So close at Sennen

Ohh don't you just love Cornwall and with Sites like Sennen Cove why wouldn't you?  NNw west winds saw us head west to the tip of the UK where despite it being half term the sun was shining and the car park not too full ;))

The wind was light on arrival but it felt lifty so Kaz and myself popped in a few nice flight in what turned out to be very buoyant conditions whilst waiting for the hill conversions and tandem to arrive and  Chris H (St Levan) who was already there to rig.

Elaine gets sorted .....

As soon as Chris was ready i popped back in and we got him up and away. Chris had a fine time as we tidied up his flying having "learnt" in various manners over the past four years!  Putting him through his paces he did Big ears, speed bar and Asymmetric tucks all stuff he had missed on the way. Another good day should see him sorted and into the BHPA Pilot rating system.

The Tandem heads up and away

By the time Paddy B (Falmouth), Todd A (Totnes)  and Elaine B (Perranporth) the wind had filled a little but the lift dropped, don't ask why but it did!  So we waited for things to improve.  Kaz and myself tested the air every now and then. Finally Kaz took off and went up so we popped Elaine into the Tandem harness and went for a lovely flight over Sennen.  We had a ball and Elaine just loved it whilst her daughter Kelly who had bought the voucher for her as a gift looked on with the Grand children.  Despite not being sure about the flight to start with Elaine settled in quickly and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, maybe Kelly next time.

... and comes back again ;)

So next off was Todd who did a fine job in soaring but could never quite get enough height to top land and whilst racking up the airtime ended up on the beach but still good experience. Todd popped in two more flights with one resulting in a slope landing and the other  another visit to the sands, still it keeps him fit and never dampens his spirit.

Paddy had a great day picking his flights just right and finished off his Hill conversion flights before putting in a third and flying along with myself over Sennen Cove village as a qualified CPC pilot, nice.

So a good day overall and I did not even drive into any ones car!  I do believe summer is truly here :))

Quote of the day " any one seen my baps?"

Partying at Perran

A good forecast for Tandems saw us heading to Perranporth for hill flying and Tandems either Paragliding or Hang Gliding as conditions dictated.  On arrival it was more of a Hangy day so we got the tandem out and rigged and whilst we waited for the Passengers to arrive I tested the air on the ASKA to find it nicely lift, ideal.

11.30 saw Glen and Steve B (Brothers) arrive, Glen had a Voucher and Steve came along as he did not want to miss out! they were closely followed by Mally H and Jessica both down from London and again whilst Mally had a voucher Jessica was not going to miss out.

Hang checking on the Tandem

First off was Steve B into classic conditions and in fact amazingly smooth despite some cloud activity going on around. Steve loved it and did a super job of flying the glider looking like a natural. as the flight went on the lift eased back and we had to work for the height to come into land extending his flight nicely:)  back and the ground and Steve was bubbling with enthusiasm, it would not surprise me if we see him again......

Ready to go

Off and away

With the wind a bit lighter Mally H was next up being the lightest and we had a fun time playing up and down the ridge with plenty of height to play with whilst Jessica rattled off some photo's.  m
Mally was very chilled but loved the swoopy bits and just beamed the whole time.  Landing was easier this time with height to spare, in fact a little too much!

Mally carving up the sky

The wind filled again so it was Glen's turn a good launch and we were up and away having fun and putting the world to rights as we chased the seagulls.  As the flight went on the wind eased back until finally we were scratching the ridge. Up and down we went but mainly down as we got lower and lower until finally after 45 minutes the beach came up to meet us!  Still a nice landing and after a bit of a climb art way up the dunes I managed to fly the glider back up solo.

Back on top and a bit of a rest with a cup of tea put things right again and the wind returned a bit stronger than ever, ideal.  Jessica who had patiently waited got her chance and what a cracking one it was with conditions as good as they got.  The flight was superb and it was playtime as we dived and climbed in the abundant lift.  A nice top landing and one of the biggest smiles I have seen rounded off the tandems, amazing.

