Eye in the Sky - August 2013
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Sat 31 Aug 2013
Report by Andy Ward
After a humbling lesson in ground handling a Gin Atlas in a strong winds I finally managed to take to the air. I spent an hour or so bouncing round in fairly rough conditions trying to get the height to follow Seamus over the back but it was getting late in the day so I only managed 1,000ft above takeoff and didn't find anything useable when I pushed forward. The stability of the Atlas in rough air was impressive, with only a few rustles of the tips - I was impressed, and the Atlas was filling me with confidence in the rough air.
Report by Shamus Pitts
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I took off and found conditions pretty full on at times in the air - the wind was a bit off to the west and the gusts were big and strong. It wasn't exactly unpleasant but it felt a little out of control at times! The wind gradually went more NW so after watching a hang glider pilot land and become a magnet to all the cows in the area Andy, Darren and I headed off to try our luck at Bell instead...
Conditions at Bell were pretty similar to Monks! It was pretty strong in the air but I soon found myself climbing steadily and headed over the back. The climb took me to 3000' ATO before I lost it - there weren't many clouds to speak of and what there were appeared then disappeared again very quickly... I made my way from tractor to tractor, picking up lift as I went. I hung around near a tractor on the edge of Wareham forest and got the climb I was after and managed to drift to Wareham, nibbling at bits and pieces and not really losing much height. A climb over Wareham took me to 3600' ATO but by the time I got to Corfe Castle I was sinking. 2 seagulls upwind of me pointed me to a climb which I gratefully took before going on a glide towards Swanage, sinking all the way. I found no more lift but wasn't looking particularly hard and made it to my chosen landing field by Swanage allotments with about 300' to spare. Thanks to Grant and Ann for the lift back to the hill!
Thu 29 Aug 2013
Report from Ringstead
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He had an altercation with another "flyer" buzzing him on T.O. about an inch long and in black & yellow livery (Big " ******* " Wasp).
Dr Andy on his new Gin Atlas, Wayne B on Hangie, Skippy, Dr Chas, Derek S, Jeff D, Gordon G & a few others. All in all a good day.
Tue 27 Aug 2013
Report by Everard Cunion
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A varied day at Monk's Down. Widespread, strong, and long-lasting lift carried several paragliders skywards while I rigged my hang glider. It was the only really good lift on the hill all day, although some others eventually got away after cruising at ridge height for a while.
After a brief struggle close to the ridge I went to the bottom landing field, encountering major turbulence in the last 200 feet all the way down. I landed at the wrong moment. The surface wind was blowing away from the hill and I landed on the wheels. Because I was wearing shorts (I don't recall when I last did that -- if ever) I grazed both knees fairly badly.
Meanwhile, Rob launched in his Litespeed and was soon a speck in the sky. He flew out front, behind, a mile to the east and a mile to the west. The photo is grainy because he was so far away.
Report by Grant Oseland
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Monks Down was the chosen site for today, turned up, spun it in the lift, speed barred it in the sink. More sink than lift = shorter XC than I would have liked. One main thermal ,that was massive in width, took the main gaggle of pilots up and over the back, and then on to base which was a nice 6000ft. Then not much but dribs and drabs afterwards with nothing really going up all that consistently. All summed up by some nice coloured sheep in the landing field.
Mon 26 Aug 2013
Report by Roger E
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Things that aren't supposed to happen on an XC, number 22.
How? I'd chosen my landing field, lined up over the hedge ready to glide in to it at a suitable height, ready to take a thermal if the tractor in said field kicked one off. At about 30 ft I started to glide forward and found myself coming down unceremoniously fast for a heavy landing on my feet, just in front of the hedge. The wing went light and fell backward in the breeze, over the bramble and hawthorne hedge. <expletives deleted>
Not sure what happened really. No obstructions in front of me, the field gently sloping away. I can only put it down to a bit of rubbish, sinky air. It wasn't a collapse, nothing dangerous, just a faster than usual descent. Legs down and being ready to land from about 75 ft up certainly helped. The moral of this tale is to be prepared for the unexpected, especially when landing in an unfamiliar place. That and all praise bramble proof flying suits. Oh, and I have yet to have a tractor in a field work for me €“ it's a bloody myth I tells ye.
