Put your fingers to your keyboards and get typing! Hang glider pilots
too!
November 2003
- Part I
Sunday 16th November 2003
Report by Gary Dear
What a fabulous clear sunny Sunday!
I was given a ride with ZZ on his La Mouette Sphinx. Had a
good half an hour at bell on what I think will be one of the few remaining
clear and bright flying days of 2003. Tony Blackburn, Matthew Charlesworth,
Duncan Edwards, Jon Alder, Steve Adam’s, Kevin Byrne were, to name but a
few, supporting the hang-gliding contingency,
The wind subsided around 1530hrs which paved the way to a
spectacular number of paragliders with all good height gains.
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| ZZ flies the Tandem with Gary Dear as passenger. | |
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| John Alder | |
| Photos by Matthew Charlesworth. Click here for 3.5mb video of the tandem launching. | |
Report by Dave Winn
Well I think I can safely say everyone that turned up to do some flying and
rid themselves of the ' oh no, not another day I can't fly blues' should have
gone home happy with a couple of hours to their credit. There was one of those
in-between sessions where everyone looked up and secretly cursed the hangies (
I know I did ) but hey, the hangies that don't paraglide must think the same
when the wind is light.
Altogether a very satisfying day in which I was pleased of
the advice given to me a few weeks before to ' use the c risers on landing'
returning home without any bumps or scrapes.
A few more days like Sunday and spring will be upon us
before you know it..
Report by Dave Daniels
What a blast! The hill was almost as busy as a good summer's Sunday - and,
with no PGs getting away and a relatively small lift band, the air was pretty
busy at times too. Even at 4:30pm there were 15 wings in the sunset lit sky.
Early starter was "gotta get home early" Ali
F, closely followed by Dave W - and then myself and new member Aidan D.
The wind was light and westerly to start with, but gradually came nicely onto
the hill and increased. A couple of hours of PG flying and the hill was handed
over to the hangies for a couple of hours, with Duncan E and Steve A going XC
to Winterborne Stickland.
Eventually the patience of the remaining 18 to 20 PGs was
rewarded with some great flying, if slightly pinned in a fresh wind at times.
Flying continued until well after sunset and almost into darkness.
More winter days like today would be most welcome!
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Photo of me by Luigi .... |
Saturday 15th November 2003
Report by Alastair Florence
Yes - my midweek wings may have been clipped (temporarily) by pressures of a
new job but not totally folded. It was my choice I suppose. As someone
cheekily mentioned, my last employer has probably not noticed that I've left.
Rendezvoued with Russell W, and Steve C from Condors at
Cowdown. Jacko followed but went up the wrong hill. The sky looked quiet. A
walk up confirmed that it was quiet. When the wind picked up it was coming
from NW. Jon H joined the group and we headed off to Batcombe as we were
nearer there than Bell. We arrived to find several parked cars but no wings in
the air. Most of the cars belonged to Flying Frenzy school as Andrew P had a
training session underway. It was light but as a couple of pupils were
maintaining height. We quickly launched.
The wind picked up a little and was sufficiently thermic to
give all of us height gains of up to 700 ft for brief periods. Jacko found us
again and joined in. Several other wings were now also airborne. I couldn't
see any one on Bell although it must have been on there, did anyone fly there
? After about an hour the wind switched off and we all landed. After a bit
Jacko was press ganged into wind dummying, he disappeared low behind the trees
and shortly reappeared in the bottom landing field. The rest of us waited, but
it never got any better, still never mind the hour was good. Disturbingly one
member of our posse was spotted ( and photographed clipping in wearing nothing
but a helmet and strategically placed airmap ). Less said the better ! they
say the further West you go the stranger they get.
Report by Dave Daniels
I had to go down to Dorset - so I went early in case it was also flyable.
Ended up getting to Bell at about 10:30.
The wind was light - so entertained myself with some
ground-handling until I got bored with that - sat on the ground and dozed off
only to be awakened by the sound of a buzzard climbing out above the bowl. I
was in the air and after it making 160ft and back to t/o before the lift died.
Cycles came through that coaxed me out to make flight
around the "magic tree" and back to t/o a few times - reaching 160ft
or so.
Even this was getting boring - and I was about to land and
make my way home when Rob P arrived and kept me company making similar flights
for another hour before a few others came along - Nikki H, Dave C-L, Steve V,
Richard E & Russell E. Everyone managed a few flights - one good cycle
came through giving us 200ft or so, and then a final cycle just before dusk
after which everyone packed.
One hangie rigged in the hopes that there would be more
wind - but was de-rigging as we all started to leave.
