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12/09/2007

To Chamonix…..and Beyond……..

Filed under: Flying in France,YouTube — Dunc1261 @ 03:26 pm

I received a call from Ian Archer back in June to advise that a small party of West Coasters (Joe, Ian and several others) were planning a trip to Chamonix Mont Blanc in France during the first week of September. Ian was intending to travel along with the group and get some paragliding flights in. I had a quick think and checked with the Boss to see if I could skip a weekend home to Aberdeen in favour of a trip to France. This was quickly done (a forfeit was promised….honest!).

chamonix-db.gif

I called Ian back to confirm I would make the trip, flying EasyJet from London Gatwick and meeting up with the main party who were flying in from Edinburgh. I met up with Ian and together we travelled in style across the Swiss border into France and on to Chamonix – Mont Blanc.

We saw some paragliders in the air en route and were advised by that this was a training school and the students were doing top to bottoms.

The mountains grew taller and taller. We were dropped off at out hotel and headed out to check the landing sites and took the cable car up to check some of the take off areas.

On the Saturday and Sunday Ian Archer and I got a total of four flights in from the Planpraz launch site. The take off area was at an elevation of 2000m with a vertical decent of 1000m to the landing field at Chamonix. The other Ian got a flight in on the Sunday morning, which was the best time to fly before the strong valley winds kicked and made landing very hard.

On the Sunday afternoon we took a trip up the cable cars to the Aiguille du Midi (3845m) which is the highest point accessible by cable-car in the Chamonix valley. The Aiguille du Midi is well known as the start of the famous Vallee Blanche off-piste ski run over the glaciers; and is also one of the access routes to climbing the Mont Blanc (4811m). The air is very thin and you need time to get adjusted. We saw paragliders taking off and flying from the top of Mont Blanc. Fantastic!

Monday came round quick and we headed back to Geneva and then I flew to London Gatwick and back to the London Borough of Hackney’s offices. The others flew back to Edinburgh.

A great weekend was had by all. I recommend Chamonix for the scenery, the thermals and the challenging landing options.

I’ve posted up two videos on www.youtube.com, if you search for Dunc1261 and Chamonix.

Keep Flying Safe!

Duncan

10/09/2007

Glider check & ’20kg’ line length resetting.

Filed under: Glider Checks — Murray Hay @ 06:18 pm

While getting ready to fly from the camp at Mount hill after lunch on day two, Alan Coffin takes out the time to do a line check and length reset. Club members not sure about the (fairly simple) procedures just ask and I will go over this with them next time they are out, it takes about 20-30 mins.

Alan checking the cloth attachment tabs and comparing the lengths both before & after applying a load to see if the line had shrunk.

 After 80+ hours of flying there was a noticable shrinkage in line lengths on the glider due to ‘relaxing’ of the woven outer ‘tube’ that protects the inner from UV and physical abrasion, in addition there was on loading a failure of one single brake ‘fan’ line where the outer had been damaged some time in the past, this (one of the final thin lines) snapped at approximantly 10-15kg load….. but after removing the broken line and a quick test flight was not enough to cause any concern over flying while the spare line is on order.

The main common sign of lines needing re-set is: Does the glider seem to ‘hang back’ when ground handling at launch more that it used to? 

24/08/2007

Return to Olu Deniz (after 15 years )

Filed under: Flying in Turkey — Alan @ 12:11 am

Summer holiday this year consisted of a week camping on north west coast of scotland

( Fort William & Gairloch – wester Ross ) followed by a inpromptu return to Turkey and Mount Babadag.

We had spent a family holiday there in 1992 and while sitting supping a beer at a beach side bar in Olu Deniz

a strange object dropped from the sky and crashed through a parasol just in front of us. It turned out to be a strange UFO which inaptly named at the time was a para”glider”. I turned to my wife and said ” I gotta try that “. And did , taking the opportunity to tandem from the 6000 ft mountain costing 60 squids.

Returning 15 years later, again as a family I brought along my paragliding gear. I decided that I would fit 2 or three Babadag trips around other family activities.

