Playing about at Perran

Finally what looked like a good day for the hill arrived and the choice was Perran or Sennen, oh decisions decisions.  Taking a few factors into account we opted for Perran as we needed the lighter winds for Paragliding hill work and the forecast was always to back.

Once again there was a good turn out and a great atmosphere on site as the sun came out and the wind came on.  Good to see Paddy up for it again and building on yesterdays experience, Bev was out again this time joined by Peter Flynn hoping to get further into his hill conversion.

The fun gets going

With conditions coming and going Pete and Bev played ground handling which was quite a challenge to start with for Bev but she persevered and quickly began to improve in breezier conditions than she is used to.

Bev gets to grips with ground handling on the hill

Peter gets set to go

Picking our moment Peter took off for his fourth hill soaring flight and mixed it with the others doing a fine job before slipping back in for an interesting landing.  Meanwhile Bev put in the effort and by the end of the day her progress was amazing but with conditions never quite good enough we opted to wait for a better soaring day to come along.

Peter up with the rest :)

Paddy popped in a few more nice flights to get him settled in and hopefully we shall see him out more regularly from here on.

Phil l kindly lent me his Delta 2 (now on it's second outing in the UK) and i managed a couple of fun flights at the end of the day the latter actually being really nice with the late evening thermals coming through seeing it almost get away able ;)).

Adie plays the harp

The hangies had a fine if what interesting time at Sennen by all accounts so thumbs up for all.

Quote of the day " I can't keep it up"

Heading East

The forecast looked good and the tide was going out so it was time to ale a trip to the east to Freathy to not only catch up with some of our friends in devon but to hopefully get some hill conversions underway.

There was a good crowd assembled on arrival and in  fact a good turn out from Kernow who seemed to make up at least 25 % of those there.  With the wind very light indeed we did a site brief and hill soaring brief with Bev P (N.Devon) and Paddy (Falmouth) took the opportunity for a refresh having not been out since leaving us back in the spring!

All done and the guys played with a bit of ground handling as the breeze filed a little but the lift didn't.  Bit by bit it improved and soon pilots began to launch.  Kaz popped in a demo' take off and Bill N a demo' landing then Paddy was off and away with a warning to keep his eyes out for and increase in the wind as a large cloud lingered out to sea.  With Bev on launch it was clearly picking up and the site of a pilot getting a bit of  dragging was enough to encourage us to hold fire.

Paddy now well up there headed the advice and headed back for a landing although not quite as quickly as I would have liked as the cloud approached.  Still with a little encouragement he came in and did a super landing collapsing the wing nicely just in time.  A few minutes later the masses headed on with various degrees of success, some making a few dents and grooves in the field.

We waited for the cloud to pass and in a short interlude Adie popped up to check conditions but soon returned with the advice that it was lively to say the least so we clued it a day after a brief try on the Aska confirmed the wind had now picked up into the high twenties!

A fun day out and nice to see some old friends and some ex students  as well. Phil L actually got his glider out and flew it in the UK for the first time doing a fine job in the challenging conditions.

Quote of the day "he has got something in his sack"

Early Start

07.15 woke up, something strange, could not hear the wind !  ) 08.00 at Chapelporth and taking off. perfect.  Kaz soon joined me and we enjoyed a nice flight until the wind began to back and drop away to nothing.

Morning Sunshine

Waited a while but it was not coming back so took a walk up the Beacon to enjoy the view in the morning sunshine.

Flying over , more coffee for Kaz

Hungry now so off to Smokey Joes for slap up breakfast. Home and managed to do some useful work, can't be bad.  Good to get feet off the ground and on it, must do more walking this year :)

Quote of the day " that was quick"

Oasis Day

No we did not have any pop stars on site but with such a super day in between so many rainy ones it was like an Oasis in the desert.

Surprisingly we were not overly busy considering the lack of flyable days but guess it takes time for people to get back in the swing of things.  Still for those there it was a bonus and they made the most of it.

On the Paragliding front we said hello to Rodrey G  (Torpoint) who came a long for his first day having done some several years ago on the hill and decided to give towing a try to save sitting around so much.  Bev P was along armed with her new Mojo 4 for some post CPC experience flights to get used to the wing and prepare for the hill and very excited she was too.

