Had enough!

 FIRST FLIGHT PARAGLIDING SCHOOL CLOSED

Just a note to say that after 28 years' operation I have closed my paragliding school to new students from 1st March 2024.

I began hang gliding in 1974 and paragliding in 1990, then opened my paragliding school in 1996.  After 50 years of free flight and with the persistent bad weather that we are getting these days, it seems time for this old man to retire from instruction. I expect to be still available for coaching if required and the usual banter on the hill.

With thanks to all my former students and wishing them and pilots everywhere, fair winds and safe flying .

Back to some action

Occupied with students on rare flyable days.

22 June 2023 and 16 August 2023

No students available. I had a short semi-soaring flight on each day at Big Collin, gradually losing height in light wind and with standup landings. Overshot landing areas due to superior glide on the BGD Cure 2 and last minute lift from the lane.

Back to flying again

After a long layoff due to Covid restrictions and bad weather, paragliding has resumed.

 5 MARCH 2021

Two flights at Big Collin in the company of Ken McConnell. Cautious top to bottom on first flight then soaring with lift out by the farm before landing on tiptoe at the bottom. Very confidence building.

1 APRIL 2021

Big Collin again. Short semi-soaring flight with bottom landing. Superior glide meant landing area overshot!

 16 APRIL 2021

Two more flights at Big Collin mainly dodging other pilots in limited lift band. Landed at the bottom both times.

19 APRIL 2021

Ground handling at Big Collin with BGD Seed in blustery wind in landing area. More ground handling up the hill a bit followed by short flight with bottom landing.

21 APRIL 2021 and  22 APRIL 2021

More flights at Big Collin. Getting more used to this wing -  very stable and with superior glide.

Quick flight at Dungiven W

SATURDAY 11 JULY 2020

Good turnout of pilots at Dungiven W in mostly 14-16 mph wind. I had four CPN students out - Gerry Johnston, Gennady Lubarsky, Jamie Baker and Maris Lambergs. All four have their own gear. Congratulations to Jamie on getting all his tasks done for CPN rating. Before any training I had a short flight on Jamie's Ozone Mentor 3 S to demonstrate Big Ears, Asymmetric Tuck and Top Landing before he flew and successfully completed those tasks.

The other three got more of their CPN tasks done, including safely flying with others, before the wind died away and flying was abandoned.

.. and there's more!

TUESDAY 17 DECEMBER 2019

Arrived at Dungiven W just as the wind picked up. I had my first flight with Ian Cross and Steve Hill also airborne. During the flight, I pulled larger Big Ears which required pumping out. Flew to headlands N and S of takeoff. Steering light with weight shift and also using C risers or brakes. There appeared to be wave lift out in front of the hill - very smooth and steady lift. After 35mins and 900ft above takeoff and despite a good pair of gloves, I lost feeling in my fingers and came in for a top landing.

Second flight to Benbradagh as orographic cloud formed over takeoff but quickly cleared. Paul Cunningham, Mihai Lazar, Martin Bates, Donal Hamilton and Stevie Vogel also flew. Brian Dawson called by on his way to give site owner presents. I need to be less vigorous in reverse inflations in wind to stop the wing overtaking me. Tiptoe top landing after second flight too. I also need more practice in packing the wing which has 74 cells and multiple chord-length flexible rods. Very pleased with the handling, stability and performance of the Cure 2 so far.

More of the Cure 2

SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER 2019

Paul Cunningham had just landed as I arrived at Big Collin. I drove to S slope and had first flight from half way up in very light wind. Not enough lift so I landed after 5 mins. Walked to top for second flight and soared for 15mins in light lift, landing at the bottom.

Wing handles beautifully. Impressed by how it turns so easily and quickly with just weight shift. Approach to landing at full speed then steady flare from about 10ft results in a tiptoe landing every time.

New wing!

I have been neglecting this blog for a while - mainly because there has been little chance of any flying because of the weather and when it has been flyable I have been getting my students airborne. As a result, Maris Lambergs and Gennady Lubarsky have achieved EP and are on their way to CPN rating.

