.....and still they come

Andy F gets "stimulated"
Andy gets going with plenty of attention

Looking good and the concentration shows

A "quiet" day in the field where it was a little breezier than forecast but still turned out a good one. Andy F was down from Bristol (on his birthday) for the start of a 2 day Taster session on the Hang Glider. The morning saw him work his way through glider rigging, introduction and basic ground handling before getting to grips with the machine itself. Despite challenging conditions he did a great job and was soon ready for the winch.

By the end of the day he had put in a good number of flights across the filed doing a fine job staying relaxed enough yet on the ball enough to keep the glider flying well before putting in some good stand up landings. With the wind picking up we quit whilst ahead after a bit more ground work playing with base bar conversions.

Pilot X was also along hoping to get in their first high flights but unfortunately conditions did not play ball. looks breezy tomorrow to so think Andy will get a taste of the hill.

The Thermals came

Steve J gets the day going on the Mars
Andy J has a cracking Taster Day getting untethered on the Condor

Coady gets hooked up with Kaz ??

Coady climbs out over the field

Andy follows Coadys progress up and away

Bill N heads off up the line for a "bouncy" one

Packing up under a lovely sky

Forecast was for a light SW in the field but on arrival it was definitely from the North so we set up accordingly. Andy J (Oregon USA) had driven down from London for a Taster Day on the Hang Glider and spent the morning getting the basics sorted. After lunch he was joined by Steve J now on his CPC Hang Gliding and Pilot X also on a Hang Glider. They all did well well putting away the flights with Andy moving swiftly through "moon walking" to 20' flights and even getting off the tethers. Steve and Pilot X cracked the Mars and were both looking set for high flights on it when after one from Steve the wind flicked to the SW as the convergence moved overhead,
Just at this point Pete C returned and was first up the line after we moved the winch, he was rewarded with a cracking flight getting up to 1500' before reaching the coast then flying around the field for 15 minutes or more and landing back at launch. Bill N gave it a crack on his Buzz Z the first time he had towed it and managed to pop a weak link at the top of the tow as a thermal sucked him off the end of the line.

It remained a bit bouncy for the students for an hour or so then eased back allowing Steve to put in another good high flights and Andy to round off his day with a final one across the field. We packed up under a super sky with a cloud street right over the launch and birds circling , must bring the BBQ next time.

Just to finish Andy off we then took him for an hours surfing, think he's worn out now .....

Hang Up's

Derek J concentrating on his approach

Who said "Inviting behind" and who's is being talked about??

Calypso flies high near the end of the day as Big ray gets in some ground handling

Rebekah S launches on one of her many

Calypso - Sky - Cloud oh and a bit of twisting

Graham A gives the Pink one a go

back to the one he loves as he prepares for the chest release

Well there must be some kind of revolution going on as we had a full day of Hang Gliding going on and took two more calls from customers wishing to try it, is it just us??

It was a bouncy day in the field with a cracking sky setting up over the field from 10.00 onwards making it an interesting day.

Derek J kicked things off on the Mars converting to a chest release with ease, carrying out his slow flight appreciation exercises, moving onto a 5th generation glider and gaining his CPC tow by the end of the day. He has had a cracking two weeks with us learning to Hang Glide, achieving far more than expected and is set up for hill soaring as soon as the weather permits. Nice one Derek and well done hope to see you again soon.

Graham A had an intersting morning trying various gliders till he found he liked and then spent the rest of the day completing his EPC and moving into his CPC with high flights on the Mars along with conversion to the chest release as well. He was well chuffed by the end of the day and it was nothing to do with the comment about his inviting behind........

Rebekah S (alias Rachel) did well in the conditions had put away a good number of tows all with nice stand up landings so is ready to move on either on the tow or hill as conditions permit.

Nigel D was back to keep his hand in having last been with us 2 months ago when we got him back in the air. Looking a bit rusty on his first couple of flights he soon settled in and was looking fine by the end of the day.

