Eye in the Sky - June 2007
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Tue 26 Jun 2007
Report by Alastair Florence
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It didn't settle down enough to get the PG out on Bell tonight but appeared to be HG able, John A, Gary D and the owner of the 'rainbow' glider flew ( Steve maybe, sorry not sure of your name ).
Sat 23 Jun 2007
Report by Russell Whyte
Ringstead: After consulting the weather Gurus I decided on an early
start at the "office". I arrived at 0900hrs with the wind WSW and still
light. Ground-handled for 10 mins and it became flyable a tad of W but
stay uppable Derek S & Gail O arrived and we journeyed out to the cliffs
for some excellent lift. Stuart M arrived and came out to the cliffs to
take some photos. Number 2 son arrived with his posse' for some land boarding,
very entertaining! It remained quite Westerly for most of the day and
at 1400hrs it became blown out. Steve B arrived as it eased (a little)
and made his own extraordinary journey to the cliffs & back on his new
Nova Ra I wish I had a video camera! We went off to the local hostelry
for a bowl of chips and returned to the hill at 1800hrs for another fly
in the sunshine. It became strong again & for some it was off to the night
life of a seaside town.
Fri 22 Jun 2007
Report by Alastair Florence
I had a late fly on St, Aldhelms tonight. 12 - 15 mph with lots of cloud
forming behind the cliff and at times in front in patches. Loads of lift
and cloud layer from 150 ft - 300 ft ato, I couldn't quite get above the
cloud bank which was a shame as this always looks nice to me looking down
on a sea of white. SW direction so plenty of height out over the coastguards
and a bit less cloud.
I noticed a change coming in over the sea which looked like a gust front,
I figured this could give a total white out and decided it was time to
run for the car park, if I could have seen it that was. Still I could
just make out the footpath and flew back along this until I found the
car park for a smooth landing (plenty of visibility below 150 ft ato still).
Annoyingly the weather did change, the cloud totally disappeared and the
wind mellowed a bit. Still better annoyed on the ground than terrified
in the air.
Sadly no pics as I swiped the camera batteries for my vario.
Note ; its not neccessarily big or clever to fly when you can't see much
behind the hill, but it can be good fun in my warped opinion.
Report by Stephen Arnold
An unexpected call from RW had me driving to Ringstead. I bimbled about
on the ridge for an hour admiring the flying of Gaz M. and Gail O.
Before being coached to the cliffs for the first time by RW. Absolutely
magical a good feeling and such a flying experience, a grey cloud started
to develop so I headed back to Take Off and waited till it cleared. I
then went back to the cliffs for a second helping and even greater lift.
A good day out.
Sun 17 Jun 2007
Report by Wayne Bevan
Hi; If there are any rumours concerning a hang glider landing in the
sea on the 17th june,they are correct. It was me! Having flown out to
the cliffs & unable due to the southerly aspect in the wind to progress
onto the main cliffs & fly around to the southerly cliffs I lost height
& switched into beach landing mode. .
This was a mistake as I had the height to effect a grass field landing
as the winds were that light there would have been no rotor! Having selected
the area of beach I was going to land on I became concerned about the
wind direction & mistake 2, was made. I changed my mind! Altered direction
(still with height), only to find I still flew fast.
Mistake 3. I failed to realise that I was efectively making a nil wind
landing.
Mistake 4. changed direction to effect a controlled landing onto the beach/cliff
face by the caravan park. Have pulled this off before! I then hit lift
(southerly breeze) & instead of stuffing the glider in allowed the glider
to change direction & flew towards the sea by the rocky out crop.
Fortunatley the right hand wing hit the rocks at about 3ft asl & I nosed
into 3ft of water.
I got lucky. . Quickly unclipped & carried glider out.
Damage:- mobile phone & LR3 instruments knackered. . The Airwave Klassic
hangglider will have to be checked but I was replacing it anyway-so that
has been brought forward. Harness drying out after being washed.
I find flying at Ringstead to be very enjoyable & have effected beach
landings many times. I cocked up & will no longer consider beach landings
unless I really have to. I was lucky. . If you find yourself in such a
position don't panic & you stand a damn good chance of staying alive.
I have attended ditching sessions & I believe this allowed me to stay
calm & lady luck smiled upon me. .
Safe flying Wayne bevan
Report by Russell Whyte
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Report by Mike Bretherton
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Looking at Eye In The Sky its looks like the whole of the south coast
was flown today. I went to Southbourne with Simon Herbert for a bit of
crane spotting, the wind was off to the west a bit but it was certainly
flyable. It felt a bit strong but it only measured 15mph (max) and when
we took off it was perfect. After about an hour the wind turned more south
which gave us a bit more height and allowed the crossing of the Boscombe
pier gap but the Bournemouth crossing looked a bit marginal so we did
not risk it. We flew out over the crane and back under it, I took the
outside line, Simon took the inside line, both of us made it easy. After
flying for about 2 hours the wind dropped off and we decided to call it
a day. It started raining just as we had finished packing away, perfect.
