photos. 21/May Ringstead

for photo's see Wessex Sky in Eye Report by Grant Oseland

 

Wayne

Sat May 21 Ringstead

ah; so you were all at Milk!

Ringstead was on with a 10-15mph SSW which allowed myself & Derek with a bunch of local PG pilots to enjoy runs  to Lulworth in the east & Osminton Mills to the west! The air wasn't bumpy or crowded!

Ok, I only went as far as Durdle Door as the max hieght I had was only 1200ft asl, those who went further came back low!

As for going east I had 750ft asl at Hannas Ledge looking at the jump across Osmington Mills but chickened out!

The glide back to Ringstead was very informative for future flights!

[Read Nev's article on this coastal challenge]

Later in the day the air went S/SSE & the run to Durdle Door only gave me 400ft ato (900asl) & then it went very strange so the top landing beckoned!

It was one of the nicest days that I have ever had at Ringstead.

Brian & Ian arrived to late in the day to fly having been to Mere!

safe flying & above all enjoy it!

wayne

 

 

Milk Hill 21 May

Hang glider jamboree at Milk Hill today dominated by Sky Surfing Club. Some got away others just had fun. Great sky, rough at times and a tad windy but plenty of airtime.

James

Sunday 15th May Westbury

Firstly my apologies to Babs & co who heard the "expletive" as I took off Vertically. There was also a suggestion that I went slightly backwards! (I hadn't reached my take-off point!)
After that excitement it couldn't get worse-could it?
The air was smooth but strong, I could feel something different with the Atos & as I turned over the White Horse all hell broke loose! The glider vibrated violently with the control frame shaking!
I kept her straight & level in the 25mph+ breeze & looked around to see what was wrong. Nothing appeared broken or loose. Tail & winglets were still attached but there was vibration through the glider. This eased below 25mph but was violent above! Due to the increasing wind strength I was flying at 30mph & decided to alter my normal landing approach ie set up at 200ft over the northern end & glide in.
I was expecting something to break & life to become very interesting so the approach was low & fast. The plan almost worked until I was about to touch down in the bumpy air & I got dumped the last 4ft. The left upright needs repairing but hey I was on the ground & safe!
The cause of the vibration:- The nose cone had come loose from the top surface & was flapping. This disrupted the airflow over the tail! ( which was trying to compensate & keeping the pitch control within tolerances)
So lesson learnt:- My pre-flights always include checking the nose cone, now I will use superglue!

Stay safe & have fun

Wayne
Atos VR

FRiday 13th May & Saturday 14th May

 
FRiday 13th May - Ringstead; Nice soaring in a steady sea breeze, 3 HG's & 3~4 PG's.  Nev
 
Saturday 14th May - Westbury; Good sky, but a tad strong; av. 18, but rsing to 25, sometimes 30 when good clouds nearby. I launched at 1pm and immediately put everyone off, even myself. Flew to 3500ft where it was smoother, probably a good XC day (but I had commitments and had to be derigged by 2:45pm). Really strong and turbulent climbs, flew for 20 minutes, found a smooth patch to descend in and hoped that the same smooth air would be in the landing area - it was, phew.
 
Nev

New British XC record

Well Done Nev Almond
New British record of 282 km via turn points
or 167 miles launch to end point in HG money
Milk Hill to Cley by the sea (Cromer Norfolk)

Mercury, 4th May

 
Arrived at Mercury at 10:20 with an OK-ish forecast, looking like a blue day, but living in hope for some Cu's to show us the way. Forecast 4up thermals & 12mph +blue meant that open distance was probably the only option, so declared goal north of Aberystwyth on the welsh coast. Too off at 11:25, and started creeping over the back at 11:30, with 2800ft asl and bitty lift, edging towards the West Meon Hut and then the Fourmarks area, after which it opened up to 4k, then eventually 5k by the A303 (Popham). Onwards to Whitchurch was quite good, giving me confidence to continue albeit the blue sky (still no clouds). However, after Whitchurch I regularly have to fly down to 1000-1500ft before finding lift, mostly 3-4 ups but a few corking 7 ups. Flying without clouds is like roulette, and I eventualy landed at 2pm after 60 miles at Cricklade, between Swindon and Cirencester. I only saw one sailplane en-route, and heard that a few Lasham pilots cut short there 300km tasks to make sure they got back. Trip back to hill involved 1 Bus, 4 trains, 1 hitche, 1 mile run, and finally another hitch from Wayne who just happened to be going the other way near Clanfield (thanks again chap).
 
Thanks too to Tim for opening my eyes to this route, I always thought it was too far off track. I think we have a potential record-breaking site at Mercury.
 
Nev
 
p.s. Great Karma too from picking up 4 hitchers in the last 6 weeks - Petersfield to Mercury in 25 minutes