Wednesday 13 October 2010
End of flying for 2010?
Well, as this blog was for the 2010 season flying it loks like this may be the end. Typical UK weather over winter should see to that!
Thursday 7 October 2010
Back in the UK
Well, the summer is over and we are back in the UK, unemployed and homeless!!
Lets see what we can do about that................
Lets see what we can do about that................
Saturday 2 October 2010
Saturday
Task today buy heavily clouded sky meant slow going. Ordered launch favoured the leaders who got to take off first with the ordered launch. Everyone has downloaded and we are waiting for the results.
A very poor competition for me. Oh well, that paragliding!!
A very poor competition for me. Oh well, that paragliding!!
Friday PM
Task today. There was a strong wind which put all the leaders down early. One pilot managed to sneak in though! Not a good day for me with poor result. I was happy to land - my cold was so bad I could not hear the vario!!
Thursday 30 September 2010
Friday am
Woke this morning to blue skys. Forecast looks ok for today and Saturday (last 2 days). Fingers crossed for a task.
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Wednesday PM
No task today due to strong winds. Tomorow looks similar if not stronger. Fingers crossed forecast is wrong!?
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Tuesday PM
We went to the new take off which is superb! A long drive but a beautiful graded large take off. Task was set but the wind at altitude was too strong. Jamie came on the radio saying he was going backwards at 4km/h at trim speed!
Task was cancelled and we all landed at a town at the bottom.
Arrangements had allready been made and we were fed with a Turkish BBQ. Belly dancing and fire dancing followed. Very entertaining.
The bus back was a blast with pleanty of singing and dancing. Good fun.
Task was cancelled and we all landed at a town at the bottom.
Arrangements had allready been made and we were fed with a Turkish BBQ. Belly dancing and fire dancing followed. Very entertaining.
The bus back was a blast with pleanty of singing and dancing. Good fun.
Monday 27 September 2010
Monday task
Another task today. We went to a lower launch today to avoid any strong winds on the normal higher take off. First thing this morning was blue skys but this changed as the day went on. Once on take off the sky filled in and we thought that we may not fly. Slowly the cloud broke up and we prepared to launch.
Today's task was elapsed time with an ordered launch. The first pilots to launch grouped up and the rest of us eventualy launched. This resulted in effect in 2 races!
A fun flight for me saw me above my gaggle and making good progress. Unfortunately the gaggle made a mistake heading up wind to try to push onto the windward side of the mountain ridge. I did not think heading into the flat lands on my own was a good idea so I followed. The move did not stick and I ended up landing with some of the gaggle.
Points will be bad today and I have no discards so today will probably hurt my position :-(
Today's task was elapsed time with an ordered launch. The first pilots to launch grouped up and the rest of us eventualy launched. This resulted in effect in 2 races!
A fun flight for me saw me above my gaggle and making good progress. Unfortunately the gaggle made a mistake heading up wind to try to push onto the windward side of the mountain ridge. I did not think heading into the flat lands on my own was a good idea so I followed. The move did not stick and I ended up landing with some of the gaggle.
Points will be bad today and I have no discards so today will probably hurt my position :-(
Sunday 26 September 2010
Monday- hope to task today
We had a great day off yesterday. We visited the limestone pools and the ruins. We went swimming in a mineral water pool. The water was very warm and the pool was full of old pieces of roman ruins. Very nice.
Today we are refreshed and hoping the wind is not too strong to fly. Fingers crossed!
Today we are refreshed and hoping the wind is not too strong to fly. Fingers crossed!
Task 4
A good days flying but unfortunately we were beaten by the weather.
A 102km task was set. One of the legs was into wind. The wind was approximately 20km/h! We all ended up on a long glide to the deck. Shame, we could have flown 200km down wind!!
Today is an official rest day. There is a trip organized to the ruins today.
A 102km task was set. One of the legs was into wind. The wind was approximately 20km/h! We all ended up on a long glide to the deck. Shame, we could have flown 200km down wind!!
Today is an official rest day. There is a trip organized to the ruins today.
Friday 24 September 2010
Day 3 -avarage day :-(
We all sat on launch for hours today waiting for the wind to drop. It was an 'ordered launch' which means your position in the scoring from the previous days total is where you are in the que. That put me at the back. Lots of hard work resulted in me being in the mix at the start. Pushing on one thermal too early left me at the back. I pushed hard and we had an amazing final glide form about 20km out, full speed for most of the glide with the instrument showing a required glide ratio of 12:1 to goal. I was not getting that, but being able to see pilots ahead climbing meant I could 'join the dots' and get the height I needed. So, I finished 7 minutes behind the winner. That is a millenium at this level and I will probably be around the middle of the field :-(
Neil Robberts did well in a top 10 position, Russel was in the top 20, Jamie pretty quick, Adrian beat me by 2 secconds. Craig took a risky final glide and landed a kilometer short.
With the scoring system we all drop our worst task score tomorrow so I may even have clawed my way into the top 100. Hmmm, not where I want to be :-(
Neil Robberts did well in a top 10 position, Russel was in the top 20, Jamie pretty quick, Adrian beat me by 2 secconds. Craig took a risky final glide and landed a kilometer short.
With the scoring system we all drop our worst task score tomorrow so I may even have clawed my way into the top 100. Hmmm, not where I want to be :-(
Thursday 23 September 2010
Day 2 disaster
Day 2 of the superfinal. We all went to take off and arrived to discover very strong winds. The organisation said the wind would drop so we waited....... And it did drop!
Task was set and we all launched. I hit a sink cycle and ended up at the bottom of the mountain about 200 feet off the ground. I managed to work a weak thermal which just got better and better endingg as a 5m/s climb which took me back into the game! We all set off for the start and I was in a good position when i noticed something .....
Yesterday I started to change some lines and ran out of time. I did not have a spanner to tighten the mayon (the metal ring with a screw closure to attach the lines to the risers). I forgot about it and as we were gliding to the first turnpoint I noticed it was open and bending alarmingly!! The lines could have come off so I landed as soon as possible. Oh dear, how stupid.
Soon after landing I was surrounded by children who kept me company until the retreve bus arrived. Now I am on the bus heading back to base :-(
What a waste of a day in such an important competition. Oh well ......
Task was set and we all launched. I hit a sink cycle and ended up at the bottom of the mountain about 200 feet off the ground. I managed to work a weak thermal which just got better and better endingg as a 5m/s climb which took me back into the game! We all set off for the start and I was in a good position when i noticed something .....
Yesterday I started to change some lines and ran out of time. I did not have a spanner to tighten the mayon (the metal ring with a screw closure to attach the lines to the risers). I forgot about it and as we were gliding to the first turnpoint I noticed it was open and bending alarmingly!! The lines could have come off so I landed as soon as possible. Oh dear, how stupid.
Soon after landing I was surrounded by children who kept me company until the retreve bus arrived. Now I am on the bus heading back to base :-(
What a waste of a day in such an important competition. Oh well ......
Wednesday 22 September 2010
First task - all exciting
First task 72km. I had a good start and was near the front, pushed hard, got stuck! Doh!
Mixed day for Brits, Jamie messenger in third, Neil Robberts top 20, Craig Morgan had a nightmare trying to launch, Adrian Thomas fell on take off and split his face open on a rock. Not good.
The goal line was not put in the right field and the leaders were confused, do they follow the GPS or the line??
But all in all a good day.
Forecast for tomorrow is dodgy (overdevelopment?) but we will see......
Mixed day for Brits, Jamie messenger in third, Neil Robberts top 20, Craig Morgan had a nightmare trying to launch, Adrian Thomas fell on take off and split his face open on a rock. Not good.
The goal line was not put in the right field and the leaders were confused, do they follow the GPS or the line??
But all in all a good day.
Forecast for tomorrow is dodgy (overdevelopment?) but we will see......
Turkey superfinal
We are in Turkey now for the PWC Superfinal. We arrived early yesterday at Dalaman airport after an overnight flight. A haggleing session with the airport Taxi drivers resulted in a ride to the hotel.
The hotel is good- it is the location used by the organisation last year- with good rooms and a large pool.
Today is Tuesday and is the official practice day. A lorry turned up at 10am and took the gliders, now we are on the transport bus up to take off.
Today's forecast looks like the possibility of storms later so a fairly quick fly with a keen look out at the clouds is in order.
Pamucale (where the competition is based) is a small tourist town at the foot of the hills. On the first hill is a magnficent series of pools created by calcium deposits. On top of the hill are some roman ruins. All very scenic. I am looking foreward to flying over them later ;-)
Update: we went up to the top take off. The wind was switching and coming mostly over the back. Conditions looked interesting and some pilots took off. Many of us thought it looked a bit dodgy and elected not to fly. We drove down and stopped at the lower take off. I go ready to take off but yet again it looked marginal with most pilots having an 'interesting' take off. Again I elected not to fly. It's a long competition ahead and to take an injury on the practice day would be catastrophic.
We got back on the bus and it promptly broke down! We walked/hitched back to town and registration/ opening ceremony. By this time he wind was blowing hard. Hmm
22nd- first task day
We awoke to very light winds this morning and are now on our way up to take off. The extended forecast is showing strong northerly winds (aparently) which is not good when take off faces south! We shall see but I am optimistic for. A task. As long as the southerly wind created by the thermals is stronger than the north metio wind we are in business. Fingers crossed......
The hotel is good- it is the location used by the organisation last year- with good rooms and a large pool.
Today is Tuesday and is the official practice day. A lorry turned up at 10am and took the gliders, now we are on the transport bus up to take off.
Today's forecast looks like the possibility of storms later so a fairly quick fly with a keen look out at the clouds is in order.
Pamucale (where the competition is based) is a small tourist town at the foot of the hills. On the first hill is a magnficent series of pools created by calcium deposits. On top of the hill are some roman ruins. All very scenic. I am looking foreward to flying over them later ;-)
Update: we went up to the top take off. The wind was switching and coming mostly over the back. Conditions looked interesting and some pilots took off. Many of us thought it looked a bit dodgy and elected not to fly. We drove down and stopped at the lower take off. I go ready to take off but yet again it looked marginal with most pilots having an 'interesting' take off. Again I elected not to fly. It's a long competition ahead and to take an injury on the practice day would be catastrophic.
