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Eye in the Sky - Jan 2008
Your Flying News Notice Board. Send me
your news and photos.
If you're wondering where your report is, hit CTRL-F5 whilst in your browser to make sure you are not seeing a cached version. If it is still not there, it's probably because you fell foul of the Submission guidelines
Wednesday 30th January
Report by John Alder
Bell Hill. A superb looking, breezy day but when I arrived around noon (expecting to get the PG out) only Steve Siuda was up on his K4 HG and Keith Wright parawaiting, however I heard that there had been some nice paragliding early in the day: Derek Sadler having flown for over an hour before going home for a late breakfast! I rigged the HG and flew for half an hour in strong conditions with very limited lift and then top landed (amidst the slurry) while I had the necessary height. Since I hadn’t particularly enjoyed it, I packed up – probably a poor decision because, by the time I’d finished it looked paraglidable:- I hope Derek and Keith Burridge, who were more patient, had nice evening flights too,
Tues 29 Jan 2008
Report by Craig Byrne
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Sun 27 Jan 2008
Report by Neville Almond
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Report by Shamus Pitts
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I woke up early, hoping for a Westerly wind. There didn't seem to be
a lot of wind about when I looked out of the window, but I thought I'd
go for a walk up Cowdown just in case! I arrived at the summit about 8am
to find not much wind at all. The clouds were all moving quite nicely
so I went for a walk and got back about 9am to find a nice 16mph Westerly
wind blowing. I took off, but after 10 minutes of not finding a thermal
to take me cross-country for miles and miles, I decided to land and head
for Whitesheet instead. Cowdown is convenient for me because I live opposite
it, but I've only ever known it to work if the wind is strong and dead
on, and even then the ridge is very small so you're forever turning.
I got to Whitesheet about 12pm. I've only been there once before and there's
been no-one at the farm house either time. The house just before the farmhouse
(from the Shaftesbury side) called "Little Arundel" is the home of the
farmer's son and his wife, so I asked them if I could fly, and they said
"yes"! I was parking as Mike arrived so we walked to the top to see some
modellers and Roger and a couple of others on the ground. The wind was
quite strong and gusty, and a bit off to the NW but I felt I had to take
off to get some photos for Ali - here you are Ali! - so after strong gusts
and tangled lines delayed my takeoff I was finally in the air. The first
thing I noticed was that there wasn't very much lift and the gusts were
quite strong at times. I eventually got some height from the more NW facing
end of the ridge and didn't have to worry so much about bashing in to
the ground! The air was quite bumpy at times, with the gusts and the occasional
thermal coming through, and not as nice as I hoped, but the wind swung
round to the west briefly and suddenly I was 250' ATO, right out over
the bottom landing field! I hit a big patch of sink and lost 100' as if
in a "B" line stall, so after 15 minutes I decided to land while I still
had the height to get to the top landing field.
Roger said they were all going to head for Winklebury, so I stuffed my
wing in my harness and headed for Winklebury.
At Winklebury the wind was reasonably strong and a little bit gusty, but
the direction was good, so it wasn't long before I joined the other 3
wings in the air. It was quite lively at times with some small thermals
taking me to 160' ATO but at other times I found myself 120' below take
off and only just managed to scratch my way back up. After half an hour
I looked down and saw waves on the water trough and I realised the wind
was picking up. I landed, and pretty soon it was blown out. All in all
a pretty good day - only 55 minutes air time, but 3 sites including 2
I've never flown before.
Report by Roy Menage
Picked up the sitephone message that Whitesheet was on so as I set out,
I checked with Roger E to see if he was still there. They were just decamping
to Winkelbury so I joined them there. It was quite strong but I managed
20 mins before landing in the bottom field since it was picking up and
getting rough - probably from the left-hand spur. I guess I should have
gone to Bell after all. Still, it was nice to fly a new site. Roger E,
Ariel (from Spain), Shamus, Sean M and one other got a fly. Mel left it
just a bit late and didn't get off. Probably best really, better luck
next time. Ariel had a lucky escape top-landing when he dropped his wing
over the barbed-wire fence after being dragged a little. Fortunately,
no damage.