SUNDAY 1st DECEMBER 2019

After hanging around for a couple of hours at Magilligan in calm to light and variable direction wind we were rewarded when the wind picked up NW  and it became soarable. Maris got two excellent soaring flights with some CPN tasks accomplished and two excellent top landings - his first! What a happy chappie! Gennady and then Ian Ramsey were content to tame their respective wings by ground handling practice in the occasional gusty spells.

MONDAY 9th DECEMBER 2019

Having taken delivery of a new BGD Cure 2 demo wing a week before, at last I got a chance to take it out of the bag and fly it. Wind at Dungiven W was off a tad towards the SW as I laid out the glider back near the top landing area to check it and do some ground handling. The wind was 12-14mph and my first attempt at reverse inflation was unsuccessful as I did not make enough effort and did not get it beyond 45 degrees. The second attempt, I put a bit more effort into it and the wing rose overhead with only a small input on the brakes to stop a potential overshoot. I turned and as the wing felt so stable I  took three or four running steps forward and took off, clearing the low dike. A small lull caused a momentary touchdown and a couple of steps later I was climbing away from the hill.

Feedback from the wing through the harness was immediately apparent and might take a wee bit of getting used to. Turning is easily done with weight shift alone. I pulled Big Ears at one stage and was surprised to find that they popped straight out on release, without needing any control input. Gaining height, I noticed Donal Hamilton on his Niviuk Artik 4, who had been soaring the headland to the south then disappeared, was soaring a bit to the south of Boviel. After gaining some more height in what was mostly very smooth wind I headed over with the intention of joining up with Donal. Arriving together at the headland I noticed that I was considerably higher than Donal. I turned and flew back to the takeoff area as I noticed the wind was picking up. My groundspeed on the way back was 56mph! Approaching top landing, conditions were getting a bit choppy and, not sure about my first landing on the Cure 2, and not wishing to get dragged into the fence if things went wrong, I opted to land behind the top fence.

The landing was completely uneventful - on tiptoe and hauling down the C risers instantly collapsed the wing. Donal, who was unaware that I was the Cure pilot, had also noticed the rising wind and opted to land beside me. Packing up the Cure 2 was a bit of a nightmare in the increasing blustery wind but eventually managed. Windspeed back at the car when we returned was 23mph!

Looking forward to the next flyable day!

GOOD DAY AT AGNEW'S HILL AND BIG COLLIN

I got a call from John Q to say that the access gate at Agnew's Hill had a new padlock. This would have been a first for that site. It turned out later that the lock is on another gate and not the access one. Problem solved.

I had a student coming out and opted for Big Collin as the forecast was for the wind to be ESE in the afternoon. That turned out to be the case and I had a quick soaring flight as my student, Ian Ramsey, arrived.

The windsock in the landing area was having a bit of difficulty making up its mind as to wind direction and kept switching from ESE to SE and back again regularly. The wind at takeoff was 16mph as Ian went off for his first flight in a while, having done part of a CPN course in Morocco some time ago. This was a straightforward soaring beats with bottom landing which he nailed beside the windsock as planned.

We then took the lazy way up - via the track from the windfarm using Ian's four wheel drive Range Rover. Ian's next flight getting plenty of lift, he practiced big ears and as the wind at the bottom had gone Easterly he landed further along above the lane, promptly falling over in his excitement.

I had another soaring flight as Ian decided that was enough for one day. As we packed up, Dermot Lagan arrived and climbed the hill to be rewarded by an excellent soaring flight in the easing wind, finishing with a standup landing at the bottom. See https://youtu.be/O67eesS5Amk.

After putting his wing into his car, Dermot discovered that his ignition key had come apart and the main metal part was missing. Without that - and not being a professional car thief - his car would not start. We searched for a good while, including opening and shaking out his paraglider until I happened to glance into the recess in the inside of the back door and there it was! Hard to explain how it got there but Dermot was very relieved.

Windy day at Big Collin again.

FRIDAY 1 MARCH 2019

Driving up the newly surfaced Collin Road I could see two paragliders soaring the hill - always a great sight and removing any doubts as to flyable conditions. Turns out the pilots were John Quinn and Colin Dowey soaring the southerly slopes.

