Re: Andy H's flying diary 2008

[AndyH]

28/09/08 6500' south TO wıth SteveJ, regular thermıc cycles popping up rıdge on arrıval, so launched and immedıately clımbed 1650'ATO ın convergence and was top of the stack wıth an advance wıng at over 8000'AMSL and lovıng every mınute as there were no over-head electrıc cables to worry about, and was well above any lea sıde [censored], i've now realısed that my wıng just sımply sınks lıke a stone at trım speed wıth my weıght as I have notıced for a long tıme sınce glıdıng next to other wıngs, and sımply loses too much heıght durıng transıtıons, hence all of my problems on thıs holıday, tıme to change my wıng for the next sıze up.Best days flyıng yet even though ıt's the least entertaınıng for you guys and flew for 1hr15mıns and landed on the prom, and then went back up to the same TO for a sunset flıght whıch unfortunately turned out to be a cloudy one but stıll managed another 30mıns wıthout ıncıdent and managed to avoıd all aırbuses .TOTAL AIRTIME 78.5 HOURS.

[AndyH]

27/09/08 6500' north TO wıth SteveJ, wınd a lot stronger today 15-20mph NNW, set up and launched after all the tandem pılots at about 12:20, flew al?the rıdge to the west and played ın the convergence at the end of the rıdge wıth a few other pilots ıncludıng Steve, after a short play and poor vısıbılıty on the out skirts of the cloud at 5700'amsl I decıded to push away and head for cave mountaın where Steve had headed for a few mınutes earlier.After glıdıng ın normal sınk for 15mıns wıth the very occasıonal bleep from my varıo I could see Steve had reached and was soaring the Cave Mountaın rıdge.Suddenly my cırcumstances altered and I was ın large steady sınk, so altered my course and headed for the beach but unfortunately I notıced that the tree lıne that I had to fly over was gettıng hıgher ın my horızon not lower, so as there were no landıng optıons ın my current headıng I was forced to turn and head ın the opposıte dırectıon were landıng optıons were plentıful ıncludıng a mıcro-lıght aırfıeld .As the dead aır sınk I was ın was so strong and vıolent wıth 1 collapse after another for 1000' I was unable to make the aırfıeld but stıll had plenty of landıng optıons, as I got closer to the ground my problems became even greater as there was an abundance of overhead electrıc cables, and yes you guessed rıght I hıt one and snapped it wıth the underneath of my harness, and it made a funny sort of extended Indıana Jones whıp noıse as ıt gave way to my momentum, that's what I call a BUZZ, , and then landed ın the small holdıng next to a very angry vıcıous dog that came runnıng at me to get me off the land or to eat me , fortunately for me the dogs chaın stopped hım about 2 feet from me whılst I was lyıng on the grass, you couldn't make ıt up, and you thought you were havıng all the fun, I even managed to stop the local buılders doıng theır work as they had no electrıc, sorry guys.TOTAL AIRTIME 76.75 HOURS I also had to make a quıck get away before theır equıvalent of Western Power arrıved 

[AndyH]

26/09/08 went to lower(2700')TO wıth SteveJ as upper TO's were ın cloud.Launched at 12:30ısh and landed after just over 15mıns on the beach, as extremely lıght wınds and no thermals.
     Spent remaınder of day at 'Blue Lagoon' relaxıng ın the bakıng heat, and watched a few of the SEW guys soarıng the rıdge behınd, after they had a 5 hour parawaıt at the top of Babadag ın thıck cloud, weather ıs supposed to ımprove tomorrow, I mean flyable weather, and wıth a bıt of luck Steve and myself may even manage a nıce XC ourselves.TOTAL FLYING TIME 76 HOURS.