Report by Paul Hawkins
Another good fly at Barton, Steve A, Joe M, John B,(where was Brian M?)
and at least three or four others whose names I did'nt get. Lots of fun
was had and I made it to Milford beach huts and back for the first time
which I'm putting down to the Gradient Golden 2 on loan from Mr Westgate
(thanks Richard).
Steve A was still pulling out wing over's as I left at around 4pm. . .
A very pleasant afternoon was had!
Report by Grant Oseland
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Good days flying was had by most today, good lift everywhere, made plan
to go as far as possible down towards Durdle Door and beyond (one day
I plan to get to Ballards!) Dave Winn also joined in for the ride but
no one else? Where did every one go?? Any way got down to Kimmeridge Bay
but the wind was starting to fade by now so decided to try to make the
run back but was foiled at Man of War bay by a complete lack of wind so
had to bail on the beach but still a good day.
PS. Top tip, don't walk back from Durdle Door to Ringstead via the coast
path its further than you think and there are some big hills!
Report by Sean Staines
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Report by Stuart Martin
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. . . . Gail Otton got herself out to the cliffs, and back, at Ringstead today. It has been a long time coming Gail and congratulations are in order I think.
Report by Alastair Florence
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I went to Knitson, at first it looked strong but measured ok so I gave it a go.
Classic Knitson conditions with low cloud forming off the sea giving good lift well out in front of the hill. I quickly decided to try a Dave W styl'y ridge run. Went as far East as I could then hacked up as far over Corfe as I could then (struggling a bit) got back as far East as I could, lost a lot of height at this point and bombed out below t/0 for 12. 48km. Quite a challenging flight though, quite rough down near Corfe and certainly got my pulse rate up flying behind and level with 11kv cables near the midway aerial. This stretch is quite difficult as the ridge nearly disapears and there are not many places to rebuild height.
Later went to St. A's hoping to try St. A - Kimmeridge given the element of South in the wind but to no avail (there's always another day though.
Report by Shamus Pitts
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Report by Kevin Dingley
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We were not able to fly every day but John and his team kept us entertained, I recommend head over heels down the steep side of the Dune but wear your helmet. The Dune is a great place to fly and on the last day we flew until 9. 45pm, I tried to do one beat of the Grand Dune but only managed 75% of it and had to run my wing on the grass line most of the way back.
A big thank you to John and his team on the Dune and back in the UK (Gaz, Vicky, Neil, Tom and Daz).
Thu 14 Jun 2007
Report by Paul Hawkins
Roy Menage has been hinting at me for quite some time to write one of
these reports, so here it is. . . . (better late than never eh Roy!) After
a long fairly miserable looking day at about 6. 30pm I decided to head
over to Barton just in case it was flyable and sure enough it wasn't!
I waited for around 20min the wind picked up and I had really good hours
flying and the whole place all to myself (apart from a family flying a
kite and a few gulls).
An excellent way to end an otherwise boring day. . . I think the Golden
2 that Mr. Westgate has kindly lent me made it extra fun! Not sure I want
to give back!
Wed 13 Jun 2007
Report by Shamus Pitts
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Having checked the weather I decided it was either going to be the White
Horse or Barton-on-Sea. Having never flown at Barton, I was keen to give
it a go (especially as there was a chance of rain at White Horse), so
I headed East and arrived there about 1 o'clock, to see 2 wings flying.
The wind was blowing 10 - 13mph and smack on the cliff, so after a site
briefing I took off (okay, so it wasn't on the first attempt!) and enjoyed
40 minutes of floating backwards and forwards just above the cliff tops
as the sea mist crept in and Barton started to disappear! Visibility never
deteriorated enough to become a problem though, but the wind was starting
to drop and in the end I lost too much height in a turn and had to land
on the beach.
When I got back to takeoff, Paul Hawkins had arrived, and also a couple
of others (sorry, not good with names). After waiting a while for the
wind to pick up, we all managed to fly (although not very high) for 20
minutes or so before landing (this time on top of the cliff!).
I had another 10 minute flight but made the same mistake as before and
had to land on the beach.
Tue 12 Jun 2007
Report by Alastair Florence
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It looked a bit blowy on the drive home tonight so I went home and did
some things.
Late evening I went out with the intention of having a walk round St.
Aldhelms, one thing led to another, St. A's seemed strong on the ground
but I thought I'd try a quick fly. No problems in the air in fact could
have done with a bit more wind as I couldn't get enough height to fly
back to the car and had to walk from the stile.
Landed soon after 2100hrs as cloud had spoiled the sunset, still, you
can't always have your cake and eat it as they say, I suppose.
The Cow weather vane on the barn roof just after Worth seems to have seized
up pointing North, i'll have to persuade the farmer to let me WD40 it.
The one on Worth Church is still OK though.
Report by Sean Staines
A phonecall to RW confirmed that it was flyable at Ringstead and Dr Charles
was in the air when I arrived. Myself, Keith, RW and Gary M procrastinated
for a while as the wind was 18mph but I eventually took off and had an
easy flight out to the cliffs with no trouble penetrating. The others
followed and we had some easy soaring until orographic started to form
and stopped play.
