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.

Wall to Wall sunshine

The Hangers formation walk back to launch whislt Luke gets set to go on the Paramotor

Joe W gets hassled by Phippsy whilst Graham A picks up some tips from Coady

Graham A sets off on a Hanger

Joe gets some hand tows in before going onto the winch

The culmination of a cracking Taster Day as Joe flies solo

An artistic shot courtesy of Kev T (as were some of the others)

What a fabulous day in the tow field where there was plenty going on. Graham A (Woolacombe way) having learnt to Paraglide with us late last year started his Hang Gliding course along with Derrick J (Cardiff) who is also learning to paraglide. Luke H (Torquay) was along for some Paramotoring and Joe W (Hayle was out for a Taster Day on a Paraglider so more than enough to keep us busy.

Graham and Derrick had fun working through the day and ended up with a good number of flights across the field which by the end of Graham had lost the tethers and was flying free. derrick did a fine job and will hopefully pull ahead tomorrow weather permitting to keep the pressure on.

Luke got his first flights on his Paramotor and put in a total of three over the day which gave him some stunning views and super flights as conditions mellowed towards evening.

Joe W did really well over his Taster Day being one of the youngest at a little over 16, he worked hard and by the end of the day had racked up 5 flights all with good landings and getting up to 60' off the ground, next stop release flights???? Good luck with the exams Joe and enjoy your summer holidays

Pilot X also moved ahead steadily with thier Hang Gliding training putting in some higher flights and is also ready o release the line next time out.

Good to see Nick and Paula drop by and enjoy the sunshine. Lots of red faces by the end of the day, must bring the sun lotion tommorrow .

Having a field day

Pilot X makes clean launch with nicely relaxed hands

Pilot X up and away looking good

Mike P corrects a turn on the tow

Kevin T makes a committed launch to start his tow training

Kev T comes in for one of his 23 landings!

Sam A looks smooth on his new wing

Happy Sam after his first flight on his new glider and harness

It was a damp start in the field but the low cloud quickly cleared and with a very light NW wind conditions were super smooth all day. The Hangers got going first with Pilot X taking the first tows and doing a fine job flying across the field untethered. New boy Bill N was next up after having done some ground work and hand tows. "Moon walking" was the order of the day but one small step for man proved a huge step for Bill and he had an early day after pulling a ham string, despite several offers to rub it better he declined and spent the rest of the day being his usual helpful self. Now known as Arnie his quote was "I'll be back" that is along with several other quotes one of which also included back but can't be published here.....

Kevein T (Falmouth) got his first taste of towing on a Paraglider having done hill flying several years ago and had a great day getting his hand in along with working through the majority of the CPC tasks over his Twenty three tows!!

Mike P was back down on the Hang Glider and did a good job in the light conditions which gave him some fast landings as his wing loading is on the high side.

Sam A turned up in the afternoon and picked up his new Ozone Buzz Z/ Woody Valley Velvet 2 combination and even got to fly them. He had a super afternoon adapting the lighter handling and quicker wing looking very happy by the end of it.

A good day with another two pilots ready for their hill conversions, all we need is the weather.

Yorkshire puddings

Hangers take over the car park at the morning briefing

photo Justin Needham

Briefing on the hill in sunshine in Yorkshire!!!!!

Photo Ted Claggett

Gliders sunbathing waiting for the "off"

photo Ted Claggett

Gliders "stacking up" in wave over Wether Fell, the tiny dot on the right is a fourth glider to give some idea of the hieght (around 7,500 and still climbing)

photo Justin Needham

Dave Matthews parked up in the wave way above the cumulus and so so smooth

photo Justin Needham

Launch at Nappa Scar was fun and required some attention

Photo Jenny Buck

Well not quite but we did see some. The bank holiday saw us in The Yorkshire Dales for the second round of the British Open Hang Gliding Series (BOS) where the weather was uncharateristicly fine. It started on the Friday when we headed to Tailbridge a nice site on the edge of the Dales with an easy take off and top landing area. Plenty of flying went on but no one managed to activate the task and with low damp cloud approaching we called it a day before the window closed .

However Saturday was better and with sunshine forecast and the wind due to veer a little we headed back to tailbridge where Pete Coad (meet Director) set a nice little XC vis a turn point to Barnard Castle some 40K away. Things were a little challenging with pilots getting away in several groups or on their own. The pack went down at around 14k alongside the main road whilst a few of us managed to "hole" up on a small ridge just short of them. Shedsy managed to sneak away and did a brave flight across the moor to land at 25k or so whilst i took what hieght I had befor ethe rain came and overflew the masses to land just past them at 16k. A fun day with plenty of smiling faces saw me in 3rd.

Sunday was a super looking day and based on a forecast for the wind to come on later at Wether Fell that's where we went. By the time the window opened on the 81k task to Wombleton it was well off to the south making conditions less then ideal. taking the opportunity for some sunbathing I rested whilst the masses took off and beat around in the choppy air. opening my eyes revealed gliders starting to climb so after an hour in the sun i launched to join them in what had now plainly become wave conditions. By the time i reached 4000' Asl the high boys were at 6000' and by the time I got to 7,500 they were at 8,500. How high we would have gone i don't know because as the last start had long gone and we had delayed long enough just to enjoy the experience looking down on the cumulus we did eventually pull out of it to head off towards goal. a cracking flight followed with a mixture of wave bar hopping to start with followed by thermal flight to finish including a stunning climb out off Sutton Bank right in front of the tourists saw 14 of us arrive in Goal. One of my best days flying in the UK ever just amazing, you should have been there.......

Monday saw the wind forecast for a light southerly veering SW so we headed up Nappa Scar a cracking ridge with a cliff type launch. The walk up gave us some well needed exercise and on arrival at the top it was far from light. Pete set another 81k task north under what looked like a cracking sky. By the time the window was due to open it was very breezy and turbulent at launch so it was decided to delay until further notice. More sunbathing ensued but finally things did moderate and off we went with a few exciting launches, but everyone did manage to get away in the end. Thermals were pretty good at launch and pretty soon gaggles of gliders were up at base and heading off on track. Things 20k downwind were not so good with the sky in decay and soon after that pilots were decking it in large numbers at and around the 25k mark. I managed to sneak by under a blue sky and slide onto a small ridge (slope) where i found a weak thermal which lifted me just high enough onto the moor to allow a short glide on track to a track to give me the winning distance for the day of 34.8k, still enough.

Tuesday was blown out so after Prize giving we headed home early under a cracking sky but it remained breezy all the way. Final results can be found here http://bhgc.wikidot.com/ and were pretty good for the Wills Wing Boys with then taking 3 of the top 4 places, well done guys.

Some "interesting" film footage of the event can be found here http://www.film41.co.uk/F41/00-BOS_Videos.html