New site (to me) Slieve Gallion

A local pilot and I went to Slieve Gallion today ("slieve" is the Irish word for mountain). I have only ever seen this mountain from a distance as I pass it on the way to other sites and thought that it couldn't be that difficult to get to as it is so large and can be seen for miles. This is not the case as there is no direct road to the mountain from the direction that I was approaching it from.

When we arrived there were several other pilots in the car park huddled up waiting for the wind to drop to usable levels, there were also some hang glider pilots rigging their gliders between the car park and take off.

This site is great as there are land-able slopes almost all over the face we were going to be flying. There is only one small fence next to a small crevice that ran from the top of the hill down to the bottom. There were massive green fields out in front of the slopes so I was happy there were so many get out options should I need them.

After a while everyone moved up to the take off and the wind was slowly falling to acceptable levels for the more advanced pilots. Slowly everybody took off one by one until there was just me left on the hill, there were eight paragliders and one hang glider in the air. I still wasn't that happy with the wind levels for a while after that.

Others flying at Slieve Gallion

Eventually after all the hangies had given up and some of the other paraglider pilots had had their fill for the day the wind had settled enough for me to be confident enough to launch. My first flight was several soaring beats then a slope landing when the wind seemed to have given up completely. I was comforted in the fact that it wasn't just me the wind had left down when other pilots landed further down the slop from me. I bunched up the glider and walked back up to take off.

After a short while the wind returned to it's previous strength, with only about 5 pilot still flying I was easily encourages to go back up again. This time the plan was to try and get enough height to top land. Unfortunately I get wrapped up in all the soaring and kind of forgot about the top landing until I had lost so much height I needed to slope land anyway.

It seems after I fly a site for the first time I experience a feeling of relief and of understanding to how the site works. This probably comes from the fact that when you fly above a hill there is nothing hidden from sight, when you can see all there is a lot less scope for surprises.

Mayobridge and a bottled top landing

I had already booked today off work so I could potentially go flying. After the kids were packed off to school I went through my weather checking ritual and the two sites that seem to have possibles where either Magilligan or Mayobridge. Mayobridge was showing slightly lighter winds so I favoured that. I heard that someone was heading to Magilligan and after trying (and failing) to talk Bertie into letting me give him a lift for once if he was heading out (he wasn't) I heard that a few club members were heading to Mayobridge.

When I arrived there were three pilots on the hill, one ground handling and two getting ready. I watched the fun as the three pilots launched and at times they were getting height but soon lost it again. After a while they all came in to land as they were struggling to stay up.

I got myself ready, mentally made my flight plan which was to launch, try to soar for a bit, then try a slope landing, falling back to landing on a large flat field that wasn't far to the north of the ridge if the slope landing didn't seem right or I lost height. By the time I had done this and waited for a small lull in the wind I had gained a bit of an audience. Helpfully Colin checked that I had made a flight plan which I rattled off quickly to prove that at I had one.

Facing the glider I crouched slightly and stepped back and pushed back on the harness while guiding the wing above my head checking everything had inflated properly, turned while (mostly) keeping pressure on the wing and ran launching into the air (a perfect reverse launch by my standards). I quickly sat back in the harness and turned to soar the ridge and to my surprise and delight I seemed to be gaining height. I even remember sitting back a little to use the back rest on the harness to try to relax a bit. It was fairly apparent that I was gaining height because the other pilots were seen scattering to ready their wings to make the most of the lift I was enjoying.

Me with my "L plate" red ribbon wrapped around something as usual.

After several beats back and forth on the ridge the lift seemed to be waning as did my height. As I was so pleased with the flight so far and worried about suddenly loosing height I aimed for the large flat field to the North. I flew probably about two thirds of the way across the field and turned into wind with loads of height to spare before turning into wind. With the use of my controls I was able to make a more or less vertical decent to my landing spot, which ended in a gentle landing and fortunately in no way required me to remember to "take a wrap" (it wouldn't have helped anyway).

So on reflection I probably should have gone for a top landing early on in my flight when I had enough height but I was enjoying the soaring. By the time I realised I was losing height I am sure a more experienced pilot could have slope or maybe even top landed, I was happy just to take the easy option with a big grin. There will always be the next flight.

As it happened there wasn't another flight today, by the time I packed away my wing, stepped over a barbed wire fence, climbed back up the hill and cooled down the conditions seemed to be getting too strong. The last pilot to land had been up a while and gained rather a lot of height and by the time it he came into land conditions were a bit rough, fortunately he had the skills to land easily in such conditions.