Fri 23 Aug 2013
Report by Brian Metcalfe
Ballard - Worth Joining the holiday traffic. Arrived at the bottom to find very light easterly and very misty. Hiked up to find light SEasterly. Cooled off, had a bit to eat, was joined by Martin Woolley.
I took off not sure of staying up but there was enough lift in the bowl. Bit of a scratch against the wind along to the highest point but good lift there. Considered Old Harry but it didn't feel reliable enough, (what do I know; see below). Did a few beats with the wind backing a bit more east then top landed.
Colin Davies , Sean Staines and Keith Wright turned up and Colin and Sean promptly flew to Old Harry with about 700ft above sea level (see "what do I know" above), so I followed suit. We all flew right off the end and back to the White Cliff. Colin described the view of Bournemouth through the mist like seeing a city floating in the air.
Then we sort of split up to do our own thing. As there was plenty of east in it I decided to try the Hotels. Got there with plenty of height and stooged around a bit then tried to get back onto the White Cliff but couldn't get enough height in the easterly headwind to safely get above the cliff. I tried low down a few times but could feel the turbulence as I approached the sheer part of the cliff so chickened out and flew back to the hotels, flying right off the end there over Shore Road.
Seeing Sean fly the hotels and make it back to the main cliff, scratching up above the cliff top, I decided to have another go so went back along to the bowl below take off and tried to get up one more time. The wind seemed even more off to the east now and it was more turbulent. I couldn't get as high as Sean had done so gave up and went back to the hotels. (My theory is that because Sean had parked at the top, [with his hang glider on the roof, so it was allowed], he forced himself up by sheer will power to avoid the walk up).
Keith, Colin and I eventually landed in the farmers field by the coast path just North of the Green, (we have permission), after a good day out.
No photo's Grant; the visibility was so poor it wasn't worth it ;-)
Tue 20 Aug 2013
Report by Paul Maidment
My plan was to fly kimmeridge but half way there i had a change of plan and headed for white horse after having a couple of good flights there , got to the Weymouth road but no one at white horse so made my way back to Ringstead ,on approaching the turn off to Ringstead i could see two wings in the air , arriving at take off there was only one wing in the air (Russell) but he was just flying the take off ridge ,so i had a chat with the landed pilot who said that the cliffs were not working very well , by this time Russell had landed so we stood around banging our gums for a bit then watched as Graham M did a couple of beats then bottom landed ,another bit of gum beating then Russell took to the air and after a couple of beats made it to the cliffs without losing any height , then losing height when he had reached the cliffs but managing to scratch along the cliffs maybe 50ft or so , this was enough to get the standing around pilots moving ,my first launch was a right b----s up i need to slow down took off did a couple of beats got about 150 ft ato and headed for the cliffs got there with 200ft ato then sink headed for the escalator below cliff height rode the lift from it up over the cliffs, didnt think i was going to make it spent the next hour and a half staying pretty close to the cliffs because as soon as i pushed out i lost the lift ,there was at most about 8 wings on the cliffs at one time it was getting on so i had to make my way back got about half way and thought i didnt have enough height so went to turn back to gain more height but i saw the two wings left on the cliffs losing height ( what to do ) right head back to take off and see how far i get back , managed to scrape in just missing the hedge below take off but landing at the bottom of take off another didnt think i was going to make that, all in all a nice flight with a couple of sweaty moments.
Sun 18 Aug 2013
Report by Reuben May
Had a weeks family holiday down in Cornwall and managed to squeeze in a flight at Perranporth. What a easy, fun site it is! A little scratchy, but lovely soaring over the beach and rolling surf; a site I have wanted to fly for a while. The day was flown on North West wind averaging about 12mph. Check out the video if you wish @ http://youtu.be/z_RtaYoYoykWed 14 Aug 2013
Report by Nigel Rendell
An Eventful Day at Ringstead.