After a chat to Colin who landed near the cars, I made my way up the hill to the second 'ledge' where the wind was 16 -18mph and a little gusty. Daily Inspection and Pre-flight Check completed, I pulled the wing overhead and turned to take off then stood there in surprise as the wind had dropped. That was an illustration of the variation in conditions. After a few minutes the wind picked up again and I took off.

It was easy enough to stay up but it took a while to gain height, trying to ride the small thermals that drifted through. It was a little bit choppy but as the wind shifted to flow over the ridge up ahead there was a bit of mild rollercoaster flying to be had on the bottom landing approach. The decision to bottom land resulted from the realisation that the windspeed was gradually increasing and a further check at takeoff later showed 18-20 gusting 24mph. Colin had packed up and gone by then.

Ronald Chudziak and Mark Piggott turned up and flew and were still airborne in the wind that had now backed to SE, although not making much forward progress when I left after a chat with John and Alastair McMaster who had turned up, unfortunately too late to fly in the strengthening wind.

Odd day at Big Collin

Tues 26 Feb 2019

Forecast looked promising for Big Collin for the afternoon, with light wind in the morning. I headed out at lunchtime, having arranged to meet Paul Cunningham to finish off his CP Novice qualification.

Tom C, Steven G, John Q  and Martin B were already on the hill but flying was confined to a few beats and a slope landing. Gradually the wind picked up and soon everybody was flying. Martin and I chased each other trying to work small thermals coming through until I hit more sink than lift and slope landed.

Later, when Paul had successfully completed all for his CPN rating, I went up for another soaring flight. The wind by then had increased to 16-18mph. Top landing was tricky as the lift continued well back. Brian on an eventual top to bottom after soaring for a while, had the same problem as Tom - lift all along the bottom lane meaning it took ages to get down from less than 100ft.

Dermot L had arrived and climbed the hill but he and I eventually packed up and carried our wings down from the top as the wind had increased to over 21mph.

The photo shows Steven (I think) just getting airborne to chase the airliner and John ground handling.

Blown out again!

More in a mood of slight desperation and a need to get out of the house for a while, I went out to Big Collin today. Arriving at the usual parking spot I found the SE wind bang on the hill and 11-12mph up on the first ledge. The clouds seemed to be shifting quicker so I made my way up to takeoff.

No great surprise to find the wind around 21-22mph and gusting to 26mph. Ah well, time for a bit of exercise with a brisk walk, interspersed with short sprints to try and get some movement into this old body again. After a couple of laps of the hill I was surprised to find that I felt quite a bit better. But with no sign of the wind dropping - gusts to 31mph now - I returned to the car after an hour where the windspeed was still only 12mph! Time to give up and go home.

I pulled into the layby down the hill to clear some rubbish out of the car into the bins there. I noticed for the first time an information board that told how the Collin claimed the lives of a number of aircrew in two separate aircraft when they crashed into the hill on training flights a few years apart during the second world war. There were a few survivors of one of the crashes. I wonder what became of them. A poppy wreath and some small crosses had been placed there too.

Some airtime at last

Thursday 10 January 2019

Got various messages on the internet that people were heading for White Mountain and Mayobridge to fly. I decided that Dungiven W might be worth a look but on arrival there the wind was light but off to NW. Having had an earlier message from Kirsty Mowat seeking some help in replacing the flying wires on her hang glider, I decided to head up to Downhill anyway to see if Kirsty was about.

When I got within sight of the hill at Magilligan I was happy to see two paragliders in the air with good height. Hastily abandoning a Kirsty visit (it turned out later that she was working anyway) I stopped off and went to join the action. My recently-qualified student, John Quinn was already airborne and Phil Barron was on site tutoring two of his students. My CPN student Paul Cunningham had also turned up.

