Nick's Airtime 2010

[Nick Roberts]

14/11 - Rhossili
 
Arrived with Viv at 12:30 and ate lunch in the carpark looking out to sea.  The wind was light and from the north and there were a few pilots groundhandling and doing short hops from the top down to the pimple.  The sky  to the north hinted that the wind may back to northwest....... and it did!
 
We set up on the pimple and by 14:00 it was possible to launch and soar up to the top.  I had the privilege of trying out a new demo glider from Advance courtesy of UK importer Gavin Foster.  I could feel a broad grin coming on as soon as I launched the Omega 8(EN D)  .  The glider oozes quality and hours of R and D ,  a real thoroughbred - simply fabulous!
 
The wind picked up a little and it was possible to fly the full length of the hill and the cliffs and together with a few sea thermally bits to circle in and  a golden sunset  forming as the sun went down, the flying was rather good!  The wind did get a bit too strong  to launch for a while but it eased as the sun went down allowing everyone to get some flying in.
 
A good turnout  of club members and visitors making the most of a sunny window at Rhossili!     
 
Airtime 2010 - 166 hours

[Nick Roberts]

25/10 - Cwmafan
 
Arrived with Viv at 14:00 to see Gerry in the air and Stu and Barry pulling up in the van.  The sky was blue and the breeze was good.   We launched into some quite lively thermals with good height gains up to 2000'amsl above the forested hillside
(just like the Alps,well...almost!).  The steelworks was a bit smelly but the views were fab.  A short while later, we were joined by Steve J who'd managed to get a couple of hours off work.
 
Great Autumn flying!   

[Nick Roberts]

24/10 - Rhiw Wen
 
A quite dramatic change in weather from the previous day and quite contrary to the forecast on friday resulted in a rather good sunny sunday up at Rhiw Wen.  The wind was NNE and quite brisk.  Thermic activity was weak and gave scratchy conditions from late morning but for a brief time (14:30 - 15:00) there were some good 3m per sec thermals that propelled quite a few towards cloudbase(Phil C,Viv, Alan, Paul Williams and a few others) which was around 3500' amsl.  I made it to 3220' at one point but declined to go over the back instead trying to head east along the Black Mountain only to be thwarted by a sinky glide.
 
Towards the late afternoon, a shower cloud could be seen over Llandovery and heading our way.  Everyone landed and packed away as the shower turned into quite a spectacular curtain as it approached and we marvelled at the magnificent rainbow that accompanied it before we were pelted by hailstones!   
 
A great day's flying for all and together with a group of visiting pilots from South East Wales, I had never seen so many pilots flying at Rhiw Wen!   

[Nick Roberts]

20/10 - Rhigos
 
I had planned to go to Rhiw Wen, however, a call from Nasher on the hill informed me that it was strong and rough so plan B was enacted and I drove to the Rhigos instead.  There were three gliders in the air when Viv and me arrived.  The wind had backed to northwest and cloud was building up out to the west.  The air around launch was disconcertingly lumpy but out over the northwest facing part of the bowl it was fine and  I soared around for a while until the sun went down and the temparature dropped.   Very c...c...cold in the air - full winter gear and overmitts were necessary! 

[Nick Roberts]

17/10- Fan G
 
Arrived at 14:00 to find the wind just starting to kick -in from the southwest and pleasantly sunny but with cloud cover looming ominously out to the west.  Phil Cunningham was groundhandling on the slope as Viv and me made ready to launch.  The breeze was coming through rather intermittently but in the air there seemed to be lots of small thermals coming through and the flying was actually quite good and the sunshine held out until about 16:00 whereupon the cloudcover thickened and the wind increased and the temparature dropped accordingly!   Viv flew down to the layby and Phil flew back to his car parked at the middle gate leaving me to top-land and drive the car down.  The track is getting worse than ever up on top but the scenery remains refreshing as always.   

[Nick Roberts]

12/10 - Heol Senni
 
Arrived at the hill mid-pm to find no wind but it was a lovely day for parawaiting in the autumn sunshine with a few club members and friends.  A breeze came on later as the sun went down giving us some smooth soaring conditions which were great for the lower airtimers to practice top landings and groundhandling.  The cold penetrated my extremities after an hour despite my winter flying suit - time to put summer underclothing away!
 