Part 1; First proper tandem flight went very well, with a good launch and a visit to the cliffs. My passenger, a very good friend with one major downfall, he's scared of heights! Being one of my friends he's not happy to accept that and having done a tandem sky dive and a bungee jump, he was keen to come for a flight. We had half an hour of good boating about with lots of checking that my passenger was ok and calm. Then after half an hour the reply came back €œI feel a bit nauseous€, so I answer€ that's no problem we can go straight back to the car.€ True we could get to the car but wind was too strong for me to be comfortable with, landing in front of the cars, so I tried to gain enough height to land in the back field. After ten minutes of whizzing up and down the shout came. €œI can't hold on anymore.€ Well put it this way, I had to do lots of washing when I got home. He did enjoy his flight and managed to take a few pics on his Iphone.
Rain came in, so a quick break for lunch and a cup of tea. There was some talk with Ali and Russ about going around the corner and along the coast and as I haven't ventured along there before, I decided a one way trip was on the cards, especially as I had a mate in the car that didn't want to fly again. I was going to be happy with Lulworth Cove as a goal!
Part 2; The trip unfolded to be an hour long with lots of new ground for me Fun, fun, fun! Soon after take off I came across a little rain, but was able to fly forward and around the cloud and into clear sky. Lift was everywhere, so with no hesitation off I went. 850 feet above the sea gave me a little peace of mind, soon I drifted into cloud. An unpleasant experience but with one eye on my instruments and the other on the clouds hoping to see open sky or the coast line it didn't last too long.
Durdle Door came by very quickly and Stair hole. Lulworth was not far ahead, and I was very surprised with the perspective of the cove! In my mind this was going to be a problem to get across from Stair hole to the back cliff, but to my surprise the distance appeared and it was quite short, no problem at all. So I had reach goal! Remembering the chat with the boys I thought I would press on. Having walked this coast line many times before I was thinking to myself this is the way to travel, no blood, sweat, or tears. The ranges to the back of Worbarrow bay seem to go without any problems at all.
Then for the decision to go for Gad cliff. YES! No surprise there, aiming for the gap between the out crop and the main cliff off I went. I made it with lots of height in the bank. Above/in front of said cliff saw me home and dry until overlooking Broad bench, one of my favourite surfing reefs. No swell so I was doing the correct sport for the day. Options? Glide down to B.B. and long walk or try and fly the back ridge to the quarry car park, and no walking. Or even try and connect to the west end of Kimmeridge site and fly on. Juices started to really flow now. Flying down wind along the ridge I managed to stay higher than I was expecting, It was on with a hop across the road and scratching with very little height left. But now I felt at home having flown K bay many times before. Yippee! New ground again, off the end of Swyre head. Now I can't remember how Ali described to overcome this problem. So I just went for the grassy slope of Houns Tout, leaving it to the last second, I turned out over the cliff and up, up and away, to the top, then straight across Chapman,s pool, another favourite surf break of mine. St Aldhelm's head,here we come, out to the point and back to the car park! Done and dusted. Time to phone my trusty retrieve driver. Still buzzing now!
http://www.xcleague.com/xc/flights/20132613.html?vx=06&xcsid=af6d9a7804e4d3620510a512681a52cb
Tue 13 Aug 2013
Report by Paul Maidment
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Report by Alastair Florence
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I managed to snatch a rare day off today so headed to Bell.
A bit of a mixed bag weather wise, sometimes heavy cloud others a perfect looking sky.
The wind felt quite gusty at times and was way off West most of the day.
I did not fancy my chances for a couple of hours but after seeing Roger E wing his way off toward Corfe (well done) I eventually got tempted.
The air was actually quite smooth and bouyant most of the time apart from one fairly leary thermal that had my tips fluttering.
I climbed out on the tail end of this one for a bimble to Winterbourne Clenston.
Fortunately my landing coincided with Pete C retrieving Roger so got back to the hill in time for a second bite.
