Busy, busy, busy

It was a busy day from the start with lots going on

Glyn P settled nicely bck into towing after a fair break

Matt W got to grips with the Hang Glider resulting in some super flights

Andy W gets airborne at the start of his Tandem flight ....

and stayed airborne during it .....

before coming back to earth with a gentle touch down

It was another full on day at the tow field with pretty much everything you can imagine going on. Matt T (Redruth) came along to start off his Hang gliding training and had a super day getting through the initial stages easily and nicely relaxed. On the winch he quickly gained confidence and by the end of the day was flying nicely at heights up to 60 and getting in his first release flights, an excellent start to his EPC course.

Nigel (Birmingham) came along with his Mosquito (powered Hang Gliding unit) to gain further experience, having flown it several times before, and after a few tows on the winch to get his hand in gave powered flight a go. Unfortunately and abortive take off resulted in a damaged prop resulting in stopped play, still a valuable lesson learnt, don't try to correct right hand turns on take off, just spit the throttle and stop.

Gay J made huge progress on her Paraglider training completing her EPC flights and moving well into the CPC schedule and looking more confident with every flight. At this rate another couple of days and she will be sorted.

Mick L also had a top day on the Paraglider moving through the first part of his CPC tasks and starting on the Instability stuff. Add to this the spot landing crown for the day and no wonder he had such a large smile on his face.

Ray D turned up mid afternoon and was quickly in the air building up his high flights and getting inot his early CPC tasks. Ray not only gave Mick a run for his money on the spot landings but set new standards for dress etiquette turning up in shirt and slacks all topped off with a nice pair of Crispi boots! Others please take note this is the kind of dress wear we expect in the future......

Pete L put in another good flight on his Paramotor flying off to Hayle to take some more stunning pictures of Cornwall from above before returning and carrying out a landing by his vehicle to save a walk.

Paul H buzzed off on his Doodle Bug for an hour or so heading to the south coast to visit Mark and Wanda at Praa Sands and playing with the convergence on the way. As ever Paul did a cracking landing making powered Hang Gliding look easy.

Andy W came along for a Tandem flight on the Paraglider and was rewarded with a couple of nice flights one to enjoy the views and the other to enjoy the ride and looked well pleased with himself on landing.

Add to this Dean F, Paul C, Chris S, Tony P , Glyn P and Kaz P (all qualified CPC pilots) who were getting in some flying and it was a busy day with Tim putting away 80 tows before we packed in at 19.00. Phew an early night at last!

Fun in the sun

With six Taster Days on board along with a tandem, experience flights and some paramotoring it was always going to be a busy day. Steve S, Shaun P, Lawrence B, Paul W, Alan C and Stewart C were all along for a boys day out trying Paragliding. They had a great day getting a good taste of the sport from beginning right through to their first flights. With much mickey taking between them it was also a fun time for us to see them progress and have fun. By the end of the day they were all flying nicely across the field and getting up to 60' off the ground on their final flights before carrying out some top landings and one or two not quite so good ones!

Gay J got her first taste of the winch on a Paraglider and had an excellent day moving well into her EPC tasks with a total of 10 flights.

Pete L had a super flight on his Paramotor cruising the North Coast at heights up to 2000' and taking some lovely photo's (hopefully he will send us some) before returning to the field in fine style.

Paul H went buzzing around on his Doodle Bug (powered Hang Glider) playing with the convergence cloud on his first flight and taking a more sedate route on his second.

Lee H & Dean F put in plenty of experience tows in the evening in readiness for the hill conversions when the weather plays ball alongside Kaz P and Bill W (thanks for the bike riding Bill) who were just out playing.

Jenny W came along and had a couple of Tandem flights on the Paraglider thoroughly enjoying them. Having been up in a balloon a couple of of days before she's having a top time proving that life doesn't stop at 63!

