Flying the Sugarloaf

Earlier in September I decided it was time do a bit of big mountain flying so I went off to climb the Sugarloaf mountain (596m) near Abergavenny with a friend. It was blowing a South-Westerly which was fine as the mountain can be flown in any wind direction. The wind at the top was strong and the weather a mixture of all types but we had a good long flight at the summit and I flew the Multiplex EG as far as I could see against an amazing backdrop.

On the Sugarloaf with Multiplex EG

Variable weather provides interesting backdrop.

The next day I stopped off at the south facing White Horse slope of Milk Hill and Knap Hill just north of Alton Barnes in Wiltshire.  The lift was superb here and completely smooth.

Knap Hill looking Eastwards

Peaceful flying at sunset on Milk Hill

The Trundle

The other day it happened to be blowing a south-westerly and I thought I'd fit in a flight at The Trundle near Goodwood above Chichester, a slope-soaring site with buttery smooth lift and a nice view looking towards the sea. The sea breeze rolls in over the peachy landscape with no obstructions, making this a satisfying place to fly.
http://www.slopehunter.co.uk/ were so impressed with the shot I took (below) of my Multiplex EasyGlider that they used it for their website section on The Trundle, and I can understand why: the low, fast approach from the left captures the magnificence of this sailplane in its essence.
The wing spa is ballasted with 50cm of 8mm studding for extra wing loading and speed.

Flight in a real glider

In late June I decided to go for a flight in a real glider at the Southdowns Gliding Club in West Sussex. It was a very hot day and there were nice white, fluffy Cumulus clouds in the sky and no shortage of thermals to stay up as long as we wanted. I sat in the front seat with the instructor behind and we were towed for a duration of 5 mins up to a height above ground of 800m (2625ft) before the cord was released. We then thermalled around in the sky to a max. altitude that flight of 953m (3127ft), which is not far off my radio-control electric flight record of 1017m (3337ft).

As well as taking along a compact camera I also rigged up a small head-mounted HD video camera to record the whole flight.

Unfortunately, the rise and fall motion of the glider combined with just having had lunch before the flight meant that I was sick in the glider a number of times (luckily they have sick-bags in the cockpit). Feeling unwell, I told the instructor he might as well take over the controls and bring the glider in to land, which was a shame as it was good flying weather and it would have been nice to have stayed up there longer had I not felt so nauseous.

Logging the flight with my GPS unit, it lasted 32mins; we covered 34 miles and our average speed was 64mph.

I might well try it again sometime, but not just after I've had lunch next time!

GPS track of the flight path

Looking down at the river Arun.

Pulborough from c.3000ft.

Walking the coast of Jersey - June 2009

In mid June I took the ferry to Jersey and walked around the coastline in a clockwise direction, starting from St.Helier. The walk took three full days and I camped under the stars for three nights, walking from about 8.30am until about 9pm or so because of the long daylight hours, stopping only for lunch or the occasional refreshment break.

Jersey could be said to consist of four coastlines: north, south, east and west, each with its own character: The west coast is dominated by a very long sandy beach popular with surfers; the north coast is wild and craggy with mile upon mile of bracken slopes; the east coast is picturesque and features a half mile long pier and a big castle along its length; the south coast is quite populated but plain until you pass St.Helier and then some of the best of Jersey's coastline can be found (once you have walked along another extremely long beach!).

Day 1: St.Helier to Greve De Lecq

Day 2: Greve De Lecq to Bouley Bay

Day 3 : Bouley Bay to St Helier

Final comment: Walking the coast of Jersey is further than you might imagine!

Jersey - east coast (Mont Orgueil Castle)

Jersey - north coast

Jersey - north coast

Jersey - north coast

Jersey - west coast

Jersey - south coast

Jersey - south coast

Jersey - south coast