Spring has sprung and all that and its
back to the flying after the winter lay-off. Not our fault but the weather does
seem to have been particularly pesh for the past 4 months or more. Luckily I
was away (shock horror, I was working!) which is why this edition of the
Dangler is a bit late. But the weather has improved as I’ve flown 6 out of the
past 7 days, and could have flown at St Cyrus on that other day! Not often we
get that up here. However, some of the guys have been to foreign places and
actually written about it (Julian still hasn’t but may do in the next few
hours) and Bob has a few words about site issues, so continue reading for
information as well as entertainment.
Speaking of the tall lanky one, Julian
(not Bob) asked me to mention that if you’ve not paid this years membership, send a cheque for £20 payable to “Aberdeen Hang Gliding Club” to Julian
Robinson, 40 Elmfield Terrace, Aberdeen
AB24 3NY. Or
try to get to a club meeting at the Boat House and pay him in person (he
prefers cheques to avoid spending the cash on beer). Fees of £2 per month
for glider storage at Sunnyside also have to be paid by May (that’s now).
Scottish Nationals
Paragliding Series
A series of “competitions” aimed as a social get together and
coaching weekends. Good fun, if a bit dodgy on the weather front. Though past
couple of years have been fairly good. I’m hoping to be going to the July dates
as well as our round.
21 - 22 May SMPC - venue tbc
02 - 03 Jul Borders
23 - 24 Jul Arran
20 - 21 Aug Tinto
03 - 04 Sep Aberdeen
15 - 16 Oct Ochils.
Further details of each round will
be posted in due course.
If you have any questions about
the series or if you wish to receive a registration form, contact series
coordinator George McGhee
01416499220, 07980573187, geomacsco@yahoo.co.uk
George is also the new editor of
the (F)Lying Scot.
Further Training
Zabdi Keen, the paragliding instructor on Arran, is considering
running a week’s course based near Fort WIlliam for the 1st week in July for
new (or rusty) club pilots and others who would like to advance their skills
under the guidance of an instructor. If there’s demand then she’ll also come up
here to Aberdeen. See her website at www.flyingfever.net for contact details (I think she has a list
of items for sale as well, such as new and second-hand wings).
Dead Dogs & Dysentry: Highlights of Guatemala by Bob Dunthorn
We (Ian, Ross and Bob) arrive at
Miami, in transit to Guatemala and are subjected to the US immigration system.
There are two queues, one for US citizens which takes 10 minutes and another
for other life forms which takes over two hours. Question: what is the purpose
of your visit to Guatemala? As if this was anything to do with the good ol’ US
of A, which we’re not even visiting, just waiting in line. Then it’s
immediately into another queue for an hour to leave the US.
We arrive at Guatemala City
International, which is about the same size as ABZ, and collect all the bags.
Except Ian’s harness which is still at Heathrow. It’s been a long day and we
are in need of sleep, so meet up with Geoff and Henry at our hotel. Barking
dogs and clucking chickens set the trend for sleep deprivation, but this is a
third world country where things are different and I adjust my expectations.
Next morning our tour guide Mario
is ready to transport us to Panajachel, our first destination, in a clapped-out
minibus and a slightly dodgy Volvo (but no Sandy peering over the wheel). We
collect gliders on the way and get to the site. This first day’s flying is
eventful, starting with rigging the gliders on the road. Most unusually I am
ready to launch before the others. There is a small concrete ramp in a gap in
the crash barrier. Mario has supplied the gliders and I have a 12.5 Seedwings
Merlin which feels funny in the pitch. I can’t get the nose up and fall over on
the ramp with the nose down.
Geoff and Ross go, seemingly OK,
but Henry has the same problem as me so de-rigs. Ian is still waiting for his
harness so just acts as cameraman. Henry and I discuss the problem and conclude
that the ramp does not take the air flow due to being at a different angle than
the contour of the hill. A case of the wind “really” pushing down on the hill.
Well, it’s as good an excuse as we could come up with.
The following week saw indifferent
flying due to light winds and cloudy skies. Geoff flew everyday whereas Ken and
myself didn’t fly at all. Several launch sites all had landings at Panajachel,
which was a small raised beach next to Lake Atitlan, with an approach over the
water. Everybody made it in some shape or form. There was an extensive briefing
from Mario on how to survive for up to an hour after a water landing – a
possibility that doesn’t even bear thinking about. Henry did however manage to
hit a retaining wall, rather damaging the glider in the process. He is now
claiming he was distracted by the sun reflecting off Geoff’s head.
My enthusiasm for flying was
severely curtailed by sitting on the bog for hours at a time. We were all
affected by Montezuma’s Revenge, some worse than others. We all scrounged
anti-shite pills from Mario but they didn’t help much. Eventually he came up
with some blue pills which he said would block you up for a month at least. If
only that were true.
A few days later we were back in
the van for another road trip to Quetzaltenango and to experience more culture
as well as flying. The hotel had armed guards, very loud dogs and the dumbest
waiting staff on the planet. I put it
all down to experience and continued to lose weight through my bottom. I went
everywhere with my blue bag which had spare grundies, bog roll and hang loops,
which the others put to good use.
Next stop is Antigua, a popular
resort town which is cleaned up every morning. The litter is picked up from the
fountain square and from between the homeless and destitute people – what a
contrast.
