"What's on" archive 2005 

Sunday 11th December was a gorgeous day with very light winds and bright sunshine. Out in the fields we were towing with Cathy L building on the previous day and getting some high flights and circuits in on her Eagle and making a good job of it despite the challenge of nil wind landings. Nick T from Dartmoor came along with his new Eagle to get it test flown and convert him onto it having completed his CPC towing back in the summer. He had a good time and soon was getting his hand back in before doing his hill conversion. There was also a good smattering of "free flyers" using the lines and running an informal spot landing comp which was held by John T on his Paraglider until Geoff B put in a late bid on his Talon which was matched on the next landing by Alan J on his Sport 2 (HG) to round off the day.

Saturday 10th December was bright and sunny despite a cloudy forecast. Towing at Newlyn Downs saw Matin J complete his HG tow conversion in fine style with some cracking flights. Cathy L got back in the air after her enforced layoff and was doing high flights and circuits by the end of the day. Dave B from Plymouth came to see what it was all about having done a few days hill training (HG) some years ago. By the end of the day he had progressed from low level to 100' release flights so far exceeding his expectations and previous experience. Mark C also came for a tow on his Paraglider to keep his hand in.

Wednesday 30th was a good time to get some  winch operator training done on what turned out to be a pleasant afternoon. A mixture of  Hang Gliding and Paragliding went on with both pilots and winch operators perfecting their techniques. Paul H had a good time on his U2 with some cracking nil wind landings building his confidence for the forthcoming XC season.

Tuesday 29th November and despite a bit of a poor forecast we went towing which turned out not to bad, in fact good enough to get Mark C (down from Wales) through his Paragliding Tow conversion  experiencing both nil and moderate wind conditions. Martin J got nearly half way through his Hang Gliding Tow conversion doing a good job in the nil wind until rain did stopped play just after lunch, but it was happy faces all round.

Wednesday 23rd November was Power conversions and what a nice day it was for it. A total of five units and pilots gathered at Davidstow Pete C who was going pond spotting, Paul H brushing up on his touch and goes, Alan A doing his final flying assessment, Alan J and Steve B starting their conversions, By mid afternoon Pete and Paul had done enough so decided to fly home landing at the "model" field near Hells Mouth for a nice XC flight. Both Alan J and Steve B did really well experiencing light winds in the early part of the day and moderate breezes in the latter part and knocking up 15 flights between them with Al taking his unit up to 3,000' for a good look around.. With plenty of flying the both got their "Restricted" endorsements and are keen to continue to full endorsements in the near future.  

Sunday 20th November proved to be actually a little thermic inland with Alan J having a float around after releasing from the winch despite the lack of a vario'. Several other experienced pilots were out including some we have not seen for a little while along with Glen E who was having a Taster Day. Glen did very well ending the day with a couple of cracking flights along the length of the tow with out the aid of any tethers, not bad for your first day ever. 

Thursday 17th November gave what it promised a super days towing. Gay J and Pete C got the day going on a Hanger and Para respectively whilst the five Paraglider Pilots for tow conversions got the theory and practice launches done. After a little tidying up of forward launch techniques Mike A, Manwell (sure its not spelt like that) L, Alan K, Phil A and Steve R all started to get to grips with towing. By the end of the day they had all experienced 10 tows each and "suffered" the dreaded power failure to complete their Tow Endorsements.  Well done to all concerned and special thanks to Paul H for his consistent  and top winch driving. look out for full story in KHPA news letter.

Monday 14th November was a beautiful day with light winds and clear blue skies. We were towing at Newlyn Downs where several experienced Hangies were having fun and Pete C got to grips with towing on Paragliders by carrying out a tow conversion course and thoroughly enjoying himself at the same time. Al J and Gay J spent the afternoon perfecting nil wind landings with varying success! Another good day was had by all.   

Wednesday 9th November saw the start of Paragliding towing in anger with a good afternoon at Newlyn Downs where we towed a mixture of Hangers and Para's for a total of 30 flights between 14.30 and 17.00 giving a pretty good turn around. we look forward to more paragliding in the near future. 

Sunday 6th November and as hoped a window of weather arrived smack on low tide so allowing Hakim J to get his final soaring flight in for his CPC at Chapel Porth. He had a good 40 minute flight building his experience an incorporating multiple 360's in good lift up to 400'. Finishing off with an excellent top landing he had the best of it with conditions dropping off to become unflyable only 20 minutes after he landed. Congratulations to huim on attaining his CPC in just over seven weeks and taking only 8 days and some of them were only a few hours!