We got back on the bus and it promptly broke down! We walked/hitched back to town and registration/ opening ceremony. By this time he wind was blowing hard. Hmm
22nd- first task day
We awoke to very light winds this morning and are now on our way up to take off. The extended forecast is showing strong northerly winds (aparently) which is not good when take off faces south! We shall see but I am optimistic for. A task. As long as the southerly wind created by the thermals is stronger than the north metio wind we are in business. Fingers crossed......
Friday 10 September 2010
Chilling in St Andre
Have been keeping our heads down this week. Went for a walk along the Verdon Gauge yesterday (too windy for flying). Today we borrowed the tandem wing (BiBeta4) from the school and took Wendy up for a fly. Now back at the landing field where Wendy is practicing her ground handling while I look on with a beer!
Weather looking good for flying tomorrow and I am keen to get back on the R10 after the tandem!
Weather looking good for flying tomorrow and I am keen to get back on the R10 after the tandem!
Wednesday 8 September 2010
Quick update...
Well, a lot has happened in the last week. Sorry for not posting more but I have had a busy time.....
We left Ager on the Friday evening when the competition was finished. The girls did not fly the last day so we packed and left. A real shame to leave as the party was aparently superb!
We drove towards France aided by a tail wind then stopped half way to camp and celibrate Wendy's birhday with a big meal.
We arrived at St Andre the following afternoon and settled in to the house we were staying in. Later we went and registered and chatted to the usual suspects.
The competition was blessed with 6 tasks in 7 days. I had a bad start by landing short (1.3 km) which ended my chances in both the open and the championship. Doh!
The following days we had great flying. A lot of happy pilots and a great comp.
Now we are chilling and waiting for the weather to improve so we can go flying. It's windy today but Improving.
We have a ferry booked back to the UK on the 15th. Will be good to see families again and I need to get my search for work going! (anyone got any jobs going ;-))
Then we are off to Turkey for the Paragliding World Cup Superfinal in Denizli. We only have 4 days in the uk in between! Can't wait!
We left Ager on the Friday evening when the competition was finished. The girls did not fly the last day so we packed and left. A real shame to leave as the party was aparently superb!
We drove towards France aided by a tail wind then stopped half way to camp and celibrate Wendy's birhday with a big meal.
We arrived at St Andre the following afternoon and settled in to the house we were staying in. Later we went and registered and chatted to the usual suspects.
The competition was blessed with 6 tasks in 7 days. I had a bad start by landing short (1.3 km) which ended my chances in both the open and the championship. Doh!
The following days we had great flying. A lot of happy pilots and a great comp.
Now we are chilling and waiting for the weather to improve so we can go flying. It's windy today but Improving.
We have a ferry booked back to the UK on the 15th. Will be good to see families again and I need to get my search for work going! (anyone got any jobs going ;-))
Then we are off to Turkey for the Paragliding World Cup Superfinal in Denizli. We only have 4 days in the uk in between! Can't wait!
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Wednesday no task but good flying
We went up the hill today with a good forecast. Wind dummies launched but unfortunately we discovered strong wind at altitude. The tast was canned and people who wanted to went flying. Not dangerous but not good for a task :-(
tonight a moonlight kayak trip on the lake is planned. With the superb full moon it should be great!
tonight a moonlight kayak trip on the lake is planned. With the superb full moon it should be great!
Tuesday 24 August 2010
Third day - third task!
Third day of the womens comp. Wind dummies (Jamie Messenger and I) were ordered off early to check conditions. Soon after the launch opened and the sky was full of gliders.
The weather report said it was going to be a blue day (no clouds) but soon fantastic clouds started forming!
A good and fast race followed with many getting to goal. Wendy had a nice flight but did not make goal, deciding she had had enough for the day and landing back at the camp site after taking the start on time and tagging the first turn point.
The goal location was superb! We landed next to a lake with a bar serving cold beer and good food. As the task was finished by 2pm (ish) there was lots of time to chill out and swim.
The forecast looks even better for tomorrow so fingers crossed for some more good flying.
The weather report said it was going to be a blue day (no clouds) but soon fantastic clouds started forming!
A good and fast race followed with many getting to goal. Wendy had a nice flight but did not make goal, deciding she had had enough for the day and landing back at the camp site after taking the start on time and tagging the first turn point.
The goal location was superb! We landed next to a lake with a bar serving cold beer and good food. As the task was finished by 2pm (ish) there was lots of time to chill out and swim.
The forecast looks even better for tomorrow so fingers crossed for some more good flying.
2nd day Womens comp
Day 2 of the womens comp saw the task starting earlier to avoid the blown out take off conditions. This was tricky as it saw a lot of pilots struggling in the weak conditions, many of them landing. Some managed to maintain on the cliffs and they pushed on to the start. Stony winds from the west soon put most of them on the deck. I had got very low and took a while to get back up to lower ridge height.
I joined a gaggle of pilots in a scrappy thermal and we climbed for a while then dove for the main ridge. This worked for myself and Judith Mole, the rest landed.
One girl Nadia on an Advance Omega 8 had a large collapse above me. I looked up and saw something falling from her harness. Was that her reserve parachute? No, it kept falling. Oh my god, it's her head!!! The risers on her glider (the webbing straps that connect the harness to the lines) had twisted and and pulled her helmet clean off!! She flew back to the landing after that!
Not many of the pilots managed to get the start. Most landed soon after and a few managed to get back up, on to the seccod turnpoint and over the back towards goal. No one made goal, the closest being an agonising 1km short. Special mention to the Spanish girl who arived late to take off, hung over, then flew close to goal on a poor performing Nova Rookie!
In the evening we had an excursion to the local observatory where we watched a superb film on a dome above our heads whilst we were laid back on comfortable arm chairs. Then we had a look through the 40" telescope at the moon and a cluster of thousands of stars....
I joined a gaggle of pilots in a scrappy thermal and we climbed for a while then dove for the main ridge. This worked for myself and Judith Mole, the rest landed.
One girl Nadia on an Advance Omega 8 had a large collapse above me. I looked up and saw something falling from her harness. Was that her reserve parachute? No, it kept falling. Oh my god, it's her head!!! The risers on her glider (the webbing straps that connect the harness to the lines) had twisted and and pulled her helmet clean off!! She flew back to the landing after that!
Not many of the pilots managed to get the start. Most landed soon after and a few managed to get back up, on to the seccod turnpoint and over the back towards goal. No one made goal, the closest being an agonising 1km short. Special mention to the Spanish girl who arived late to take off, hung over, then flew close to goal on a poor performing Nova Rookie!
In the evening we had an excursion to the local observatory where we watched a superb film on a dome above our heads whilst we were laid back on comfortable arm chairs. Then we had a look through the 40" telescope at the moon and a cluster of thousands of stars....
Sunday 22 August 2010
Sunday- first day of Womens Competition
Today (Sunday) was the first day of the the womens competition. I took off early before the start to check out the conditions and report them back to the organisation. Not long before the planned start time the wind picked up and started blowing hard. The task was stopped because of this. I got bored of waiting and the lure of my sandwich was too much so I landed back on the top again!
The organisation waited for a while then set the same task again as the wind on take off was decreasing at the time. True to the laws of competition, as the take off window was opened the wind started blowing hard again! It was a difficult take off for all. The wind was too much for Wendy and she did not take off. That was a shame as reports from pilots in the air were that once off the windy launch the flying conditions were good.
A good race ensued and it was interesting watching from the take off instead of being in the race myself! The coures that was set was in the valley in front of us which enabled a good view of most of the course line.
The task was won by Kirsty Cameron from the UK. She clinched it by taking a different longer line between turnpoints by flying back to the main ridge and soaring along, not having to stop for thermals. This put her in a great position which she monopolised on to beat Claudia Bungakow into seccond place!
A well deserved win. Kirsty had a Cheshire cat grin in the goal field as this was here first ever task win.
The forecast for the week is good so I am hoping for some lighter wind and more tasks for the girls.
The organisation waited for a while then set the same task again as the wind on take off was decreasing at the time. True to the laws of competition, as the take off window was opened the wind started blowing hard again! It was a difficult take off for all. The wind was too much for Wendy and she did not take off. That was a shame as reports from pilots in the air were that once off the windy launch the flying conditions were good.
A good race ensued and it was interesting watching from the take off instead of being in the race myself! The coures that was set was in the valley in front of us which enabled a good view of most of the course line.
The task was won by Kirsty Cameron from the UK. She clinched it by taking a different longer line between turnpoints by flying back to the main ridge and soaring along, not having to stop for thermals. This put her in a great position which she monopolised on to beat Claudia Bungakow into seccond place!
A well deserved win. Kirsty had a Cheshire cat grin in the goal field as this was here first ever task win.
The forecast for the week is good so I am hoping for some lighter wind and more tasks for the girls.
Saturday 21 August 2010
In Ager (Spain) for the womens competition
We are in Spain in the Pyrenees for a womens only paragliding competition. Wendy is competing and I am a 'wind dummy' which means I take off to test the conditions before the competition task starts. It's a good deal which means I get lifts up to take off, retreves and a sandwich ;-)
tomorrow (Sunday) is the first day and the weather looks good!!
Wendy is excited and we are looking forward to a fun week.
tomorrow (Sunday) is the first day and the weather looks good!!
Wendy is excited and we are looking forward to a fun week.
Saturday 14 August 2010
Last task day Saturday
So, final day of the Portugese PWC competition and the organisation did their best to get us flying. We were driven to the other side of the mountain to a small take off. Conditions were not good so the task was cancelled and the competition finished with three valid tasks.
The organisation has been teriffic. They are freindly, helpfull, organised and very competant. Top marks and a total oposite to the recent Italian PWC.
Weather has not been the best, lots of strong northerly winds. That was a shame as the flying we have had has been superb with fast racing tasks.
So we will have an awards ceromony later and hopefully more free beer!!!!!
I have qualified for the Superfinal in Turkey this year. That was a dream goal for the year and I am looking forward to it . I went to Denizli (location for the final) last year for my first PWC and had an excelent time.
The Brits are looking like fielding a good number of pilots so it should be a great social event too. Wendy is already looking at flights.
So Wendy and I will be looking at the weather to decide where to go next. We have a week before we have to be in
the Spanish Pyrenees at Ager for a week long womens only competition. I do not know if they will even let me fly ;-)
I hope to help the British Women there with any advice and coatching I can provide. I will also be on take off to hold an umbrella over Wendy to keep the sun off (brolly dolly?!!)