We next fly at La Cerra, adjacent
to another polluted lake and back near Guatelmala City. When we arrive some of
the locals are already rigged. Mario suggests it is too strong (it’s 2 o’clock
in the afternoon) but UI take one look and start stuffing battens as fast as I
can. This is a good day with strong thermals and everybody flies except the two
French-Canadian paras travelling with is, for whom it’s too windy.
Later on the group splits up.
Henry leads a team to visit temples in the jungle. Bob and Ian (and the paras)
head off on another long drive to a non-tourist agricultural region where there
is meant to be a resident pilot. Unfortunately he turns out to be a para. The
landing field looks good but the take-offs (a choice) are rubbish for hang
gliders. They are small, shallow and surrounded by vegetation up to 40 feet
high. The conditions are also poor, with low cloudbase and some rain. We stay
at the hotel with no water; a terrible experience and I end up back on the bog
again.
We return to fly La Cerra and
conclude our stay in Guatemala. The trip was an experience and on the whole
worthwhile, but I have no plans to return.
[Bob added a postscript to this
tale about his bowel movements but in the interest of decency I have used my
editorial powers to take it out. If you really would like a copy, then email me
to ask for it. However I’m sure your knowledge of Bob will allow you to work
out the wording.]
Big Ian has done a DVD of the trip so if
you want to see it, contact either him or Matt.
RIGID FOR SALE
Atos 145 rigid wing, bought new in Spring 2000. 180 hours use over four years. One season use since dealer inspection and
service in winter 2002. DHV certified.
Currently stored indoors in Aberdeenshire, may be available
by arrangement for inspection or test flights elsewhere.
A lovely glider that I don’t have time to fly any more, and
in really good condition. Reluctantly
for sale, price £3,500.00.
Contact : Tony
Smith
013398
83221 (home)
01224
746407 (office, direct dial)
SNAKE BOOTS
Apt for me
as Bob showed me an area known as a good place for adders! I was also right about Zabdi having things
for sale.
Special
Introductory offer £100 (till end of June) (Normal price £127). Buy them
on-line www.flyingfever.net or phone.
Designed for Free Flight. Nubuk/Cordura, Vibram Sole, coloured Blue/ Black or
Sand
The Day I
Had To Throw My Reserve by Kevin Will
Thankfully I was more than 30ft
off the deck and even more grateful that I wasn’t under my canopy at all but
connected to the zip wire at the Ratho climbing centre near Edinburgh. The
building is really impressive, the climbing walls look way too high and as for
the Sky Ride, maybe next time (just imagine the meat hook rails at an abattoir,
but 6 storeys high with screaming & crying kids hanging from them).
After a quick brief, the
obligatory sign your life away and a short wait, it was up the stairs to get
clipped on to the zip wire. Thankfully the Ratho instructors seemed to know
what they were doing. Sitting on the edge of the internal roof, feet dangling,
most people would have been less nervous flying off a hill side. Then it was a
quick push off, grab the reserve handle, pull & chuck, look down at the
anxious faces staring up from their café latte 60ft below and then back to see
the reserve deploying behind, very satisfying & confidence building.
Unfortunately not for all pilots: one poor lass couldn’t even pull her handle
away and a couple of other deployments were left with a lump of cloth at the
end of their lines.
Back up in the lecture room,
canopies were getting repacked on tables with various amounts of help from the
assorted pilots and a couple of professional lads from Airworks. Luckily for
the other pilot with a Conar reserve, I was there with the English copy of the
manual as he only had it in Italian. Isn’t the web a wonderful thing. So
hopefully both our reserves will deploy if we need then during the coming year.
But then again hopefully we won’t need to.
The only thing I would have liked
to do would have been to chuck it again to give me confidence in my packing
skills but time was short.
So next year why don’t you make it
a point to get down to Ratho and chuck your reserve, not only a bit of fun
& socialising with other pilots from around Scotland but also some good
practice packing your reserve with assistance if required.
If you get there early you could
also have a go climbing up the walls or have a scream on the Sky Ride.
George
Watt Memorial Trophy XC League & Over-the-Back Bottle
|
Rank |
PILOT |
|
POINTS TOTAL |
OTB |
Total Km Flown |
Wing Factor |
Km needed |
|
1 |
Matt |
Church |
4.61 |
3 |
36.9 |
8 |
0.0 |
|
2 |
Simon |
Lucas |
1.31 |
1 |
10.5 |
8 |
26.4 |
|
3 |
Kevin |
Will |
1.25 |
1 |
10.0 |
8 |
26.9 |
|
4 |
Richy |
Grundy |
0.51 |
0 |
4.1 |
8 |
32.8 |
Total Distance Flown: 61.5 km
For those that don’t know (or forgotten),
the XC League is handicapped according to glider type and any distance counts.
The Over-The-Back Bottle award goes to the pilot with the highest number of
flights of 10km or more for hang gliders and of 5km or over for paragliders.
This is the best trophy as it not only involves the (almost) usual silverware
but also a bottle of whisky.
News & Stuff
Adrian Smith has joined the ranks of BHPA Pilot rated flyers, passing
his exam at the end of February. Well done him. As well as the kudos of getting
beyond CP, he also saves £7 a year on his BHPA membership.
I (as in Matt Church) have just got my Advanced Pilot
but don’t get anything cheap for that. So Kev Will isn’t the only AP in club
any more (having got his in 1777 while in France with the Duke of Argyle’s
Volunteer Regiment of Foot).
