Puffing at Perran

Adrian A's Wallace impression

Alan H flies high in the only good soaring slot of the day

Alan H looking pretty pleased with himself

Carolyn B "soaring" on tethers and always smiling

Gliders and Aliens

It was always going to be a Hangy day at Perran with a fresh NW breeze forecast and there were plenty of hopefuls there for ridge soaring and hill conversions.

As the mist cleared we arrived and got rigging as the wind filled in. By the time gliders were ready it was breezy enough so the good old Mars was pressed into service with some tethering. After a demo by Alan H (Bideford) we put Carolyn B (Lincon) and Adrian A (Gloucester) through their paces. Conditions were good and they both began to get a good feel for the glider with extended flights in conditions very different from the tow field.

A lull in conditions saw Alan H take advantage of the slot and pop in a very nice soaring flight his first in nearly 20 years before coming in for a good top landing as the wind picked up again.

Boy did it pick up keeping us all grounded except for the guys on tethers who had a ball with conditions now such that they could "soar" for pretty much as long as they wanted giving them plenty of time to sort out all sorts of things. Trev H (Paignton) and Paul C (Plymouth) took advantage of the Mars to pop in some tethering themselves to keep their hands in.

As the wind picked up to over 40mph at the front we called it a day and headed home in a wind blown state. A bit frustrating for the guys hoping to complete their hill conversions but still a fun one and very sociable with several up country pilots making new friends.