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June 2003 - Part II
Monday 30th June 2003
Report from RW
I did not think it was flyable today! How wrong can you be?
(Ummm - how wrong can the
met men be! DD)
I met Gaz M at Ringstead at 1230hrs & we were in the
air heading for the cliffs without too much trouble & missing the
"house"! A few beats in front of a topless babe at the big house and
onwards to White Nothe, no great height gain approx 400'ATO but an enjoyable
smooth hour followed by a good top landing. The sock was displaying South so
it was off to the " Horse". T.O. at the bowl where it was about
14mph and thermic, again no great gains but small & smooth thermals giving
enjoyable flying with the buzzards.
Late arrivals were John W., Sean L. ( trying to regain the
record) & Dave G.
An unexpected fun day.
Saturday 28th June 2003
Report from Peter Robinson
I went to Ringstead initially but the sight of flyers
starting to launch at White Horse sent me and the Franklin brothers scooting
over there. When we got there we could see Matthew Redman already high and
slowly working higher. I launched, soon after 2pm, into what turned out to be
the best thermal I can ever remember at WH; 6kt, steady and big enough, almost
like you might get at an inland site on a good day. It topped out at about
2300asl, then I went over to where Matthew was cruising under a nearby cloud.
It was looking good inland, the drift was NE, so off we went. For once there
were workable clouds on the down-slope behind the White Horse ridge, although
after leaving the ridge the lift was weaker, 1’s and 2’s, and quite
short-lived. I fumbled for my phone to call home to tell the wife to look up
and spot me a few thousand feet above the house, but decided to concentrate on
the flying instead.
Thirty five minutes after launch and crossing the Tolpuddle
bypass I was in and out of the cloud getting about 200ft above base at
3600asl. Salisbury here we come! I had lost sight of Matthew but then spotted
him cruising below. I headed for two clouds in succession that looked good but
died before I got there. In the meantime Matthew had found another climb
downwind. By the time I got to it there was almost nothing left, but Matthew
who was now a good bit higher got a few more hundred feet out of it. In fact
he was still climbing as I looked up at him from the field by Milborne St
Andrew. Grrr! You know the feeling. He had enough height to reach Winterborne
Whitechurch for 19.6km. It was only his third XC and he broke the site record
set by Sean Lovatt only a few weeks ago. Congratulations Matthew!
Report from Dave Daniels
The date had been set some time back for a group of scouts
to do some tandem flying - and remembering that Stuart M had mentioned to me
the previous weekend they were rather short on tandem pilots - I went along to
lend a hand with getting the kids kitted up and anchoring on launch.
The weather at Kimmeridge was not perfect - but adequate -
and all 14 had flights as well as the two leaders.
The group being pretty tight on transport, and the fact
that after the flying they were going to Durdle Door beach for a swim, I
offered to give a few of them a lift over there - and their continued
expression of enjoyment and gratitude was very genuine indeed.
It was a shame that Sunday didn't provide the conditions
for them to have some more flights. In the scheme of things - to get any
flying on a weekend planned long before forecasts could be consulted was
pretty good going, and the kids appreciated that too.
A couple of them expressed extreme interest in taking the
sport up for themselves as soon as they were 16 years old - and becoming
involved beforehand. I think there's a high probability that a couple may come
along begging tandem flights on some other weekends!
Also at Kimmeridge were a good number of members enjoying the variable conditions - Gary P and Peter K gaining significant height half way to the cliffs in the light evening air
Report from Jeremy Mortimer
Arrived at Ringstead at 12ish to find a number of others
aviating at low level in front of the car park. The wind was fairly light with
some thermal activity. I managed 20 minutes or so in gradually improving
conditions but a couple of attempts to get to the cliffs were not very
encouraging. At this point several people departed for White horse. Sean
Stains made it to the cliff and eventually returned to land in a bottom field.
Ian Orpe flew out and just maintained in front the big house. Since that
looked like hard work and pilots were evidently getting some good height at
White Horse I abandoned Ian to what looked like a long walk back.