Brian Sandison is still
not fully mobile after breaking his leg at the turn of the year and has decided
to sell up. He is sending his Nova Xact (old 1-2), Supair Cocoon (good harness)
and various instruments down to Greendragons for sale, but if you’re quick you
may get a deal in. Brian will stay in touch with the club and hopefully after
resting the leg for a year or so will be seen flying again. I suggested he take
up hang gliding if he’s feeling his age, so who knows, maybe yet another new
hangy …
… such as John Reid, who
turned up at the Boat Club last week and may be out this weekend.
CinemaNet Europe are putting
together a season of Extreme Sports films for screening in Aberdeen, Dundee,
Edinburgh and Glasgow. Right now they are trying to establish the demand for
such a season of films. Could you possibly let me know (fly_matt@tiscali.co.uk or 01224
724076) whether a season of Extreme Sports films might be of interest and I’ll
let them know possible numbers.
Brian O’Donnell has joined the ranks of petrol heads, having bought a
paramotor over the winter. No news of whether he’s flown it yet. I know Roy
Westland tried to use his last week but after 3 hours gave up trying to get it
to start and went for a beer instead. Other paramotors in the club belong to
Gordon Robertson, Steve Wright and Pat Chilton (now in Norway). (Anyone else
please let me know).
Ex-Scottish
pilots Ruth & Ulrich Jessop have re-done their website advertising their self-catering
apartment near Grenoble. If you’re thinking of heading for south of France
consider looking at www.pottyplace.com/accom
Geoff May’s Adventures in USA haven’t really got going as his
following report shows: I was going to put in a wee article requesting
sponsorship for an 180 mile bike ride I'm doing this weekend, but as the
newsletter won't be out before then so I'll simply email folk instead. Haven't
managed to get any flying the last three weeks as I've either been in France
for business meetings or in training on my push bike. Robin Hamilton did 120
miles on Saturday while I was getting pished in business class.
Following on from Kev’s write-up, those of
you with broadband (Bob, that’s a way of connecting to the web with a computer)
you might want to have a look at this scary video of a PG spiral and
deployment. He was OK http://www.lagparty.org/~greenmntn/JoesReserve.mp4
Celtic Cup 2005
As you may have read in Skywings, the Celtic Cup is
taking place in Iceland this year. While it used to be primarily a hangy comp,
paragliders are becoming more prevalent. The following is from the organisers
over there:
The Celtic Cup will start the 22nd of
June and will end on 24th, with 25th as a reserve day. We
will have accommodation in the clubhouse for 10-15 people, and some can camp in
the clubhouse garden and there will be space for 15-20 in apartments with our
club members.
We will arrange all transport to and from the
airport, with a bus and a truck for the gliders, also the transportation from
Reykjavik to Hella, where we will stay during the competition.
At Hella we have 3 local pubs, a swimming pool
and some shops and restaurants. This is a small town in the country,
about 90 km from Reykjavik.
This trip
will be ideal for the whole family as there is a lot to do in Iceland. Last
time the hangies were there they went whale watching, fishing, horse-riding,
and visited the Blue Lagoon. There is also great mountain biking, a good social
scene and lots of shopping in Reykjavik. Most Icelanders speak English, though
whether they will be able to understand Bob is another matter. He is going so
you may want to contact him about flights, etc
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has
now published a short guide to occupiers' legal liabilities in relation to
access in Scotland, which summarises relevant legislation and case law.The
guide can be accessed online in pdf format via:http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/default.asp?nPageID=50&nSubContentID=0
Alternatively, paper copies are
available from SNH Publications Section at by emailing pubs@snh.gov.uk or phoning 01738 444177.
France: Space is available with Simon, John, Matt and Lu in France for the
Chabre Open. See January’s Dangler or contact one of them for details. They are
flying down on 10th June and returning 26th, though Matt
is going to Mayrhofen in Austria first, leaving on the 21st May, for
the first British Open round.
Lu is offering harp lessons on the hill if it’s not
flyable, so bring your harp along to the hill just in case the weather isn’t
playing. Or phone Aberdeen 724076 to book a personal tuition session at very
reasonable rates.
Got this advert through via somewhere – anyone fancy going
on an exploraitory trip to find out about the beer?
Paragliding Tour to
Romania
If you are a bunch of friends who would enjoy exploring Romanian flying
sites and see this country check out our offer at http://www.navigo.ro/paraglidingEN.html
Highlights
include:
·
try out some of the best flying sites in Romania
·
visit medieval towns, fortresses
·
visit remarkable natural sites, reservations
We
can alternatively organize mixed tours for your family or other group. While
you fly non-flying members of your family or group will do alternative
activities: mountaineering, sightseeing, etc.
More Land Access Stuff
by Cliff Smith
I now have a list of all Local Access Forums for the whole
of Scotland (including contact details). Anyone wishing details of their local
forum please let me know and I'll forward it on.
Local Access Forums are being known as LAF's (not many
laughs I hear you cry). This is causing some confusion with the other LAF (Land
Owners Fedration) so the suggestion is we call our LAF's LOAF's (Local Outdoor
Access Forums) and we are being encouraged to use our LOAF's (I kid you not!).
On the subject of abbreviations SNH (Scottish National
Heritage) would like the SOAC (Scottish Outdoor Access Code) to be know simply
as The Code (how we then differentiate between it, the Highway or the Da Vinci
is beyond me......).
