Good to be back in the saddle

After a bit of a break what with trips etc it was good to get out for a bit of teaching. The site was Perranporth with Luke C (Bath) along to hopefully complete his hill endorsement and get him onto his new Sport 2. On arrival the wind was well north and light ish but we rigged anyway whilst a couple of Paragliders made the best of it. Surely enough the wind came more on the hill and the sea thermal activity increased making periods of good lift and periods of poor lift, not overly good for learning to soar.

Still patience is a virtue and whilst I played on a Paraglider Luke waited and watched. Early afternoon and the wind filled in getting top endy for para's so it was time to try a hangy. After a cracking flight on the Calypso thermalling up with Steve H on his Paraglider it was time for Luke to get going.

By the end of the day he had put away four excellent flights, two on the Calypso followed by two on his Sport 2 all with good top landings and got plenty of thermal experience as well. So with another hour and forty five in his log he is now CPC qualified in both hill and tow, watch out for him on the hills and well done.

Several others had a good time to on hangers including Graham A and Kieth S who both had super soaring and landings and also Geoff b who took my T2 for a spin and promptly circled up and disappeared inland under some big clouds, guess that's the last time I'll see that glider then.

Here's to more of the same to come over the Christmas break

Swiming and soaring

Kaz plays in the Atlantic

The French play in the sand

Sharing the air with the locals

Perfect way to end the day as Kazfloats by

We made an early decision to head to the coast to make the most of the day and in particular I wanted to check out Vejar for future reference. On arrival it was bright and sunny and nearly soarable at Conil but not quite. Kaz ventured into the sea whilst the french did some ground handling on th ebeach. After a spot of sun bathing we headed off to Vejar whre it was on the windy side but smack on.

A short walk and things calmed down alittle indicated by some local pilots getting in the air. Conditions looked good so Kaz took the opportunity and was soon up there with them to enjoy the lovely evening air before slipping in back ontop as the sun dropped behind the approaching frontal cloud.

Another lovely day and probably the last flight this trip except the one on easy jet of course! See you back in the uk soon, hope the weather is nice.

A couple of beauties

Normal "service" is returned to Lijar

The evening sky fills on the west launch in superb conditions

No it's nothing to do with the girl in the fruit shop Tony. Arriving on top it was a bit breezy and gusty so it was chill out in the car and more spanish practice. The hot shots got going on some really thin wings then as things eased and they stopped folding there tips in the masses got ready to go. Again it was a bit cyclic but Kaz took off into a screamer which saw her top of the stack in about four 360's! Unfortunately this was at the inversion level where she got a good bashing before slipping back down below it and heading out to play with more sedate lift over the valley.

I had a super flight under a totally blue sky but with plebty of lift around and again some very friendly Vultures to play with. Landing at the bottom our timing was spot on for a lift back up.

By now the west launch was on so we both had a super evening flight in busy but lifty air with vultures that were trying to sit on my lap I swear. Landing in the cafe field rounded off a cracking day followed by another fun evening. What will tomorrow bring........

Wheres the wind

A light NE forecast saw pilots at Ronda La V, Lijar and Montellano so spacing everyone out. Ronda didn't work, Montellano did for a bit although most were just top to bottoms and Lijar saw the best of it. Kaz was first off at Montellano showing the masses the way and I held back sneaking in the only soaring flight of the day at that site.

Lijar worked in the afternoon where most pilots ended up. Lovely meal out where Kaz had the most amazing chicken in mushroom and peppercorn sauce, yummy.

Tomorrow looks like the wind will be back to the south....

Relax

The cold front has passed

Paras dangling at Teba

Hanger makes it look easy on the main launch at Teba

The front has passed and the sun came back along with a north breeze so we checked out Teba where it was fresh enough in the compression but ideal for hangers. Whilst flyably we gave it a miss deciding to check out some other launches whilst there. Heading back to Algo via Ronda La V we both had a lovely evening flight in smooth lift to round off a lovely day. Met some new firends in JJ's so late night.

Not so busy, wonder why

Breakfast with our houses mates

A different story at launch

Lone hangy "boyd" has the sky to himself

It was a day off with a fresh SW wind allowing only the Hangers to fly and even then it was breezy enough in the landing field. Chilled day practicing Spanish, can now count to 10 and ask where are you from!

Clouds and Vultures

Busy on the hill must be 50 + pilots

On the way to "twin peaks"

Plenty of lift, gliders and vultures

Flying the street back towards Lijar

With a light SE on the cards we headed up the mountain where we arrived at launch to find it BUSY in fact very busy. Still the sky was working with nice cumulus around and plenty of gliders showing the lift although it was still possible to go down if you caught the wrong cycle.

Kaz got off first and climbed out from launch before heading out to play withsome thermals before going into land as she was still under the weather. I had a super flight although getting pretty low to start with before climbing out and working my way to "twin peaks" where I spent an hour or so flying with the vultures before heading back to Lijar. The wind had veered to the west so after playing with the clouds over the hill I top landed so making sorting the vehicle easy.