Back on the ground and Mally's face says it all

Jess's grin was even bigger!

Shame for the Para boys that it never dropped off as forecast but at least it was good for some.

"Quote of the day " that'll be the extra 3 stone then!"

Buzzzzzzing

The day winds up

The field looked more like an Airpark with plenty of everything going on as pilots and students took advantage of the lovely weather.

Visiting pilots Geoff and mark H (Honiton) were down on holiday and had already got their Paramotor and Powered Hangy rigged by the time we arrived. They were joined by Triston J (Torquay) on his Parajet Volution and  Keith S on his Fly Products Race C both now CPC qualified on Paramotors and just topping up experience.  They all had a great time putting in some lovely flights and learning a few more things along the way.

 Pete L made an appearance with various pieces of kit ........

John R came along a bit later with his unit for me to try before he flew it which turned out to be a good idea for him and not such a good one for me as the harness was not the easiest it has to be said and the unit is a little on the heavy side.  Net result John decided to give it a miss!!

Peter V (St Austell) now having completed his EPC Paragliding flights along with 3 high flights got on with serious ground handling with the power unit on his back and built up to aborted take offs before going for it.  By the end of the day he had worked hard and was ready to go up but after a couple of attempts decided to wait for the next day out.

On the Paraglding side we had John S and Jenny (Plymouth) along on taster days and  Daryll V on his second day.  The guys worked well in the morning getting themselves sorted and by the time they were ready to tow things were looking good.  John and Jenny put in 3 super flights each with Jenny taking the prize for being relaxed :). Daryll made good progress into his EPC tasks moving through release flights and into higher ones whilst building up the turns.

A busy day overall and plenty of smiling faces, what more can you ask....

Quote of the day " what the h*ll
is that?"

Gliders rigged and ready and conditions spot on :))

Back to the hill with a fresh Northerly forecast to back saw us heading to Sennen Cove  with Adrian C (Warwick) who was along for a Taster day on the hangy.

Another super Sunny day at Sennen and the wind was nicely on and at a nice strength so we cracked on with glider introduction and basic ground handling whilst Kaz rigged her hangy.  Adrian got his head around the basics pretty quickly and it was not long before he was clipped into the harness and ready for some tethering.  In super conditions he got his feet off the ground  and had a fun time "floating on the edge".

Michel ready on launch

Taking a rest and with Michel K having arrived and rigging his hangy I popped up on kaz's wing to test conditions and they were cracking ;).  A bite of lunch and it was time to take Adrian up for a flight on the Tandem hangy.  We had a super flight with Sennen looking as stunning as ever although the "rock pecker" did intrude somewhat into the tranquility....   Adrian got to fly the glider doing as good a job as anyone despite the slightly bouncy conditions, the boys a natural.

Michel does a nice one and.......

.....is soon flying high on his Sport 2 135

Michel came up to join us on his hangy the first time up on it in six months and made a fine job of it after an exciting launch and even with a bit of a head down attitude resulting in a spot of bar munching.  We cam in on the Tandem for a nice landing and Kaz joined in the fun on her hangy whilst we took a break.  Back on the tethers Adrian put into practice what he had learnt on his Tandem flight and did an excellent job as he "soared" on the ropes in the increasing breeze to round off his day with a big smile.

Adrian and Michel celebrate a cracking day as Kaz flies high

Kaz and Michel both put in another flight with Michel doing a super launch and looking much happier with his head up :).  So a lovely day all round and almost relaxing as well and we even got back in time to join in the pilot lectures.

Quote of the day " Je ne comprend pas le problem"

Fielding

After a couple of  cracking days on the hill it was back to the field for some more fun and frolics.  Not quite as sunny as yesterday but still sunny enough to liven up the sky as the day went on.  We had a pretty busy day with Triston J (Torquay) on his Paramotor along for some fun flying, Jenny S (Falmouth) joined by Tom G (Exeter) and James C (Andover) on the hangies,   Chris D (Plymouth) and Darrell V (lifton) day one Para's, Gary T (St Austell) and Peter V both finishing on their EPC Para's.