After a chat to Paul and quizzing him on site assessment and his flight plans I saw him off in the 14-16mph wind at Hell's Hole where he joined the three others in the air.  I then took off and joined the others, checking out Paul's collision avoidance actions in the process - no problems. Lift was mostly very smooth. I watched as Paul completed two unplanned 360 degree turns which went well. However, his approach to toplanding took him  a bit too far back and he ended up landing in the ditch on the upper side of the road - but no harm done. Very pleased that he had completed his final flying tasks for CPN rating.

As we were preparing for a further flight we could see that the lowering cloud and rain that had developed over the Donegal hills upwind was steadily approaching. Sensibly everyone landed and packed up and were back at the cars just as the drizzle arrived. 

More Big Collin

Sun 11 November 2018

Big Collin again. Tony was on site with a couple of students. Wind on the hill was strong and gusting to 25mph. I cancelled training and had a word with Tony and one of his students ground handling at the bottom. Ken McConnell arrived and flew his radio control model glider for a while. Since there was no sign of the wind dropping I went home after a chat with Ken and with Tony who was getting his two students ground handling at the bottom in gusty wind.


Sat 10 November 2018

Took two beginner students out to Big Collin for some ground handling initially with the FB Trainer and SEED ground handling miniwings. Wind was southerly and almost calm at the bottom. Further up the hill we were getting 10-12mph at first so reverse launch practice was the exercise. Usual mistakes were evident - confusion between right and left; too slow reactions etc. But in the end both achieved a reasonable level of competence.

We continued in the bottom landing area with the regular M and L Firebird F1rst wings which, as expected, they found a bit easier after the twitchy miniwings. In the end the wind died and we stopped.

Late flights at Big Collin

Sunday 4th November 2018

I called out to Big Collin to check conditions with a view to getting a couple of my CPN students out. The wind was southerly and gusting 18 - 26mph so training was called off. Following an invitation from Al McMaster to drop by for a coffee, I did just that and spent a pleasant while with Al and his family.

On my way home I got a call from Ian Cross and, noticing that the wind had dropped a bit I swung by Big Collin again. Ian arrived just after me and we found the wind on the hill was now a manageable 16-18mph mostly. We got our gear and climbed to the top.

By the time we were ready to take off it was obvious that the wind was continuing to drop. In the end we managed a few low level soaring flights with slope landings before finally landing by the cars.

No surprise that the next day had low cloud and rain!

Good flying today at Dungiven W on Saturday 4 August.

Despite a strongish gusty wind at times we had a good turnout of pilots at Dungiven West today. Sky was overcast but there were reasonably moderate thermals drifting through at times. After a half hour flight to check conditions I eventually got my student, Richard Neill airborne when the aerial traffic cleared with four or five paragliders high up off Benbradagh.

Considering he hasn't been out for a long time since he finished his EP rating, he hadn't forgotten how to do a reverse launch and fly a paraglider. He had two excellent flights, soaring, using Big Ears, and two good top landings in less than ideal conditions.

Dave Tweedie, Mark Piggott, Tom Carson, Tony Davis, Dermot Lagan also flew, Blast from the past, Kevin McMacken, who lives in Dungiven, turned up with the usual big smile on his face and had a few good soaring flights with top landings.

Another day at Big Collin

I should really know by now, not to rely on weather forecasts. This one said the wind would be southerly so Martin Bates and I went to Big Collin with great expectations. Alas, the wind was varying from SSW to WSW most of the time with thermal activity causing lulls and switching wind.

Nevertheless Martin and I managed some semi-soaring flying but eventually landing at the bottom. We amused ourselves after that with ground handling practice with the BGD SEED ground handling wing. Being very responsive it sharpens up your reactions and means that when you go back on to your full size wing the ground handling is so much easier.

Good day at Dungiven W

Quite a few work dodgers and some parapensioners were out at Dungiven today. Wind was on the strong side at times but all got safely airborne and back landing on top - except for Dave Tweedie who went over the back for a short cross country flight to Garvagh.

Lift was widespread and although it was overcast, there were some mostly smotththermals drifting up the hill, except for one trip towards the southern end of the ridge when I got two fairly big asymmetric tucks in quick succession - one on the right then one on the left. The BGD Wasp M I was flying reflated immediately without turning.

Uel Glendinning arrived as most people were leaving and he and I finished off with good high flights and top landings.

