Happy Chapel

 The tandem comes in with Gerry on board

 Happy faces after a cracking flight

 Michel takes up his new toy

 Kaz does a nice approach as Paul impersonates an abonimal snowman

 The Red Baron does a fly by

 Spot the ASKA as the days rounds off

What a fun day out it was with plenty going on at Chapel Porth.  Originally we thought it would be a para day but arrival at Chapel soon changed our minds although to be fair Geoff H (Honiton) down on holiday had a nice flight on his Para just before we arrived.

A flight on the ASKA showed there was plenty of lift around and it to be blowing 22 - 24 so it was a Hangy / ASKA day after all.  Gerry and Gareth down from London on holiday arrived and had no problems in deciding to change their flights from Paraglider to Hang Glider and both had super flights in excellent conditions and smooth lift making life easy.  Nice to see Michel join us in the air on his new toy and looking very comfortable with it, his only problem was how to get it down again! it must have been lifty.

Ian R (Dartmouth) was next on the Tandem and again despite expecting to Paraglide was more than happy to go up on the Hangy and enjoyed the whole experience, well worth the wait.

By the time Ian's flight was over and we debriefed and Kaz was set to go on her hangy the wind had eased back and moved to the south a little.  Kaz was not so sure so i took the delta up for a try.  Yep it was still windy enough and plenty of lift saw me in Big ears to get back down.  Kaz was off and away for a cracking flight whilst i pinched her lunch, yummy.

Big grey and Paul arrived and after a bit of iffing and umming both had nice flights on their Falcons along with Kaz up again on her Eagle.

Jack S who had been with us all day took the chance of a flight on the hangy with me and had a nice one not only enjoying the ride but also proving a natural at flying it too, what next Jack ??

A final flight on the ASKA as Kaz packed up and a super day rounded off with lots of happy faces :) ;) 

Patient at Perran

 Russ practices mincing whilst ground handling

 Martin works off a bit of weight whilst waiting to fly, came in handy as it turned out

 Kaz spouts a giant mohican !

With the occluded front passing through we  canned towing and went for the hill in the afternoon.  At Perran we expected the wind to be off a little but with only a small beach at Chapel and then only for a short time it was not the place to go with low airtimers.......

Things were actually better than we thought and whilst they guys got their kit sorted Kaz and myself had some nice flying on the Paragliders on an almost deserted site.

Conditions got variable so we spent the time perfecting Russel S (Plymouth) ground handling and launch technique whilst Martin J (Plymouth) just worked on his hill ground handling and did a very good job of it too.

As conditions got better again we took the opportunity to get the guys up there with russel going first and putting his third soaring flight with us before slipping in for a top landing.

Martin was next had had a fine time as he floated up and down before the lift lessened. Still with some smooth flying and patience he hung in there until it returned and up he went again.  With altitude regained he came in for a fine top landing to round off his second soaring flight. Only two more to go and he is sorted.

despite hopingto get the tandem out it was not to be so with sunburnt faces we headed home and fell asleep on the sofa!

Thermals and XC's

 Ian gets the day going with a super launch

 Jack thermals up as daisy explains the intricacies of good towing to Emil

 Jack and Emil share the field as they come in to land

 Final words of wisdom to Jake as he sets off for the top

 Phippsy at work !

Another sunny day in the field saw a bit of fun for some and excitement for others still all fine at the end of the day.

Whilst Graham D (Penryn) and Steve W (Derby) got on with their taster days on the Paragliders Ian L (Bristol), Jake C (Somerset) both on the hangy along with Jack S (Truro) and Emil K (Tiverton) chased the wind as it moved around the field.  A couple of winch moves and a bit of theory later we settled down for some lovely towing into a NE sea Breeze.

Jack out for experience tows had a ball on his new wing and hooked into a nice thermal on his third tow and could be heard wooping it up as he climbed above our heads.  despite no vario and no guidance he did a great job and was still up flying around by the time Emil was on his way up.  In fact they both landed together and it was big smiles.

