Oh what a perfect day ;)

Boys Toys and Todd flying, nice 

Well it was for Todd A and can't say it was a bad one for me either.  With Todd heading off to France on his holidays he was keen to get his hill endortsement sorted before leaving tomorrow!  the weather had not played ball over the last few weeks so things were getting tight.

Still with a forecast slot for early in the morning we got set for an early start with Todd arriving at base at 07.00 having already ridden down on bis motorcycle from Totnes.  A quick cuppa to warm up and we set off for Sennen with me on the Bonnie for what turned out to be a cracking ride as we took the coast road, lovely.

Arrival in the carpark and only one other vehicle in it but it was a big one! men in masks, what could be going on??  The wind was off and light but the signs on the water looked good so we wasted no time in rigging, by the time the gliders were out the wind was on so i was up and away into nice lift to test the air.  With Todd ready to go I was back down just as a visiting [pilot from the Southern Club, paul arrived to join in the fun.

With a rattle and a flutter the large vehicle suddenly exploded along it's sides and a few thousand pigeons emerged.  Quite a sight as they circled around before heading off in a northerly direction, an enquiry from the driver revealled they were heading for Ireland, rather them than me.

it's along way to Ireland !

Luckily Todd was not yet up there but he soon was and had a fun time for 20 minutes soaring the ridge whilst we waited for the lorry to move from the ideal landing spot!  Paul joined him briefly timing It just wrong as the lift dropped off seeing him on the beach followed by Todd a few minutes later!

Strange cloud as visitor Paul floats by

Paul hitched a lift back up with the refuse truck and i sold a course to the driver, ideal :) Todd arrived by foot but ready to go again as conditions improved which the did steadily.  Paul popped in another flight which whilst a  little longer than his first still saw him on the beach, Todd waited.  Patience is a virtue and it paid off as a few minutes later he was away in good lift and loving it, a nice soaring flight and top landing was followed by 3 more with the being a cracker in the freshening conditions.  To say he smile was big would be an understatement!

Totally Happy Todd

The breeze was now fresh so we called it a day and headed home for another smashing ride on the bikes and more tea.

A few hours work at home where it was a little misty and the sun came out so it was pop the new hangy on the van and off to St Agnes to try her out on the ridge before the upcoming comp,.  There were plenty at St Agnes but no one flying although a few floppies had flown and Carez had flown his stiffy reports were mixed with only a few hundred feet o be had.  still conditions were changing as the sun came out so I rigged as Carez derigged.

Super Babe gets her first taste of Cornwall, what lovely clean tips

It's always good to take caution and even more so at StAgnes and even more so with a new wing.  After a bit of a delay to check conditions and the performance of the seagulls it was time to go for it.  Yep conditions were a bit weird or was it the glider??  Squirrely would sum it up and whilst never a fear of going down things were strange on the ridge.  Settling down and climbing out a nice section of smooth air appeared and next thing it was dead smooth in a 40 feet per minute climb, wave :)  That would explain it, topping out at 1300' ATO the view was lovely and it was time to play with the glider , yep it's lovely and look forward to getting some proper thermalling in soon.

So a cracking day and whats more rounded it off with fish and chips at Godrevy to watch the sun go down, nice.

Tea at Godrevy for seagulls

Quote of the day "well that will be you then!"

Releasing and Revving

A misty start to the day saw us hang on until early afternoon before heading to the filed where we met up with Jenny (Falmouth) who was along for her second day on the hanger after a few weeks off whilst  travelling.

The wind played tricks for a while so we used the time with a bit of theory whilst it settled down to a light NW.  Then it was all go with Jenny finishing off her low non release flights before moving into higher release ones and doing a fine job of them too.  She put away a total of 9 flights with her confidence building on each one along with the height.  By 17.30 she was full and it was time to turn our attention to Big G (Pool) who was along for a go at Paramotoring for a change.

Big G with a Big Glider and the Big prop ready to go

After a bit of ground handling practice and running around with the Paramotor it was time to go for it.  Grahams previous powered HG experience paid off and he made a cracking job of it taking off nicely despite the light wind and climbing away.  He buzzed the field and looked pretty sweet from the word go and then after 15 minutes came in and performed a near perfect landing, ideal.

off and away and look the grass has been cut :)) but not by Big g.........

Life can only get easier for him with a bit of wind and hopefully we will see him back soon to complete his qualification.

Quote of the day "I always make a lot of noise"

Instability

Actually it was not that bad although there was some lift around as the sea breeze kicked in but instability was to follow as Stuart C worked his way through his final tasks on his Paragliding CPC.

Stuart was joined by Henry G (Truro) and Jeremy S (Taunton) both on the hangy with Henry coming back for his second day after a long break and Jeremy starting from scratch.  Whilst I got Jeremy going on the ground work Kaz did some theory with Stuart and Triston J (Torquay) had some more fun flying on his Paramotor.

Jeremy S ready to go on a non release flight

nice in flight position

and a nice landing to round it off 

Jeremy at 17 just soaked it up and seemed to have a never ending supply of energy which soon saw him ready for the winch.  Henery joined us after lunch along with John R who came by to keep his hand in on the Paramotor.