Next time I may remember to take pictures or even break out the sunglasses with built in video camera I brought especially for flying.

Three days running.

Third day running at Big Collin mountain. Really being spoilt with the weather. Arrived mid-afternoon because reports from the hill said there was little or no wind. The wind had picked up a little. So I climbed the hill and performed my daily checks.

There were a couple of other pilots at the top of the hill which I spoke to while setting up. They were just practising standing with their wings above their heads. Once ready I gave this a go but found I was slowly moving back up the top section of the hill with each attempt. After a while I found I was on my own at the top as the two other pilots had taken off, so I picked up the wing and moved closer to the normal launch area.

I then got the wing sitting above my head happily for a while until I got bored. So I coolly (or so I thought) looked up at the wing to make a final check all was well then leant forward in the harness and ran off into the air. I landed right down in the bottom landing field but again forgot to "take a wrap" before landing.

I climbed back up the hill with the wing and only stopped either to take a breather or once to discover there wasn't enough wind to ground handle the wing up (which is easier to do than carry the wing).

I would have tried more ground handling at the top but there really was no wind. After rest and a chat with the other pilots, one took off leaving only Gavin, Bertie and myself at the top. With no wind it was clearly the last flight of the day so Gavin (another pilot that has less than 10 hours air time) suggested a spot landing task: see who can get closest to the wind sock in the bottom landing field. It was obvious that Gavin and I were not going to win against Bertie but we gave it a go anyway. I was first to forward launch, I landed (forgetting to "take a wrap" again, grrr) about 20 meters away from the wind sock (that I was secretly thrilled about). I started to put my wing away when I thought it would be funny to move the wind sock next to my wing for a bit of craic. Gavin and Bertie hadn't taken off yet so they probably didn't see what I had done. Gavin took off and landed exactly where I had moved the windsock from. His first words on landing where "I can't do spot landings" so I confessed immediately. Bertie of course practically landed on top of the windsock, the temptation to pick the wind sock up and run off with it when he was on final approach was nearly, but not quite too much.

Big Collin again.

Back at Big Collin today. At one point I thought that I might be sat on the hill on my own as I started to ring around to make sure someone else would be there. I needn't have worried because it seems that if the weather is right, pilots will flock in.

After yesterday's low number of flights I decided to make sure I would get a lot more little hops in if the
conditions were right. To start with I took of from the top to try to get a bit of soaring in. It seems that I fly too far out to get the strongest lift which is right up tight to the hill on this site. This was communicated to me in flight by the pilots climbing up the hill waving me back further towards the hill. Unfortunately by the time I had started taking their advice I had lost too much height and my flight ended in a slope landing.

The wind picked up and others were flying back and forth while I sat, watched and waited for the wind to die down again. I eventually got bored and decided to move further down the hill to do some ground handling and small flights. I got plenty of practise doing small flights that were maybe one or two beats back and forth across the hill before landing, then ground handling the wing shakily back up the hill until I had enough height to go again. All this considerable effort and by the end of the day I was pretty knackered, but I did manage a record number of flights (6) even if they were only smallish hops.

Having watched some of my landings Bertie mentioned that it looks like I am specialising in fast slope landings. It seems I can't get enough brake into the wing when flaring for a landing at speed (i.e. a slope landing that isn't into wind, or a landing in light wind). I will have to practise taking a wrap with my controls before I do my landing flare.

My first flights as a club plot

The weather seemed to indicate that Big Collin mountain might be where to head to today. Having already ventured out to check conditions yesterday and being let down by excess wind (this hill's, not mine). I wasn't too hopeful but I talked the missus into letting me have the car and ventured out anyway. There were already several cars parked up when I arrived. I quickly spoke to the clubs chief coach, he advised I get airborne soon as the sky was likely to be very busy.

I raced (well huffed and puffed as quick as I could) to the top and set out my wing, by the time I had done my daily checks and got into the harness ready I had received helpful advice and encouragement from four different club members who had realised it was my first day out on the hill without instruction.

First flight was a long top to bottom. I was able to happily fly avoiding the more experienced club members who were at all times higher then me and either way in front or way behind me. I must have made about 12-15 beats back and forth until I could maintain my height no longer. I ended up slope landing where I lost my footing and skidded on my backside for a few feet before bringing the wing under control. A quick check of my harness showed no harm done (it is always wise to check your reserve is still intact).

The sky got pretty busy after my flight and at one point I counted 18 cars parked at the bottom of the hill, it is certainly the busiest I have ever seen it.

