3x2 have fun at St Agnes

The forecast played ball and it was a super day from the word go with a nice northerly and plenty of fluffy things floating in the sky.  By 09.00 three Tandems had called in not long after the van was loaded and we were on our way to St Agnes.

With Adie having been there since 09.00 and confirming thing were getting better our timing was spot on and it was not long before the Paragliders were out and we were up in the air for a fly before going to "work". peachy arrived and joined in the fun along with Mike C and Chris H.  In nice lifty sea thermic conditions it was super flying for all and ideal for Tandems.

John G gets ready to go

Back on the ground I met up with John G who was first to arrive for his flight and after a briefing we were set to go.  A nice launch saw us off and away and soon climbing nicely to join the others. John with a background in sailing had a good idea of what was going on and was soon flying the glider himself and just loving it.  The sea thermals gave added entertainment with as luck would have it the best ones coming through as we set up for landing, it would have been rude to ignore them so we stayed up a little longer for some more fun.  With others arriving we popped back in to land to round off a cracking flight.  John with a big smile was last seen discussing learning to fly with Kaz .......watch this space ;)

The Tandem floats away with John on board

Rupert C and Dave S had both arrived so we got them briefed together before clipping Rupert in to go first.  An incident delayed things a little as a visiting pilot took off with a line tangle then dropped back in from about 15 feet enveloping a modeller who was flying a model at the time with his wing. Things were a little heated for a time but with Kaz exercising her bets diplomatic skills things calmed down and no one was hurt but a few lessons hopefully learnt.

Rupert looking cool as he takes control

just loving it :)

With things back on track they both had super flights in what remained all day cracking conditions and both proved pretty good at flying the glider themselves giving me a rest.  Dave was lucky, he had only called in the morning as his voucher was getting near it's expiry date and on finding out that it was on for the day decided to go for it and drove from Newton Abbott, well worth the call :))

Dave (ironman) S  enjoys the view 

That face says it all 

So with happy faces all  round (well nearly) we spent the rest of the afternoon playing, socialising and checking out camper vans, very pleasant.

Thanks to Adie for the lift home as I was left abandoned playing with the late day thermals ..........

Quote of the day " it just popped up"

A very nice day

Light winds forecast filling little as the day goes on so off to the field for a spot more on the Paramotors.

Wyn D joins us for a Paramotor conversion course and is already getting the kit sorted as Matt and Shaun arrive.  After a few demo's Wyn pops the power unit on his back and does the run around thing before we connect him up to the wing, a couple of ground handles to make sure he is on the ball then we fire him up.

A bit of running a dab of brake and he is away climbing into the blue as the others finish setting up.  Wyn quickly settles in and it's not long before he spot a gaggle of Gulls circling and goes to join them, throttle back and he circles up.  After a bit of play he comes in for a super landing and gives one of those Wyn grins :)

Well that says it all from Wyn as Shaun

gets ready to go

Shaun is next and makes a fine job of his second ever flight on his Paramotor with a nice take off and settles in quickly despite a few bumpy bits as the gulls continue to play.  A nice set up sees a fine landing and proof that he remembers what he did a couple of days ago, nice.

Shaun flies up as the thermals drift by

Matt goes quiet and clips in, he need not have worried his take off is fine and his flying smooth but despite his best efforts we have a problem getting into the harness. Still he flies around for a good 10 minutes before coming back to mother earth, a good confidence booster.

Man and his machine, matt looking cool

The day goes on much the same with Wyn popping 5 good flights climbing up to 1500 plus and getting a fair bit of thermal practice in whilst Shaun and Matt do 3 each and Matt gets comfy in the seat, well done guys.

Three happy guys on a beautiful day :))

Meanwhile back on the ranch Kaz has headed to Perranporth as the wind fills nicely and calls in to let me know that it's good for tandems.  We pack up in the field and I head to the coast arriving in perfect time as Kim Marie arrives and conditions are perfect.  We waste no time and after  a brief we are off up and away into nice lift and a few sea thermals to add to the fun.

Kim has a super flight enjoying not only the view but a bit of glider flying and a bit of swoop swingy stuff. With no one else waiting and myself happy to get some flying in in such nice conditions we have an extended flight .......... super.

So a full on day with lots achieved if things go on like this it will be perfect ;)

Quote of the day "you blow and I'll put my finger on it"

Blast Off

Well it comes to us all .... that Big day that you just can't avoid and for Shaun and Matt today was the day!  After there refresh day on the winch the boys were "ready" to get their power units on their backs and give it a go.

In the field it was nice as the guys set up but by the time they were ready the wind had filled against the forecast and it was a little on the gusty side so we hung fire and chewed the cud, well actually there were no cows in the field so we just chatted.  Kaz called in to let us know she was off to the hill for a fly ............ an hour or so later she called again to say she had been flying but it was dropping off, good news.

15 minutes later and things were looking a lot better.  a demo flight on Matts set up to check things out and we were ready to go.  Shaun clipped in, did his preflight checks and final brief, radio check, all clear and he was "live".   Well what can you say a super forward launch saw him powering forward and in good shape, a little more throttle and his feet left the ground.  He climbed nicely away and circled the field to keep plenty of landing options in range.  10 minutes later in he came for a nice stand up landing and a round of applause from Matt and myself.

No pressure on Matt then .........  with the wind a bit lighter it was forward launch for sure and with a nice attitude Matts Buzz Z4 Power floated up and with a bit of encouragement he squeezed the throttle and hey presto he was off.  Again he circled the field whilst trying to get into the harness but despite his best efforts he could not.  Still he had fun and after a good 10 minutes came in for a super landing  big smile and even began to talk again, excellent.

With the tension relieved we debriefed and as the sun dropped called it a day and what a good one it turned out.

Quote of the day "yeeehowwww"