I took the Paraglider up a couple of times but it was always on the challenging side so tandems were put on hold to another day.

Pilot X even managed to sneak a flight in before the wind switched at 17.30 making it a good time to wind up another super day. day off tomorrow then back out again on Tuesday by the looks of it.

The thermals are coming

Andy's best side practicing PLF's
Andy M takes off on one of his Taster day flights

Joe W looking good and in position for his first release flight

Rebbecca S ready to go

It was all go in the tow field under a glorious sky. Andy M was along for a Taster day on a Paraglider which he had as a Christmas present and wasted no time in getting to grips with the ground work before lunch. Joe W kept him company having decided to pursue his EPC course following a Taster day a couple of weeks ago.

The hangers got the day going on the winch with Graham A leading the way putting away four flights in succession to sharpen up his turns before heading to the top of the line for his first high flight on a Hang Glider and a very nice one it was too. Derek J put in several good flights on the Mars and is now looking almost relaxed as he puts her down pretty much by the windsock every time. Rebbecca S kept at it and dealt with the unpredictable conditions well sorting out her landings nicely, her confidence is back and it shows in her flying, ready for the hill again I reckon.
On the Paragliding front Andy M had a top day ending with three super flights across the field getting up to 60' and performing some nice landings to boot. Joe W moved nicely into his EPC putting in release flights and starting gentle turns, again his landings were on the Mark.
Dave L finally got to fly his Mojo three and did really well in the thermic air dealing with the tow up nicely and being rewarded with some nice lifting air on the way down giving him something to think about in order to land by the windsock. Mick L (is back) and put in a couple of tows the last of which saw him thermal up after releasing before we talked him out of it in order to keep him in the field.

Pete C could be seen having a fun time at Godrevy also playing with the thermals so a pretty good day all round, looks like more of same tomorrow.

Uppers and Downers

Hangers and Para's in harmony

Sam A enjoying some "quiet"air before experiencing flying with others

Derek J doing a super take off on one of his four flights

Mick L is back!

We made an early start at Perranporth where we found the wind at around 16mph but well off to the south west. Still whilst several pilots headed to Chapel Porth where it was more on we stayed at Perran where there was a beach!.. a quick flight on a Hanger showed it soarable but not brilliant so we watched the Pragliders for a while scooting around and slope landing. there was some good flying to be had down at Penhale and several pilots made it there and back to take advantage of it.

Mid morning saw Sam A arrive to hopefully finish off his hill endorsement and it wasn't long before he was in the air soaring with the gulls. He did a good job in the light lift conditions before popping his Buzz Z in for a top landing.

Next off on the student front was Derek on the Hang Glider and he did a good job making the most of his flight down looking more comfortable on the wing all the time.

Mick L (Porthleven) joined us having not been out flying for 8 months and after a little ground handling was up for his first hill flight. With the lift now very light he did a fine top to bottom settling the butterflies nicely. Sam Popped in another three flights to gain his hill rating and had a fun time flying in close quarters with the other pilots, all good experience.

Derek put in another three downers on the Hang Glider with the last resulting in as good a spot landing as you are likely to see.

Mick was up for another flight and caught it just right as the lift filled and had a cracking first soaring flight for over 20 minutes before heading to the beach to round off a good day and return to flying.

Well done to all concerned and what a pleasant day overall. made it back home just in time for the Pilot lectures that are now taking place... Kaz's Birthday tomorrow so probably a day off.....

Timing is of the escence

Putting our eggs in one basket we had a chilled morning whilst we waited for the forecast wind to fill in at Perranporth. It was late, however based on information from the hill we made our move mid afternoon and pretty soon after that Derek was putting in the first flight to the beach on the Hang Glider. A walk back up and to get the body moving and Sam A had arrived in the hope of some ground handling and possibly a flight down for his first one off the hill. Paragliders were soaring but only just and slope landings were the order of the day so after a period of getting used to Perran on the ground Sam was briefed for a soaring flight followed by a beach landing wit a top landing as plan B should the opportunity arrive.

