over the hill and far above..

Scenic shot as Tony T climbs out on his first hill soaring flight
Patient Paraglider pilots play "where's Tony T?"

...that's where he is guys, learn to fly one, it could be you

Tippy toe top landing, his first, can't be bad

says it all

Different day different sit. It made a change to be on the hill (Perranporth) where we hoped to get some Paragliders up before the wind filled in. Alas it never happened so the danglers had to put up with watching the hangers for a change. Tony T fresh from his CPC success on the tow had perfect conditions for his first hill soaring flight. A sweet take off was followed by some super smooth soaring on the dear old Mars, yes the very same one, and ended with a tipy toe top landing resulting in a huge grin and round of applause. Can't print his comments here but the word amazing did feature amongst the less publishable ones.

Graham W (Torquay) was also along to hopefully get back into flying after a 16 year lay off, we actually taught him when he was only 16 himself, and did a fine job on the Calypso despite being suitably nervous.

Tony got a second flight in as the wind freshened and got some good height before once again bringing the glider back in "on top" to round off a amazing day for him. Looks like he will head back to Sussex a very happy man with the added bonus of starting his hill conversion on top of the CPC he hoped to get. H's already booking up to start a Paragliding course along with a power conversion so we must be doing something right.....

...and again!!

Tell O heads off at the end of the day
Bev C sets off at the start of her first flight


Deebah A gets air under her feet on her Taster Day

Chris C looking neat on his way to 150' on his second day

Nick F comes into land after a high flight

Tony T looking "good" on the Calypso

What a glorious day it was with more fun and flying in the field. Bev C (Perranwell) and Deeba A (Truro) were along for Taster Days on a Hang glider and Paraglider respectively. Both worked hard in the morning session getting to grips with their chosen sport and by lunchtime there was hope for each of them! In the afternoon they both got onto the winch with Debba putting in three super flights on the Paraglider and Bev doing really well on the Hang Glider showing that the secret of success is to relax resulting in three nice flights, in both cases landings have room for improvement. Big smiles from the both of them, well done gals.


Chris C (Bev's 16 yr old son) was back for his second day and had a fab' time getting better and better and by the end of his day he was getting up to 150' off the ground releasing the line, turning and coming in nicely to land. We shall see if he decides to continue, would be good to see some younger pilots out there.


Nick F cracked on with his training in readiness for the Paramotor and moved quickly into high flights and circuits, he worked hard on the forward launches which will pay dividends when he gets the power pack on his back.


Tony T kept at it on the Hang Glider and is ready for a trip to the hill, hopefully tomorrow along with Mick L and Dean F for hill conversions.


Tell O had another epic day on his powered Hang Glider putting in 5 flights including a good XC to Falmouth and back and a "high altitude" one then an unpowered flight down, he went of home with yet another huge grin.

Sunny days are here again

A cracking day in the field with loads going on. Matt F (Truro) and Chris M (Perranwell) came along for taster days ( well a 2 day taster in Chris's case) on Paragliders and joined in with Nick F (Exeter) who was along for an assesment day with a view to taking up paramotoring having done some work with a hill school previously. They all had a top day with Chris and Matt getting there first flights on a Paraglider by the end of the day across the field at up to 60'. Nick's previous experience helped him out a little and we took him a little further getting in release flights and setting him up nicely for future training which he is up for.
Tony T took it easy on the hanger with a couple of flights on the Calypso which he got on well with before taking an early bath in rediness for tomorrow.
Ray D cracked on with his CPC puting away hs Big Ears and Assymetric tasks leaving only his speed bar to go, nice one.
Clare, Tom, Donna and Steve came along and had some excellent tandem flights giving such lovely views they had to be seen to be believed.
Tell O (Warminster) buzzed around on his powered Hang Glider, Pete Lazenby on his Paramotor along with Richard W who dropped by. Glyn P, Mick Wmade up the numbers to give a very busy day, still all good fun.

