It’s been 16 weeks since I last took to the air and that was in the winter when the air behaves quite differently. Could I remember how to do it? Would there be anyone else there if I needed help? Would I be able to get down again?!
To be sure I didn’t make a right mess of it on the day, Beck and I popped up to windy knoll for a bit of ground handling practice. The inquisitive cows watched, wondering if the odd coloured wing was edible. A few tried to test the theory and then got startled when the wing flew in the air. The wind wasn’t quite the right direction but it was good practice non the less and a beautiful evening. Windy knoll would be the landing field tomorrow for what was forecast to be a perfect day to get back in the saddle, or harness.
There was no need to worry about being alone on the launch. There must have been 40+ other wings in the air and several more waiting to launch. Groups of spectators were sat in non isolating huddles watching us pilots throw ourselves up in the air. The car park was rammed and the roadside overflowing with other parked cars. This isn’t the normal isolation and solitude of the peak district, time to get in the air.
Setting up in the afternoon meant that the thermals were already fairly active. The forecast was for the wind to swing round a bit which wasn’t ideal but for the time being it was perfect. After a rather thorough wing inspection for cow damage and time to assess the wind conditions, a lull in the other airborne traffic gave me chance to launch.
You are supposed to always set yourself an objective for the flight but after such a long lay off, and having lost my log book, my objective was to simply have a good time and not come down too hard.
What appeared to be busy skies when looking from the ground turned out to be fairly well spaced out flying with everyone behaving the rules. The conditions helped, often in more marginal conditions we can get a bit bunched up hogging the nice lifty bits which tends to tests my nerves a bit as you can’t always be sure the other pilot will turn when they should. A bit like navigating a busy junction but without indicators and in 3d.
On the first flight I purposefully didn’t have my camera on. It can be a distraction and the lines can get all snagged up on it which isn’t what you want at any time but especially not on a windy day. A 360 camera on a clamp that can come off if it gets tangled up is on the wish list. It’s nice to look back on a flight though so after the first flight ended and I trudged back up, the camera came out and the coat was packed away – no need of that as it was clear I wasn’t going very high.
Later on I thought I had plenty of height for a quick foray over toward Hope. Soon after passing Mam Tor I realised why no other pilots we heading this way, my vario switched from happy beeping (you are going up) to a sad depressing sound that conveys sinking so very well. Although I was going down quickly I wasn’t going forward at all and I was directly over a rocky bit where there is lots of turbulence. Fortunately paragliders come with a speed bar, aptly named but it does mean you go down quicker too. Fortunately for me it was all fine and it just meant another long walk back up.
The last flight was the highest. The thermals seemed to have grown slightly taller and wider making it easier to follow the invisible columns of rising air. The views from up here are amazing and you have much more time to enjoy them when you are high up, away from the ground where most of the danger is. Following other pilots up in thermals was a first for me, coordinating the turn to match theirs, looking up and seeing 3 more wings doing the same and another below. It was a great feeling being part of that rising group but the proximity dented my confidence, or perhaps I am just not as good, either way I exited the thermal and enjoyed the flight over to Mam Tor and the landing field.
Busy skies means busy landing field. On arrival there were 3 landing below me. They get priority so I hung around over some rocks, kicking off just enough heat from the sun to hold me up. Another pilot was practicing top to bottom flights and launched below me while I waited making it 4 landings before mine. But soon it was my turn and I made my approach over the road. I had too much height so slotted in a little turn which on the video looks a bit alarming as I come in over the road but it wasn’t that low really, putting the turn in on the other side of the road might have been better in hindsight but mentally I was locked in on the nice warm safe air of where I had been hanging out.
A quick call to Beck to request a taxi home which arrived just as I had finished packing up and it was time to head home for a BBQ and beer in the garden. A perfect day!
https://ayvri.com/scene/pmkeo0v7jx/ckafq03a000033b6ccs0zvwon