Stevie G's Log Book 2010

[Stevie G]

June-July...Spanish Pyrenees...33c+... on my annual road trip to Catalan... meet up with the guys at Barcelona... decide where to start?... Berga it is...we spend 2 days there and get 2 hrs flying in the mornings and then after siesta's we fly another maybe 3hrs in the afternoon...we get great heights and manage xc's... with the late winter the conditions are demanding... but for me, outstanding, with stunning scenery... ... due to instability we then decide to move on to Ager... an awesome place for xc practice... due to weather condition we stay there for the rest of our trip... my word , what a place ; ) the ridge alone is an expedition... again we fly early in the mornings for 3hrs, siesta then back for more in the late afternoon for another 3hrs... its technical and sometimes down right scary... but so rewarding... the ridge alone is an xc log... if you can achieve it... the out and returns are ? did I just do that!... the restitutions out over the old Mores village can get you 7000ft asml mucho+... difficult sometimes to get down... now my road trip ends : /... kiss my friends goodbye ... move on to Organya for some FreeStyle training...we see what goes...am happy... thank you World x   

[Stevie G]

20/6/10...Rhigos...light...17c...arrived early afternoon with Gerry...supprised, minutes later Nick and Viv turn up... good to see... straight away we all rig up and take off... Nick disappears in the stratos somewhere...as he does... ...its a light take off but finding thermals you were getting 6mps ups... sometimes bullets... sometimes football fields....good height to looking for.... for me I managed around 4800amsl.... I could push out to theheads of the valley and easily make it back... a little kickin at times...some collapses here and there.... anyway... I manage this twice... at the end it did get strong and rough... was best to stay in air till it eased... for me a fantastic 2hr flight... a light lunch on the way home..... I love this sport... x

19/6/10...Rhiw Wen...17mph...meet there with Nick, Gerry and Viv... it was calm to start..odd... as its howling everywhere else... it start to pic up...we go up ready.. its on the hill and right on the edge... all 4 in the air... its lifty, some sort of convergence going on... Nicks off doing his superman stuff... up up and gone... Gerry doing well too... Viv has a short flight.. lands safe... not the friendliest of conditions.... after 30mins we all decide to land... it pics right up, the convergence is a little rocky...all down safe... then off for a debriefing pint...

17/6/10...Heol Senny...15mph... again turn up late... new faces...low airtimers...were off again and the air is a lot more friendly... good for all levels... I land after 1.20hrs... everyone seems to have the same idea too...then another good pint briefing at the ancient Briton...

16/6/10...Heol Senny... 17mph... turn up late late afternoon...Franc and Gerry have been flying since 4pm... some have waited all day : /   it calms a little enough for most to get air born.... were getting good height and can push out... but the air is rough.... we all seem to have the same idea at the same time and land after 1.17hrs for me... a quick pint at the ancient Briton afters...

5/6/10...Rhossili... Rhossili did its usual thing and gave us everything that day after 3hrs of flying we pack up as it died right off... Nick, Viv and Tom G turn up as we walk down... they stay on top we have a social for an hr at the worms only to see that the conditions come back on...sorted... only I go back up to join the late comers... Nick is doing tandems between Viv and Tom and I get an other hr of flying in until it does get too strong... and then another session in the Worms... we are lucky : )

[Stevie G]

3/6/10...BrynCaws...15-18mph... got to BC around 11.30 to see Gerry already there with a couple of visitors from London...all three got into the air and are doing really well...it looked a bit rock and roll but they were getting great height... the Scumdogs Team turned up by midday and were all quickly wanting to join the airborne... it was a strange combination of conditions... big air to cloudbase was easy... punchy thermals... stronger winds... floaty and heavy sink... but it was flyable... by the late afternoon Nick Viv and TomG turned up and that phase of the day it got strong just after we had all taken off... I noticed some of the guys landing were going backwards and it was well strong at height too... lucky for me I had good height but had to use full speed bar to push out front... slowly I made it over to the bottom landing but now it is very sinky and still strong... I got the wing down safe and got a lift back up and packed up as I had flown for almost 3hrs... but Nick and Tom were still in the air really good height on... safest place to be until it calmed later... an interesting 1st day back  : )

[Stevie G]

Spain...Valencia...30c+ .... managed to get a last afternoon flight in before the midnight flight home... the thermals were strong and cloud base getting higher.... out of 31 days I have flown 24 and have managed a conservative 40hrs of flying... probably more! its all good experience.... my sponsors DoYouWanna and BlauVent made my trip possible and I look forward to joining up with them again toward the end of June... meanwhile its time to make the most of my short stay back and fly again our own beautiful green sites... : )

[Stevie G]

Spain... Valencia...33c+ the flying conditions are just getting better... I dont believe it... hours every day...but its true... and Iv cut my trip off by a week.. and its been 4.1/2 weeks already... back to uk tomorrow... but still gonna get a days flying in before I leave... and back again at the end of the month for 3 weeks to continue my progress... what can I say? .... I¨m selling up and moving out... oh yeah... ; ) thats gonna be a major xc trip...............

[gareth.pawan]

Sounds Brilliant! Hope they do those huge bocadillo de patatas where you are.
Muchos felicidados y tranquilo.
 
 

[Stevie G]

Spain... Valencia... still getting hotter... its still flyable everyday so far but today is not...phew... now to chill a while and socialise with some of the locals... its not always just about flying, I love this culture too and prefare to keep away from the tourist centres.... luckily for me I have been able to use a serial wing for some epic flights on some awesome sites... on this trip I purposely did not use a vario and now would rather never use one again... the serial wing is a size too small for me but I still manage to thermal easily to cloud bases and to do out and returns...put in a little freestyle to at the ends... the flying is still an hour in the mornings then a relaxed lunch followed by a late afternoon flying for 3hrs or so... every flight has something to give and I like the fact that one never stops learning... today I can chill... fantastic...