Nice 'n' easy

It was a more relaxed day in the field with Steve D (North Cornwall) getting on the winch for his first towed flights after his "hard" day in brisk conditions things were a lot easier for him. He had a busy day putting away a total of 14 tows which ended up with flights to 200' releasing the line and good turns down to land, about 2 1/2 days work in one I reckon!
Tony T (Sussex) kept at it on the Hang Glider and converted to a chest release system and experienced the joys of slow flying and gentle stalls, nearly there, another day should see his CPC completed.
Keran and Garrick R came along for some Tandem flights as a top up to their taster days andgot to see what they could soon be doing if they continue. Ruth and Tim (Cardiff) down on holiday also opted for the Tandems and were blown away by their flights with Ruth letting pretty much everyone within several miles know when she took off! Jenny P also got her first taste of Paragliding on the tandem which has convinced her she will be back for more.
Phil S (Plymouth) had a nice flight on his Rio looking and feeling more at home as he tunes in to the light handling. Gay J and Bill got some Paragliding flights in to keep them current and Paul H put in a couple of flights on the Paramotor to consolidate his restricted endorsement. Even I managed to get up on the Paramotor so it must have been a quieter day.... Ohh and the sun shone for some of it.

A "Hang" of a day

What a super day in the field it was with a good mixture of flying going on, in fact it was a very rare day in that the only students were on Hang Gliders as all the Paragliders were qualified pilots. Gerry W (Hereford) did well on the Condor moving into untethered flight putting in seven tows and looking smoother after each one to get him well into his EPC tasks. Tony T (Sussex) cracked on with his CPC tasks getting through base bar and prone conversions in fine style whilst sweetening up his general flying at the same time. Tell O (Warminster) was back on his Doodlebug power unit and had a "cracking" day in more ways than one putting in three flights and logging nearly two hours airtime. Phill S was back after a year long break getting to know his Rio Hang Glider and did a fine job, nice to see him and share in his humour again.

Phil ? (Derbyshire) visited us and had a top day on his Wasp power unit exploring west Cornwall and enjoying the views. Mick l was racking up tows in readiness for his hill conversion (maybe this week) and had a fun time practising Big Ears and speed bar amongst other things. Glyn P (Wollacombe) dropped by and kept his hand in by putting in several tows in buoyant conditions. Pete C (Winchman) enjoyed his day off playing with elusive thermals, really must give him some tips some time. Kaz P put in a few flights to keep her hand in and Sarah P, Lee P and Lauren ? all enjoyed Tandem flights in super conditions. This truly is summer!!!!! Sorry no piccies cameras broken.....

"Handy" day for some

It was bright and sunny in the tow field to get The taster day Paragliders going with brothers Garrick and Kyran R joined by Dan T for a crack at paragliding. Steve d was also up for it starting his EPC course. The wind quickly freshened making the ground handling challenging but in fairness everyone did well. Gerry W got back on the hang Glider in the by now bouncy conditions and did a good job as he flew across the field with full tethers just in case. By ate afternoon things had moderated enough for us to get some excellent hand tows going on the paragliders. It was hard work (especially for Tim and myself) but by the end of the day the guys were all looking pretty sweet as they flew across the field under two man power. Gerry got some more flights on the hanger to round off an energetic day, still saves on fuel I guess!

Indian Summer favours the Brave

What a day we had out in the field. The morning saw the "hard" work with Jerry W (Heroford) getting to grips with a Hang Glider on day one of his EPC alongside Tony T who was back with us to start his CPC following his EPC that he gained last October. Meanwhile Chris D on a Paragliding Taster Day went through the ground work in readiness for his tows. Lunchtime saw Lorraine E come along for a Tandem flight which she thoroughly enjoyed especially as she could see her own house from the top of the tow line. The guys were soon on the winch with Chris having some super flights ending in stand up landings on the paraglider and big smiles, an excellent taster day. Tony T got back into it without too much trouble and by the end of the day put in his first high flights moving on to the "Mars" as well. Jerry did really well and ended the day flying nicely across the field on the hanger so should hopefully get off the tethers tomorrow weather permitting.
Jim S ( South devon) completed a tow endorsement on his new Rush 2 which he can't speak highly enough of and had a fun day with it learning a few new tricks along the way.
Add into this lot Adam W, Bill N, Tony P, Kaz P, and Tim J all getting some tows in it was a busy but fun day, long may it continue....

Spinny wizzy day

St Michaels Mount and westwards from Ben's powered Hang Glider

Proof that Giants live in Cornwall as foot prints show one going for a swim

Ben F photographer and noe Powere hang Glider pilot

What a gorgeous day in the field playing with the power units. Ben F back down from Swindon came along to finish off his Powered hang Gliding rating which he did in fine style. After a couple of "warm up" flights he disappeared for an hour and 20 minutes on his 30k XC flight taking in some lovely sites as he flew over Portreath, Carn Brea, Stithians, Praa Sands before heading back to the North Coast. He then topped it of with a final flight taking in both coasts again before landing back at the field in nil wind, well done Ben.

