Making it happen

Lynn E "fluffs" it up whilst we wait for the wind

"Big Boy" Dean looks up for it

Ground handling in formation

Lynn flies the evening slot

It's a wrap as Lynn comes in for her second top landing

Lynn E headed down all the way from Leicester on what it has to be said an iffy forecast for a possible slot late in the afternoon to finish off her hill conversion. Whilst Kev, Kaz and myself worked on the winch in the rain she drove through the snow.

On arriving it was raining and I had my head buried deep in the truck which has sprung a leaky pipe. By mid afternoon it had brightened up and by the time we arrived at Perran the wind had swung on although very light. A bit more rain then the wind filled so Dean and Rick proved the air and soared in gentle lift.

Lynn wasted no time at all and was soon off for a nice flight in the light lift. 10 minutes later she put in a super top landing and was ready for the off again. Another excellent flight and despite the wind moving off the hill to the south she hung in there and was rewarded with another lovely flight and top landing to complete her endorsement. Big smiles as the light also faded and it was all worth it.

Rick put in a nice slope landing saving a walk as the lift disappeared.

Who would have believed it would happen another flyable slot just when we needed it and whats more when it was forecast! Enjoy your times on the hill Lynn and fly safe, WELL DONE

Taking the slot

Preparing for a demo' on the hanger

Bill N watches as Kaz shows how to do it

The SAS were along for some training!

Kaz excitedly relays her flight

The "rigging" area, the sun and the ambiance

As forecast mid afternoon saw a nice flyable slot open up at Carbis Bay as those of you who follow us on twitter will no doubt have realised. It was always on the top end for Paragliders but ideal for hangers so Kaz took the opportunity to fly her Wills Wing Eagle 145 , her first time on a hangy at Carbis . After an exciting take off which she dealt with well she had a cracking 20 minutes in ideal conditions a mixture of ridge lift and sea thermal seeing her well high.

Bill N managed to get away on his Paraglider although Kaz treated him pretty much as a roundabout! A solid top landing finished off her flight and as the wind eased a fraction Dean F, Rick W, Sam A, Mike A and Kev T all managed to fly Paragliders.

Kaz kindly let me loose on her glider which convinces me more and more that low end and sport gliders are the way forward for the majority of pilots, just so much fun and so little hassle.

A great afternoon and whilst the Paragliders had fun it was definitely a day for the hangers. Will sneak some piccies in soon (thanks Rick)

All for one and one for all

Gary M prays to the Carabiner God before his first flight

It paid off as he flies nicely after a two year break

Trainee winchman Kev T joins the team complete with buff

The field was a bit on the sticky side, job for Kaz ??

Gary rounds off his day with a super flared landing under the watchfull eye of PC

News from the hill was that there was no wind so we canned hill conversions early allowing Lyn to head home. Although not planning to go towing as Gary M had driven all the way from Bristol we quickly sorted things out and and were on our way to the filed by 12.30.

Gary was hoping to get some practice in on a Hang Glider to improve his landings which having learnt on aerotow in America some 4 years ago were never really sorted. The field was a bit on the wet side but we pressed on and by 13.30 there was a perfect breeze and towing was underway. Gary had a top "day" slowly building his confidence and landing on his feet every time! By the time some light rain arrived he had put away nearly 20 tows, had the fundamentals of landing well sorted and was ready for a well earned rest!

Thanks to Pete C and trainee winch man Kev T for turning out at short notice and doing such a fine job. off to wash the truck!

Lucky Lyn & lucky Mike

Lyn E takes her first steps off the hill with a good look out

Lyn looking happy after her second top landing

Pete and myself on the Tandem flying low

The tandem as the lift kicked in

It was light at Perranporth when we arrived so ideal for Lyn (Leicestershire) to get her first ground handling on the hill underway. She did really well picking up a few good tips on the way to make her life easier. Mike G had a close shave with the parking police but with some help from Kaz managed to get unclamped at no cost, thats a rarity!

By early afternoon the breeze started to fill in and all of a sudden it was flyable so after a quick demo Lyn was off up and away. She put in a super flight despite a break in communications and looked very confident and smooth as she settled in. 15 minutes later she made a perfect top landing to round off her first hill flight. A short break, debrief and radio change and she was off again making an even better job of it and looking ven more relaxed. Another top landing and huge smile said it all.

Peter came along for a Tandem on the Paraglider on which we had a fun flight in varying lift, sometimes up sometimes down. Eventually the sink got the better of us so we opted for the beach. Pete who is doing seven marathons this year made light work of getting back up the dunes whilst I took rather longer!

Lynns next flight saw conditions much lighter and with less lift but she still did well dodging the heavy traffic until in experience and a lack of consideration by some saw her forced out to land on the beach which she did very tidily. By the time she arrived back on top everyone else had packed up and no sooner was thelast glider in the bag than the wind filled in again! Making the most of it she was off again for her fourth flight and with the sun setting popped her Mojo3 back in on to to end a super day.