Friday 4th November came good with superb soaring conditions at Perranporth. Hakim J made the most of them with three great flights all with excellent top landings totalling over one and a half hours flying leaving just one more good flight to complete his CPC. Good to see Pete L and Martin J out along with the more experienced pilots building their airtime in Pete's case in readiness for his new Wills Wing Sport 2 that he will receive next weekend (so blame him if the weather goes to pot).  

Tuesday 1st November was again towing at Newlyn Downs where Paul h got to grips with the winch pulling Gay J, Alan A and Alan J into the air in a freshening SW breeze with typical heights of 7-800' some enjoyable flying was has with Gay getting the best of the thermic lift under some nice looking clouds. By 13.30 the wind was increasing fast so we knocked it on the head having rattled off 20+ tows. 

Saturday 22nd October was back on the Tow field at Newlyn Downs where a good day was had despite a little rain. Nick H used his previous couple of days hill training to good effect to take him from low level flights to high flights and circuits by the end of the day having a total of seven flights. Hakim J got airborne on his Calypso and converted to a chest release and pod type harness over a total of six flights. Geoff Brook came down to do a tow endorsement and rattled off eleven flights on a variety of gliders finishing with a superb tow on his Talon at the end of the day. Alan J recently Tow Endorsed had his first tows on his Sport2 showing some of the more experienced how to do it. Added into this some already qualified pilots a total of forty one tows were made. Thanks to Graham M on the winch and his new assistant trainee Paul H for some super tows and to Al J for letting me have a go on his WW Sport 2  and for the use of his truck pulling the lines out.

Sunday 9th Oct was an afternoon spent at Godrevy where despite the variable conditions Dave S (Chairman) got back into Hang Gliding after a nine month lay off. By the end of the afternoon and eight flights he was up to speed and ready to move on into his CP tasks having now completed his EP with an exam result of 95%, nice one Dave. Hakim J also came along to make sure he kept his hand in on the hill with a good number of flights setting him up for soaring when conditions permit. 

Saturday 8th Oct and after the cold front cleared we headed to Perranporth for the afternoon where Nik H had a good couple of hours starting with a bit of tethering on top then as the wind eased knocked off fourteen flights on the lower dunes to complete his EP flying tasks in good style. An EP in two days cant be bad, that's the benefit of low numbers of students. Back on top and there was just time to fit in a dual flight with Sam who had a good 20 minutes above the cliffs in a mixture of ridge lift and sea thermals before landing back on top, my bet is we will see him back learning to fly sooner or later.

Wednesday 5th Oct and again it was tow training at Newlyn Downs where a top day was had by all. Dave W and Hakim G both converted onto 4th generation gliders and carried out high flights( 400'-500') and circuits going prone and completing various exercises to take Hakim through his Tow CPC tasks and Dave well into them, not bad for 4 & 3 days respectively!  Ex students Richard S and Alan J both came out and both completed their Tow conversions with some excellent flying knocking off 10 and 11 flights each so giving plenty of landing experience in light conditions. We had our new Mars training glider out which went down or should I say up very well and adding to the turn around rate so giving student more flights. Thanks again to Tim on the winch, Paul and gay and also to Sam P for riding the bike to pull the lines out. Oh and also to the students for behaving and flying so well!! Hopefully some pictures on the site soon .

Tuesday 4th Oct was an excellent day tow training at Newlyn Downs with Dave W and Hakim G making good progress on  the Hang Gliding front using the winch. After basic introduction they both quickly worked their way through the low flights with the benefit of their hill training. dave fnished the day with some 120' release flights whilst Hakim ended with high flights and circuits so completing his EPC in two and a half days with a 100% exam result! Special thanks to Tim J on the winch and Paul , Gay and Alan P for their help and support also to Big Al for being there!   

Thursday 29th Sept was an early start at Perranporth to catch the morning low tide. Dave W from Hertfordshire on his first day made good progress getting through the ground based, first hops, low level flights and starting on gentle turns taking him about half way through his EPC tasks. Hakim also turned up for the last hour getting in 5 flights and building up his 45 degree turns leaving only a few more to gain his EPC.  Both students had a good day with the added bonus of being interviewed for radio along with Richard S (ex student who also had a good flight) regarding the joys of learning to Hang Glide. Should go out on Radio Cornwall on following Saturday, not only do you learn to fly with us but you may become a media star!  

Saturday 24th Sept got two new students off the ground at Godrevy in very pleasant conditions. Hakim and Nick both had a top day on our new Condor 225 training wing making good progress taking Hakim from the start of his EPC to a good three quaters through it in a day!!! Nick also did well mastering take offs and getting to grips with straight and level flight before tiredness stopped play. 

