names in quick..........

Playing Patience and electric chairs

The guys build stone structures

The girls knock them down

Dredgy heads off for a wobbly one

Cathy gets it right and sets off

Lisa starts to inflate as she heads out for some thermaling

It was another hot one with no cloud at all and a light east wind forecast. The choice was between Lijar and montellano and we opted for Lijar. On arrival on top there was a brisk easterly although it was a warm one. The guys played stone building whilst the girls practised yoga followed by trget practice on the guys stone piles!

Slowly the wind came more to the south and Michelle went to practice some ground handling which resulted in him launching and having a rough ride down. He dissapered from sight then came on the radio to say he had landed by the house.

Another hour or so and things got better and the guys gave it a shot with Barry doing best working thermals over the Ronda road. Dredgy got a good bouncing in a loose harness but survived it ok and a lesson learnt. The girls got ready to go and after a wait for the conditions to flick on again Cathy and Lise got away fine. Cathy enjoyed a float down along with a bit of turbulence whilst Lisa took the honours for the day with some super thermalling on her way down only pulling out as she drifted off to the east and towards Algo.

Kaz had headed down and searched the area by the house for Michelle only to find it was not the house but the barn in the normal landing field where Michelle was, still no worries we got them all in the end. We headed back up the hill meeting several groups who had returned from Montellano where it had been light and off as well so six of one and half a dozen of the other. Conditions on top were not good so we enjoyed a stunning sunset and headed down.

The day nearly ended with a shock when Dredgy and Mark were on a clothing retrieval mission involving a long metal pole and some electric cables, Algo was very nearly plunged into darkness !

Team meal in JJ's then most took an early night as it looks like a long day tomorrow.......

A bit more flying

Things get going on the lower launch at Montellano

Mark tries out his nipple and leg tickleing device

Michelle ??

German efficency

The evening magic begins

An early start saw us at Montellano just as the wind pulled on but also as it filled in. A couple of Spaniards provided the entertainment proving it was too strong on top. We split forces and Kaz took a group to check out the lower launch which is where we all ended up pretty soon. It was still windy and despite some flying including Michelle who made it look far too easy, we held fire for better conditions. A bit of fossil hunting a bit of watching some one trying to take off not @clipped in@ and a lot of sun bathing whiled away the time. the girls went for coffee whilst the boys waited it out.

By late afternoon things got better and Michelle and myself tested the air, it was improving. the girls returned and Kaz fired up the troops and was quickly in the air following Barry off the hill. Chris , Steve and Mark soon followed as the sky began to fill. Soon they were getting higher and higher as the evening lift kicked in. Michelle, Kaz, Steve and Mark all made it to the higher level and had some fantastic flying into the evening.

The girls gave the lower a miss and as the wind dropped we headed back to the top. Amazingly it was still very breezy up there so we gave it a miss, Still there were happy plots on the way home as the sun set.

Steve cooked an amazing meal which got the thumbs up all round and it was an early night.

A bit of Flying

Michelle backfrom the first flight of the day

Dredgy cruises Ronda La Vieja

Lisa gets set to go on a cracking soaring flight folloed by a super top landing

Cathy (the high one) gets back in the air for real after a long break

Classic Ronda evening conditions kick in

With the front having passed we headed to the hills and our choice was Ronda La V. We were first there and guess what Michelle was first off the hill. Conditions were scratchy but he made the most of it before popping in on the side. Next we got the girls off for a top to bottom and they all did a fine job even putting in some soaring on the way down. The overnight rain had made the fields and the track a bit on the muddy side so we had a bit of a walk out still they had all done what was needed and hopefully conditions would improve so bottom landings would be avoided.

Indeed they did and soon gliders were soaring well and the site getting busier. Everyone had a great day and the girls all excelled themselves mixing it with the best of them and having some cracking flying before either top landing or slope landing. Mark and Steve rounded off the day by gliding out to the main road in formation whist Michelle did it in his own unique manner lading somewhere else.

It was a happy bunch that returned to Algo .

A bit of history

Testosterone cuts in on the way to the caves

Cave dwellers

The entrance to the BIG cave

Michelle on a rock slide

Indiana Jones studies another dry dam

Ok it was another day not good for flying so we set off to entertain ourselves again. This time we went underground into some ancient caves. The drive to them took us through some great scenery and past an old dam which we put on the list to visit on the way back.

The caves are privately owned and after an interesting session regarding underpayment, suitably sorted by Michelle we were finally allowed in although the Brits were very much the bad boys of the tour group! With only a limited number of paraffin lamps you had watch where you went not helped by a slippery floor. It was a pretty amazing place with stalagmites and tites as well as some strange rock features. The main attraction is some ancient drawings and markings dating back some 25 thousand years.

On emerging safely we headed back towards the old dam where we followed out noses down into a large canyon. At the bottom is the entrance to another cave system this one much larger and open to explore. after a wander into it we came to a halt due to an underground lake but apparently with a bit of kit you can do a 7 hour trip through it. Back up tot he dam, which is dry due to rock faults, the braver went across it to explore whilst the rest headed for the safety of the cars. Reports are that it would be an interesting place to return too ..............

Looking flyable tomorrow.

A bit of Culture

Culture in Seville

Big cathedrals have BIG doors

That's not something you see every day

Kaz relaxes

Yummy

The forecast was poor so we made an early decision to can the day have an easy morning then head to Seville for some culture and shopping! What an amazing place it is , after having split into a couple of groups we headed off to explore. Walking through the park we encountered various sites and the girls found the un official loo's !

By sheer chance we met up around mid afternoon outside the massive cathedral and compared notes. The Plaza Espania took the biscuit although several other buildings ran a close second. Meeting back at the cars all spot on time we headed back to Algo vowing to return sometime for a longer visit.

None flying days are always more tiring, hope it's flyable soon ........