The Need for Speed at Carbis

Oli after his tandem flight

Said getting high on his first soaring flight

Paul (when's the baby due) setting off to launch

Paul and Kaz share the air

End of the day as Kaz comes in and the Sun drops

It was Carbis bay for hill conversions and tandems and although the wind was forecast to the north actually it was more on than we expected although breezier than forecast at a low to mid twenties.

We got things going with a cracking tandem flight on the hangy with Oli who is down on holiday for the week to celebrate his birthday and what a good week he has chosen weather wise. Oli had a fun time taking in the views, flying the glider and generally just soaking up the whole experience. Maybe as he only lives in Devon we may see him again sometime........

Next "off " was Kaz who confirmed the need for good airspeed control at take off to deal with the bumpy bit by putting her shortest ever flight yet... Still no harm done and a valuable lesson learnt along with drumming the message home to Said who had come back to us to do his hill conversion.

Said was next to go and got away fine to enjoy as super soaring flight in classic conditions for 30 minutes before popping back in on top for an acceptable landing. With Paul h, Gay J and Graham M all joining in the fun on their hangers Kaz was soon back in the saddle and had a lovely flight putting in a super demonstration landing for Said.

After a short rest said was off again for his second flight and looked much smoother as he now mixed it with a couple of Paragliders that got airborne as the wind eased back a little. Another top landing see's him one more flight away from his qualification, hopefully tomorrow.

Paul W who had patiently waited all day whilst Shaun cracked after only 4 hours was quick to get the Paraglider out as the wind dropped along with the sun. 15 minutes of ground work allowed the wind to become sensible for him and after a demo flight by Kaz he was off and away for his first hill soaring flight. He did a fine job and was soon joined by Kaz who kept him company until the light began to fade when they both came in for nice top landings.

Sorry to Trev and Shaun and Bob for missing it but your days will come!

Fast Fun at the Frostbite

Tim K sneaks up under Karez

Mark H (his better side)

Julian on his speed run gets the bar in

Andy F very colour co ordinated

Pete A wonders if the rumours about Tims pregnacy are true

With a bright and breezy forecast the faithful assembled at perranporth for the 2011 frost bite comp. By miday there were 18 hangers rigged and ready but Para's were kept in the bags as it was blowing mid to high twenties. Visiting pilots from The Mercian Club, Sky Surfers, Devon & Somerset Condors and South Devon joined the local boys.

After a test the air flight and demo top landing for those new to the site a ridge race task was set along the dunes but the spot was given a miss due to the breezy top landing. Pete A (Mercian) got things moving with a very low level run proving it was bouncy near the ground. He was followed by a stream of pilots keeping Kaz, Wendy and various helpers busy both at time keeping and launch.

Some flew faster than others some high and some low and some the wrong way! The rigid's were impressive with their speed making swishy sounds as they passed by. Top landings were fun and needed some concentration but in the main went well with a couple of exceptions resulting in some bent ally but no broken bodies. More excitement was provided at take off in a couple of instances.......

By late afternoon the wind picked up a bit and pilots called it a day encouraged by Pete A again demonstrating turbulence at low level just in a different area.

Back at the pub score manipulation began by giving the Rigids a 10% penalty and the King posts a 30% advantage.......this proved about right as results showed a good mixture of gliders in the top 5.

Results so far.......In reverse order 4th Mercian, 3rd Odd and Sods (DSC & Sky Surfers), 2nd South Devon and with a marginal lead strangely enough in 1st Kernow !

Sunday look possible so thing may yet change .......

Thanks to Adi for all the piccies which will follow

Vindy at Vault

Go0d take off run as Katie starts her tandem flight

Into the "blue"

Happy landings

With a pleasant forecast for light to moderate SE winds we headed to vault bay hoping to get some Paragliding Hill conversions sorted in the morning and some hangy ones in the afternoon. However on arrival at 10.00 it was already blowing 18+ so top ending for the para's but good for the hangies.

Shaun (Camborne) and Paul (Truro) both passed their navigation test in finding the site and although disappointed at conditions made good use of the time with a site briefing and recce so putting them at ease for next time.

Kaz wasted no time and was soon up there floating about on her hangy and practising 360's and tighter turns in readiness for the thermal season. With the wind well to the south her landing options were either between the hedge and the road or in the "normal" field at the western end. She opted for the latter which was fine although the expected turbulence and wind gradient was present making her work hard but resulting in a very acceptable landing.

By the time Trev (Paignton) had arrived and was sorted things had picked up a bit more and both launch and landing were getting bouncier so after a site brief we waited to see what would happen.

