Ground hog day

Gary V gets the day going on the Element

Nigel takes of in fine style with brakes up

Sarah gets it sorted and carrys out a first class "nodding dog"

Ben gets back into the "zone" after his holiday

Amazingly the forecast was pretty much the same as yesterday and amazingly the day followed suit and despite sunshine forecast it was overcast. However, towing conditions were classic making it a top training day.

Gary V (Plymouth, well actually Bermuda) rounded of his tow conversion / recap training putting in 9 flights including asymmetrics to get him firmly back into flying. he has had a great time and been fun to have along hopefully we will meet him on the hills again soon.

Sarah and Nigel W (St Just) were back after their Taster Day yesterday and got plenty of flying in as they started on their EPC's with 9 flights each they were looking a lot more relaxed by the end of the day, releasing the line and starting on turns. If the end of the week behaves weather wise we will hopefully see some more of them, as they move onto higher flights and bigger turns.

Ben C (Falmouth) made a reappearance after a long break and spent most of the day playing catch up before moving ahead into his EPC tasks. He had a good day and finshed on a super flight (7 in all) with some cracking turns and great landing.

Pilot x also had a good one mastering the chest release on the Hang Glider and putting in 5 nice flights the last of which was a beauty. Big smiles all round.

Quote of the day "got any rubbers"

What, no sunshine ?

Mike r gets off on his new glider, wait till you see his harness!

Sara L tests the brakes on one of her Taster day flights

Nigel gets it sorted on one of his flights, is he still running??

Gary V comes into land after a High flight and Big Ears

Sara, Gary and NIgel after a fun day

Back into the tow filed we looked forward to another sunny day but alas despite the forecast it stayed away. Still we had plenty of fun and plenty to deal with.

Sara and Nigel were along for Taster Days on the Paragliders having met us on a Balloon flight a few months ago. They had a fun morning getting to know the Paragliders before we got them onto the winch in the afternoon. By now the weather was on the change and after Sara's first flight things were getting on the breezy 9and damp) side so we held the Para's and gave Mike R (St Germans) a go on his "new" glider, a very tidy Calypso. He had a fine time rattling of 4 or 5 tows and getting used to the glider before it dried up and the wind eased.

By the end of the day Sara and Nigel had managed to fly across the field on the Paragliders and even put in some very respectable landings. What's more they want to come back tomorrow......

Gary V (Plymouth) put in 6 high tows on the Paraglider as he eased his way back into Paragliding and used the opportunity to refresh on his Big Ears. Next time out he should complete his tow conversion and wants to do some asymmetrics which he can't remember doing as part of his CPC.

Bit of a late day due to the weather but we got there in the end and everyone had a good one, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow.

Quote of the day " If you tell me to drop them, I will"

day off ??

Paul h launches on the Tandem to join Kaz and Al

Michel k and Woody share the air with the Tandem

Carmen still smiling after her Tandem flight

With visitors down we decided to have a day off and what a lovely day it was. A chilled morning was followed by a trip to St Ives via Carbis Bay to view the site. It was a little breezy so we carried onto the town wandered around, had a pasty saw the Tate before returning to the car.

Paragliders were now soaring at Carbis so we dropped by with the Tandem and took Carmen and Paul H for a flight (one at a time). They both had a super flight with Carmen enjoying just flying whilst it introduced Paul (a Hang Glider pilot) to the mellow world of Paragliding.

Whilst there we met Alan K who was "keen" to carry out his asymmetrics which he did in fine style with me flying alongside for close observation (on another glider) so completing all his pilot tasks, now the exam goes away and fingers crossed.

A HUGE APOLOGY to Luke H for missing him off yesterdays blog. Luke was down after a bit of a break and had a cracking day with numerous flights on his Paramotor all with cracking launches and even some stand up landings. He has now completed all his CPC tasks so can fly on his own to build up experience before coming back to us for some check out flights. Nice one Luke

It was Buzzing

Carmen gets to grips with some hand tows on the Hang Glider

Julian H up and away on the Paramotor

Coming into land

Julian looking pretty pleased with himself and no, he didn't chop up a sheep !

happy students at the end of the day L to R

Said, Carmen,Gary, Cywin, Phippsy and Mike

Once again things got busier in the field as the fine weather carries on. With a mixture of disciplines organisation was the name of the game.

Justin and Julian (H) Devon) got the ball rolling early by getting to grips with ground handling Paragliders with the Paramotor unit on there backs and worked well through the day perfecting it.