Hopefully we will get to complete her conversion soon but she had a great time and "learnt a lot" in the process, well done.

Quote of the day "that extra 2" makes a huge difference".......................

Piccies will follow soon

Weather God

Mike G looking very pleased with himself

Mike g having fun with the air to himself

Meercat Manor watches from the safety of the burrow

Kaz gets in on the action whilst it's Mikes turn to watch

Kaz on top of the boys !!

We should have known it would be a cracker when Mike G said he would be down for his hill conversion on the Hangy. Sure enough he brought cracking conditions with him just as he has done on both previous occasions that he has made the trip from London to learn to fly.

Conditions at Perranporth were excellent for the hang gliders and after a quick demo Mike was up and away for his first soaring flight. he had a fun 20 minutes at 400' ato before dropping back on top in fine style for his first top landing, big smile bit of a rest then off he went again. By the end of the day he had put in 12 flights all with top landings and racked up over 4 hours airtime!

Kaz joined in the fun on her Hanger with 2 lovely flights both with loads of hieght in the nicely sea thermic conditions and both with first class top landings. Graham A put in several good flights on his Hanger and by the end of play looked like he had got the measure of the top landings nicely.

Even I sneaked in some nice flying on Kaz's glider catching a lovely thermal up to about a grand before heading back to "work".

Unfortunately the Paragliders had to watch proceedingd although Lyn E from "up north" still had a usefull day in preparation for her hill conversion going through the theory and getting used to the enviroment.

Quote of the day " I went deep enough" some may disagree ................

Pancake day

Well not exactly but a couple of "landings" didlook a bit that way! Back in the tow field it was a glotious day with a cracking sky and a light N breeze making for lovely conditions. Tim C and Gary R were along for Taster days on a Paraglidier and Hanger respectively. They both did well in the morning session despite very light winds as did Keiron C back to complete his EPC.

After lunch there was a bit more breeze which was ideal as we got towing underway. By the end of play Tim was looking pretty good on the Paraglider flting at upto 60' of the ground and doing some excellent landings. Gary found the hanger a bit trickier resulting in some interesting landings but by his last flights things came together as the penny dropped.

Keiron C had a top day completing his EPC tasks then mocing into his CPC by putting away 3 nice high flights.

A nice day out lets hope the weather makes plenty more to come. Sorry no piccies

That's the way to do it

Luke C takes off to try out his new Tenax

Steve H back in the air

Luke and Steve have the sky to themselves

Luke C coming in to top land

Forecast was for the wind to back and pick up as the day went on so we stayed in the office catching up with things and tinkering with the web site. By midday although Paraglideable at Perran it was still not enough for Luke on his hanger so we did not rush out there,

As luck would have it by 15.30 the wind picked up, the rain clouds cleared and it was time to go. On Arrival Luke was rigged and ready to go so after a quick briefing he was up and away on his Sport 2 and in his new Tenax Harness. he had a fab' time in perfect conditions giving loads of hieght. By 17.00 he had put away 3 flights and an hours airtime added along with 3 excellent top landings. It's a happy bunny that's heading back to bath this evening.

Good to see Steve H back in the air on a hanger too after several years out of the sport. Steve is the one who got me into it so you can blame it all on him!

Crop hoping

Nigel W and Sam A getting in the groundwork whilst waiting for the wind

Every picture tells a story

Nigel W gets his first soaring flight in with a stunning backdrop

Kaz enjoys getting back in the air after skiing!

Kev T tries out the Rush 2

It turned out a good day at carbis for Paragliders despite it starting off very light and even offshore for a while. By mid day it came on and pilots began to launch although it was a bit scratchy seeing a few bods get some exercise in.

Nigel W was along to start his hill conversion and made good use of the light conditions to get used to ground handling on the hill and his "new" wing (Mojo 2) and did a fine job of it. With conditions improving all the time it wasn't long before he was off mixing it with the rest in nice soaring conditions. An excellent take off was followed by 15 minutes soaring and a perfectly acceptable top landing all rounded of by a huge grin. By late afternoon he had put in 3 flights, nearly an hours airtime and even collected some Brocoli. Well done Nigel, another day should see him sorted on the hill so watch out for him.

Everyone else there had a fine time and we even had some nice sea thermals to lay with alongside the birds which were in a very playfull mood. Kev T took a couple of flights on the Rush 2 and came down in love, mmmmmmmmmm.

On the downside it appears that someones antics at the site has seriously upset the neighbours and started a group seeking to stop us flying there.

Chill factor

Testing out take off on Lukes Sport 2, what colour co ordination!
Graham A gets set to go

Bill N soaks up the wind chill

Dave S slowly goes forward as a Hangy flies high

It was a strange day at carbis with the wind moving on and off the hill at will. Still those brave enough to stick it out did get some flyable slots in. The Hangies had the best of it for most of the day but the Paragliders were flying when the hangies packed up at 3.30 ish. I sneaked in a couple of great fun flights on lukes Sport 2 so enjoyed some hangy flying along with Graham A and Chris W. The paraglider side was up held by Bill N,Dave S and Tony P.