16/10  - Heol Senni
 
The sky looked quite promising in the morning with a good looking albeit low cloud street manifesting itself over the west side of the Swansea Valley      By the time I got to the hill with Viv (14:00) there were quite large areas of cloud cover everywhere but I still held out hope of a late XC.  The wind was quite strong on the hill and we had to wait for a lull to launch and join Nasher, Jon M, Owen,  messrs Birch senior and Piers from Mid Wales plus one other visitor in the air.  The wind was a tad strong and it took a while to find enough thermic activity to circle in but there was some weak stuff coming through and I managed to get to almost 3000' a couple of times. Later,  the wind eased a little and we were joined by Robbie and Alan but  after 16:00 more general cloud cover had kissed the thermals goodbye. 
 
So, a good couple of hours flying and  toasty warm in full winter flying gear 

[Nick Roberts]

03/10 - Rhossili
 
After the deluge - we flew!  I couldn't quite believe it,  particularly as it was still raining when Viv and myself left Glais for Rhossili(so much so that I declined to put a shout in the box).  The road was flooded near Scurlage but we diverted through the lanes from Penrice to Porteynon.  It was still pretty blustery with showers so we went for a walk at Porteynon thinking there was no chance of flying.  A while later though, it mellowed noticeably and as we started back along the road,  Rhossili hill looked rather nice sowe thought we'd better check it out just in case.  On approach to the village we could see Jon Munro happily soaring around - yippee   
 
Launching at 17:40, the sky was grey and overcast but the wind was silky smooth and westerly.  At around 18:30, the sky to the west opened up  treating us to the most glorious sunset and as the sun went down, little puffy bits of cumulus cloud started to form upwind and the hill became magically lifty - sea thermals      A rare treat seldom experienced but not unknown here.
 
We landed at 19:00 including Peter, a visiting pilot from Germany who'd driven over from Barry where he is working for six weeks.  By the time we had come down off the hill it was dark and I couldn't help but think even after many years of flying you just never really know if it's going to be any good.....you've just got to be there    

[Nick Roberts]

26/09 - Rhiw Wen
 
Arrived at the carpark at 11:00 and donned my winter flying suit for the cold northerly breeze.  Great to see a few already at takeoff as it was just becoming soarable.
 
The flying was great and I enjoyed a good flyaround  getting up to almost 3000' amsl out to the west for a while but not quite good enough to go over the back.  After a quick lunchbreak and a chat back at takeoff, the thermals started to come through nicely but again, not quite enough to fly off XC but after a while, I managed to hook into some nice lift to the east of takeoff and after repeatedly flying back into wind I made it to 3700' amsl and drifted over the back of the hill. 
 
I soon hit some sink and alas, as I deployed my speedbar, one of the lines snapped next to one of the pulleys on the risers  and I couldn't quite get to where I was aiming for.  I soon sank down and landed next to the Gwyrydd mountain road at Cwmllynfell.  So, not far at all really but a nice cup of tea in the garden of local resident Dillwyn then a short walk down to the main road where Viv kindly picked me up on her way to the hill and we enjoyed a late afternoon flight as the sun went down.     3 hours flying.
 
A very good flying day and great to see everyone getting some good airtime

[Nick Roberts]

21/09 - Cwmafan
 
The sky looked quite promising but windspeeds upwards of 20mph saw us parawaiting until later in the afternoon when some decent lulls presented opportunities to launch.  By this time, the sky had clouded over leaving us with mainly dynamic lift but also some patchy thermic stuff. The wind remained a little brisk but it was good for a nice soaring flight with great views
 
It was great to see  a few of the lower airtimers in the club getting to know this lesser used site.  Well done to Viv, Wattsy and Barry.   

[Nick Roberts]

18/09 - Rhossili
 
Went to Rhossili early - very early in fact : arrived at 09:00!  A beautiful morning and not a breath of wind so very pleasant for a spot of parawaiting.  The forecast wind was slow to kick in but when it did arrive around midday it increased quite quickly to give us all a good flying window.  The sky was quite busy for a while as was the Pimple.  Nasher and myself flew the Club Tandem with some friends of visiting pilots as passengers who went home with big smiles! Stevie G, Cookie and Steve from Axis were also flying tandems.  It was good to see so many enjoying the flying window while it lasted.  By mid p.m. the whitecaps on the sea were becoming more of a feature pretty much as per forecast and it was time to call it a day.
 