I have been invited onto the Pentland Hills Regional Park
Consultative Forum (in my capacity as Outdoor Education Development Officer for
the City of Edinburgh). I will also be representing the canoeist and if you are
happy I can also represent the interests of free flyers. If there is another
local pilot who wants to get involved please let me know and I can send you
thedetails.
TMFFNUTNEI *
*That's me finished for now until the next exciting
instalment.....
Sites Updates by Dr Bob
Tap o Noth – the 4WD access now has a new security / deer
fence around part of the route. There are 2 new gates which should be left
CLOSED at all times, at the request of the land owner.
Kerloch – a new land owner has taken over the bottom landing
fields. New fencing has been erected and agricultural remedial work is in
progress. The club has permission for continued use in the meantime. Keep all
gates closed.
St Cyrus – SNH has asked the club not to fly the cliffs
during the nesting season. Accordingly the site is now closed until mid-August.
Limited flying is possible to the north of take-off but don’t fly to the south
(and spoil it for everyone else).
Leadlich / Craiglich - At the Aberdeenshire Planning Committee meeting on Aprl 12th the quarry proposal was rejected unanimously following the Planning Officers’ recommendation.
Morrone – the club now has access for driving up the track
to the summit of this hill near Braemar. However Bob or Matt need to be
present, certainly for this first year. As one of us is around just about every
day of the year this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. This restriction is
only for driving up the hill; you are still free to walk up any time.
Coilochbhar – the land owners think that the old track up
the back through the forest (as specified in the sites’ guide) is now clear.
Next one to go out, please check on this and report back.
A Week In Aberdeenshire
by Matthew Church
You’ve (hopefully) read about my
flying trips around the world over the past few years, but here’s a description
of last week at home, here in Aberdeen.
Having got back from Nigeria at
the beginning of April, I had a week of the crappy weather that apparently
you’d been experiencing for the past few months. Particularly frustrating as I
had a new harness to try out. But I managed to get out after a week to play
around on the dunes at the Bridge of Don. Though after an hours soaring I found
myself on the ground out beyond the golf course with the wind too far around to
be able to continue soaring. However an hour’s ground handling and a bit of a
walk got me back to the car happy (offshore you miss the simple things like
walking further than 20m in a straight line). Then the Saturday suddenly
cleared up after a day of rain and half a dozen of us got more than an hour’s
soaring at St Cyrus.
So the week I’m writing about
starts on the Tuesday - one of the best looking skies I’ve seen up here. And
for once the wind was less than 30mph with such a sky. Kev Will was onshore and
keen to go out so we headed off to Coilochbhar as the wind was NE’ly. I’ve only
flown this site the once (back in 2000, the time Brian O’Donnell first came out
with the club and Big Ian flew to Linn of Dee– I remember it well). Back to now
and we got Kev’s 4x4 sporty Audi up as far as we could then slowly walked up.
But on the main NE face the wind was very light. From the sky the thermals were
breaking off somewhere else, so we first tried scratching close in the hope of
finding something, then finally I pushed out but only found huge 6m/s sink to
the bottom landing field while Kev slope landed, not even making it that far!
Various expletives later and courtesy of Richy Grundy, who turned up to act as
retrieve, I was back with Kev on the launch. This time I went straight for
where I was SURE the thermals were breaking on the east facing slope. I found
enough to stay up in, unlike Kev who arrived much lower and I’m sure kicked a
few larch trees. Then the thermal came through as Kev landed (safely) and I got
nice and gently to base at 3500’. But it was too late and the clouds downwind
were rather large so it was a dash crosswind to Scar Hill to some (decaying)
clouds which weren’t working by the time I got there so down on the ground at
7.4km. Bit of fun followed with a retrieve by Richy but we all eventually got
to the Kindie Arms. Cheers guys.
Wednesday
- NE again but this time we go to Fourman Hill, getting all the way up in Roy
Westland’s jeep. Wind enough to soar the ridge while waiting for thermals to
come through, but boy, was it cold. Kev was first to go over the back (as I got
drilled to the top of the hill) and even got a second thermal (while kicking
trees again) to make the Huntly to Rhynnie road at 10km out. I took off again
and got to base at 2600’ at the same spot as Kev, but after drifting with the
cloud for a while I went for it only to chicken out of going low onto the Bin
and so ended by the A96 near Huntly, 8km. Having watched me go up, Richy finally
decided to fly and got over the back but really got drilled thereafter, making
4km. Big thanks to Roy who was with Richy on the way to base but fell out so
drove to pick us all up. Meanwhile Bob and Ian were at Kerloch getting to 3000’
but not going over the back. Big girls blouses
that they are.
Kev and Over the Back at Fourman
Thursday –
light and variable. So we head for the big mountains, except Kev who goes to
Dyce to get 2 hours in a helicopter. Richy has done his back in so again avoids
the walk up, this time Morrone, but doesn’t miss much except bullets the size
of a wing tip coming through. At least it was warm and sunny. So an extended
floofie to the bottom, followed by tea at Richy’s. Driving home, Roy and I
decide on a go at Craiglich. Not very successfully as it was too east, though
enough to have 15 minutes for myself before deciding the beer at the Crossroads
was a better bet.