Sunday 11th Sept saw some unexpected dualling at Carbis Bay with three people experiencing the delights of Hang Gliding over the cliffs. They all had a go at flying the glider themselves after a demonstration of how to do it and what not to do which seemed to work as they got to grips with it amazingly quickly. it was also good to see ex student Alan J out on his Wills Wing Sport2 showing some of the more experienced pilots how to do it, he says it's the glider that makes it so easy but I think his ability must have something to do with it. Also out was Pete L newly qualified who did a good job on a new site to him and is now looking forward to his new glider arriving ina few weeks time.  

The British Open Series Final in Yorkshire was not as good as hoped over the August Bank Holiday weekend with strong winds reducing the flyable days. However it was not all bad and flying my Wills Wing T2 i managed to increase my lead slightly so winning the series for this year and becoming overall champion. I would like to thank all those who supported me in a variety of ways and made it such a successful year for myself and Wills Wing. 

First two weeks in August saw us head to Spain (Lumbier) for the British Nationals where we had a good time with some superb flying made all the better by the presence of large numbers of vultures. Competition wise despite one major error of judgement the only Wills Wing T2 in the comp finished 6th in the British Nationals ahead of  the two top Moyes pilots in the country proving that the glider is at least as good if not better than far more expensive wings despite adverts to the contrary! In fact much interest was shown in the T2 with it being booked by several pilots for test flights. From a personal point of view I was more than happy with its performance and handling and whilst a top Moyes pilot was heard to say of his new litespeed S that he did not feel disadvantaged by it I had the feeling of having an advantage on the T2 so the rest is purely down to me!!  

Sunday 31st saw both Rob H and Tom W complete their CPC's by taking advantage of slots in the weather on what proved to be an unpredictable day. Rob had the best of it with a nice soaring flight followed by another cracking top landing whilst Tom got the short straw with not so good  conditions preventing top landings but ensuring a good amount of flying giving him just over an hour by the end of the day with some fairly technical stuff. So whatch out for them on the hills in the near future.

Saturday 30th July proved an excellent day at Perranporth despite the odd rain shower Pete L started proceedings with his second soaring flight and top landing followed by Rob H who made his first one also with a cracking top landing. Phill H was with us for a taster day and kept us fully occupied whilst between flights on tethers getting his first hops in. PeteL then completed his flying tasks with another flight and yet another good top landing. Not to be out done Rob H took to the air again for some soaring before making a classic landing back on top to take him one flight away from his CPC. Both then completed their Exams successfully so rounding off a top day with Pete L gaining his CPC  BIG SMILES all round. Good to see plenty of former students out having a good time especially Alan J who is just about ready to give his new Wills Wing Sport a go.   

Friday 29th July turned out good with Pete L and Tom W both getting their first soaring flights in followed by good top landings to put them within a day of completing their CPC's. Patience is a virtue and both of them certainly needed it whilst we waited for conditions to become suitable. However it paid off for them and hopefully it wont be to long before they are up again. 

Tuesday 19th July at Perranporth where unfortunately the weather was not as good as forecast. However we did manage a couple of dual flights one with Tom W to show him the art of soaring and the other with Liz who was down on holiday and wanted to try something really different. She had a great time with big smiles all round. Pete L managed to get in a few beats of the ridge before heading to the beach where he performed an excellent landing. Several ex students were also out and managed to get in some flying between the showers. 

Thursday 7th July and despite damp conditions Pete L put in 7 top to bottoms including some "semi soaring" flights to take him well into his CPC. Hopefully next time out he will be soaring in readiness for his new Wills Wing Eagle when it arrives. 

Monday 4th July was a cracking day at Perranporth with some excellent tethering in the fresh breeze to start with then as the wind eased Cathy L took advantage of the perfect conditions for some soaring with a 20 minute flight on her Eagle 145. Despite a near perfect approach she unfortunately lost it at the last moment resulting in an interesting "landing" which curtailed her flying for the rest of the day. Pete L enjoyed some classic "soaring" on the tethers as the wind freshened again along with a couple of Tandem flights to show him what it is like up there. James from Wiltshire also put in some tethered work in preparation for his hill conversion from aero towing.

Sunday 3rd July and it was a lovely day at Perranporth where PeteL got straight back into it with six flights so completing his EPC, congratulations  and moving well into his CPC. It was only a combination of tide and tiredness that put a holt to the fun otherwise I think he would be nearly there.