Emil settled into his towing nicely and had a fab day practising spot landings which he perfected nicely with some real beauties.

The Hangy boys worked away steadily popping in 8 flights each  building their turns and confidence whilst again learning the importance of airspeed. By the end of the day they had both done their first flights to the top of the line and one even  gone XC !! They both finished off their EPC tasks and have signed up for CPC so can't be bad, well done guys.

Graham and Steve got onto the winch by mid afternoon and despite a few nerves did really well slowly relaxing a bit with each flight.  They finished off with a release flight each and a gain big smiles ;)

Emils partner Esal cam up for a Tandem flight and had a ball enjoying the views and the thrills and realising just why Emil does it.

Getting more like summer every day so if you come along bring your sun cream, Oh and yes right at the end of the day we had a Deer visit us don't know where it came from or where it went but nice to see.

Patience is a virtue

 Sarah C does a lovely launch whilst Richard M practices ground handling

 Stuart c does his last flight before converting onto Paramotoring

 Mike S gets it sussed as he takes off as straight as can be

 Roy M does a bit of finger knitting

 Still looking good after all these years! The school unit survives another day

With the forecast rain passing through early overnight we headed to the tow field with a busy day ahead and the sun in the sky.

No taster days or day oners helped things along and we were up and towing early in nice lifty conditions with Ian F making the most of them as he got his first thermal flight around the field on his first day after finishing his CPC tasks, can't be bad.  With things looking good and running nicely the wind decided to fill in and combined with the termic activity and it got a bit rough for the students.

As luck would have it it was nearly lunch time so after a bit of ground handling we took a break and it gave me time to get Stuart and Richard now both EPC Paragliding rated going on their Paramotor course with the theory and unit introduction, most handy.

A few decided to leave early and to be fair it did look like the breeze was set for the rest of the day but as it turned out that was not to be.  By the time the Paramotor boys were sorted things mellowed and it was all go again. Whist Stuart and Richard practised ground handling in preparation for having the unit on their backs we got the winch back in action and had a fun time putting pilots into the air.

Mike S back on a refresh had a good time popping in the flights and by the end of the day looking confident and relaxed and back to where he was some 3 years ago.  Jo A and Sarah C (Exeter)  both had cracking days moving into their EPC's by completing release flights before moving onto gentle turns, good to see them back and getting to grips with it.

Jack S (Truro) put in a few more experience flights chasing buzzards and Roy M (Dorset) who was along for some Ti experience as part of his Instructor training took the opportunity for a tow having not done it for 3 years and looked happy as he floated around.

With the Para' students full up it was time for the Paramotor boys to get going again.  Ground handling with a power unit on your back is a very different thing and whist Richard got it sussed Stu needs a bit more practice before he is sorted.  With Richard looking good we fired the unit up and he put in a couple of nice "aborted take offs" both planned before a bit more fuel in and he was set for his first flight.

Richard did a super job making it look all to easy and was soon up and away.  With the wind on the increase again he did not linger and returned to planet earth for a stand up landing and with a big grin. Nice work.

Good to see Keith B in the field and good to see him flying his unit nicely, thanks for a good demo' Keith.  Also nice to see ex student Phil L drop in after his first flight at Godrevy, "how was it Phil?" "interesting"  still it sounded like he enjoyed it and got hi first taste of thermals on the hill :)

Hic ups

An interesting day in the field and whilst not overly busy there was enough going on to keep us on our toes.

Lawrence W (Penryn) was along for a Taster day on the Hangy whilst Josh W (Chiverton) was having one on the Paraglider so they kept both myself and Kaz busy through the morning.  Peter H (Tavistock) was back on a paraglider for some more of his EPC and was joined by Martin J (Plymouth) who was along for some more fun with his experience tows whilst waiting for a return to the hill.