Tim did an excellent job on the winch putting away 60 tows and another lat (ish) day

Dawn till Dusk

First the Hang check ......

next the ground runs ......

all leading to first flight's

Team Winsport after a fun time getting a taste for Hang Gliding, this could be you

Too good a sunset not to put in here

Peachy takes the last tow of the day, again

The day started a little damp and overcast but with a promising forecast we headed to the field and by the time we got there things had already begun to improve. Ian & Michelle (down on holiday) were along for a Taster Day on the Hang Glider and it was refreshing to see two "youngsters" with so much enthusiasm going for it. Whilst the Paragliders ground handled, we worked our way steadily through the rigging, checks and basic ground work with both of them taking to it well. The breeze increased by mid morning making it top end for paragliding but ideal for hangers so Ian and Michelle had near perfect conditions. After lunch and a spot of "Car Cracking" (they locked themselves out) it was on with the hand tows followed by the real thing. They both did an excellent job on their first flights and by the end of the day were flying smoothly across the field in one go before landing nicely on their feet with some of the biggest grins I've seen, nice one.

With the wind still too much for the Paragliders we had a break whilst waiting for the next batch to arrive. getting bored sitting around we gave Lee H and Tony P (paraglider pilots) a quick taste of Hang Gliders with some ground runs. They were both really surprised at just how easy it was compared to what they expected, think we may have some converts soon, give it a try sometime to see what you think.

We then had the instructors from Windsport (Sailing School) turn up for a Hang Gliding Introduction session as a team building exercise so it was back down to it. By 20.15 we were getting the first ones onto the tow line and with the breeze now dropping we alternated between the Hang Glider and the remaining Paragliders to get in some cracking towing. The Boys from Windsport all did a good job and all got their first flights in across the field looking like they had done it before (well nearly) as the sun began to set.

Again it was big smiles all round as we packed up to a glorious sunset, what more can you ask

Bit of this and a bit of that......

....but not quite enough of either! The day started early in the field where Pete l was ready with his paramotor when Ben F from Swindon and myself arrived. The breeze was already on the increase and whilst Ben rigged his Hang Glider and Booster power unit it continued to increase to a level to much for the Paramotor. Ben however managed 3 flights before conditions got to much but these flights were good experience giving Ben the opportunity to deal with rougher conditions than on his last visit. Still with only another couple of flights to complete his restricted licence it was a little frustrating.
Next it was off to the hill on the other side of the county where the wind was expected to be a little lighter to begin a Tandem endorsement with Dougie m from Plymouth. Arriving on site the wind was on the light side and fairly well off the hill. A quick flight on the Rush2 confirmed the lack of lift!. Still rather than waste time we popped Dougie into the Rush2 to get his opinion on its ground handling, the verdict, well best ask him but it was very positive to say the least. After a couple of hours things looked a little better with the odd seagull staying up so i gave it a shot and found good lift although the wind seemed to be increasing fairly smartly. Dougie was tempted enough to take the Rush2 up and had a super flight before the wind increased even more. What did he think of the glider in the air, pretty much the same as on the ground, "impressive" was the word. Do yourself a favour and take a test flight on it or at least try it on the ground!

So neither of the days objectives actually got achieved but you can't win them all ......... can you?

Power to Pete

After a super day afloat enjoying the sunshine we headed to the field in the evening after the thermals had died down and the sea breeze died away to get Pete L airborne on his Paramotor. Pete had a couple of super flights climbing up to 1500' and cruising along North Cliffs towards Portreath and back taking in the stunning views. Add to this a couple of excellent landings and it was a good day all round. Shame we didn't have a camera, the air was so clear.

Handy day in the field, oh, and a bit at Perranporth

Gay J gets airtime whilst Pete C lends a hand

Tony A looking good as he gets the hang of it

Gay J looking good and concentrating hard by the looks of it

With blue skies lots of sun and some very nice looking fluffy clouds it was a fun day in the field where Tony A and Gay J got their first tastes of Paragliding. With the wind a little breezier than forecast they both did well with the ground handling where Tony had to go against his natural tendencies for controlling the wing born from 15 years of traction kiting. After lunch they both were both ready for some hand tows which in the fresh breeze gave some super flights for them and some good exercise for myself and PeteC. By the end of the day they were both flying competently across the field getting as much air as they wanted and carrying nice landings. Several others were along for the day but unfortunately due to the wind were unable to tow. Ray D did very well with his ground work in what was not the easiest of conditions, wait till he tries it on an easy day. Piccies courtesy of Glyn P.