Derek headed off down again on the Hang Glider doing a super flight with super smooth turns and is ready to soar when the opportunity arrives, not bad after only 9 days of being on holiday.

The sky cleared of gliders and Sam was off to be met with nice gentle lift. A couple of beats saw him above the top and settling into ridge soaring. After a little guidance on the radio he was left to himself and had a cracking 15 minutes as conditions and the lack of others in the air helped him out and he rose steadily higher. Plan b swung into action and he came in for a cracking top landing and huge smile, nice one. Hopefully he will get out tomorrow to finish of his Hill work and then he's out with you guys so look out for him. pretty good progress as he only started at the end of March and has a proper job.....

Runninig Man

Derek J straight and level on finals

Bit of a slow start in the filed with a couple of students dropping out so it was a "quiet" one. Still Pilot X got the ball rolling with a couple of tows on the Mars Hang Glider followed by Derek who put in some nice ones improving all the time. By lunch time it was getting damp and Dave B (Plymouth) had arrived to have a look at Paramotoring so we sat under the cover of the Hang Gliders and did the theory bit and general introduction to the sport.

Dave learnt Paragliding with us a few years ago and is trying to decide whether to take up Paramotoring or to put more time into Paragliding in order to get more airtime and was doing the sensible thing by carrying out a full investigation. Pretty soon we had him running around with the unit on his back as things dried up. By the end of the afternoon he was looking more comfortable with the unit and had worked up a good sweat.

With the wind having dropped off to nothing I foolishly offered a demonstration flight which with a damp canopy /no wind combination saw me running as fast as I could before lifting off for what turned out to be a very pleasant 15 minute flight around the field and over the cliffs before landing back at launch. Will he take it up, we shall see....

Down up Down up Down up

Difficult choice between towing and the hill but as the wind picked up before 10 we opted for the hill. No sooner had we arrived than it became damp and the wind dropped. Still it wasn't long before the dampness disappeared but the wind stayed low.

Trevor and Lee both did some more tethered flights across the top this time on the Condor and both did well having big smiles as they ground skimmed towards the edge before being held by the tethers.

The sun came out as we stopped for lunch and the breeze filled a little but well off to the North making it just scratchable soarable on Paragliders but slope landings were the order of the day.

Derek J had a few trial take off runs on the top before going for it and did a first class top to bottom in fine style ending in a tip toe landing and huge grin. i scurried down and withing 15 minutes we were back at the top ready to go again. Pilot X made a quick assessment of conditions before harnessing up and following suit with a cracking flight emulating Derek's landing and building their confidence in turns on the way. Almost as their feet touched the ground Derek was down there to congratulate them and help up with the glider.


Back at the top once again Derek gave it another go and had another good flight this time with the added benefit of some ridge lift before popping the glider onto the now shrinking beach. By the time we made it back to the top we were all tired out (guess that's why we go towing then) and with the beach now only a thin strip we called an early day.

Maybe there will be more hill days later in the week and maybe Derek will be ready to take full advantage of them, we shall see.

Hill Walking

Trevor gets first go at basic ground work

Lee has final instruction before tethered flight

Lee flying on tethers and looking good

Tony on the Tandem as the wind drops back and the sun comes out

Decaying Cunimb at the end of the day about sums it up

The forecast was for the rain to clear and for a moderate to fresh NW so we head out to Perranporth mid afternoon to get Lee H (Newquay) and Trevor H (Birmingham) going on their two day Taster session. It was a brisk wind that greeted us up to 26mph so perfect for tethering which is what we did after the normal glider introduction, theory and basic ground work. The guys both did well getting in some airtime along with Graham A Rebbecca S, Derek J and Pilot X.

