i here some fantastic flights from jim glen and geaff
jim going all the way to whitby and even more astonishing was glen and geaff who got 2 bays past staithes and back again that i am sure has never been achieved on a pg
just when you think the season is over the flights just keep on coming
well done lads
cheers gary
i here some fantastic flights from marske to whitby staithes
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Jim Bittlestone
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Cheers Gary, I've just put my flight on the xc league, Glen and Geoff didnt have their gps unfortunately.
Great flights from Geoff and Glen especially as Glen is flying a slower wing and had some tricky upwind legs to get back. Great flying lads, requiring patience, skill and a fair amount of bottle.
I just kept going, really enjoyable flying over some beautiful countryside. Not too difficult, I was expecting it to be much harder after posts read on the forum. I can only assume that the conditions must have suited the trips.
My radio changed frequency after take off so couldnt speak to Geoff or Glen to get the beta on the trip, so i just took things as they came.
This was my first time past Saltburn, so i was a bit nervous not knowing what to expect.
I read Paul's excellent account of his Staithes trip which helped but after that i was taking it one step at a time. The glide over Runswick bay seemed ok knowing the cliffs i was aiming for would work. The glide over to Sandsend seemed easy and safe with a beach to land on if needed. Having said that, i arrived lowish but a large house with a hill behind it worked, also a 10ft high concrete ramp worked really well to give enough height to consolidate then cross the road behind (checking for buses and lorries first!) once on the dune behind the road i knew that Whitby was in the bag. The trick for the glides seems to be to head into clean air to avoid rotor avoiding the temptation to hug the land, aiming for something into wind.
These were downwind glides which helped and sea thermals helped too. Once at Whitby, the area at the north side of the pier only just worked, but no great height was gained. The wee beach across the bay looked inviting. But so did that huge cliff into wind. My bladder was bursting so i rushed my decision to cross the bay. Arriving low, getting a little bit of turbulence from the south pier i just made it to the bottom of the cliff. I expected to be launched skyward way above the priory ready to look at the next section of coast...
Nothing, just confused air bouncing off the pier, nothing wild or worrying, but certainly not what i needed. Looking down i could see rocks, so an easy decision made to pop back round to the lovely beach and a round of applause from the people watching, which softened the disappointment and put a smile on my face.
The clue was the lift on the north side was poor, so i should have expected the same if not worse on the south.
Once established on the big cliff, not sure how much further it would be possible to go? It may need the wind to turn more east?
This trip seemed ok to me but the conditions were perfect i think? Plenty of warnings have been posted about it as folk have got injured doing it, i kept clocking possible landings just in case as well as alternative exits if the glides werent as expected.
Note advice from Paul and others, do it on the right day. Not meaning to preach or tell folk to suck eggs, just my thaughts.
Just a final note, according to the NYSC website, our own Mr Guthrie has got the site record at 32km, set in 1998! Amazing stuff! Not sure which wing this was on, but that seems a long time ago?
Great flights from Geoff and Glen especially as Glen is flying a slower wing and had some tricky upwind legs to get back. Great flying lads, requiring patience, skill and a fair amount of bottle.
I just kept going, really enjoyable flying over some beautiful countryside. Not too difficult, I was expecting it to be much harder after posts read on the forum. I can only assume that the conditions must have suited the trips.
My radio changed frequency after take off so couldnt speak to Geoff or Glen to get the beta on the trip, so i just took things as they came.
This was my first time past Saltburn, so i was a bit nervous not knowing what to expect.
I read Paul's excellent account of his Staithes trip which helped but after that i was taking it one step at a time. The glide over Runswick bay seemed ok knowing the cliffs i was aiming for would work. The glide over to Sandsend seemed easy and safe with a beach to land on if needed. Having said that, i arrived lowish but a large house with a hill behind it worked, also a 10ft high concrete ramp worked really well to give enough height to consolidate then cross the road behind (checking for buses and lorries first!) once on the dune behind the road i knew that Whitby was in the bag. The trick for the glides seems to be to head into clean air to avoid rotor avoiding the temptation to hug the land, aiming for something into wind.
These were downwind glides which helped and sea thermals helped too. Once at Whitby, the area at the north side of the pier only just worked, but no great height was gained. The wee beach across the bay looked inviting. But so did that huge cliff into wind. My bladder was bursting so i rushed my decision to cross the bay. Arriving low, getting a little bit of turbulence from the south pier i just made it to the bottom of the cliff. I expected to be launched skyward way above the priory ready to look at the next section of coast...
Nothing, just confused air bouncing off the pier, nothing wild or worrying, but certainly not what i needed. Looking down i could see rocks, so an easy decision made to pop back round to the lovely beach and a round of applause from the people watching, which softened the disappointment and put a smile on my face.