Not a fantastic day - but enjoyable all the same.
Tuesday 12th November 2003
Report by RW
Wessex it isn't - but an invite from the West Bay Flyers had me at the West Bay Bowl (Westerly) flying in dynamic lift for 30mins with Steve C. Dave T. & Steve C.( Cuddles ) with a landing on the new man-made beach. Thanks to the Condors for the friendly advice & Site Brief.
Monday 11th November 2003
Report by RW
A call to Martin H. confirmed to rendezvous to be the "Bench" below Ballard Down. On arrival John B. was taking an early lunch (additional ballast before the walk up). Martin H & I made a start up the path closely followed by John B. At the top we could not believe how perfect the wind turned out to be, smack on t/o. We did not take long to get airborne. It was smooth & dynamic with lots of lift everywhere. We ventured out over Swanage Town and back up to the top, then along the ridge to the gap & back. First flight was nearly an hour followed by a swift lunch at t/o. then back to smooth flying with Brian M. & Luigi E. I called Alli F. who was seething with envy as he had been watching us from his new workplace " Christchurch", "No midweek flying" was his ( through the teeth ) answer. The wind died off at about 1430hrs & it was down to the beach for some beachcombing!!!
Saturday 1st November 2003
Report by Dave Daniels
Summer has gone - long live winter!
OK! No conveyor belts to the coast - but still close on 9
hours of flying by someone.
The forecasts were varies and none of them good - but that
didn't stop me rolling over for my phone at shortly past 6am to get the
Compton Wendy report .... and I was out of bed! The only common thread had
been "probably blown out (for PGs) with a lighter patch at the beginning
of the day and again at the end of the day" - so NW @ 4 to 10kts was
confirming the early day conditions. Winter has come and the caravan has
closed for 4 months, so it's from Winchester it's a longer slog for me than
I'm used to. Driving up to the top of Bell
Hill at (8:10am!) I found Dave W already there.
The few whispy clouds at about 100ft were scooting across
the sky far faster than the 10mph on t/o - so something was happening
overhead. Taking off confirmed it - just 30ft ato I was going backward and the
air was really moving about. A bad case of "wind sheer" was
happening, the cold air in the low ground in front being totally static and
the wind above hooting!. I managed to stay low for about 5 mins, and then a
blast of lift had be in the fast stuff and I was back over the top field in a
trice for a fast backward running landing as Ron S and George S were driving up
the track.
Dave W and I stood about for a few minutes as ZZ, Mike A,
Sean L, Nicole B, Russell W, Martin H and Brian M turned up and, with the wind
still feeling strong, watched Ireland jsut loose out to Australia in the Rugby
and the hangies flew.
Julian P arrived with his Atos and took it into the top
field to rig it for his first flight with it.
Charles C-S arrived and, seemingly oblivious to our state
of caution, launched ... and climbed .... and penetrated .... in smooth(-ish)
air. So - it had improved, and gradually the paragliders returned to the air
and, on the first day of the new XC league year, Peter R and Sean L vanished
over the back with Gary M in pursuit. Sean and Gary made the outskirts of
Winterborne Stickland, Peter just managing to cross the A354 south of
Blandford.
The wind picked up again, and Julian launched the Atos and
seemed to reach all corners of Dorset in his first flight, such was the speed
of the "stealth wing", and some PGs decided the day would now stay
too windy Wrong decision guys.
Until about 4pm, when the wind did die down (as forecast!),
the rest of the day saw many people flying in close to limiting wind
conditions that had intermittent spells where all the wings (PG) were pinned
into wind and anyone too close to the hill being forced to top land.
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Nicole B went for a tandem flight on ZZs hang-glider, and
flying went on until it was getting dark - and a few HGs must have been
completing their de-rigging in the light from their car's headlights!
Also on the hill were Simon (where's that membership form!)
H, Ali F, Mike D, John A, Helen A, Martin F, Jeff Davies, Russell E, Jonathan H, Nikki H,
Mark H, Maurice H (who arrived and left when it was windy and should have
stayed!), and a few more who's names escape me. Who'd have thought it was so
difficult to remember 250 names!.
So - those that didn't bother .... why not?
I also owe a partial apology to newly CPd member Aidan D.
Aidan called me when I first got to Bell and I said "come on down!"
and then called him in the first period of being blown out to say "save
the petrol - it's blown out!". And then we flew all day. Well - it was
windy, and I decided it was not really "first out-of-school flight"
conditions .... until the very end of the afternoon. I hope he forgives me
when he reads this.