550 feet above Robin Young's Hill

I wasn't sure there was much point in trying to go flying this evening but sometimes plans do come together. There are few places as pretty as the Ulster countryside when the sun is shining and I spent the whole of the drive to Robin Young's Hill near Cairncastle being reminded of this fact.

I arrived to find an empty hill... not usually a good sign. The wind at the car park was almost non-existent... not a good sign either. I was expecting Bertie and after a short while he and Mark arrived. It seems Mark has read this very blog and it had helped motivate him to get back into paragliding after a few years break from the sport.

When we arrived at take off I still wasn't convinced that it was flyable, there was more wind and the wind meter was registering 10 mph. By the time I was ready to fly Bertie was calling out the wind at 11 mph and I still wasn't convinced despite his enthusiasm. I stood (shuffled about) with the wing above my head for a short while trying to get a feel for the air but soon dropped the wing back down to wait for stronger wind. Eventually after several up/downs with the wing I thought I would wait for the next noticeable puff of air and launch. If it was just a top to bottom then so be it, it wasn't like I haven't done the walk back up before. So I launched, turned right and stayed aloft for about 80 minutes, at times 550 feet above take off and ended with a top landing just as the wind was switching and dying.

In the video below you can see The Mull of Kintyre in Scotland, Slemish, the Belfast hills and in the far distance the Mountains of Mourne. This site is also be the location used to film Ned Stark beheading a deserter at the beginning of Game Of Thrones.

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.

6.4 km at Robin Young's Hill

With the torrential rain we have been having lately (wettest June on record etc.) I was glad to get out today for a bit of soaring. I got a message from Bertie to say that Robin Young's hill was soar-able.

When I turned the corner that brought the hill into view I could see a Martin was flying his glider high in the ridge lift above the hill. It still makes the hairs go up on the back of my neck when I see a glider in the sky.


So I excitedly parked and put on my boots and climbed up the hill with my gear. Half way up I got a text from Bertie saying the wind was a bit rough which deflated me a little, but this was evidenced by Martin opting to land out in the middle of the field. When I reached the top of the hill Bertie was walking down to drive and collect Martin. So I busied myself with sitting on a rock checking the wind every now and then. I got bored sitting on my own after a bit so I left my gear next to Bertie's and walked back down to the car. A sandwich and a chat with Bertie and Martin later the conditions seemed to have improved, so we climbed back up. Conditions were now a wee bit choppy but nothing to worry about so I got ready while Bertie flew for a bit. By the time I had made myself happy with the conditions and equipment Bertie was setting up his top landing so I waited for a for a full report... "A bit choppy, should be fine."


A few moments later I was off the hill being watched by two experienced pilots who would now and then give me hand signals on how to improve my flight. It was always the same hand signals, move further in over the hill. The way Bertie explained this is that if you have the height to be in over the hill there will still be lift there, and when you turn out from the hill to change direction you will not fly out of the lift (or at least not so far out of it).


Below is my track log:

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Showing off

Today was the first time that any of my family or friends (that I had made before starting paragliding) have seen me fly. My mate Steve was over to visit from England and I had already warned him that if it was flyable I would probably cry until he agreed to come out to the hill and be exposed to my hobby.

Steve, my son and I decided that we would head out to Robin Young's Hill in the late afternoon. I wasn't sure what the conditions would be like but I thought I would give it a try. When we arrived there was no other pilots about. So I checked the wind in the car park and it was a fairly consistent 14mph. Worth the walk up but I was worried that it would be stronger higher up. Another pilot arrived and I went over and introduced myself. This was re-assuring that someone else thought that there maybe some flying to be done. We all climbed up the hill and watched the other pilot take off and soar for a short while and end up bottom landing it seems the wind wasn't so strong up on top.

With my daily checks done and happy with the conditions I decided to I ask my son to take some photos as I launched. Unfortunately on my first flight I sunk like a stone and it was no time at all until I was landing in the bottom field.
I climbed back up to take a second flight and when I arrived I was greeted with a very enthusiastic nine year old. It seems that watching my flight had really hit a note with my son. So he offered to record a video of me taking off with his iPod.

I think that the video is not bad for a nine year old's first attempt. It seems that my son also wants to come out the next time I go flying, I wonder how tolerant of the inevitable wasted trips he will be.

Soggy Robin Young's

I took a chance today and set out for Robin Young's hill about 1 PM. I arrived to hail stones but the sky out front of the site was clear so I decided I would try to wait it out. After a while the rain stopped and the wind changed to a more favourable direction. So I got my kit and climbed to the top of the hill.

The wind direction was ideal but the strength coming and going just like yesterday at Slieve Gallion. I walked about the top of the hill to try to get a signal on my phone, I found a spot where I could get a data connection and received an email that the club's head coach Dave Tweedie was on his way.

As I was to have company I laid out my wing and started my daily checks, while I was doing this I felt the wind pick up a little. I also noticed that another couple of cars had arrived in the car park that were probably other pilots. I thought that I would bring my wing above my head and ground handle which would tell any others that there was someone on top of the hill, unfortunately by the time I was ready there was no wind at all so I just stood and waited.

Soon enough Dave appeared with someone carrying his rucksack containing his kit.It seems he got talking to a guy who was out running and the guy offered to carry Dave's kit up for him. We stood some more and the wind came and went, but so did fine rain. After a while Dave took off (it is easier to let someone else who is much more experienced like Dave provide a reference, for example are other pilots staying up or are they getting chucked around). We were joined by a few other pilots now and we watched Dave's flight take him down to the end of the cliffs and back. He only landed because he forgot to make a phone call but he reported nice smooth conditions. 

