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Flying Diary

Two Days in a Row is a Good Thing!

17 October 2009

My arms were still pretty sore from yesterdays energetic flying, but it's not very often you get the chance to fly the Devil's Dyke two days in a row, so that's my excuse!

Unlike yesterday, the wind was much weaker and the abundance of paragliders taking to the sky confirmed this. I quickly rigged as the weather reports I'd seen earlier suggested the wind strength would ease later in the day. After a slight hiccup with rigging my glider from short packed (sail twisted through 90 degrees on the end consoles), I was ready to go. After the struggle I had yesterday attaching the nose wire I was adamant I was going to do this myself without assistance. The slightly weaker wind made this task much easier. Johnny Carr then assisted me with a hang check then I was ready to go.

The windsock showing the wind is very northerly again.

As I walked my glider towards the hill edge I was aware of a dog chasing behind me. I thought to myself, 'this would be interesting if the dog chased me all the way down the hill', but at that point its owners called it back.

Like yesterday the launch was crosswind and I ensured I had plenty of airspeed. Net result, a very smooth launch. It was then a quick dash across the bowl to where the north-facing ridge looked like it should be generating some lift. Leaving the remaining paragliders in the bowl I continued towards Truleigh.

The view towards Truleigh Hill and a few paragliders making the most of the light conditions.

Arriving at the power cables, only 100 feet above takeoff I opted to turn back. This set the general flight plan for the remainder of my flight. After 25 minutes I was back in the bowl and really struggling to stay up. I beat back and forth in front of the pub desperately trying to gain enough height to scrape in for a top landing. In the corner of my eye I saw a rigid wing glider ground loop upon landing and concerned pilots dashing to assist. I was slowly sinking lower and lower. Several more beats back and forth and I was well below ridge height.

As the treetops grew ever closer I conceded to the inevitable and set-up for a bottom landing. I assumed I'd be landing somewhere in the middle of the bottom landing field but completely forgot I was now flying my Sting 3 and not my Target. Net result, I landed perfectly in the allocated landing zone – I couldn't have done better if I tried!