FOOTLAUNCH
June Meeting – Wednesday 11th June
The next meeting will be a BBQ at Ken’s house, hooray, let’s
hope the weather’s good.
FLYING REPORTS
XC
conditions were certainly good in April:
Carl
Walbank (Litespeed), 227km stopped by the North Sea while still at 5000ft (UK
open dist record is 252km).
Gordon
Rigg (Litespeed), the same 140 km goal on the North Sea coast twice in two
weeks, plus a 91km FAI triangle before Easter
Steve
Elkins, (ATOS-C), 110 km FAI triangle same place same day landing at 7.00pm
(2
weeks before Easter!)
Trevor
Birkbeck (Aeros), 140km stopped by the North Sea same day as Gordon's goal the
second time.
With
the exception of the triangle day these were done when the winds were generally
been a bit strong for the paragliders, ****!
Monday 5th May - Bank Holiday Monday and
lovely weather but blowing a hooley. A lot of the club decamp to Rhossili and
allegedly have good flying. I decide on an afternoon out with the family and
start loading the car, then spy a hang glider overhead but fairly low. We drive
round to where I know there's a big field that would be a likely landing spot
and, wow, the sky is full of hang gliders under cracking black clouds extending
back into Wales. The field has about a dozen hang gliders in it and more are
arriving every minute. Acres of shiny mylar and not a kingpost in sight. It's
the British Open with goal as the A40/A48 junction which is a short distance
away but for some reason they all decide to land in a field of sprouting corn,
ignoring the dozens of grass fields all around not to mention the large grass
strip at Over Farm! What a bunch of wallies. It's 45miles from Merthyr and
Justin Needham did it in 1hr 5mins. Zero points for landing in the cornfield
though.
[Log-book
entry 29.4.86 Merthyr WSW 20mph. Unstable
day; 2,700’ato into cloud, landed at Highnam, 45miles. Magic 3, cocoon harness
and home-made vario. I was really chuffed until I met a pilot who was flying
with me that day. “Why did you leave that cloud street?” he asked, “I flew
along it all the way to Luton!” TC]
Tuesday 6th May - Weatherjack is calling it
the best of the year - it is for Steve Ham who flies to Brighton from
Frocester, 170km. I go for the extra k's for a potential 200k flight by going
to Coppet, and struggle to get airborne. The face of the hill is covered with
dead gorse stalks and groundhandling becomes a frustrating sweaty battle
against constant snagged lines. (Fire-bugs have also been there, setting the
scrub on fire.) After almost exploding with frustration I decide Fochriw is
even further from Brighton so drive over only to find it's going from 10 - 25+
mph and barely flyable (but manage an hour anyway after getting dragged a
100yds. I decided it was safer in the air!). Light relief is provided when a
local plonker decides to impress us by driving his car at high speed around the
pilots sitting about. The pilots are revolting though (nothing new), and tell
him to "go away" in no uncertain terms. Maybe it was the frustration
of not flying, but my contribution was to tell him to take 5mins off and not be
a w****r all his life! There must be a village somewhere short of an idiot.
Closer to home Bryan sat on the Beacon where the wind was going from 5 - 25mph
before wisely opting to go home. I wonder what made it so variable. If that was
the best of the year I want a refund.
Wednesday 7th May SW, a few fly Haresfield
all afternoon. The clouds looked great.
Thursday 8th May Grey and cloudy but
forecast to brighten up. Steve Ham gets away from Selsley and gets to Swindon ~
40km much to the disgust of the ridge-hugging locals.
Friday 9th May Weatherjack forecasts a
repeat of Tuesday, but it’s SW despite forecast of W so I go to North Nibley,
another wooded bowl on the edge of the Cotswolds. It’s very thermic but also
gusty. I try to time my launches into the thermal cycles and am rewarded with
huge collapses. The site has a number of large trees on the face, with their
tops about level with the top of the hill. Launching behind them means you need
lift to avoid an arboreal experience. I first launched into good strong thermal
lift but at about 50’ had a major asymmetric which spun me >90° - major
weight-shifting and pumping got it out and left me facing the sky instead of
the hill. A short time later I launched for the second time as good clouds were
overhead and a few swifts plus a kestrel marked the thermal. I immediately got
another major asymmetric which left me hanging on one brake and one side of the
harness, flying a straight course OK but the increased sink rate was going to
put me into the tree tops. Steering through a gap and pumping the wing got me
flying again but that was enough for me, I kept on going straight out and down
to the bottom. Having seen my life flash before my eyes twice I opted to pack
up. Hearing pilots on radio at Milk Hill reaching base at 5,000’ was salt on
the wounds. A few Avon pilots braved launching in 20+mph at Merthyr and do
40-50km. Pretty much a repeat of Tuesday for me then!