Richy playing at Fourman Hill
Richy
playing at Fourman
Friday – the others all wimping out this easterly day, I
decided to head up Morven. Never having flown this hill before, I decide to
leave the demo Sol Synergy 2 that Zabdi has sent up in the car. Get to the
ridge at 2000’ and have lunch to judge the conditions. Steady 10mph wind with
thermic gusts coming through. Bloody cold though. So donning all clothing I
could find, I took off. Lovely air. Enough wind to soar with thermals coming
through enough to step my way to base. Unfortunately this was at a tad over
3000’ so while I was in and out of the bottom of the cloud, so was the top of
the hill directly down-wind of me. So I played around and got back to base, but
in the same place. Bugger. Off down the ridge a bitty but not working so well
there so headed back. It was even colder than imagined and I was feeling it
after 10 minutes! But I need the airtime so stuck around, pushing out or along
but never getting back to base in a sensible position to hop over the back,
which was onto high ground anyway and I never felt things were working that
well. So I finally couldn’t sit the cold any longer and landed after 2½ hours.
Then did some ground handling in the field for a bit to warm up.
Saturday – Tap blown out for the
paras, but Ian and Bob had fun. Some of us went to Quarry Hill to shoot the
bull for a few hours but marginal gusty conditions didn’t tempt us into the
air. Meanwhile a few others were playing at St Cyrus. Good for them.
Sunday – Light-ish winds so we try
an early start for the Cairnwell. Two tea breaks later Simon and I are at the
top with bright blue skies telling Richy and Brian O’D that its 5mph south with
thermic gusts up to 18mph. Being of the driving mind, they go to St Cyrus while
we set up. Launching in a lull, we both bimble around getting the odd few
hundred foot before I finally connect with something decent and reach a wispy
cloud. It lasts until I’m over Carn Aosda then big, big sink to Sgor Mor where
a cloud had been but wasn’t anymore. I see Simon eventually leave the Cairnwell
and hop onto Carn Aosda but get stuck there same as I was, up and down a few
hundred feet. Then suddenly my wispy cloud reappears and with it the thermal
up. Hurrah, it worked. But with the northerly drift I decided to stay to the
west of the ridge next to the road – longer walk out but hopefully working
better. 5 minutes later and I think I’ve got it wrong as I kick heather and
scare deer .but then a boomer 
back to
another wispy cloud in an otherwise blue sky: this one not only being the best
formed so far but also shared with a golden eagle. Then on to Mar Lodge,
soaring the small ridge behind it while looking at the nice fields 300’ below.
But perseverance works and its up, over the back to try to get onto a better
route for Tomintoul (yes thinking big) and I get one of those marvellous
thermals that go through the inversion. So there I was, at 5000’ with a black
sheet over the land with just a few of the biggest peaks visible sticking up
through it. Brilliant. So I decided to head for the boonies as it was obviously
still working, radioing Simon who unbeknown to me was touching down in Glen Ey.
Only this time I was wrong and it wasn’t working. So I landed on the lower
slopes of Ben Avon, just lower than my take-off height on the Cairnwell and
with a 2 hour walk to get to the road. Thanks again to Simon for hitching back
to the car after his own hour walk and turning up at Invercauld just as I did.
View back to Ben Avon after 20 minutes walk
Finally Monday – bit strong but
the afternoon looked good for St Cyrus and so it was. A quick 10 minutes on the
Excel to check conditions (near perfect) then a top landing to fit the Synergy.
I’m on the light side for it but a nice wing all the same; certainly fun in
hard turns. After an hour and a bit I top landed again to do some more pull-ups
and see if Jules wanted to fly it. Only he couldn’t get the top landing right
so went to the bottom (who signed off his Pilot tasks? Oh, me. Oops). But a
great finish to a great week. Roll on the next one like that (in 2009 I think
it will be).
Incidents at St Cyrus by Giles Adam
Graeme Connelly and I went to see if St Cyrus was flyable on
Sat 2nd April. Wind was a bit southerly but I thought it might swing
round later in the day with the sea breeze etc. I checked the site guide and
knew we would be at the edge of the stated wind direction. I got there at 10am,
Graeme around 10:30am. The wind was light, 4-5 mph and from the south. Neither
Graeme nor I had flown the site before so we were hoping someone else who knew
the site would also turn up. We had tried calling Matt, Jules and John but no
answer from anyone [at least two of us out of the country]. We sat
parawaiting until 1pm or so and went to get some lunch.
After returning a German pilot
(only name I got was Alex) turned up, laid out his glider and got into his
harness. We went over and introduced ourselves and discussed the conditions
with him. He was still keen to go. As he took off the glider spun around and
dumped him into the cliff ~20ft below the top. He was unhurt but shaken. We
managed to scramble down to him and get him and glider back up to the cliff
top. Turns out he had only got his rating 6 weeks peviously.
Soon after this another pilot
(Polish guy called Ralph) turned up and laid out his glider. We had a
discussion with him about the crash and about the conditions. He had not flown
the site before but was still keen. The wind had not changed - stll 5mph or so
and southerly. He took off without any problems and flew out infront of
take-off. He had planned on a simple top to bottom but once up he was
encouraged to find a little lift so turned back into the elbow of the cliff.
When he made the left turn to head back along the promontory out towards the
beach the glider over-rotated and spun him into the cliff. He went down hard. I
must admit I thought emergency services etc might need to be called. It took us
a couple of minutes to get to him from below the cliff. He was walking but
bruised and his back was aching. After retrieving his wing we walked down to
the landing field, packed his wing and let him rest. He was in some discomfort
but otherwise seemed ok. He told us he had not flown St Cyrus before and had
not flown for a few years and was flying a DHV 2 wing. We recommended that he
go to casualty for a check-up. He managed to walk up the path to the car park
unaided: a very lucky pilot. Bill Connon and Murray Hay (forgive me for
mentioning his name) turned up later. Bill, Graeme and I did not fly. Murray
did a number of top to bottoms flying from the car park rather than the usual
take-off and had no problems.