With the wind on the drop Tony (St Austell) came along for a Tandem flight on the Hang Glider and we spent a pleasant time soaring the cliffs with the gulls before the wind dropped to a breeze and we struggled to find height to top land. In the end we gave up and headed to the beach where we performed a super wheeled landing looking like a WW11 bomber on approach.

The Paragliders were now flying so I hiked the glider half way up the dunes and took off solo to fly her back to the top. Things went pretty well until I noticed a kite flying in the landing area and asked Kaz who was still walking up the dunes to have a word. By the time she got there the lift had backed off and I was back to scratching with the Paragliders. One false move by one of them upset the otherwise nice circuit pattern we had established and that was enough to send me to the beach again where I was eventually joined by a couple of the floppies.

Still plenty of exercise and a fun day up till then!

Christmas presents and a Birthday present

What a day we had, it started at 09.00, finished at 22.00 and saw loads of flying going on for all. We headed to the filed to start with where we had a full day of Hang Gliding planned. Derek J (Cardiff) got the ball rolling moving onto the Mars from the Condor with no problem. After a few familiarisation flights he was up and away to the top of the line where by the end of the day he had sorted basebar and prone conversions. Derek topped off a great day with a small XC into the bird seed field where he looked very at home nestled in the flowers.....

Graham A (Woollacombe) was back for his second day and put in loads of flights on the Stubby moving through releases into turns and higher tows, he landed on his feet every time and is set to got to the top after another couple of lower flights.

Pilot X also moved onto the Mars and adapted well to it before building up the turns, not long and they will be on their way to the top as well

Rebbecca S was back with us to build her confidence in landings so she put in half a dozen or so flights on the Condor before getting back onto her own glider and putting in several nice flights with good landings, nearly there.

Tony P and Kev T used a few of the "spare" lines towards the end of the day by which time the wind was on the build and a bit of turbulence was to be found at height. Based on this information and observations of the sea state by the pilots we wrapped the towing at 18.30 and headed to Carbis Bay to hopefully complete Kevin's Hill endorsement.

On arrival it was looking good so we wasted no time and after a quick demo' flight Kevin was off to join Tony P and the seagulls. He had a nice flight for 15 minutes before popping it in for a good top landing. Off again he was now also joined by Graham A who had come from the tow field and was now back his Paraglider after his Hang Gliding training (what a way to celebrate his birthday) in what can only be described as near perfect conditions with plenty of lift. Kev had plenty of time to get it sorted with just over an hours flying before another good top landing saw him completed.

Fiona A (Graham's better half) took the opportunity to see what it's all about ( cashing in her Christmas present) and came up for a cracking flight on the Tandem Paraglider having a great time, Graham A flew up to join us resulting in the quote of the day from Fiona "it's not often I'm above Graham" enough said.

Catherine P (Exmouth) down for a few days made it out and also came up for a super Tandem flight (also a Christmas present) as the sun was setting and had the joy of watching a Buzzard from above as it was "chased" around the sky by a crow resulting in some pretty spectacular flying. We landed at 21.35 to round off a long and day, it 22.00 by the time we got back to the tow field to pick up the abandoned winch and return home...............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Quicky on the hill

It had been breezy all day and although Hangers had been flying at Vault it was out of the question for Paragliders. however news came through by early evening that things were on the drop so we headed out arriving at 18.45.
Conditions were fine so after a demo flight Kev T got up and away to enjoy a nice 20 minute flight in smooth air which he rounded off with a smooth top landing.

Sam A spent the time whilst Kev was up ground handling which he found noticeably different from the tow field with not only the breeze to contend with but also "lift", still after about 20 minutes he had it pretty much sorted. By the time he was ready to go the wind was on the drop so I gave it a couple of go's to check out conditions which resulted in 2 slope landings, enough said. Still a useful evening with Kev half way through his Hill conversion and Sam ready to go, maybe next week.

