Back in 1990 I made a trip with Avon club members Mark Haycraft and Chris Jones to Australia where we ended up being invited by Bill Moyes to his weekend home in Newcastle. Bill was very generous with us and took us towing with his equipment: A speedboat with a long length of line and a float and attachment ring at one end joining to a rather battered old Hang Glider. He was amused that we wanted to wear our helmets, the water being soft in his opinion. He decided that Chris, who had long hair and was a vegetarian was unlikely to be much of a pilot so he was confined to the boat. I was first up on the tow. No radios, “just lift your leg when you want to go”. The speedboat would power off and the coiled line would whip away until no slack was left, jolting you off into the air.

Just great, climbing out over the bay with one of the most famous names in hang gliding below in the boat. Unfortunately, when I released the catch jammed in the release mechanism, leaving me with what looked like half a kilometer of line attached to me and the boat. With no radio contact, I believe I agitated my legs a fair amount to convey my dilemma. The likelihood was that as the boat slowed the line would go into the water dragging me down into the ocean. Oh dear!. However, Bill kept on the power taking me out to a sand spit where he gently backed off the power, me keeping the line taught and landing with all that line attached. Phew!

The next day found us at a different launch point with the wind coming in from the side, the longshore drift going another way and the boat speeding off in a different direction with myself watching the line rapidly uncoil on the beach and having to make a rapid decision as to which way to point the glider. I made a rapid calculation of the 3 vectors and pointed where I imagined I should….Wrong!. Chris, in the boat, told me that Bill had actually seen my error, but he thought it best that I should learn the lesson by being dragged a high speed across the beach breaking uprights and patches of skin away.
All this was around 3 decades after Bill’s pioneering flying. If things were hairy then back in the late 80’s one can hardly imagine the risks he was prepared for in the 60s.

I briefly met Bill at an FAI meeting some years ago when he was receiving his award. I don’t think he remembered our stay with him. He has had so many POMs coming through over the years. Mark continues to hang glide and seems to be always winning the French XC league. Chris is also still flying, both Hgs and Pgs. I carried on crashing hang glider for quite a few more years, but now just paraglide.

English Version

Spanish Version

the weather this week..Nice!

That is it for us at Flypiedrahita for 2017.  Many thanks to all who visited us this year.   We normally stop at this time of year as the chances of decent XCs is reduced.  However, it does seem that things are getting even better this week with higher temps and still with light winds.  Perhaps we will run a week or so into October next year.  It has been the pattern for the last few years that October has been dry, sunny and gentle, so offers nice soaring for those with modest XC ambitions.

We will open our booking calendar for 2018 soon.  Announced here and by a mailing to all our clients.

Almost to Avila yesterday for Russell, and today a superb Cu filled day with climbs to near 3000m.   Russell and Chris crossed the Pass ( I bombed at the Villafranca junction with Phil).  A nice 55km to Avila and a PB for Chris.

On the way to Avila (Chris)

Chris passing my bomb out position and about to climb out

Easy flying with nice climbs, but not much more that 2300m.  Only Phil ventured towards Barco, the rest of us flying around the Big Spine.  Things picked up around 4pm, so we went down then went back up for the evening soar.

A light SW day with remarkable convergence in the Avila Valley.  However, we stayed put as it is the last day and we have an early start tomorrow morning so did not fancy a 6 hour epic retrieve.   The boys did some good triangles around the valley, the Swiss landing back on take off.

Tracklog 1

Tracklog 2

Tracklog 3

A quick tour of Avila whilst waiting for Phil to get retrieved

A great forecast with big potential but some risk of  big Cus and Cbs more to the east.  I was the first out of Lastra, and from take off I went directly to near cloud base at 3300m in a 4+m/s climb. After waiting for John, Nico and  Lucas we set off along an amazing cloud street which at that moment looked like it would give us a line direct to Segovia.  Nigel and Saied decided not to launch, but had an easier take of a little later at Pena Negra (wind came on there around 1.30 as RASP predicted).  Once in the Avila valley it was obvious that things were building to quickly along the convergence so some of us landed short of Avila, with Nico and Phil more confident of their getting down skills, landing around the city.

A windier day with some bigger Cus about today.  A bit crossed on launch so we launched from the Bees spine.  Only Nico and Simon went over the Pass, Simon nailed in the sink from more than 3000m but Nico going about 10km beyond Avila then coming back to land at Avila.

Segovia

Excellent conditions yesterday with very light winds and thermal tops to 3300m. Very easy flying in good quality thermals and little turbulence.   Once again, like last weeks goal flight, we were landing around Segovia as the sun went down after around 5 and a half hours of flying.

Good evening soaring on arrival day, a bit strong yesterday, but Ok for local flying in the post frontal crisp air.  Today a slow start and climbs little above 2600m with a light NNW.  The Swiss and Simon made it pretty much to Avila.  Nice evening soaring for some who did not make it.

A great forecast, and great conditions with Cu rising towards 3000m and a light NNW.   Thermal beyond 5ms, but smooth in general.  We nearly all decked it near the cemetery near the Pass, but mostly recovered.  Nigel, Ben and myself flew back home (suffering extreme cold hands) whilst Howard and Fredrik carried on, Howard making the Avila goal.

Once again, really nice evening conditions as well.  The end of a great week and flyable every day and 3 PBs.