Non Weather

Keiron ready for the off

Jerry W gets set

Very rare footage of Barry H flying!

Bill, the boys and the bike

Not such a sunny day as forecast and whats more some very variable winds giving us a new record of 6 winch moves in one day! Still at least we have that option.

Mike G (London) had another good day on the Hang Glider honing his skills and playing with both the air and the glider.

Jerry W got it together and finally finished his EPC on a Hang Glider with some very nice flying and landings so is now ready to move onto his CPC, well done Jerry.

Saied Z (Bracknell) was back and putting in the high flights on the Hang Glider as well as moving onto base bar conversions. he put in some nice tows and interesting landings.....

On the Paragliding front Rod G (Falmouth) is now ready for the big one although the weather did not play ball for him so he had to be content with a bit more practice.

Peter G (Falmouth) was all ready to go when the wind changed again so using up his days pass!

Kieron C on day two of his Taster session managed to put in the flights and moved onto release flights and turns which has convinced him to keep going through to CPC so we shall see more of him.

Not our most productive day but plenty of exercise and patience required, hopefully tomorrow see's a more steady breeze

Plenty for all

Nigel W at the end of his EPC tasks

Waiting and resting

Sarah gets away nice and straight

Rod G (Darth Vader) was it really that scary?

Another lovely day in the field saw a fine mix of students as well as a few others enjoying the high pressure sunshine.

We got going pretty quickly with Mike G (London) on the Calypso (Hang Glider) spending the day building experience in readiness for the hill. he had another good day playing with bits of lift, exploring the speed range and generally sweetening up his flying.

Jerry W (mid Wales) returned after an eight month lay off to continue his Hang Gliding EPC and worked well through the day getting himself back up to speed. By the end of the day he was looking pretty good having sorted the airspeed thing so doing nice turns and even some reasonable landings. Hopefully he will finish his EPC next day out (tomorrow).

Sarah and Nigel (St Just) were back at it and after putting in some useful ground handling joined the tow line to put in some good flying. Sarah moved well into her EPC with some nice towing and good turns down to land leaving only a couple of flights to go before heading to the top. Nigel had a cracker and worked well to finish off his day with a super flight to the top of the line and a very nice flight down much to his amazement. Well done to both of you guys we are getting there.

Keiron C (Tintagel) was along for the first day of his Two Day Taster which was bought for him as a wedding present! He did really well making the ground handling look easy despite the light wind. By the end of the day he had put in 4 very nice flights across the field and landed on his feet every time. Hopefully he will be back tomorrow and move onto release flights and turns.

Rod G (Falmouth) was also back after a bit of a break and got straight on with some ground work before getting back onto the winch. He did well and was soon back into the swing of it putting in nice tows and turns, top of the line next for him I think.

Barry H (Falmouth) a qualified pilot came along for a few tows and had some really nice flights with the added bonus of sorting out his landings at the same time making them look very easy by the days end. Great to see Wanda S (Porthleven) out to hopefully getting some inspiration for some T shirt designs and enjoying the flying company, it was almost like a party!

Thanks to Bill and Tim for keeping it running smoothly and resisting the temptation as the buzzards cored out overhead!

Summer has arrived!!

Terry P gets ready with the Mars as Mike G circles the field on the Calypso

Mike G overhead on approach

Tony L sets off on his first Paragliding flight

The gang L to R Pete G, Mike G, Cy B, Phippsy

Tony L, Phyllis & Terry P

It was one of the warmest days in the field for the year which was accompanied for a while by some very thermally clouds and plenty of seagulls using them. However whilst nice to see it did make for a very variable breeze until it settled down after lunch.

With 2 Hangers and 3 Paras on we had plenty to occupy ourselves and keep busy.

Terry p was back on a hanger and moved nicely onto the Mars putting away 8 flights and sorting his turns and airspeed out. landings are still variable but at least the approaches are good now its just a matter of timing, ever heard that before??

