Busy Bees at Chapel

                                                    Off to test conditions on the ASKA

The front was over us as we awoke in the morning but the forecasts were for it to clear around lunchtime, a few checks on the webcams and a look out the window and we could see blue sky moving in from the west.  Having arranged to meet Andy C (Penzance) who was along for a Tandem at 13.30 we arrived to find it nicely flyable and ideal for tandem HG's.

 Big G and .......

Kaz join in the fun

A quick test fight of conditions on the ASKA confirmed all was good and Andy arrived on time, ideal. We were up and away in lovely smooth lift under a bright blue sky and over a turquoise sea, perfect.  Andy had a super flight as we chatted away, chased the seagulls and watched the waves on the cliffs below.  Kaz came up and joined us on her Hangy and shared the air.  Andy seemed to really enjoy it and managed to fly the glider getting the feel of it after a few beats.  In for a super landing as more hangies joined in the fun along with a couple of speed wings.

The Tandem flights get under way

nice take off

and away

and back again

Next along were a group of 6 who had called up on spec and timed it just right especially as they were only in Cornwall for a few days.  With conditions a little lighter we started with the girls who had to show the guys how to do it.  As luck would have it as the weight of each passenger increased so did the wind, could not have planned it better.  Everyone had a fabulous time experiencing the flight and despite some ducking and diving along with some stalls no one felt ill. In fact they all took it in their stride making my life easier. By the time all 6 had been up the sun was disappearing behind the clouds and it was time to call it a day.

mini wings ???

Sam A pops one in

Al stands his ground

A quick pack up and off to the Chiverton Arms for a pint where we met up with the Tandems now celebrating with a few drinks........

Andy C and Freddy and Phippsy

Happy faces after they all flew :) ;) ;) :) :) ;)

Good to see plenty of hangies having fun and great to see Alan P (my dad) out on site chatting away, taking piccies and being generally helpful as he got to know the new boys.  A really good day :)

Thanks to Alan P and Alan K for the piccies

Quote of the day "How many??

enough said .......

Day off

Having decided not to go to Scotland based on the forecast we decided to have a day off before what looks like it could be a busy spell as the weather in Cornwall looks good the morning was spent shovelling manure;)

A day off however does mean that we can't go out flying does it??  Jobs done and conditions looking good for some hanging about at Chapel we loaded up and headed out.

Getting going on the Aska

It's such a toy :)

With the morning pilots having had enough and heading home we had a lovely afternoon mixing some hang gliding with some ASKA flying and just generally having fun.  Dredgie and Ben B kept us company with Adie turning up later just in time to show Dredgie how to coach and also pop in his first XC on his Little Cloud .......

Kaz enjoys the sky to herself as the sun comes out :))

Kaz had an interesting flight on her hangy which nearly resulted in a prone landing but keeping
calm she sorted it out and landed perfectly on her feet.

Quote of the day "oh yes I should have mentioned that!"

Sun and Fun in the Afternoon

Heading to the field for 12.30 so that the sea breeze could establish it was a cracking looking day with blue skies and light winds.  The guys got the kit sorted whilst we set out the winch and it was not long before the lines were up and running.

It was great to see Bill N back in the field (even if he did talk a bit) for a visit and great to see his wing back out of the bag as he put a bit of ground handling in.  Hopefully we shall see more of him over the next few weeks and back in the air later in the year.

Paul B makes a cracking launch

Paul B (Okehampton) got the ball rolling with his first flights on the winch after his ground handling introduction last week.  In super conditions he made a good job of it and popped in three nice ones to get him through to release flights.

and a nice flight

Kieth W (N Devon) was along to carry on his CPC Paragliding and built on his first High flight a month ago by popping in some more.  In fairness Kieth made me work to start with but did get progressively better through the day and was looking pretty sweet by the end of it as he worked on weight shift and landing approaches, putting away 10 flights in all.

                                                                Kieth gets set to go

                                                looking nice and relaxed on the way down

Ollie C (Plymouth) lively as ever had a ball as he finished off his CPC tasks so becoming qualified on the tow by the end of play also with 10 flights to his credit. Ollie just loved the instability bits, is he an Acro pilot in the making ................

Ollie C heads back after an Asymmetric and loving it

Ollies face says it all ;)

Good to see some Paragliders enjoying the late afternoon lift off Carn Brea and rumour has it that the brambles were left intact.

As the evening drew on Paul used the last lines up to finish on 11 tows and well into his EPC, only a couple of more flights and he is off to the top of the line before converting to Paramotoring.

the day draws to an end as the sun moves to the west

A super afternoon / evenings work with plenty done and good progress hopefully we will get a few more days like this soon.

