Flightlog 03/04/2011
Flight time: 2 hours
Distance flown: 30km!!! (note the exclamation marks)
After 15 years of tooling around with the wretched activity known as Paragliding, I have just cracked my first cross country with a distance of 30 kilometres (or 30,000 metres - it sounds bigger).
Truly, its a momentous occasion.
If you take into account the actual ground covered it would be more like 60km but I wasn't carrying a GPS so I'm only speculating here.
The flight went from the West launch at Borah to the bomb out paddock at the foot of Red Jack Mountain.
The Saturday was pretty hairy on launch with quite gusty conditions so I elected not to fly - didn't want to risk my dignity being dragged on launch in front of all the gun pilots.
Didn't worry JimmyT though - he tried to loft his wing just as a gust blew threw and it dragged him for a couple of metres across the artificial turf.
Saturday night saw a gathering of pilots from near and far at Godfrey's place to watch the paragliding film festival. Quite entertaining and it was good to listen to stories from persons far more committed to the sport than me.
I was safely tucked into bed by 10pm which was in fact 9pm due to daylight saving finishing up so I got a good night's sleep. Having a non-existent night life in Manilla sure helps.
Next day, Sunday saw us up on launch about 10am.Cracking day - beautiful weather. Irish Simon threw one of his compatriots off the north east launch and he enjoyed a nice sleddy to the bomb out.
The brains trust thought the East launch offered the best prospects for the day so we moved across there and started pretending to get ready. JimmyT nominated me as wind dummy so I nervously started getting set up.
I no sooner had my kit organised when the wind shifted noticeably over the back so it was off to the West launch once again.
I courageously resumed my role of wind 'technician' but waited while others launched before me - I'm such a coward. It turned out to be the right thing to do as the early launcherers went straight to the bomb out.
I waited alongside the legendary JJ Bastion - if he launched first, I could follow him around for a bit I thought to myself. About 3 of us launched at the same time - I went straight after JJ and a tandem.
The glider - which had given me grief last time I tried to fly it - came up nice and steady.
I turned and ran like buggery - the thought if embarrassing myself in front of a legion of paragliding experts was foremost in my mind.
I ridge soared for a few passes to try and get some height but by now the take off area was getting quite congested with everyone taking to the air. I moved to the south side of the take off and followed a ridge line down in the general direction of the bomb out. My idea was to land, get picked up by the Basher then start again. Rinse and Repeat.
I was heading downhill fast with my vario saying I was at least 500 ft below where I took off. Things were looking grim but I noticed a few of the gun pilots had nailed some king of thermic activity and were heading up.
I casually mosied over to their approximate location (about 200 feet below however) and found what appeared to be consistent lift. I started banking the glider and commenced a climb that saw me go from about 500ft asl to 5,500 ft!!!
The climb was quite gentle and I was able to just hold the left turning configuration and rejoice in the sound of the vario cheeping cheerily. At around 1700 feet the cheery cheeping turned into rather agitated squawking and my rate of climb increased somewhat.
The ride was a bit bumpier but I just hung in there as the clouds got closer and it all got a lot colder.
I was cursing having put the flying suit on at launch and thought I should have just put a jumper on but at cloud base (or close enough to it) I was glad of having the more robust apparel.
I topped out at 5,500 feet and headed over the back following the other guys. There was a bunch of pilots in the air now going in roughly the same direction. I was think now that I f I could just make it to Godfrey's I'd be happy. I concentrated on keeping high for a while and my altitude varied between 5k down to 2.5k. Godfrey's farm house passed way down below so I thought I'd keep on going.
My next big adventure was to fly to Manilla but I needed a bit more height and to crab across the wind to the right.
Flying into the sun always delivered fruit so this was the pattern I employed - that and my new flight rules: IFOG (I follow other guys). The move towards Manilla was slow and painful and I was in danger of not getting there when I saw one of the guns on a high spec Advance glider heading towards a paddock about 1000 feet below. I figured I'd land with him and we could grab a retrieve together and engage in friendly bomb out banter.
The next time I looked he was heading up past me and he kept on going. The nerve!
I turned and followed him and managed to find the tail end of the lift he was on. I kept dropping out of the thermal but would pick it up again eventually. After a time I was back at 4k and by this time Manilla was way behind me in the distance.
I didn't realise it but I was actually flying the task! I kept following the remainder of the pilots and topping up where I could all the while looking for safe and easy bomb outs close to a road for easy retrieval. At this time over the radio a pilot was reported to be coming down under reserve over near Split Rock Dam. Suzy was then heard describing her descent and was sounding understandably shaky and scared.
She landed OK and was being assisted by other pilots so I pressed on.
Everyone seemed to be funneling into a smaller valley with nasty tiger country at the back so I was hoping that a suitable LZ would appear soon.
Everyone by now was looking for a landing so I followed them down. The wind on the ground was gusty to I had an almost vertical descent into a paddock about 5metres from a tree.
I banged my knee on a rock which didn't impress me but I was down. Iwalked up to where the other guys had clustered and found that I had made goal!!
I then endured a 3 hour wait with Irish Simon and Andy MacMurray so we swapped tales of derring do until the retrieve vehicle (Josh from Newy) showed up.
