Geoff on launch at Corndon.The forecast was windy and it seemed that way at 10.30am. We did a bit of work, then went and did some archery and then phoned the weather station around 2.30 to see what was happening, because the sky looked so good. It was giving 4 – 22mph, which sounded rough, and we assumed it would be an underestimate anyway because it was east and the Mynd is, of course, a west facing ridge. But the sky looked good, so we went to Corndon anyway.

On the hill it was blowing a constant 16 – 20mph – perfect for hang gliding. Geoff rigged fast and launched. He thermalled up to 1000 ATO, but lost it and came back to the front. 20mins later he top landed because his vario batteries had gone flat (in spite of them being relatively new!). The wind picked up whilst he was in the air and it was blowing over 20-odd mph when we decided to pack up for the evening. Graeme came out with his HG, as were were carrying down, and Mark Leavesley flew his new race harness before going to the PWC, but it was still blowing fairly strongly in our garden at 7.30pm when we got home, so not really paraglideable for me.

In retrospect, it was a mistake to go out so late – we were put off by the large variation in wind speed, but it would have been much better to be on the hill, and see what it was really like. A good XC day missed, at least for Geoff on the hangie. If it’s marginal, always better to be on the hill, rather than trying to second guess what the conditions will be like. If you’re not there, you can’t fly. A lesson we repeatedly have to relearn!

See photos of today.

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