Put your fingers to your keyboards and get typing! Hang glider pilots
too!
November 2003
- Part II
Sunday 30th November 2003
Report by Dave Daniels
Q. "What's the difference between a paraglider pilot and a lunatic?"
........A. "Not a lot!"
So - the fact that my alarm clock was torturing my brain at
6am, and after only 4 hours sleep, on a cold November's Sunday morning with
rain audibly descending in torrents is in no way surprising. Nor, therefore,
was it surprising that new member Aidan D was phoning me at 6:20am questioning
my prognosis that it ought to be flyable in the morning - but the same rain
outside his windows was causing him to question my sanity. My advantage was
that the rain had already abated in Winchester and I could see a starry sky.
Leaving Winchester at 7:15am we were treated to some
superlative scenery passing through the New Forest with clear blue sky,
valleys of mist and a 30cm deep carpet of mist clinging to the heather.
However, static mist was not a good indicator of the much needed wind.
A coffee with Nicole B and Dave T and we were soon
demonstrating the real reason I bought the tonker toy almost a year ago, since
both Aidan's and mine only just managed to climb the track to Kimmeridge.
The wind was rather southerly, and Ali F and Dave W were
reporting easterly at Knitson and White Horse - but Nicole, Dave and myself
managed 20 minutes of fun whilst Aidan's 1.5 hours post CP skills made staying
up in the imperfect conditions rather difficult .... not
surprisingly. Off to White Horse!
Dave W had set himself up to launch in the bowl, and
Russell W - arriving just after our convoy - joined him. The rest of us,
joined by Ali F and Mike D, went to the usual t/o and flew in increasingly
SSE'lys for another 20 minutes, departing just before the rain arrived.
So - 2 sites before the pubs open on a Sunday! Cannot be
bad!
Thursday 27th November 2003
Report by Dave Daniels - Eyes in the Office
OK - Who's out on Bell Hill? Just spoken to Neil Kermode (about the final
throws of buying Bell Hill) who is sat in his office on the north side of
Blandford watching a wing fly about. Now TWO of us are miffed!
It's not fair, I tell you! :)
Report by Luigi Degli-Esposti - "Occhio sulla Collina"
Who's out on bell hill? Well, just the usual work shy. That's who...
Strange goings on between Steve Corben and the "French
guy" from Lemmings. The bird of prey was pretty bored by the childish
behaviour on display.. Aren't we supposed to scare them..?
Please Dave, tell the 250 Wessex members that there are
thermals in November... Russell could not be shot due to said thermals
whisking him away out of reach on some very smooth lift...
So, another good day at Bell, shame that you had to
work....
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| Tandem? | The "professional" taking a break | |
Report by Jon Harvey
Yes many pilots ( probably some doing a sicky) at Bell, or was this because we
are now the owners?? (We
were/are - but you'd not have been aware of it at the time! DD)
Sunny, warm gentle thermals, and around 15 of us there
:Dave M, Russ W, Martin H, Luigi D, Gary P, Martin F - and Stephen Corben and
Derek Saddler of Condors - to name but a few. Sorry if I missed your name from
the list.
Report by RW
A perfectly pleasant day at Bell.
On arrival Dave M, Martin H & Keith W rigging
Dave's Hang-glider ( He did not need it)!
Lots of naughty little November thermals kicking off the
farm in front of the bowl, keeping us in the air with only the " Old
Fartonians" staying at the top of the stack.
So many Wessex members on a Thursday - Dave M, Martin H,
Brian M, Keith W, Luigi D, John A, Dr Charles C- S, the charming Nix H, the
Condor posse of Steve C, Derek S & John H, late arrival Martin F.
Where were the rest of you? Don't tell me another day in
the office. Shame!!.
Lots of lovely sunshine & flying fun especially the
efforts of Luigi to get his car up the track and the low level Acro stunts of
Dave M & Steve C the Oasis Posse.
Monday 24th November 2003
Report by RW
Who said "No thermals in November" ? (Probably
all the 250 Wessex members that have to work for a living Mon/Fri, read your
reports last week and spent the weekend counting rain-drops slither down the
window all weekend? DD)
At Monks Down, the Gin Oasis Gang were the only ones to monopolise the one
thermal of the day. Us lesser mortals were stuck to the ground or occasionally
scratching what little lift there was!! Ali F. you missed it again!
The Hive tomorrow ? See you there! (Anyone
live in the area who also has a shotgun? :)) )
Thursday 20th November 2003
Report by RW
I was lucky to fly , once again , at "The Hive".
Today I was joined by Martin H. who just did not want to
land & one of the elder statesmen of the Condors - " Tony B" -
in his 76th year! I did not think it would be do-able so many days on the trot
but, Hell, I finished the decorating so just reward.
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| Martin H and Tony B | |
Wednesday 19th November 2003
Report by RW
I do not wish to be boring BUT! (ZZZZzzzzzz!)
Back to the Hive this morning for an hour of low cliff
soaring, other Wessex Members were invited but they went to Barton! Anyway -
to cut a long story short - I was encouraged to leave the Hive for West Bay
& boyo was I glad I went. After a full briefing from Steve Corben it was
up, up & away, we went to the Beacon above Thorncombe & got 800' ato
in cloudy conditions. This was beautiful coastal soaring in pleasant company
for 2 hours with time out for lunch back at t/o.
Wessex it isn't but it is in Dorset. Wessex Members please
pay this site a visit, you will not be disappointed!!! (Even
in a northerly? DD)
Tuesday 18th November 2003
Report by RW
"The Hive" @ Burton Bradstock was the place to be!!
I spied a gap in the cloud & the sunshine tempted me to
the beach at the Hive. I called the local expert " Steve Corben" and
other members of the "Old Fartonians" sub culture of the Mighty
Wessex.
Martin H & Luigi E arrived to enjoy cliff soaring over
West Bay. It was a little off to the west but did not spoil the unexpected
fun. Beware the cloying grey mud as it adds kilos to the all up weight. Steve
showed us the tricks of beach launching, marvellous to watch.
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.