Then we have to quickly head off to St Andre in France for the seccond round of the British Championships. I love the location and cannot wait to fly there again and catch up with the British pilots too.
I love this life ;-)))
The organisation has been teriffic. They are freindly, helpfull, organised and very competant. Top marks and a total oposite to the recent Italian PWC.
Weather has not been the best, lots of strong northerly winds. That was a shame as the flying we have had has been superb with fast racing tasks.
So we will have an awards ceromony later and hopefully more free beer!!!!!
I have qualified for the Superfinal in Turkey this year. That was a dream goal for the year and I am looking forward to it . I went to Denizli (location for the final) last year for my first PWC and had an excelent time.
The Brits are looking like fielding a good number of pilots so it should be a great social event too. Wendy is already looking at flights.
So Wendy and I will be looking at the weather to decide where to go next. We have a week before we have to be in
the Spanish Pyrenees at Ager for a week long womens only competition. I do not know if they will even let me fly ;-)
I hope to help the British Women there with any advice and coatching I can provide. I will also be on take off to hold an umbrella over Wendy to keep the sun off (brolly dolly?!!)
Then we have to quickly head off to St Andre in France for the seccond round of the British Championships. I love the location and cannot wait to fly there again and catch up with the British pilots too.
I love this life ;-)))
Friday 13 August 2010
Thursday /Friday update
Thursday we all went up the hill and waited to see if the wind would drop enough to have a task. It did not:-(
Today (Friday) is very windy. We all knew it was not going to be flyable and the locals organised a caprina party at the hotel where the headquarters are. Caprina is a local cocktail with lime. We demolished two large vats in an hour then went back to the campsite for a BBQ and party! More beer, red wine and Malibu was consumed till the early hours when we staggered off to bed!
I had some good news too- the scores for the European tour were announced. This is the cumulative results from the 3 European rounds which includes task dropping. The top 20 in the tour qualify for the superfinal and as I am currently in an excelent 8th place it seems certain I will be going! Qualifying was my dream goal for the year and I am extremely pleased ;-))))))
Today (Friday) is very windy. We all knew it was not going to be flyable and the locals organised a caprina party at the hotel where the headquarters are. Caprina is a local cocktail with lime. We demolished two large vats in an hour then went back to the campsite for a BBQ and party! More beer, red wine and Malibu was consumed till the early hours when we staggered off to bed!
I had some good news too- the scores for the European tour were announced. This is the cumulative results from the 3 European rounds which includes task dropping. The top 20 in the tour qualify for the superfinal and as I am currently in an excelent 8th place it seems certain I will be going! Qualifying was my dream goal for the year and I am extremely pleased ;-))))))
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Wednesday 3rd task
Oh dear, bad day today :-(
pushed hard to catch the leaders and got well and truely stuck. Managed to get back up but finished 20(?) mona behind leaders. Bad. That means I will fall down the overall rankings and the elusive place in the superfinal looks less likely.
Last night Xavier (PWC man) explained the method for selection for the superfinal but as there are no parameters set it means that lots of pilots will not yet know if they have qualified. Not great as in effect it means that the method of selection is defined AFTER the competitions have finished. Hmmmmm
weather looks probably ok for a task tomorrow so
if I am very low in the rankings I will be throwing caution to
the wind (and thermals!!)
pushed hard to catch the leaders and got well and truely stuck. Managed to get back up but finished 20(?) mona behind leaders. Bad. That means I will fall down the overall rankings and the elusive place in the superfinal looks less likely.
Last night Xavier (PWC man) explained the method for selection for the superfinal but as there are no parameters set it means that lots of pilots will not yet know if they have qualified. Not great as in effect it means that the method of selection is defined AFTER the competitions have finished. Hmmmmm
weather looks probably ok for a task tomorrow so
if I am very low in the rankings I will be throwing caution to
the wind (and thermals!!)
Update on Tuesdays task
Tuesdays result was better than I expected. With lead out points added I finished 6th!!!!
At the moment I am 24th overall and need to finish in the top 20 overall to qualify for the Superfinal. Hope I get some more good results!!
At the moment I am 24th overall and need to finish in the top 20 overall to qualify for the Superfinal. Hope I get some more good results!!
Tuesday 10 August 2010
Tuesday
Task 2: with strong winds predicted today the task was set shorter than yesterdays 104km at about 55km. Wind WAS strong on take off with many people (including me) getting a dragging on launch. Conditions were better in the air and eventually most people launched. I was late taking off but managed to climb and get with the leaders before the start ! Phew!
We set off down wind and never got as high as we were at take off. Rapidly making our way down course bouncing up in thermals until a final glide. I had a great result coming in 10th!
The wind was so strong that when I turned back into wind to land I was being blown backwards!!
Good result. Let's hope for more tomorow :-)
We set off down wind and never got as high as we were at take off. Rapidly making our way down course bouncing up in thermals until a final glide. I had a great result coming in 10th!
The wind was so strong that when I turned back into wind to land I was being blown backwards!!
Good result. Let's hope for more tomorow :-)
Comp task 1
Day 1 of the PWC, reports of possible storm clouds hidden by the other stratus (flat featureless clouds) meant the task was cancelled. This was the right decision. Some people flew down and as the rest of us packed we heard the thunder from the valley behind!
Monday day 2
We had an excellent task today with the meet director reacting quickly to the changing weather and setting a new task. 104km task with three turnpoints. A coach full of hapy pilots made goal! Unfortunately Alex Coltman had to throw his reserve on his R10 wing. He landed safely and I have not spoken to him to see what happened yet! Let's hope he can get his reserve parachute re packed quickly so he can fly tomorrow. The weather is looking good for the rest of the week so fingers crossed for some more good flying!!
Update: I came in the 40's, Adrian Thomas finished 12th and loads in goal. In this level of comp 10 mins means the difference between 1st and 41st!!
Monday day 2
We had an excellent task today with the meet director reacting quickly to the changing weather and setting a new task. 104km task with three turnpoints. A coach full of hapy pilots made goal! Unfortunately Alex Coltman had to throw his reserve on his R10 wing. He landed safely and I have not spoken to him to see what happened yet! Let's hope he can get his reserve parachute re packed quickly so he can fly tomorrow. The weather is looking good for the rest of the week so fingers crossed for some more good flying!!
Update: I came in the 40's, Adrian Thomas finished 12th and loads in goal. In this level of comp 10 mins means the difference between 1st and 41st!!
Friday 6 August 2010
My back has gone again:-(
Just been carrying heavy water containers back to the van and my back has started to go. I have had slipped disks in the past and know what it feels like. This time it has not gone fully so I can still walk but paragliding is out for a while hope to be ok for Sunday when the PWC starts.
Thursday and we had a task!
We had a task thursday after all! The winds dropped and we went to a tiny north facing site. The take off area was only big enough for a couple of gliders. An 'elapsed time' task was set so to as to allow for a fair chance for all. We had an ordered launch and I decided to take off early. My plan was to let the top guy Claudio to go first then start a little later. This meant I could use his local knowledge to show me where the thermals were and then I could catch him up and Finnish with a faster time. The plan worked and we raced into goal on final glide from 16km out. There was nothing in it as we crossed the line together after a full speed glide.
I beat Claudio by a minuite and a half but was beaten into seccond by his brother also by a minuite and a half. Prety fast flying as we did 50+ km in an hour and a quarter!
So I finished in third place in the comp!
Wendy took off and landed at the bottom with many others. For this she scored minimum distance which after her result in the first task was enough to secure seccond place woman in the comp! Well done!
Will update post with pictures soon......
I beat Claudio by a minuite and a half but was beaten into seccond by his brother also by a minuite and a half. Prety fast flying as we did 50+ km in an hour and a quarter!
So I finished in third place in the comp!
Wendy took off and landed at the bottom with many others. For this she scored minimum distance which after her result in the first task was enough to secure seccond place woman in the comp! Well done!
Will update post with pictures soon......
Thursday 5 August 2010
Thursday last task
Wednesday no task. We drove to a tiny take off but were finaly defeated by the wind. The wind was howling last night and is still very strong. I do not expect a task today :-(
It looks like Wendy's wind dance worked!
It looks like Wendy's wind dance worked!
Now in Portugal
We are now in Portugal in a lovely but quiet town called Linhares on the edge of the Siera de Estralas mountain range. We are both entered into a local competition which started Monday and finishes on Thursday. The local organisation is excellent with packed lunch provided. There is free camping in a nice shadey area with electricity, showers etc.
We flew a task on Monday which was great fun. A very hard first turnpoint upwind along the ridge was the tricky bit. The winner had basically won the race by the first turnpoint after only 10km! I chased hard but got stuck in an area of burnt land, black ground looked purfect for a good thermal but nothing! A navigation error at the end (not knowing where the goal was and flying in the wrong direction!!) cost me 10 mins and second place. Came into goal with 1000+ meters! Still got 4th though.
Wendy had a great day, enjoying her flying more than she has done for a while. This showed as she flew well, landing high on the mountain and finishing top women! Our team of 2 are in 5th place, great as the top 3 in any team score.
Tuesday was blown out so no flying. We sat on take off then went down into the valley for a swim in fantastic cool river water. Great.
Today (Wednesday) looks better with less wind but he military look like they may throw a spanner in the works by activating a massive no fly zone :-( We will not know until later on take off so we could be looking at a classic day we cannot use!
This competition finishes on Thursday then I have two days off before the Portugese PWC which is a 7 day event. Enjoying it here and a great relief to have good organisation for a change!!
We flew a task on Monday which was great fun. A very hard first turnpoint upwind along the ridge was the tricky bit. The winner had basically won the race by the first turnpoint after only 10km! I chased hard but got stuck in an area of burnt land, black ground looked purfect for a good thermal but nothing! A navigation error at the end (not knowing where the goal was and flying in the wrong direction!!) cost me 10 mins and second place. Came into goal with 1000+ meters! Still got 4th though.
Wendy had a great day, enjoying her flying more than she has done for a while. This showed as she flew well, landing high on the mountain and finishing top women! Our team of 2 are in 5th place, great as the top 3 in any team score.