Just what Stuart needed :)

With the winch up and running Stuart cracked on with his remaing tasks seeing speed bar, big ears and Asymmetrics soon out of the way before having some more relaxed flying.  Henry quickly got back into the swing of things and moved deeper into the CPC tasks with higher releases and gentle turns. Jeremy never stopped and was soon off tethers and even moving into release flights by the end of the day having put away no less than 15 tows, nearly as many as JIm did a few days ago, but this was Jeremy's first day!

John R had a couple of fine flights on the Paramotor looking more confident and even like he was enjoying it so ready to have another go on his own kit.

Yep another super day and long may it continue, good to see the hangies at it it seems each week we pick up another one!


Quote of the day "well that's not so bad after all"

3 on Tuesday

Well after a full on day yesterday Jim D  (Dorset) was back rested and up for more. Jim was joined by Barney A (N Devon) on the hanger putting both of them on day three of their courses.  The "old hands" were joined by Chris M who was down on his honeymoon from London and his new wife Fay had treated him to day off, looking good for the future ;)

Jim gets the Falcon rigged for another day of fun and flying

Whilst I worked through the basics with Chris  Jim set to on his EPC exam and Barney also caught up on some theory.  By the time Chris was ready to go they other guys had rigged the Falcon so we were set for a fun afternoon.

Jim sets off on another flight

now there's something you don't see every day !

Chris had a ball on his Taster day putting the flights across the field and was soon off the side tethers and to be fair I was not doing anything on the Kingpost one except having to keep up!  By the end of the day he was well pleased and yes we would have him back on his "days off".

Jim turns away at the top of the tow

Barney follows suit ....

....... and heads for home

Jim and Barney worked well together and matched each other flight by flight as they moved through the EPC tasks with release flights and turns before moving higher and higher and finally both finishing off with a couple of flights to the top each so starting their CPC's.

Barney just loving it

Jim as cool as ever

They were chuffed to say the least and with bait of luck will be back soon to capitalise on their success, watch this space .........

Quote of the day "I've got a rash"

17 on Monday

No we were not that busy in numbers but that's how many tows Jim D got in on his second day of hang Gliding!

Jim gets set to go at the start of a "busy" day :)

Jim was back after a taster day a couple of months ago and despite a fair drive down from Dorset was up for a full day.  The morning was a little breezy and thermically lively so we caught up with some admin and did some ground handling on the hangy to get his hand back in.

Up and away on one of his 17 flights 

Kaz keeps up the good work driving the winch and pulling the lines

Early afternoon saw the wind flick to the NE as the sea breeze set in and turn into classic conditions so we were off and away with the winch.  Taking it nice and easy as Jim was the only one out we paced ourselves through the afternoon.  Jim moved through his EPC tasks one after the other from non release flights, through releases and gentle turns and into higher flights and steeper turns all in fine fashion.

Jim gets higher and builds on the release flights as well as getting a super view

and the added bonus of some fine looking sheep

By the end of the day he was only a coupe of flights away from going to the top having done at least two days worth of work in one.

the end of a very productive day zzzzzzzzzz

Kaz did a great job on the winch her first full one towing student hangies on her own with no worries as well as keeping us supplied with tea :)  looks like it will be pretty much the same tomorrow so hopefully Jim will get to the top then.

Quote of the day   "how high?????"

Funday Sunday

What a cracking day with lovely sunshine and pleasant winds all day, yummy. Today the Hangies outnumbered the Paras but it was just as good for both.

Keith W (N Devon) dropped by and put in some ground handling before popping in a refresher tow and making the decision to pursue the Paramotor route, hopefully he will be back in a couple of days to get started.

The Paragliders get going

Stuart C (Devon) was back after a 12 month lay off and went the other way deciding to put Paramotoring on hold and pursue Paragliding instead.  Stuart had a cracking day putting away 9 flights and working well into his CPC tasks and just loving it, if he carries on like this it won't be long before he is qualified.

Nice hand position, not so sure about the rest ....

On the Hangy front Tom G and James C (Andover and Exeter) were back again and had a super day moving through the reaming EPC flights and getting the whole airspeed thing sorted finally which saw them turning nicely and even landing nicely!  Tom lead by example (some better than others) and by the end of the day and 9 flights each they had reached the top of the line twice each.  Difficult to explain their reactions but it was pretty good:)

Up and away

 and release

Darren G (Stroud) who had done a Taster Day on the hill a few months ago was back for more and after a bit of groundwork and tow theory was ready for his first flights on the winch. Darren did a cracking job and was soon off tethers and rattling up the flights, finishing off his tenth one as a release. great work and hopefully when we see him again in a few weeks he will carry on just as well.

Happy hangies at the end of the day

Tim on the winch did a fine job overseeing Kaz as she completed her hangy tow training to add to her Paragliding operators licence, well done to both. And well done to Lee K for getting away from the Brea, nice one

Quote of the day "I hope that's mud.........."

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"