An evening flight off the west launch was on but we turned it down as still pretty tired from travelling. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Escape

Having looked at the weather forecast for the UK for the week we decided to take a break and head to sunnier "climbs" It was a long day travelling but we arrived back in Algo at 13.30 where it was overcast and a bit damp, bit like the UK really! Still after a coffee and bite of lunch things cleared up and we were soon up Lijar where I had a super flight for about an hour before landing as the skies filled with more and more wings enjoying the evening lift. Kaz was a bit under the weather having left the UK with a cold starting so gave it a miss.

Nice start to our holiday.

Sucked off at St Agnes

The lift moves in as the smoke begins to get sucked out to sea

Stunning rainbow, looked much better in real life!

looking back at take off from "well out"

Time to get down as things begin to get really black and lifty

Having been out on Monday to Godrevy for a flight in the UK sunshine, all be it a brief one I thought I'd try again at St Agnes. It was an interesting afternoon with the wind non existent to light and across the hill on arrival but soon picking up and moving on as a large cloud street moved in.

Cruising the ridge in gentle but steady lift saw me up to 300' ato as the street got nearer. With smoke inland now being drawn upwind into the cloud it was a fair bet that it would be working. Sure enough next thing steady lift all the way as i pointed out to sea to take some piccies of a stunning rainbow.

Approaching cloudbase the lift got really strong and with it raining downwind and pretty much all around it was time to land. Burning off the height I arrived back on Terra firma landing in a 6mph wind at 90 degrees to the slope. Within two minutes there was no wind at all. Not a day to get it wrong on !

Inflations and deflations

Steve M packs up after alovely last flight at Ronda La V and an amazing two weeks of flying

Michelle looks pleased at the end of his week away

Kaz last to land rounds of a cracking trip

Gunny "I don't snore at all" keeps Ray awake

Ray pulls a dog at the airport, or is it Nigel pulling ??

It was an early get away from the house and off to Ronda La V to hopefully get a last flight in. On arrival two gliders were flying so it was on. Unfortunately a minor driving error resulted in two more dented wheels but quick action by Steve M and a swift wheel change soon saw us mobile again.

getting in the air quickly those that flew enjoyed some nice flying in "crisp" conditions, almost like a bright winters day in the UK. As the cumulus developed so did the thermals and the wind. It was all to soon time to head out front before landing by the track where the cars picked us up. A lovely end to the flying which had seen us fly every day apart from the one we arrived on, can't be bad.

We headed to the airport after packing our wings neatly by the beach and that's when the fun began! It's a long story but net result was that Gunny was not allowed on the plane, guess who's stranded in Malaga with him??

So nearly ended Algo' 2009 which had seen some amazing flying conditions, some amazing flying and some unusual experiences. Nearly everybody experienced personal bests and or achieved what they hoped. It was good to see so many pilots experiencing and using thermals for the first time and staying up for hours without the help of ridge lift. Forward and reverse launches were perfected in varying conditions and nil wind landings made to look easy. Hopefully everyone had a good time I know I did and thank you to them all for not only coming but also making the trip what it was.

Any one for another ???????

Cloudbase and Bullfighting

Ray gets in early to load the van

Peachy takes his time to get some Rays

The guys get ready to fly at El Bosque

Steve M starts a perfect forward launch

Classic shot as Steve takes off

Having made the decision that the day may well blow out early we headed to El Bosque to hopefully miss the worst of it. On Arrival there was little breeze and it was well north so a cuppa coffee in the bar where we were joined by some other groups.

The sight of gliders starting to fly pulled us away from the never ending crossword and up the hill. Bill, Steve, Tony and Graham K were quickly off the hill as others began to arrive. Michelle waited for more breeze (he must practice his forward launches) and Ray waited for Michelle as a que developed.. Then shock horror we saw some dampness on the way! Next thing we were at cloudbase and with the others landing we called it a day and headed down. In hope we hung on for a couple of hours and had a guided tour of the local Bullring courtesy of Raymond who talked his way in before heading back to Algo where it was as black as your hat just as Gunny had advised us.

Evening meal out we dragged Gunny along and had a fine time before retiring in anticipation of an early start to get some flying in before heading to the airport.

Flying with the birds

Who wants what for lunch?

Team Kernow show the way as the day begins to work

Ray does a bit of line tangling before take off

Ray heads out into the valley from the top of the stack

Another superb eat in meal by Steve and Kaz and all for less than 3 euro's!

A bit cooler and a NW wind forecast but with the German hordes off to Ronda we decided to stay on the mountain. It proved a good choice, not too busy and the west launch was working well from early on. The guys got off early leading the pack and most found lift giving a good early flight before descending into the north landing fileds.

It was not long before they were back up and things were even better with everyone who took off getting pretty much as much flying as they wanted although it was a little on the bumpy side! Ray got off nicely as the others landed and had another cracking thermal flight topping out above the stack with some smooth flying.

