July 2008
Monthly Archive
Wednesday, 16th July 2008
Judith 17 Jul 2008 | : Archery, Flying
Forecast today was for a potentially flyable day. Even for paragliders. I was reasonably optimistic that I would be able to fly in the morning, before the wind picked up so much that it was only flyable for hang gliders. Calvo agreed with my analysis, as he emailed on Tuesday night to say that the Bleriot Cup guys would be coming to the Long Mynd to try to get at least one task in this week.
When we woke up it was immediately clear that it was going to be too windy to fly anything. Massive wave bars were evident from 8am in the morning. We drove across the Long Mynd on our way to do some archery and had a chat with friends in the comp. The hangies were quite chipper, but the PG pilots were sitting in their van looking pretty dejected. And who could blame them!
We had a mixed archery session. I seem to be very inconsistent at the moment. One day I am fine, the next shooting very erratically. We’ve started shooting at 40 yards and I seem to have some difficulty adjusting to this distance. I need to go for some coaching to work on my draw and release.
At 4pm the hang gliders started flying, but it was still very strong, so Geoff didn’t bother getting his HG, which was a good decision, given that it started pouring at 6pm.
Tuesday, 15th July 2008
Judith 15 Jul 2008 | : Flying, Walking
It was windy from the moment we woke up, so we decided to go for a walk. First option was Snowdonia, but then we decided to stay local and explore some of the area round here we have not seen yet.
We’ve found this nice little site called Shropshire Walking, which gives good route descriptions and background. We did a circular five mile walk from Acton Scott to Ragleth and back, via sunken paths, fields and hills. The views were stunning.
We got back in time to mow the lawn and do some work stuff and then go flying in the evening. We saw hang gliders launch on the Long Mynd at 6pm, so went out. It was still howling, so Geoff waited and flew at 8pm. Nigel and Rich flew their microwings too and Steve D. and Guy launched their normal paragliders at 8.15pm, when Wendy was still giving it average 18mph.
I wasn’t convinced myself, given how gusty it was at 8.30pm, so went home and fired up the BBQ for the first time this year. Wayne and Geoff de-rigged and we all had dinner in the garden watching the last PGs in the air.
Monday, 14th July 2008
Judith 14 Jul 2008 | : Archery, Flying
The weather was grey and mucky today, so we did some archery and called in on the Long Mynd on the way home. It was flyable and both PGs and HGs were in the air, but it was way off to the south and we didn’t bother. The idea was to go out later when it turned more west. It did, but very late, by which time we had settled in to doing work.
Sunday, 13th July 2008
I heard as many forecasts as people I talked to today. Everyone had a different view of what was going to happen. I thought it would be west and a reasonable wind. When we got to the Long Mynd it was SSW, occasionally SW and very, very light. The place was packed though.
We all sat around, poised in our harness for the big moment when that elusive thermal would come through. It took some hours, but at 2.20pm it finally happened and most of us lobbed off. It was like being in a comp when the window opens.
I got a climb out at the north end of the ridge after seeing Malcolm Davies and another pilot climbing. We got very high and I could see a great cloud over Caer Caradoc, so headed there. I was rewarded with a good climb. The others came over to me and we headed on a glide along a cloud street. As I was gliding in the general direction of Ironbridge I realised I wasn’t displaying airspace on my GPS. Arrgh! Lot of fiddling ensued whilst I tried to get it back. Once I was back on course, I was getting lower and I saw a fire in the distance. It didn’t work. Neither did the ploughed field with a line of trees behind it. I was too low to drop onto Wenlock Edge, so landed just under it, near Much Wenlock. Geoff flew over me 10 minutes later.
I got a ride back to Church Stretton with the lovely lady whose house I landed next to. It was only supposed to be a lift to the nearest main road, but we got chatting and before we knew it we were at the bottom of the Burway. The second car was Guy and Steve D., who took me back up to launch. I collected the car and went to collect Geoff from near Stafford.
Geoff’s comments: As Judith said, it was well off the hill for some hours after we arrived; however, the forecast was WSW, and the clouds were WSW, so we decided to stick it out until the sun came out, making sure we were clipped in and ready. Sure enough, the sun came out, the wind came on and it got soarable. I launched, and left the hill in about ten minutes or less; in the same thermal as Judith, but lower and in a different core. We took more or less the same route, but she was ahead of me. She landed at Much Wenlock as I was gliding there, just ahead of the three others who were in the gaggle I’d left in. I got very low, but managed to find something and climbed back to base, about 4800′, not incredibly high. I was with the other three at that point, but left them to glide on under the street (and away from the cloud suck). I didn’t see them again, and don’t know where they got to. I got another thermal near Telford, but this time left it well before base, being worried about getting into cloud – the thermals were pretty strong at this point.
That was my mistake though, because I didn’t get anything else, and landed a few km south of Stafford. 56km in a straight line, 58km with turnpoints. It was about 4.45pm when I landed, and I was pleased to do 58km, but I think I was too cautious leaving my last climb – I should have taken it higher. I think 80 or 100km was on the cards, even at that late time; certainly another couple of thermals should have been possible, which would have taken me to the southerly part of the Peak District, to Ashbourne (the drift had improved a lot too). If you land before the day shuts off, you must have made a mistake somewhere, and that was mine! (Mind you, I nearly always land before the day shuts off…). Still, for me, it was a really good PG XC, and I’m very pleased with it.
Saturday, 12th July 2008
The forecast was for maybe, possibly flyable today, albeit on the windy side. At about 11.30am we could see a hang glider rigged on the Long Mynd, so Geoff walked out to the garage to get his hang glider, but as he put the key in the lock the heavens opened. We did some gardening, but kept having to shelter in the garage as the showers came through.
We finally saw hang gliders flying at about 6.30pm. Rich flew his little acro wing as well, so we went up to fly. When we got there it was very windy. Geoff rigged and flew at 8pm. He had half an hour of nice smooth stuff. It stared to calm down about 8.45pm and Keith W. and Steve W. flew their PGs at 9pm. I couldn’t be bothered and I was sooo cold. Four layers and I was freezing – and that was sitting in the car!
Friday, 11th July 2008
Judith 11 Jul 2008 | : Archery
Another rubbish day. It started off grey and Tom M. flew on the Long Mynd early on, but it looked dodgy from the word go. It soon picked up and he was grounded. We thought the rain would hold off long enough to go and do some archery, which we did, albeit with lots of interruptions because of showers. On the way back we heard that Nigel had flown between downpours. It then rained for hours.
There’s nothing on the box and we were not in the mood to go to the Bishop’s Castle beer festival, so we recorded a podcast on getting your confidence back after an accident.
Thursday, 10th July 2008
Judith 10 Jul 2008 | : Archery
It’s not funny any more. What a July!
It rained all morning, but cleared out later to just be very windy. We went to do archery, and we’re getting back into it slowly but surely. The weekend is looking like it might have some potential. We’ll see.
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