Carmen H (Brighton) was along for a Taster Day on a Hang Glider and put in the ground work before lunch as did Cywen B (St Mawes) who was on a Paragliding Taster Day and Gary V (Plymouth) who was along for a Paragliding refresher course / Tow conversion.

After lunch things really got moving with "hangers" Mike R (bath) and Said (Bracknell starting things off. After a few tows each during which Mike cracked his landings and Said sweetened his turns they both got their first flights to the top of the line so breaking well into their CPC's.

Cy' had a cracking Taster day and rounded of her day with some super flight across the field getting up to a good 60' and landing well. Big smile.

Gary V showed he had done it before and put in his first tows nicely getting in his first release flights by the end of the day so getting him back into Paragliding the easy way.

Carmen got the Hang Glider into the air and gave us some good exercise on the tether ropes whilst she got the hang of it. A couple of flights got her into the right airspeed and from then on her flying was nice and smooth with some good landings to top them off. great day for her.

With the towing sorted for the day it was back to the Paramotor boys who were now ready for the Big One. A couple of practice power launches and aborts first then it was all go. Julian gave it a shot first and did a first class reverse launch take off, as good as I've seen before enjoying a cracking flight up and around the field for 10 minutes or so including nice 360's both ways before coming in for a super landing and huge smile.

Justin followed suit and whilst had to work on his take off a little did a fine job of sorting it out before applying the power and getting away very cleanly. He also had a good flight looking very comfortable in his flying if not in the harness! Another good landing right where we wanted it followed and it was two happy Paramotor pilots by the end of the day.

A long one but loads done, day off tomorrow!!

Indian summer

Said Z gets away nicely

looking good and ready for release

Pilot X gives the chest release a hard stare

The fine weather continues and so does the Training. An easy day in the field saw Saied (Bracknell) back for his second day with us working alongside Andrew M (Bridport) on his third day. Also Caroline P (Seaton) came along for a go at Paragliding to see what it was like.

Caroline did well with the basics of Paragliding but quickly decided it was not for her despite having a talent for what she did. Still that's what it's all about and great to meet such a fun person.

Saied worked hard through the day starting in the simulator in order to sort out his twisting before moving nicely into release flights and gentle turns. By the end of the day an 18 flights later he was flying nicely up to well over 100' releasing and carrying out good turns up to 90 degrees and beyond and landing on his feet so completing his EPC tasks. Nearly ready for the top of the line his flying has progressed well and some basic flaws have been overcome.

Andrew M built well on his last day day out and after a couple of settling in flights was off the the top of the line for the first time. With another 16 flights to his credit he had experienced 180 turns, slow flight appreciation (stalls) converted to prone flight and managed to land "on the spot" by the end of the day, a fantastic achievement. Add to this the bonus of looking down on two F18 jets as they flew past and it was a pretty amazing day for him.

Pilot x also popped in a few flights to see them get their first high flight on a chest release which was a big step. I got to fly a small Wills Wing Eagle on the tow line and what fun it was.

Paul H was also out in the field flying first his NRG Mosquito and then his Doodlebug (power units) on his Falcon hang glider and having a super time.

Disco dancing

It was an interesting day in the field where it was again a lovely day.

Paul H and Pete L had a cracking day playing with their Paramotors enjoying plenty of airtime.

Saied Z was along to continue his Hang Gliding Training which he had started elsewhere but has decided to give us a try. He had a busy day with us taking him pretty much back to basics to sort out his "technique". By the end of the day with a total of 14 flight under his belt he was starting to shape up although the "Twist" does seem to be his firm favourite. Still he ended on a big smile and will hopefully move onto release flight tomorrow.

Pilot X got back on a Hang Glider and rattled off 3 high flights on the Donkey leg before having a couple of low level flights with a chest release. Next stop the top of the line on one.

Nice to see ex student Glyn P out enjoying the sun, riding the bike and even getting in some nice tows. looks like a nice few days coming up.

Two's company

Emma can't help but look at the cloud streets (where were you Coady?)

Mike gets checked and ready to go on the Calypso

Andrew on the Mars for one of eleven

Fine views across St Ives Bay from the Tandem

North Cliffs looking glorious with Trevose Head in the far distance

making the most of the weather we were out in the fields again this time with Mike R (St Germans) and Andrew M (Bridport) who were back to continue their Hang Gliding training.