Tuesday was blown out so no flying. We sat on take off then went down into the valley for a swim in fantastic cool river water. Great.
Today (Wednesday) looks better with less wind but he military look like they may throw a spanner in the works by activating a massive no fly zone :-( We will not know until later on take off so we could be looking at a classic day we cannot use!
This competition finishes on Thursday then I have two days off before the Portugese PWC which is a 7 day event. Enjoying it here and a great relief to have good organisation for a change!!
Saturday 24 July 2010
Recovering from Party......
Yesterday was the last day of the Hang Gliding competition here in Ager. Unfortunately the British Team did not manage to climb to third place :-(
Wendy and I went to the last night presenation and party. In true Spanish style it did not start early! The presentation was not until past midnight then the party started. Much free beerand sangria flowed and we wobbled home about 5am! Spent most of the day recovering...
Wendy and I went to the last night presenation and party. In true Spanish style it did not start early! The presentation was not until past midnight then the party started. Much free beerand sangria flowed and we wobbled home about 5am! Spent most of the day recovering...
Wednesday 21 July 2010
21st in Ager Spain
Went for a fly today. Got a lift with some French pilots from a school and flew for a couple of hours. It was windy and not great!
The hang gliding pilots competing in the european championships had another task today and the British had a bit of a bad one - they have droped to 4th from 3rd :-(
Dave Sheilds (Shedsy) is having a nightmare comp after breaking his glider doing loops on the practice day and lobbing his reserve parachute. The glider was damaged and he is flying another he has bought but it dosen't perform :-(
Weather looks poor for tomorow but better for Friday (last day of the comp).
Fingers crossed for the Brits X
The hang gliding pilots competing in the european championships had another task today and the British had a bit of a bad one - they have droped to 4th from 3rd :-(
Dave Sheilds (Shedsy) is having a nightmare comp after breaking his glider doing loops on the practice day and lobbing his reserve parachute. The glider was damaged and he is flying another he has bought but it dosen't perform :-(
Weather looks poor for tomorow but better for Friday (last day of the comp).
Fingers crossed for the Brits X
Monday 19 July 2010
WiFi at last!!!
Sorry to all my blog readers for the lack of content recently – Wi-Fi has been difficult to find and time has been short. I have a lot to write about so here goes!
Travel from the Greek PWC (Paragliding World Cup) in Drama to the Italian PWC in San Potito
We left Drama and drove west along the new highway that has recently been built but not yet completed. This is good news as the toll booths are not yet installed as it cost nothing! Result! We went to near Mount Olympus to visit some of Wendy’s friends; Stellios and Claudia. They run Olympic Wings, a company which run paragliding holidays in the area as well as other trips for walking etc. This is where Wendy learnt to fly and the chance to re visit some of the sites she flew could not be missed. We camped in a site on the edge of the sea. It was beautiful and the sea was cool and refreshing after a day’s activities. Thoroughly recommended! There are great sites facing every wind direction and great views. A beach landing is also possible.
It was a chance to sample the best of the food available; lots of grilled meats, kebabs, stunning Greek salads with feta cheese and superb tomatoes. It is such a shame we cannot get decent tomatoes in the UK, these were deep red and ripe, fleshy and tasty. Nothing like the unripe watery tasteless ones sold in the UK!
From there we continued back to the port for the ferry. What a contrast to the first ferry experience! This one was poor, nowhere near the same facilities as the first and full of choking fumes for the first few hours of the trip. We had to leave the campervan in the middle of the night and go out on deck to get some breathable air!
We arrived in Brindisi in Italy the following morning and resumed our travels. A long drive through stunning scenery saw us arrive in San Potito, the site of the second European PWC. Again we ended up staying at the camping provided by the organisation – another football field! The facilities were pretty basic but free. Again the local food was good and cheap but the weather did not play ball.
The first task was stopped early as the leaders flew between two massive cumulus congestus which has formed. As there was another cumulus which had formed behind us had turned into a cumin (storm cloud) with lightening and rain I decided not to follow. This cost me points and I was unable to pull back enough from this to get a good position in the overall scores. From 7 days available for flying we only achieved two tasks. The second was a good task and I crossed the line ahead of the other Brits and less than 2 mins behind the leader. Not a fantastic result overall but top half in a world cup is not too shabby!
The real shame about the competition was the local organisation. We were herded around like sheep with no effort made to keep us informed as to what was happening. One day when we had a cancelled task and pilots were scattered all over the valley needing retrieving. There was a total lack of organisation and no control. We were asked again and again by different people for our pilot numbers – the way the organisation keep track of pilots – but the information went nowhere! We all waited in several busses for an hour and a lot of pilots were pretty unhappy about the situation. I believe if there had been some kind of incident which needed the coordination of the organisation this would not have ended happily. Not good. People in the know who had attended many PWC’s before rated this as the poorest. It was such a shame as the staff from the PWC (not the locals) were ignored even though they had excellent proven systems for safety and retrieve in operation. These were not utilised by the local organisation who took it upon themselves to do things ‘their way’.
San Potito has the potential for amazing flying but I cannot recommend it as a destination for competitions due to the local organisation. Stay clear.
One of the cancelled days we took a drive to Pompeii. It was superb and well worth a visit. Go there if you ever get the chance.
From San potato we did some sightseeing visiting Rome and Florence. Both are great destinations and the camp sites in the area are all well geared up for tourists. The travel infrastructure is easy, cheap and good.
Then back on the road again. We drove from Florence to Ager in Spain with an overnight stay. I am currently in the campsite typing away as paragliders float overhead. The landing field is right next to the camp site. A Bar, restaurant, swimming pool and free Wi-Fi make the location perfect. There is a hang gliding competition on at the moment. It is the second week of the European Championships! I am looking forward to finding the British team and saying hello. The Team are currently in 3rd place!
Travel from the Greek PWC (Paragliding World Cup) in Drama to the Italian PWC in San Potito
We left Drama and drove west along the new highway that has recently been built but not yet completed. This is good news as the toll booths are not yet installed as it cost nothing! Result! We went to near Mount Olympus to visit some of Wendy’s friends; Stellios and Claudia. They run Olympic Wings, a company which run paragliding holidays in the area as well as other trips for walking etc. This is where Wendy learnt to fly and the chance to re visit some of the sites she flew could not be missed. We camped in a site on the edge of the sea. It was beautiful and the sea was cool and refreshing after a day’s activities. Thoroughly recommended! There are great sites facing every wind direction and great views. A beach landing is also possible.
It was a chance to sample the best of the food available; lots of grilled meats, kebabs, stunning Greek salads with feta cheese and superb tomatoes. It is such a shame we cannot get decent tomatoes in the UK, these were deep red and ripe, fleshy and tasty. Nothing like the unripe watery tasteless ones sold in the UK!
From there we continued back to the port for the ferry. What a contrast to the first ferry experience! This one was poor, nowhere near the same facilities as the first and full of choking fumes for the first few hours of the trip. We had to leave the campervan in the middle of the night and go out on deck to get some breathable air!
We arrived in Brindisi in Italy the following morning and resumed our travels. A long drive through stunning scenery saw us arrive in San Potito, the site of the second European PWC. Again we ended up staying at the camping provided by the organisation – another football field! The facilities were pretty basic but free. Again the local food was good and cheap but the weather did not play ball.
The first task was stopped early as the leaders flew between two massive cumulus congestus which has formed. As there was another cumulus which had formed behind us had turned into a cumin (storm cloud) with lightening and rain I decided not to follow. This cost me points and I was unable to pull back enough from this to get a good position in the overall scores. From 7 days available for flying we only achieved two tasks. The second was a good task and I crossed the line ahead of the other Brits and less than 2 mins behind the leader. Not a fantastic result overall but top half in a world cup is not too shabby!
The real shame about the competition was the local organisation. We were herded around like sheep with no effort made to keep us informed as to what was happening. One day when we had a cancelled task and pilots were scattered all over the valley needing retrieving. There was a total lack of organisation and no control. We were asked again and again by different people for our pilot numbers – the way the organisation keep track of pilots – but the information went nowhere! We all waited in several busses for an hour and a lot of pilots were pretty unhappy about the situation. I believe if there had been some kind of incident which needed the coordination of the organisation this would not have ended happily. Not good. People in the know who had attended many PWC’s before rated this as the poorest. It was such a shame as the staff from the PWC (not the locals) were ignored even though they had excellent proven systems for safety and retrieve in operation. These were not utilised by the local organisation who took it upon themselves to do things ‘their way’.
San Potito has the potential for amazing flying but I cannot recommend it as a destination for competitions due to the local organisation. Stay clear.
One of the cancelled days we took a drive to Pompeii. It was superb and well worth a visit. Go there if you ever get the chance.
From San potato we did some sightseeing visiting Rome and Florence. Both are great destinations and the camp sites in the area are all well geared up for tourists. The travel infrastructure is easy, cheap and good.
Then back on the road again. We drove from Florence to Ager in Spain with an overnight stay. I am currently in the campsite typing away as paragliders float overhead. The landing field is right next to the camp site. A Bar, restaurant, swimming pool and free Wi-Fi make the location perfect. There is a hang gliding competition on at the moment. It is the second week of the European Championships! I am looking forward to finding the British team and saying hello. The Team are currently in 3rd place!
Thursday 8 July 2010
Quick message
Just snatching time to write, we are in San Potito for the Italian PWC. Weather has been poor, lots of storms every day.
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Waiting for ferry
We are at the port waiting for the ferry enjoying the sunshine and a last beer!
Looking back at the competition it was a mixed bag for the Brits;
Jamie Messenger flew a blinder, getting goal every day that anyone made it and Finishing a fantastic 2nd place,
Mark Hayman flew extremely well but not quite as fast as Jamie, finishing a fantastic 9th
I managed 29th in only my 2nd PWC with a 10th place one day
Tom Payne flew well but was unlucky with the 'Drama Dice' roll!
Craig Morgan had a nightmare, landing early then bashing his leg on take off on the last task. A trip to hospital for stitches was required but he should be back for the Italian competition next week.
As a nation the Brits finished 4th in the national rankings which is good considering the few numbers of British pilots competing compared to the alpine nations we beat!!!!!!