Kaz and myself had to nip over to Perranporth in the evening and on the way dropped by the hill to find it nicely flyable at 20.30 so we both sneaked in some flying which included some good thermic lift presumably the heat being pushed off the beach by the high tide. Landing at 21.45 it rounded off a nice day.

Tasty day at Perran

What a cracking day it was for Hangers at Perranporth. Rod P from Newquay was along for a Taster on a Hanger and it wasn't long before he was getting his first experience of free flight. In near perfect conditions he got in some super tethering on the top where there was just the right amount of lift for him to "soar" his way to the front. By mid afternoon there were several other hangers in the air including Kev W from Bristol who had come down to test fly the T2 144 and was suitably impressed and Tim J who was trying out a Talon 150 for size and also looked pretty pleased with it. Rod took full advantage of the conditions with a Tandem flight in the afternoon and had a go at flying the glider up and down the cliffs at 300'. All in all a very nice day with plenty going on and lots of fun to be had.

12 up at Perranporth

Pulling in for a fly past at launch, makes your eyes water

Even got time for a chat while you are up there

Classic view of the cliffs and dunes from the Tandem at Perranporth

It was a cracking day at Perranporth for Hang Gliding with a fresh breeze proving a little too much for the Paragliders. It was good to see several "old" faces pitch up along with some of the more regular ones, almost like old times with ex students getting re acquainted. We rattled of six tandem flights on the Hang Glider having some good flying along the full length of the ridge. Several Paraglider pilots took the opportunity to try a Hanger and who knows some may even become converts in time!

Back in the field (at last)

Chris H floats into land under a nice looking sky

Ray D comes into land after his first High flight

It was good to get back out in the tow field after whats is probably our longest ever break, lets hope the weather plays ball from here on. It was a quiet day with Ray D being the only student on site which gave us a nice way to get back into the swing of things. Ray made excellent progress both in his ground handling and in his flying and completing his EPC. He put in a total of 8 flights the last 4 of which were high flights and circuits so moving him into his CPC tasks, life gets easier from here on. I managed to get plenty of flights in on the Rush 2 enjoying playing in the bouncy conditions whilst ray had a rest. Lets just hope the weather keeps coming.

Two up at Perran

All dressed up and somewhere to go, Shirley G ready for the off

Up and away, even got time for a wave and a smile

Thursday afternoon saw some pleasant flying at Perranporth where we took the opportunity to get the tandem Hang Glider out giving Shirley G (over from Australia) the chance to experience flying with the seagulls. Conditions were fine allowing us to use the full length of the dunes from Perranporth itself down to Penhale and back. The site was amazingly quiet with Nigel S being the only other Hanger out on such a lovely afternoon.

Buckingham Palace

On the way to pick up the award we stopped by to see the boss

The Anne Welch Award side one
The Anne Welch Award side two

Wednesday saw us head to London to pick up an award from the Royal Aero Club. The "Anne Welch Award" in recognition of our dedication and quality of instruction. The presentation was held in the Royal Air Force Club in Piccadilly and what a smart place it is, lots of people in uniform and lots of pictures of aeroplanes.

The do itself was good with the presentations being made by Air Chief Marshal Sir John Allison KCB CBE FRAeS (of Strike Command fame) his views on protecting the recreational and free flying community were very welcome. Tried hard to talk him to having a go at the real thing, you never know. I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting up with some old Friends who were there and I hadn't seen for well over 10 years. Ok so it wasn't in Buckingham Palace but we did drop by that way whilst up there.