Stubbington cliffs

Hi, this blog is for the paragliding discipline.

I hear the Stubbington cliffs mentioned frequently on the hill and there are those that have flown this non-club site and probably will have second thoughts of going there again. A few others will have flown and enjoyed an hour or two.

I have flown there for the past fifteen or so years, not on a regular basis though and make these observations.

I am blogging to make the point that firstly it is and hopefully will remain a low key site. At best it will only take four wings in the air at a time maximum. The cliff run is split in two by a wide gully which you will not be able to jump. Hence four wings , two at one side of the gully and two at the other side.

This site is not for the faint hearted or low airtime pilots as take off can be very difficult at times due to severe rooter. The wind needs to be quite strong to soar as cliffs are low. Usually a take -off is made from the beach and this in itself is a technique that requires practice. Get it wrong and it will go badly wrong and could drag you up the cliff face and drag you into the rough areas at the top.

Launching from the cliff top usually requires a different take-off skill due to rotar, also with the high wind speed the chances of being blown back are greatly increased . Some of you have already experienced this.

Then there are the landings. It is possible to land at the cliff top but again beware of the wind factor. Beach landings are safer ,that is, if the tide is out. When the tide is in the area left on the beach to land is minimal and if you land on the narrow strip of beach your wing is likely to fall into the sea. If this happens even in very shallow water the cells will fill and pulling the wing out of the water is like a trawler hauling in a full catch. If you land further out be it only 6ft or so your life will be in danger.

It is a site that is unpredictable as there are occassions when it is possible to pop the wing up within minutes , lob off and fly. But it can be difficult at times to assess how it will go. You will only find out when you give it a go.

Now you have the facts you can make your own minds up about flying there. I would recommend travelling that bit further and head for Barton on Sea . Launching there has similar problems with rotar etc but is more user friendly and also there will be other pilots there usually to give a briefing.

Safe flying Shippo