Agnew's West again.

Student Pete Stevenson managed to get two good flights in 10-12mph westerly before the wind swung to the north and died. Martin Bates had a shortish soaring flight from the top on his Niviuk Skin wing.

Stole a gap in the showers!

Student Pete Stevenson got in some valuable ground handling in gusty conditions at Agnew's Hill west this afternoon. Wind was varying between 12 and 18mph. The small Firebird Trainer wing is a bit of a handful in such conditions but he succeeded in taming it. When a short shower came through we adjourned to the classroom (my car!) where we had a useful discussion on various aspects of paragliding theory. For most of the afternoon we watched large slow moving showers moving in the distance north and south of us, leaving 'our' hill in the clear but for the one light shower.

Good day at Dungiven

Some good flying at Dungiven W this afternoon. Jim Rainey was in the air as I arrived. Phil Barron and Dermot Lagan had flown. Phil and Jim left soon after for other engagements leaving Dermot and me to carry on.

That seemed to be the cue for the wind to pick up with sharp instant gusts 9 - 20mph coming through. I tried ground handling in this but the lightweight Skyman Heartbeat wing was a real handful, tending to leap about on the ground and a small tug on the risers resulted in the wing instantly flying up overhead and beyond and then tucking after briefly lifting me on the way and dropping me again!

We waited and were eventually rewarded by the wind dropping to a manageable 12-14mph for takeoff around 4pm. I had a couple of good soaring flights, discovering that the wind at height was more NW and noticing that smoke from a fire across the valley was showing a consistent N wind! Lift was more or less everywhere and mostly smooth with the occasional wobble.  Approach to top landings was smooth. Dermot had another flight as I was getting ready to pack up.

Training at Skeagh

Lovely sunny day with some thermal activity. My two EP students, Pete Stevenson and Gintaras Jakutis had a ball for a while. Pete had eight flights from the top, with standup landings by the windsock on most of them. Variable wind put him off course on a couple of flights. Gintaras (known as GT) still has some trouble with reverse launches and involuntary braking for takeoff but improved with practice and got two top to bottom flights - one with a 'bum' landing but no harm done.

Activity was abandoned around 2:30pm when the northerly wind began gusting 9 - 21mph. Dermot Lagan had arrived for a look but wisely decided to keep his wing in its bag.

Robin Young's Hill

Another day with little to offer by way of flying. At the top takeoff at Robin Young's  the wind was on the hill but varying between 4 and 12mph. When it picked up a little I took off and turned to fly along the cliff. I didn't get enough initial lift and flew along the top of the front ridge. There was very little lift - barely maintaining and close to landing. when I flew off the end of the front ridge and back towards the cliff bowl I was still only maintaining height.

I then turned to fly along the front ridge lower down - 172ft below takeoff. Surprisingly I was able to maintain height and by staying in close managed to gain enough height to get back and turn into wind to land by the car park. I guess the glide at speed of the Skyman Heartbeat I was flying, saved the day.

The radio control model flyers were out but not enough wind for them by that stage. The wind later went north and got very gusty - measured 8 gusting 17mph at the lower takeoff. No more flying.

Another day on the ground!

Spent the morning at Greenmount college at a seminar on "Building United Communities through outdoor recreation". Before things got going and at tea break, Ian C and I managed a chat with the National Trust warden for Divis and Black Mountain. As a result we are reasonably optimistic that free access to that site can be achieved.

After lunch I headed to Robin Young's Hill. On the way I spoke to Dermot L on the 'phone and learned that there were two paragliders airborne at the Carnlough site we had visited yesterday - turned out it was Mark W and Mervyn G again.

Robin Young's was clagged in so I joined Loudon Blair and his mate Sam in the warmth of Loudon's car as we waited for the cloud to lift. The wind was very light and off to the east a fair bit.

Eventually the cloud lifted and I got a 'go', flying Loudon's radio control model glider. With only rudder control that I was never used to, I found it a bit tricky and had to be 'rescued' by Loudon a couple of times when I overcontrolled. Great fun until the wind died and put an end to the flying. Meantime Dermot made the pilgrimage to the top of the Carnlough site just as it all went flat calm so he did not fly.