Wednesday 14th
May W gusty
and heavy showers going NNW. Die-hard PGs sit on Selsley and are rewarded when
it finally settles down to become flyable around 6pm. Dave Q. reports a great
flight; asymmetric collapse (presumably intentional), steering using the 'C'
risers and a first top landing. All his CPC tasks finished off in one go! Frank
pumps the helium from his Laminar into his PG and floats off along the ridge to
Frocester.
Thurs 15th May SEish going SWish. Looks
great all day despite the forecast of a front pushing in. Howard from
Cheltenham tries Castle Morton, then Haresfield later but it’s rough and gusty
everywhere. Airtopia go to Mere, but report it was ‘funny air’ all day and a couple
flop over the back. David JH flies the Wrekin for the first time. Took a
thermal to 1000 ft above and behind take off where all hell broke loose!
Several SEVERE collapses ranging from 50% to 75%, free-falling, explosive
re-inflations - you get the picture. Managed to land (remarkably) perfectly in
a field behind. Allegedly this is par for the course on the Southeast side of the
Wrekin.
24th May Frank flies at Woolacombe
but inland the heavy showers and cu-nimbs stop play.
25th May NW 10-12mph on Frocester,
heavy showers. Airtopia were having a demo w/e so I blag a Vulcan and fly it to
Swindon, 35km, nice glider! On T/O it goes from nil wind to flying backwards
and then nil wind, hmm. The Malvern stiffie
contingent have an excellent day at Rhossili. All the flying they could
want from 12:00 'till late (except they'd all had enough by 5 and gone
home). John, Derek, Nick, Mick, Alan and Dave (Quinn) were all present,
along with various family. Chris S spent the WHOLE day sitting on the hill
waiting for it to die-down enough for a PG. Back via the valleys to see 4 still
in the air on Focriw at 9:00!!!
26th May Bank Holiday Monday, everyone and
their dog aviates thereby mopping up several million joules of excess
atmospheric energy and doing our bit to reduce global warming. Chris S went to
the Beacon and reports the wind as N of S – you must have been at the South
Pole then Chris. Why don’t Polar Bears eat Penguins? It’s actually because
they’re quite frugal and Kit-Kats are better value. Chris and Bryan get away,
doing 15k and 20k respectively. Dave JH went to Nantymoel and got stuck
in the football traffic for 3 hrs. V strong and lots of cloud cover. The comp
meant 30 + gliders in the air at any one time. Lots of grass-skiing on landing.
Best distances around 18k. Gordon A did something useful and got his tow
conversion at XClent. 5 got away, the furthest to Stratford. On Haresfield it wa SW 8-16mph and a
great looking sky but it’s hard work and only one scrapes away for 10k. A pilot
gets dragged on launch and puts a boot right through Nigel D’s Sigma – good
excuse to order that new wing Nigel. I have 40mins then resort to flying my r/c
Zagi. Pilots waiting to take-off make excellent targets, particularly as they
can’t dodge very far when clipped in. I don’t know what they were complaining
about, they had their helmets on! A sailplane pilot tells me it was hard work
at anything less than cloudbase, with scrappy broken thermals below a couple of
grand despite the cracking sky over the Cotswolds.
29th May ESE but light; hordes descend on
Kettlesings but nothing happens until mid-afternoon. Nick gets off on his
Stratos and slowly works his way up. The first 1000’ seemed to take about
30mins but then the cycles get a bit better. A few PGs get up to the clouds, a
few end up at the bottom and a lot scratch up and down. I work my way up and
watch Nick disappear downwind. Half an hour later he comes back and disappears
upwind! It certainly was the best sort of day for a rigid wing. I get 8-up well
into cloud a couple of times and have fun with the GPS finding my way out
again. Chris hung around for evening convection but it never happened.
30th May A bit more wind meant it was easier
to get up mid-afternoon and a couple of small gaggles went for it, leaving
another gaggle stuck on the deck as it died off. No evening convection again –
why is that?
31st May A blustery looking day, wind S then
SW so evening flying at Haresfield in mellow conditions for about 8 pilots,
with the setting sun glinting off the estuary and a crowd of swifts carving
through the sky around us.
Safe T-Lines by Rob Davies
Low flying, RAF and Red Arrows etc.
I read Bryan’s account of his close
encounter with the Red Arrows in May Footlaunch and felt a shiver run down my
spine. It sounded quite a “near miss” – did it warrant an “Airprox report”, I
wonder?
How often do we go flying either midweek
or at the weekend and not listen to Purple airways and Red Arrows information
before flying?