This time getting decked at Wareham by a strong sea breeze. I had hoped to get hoovered in the convergence to prolong my final glide but the front was decaying and gave me little more than zero's despite a couple of hundred seagulls getting lower level lift from it.
Picture shows the edge of a half decent cloud climb skirting the whispies with the next (only) target cloud visible in between me and the sea breeze front with a reasonably long transition to get there, always seems to be nice clouds leading to airspace and blue holes where we want to go. Still musn't grumble.
Not many of us there really but Graham M, Roger E, Derek S Pete C, Andy D, a chap who's name I dont know sorry, Paul M and Brian & Ian pegging out spring to mind as other participators.
Many many thanks to Pete C for retrieve from Wareham.
Peachometer 7
Sat 10 Aug 2013
Report by Richard Chambers
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The forecast wasn't great but suggested westerly with a slim chance of xc so I dragged a few fellow Skysurfers along to White/Brown Sheet for a crack. I sent my wind dummies up who confirmed that yes it was a brown day so I decided to see if it calmed down whilst I ate my lunch. By about oneish we had convinced ourselves that the gusts were more sensible and the sky now had a bit of blue in it. Nick Warren and I took off and after a couple of beats of a good kicking we appeared to be going up. Rough and small it was but we both circled each other and hung on for dear life.
We both arrived at cloudbase (Nick for the first time) and I set off for the next cloud with Nick at my side. The cloud produced a broken climb that was a challenging battle of up and down. I was slowly building height but Nick had had enough and flew on. He found something better that got him back up to my height and we both headed onwards. The sink was very bad so when I found some zeroes I hung on for dear life. At this point Nick pushed on and eventually landed for around 15k on his very first xc, bloody excellent in these conditions! I was spinning around on my own at around 3000ft passing to the south of Salisbury when I spied a building cloud and made a fast glide thought the sink. It was text book stuff and got me back at base. The next couple of thermals zoomed but I was getting pushed towards Southampton airspace. I didn't think I would get anywhere near this far so I hadn't been making an effort to clear it early. I took a thermal right to the edge of the airspace (LK8000 on the gps I bought off of Ruth was excellent for this) and then pushed north and up wind towards the nearest cloud. I found a nice strong but rough climb, well it found me! I was pulled in so hard I had to bury the brakes to stop the surge and then it was straight back into the roundy roundy until the airspace got in the way again.
I was making progress north and eventually squeaked round the airspace to the A303/M3 junction. On the home straight now I had two choices, a fairly close cloud over Popham airfield to the north or a cloud with a sailplane climbing under it further away but directly downwind.
Not wanting to risk getting low over a really busy Popham I headed off to chase after the sailplane. The vario started playing its sad song so I got on bar to clear the sink as quick as possible. Unfortunately it didn't end until the ground got in the way. I tried for a valiant low save over a tractor but the wind was ripping the thermals to shreds. I spied a nice green lawn next to a massive manor house but thought better of it and picked a recently cut field and put down for a no step landing.
I was collected by a friendly farmer who dropped me at the entrance to the farm (probably just wanted me off of the farm) with instructions that Basingstoke was 8 miles north and Alresford was 8 miles south with no mobile reception and not a lot in between! Apparently I had landed on Preston Farm, owned by Lord Sainsburys! After a couple of miles of walking down a national speed limit road with no path I decided to knock on a door and a kind couple let me use their house phone to call Nick for retrieve. A few hiccups and a couple of calls from a phone box and he eventually found me! Ended up being 74km which is my personal best and a new Whitesheet record. I still can't believe it really happened, feels like someone else was flying.
Tracklog
This one can display the airspace so you can see where I got stuck.
