Mixed up day ;)

We had a plan and guess what ? it worked ;))  It was an early start in the tow field meeting up with Steve L,  Julian and Pete L at 07.00 .  The winch was up and running by 07.45 and the tows were underway.  The guys cracked on and soon settled down working their ways through the flying tasks.

Steve polished off his CPC with a couple of cracking Asymmetric's making easy work of them and showing good control throughout then continued to pop in some fun tows to concentrate on spot landings.

Julian made great progress looking like he had really got it together and along with Pete they moved steadily through low level turns into higher ones before finishing off with their first high flights to the top of the tow so completing their EPC's tasks and starting the CPC ones, excellent :)

A ground handling session took up the latter morning when we were joined by Peter F with everyone improving nicely as the wind began to fill in as forecast.

Next we had a couple of hours break whilst we waited for the wind to sort itself out then it was off to Perranporth for some hill soaring.  Our timing was spot on and within 30 minutes of arriving it was looking good for the guys .

Bev gets things moving

 With ex student Bev P (N. Devon) showing the way and that conditions were good Steve got himself ready for his 3 rd soaring flight. It did not take long and he was up there looking smooth and co ordinated and showing just how well the school Elements go up!

Steve L (top left) shows what an Element can do!

Top landing to complete his hill conversion 

 A nice top landing and it was Pete F's turn,  same plan and same result Pete did a super flight in the increasingly busy sky, still in fairness the more experienced pilots did give them plenty of space.  Both Steve and Pete popped in another flight each to complete their hill soaring conversions and it was congratulations all round.

time to chat with Pete (top left) smiling after finishing his hill conversion and ex student Colin gets set to go

Carl R (South Devon) who had recently completed his Tow course had been introduced to his new Ozone Buzz Z4 and under Kaz's watchful eye done plenty of ground handling to get used to it, and he liked it.  With conditions still improving we got him briefed up for his first hill soaring flight.

Carl off on his first hill flight

and looking like he is enjoying it

A great take off was followed by a fantastic first hill flight as he climbed to the top of the stack and cruised the ridge making it look all to easy!  15 minutes later we coaxed him into land and with so much height he did a great job and patiently "s"ing off the height before performing a first class landing.  Big smile then it was off again and pretty much the same story again, can't complain at that.

Carl's second flight , lovely 

So with 2 EPC tows , 1 CPC tow and CPC hill conversions completed along with half a one it was a top day. Well done to all and nice to see Bev and Colin (recent CPC's) both out building experience and learning as they go along.

Weather looks good for the next few days or so.  Will try and find some piccies from somewhere so if you have any please send me some  Steve W ?

Quote of the day "  :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))"

Short and sweet

Nice day forecast and with Pete L down for the week we decided to nip out with him to sharpen up his ground handling and hopefully get a few flights in.

Pete gets sorted under Kaz's watchful eye

Whilst the first part worked well giving Pete plenty to work on in the thermic conditions the second part was not so effective as we had to wait for things to calm down before letting Pete loose on the line.  Still I had some fun tows "testing the air" so can't complain.

You can't get enough ground handling and trust me Pete is getting plenty!

Quote of the day  " keep pulling and I'll get it up"

Hey ho lets go

After yesterdays half day with Peter L (Plymouth)we had put in place the ground work to make today an easy starter.  Pete was joined by Carl R (Plymouth) and they both were soon chatting away and had to be encouraged to get the gliders sorted!

Ready to rock and roll ....

With conditions just nice we were soon underway with Peter putting in his first flights and having a ball as he did so. Whilst Pete started his EPC course Carl was rapidly approaching the end of his CPC  course so showing was was to come for Pete.

On the way up

They both made great progress and by the end of play Pete was releasing the line and moving into shallow turns to see him nicely into his course.  Carl also had a ball doing the instability tasks and was quickly through Big ears before finishing off with Asymmetrics before having a couple of fun flights complete his day and CPC.

Approaching the top

approaching the bottom

A good day all round and with the guys putting in 15 tows between them enough to keep Kaz busy without over stressing her :)

Quote of the day "be gentle with me"

Surprise surprise :)

A damp morning and towing was on hold intact it was pretty much canned.  Pete L (Plymouth) turned up anyway as he was in the area so we had a chat over a culpa and low and behold things brightened up!  So being as flexible as we are it was not long before we were heading to the tow field to get the basics underway.

Pete did really well despot conditions being breezy enough and in actual fact clicked with the ground handling really quickly.  It was not long before Kaz turned up and with the hand tows completed we got the winch  set up and ready to roll.  A couple of test flights was enough to convince us that it was less than ideal for Petes first flights so we called it a day to wait for better ones.