How often do we go flying midweek and
forget or not bother to ring a NOTAM?
Well, I was sitting on top of the Beacon
on Thursday 8th May at 1330 thinking about flying. It was a post cold
front day and after an overcast morning the sky looked good at lunchtime. Nice
cumulus, not too thick, were forming into cloud streets from the WNW. I walked
up the hill, expecting to see other pilots there, but there was no one. When I
got to the top wanted to measure the wind speed, and realized that I had left
my flight deck, with wind meter in my car. Back down and up again. At least if
I did not fly, I had had some good exercise.
I sat and waited and checked the wind – 10
to 16 mph slightly off to the North. Looked good. The swallows were back
darting in and out of the thermals – looked even better. Suddenly a deafening
roar. An RAF jet came screaming from the North, well below take off, probably
level with the Brewers Arms pub, heading south. Phew! Thank goodness I was not
flying I thought. I had not given a NOTAM as it was a last minute decision to
try to fly (the forecast earlier in the week had been for rain).
As the conditions looked good, I started
to unpack and 15 minutes after the first “sortie”, the jet came screaming back,
this time from the South, even lower and closer to the hill. So, I thought, he
has come out and is now on the way back. Going home to base.
I launched at 1445 and it was rough, as
usual. Had a tuck just after take off and then hit mega-lift. Canopy rocking
back and forward and side-to-side. My nerves were worn out by this stage, so I
pulled in big ears and still went up for a couple of minutes. Then down, down,
down and I landed safely at the bottom. It would have been a good XC day, but I
also had a time deadline to get home….
One point of this story is that we must
think NOTAM mid week and Purple Airways and Red Arrows at all times. I looked
up site reference Nos. in the Skywings article of March 2003 and noticed that
there is not a number for the Beacon. I checked with military freephone and
they are happy with a grid reference.
The
relevant numbers are:
NOTAM
0800 515544
Purple
Airways 0500 354802
Beacon
grid reference SO768452
The
other point is that mental preparation is vital. I “bailed out” for a number of
contributing factors; no one else there, forgot a bit of kit and went up and
down twice, low flying jets, realization that I had not done a NOTAM, time
deadline to meet, tuck just after take-off etc….
Prepare
for your flights carefully and do not forget NOTAMs.
|
Site |
Grid reference |
Winds |
Notes used |
|
Malverns, Pinnacle Hill, East side |
SO767422 |
045-130 |
Avoidance area site SO767406 |
|
Malverns, Pinnacle Hill, West side |
SO767422 |
240-310 |
Site Ref: 4.002 |
|
Malverns, Black Hill |
SO768407 |
080-130 |
Site Ref: 4.002 |
|
Malverns, Worcestershire Beacon |
SO768453 |
250-290 |
Site Ref: 4.002 |
|
Malverns, Castlemorton |
SO762386 |
085-140 |
Site Ref: 4.001 |
Air Ambulance
H
The meaning for the symbol is "Clear the
Air, Helicopter Approaching".
The "H" should be at least 2.5 metres
long and made as conspicuous as possible by attempting to provide the maximum
colour contrast between the "H" and the background on which it is
displayed. This can be done simply with two rolled up paragliders laid parallel
to each other with the glider bags forming the join, or by laying a de-rigged
hang glider parallel to its outer bag with the harness forming the join. Care
should be taken to secure the "H" in such a way that it will maintain
its shape, e.g. by placing rocks on glider tips etc. The "H" symbol
is not intended to supersede the international "X" and "V"
symbols meaning 'medical assistance required' and 'assistance required'
respectively, nor that in hang gliding and paragliding where a spread out
glider is used to indicate 'assistance required'. It is expected that the main
(though not exclusive) area of use for the "H" will be at launch or
landing sites or on ridge soaring sites where a laid out glider is a common
site and has no meaning.
Scrub Clearing on
the Malverns At
the May meeting we had an interesting talk from the Conservation Officer for
the Conservators.
First
he filled us in on the history of the hills. Apparently Malvern means bad
flying in Welsh, so named by the local Earl, Ethelred The Unready, who always
took so long rigging that he missed the flying. Ethel (as his mates called him,
because he wore tights and had long hair) built a dyke along the top of the
hill with a steep side and a not so steep side. This was obviously to provide a
good take-off and soarable slope all along the hill and nothing whatsoever to
do with keeping his deer from straying. I’m sure I’ve seen one of the older
pilots flying Ethelred’s old glider. Then commoners came along and spoilt it by
leaving litter and letting their dogs mess all over so parking was increased to
£2 to try and discourage them from stopping.