The main topic of the day was the effectiveness of stanless steel flasks and it would appear mine is running a poor 3rd!

A chilly day but some nice lift about, looks lighter tomorrow

Flown out by 3

It was an early start to hopefully get the slot for John from Derbyshires Hill conversion completion. We were on site by 08.30 and the wind was too light. Still it gave us time for a site brief etc. By 09.15 it had filled in and Kaz led the way into super bouyant air. John quickly joined her to get his day going.

By mid afternoon we were pretty much flown out with John having put in loads of flights and top landings in the by now top end conditions. It had been a good day with several pilots making it to St Ives and back along with playing with the sea thermals and one even "going" over the back. Nice to see a good crowd out including Justin (Johns mate) and Peachy all down from the midlands.

Short on piccies as forgot the camera but may get some off the GoPro. Will Have an HD one soon available for demo so let us know if you are interested.

The return of the stiffies & Bill turns a hundred!

Lovely day at Carbis bay

Rebekah S soars high

Centurian Bill N talks to Mike C

Greg takes front seat on the Tandem

With a fine day forecast we headed to Carbis bay where the wind was already easing back on arrival. Paragliders were flying although it was still windy enough. Rebbeka S wasted no time and soon had her Hang Glider rigged and ready. She put in a super flight in amongst the increasing number of Paragliders before popping it down on top.

A special day for Bill n as he passed his 100 hours stage, well done Bill.

Greg (London)then came up with me on the Tandem Paraglider and had a very enjoyable flight mixing it with the birds of prey. Al J and Tim J both arrived with their hangies and had good flying showing how easy it is with a stiffy.

Nice to see lots out enjoying the February sun including lots of ex students.

Frostbite - Day Two

Gliders rig as a snow shower passes by to the east

Intersting shot as glider and pilot take off

The gaggle climbs out and on their way


Nick C looks back at St Agnes from "down the coast"


Splat landing

The prize winners Nick (rigid) C, Tim (Sky God) J and Pat (roosting)P

It was even colder with snow on the ground but still they came. The forecast was for a light breeze filling in so we headed back to St Agnes. We had to wait a little for the forecast wind to arrive but when it did it was spot on and again fresh with some healthy looking clouds.

The format was the same as yesterday and again there was a great turn out although a few pilots were missing not trusting the forecast. Once things got going they moved quickly and spots were again followed by gliders peeling over the back. By mid afternoon well over a third of the field had gone 5 of them in one gaggle. The two Tims, Phippsy, Pat P and Julian all headed south in a good climb off the ridge which turned tricky just behind it. One by one they dropped out leaving the two Tims to sort it out. They both finally landed near to Ponsanooth for over 14k distance.

Meeting up at Starbucks we sorted the scoring out whilst pilots swapped stories of flights and landings. The result was ......... Tim Jones is the 2010 Frostbite Champion after a very close comp. He did well by scoring in both spots and both XC's so showing consistency was the way.

Prizes were presented by ourselves to the top 3 and it was a happy band of pilots that headed home. A classic Frostbite here's to next year.

Quote of the day "Get out of my tree and off of my shed"................

The Frostbite - Day One

Pilot briefing, good looking sky and even the flag looks happy

Bill N helps out as Al J checks his wing

Spot the glider as things get going

Tim thermals up and away as we drift over the back

Well it certainly stood up to it's name! With a fresh Northerly St Agnes was call ed for the Hangies and by midday there was a good number of them there, between 15 and 20. The furthest afield came from Sheffield although other long distance travellers included Birmingham and Brighton! A good mixture of pilot abilities and glider types saw everything from intermediates through to no less than 3 rigids.

No ridge race as it was St Agnes so we went for a simple spot landing based on 500 pts with 20 pt deduction for every pace away and normal "landing rules" and an open XC with the best distance taking 1000pts. This gave a nice handicapping system with the lower performance wings getting the spot easier whilst the higher ones having the advantage on XC.

Things got going quickly and soon the first spot landings were being scored and not long after that the first XC's were under way. The rigids made it look easy with Paul h flying out to and around "the rock" at 1400 ato before flying back to the A30 and very nearly back to take off!

Best spot of the day was Tim Jones at 480 pts and best XC was Graham May at 19.96 K so making him comp leader on 1000pts with Pat P close behind (just 160 meters actually).

A good social evening in Trickies followed resulting in Pete A having to be tied up to avoid damaging one of the scoring officials.

Big thanks to Fiona A, Graham A, Bill N and Kaz for scoring the spot and helping out in the chilly conditions.

Quote of the day "I could have held it if I had wanted to"! Heard that one before..........