Paul Hyde's 2010 logbook

[Paul Hyde]

18 September, Rhossili
Parawaited for over an hour in very light winds, slowly improved and a few took off from the top and stayed up nicely.  Went to the back of the pimple to prepare for take off as it was still only 6 - 10 mph.  By the time I was ready it had picked up enough for those still on top to come down to the pimple and for me to move down to the front of the pimple to launch.  Easy launch and climb to above top t/o, floated about for 20 mins but felt it was getting stronger so went down and flew the raised beach for over an hour.  By the end I was able to push forward from the raised beach and still gain height easily so decided to land.
 
Total airtime 127:45, this year 18:30

[Paul Hyde]

08 August, Rhossili
Classic Rhossili conditions, smooth strong lift everywhere.  2 flights totalling 2:30, over 300 ft above top t/o on the first and 600 on the second.  Easy to push well forward down the cliffs and along the beach to the car park, even tried a few swing overs.
 
total airtime 126:15, this year 17 hrs.

[Paul Hyde]

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[Paul Hyde]

01 August, Rhossili
Got to the pimple by about 10:30, although people were flying it was well off to the north and light so decided to wait a while.  It came more on the hill but too light and then picked up enough to be able to scratch. Had a 15 min flight before deciding it was a bit too busy in the light conditions and top landed.  Had a bit to eat and waited for it to pick up a bit more.  Then had 35 mins including a couple of touch and goes on top before landing again as I felt it was getting a bit stronger.  20 mph on top so walked down to the pimple but never took off again as I felt it was a little too strong and variable for me.  Plenty of others getting very good height in classic Rhossili conditions.
 
total airtime 123:45, this year 14:30

[Paul Hyde]

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Other fliers at Rhossili on 25 July
 
 

YouTube - Paragliding at Rhossili on 25 July 2010

Helmet camera, Rhossili on 25 July
 
 

YouTube - Paragliding at Rhossili on 25 July 2010

Acro and SIV moves
 

[Paul Hyde]

25 July, Rhossili
very northerly and a bit too brisk for me at first but Gerry, Cookie and Nasher all have a little fly of the cliffs and end up walking back from various locations. Then got too light for a while and finally came good but with plenty of orographic cloud for a while. 2 flights totalling 50 mins, top landed.  Then got too strong for just about everyone so packed up.
 
Total airtime 122:55, this year 13:40.

[Paul Hyde]

YouTube - Paragliding at Rhossili

 

[Paul Hyde]

23 July, Rhossili
3 flights totalling around 1 hr 45 including a couple of touch and go landings on the pimple.  Light at first but easy enough to stay above top until it eased a bit more.  Landed for a while and then off again as it picked up.  Able to get 400ft above top with plenty of lift in front of the hill.  Landed on the pimple after 1 hour for drink etc. and then back for more.  Still light on the pimple when I took off but 15 mins later it seemed to have picked up and on my attempt to land back on the pimple I was pinnned above the wall, managed to work across and land on top.  Continued quite strong on the pimple so packed up.
 
Total airtime 122:05, this year 12:50

[Paul Hyde]

11 July, Rhossili
Light conditions, occasionaly getting around 100 ft ato but mostly scratching around.  3 flights totalling about 70 mins, 2 did not register on my vario as there was not enough change in altitude.  Turned quite southerly around 3:30 so landed and with no sign of improvement, called it a day.
 
Total airtime 120:20, this year 11:05

[Paul Hyde]

29 June - Rhossili
Watched the webcam until it looked like the fog was clearing, got down around 2ish.  A few already in the air despite varying amounts of orographic cloud, I soon joined them.  5 flights totalling around 1:50, including several touch and go landings on the top take off and the pimple as the wind eased slightly.  It got very light towards 6 o'clock and I messed up my attempt to land on the pimple and could not regain any height to try again so ended up on the beach.
 
Total airtime 119:10, this year 9:55

[Paul Hyde]

27 June - Rhossili
Turned up late after watching the football, should have gone down sooner!  Had a very pleasant 50 mins with lots of lift and height available.  Decided to land on top when it seemed to get a little difficult to penetrate without speedbar.
 
Total airtime  117:20, this year 8:05

[Paul Hyde]

5 June, Rhossili
Arrived just as it became flyable, launched from the pimple fairly promptly and enjoyed 68 mins of easy, smooth flying before landing back on the pimple for a drink and to warm up.  As I was preparing to go back up it went light and very northerly and everyone landed.  It picked up again after a while but stayed well off to the north so packed up.  Counted 20 in the air and 8 on the ground at 1 point with more arriving all the time.
 
Total airtime 116:30, this year 7:15.

[Paul Hyde]

28 May, Rhossili
A bit off to the north and light on arrival so parawaited for a while on the pimple and then joined Nasher, Stewart and Idris on the walk up to top take off.  After a bit more parawaiting, joined by Paul Williams and a few others, it started to improve and Idris had a couple of test flights, landing back on top each time.  I decided to give it a try too and was able to scratch around for almost an hour before landing back on top.  It had got up to 15/16 mph on top so we walked down to the pimple and I had two more flights, 1st landed on the pimple but by the 2nd it had gone very southerly and rough so 3 of us headed for the beach. 1hr 50 in total.
 
Total airtime 115:25, this year 6:10.

[Paul Hyde]

18 April, Rhossili
Took a packed lunch and some music for a spot of parawaiting.  No-one else on top t/o but looked like some on the pimple.  Waited from 1ish to 4.30ish by which time it was getting up to soarable strength but inconsistently.  Decided to give it a try anyway, intending to try for the pimple if necessary but found it so bumpy that I didn't fancy scratching too close nor trying to land on the pimple so after several beats (5 mins) headed for the beach.  Stevie G and Chris D had seen me from the car park and radioed to let me know they were going up so I went back for more. Soon after getting back to the pimple someone took off from the top and got good height and Stevie G was away and climbing easily, soon followed by Chris D.   I followed soon after and had 56 mins of easy soaring but it turned a bit northerly and bumpy so I headed for the beach again.
 
Total airtime 113:35, this year 4:20

[Paul Hyde]

8 April, Rhossili
Bumped into Nasher, Stewart and a visiting pilot also called Paul in the Worm's Head car park around 10:30.  Headed up to top t/o for a bit of parawaiting.  Joined by Chris D and companions, Gareth and Viv. Stewart had to leave just after midday so had an extended top to bottom.  The rest of us waited a few more hours when it became just about flyable.  Scratched around for 20 mins before trying one beat too many and ended up on the beach.  Decided to go back for more and after the long slog up was soon in the air again.  Still bumpy and scratchy but a little better than before, managed 26 mins and 120 ft ato before top landing in a bit of a heap.  After a breather went for a third flight, did not seem any better than before and after about 15 mins decided to land on the pimple.  Pushed out to lose a litle height and found lift and smooth air instead.  Stuck with it and enjoyed another 45 mins of smooth easy flying, pushing well out over the sea without losing any significant height, max about 420 ft ato.  By this time I was feeling the cold so tried to land on the pimple but struggled to lose any height, went back to the top which was a bit turbulent so pushed out to land on the beach again.  Even well forward from the ridge it was still difficult to lose height so ended up over the water with big ears in just to get a reasonable rate of descent.
 
Total airtime 112:35, this year 3:20