My second flight was little more than a top to bottom because a silly fledgling had managed to twist one of his risers through 360 degrees and had not noticed until he was off the ground. I only realised there was a problem when I tried to use the right control and it felt very stiff. I immediately headed out to the large quiet East side of Big Collin to give me plenty of room to land, of course I found load of lift there.

At some point after this I realised that I had lost my wind meter. So I spent a good while wandering about the hill looking for it. After I gave up I mentioned that I had lost it to some other pilots and they decided what we would go out and do another search for it. Fortunately it was found right out where I had chosen to land on the East side.

Finally I make it to Club Pilot

The forecasts leading up today have been particularly erratic, it seems over the past couple of days the wind has been predicted to come from all points of the compass. I phoned Bertie to see where we were going and eventually it was decided to go to Robin Youngs hill which takes a N/E wind. I had been to this site before but never flown it. I arrived to see Bertie take off from the top and fly about a bit. I got my kit together and started to walk up the slope towards take off and about halfway up Bertie came down and landed next to me. He said that I should definitely get my last top landing in today so excitedly I shot up to the top of the hill to do my daily checks.

Robin Youngs hill

A couple of false starts later I had launched off the top of the hill. I flew several beats back and forth slowly loosing height quite enjoying myself. I finished off by heading to a top landing next to the car park. I wasn't far enough back when I turned into wind for my final approach so had to do a bit of turning before I landed.

After a few seconds Bertie came on the radio to congratulate me. I carefully laid my wing out amongst what the sheep had left in the field and started to pack it away. Bertie's work with me was done so as he had a new student that was starting he shook my hand and went off to another hill a few miles away which is much better suited to training first day students.

Martin flying

 After I had packed everything away I stood on the hill on my own for quite a while. I was half tempted to walk up to the top and fly down again but as I watched another paraglider that had launched get thrown about a wee bit I decided against it.

It seems good news travels fast because when I got back to the car park I was greeted by the club secretary who immediately extended his hand to congratulate me. I stood for a while and chatted with other club members before driving around to the training hill.

I have seen pilots inflate their wings above their head only to drop the wing back down again. I have seen them standing with the wing above their head then walk about the hill talking to each other I have seen them come in for a top landing only to start to take off as soon as they set down.What looked like pilots messing around when I first started training I have now come to realise is actually pilots honing their skills.

I climbed to the top and prepared my kit. I was pleasantly surprised that a bit of ground handling came very easy. I am guessing that this was because the wind was quite gentle, but also because everything I was doing was at my own pace. I am not saying that Bertie put me under any pressure while training, I probably did that myself. I was to able leisurely inflate the canopy and turn and stand with it above my head several on several occasions and sometimes for upwards of a minute. As I raised and lowered the canopy I was able to manipulate it using the controls and risers regardless of how it landed, only once did I end up with it in a state where I was unable to rescue it and had to actually walk up to it and move it around by pulling at the fabric.

Up to this point the two most testing obstacles have been the weather here in Northern Ireland and ground handling. I think I am getting better at ground handling but it will be a while yet before I am captain canopy. The weather I can do nothing about but try to improve my interpretation of it.

Club Pilot(Novice), what does it mean, what can I do? It means I am qualified to make my own decisions on when and more importantly if I fly.It also means I can now join a club, make use of their club coaches for guidance. I am already a member of the Ulster Hang gliding and Paragliding Club (UHPC) so I can turn my attention to torturing them instead of Bertie.

What next? I have thought about little else for so long I am not really sure. I want to put plenty of practice into what I already know but I am also keen that I don't get stuck a rut where I am just doing the same things over and over. I have been told that it is a good idea to set yourself goals to keep yourself improving, even if it just trying to land on a particular spot. I am of course keen to fly but am a little apprehensive about doing it on my own or under the eye of a club coach. I'll of course only go out when there are others around.

Slope landings signed off

After checking the weather websites last night I had high hopes for visiting Big Collin Mountian today. This morning I looked out of my window to check the wind turbine on top of the hill that over looks my house. It wasn't turning, not even a little bit, simply not enough wind to move the thing. I checked the Met office low level wind charts and they were indicating 10 knots at 1000 and 2000 feet. I went outside and managed to make out some cloud features in the stratus clouds that were as far as the eye could see, but these features were not visibly moving. So I resigned my self to staying in and working for the day.

