Well, it was flyable, but not the good day we hoped for. Our expectations have gone down to getting one XC day per week – but we’re not even achieving that now with the increasingly bad weather.

Anyway, it started off flyable early for paragliders at the Long Mynd, even though the day was very cloudy – and it also rained, early on. The wind picked up for a while, too strong, then dropped off briefly around 2.00pm. We both launched paragliders, flew for about half an hour, the wind picked up again, and we both landed backwards, Judith at the bottom, me at the top. Hang gliders flew for much of the day (though none for a couple of hours in the afternoon, I think it was strong winds and rough). Mine needs work doing on it after the abortive flight on Sunday, and I didn’t fly it. I need to get it serviced properly, it’s been a few years.

The day did get nicer, i.e. the sun came out, but the wind didn’t drop enough for PGs until around 6.30 or so, though hang gliders were flying before that, and getting reasonably high. From then on there were a few hours of reasonable soaring left in the day for paragliders, and we both flew again.

Zero chance of going XC on a PG (and not that good on a hang glider). Great sky in the afternoon, but far too windy. Lots of wave. And too late, and no great height gains, by the time it dropped. Only one XC recorded in the PG league, in Cumbria.

See JulesBolero’s video of today.

See Andrew Donnison’s video of today.

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