Looking back at the competition it was a mixed bag for the Brits;
Jamie Messenger flew a blinder, getting goal every day that anyone made it and Finishing a fantastic 2nd place,
Mark Hayman flew extremely well but not quite as fast as Jamie, finishing a fantastic 9th
I managed 29th in only my 2nd PWC with a 10th place one day
Tom Payne flew well but was unlucky with the 'Drama Dice' roll!
Craig Morgan had a nightmare, landing early then bashing his leg on take off on the last task. A trip to hospital for stitches was required but he should be back for the Italian competition next week.
As a nation the Brits finished 4th in the national rankings which is good considering the few numbers of British pilots competing compared to the alpine nations we beat!!!!!!
Chilling
We are camping next to the sea near Mt Olympus, chilling, swimming and a bit of flying thanks to Stellios from Olympic Wings. There are loads of flying sites here facing all wind directions and compared to Drama this is a metropolis!
Will catch an overnight ferry tonight to Brindisi in Italy then drive to SAN POTITO SANNITICO tomorrow.
The information on the website for the location is rubbish so it will be an adventure finding it! Anyone know where the camping is?
Will catch an overnight ferry tonight to Brindisi in Italy then drive to SAN POTITO SANNITICO tomorrow.
The information on the website for the location is rubbish so it will be an adventure finding it! Anyone know where the camping is?
Saturday 26 June 2010
Sat 26th - last task
ANOTHER day of rolling the dice! I had an awful start, the gaggle I was with pushed nearer to the start before the race, trying to get into a good position. It did not work and we ended up lower scrabbling for altitude whilst another gaggle sat at cloud base in the flat lands. Woops!
After a lot of tentative thermalling we ended up with altitude to get the first turnpoint in the flats. Then a glide to the next turnpoint with a good strong climb saw us at base and in pursuit.
We saw the leaders at the next turnpoint and flew over them as they were heading back towards goal. The 'Drama Dice' came into play - lots of shade, no thermals and a glide to the deck. Woops.
I thought that would drop me way down the rankings but thankfully I only lost 9 places!
Result - 29th overall! Not too shabby in this level of competition.
So Sunday we will think about heading off. We are planning to go to near Mount Olympus for some flying and beach time then we have a ferry to Italy on Tuesday night. Then it is the Italian PWC the following week.
After a lot of tentative thermalling we ended up with altitude to get the first turnpoint in the flats. Then a glide to the next turnpoint with a good strong climb saw us at base and in pursuit.
We saw the leaders at the next turnpoint and flew over them as they were heading back towards goal. The 'Drama Dice' came into play - lots of shade, no thermals and a glide to the deck. Woops.
I thought that would drop me way down the rankings but thankfully I only lost 9 places!
Result - 29th overall! Not too shabby in this level of competition.
So Sunday we will think about heading off. We are planning to go to near Mount Olympus for some flying and beach time then we have a ferry to Italy on Tuesday night. Then it is the Italian PWC the following week.
Friday 25 June 2010
Friday 25th - What a difference a day makes....
Another poor and fickle day today but the roll of the dice went my way for a change! A low save after a glide through the gloom saw me with the leaders while loads of others landed. A conservative time with the gaggle and then a glide into the sunshine. From there it was plain sailing with a great climb at the last turnpoint then a long full speed glide to goal. I came in in 10th place! This has moved me up the overall ranking from 49 yesterday to 20th today!!
Result, but I know there was a good dose of luck too!
Hopefully fly tomorrow, hopefully with good conditions for a fair race for all.
Fingers crossed ;-0
Result, but I know there was a good dose of luck too!
Hopefully fly tomorrow, hopefully with good conditions for a fair race for all.
Fingers crossed ;-0
Thursday 24 June 2010
Thurs 24th - second task
Another task today. Another poor sky - overcast and tricky. A good start, poor thermal and poor glide saw me slow, low and fighting a headwind towards the coming rain. I bailed out, flew back downwind and landed back at the camper van.It started raining 2 mins later! The task was stopped but scored. 69th for me. Rubbish.
I do not like this place and the flying is poor and fickle.
Off to sulk now!
I do not like this place and the flying is poor and fickle.
Off to sulk now!
Wednesday 23rd - First Task at last!
We had a task today. All went up and waited for the wind to start blowing up the take off. Eventually we started. The sky was pretty overcast and the thermals almost non existent on course. I was with the leaders well out in front when we went on a long, long glide with nothing. We fanned out with me on the left. The furthest right glider caught the faintest of thermals and as we all landed he squeaked out. Good lad. So, good try, poor result. 50th.
Only 12 pilots from 108 made goal :-(
Only 12 pilots from 108 made goal :-(
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Visited the local caves
We went to visit some local caves today. Intresting, and one of the few tourist things to be done. And then it rained again.
Tuesday 22nd - RAIN
Well, as I type the rain is bouncing off the roof of the van :-(
The day has already been canned - no task today. Time to do some running repairs to the van. There is a worrying smell of gas!!!
The tyre fire is still burning, even the rain does not douse those flames!
The day has already been canned - no task today. Time to do some running repairs to the van. There is a worrying smell of gas!!!
The tyre fire is still burning, even the rain does not douse those flames!
Monday 21 June 2010
Monday 21st - First Task
We had the first task today. Forecast was for wind and storms – we eventually got both!
We all went to take off, task was set and we were off. I had a reasonable start and stayed near the front of the field to the first turn point. The leaders maybe a minute before but much lower. We all turned back and flew back along the course. Then the wind hit. Even with full bar I saw my ground speed was only 18km/h. Coming off bar saw only 4km/h (forwards or backwards?!!). I decided that the task would probably be stopped soon (for safety, wind and paragliders is not a good mix) so I pinned the bar to glide as far along the course as possible to get maximum points but as the task was too short a time duration it does not score according to the rules. Shame, I was doing well until then.
I landed and was soon followed by another 30+ gliders. In the distance the clouds had grown enormous and there was rain coming. And what rain!!
We all went to take off, task was set and we were off. I had a reasonable start and stayed near the front of the field to the first turn point. The leaders maybe a minute before but much lower. We all turned back and flew back along the course. Then the wind hit. Even with full bar I saw my ground speed was only 18km/h. Coming off bar saw only 4km/h (forwards or backwards?!!). I decided that the task would probably be stopped soon (for safety, wind and paragliders is not a good mix) so I pinned the bar to glide as far along the course as possible to get maximum points but as the task was too short a time duration it does not score according to the rules. Shame, I was doing well until then.
I landed and was soon followed by another 30+ gliders. In the distance the clouds had grown enormous and there was rain coming. And what rain!!
We quickly packed the gliders and hid under some trees by the side of the main road, waiting for the retrieve transport. A very hot and steamy ride home with lots of other damp pilots followed.
The camping (free camping at the football ground) was flooded by the downpour. Some pilots had an inch of water in their tents :-(
Weather is the essential ingredient in our sport and it never ceases to amaze me how a day can change!
Sunday 20th - 1st day of the PWC
We went up the hill today, stood on take off for 20 mins in cloud and smoke then all came back down again.
Saturday 19th - Practice day for Greece PWC
We set up camp at the football pitch, free camping with fair facilities - showers, wifi, electric etc. Bargain!
We went up to take off today after the poor looking sky cleared out in the afternoon. The sky was full of gliders, some practicing for the PWC and some competing in the last task of a competition from the previous week. Nice flying.
That evening the clouds built massively and at 1:30am we were woken by a storm of MASSIVE proportions! The thunder was almost continuous sounding like an empty truck rumbleing by and the lightening was amazing! Not a good night for the campers!!
In the morning the sky had a black stripe accross it. The local tyre recycling plant had been hit by lightening (although there were rumors of arson :-o) and a plume of acrid smoke crossed the sky. As I write (Monday PM) the fire is still burning.
We went up to take off today after the poor looking sky cleared out in the afternoon. The sky was full of gliders, some practicing for the PWC and some competing in the last task of a competition from the previous week. Nice flying.
That evening the clouds built massively and at 1:30am we were woken by a storm of MASSIVE proportions! The thunder was almost continuous sounding like an empty truck rumbleing by and the lightening was amazing! Not a good night for the campers!!
In the morning the sky had a black stripe accross it. The local tyre recycling plant had been hit by lightening (although there were rumors of arson :-o) and a plume of acrid smoke crossed the sky. As I write (Monday PM) the fire is still burning.
Friday 18 June 2010
Now In Greece!
We packed up in Slovenia just as the weather turned - storms, lightening and rain! We were very lucky with the weather for the competition, poor weather the week before and great during the competition!
After a lot of thought we decided to take a ferry from Venice to Greece instead of driving the 1200km to Greece. I would love to have done the drive, through some amazing scenery and interesting countries - Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria - but it worked out that the ferry would be quicker and the cost about the same. iVan (Wendy's 16 year old Talbot Highlander) is pretty underpowered and struggles up anything other than a gentle incline. No, that's not true - a gentle incline is a problem too ;-)
The ferry was great, sunning our selves and swimming in the pool as the world went by! It leaves and sails through Venice so we got to do some sight seeing too!
We arrived in Igoumenitsa in the evening and set off on the nearly completed motorway towards Turkey. Being incomplete meant the toll booths were not completed and the journey was free! The bad news was the price of fuel. Due to Greece's terrible economic situation the government have put fuel prices up dramatically. A staggering €1.46 (cheapest)!! That's £1.22 a litre. It was recently as low as €0.80 a litre!!
We travelled to Olympic Wings at Neos Panteleimonas and stayed a day. Wendy has borrowed an old Swing Arcus to fly - she has had so little air time in recent years she is not happy flying her new Niviuk Artic 2. Shame as it is a superb glider. So she is looking at a trade in or to sell the glider;
Niviuk Artic 2,
http://www.niviuk.com/eng/glider_product.asp?prod=artik2
EN C/ LTF 2,
Size XS (60-80kg) in 'Skate' colours (red),
7 hours
New in November
for sale, offers in the region of £1995 please!!!! She may part exchange for a 1-2.
From Olympic Wings we drove on to Drama. I am competing in the Greek Paragliding World Cup round here starting on Sunday. Unfortunately, as I write the rain is falling, lightening is flashing and the sound of thunder is almost constant. Doh :-((
Fingers crossed for some better weather for the competition. At least we can watch England thrash Algeria tonight in the bar!