The hangies got going first on the winch with towing underway before 11.00 as the wind was again forecast to fill.  Jenny back on her second day showed she had not forgotten what she learnt and had a fine time coming off the tethers and moving to 20' flights showing good control over her 6 flights before having to leave at 13.00 to travel up country.  Tom and James cracked on and despite a long break of 5 months got back into it quickly moving them into release flights and learning loads over their  8 flights each.

Jenny looking pretty chuffed with herself

even happy :)

In amongst the tows Triston popped in a couple of nice flights on his Paramotor finding it quite lively up top and a bit variable on landing, still he did well and had a huge smile as he packed away early afternoon.

Triston smiling as ever

Peter V and Gary T joined in on the winch early afternoon and were sooon rattling off the flights with Peter finishing off his EPC flights and popping in three to the top of the line making a total of 9 and loving it, one more then he is hived off onto the Paramotor route.  Meanwhile Gary made good progress into his EPC fights looking very relaxed over his 6 flights
, another coupe and he too will be off to the top.

Fortunately the increase in wind never really came till late giving us plenty of time for Chris and Darrell to get their flights in. they both did a fine job putting in 4 nice flights and ending on a release one each, the guys worked well together and thanks for the coffee ;))

Quality coffee time 

So a full on day and plenty done  with plenty of fun all round and no driving into Phil's car despite him parking it between both of our vehicles!! that's trust ......

Nice to hear from Shaun s who had made a return to Sennen and managed a further 3 flights as a newly qualified pilot, well done, keep an eye out for him on the hill guys.

Quote of the day " that's soooooo much fun"

Sunny Soaring at Sennen and crashing .......

Perfect

Well here we go again, the good weather has come at last and we are making the best of it.  With a NNE backing and filling as the day went on we decided on Sennen Cove as our site for the day and headed off early to get the Paragliders going before it filled in too much.

Arriving at 09.00 timing was again spot on as was the wind direction.  As we parked up the gulls were just staying up and by the time we had the paragliders out of the bags and rigged it was nicely sharable. Kaz and myself got some cracking flying in having the sky to ourselves before Shaun S fresh from yesterdays success rolled up. Shaun wasted no time in rigging and after a site brief was up and away into the blue.  Conditions mellowed a little and Shaun had to work a bit harder for the lift for the first 10 minutes before it returned seeing him having a great time.  A nice top landing a bebrief and he was off again into the steady lift.  Keeping a close eye on the sea for the predicted wind increase Shaun came in for another cracking top landing to complete his hill conversion and become CPC rated in both Tow and Hill, well done :)

Shaun "hangs"in there

the lift increases as Phippsy sucks the wind in

must be lifty there's a plane soaring!

By now the wind was filling in and the hangies were starting to rig and Todd A arrived from Totnes. Oh no just like yesterday Todd's timing was not good as it got too strong for Para's! His face was not a good one but we decided to give ground handling a go in the hope it may ease a bit.  30 minutes of ground work did Todd a lot of good and whats more encouraged the wind to ease a little.  Going for it Todd did a fantastic job of  "walking" the glider to the front and getting off unassisted for his first soaring flight.  With a yelp of delight he wasp and away into good lift and soon cruising the ridge in fine style.  His new Ozone Mojo 4 did well and up top it was easy to get around.  15 minutes later he cam in for his first top landing and his face was looking much happier :)  A debrief and he was up and away again having done another great job at launching from the top.  Once more we had to keep a close eye on conditions and as the wind picked up a little he came in for another top landing nailing it to get him half way through his hill conversion.

Todd puts the hard work in

and gets a great reward :)

Todds toys

With the breeze now definitely more for the hangies Kaz, Phil  and Simon F (who had driven 3 1/2 hours for the day got some great flying in whilst Shaun S and myself had fun on the Tandem Hangy.  Sam A and Tim J turned up later for some afternoon soaring and by this time we were flown out but conditions were still good.