Mike G (London)was back after a 12 month lay off having passed his CPC tow whilst last down in a week a year ago. he quickly got back into it after a couple of low refresher flights and was then off for some high flights before converting to the calypso which he loved. Hopefully we may see some wind before he heads home so get him to the hill, if not he will pack in plenty of flying in the field I am sure.

Tony L (America) came along for a Taster Day on the Paraglider and worked really well through the day steadily analysing every aspect! With the fickle wind early on he had to put in plenty of effort for the ground work but at 65 years old he did a fine job. Tony rounded off the day with 3 cracking flight across the field which included a great landing to a round of applause. he thoroughly enjoyed the day as did his partner Phyllis who kept her eye on him.

Pete G (Falmouth) back for day 3 of his EPC made huge progress sorting out his landings again to a round of applause and moving onto release flights and turns so setting him up nicely for completing his EPC next time out then heading into his CPC.

Cy' B (St Mawes) was also out on day 3 of her EPC and had a cracker moving easily through her increasing turns before rounding off the day with her first high flights and circuit. A huge smile said it all, looks like she will be back to carry on so watch this space.

Bill N was along helping out on the bike having visited Carbis early on but just missing the slot that saw Paul h taking some exercise.......... thanks Bill

Quote of the day "basically you are a tits and bum man" said by who about who ??

The Young Pretenders and the Come Back "Kids"

Graham A comes in legs and all

Dave brightens up the day after a super top landing

Andrew makes his aproach as the sun sneaks one in

Come back Kids on the left Young Pretenders on the right

With a dubious forecast of the warm front passing and things improving and 4 really keen "hangers" we went for it and arrived at Perran for 11.00 in blustery and damp conditions only to find 3 hang gliders already rigged and ready!! So good to see keen up for it hangers out and abouy again, almost like the old days.

With the wind well off to the south we opted for some tethering to get things going and everyone had a good session in near perfect wind conditions even if cloudbase was a bit on the low side. Luke C (Bath) was first up so getting his first taste of hill flying and was soon "soaring" in prone dealing with the bumpy air well and smiling the whole time like he does. Next was Roger M (Devon) who was back to take up the sport again after a 25 year lay off and within minutes looked like he was in the "zone" and enjoying the view! Andrew M (Bridport) kept his hand in having done his first hill soaring flight last week and proved it was still all in there. Last but not least Dave (Exmouth) also back from the past after a 10 year lay off made it look easy as cloudbase descended even further.

Time for some theory so after a brief chat the guys sat down to their CPC exams taking up a "fun" hour by the end of which they all had passed, picked up a few points and more importantly the wind had veered indicating the front was passing by. As the cloud lifted i took the Mars up to test conditions which were still breezy but lifty so it was Calypso rigging at full speed. Graham A (Torringtoon re rigged his Sport 2 and was next off to have a good flight and finally sort out the top landing at Perran with a very nice one.

The wind mellowed and Roger M led the pack putting in his first hang gliding flight in over 25 years and looking good after a few beats. He did a fine job and rounded it off with a nice top landing showing the way to the others.

Luke was next so having his first hill soaring flight and did a great job quickly working out "crabbing" and thoroughly enjoying the whole experience despite his apprehension. His top landing was text book and his smile even bigger than ever, the culmination of a couple of months work, great.

Back to the "come back kids" and Dave was away looking like he had never been away from the sport and dealing with the by now veering wind easily. having to work a shorter beat he made good height before bringing the glider in for super top landing from the left over the dune so giving a fine demonstration to Andrew who was waiting to go.

Last up was Andrew for his second ever hill flight and again it was faultless. With the wind as far north as you'd like it he soared easily as smooth as ever and even the sun came out on the horizon. He followed Dave's example and performed an excellent top landing slipping the glider in from the left to round off what turned out to be a good day.

well done the guys and thank you for your patience and belief that conditions would improve, it is a virtue!