At White Horse half a dozen were in the air but Peter
Robinson & Matthew Redman had departed under a cloud north. Both returned
some time later - Peter had got to (I think) Milbourne St Andrew and Matthew a
mile or so further - possibly a new site record. (Yup
- site record 19.6km to Winterborn Whitchurch according to the Wessex
League pages! D) Peter R said it was
the best climb he has had at White Horse to 3000+ ATO. I managed a mere 1000ft
ATO briefly. All had much fun until conditions subsided at 18:00.
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Wooohoo! That's taken from a long way in front! |
Ian phoned later to say that he and ZZ had flown to beyond Durdle Door and back - eventually landing on the beach at Ringstead!
Friday 27th June 2003
Report from Matthew Charlesworth
John Alder and I flew at Bell again last night.
I didn't get there until 7pm and John was already up and
away. It was fairly windy but there were a few floppies up including Dave
Moores et al. I took off at 7.25pm and had 45mins of smooth air just boating
around into the sunset. John and Dave had both got high earlier but the best
that I got was 750ft ATO - but it was very pleasant all the same.
Cow shit every where at take off though, when we own the
hill can we shoot the cows??????????
Tuesday 24th June 2003
Report from Russell "News Hound" Whyte
After a brief look at Ringstead where it was S (the
forecast was SW), I made my way to the Horse. Sean? (Andrewws?)
recently qualified, was in the air soaring the ridge. I knew I felt thermals
& was quickly practicing those turns in lift that Dave M is always talking
about! The thermals were excellent & well behaved giving glorious upward
movement.
I just kept going up the vario was reading 865M and I
headed to the coast & flew over Osmington Mills thinking shall I go to
Ringstead, shall I make it? Too much thinking so I headed back to the ridge
happy & smiling.
A break for the usual & John B & Martin F arrived
with Martin getting to Broadmayne on his first and then Crossways on his
second XC of the day. I tried following & got dumped in the lea of the
power lines and suffered a walk back.
Late arrivals were Dave M, Allen T & James T. A
fabulous, fabulous day, where was everyone? (You
really want my to answer? DD)
Monday 23rd June 2003
Report from Matthew Charlesworth
Just to say that we flew at Bell on Monday evening.
John Alder and I spoke in the afternoon and by 5 PM he was
calling on the mobile from Bell to where I was chained to my desk. Conscience
burning, I bailed out of the office and got to Bell for 6PM just as John was
taking off, assisted by Dave Moores and others as it was decidedly
windy.
I rigged quickly and took of into strong but surprisingly
smooth conditions with good but broken thermals popping off the big and little
bowls. I made over 900ft above take off several times but the wind and
thermals were declining all the time with each proper climb being 100ft or so
less than the previous.
The air was clear and the views were great so 5 or 6
floppies took off but didn't seem to get too high as it must still have been a
bit windy.
John and I had over an hour and a half in the air and I had
to put headlights on as I drove away as we flew almost to sunset.
I got some great photos which I'll send in when I get the
film developed. Hmmm, must get a digital camera.
Friday 20th / Sunday 22nd June 2003
Report from Dave Daniels - Photos by Luigi
More a "hangover on the ground" than an
"eye in the sky" - but
to not mention the "Mighty Wessex Bash" on these pages would be a
sin!
There will doubtless be more in the next issue of Airmail -
so just a brief summary here.
I arrived at the venue very early Friday afternoon - and,
being the first time I had visited Lyscombe Farm was totally blown away with
the setting for the event! The blistering heat in a clear blue sky made
everything even better - and to hear that people had been flying Bell most of
the day (hangies then paras) was a fantastic start to the weekend.
Some pilots that couldn't resist trying the topography of
Lyscombe Farm's north-westerly neighbour - and had a great time in mucky air.
Sean L landed back at the camping area declaring "site record!",
only to watch Pete King fly past and manage 9km to Milborne St Andrew. None of
this would be so incredible were it not for the fact that Mark R, owner of
Lyscombe Farm, had never bothered to fly the slope!
The Hog Roast lured people back flying (Bell, Telegraph and
the new site) - and what a roast it was! The people that had been scheduled to
prepare this meal had blown out at the last minute enabling Dave M to perform
his n-th day saving effort to provide the BBQ and animal, with Luigi manning
"the bar" whilst Ian Orpe over-saw the roast.