After a lot of thought we decided to take a ferry from Venice to Greece instead of driving the 1200km to Greece. I would love to have done the drive, through some amazing scenery and interesting countries - Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria - but it worked out that the ferry would be quicker and the cost about the same. iVan (Wendy's 16 year old Talbot Highlander) is pretty underpowered and struggles up anything other than a gentle incline. No, that's not true - a gentle incline is a problem too ;-)
The ferry was great, sunning our selves and swimming in the pool as the world went by! It leaves and sails through Venice so we got to do some sight seeing too!
We arrived in Igoumenitsa in the evening and set off on the nearly completed motorway towards Turkey. Being incomplete meant the toll booths were not completed and the journey was free! The bad news was the price of fuel. Due to Greece's terrible economic situation the government have put fuel prices up dramatically. A staggering €1.46 (cheapest)!! That's £1.22 a litre. It was recently as low as €0.80 a litre!!
We travelled to Olympic Wings at Neos Panteleimonas and stayed a day. Wendy has borrowed an old Swing Arcus to fly - she has had so little air time in recent years she is not happy flying her new Niviuk Artic 2. Shame as it is a superb glider. So she is looking at a trade in or to sell the glider;
Niviuk Artic 2,
http://www.niviuk.com/eng/glider_product.asp?prod=artik2
EN C/ LTF 2,
Size XS (60-80kg) in 'Skate' colours (red),
7 hours
New in November
for sale, offers in the region of £1995 please!!!! She may part exchange for a 1-2.
From Olympic Wings we drove on to Drama. I am competing in the Greek Paragliding World Cup round here starting on Sunday. Unfortunately, as I write the rain is falling, lightening is flashing and the sound of thunder is almost constant. Doh :-((
Fingers crossed for some better weather for the competition. At least we can watch England thrash Algeria tonight in the bar!
Sunday 13 June 2010
Saturday 12th, the final task
Another good day today. I was pushing hard in the lead gaggle with two pilots in front but low. We had to negotiate a small triangular section of the course and having reached two of the 3 turnpoints we had to return to the main mountain to find a climb. Having finally made enough height to reach the final turnpoint we set off only to discover the slower later pilots had found a climb on one of the turnpoints! This meant they could complete the triangle without coming back to the main mountain first and suddenly there were 50+ gliders in front of me! Doh!
Lots of speed and cunning flying saw me carving through the field to finaly come into goal in 10th place! Not too poor!!
The Team results were good though, with Team Sick & Wrong winning!!
So the comp finished with a prety awful overall result for me but, oh well, there is always the next competition....
Tomorrow we leave Slovenia and drive to Venice to get a ferry to Greece where I will be competing in a round of the Paragliding World Cup (PWC). These are the highest level competition and will be a steep learning curve for me. Can't wait!
Lots of speed and cunning flying saw me carving through the field to finaly come into goal in 10th place! Not too poor!!
The Team results were good though, with Team Sick & Wrong winning!!
So the comp finished with a prety awful overall result for me but, oh well, there is always the next competition....
Tomorrow we leave Slovenia and drive to Venice to get a ferry to Greece where I will be competing in a round of the Paragliding World Cup (PWC). These are the highest level competition and will be a steep learning curve for me. Can't wait!
Friday 11 June 2010
Friday 11th - Disaster!!
Well, that is it. Blown it. I pushed very hard at the start of the race - too hard - and landed very early on. This will give me lousy points, too bad to be able to pull back from so the comp is finishd for me. I'm now looking at a low 20's if I'm lucky.
This also puts me in a bad position in the Championship. The Championship is made up of two rounds - here in Slovenia and another week in St Andre Les Alps in France. The total of the tasks in the two competitions gives the final placings in the chmpionship. You can discard your worst task result (one discard). So, I'm stuck with a poor score from the 65th place as one of my tasks. Rubbish. Against the competition I am unlikely to pull it back. :-((
Oh well.....
At least it's fun!!
Tommorow is the last day so with nothing to loose now I'll be pushing hard!
Wish me luck!
This also puts me in a bad position in the Championship. The Championship is made up of two rounds - here in Slovenia and another week in St Andre Les Alps in France. The total of the tasks in the two competitions gives the final placings in the chmpionship. You can discard your worst task result (one discard). So, I'm stuck with a poor score from the 65th place as one of my tasks. Rubbish. Against the competition I am unlikely to pull it back. :-((
Oh well.....
At least it's fun!!
Tommorow is the last day so with nothing to loose now I'll be pushing hard!
Wish me luck!
Thursday 10th - Another good result!!!
A great day, good task saw me fighting it out with the fast French pilots in the seccond gaggle of gliders coming into goal. Got 3 out of 4 of them and finished in a great 6th place! After dropping in the overall rankings to from 8th to 16th after the last disasterous task I pulled a few places back to claim 11th place overall. Getting there! Stroll on tomorrow.........
Wednesday 9th Oh Dear!
Another good task today but there were issues. I was with the lead gaggle of about 6 gliders, well in front when we made a mistake. We flew back to the take off ridge. It was windy and turbulent. All the time we were discussing the huge Cumulo nimbus (cunim) cloud about 20 km away. Cunim's are very bad. The power of a storm cloud can suck gliders high into the atomsphere - people have been killed by them! The storm cloud drifted away and the task was safe, but we had a hard decision, monitring the cloud to ensure it was safe.
Being stuck on the ridge lost a massive amount of time and I finished a lowly 65th. Rubbish!
Oh well....
Being stuck on the ridge lost a massive amount of time and I finished a lowly 65th. Rubbish!
Oh well....
Tuesday 8th - no task
A very active sky saw us (safety committee) looking hard at the posibility of setting a task. We decided it was too unpredictable to fly and canned the day. A mass fly down saw the landing field full. Unfortunately some people were packing in a field just adjacent to the official landing field - an irrate local farmer ran over their equipment! Police we called and the farmer was fined!
Monday 7th - Another good day!
Another good task today, VERY fast flying and another 7th place!! Happy Day!
Sunday 6 June 2010
Two glorious days! and some work :-(
Friday, after spending the week chasing the weather without much success we decided to have a day off. We went for a bike ride in the morning, part on road , part off, then returned to Kobarid to meet up with Calvo.
For those who do not know, Calvo is the Bitish Team Manager and the British Championship Meet Director (amongst other things) and plays a crucial role organising and managing the competitions. The name? That comes from Spain where the local pilots nickname 'Calvo Loco' which means 'Mad Bald One' Quite apt!!
We spent the afternoon setting up computers, networks, GPS download equipment and a 20+ foot aerial for the radio coms.... Phew!
Saturday the weather finally improved enough for some good flying. Every man and his dog had turned up ready for the start of the competition the following day and the sky was full of people I know. Wendy and I flew till early afternoon then landed- only to get roped in to processing pilots for registration for 3 1/2 hrs. :-( This essential process includes checks on licences, insurance and other contact details, address whilst in the competition, mobile phone numbers etc. Quite tricky when people come from so many countries and all the associations have different (unreadable!)cards.
Sunday 6th and the first task. I had a superb flight pushing on with the lead gaggle of 6 gliders till a poor glide put me lower and chasing them on my own for half the course, costing me time on the leader (maybe 5 or 10 mins). A 7th place overall was a great result though, 5th Brit!
A lot of people had problems today, mostly self inflicted. The second turnpoint was on a ridge with very few landing options and many flew in low. They were unable to glide out and some (one, maybe 2?) ended up landing in trees! Not a good day out. The sensible ones glided out of the area to land safely but efectively having to give up on the task. At least they will fly again tomorrow!
Wendy had a great flight, sensibly staying high for the first turn point and then completing half the course for her 3rd longest flight! Result!
The forecast for the week looks good so I am looking forward to more tasks on the mighty R10!!
Cheers,
For those who do not know, Calvo is the Bitish Team Manager and the British Championship Meet Director (amongst other things) and plays a crucial role organising and managing the competitions. The name? That comes from Spain where the local pilots nickname 'Calvo Loco' which means 'Mad Bald One' Quite apt!!
We spent the afternoon setting up computers, networks, GPS download equipment and a 20+ foot aerial for the radio coms.... Phew!
Saturday the weather finally improved enough for some good flying. Every man and his dog had turned up ready for the start of the competition the following day and the sky was full of people I know. Wendy and I flew till early afternoon then landed- only to get roped in to processing pilots for registration for 3 1/2 hrs. :-( This essential process includes checks on licences, insurance and other contact details, address whilst in the competition, mobile phone numbers etc. Quite tricky when people come from so many countries and all the associations have different (unreadable!)cards.
Sunday 6th and the first task. I had a superb flight pushing on with the lead gaggle of 6 gliders till a poor glide put me lower and chasing them on my own for half the course, costing me time on the leader (maybe 5 or 10 mins). A 7th place overall was a great result though, 5th Brit!
A lot of people had problems today, mostly self inflicted. The second turnpoint was on a ridge with very few landing options and many flew in low. They were unable to glide out and some (one, maybe 2?) ended up landing in trees! Not a good day out. The sensible ones glided out of the area to land safely but efectively having to give up on the task. At least they will fly again tomorrow!
Wendy had a great flight, sensibly staying high for the first turn point and then completing half the course for her 3rd longest flight! Result!
The forecast for the week looks good so I am looking forward to more tasks on the mighty R10!!
Cheers,
Thursday 3 June 2010
Slovenia poor weather but some flying
Yesterday we took a ride to Stol take off. I nearly had my kit out (paragliding that is!) when it started spitting with rain. Wendy and I packed and went back to the van and watched the locals (school and free fliers) take off and glide down through the rain. NOT a good day out in my books!
Today we went back to Kabala take off. Poor looking sky and I took off early(ish) and had a 40 min flight. Later pilots including Wendy was caught coming into the landing field in the rain. Doh! When we got back to the landing field we strung up the washing line and pegged out Wendy's wing to dry!!
Tomorrow is looking poor again but Saturday could be epic. Hmm, believe that when it happens!
We are enjoying Slovenia though, the scenery is superb and the area is a mecca for kayaks and white water rafting. The water is so unbelievably clear - and cold!! Wet suits are a definate!
Fingers crossed for the weather......
Today we went back to Kabala take off. Poor looking sky and I took off early(ish) and had a 40 min flight. Later pilots including Wendy was caught coming into the landing field in the rain. Doh! When we got back to the landing field we strung up the washing line and pegged out Wendy's wing to dry!!