The
scrub and bushes are taking over the hill so the Conservators are cutting them
and arranging for sheep and cattle to graze selected areas. Our assistance is
gratefully accepted (with cutting not grazing you fool), but any clearing must
be with their approval and the Countryside Commission say this cannot be done
until 15th July in order not to disturb wildlife habitat. We can
clear down to and below the path below take-off. But remember, no cutting or
removing of bushes or undergrowth in any way until 15th July . . . .
if anybody’s looking. There’s a patch of brambles on the PG take-off that’s
first on my list.
New member
Tom Mayne reports the
recent acquisition of a new model, but I imagine it's been too wet and windy to
enjoy it much, apart from snatching the odd half an hour when things have
settled down. Medium size but handling is a bit delicate and he daren't hit the
bar when it gets really rough as he's too frightened of the consequences. Wimp.
Doesn't have a velcro butt-hole to clean the muck out, though. Try doing what I
do and give it a good shake on the lawn every few weeks, or stick a vacuum
inside it to remove the really stubborn bits. I expect he'll get a lot of
enjoyment with it in the future until that heart-breaking moment we've all
experienced when our pride and joy is handed over into the sweaty paws of a
total stranger never to be seen again.
Iris
Rose Mayne, born 1st May, weighing 7lb 1oz.
(Oops,
STOP, put down the vacuum cleaner, Tom!)
More Congratulations to Peter Wood and wife on their new arrival, Millie Wood, born 18th May, weighing 8lb 4 oz. Peter says no website or bowel control. Hope you get sorted soon, Peter.
Pilot notes: Anyone thinking of taking
their Pilot exam should have a look at the notes at http://www.pilotnotes.co.uk/index1.html
Email scams
I've just received two emails inquiring about a hang glider
I advertised on various internet sites.
However, that was at least 3 years ago, and although one seemed fairly
genuine with a N. Wales phone number the second was distinctly dodgy - "My
brother is an international car spares dealer from S. Africa and will pay with
a certified cash bond etc. etc." Not very subtle, but it surprised me as
my ad was so old. I can only presume the fraudsters have just developed a
search engine that trawls groups looking for ads for goods above a certain value
and automatically sends an email. Another good reason for disguising your email
address in newsgroups. moc.liamtoh@700worcmit
(geddit?)
GPS
waypoints and stuff: There’s a web-ring for
downloadable tables of GPS routes and waypoints for hills in UK, aimed at
walkers and climbers. The files of hills are generally quite small ~ 10kb so
very quick to download. However, the file of all UK trig points is a bit bigger
at 357kb. If you want to put a few in to aid navigation they can be found at http://www.36haroldstreet.freeserve.co.uk/waypoints.htm
or email me and I can send you the GPS utility files, or
EasyGPS compatible files for English or Welsh hills and main trig points.
Beware if you’re using the GPS Utility software to load your GPS – it only
handles 100 points at a time so you have to edit the files into a number of
smaller ones e.g. 178 hills can be split into two files. There are other free
downloadable programs; EasyGPS is quite good for waypoints as it handles, err,
lots, and Garmap lets you load tracks from your GPS to PC which can then be
overlaid on maps. TC
Garmin GPS mini review: Geko
101/201/301
The
Garmin Geko 101, 201 and 301 models are basic GPS units and boy, are they
small!! They are aimed at outdoor pursuits and replace the eTrex range (which
should be going for knock-down prices soon). None of them have the ability to
load maps. The Gekos are about the size of a modern mobile phone, in a compact
waterproof case with integral antenna so no sticky out bits to break off. They
use 2x AAA batteries with battery life quoted as up to 12hrs with alkalines.
Using high capacity 800mAh NiMh cells gives just over 8hrs when sitting on my
desk, which is just about enough for a day’s flying.
The
Geko 101 has basic GPS functions and costs around £90, but doesn’t have a PC
connector so manual only loading of routes and waypoints. Great if you simply
want to know your distance from A to B.
The
Geko 201 adds a PC connector and is WAAS enabled which means additional signals
from geostationary satellites are used to increase the accuracy to 10’.
However, the system is still testing and not due to be fully operational until
next year. Until then you get either normal 30’ or enhanced 10’ accuracy
depending on the available satellites. The 10,000 point track log is user
configurable for storing by distance or time so should easily last through
longer flights. Great if you want to manipulate tracks and waypoints on PC, and
the extra accuracy means the altimeter is good enough for flying. It costs
around £120 and is out now.
The
Geko 301 adds an electronic compass and barometric altimeter. This means it
will have all the features of the current eTrex Summit. Altitude has 1’
resolution so you can use it to work light lift when the vario has gone quiet.
