Winching South Cerney Friday 18th March 2022

Richard Hunt has started a HG winch group operating at South Cerney with Birdwings.

Agreed to act as test pilot for training of new winch operator and to get myself current with winching again 

3 good tows and some mucking around with tow bridles ensued.

First flight was bouyant but the other two were in fairly solid sink.

Too ambitous

So Nev has set a 38 mile triangle and i've gone for my ambitious 80k flight again.  And again I fail to get to the first turn point.  After nearly decking it I give up and rush over to the west just north of Frome and then back to Westbury with loads to spare. 

Working it at Westbury

Still at the White Horse

Why's it always so blue short of my first turnpoint? Scrabbling out of a hole past Melksham

A much better view of Westbury

On the way at last...

I'm going to have to learn to not set an over ambitious into wind leg. With the correct plan an 80k+ triangle was easily doable on Saturday.  So have now defined one with a minimal into wind leg at 68k using westbury as a remote start to optimise the cross wind elements... Now all I need is another good westbury day.

Today I shall be mostly spotting moving tractors

...oh and stationary traffic around stutgart.

The AIR factory is in a beutiful setting with views of the lake, mountains behind and a fairy tale castle on the hill.  Landing fields in front with the odd paraglider who will have gone up on the cable car a few hundred yards up the road.  Most visit their againand have time for a flight.

Big thanks to Felix, Tim and Sven for sorting out the issues caused by unnecessary and unrequested changes to my glider.  Probably a new sail for me next year...

Dem Blogs, Dem Blogs, Dem Dry Bloggs, now hear the word

Apologies to everyone for the sparsity of blogging I had intend at least a couple of paragraphs a day but the lack of roaming and bad WiFi didn't help much.

However the intensity of that much flying coupled with smashing part of the tablets screen on Saturday meant it was far more than I could achieve.

Everyone has commented on the quality of Ben's blogging what most will not be aware of is the three hours or more of effort he puts in writing the text and reviewing thousand of photos to find the few shots that give a window on the days activity.  Well done Ben stirling stuff.

However during the celebration meal on Saturday night we managed to crack the man up laughing so his official nickname is not Woody or Zebbedee or even Dougal.  No that mans laugh is definitely borrowed from Mutley.

Now all we need to work out is who to cast as Dick Dasterdly...

Finally a rest day...

So two practice and two comp days and today binned due to the cuNimbs.

I also at last have a half use able Wi-Fi connection. So can give an update. 

Andy is showing his depth of mountain experience by making goal on the first two competition days and Luke took a less direct route yesterday and was actually in the lead as the main gaggle of alpine pilots took the direct route and nearly decked it getting below 800` above their selected fields.

However they caught him up after 20k but he kept his cool and took a good route back across the lake to take off before getting the final turning and heading for his first and definitely not last goal of the comp.

I keep handicapping myself  by having radios that turn off part way through the flight. How...  Or not setting the course active before take off and then finally two rather fast landings with no flaps.  NOT recommended on upslope downwind high mountain passes.

Yesterday after finally getting up I attempt to fly the wrong course, fortunately Luke called me up and I took his route arriving at the third just as the gaggle set of.

Gliding back the same circuitous route I finally arrived back at the lake at the same time as Andy who has just missed the second and had to repeat 12k of that leg via the direct route.

Gliding over the lake Andy calls a climb on the other side, but I hesitate as I had some lift which proceed to die as Andy calls an increasing climb, I get back to the right place but only catch the tail end.

I dribble along the valley bottom staying off the ground and actually going in the right direction, it slowly build to a 2.5 and finally I'm back above ridge height at the very end of the ridge I should have been racing along.  Still that was probably the nicest part of the flight being saved by three red kites at 500` of the valley floor.

Jumping the gap I get to the next ridge where I can run down the last 15k to the fourth turn point and then back across the gap. A howling thermal at the ski site by the Semnoz take off and i make the mistake of heading straight back towards the Wolfs Teeth instead of the more circuitous route to take off.

Playing around with the PG's I get a thermal that takes me to the main Forclaz take off so I jump through the shoulder behind the Wolf's Teeth to finally get the fifth point.  20 minutes of valley drivelling however fails to pay off and I finally do a nil wind stand up landing with full flaps

Note to self, double, triple and even quadruple check that the flaps are set and locked for landing.

Raining now and some bright flashes around so definitely no flying in the comp. Andy and Luke have opted for a quick free flight back to base from Semnoz prior to the thunder.  Andy's wingover was so extreme that he could not undo his carabineer after landing... Pass me the hacksaw please bomber!

More later... I think I'll leave the humour to Ben for now...

And on the fifth day...

I'm stood in a field at the bottom of wenlock edge with Gordon and Mike having watched at least two gaggles go over and two other people landed close by.  Oh well can't win them all.

Scores update: Luke and Taka made goal for the rigids.  Well done like looks like we have a good team shaping up for France next week.

Several hours later again and I'm writing this in the jacuzzi.  Don't worry no photos will be provided.  Room service meal booked for 8:30 Nasi Goreng mmmmmm.  Just as well the Thistle is full of Land Rover and media types so they upgraded one of their regulars to a suite.

Ps Anyone know the name of Gordon's new friend?

 

And on the third day...we flew

So day three the wind has dropped to safe levels.  Forecast is not brilliant so we have ann set 90k Race to Anywhere.. and I've landed at a light aircraft strip at Stratford on Avon. At last a good day and I haven't bombed out in the bottom landing field.

And in the hanger is a pair of Yak's!

BOS round 2 Shropshire

So second competition of the season and it's raining. Which means I'm sat in the Shropshire hills discovery center having tea and cake. Maybe Monday it'll be flyable?

Out trophy maestro has remembered to return the oops! Trophy.  Which unfortunately means that I had to re-tell the little incident where I drove up to the top of Corndon only to realize I'd left my retrieve driver at the campsite oops!  Sorry sorry sorry dearest darling Wendy....

The Magic Flyabout 2013

The question I hear you ask is who's going to be who in our cast of characters on the Magic Flyabout 2013?

Let's see if you can guess as our Odyssey to deepest darkest Annecy unfolds.

Begin at the begining

So the second BOS is rapidly approaching and the 2013 Annecy Pre-worlds are immediately afterwards.  The new harness has only had a 15 minute test flight and to cap it all I need to keep our team manager Ben Philpott happy so I've started a blog...