Early afternoon saw the winch in action and things get moving, just as we are in the swing of it and the guys have popped in their first flights the wind changes from the forecast SW to a steady NW so its all change.. Ok off we go again and the winch wont start (operator error)  soon sorted and on we go again.  few tows later and the winch stops  (Phippsy error), no worries we get it sorted and are back on track and things run nicely to th end of the day, they say things come in threes!

By the end of play Lawrence had put in some pretty good flights on the Hangy but the consistency still needs working on. Still he had a fun day and we look forward to seeing hi again soon.

Josh being young did what the youngsters do and made it all look far to easy ending his taster day with a nice release flight.

Peter moved well into his CPC tasks and just had a great time enjoying the air and Martin sorted out his vision problems ........

Quote of the day " where is the nearest petrol station?"

Jumping Jack Flash

 Graham A shows the perfect hand job, sorry position

 Michael B does a cracking launch and is straight into nodding dog :)

 The realisation of Airspeed makes for two happy bunnies

 Kev S on one of his many taster day flights

 Giant Jelly Fish attacks Michael as Phippsy leaves him to his fate.

Whilst the rest of the country basked in sunshine we had a slightly cloudier day in the field however it did make for perfect training conditions and were not complaining!

A more relaxed day than recently saw Graham A ( St Austell) on the hanger (after a bit of sheep moving) make good progress as he worked through the none release flights and into his first release ones and getting the feel of airspeed and how it helps both in turning and landing, good day for him.

Michael B (Sidmouth) was back for more and paced himself well with some ground handling mixed in with his flying.  he improved steadily through his flights popping in his first release flight on the Paraglider and starting gentle turns down to land. he ended the day nicely tired but also nicely happy what more can you ask.

Kev S (Bedfordshire) was along for a Taster day having seen us out at Perranporth yesterday and accosted us for information. Kev had done a little Paragliding over 20 years ago and despite the time it showed helping him in the ground work.  he had a cracking time and due to the relaxed numbers made the most of the day and ended up  with some super flying and release flights.  Be great to see him back when time permits, not sur e the middle of the family holiday is the best time!

Jack S (Truro) had another Jack day being everywhere and doing everything as he does and in amongst it all he managed to complete his CPC tow in fine style with some Assymmetrics and Active flying before just having some fun flights. Jack also helped out by doing some lovely demonstration launches for the camera to show how it should be done which was most useful. Well done Jack, a bit more experience then off the the hill for him. 

Good to have Cpt Kev back out on the winch and congratulations to on gaining her Kaz making gaining her Winch Operator Rating on Paragliders, watch out hangies it's you next.

Quote of the day "are you sure it's dead?"

Carbis Capers

 Martin J enjoys the air on his first hill soaring flight

 Coming in for his first top landing and looking good

 Dave has a great tandem flight in super conditions

 Kaz climbs up on the ASKA

 The ASKA gets put through it's paces by Kaz

 "How much fun is that"

 Phil gets in on the act

After a damp start to the day with no wind at all the forecast breeze arrived around midday and pilots headed to the hills. Some went to Sennen some to St Agnes and we headed to Carbis and with a Northerly or there abouts all three should have been ok.

At Carbis the wind was smack on and around 16 mph on arrival so after a quick test of the air on the Delta we wasted no time in getting Martin J (Plymouth) up and away for his first hill soaring flight on his Gin Bolero 4.  Martin did a super job of it having only been to the hill once before and then in very light winds.  He dealt with the ground handling well and after a couple of beats looked relaxed and smooth as he shared the air with Kaz.

Then it was time to top land, in he cam on the perfect track and popped her down pretty as you please looking just like he had done it all before.  Nice one and well done.

With Martin on the ground Phil l arrived and joined Kaz for some fun flying on his Buzz Z3 whilst I debriefed a still smiling Martin.  Dave (Beacon) arrived along with his wife Jenny (spectating) for a tandem flight and in cracking conditions we were soon up and away for a super flight. With bits of sea thermal drifting through Dave got a chance to fly the glider whilst we had a good old chat.  Back on the ground the chat continued with jenny joining in and it would not surprise me to see them pop by the field sometime.