Altitude is always given as height above sea-level though; you cannot zero it
to take-off as it will auto-calibrate back. The barometric altimeter will work
in narrow canyons/forests when satellite lock is lost and you can also have a
12hr pressure trend graph, useful for predicting weather. The electronic
compass means you can use it to take bearings etc. when stationary, and it
switches to GPS derived direction when you start moving. The 301 is due out in
July priced around £200.
P.S.
high capacity rechargeable batteries can be delicate internally so don’t be
surprised if they stop working after you drop them on a hard surface. TC
Leckhampton
There has
been a scrub fire on Leckhampton Hill - it occurred on the Tuesday after
Easter. (Pollution in the gene-pool,
pond-life strikes again - TC) It started at the bottom of the NE face,
which is on the right side as you look out over Cheltenham from T/O. It spread
up that slope, onto the top and burnt all the way along to the paragliding
take-off. It also spread along the bottom of the slope to the north facing
bowl, under the paragliding take off and all the way up that slope too. The
good news is that (1) it has cleared a lot of gorse and scrub and opened up
both slopes and (2) the fire "jumped" the paragliding take off and
path. You can still lay your canopy out without getting it covered in soot. The
bad news is that the poor old Roman snails got cooked in their shells and
judging by the empty broken shells, the white standing out in marked contrast
to the black, there must be a lot of well fed "escargot-phile" birds
around.
FOLK have
started grazing cattle on bits of the hill to try to control the scrub and
grassland. They are in temporary fenced enclosures and are right at the bottom
at the moment. If you have to slope land or land near their enclosure beware,
the fence is ELECTRIFIED. (But it
shouldn’t kill you. I remember as kids we used to dare each other to hang on to
the wires for a laugh! Never did me any harm, wibble. – TC). The cattle
themselves look friendly enough. (Not like the bulls bred for the bullrings
around Piedrahita). I do not think that the grazing will cause us any problems
and it is a development that I welcome, in an attempt to keep the hill free
from bush and scrub growth.
If you
are going to fly Leckhampton, I suggest you take a pair of secateurs, so that
you can "nip" any new gorse, bramble or other growth that may be
growing around take-off. (This is un-official - so be subtle!)
- Name withheld to protect the guilty.
Opening
comments How
can I sensibly buy a new glider and choose the right one? (given the UK
weather, 9-5 job in a large city, family, friends, other sports commitments and
responsibilities). Talk to all of the dealers / importers? Test every current
glider over 6 months? Spend 3 weeks on the web reading comments in bulletin
boards? Comparing all recent Vol libre / Sky wings / Cross Country reviews? Ask
my mates on the hill? Compare brochure thicknesses?, or just rely on what Zippy
says after single conversation lasting 3 days?
Well there are flaws with all of the
above methods and most of us have done at least a little of the each of them.
Is there a more sensible way given my circumstances?
Also, how can I write a review about a
new glider? I haven't the experience or the knowledge. Well this may be
applicable to a number of flyers using a 5 year old wing either from new or
second hand. Why not write a layman's appraisal of a new glider. It may be you
reading this article that needs a bit of advice on how to start given the same
situation?
Well how did I start? Importance -
performance analysis. What may you ask? Well it’s a very simple and 'personal'
assessment of what you regard as the most important aspects of a glider (why
you want to buy a new wing) and how you rate each of the wings against this
importance criteria.
Start with a small sub set of wings
from which you could possibly choose, read up on them from the net/brochures
etc. Once you have the data, place it into a spreadsheet and sum each of the
multiples of the importance performance figures. E.g. if you rate sink rate
highly, give it a 9. If the particular glider you are rating has a particularly
good sink rate, also give it a 9. The importance performance rating for this
aspect is therefore 89. Add this figure to all of the other aspects you are rating and you arrive with a total. Here
is my personal example (it includes the current glider and shows how much of an
improvement you can make on a new purchase) :-
|
Glider Importance performance analysis |
|
Performance |
|||||||
|
Factor |
Importance |
Saber |
Aspen |
Vulcan |
Sport |
Synergy |
Quarx 2 |
Bandit |
Jumbe |
|
Top Speed |
9 |
4 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
|
Min Sink |
9 |
3 |
9 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
|
Thick outer wing |
8 |
9 |
9 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
|
Low no. of 2’s |
9 |
9 |
7 |
5 |
9 |
7 |
4 |
6 |
9 |
|
DHV2 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
|
STD |
9 |
5 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
|
Reasonably active wing |
9 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
7 |
|
Current world champ? |
7 |
2 |
9 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
9 |
5 |
|
Easy launch |
9 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
|