Mon 11 Jun 2007
Report by Alastair Florence
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I picked up the sitephone message from the Barton scratchers this afternoon
and as luck would have it managed to get away from work at a reasonable
time.
John B and Brian M where in the air on my arrival, not stacks of height
but obviously nice and lifty. I managed to launch on the second attempt
which is good going for me here.
Plenty of room with just the three of us and reliable lift to allow a
couple of runs down toward the beach huts at Milford. Why is it the bit
of beach with the 'Male' Nudist sunbathers always seems to have the best
lift ? I'm sure they think we have other things in mind when trying to
find lift over them, h'mm maybe bits of them act as a trigger point, errh'yuck.
Driving back through Corfe conditions looked ideal for St. Aldhelms, I
resisted the temptation though as it's my wedding anniversery today and
I thought this might be pushing my luck !
Sun 10 Jun 2007
Report by Mark Fisher
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Report by Shamus Pitts
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Report by Alastair Florence
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Mark F called me mid morning for a weather check which made me look out and notice it might just work on Ballard. It looked light ish but probably worth a try after an early lunch. After 20 mins or so scratching I managed enough height to top land and dropped in to see Grant O who had arrived. The wind was probably almost due South and we both had a bit of a fly on the cliff with nothing spectacular. I tried the ridge followed by Grant. Some quite spanky little thermals all the way up to the obelisk where it seemed smoother and we managed around 500ft ato. Ulwell Gap looked tempting but I figured Knitson may not work so bottled out. Now back on launch for a chat and a loo break 'Dean' a visitor from Folkestone and Dover club had arrived. Sadly the wind seemed to have died a bit and we where all on the beach soon after. I did notice another couple of wings on the hill later, again it didn't look to spectacular. Still maybe 2. 5hrs cumulative including White Horse yesterday so mustn't grumble.
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Sun 10 Jun 2007
Report by Martin Foley
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Sat 09 Jun 2007
Report by Gail Otton
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Wed 6 Jun 2007
Report by Simon Jones
It looked strongish and a bit too easterly, but I decided to go and have
a look at Maiden Castle anyway.
There was too much east to fly the main ridge, but I managed 20 tenuous
minutes at the NNE facing, east end of the ramparts just as the day was
calming down, at about half past six.
I'm afraid I didn't gain enough height to take any photos!
Report by Keith Burridge
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Mon 04 Jun 2007
Report by Keith Burridge
Arrived at 12. 30pm to see three wings in the air (NO Sitephone Message)
with conditions looking a little turbulent and top endy. Left a message
and proceeded to join the others for a rollercoaster one hour flight.
As the wind strengthened all landed and an hours wait was in order. After
the wind settled to just about flyable Rob took off followed by myself
witnessing him have a small frontal collapse in the turbulent conditions.
The wind veered to the west and the ensuing increased turbulence called
for a landing and an end to an eventful, interesting couple of flights.
Sun 03 Jun 2007
Report by Lawrence Toogood
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Who did we sacrifice ? Those that could , did , too many names to mention , talk of logging ridge runs in the XC league!
Sat 02 Jun 2007
Report by Kevin Dingley
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CP training with Gary M. , we did not have radios so had to stay in shouting distance and only flew when there was not so many up on the air. As Shamus stated it was very busy and everyone had good flights. The low air time pilots like me did experience sink and out of my 3 flights I top, slope and bottom landed but hey it's all good practise. Last flight of the day I managed my first XC by playing follow the leader with Gary back to the car park. I was flying with a helmet cam and the edited day can be seen on YouTube
Report by Grant Oseland
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Report by Shamus Pitts
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3 flights, about 40 minutes, 300' ATO - nice day!
Report by Roy Menage
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I then met up with Lawrence. Welcome back to the flying community! Still a bit much fog so off on another mission before returning to see Lawrence crossing Boscombe pier. Result. I quickly called the Bmth radio room and proceeded to get airborne. Thanks Mark for the shove off! There then followed at least 4 crossings of Boscombe pier and one crossing of Bournemouth. Well done Roger for your first crossing of Boscombe. What a great day!
Report by Lawrence Toogood
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Fri 01 Jun 2007
Report by Roy Menage
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Report by Jon Harvey
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First at scene, John P and myself, then joined by Tony B.
Eventually landed to pack, when Keith B arrived followed by unknown pilot, both away smartly westwards.
Went home to collect wife after work and back again, (saved an ear bending later) and then Garry F, arrived. Another 40 odd mins airtime, before wind dropping off. Was hoping for a long evening flight for those elusive sunset images from up high, but not to be.
A pretty reasonable day.
Pictures by Richard Davis
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Fri 01 Jun 2007
Report by John Blessing
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About time we had an EITS from Barton. Absolutely beautiful day, little off to the west at times, which just made getting back from Milford-on-sea interesting. Usual Barton scratchers - Brian M, Richard D, Rob P. Paul H. and Lawrence T. still wearing his back-brace, nice one Lawrence.
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