Katie (Tintagel) arrived for a tandem on the hangy having missed out when on holiday in Rio so figured we were the next best thing! Although the sun had disappeared the wind had backed a bit so we gave it a go and had a cracking flight in loads of lift allowing us to play to our hearts content and Katie a go at flying the glider. A good landing in the "normal" field despite the wind shear rounded off her experience and confirmed it may not be ideal for Trev's first flight.

Whilst Trev made good use of the time by completing his CPC exam in fine style the wind increased and we derigged ending flying for the day. A steady stream of pilots then appeared having been to the KHPA Parachute packing day ( which was once again very successful) to make sure they had not missed anything and left again very relived.

Fun day, not as much done as hoped but a very happy Katie even if it's not Rio.... Ohh and yes offers now being accepted for small item with approx 24 hours use including 45 minutes of airtime.

Mikes magic works again!

Steady on guys

Adi gets it cracked on his first day

Paul flying by the light of the moon

Is it a bat or is it paul, Trev tries to work it out

It was an interesting day in the tow field where things got off to a good start with Adi (Illogan) on his first day of a 2 day taster going through the basics under Kaz's instruction whilst Paul W (Truro) nearing the end of his CPC Paragliding, Trev H (Paignton)and Shaun W (Camborne) both out for additional experience tows in preparation for the hill readied their kit.

As we got the winch going conditions were perfect and I popped in a couple of demo'/check out flights then Trev got going with the hangy. Then Mike C turned up for some towing to keep his hand in between hill flights and the wind dropped and moved. The next few hours were a little on the frustrating side as we moved the winch to and fro chasing a wind that was up and down and round and round with only the odd tow in between.

Shaun finally cracked and after only one flight on his new Buzz Z3 (which he got on with well)called it a day and was soon followed by Mike C and Trev deciding to de rig. Just as in the old days no sooner had Mike left the wind settled down at a perfect strength and the games began!

Adi having done all the hard work was soon putting in his first flights on the tow and did a great job over three lovely flights each better than the one before seeing him getting up to 60' in the air.

Paul cracked on with his CPC tasks and by the time the sun had gone and the moon was up he had completed them all and got a couple of extra flights in for the fun of it totalling 11 flights so finishing off his CPC, well done.

Sorry you missed it Mike but thanks for leaving , next time could you go a couple of hours earlier please........

Post frontal at Chapel

Classic take off as phippsy gets things going

Classic photo by Steve H

Andy R gets in on the act

Kaz touches down in tippy toe fasion

As we hoped the occluded front passed through a little earlier than forecast and the wind veered to the west coming on at Chapel Porth nicely. A bit on the strong side for paragliders Kaz and myself nipped out there with the hangers and were joined by Steve H and Andy R.

After a quick test of conditions on Kaz's wing which proved it very lifty (just as well as there was no beach) we swapped around and Kaz got back in the air after a few weeks enforced leave due illness. She was soon joined by Andy R and both had a fine time playing around before popping very neat top landings, well in one case any way!

A pleasant afternoon with Steve taking the piccies and me using Kaz's glider when she wasn't. packed up and got home just before the next showers arrived, perfect.

Birthday Girl & Dancing with the Delta

Gay gets up on her Buzz after flying her Sport 2 (Hanger)

Chris M and Sam A lined up in the lift

Sam as the sun begins to set

Truck looking the part

After a spell of high winds is was good to see the forecast slot develop into a nicely flyable one at Chapel Porth.

Alex had driven down from Plymouth with her friend Kate who had bought her a Tandem flight for her 21st birthday. Conditions were such that we could choose between the hanger or the Paraglider but we opted for the hanger and what a good choice it was. After a quick demo flight Alex togged up and we were soon stood on the "edge". A lovely take off saw us up and away for a super flight with amazing views of the crashing surf along the cliffs. Alex had a fine time getting a chance to fly the glider and experience the thrill of hang gliding whilst Kate tried out her new camera from the ground.

A sweet landing saw us back on the ground with big smiles all round and a the icing on the cake was that it was actually Alex's birthday today so it all came together well.

Next it was play time for Shaun W who had dropped by with his new Ozone Buzz Z3 for some ground handling and he soon got into the swing of it getting a feel for his new wing and how much more reactive it is compared to the training wings, be good to try it in the air next time.

I put in some practice with the Delta both in the sky and on the ground sussing out how to control the wings energy and use it to my advantage, must say I am falling in love with it , anyone up for a Rush 2 medium??

Nice to see Paul H and Gay J out flying both hangers and para's and Sam A and Chris M drop by mid afternoon on their Paragliders. Lovely afternoon is it the start of spring??