It shows the importance of site
assessment. The site guide recommends wind direction from ESE to S. With the
wind from the south it is coming directly up the beach, more of less parallel
to the cliffs so side rotor spilling around the outcrops of the cliff will
always be a problem. The conditions were always marginal and as low airtime
pilots (particularly on a site we were both unfamiliar with) the only decision
available to us was not to fly. Two other low airtime pilots unfamiliar with
the site flew and regretted it. Luckily they both walked away from it to fly
another day but it could have been very different......
Ps from Graeme: On a positive note
it was a unique opportunity to see at close range a collapse. It all seemes to
happen very quickly from my perspective - the guys didn’t even have time to
soil themselves!
Playing At St Cyrus
A 75km Winter
Weekend by our new
Southern Correspondent, Steve Blackler
Saturday:
Devils Dyke
I woke up at 6:30, yes 6:30am! My body didn't really want to
get out of bed but my mind couldn't forget that I took ownership of a new hang
glider yesterday and today would be my first chance to try it out. I felt sure
conditions would be blown out in the afternoon so I knew I had to get on the
hill early to have a decent chance of getting into the air.
After loading
my gear and putting the glider on the car, I was ready to head for a hill.
Before leaving I gave Grant a call, time 8:00am. He forgave me for the early
wake-up call. The wind was NNW so we debated the merits of Harting versus
Westbury. We almost went for the latter but thankfully decided on Harting after
looking at the isobars across the country on xcweather.co.uk. The result of the
conversation was, meet on the hill ASAP before the wind picked up.
I was rigged
and ready to go by the time Grant arrived at 9:30. There were already signs
that it might be shaping up to be a good day, with cumulus forming over
Harting. I proposed in a half joking yet secretly ambitious way the idea of
flying to the Dyke but Grant wanted to see how conditions progressed.
I took off and
immediately entered a strong thermal. I found myself 600ft ATO and a little out
of my depth trying to get used to the new glider. The promising sign of a
strong thermal before 10:00am didn’t escape our attention. I’ve never seen
Grant rig so quickly. I got about twenty minutes in the air on my own and with
the height from the first thermal I ran my glider through a series of
tests. Still with 600ft ATO I pulled on
half VB and flew over South Harting, this glider really can go! When Grant
joined me in the air we decide to try for the Dyke.
We didn't stay
on Harting long, because a thermal gave us enough height to move on to
Treyford. Already Grant was high above me and apart from a couple of other
short moments during the entire flight, he remained on average 1000ft higher
than me! We moved to the end of Treyford and waited, but not for long. A gentle
thermal gave us enough height to transit over the Cocking gap. This was
suddenly all new territory for me and I felt a little lost on my new glider.
Soon Grant was pushing much further Eastwards. I made sure I took my time and
only progressed when I was sure there would be enough ridge lift ahead of me or
I had enough height to cross the low parts of the ridge. Witnessing Grant
ahead, progressing easily, pushed me onwards. We were in radio contact so he
occasionally gave me some words of wisdom and encouragement. At the end of the
ridge over Duncton , Grant was already up near cloud base talking over the
radio about how he was going to attempt to get over the Arundel gap. Before I
knew it and with the help of a few buzzards, I was climbing towards base too.
The thermal seemed to hang about over the back of the ridge where a farmer was
ploughing a field. My patience ran out as the lift became weak, I wanted to get
across the gap while I had the height. I pulled full VB on for the first time
and pointed for the other side of the Arundel gap. Grant called over the radio
for me to slow down as I was pulling in too much speed. I must admit it did
feel pretty fast (50mph) but it also felt so easy to fly at this speed.
I made it over the gap with about 100ft to spare. Grant made
it with at least a thousand! This was no mans land, I’d never even seen this
part of the world before! It seemed to
be lower, less defined and full of sail planes. My progression along the ridge
slowed to a crawling pace and Grant was soon far ahead of me at the other end
of the ridge. I flew about at the Western end for a long time trying to take
stock of where I was. I couldn't believe I had come so far, yet in the distance
I could see the aerials at the end of Devils Dyke and knew they were in fact
relatively close. We had come over half way. Grant could see them too and
expressed impatience at my slow progress. I couldn’t help it as my confidence
had dropped as I was taking stock of where I was: I doubted that I would make
the last hurdle. The sky closed in and the thermals became less regular. I felt
that I was holding Grant up and told him not to wait for me.
With time,
however, I regained some confidence and pushed on once more. I took each stage
one step at a time and on one occasion nearly lost it near Storrington when I
took a thermal back over low ground. The ridge line dropped into a gully before
the next rise 300 metres away and I was over this gully with not enough height.
The rise on the other side of the gully marked the final soarable high ground
before the last gap to the Dyke. I saw a small ridge to my left that was 100m
long and 100ft high. It didn't look high enough to soar but I had no other
options. I had seen a massive landing field directly in front of it so I could
always land there if I couldn't stay up. I unzipped my harness just in case I
was forced to land and my heart sank because it felt like my flight was over.
