Three floppys and a stiffy

That's what we had in the field although it's fair to say the stiffy turned up later. With the breeze a little fresher than forecast the morning and early afternoon were taken up with ground handling. Luke H (Torquay) and Mick D (Falmouth) followed up their taster day by putting the skills learnt to good use and despite the challenging conditions were soon doing well keeping the canopies up and under control. Wesley S (Portreath) was along for a Taster day and after the initial rolling around (plf practice) glider introduction etc joined the other two and got to grips with the ground work. After lunch Mick F (Hampshire) joined us and rigged a Hang Glider as the wind began to ease. Pretty soon Mick was getting his first taste of a 4th generation wing before rattling of some high flights and circuits giving him seven flights for the afternoon. Luke led the way on the Paragliders and put in five flights with the last two being release flights to end the day with a big smile. Mick having worked hard on the ground handling called it a day after three flights and looked pretty pleased with himself. Wesley had a cracking end to his Taster Day with three flights each one better than the one before to give him the feel of the spot. All in all a hard work day for everyone but well worth it.

Bit of each

We had a nice and relaxed day in the tow field where Mick F (Hampshire) was back after a couple of months break to continue his Hang Gliding training and had a cracking day with 12 flights ending in high flights and circuits to not only finish his EPC but getting started on his CPC, a 100% pass mark in his exam rounded off the day. Martin Johns (South Devon) came along to start his Tow conversion on the Paraglider and had a good day not only learning how to tow but also picking up some useful tips along the way. After a couple of low tows he was ready for a ride to the top and did really well coming back with a huge smile on his face before repeating the exercise. Steve Dredge put in a showing and kept his hand in on the line with several nice flights.

Dangling day

It was a fun day on the hill at Perranporth where Paul K (Plymouth) was undertaking his Tandem flying tasks. This mainly involved taking me up as passenger to practice take offs. landings and the bit in the middle. during the day we experienced light moderate and fresh enough breezes so giving a good range of experience. Several others were out and about making it nice and social, I even managed to squeeze in a bit of time with my Zaggy (yes it's back) so keep your helmets on even when not flying would be my recommendation! Looks like towing tomorrow

The need for Speed (and a bit of precision)

day two of the Frostbite comp' was very different from day one (yesterday) with a fresh WNW seeing the hangers take over. The damp start quickly cleared and with 15 gliders on site it wasn't long before pilots made the most of the "free flying" before the comp began. we managed to get up on the Tandem (Hang Glider) several times in near perfect conditions. Ridge racing was the name of the game and the sight of gliders racing along the dunes and cliffs at low level and high speed was one to see. The spot landing proved fun but the standard was remarkably high with Ady G (Kernow) being the top man scoring maximum points on his first attempt. Winchman Tim had a cracking day testing gliders until he found one he liked and putting in a good score for the team. Needless to say Kernow won because Coady was scoring which is always a good thing. Wills Wing gliders took all the top flex wing honours including Karl S on his U2 which put several topless's to shame. We rounded off with a beer in the pub where tales of daring do were told. Nice to see our friends from South Devon shame several others couldn't make it. Looking forward to the next time

All manner of things

When we arrived at Perran there was already plenty of Paragliders in the air. Whilst the Kernow HPA carried out there task brief we took the opportunity to get in the air with the Tandem Paraglider giving Simon S (Mount Hawke) a fun flight up and down the cliffs before slipping it back in. The day was then filled with bits of Paragliding as the wind went up and down as did some of the Paragliders and Hang Gliders. It was great fun to take the Wills Wing skyfloater (Hang Glider) up for a test flight after its winter service which proved to be more than a match for the Paragliders in every respect, it even managed a dead centre spot landing, more Hangy pilots should fly these things rather than defecting . Everyone had a great day with loads of flying going on, lets hope for more of the same tomorrow.

Getting a Buzz

Pete L comes in for a nice landing after a flight on his Paramotor

Adam walks to launch whilst Kaz heads off up the line

Kaz approaches between the flags on her way to the spot

It was a beautiful afternoon in the tow field where I managed to sneak in a super flight on the Paramotor along the cliffs up to and over Portreath then cut inland before heading back to the field where Pete L was ready to fly his unit. Adam W and Kaz P made use of the winch to enjoy the views and practice their spot landings in readiness for the Frostbite comp'. Even Tony P turned up late in the day but by then the temperature was dropping and things got chilly so we knocked it on the head.

Ups and Downs

We headed to the hill at Perranporth to get Paul K (Plymouth) going on his Tandem rating (paragliding) the wind proved fickle with flyable slots followed by less flyable ones resulting in one beach landing and one top landing separated by some soaring. Still we got through the basics and are now ready for Paul to take control.......wish me well.

Parachutes and secret Paraglider "Pilot"

Great minds at work
??????????????

It was a fun and informative day at Carnmmoggas (Nick's caravan site) where the KHPA repack was held. Bill Morris was down and did an excellent job on not only guiding pilots through repacking procedures but also making them much more informed about their systems, their capabilities and their pitfalls. About 15 pilots were there all of whom learned something I am sure. Thanks again to Nick and Paula for their hospitality, Bill Morris for doing a superb job and Mark W for organising, I believe next years event is already pencilled in.

On our way home we dropped by Perranporth to see what was on and found Chris H their getting plenty of exercise by putting in 7 flights non of which ended up on top but all of which gained him more experience whilst losing him a few pounds. A few others were there but the wind never quite filled in enough. Never wanting to waste time we took the opportunity to pop a passer by into a paraglider to show them what it was like, we are not allowed to name them as they are afraid of the abuse they may receive but then a pictures worth a thousand words......

Saturday came good

Graham A works the light lift
Gunny and Graham start to scratch

Bill N floats on by

Back on top graham looks happy at a job well done

With the winds forecast to be very light SE we acted on our instinct and headed to Vault Bay where Gunny and myself arrived just after midday soon joined by Bill n we had a super couple of hour's flying in perfect conditions. Graham A joined to hopefully complete his hill endorsement and ex student Lawrence O also arrived. With the breeze dropping Graham did an excellent job with a couple of technical soaring flights and landings to "pass out" with flying colours. The rest of us were kept entertained jumping of and scratching around but everyone managed to find somewhere to land so avoiding a long walk. A nice day and as always good to get out.

The evening saw the KHPA social at Nick and Paula's place which whilst numbers were low the company was good, the social was fun, the food superb and most importantly the A team won the skittles challenge. Big thanks to Nick and Paula and congratulations to Mark W for winning the Gurning competition whilst flying his indoor plane.

Hooray out for the day

Mick D looking happy at launch
Mick gets away

Luke H flying high

Luke waiting to get up there again

Finally the weather has improved so it was back out to the field where Mick D (Mabe) and Luke H (Torquay) were along for taster days with a view to taking up Paragliding and Paramotoring respectively. They both got along fine and by early afternoon were ready for their first flights on the winch. Luke went first and did a fine job and Mick folloewd suit. They both managed to get in some nice flights ending with stand up landings and large smiles. Whilst Mick played with some more ground handling Luke was introduced to the Paramotor unit and got first hand experience of it on his back, the power it can deliver and the effects of torque. By the end of the day they were both tired but happy and hoping to get back for more.

Nick F and Pete L both came along and flew their paramotors having fun and looking smooth. Thanks to Bill on the Bike always with a smiling face. Nice to be out again and long may it continue.