Busy busy busy

An atistic one to start with

Ed B sets up to launch on his first tow flight

Martin J "gets it up"

Launch as things get busy

Sam A does a small XC to visit the cows

Coady a man at one with his work

Wierd wave coud appeared from no where

Ian B tows to the top at the end of his EPC

Derrick J at the end of the line as he starts his CPC

All photo's courtesy of Kevein Taylor (thanks)

We started at 09.00, well very nearly and it wasn't long before the winch was up and running putting the pilots up into yet another blue sky. Martin S (Penzance) was along to keep his hand in whilst waiting for his new Paramotor to arrive and had a fine time putting away 7 tows in the morning on his Ozone Roadster.

Father and son Ian and Ed B (Newton Abbot) were back to complete their EPC's which is exactly what they did with some super flying anding in them both rounding off their days with a high flights and circuit both of which were good ones, well done guys.

Derek J (Cardiff) kept at it with the Hang glider and also polished off his EPC and started on his CPC with a cracking high flights and circuit and looked very pleased with himself at the end of it.

Martin J kept us on our toes whist pursuing his tow endorsement, we still have a little way to go here I think.

Pilots X put in some more flights on the Hang Glider and moved steadily tow ads their EPC. Kev T finished his CPC tow by launch marshaling (and riding the bike, watch out Bill) and had several nice flights to boot.

Grant dropped by to take a look at us and also for us to take a look at him and did some ground handling, hopefully he will be back to finish of a course that he started 10 years ago with another school but never quite finished.

Sam A had a fine time flying is Buzz Z and is looking forward to going to the hill tomorrow weather permitting.

So all in all a busy one with yet more sunshine and quote of the day being " I'm creamed up enough, thanks Kaz!!!!" Hill tomorrow hopefully which will give a welcome break (really should not complain).

Hanging high

The Gliders wait patiently whilst the guys sit in their shade to take their exams
Teamwork in action

Stev J flies back on his first high flight and circuit

Derek J makes a nice clean release flight

Happy smiley Steve after his first flight to the top and completion of his EPC in 3 days

This is how life should be, another gorgeous day in the field and perfect teaching conditions. The day was one for the hangies with not a Paraglider in sight,well not until mid afternoon when Pete l turned up with his Paramotor, Graham K dropped by to ground handle his new Rush 2 and Andy T also put in an appearance to fly his Paramotor.

Steve J (Oakhampton) had managed to get the day off work and "flew" through his remaining EPC tasks including the exam before starting on his CPC and putting in a total of 13 flights 4 of which were to the top and back making it a day to remember.

Derek J (Cardiff) moved on well working through release flights and turns, by the end of the day had put away 11 flights, passed his EPC exam and is only a flight or so away from his EPC qualification.

Pilot X had a chilled one (too much sun I think) and restricted them selves to 3 flights but did manage to get the release of the line and gentle turns underway so setting then up for the next session.

Lots of fun was to be had with some yet more unprintable quotes (mainly from BN) not mention the sun bathing, long may it continue.

Legs Eleven

Steve J shows a fine pair of legs at take off

Steve flies across the filed

Derek J relaxes as he settles into it

"New" Mars onway up

"Old" Mars on way down

Kev T going up

and smiling as he arrives back down

You had to be there to appreciate today's caption, failing that ask Bill N. It was another super sunny day in the field, whilst conditions were a little breezier than forecast they were ideal for the Hang Gliders who made up the bulk of the day.

Derek J (Cardiff) was back out to continue his EPC training as was Pilot X and they were joined by Steve J (Oakhampton) who had come back for more following his taster day a few weeks back. They all had a great day putting in plenty of tows in the varying conditions. By the end of the day they had put away over 30 tows between them and were all off tethers and starting turns, with Steve making it through to release flights and turns.

Kev t put in some useful flights on the paraglider as conditions mellowed towards evening and Andrew t dropped by with his paramotor for a couple of nice flights. Luke got close but after some ground handling a flat battery stopped play, frustrating or what.

Looks like yet more for tomorrow so we plan to make the most of the conditions and will be out there again, call if you want in.