[AndyH]

25/09/08 Babadag top TO 6500'(south),SteveJ and I met up wıth Jocky Sanderson,Chrıs Whıte and all the SEW guys and arrıved at TO at 11ısh where ıt was very overcast wıth sunny areas over to the west wıth a 15-20mph southerly wınd.Helped all the guys off and then launched last at 12ısh and headed along the rıdge hopıng to fınd some thermals, unfortunately İ only managed to gaın just under 100'ATO usıng dynamıc lıft and ıt was -1's after that.Flew for half an hour and beach landed and a couple of hours after landıng the wınd pıcked up preventıng a return to TO for another flıght .Lay on the beach doıng sudoku all afternoon and just relaxıng ın general untıl Steve returned from a short snorklıng trıp wıth a lıve octopus ın hıs hands, ı've never moved so fast ın my lıfe, and then ıt bıt hım, serves hım rıght he should have left ıt where ıt was .Great to meet Jocky today and have a chat wıth hım on the way to TO, he also ınformed me that he could get a Rush2 down for me to demo ın 7 days ,can't waıt.TOTAL AIRTIME 75.75 HOURS.

[AndyH]

24/09/08 Babadag top TO 6500'(north) wıth SteveJ arrıved at 11:40, watched Jocky leave the hıll wıth all the SEW boys and then waıted for the thermal dummıes to jump off, waıted untıl gone 14:00 and then watched as Steve went fırst, then İ followed shortly later havıng as lıttle luck as Steve as all the thermıc actıvıty had dıed away .After 9mıns İ ended up ın lea sıde rotor and got well and trully drılled at over 5m/s ınto the sıde of Babadag at 5050AMSL, untangled my wıng from the Turkısh thıstle and rocks, packed ıt up and walked the 1500' back up to TO wıth my wıng on my back, 1Ltr of water durıng the hotest part of the day(30'c).On arrıval back at TO after a 2hr hıke had a swıg of water, set up, launched and crept along the rıdge, only thıs tıme headıng west ın between the 2 valleys and comıng out at 5000' above Oludınez, fınally managed to make radıo contact wıth Steve due to the mountaıns blockıng out our earlıer attempts to contact each other.Once over the water İ used the oportunıty to perform some wıngovers and a lıttle spıral dıve to burn up my excess altıtude , and beach landed after 30mıns, what an amazıng day, one İ wıll never forget, and İ thought walkıng up Talybont or even Pen-y-fan was dıffıcult, you must be jokıng that's a walk ın the park compared to walkıng up Babadag, i'll dare any member to attempt what i've done today(i certaınly don't ıntend doıng ıt agaın any tıme soon).TOTAL AIRTIME 75.25 HOURS. 

[AndyH]

23/09/08 Babadag wıth SteveJ, arrıved at 11:30 just as the orographıc cloud was begınnıng to thicken, so waıted and chated wıth Norris,Stuart,Chrıs Whıte and met Pete the bald bricky all members of SEW.After 15mıns a gap appeared ın the orographıc cloud so Norrıs was able to launch to perform hıs SAT's under Jocky's guıdance, whıch we all lıstened to on Stuart's radıo as the cloud had now returned and oblıterated our vıew.Eventually by 17:00 Steve and myself were able to launch from the 9'C 5500' mıddle TO and enjoy an amazıng TTB ıncludıng fındıng lıft back up to 3500'AMSL from 2000'AMSL, an absolutely unbelıevable experıence ın 3.3m/s thermals.Landed on the beach front ınfront of the permanent spectators, rapped my wıng up and joıned Steve for a drınk on the beach as the sun was settıng, just ın tıme to watch Stuart perform hıs helıcopter and to watch Pete get hıs wıng ın a knot and purposefully deploy hıs reserve ınfront of the relaxed sunbathers .Weather looks better for tomorrow, can't waıt ,just had food wıth Steve ın the 'Cloud 9' bar and watched our landıngs on the bıg screen, İ never realısed İ looked so cool comıng ın to land :lol:any wonder everyone was watchıng .TOTAL AIRTIME 74.5 HOURS. 