Saturday was another sunny day - and a last minute let down
by the refreshments van not showing (without even warning us!) cancelled the
bacon butties and coffee (apologies for those that were caught out on this
one!).
The winds slightly spoiled the day being easterly and too
gusty for the winching and much aero-towing, although several microlights
arrived and flew. Some paramotors committed aviation - with varying amounts of
success (enough said!). Others went to Ballards, where I know many managed to
fly in winds that were not (I am informed) ideal - being very easterly. (Sod's
law was definitely at work providing wind for the only direction we do not
have suitable sites for the event!).
Adrian B went to Portland East - only to be dissuaded from
flying by one passionate Peregrine fan requesting us to keep away whilst the
birds were nesting.
More flying was done on the SE facing side of Lyscombe
bottom .... until the gusts from an ugly cloud to the north had big ears in
and everyone down pretty quickly.
Some people were actually kept from flying by
wives/children that just wanted to enjoy the environs of Lyscombe Farm - and
one cannot exactly blame them for that!
The "refreshment van" was also supposed to be
doing the bbq that evening - so, people were sent hither and thither to buy in
food and locate a bbq suitable for the evening. Luck was (for a change) on our
side when those returning the hog roast machine discovered that the same
people rented large bbqs!
As the evening started, the zip wire was zipping, reserves
were being deployed and repacked by Kirsten from Aerofix, people of all ages
were being flown in the tethered hot-air balloon, the music started the
alcohol flowed and the food was eaten (leaving only about 20 sausages that
were eaten on Sunday am!). All in all - one hulluv an evening!
Sunday am was a blur for many people - just as well with
the less exciting cloudy sky after the 5am thunder storm! Again the winds were
easterly - some winching was done before it became a little strong - but the
weather was obviously going to deteriorate and many people made an earlier get
away than they had planned as the camping field gradually cleared.
A merry band of helpers cleared the big tent and all the
crap taking things back to whence they came as the weather went from bad to
worse.
I was the last to leave and eventually cleared the contents
of my tent into the car in torrential rain and a thunder storm at about 8pm -
but the weekend had been so much fun - I didn't even care!
Estimates are that the anticipated 150 people became much nearer (if not a little over) 300! To have 300 happy people leave our first attempt at such an event if success, and I have received several email since congratulating Dave M on his organisation and the club on achieving such an enjoyable weekend.
OK - names are going to be missed out from this list since there were too many for my brain to recall - but here goes .......
Dave Moores has possibly missed a very successful
career path in event management. In the face of adversity - he delegated
superbly!
Mark and Katrin Russell for the use of their most beautiful
patch of the Dorset countryside - and Giles their ever helpful manager. The
venue has to be the real star of the weekend.
Hog roasters and BBQers and food preparation - Ian Orpe,
Peter and Tracy King, Keith Wright and Sue Bunn - and several others I know.
Tent erectors/dismantlers, trailer towers, handymen,
electricians and general hard grafters - John Readings, Stuart Martin, Brian
Metcalfe, Alan Booth, Neil Hutchison, Paul Kenber, Sean Lovatt, Alastair
Florence (who then missed
the best part of the weekend laeving on holiday early Saturday),
RW, Michael Craig,
Trade stands - Mark from UK Airsports, Kirsten from Aurofix,
John Welch for Sky and Craig Byrne of Highflyerz
Kitesurfing.
Airfiled coordinator - Richard Westgate
Activities - Zip wire erector and operator, Matthew Jacks
and team - and the Hot Air Balloonist - (sorry - name escapes me.)
Last - but not least - Dave's wife Harriet for putting up
with the last couple of months of mayhem this must have caused her - and the
enormous amount she did about the place the whole weekend.
Saturday 21st June 2003
Report from RW
The longest wait for some! A briefing at the
"BASH" & people were looking for places to fly!
I went to the bowl at Whitehorse hoping ( & praying)
with the rest of them. Some arrived at the parking point & went to the
Horse parawaiting for a sea breeze.