Tomorrow is looking poor again but Saturday could be epic. Hmm, believe that when it happens!
We are enjoying Slovenia though, the scenery is superb and the area is a mecca for kayaks and white water rafting. The water is so unbelievably clear - and cold!! Wet suits are a definate!
Fingers crossed for the weather......
Tuesday 1 June 2010
Flew Today
Fully instaled in a lovely camp site in Kobarid, Slovenia. There are two camp sites near the gorge, Lazar and Koren. Koren is 8€ per person + 4€ for electricity, Lazar is €10 per person +5€ electricity.
There is a 'paragliding taxi' service - minibusses which will come to the camp site (if booked) and take you to the flyable take off hills locally. Easy! About €10-15 depending on where they take you.
We went to Kobala today. Nice grassy take off. Nice 1.5 hr flight in very weak conditions changed dramatically when I eventually managed to get to the into wind sunny edge of the ridge. I was rewarded with a 4m/s climb to base! Nice. Glided against some other wings today and absolutely blitzed them! If only I was the only one on an R10 I'd be laughing!!!
Not looking so good for weather tomorow :-(
The countryside is beautiful, the people freindly and some things (booze and fags) are cheap while others like eating out looks expensive.
We are here for the next 11 days so fingers crossed for some good weather. Will post again soon
How about some comments?
Cheers,
Sonic
There is a 'paragliding taxi' service - minibusses which will come to the camp site (if booked) and take you to the flyable take off hills locally. Easy! About €10-15 depending on where they take you.
We went to Kobala today. Nice grassy take off. Nice 1.5 hr flight in very weak conditions changed dramatically when I eventually managed to get to the into wind sunny edge of the ridge. I was rewarded with a 4m/s climb to base! Nice. Glided against some other wings today and absolutely blitzed them! If only I was the only one on an R10 I'd be laughing!!!
Not looking so good for weather tomorow :-(
The countryside is beautiful, the people freindly and some things (booze and fags) are cheap while others like eating out looks expensive.
We are here for the next 11 days so fingers crossed for some good weather. Will post again soon
How about some comments?
Cheers,
Sonic
Monday 31 May 2010
Cooking tonight
On the menu tonight - Lamb Vindaloo
Brown some onions and chillis (fresh green)
Add the lamb and the masala - Garam Massala, ground ginger, ground turmeric, ground garlic, salt, tomato pure and ground chilli.
Fry slowly then add wine (1/2 bottle, drink the rest ;-)) and some water
simmer 30 mins
add chopped potato (small pieces)
simmer for 25 min
serve with rice
EAT!!!!!!!!!!!
Mmmmmmmmmmmm
Brown some onions and chillis (fresh green)
Add the lamb and the masala - Garam Massala, ground ginger, ground turmeric, ground garlic, salt, tomato pure and ground chilli.
Fry slowly then add wine (1/2 bottle, drink the rest ;-)) and some water
simmer 30 mins
add chopped potato (small pieces)
simmer for 25 min
serve with rice
EAT!!!!!!!!!!!
Mmmmmmmmmmmm
Hello Slovenia! We going flying??
As I type we are in Kobarid in Slovenia. This is the location for the British Championship round 1 due to start on Sunday 6th. We arrived last night (Sunday) after a nightmare drive. We tried to save money by taking the back roads to Slovenia instaed of the motorway (toll roads)- BAD mistake!
We were soon crawling up and down some of the steepest roads I have ever seen - would be great on a motorbike but it was almost too much for the underpowered camper van to take! The poor thing was subjected to miles of crawling up hills in first gear then the same on the way down, stopping every 10 minutes for the brakes to cool down! Not fun and slow!
The weather here looks like it will be flyable tomorrow so we are trying to see if we can get a lift to a take off tomorrow. Most of the information on the websites seem to say 4x4 to get to take off.
Fingers crossed......
We were soon crawling up and down some of the steepest roads I have ever seen - would be great on a motorbike but it was almost too much for the underpowered camper van to take! The poor thing was subjected to miles of crawling up hills in first gear then the same on the way down, stopping every 10 minutes for the brakes to cool down! Not fun and slow!
The weather here looks like it will be flyable tomorrow so we are trying to see if we can get a lift to a take off tomorrow. Most of the information on the websites seem to say 4x4 to get to take off.
Fingers crossed......
Visit to the British Team in Austria
Friday we dropped in to see the British Team who are in Abtenau in Austria. They have been waiting for favourable weather to compete - so far just one valid task (won by Luc Armand, the R10 designer!!) from a week of waiting.
The team were all in good spirits despite the weather which has varied between heavy rain and light rain. Boo! The one task was not great for the team, finishing 10th in the rankings is not where they deserve to be. A mishap for Russel Ogden saw him having to return to a turnpoint, Adrian Thomas is stuck on a serial class wing while waiting for his Advance competition wing to be load tested (another victim of the weather), Jamie Messenger was ill with blood poisoning!! The rest of the team performed well with Mark Haymen coming about 20th, Neil Robberts close behind and Kirsty Cameron making goal....
My heart goes out to the team, waiting in frustration for the weather conditions to improve enough to fly some tasks. Fingers crossed, we are rooting for you!
BUT, looking at the weather forcast for the following week we bravely fled south on Sunday!!
The team were all in good spirits despite the weather which has varied between heavy rain and light rain. Boo! The one task was not great for the team, finishing 10th in the rankings is not where they deserve to be. A mishap for Russel Ogden saw him having to return to a turnpoint, Adrian Thomas is stuck on a serial class wing while waiting for his Advance competition wing to be load tested (another victim of the weather), Jamie Messenger was ill with blood poisoning!! The rest of the team performed well with Mark Haymen coming about 20th, Neil Robberts close behind and Kirsty Cameron making goal....
My heart goes out to the team, waiting in frustration for the weather conditions to improve enough to fly some tasks. Fingers crossed, we are rooting for you!
BUT, looking at the weather forcast for the following week we bravely fled south on Sunday!!
Thursday 27 May 2010
24/5/10
Woke in the campsite at Neufchateau to a CLASSIC looking sky. Shower, breakfast and a check of the internet showed no sites nearby which take a west (the wind direction that day). We packed and a quick bit of shopping.
Driving out of town we could not help but look at the sky – amazing.... hang on, what’s that? A paraglider! Don’t know where he set off from but he was high and flying up wind (!). Could not believe it when we could identify it as another R10!! Can’t get away from them!
We set off for the French border and a westerly site at a town called Fumey. On route we passed a guy walking with an Advance paragliding bag. He had obviously landed after an XC (cross country) flight. With nowhere to stop on the fast bend where he was walking I carried on. Another 300 meters along and ANOTHER paraglider pilot was standing in a garage forecourt hitching. Now I’m a firm believer in Bob Drury’s ying and yang theory of paragliding – what goes around comes around – so I pulled over and offered a lift. Surprise, surprise he was going back to Fumey! My conscience had me firmly by now, we loaded him and I turned the van round, drove back along the road to the first pilot and picked him up too!
So, van full of hitch hikers off we went. One of the guys said he had been hitching for two hours with no lift! Ouch, been there... not nice. It is a shame people are so scared that they cannot lend a hand – I’m sure they would if their heads were not full of ‘News of the World’ style horror stories. Rutger Hower in ‘The Hitcher’ probably didn’t help the cause much either!
We drove to Fumey and parked the van as close as possible to the take off. One of the hitchers told us to jump in his car and soon we were driving the track up to take off where he gave us a full site briefing and introduced us to the remaining local pilots (see, ying yang!)
It was late by now (we are not good at early starts) and windy. We waited for half an hour to let the wind drop and I was first of the waiting pilots to take off – straight up at 4m/s! ‘So, it’s still working then!’ The wind did not drop off much more and was too strong for Wendy to feel comfortable to launch while I flew a small triangle round the area in strong bumpy conditions.
Good day out and at the right site for the following days predicted weather (west again)
25/05/10
Woke to blue skies with cirrus coming in. We went to take off and sat there all day! The west wind swung north before the sun came over head enough to get the thermals going, then the cirrus shaded everything out. Doh
The evening saw the weather deteriorate and thunder and storms arrived. Oh well, we have done well so far chasing the sun.
26/05/09
We woke to a rainy day - time to move on again. An unsuccessful search for wifi left us with no real idea of where to go so we are heading toward Austria to meet up with the British Team who are competing (or trying to – weather permitting) in the European Championship. Wendy is driving and I am catching up on the blog on tyhe laptop with the aim of updating the blog when we can get on line. Will keep you all updated on the competition when we get there. Germany this evening, just hope the camp site is still open when we get there or it will be a night of wild camping.
Woke in the campsite at Neufchateau to a CLASSIC looking sky. Shower, breakfast and a check of the internet showed no sites nearby which take a west (the wind direction that day). We packed and a quick bit of shopping.
Driving out of town we could not help but look at the sky – amazing.... hang on, what’s that? A paraglider! Don’t know where he set off from but he was high and flying up wind (!). Could not believe it when we could identify it as another R10!! Can’t get away from them!
We set off for the French border and a westerly site at a town called Fumey. On route we passed a guy walking with an Advance paragliding bag. He had obviously landed after an XC (cross country) flight. With nowhere to stop on the fast bend where he was walking I carried on. Another 300 meters along and ANOTHER paraglider pilot was standing in a garage forecourt hitching. Now I’m a firm believer in Bob Drury’s ying and yang theory of paragliding – what goes around comes around – so I pulled over and offered a lift. Surprise, surprise he was going back to Fumey! My conscience had me firmly by now, we loaded him and I turned the van round, drove back along the road to the first pilot and picked him up too!
So, van full of hitch hikers off we went. One of the guys said he had been hitching for two hours with no lift! Ouch, been there... not nice. It is a shame people are so scared that they cannot lend a hand – I’m sure they would if their heads were not full of ‘News of the World’ style horror stories. Rutger Hower in ‘The Hitcher’ probably didn’t help the cause much either!
We drove to Fumey and parked the van as close as possible to the take off. One of the hitchers told us to jump in his car and soon we were driving the track up to take off where he gave us a full site briefing and introduced us to the remaining local pilots (see, ying yang!)