Very little has appeared to changed in this time . A few more paragliding organisations for tandem flights have appeared and the method of getting to the top has been improved upon,  now using trucks designed for off road driving

( trip used to consist of cramming into a 2 wheel  drive mini bus and sitting on the dash board to get enough traction at certain points to get to the top ).

Incidentally the cost of a tandem has not increased. ( still 55 – 60 pounds if booked direct  at agent ).

Anyways –

I had 3 flights during my stay with the first being from what I believe to be a new-ish launch site

nearer the top of the mountain. ( top photo ). This has A SLIGHTLY more ” COMMITTED ” Launch aspect compared with the lower original site –  steeper / shorter and In addition it’s rockier under foot.

 Wind Conditions were very light and  run off’s seemed to be the order of the day .

  Having previously spent time doing zero – 1 knot reverse launch training with Murray I felt confident that I would not have too much difficulty in launching . BUT still felt apprehensive due to the new site plus the volume of tandem pilots laying out, lining up and launching. I decided to find my own little spot away from the masses , laying out  and checking my kit.

   Once clipped in I did a couple of inflations which indicated that the wind although at ground level was approx zero at wing height was enough to boost confidence. With no thermals and no significant wind changes expected I launched when ready taking a right beat away from the tandem launchers. Flight was as expected , 30 mins with no events, thermals or ridge lift.

Olu Deniz

Second and third flights were from the lower launch site which I much prefered being less rocky underfoot with a gradual slope for launch . During my second flight ( at approx 3 pm ) I was hoping that the conditions would be thermic having witnesses a couple of pilots achieving significant height above launch an hout earlier . This was after a phase where towering cumulus seemed to kick-off in and around the mountain tops. ( happened quite often around 2 pm. ). No joy other than a couple of small thyermals which extended my flight to approx 45 mins. I also took the opportunity to do spirals and wingovers. Third flight was similar again but later on in the day @ 6-ish . This did surprise me , the wind on top had picked up to around 7-8 kts giving good soaring conditions and unlike the the tandems I took the opertunity to use it . Unexpectedly the thermals were also kicking in . I put this down to the change in temperature with the low level air and ground still retaining heat but the air temp in and around 6000 ft had dropped considerably over the last 2 hours. I hung around ridge soaring for 30 mins then headed out down to land and meet with the wife and son for a bite to each down at Olu Deniz .

perfect finish to a good flight , food and beer in good company 🙂

To finish I would certainly recommend Olu Deniz as a place to visit either for flying or a holiday , OR BOTH.

we personally stayed in Hisaronu 3 miles inland which is livelier than Olu Deniz and easily accessible with mini buses every couple of mins.

As far as getting to the top of the mountains concerned just walk the beach front and ask the tandem guys if they have room for a solo pilot as there is a jeep going up every 20-30 mins. It costs 20 YTL ( 8 squids ) for the lift.

happy and safe flying to all

alan c

 

02/08/2007

Wickerman Flying Festival

Filed under: Uncategorised — Ali @ 11:53 pm

Well, I headed down to the Wickerman Flying Festival a few days ago, and did a bit of bungee bouncing and I think I listened to some rock music. But that might have been a dream, like the smell of herbs and stuff. Arent the policemen nice in Galloway.

26/07/2007

“Ah Perfect”……

Filed under: YouTube — Murray Hay @ 05:16 pm

For those who have seen the film ‘Con Air’, this could be the PG version!

 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=v549ZCWbQiM 

Garland Green: “Define irony….bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash.”

Here’s hoping none of our members do “Ah Perfect” landings!

For more ‘expert trained pilots’ try this clip…. Includes tandem ‘launches’…. scary stuff!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5jvdpC_RMLs

03/07/2007

St Cyrus (the site that has always eluded me…..)

Filed under: Club East Coast Days,East Scotland,YouTube — Dunc1261 @ 06:07 pm

I’ve been to St Cyrus several times where on each occasion the conditions have not been suitable for flying. Last Saturday I got a call from Scott Rigg to say that he was heading for Morrone, near Braemar. I checked www.XCWeather.co.uk and the wind was 12MPH from the South East at Aboyne.

I thought it would be too strong on the hill and Scott call me back to confirm that this was indeed the case. With a South Easterly he mentioned St Cyrus. I thought “This is it!” and headed down the A90 to Stonehaven then on to the Coastal Road.