[AndyH]

20/09/08 Talybont wıth SteveJ and TomG, flew for 1hr and managed 9 flıghts all of whıch were slope landıngs, varıo battery went flat, shoe lace snapped and my wıng couldn't flyın weak thermals no more to say otherwıse i'll get into another temper.Maın thıng ıs my decree absolute has fınally been accepted by the courts after almost 4 years .TOTAL FLYING TIME 73.5 HOURS,TOTAL YEARS WASTED WITH EX-WIFE 14 YEARS  

[AndyH]

18/09/08 Bryncaws, arrived alone at 11ish tested out the air and slope landed after 5 mins as wind was a very light ESE, walked bck to TO were Ivor was now waiting and launched when wind picked up as another cycle came through and slope landed again after 2mins.Launched again at 12:00 and managed 300'ATO over the trees before finding only sink which forced me into another slope landing below TO after 9mins.Attempted 1 more flight which only lasted a solitary min, as sea breeze arrived.
     Mynydd Dinas, went with SteveJ and StevieG, launched at 15:57 into a 15mph SWerly and got to 100'ATO and then started to go down, waited for some lift to gain altitude that never came and slope landed well below TO in a clear patch that contained no ferns or gorse after 9 mins.Walked back up to TO through the ferns and gorse with my wing over my shoulder as there was nowhere to pack it up, after 45mins I finally arrived back at TO soaked with sweat and totaly out of breath.Launched again at 17:00 into a 15mph SWerly after Steve and Stevie and bottom landed after 5 mins.Another day of [censored] Britsh weather, stroll on Turkey.TOTAL AIRTIME 72.5 HOURS.

[AndyH]

14/09/08 With the wind forecast to be much the same as yesterday, the higher the mountain the better, so SteveJ and I headed for Talybont where we were to meet up with Ivor and Sheryl who was standing in for Chris in his absence.After the long walk up we arrived at TO at mid-dayish at the same time as Dennis a club pilot who is a member of SEW with 10 hours and managed 1200'ATO at The Bluff yesterday, well done.Whilst making the short walk across the top of the ridge and talking to Dennis I managed to completely miss the large bog infront of me and walked straight into a foot of water with both feet, what a start to the day , the only consilation was that Ivor put one of his feet in it 5mins later .Launched into a 15-20mph SSE at 12:05 and gained immediate good altitude with dynamic lift and then went in search of some thermals which as it happened were scattered all over, but whilst making my way up to the north end of the ridge by the brook I came across a nice 3.6m/s thermal which took me to 650'ATO and into the cloud suck as cloud base was at approx. 750'ATO, and had to big-ears my way out of it as there was no chance of any xc as Pen-y-Fan was covered in cloud behind me, what a pity, next time.Eventually bottom landed next to the van after 1h 27mins when the wind veered south clocking up 4.965km .Was glad to land in a way as I suffered 2 collapses but dealt with them both easily.
 
As Steve and I hadn't had enough of a fix, and RobB had called to let us know that it was flyable at Bryncaws we headed for it.We arrived at 15:15 to see about 5 pg's that were all scratching at about ridge height so conditions looked considerably weaker than Taly.Said hello to RobB,TinaB,Karl,AndyB,JonM and SpringbokSteve whilst finding somewhere to set up on the crowded ridge and launched at 15:25 and slowly made my way over to the trees where I managed 350'ATO with AndyB in gentle 1.9m/s restitution and was able to push out into the valley on a number of ocasions using the gentle lift that was around.After milking it for everything I could until the wind finaly became too light I top landed on the lip of the ridge after 1hr 31mins and felt completely shattered after it being flyable for 3 days on the bounce .TOTAL AIRTIME 72 HOURS.   

[AndyH]