It was late by now (we are not good at early starts) and windy. We waited for half an hour to let the wind drop and I was first of the waiting pilots to take off – straight up at 4m/s! ‘So, it’s still working then!’ The wind did not drop off much more and was too strong for Wendy to feel comfortable to launch while I flew a small triangle round the area in strong bumpy conditions.
Good day out and at the right site for the following days predicted weather (west again)
25/05/10
Woke to blue skies with cirrus coming in. We went to take off and sat there all day! The west wind swung north before the sun came over head enough to get the thermals going, then the cirrus shaded everything out. Doh
The evening saw the weather deteriorate and thunder and storms arrived. Oh well, we have done well so far chasing the sun.
26/05/09
We woke to a rainy day - time to move on again. An unsuccessful search for wifi left us with no real idea of where to go so we are heading toward Austria to meet up with the British Team who are competing (or trying to – weather permitting) in the European Championship. Wendy is driving and I am catching up on the blog on tyhe laptop with the aim of updating the blog when we can get on line. Will keep you all updated on the competition when we get there. Germany this evening, just hope the camp site is still open when we get there or it will be a night of wild camping.
Sunday 23 May 2010
Paragliding Belgium style
Hooray! We flew!
Beauraing, a long low (70m top to bottom) ridge courtesy of Paragliding Earth (great website). Got the co-ordinates and plugged them into the tomtom, easy as that!
Hour and a half soaring and thermaling. Tops. Now back at the camp site with a beer.....
Hard life!!
Chasing weather
In Belgium at the moment, near Neufchateau in the south. We are holding offf heading to Austria - all the weaher forcasts show it being nice here and rain/storms etc in Austria!
We have been enjoying (too much) of the fantastic local beers and enjoying the fantastic sunshine. Todays plan to move on has been scrapped because;
We have been enjoying (too much) of the fantastic local beers and enjoying the fantastic sunshine. Todays plan to move on has been scrapped because;
- weather here is great
- weather in Austria is rubbish
- campsite has free wifi
- there are flying sites near (MASSIVE 130m high ;-))
So just waiting for Wendy to finish work then we are off to see if we can find some aviation! Fingers crossed.........
Thursday 20 May 2010
Bye Bye UK
Finally we are off - ferry Dover to Calais Friday morning. From there we cross Europe to arrive in Abtenau, Austria in time to cheer the British Team on in the European Championship.
The itinerary is then Slovenia, Greece, Italy, Portugal Spain and finally France! Phew...
The itinerary is then Slovenia, Greece, Italy, Portugal Spain and finally France! Phew...
Monday 17 May 2010
Departure Delayed!!
......no, not due to the volcano, due to the fact that europe looks like it will be underwater for the next week!
Ferry is now booked for Friday!
Oh well, have to find somewhere to fly that is not a 4 hour drive. The joys of Essex.....
Sunday 16 May 2010
Good day out at the Mynd
Saturday 15th May I woke with a very heavy head (birthday the day before !) The weather forecast was showing it possibly too windy to fly but early - early? what I mean is when I dragged myself from bead with a fuzzy head and a dry mouth! - where was I, yes early signs looked good. Wendy and I jumped in the car and headed to the Mynd. Whilst stuck behind a tractor we saw some paragliders thermalling and gliding over the back of the Mynd on their cross country flights. Hmmm, could be good - are we late?
We arrived at the hill and dragged ourselves to take off just as a large dark cloud floated over. Spitting with rain I left my wing happy and dry inside the bag.
Thankfully the rain passed, the sky improved and the glider came out of the bag. The fickle wind kept dropping off to nothing, disturbed by thermals as I had a little play ground handling (STILL a difficult task) and doing little hops. Landing for a chat I timed it perfect to see the entire world take off and climb in a huge thermal! The wind picked up and I had to launch in a 'fresh breeze'.
Soon up and away (cracking 3.5m/s climb out) I flew over the back, through a thermal with Barney Woodhead, shouting hello to him on the way past.
Huge area shaded and downwind saw the less cautious pilots on a long glide to the ground. I hang back and kept high as the clouds decayed and allowed the sun on the ground....
Off again, gliding cloud to cloud I waved goodbye to the other paragliders at about 30km down wind, only seeing sail planes etc after that.
Thermals varied in strength but I spent a lot of time circling in poor lift and skirting round the edges of clouds at base, not really paying attention to wind direction but just trying to chill and fly the clouds.
I was hungover, cold, tired, and oh, did I mention I have a bad cold at the moment? Wendy says am I sure it's not Man Flu! ;-) (that's the last of the moaning - promise!) but just kept the mantra of 'one more glide, then maybe a thermal' going as the KM clocked by.
Then, towards the end of the flight I became boxed in by airspace with just the narrowest of corridors between the Oxford Airport ATZ and an adjacent restricted area. Low and gliding round the cylinders I could not believe my luck when I connected with a climb right in the middle of the gap! I climbed approx 2000'whilst drifting through the gap!! Result!
That turned out to be the last climb. From there I glided to Oxford, had a look around then set out down wind to maximise distance.
Landing=result!
Landed in nice grassy field next to a plant nursery. Whilst packing up I was whistled over by a grey haired guy taking his granddaughter for a walk. I had thoughts of the traditional lecture from farmer scenario but it turned out the man was called Richard, an ATOS Hang glider and microlight Pilot!
Packed up, Richard drove me to his friend Andrew's house (paraglider pilot) were I was plied with fresh coffee and Ibuprofen!
Wendy arrived half an hour later and we headed home, stopping for a pub meal on the way.
11:00 - arrive home
11:03 - in bed
11:04 - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Grand day out!
Flight;
Total Score 154.32k
Date 15th May 2010
Start 13:03
Finish 17:58
Duration 4hrs 55mins
Takeoff Long Mynd
Landing village SE of Oxford
For more details see;
http://www.xcleague.com/xc/flights/2010832.html
We arrived at the hill and dragged ourselves to take off just as a large dark cloud floated over. Spitting with rain I left my wing happy and dry inside the bag.
Thankfully the rain passed, the sky improved and the glider came out of the bag. The fickle wind kept dropping off to nothing, disturbed by thermals as I had a little play ground handling (STILL a difficult task) and doing little hops. Landing for a chat I timed it perfect to see the entire world take off and climb in a huge thermal! The wind picked up and I had to launch in a 'fresh breeze'.
Soon up and away (cracking 3.5m/s climb out) I flew over the back, through a thermal with Barney Woodhead, shouting hello to him on the way past.
Huge area shaded and downwind saw the less cautious pilots on a long glide to the ground. I hang back and kept high as the clouds decayed and allowed the sun on the ground....
Off again, gliding cloud to cloud I waved goodbye to the other paragliders at about 30km down wind, only seeing sail planes etc after that.
Thermals varied in strength but I spent a lot of time circling in poor lift and skirting round the edges of clouds at base, not really paying attention to wind direction but just trying to chill and fly the clouds.
I was hungover, cold, tired, and oh, did I mention I have a bad cold at the moment? Wendy says am I sure it's not Man Flu! ;-) (that's the last of the moaning - promise!) but just kept the mantra of 'one more glide, then maybe a thermal' going as the KM clocked by.
Then, towards the end of the flight I became boxed in by airspace with just the narrowest of corridors between the Oxford Airport ATZ and an adjacent restricted area. Low and gliding round the cylinders I could not believe my luck when I connected with a climb right in the middle of the gap! I climbed approx 2000'whilst drifting through the gap!! Result!
That turned out to be the last climb. From there I glided to Oxford, had a look around then set out down wind to maximise distance.
Landing=result!
Landed in nice grassy field next to a plant nursery. Whilst packing up I was whistled over by a grey haired guy taking his granddaughter for a walk. I had thoughts of the traditional lecture from farmer scenario but it turned out the man was called Richard, an ATOS Hang glider and microlight Pilot!
Packed up, Richard drove me to his friend Andrew's house (paraglider pilot) were I was plied with fresh coffee and Ibuprofen!
Wendy arrived half an hour later and we headed home, stopping for a pub meal on the way.
11:00 - arrive home
11:03 - in bed
11:04 - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Grand day out!
Flight;
Total Score 154.32k
Date 15th May 2010
Start 13:03
Finish 17:58
Duration 4hrs 55mins
Takeoff Long Mynd
Landing village SE of Oxford
For more details see;
http://www.xcleague.com/xc/flights/2010832.html
Tuesday 4 May 2010
First flight on the R10.2
Drove to Wether Fell after dropping the camper van off for its MOT. Arrived about 11:30. It was windy - the top end of the launchable wind speed for a paraglider. Weary of the reputation of the gliders demanding launch characteristics I got it out of the bag for the first time, laid it out, checked the lines, connected up and clipped in for take off. The wind was very strong - watched Burkit Rudd lifted off his feet and launching backwards on his Gradient Proto! Mike Cavanah was also there with another R10.2 and he too was having problems before even clipping in when the wind took his glider and tied it into a nice bow tie for him!
Clip in, gentle pull on the centre A's, Glider coming up nicely then big asymmetric so I killed it. Tried again, another big asymmetric but this time I fought it and kept the wing up and cleared the collapse.
Straight out up and straight up! Flew around for a while soaring and taking some light thermals then used the performance to push forwards under a cloud and climb to base. Mike had finally launched and came to join me. I left the climb at base and flew away waiting for Mike to gain height then returned to join him. Were off....
Tried holding the B risers and active flying with them, with and without bar. Seems to work well but when a big surge forward came the instinct was to come off the bar (will have to work on that!)
We scratched and scraped out of the Dales over the moors, most climbs were poor but we were reluctant to leave them as we were not in orbit and tracking over remote moorland.
The glider was solid throughout.
Summary of my initial thoughts on the glider;
- The brake travel feels fairly light compared to my previous wing (Icepeak XP)
- The handling is superb, I'm surprised such a high aspect ratio wing can turn so nicely!
- The speed bar is super light
- the flex in the wing seems to be at the tips where the A lines cease being split onto separate tabs and the 'span tape' reduces from 2 strips to one as in the pic ->
- performance is good but no idea how good - the only glider I could compare against was Mikes R10.2!!
So, a grand day out with no drama (except the lousy launch characteristics)
see http://www.xcleague.com/xc/flights/2010720.html?vx=10 for the flight details.
Back to packing now!!!!!!!! ;-(
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