Saturday 4th June was a blustery day at Perranporth where Tom W, Rob Hand Pete L all got some amazing tethering in with "soaring" flights of 5 minutes plus. They all mastered base bar conversions and prone flying in the near perfect conditions for tethering ending up with over 20 minutes airtime each. Once again big smiles all round. 

Late May Bank Holiday saw us head to SE Wales for the second round of the British Open Series. Some good flying was had on four of the days although only two of them produced valid tasks. The Talons were going well with myself finishing 2nd in the comp moving me up to 1st overall once again confirming the gliders ability compared to some far more expensive ones. A good time was had all round with the social side keeping it fun and interesting even when we were not flying.  This was the last comp on my current Talon as a shiny new "T2" arrives later in the week to replace it. 

Monday 9th I took the Ozone Geo out to St Agnes and can only say it was impressive out of the bag as it is in it. A super package for those wanting a lighter more compact package, when combined with the Woody Valley Peak harness (inc air bag) its unrivalled. The glider is a DHV 1-2 and recentely proved itself by flying 123k ! The harness is as safe as they come so all in all there is no compromise in safety. EXCELLENT

Sunday 8th May gave a third day at Perranporth with more sunny weather. The previous days students returned and a full days tuition resulted in Rob H putting in 4 top to bottoms and experiencing ridge lift on the way putting him on the edge of soaring. Tom W moved well into his CPC tasks with a total of  7 flights taking him into 180 turns and base bar conversions. Pete L had a blitz of a day with 12 flights getting him within 2 flights of his EPC, not bad for his second day proving that low student ratios pay dividends in progress made. Rob and Tom both successfully passed their exams so completing their EPC's , well done guys. Smiling faces all round :) 

Saturday 7th May and it was back to Perranporth with gorgeous sunny weather. After a bit of tethering on top in the fresh breeze we headed down the hill as conditions improved. Rob H progressed into his CPC with three excellent flights down from the shale including base bar conversion and 180 degree turns. Tom W returned after a long lay off and was back up to speed by the end of the day with a total of 12 flights and new boy Pete L made superb progress into his EPC with 14 flights turning what was a taster day into the first day of a full course.  Plenty of others were also out free flying and it was good to see so many. 

Friday 6th May gave a good day at Perranporth despite the mizzly conditions. Pete got back into the air after a two year lay off to enjoy a couple of soaring flights nearly doubling his total airtime and doing wonders for his confidence. Rob H returned after a ten month layoff and after a hard days work was back to where he left off and ready to progress into his CPC tasks. His friend Mike got several soaring flights in whilst rave from the grave Paul S (yes the very same) tried his hand at the latest topless gliders and gave a very resounding thumbs up, so much so he bought one, great to see him back in the air.

Bank Holiday weekend 30th-2nd May saw us go to the British Open in Mid Wales where there were three days of flying to be had in varying and sometimes challenging conditions. A good time was had overall with myself finishing 2nd to top comp pilot Grant Crossingham and making up one of the two Talons in the top three so proving yet again its pedigree. Geoff Brook had a good time especially as we fully rebuilt his glider with a special delivery of spares driven down on the Sunday morning allowing him to fly it in the afternoon, all part of our service which our customers appreciate.

Sunday 10th April and it was back to Perranporth for an early start in good conditions with Alan J completing his final soaring task with a 35minute flight followed by a fine top landing in front of the assembling pilots. Danny came up for a dual flight which got a little extended due to the lift dropping off giving insufficient height for a top landing. However, patience is a virtue and after around 40 minutes of scooting up and down the dunes we were rewarded with a small thermal allowing enough height to drop back in on top. Dave M came down again from Plymouth and had a cracking day completing some 15 flights and moving him into gentle turns so progressing to over half way through his EPC. Cathy L was also down from Wiltshire and had 4 high flights down finishing with 180 turns and base bar conversion taking her within spitting distance of soaring.   

Saturday 9th April saw us at Perranporth where we had some good training  and excellent tethering in the freshening conditions. Dave M from Plymouth made good progress in sorting out his turns whilst Adrian W out on a taster day had an excellent time and made amazing progress, he really should take it up. Alan J got to try out his new Woody valley Cosmic harness on the tethers and looked far to sleek by half. There was a good turn out of both hangers and danglers although the latter were grounded as the day went on due to the increasing winds. 