[Stevie G]

Spain... Valecia... hotter : ) still flyable everyday since the last update... a short safe fly in the mornings then something a lot more in the afternoon... on the 20th we went to Hondon... an easterly site for stronger winds...21st to Fortuna... an awesome site, a hidden treasure... not for beginers... my favourite sort of place and today a relaxing coastal flight with the locals... its getting hotter here around 28c+ in the days and 18c in the evenings... the thermals are getting larger, longer and higher... it looks like we may get another full week in too... am hoping to go inland tomorrow for a hardcore session... am in-need of a major adrenalin hit... happy flying all : )

[Stevie G]

Spain... Valencia.... hot... due to the extreem odd weather system decide to go to plan B so on the 15th high tailed it from the Pyrenees down to the Alicante area where the weather system is much much better... thanks to my sponsers Blauvent (BlueWind) and DoYouWanna I get a warm welcome... an apartment for my visit and taken to the flying sites of the day... plan B is far more relaxed and has given me an hrs fly in the mornings and a 3hrs flight in the afternoons... some flights a little technical, some gentle, some more full on.... all good for the last 4 days in a row... and plenty more to come by the seems of it, so am well pleased and very exhausted...it almost 30c every day and the flying becoming more and more stable.... life is good : )

[Stevie G]

11/5/10...Spain... on the 8th we had a morning flight at Pena Rubia... an excellent inland site for xc and to practice free style... at lunch it came on strong and was see breezing... so far inland... so we opt to go to Palomaret which was on our way back to the coast... it was working well so spent the afternoon flying with the local pilots...we filled our boots then headed back home to attend a Spanish wedding... a great night...
Today the 11th we were flying magic mountain at Organya... Felix R turned up... we had a pleasent chat and the three of us had an afternoon flight... I was in awe watching him train...after half n hr we land together ans as he said 'it was nasty' we all had stall collapses and a rough ride... we arrange to meet tomorrow and hope to get a flight between thunder storms...luv it.... the weather is definatley improving and its great to be here... i probably wont fully achieve my goal but am gonna have a good try.... this will be the last time I can get to a computer in a long while as there are no internet cafe's in town... happy flying all... see you in July... : )

[Stevie G]

7/5/10...Spain... 21c... Thriller... arriving in Barcelona late Sunday eve and checking the long range forcast it was gonna be too wet and windy up North so decide to tail it further South... thanks to DoYouWanna in the Alicante area we get settled in...rest... and wait for the weather to settle too... it was nice to be in the sun and the warm... yesterday we managed to get in some coastal flying at Carbo de Santa Pola... great to be there again... and today we had a 2hr window at Palomaret... which we fully used... tomorrow? we´ll see? but Sunday we´re planning our trip back up North... so am wanting to make the most of it here : ) plenty of time left... the adventure continues...

[Stevie G]

1/5/10...Rhossili...W. 15mph...16c... Omega 6... a lot of pilots already at Rhossili early morning... it was gently coming in from the east..south... all over the place and misty and damp... the Scumdogs crew came down from SE with Paraventure..... plenty of long distant visitors and a small handfull of locals... a good few pilots waiting on the hill just to practice their ground handling, waiting for anything that would get them afloat...and a good few old heads just waiting sipping tea and coffee in the warm cafe... it all started to come together around 2pm, the wind lulled and came round to the west pushing the mist well and truly onto the hill... a short spell later it became clear.... constant... and just perfect... sometimes strongish...sometimes weaker but soarable... a good 20 pilots could be seen in the air... everyone brushing up there skills or just enjoying their new wings... pilots were getting at least 1200ft asl and the flying window was from 2pm -7pm...I had at least 2hrs and enjoyed the wide variation Rhossili threw at us that day...then beer and home : )

[Stevie G]

FreeFlying Rhossili Sunday afternoon

Rhossili 18/4/10

[Stevie G]

18/4/10...Rhossili. W-N 17mph. 16c... Paratech 81... we were getting westerlies my side of the estuary early afternoon so decided to go check out Rhossili hoping for a sea breeze... today it should work briefly... it was north when I got there... strange how a few miles can make a difference... sat by the Nat Trust for an hr just watching tourist wondering by with Chris D and Rodger... keeping one eye on the sea... slowly slowly all the signs were merging... we go up and get ready... still weak and North up top but the sea signs had already hit the beach... 10mins later it was bang on west 16ish mph... away we go... the lift was good... you could go a fair way out or along... lots of height over the beach... around1200ft asl... great to be up... after bout 1 hr it slowly turned N... which was ok coz we then flew the cliffs... a great sunday afternoon flying with a 3hr window of which 2 I grabbed... of course another pleasent social with Paul H in the Worms afterwards... so good to be flying again... roll on the summer : )

[Stevie G]

17/4/10... Rhossili. S 3mph. 16c... We wait most of the day... but no sea breeze came.. after many pleasent hrs of parawaiting a few of us decide to try out Chrissy's Paramotor...mmmm why not!... my turn comes... get strapped in... told to give this a good squeeze? and run like hell with a heavy noisy lump on my back... take off well and circle to bout 1200ft asl... paws off throttle and just glide... strange really, getting air without any effort...but after 10mins come in for a good landing... and oddly enough really enjoyed it, but I think I'll wait for the electric motors to develop before taking it seriously... I can see the appeal... another pleasent social in the Worms for afters...