Pete L was out having fun on his unit although technical difficulties did interfere with his day. Paul H on the other hand got to try out the new school unit (Fly Products Power 115) which performed faultlessly and after mastering the basics of running around the field with it on his back was soon set up for his first flight. Five cracking flights later with not one aborted launch he was smiling from ear to ear, not bad for his first day on one.

Nice to have Richard W drop in on his Paramotor for a chat who was pleased to have some new friends to play with. Only shame was it would have been a good day for towing with plenty of lift around, still there is always tomorrow...

The Old, the not so old and the young

It was perfect training conditions in the tow field for Chris P and Nick G who were back for some more Paragliding. They both found conditions much easier than Sunday and were quickly on the tow line with Chris getting his first taste of it. By the end of the day they had put away over 20 tows between them and were happily releasing and doing nice smooth turns followed by stand up landings, top day.
Mick L put in an appearance and completed his CPC tasks with his final Asymmetric before just playing in what proved to be very buoyant conditions. Bill< Kaz and Adam all had fun on the line.

Jamie and Lydia who are twins aged 12 and from across the Big Pond came along for Tandem Flights and had a fun time making the take offs and landings easy as they weighed in well under most passengers, so good to see youngsters up for it, not sure who smiled most them or me....

Hope to get some piccies up if sent them

More chilled day in the rain

The day started off pretty good with a little sunshine and a moderate breeze. Warren D (Saltash) was along for a Taster Day on a Hanger whilst Chris Pearce (Stithians)was along for the first day of a Two day taster on a Paraglider, also out was Nick G for his second day on a Paraglider. The Para boys did well with the ground handling despite the breezy conditions and Chris was quick to get a grasp of the basics and how to stay safe. Warren found life with the Hanger easier as conditions were nearly ideal and to be fair he had a good feel for it. By early pm the breeze had not eased so with the Paragliders being restricted to hand tows we had some fun getting them into the air, Chris's face was a picture as we towed him aloft and kept him there for as long as we liked.
Kaz flew over the field courtesy of Sue B in her Sky Arrow aircraft whilst on a scenic tour of west Cornwall and gave us a wing waggle on the way to brighten up our day.
Tim ran the winch out for the Hanger just as the first spots of rain were felt and by the time the demo' flights were done it was a light drizzle. Still undeterred warren clipped in and did a great job on his first hops and was quickly getting into it. By the end of the day he was flying nice and relaxed across the field and even putting in some nice landings, think he should give it a go myself. We packed up in the wet at the end of what turned out to be a good day with plenty getting done lets hope the next one is drier.

Busy day in the sunshine

With a good workload on we arrived at the field to find perfect conditions. Neil t and mark L got on with rigging the Hang Glider for their Taster day whilst Nick G got introduced to the Paraglider for the Start of his 2 Day Taster session. Pretty soon all were getting on with the ground work and having fun. Just after lunch the "Tandems" arrived with the group swelling to 5 so making a busy period. Paul K was first up followed by Sarah , Mark R, Garrick and Steph' who deserves a special mention as she overcame some real fears to do the flights. All had a top time enjoying the view and the ride down, think we may see some of them again.
Then it was back to it getting the Taster Days boys on the winch who were now joined by Will G who following an earlier Taster Day had decided to go the whole hog and Learn. Neil and Mark worked hard on the Hanger with it has to be said varying degrees of success, but by the end of the day they both had me running as fast as I could to keep up as they flew across the field.
Nick found the Paragliding a little easier and had three cracking flights setting him up well for his second day. Will G moved on nicely into his EPC tasks with his first release flights and gentle turns.
A long day but smiley faces all round and it's always nice to introduce people to the feeling of flight.

A right shower at Perranporth

With a good forecast we headed out to Perran to fine it nicely flyable on arrival. A quick session up on Kaz's Mojo 2 confirmed this and all of a sudden everybody was turning up. Within 30 minutes there was a good gathering and pilots quickly made the most of conditions. I took the opportunity to take my sister Chris up on the Paraglider an experience that she thought was just amazing. Whilst in the air we could see rain on the sea so landed with plenty of time to spare. Whilst conditions did get just flyable after the rain for some it did see pretty much the end of the good times putting some on the beach and others slope landing. Still all good fun and ray D got his first taste of ground handling on the hill..........