I called Murray who was doing a Wedding Photo Shoot and he said good luck and to be careful. I know this is a site not for the faint hearted as the drop is very steep. The wind has also to be spot on to the slope. About a mile North of St Cyrus I saw a couple of paragliders up so I knew conditions were flyable. I phoned Scott back to advise and then parked up at the Public Car park to see three paragliders on site. One I knew was Bill Connon from the Aberdeen Club. The other two pilots were unfamiliar but when they landed I introduced myself to Terry Stubbs and his friend. 

I spoke to Bill to get his feeling for the conditions. He had been flying on and off for a couple of hours and said that conditions were very smooth. I told Bill this was my first time flying at St Cyrus, the site had always eluded me. Scott arrived as I was setting up and laying out my wing. I watched Terry’s friend take off, then pulled up the Aeron. No double bounce (sorry Murray you were right!) but a smooth transition up. I made sure the wing was solid, not looking up, and then I stepped off the cliff edge Into the first beat and into the busy traffic! I stayed up for well over an hour only coming down to take on some fluid! 

Scott took off and joined in. 5 gliders in the air and all working the circuit. Terry performed a death spin (I think?) and landed in the barley field. I shouted down and he replied that he was okay but claimed he was out of practise! The second flight was similar as was the third. A few lumps only when flying over the car park and the views were fantastic. I had to pack up early to pick up one of my boys, but the wind was strengthen as per the forecast and I know I made a good call. Other folks arrived from the Aberdeen Club. Simon Lucas and John Newton. I’ve posted up a video with the photos I took on to www.YouTube.com search for Dunc1261. 

A good day at St Cyrus indeed! 

See you on the Hill or on the Coast!

Fly Safe 

Duncan 

11/06/2007

Oh Deer! Antler sited on Morrone…..

Filed under: Mountain days — Dunc1261 @ 04:53 pm

I had a call from Ian Archer on Saturday morning to see if I was heading out. Looking up at the Haar in Aberdeen I knew there was a better chance of flying if we headed inland and up to the West! I was thinking the east side of Morrone near Braemar.

I mentioned Morrone to Ian, a new site for him. We discussed Mount Blair so I packed my wing and headed off with Mac the Dog down the A90 and met up with Ian at his place, a nice Timber Cabin in the woods, excellent.

We headed over to an East facing site near Mount Blair that Ian had flown with Murray, but I wanted to stick to the original game plan. We drove past Mount Blair and on to the Glenshee car park. The wind was blowing up from Braemar, so wrong direction for the Bowl.

We drove into Braemar and went round to the Duck Pond. Ian was not keen on the tab up, so we went round to the road access side. The gate was locked and Ian looked for a way up in his 4 x 4 but no luck.

We walked up the path and laid out on the right hand side of the hill. The plan was to jump to the east side of Morrone. I took off first and floated down the road a bit. Ian took off and landed further down the path. I walked up higher and took off again, this time jumping the gap (Murray would be proud of my slot landing).

Ian was still on the ground so I headed higher and further round the east side of Morrone. I spotted the antler (pictured) in the heather up to the front and packed the item in my harness. No messing around on the landing I thought as this would push through the material and into my back!

I laid out on a flat part near the top of the hill and started my checks from the start as I was hot and flustered. Take it back to the start I said to myself, take off the gear and lay the wing out. It is worth doing this if you have the wing over your shoulder and are walking up the hill for an extended period of time!

Pulled the wing up and I was up, up and away, the vario screaming out. The thermals were strong and I was going up at a fair old rate. I flew towards Braemar and got well above the summit. After half a hour looking at the views around Braemar (I saw a herd of Red Deer but no “Buck with one Antler”!) I drifted back over Ian who was well below me. I did several 360’s and realised I was still going up, so I flew out of the lift zone and back towards Ian and landed a few yards from him.

Conditions had picked up but I had enjoyed the flight. I was glad to be on the ground again. The speed bar setup that Murray assisted with was fine but in discussion with him I should have pulled Big Ears to get down.

Fly safe and we’ll see you on the hill soon!