Mike got straight on with it and converted to a chest release before moving onto the Calypso (5th generation wing) to finish off his CPC tasks which he did in fine style. He had a great day putting away 12 flights and thoroughly enjoying the "new" wing. His spot landings were on the case even if the odd flare was a little over zealous, still he was head over heels about it......... Mike rounded off his day by taking his CPC exam and passing it easily so becoming CPC qualified on the tow and is ready to head to the hills.

Andrew M also cracked on jumping straight onto the Mars which he took to with ease. he moved nicely through release flights into gentle turns and by the end of only his second day was releasing at 120' and flying down with some very nice turns on the way. By the time he stopped in mid afternoon he had another 11 flights to his credit and only one flight away from his EPC, pretty good for day two.

With a little time to spare at the end of an early day we played on the Tandem Paraglider towing through the gate which gave some excellent height and amazing views before calling it a day.

Quote of the day " I don't want to abuse myself" ????????????

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Matt B heads off on one of his Taster Day flights

Craig L with brakes nicely up flies on Taster day

John and Phippsy coming into land on the Tandem

Craig L looking happy at the end of his Taster Day

Fiona A now a qualified CPC Tow pilot, yeehowwwwwwww

The day started off not looking to promising with a bit of a breeze and a bit dull. Still we headed to the field in the hope that things would improve and with one of our Taster days having travelled down from Taunton we were keen to give it a go.

Craig L (Taunton and Matt B (Truro) both on Paragliding Taster Days quickly got into it and both did amazingly well with the ground handling in what were "challenging" conditions to start with. Big Mac (Dobwalls) was back for the second day of his Taster session and looked very competent as he "flew" his Paraglider across the filed.

By lunch time things were looking much better with the sun shining and the wind easing back and smoothing out. A quick test flight proved conditions good so we got the winch going without delay. Craig l came up for a Tandem flight as part of his day and made the most of the views before experiencing the feeling of weightlessness on his second flight as we put the Magnum through her paces. Then it was the guys turn with Big mac leading the way.

By the end of the day Craig and Matt were both flying nicely across the filed at 60' and landing sweetly on their feet putting in 3 flights each. Big Mac had cracked releasing and moved onto 100' flights with turns down to land not bad for a two day taster, he really should go the whole hog and take it up.

Fiona A spent the day enjoying her flights having completed her tasks yesterday and had a fabulous day which included passing her CPC exam so making her qualified, congratulations.

John (Liskeard) came by for a Tandem flight and had a great time enjoying the experience and the views giving him a taste for more, who knows......

Sorry Mac didn't manage to get any piccies of you, maybe next time

Quote of the day " that was the best weekend ever" ....... now that can't be bad

Happy days

Justin H gets the feel of Torque with the Paramotor unit

Mark f comes in to Land whilst Pete C deals with the Hangy boys

Garry T "flies" in on his Tandem flight

The Hangy boys discuss tatics

Steve McQueen alive and kicking

Things were a bit busier than yesterday with us at full capacity.

Pete C took charge of the three Hang Glider taster Days, Kaz the Paraglider Taster Day whilst I looked after the two Paramotor boys and the "normal" students.

Julian and Justin H (Devon) were soon at it working their way through the paramotor book and realizing just how much they had already done on the winch setting them up perfectly for converting to Paramotors. Next it was a bit of theory then introduction to the unit and running with it. always quite entertaining but these boys like their power and looked very at home with it.

Whilst they then went of to practice their ground handling Fiona A (Torrington) and Mark F (Camborne) got onto the winch and had a great hour or so towing up resulting in Fiona completing all her CPC tasks including Big Ears and Asymmetric's which she performed with some entusiasim..... mark sorted out his Launch Marshaling so is now a Qualified CPC Tow, congratulations.

Meanwhile Pete C was working away steadily with Terry P (Devon), Dan G (Exeter) and Dan L (?) on the Hang Glider doing a fine job. They all worked hard and by early afternoon were hand towing and then ready for the winch.

Mac M (Dobwalls) under Kaz's guidance perfected his ground handling and was soon on the winch putting away 5 flights by the end of his taster day including 2 release ones so ending on a real high.

The Hangy boys then took over on the winch and had a great time starting with "moon walking" before getting their feet off the ground. by the close of play they had all got the hang of it and were flying nicely across the field with PC chasing hard on the tether. Their overall progress was excellent and a credit to Pete C.

Gary T dropped by for a tandem flight and was amazed by the whole experience, always good to take such people, maybe he will be back for some solo flying.

The day rounded off with myself getting in a demo' flight on the Paramotor and very nice it was to.