Much running around without flying!

Following an early email from Ian C, I headed to Agnew's Hill before lunchtime. Martin B and Dermot L were already there, but as the wind was off to the NE we decided to try Robin Young's. I arrived there just as Ian F was landing near the car park and Mark W was packing up his wing. Ian reported that the wind had been strong earlier then dropped and was now too light to soar. Another pilot arrived in the car park - believed to be Mervyn G but who didn't come along the hill to speak to us. He and Mark left as I was helping Ian to pack his wing.

Withe nothing better to do, Dermot, Martin and I headed to Carnlough for another look at the Binagee site. We were able to drive up to the bungalow again but the surface of the lane above that was too loose for driving on. We took a walk up the lane to the top where we had a brilliant view of Carnlough bay. The wind was coming and going and predominantly off to the NNE - too far off and variable to consider flying.

On a spur lower down to the north we saw what appeared to be Mark W and Mervyn G preparing to launch on the NE face of the spur. They had a couple of short flights each with little lift and slope landings followed by top to bottom flights to the fields by the farm below.

Returning to Robin Young's Martin, Dermot and I had a word with former hang glider pilot Loudon Blair and his radio control model flier buddies. One of them returned from the top of the hill to report that the wind at takeoff was on the hill but over 20mph! Loudon had flown his soaring model earlier and said that the air was very turbulent. Not long after that Dermot measured the windspeed at the car park - 20mph! That was that! Going home time.

A good day at Big Collin

Yesterday - Sunday - saw three paragliding schools in operation at Big Collin plus a handful of UHPC members.

Beginners Pete Stevenson and Gintaras Jakutis spent some time at the bottom learning to master forward and reverse launches before moving up the hill where they both got airborne successfully.

Word from members who flew was that it was quite gusty higher up and many slope landings and bottom landings were noticed.

Light wind faffing about.

Martin Bates, Dermot Lagan, Tom Carson and myself spent the afternoon at Big Collin in sunny and mild conditions with light and variable wind, mostly SSW. Phil Barron was getting a student successfully airborne as the rest of us practiced our ground handling at the top, interrupted by semi-soaring mostly groundskimming short flights ending up our last flights by the cars.

I was playing with the Skyman Heartbeat M - a lightweight EN B wing. In a bit of breeze it easily inflates in a reverse launch by simply stepping back in the harness without the need to use the front risers. Cobra launches are also very easy and the glide was better than I expected as I overshot my intended landing spot. Handling is light and precise and the wing is noticeably faster 'hands up' than my Firebird Raven M. This might be down to reduced drag from the thin risers and line arrangement.

A pleasant day to be out and useful ground handling practice but not an epic flying day there.

Light wind fun!

Went to Agnew's Hill initially with taster student Pete Stevenson. Ken McC was already there with a student ground handling as the wind was well off to the NW. We then went on to Skeagh where the 5mph variable wind was mostly N backing NNW at times. After the usual preliminaries and some practice with forward and reverse launches, Pete ended up with excellent flights progressing to the top of the hill and getting in corrective turns to a stand up landing every time. Wind later increased to 14mph backing NW and then dropped.

Now we have another keen enthusiast raring to start a course. Coming from a background of kitesurfing and diving he is fully prepared for the inevitable parawaiting!

Just knew it!

I knew it was too good to last more than a couple of days - back to wind and rain again today!

Two days in a row!

Flew with Mark Piggott and Dermot Lagan at Big Collin whilst Danny Young and Al McMaster flew Knockagh today. Collin conditions were very variable with next to no wind on top then blowing 10-12mph intermittently. Flights were short and mainly slope landing after fighting with - and losing - small thermals that drifted up the face at times. Nevertheless more welcome airtime on top of yesterdays excellent conditions.

More airtime at last

A good day's flying at Agnew's Hill on Saturday 27th February. Good soaring with light thermals with eight other UHPC pilots. The hill was the wettest I have seen and the air so cold that after 20-30mins most of us were top landing to renew acquaintance with our fingers - despite two pairs of gloves in my case. Even a couple of additional latecomers as the wind eased got decent soaring flights. There was the usual exchange of banter in the landing area before we headed home.

