Plenty of play at Perran

Kaz enjoys some Paragliding after her hang gliding earlier

Dave K takes off for his first soaring flight straight and level

Dave K looking pretty pleased with himself after the "Big One"

Thre "wise" monkeys ??

Scenic shot courtesy of Nigel G

There was a lot going on one way or another at Perran where conditions were up and down and on and off but this at least gave opportunities for all to play.

Kaz took the chance to get some more airtime in on her hang glider having a couple of nice flights and top landings.

Cathy L (Warminster) cam up on the tandem Hang Glider for a flight to get her back in the air after a lay off from both Hangers and Para's and we had a plesant time cruising the cliffs.

Next off was Dave K (Bristol) for his first hill soaring flight having done all the hard work on the tow line over the last few months. dave did a great job putting 20 minutes and settling down the whole time whilst having to dodge the odd paraglider along the way. He then came in and performed a top landing to save the walk up and looked a very happy chap with it.

Nigel G (Minhead) who is learning to hang Glide on the tow but came along to spectate joined in the fun with a bit of tethering along the top and looked pretty comfortable with it.

Then it was time for daves second flight and again despite the wind moving off to the south a bit he did a good job and looked even smoother than before to log another 10 minutes before popping the Calypso back in on top for his second top landing and even bigger grin.

With the wind off to the SW and increasing a bit we opted for some more tethering on theSW face where Cathy and Nigel both had a good time flying in lovely conditions to give them the feel of soaring. Our timing was spot on and we managed to pull the Condor apart just before the rain set in.

Good to see rebekah upin the sky on her hanger again and good to see a number of visitors making the most of it.

Simon sorted

Simon C joins Bill N at Freathy to get his CPC sorted

Things get better as the cloud clears

Simon sets up for a top landing

It was paper work and Theory session in the morning which saw Malin L (Plymouth) complete his CPC exam for the Paramotor and pass it whilst the weather was drizzly and not too flyable. By Lunchtime things looked brighter so it was off to Freathy with Simon C (Helston) to hopefully get his CPC assessment done enabling us to get him into the system and him to be BHPA qualified and insured making life easy for all.

On arrival Tony M (Warminster) was up and soaring his Hang Glider (U2) which he swears is vice less playing with the orographic cloud and having fun. It was bit windy for the Paragliders so we sat and waited and chatted to the locals.

As the orographic cleared the wind eased and after a quick check of conditions on my Rush 2 we sent Simon off to do his stuff. With a good take off followed by some nice soaring, Big ears , asymmetric and a good top landing things looked good. Next he was off again to demonstrate speedbar which as it turned out was fortunate as the wind picked up a little. Another good landing then he was off to play again whilst i joined him in the air.

By the end of the day Simon was sorted and had added another couple of hours to his log book, nice one. James b (Tideford) turned up and had a whizz on the Rush landing just in time to pack it up as the rain arrived, perfect timing.

Looks like the hill again tomorrow.

Allsorts in the field

Tom A gets set to go on the Calypso

Bob H comes into land as Malin ground handles below

Katie heads beck to earth on the Tandem

callum looks pleased after his flight

Simon C gets a chance to play with the Z3

What looked like a quiet day suddenly turned into a full one as students called in to go flying as the forecast was a good one.

In the tow filed we got going with Tom A (Truro) on a Hang Glider who hada good day converting to the chest release then following that up by getting onto the Calypso and having fun playing with the extra glide and speed. Tom polished off his CPC exam as well so becoming CPC'd on the tow and pretty much ready for a trip to the hill, maybe this weekend ??

Sam A (Launceston) joined him and also put in the effort managing to convert to the chest release and whilst not as smooth as normal had a good time putting in the experience tows in readiness for the hill also. he wizzed through the CPC exam and whilst already being a qualified Paraglider pilot found the exercise useful.

