last light

The last session of 2016....it's late, it's gloomy, but the hill is working....just!

maximum paraglider altitude

Eric has the tool for the job 

its beady eye is watching your every move

early effects of the new year celebrations  #nofilter

yes it really was this dark and miserable

(slope)police line, do not cross

Paul revs up for a fence line scratch around

he wasn't really going this fast...it's just the super slooooooow shutter speed

brought on by near darkness

He lands, and immediately has to wrestle his confiscated model

from a passing EASA officer (just out of shot) who tries to book Paul for

flying his 'UAV / drone' too high, too heavy, too close, etc etc.

Meanwhile Eric adheres strictly to the rules.

...and so there goes 2016

xmas bash

As per last year, final date and location

to be announced here with as much

notice as possible. 

Les

It's with great sadness that we pass on the unexpected news that Les passed away recently. His enthusiasm was very much in the building side of the hobby, and he loved to pass on his knowledge as well as the fruits of his tinkering. It's good to know that a part of him will continue to live on in his numerous creations still being flown by others.

vitamin d

even in today's midwinter gloom there's

sunshine up there......somewhere

mental mig

Gary's Mig 15 with on-board hair dryer

from a few years back

into the pit

Winter is officially (just about) with us. Here then is a quick reminder of the current time-scales
we're working to before things once again slowly start to improve...

more from the archives...

This dates back to 1953....chocks away old chap!
recognisable viewpoints detailed below...

several bits of the hallowed turf are clearly visible...

At 27sec. the T21 can be seen flying over the gulley to east of the lane

At 37sec. (facing south) you can clearly see where we fly from...except there's a hedge

running down the middle of the landing area. You can still see evidence of this on Google Earth.

Isn't there a rise (or a dip) in the field somewhere on this line?

At 1min 10sec. again looking south, you can see how clear the

area of land dropping away from the castle used to be.

quad on the slope

another bit of archive footage finally sees the light of day.....

longest day 2015

out of deep storage....some footage from last year

a silent dream in an indian summer

I think this all happened somewhere in

the middle of September.

plenty of landing lubricant on the patch

the cows sneak up on Eric

his Silent Dream is the flavour of the day...

hmmmm sunlight through wings

more of a glider guider's wet dream than a silent dream

a giant banana cruises overhead looking for its dinner no doubt...

the Silent Dream scampers away

I can sense a theme building....

some discussion over what this lovely looking model was...

maybe an Art Hobby Timon?

or a Blejzk Duo with ailerons?

suggestions welcome!

just a little more of this beauty

I hope you note that for once, there's no shortage of flying shots! 

no sign of the model eating flying banana, so they're carelessly frolicking in the lift again....

but it's spotted hovering at altitude, ready to dive on its prey!

Time to launch the Fyffe seeking missile

daylight saving....

the goodwind gratis giveaway

This week's special offer; a lifetime's supply of virgin bead white foam.

Enough wings in there to see you through until you shuffle off this mortal coil.

Collection only from the shoreline east of Oare Nature Reserve.

Nearest parking space 2.5 miles away.

tipping the balance

We've now slipped firmly into the season of longer nights and shorter days. But there was a time when daylight extended well into the evening and soaring enthusiasts gathered on the hallowed turf to celebrate the summer solstice....

sun, sky and soaring, as opposed to mud, moisture and misery.

something sleek and sexy lurks in the vegetation...

she's a bit dirty, and scantily clad in black plastic....but then aren't all the best ones so? 

Pete's past self is receiving a message from the future via the medium of this blog-

only a few months till retirement sir!

Simon gets a firm toss from Mark.

The final rays of the longest day.

Eric (well not actually Eric, rather his Cularis) scratching around

in the magical evening light.

starting a theme of dodgy focus images; a slope-side orchid.... 

.....and what would have been a cracker of an arrival shot

Not sure how you fly these new cutting edge models with the transmitter

actually moulded into the wing?!

....but they seem to perform very well indeed!

badwind

Do any of your models weigh more than 250 grams?

Do any of your models fly faster than 33 mph?

Do you enjoy flying higher than 50 metres?

Do you enjoy flying further than 100 metres away from yourself?

If you have answered yes to one or more of these questions then you should be aware that European law is aiming to make any such model flying illegal. So unless your passion is flying your government registered Alula around your tx aerial then take the time to sign this petition. In fact, sign the petition using every email address you own, and then get all your relatives to sign it too, then lobby your local MP using the previous suggestions.

Act now- Brexit won't save us from this one!