Quote of the day " that was totally awesome", guess who??

A Sucess Full day

Julian sets off for a 15 minute flight in fine style

Justin playing with the clouds

Wow what a cracking day it was and that was not only the weather. An early start saw us on the hill at Perranporth by 08.00 as the breeze was just picking up a bit making it nicely soarable. Paul h and Kaz were already in the air by the time Mark F (Camborne) was ready to go for what would hopefully be his final hill qualification flight. The wind filled a little more and he was off into nice lift to enjoy a lovely flight followed by a cracking top landing.

next it was Fiona A's (Torrington) turn and she had a super flight looking very smooth and co ordinated all followed up with another good landing on top. A more pilots began to arrive they both put in another 3 flights each all with top landings to prove the point and gain their hill ratings to add to their Tow CPC's well done guys. Rumour has it that Fiona put in another couple of good flights after we left for the tow field at 10.30 , nice one.

In the field it was superb conditions for the Paramotor with Justin and Julian H (Ivybridge) along hoping complete their CPC flying tasks. They both had a cracking afternoon putting away 6 flights each and racking up well over an hours airtime apiece. The sky had a few nice cumulus clouds for them to play with and the wind dropped away by evening so giving them a good range of conditions to experience. By close of play they were sorted having learnt a few more tricks and potential pit falls. The guys have done really well achieving this over 5 days spread out over the last month or so and are now in a position to fly on their own as restricted licence holders.

A long day but great to see such progress by all concerned. will try and find some piccies soon

Sunny spell

Another damp start saw us late into the field but by 12.00 it was nice and sunny. With an "easy" day on PeteC took the opportunity to hone his skills and provide the demo' flights for the students.

Pete G (Falmouth) along for his second day was joined by Cywern B (St Mawes) also on her second day on the Paragliders and enjoyed nice conditions to practice some ground work. Pretty soon they were both onto the winch with Cy' leading the way with a superb first flight across the filed. No sooner had she landed than the wind changed 180 degrees so it was all move.

By the time we had reset the day was getting a little overcast although towing conditions were good. Pete c tested the air and declared it buoyant.........

The guys put in some nice tows before the rain started so putting a holt to proceedings. No sooner had we removed the gate than it stopped so we started and this set the pattern for a while.

Things ended well with Pete and Cy moving ahead into their EPC's and both looking forward to the next day out.

Down Tools

It was a slow start in the filed as we waited for the patch of rain to clear which it duly did by 10.30. The hangers got going quickly with Terry P (Exeter) moving off tethers and through straight towed low level flights with ease. By the end of the day he was releasing nicely and putting in turns to land so taking him well into his EPC.

Mike P (Bath) put in the high flights along with base bar conversions but as the wind eased back so did his "landings". Still he kept at it and had his first taste of the chest release by the end of the day. Yesterdays work on the tethers helped both guys along.

Peter G (Falmouth) came along for the start of his Paragliding course and did very well on the ground side before coming over to the winch. The by now very light wind did not make things easy but he put in a nice flight across the field by the end of the day.

Nigel and Sarah kept at it and Nigel rounded off the day with a couple of good flights on the Paraglider with super turns into land.

A weird day which always looked like it could rain at any time but in fact was pretty good. Anyone seen a tool box?? Sorry no piccies

Blown Away

Mike P leads the way on the Mars with full tethers

Dan L looking relaxed as Phippsy "hangs on"

Terry P deals with the bumpy bits in fine style

Blown away, well not quite but if we had let go of the tether ropes I am sure we would have been. With a "breezy" day forecast and 3 "hangers" itching to get at it we opted to head to the hill for some tethering.

In a good breeze graham A kindly demonstrated what to do before Mike P (Bath) got his first flight on the hill. Along with Terry P (Exeter) and Dan L (Truro) who had come back to start training after their Taster days he had a fun day putting in plenty of airtime as they "soared" in the abundant lift. By the time they had worn my arms out they had all not only got a good feel for the glider but done base bar conversions and even flown in prone!