Bob H (Devon)meanwhile finished off his CPC tasks on the Paraglider with some cracking spot landings before taking his exam and passing with flying colours to gain his CPC tow rating. A bit more work in the filed to gain experience would come in useful before Bob heads to the hill.

Meanwhile in the background Malin L (Plymouth) was tidying up his ground handling on a Paraglider in readiness for getting the Paramotor on his back. After a bit of extra work with the unit on his back it was on with the engine for a few practice power runs and aborts then it was the big one. With conditions mellowing it was ideal and by the end of play he had put away 3 lovely flights all with good take offs and good stand up landings to get his Paramotoring career underway.

In the middle of the day Peter L, kate L and Callum who were down on holiday all came along for Tandem flights and had a great time enjoying the whole experience, the views and watching each other. Callum took the honours with the highest flights but then as he only wieghed in at 6 stone I guess it was always going to happen.

Perfect at Perran

What a lovely afternoon we had at Perranporth where conditions were spot on for Paragliding. Having done some useful work in the office in the morning including fitting Coady out with some new side wires on his Hanger and a parachute that's up to size and up to date we headed to Perran as the sun came out.

After a couple of nice flights on the Rush 2 and what a nice wing that is it was time to take Shaun (Ireland) up on the Tandem. We had a great time and whilst the height was not excessive it was fun to fly close to the birds and the fauna! The lift did pick up nicely allowing us an easy top landing and rounding off a super holiday for Shaun.

Next up was Julia who turned up on spec having just seen us flying and called the telephone number on the wing so i guess all that sign writing does work. Down on holiday from Northampton Julia and her husband fly light aircraft so they decided she should try something different. Again she had a super time revelling in the quietness compared to powered flight. despite her nerves Julia really enjoyed herself and we may well see her again next year!

Mike C (Peranwell) popped along for a look at the hill and put in some very useful ground handling practice looking pretty good at it by the end of the afternoon. Kaz had a good time putting in 5 flights on the Buzz Z3 and declaring on more than one occasion that she "loves that wing" and I must admit when I fly it there is something special about it.

Hanging around at cloudbase

Ashley L looking almost relaxed as he gets set to go

Tom does some paperwork whilst the others get clipped in

Paul C at one with the Mars....

Another good day for the hang gliders in the tow field and an "easy" day for me with everyone on best behavior.

Ashley L (Swansea) cracked on through his EPC tasks and putting away another 13 flights saw him to the end of it towing nicely up to 150' releasing then putting in good co ordinated turns back to tippy toe landings. His confidence has soared over the 3 days he has been with us and we look forward to his return to carry on into his CPC.

Tom A (Truro) had another cracking day finishing off his CPC flying tasks with some nice slow flight appreciation and stalls along with 180 turns and yet more spot landings. He just needs to build up some experience tows and then it's off to the hills.

Paul C (Plymouth) was back and quickly got back into the swing of things with some high flights before moving onto base bar conversions.

Unfortunately the cloudbase slowly got lower and lower through the day and by mid afternoon we stopped high flights as the gliders started to disappear into the cloud! Then it got lower so putting an end to Ashley's fun as even 150' was enough to get into it and finally whilst starting Tom off on low level chest release practice (60') we began to even lose sight of the winch we called it a day.

Still another good one for the Hangies.

Hangering all day

Wow what a lovely day in the tow field but where was everyone? the hangy boys were out but the Paragliders that were booked in did not show, shame. Still we had a great time with lots done and lots of smiles.

Erik O (Bristol) and Ashley L (Swansea) were out for day two of their EPC Hang Gliding and both quickly moved off tethers as they got the concept of airspeed gives control and onto their first "free" flights. Erik had to leave early but still put in 6 nice flights whilst Ashley stayed to the end putting in 13 flights and moving into release flights with gentle turns and looking pretty pleased about it.

Tom A (Truro) returned after a month or so break to start his CPC Hang Gliding and had a super afternoon putting in the high flights, mastering base bar and prone flying along with plenty of spot landings, 180 turns and even the odd 360!