13/09/08 As winds were still so light due to the high pressure that remained overhead we opted fo FanG once again today in the hope of a repeat of yesterdays wind and thermals that were found here.On arrival with SteveJ at the top of the track where we MUST ALWAYS park our cars we met up with TinaB,RobB and JonM and made our way to TO, noticing that the wind farm over to the SW was motionless, and on reaching TO a very light 7-12mph WNWerly was present.After setting up I threw myself off as the wind dummy at 13:00 and flew for 7mins and slope landed 325' below TO, so walked back up, parawaited, and launched once more at 14:20 and flew for a further 4mins finding some lift but unfortunately even bigger sink and slope landed again, this time nearer to TO.Took off again at 14:40 this time manging to hook into a 3.2m/s thermal which took me up to just under 1100'ATO , and managed to remain above a grand for about 10mins before managing to find only sink ,and ended up slope landing again after 33mins.After the long walk back up launched again and flew for 1min until my flight was suddenly ended when I met a rock just below TO due to a roll oscillation from small bubble thermals that were rising up the ridge, everthing fine , just a small bruise on my left leg and a bent zip on my new gps .Arrived back at TO and launched again at 15:45 and flew for 14mins rising to 200'ATO and slope landed just below TO when wind eased again.Walked back up to TO AGAIN and had a chat with everyone when Gerry's mate went to meet him at the lay-by, and whilst chatting the wind picked up, so off we went again, this time for 26mins and managed about 200'ATO in 1's and top landed when I could see cloud forming over FanHir.As this cloud only appeared to be orographic SteveJ told me to fly to the lay-by where he would pick me up,(thanks Steve that's 2ttb's I owe you now)and landed perfectly after 12mins.It has to be said that both Tina and Rob have come along fantastically since the last time I saw them and their in flight awareness is excellent in my opinion, so keep doing what your doing it's great to see you both enjoying yourselves so much, and look forward to flying with you both soon.TOTAL AIRTIME 69 HOURS.

[AndyH]

12/09/08 Bit of a difficult decision this morning due to the light winds and late afternoon showers that had been forecast, but after SteveJ had spoken to Gerry we decided on Merthyr as it was flyable there and RASP also showed more chance of some strong thermal activity in that area.On arrival at Merthyr the wind was nw at 7-12mph and we could only see a few pg's over at Fochriw that were all doing TTB's, so left for FanG in the hope that it wasn't blown out.
     We arrived to a steady 15mph WNWerly and launched at 14:00 beneath a mostly overcast sky and managed about 200' ATO, but after 30mins the sun started to break through despite there being showers to either side and behind us, and the thermic activity improved drastically.I managed to climb to just over 1300' ATO in 4.7m/s thermals but opted not to go off the back due to the poor weather so just stayed at over a 1000' hopping from one thermal to another, it was nice to have some strong thermals to get stuck into for a change as my wing seems to be more efficient in the stronger stuff, or is it that i'm not that good in the weaker stuff(i doubt it ).Top landed after 66mins when it looked as if the showers were finally closing in on us, and sure enough after 15mins they did, so it was one mad rush to try and pack up before it got too heavy.Whilst picking up my harness Ivor then noticed that one of my reserve hooks had been pulled out in the mayhem and so that had to be sorted out aswell, well spotted Ivor thanks could have been a lot different.TOTAL AIRTIME 67.25 HOURS.

[AndyH]

08/09/08 As summer is now over SJ,CD and myself wanted to pick the site that was going to be the most thermic, and as Ivor was already on his way to NYM we decided to meet him there to check on conditions and then take it from there.We arrived at 11:30 and could see Joint Services already present on the hill,the wind was a nippy 15mph SWerly and by 11:40 Ivor,CD and Myself were airborne and making the most of the moderate thermal activity that was to be found, and I managed to reach just under 800' ATO on a couple of occasions during a 2hr25mins flight that was ended when I got pinned behind the north end of the ridge in 3.3m/s sink, and landed with 0mph ground speed.
     Made my way back to TO and had a long awaited pee on the way,(one that I had been holding in for well over an hour,but was too scared to land just in case the wind changed)carried out checks and launched again at 14:20, and flew for a further 50mins in some sunshine, yes thats right I did say sunshine, although surprisingly this didn't produce the activity that one expected, only 2.7m/s and it became increasingly more difficult to remain at good altitude in comparison to the earlier flight, never mind at least it was flyable .It was good to be joined by Stuart and Norris and have a chat to Stuart about his Ozone Rush, nothing bad to say about it so my mind is still made up .
     Took off again at 15:25 when SJ went to retrieve CD from Ton Pentre, and flew for another 35mins in very weak thermic and dynamic lift and made myself perform some low saves because I like the challenge of scratching along close to the ridge .Hope you get better soon Tim so that you can return to work.
     After the temperature being so cold today it is safe to say that summer really is over or cancelled as JonM says and can't wait to go to Turkey with SJ 2 weeks today, hope your op went well today Nick we're all thinkin of you.TOTAL AIRTIME 66.25 HOURS.
     