Time not wasted though as tomorrow hopefully we can crack on and get straight into the flying.

Quote of the day "that was interesting"

Hill Billy's

Don't you just love Sennen Cove particularly when the sun is out , the breeze is on and the holiday makers have not yet arrived!

Dave B (Praze) and Steve L (Ivybridge) are both along for hopefully their first hill soaring flights having got well sorted in the tow field over the past few weeks. In what were light but lifty conditions the guys got set to go after a bit of refresh ground handling whilst we waited for the morning breeze to return.

Two wise men saw Dave hangs in there

it's not long before he is up and relaxed

They both did a fine job in the varying conditions putting good soaring flights some of which they had to work for whilst others were easy peezy!  Top landings made life easy most of the time although the odd slope landing helped out as well.

Classic Sennen shot as Steve gets some soaring in

Mixed in amongst their flights Kaz and myself managed to sneak in some fun flying on the Paragliders making a change from yesterdays Hangy day and Robin W who hopes to learn to fly in the future took the chance to get up on the Tandem Paraglider and just loved it and to be fair did a good job of flying it as well!

By the end of play they had pooped in 7 flights between them and both looked very pleased with themselves.  Another day in the field to finish off Asymmetrics with Steve  and one more day each on the hill should see them sorted, nice .

Happy bunnies

Good to see some of the guys from down west out enjoying the day and good to catch up with them.

Quote of the day "that's why you use a winch"  "puff puff puff"

Stunning at Sennen and Celebrations all round

After Yesterdays fun we were keen to get another day in for the hill conversions so made an early start arriving at Sennen by just gone 08.00 to find it looking GOOD :)).  A quick flight on the Delta 2 confirmed things were fine so Bev P and Colin N started to get sorted.

Chris H also pitched up now as a Qualified pilot and it was not long before he was up and away having fun on his local site.

A bit of ground work with the guys soon saw both of them getting it sorted then it was off to the front with Bev to see what she could do.  A different take off from Perran but it was not long before she was off the hill and cruising the ridge in front looking so pretty against a perfect backdrop.  15 minutes of flying was followed by her first top landing and in fact even a spot landing as she demolished her own windsock on touch down!  What a happy lady she was , fantastic.

Next off was Colin looking suitably nervous as he got set to launch.  A bit of break dancing and he too was away and climbing nicely in the smooth lift, well that was until someone flew in front of him!  No drama a bit of glider wash and it settled down again as his dream became reality. Learning a lot on his first soaring flight Colin smoothed out and used the lift well before coming in nicely for a perfectly acceptable top landing and it's not even 10 O'clock yet.  Celebration dance does not even do it justice Colins delight had to be seen to be believed and we all joined in.

With Bev resting a slight strain in her leg Colin made the best of it popping in another couple of flights and even getting a little bit of thermal lift along the way.  With Bev plastered in some Horse gel (courtesy of Colin) easing the strain she gave it another shot and was rewarded with a cracking flight in even better conditions before coming in for a fine top landing and leaving the windsock intact.

Colin popped in one final flight before taking a rest so making it 4 for the day for him and finished off the day with some more ground handling by the end of which he was looking pretty damned good, don't forget it Colin.

In amongst this Chris kept popping up and down rattling up 6 flights and was joined by Adie, Phil, Kaz, SteveW and Graham K.  Graham was getting his first flights on his new Ozone Delta 2 which after a little getting used to on the ground he fell in love with especially the extra scope it gave him in moving around the ridge and beyond.

With the students gone home I managed some cracking flying on my delta before switching the the Zero as the wind filled then returning to Phils Deltas as it eased again.  Good to see Phil and Adie flying the Goose and the Zero in lighter winds as the sun began to drop and having fun whilst i swanned above on the Delta< ideal.

Thanks to Phil for the Fish and Chips and to Dave for his support to the guys despite not being ready for the hill just yet.

 It's been a long journey for both Bev and Colin but has good to see them succeeding can't wait to see them qualify :))

Quote of the day "  :))))))))))))))))"  and that an understatement !

Popping some in at Perran

Light WNW on the cards and the sun set to shine. With Bev P (N Devon) keen to get on with her hill conversion she stayed down ready for an early start. 8.00 and we met up at Perran where the the sun was out but the wind was fresh and the direction off to the south!

Still, being optimists I played around on the zero for a while to see what would happen.  Sure enough the wind came on and even dropped a little, time to see what we could do.  Colin N (Newlyn East) arrived and also got ready for hopefully his first hill experience.

