Category Archives: Paragliding

Paragliders over Kingswood

Blasdale Home Posted on by

20th August 2023

While we were sitting outside eating lunch, we became aware of some paragliders flying over us. In total there must have been around eight. Some were high, and a few were quite low. I was expecting these to land in fields around us. They recovered and found some lift and were soon very high.

They were moving in a north easterly direction being blown along by the south westerly wind. Where had they come from and where were they going? I had heard of previous flights from Combe Gibbet and Milk Hill and landing somewhere in Norfolk. I read a report about a flight on the 26th of July from Milk Hill to Kings Lynn but have not seen any reports of this August flight.

Paraglider flying over Buckinghamshire
Paraglider flying over Buckinghamshire
Paraglider flying over Buckinghamshire

Hundred House, Wales

Blasdale Home Posted on by

For the long weekend we decided (well Steve did ) to go to Wales, staying at the camp site where he had learnt to para-glide.  Fforest Fields, Hundred House in Mid Wales.  Arrived there at around 10.00 on Friday.  First person I saw was Katie, the owner, and she remembered me, it must be over 5 years since I last visited the site.  She said she had very recently looking at my Glastonbury pictures from the 20th Century.  Such a welcome back, the site was definitely a lot busier than a few years ago.

Alas the group were not turning up until Sunday.  So a visit to Builth Welles for some steak and wine, at which stage we realised we had brought virtually nothing with us for camping.  Yes we had matches, but we did not have a corkscrew, one knife and a few plastic plates.  Back at the site, we went for a walk, and then to the pub for a quick half pint of beer, (literally), because Steve was due to meet Will on Treman.  A long slog up the hill, (that glider gets heavier with advancing age) and I made it to the top.  No Will, he had long gone on to Elan valley.  A few minutes rest in the peace and quiet, on with the helmet and some ground handling.

I can tell you the ground handling was so nice and easy, compared with trying it back at home in our field.  The wind was so smooth; the glider flew above my head with so little input.  I even managed without thinking the correct reverse hand launch.  Alas no one was around, so I decided on caution, a simple top to bottom for my first flight in over two years.  Also the wind was not on the hill, so I was expecting the dynamic lift to be poor.  I should have realised the thermals were there instead, looking down the hill, in that cold air, but warm sun, you could see the shimmering air.

A dream slow launch of the hill took me straight into lift, but my flight plan was for a top to bottom. so straight through this broad lift , over the farm, a 360 and then into land.  Instantly surrounded by 6 under 6 children who wanted to see the paraglider, and the young farmer, who I presume was taking over from his father.  Good news.

Back at the campsite, we lit up the disposable BBQ, cooked our steak and went to bed.  It was still pretty cold during the night, so lots of cuddling to keep warm.

Next day we had Welsh bacon and bread for breakfast.  Realised we had been camping next to Vern and Lynda, whom I had flown with in Nice.  They now had an offspring, and stopped flying.  Later in the day Mark arrived, as did a few more Welsh Borders members.  The weather though was not conducive to flying and we left to go home.

Big Fat Repack

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Went to the Big Fat Repack at the Reading Rivermead Lesure centre.  I arrived at around 12.45 hoping the ZIP queue had died down.  No way, so I helped Brian Hickman pack his reserve.  He had been the first down at 11.30.

I then joined the queue to practice my reserve deploy.  Success it opened with no problem and was not inside out or with crossed lines.

Then I packed the chute with the help of another Brian from the Annecy trip and Brian Hickman. 

Stoke Mandeville

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On Saturday I travelled to Hundred House and did some paragliding.  Unfortunately on one lading on the slope I heard a load crack.  I assumed my boot had broken.  My ankle hurt, so I packed up and drove home.  Gear changing was awkward as pressing the clutch down hurt my foot. 

In the morning my ankle was too sore to walk on. Rosemary took the day off and we visited A&E at Stoke Mandeville. X-rays taken within minutes, and then a five hour wait for the doctor. Left after seven hours with my leg below the knee in plaster. I had broken the small leg bone near the foot. Some talk of having to have an operation and plate inserted, but as the bone had not moved and I had been walking on it then plaster will be sufficient. What a disaster, when will be be back in the air?

The issue had been my landing.  Not breaking and not standing up in the harness when landing.  Result was foot hit the ground at a fast forward speed. Silly boy.

More ground handling

Blasdale Home Posted on by

After the previous nights celebrations, paragliding had to take a back seat. Beautiful day, wind machines around the UK seemed to be suggesting a flyable day. Instead I stayed at home and gave the lawn its first cut of the year, and did a bit of ground handling. Mastered this reverse launch!