Leaps and bounds at vault

Gunny joins Kaz after a 5 month lay off

Gay J celebrates getting her hill endorsement

Chris S heads out for his final endorsement flight

Kaz, Chris, Gay and Gunny enjoy flying together

Based on a positive forecast of the wind backing and staying light we headed out to Vault bay at midday. Arriving on site things were not so good so we played with Paul's model and tested the air with Paul H himself on his Paraglider. After a couple of hours things began to change wit the wind moving on and the lift increasing. Gunny was next off and did a good job having not flown for 5 months working the lift before slipping in for a good top landing. Kaz P then had a shot and whilst she was up there things got even better so Gay J and Chris S who were along to hopefully finish off their hill conversions got kitted up. With kaz safely down gay took off and was soon hundreds of feet up enjoying the lift and the view before performing a first class top landing. Chris followed suit and proved things were getting even better before he to slipped it in on top.
Now it was play time with everyone now a qualified hill pilot. Within minutes there was five gliders in the air having a ball. Gay and Chris did well mixing with the others, Paul, Kaz and Gunny. After about 40 minutes Paul led the way into the corner field to land with the others following him in at the end of a cracking afternoon. Well done Gay and Chris, watch out for them on the hills.

So much Sun So much Fun!

from left to right Adam, Chris S (firts hill soaring) and Dougial M (tandem)
Chris S after landing his first soaring flight
Dougal M comes in on his tandem


It was a glorious Sunny day at Perranporth where it started off breezy so it was up with the Hang Gliders to begin with. Paula (Mick L's sister) cam up first for a tandem flight and didn't stop talking from the moment we took off, she had a super flight and was amazed by the whole thing. Genevieve (that not how you spell it I am sure) was next and also had a top time whilst we played with the sea thermals dodged the other hang Gliders and by now kept an eye out for the odd Paraglider. Finally it was my turn to be on the recieving end when Tim J took me up for a check out flight, we had fun in the now gentler breeze trying get enough lift to top land but we managed it in the end.

A quick flight on the Rush to check conditions then it was out with the Tandem Paraglider to take Peter K up for what was his Christmas present. No sooner had we launched when the air bagan to fill with paragliders and we had a fun time flying with them whilst Pete took in the views before top landing.

A series of tandems as passenger followed with Dougie who completed his tandem rating in fine style and was looking very sweet by the end of the day which he rounded off by taking his wife Julie up as his first passenger as a qualified tandem pilot, nice one.

In between flights gay J took to the air for her first hill soaring flights on a Paraglider and proved that the Mojo1 can still mix it with the best of them. She put in a couple of good flights and top landings to take her one step away from her hill conversion. Chris S followed suit and thoroughly enjoyed himself soaring the cliffs amongst the traffic also putting in two good flights.

To finish the day off Ray D who was down took up the offer of a Tandem flight and spent a pleasant 45 minutes with me scooting along the cliffs as the lift dropped. We persisted and having as Ray put it got on first name terms with all the people on the beach finally managed to find some lift and get back in on top.

By now the BBQ was well underway so a bonus at the end of a busy day.

Good to see lots of old students out having fun on both hangers and para's if only every day was like this.

Up with the lark ( well at least some seagulls)

With a soarable slot forecast early before the wind increased and the rain came there was quite a gathering ( 5 to be precise)at Perranporth by 07.30. Amazingly it wasn't windy enough so we had to wait a bit for it to fill in. The time was not wasted with some ground handling, slope landings and Dougie getting to grips with his new Tandem wing.
The wind veered and filled in and pretty soon it was soarable with Paul h getting up there first. Dougie took me up as passenger to get his first tandem flights under his belt as pilot in command. Have to say it's always weird going up as passenger but Dougie did a good job although a little more practice is required on the landings, maybe tomorrow. Kaz go up there with Paul as the wind picked up a bit more and pretty soon it was getting towards the top end for paragliders. Add a couple of flights on the school Mojo 1, still a nice glider after all the work it has done and by 11 o'clock it was all over.

Nothing quite like a quickie

Passenger's feet whilst watching the surfers


Whils't working away on the winch this evening I glanced up to see that the wind had dropped and veered to the west, hmm on at Paerran I thought. K was keen to get out so off we headed at 19.00 and arrived to find it pleasantly on. being in a lazy mood we decided to get the Tandem out so having to pack only one wing away. We had a nice flight playing with some evening thermals whilst watching the surfers and landed just as the sun was setting and the wind was picking up. Hopefully we may sneak out early tomorrow morning to do some tandem work with Dougie for his rating if the predicted slot appears.