With things mellowing bait Chris H (Sennen) broke out his shiny new Ozone Buzz Z 4 for it's maiden flight and did a great job of it dealing with the conditions and new wing well.  He was soon up there having a ball and under Kaz's watchful eye finished off his qualification to become CPC rated on the hill, keep and eye out for him guys and gals.  He spent the rest of the day having fun whenever conditions would allow :)

 A couple of goes and Bev was up and away into the blue settling down nicely after a few beats and almost enjoying the view!  She did a fine job sussing the correct track line and smoothing out her turns as she mixed it with the other pilots.  Bit by bit the wind started to fill in again so we made the decision to beach land her and after a bit of speed bar practice followed by some Big Ears she descended nicely for a first class landing and lots of happy waving :))) Nice one.

By the time she returned to the top to a round of applause the wind had eased back a little so we gave Colin his first taste of ground handling on the hill.  Challenging comes to mind and it was not long before the wind freshened so stopping "play".

Kaz's Sport 2 135 was sitting there so it would be rude not to fly it, oh what fun they are.

A bit more Zero flying along with Dean F on his new Zero before getting back to work by test flying Jeremy's "new" Hang Glider and doing a bit of tuning on it in readiness for his first flight on it. By now the wind was even fresher and the direction not ideal for him so he too had to hold fire.

Jerry S (Callington) dropped by for a Tandem flight and we had a fun time on the Hangy playing in the lift and chasing the seagulls before popping back in on top with big smiles all round particularly from his wife Sharon who was pleased  (I think) to see him back.

A full on day with lots of flying for Paragliders, Hangy's and speed wings , can't be bad.

Quote of the day  "I never though you had that much control"  makes me wonder why they would ever come up tandem with me!

Right Place right time - well done

Whilst we were paddling Wyn and Phil were up "the Brea" and whilst not a place for the faint hearted a good place to catch a thermal and thats just what Wyn D did.  Phil just missed out and had the job of fetching Wyn back from just short of the Lizard after floating around at Cloudbase some 3000' up, nice.  Well done guys :))

Meanwhile some were having fun at Carbis and we had a fine flight at St Agnes where we met up with the sky gods in the evening.  Fun day all round and hopefully another one tomorrow :))

Quote of the day "where??"

Surprise Surprise :)

A bell at the door and outside is Lois much to our surprise, the plan was for him to call last evening before driving down from Bristol. Still that's youth for you and at least he is keen!

Another ring and Bill N drops by, now there is another nice surprise and a good excuse for a cup of tea.  With no towing on the cards we opted to head to Perran in the hope of getting Lois at least a top to bottom as the forecast was on the light side to say the least.

Whilst Lois rigged the hangy Kaz and myself popped in a few flights on the Paragliders in varying conditions which saw one or two walking back up from the beach.  Another surprise when a Pg over does it an drops in hard after a short spin.  Hopefully nothing too serious but better safe than sorry.

Dramatics over and back to flying as we wait for the wind to rise and the tide to drop for the hangy. patience is a virtue and we bided our time before sending Lois off for his first hill flight.  The plan was for a couple of beats then off to the beach as conditions were still on the light side. As it was we had another surprise as Lois soared up and down the dunes doing a fine job.  However it was never going to be enough for a top landing so after a good 10-15 minutes he headed off to the beach for a super landing and then a nice stroll back up!

So a day of Surprises all round, you never can tell ......

Quote of the day "you grip stand I'll push a little"

Two on one Fun !

Despite a call for students on the "Whats on" page we only had one keen one but as things were already in place we went ahead anyway in the interests of getting some day one work out of the way so making life easier in the future.

Carl R (Plympton)  cam along for a go at Paragliding with a view to taking it up along with hopefully speed flying in the future.  Whilst Kaz stayed at home carl and myself got the basics out of the way in the tow field where it was just like summer.  as the morning progressed the sea breeze kicked in making life easier and a nice line of convergence set up a little further inland.

Carl ready for the first one

By the time Kaz arrived we were pretty much ready to tow and conditions were spot on, sun shines on the righteous.  Demo' flight out of the way and carl was on the line for his first flight on a Paraglider and looking suitably nervous.  No worries it was a cracker with him putting a super flight across the field and looking good all the way.

that can't be bad

Big smile after the first one

that was it he was hooked and by the time we stopped  he had put away a total of 7 flights and was well into his EPC tasks.  Whilst conditions got a bit bouncier and the seagulls climbed out over the field we gave flying amiss and played with some more ground handling to round the day off.  It's amazing just how quickly some people twig to it ;))

Playing with the wing

Hah ha

 So probably a couple of days work in one and a very happy if slightly tired Carl, hopefully we shall see him again soon as the weekend looks good.