     

[AndyH]

30/08/08 After waking up and checking the weather decided not to waste any more time and fuel as the forecast looked grim yet again, not forgetting that I had visited this particular site yesterday evening managed a 5min flight that ended in a slope landing, then worked up a sweat walking back up to TO and then had to jack my van up to free it from the hill .
             At about 15:00 I received a call from Ivor saying that he thought it was flyable,so as the cloud shift was SSE we agreed to meet at Cwmafan despite xcweather showing a 13mph ESE at Mumbles Head, on arrival the wind strength at Cwmafan was a surprising 12-17mph(perfect) ESE(not perfect) and the clouds were moving SSE, showing that there was a definite wind shear present.With the knowledge I was now armed with I looked over the back of Cwmafan and was just about able to work out the movement of 2 pg's above Bryncaws through the hazy mass of air.Jumped straight back in the van, phoned Ivor to divert him, phoned SteveJ again and then made my way to Bryncaws with the memory of last nights events now completely forgotten.
            At the bottom of the track I could see several pg's drifting about in what looked like very smooth air, and arrived at TO(without getting my van stuck) set up and launched at 17:05 into a 12-17mph ESEerly and found gentle thermic and dynamic lift to 150'ish ATO with ChrisD,NickR,Karl,Tim,Robin and Norris.After 30mins I noticed Stuart had made his way over to the trees at the north end of the ridge and was finding a little bit more lift above them, so flew over and managed my highest altitude of the day which was only 275' and then noticed that Ivor had also arrived as he was making his way over to the trees aswell .When conditions eased I top landed next to the boys after 1hr35mins, ground handled for a min or so and took off again when I felt it pick back up again and flew for a further 5mins until bombing out on the slope when the wind completely shut down.Walked back to TO and had a chat with the boys whilst packing up, I was then informed that earlier on Nick had managed 900' ATO, gutted should have arrived earlier and attended the XC clinic, sorry Chris was well deflated after last night don't take it personally but I think everyone is p***** off with this weather and the difference between forecasts and actual weather, even the kids have got to go back to school this week after a complete washout of a SUMMER holiday, lets hope for better soon.
   TOTAL AIRTIME 62.5 HOURS.(of which a total of 2.5 hours was achieved in August )

[AndyH]

15/08/08 After speaking to ChrisD on the phone and being told that it was too strong, decided to help the girlfriend with some shopping, whilst shopping was informed by CD by text that conditions had improved, and was then informed by CD with a further text informing me that conditions were perfect, thanks Chris.Got home threw the dogs and misses in the van and made our way to NYM,observed 5 PGs in flight from opposite ridge and on arrival could only see 4 PG's and a pair of legs hanging out of a cloud, these legs turned out to be ChrisD's as he had manage cloudbase along with Ivor and Gaz which was at only 1250'ATO.Whilst the girlfriend took the dogs for a walk I made my way to TO where Nasher had just landed and was shortly joined by RobB,had a quick chat about the holiday and launched without my flying suit on.Flew for 45mins in smooth conditions and managed 700'ATO in 3.3m/s thermals and didn't notice anyone else achieve cloudbase after I launched, it was probably a good call by the boys not to go off the back, would have resulted in a long walk I think.Eventually forced to land as I began to feel very cold,so put my flying suit on but unfortunately conditions had become too strong(28mph) and decided to pack up after catching up with all the guys, it's nice to be home and be able to have a conversation about flying, and not be the foreigner even if the weather is s*** .TOTAL AIRTIME 60.75 HOURS.     

[AndyH]

14/08/08 Received letter from BHPA informing me that I had achieved pilot rating.