However, the wind was strong enough to enable me to maintain height. I was
concentrating very hard to stay up, turning in lift, mapping out this tiny
ridge as I soared just above the top of it. Over on the high ground only 300
metres away I noticed Grant. This spurred me on; I could easily catch up with
him if I could cross the gully. After 10 minutes I realised I wasn't going to
go down so zipped up my harness. Literally two minutes later I got a few
hundred desperate feet, which was enough to get me over the gully and onto the
safety of the higher ground.
As soon as I
crossed the gully Grant was off over the big gap and made it to the Dyke with a
close call half way across when he realised he needed to top up. I hung about
on the high ground, thankful of the safety but looking longingly over the gap
to the aerials that marked the start of the Dyke. The gap seemed massive yet
the aerials looked very close now. The sky closed in once more and again my
confidence dropped. I must have soared back and forth on the high ground for
fifteen minutes without any substantial height gain. There seemed to be a lot
of buzzards about so I followed one of the experts and was led into lift. The
buzzard flew straight so I followed and rose in the thermal. My natural
instinct made me try a 360 in the lift. As soon as I did I lost the thermal and
sunk down to ridge height again. It wasn't long before the same thing happened
again. This time I flew straight. After a while I couldn’t resist a couple of
360s but again the lift petered out, so I flew straight once more. I
reconnected with the lift. I flew in more or less a straight line for the
entire thermal and completed less than a dozen 360s gaining 1500ft. The forward
penetration gave me a good angle on the dyke. I had the 1500ft that Grant said
I would require to get over the gap and my mind said I shouldn't waste it. My
patience ran out again and the first groan of sink gave me the excuse I needed.
I pulled full VB on and headed for the aerials.
I was
confident I would make it over the gap… until about half way. Then I realised
that it wasn't going to be so clear cut, this was going to be close. I slowed
in lift and pointed my toes a little bit more. Three quarters of the way over I
knew I was going to make the start of the hill but I didn't know if I would
have enough height to climb up above the ridge. With about 200 metres to go I
unzipped and spotted my landing just in case I went down. Grant congratulated
me, but I asked him to hold that thought until I knew I could climb up. First a
zero, but after a while steady lift. I was soon above the ridge and following
the rising ground onward and upward. I let out a whoop!
Wow! I made it
and with literally feet to spare. How the f**k did I do that! We flew the Dyke
for about 45 mins, then I got cocky. I wanted to keep going but Grant wasn't
sure. He was debating whether to try and get back. I was aching all over and
even contemplated landing on the Dyke Take Off. I should have just dropped over
the back with a thermal. However, Grant wanted to fly round the corner onto the
NE ridge past the Dyke. So when I had enough height I made my way into wind and
round the corner. When I got round the corner the expected lift wasn't there. I
should have continued down the NE ridge line but I hung around. I desperately
tried to find lift and soon found myself sinking out and the landing options
weren't pretty. They were big fields but there was a forest on the up wind
side. It was rough going through the layers and I put the glider down with a
bounce. Thankfully that bounce was cushioned by the wheels I had put on the
base bar before take off. Not a scratch
on the glider, who said there was something wrong with putting wheels on a
brand new Litespeed!
Before packing
up I made a few phone calls, the first one to the chairman of the Royal Navy
Hang Gliding Club, Rob Dowdell, who provided me with the glider.
"Rob,
sorry to bother you but I thought I'd better tell you... I’ve just flown the
brand new Litespeed for the very first time. Just landed and... you never guess
what I've gone and done???"
SILENCE...
"You
haven't bent it have you Steve?"
"50
f*****g kilometers cross wind... in February mate!!! What a day!"
Maximum Lift 1100ft per min
Max Sink 1500ft per min
Linear distance 50km
Total distance 105km
No of thermals 13
Cumulative climb 16662ft
Time in the air 4hrs 15min
Max Ground Speed 51km
Max Height 3400ft
AND Sunday: A trip to the seaside (Selsey to be precise)
It was one of
those days where you wonder why you're going to the hill because all the signs
pointed to it being blown out, yet you keep on going just in case! Ten minutes
later 'there I was' at the front of Harting Take Off discussing the rationale
of flying in these strong conditions with Grant and Raphael. "See its a
steady 25mph… whoow, there goes a 30mph gust!" I'd never flown in these
conditions and I wasn't sure I wanted to start, having said that, we'd already
carried one glider up to the take off area so you could say it was a foregone
conclusion.
We walked down to the car park to procrastinate some more.
Miles and Mat arrived so we discussed our findings with them. We discussed
compression, that wind speeds remained under 30mph, the fact that with height
it would be 'smooth' and that it was forecast to drop off a little. We were
starting to talk ourselves in to flying. To compound this there was a nagging
voice in my head, no not the usual one about going shopping, I'd left that one
back at the house! This one was more seductive and whispered "you now 've
got a topless you should try it in strong conditions”, and "The sky looks
quite good and you could always try to go to Selsey". So it shouldn't be a
surprise to hear that all five of us found ourselves rigging!