Saturday 12th proved a good day at Sennen Cove where Alan J followed up Fridays flights with two soaring flights and top landings. He did an excellent job in the sea thermic conditions putting him one flight away from completing his CPC tasks (photos below). Chris W was also there getting in his first flight on the site. Meanwhile at St Agnes there were a number of "hangers" enjoying the ideal conditions including Geoff B who picked up and flew his recently acquired Wills Wing Talon 140 , was he pleased or what, just ask him.

Friday 11th March  saw some training at Perranporth where Alan J made serious progress into his CPC tasks and passed his EPC exam with top marks. Al finished his 4th flight of the day with a 5 minute soaring flight in the fresh conditions putting a rather large smile on his face. To top it all his new Woody valley Cosmic harness also arrived and his first hang in the garage confirmed it to be a top choice. Dave M from Plymouth also started his EPC training after being convinced it was the thing to do following his dual flight a few weeks ago. He showed a fair amount of natural ability during several tethered flights in freshening conditions. 

Saturday 26th February and we spent the morning at our inland North easterly where Cathy L got back into flying after a lay off since September. She had a total of thirteen flights with the last four on her Wills Wing Eagle 140 which she found a delight to fly. We then moved to Carbis Bay where we did some dual flights in superb conditions giving Gareth from Plymouth his first taste of Hang Gliding with views of St Ives from nearly 400 feet. Cathy also took a spin to give her an idea of how it will be for her and finally Kaz (Mrs Phipps) came up for a fun fly around before flying back to land by the cars. Loads of pilots were out for the Frostbite Comp and it was good to see many "old" students again.

Thursday 24th February and a trip to Carbis Bay saw Martin J get his final CPC soaring flight in on his Eagle 180 in fairly sea thermic conditions. Staying up was never a problem but getting down was! He had a good flight the second on his wing and first in his new Woody Valley Flex harness which got a definite thumbs up for comfort and ease of use. Watch out for him on the hill.

Wednesday 23rd and I sneaked a couple of flights after work on the Airwave Wave paraglider. Dodging the snow showers was quite fun whilst using the abundant sea thermals to gain extra height. The glider performed really well and with a huge amount of inbuilt stability inspired confidence in the bouncy bits. Myself and Alan J landed back by the cars and just got packed up as the snow fell, perfect timing.

Friday 18th February was a breezy afternoon at Perranporth in fact a little to breezy for Martin J to finish off his CPC soaring flights so we utilized the time by tethering the Mars. This gave Martin the opportunity to try out his new Woody Valley Flex harness and get used to it. He was well impressed with its comfort and ease of use, not only that it looked good to! Alan J had several excellent tethered soaring with flights of around 5 minutes during which he got the chance to practice converting to the base bar and also going prone. So all in all not a bad time was had.

Wednesday 16th February proved a lovely day at Carbis Bay with perfect conditions. Martin J took full advantage getting his first soaring flight in on the Mars followed by his second on his new Wills Wing Eagle 180 making the most of the added performance with additional height enabling him to complete his first 360 before carrying out his second top landing (or was it arrival) of the day. we also fitted in a couple of dual flights taking up dave from Plymouth who had his first experience of Hang Gliding which included a sightseeing trip into Carbis Bay itself (I mean over) along with some thermalling up to 500+ feet. Student Alan J also got a go to give him an insight into soaring hangers and took the controls to gain some valuable experience for the future. All in all a good afternoon resulting in some very happy people with big smiles.  

Thursday 27th January and it was back on our NE training site with Alan J where he completed a total of 22 flights converting him to a 4th generation glider (Mars) and taking him through his turns inc 45 degrees and beyond. A good afternoons work completes his EPC tasks and puts him good stead for his high flights.

Monday 24th January was a lovely sunny day with a moderate to fresh NNE wind. Dave S and Alan J made best use of the afternoon at one of our inland training sites totalling over 30 flights between them! Dave successfully completed his EPC flying tasks, not bad in four days whilst Alan is within striking distance of completing his having missed a good day on the 15th. 

Saturday 15th January and despite the brisk southerly an excellent afternoons training went on at Godrevy with Dave S and Mark W making serious in roads into their EPC's. They both dealt well with the more turbulent inland  conditions completing their low level flights and getting well into the turns bringing them within a days work of finishing the first stage of the course. Plenty of airtime made for a top afternoon.

Sunday January 2nd was a blustery day at Perranporth which whilst a little to strong for free flying proved a good day for tethering. Three students had a good time gaining valuable "airtime" on the ropes sorting out twisting problems and generally getting the feel for the glider with turns and corrections becoming more automatic. Mark W and Dave S had the advantage of extra weight to keep the glider steady whilst Alan J a couple of stone lighter had no problems in using all the rope available as he "soared" the top landing area.