Quote of the day  "that made me puff a bit" ... guess who

Style at St Agnes

Another day of trying to fit two things into one.  With a light NE forecast to fill and back to the North we headed to Carbis Bay to meet Paddy where he was reporting light but on winds.  There was always going to be a slot it was just a question of when and how long ......... By the time we got to the front and rigged Paul and Big G were just about staying up, by the time I test flew conditions the lift was improving, by the time Paddy had had two attempts at launching and we had untangled his glider it was too strong!! So the slot came and went in less than 20 minutes ....... still at least it was a expected.

The slot begins and the guys get ready - it was not there for long!!

A quick pack up and it was off to St Agnes where conditions were pretty much smack on and around 20 mph ideal for the hangs. Michel landed his Paraglider just in time and we rigged.  Big g was floating about with the other Gray on their hangies showing conditions were ideal.

Rigged and ready at St Agnes

Nicola (Italian) arrived in a very stylish open top car along with Tiago (Husband) and you could tell he was italian, everything about them was style making me feel quite underdressed!  What a fun pair they are and whilst Nicilo was up for it Tiago was definitely not.  In classic conditions we launched into the blue and had a fantastic time messing around with the gulls and other gliders. Nicola had a go at flying the glider and did ok although there is room for improvement.  The last 10 minutes we just played swooping and diving to round off a flight to remember.  So much fun to fly with such people.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up playing on Kaz's wing when she was not flying it and we were joined by Phil L who put in his first two flights at St Agnes and made a first class job of them too.

Good time had by all

 Quote of the day  "I would **** my pants"

Two timing at Perran

Parawaiting

Two's company as the boys get some practice in

The forecast was good the sun was out and the guys were up for it so we headed to Perranporth for what would hopefully see hill conversions underway.  Paddy and Todd were keen and got themselves sorted ready to go.

Paddy looking sweet

Todd tests out the new Bi-paraglider, it was good but packing it away is a nightmare .....

The wind stayed light and switched on and off the hill at will!  Still we did manage to get the hill briefs done and the guys put in plenty of useful ground handling in readiness for the next time.  Nice to catch up with the guys on the hill but lets hope for some more wind next time.

Quote of the day "there's a seagull ...... oh its flapping"

Groundworks

After such a good day on Saturday we were looking forward to more of the same on Tuesday with light winds and sunshine forecast.  Waking to a bit of mist and a bit more breeze than forecast it was no worries as we were not due to start until after lunch so surely it would clear by then??

Paul B (Oakhampton) arrived to start his paramotoring course and we went through the theory and paperwork side before heading to the field where we met up with Kieth W (N.Devon) and Ollie C (Plymouth) both on CPC Paragliding  courses .  It was still a bit misty and the breeze was still there but we decided to get the most out of it so after a few PLF's we cracked out the Paragliders for some ground handling.

Nice technique, you can't get enough ground handling practice

Whilst Kieth and Ollie paired up Paul (who had a little before) got going with myself.  We had a fun time learning to deal with the glider in the fresher breeze which proved a huge confidence builder for the guys and pretty soon the fear of being dragged uncontrollably was over come and they played with the wings.  Progressively the wind eased back allowing some forward launches and finally the hand tows getting Paul all set for his first tow on the winch.

Looking good as the mist returns

Unfortunately the mist did not go away so we called it a day. Whilst no flying everyone learnt a lot and it will come in particularly useful when the guys go to the hill :)

Quote of the day "I think i can see the gate"

Back Home, lets go ..........

Well after all the excitement of the last week it was good to get home and back out into the field and was a cracking day it was, bright and sunny with light winds.

We had a fairly busy day on with a good including from Paraglidng Taster days, Hang Gliding day one, Paragliding CPC and EPC, Paragliding qualified CPC on new wing and last but not least Paramotoring, so it was all go.

Kaz gets going with the day Oner's

Things got moving nicely and we worked steadily through the morning getting ready for towing after lunch.  Tim looked after Jim D (Dorset) on the Hangy and the guys got along well in the pleasant breeze whilst Kaz looked after Chris (Plymouth) and Sam k (Camborne) on their first day on the Paragliders and I fiddled about in general!

Todd opens up the bag, is it a snake??

Todd got his crispy new Mojo 4 out of the bag for the first time and fell in love with it straight away as it floated happily above his head in no time.  Pete V put in some useful ground handling now on his second day with the aim of Paramotoring along side Ollie C who is well into his CPC and John R (Indian Queens) turned up at lunchtime to pop the Paramotor together.

In Love

Ollie puts the groundwork in

After a bit of wind chasing things settled down and we got underway.  John R put in a super flight on the Paramotor now flying his own wing which made the launches a bit harder work but he did fine and got it sussed in the end. he looked really happy in the air and his landing was fine even though a bit quicker than he is used to!

Tim gets Jim to hang about so he can talk to him ....

