First Time on Top!

It was a little warmer than the last time when I visited the Devil’s Dyke. The wind was cold, but bang on the hill. After I rigged, I was assisted to launch and hang checked. I had a good launch and found it relatively easy to stay up. A grin was painted upon my face as I was reminded of my first soaring flights at the start of the year!

As part of my pre-flight chats, I had been given plenty of tips about top landings. To date I hadn’t completed one, so with what I though was sufficient height, I decided to top land in the Paddock! Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but as I passed the point of no return, I realised I was a little low and swooped into the Paddock between the brick structure and copse of trees at the rear of the Paddock! I narrowly made it but was safely landed.

I was greeted and assisted as I carried my glider back to the edge of the field. I was advised that on my next top landing, it might be a good idea to have a little more height [good advice].

A short while later, I realised the advantage of a top landing; it's relatively easy to fly again as the glider was mostly rigged, albeit collapsed flat. So, with that I set off for my second flight but this time, a combination of my poor piloting skills and the weakened conditions, I ended up bottom landed again!