A hard work day in blustery conditions but again a very useful one which will help the guys in the future.

Stacking up on the hill

Mark flies on his first soaring flight as Manwell gets ready to join him

Fiona A comes into land in front of an audience

Andrew M settles into his first soaring flight on the Calypso

Pilot X looking smooth on their soaring flight on the Eagle

Paul H sits down as he flies the Falcon

Well i love it when a plan comes together and today it did. We made an early morning decision to go to the hill based on a stronger than forecast wind. At Perranporth it was well strong enough if a little off but this gave some of the guys a little time to to ground handle before it became flyable.

Mark F (Camborne) got his first taste of the hill and after getting a feel on the ground did a good launch and was soon soaring nicely up and down along with several others. having settled in conditions started to drop off lift wise so we slipped him in for his first top landing which was acceptable if not perfect. A short break and he was off again to enjoy another cracking flight looking even better than before and this time the top landing was on the nail. A great start to his hill flying career.

Gary V (Plymouth) got in the air having done some towing with us to get back into flying and had a good day with three flights building up his experience and meeting new friends along the way.

Fiona A was next student off and did very well getting away first time and quickly working her way to the top of the stack on her Mojo 3 she cruised the cliffs for a good 15 minutes before we got her back in as the wind began to pick up a little. A first class top landing saw a huge smile and celebrations, nice one.

Next on the Hang glider front Andrew M (Bridport) was first off and had a cracking soaring flight for 15 minutes in amongst the Paragliders and looked very comfortable with it. He then performed a stunning top landing just where we wanted it on the Calypso to a round of applause. Not bad for someone who only started 3 weeks ago and has a 2 and 1/2 hour motorbike ride to get to us.

This encouraged a squadron of Hangers off the hill amongst them recent ex student Graham A, Lanky Al (back from his break) and Rick on his new U2 all joining Paul h who was flying seated on his Falcon. Pilot X joined in the fun on the Eagle 145 and had a cracking soaring flight putting in another 15 minutes in close company before carrying out a first class top landing to round off a very rewarding day.

Lots of good flying and nice to see lots of ex students out getting in the airtime along with the more experienced guys coaching them (thanks to Paul and Bill). We rounded off with a sociable meal in the pub in good company. Perfect.

Stacking up for the hill

The Tandem floats in with Nat' on board

Ashley Rlaunches on his NRG Mosquito

Action shot as Andrew M tries out a line break

Pilot X in the classic "pose"

Sarah and Nigel practice some real hands on ground handling

Good looking sheep

It was a bit grey and gusty when we arrived at the field so we decided to do a bit of theory before we got going to see what happened. By the time we had worked through EPC the remains of the front had passed and it was looking better. A quick test flight to the top showed it was pretty rough up top so we amused ourselves with some sub 100' flights.

Lanky Al M (Bristol) was back after his 2 1/2 year "break" and made use of the lines to get his hand back in doing some take offs and landings. Andrew M (Bridport) also kept low whilst getting converted to the chest release so keeping things safe.

By the time these guys wre sorted and we had a bite of lunch things had improved and after another check flight itwas all go.

Ashley R (Plymouth) got airborne on his powered Hang Glider doing two of the nicest take offs I have seen followed by lovely flights and excellent landings to gain more powred experience.

Al, Andrew and Luke all put in plenty of high flights on the Hang glider with Andrew joining the others on the Calypso for the first time and completing his EPC & CPC flying tasks in 5 days. Pilot X put in a couple on the Mars to keep their hand in and all four of them can't wait to get out on the hills for some soaring.

Nigel and Sara (Tregaseal) put in the hard work with ground handling on the Paragliders and despite their best efforts made good progress by the end of the day with reverse launches and control starting to make sense. They both finished off with flights across the field to keep them current as they progress towards EPC.