Summer 

Todd spotting

another happy chappy

So a super day with the guys doing great and Todd breaking his duck, sorry Ollie but glider on order so hopefully it will be good when you return.  Ohh yes the crash ....... I avoided the doughnuts as instructed but then reversed into Phil's car that was abandoned in the car park !

Quote of the day "woops"

A Right Royal time

The forecast gave light NE winds filling through the morning then rain in the afternoon so we headed off to Carbis to see what we could get done.  Arriving just as the wind filled in and Big G and Rich42 took off was perfect timing.  Kaz finally got the chance to fly her new Buzz Z4 and I got my first proper flight on the Delta 2 where i could actually let her go up.

With the Queen passing by on the train Mike A and myself flew down to give her a wave and I do believe Mike got one back as well as on film, nice.

Paddy sets off on his first soaring flight

We both had a ball in lovely conditions playing around before the hill conversion boys turned up.  Paddy B (Falmouth) was first to arrive and it was not long before he was ready to go.  A cracking inflation, a super launch and he was away for his first soaring flight and making it all look pretty straightforward despite the nerves.  After getting it sussed and cruising the ridge in good lift Paddy came in for a first class top landing to round it off with a huge grin.

Paddy and Kaz fly high

and jumps for joy at having survived it !

The clouds begin to build in the distance

Shaun s (Newlyn) was next to arrive and with Paddy safely down it was Shauns turn.  Just like Paddy he did a fine job and was soon up and away looking very smooth indeed and mixing it with the other gliders like a pro.  A nice approach and top landing and the boys were full of it congratulating each other.  We did not waste much time before getting them up again as the forecast was not looking so hot.  They both did great jobs again and shared the air with each other along with several other wings which kept them on their toes.  Another top landing each and they had  two flights under their belts.  Todd A (Totnes) arrived just in time to see them in and just as the wind picked up to such a level that we had to call it a day for them. Todd was disappointed but it did not stop him sharing the other guys success as he congratulated them, shame Ollie was not there but he had to go to Holland!

Shaun and Paddy share the air

looking pretty Shaun flies by

Shaun on finals

a very happy man

So with a final flight on the Delta as the clouds expanded and the sky got darker that was it for the day apart from a bit of Parachute fitting and harness choosing.

Well done to the guys and with abit of luck tomorrow should see them up again ;))

Quote of the day "AWESOME !

"

Puffing at Perran

Another trip to the hill this time hoping for the wind to drop as the afternoon went on and having worked on the kitchen in the morning the wind stations all showed a drop so off we went.

It was still breezy on arrival with only speed wings in the air, I joined in the fun on the ASKA in what were very lifty conditions.  Kaz decided to fly her hangy and showed the gang of three (Ollie, Paddy and Todd) what hang gliding is about with a cracking flight and one of the best top landings ever ;))

Paddy spreads them

Todd shimmy's

It stayed windy so we gave the guys a a ground handling session on the ASKA which some found easier than others........  As evening came the wind did ease a fraction seeing a couple of Paraglidres in the air, although a challenging launch would be a kind way of describing one of them.  i popped up on the school wing up it was still too much for the guys so we called it a day at 21.00.  Oh so much Parawaiting ..........

Quote of the day " don't text paddy"

Rampant Reindeers

It was back to Vault for an early start to hopefully beat the fog and catch the wind as it picked up through the morning.  On arrival at 08.00 the wind was off the the east but pretty good strength wise and no sign of fog:)

Ollie in his best Christmas jumper

By the time the guys arrived, Ollie C (Plymouth), Paddy B (Falmouth) and Todd A (Totnes) the wind was already filling and veering to come on the hill.  Kaz went off to pick up the hill exams to keep the guys occupied and whilst she was away things came on. I sneaked a flight in on her Buzz Z4 to test conditions then got the guys ready to roll.