By now the wind was on the increase which Phil proved with his second flight during which speed bar became the norm rather than the exception. Stiill he realised what was on and made a fine job of coming back in on top and did a cracking landing all in total control.

What next?? Well you guessed it whilst Kaz packed her wing i sneaked out the ASKA and was up and away for some ASKA fun. Conditions were just ideal with nice solid lift yet easy enough to get around at will.  A couple of flights and it was Kaz's turn to have a go.  She had no problems either on the ground or in the air and settled into it quickly.  By the end of play she had popped in four flights and was grinning like a Cheshire cat.  "how much fun is that" was the quote, guess that's the end of my fun then!

Phil L had a quick ground play with it but with the tide in we thought better of throwing him off just in case ...... even so he adapted quickly to the wing and made easy work of it. No doubt the combination of the harness and wing is superb, come and try it.

So a fun afternoon with things achieved and happy pilots and passengers what more can you ask. Oh yes and we even managed to cut the grass when we got home :)

Confusious says

 The day gets going with the hangies in the lead

 Anna P gets weight shift underway

Steve W pops in an Assymmetric

 Jake C a man on a mission

 Rodders C does a nice inflation on the way to his first high flight

 Stuart C shows how to do nodding dog

 Bill shows his best side

 Ann W does a nice correction on the line

 Emil lands nicely on his new Dudek Plus

The kettle sings at the end of a long day, or was it two !

"Where will we be towing from"  a simple question but a very good one to show how easily information can be taken in different ways and both ways are right!  Still the good news is we managed to clarify everything and we had a cracking if somewhat busy day in the field.

From the word go it was going to be a good one with the demo flight on the hangy resulting in me floating around and out of the field in a very lifty and buoyant sky. We quickly had the students on line starting with the hangies whop had a great day. Ian L (Bristol) moved into higher flights and turns making it all look pretty easy whilst Jake C (Somerset) finished off straight and level before moving into release flight and gentle turns.  Both are nicely set to finish off their EPC's next time out with a bit of luck.

After a bit of ground handling the Paragliders lined up and the winch worked steadily through them.  Steve W (Truro) had a good day finishing off his CPC flying tasks with Big ears and Assymetrics alongside Ian F (Gwithian) who did the same manoeuvres but possibly a bit more extreme!  Luckily for both the air was that lifty that even big ears only resulted in a bit of a loss in height, in fact ian had his longest flight after doing them.....

Anna P (Gwithian) made good progress with some super towing, spot landings, 180's and weight shift to put her well into her CPC and looking solid. Emil K had a fun day putting in the experience flights and converting onto his own kit and acting as launch dummy for Steve W to do his launch marshaling on.

Colin B (Dartmouth) moved into release flights and worked on perfecting stand up landings whilst Ann W (Dartmouth) put in her remaining low level releases before going a little higher and starting gentle turns.

Rodders C (Mousehole), Stuart C (Saltash) and Richard M (N.Devon) all had a cracking time working well and being rewarded with their first high flights and circuits at the end of the day and big smiles all round.  Stuart and Richard are both learning to Paramotor so next time out another flight or so each then its a different game :)

With 76 tows put away and a lot achieved it was a credit to all how smoothly it ran , thanks guys once again your help is much appreciated not only by Kaz and myself but by the students as well.......

Fickle Friday

Making a decision both the forecast and on what was happening in the morning we decided to give the hill a go at carbis Bay to hopefully get martin j started on his hill conversion.  On arrival a couple of Paragliders were scratching just below take off and whilst they both did good jobs of managing to sneak in on top it was way to light for normal soaring.

Still we made the most of it acclimatizing Martin to the hill and its ways.  A bit of ground handling helped to settle his nerves and a drop in the wind further helped! So just before midday we opted to pack up and head to the tow field.