Report by Paul Maidment
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Having checked white horse from the main road and seeing nobody there i backtracked to ringstead ,on arriving there was one wing in the air on the cliffs and Grant getting his gear out of his nice new car, being the second time at ringstead the first time i was blown back into the field with all the power lines in , i thought it best to get some advice from an old pro which was well appreciated and spot on (thanks Grant) , as i was unpacking my wing i watched Grant heading off to the cliffs to join Russell , after launching into a fair breeze i heeded Grants advice ,the first couple of runs along the take off ridge just didn't feel right on the third attempt i got a nice bit of lift and i point to the cliffs , slowly i crept out towards the house on the start of the cliff run keeping an eye out for possible landing sites just in case it all went wrong , but to my surprise i made it to the cliffs with very little if any height loss and slowly worked my way up towards the top part of the cliffs ,gaining height at a very steady 1m or so a second in the smoothest air i think i have flown in after the initial nervousness of getting out to the cliffs the rewards were a stunning views which will stay with me for a long time i kept thinking to myself how lucky we are to witness these awesome views i even phoned my missus up (hands free of course) she thought i had lost the plot , all to soon it was over the wind had picked up and i noticed that i was the only paraglider left on the cliffs just me and two hang gliders , oops i thought may have left this a bit late so i put on half speed bar and slowly crept back to take off , which i arrived with a little bit to much height ,i forgot to ask Grant about getting back haha for me one of the best days so far.
Report by Grant Oseland
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Report by Alastair Florence
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Nigel B (I think) and Quentin were in the air already.
I got airborne and tootled over to Houns Tout, then onward to Eldon Seat, despite trying for ages to gain enough height I couldn't get enough to fly over to Kimmeridge ridge, to much West in the wind although strength was good.
Got bored trying after sometime and flew back to Houns Tout.
Meantime Quentin, Keith W and later Paul H were all making the crossing of Chapmans Pool (Paul starting from Kimmeridge).
I had another go at getting onto Kimmeridge and got lucky this time.
Gordon (I think) and Alan W where on Kimmeridge presumably getting the #rap knocked out of them by some pretty horrible air.
I took a quick run up and down the ridge but that was enough thank you and headed back to the smooth and calm of Houns Tout and St.A.
I was getting hungry and thirsty so the Square n Compass beckoned, I overshot again by a field or few but the walk back made the pint and pastie even more welcome.
Peachometer 7.5
Report by Shamus Pitts
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The West Bat gap proved to be more of a problem. I tried 5 or 6 times, turning back each time at the halfway point. I couldn't build the height I wanted and had to leave with slightly less each time. In the end I decided to see how far I could get and ended up landing gently on the beach near the West Bay take off to a light ripple of applause! A short walk along the cliff path and I was back at my car. There were still people flying when I left, and it still felt pretty windy!
Fri 09 Aug 2013
Report by Sean Staines
Bell Hill €“ I had some lovely flying on the Hang glider at Bell on Friday and managed to get away XC to land near Horton. I've posted a video at https://vimeo.com/72177533.
Thu 08 Aug 2013
Report by Thomas Bevan
When ones confidence has taken a bashing thanks to a landing incident at Westbury & the following flight on the Atos was not enjoyable, before one makes any decisions about ones future in the sport you have to go to your favourite site & fly! Thursday found the Atos VR rigged at Ringstead & waiting for the conditions to improve. Grant disappeared off towards Lulworth & a couple of other PGs showed that the cliffs were soarable.
Before I could change my mind I was out on the cliffs enjoying the performance of the Atos, in fact so much a fast low 'buzz' of the home ridge was called for. The air was clear so I did & then mother nature intervened! When I got back to the cliffs the lift had gone. A blue PG wing managed to tuck in so damn close he was grass cutting but got up whilst I slowly lost height. The beach was getting closer & after consulting a nudist for the wind direction I decided to land on the widest section of beach(long walk).
What followed shocked me! I did a low level 360 skimming the under cliff & the nudist's umbrella before landing safely & happily. I cant remember getting onto the uprights but I had. If only I could do that all the time! 3 hours later back at take-off I was securely attached to Grant who then took me for my first ever flight on a PG.
The experience was very enjoyable, informative & makes the decision on whether to keep the Atos & buy a 'sky floater' or keep the Atos & get a PG! My thanks again to Grant & Russell for the assistance.