Sam A (Launceston) had a great afternoon polishing off the remainder off his CPC flying tasks on a Hang Glider and looking like he was really enjoying it as well. Slow flight appreciation and stalls were done some good spot landings and some super turns made him look like the complete package. Another day and he should be ready for the hill.

Terry P came along to put in some more experience flights on his Hang Glider whilst we wait for good soaring conditions to come along and was looking pretty good all round.

Hayley H (Camborne) dropped by for a Tandem flight on the Paraglider and had a fun time being incredibly calm though the whole experience or at least giving that impression!

Meanwhile Kaz was at Perranporth having fun soaring her Paraglider where conditions were a little up and down but generally pretty good. Nice to hear that Terry B is well pleased with his new Ozone Rush 2 and by all accounts the sign writing on it looks pretty good too. Check out mercuryart.co.uk to see what hidden talent Terry has.

Quote of the day " I felt my gon*ds tickle the grass that time" maybe that's why he always keeps his legs up as he comes into land................

Hangers On

It was a hard work day in the field for me with two day oners starting their Hang Gliding courses giving me plenty of exercise!

Erik O (Slovakia / Bristol) and Ashley L (Swansea) were both down to get going on Hang Gliding and had a perfect day for it. They had a steady morning putting in the basics before getting onto the winch in the afternoon. By the end of the day they had both managed three tows across the filed and were starting to get the hang of it so hopefully another one or two and we can get the king post tether off and my life will get easier!

Nigel G (Minehead) and Jason M (Minehead) were both back and had a useful morning just running with the hanger to get the feel of it before getting onto the winch. By the end of the day they had both mastered release flights and were putting in some nice smooth turns as well so getting them well into their CPC's

Simon C (Honiton) was also back and had a great afternoon moving into release flights and turns looking very confident and controlled so also putting him well into his EPC tasks.

Roger Warren (New Zealand) joined in the fun at the end of the day with a couple of low tows to introduce him to UK towing having learnt down under.

A lovely day overall with good progress all round and plenty to keep us busy. Nice to see the sheep back to trim the grass!

Kaz had a day off going flying at Perranporth where things were a bit up and down by all accounts..........

Big Mike Passes Out!

Big Mike makes the grade nd looks a bit chuffed about it!

A bit like the Berlin Wall coming down it was something I never actually thought would happen until it did. We headed to Freathy mid afternoon to catch the low tide and arrived to find it nicely flyable and even a couple of the locals making the most of it (Martin R and Chris S) on their hangers along with one Paraglider.

Mike P (Bath) fresh from his success yesterday was pretty much rigged so after a check of conditions on a borrowed glider we got Mike briefed and ready to go. He did a fine take off and after a bit of a wobbly start quickly settled down and built height as he soared along above the chalets. Conditions were very different from those at Chapel Porth making life a bit harder but Mike took them in his stride. After a good 20 minutes he came in a performed another acceptable top landing with his usual grin.

De brief and re hydration then it was off again and another nice flight, much smoother this time and he looked solid the whole time. Another 20 minutes and another top landing, Yeehow he's there! Technically he has completed his CPC Tow and Hill endorsement after what has been an interesting journey but he has kept focused the whole time and the rewards are his. Think we shall see him again for conversion to his new harness when it arrives so watch this space!

Mike R (Plymouth) turned up after work by which time the lift was on the drop but he did a fine job dsespite his nerves to get his first hill flight in which saw a nice take off a couple of wobbly beats then a nice beach landing. Still a big step for Mike who had not flown for several months and never off the hill.

Thanks to Karez for the company and good to see him enjoying flying again with plenty of enthusiasm after a 20 year lay off. Also good to see ex student Dave L showing the Paraglider guys how to do it and making it look easy in fresh enough conditions for a Paraglider. James B also popped in an appearance on his Paraglider before heading off for some "exploring".