Another busy one but again loads done and great student progress.

A very civilised day

Andrew m gets ready for his first launch

Andrew gets the "hang" of it on a low flight

Mark G puts in the ground work

Summing up his Taster day on a Paraglider mark looks happy

Marie and Geoff do the paperwork before their Tandem flights

It was an "easy" day in the field with excellent conditions and everyone behaving, well nearly.

Mark G (Iloogan) was along for a Taster day on a Paraglider, Andrew M (Bridport Dorset) was on Day one of an EPC Hang Gliding and Mike R (St Germans) was on Day 4 of his Hang Gliding course.

Mark G had a top day moving through the groundwork steadily and making the hand tows look easy. Andrew M did pretty much the same on the Hang Glider and by lunch time they were both sorted and ready for their first flights on the winch. By the end of the day Mark had put away 3 cracking flights improving with each one and ended with a beauty landing perfectly and collapsing the canopy in text book fashion.

Andrew kept going on the Hanger a bit longer and was looking good by the close of play, off the tethers and even managing his first release flight, very good for day one.

Mike R had a "top" day going to the end of the tow for the first time and boosting his confidence tremendously. his overall flying improved noticeably as did his landings! He knocked off several more tasks for his CPC including prone flight and spot landings.

Marie and Geoff L (Gwinnear) dropped by for some Tandems flights on the Paraglider and had a fine time enjoying the whole experience and stayed around to watch the students as well. We may see them again, who knows?

Quote of the day "It's so much better when you go to the top"

Combining

Mike R at launch whilst Phippsy does the "work"
Mike makes a classic take off, lovely hand position.

Line released

Coming into land with a flare a bit on the early side

It was a breezier day than yesterday so mac who was along for a two day Taster on the Paraglider to an early bath to save time for the weekend when it is forecast to be lighter.

Chris B (Bristol) was along for a Day on the Hang Glider and showed a good degree of ability from the start jelling with the ground work easily. After lunch he put in a few hand tows before putting away 4 tows on the winch some of which were better than others but all showed improvement in various aspects.


Caraoline P (Looe) worked hard going through the ground work alongside Chris to sort out a few basic problems before getting on the line. Converting from the Condor to the Mars went fine but getting her legs under her at landing seems a challenge.......


Mike R (St Germans) had a good day towing well in the by now bumpy conditions to finish of his EPC tasks so gaining his first qualification in the sport and showing that the high flight and circuit is next on the cards.

To top the day off the "Bird seed" field has now been cut and baled so giving us up to 550 m tows on the right directions, hmmmmmmmmmmmm


Quote of the day "what a difference a couple of inches makes"

Oh what a Perfect day

Justin H gives a commited launch

Julian H does the "nodding dog" bit right from the start

Greg C on one of his hisTaster day flights doing fine

Quentin also on a Taster day flight looking spot on

Fiona A crrys out a perfect landing after a high flight on her very pretty Mojo 3

"Men at work"

It was all go in the field with the early birds getting set up and ready to tow by the time Kaz arrived with the Taster days. Brilliant blue sky and a super light sea breeze gave the perfect training conditions and everybody made the most of them.

Luke C finished off his CPC on the Hang Glider moving through the double chest release before moving from the Mars to the Calypso. Putting away a total of 7 cracking flights he is well set up for his move to the hill, congratulations.

Rob Lee also on a Hanger made huge progress and moved from the Condor to the Mars to complete his EPC tasks over 8 flights and looked very comfortable with it. he rounded of his day by taking his exam so becoming a qualified EPC pilot, more congratulations.

Fiona A had a blinder quickly moving through the remainder of her EPC tasks on her Paraglider before towing to the top of the line and setting about her CPC tasks. Over her 8 flights she had a fine time and got to grips with weight shifting, speed to fly and accelerator systems as well as some excellent spot landings, a top day.

Brothers Justin and Julian H from Devon back after a Taster Day did really well putting in 11 flights each to complete their EPC Paragliding tasks along with 3 high flights each so setting them up for concerting to Paramotoring which is their aim.

Greg C (Falmouth) and Quentin (Penzance) were both along for taster Days on Paragliders and both had super days doing well with the ground work before getting airborne in the afternoon. they both managed 3 good flights getting up to 60' before carrying out stand up landings with big grins. " Amazing day" was the comment.

Paul H had a busy time on the winch putting away 56 tows, many thanks to him from all concerned.

Quote of the day " You want to try the ring next time"...................

Will upload piccies when get time.