The Hangies were represented by Richard H (Bristol) along again for some post CPC flights to get used to his wing and prepare for the hill.  Mark L (Torquay) made up the gang continuing with his CPC tasks after a bit of a break as he flits between Germany and the UK.


Whilst the wind flicked around a little the guys  got set up then it was off to the bird seed field where Bev had been ground handling her new Ozone Mojo 4 under Bills watchful eye.  It was not long before we got the first tows in with me test flying Bevs glider (v nice) followed by Richards Elan 159.

Then the guys got going and it Richard who led the way for his first flight on his "new" wing. With my observations ringing in his ears he tow up straight as an arrow for a nice release. the extra input required to turn caught him out for a while but he made it safely back down with a nice landing.

Mark had it easier on the Falcon although the break from flying showed for the first few.  Bev was next and did a cracking flight on her new wing making it all look pretty easy and landing sweetly on her feet.

Rodrey had a good day and as did Mark on the hangy

Not to be out done Rodrey put in his first towed flight and also did a fine job.  A shift in the wind saw us back in the "normal" field and the guys racking in the flights.  By the end of play bev was nicely settled in , mark was back up to speed and flying in prone, Richard was getting the Elan sussed and Rodrey was grinning from ear to ear, so i guess a good day all round!

 The sun set and Phil drank the coffee as we packed up , rain and wind again tomorrow :(  Apologies to bev for not getting some piccies of her new toy.

Quote of the day " it's a little stiffer than you are used too"

New Years Resolution

Well apart from all the normal ones it is to keep up with the Blog more regularly, whoops sorry this one is a bit late!  Blame it all on Phil L who wanted the accounts sorted, still all done now so down to the serious stuff:)

First flight of 2014 starts :)

A chilled morning and with Kaz not feeling so bright and staying at home Phil  and myself headed out to Chapel as the wind finally eased back from Gale force to not so windy.  Conditions were just about right on arrival and we it was not long before I was in the air enjoying my first flight of 2014. Phil soon joined in and we played with the sea thermals before popping in a nice little run along the coast from St Agnes head to Porthtowan and back to kick off the XC League in Cornwall.

Climbing up in front of T/off as the others rig

Keeping an eye out for Big Clouds and rain we slipped in before one arrived  but it was not long before it cleared and we went back up to play.  The thermals never quite kicked in strongly enough and whilst one managed to drag daisy and myself up to 1100' ATO it was not the kind that you would drift away with.

Approaching Porthtowan

Heading back to Chapel with Phil L

Great to see Michel K back up on his Hangy having fun and doing a super job, boy does he go up on that  Wills Wing Sport 2 135 i spent most of the time studying it's under surface, but then it was the same with Sam A on another one.  Good to see a few others out including Big Gray, Nigel W and Archive Andy all flying well. Lest hope it is the start of a good season to come.

Quote of the day "no one answered!"

Boxing Day play

With Christmas Day celebrated and feeling suitably un healthy it was good to get Jenny P (daughter) ringing up first thing to see if we were going out flying in the hope of a tandem flight for her and her boyfriend.  a quick weather check and yes we were loading and heading out to Chapel Porth.

A beautiful morning it was with blue skies and the odd cumulus floating in off the sea in the mid twenties breeze.  Graham M with his hangy arrived as did Lee K with his Para to join in the fun.  It being a bit top end for Lee he took the chance to fly the ASKA and was soon off and away looking pretty comfortable as he soared the whole length of the cliffs and playing around.

With the Tandem rigged it was not long before Damien G was briefed and clipped in ready for the off.  In super conditions we were soon up there cruising the up currents and looking at what can only be described as an amazing view.  The blow hole was blowing, the sea was crashing in and the sun was shining, excellent.  Damien had a great time soaking it all in before having a go at flying the glider and he did a fine job too.

the fun begins 

Damien gets to fly the glider

Graham M came up to join us and made good use of the thermals that were drifting through before we left him to go in for a landing.  Next up was Jenny who had not been upon the Hangy since she was small.  We had a ball playing and swooping in classic flying conditions with backdrop too match, it was great to see so many people out walking the cliffs giving little blobs of colour in amongst the gorse.  With the wind easing a little Lee popped up on his normal Paraglider but progress was slow!