Off to a start in 2016

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.

Risk of Cabin Fever

Seems no end to this atrocious weather - wind, rain, more wind, more rain...

Only consolation is that the hills will still be there when the weather improves!

BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS!

Bad News

This atrocious weather just keeps on happening - high winds and rain.

Good News

Following the recent achievement of Elementary Pilot rating by Richard Neill and Yueming Wang I am pleased to report that Miguel Ramirez has just achieved his BHPA Club Pilot Novice rating and is looking forward to lots of airtime when he shortly takes up his new job in northern Spain.

Despite his name, Miguel is a native of Greece and has offered to help if a flying trip there is contemplated. Coincidentally, I had a 'phone call from Olympic Wings in Greece offering fly-guide trips so this might be worth exploring.

A BIT OF AN UPDATE!

Having forgotten yet again to keep this blog up I suppose it's time I said something!

Wednesday 2 December 2015

A rare break in the bad weather saw a few pilots out at Dungiven West in the afternoon in very light winds - only just soarable. My CPN student, Gerry J, got some more soaring beat practice on the Firebird F1rst L, including a good slope landing after late lowering of undercarriage! He followed this up with another flight but the wind died and he nailed a spot landing at the bottom by the windsock.

My old friend Simon Murphy (Simon Murphy's flying circus) had sent me a demo Skyman Heartbeat M paraglider to play with. I took it for a short flight in the 6-8mph wind and managed to stay up but had to work at it. I liked it's speed and nimble handling, although the speed coming in for a slope landing was a bit faster than I'm used to. The wing, lines and risers are light - topping the scales at 4.15kgs and 14.5kgs all up with my normal Mowenpik harness, reserve 'chute, helmet, gloves, flying suit, flight deck with instruments with camera, and large stuffsack. I think there was a 500ml bottle of water in there as well.

Colin D had a soaring flight on the Heartbeat too and liked it. This is his comment:

"I did indeed like the Heartbeat, conditions were not perfect for a demo flight, as Bertie says very light, but you can only fly the conditions you're given. 

In that case I can say it's very floaty, stayed up no problem, faster than my Sprint Evo at trim speed and lovely to turn. Super lightweight design also could be good for my old back :-)"

 

(Photo by Dave Tweedie)

Tom C also had some good soaring flights and more slope landing practice with a trip to the bottom field when the wind died. Dermot L also got airborne and some soaring that he also had to work for.

A look at the sky seemed to indicate the possibility of some wave lift a bit out from the hill. Ian C and Colin D caught on to this I think as, after getting high over Benbradagh they were both able to sail across to the south headland without loss of height.

All in all a lucky break and proof that if you don't go out you don't get to fly. The only one disappointed was Martin B who, in his rush to get out, had lifted the 'wrong' rucksack so had brought his mini wing and left the rest of his flying gear behind. Doh!!


Sunday 22 November 2015

I went to Skeagh to check out a new Niviuk Skin 18 paraglider . This wing is unusual in that, apart from five inflatable cells, the rest is single surface. I spent some time ground handling part way down the hill as it was over 20mph NE on top initially. Reverse inflation in a bit of wind can be done without holding the front risers - just step back smartly and get ready to brake as it comes overhead.

When the wind died down to <10mph on top I took off for a low groundskimming flight. No noticeable difference from a normal paraglider takeoff or steering. Skimming down the hill at speed, application of some brake resulted in the wing slowing and setting me on my feet. I expected that putting more camber on the wing would lift me away from the slope after speeding up but this did not happen, leading me to remember that an online review had concluded that it did not retain energy as a 'normal' wing. Looking forward to a decent soaring flight.

RESERVE PARACHUTE PACKING

Last Saturday 8th November the Ulster Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club organised a day where we learned to pack our own reserve parachutes under the expert eye of Bill Morris who trains BHPA packers.
The purpose of the event - in Bill's own words:

“Learn how to pack your own reserve and how to use it. The day will consist of a talk on reserves showing deployment examples, a full demonstration of how the reserve works followed by a detailed demonstration of how to repack. Pilots will then have the opportunity to repack their own reserve under supervision. ”

The course at the Brownlow Centre in Craigavon (BT65 5DL), which was FREE to club members, was very well attended and it was also good to see pilots from the IHPA who made the journey to Craigavon.
We were not disappointed. Bill's expert advice and information showed that packing your reserve parachute is a fairly simple procedure but there are vital elements that you must get right if it is to deploy successfully. Aside from techniques that are common to all reserve 'chutes, different makes have their own particular variations and these were all demonstrated and practiced.