I sat at T.O. in the bowl making the usual observations, a
smoke plume near the coast was drifting decidedly from the east, but my
windsock was almost on the hill. Ahh! says I, thermals popping through, not
big, not small, shall I shall I not? Oh go on then !
I soared the S.E. arm - not too uncomfortable, little bit
"punchy" but manageable so I practiced the top landings, was up
& down for about an hour & Dave G arrived after stuffing his face with
fish & chips.
Thermals were a little nicer and we had an hour of pushing
out over Sutton Poyntz and nudging out to see the parawaiters sitting at the
Horse.
After landing to finish the day a "hangie" came
at full tilt from the Horse to the bowl looking for lift but only managed a
gentle bottom landing!!
Friday 20th June 2003
Report from Titus Fossgard-Moser
On the slight chance that I might be able to find somewhere
to fly, I jammed my glider in with all the other paraphernalia going with us
for a wedding in North Devon. As luck would for once have it, the place we
were staying in was a 25 minute walk from one of North Devon Paragliding
Club's sites (Woolacombe) and the conditions on Friday were perfect (NNW wind
and lots of sun!).
Thus Friday afternoon after a nice walk up to the launch
site, a quick call to the Club Secretary - Chris ? - (very mellow person) and
a chat with a couple of other pilots about the site, I launched.
First flight conditions were actually stronger than
anticipated and was simply blown back onto the hill. However half an our later
conditions improved and was able to spend a good two hours soaring the site.
Stunning view of Woolacombe beach and beyond, along with only a couple of
other gliders made it a magical afternoon.
Would strongly recommend anyone else to try the site and
with annual NDPC membership only £12 one can't really go wrong!!!.
(And a BBQ on Sat 28th June! DD)
Report from David Franklin
A lot of people had a good evenings flying on bell.I'm afraid I didn't make a metal list of names as we arrived and flew straight away. The picture is Neill and myself climbing as we approached Winterborne Stickland. We made 10k but doing that in the evening in a blue sky felt wonderful.
Tuesday 17th June 2003
Report from RW
A call from Dave G had me on my way to Bell Hill, arriving
at 1100hrs.
I had called Sean L & others, Sean was almost at
cloud-base & landed at T.O. screaming " I almost had it but I forgot
my GPS, Vario etc" (He'll
be aking off without his wing, next! DD)
I took off and quickly found the sink & landed at farm
near the quarry Oh ! such a long walk up, I must get fit ( x100)!!
Others arrived or called & the wind was picking up.
Dave Moores was waiting for a wind dummy & Sean obliged. A small gaggle
left the hill in a good thermal & Dave G & I were close behind.
I managed my first XC ( 6K)! After 18months & 120hrs it
was worth the wait, even it was only the other side of Stickland.
Dave G managed 9k , his first, GONGRATULATIONS!!!
Dave C.L. phoned and offered a lift after I had walked 2
miles up the wrong road. I will now invest in some maps.
So today is all about "Thank you"s!!
Dave G. for the call
Dave C.L. for the retrieve.
Dave M. for the quote " When
you're in a thermal going up the ground is no longer relevant"
To all the other pilots for
encouragement , tips & advice.
In a word " Magic".
Eye in the Sky - June 2003 - Part 1
Eye in the Sky - May 2003 - Part 2
Eye in the Sky - May 2003 - Part 1
Eye in the Sky - April 2003
Eye in the Sky - March 2003 - II
Eye in the Sky - March 2003 - I
Eye in the Sky - February 2003
Eye in the Sky - January 2003
Eye in the Sky - November/December 2002
Eye in the Sky - October 2002
Eye in the Sky - September 2002
Eye in the Sky - August 2002 - Part 2
Eye in the Sky - August 2002 - Part 1
Eye in the Sky - July 2002 - Part 2
Eye in the Sky - July 2002 - Part 1
Eye in the Sky - June 2002 - Part 3
Eye in the Sky - June 2002 - Part 2
Eye in the Sky - June 2002 - Part 1
Eye in the Sky - May 2002
Eye in the Sky - April 2002 - Part 2
Eye in the Sky - April 2002 - Part 1
Eye in the Sky - March 2002
Eye in the Sky - 2001 and before