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.