Lukes partner "Nat" came up for a flight on the Tandem to see what Luke keeps talking about and despite her nerves had a good time after she opened her eyes.

A nice day and better than we expected when we arrived.

Ground hog day

Gary V gets the day going on the Element

Nigel takes of in fine style with brakes up

Sarah gets it sorted and carrys out a first class "nodding dog"

Ben gets back into the "zone" after his holiday

Amazingly the forecast was pretty much the same as yesterday and amazingly the day followed suit and despite sunshine forecast it was overcast. However, towing conditions were classic making it a top training day.

Gary V (Plymouth, well actually Bermuda) rounded of his tow conversion / recap training putting in 9 flights including asymmetrics to get him firmly back into flying. he has had a great time and been fun to have along hopefully we will meet him on the hills again soon.

Sarah and Nigel W (St Just) were back after their Taster Day yesterday and got plenty of flying in as they started on their EPC's with 9 flights each they were looking a lot more relaxed by the end of the day, releasing the line and starting on turns. If the end of the week behaves weather wise we will hopefully see some more of them, as they move onto higher flights and bigger turns.

Ben C (Falmouth) made a reappearance after a long break and spent most of the day playing catch up before moving ahead into his EPC tasks. He had a good day and finshed on a super flight (7 in all) with some cracking turns and great landing.

Pilot x also had a good one mastering the chest release on the Hang Glider and putting in 5 nice flights the last of which was a beauty. Big smiles all round.

Quote of the day "got any rubbers"

What, no sunshine ?

Mike r gets off on his new glider, wait till you see his harness!

Sara L tests the brakes on one of her Taster day flights

Nigel gets it sorted on one of his flights, is he still running??

Gary V comes into land after a High flight and Big Ears

Sara, Gary and NIgel after a fun day

Back into the tow filed we looked forward to another sunny day but alas despite the forecast it stayed away. Still we had plenty of fun and plenty to deal with.

Sara and Nigel were along for Taster Days on the Paragliders having met us on a Balloon flight a few months ago. They had a fun morning getting to know the Paragliders before we got them onto the winch in the afternoon. By now the weather was on the change and after Sara's first flight things were getting on the breezy 9and damp) side so we held the Para's and gave Mike R (St Germans) a go on his "new" glider, a very tidy Calypso. He had a fine time rattling of 4 or 5 tows and getting used to the glider before it dried up and the wind eased.

By the end of the day Sara and Nigel had managed to fly across the field on the Paragliders and even put in some very respectable landings. What's more they want to come back tomorrow......

Gary V (Plymouth) put in 6 high tows on the Paraglider as he eased his way back into Paragliding and used the opportunity to refresh on his Big Ears. Next time out he should complete his tow conversion and wants to do some asymmetrics which he can't remember doing as part of his CPC.

Bit of a late day due to the weather but we got there in the end and everyone had a good one, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow.

Quote of the day " If you tell me to drop them, I will"

day off ??

Paul h launches on the Tandem to join Kaz and Al

Michel k and Woody share the air with the Tandem

Carmen still smiling after her Tandem flight

With visitors down we decided to have a day off and what a lovely day it was. A chilled morning was followed by a trip to St Ives via Carbis Bay to view the site. It was a little breezy so we carried onto the town wandered around, had a pasty saw the Tate before returning to the car.

Paragliders were now soaring at Carbis so we dropped by with the Tandem and took Carmen and Paul H for a flight (one at a time). They both had a super flight with Carmen enjoying just flying whilst it introduced Paul (a Hang Glider pilot) to the mellow world of Paragliding.

Whilst there we met Alan K who was "keen" to carry out his asymmetrics which he did in fine style with me flying alongside for close observation (on another glider) so completing all his pilot tasks, now the exam goes away and fingers crossed.