Report by Alastair Florence
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Where was Ali F ? at Bell of course. Nice conditions, plenty of height Rich M cruising up to Bulbarrow and someone going XC maybe from telegraph landing out behind. Turned into a beatiful smooth calm evening. Plenty of Buzzards about (see wing tip pic) __________________________________________________
Report by Alastair Florence
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Earlier in the day at St. Aldhelms, pictured, Dave (who needs a speed
glider ? its only reading 28mph on take off) W.
Report by Martin Butcher
Great day at Bell Hill, arrived about 11:30 to find it strong and gusty
with no one there. Went to the bottom landing field to practice ground
handling my new Aspen 2, eventually the wind died down a bit and ground
handling became difficult due to lack of wind, so I went up again to find
one other pilot waiting, sorry I am terrible with names. I persuaded him
he could fly so he kindly wind dummied and reported it was a little bumpy
but perfectly flyable. Richard Mosely then turned up and we took off to
have a magic couple of hours, eventually about 8 or ten people flew. My
first flight on the new Aspen 2, if you are considering getting one, all
I can say is it was a pleasure to fly, it turns on a sixpence and lets
you know what's happening with the air, without being the slightest bit
twitchy.
Report by Paul Hawkins
St Aldhelms Head was blown out when I arrived there around mid day but
conditions became more favourable as the afternoon went by. Dave W went
wind dummy and myself Paul and one other whose name I did'nt catch (sorry)
all joined him for a good fly. . . . . Where was Ali F?!
Sat 26 Jan 2008
Report by John Alder
Ringstead. A beautifully smooth afternoon’s hang gliding in silky smooth air in the company of Matt Whicher (Moyes Litesport) and a visitor called Martin ? from Joint Services Club with a smart new Airborne C4 – great to get one’s feet off the ground after a frustrating couple of months without a flight and so lucky to come across such nice conditions. My maximum height gain was 270m and the extremities of the area I covered encompassed a 9km triangle, this is good for this time of year by my standards at any rate!
Tue 22 Jan 2008
Report by Paul Hawkins
Barton on Sea produces the goods again! I had an excellant afternoon
fly for the time of year. Brian even made it all the way to Highcliff
castle and back!
Report by Gary Mullins
Ringstead. Tues. 22-01-08 On the way up at about 1-ish, met Derek Sadler
coming the other way. Looks like it may be a bit strong he'd been told.
We had a look anyway. Wind meter says - 13-14mph. . . . . . . . Our survey
says - Feels stronger. Mmmm.
Joined by Gordon Crisp. All three of us mmmmed a bit more. But one by
one we took off anyway and all had a nice afternoon.
Bit southerly so lonnnnng glide out. Had a good little foray around the
"dark" side of Nothe Point but light drizzle had us scurrying back.
Not lasting long, we were soon airborne until bad light stopped play at
about 4.
On conclusion : a cold, moist winter wind will always feel stronger than
a warm dry summer wind of the same strength.
So, a wind meter is a good tool to have.
Especially one like mine that reads 3-4mph under ! That way you'll get
more airtime ! Sorry Derek, didn't I tell you. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
Mon 21 Jan 2008
Report by Mark Fisher
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Doubtful of getting much flying in, we were very surprised that we flew every day bar one and that was because we had to leave .
We flew Famara Ridge, Mirador del Rio, Soo, Macher and Playa Quemada.
The best holiday for potential airtime we have all had. Averaging about
2 hours a day, we could have trebled it.. A great place to fly if you
are dedicated and committed and prepared to fly with full speed bar and
bigears at times. Had the pleasure of meeting Graham Phipps of Cornwall
HGPG and his students and a couple of German pilots with extraordinary
ground handling skills, Bern and Fritz, who have created a new bottom
T.O. at Orzola to fly Mirador del Rio when its too strong on top. Maybe
we were lucky with the weather and wind but would definitely consider
making it a regular winter flying holiday.
If you are interested in going here is a link to the sites http://www.ulrichprinz.com/air/es/lanzarote/index.html
The flights and accommodation together only £198
In our little group were Jon W, Paul E, Mark F and James Martin.
Sat 12 Jan 2008
Report by Paul Hawkins
Corten denham:Whenever I fly with Shamus and Mel I end up driving for
hours and hours and today was no exeption! It was worth it though I had
a nice couple of flights and a good introduction to a new site for me.