Nice day and hopefully we will get Mike R out again this week.

Making it happen

Kaz gets the day going in a slot at Perranporth

Hellmuth up on the tandem at a stunning Chapel porth as the sun comes out

Back on terra firma Hellmuth has plenty of pictures of his flight

Simon K takes off on the Tandem hang Glider at the start of a super flight

Happy Simon looking chuffed after his flight

We opted for a hill day based on the forecast so headed to Perranporth early where although the wind would be a bit off at least we had some beach just in case! Sure enough the wind was off and whilst we waited the guys at Chapel Porth were having a good time although a bit top end for Paragliders. Kaz took advantage of a wind shift and popped 20 minutes in on her hang glider before it backed again to the WSW.

By early afternoon we made the decision to head to Chapel where the beach would now be opening up as low water approached. On arrival conditions were super so we wasted no time in getting airborne on the Tandem Paraglider with Hellmuth (Wimbledon) who was down on a "road trip" with his two sons for his birthday and making the most of it. We had a cracking flight with stunning views up and down the coast and Hellmuth got a chance to fly the glider so a good time was had.

By the time we landed Mike P (Bath) was ready to go for his first hill flight on the Hang Glider. he did a good take off and after a little encouragement quickly settled in to enjoy a solid 25 minutes of soaring with others before putting in a very acceptable top landing. One of the huge Mike smiles followed by a bit of chatter, nice one Mike.

Next it was up on the Tandem Hanger with Simon K (Southampton) who is David K's brother who is learning with us. We had a great flight cruising the cliffs with the seagulls and had the added bonus of seeing huge Sunfish up the St Agnes end, not a common sight. Despite Simons fear off heights he had a super time without even worrying about the height thing before we popped it back on top.

Good to see plenty out a mixture of paragliders and Hangers and good to see Rebbekah (S) up in the air again for two flights and looking good under Paul's watchful eye.

Full on in the field

We had a great time in the tow filed with lots going on and plenty done. The morning saw new student Tamsin H (Sennen) showing us what she could remember from her EPC that she did 3 years ago on the hill on a Paraglder whilst Malin L (Plymouth) amused himself getting more sorted on his ground handling having come back for his second day after his taster day. They were joined by Nic C also back after his taster day and ready for more.

Karen m (Bristol) turned up by lunchtime ready to crack on with her CPC tasks on a Paraglider and wasted no time putting in some ground handling.

On the hangy front David K (Bristol) and Daniel L (Truro) got rigged and ready so by early afternoon we had the winch up and running.

In near perfect conditions everyone had a fun time with over 50 tows in total which saw Dan L move onto the Calypso having completed his CPC tasks, Dave K complete his slow flight appreciation so putting him near to the end of his CPC tasks, Karen M rattle off the middle of her CPC tasks so only leaving the "instability" ones to go, Malin L have a ball ending up with high flights and circuits so completing his EPC tasks in two days and getting him ready to start on Paramotoring, Nic C make progress into his EPC although a tough night before took its toll so giving him and early day! Tamsin H also had a full day getting her first taste of towing which she took to well and by the end of play she was releasing and moving onto higher flights with turns, nice one.

Chris B also dropped by to finish off the tows from his taster day and had a great time looking better with each one and ending on a high with a release flight and huge smile!

By 17.30 everyone was pretty much full so we called it a day, what a cracker.

Strange at Struddick

With a SSW moderate fresh breeze forecast we headed to Struddick for some hill soaring and tandems. On arrival it was a bit lighter than expected and a lot cloudier. in fact there was orographic cloud generating on the cliffs at quite a rate. Still ever positive we rigged and no sooner than the glider was out the bag than John h (Bideford) turned up for a Tandem flight on the Hanger.

With conditions not up to it he headed into Seaton for coffee and cakes whilst we sat it out. Finally the cloud thinned and i took off to check out conditions, they were stunning with bright sunshine out over the beach yet low cloud piling off the cliffs making them look like they were on fire.