Report by Paul Maidment
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After my good flight Tuesday at white horse i decide to give white horse another go arriving at about 1ish to be met with pretty much the same conditions , after chatting for a bit i take of into very pleasant air after boating up and down the ridge for about 30min and about 300ft ato i decide to make a push out towards sutton poyntz to my surprise i am getting good lift the further i push out the higher i go reaching just over 1000ft ato and well over the village , i spend the next 20 mins flying around over the village maintaining 1000ft ato i was thinking of maybe pushing towards the coast but as i was contemplating this it became a bit overcast so decided to head back to the ridge , i arrived with still 700ft ato damn should have gone for it so i head back but the lift that was there has all but gone with just the odd patch here and there now only reaching 500 ft ato or so , after a couple of hours of fly which always seems like minute to me things start to change , now im having trouble pushing out and am getting thrown around a bit so decide it was time to land having seen George get dragged on landing my plan was to fly down wind over the take off field and come in further back ,as i turn i find im not making any headway but getting blown back at about 3mph i get blown back into the field behind take off which is in crop (wheat i think) , i then to my left spot a 2mtre wide grassy strip running the length of the field landing bang in the middle of it with a very smooth and controlled descent , better than had i landed in the take off field i think another good day at the horse .
Report by John Alder
Ringstead Bay - With the forecast predicting that the wind would pick up mid-afternoon I arrived at about 2.30 pm and rigged my Hang Glider. After a dodgy take-off in light wind and arriving at the cliffs well below them, I found enough weak lift to work up to over 250m ATO and, with the wind direction being SSW, I set off to Lulworth €“ didn't reach the Cove itself as I'd lost most of my height and was going to be heading into the wind more on the return journey, so I turned over the big cliff just to it's West (where I'd vainly hoped to top up my height and decide whether to proceed Eastwards). With full VG I easily made it back to White Nothe and then flew Westwards to Ringstead village before top landing uneventfully but (surprised by a sudden lack of wind close to the ground), I didn't have enough speed to perform a copybook landing-with-flare and ended up on the wheels €“ no harm done. Nice afternoon out!
Report by Everard Cunion
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The wind began to veer to the west and, strangely, there was more lift over the shrub-covered slopes at the western end than over the cliff. The air was smooth and I climbed slowly but steadily into an increasing wind. I then tracked inland a little and I continued to climb while over flat fields. (Fairly flat; the fields in front of the launch hill.) This might have been an atmospheric wave effect, which I suspect Portland island generates.
Eventually I reached more than 900 ft above take-off. Flying into wind, I was barely moving over the ground. I was a hovering speck in the sky!
Report by Alastair Florence
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I stopped off for a quick bit of cliff bashing on St.A's tonight after work. The wind was a good strength but quite well off to the South.
It was quite a push getting out round Emmetts Hill but once there the wind direction was much better, also the headland out near the Coastguard lookout was working well.
I boated about for a bit until I began to get a bit bored and hungry, plus Orographic cloud was beginning to come and go a bit.
As I had a bit of height I thought i'd push out over Chapmans Pool, next thing I knew I was on Houns Tout.
Then tried pushing up the coast a bit and got to Eldon seat with plenty of height.
I thought I may as well turn on the GPS at this point.
Then carried on up toward Clavells tower. I was getting fairly low by now so about turned and headed back to Houns Tout.
I reckon I could have got from Eldon Seat onto Kimeridge ridge pretty easy but it was mostly engulfed in clag.
Then a hop back over toward St.A's carpark and decended out of the cloud to land near the car.
A better evening than expected, Peachometer 6.5
Report by Grant Oseland
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Wed 07 Aug 2013
Report by Alastair Florence
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Monks down was flyable this evening. There on my lonesome. Wind off East a bit but 12mph ish. Plenty of little non cohesive globules of lift but not big height. Got bored after a bit and went balloon spotting instead.