Kaz gets some ground handling in as we wait for the guys

By the time Paddy was set the wind had freshened and was already top end confirmed by a couple of failed launch attempts. Ollie also gave it a go but it was too much so we put on hold.  The guys took their exams and all passed fine but the wind continued to fill so we called it a day.

Kaz's dream home

handy for a spot of fishing too

The good news was that the fog never appeared and the sun shone so Kaz and myself spent a couple of hours on Hemick beach before heading home so quite a nice day as it turned out.

Quote of the day "I want it"

Wet sleeves and Country Cream

Vault Bay is always fickle and today was no exception!  With reports of a bit light and off to the east whilst on route we arrived to fine it on and nicely flyable BUT within 10 minutes the orographic rolled in and cloud base  dropped onto the hill seeing Gerry (the only one already up) scurry for the top landing!

 My new Delta 2 gets an airing

In anticpation Kaz's new Z4 was already out of the bag so she gave it a ground handle and loved it.   We sat and waited in the hope that it would lift but it stubbonly stuck with us. With the conversation going down hill and the Jaffa cake tasting comp' over I cracked and figured as long as I did not go to high I'd be alright so took Kaz's wing up to see what it was like.  Well the wing was superb and the lift steady and the cloudbase low!  Still with some fun flying and a bit of swooping you could stay below it and have fun.

Yep it got misty

what's the IMC rules ?

With no one else keen to have a go I finally got the chance to fly my new Delta 2 and whilst not getting the chance to fly her high I had a good hour's worth of playing up and down the front putting her through her paces.  If you are in the market for an EN C wing you gotta try this.  Predictable and precise sums it up which in my book give a lot of confidence.  Over that hour I probably learned more than I have over the past 6 months about flying paragliders with the exception of the SIV course that is :)  It was good fun and something I rarely get to do especially as when its bright and sunny there are normally others to consider.

Adie puts his coaching into practice .... or is he giving a sermon to a captive audience???

Adie put the time to good use with Ben giving a bit of ground handling coaching before the masses gave up and went home leaving Myself, Paddy and Ollie like Gorrillas in the mist.  Despite the mist conditions were good for ground handling so the guys put in an hours worth sweetening up the basics along with learning a few new tricks to keep them entertained.  The mist never did lift so we finally gave in too and planned a return early tomorrow if things work out.

more ground handling for Ollie

and Paddy joins in the

Quote of the day "Pink like a ...." I can't belive you said that Adie ... to be fair he just forgot to compplete the sentence .... allegedly

Thermic Sunday

After the fun on the hill yesterday it was a change to get back into the field with some day oners.

Jenny S (Falmouth) and Gary T (St Austell) were along to for the first day of Hang Gliding and Paragliding respectively.  Whilst Tim looked after Jenny on the Hangy I took Gary on the Para and we worked through the morning in what turned out to be variable conditions as the sea breeze tried to establish itself over the field.

The Condor floats in

Lunchtime saw the arrival of Ollie C ( now qualified) for some experience tows and also some thermic conditions as the sea breeze gave up and the wind backed to the south.  A few test flights on both the Hangy and the Paraglider saw us on hold as we waited for things to mellow with a bit of theory.  Finally the clouds thinned back and we got going after Phil L kindly tested the air once more.

Landing as the sky begins to thin

Ollie made the most of it putting in his first thermal flight as he circled round and round in lift and just loved every second of it.  Jenny was next off on the Hangy and did a fine job improving with each flight as she relaxed more and more letting the glider fly and getting her weight shift sorted. By the end of play she was looking good and hopefully the tethers will be off next time out.

Gary got his first flight on the paraglider and just came back with a bigger grin after each one!  He did a great job and moved through the low flights into releases and even gentle turns by the end of the day.  To be fair everyone had to be on the ball as conditions were not super smooth so being pilots was the order of the day not just passengers.

Looking forward to more next time.

Quote of the day "Wow"