A HUGE APOLOGY to Luke H for missing him off yesterdays blog. Luke was down after a bit of a break and had a cracking day with numerous flights on his Paramotor all with cracking launches and even some stand up landings. He has now completed all his CPC tasks so can fly on his own to build up experience before coming back to us for some check out flights. Nice one Luke

It was Buzzing

Carmen gets to grips with some hand tows on the Hang Glider

Julian H up and away on the Paramotor

Coming into land

Julian looking pretty pleased with himself and no, he didn't chop up a sheep !

happy students at the end of the day L to R

Said, Carmen,Gary, Cywin, Phippsy and Mike

Once again things got busier in the field as the fine weather carries on. With a mixture of disciplines organisation was the name of the game.

Justin and Julian (H) Devon) got the ball rolling early by getting to grips with ground handling Paragliders with the Paramotor unit on there backs and worked well through the day perfecting it.

Carmen H (Brighton) was along for a Taster Day on a Hang Glider and put in the ground work before lunch as did Cywen B (St Mawes) who was on a Paragliding Taster Day and Gary V (Plymouth) who was along for a Paragliding refresher course / Tow conversion.

After lunch things really got moving with "hangers" Mike R (bath) and Said (Bracknell starting things off. After a few tows each during which Mike cracked his landings and Said sweetened his turns they both got their first flights to the top of the line so breaking well into their CPC's.

Cy' had a cracking Taster day and rounded of her day with some super flight across the field getting up to a good 60' and landing well. Big smile.

Gary V showed he had done it before and put in his first tows nicely getting in his first release flights by the end of the day so getting him back into Paragliding the easy way.

Carmen got the Hang Glider into the air and gave us some good exercise on the tether ropes whilst she got the hang of it. A couple of flights got her into the right airspeed and from then on her flying was nice and smooth with some good landings to top them off. great day for her.

With the towing sorted for the day it was back to the Paramotor boys who were now ready for the Big One. A couple of practice power launches and aborts first then it was all go. Julian gave it a shot first and did a first class reverse launch take off, as good as I've seen before enjoying a cracking flight up and around the field for 10 minutes or so including nice 360's both ways before coming in for a super landing and huge smile.

Justin followed suit and whilst had to work on his take off a little did a fine job of sorting it out before applying the power and getting away very cleanly. He also had a good flight looking very comfortable in his flying if not in the harness! Another good landing right where we wanted it followed and it was two happy Paramotor pilots by the end of the day.

A long one but loads done, day off tomorrow!!

Indian summer

Said Z gets away nicely

looking good and ready for release

Pilot X gives the chest release a hard stare

The fine weather continues and so does the Training. An easy day in the field saw Saied (Bracknell) back for his second day with us working alongside Andrew M (Bridport) on his third day. Also Caroline P (Seaton) came along for a go at Paragliding to see what it was like.

Caroline did well with the basics of Paragliding but quickly decided it was not for her despite having a talent for what she did. Still that's what it's all about and great to meet such a fun person.

Saied worked hard through the day starting in the simulator in order to sort out his twisting before moving nicely into release flights and gentle turns. By the end of the day an 18 flights later he was flying nicely up to well over 100' releasing and carrying out good turns up to 90 degrees and beyond and landing on his feet so completing his EPC tasks. Nearly ready for the top of the line his flying has progressed well and some basic flaws have been overcome.

Andrew M built well on his last day day out and after a couple of settling in flights was off the the top of the line for the first time. With another 16 flights to his credit he had experienced 180 turns, slow flight appreciation (stalls) converted to prone flight and managed to land "on the spot" by the end of the day, a fantastic achievement. Add to this the bonus of looking down on two F18 jets as they flew past and it was a pretty amazing day for him.

Pilot x also popped in a few flights to see them get their first high flight on a chest release which was a big step. I got to fly a small Wills Wing Eagle on the tow line and what fun it was.

Paul H was also out in the field flying first his NRG Mosquito and then his Doodlebug (power units) on his Falcon hang glider and having a super time.