Paragliding and Triumphs

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Well I should have gone paragliding, but instead in the afternoon we washed the Triumph, took it for a drive and boiled the brake fluid. I did wonder why I could only get to 40 mph, and that had to be in third gear. So must speak to Graham to see what damage I have done to the front brake and cylinder. The paragliding bit, well I did some ground handling in the field. My last flights last year were all forwards launches, and I have all but forgotten how to do a reverse launch. I was also trying a technique, which is called the reverse hand launch. Something most people launch with, but I never mastered. It is a safer technique when launching in a strong wind on a hill.

Big Fat Repack

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Went to the BFR at the Reading Rivermead Lesure centre.  I listened to the lecture on how to deploy, check and repack your emergency parachute instructions. 

After that I queued up for the deployment practise.  Here you were suspended on an aerial runway in your harness, in a precarious angle to simulate your position when everything was going wrong.  You were released to slide down the runway wire; you went for your reserve parachute and chucked it out.  It then opened behind you.

Next with the allocated partner you repacked your parachute.  This took almost two hours.  Then to see if it worked, we went for another ride down the wire to see if the home packing worked.  It did!!

A final repack, now down to one hour for my chute and my partner’s chute.

During the day I saw Mike, Brian and Derrick from the Annecy trip.

Paragliding in France

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On the 4th, Brian and I caught the night ferry from Portsmouth to La Havre, and then drove down to Clermont-Ferrand arriving at 2.00pm on Saturday. A quick drive to the Puy de Dome where we did not have to pay to drive to the top, because we were taking up another paraglider pilot. Here we spoke to several French and eventually had a very nice soaring flight alongside the Dome in the setting sun.

In the evening we set up camp in the town called Royat. This was our second campsite we looked at; many were closing at this time of year. In the morning, we drove through more of the region and found the ski resort. This could be a good for flying, but unfortunately the weather was cloudy, windy and drizzle. So back to the campsite, packed up and drove on down to Millau, camped for the evening by the river and located a school for advise.

In the morning we flew at a site called Brunas, here we had lifts to the top from the school, and flew a few top to bottoms. At twelve the school went off to lunch promising they would be back at 14.00. Had a lift from some Germans and another top to bottom. Suddenly we realised another hill was being flown from, and there were no French on our hill. It transpired the wind had shifted a little, and the French school had excellent flights from the new hill. We managed to race over there where I had a short but magnificent soaring evening flight.

Next day Tuesday, flying started again at 14.00, but was rather windy. I managed to get off and had a short flight, but despite the wind very little wind. 

This was the end; the weather forecast was bad for the rest of the week, so off we went back home.

Lessons learned, next time we do this it would be better to have a more formal arrangement with one of the schools so that they would look after us and make sure we had transport to the top of the hill, and make sure we were on the right hill. While we had some short flights, beginners at the school managed 2 hours of soaring on the Monday and Tuesday while we were on the wrong hills.

Annecy Paragliding

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On Friday got back from Annecy after a week of paragliding.

We drove out with Cloud Nine and stayed a Maison Du Moulin as guests of Irwyn Jehu. 

The weather was excellant and we had five days of paraliding. The last two days it rained, and instead Irwyn tooks us canyoning.

Had good flights from Col de la Forclaz where I managed to gain 600 meters above take off in quite strong conditions. In fact I had to put in the big ears to stop going into the rather black looking clouds. Managed to get over to the teeth, but chickened out from crossing the lake because of the now very black looking clouds. After landing down by the lake, a thunder stor soon started.

We also flew at Grand Bornond, near La Cluzas, where I also gained much height. The second flight though was rather rough and I spend 10-15 minutes with big ears pulled to get down quickly. No one I spoke to enjoyed that second flight.

All in all had a wonderful time, with great food and wine. Should have some pictures later.

Paragliding at Coombe Gibbet

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Rosemary and I were going down to Salisbury for the weekend, so we had decided to take the Friday off from work. Friday the wind was blowing from the North West, so this was an ideal time to try some flying at Coombe.

We arrived at around 1.30. There were some 30-40 paragliders and hang gliders around. I set up and launched very quickly, but had to do a slope landing as I was going down. I had missed the thermal cycle and everyone else was coming down.

I set up to launch again, and had a couple of bad attempts at launching. The wind from the termals was quite stong. I did learn a few tips on how to control the glider when it was upside down on the ground.

I waited around for a quieter phase, launched and had a 20 minute flight in front of the hill. It was quite rough, going from 8 ups to 4 downs. Rosemary said she saw many gliders with their wind tips folding.

I set up for a third flight, but soon went down. That was it for the day as we had to be in Salisbury for a meeting at 8.30