I sent an email to Bertie just to let him know I wasn't hopeful, then got a reply that he was heading out to Big Collin anyway or some exercise if nothing else. So I phoned him and he wasn't sure there would be any usable wind but as he offered me a lift I thought that I may as well go along. My reasoning was that there would definitely be no flying if I stayed at home!

So a short while later we arrived at the hill where there was another instructor and student plus another pilot already there. The wind was light, but I was able to get some flying in. First flight was a forward launch and with a slope landing, next was a reverse launch with a slope landing as was the third flight. I took a break at this point because if the wind came up I didn't want to be too tired and balls up my final top landing that I need to finish my training tasks. This wasn't to be as the wind had moved around to the west and Big Collin really wants a South to South-East wind to be soar-able. So I finished off the day with a top to bottom flight.

Fortunately I got my slope landings signed off. By my calculations I only need one more top landing and I am done. Hopefully get that sorted tomorrow if the weather plays ball.

Flying with others

Training today was at probably the most used site in Northern Ireland, Dungiven. Bertie and I headed out fairly early to be greeted at the windy, cloud covered hill by two glum paragliders pilots and a hang glider pilot. After an hour or so,  more pilots had arrived, the wind had dropped and the cloud was starting to lift.

This low cloud was an improvement over the earlier conditions

I was quite looking forward to seeing a hang glider in flight as I have never seen one before and I think it is important to at least see how aircraft you are sharing the sky with behave.

I tried to take a picture of a hang glider but it had shot off into the distance by the time I got the phone out.

I was surprised at the number of pilots arriving, and that I knew so many of them to talk to. By the time the flying got into full swing there were probably ten aircraft in the air at any one time and up to three of those could be hang gliders. One of the 'Hangies' made low pass at speed over the take off area (no-one was taking off at the time otherwise he wouldn't have done it), the noise of the thing cutting through the air is quite impressive.

I only managed to snap four gliders airborne but there were plenty more out of shot

All told I only got one flight of about 10 mins but I can add pitch osculations (damping out when the glider starts to rock you back and forth), flying with others and another top landing to the tasks completed.

All I believe I have left now are a couple of slope landings and one more top landing and I have finished my club pilot tasks. The weather this coming week is looking good so hopefully not long until I nail it.

Monday 5th March 2012

Mayobridge

The decision was made (by wiser men than me) to go to Mayobridge about 11:00am. I was picked up by Bertie and we headed out for over an hours drive. In transit we received a site report that told us the current conditions were too windy but with hopes that things will settle down shortly so we carried on to the site.

When we arrived Martin and Colin were just coming down the hill to greet us with news that the wind was about 20 mph (too fast for paragliders). Bertie had a new wing for Colin so Colin was keen to get his hands on his new toy and fly it.

New toy on the left

We took our kit and climbed to the top, which was about a 5 minute walk. Colin and Bertie busied their-selves with Colin's new wing while I stomped about and hoped.

During all this buffeting wind we were being overshadowed by dark clouds that seemed were at least partly responsible for the strong wind. Out in front of the hill we could see that that there were clouds dropping rain and heading our way so all the paragliders that were out of their bags got rapidly put away again. We stuck with it as we could see that there was a big chunk of blue sky behind the dark clouds.

Bertie, can I have a go yet?

After the clouds had passed things had calmed down to a point where Bertie got to test fly the wing before letting Colin at it. There were 10 minutes or so that the hill was soar-able, Colin and his new wing made the most of what little there was finally managing a slope landing. By the time I was ready to go the wind had dropped down to around 4mph. So it was a top to bottom for me. This first flight was handy to get my confidence levels up, plus I got to re-enforce the forward launching skills I had been working on. Colin followed me down to the bottom landing field and Bertie collected us in his car.

After climbing up the hill from the car park again to experience another cycle of gusts with threatening clouds then clear skies with no wind. By now there were 5 of us and as it was now looking like there would be no more soaring so making something of what was left of the day four of us took turns in doing a final top to bottom.

Bertie gave me the task of letting go of the controls and reaching up for the rear risers and using them along with weight shifting to turn and control the glider for a short while. The point of this task is to simulate the loss of a control during flight and giving you the confidence to still be able to fly the wing and land safely. As effective as it was to use this method I shall not be using it for landing unless I do not have a choice.

Bertie, the thoroughly decent chap that he is was left behind on the hill. He tidied up and carried down the left behind equipment then drove down to collect us.

This is the second time I have been to this site, but the first time I have flown it. Although it is a fair distance from me I am hoping that it wont be long until I am back to do some soaring.

Happily another task has been signed off for my CP qualification.