yesterdays flying and wow

Post by **gary stenhouse** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 7:38 am

well cross fell more than came up with te goods for pg and hg. 7 hg in the air showing off the true air supremesee. i was able to fly all over with never a worry about being at the back of the hill from the golf balls to maillers leep with ease. gary wirdnamhad been to the cafe and then managed to get about 14k out front the hill all and all a fantastic hg day. neil was on his pg and managed about 3 k over to the bowls and then made it allthe way to the cafe. then i took off late on my pg but did not make beond the bowl but all in all what a day and the hg is most definately the superior machine.

cheers gary

gordie · Post by **gordie** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 9:56 am

Glad you had a good day guys. All the reports I got from Cross Fell were that it was very windy for PG and apparently Foggy had flown to test conditions and it was not to nice. So all you low airtime or just sane pilots out there I don't think you missed much apart from maybe a good dragging and scary backwards flight! I think Gary is still wearing his rose tinted spectacles

Dave Hume · Post by **Dave Hume** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 am

gordie wrote:Glad you had a good day guys. All the reports I got from Cross Fell were that it was very windy for PG and apparently Foggy had flown to test conditions and it was not to nice. So all you low airtime or just sane pilots out there I don't think you missed much apart from maybe a good dragging and scary backwards flight! I think Gary is still wearing his rose tinted spectacles

Yes we saw a blue paraglider take off at the bottom twice, I think it was blowing about 25-30mph westerly on the top at the time. It then dropped off considerably and swung back round to the south west leaving me stuck on the westerly take-off as everyone else started taking off the SW launch. Many thanks to Neil, who I could see was anxious to get off but still stuck with me to help me get round to somewhere I could launch, and sorry mate for faffing so long. Conditions really changed quite quickly and if your mate had hung around a bit longer Gordie he really would have had a good flight.

gordie · Post by **gordie** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:58 am

Conditions really changed quite quickly and if your mate had hung around a bit longer Gordie he really would have had a good flight.[/quote]

I would therefore ask why conditions changed so quickly? My opinion would be that it was either inversions braking up or wave coming in and out of cycle with the hill. Either way I do not think it was the epic flying that Gary was trying to suggest. You have a lot of low air time inexperienced pilots in your club and have a duty to report conditions accurately. Just because some of you flew does not mean it was suitable for everybody and a naive pilot could easily get into difficulties on such a day and possible either get scarred or hurt, especially on such a demanding site with no escape routes if one got blown back.

We flew at St Bees on our speed wings all day at it blew a steady 22 mph plus all day, so it was windy about this area.

I know we have had this discussion before concerning X Fell and with your recent issues with coaching in your club I do think you have a duty to be more honest when appraising conditions. Either that or just ignore everything Gary says.

Dave Hume · Post by **Dave Hume** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:27 am

gordie wrote:Conditions really changed quite quickly and if your mate had hung around a bit longer Gordie he really would have had a good flight.

IEither way I do not think it was the epic flying that Gary was trying to suggest.

[/quote]

Good point about Cross fell and it's unpredictable weather. I've flown there often on a hang glider when it's been blown out everywhere else, the effect of the Lakes upwind has a great effect and a shift in wind direction can affect wind strength quite dramatically (for years we've just called it the Cross Fell effect!).

I can't comment from a paragliding perspective and your warning for lower airtime pilots is certainly valid, but from a hang gliding perspective, yes, it was pretty epic.....

tony anderson · Post by **tony anderson** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:49 am

Gary was correct to say the conditions were epic that dosent mean they are right for everybody,the air was smooth, the thermals very large with smooth edges but the wind was in the 20mph region,as a hangglider pilot its not for me to comment on Paraglider pilots but during training they are, I presume taught to make assessments of the conditions for themselfs.It is not uncommon when your on the hill to see some pretty poor judgement being exercised, prehaps this is due to the speed that most PGs seem to complete their CPs. Its great that PGs get flying so quickly but its up to the schools to ensure they have a decent depth of knowledge before being released. Saturday was one of the best hanggliding days in the NE this year ,Neil also proved it was a very good paraglider day for those with suitable experience and knowledge.As pilots learn to make your own decisions,dont follow the sheep and if you dont like the conditions dont fly, remember one mans epic conditions may be your idear of a nightmare. Roll on more epic days like saturday.

Sad Northerner · Post by **Sad Northerner** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:27 pm

Tony nailed it.... different people have different ideas of what 'epic' flying conditions but I also agree with Gordy in the sense that an 'epic' day is not necessarily a 'safe' day; the decision to fly or not sits firmly with the individual.

I also never listen to Gary because he's left handed and has ginger hair.

Ali

PS love ya really Gaz

Post by **gary stenhouse** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:52 pm

a wow day on a hg can be deadly day on a pg, but sometimes you can be flying close to some one and they are having a hard time yet your getting nothing but smooth air. also can depend on how you fell on a given day as to how the conditions fell. take sunday i did not feel happy with conditions that does not meen scared or in fear of my life jst did not feal right. i think the more experienced you get the more you assess the conditions and sometimes when things are not too enjoyable then its time to land. though there was a time when i would off kept on flying in fear of someone else getting more airtime, now i will just land and chill and save it for another day.

ginger bald and iresistable ali

cheers Gary