Then the tow got running with Todd getting his first flights on his new wing and now well ready for the hill, even even popped in another line break to add to the fun.  Ollie moved nicely forward through weight shift, normal flying speed and into speed bar so another day or two should see him sorted.  Peter V did well and soon relaxed to get the release flights out of the way and start on turns putting him half way through his EPC.  The Taster day boys did great both settling down with each flight as they floated across the field and everyone a stand up landing, nice.

last but not least by any means Jim got the Hangy in the air and proved to be a natural :) it was not long before he was off the tether and flying sweetly towards Tim, again every landing a stand up one, ideal.

As the guys packed up John popped in another flight on the Paramotor to gain some more experience and hopefully be ready to try his own unit next time out.

A great way to get back to work after my trip and a super bunch of guys to get going with. thanks to Phil L for his help and we look forward to seeing more of him, week ahead looks good ......

Quote of the day "I

just love it"

Rain Stops Play

The forecast was spot on and we awoke to Thunder, rain and low clouds and forecast to get worse.  A mixture of relief and disappointment between us but the weather is the weather.  A relaxed breakfast followed a relaxed packing session with kit being stored ready for the flight home.

Phil finally found the feather duvet in his room which would have kept him warm all week if had only found it earlier which would have removed the necessity for sleeping in his one piece.

The one piece romper suit

The rain - a bit different from last weeks picky

Sam regretted his visit to Butterfly Valley nearly as much as Al and Lee

We spent the day chilling and I got some shut eye in as it looks like the weather in the UK is on the mend and we have a full day booked for tomorrow in the school.  Topping up with food before we left for the airport as it has the reputation of being one of the most expensive on the planet for food then it was good byes to those that were staying on and we were gone.

Sam treated himself to a new purse

Just as well as the boys try to shake some lira out of him

Mike looked genuinely happy to see us leave!

The flight back was fine ,even early but passport control had a 45 minute wait, whats going on it's 1 o'clock in the morning!  The guys drove home and I slept with Lee and Sam, ideal, not quite as bad as it sounds!!   Arriving home at 06.45 the sun was up and the sky was blue - here we go .............

So ended the trip, what an experience, good company with everyone  making it fun and friendly, some interesting flying taking all of us way out of our comfort zones and some very funny times. thanks guys and girl and thanks to Phil L for getting the ball rolling ...  again? maybe?

Quote of the day "Thank "Tomato" for that!"

Al a Carte

So with all the compulsory moves out of the way today's morning flight we could chose our poison. Wyn, Phil, Mike and Lee opted for Ampmax Spin followed by and Ampmax with stall, and having a go at SATS, Sam went for 180 reversal with wing over, 360 roll reversal then wingovers, Al decided on stalls followed by spiral and wingovers and myself ob 180 reversal, 360 roll  reversal, Spiral and wing overs, well that were the plans and not a 'moon over'  on the menus.

So fully briefed off we went and yes the bus was a mixture of silence and chatter.  All out at 1700m launch and everyone was keen to get going as the cloud started to build.

Lee away first as usual started us off we could hear Jocky on the radio getting him going, first two manoeuvres good, attempt at SAT, nearly then radio communication failure as Lee's radio went for a flight of it's own!! Still he had a fun time and enjoyed himself on the way down.  Off we went in a steady stream and did our best Sam was up for ever having elected not to do any rapid descent moves and had a ball getting the top marks for wingovers.  Acro Al added Helico's to his repatuire accidentally furthering the legend.

I spiralled like I have never done before, then performed a coupe of acceptable 180 reversals before getting as close to a loop as I am ever likely to in the first 360 reversal , that quietened me down!  The next one was good setting a record time of 17seconds, well tht's what they told me. Wingovers overcooked added to the fun.

the wrong end of something

It's not just me Wyn can do it as well :))

and finally Al got it wrong and set up for the Helico!

Next it was the turn of the rest of the SAT boys with Phil leading them in. They all did great Ampmax Spins and stalls before going for it.  The results ... Phil, just in then out but close, give it a bit more and ....Spin with stall recovery, try and try again so close but no cigar but a fantastic effort. Mike C first attempt no quite, second go spun then into stall and out, 3rd go yeeeeeehowwwwwww he's in and loving it, nice recovery. Forth go for Mike and no problems so cool, now knackered Mike took it easy with some nice wingovers to the beach to a huge round of applause to become the King of SATS.  Finally Wyn comes out, like the others first moves good but try as he might he could not quite get her into the SAT and the video revealed why, hand position is critical, still he landed with a typical Wyn smile.

Al on approach, the sign says it all

Lee comes home

 Phil back in one piece

Wyn as happy as ever

So with us all down safe and sound it was hugs all round along with a lot of relief. It was a happy band that headed off for the debrief. With one last flight left in the offing if the weather plays ball despite at first thinking of giving it a miss everyone is now hoping the weather forecast is wrong, we shall see....

The King of SATS

The boys crack out their best moves

With flying canned for the day we chilled in the bar watched various Gopro videos of daring deeds including Glens of his loop which he looked pretty happy with :)

Happy Bunny 

Quote of the day "Heinz Beanz Meanz SATZ"