Marcus (Geramany) whom i last flew with some 28 years ago borrowed the Calypso and put in a couple of flights playing with the lift and the clouds to make the most of his holiday.

Next Graham A went up to check the lift and with John having returned we followed on the tandem. It was a super flight with some of the most amazing views i have had whilst tandem as we flew in and out of the cloud with the trees looking more like a tropical rain forest then SE Cornwall. Add to this the monkey sanctuary below and you could have been in south America!

Bill n held up the Paragliding side with a couple of nice flights and as we left old hand Bill Arkle was in the air on his Hanger,

Another nice day out

Fun in the field

It was a relatively chilled day in the field and with Kaz away in sunny Majorca for the week it was just as well.

Nic C (Camborne) and Malin L (Plymouth) were both along for "Taster days" with a view to taking up Paragliding and Paramotorung respectively. In cracking conditions they worked through the morning putting in the effort. By lunch time their forard launches were looking good and the hand towing was out of the way.

We took some time out to introduce Malin to the paramotor unit getting it on his back and starting it up so he gets an idea of hat it's all about.

Then it was on to the tow line and despite an exciting start for Malin things settled down nicely and by the end of the day both Nic and Malin had put in 5 nice flights and even managed their first release flight. It was enough to convince them both and we look forward to seeing them through their training.

Dave L dropped by as he wanted to complete his Asymmetric tuck exercises for his Pilot rating which he did in fine style of the top of the tow, well done. So off goes his exam and we await the result................................

Well done to Graham M on the winch as he joins us as part of the team. Sorry no pictures Kaz has taken the camera !

Super Soaring

Whilst the Paragliders waited for the wind to fill in at Perranporth the Hangers hoped it would fill in a lot! By mid morning the Paragliders got their wish and enjoyed some lovely flying whilst the Hangers rigged. By early afternoon it was top end for most of the Paragliders but ideal for the Hangers .

Rebbekah S (Exeter) was back and despite a bit of a lay off showed the way with a cracking 20 minute flight followed by a top landing although a little "down the front".

Karez was next off getting back into the air on a Hang Glider after a 20 year break. Aboard a Calypso he had a super time putting in a good 40 minutes before landing back on top nicely.

Next it was Shads (Surrey) turn who after coming to us a month ago following nearly 2 and a half years of training elsewhere was finally in the air and soaring putting the experience on the tow into practice. He had a lovely 40 minutes playing with the lift and sussing out ridge soaring. Shad followed up with one of the best top landings of the day and a huge smile.

Rebbekah took the opportunity to get some more airtime in and popped in another 20 minutes or so before doing a really nice landing on top with some good "S" ing off.

Karez then took to the air on his own glider in what were classic conditions before we rapped the day in still super flyable conditions. Nice one guys.

The Boys are back in Town

Back in the field after our "break" in Wales we had plenty on with a mixture of hangies and para's.

On the para front Clint M (Plymouth) was along for a taster day and worked beside his mate Ben (plymouth) who had already spent one with us. They both did really well in what turned out to be challenging conditions as the breeze filled in to become top end for them. They did everything but actually tow on the winch although we did get clint nicely airborne on the hand tows.

James SD (Sparkwell) was along for a Taster day on the Hanger for his 18th Birthday present and had a cracking day getting to grips with it. With conditions on the top end for the paragliders it was ideal for the hangers and James made the most of them as he finished off his day with some super flights across the field and good landings. He had a great time and again nice to see the younger ones having a go.

Jason M and Nigel G (Exmoor) both returned after their taster days to start on their EPC's. With the winch pretty much to themselves in the afternoon they both did really well moving off tethers and into free flight. By the end of the day they had put away 8 flights each so next stop release flights.

thanks to Mike C (Falmouth) for his help on the tethers. Will try and find the camera and get some piccies to brighten up the blog!