Happy Wednesday at the Gin Wide Open and flat land cycles

The excellent Wide Open sponsored by Gin has been cursed by a low pressure system, but finally we had a task today.
Using a mixture of the main Meduno ridge and the flat lands, there were easy sections and less easy as well. The lead gaggle all got really low whilst trying to reach the last turn point into wind. It was a case of bad timing, because the flat lands shut off for a while. Most of the gaggle landed but a few of us backed right off a few hundred meters from the turn point and had to painfully drift in zeros the wrong way, undoing all the progress made! Eventually the climb got going but not before we had drifted several km away. The next group of pilots over took us at cloud base whist we struggled back into the race. The flat lands had switched on again and once up we were treated to a buoyant glide and regular climbs all the way to goal.

The Meduno Ridge and nice building cumulus

Days often cycle and sometimes it is just a matter of hanging on until switches on again. Petra Slivova (multiple comp winner) showed her class by reading the changes best and was first into goal on her EN B Gin Atlas.

Happy faces in goal!

Joint Services Paragliding Personal Bests

More congratulations, slightly belatedly and reflections on some great achievements last week. I had the privilege of doing some XC development work with the Army Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club who hosted the event.

The obvious cloud to head for.  Photo: Colin Hawke

Well done to Andy Claxton, Martin Baxter for their PBs and Pete Gallagher for a wonderful ton from Corndon down to south Wales. The weather came just right, so as well as doing lots of the ground work which goes towards successful XC flying we were able to find some nice conditions for putting the skills into practice.
The cloud in the picture worked well as you would hope from the solid appearance and dark base. However many on the day were much shallower and less distinct. Even though their shadows looked solid on the ground, the actual appearance gave away the fact that there was much less lift. Reading the ground sources was just as important on this day and the big groups of dark fields were the reliable options.

The best week ever in the UK?

Multiple 200km flights; 2 new flight to goal UK records; multiple PBs; 6493km flown on the best day. Simply staggering!
It is no coincidence that the North South Cup, was on during this period. The event is basically an excuse to get as many of the top XC pilots as possible together, with a bit of friendly rivalry thrown in for good measure. The power of setting ambitious goals and good pilots spurring each other on is there for all to see!
It was pretty good for the Dower household too. A couple of ton+ flights for me on the less spectacular days and a new PB for Ruth of over 140km in a flight of over 7hrs.
Congratulations to all!

A 200km sky. Photo Barney Woodhead.

Understanding the flavour of the day

Two lovely, if rather short XC flights for me so far in the UK spring reminded me how each day has its own characteristics. Once you understand out how the day is working it will often hold fast for the main part of that day. Sometimes clouds are the key. On other days the cycles are too short and often when you fly to a cloud it is already starting to decay by the time you arrive. On other days, reading the ground is what will find you your next thermal.

Long Mynd in the distance (6.4.13)

The picture taken on my flight from Corndon last Saturday shows one such day. Those clouds look rather weak and although the shadows are solid, I realised that the bare fields like the ones just past the end of my pod were the ones to go go for, even when I was high. In areas with a mixture of hills and flats/valleys often sticking to the high ground is much more successful. Not only do the hills give good features to act as triggers, but also they may be generally drier. Of course there are no hard and fast rules, but developing a mental model is a great help.

Arriving at the Long Mynd

This was a light wind day so a triangle looked a possibility. After going to the south end of the Long Mynd and admiring the views, I decided to work North. It turned out that the snow-covered high ground and the green fields were poor options and it was only when I returned to the a fore mentioned bare fields that I found lift again.
Was the triangle a success? Unfortunately no and I was left to reflect on a poor site choice for the day. Of the sizable group of us on Corndon, only 2 of us got up all day, whilst up in the Lake District and down south at Leckhampton, many pilots enjoyed great flights!

Break Away Competition Series is Born!

Wow!
The competition scene has been spiraling down into the mire for nearly 2 years. Two tragedies at the 2011 World championships and a badly thought-out knee jerk reaction led to a cascade of events. All attempts to find a compromise have been thwarted and eventually something had to give. The latest blows came when the European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPA), refused to recognise the proposed new Competition Class and one of the major EN testing organisations Air Turquoise, refused to continue to test competition orientated EN D gliders. I have a lot of sympathy with the Air Turquiose test pilots: the EN test procedure of doing nothing for 4 seconds after each maneouvre is not a nice prospect on a race glider. The problem is not the gliders or the test pilots, it is that the tests are unsuitable for this type of glider.
Step up the hugely respected Mads Synderguard (Author of Flying Rags for Glory - click here) with the World Paragliding Series (website here). Free of the bureaucrats, free of the FAI, free of the EHPU; you know what? - it just might work!

Happy times at the Colombian Open

Packed turnout at the Glider Control Lecture

Many thanks to all of you who rounded off a great day's flying to come and learn more about the best techniques for controlling your glider. I am also indebted to all of those experienced pilots who turned up to contribute their wisdom to the debate.

The first day of spring?

Just a selection of the right ideas:

- think seriously about extra training, over water to develop your skills.

- check your harness adjustment.

- look carefully at how you hold the controls; could it affect your response in an extreme situation?

- airspeed is your friend.

- hold the rear risers when gliding, whilst keeping the brakes in your hands. This allows you feel the glider and have gentle pitch control. In rough air if control is becoming difficult, let go of the risers and control with the brakes.

I have become more and more interested about the intricacies of high level glider control and went to Flyeo to work with Fabien Blanco on developing my glider handling skills for the first time a few years ago. Its now its a regular part of my own development. I can say it has made a huge difference to my flying!

Glider Control

I am running evening of interaction, film and talk exploring the skills which help keep you safe on your paraglider and allow you to more fully utilise its performance. Outline:
- Active flying and how to develop and practice the skills
- Collapses; stopping them early and handling them with the minimum of fuss when they do happen
- Cascades and how to avoid them
- Harnesses and how they affect handling and control
- SIV and pilotage

6pm Saturday 16th Feb at the Derbyshire and Lancashire Gliding Club. No booking needed, free to all DSC members and guests. Hope to see you there.
Pat