No wind at home all morning but went out to Big Collin anyway around lunchtime. Colin D and Tom C were already there and getting airborne in the light breeze. Martin B had climbed the hill with his new Niviuk Skin single surface wing but not yet ready to fly. I climbed to the top where I also spoke to Dermot L who had dropped by for a look but did not have time for a flight.
On top the wind was picking up to over 20mph at times. Since this was to be my first flight for a while and on a new Skyman Heartbeat wing, I decided to walk down to the lowest ledge above the lane for a bit of ground handling and possibly a small hop to the bottom. Wind on the ledge was 13-14mph when I took off. Colin had slope landed nearby so I was very pleasantly surprised that I was able to stay up, gradually working very small patches of lift that took me eventually to around 100ft above the top of the hill. I was then joined by Tom C and also Martin on his maiden flight.
After about 20 mins the air became much more choppy, as is often the case on this site as the wind shifted a bit more southerly. We noticed a large lenticular cloud formation well upwind to the south and concluded that, apart from the usual turbulence from the lower ridge upwind, the downflow from the wave had probably entered the mix. Bottom landing approach was a bit of a roller-coaster needing quick reactions to the sudden changes of airspeed. All landed safely.
Colin had been adjusting his wing loading earlier with a feed of sandwiches so did not come with Tom, Martin and me to the nearby Misty Burn restaurant for a welcome hot bite and old parapensioner tales before we headed home.