Duncan

04/06/2007

Who would have thought yesterday was flyable :-)

Filed under: Fife Sites — Alan @ 10:49 am

Fantastic day yesterday. Even although while looking at the weather
In the morning I thought this was going to be a DIY day.
It was still worth the drive down from Aberdeen to Fife as some time could have been spent on theory if conditions were poor.

On arrival at East Lomond conditions were humid , hazy with very light winds. This turned out to be a very  educational day. By the time we reached the top the sun was although not breaking through was managing to heat the ground as small thermals were popping through.

Murray: “IR passes through the clouds, like certain types of glass IR can pass one way (in to the greenhouse/room) but not out… the reason for this is the ‘frequency shift’…. IR direct from the sun is (from memory) a higher frequency than the IR radiated back to space from the ground, hence on a cloudy night the local air temp/world remains warm while on an otherwise identical night but with no cloud cover the temp drops rapidly and a frost can occur, all due to the (lower frequency) IR radiated from the ground being reflected by the cloud cover back to the ground i.e. ‘trapped’ … on the clear nite it simply radiated back into space and is lost..

So in summery, cloud cover (daytime when out flying) will reduce the temp ‘contrast’ so it feels LESS hot in hazy sun than if it was direct sun this generates thermals low down/ground level but far less punchy. As the PG pilot gets higher the strength of the RISING thermal is more to do with the actual (environmental) lapse rate, so thermals rising into cooler air speed up ‘get stronger/puncher’.” :END    

I spent some time testing the air and trying to get a feel for the thermals and
Change in wind direction prior to take off. It was surprising how in such
Light conditions ( ridge lift that is ) how much the wind direction and strength changed
over such a short period of time swinging from south easterly through to southerly in seconds. 
Meaning standing on the top plateau my Nova Pheron was nodding left to right almost like a
Metronome. In addition tension on risers were changing so much that I had good practice
At reversing and controlling frontal collapses. Although not perfect at this I’m sure My DHV 1 Nova Pheron was not helping. ( think I need to cut the wing tips off –  Murray get the old Singer looked out  )

Murray :”This yaw of the wing (and on low DHV wings significant roll due to tip curving down) is a classic indicator of a light wind lifty thermal condition and required a diffrent approach to launching TIMING than a variable wind ‘ridge lift day'” :END

Most flights were generally short from top with hill side landings just below the plateau.
( even Murray on the odd occation didn’t manage a top landing )
At about 2pm The sun managed to squeeze through for 30 mins and the cycles changed for a while with increased thermal activity. 

One specific flight, where my launch timing was right ( more good luck than judgement )  I flew straight into a decent thermal which took me up about 100 ft I rode out about 3 or 4 punchy small thermals which allowed me to stay about at take off height until a large cycle ( large for the day that was ) came through which took me to approx 600 ft above take-off for a nice 20 minute flight.

Who would have thought yesterday was flyable 🙂

Alan c

01/06/2007

‘Black Sat’

Filed under: Fife Sites — Murray Hay @ 12:00 pm

With the conditions getting WAY too punchy inland by eary afternoon (a couple of PG accidents involving heli rescue etc! at other sites in Scotland) Duncan (thanks for the pics 😉 and myself headed to the sandy bay at Elie which is always a good option when Fife main sites ‘blow/thermal out’…. a great site to work on launch/landing and general ground control/safety stuff, with the potential for some exclent technical flying.

Using the wing to jog up the hill, plus the usual playing about on the poles & blocks (war time tank traps), with a lot of the lift (west component to the wind at times) along the ridge out to the point short (!) ‘out and return’ flights even over the water were on.

The bay is also a good site when the wind is right and the air is ‘lifty’ for extended tandem flights, even with heavier P2’s, in fact Alan Littlejohn started with his first flights here..

24/05/2007

YouTube

Filed under: YouTube — Murray Hay @ 05:05 pm

Hi all I’ve started encoding video clips for YouTube from the NINTY or so hours of paragliding footage shot since ’98….

There are over 200 clips up now…! You can search under Paragliding + Scotland to see all the videos put up by PG pilots flying in this part of the world.

To view the Precision Paragliding student training video clips as well as some of ESP members flying, follow this link http://www.ParaVideo.co.uk

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