November Northerlies

I arrived at Firle around 10am and was surprised by how light the conditions were - it certainly wasn't what the forecast had suggested. There were many hang gliders on car roofs and not much effort was going into moving them into the field ready to be rigged and flown. Northwards of Firle was clear evidence of a low inversion and with a high pressure system overhead and very moist ground, the air wasn't really wanting to lift. However, the November sun was shining and I was convinced this would energise things!

As usual, Luke's enthusiasm meant he was in the air scraping the ridge just as the conditions began to improve. It wasn't long before the field became crowded with pilots rigging their gliders. Owning a flex wing, I certainly had an advantage to those with rigids and was soon rigged and stood at the front of the hill waiting to join Luke. A couple of paraglider pilots had already launched and with the prospect of more hang glider pilots to follow, I launched before the sky became too crowded.

The air wasn't particularly buoyant but there were November thermals; small awkward punchy ones that occasionally kicked the glider around if you caught the edge of one, but if you persevered with them, they rewarded you with 300-400 foot height gains. In fact, what challenged me most, was finding space in the increasing traffic to exploit these bubbles of lift. At one point, Luke thermalled one core, I another and a rigid wing on another. We almost all converged but due to good airmanship and a keen look-out, the situation was managed.

That bests described my first flight, up and down in thermals and a need to keep keen eye on the traffic. A couple of times I tried pushing towards Firle Beacon, but each time I started to glide over the plantation, I hit sinking air and retreated back to the safety of the known ridge lift. After close to 30 minutes, and with more gliders taking to the air, I decided to top land to give those who had just launched an opportunity to fly and myself a rest. Considering the poor lift, I was surprised how strong the wind was and as I top landed, discovered it difficult to penetrate forwards and landed further back than I had intended.

After lunch I noticed the wind had started to drop. I decided on one last flight before I had to dash off for a family commitment, so took to the air one more time. The sun had lowered in the sky and it wasn't as buoyant as earlier, but still the odd cluster of thermals came through allowing me to make reasonable height top ups. Those on rigid wings were now gaining the full advantage of their performance and I believe Miles looked to be upwards of 1000 feet towards the Beddingham bowl.

Time had ticked on and it was time for me to land and depart. After a successful and non- eventful top landing (Firle is great for top landings), I packed up and headed for home.