I was holding off launching because of the rain. It seems that as the air was being blown in from the sea over the land it was being pushed up and forming the cloud just in front of us that was dropping the fine rain. Interesting weather to watch but frustrating to experience when your kit is laid out on a hill and you are ready to go. Eventually everyone admitted defeat and the three of us that had already got their kit damp decided to fly down. The wiser pilots walked down with their nice dry wings still in their rucksacks.

An audience in the form of a family out for a walk were taking photographs of us. Dave and Carlos reversed launched (bring the wing up facing it, then turning to launch) off the hill. When I it came to my time to launch I decided to forward launch because my wing is made of heavier material than theirs and requires a bit more wind or effort to pull up. I was quite pleased with my launch (although I did get help to lay the wing out so the cells at the front were open and ready to inflate). As usual in very little wind after the initial heave to get the wing overhead I had to run as fast as I could to get enough speed to get airborne. From the second I took off it was obvious that I would have little or no lift so with a face full of rain I headed along the cliffs towards the car park and landed next to the other gliders.

The rain was a little heavier at landing and by the time I had got the glider into it's bag it was soaked. It looks like the kitchen floor will have to double as a drying area tomorrow.

Skimming the hill, well not quite

I had been watching the weather for a while and it had pointed out today about a week in advance, which is unusual because usually good days that far off move. I posted an email to the UHPC's mailing list to see if anyone was going out and got a email to say that Robin Young's hill was the place.


The Ridge we usually fly runs from the carpark down to bottom right.
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I arrived to the disappointing sight of the hill covered in orographic cloud (orographic cloud can form quickly  as moist air is forced upwards by protrusions in the landscape like hills and mountains). I spotted a car almost full of pilots that were waiting out the cloud and joined them to chew the cud (or talk bollocks and take the piss out of each other as it is sometimes known).

Slowly the cloud lifted in fits and starts. The club chief coach went up and flew about just under the cloud but there was no chance of me (or any others) joining him with all the cloud about. After a bit of horse play involving getting another recently arrived pilot into thinking they had received a parking ticket we walked up the hill to check our equipment and get ready to launch. At one point there were five of us flying together. unfortunately the wind was just a bit too far from the East to make the ridges work as well as they could.

My first flight I managed a quick bit of soaring, or at least managed to avoid the ground a bit longer than I would of if I had flown straight out. I landed on a nice flat area at the bottom of the cliff faces so there wasn't very far to walk back up to take off.

The second flight was much better. It has been suggested before, more than once, that I should try to fly closer to the hill I am trying to soar. Today I think I took a step in the right direction, although I probably could have been closer to the hill at times. I got a few beats back and forth and gained a tiny bit of height I was able to bring myself closer into the hill by checking my distance to the ground features I had seen on the previous pass. This seemed to help me with my confidence and eventually I was almost aiming at the hill and missing. What I mean by this is that I would fly towards a part of the hill that I knew had previously given me lift and by the time I had reached that part of the hill I was previously aiming at I was above it. I spent probably the longest time in the air so far flying back and forth, gaining height slowly on each pass. All good things must come to an end and the wind dropped enough to put me on the ground. I landed back almost exactly where I had the first time, much to the delight of Bertie who thought he might erect a plaque there for me.

I think it is time to get the video sunglasses out. All being well, next time I am out and happy with everything (site familiarity and weather conditions) I shall attempt to record some video footage to share. Apart from adding another dimension to this blog I am hoping to use it as an aid in analysing my performance.

Squeezed in flight on family weekend

After a great weekend away with my family in County Fermanagh I managed to squeeze in a trip to Robin Youngs hill today. We spent a few days on or around Lough Erne, while driving back I saw a paraglider wing off to the side of the road somewhere around the Dungannon area. On closer inspection it was actually a paramotor but that was enough to get me thinking. It was obvious from the weather that there wasn't that much wind and by the time I was with sight of our home town I had successfully negotiated a trip out if the weather was appropriate when we got home. It took me about 10 minutes to empty the car boot and make the agreed cup of tea before I fire off a phone call to Bertie (my old instructor) as he was the person that was most likely to be in the know about the local flying and he was, he was parawaiting at Robin Young's hill.

Half an hour later I was at the foot of the hill. We chatted for a while then headed up the hill with our kit to winds gusting up to 22 mph. We took the time to walk over the back of the hill to another site (Sallagh) that I have never seen before, this site takes a East wind as opposed to Robin Youngs hill which is a North-East wind. Having spent all weekend with friends that genuinely think that paragliding is throwing yourself off cliffs I was at a site that actually seems to be exactly that, launching off a cliff.

When we got back to take off and the wind eventually died down enough to launch. Bertie's student (Alastair) went first and landed at a wind sock in the bottom field. My flight plan was a bit of soaring and a landing somewhere near the car park for an easy pack up and short walk to my car. Unfortunately conditions were very turbulent which is still something that I am still uncomfortable with. I did do a bit of soaring but I failed to maintain my height. Due to all the rocking around I flew out from the hill and out of the best lift. Before long I had decided to land next to Alastair at the wind sock. By this time Alastair's wife had arrived in the bottom field in a 4x4 and I was able to ponce a lift back up to the car park.