busy day

Today was a desperate attempt to get some flying in because it had been so long since there has been any and because the weather looks crap for the next few days. Initially I was going to drive to White mountain which is just over 50 miles from home but decided that the conditions were to come around to Big Collin in the afternoon which is only 12 miles away.

I ventured out to find the hill already scattered with pilots, climbed up to join in the piss taking, check my kit and eventually the wind started to come around.

There wasn't much in the way of wind for a while then everyone took turns in taking off, flying for a short while, slope landing then climbing back up to repeat.

Eventually the wind did come up and my last flight I had to fly right away from the hill to get out of the lift and land.

I got six flights in total, all unfortunately were only a few minutes in length. I was once again reminded that climbing back up hills in the sun can be warm tiring work. If I were doing it everyday then I would be as fit as a fiddle.

The return to White mountain (2012)

I saw a message to the UHPC mailing list that several members were heading to Dungiven this morning. I didn't think the wind directions would suit Dungiven, but there are several sites not too far way that would suit the wind direction. After a quick phone call to my boss I was able to secure the rest of the day off. I then jumped into the car and headed out.

Just after getting onto the motorway I realised that Bertie (the guy that was my instructor) was behind me. So after he had passed me I tucked myself in behind his car and travelled in convoy safe in the knowledge that he would probably have the latest information on which site in the Sperrin mountains would be best suited for flying.

Photographic evidence of me flying above my instructor (briefly).

We arrived and to find there were already four pilots willing the wind strength and direction to improve. It was not to be, so they suggested we change site to White mountain. I have only flown at White mountain a couple of times and it hasn't yet had what I can call a good flying day there. With this in mind I followed the crowd but didn't have any real hope that things were going to be any good.

We arrived and everyone enthusiastically got changed into their kit, so I followed suit. Climbed the small bit of a hill and set about my daily checks. Previously I would have been slow to set-up because I would want to see others flying before I got my wing out but I have now released that getting the daily checks out of the way is a good way to spend the time waiting for everyone else getting airborne and you can't over check your flying kit.
Others took off and gained height, so I got myself ready and was third into the air (I think). I got about 8 minutes flying and then came in for a top landing.

Mark and Dave

I took a breather and and calmed myself as things were really looking up. I took off again, this time for over 40 minutes (my longest yet) I was up so long that I had time to try and sit back in my harness and try an relax. Along with trying to slow down while I fly by applying more brake than I usually would, I also started to really try to think about areas of lift when I encountered them. Then I top landed because my phone had been ringing only to find it was nothing important enough to stop me flying.

After a sandwich I took off again, I tried more concentrating on what the wing was telling me, which side of the wing was getting more lift than the other and which way I should be turning (at times this was only a mental exercise as the hill was beside me). I actually spent some time flying out from the hill trying to keep where there was lift. I got another 20 odd minutes air time eventually landing by the cars.

At this point I was feeling a bit tired but I thought I should make good of my opportunities. I took off and again tried to tune into the wing and the lift I was flying through. This last flight was another 20 minutes and I slope landed just a little way down the slope from the cars.

In total I have clocked another hour and a half airtime today and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out especially because I thought initially there might not be any flying at all today. It just goes to show that you can't tell and you just have to put the time and effort in to get these days. Improvements for the future will be:

• Try to get a continuous hour in the air.
• Get more in tune with the lift I am in (device that will work as a vario/GPS is on order)
• Try to use today's gained confidence to get ready a bit quicker
• Get back in the air a bit quicker between flights to maximise my airtime.

A hard won top to bottom

Having negotiated the car for the day I wasted no time in setting out to Robin Youngs hill only to find the wind was too strong and the cloud sitting about half way up the cliffs and the wind slightly too strong. I then drove to Slieve Gallion which where the wind was too strong, then drove back to Robin Young's to find boarderline conditions (wind on the light side and direction was not directly on the hill). However there were a n abundance of RC pilots flying their aircraft and I met a Pilot I have flown with before also checking out the conditions. After a quick chat it seems we are both willing to climb up and see what conditions where like on the top of the hill.

When the wind was registering it was about 7mph and sometimes as high as 9, but it was fairly inconsistent. I made sure that the other pilot flew off first, he struggled looking for life and eventually went and landed behind the RC glider guys.

I took off and had much the same problem, so I used what little lift I could to eke out my flight ending in a slightly delayed top to bottom.