Airtime 2010 - 150.30hours

[Nick Roberts]

15/08 - Heol Senni
 
The forecast promised much but delivered little!  It was overcast when we arrived before midday and it was soarable in the brisk breeze but there was not much lift to be had .   The sun came through in the afternoon but the wind eased and backed to the north making it unflyable for a while but later on light restitution type lift brought it back onto the hill and we could fly around for a while getting height gains up to around 600' above the hill but then it all switched off at around 17:00 and we all landed whereupon some of us were  engulfed by swarms of flying ants 
 
A good turnout though and good to see a few of the newer members out on the hill(Ed, Al, Shane, Stuart and Wattsy)) and Rob mansley and Flywestwales doing some training.
Refreshments at the Ancient Briton on the way home on a balmy August evening 

[Nick Roberts]

11/08 Graig Fawr 
 
I got home from work at 14:00 and was just finishing my lunch when I got a call from Steve J who'd landed up on the hillside above Pontardawe after a short XC from Graig Fawr so I drove up to retrieve him with my kit in the boot just in case.  We arrived back at Graig Fawr at around 15:30 and the sky was overcast but the breeze was ok so I parked up on the roadside next to Steve's car in the layby by the school.  Up on takeoff at 16:00, the overcast conditions did not inspire and we weren't expecting  much. 
 
However, a short while later, the cloud cover melted away, the sun shined on us and a rather tasty looking cloud street formed upwind.  As it approached the hill, I managed to work up a bit of height and latch on to a weak but steady line of lift and eventually made cloudbase at 3500' amsl.  Initially, the street looked better upwind so I glided upwind for a short while but this quickly changed and started to look better downwind so I drifted back and could see Steve climbing up from below.  The line of lift meandered all the way to Swansea and I passed over my workplace at Royal Mail, Llansamlet at 3500' .   Thereafter, I wafted around above Bonymaen for a while taking in the splendid views out over the bay in the evening sushine.  I didn't get much lift further on and touched down on the beach at Aberafan just before 18:00.  I packed up on the prom and walked the short distance to cafe Remos where I rendevou'd with Steve who'd landed further up the beach. 
 
A great evening XC and a real bonus to get a lift back with Sabina and a relief to find the cars intact!   
 
 

[Nick Roberts]

08/08  Rhossili
 
Another super Rhossili sunday and a great day for unveiling the new SWWSC tandem paraglider - one Paretech Bi 6 supplied by Paul Williams of Paraventure Airsports!
Myself, Chris D and Nasher flew the glider and we were all mightily impressed by the whole package - build quality, performance, handling, etc. 
 
The wind did get a tad strong by late afternoon but until then, the tandem teams were in full swing.  I counted seven in all and at times, it was a bit like Heathrow Airport above the pimple but there was always plenty of room to manouvre  even for the lone hanglider pilot!
Those that stayed till the end enjoyed a sunset flight as the wind eased.
 
A great day for all!

[Nick Roberts]

02/08 - Graig Fawr
 
Sky looked great and got to the hill early as I'm off work this week.  Met Chris D and Andy and we got ready to launch at around 12:30.  I took off last but sniffed out a climb straightaway followed by Chris a few minutes later.  Drifting downwind at cloudbase, there seemed to be plenty of lift around but at only 3000' and with a northerly drift aloft,  I knew it would be difficult to make headway crosswind and stay inland but I quickly decided to give it a try as carrying on downwind, I would be at the coast early with so much of the day left to play with.  I glided towards Clydach but this proved to be a poor line leaving me looking for a save over Mynydd Gelliwastad where I have found lift in the past.  I sailed over the top of the hill and detected lift in the lee.  Several times, I thought I was hooking into something but solid lift proved elusive.  Getting low, the wind felt quite strong and within a glide of Glais, I opted for a home landing on the village sportsfield.
 
 A nice flight while it lasted and it's always cool to fly home    .  However, by not taking the downwind option, I had shortened my flight time from a potential 1h:30 -2h:00 to 40 minutes and missed the fabulous views out over Swansea Bay which Chris enjoyed on his flight     The sky went milky and the wind got quite strong later in the afternoon so it was definitely the right decision to fly early(did get something right!).
 
Later on, as I cycled back to Graig Fawr, I was appalled to hear that some lowlife had vandalised Andy's van.

[Nick Roberts]

01/08 Rhossili
 
Another Rhossili sunday!  A largely cloudy day but the sun came through at times to shine on our little piece of heaven.   Great to see so many pilots on the hill.  It became quite strong towards the end of the afternoon but the tandem teams impressed with their efficient and effective operation.  Hats off to Stevie G for flying with a disabled passenger.