 Quote of the day " I need a split leg"

Gooseing about

A breezy start to the day was at least dry and with  forecast fro the wind to ease back we hoped to head to the hill for a Hangy tandem.  Arriving at Chapel it was nice to see a good number of hangies rigged and ready and just as I carried to the front the first one took off as the wind finally eased to sensible :)

By the time Tony c (Illogan) arrived for his Tandem flight conditions were perfect and it was not long before he we clipped in and ready to go.  We had a cracking flight playing with the lift as we soared above the cliffs and spectacular scenery sharing the air with several other gliders. tony had a great time and got a chance to fly the glider doing a fine job of it as well.

By the time we had landed the wind had eased a little more so i cracked out the ZERO and took her up for a fun flight which encouraged Phil L to get the the new Little Cloud Goose out of the bag. After a little chasing the Goose around Phil got it under control and was soon airborne and starting to play. With a standard harness on the Goose it was playful enough and Phil did a fine job of showing off it's responsiveness ......  I gave it a go and yes it is a lively bird, light on the brakes and ready to play with the weight shift harness adding to the fun.  Popping a split leg harness on it made a huge difference keeping the lift playful nature but making it nice and predictable with it, good move.

The Goose and the Gander

Rounding off the day with a flight on Sam A's Sport 2 135 was perfect. Great day, great flying, great company ;)

Quote of the day "that's the first swallow this year"  ...........

Oh and watch out for some missed blogs being added over next few days due to several "requests" ....

Carnage

A morning of "weed picking"  was followed by a cup of tea with Peachy in the Kitchen when we decided to take a trip to Carne for a change to see if we could get a bit of airtime in.

On the way we got news from Phil and Adie that they had been flying but the wind had picked up and gone off so were heading home.  Well as we were nearly there and had hangies on board we carried on to have a look.  Passing Phil and Adie on the way encouraged them to return and soon we were assembled on launch where yes it was a bit breezy and a bit off...........

A chat with the farmer resulted in us heading to the lower fields and cliffs where things looked a lot better and it was not long before I was off and away.  Kaz quickly joined me followed by Peachy. Crossing crane beach opened up more cliffs and then crossing over Pendower even more along with higher ones as well.  It was enough to encourage Adie to get his glider out again and Phil to pinch mine when I landed.

We all had several super flights and fun flying along with plenty of laughs, this what it's about, can't wait to swim, fly, fish and BBQ here this summer.

Quote of the day "would you like a de brief on that"

Funday Afternoon

A breezy morning slowly gave way to a drop in the wind and with news that plenty were flying at St Agnes we decided not having a lot on to go for a fun fly with the gang.

The sky had plenty of Paragliders up although to be fair it was breezy enough for them and some decided to give it a miss on their floppies.  Whilst Kaz got her floppy out I decided to give the T2 an airing and quickly rigged her in amongst the modellers and paragliders.

Kaz had a nice couple of flights enjoying not having to look after anyone and just generally playing about.  Conditions for the Hangy were super  and I had a fine old time playing about and getting back into a performance wing.  a little bit of glider tuning payed off and she is ready for the season despite Michel trying to destroy her, so bring it on !

 Good to see plenty out having fun just a shame a few more hangies were not there to share it with.

Quote of the day "Well that explains it then!"

The return of the Sun (and Jeremy)

What a glorious day with wall to wall sunshine all day.  We were back in the field which had dried out nicely and was looking superb.  Jeremy S (Taunton) was back to continue his CPC Hang Gliding after a long break (last flew in July) and was joined by Steve M (Exeter) for a taster day Paragliding.

Whilst Kaz got Steve sorted Jeremy rigged the Hangy and put in a few refresh runs across the field showing that he had not forgotten what to do.   With the breeze filling in Steve goon with basic ground handling and in fact made it look very easy and was soon reverse ground handling like a pro!.

The breeze continued to pick up and whilst it was ok for the Hangy it was too much for Para's so Steve went onto stand by.  Jeremy was soon clipped in and getting his feet off the ground for the first time in over 7 months.  He was soon back in the groove and looking good despite slightly challenging conditions.  Finishing off his final tasks Jeremy completed his stalls an slow flight appreciation to complete his CPC, excellent.

The wind stayed too high for the Para so Steve will have to wait for another day to complete his Pg Taster.  Nice to see some of the guys fro by on their way back from flying elsewhere and also to see Mel (Downderry) who dropped by to check us out with a view to learning.

Quote of the day " a sandwich stole my seat"

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'"