Tue 06 Aug 2013
Report by Paul Maidment
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Awake Tuesday morning in two minds where to go head east to barton or west ringstead listen to sitephone barton 11 mph on the hill so barton it is but for some reason i turn right to ringstead ,all the way to ringtstead im thinking hope ive made the right call ,arrive at the entrance to ringstead but decide to ride on to check white horse ,as white horse comes into view there is one wing in the air with about 250 ft ato and another 7+ wings on the ground so i decide on the horse but riding through sutton poyntz im nearly decapitated by a jcb with his bucket at head height coming out of a driveway, i started thinking maybe it is a sign not to go to the horse and why cant some people see motorcycles , arriving on the hill i find Andrew from flying frenzy and about five students , on unpacking my wing i notice that the wind seems to be changing direction a lot and is bit on the strong side at times , after a couple of failed attempts at getting wing above my head i manage to push off and am met with good lift mmm maybe an xc is on the cards was going through my head , but this is only the second time ive flown here after about half an hours flying it became clear that about 300 to 400 ft ato is the max height im going to see today so i settle into a bit lumpy but very enjoyable ridge soaring ,at one point even pushing out very close to sutton poyntz ,flying over take off i did notice even the good guys were having some issues with the wind at take off with wings collapsing and people being dragged , after what seemed like minutes but in was fact an hour an 20 of stress melting fun and a max of 370ft ato it was time to go to work to re stress ready for the next good flight , on the fast ride home grinning from ear to ear i was thinking to my self good call , especially after my last flight a very hot 25 min walk up ballard and 1min flight straight down.
Report by Everard Cunion
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Derek Sadler (blue wing) and Nicola Hawkins pictured flying at Ringstead.
Sun 04 Aug 2013
Report by Paul Hawkins
Sundays seem to be windy and southerly at the moment. I had very similar conditions at Barton this Sunday as I did the previous Sunday however this time I took my GPS and logged the flight from Barton to Milford back up to Chewton Bunny and back again to Barton.
Quite a tricky flight on my sub 20m wing, active flying was essential in the gusting conditions and flying over the beach huts at Milford was a mouth drying experience! I think I may require a bit of a better glide angle to cross the Chewton Bunny gap but at least it gives me something to aim for on future flights here! http://xcleague.com/xc/flights/20132492.html?vx=0
Report by Richard Davis
A few more vidoes produced at Barton by Michael Angus (passer-by):
Video 1
Video 2
Fri 02 Aug 2013
Report by Stephen Whitfield
The forecast on Friday looked good for Hive so I arranged to meet Sean at 9.30. Our launch was delayed slightly waiting for the wind to come around and pick up. When we eventually got airborne there was lots of lift even on the low sections of cliff. All the crossings were very straightforward despite a slight headwind component. I got to about 1200ft ATO by Golden Cap and lost very little height on the glide to Lyme Regis golf club. The views were fantastic. The return leg was very speedy and I managed to get in on the top on my second attempt. Richard M went east to Abbotsbury, but his progress was halted by orographic rolling in. Its a great site and far more exciting than Ringstead. Highlights can be found below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zThS6M8W3U
Report by Alastair Florence
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Most evenings lately round the Purbecks seem to have been either no wind or clagged in. Tonight looked a little more promising so I tried St.A's.
It looked nice on t/o with 12-14mph blowing through.
There was a suprisingly sharp wind gradient and by the time I was 400ft ato I needed 1/2 bar to just stayed pinned.
The novelty of this soon wore off so I cruised back to land by the car park.
Previous reports
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| 2013 | |||
Aug |
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Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| 2012 | |||
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2011 | |||
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2010 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2009 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2008 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2007 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| May | Jun | July | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2006 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2005 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug Part 1 Aug Part 2 |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2004 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr Part 1 Part 2 |
| May Part 1 Part 2 | Jun Part 1 Part 2 | Jul | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2003 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar Part 1 Part 2 | Apr |
| May Part 1 Part 2 | Jun Part 1 Part 2 | Jul | Aug Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 |
| Sep
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 |
Oct | Nov Part 1 Part 2 | Dec |
| 2002 | |||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr Part 1 Part 2 |
| May | Jun Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 |
Jul Part 1Part 2 | Aug Part 1 Part 2 |
| Sept | Oct | Nov/Dec | |
2001 and before |
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