I was the last
off, I still wasn't sure about flying but the others seemed to be doing ok in
the air. I asked a modeler to give me some assistance to launch, and as soon as
I was 100ft ATO I wished I'd never left the ground! Wow, was it rough. I had
the old ‘two handed death grip’ going on and even taking my hand off the base bar
to do my harness zip up was unnerving. When my radio fell out of my harness and
hung in mid air on the safety line I just left it dangling there much to the
annoyance of the others because it was accidentally keying itself on (sorry
about that chaps). There was plenty of ridge lift in the 25mph wind so there
were no worries about staying up. It was just going down that I was worried
about. I dreaded the top landing and fancied the idea of going down to the
bottom landing field even less. I prayed for some lift like yesterday. I wanted
to go over the back to a big landing field. My plan was this: get 1500ft ATO
and glide to one of those big landing fields 7 km downwind near Forestside,
where I've landed before.
However, as
time went on and height wasn't forth coming I lowered my expectations to 1000ft
ATO. Still the height remained elusive and when 600ft ATO was all I could get,
I lowered it once more to 800ft. I finally got something that felt like a
thermal and climbed towards 800ft but the strength of the wind soon took me
over the ridge. It was decision time... It didn't take long to decide (top
landing or over the back), I was going for it!
The lift
turned to zeros as soon as I was over the back but I stuck with it. I looked at
my altimeter, it read 780ft above take off. I really needed to work the zeros
and not lose any height. The wind was strong and after about a dozen 360s I
found myself clear of the hill and thankfully still around 780ft. I was now
above the nice landing fields with height to spare. I continued to work the
zeros. The ground screamed below me at 30mph. One side of the 360 was lift, the
other sink but as long as the averager stayed at zero I remained calm. I
settled into a routine until I saw some seagulls circling down wind above rising
ground. I extended my 360s until I found the lift they were in. I broke the
800ft mark and was quietly satisfied at my progress and extremely pleased to
find my averager read 1.
Unfortunately,
as quick as it was found the lift was lost. I flew back into wind, feeling
uncomfortable but sure the lift was there. I was rewarded with the reassuring
lift again. I stuck with it, passed the 1000ft ATO mark and started to think I
might just make it to the coast! The lift slowly eased off again and I was
tempted to go on a final glide but I’ve made that mistake too many times
before, so I squeezed every last bit of height and ground I could out of it.
Over the last
bit of high ground before the A27 the lift turned to sink so I pulled the VB on
and headed down wind. I must have had a speed over ground of at least 60mph. I
relaxed into the flight, happy to know I was within gliding distance of some
massive landing fields. I was also near the infamous pig farm that has welcomed
me with a thermal before. Today I didn't register any lift until I was over the
A27, it was a smooth zero/half up. I used the free ride for as long as I could
before realising I was definitely going to make the coast.
Before the
flight I said I wanted to go to Selsey and that I would like to get there with
plenty of height. This would mean that I could fly out to the very tip of the
land and then turn back into wind with enough height to choose a good landing
field. So when I went over the estuary and was greeted by the best climb of the
day I stuck with it, even though I knew I was going to make the coast with
ease. I really relaxed into the flight now and absorbed as much enjoyment as I
could. It had been a funny flight, it was the wrong way round. I'd started off
low and now near the end, found myself with stacks of height. I had at least
2000ft clearance over the ground and was only about a kilometer from the coast.
I could see my landing field, it was big enough for a jumbo jet, but first I
needed to fly to the 'pointy bit' of land and over the sea. From the air the
sea was a beautiful looking colour of blue, it intensified my elation as I
realised I was about to achieve a goal I've sought for a long time. I flew over
the most southern bit of land in Hampshire and turned into wind only to get the
fright of my life when my speed over ground wasn't what I was expecting. I
pulled the VB all the way on and increased my speed to max glide. Thankfully I
had the extra feet so I didn't have to land in the small field I had also
spotted just in case the wind was too strong.
I put it down in the big field and gave three foreign girls
on a working holiday a bit of a scare. When they realised I didn't have an
engine they seemed surprised. I could see from their expressions that my
arrival had finally proven to them that 'us British folk’ really are mad. They
considered me such a spectacle that they even asked for a picture. I gladly
consented, but made sure I didn't wipe the snot from my nose and left the cow
shit on the front of my harness, so that their friends at home could gauge
their own opinion of the British folk!
I walked the
glider over to the coast guard tower (take note paraglider pilots) and was
welcomed by a Southern Paraglider Pilot who’s front garden was this massive
landing field. He invited me in for tea and we talked shop. Mostly I tried to
talk him into joining the Sky Surfers where we are much friendlier, not to
mention the fact that we've got Butser 30km up wind from his front garden!
It was an
awesome flight and shocking to think that I nearly didn’t fly. Some people say
that flying to the coast is frustrating because after working to get so much
height the cessation of land means you cannot use all that height to increase
the distance of your cross country. However, I say that the fact that you can’t
go any further implies you have done your best and therefore it is highly
rewarding. Additionally flying to the coast takes you over dramatic scenery as
you progress from land to sea. This is very much the case with the Selsey run.
The contrasts of the quite rolling hills, the busy flat lands and the serenity
of the costal villages are spectacular. Not to mention the backdrop of the
English Channel with historic Chichester to the East, the Isle of Wight to the
South West and the Solent off to the West. Why don’t pilots do these gentle
flights to the coast more often? Perhaps we don't know how lucky we are, it is
a shame more of us don't make the most of it when we get the chance. A thousand
ATO is all you need!
Maximum Lift 750ft
per min
Max Sink 1120ft per min
Max Air Speed 46kph
Max Ground
Speed 97kmh
Total distance 46km
Linear
distance 27km
No of thermals
3
Cumulative
climb 8000ft
Max height 2300ft
Time in the
air 1hrs 20m