Roy, Carl and Andy all flew as well. I,m looking forward to flying this
site in thermic conditions. . . bring on the spring!
Report by Roy Menage
I arrived at Bulbarrow about 11:00 to find a gentle breeze but a bit
off to the west. So I did a bit of ground handling and had a few short
hops. It was obvious that it could get quite nasty when the wind gets
up. I then checked the SitePhone again and discovered that Shamus was
at Corton Denham so went off to join him. Found him and Mel para-waiting
having had a bit of flying until the wind got up. More parawaiting ensued
along with Karl. The wind finally eased enough to get off but it was really
too strong. I finally managed to top-land during a lull. By then, Paul
H had turned up. Still more parawaiting until it again eased to allow
us all to get our feet off the ground for a half hour or so. The northern
end was working best but I did manage to get almost all the way to the
south end. All managed to side or top land safely. However the wind had
once again picked up ending the fun for the day. It looks like a site
that has to be tried when it's thermic.
Report by Shamus Pitts
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The wind started to pick up a bit - I landed after 40 minutes and it was blowing 21mph at take off. Carl (or Craig, I'm not great with names!), and Roy M turned up, and after waiting a while for the wind to drop down Roy took off. While Roy was flying the wind picked up again (23mph at one point) and Roy struggled for a while to get down! Paul H arrived and after waiting a while the wind dropped to about 13mph, which with the surprising lack of lift made it a bit scratchy at times, although Paul had a good half hour in the liftiest part of the ridge.
The wind picked up again to about 17mph so I took off again. The wind had gone round to the South a bit and it was quite gusty so I only stayed up 15 minutes and landed.
We got all our gear packed up before the rain started, which was nice - what a great day! The walkers were very interested and an old guy who lives at the bottom of the hill said it was lovely to see people flying here!
Report by John Blessing
Arrived at Barton about 1330, quite westerly, but nevertheless Brian
M was already in the air. John R, Sean M, Robert D and Jeremy C also in
attendance. Wind was quite strong for a while then it reduced and became
more on the cliff giving us all a much more pleasurable flying experience.
Brian seemed determined to be snapped by the Hordle webcams (I think this
is him)and headed off to Milford, however the wind again became westerly
and surprised us all by reducing (against the forecast). Brian landed
out but the rest landed back on top or on the beach. Not a bad day.
Report by Sean Staines
Saturday 12th Jan.
Sean Staines I had a nice 1/2 hr flight at Whitesheet early on until it
became a bit light followed by another 1/2 Hr at Ringstead although it
was off to the West.
No one else at either site today.
Sun 06 Jan 2008
Report by Neville Almond
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Ringstead. The day started very light (7Mph) and off to the south. Soon after takeoff too much confidence saw me down on the lower cliffs by the houses, scratching at around 250ft above the beach. Eventually got to 400ft and went for the main cliffs and got trashed – back to lower cliffs, repeated this for 30 minutes until the wind increased and gave me the lift/height required to connect with high cliffs. . I was then soon down the coastal run, past Lulworth, then Worbarrow Bay, and over to Gad cliff towards Kimmeridge, 10 miles from takeoff. Flew out to near Kimmeridge bay, one day (with increased bottle!) I’ll go further. Flew around the area for 2 ½ hours, and by 2pm the wind increased giving height gains to cloudbase at 2500ft ASL. Landed at 2:45 in 25Mph. What a fantastic coastline and day!
Photo #8 – View East from Lulworth across Warbarrow bay, with Gad Cliff
to the right.
Photo #16 – On Gad Cliff, with Kimmeridge in the top right, and Corfe/Ballard
on the top/horizon Photo #30 – Over Luworth, looking West back towards
Ringstead.
Photo #32 – Birds eye view of Lulworth Cove
Sun 06 Jan 2008
Report by Alastair Florence
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Had a bit of an unproductive day in the Purbecks today. SW to start,
light at home so went to St. A's to find 17-18mph. It settled down after
a bit but went very light and off South, got enough height to top land
after one beat so cut my losses. Then tried Kimmeridge, light and off
south, then Knitson. Looked promising walking up but wind was rapidly
freshening whilst we kitted up. I did fly briefly, but the glider seemed
to be stuck in reverse gear, still managed to get it down before I ran
out of field. Quentin, Keith W and Paul H also on Knitson making it the
busiest parawait in the recent history of this site. Went walking on Ballard
in the afternoon and was stronger still so we missed nowt here by going
home.