Big Collin yet again!

This time the wind was S to SSW at times and light, 8 - 10mph mostly for quite a while. I had a couple of quick flights on my BGD Wasp whilst waiting for my two students to arrive. There was little lift but I was able to put in a few soaring beats before inevitably heading for the bottom where I landed on the ledge above the cars.

First to arrive was Paul Cunningham with a knee strapped up due to a skiing injury that needs surgery in  June! However it does not prevent him walking or running during takeoff or landing. Paul ended up having ten flights - five to the bottom and five slope landings within 10metres of a target (paraglider bag). On some of the flights he was semi-soaring when the wind picked up temporarily to 12-14mph S.

Gerry had six flights - all slope landings and three within 10m of target. Dermot Lagan turned up but sensibly decided not to fly as he was feeling the effect of some medication he was taking.

With the wind dying off towards the evening we called it a day at 6pm.

Even windier on Big Collin today.

Big Collin at lunchtime saw a Southerly wind of 17-18mph gusting 25mph at the top. A tad too much I thought, so I spent the next hour or so walking the hill to see if I could find my small audio vario that I lost yesterday. No luck - but not surprising since  it's only about one inch by one inch looking at you.

Since the wind showed no sign of easinf I went home.

I believe there was some activity at Slieve Gullion and maybe a cross country flight or two.

Windy Big Collin - again!

A good turnout at Big Collin this afternoon but with the wind rising and very gusty, only the brave - Maurice McBride and Mark Piggott chasing rough thermals out in front of the hill. I started playing with the BGD Seed ground handling wing that often seemed to have a mind of its own as the gusts came through.

After landing to grab a bite to eat, our intrepid aviators, Maurice and Mark took to the air again, hving decided if they got a half decent thermal they would go with it. I'm sure my offer of a retrieve had nothing to do with it!

It wasn't long before they disappeared over the back. I called on the radio and Mark replied to say he had landed in the valley immediately over the back and Maurice had flown over his head. After setting off Maurice's car alarm in a fruitless search for the keys, I headed off in my own car and soon spotted Mark in a field by the road at the bottom of the hill. Maurice could still be seen high in the sky in the general direction of Slemish mountain.

After negotiating a few roads in that general direction  I lost sight of  Maurice as concentration on the road seemed more important. I stopped at the top of the Ballygelly Road and called Maurice on the radio. He had landed 'near Broughshane' he said, then sent his location on WhatsApp. Brilliant. Having grown up in that part of Co. Antrim, I knew the roads fairly well and was soon on the Creevamoy Road waiting for Maurice to dander down from his landing field.

While I was waiting, Kirsty Mowat rang looking for advice on replacing the side wires on her hang glider On the way back we picked up Mark who had been watching our progress on WhatsApp!

Back at the hill, after a bit of debate they decided to pack it in for the day. Mark left and Ronald arrived just before Maurice's departure. I did some more ground handling with the Seed as Ronald climbed part way up the hill and took off. The wind seemed to have eased a bit so I piced up the Seed and made my way about half way up the hill with my BGD Wasp. Then the fun began. Despite the light wind now in the bottom landing area, the wind on the hill seemed hellbent on trying to see what variety of shapes it could put a paraglider into. At one stage I abandoned takeoff attempts in disgust and then as the wind seemed to have eased a little bit I took a quick trip to the top to check. Naturally the wind saw me coming and was 22mph gusting 27mph on top.

Meantime Ronald had taken off lower down and was soaring, although it looked like a bit of a rollercoaster. I walked down again and took off - only to be dumped on my back almost immediately. Sticking my hands up the wing came back overhead and I was airborne again! Managed soaring with Ronald but it was a case of getting lifted up then just as strong sink, then up again. I flew out towards the farm and over in the direction of the gate and started to go up again then down again, eventually landing by the car.

I had a Fairhaven audio vario with its velcro strap round a back riser. Unfortunately I forgot to attach the backup cord so that after landing I discovered the velcro was still there but the vario had gone! I had put down the lack of vario beep during the flight to a flat battery.