The clue was the lift on the north side was poor, so i should have expected the same if not worse on the south.
Once established on the big cliff, not sure how much further it would be possible to go? It may need the wind to turn more east?
This trip seemed ok to me but the conditions were perfect i think? Plenty of warnings have been posted about it as folk have got injured doing it, i kept clocking possible landings just in case as well as alternative exits if the glides werent as expected.
Note advice from Paul and others, do it on the right day. Not meaning to preach or tell folk to suck eggs, just my thaughts.
Just a final note, according to the NYSC website, our own Mr Guthrie has got the site record at 32km, set in 1998! Amazing stuff! Not sure which wing this was on, but that seems a long time ago?
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Jim Bittlestone
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gary stenhouse
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i am sure that this run has a lot to do with how the wind can keep on swinging as you go along or just boyant lift. as with horden there is some days that going to crimdon is easy yet on a similar day and direction it is just not possible. i still think the coast poses more dangers than any other place and would fell safer doing oit with a wetsuit on just in case.
however think it was a great flight and sure will leave some great memories. maybee my fear of the run is slightly exagerated as the time i done it was only my 3rd flight after my accident, and at that time i felt like death was round every corner and every bump. hopefully i will do this flight some day when things arejust right, but as all newer pilots will find as time goes by your appreciation to real danger becomes instinct.
fly safe but above all fly for enjoyment as after sunday i sure as hell want to see an aufull lot more.
cheers gary
however think it was a great flight and sure will leave some great memories. maybee my fear of the run is slightly exagerated as the time i done it was only my 3rd flight after my accident, and at that time i felt like death was round every corner and every bump. hopefully i will do this flight some day when things arejust right, but as all newer pilots will find as time goes by your appreciation to real danger becomes instinct.
fly safe but above all fly for enjoyment as after sunday i sure as hell want to see an aufull lot more.
cheers gary
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Jim Bittlestone
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A trio of pics Saltburn, Skinninggrove and the route ahead.
Last edited by Jim Bittlestone on Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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John Wallis
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Hopefully more to come if the weather stays good 
marske-(past) staithes-marske
Hello Chaps,
Excellent write up Jim! And fantastic pics! Not just saying that because it's me.....
Unfortunately my camera phone was set up wrong and is fiddly to use in the air. Will try and download some pics at the end of the week but they are crap in comparison to Jim's and Geoff's.
Many Thanks to Geoff and Jim for their great company and lift marking during a difficult flight on a slow wing now I'm just a mere racing snake after losing a bit of the beer gut. Especially Geoff as I would have not made it back to Staithes without his help. I had a hard time in some of the out of wind areas with lots of sink. Being slow didn't help there!
Despite the pictures I'm sure I'll get the usual low airtimers, scratching ridges comments.
That flight alone added more than 15% to my log book hours with 3 hours and 5 mins in the air.
Another hard part of the flight was heading back up the beach from the Saltburn cable car to my own car at the church into wind. At that point I WAS a low airtimer scratching around and picking up lift in the gullys with an edge into wind.
Cracking day out at the coast!
Will post a write up of the Marske- (past)Staithes-Marske on a DHV1 in the near future.
Well done to Jim on an epic flight to Whitby. Geoff and Jim always arrived at the lift before me and connected with large areas of lift out to sea. It made me think that sometime soon I need to upgrade to a 1-2 with a better weight range to suit me.
Excellent write up Jim! And fantastic pics! Not just saying that because it's me.....
Unfortunately my camera phone was set up wrong and is fiddly to use in the air. Will try and download some pics at the end of the week but they are crap in comparison to Jim's and Geoff's.
Many Thanks to Geoff and Jim for their great company and lift marking during a difficult flight on a slow wing now I'm just a mere racing snake after losing a bit of the beer gut. Especially Geoff as I would have not made it back to Staithes without his help. I had a hard time in some of the out of wind areas with lots of sink. Being slow didn't help there!
Despite the pictures I'm sure I'll get the usual low airtimers, scratching ridges comments.
That flight alone added more than 15% to my log book hours with 3 hours and 5 mins in the air.
Another hard part of the flight was heading back up the beach from the Saltburn cable car to my own car at the church into wind. At that point I WAS a low airtimer scratching around and picking up lift in the gullys with an edge into wind.
Cracking day out at the coast!
Will post a write up of the Marske- (past)Staithes-Marske on a DHV1 in the near future.
Well done to Jim on an epic flight to Whitby. Geoff and Jim always arrived at the lift before me and connected with large areas of lift out to sea. It made me think that sometime soon I need to upgrade to a 1-2 with a better weight range to suit me.