Bill had lots of video of reserve deployments, including those following mid-air collisions and talked us through all of them, pointing out the important points to note in each. He emphasised that it is wrong to think that in a low level situation you are  too low for a successful deployment - modern canopies open fast and even if only partially open before arrival on the ground you will still be slowed down. You are never "too low to throw". Other myths about reserve 'chutes were similarly discussed and explained.
This was one of the best events organised by the club and thanks must go to those members of the committee who organised it and to Bill Morris and to those members and friends who attended.

A SORT OF UPDATE

Had forgotten about this blog for a while. Only one more flight in 2013 - at the SW face of Agnew's Hill in strongish wind. First flight in 2014 was on 11 January at Dungiven. Had an excellent flying trip to Algodonales with Simon Murphy being well looked after by Johan and Jackie of FlyAlgo - highly recommended.

Some local flying and training back home then off with Alastair McMaster and family and Simon Murphy (again!) to Rose Valley Lodge in Bulgaria in July for 8 days' flying with Gavin of Rose Valley Lodge. Gavin and his wife Lucy (a couple from Belfast), with Texan Charles Austin have started a fly/guide business based in the village of Kliment where they now live and which is convenient to the main Bulgarian flying site at Sopot. We had some excellent flying for all but two days along the massive mountain range in big easy thermals. Unfortunately Alastair had a heavy landing the first day which spoiled things for him and the family but he is now back in action. Accommodation, food, guiding and transport were excellent and all included in the package.

Managed to get the dust shaken out of the Magnum tandem at Big Collin on return, with Martin Bates as ballast! Flying since then has been at Dungiven and Big Collin where we currently seem to have a spell of SE winds and I have had some students out. Visiting Romanian pilot Cristian Negrisanu has a ball on Big Collin and managed a series of slope and top landings, which he had never done before.

Two days in a row!

Monday 14 Oct 2013

Ian C dragged me away with him to Slieve Gallion on Monday. Arriving after lunch we found a brisk wind on the hill, slightly to the east of NE. We walked down the hill a bit and flew. I watched as Ian hooked a thermal and started climbing over the back. Meantime I was steadily climbing but making very slow progress into wind. When I looked for Ian I saw that he had not made it to cloudbase and was on a glide back to the hill. Due to the strong headwind he landed well back. Meantime Danny had arrived and was soon up to join me - even if a bit lower most of the time :-).

After some 25 mins I had had enough gale hanging and managed to get in for a good top landing in a bit of a lull. I went back to the car for some lunch where I was joined by Ian after his second flight. It seems that the wind was picking up as he said he had landed going backwards. When we returned to takeoff, the wind had increased to over 20mph and Danny was packing up. We did the same.

Tues 15 Oct 2013

Things to do at home so I didn't go out until after 3pm, more to go for a walk on Shane's Hill than anything as I did not expect it to be flyable. I parked in the bottom layby and saw that the wind was blowing fairly lightly straight up the road. I thought I might as well take the paraglider with me on my hill walk so, leaving instruments behind, I climbed to the headland between Shane's and Agnew's. When I got there the wind was Easterly and around 12-14mph.  I soon persuaded myself that it was indeed flyable, although the top of Agnew's was in orographic cloud. 

For the next 25 mins I soared around in smooth lift, using big ears to stay out of the intermittent orographic cloud as well as flying across to the dip between Shane's and Agnew's as it was lower and therefore cloudbase was higher. Cloudbase then gradually crept lower and forward progress was slow so I flew out to land by the layby. I flew through a fairly turbulent patch on the way down that I expect was wind shear as there was hardly any wind in the landing area. Not having instruments certainly expands awareness and reminded me of all those years hang gliding without them.

No massive airtime on the two days but pleasant and interesting flying nevertheless.