The afternoon proved an useful one with Colin B and Ann W making good progress into release flights whilst working on stand up landings rather than sit down ones!  Rodders C Mousehole joined in the fun moving well into his EPC with higher flights and turns down to land and with a bit of luck he should finish it next day out.

Even the wind played ball and whilst switching direction as forecast from NE to NW to SW some swift winch moves kept things moving. :))

Very Busy Bees

 Mike B does a cracking inflation to start of a cracking flight

 Ann W watches as Colin B gets his first flight in

 Dave S studies Phippsy whilst Bill instructs him how to become a Morris Dancer

 Rodders get's back in the air with legs up a little early

 Rodders and Mike b ready to go again

 Stuart puts in a bit of Russian step work as he launches

 Another stage completed in Emils quest to become a Paraglider Pilot

It was full on in the field with pretty much a full house and fortunately the weather to match :)

Things were quiet on the Hangy front with Graham A (Bill Whizz) along to start his EPC after having had a Tandem flight with us a few months ago which sealed his fate!  Graham did really well as he worked through the morning exercises before getting onto the winch after lunch. he popped in several nice flights across the field before having to leave early to entertain some lucky children.

On the paraglders it was a different story with 5 Day oner's being joined by 4 students later in the day. Mike B (Sidmouth), Ann W (Dartmouth, Colin B (Dartmouth), Stuart C (Saltash) and Dave S (Illogan) all got going together and whilst we split them into 2 groups were all pretty much ready to go by early afternoon having done the hard work in the morning.  On the winch they did remarkably well putting in some nice flights across the field and nearly everyone ending up with stand up landings after a bit of practice!

They were joined by Rodders (Moushole) who was back for his second day of his EPC and managed to move ahead a little into release flights after some refresh work due to period away. Ian F (Gwithian) pushed on further into his CPC flights getting Speedbar and Big ears sorted as well as sweetening up his towing in general. jack S (Truro) was as enthusiastic as ever and had a ball moving well into his CPC tasks so nearing the end of his tow course in double quick time. Emil K (Yeovil)  also mega enthusiastic completed his CPC flying tasks in fine style and then rounded off the day by passing his Theory exam so congratulations to him.

A busy but fun day and once again so good to see so many people doing things that they never thought they would be doing by the end of the day.  Big thanks to Tim, Bill Martin and Jack for helping out through out the day and to Big G for a spell on the bike both Kaz and I really appreciate it.

Busy Bees

 Jake gets going on the Falcon

 Kaz keeps an eye on the ground handlers

 Lunch time

 Jack comes in after a thermal flight

 Lawn mowers (or is it Sunday lunch)

It was a busy one out in the field with plenty on and a good mixture of students.

Jake C (Somerset) was back for day two on the Hangy and moved nicely onto the Falcon and slightly higher flights in preparation for release flights.  By the end of the day he had made good progress and learnt all about slow flight and how it affects turnability :)

Jack S (Truro) finished off his EPC on the paraglider before putting in his first high flights to the top of the line and even having the chance to start his thermalling career as things got more lively by early afternoon with a nice flight as he 360'd over the field.

Ian an Anna (Gwithian)  put in some ground handling before getting back into the air with some high flights and again both found out what thermals are like.

Richard M (N.Devon) was along for day two of his paramotoring course and did well finishing off release flights before moving into higher flights with gentle turns before the wind picked up.

John O (Sidmouth) was along for a taster day having done sail planing and power flying over the years and now looking at something more accessible.  John did well as he worked through the ground work but alas by the time he was ready to fly the wind picked up a bit too much so he will have to wait until next time, Wednesday ??

Nice to see a few others along who are interested in learning to fly including Mike b and Shaun both thinking of Paramotoring and thanks to them for their help through the day and patience in waiting to chat to us.

Mike S also made an appearance after a 4 year break and popped in some ground handling in preparation for some recap work before heading to the hill.

Despite the wind picking up a good day and we made the best of the down time by covering the theory side which saw Jake, John and Richard all through their EPC exams and Jack his CPC so well done guys.