Everyone had a good one and another top meal in saw a very sociable evening. The stop outs headed to JJ's where we demolished the Dutch at pool to add insult to injury having already stolen thier car a few days before.

Moonlight Senatra

Serious take off! The view down from the local park in Ronda

Ray plays with the locals

The young Check's fly Michelles head

Every picture tells a story

The moon behind Ronda la V just before take off

The weather was finally different with a brisk NW and low cloud, made us think of England! We opted for a check out ar Ronda la V with a back up of heading Ronda for sight seeing then a re visit on the way back hopefully for an evening flight. That's pretty much exactly what we did, it was windy in the morning although the french had decided to fly a low hill in front of the main site we gave it a miss and headed in to town.

Ronda is a lovely place if a little toristy but has some superb architecture with a range of buildings from the 11th century onwards. A very plesant couple of hours, nice coffee, lovely apple thing and amazing guitarist all added to the experience.

Heading back north we arrived at the top of Ronda V where it was still windy. The Germans were just leaving and the french were still playing around on the low hill. We waited and pretty soon the local hot shot and some young Check' guns took off on fast wings. Their flying was impresive but their landgs enough to keep us on the ground.

As time went on the wind steadily eased and by the time everyone else had packed up we got going! Although a bit of a race against time Graham K, Michelle, Bill N and myself were all quickly in the air to enjoy some of the nicest flying I have had on a Paraglder. The moon was up the sun had set and the colours were just fantastic. In smooth bouyant air we could fly pretty much anywhere and the sight of Michelle sillouetted against the moon was something else.

We landed in the light of a full moon with big smiles, patience is a virtue........

The air is cooler now and the tempatures forecast much lower than the 30 degrees we have been experiencing so things may liven up a bit.

Even better day ever !

The guys set out on the SW launch as Bill circles up

Ray gets thermalling on his way to well over 2000' above with Bill keeping an eye on him from below

The gang go Michelle spotting at El Bosque

Amazing views from launch as one of the boys floats along the ridge

Michelle comes down as the sun sets

What a day it was. Up to Lijar in the morning the team showed the way with Bill N first off the hill and climbing straight out in thermal way above launch. One by one the others followed whilst the rest of the hill watched and slowly got their kit out. Previous thermal virgins made it look easy and within a few minutes we had everyone up and away except Ray M and Nigel E.
With things still looking good Ray showed them how to do it with a great forward launch. A little bit of encouragement soon saw him circling in a nice "5 up" to 1500' above launch. Leaving him to his own devices he enjoyed a hour and twenty minutes flying dropping down to 1500' below take off before popping back up again to well over 2000' above it again.

Nigel E was last off of the group and again with a little help was soon spiralling up to join Ray. He had an amazing flight having never really thermalled before and "settled" in nicely. After flying well out over the valley with nearly a mile of air under him his question was " OK Graham, how do I get down?" Both Nigel and Ray made great efforts to find descending air with quote of the day being " come over here Ray the sink is working really well!".teve M experienced some weightlessness in what were relatively bouncy conditions and witnessed a low level full collapse to a performance wing following which he carried out some pilot comforting


A bite of lunch and we made the decision not to return to the main hill where all the pilots that missed the slot had moved to the NW launch but to head off to El Bosque where we hoped it would be quieter. On arrival there was only half a dozen gliders flying adn by the time we got to launch we had it to ourselves. The guys wasted no time in getting off and enjoying the late afternoon gain Ray showed the way with a first class nil wind landing to end a lovely day with a nice mixture of flying and some personal bests.

Tomoorow who knows but looks like a change in the weather so we may well change sites, we shall see. How's the UK????

"Best Day Ever"

First flights off Lijar and the gang spread out over the valley
Graham K ready to roll at Ronda

Peachy and his harem watch proceedings

Kaz floats by as the sky gets busy

Age before beauty

Well that's what Bill said but it is the third time he has said it in the last 5 days! We had a cracking time flying off the SE side of Lijar first with the guys getting up to 6'500' asl (over 3000' ato) and staying airborne for up to nearly 3 hours. Bill took the honours managing to control his bladder the whole time but causing a minor flood alert after landing.
Michelle and Graham K both had super thermal flights and landing with big grins and no motion sickness. Tony P popped his thermal cherry and was soon well above launch mixing it with the best of them. In fact we got the whole group off nicely and whats more they all landed near each other so making an easy trip to the bar for lunch whilst we waited for Michelle and Bill to finally come down.

After a bite to eat we headed off to Ronda la v where it was nicely soarable and those that wanted got up and away again with Michelle and Kaz leading the way. Although a little busy the regular evening valley lift gave some nice height so allowing gliders to spread out. A few top landed and the others took the bottom option as the sunset and the lift disappeared. Ray did a kind of in between thing giving me some exercise!

A first class day all round rounded off with a 70's Halloween fancy dress party, there will be no pictures of me in a dress!!!!!