Jenny just loving it

spot the rainbow

Finally Lee P (eldest son) also took the chance for a fly and with the wind once again picking up enjoyed a cracking flight as the lift increased.  Handing over the controls he did a great job flying the glider and wondering why he does not come up more often!

play time

Coming in to land

With the kids all sorted Kaz got her chance to fly on her Sport 2 joining Nigel W who had also turned up.  They both had a some super flying with Kaz really starting to tune into her new wing.  A bite of lunch then with the next front on the Horizon I sneaked in a fun flight on Kaz's wing before landing it back by the car park and calling it a day.

Kaz looking good

Happy Bunnies

What a super way to spend Boxing day just a shame Sam P (middle son) could not make it, maybe next year ……  Well looks like a bit more wind and rain for the next few days.

Quote of the day "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek"

One in Five

What a lovely day, in the middle of all this stormy weather the sun shone and the winds went light, shame more students could not take advantage of it, still it was to good to miss.

In fact Bill and Phil thought the same both turning up in the field to enjoy the weather and the entertainment!  On the student front Nigel A (Townsend) was out on the Hang Glider and looking forward to another full on day.

ready for the off

Nice to have time for a good fry up, where's bills banana gone ??

After a test of the air Nigel was straight up there into the high flights and it was not long before he was working on base bar conversions before moving into prone.  It took a few flights and a bit of lunch (lovely fry up Kaz) before Nigel got firmly back into the groove and full prone flights quickly followed.  Next it was onto slow flight appreciation followed by full stalls to complete his CPC tasks and whilst not wanting to tempt fate he has yet to drop the nose on landing!

Bill takes Phil for a weigh in

Fully serviced and about to be marked

A nice fun flight rounded off the day giving time to fully enjoy the view and what a wonderful place it is to learn to fly.  The field was looking stunning with a fine coating of cobwebs shimmering in the sunshine making it look almost like water.

Bill rounds up the sheep as the field glistens

what a playground ;)

With lots of attention from all quarters Nigel was truly spoilt  and made the most of it by putting in 19 flights before the end of play.

Quote f the day "less head, more hips"

Friday Frolics

A little subdued today but it was good when the skies cleared and the wind veered and news from Daisy that it was on at Chapel. Kaz was up for it so we headed out and rigged swiftly whilst Graham m flew above us.

With Kaz ready and `Graham down reporting improving conditions it was off to the front.  Kaz made a super take off and was soon climbing away, all too soon the wind increased and with it off to the south Kaz could not make it back to launch.  In what can only be described as bouncy conditions she did a fine job dealing with the challenge popping the glider down a couple of fields away whilst i did n impression of Husein bolt sprinting over to make sure she was OK, not a very good impression it has to be said.

Beginning

middle

end

Back at the front it was blowing a good 35 mph plus so we called it a day and went to warm up in readiness for the KHPA Christmas do in the evening which is another story!

 Suffice to say me walking into the mens with a camera in my hand drew a few looks and lots of laughs and Kaz's suprise gift  gave a lot of entertainment and will for some time to come  ...........

 

Wyn making a purchase

Kaz looking delighted

then it all got a bit hazy

 a fun evening and nice to meet up with the guys and gals  just a shame as ever not more there.

Quote of the day "just like in Algo'"

Thank you

Thank you PC for your company and let us try to put a little of you into all our lives.  A challenging day but good to see so many turn up to both during the day and in the evening.

As an email sent said "to the men in loud shirts"  let the dress coad continue.

Fresh at Freathy

A few beers the night before was enough to convince us to head to Freathy on a forecast of lighter winds in the east and a low tide.  With a full van full of toys we headed off to visit the South Devon lads.

As we rounded the Fort the sea looked a little more rippled than expected and the sight of a hangy launching confirmed it. On site it was about 20mph so time to rig the hangies. Kaz , Phil and myself popped them together whilst Adie and Peachy socialised and made themselves generally useful.