Report by David Franklin
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Here are a few pictures I took whilst walking on the coast today some on Whitehorse Hill and one of an Atos(NevilleA,probably)landing back at SouthDown after a cliff run.
Report by Shamus Pitts
Arrived at Mere Rifle Range about 1:15pm to see a lot of people on the
ground and a light wind. After a while the sky was full of people, some
with height, others scratching, and slowly the wind picked up. I eventually
took off and had 20 minutes pleasant flying although the wind strength
quickly increased as the rain clouds loomed towards us! It's good to get
in the air again.
Thu 03 Jan 2008
Report by Paul Escott
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I shat myself!! I had very little control being thrown all over the shop. I managed to do a circuit and stopped the engine to glide in but got tangled in the stirrups. By the time I 'recovered' I was too low and badly to the right of the runway and it's mown borders.
Once I knew I was going to hit bush I waited till I was almost hitting then flared hard.
Have a look at the photos, no injury to me, no damage to the bug, one batton in the sail a bit bent and even that I straightened without problem.
Regards Paul 'Lucky' Escott
Tue 01 Jan 2008
Report by Jeremy Calderwood
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Happy New Year everyone! Well, having flown (very late) at Barton on
the last day of 2007 it was great to be able not only to fly on the first
day of 2008 but also fly on a new site. Despite my employers taking up
some of my valuable holiday time with some pesky problem that really could
have waited another day I still managed to get airborne by 3. 47pm. The
wind was fairly constant at between 12 and 14 mph more or less SSE - perfect
for both Ballard Down and Whitecliffe.
Two hang gliders had been cruising the Whitecliffe end of Ballard Down
but one had just landed and the other soon followed leaving me and only
one other paraglider on the Down and as he spent the whole time at the
other end I had a great big airspace all to myself. With an altitude of
280' ato I took the opportunity to really put my wing through its paces
with some tentative spiral dives and wingovers and general swooping about.
Eventually cold hands and a general lack of light forced me to land in
the gloaming at 4. 47 but it was a lovely introduction to this new hill
and cliffs for me and another hour of airtime pushing me to a total of
21 hrs 37 mins since the CP exam.
I would rather have had company while flying a new site but nothing ventured,
nothing gained. . .
See you all at the meeting on Thursday (PS - not much warning for the
photo competition. . . )
Report by Alastair Florence
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Had the best days flying i've had all year, and certainly the best for
several months now. Started at Ballard, very light at the bottom but looked
like a chance. On top strong and Southerly, to strong to get off comfortably
so went down the hill a bit. Had a great hour and half with the cliff
working ok and the whole ridge working as well, weak thermals coming off
Swanage, worked a couple up a bit and out a bit with Nev A (HG), best
height gain around 650ft ato, wind abaited slightly a bit later, Quentin
also put in an appearance plus another hangy.
I had promised the wife i'd be back by lunch so landed on the beach only
to find that she was busy cleaning and didnt want to go out. I am not
good at cleaning and dont like it either so thought it might be better
to go to Knitson.
Quentin folowed after bit and we had another excellent hour and half,
weak big thermals here, I got out in front within spitting distance of
Harmans cross and up to 650ft ato on several occasions. Nev flew over
from Ballard for a while and then back, presumably. Several other wings
on Ballard as the day/evening progressed. My usual bottom land fields
seemed to be full of random farm animals so tried a new one, bad choice
as I got dumped from 15ft, still gave me a chance to practice PLF.
Report by Mike Adkins
Happy New Year to you and yours.
Could you, indeed, would you, please publish a little reminder to those
who submit reports for EitS, to mention in the first sentence or so where
the hell they're talking about. The latest report from Gary Mullins would
only be recognisable by those who've flown at Ringstead - assuming it
was Ringstead! Also, perhaps folk could mention whether they're talking
PG, HG, or PM.
Tue 01 Jan 2008
Report by Nicole Moores
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