Hello little boys ….says Peachy

With the tide still in Kaz and Phil decided to wait a little so i took off for a fun race  along the lifts to pop in  a small out and return in double quick time accompanied most of the way by Sam a on his Sport 2.  By the time we got back the wind had filled noticeably and the guys decided to hold fire and watch the fun on landings.

more sitting, didn't your mother warn you about getting piles ? 

Much wind measuring and a test with the ASKA confirmed it was windy.  More chatting and coffee then as the day drew on Kaz and Phil decided enough was enough. peachy left and that was all that was needed.  Another test on the ASKA and this time no problem although to be fair it was still mid twenties plus a bit!    A fun day out in the sun and good to catch up with the SD guys, must do it again some time.

time to de rig as the shadows draw out

Quote f the day "who's that mad women" well it plays havoc with your hair when sticking your yea out of a car window at 70 mph, sorry we got there in the end .

Oh second quote later in the evening "frogs chorus"

Scratching and Sitting

Back to Chapel Porth the day looked a bit more showery than yesterday and indeed we had to wait a bit for the dampness to pass but once it did it did.

Plenty of ground handling practice went on

The Clouds were playing with the wind and it was very much pick your moment if you wanted to get some airtime in.  Adie gave it the first shot and took a visit to the lower footpath, by the time he got back up it was a bit better and we took to the air to play with some fun lift.  That lasted for 15 minutes or so then it was back down again for a wait until the next session.

Fiona goes for it ...

with Phippsy right behind

Still it was a fun day although you really had to keep your eyes on it as the lift came and went seeing Wyn over 1000' ATO one minute then back having to slope land a few minutes later.  Phil thought better of it and spent the day "coaching" and taking photos from the safety of his chair and Steve W had a minor surgical operation whilst on site thanks to Fiona, ear ear.

stitched by Phil ……...

Some visiting pilots made the beach look pretty and then it was time to go home.

Quote of the day  "that was easy"

Up and Down at Chapel

Spring low tides are always welcome when it comes to flying the coast and what a nice one it was at Chapel port where the beach was just about as big as it gets :)  Peter F was along to hopefully get his first hill soaring flights underway and with conditions looking good we wasted no time in getting set to go.

The sun starts to shine

Kaz and myself tested the air and it was fine and then Pete went off to find his gloves, what a difference 10 minutes can make!  By the time he had returned conditions were a bit lighter but still soarable although not the hundreds of feet of lift that there had been.  Still after a bit of ground handling to get settled in Pete made it to the front and was soon up and away floating along the cliffs.  Ten minutes later and the lift got a little lighter again and Pete was putting his new found skills to the test as he scratched along in the gentle lift doing a fine job.

First soaring flight for Pete

almost looking relaxed

With him looking nice and smooth we took the opportunity to bring him back in whilst we had the height and with a little guidance he performed his first slope landing, nice.  Big grin, debrief, soak it all in and wait for the breeze to fill in then it was off again.

mixing with the Big Boys Pete joins in the fun

Steve M making it look easy

Treeve heads for the lift

Next flight was even better with a bit more lift and a lot more experience, another 10 -15 minutes and it was back in on top, excellent.  Bit more chat, bit of watching Steve M demonstrating super smooth ground handling,bit more breeze so let's make the most of it. In what were now fresh enough conditions Pete was off for his third flight of the day.  The lift was much more and life was easy as he cruised the ridge lift mixing it with the other pilots before coming in for a super top landing.

Top landing and looking good

bowing to the Masters ??

With the wind filling in further it was time to stop and change wings (not for Pete) and out came the ASKA for play time.  A couple of fun flights along side Sam A on his hangy and it was Peachy's turn ……….  looking like a startled rabbit in the headlights he coaxed it to the front before hesitating, a little encouragement and he was off into a nice 20mph breeze.  To be fair he did a great job and looked almost relaxed as he soared up and down getting it sussed.  Back on top his face was a picture, almost enthusiastic and very chuffed with himself, watch out for him when you are flying your hangy!

"did you see me ?"

Quote of the day " It feels far more solid"  it was in relation to something or other!