The chances of getting 2 flights in one week were pretty slim. Uncle Gav the Weatherman predicted a hot weekend with northerly winds but today (Friday) was shaping up with a potentially strong southerly. So if it was going to be any day, it was today!
Seabreeze looked good at about 8:30am. I didn't want to miss this chance especially with the strong winds predicted for the afternoon.
I got to launch at Merewether by 9 to be met with a more onshore direction than is feasible for this site. My flight plan was quickly adjusted to take in a launch at Strezzie instead.
I parked my car in Bar Beach car park and walked with my glider up the Anzac Walk. Things looked good up on launch. I had a quick chat with Tony Barton and he opined that the strength seemed to be slightly abating. The strength according to Seabreeze was 12 kts but it seemed OK up on Strezzie. No-one else was there and it seemed all too good to be true so I unrolled my wing and clipped in.
I made a solid wall and popped the glider up. I was flying after a few steps. Launch time: 9:45am.
I punted about for about 30 minutes. The lift was good for the entire length of the ridge: from Monument up to the cliff below the fort at King Edward Park.
Lots of holiday makers walking along the Anzac Walk. It was a great opportunity to refamiliarise myself with the site and flying in general. My flight on Monday was good, but today was shaping up to be more of a chance to practice and explore the cliff line.
Tony Barton flew his tandem Fun for a few passes which interrupted my exclusive access to the place, then he test flew someone's paraglider for about 20 minutes. Cottsy and Waynus had shown up and were eyeing the conditions lustfully.
I was having a blast! Consistent wind, great direction (directly perpendicular to the ridge) and no-one around. I threw the glider over a couple of times and was generally having a ball.
I got low a few times after I was tooling around but a few passes along the ridge and I was well above launch once again. Another parapunter had launched by this time and Cottsy was getting ready to fly his Moyes. Soon all 3 of us were in the air but with the lift being so abundant it wasn't a problem. The punter flew over to Watt St after a time so it was just me and Cottsy.
I was getting pretty cocky by this stage: doing some 360s, wing overs, general tooling. I started doing some more aggressive wing overs near Monument. I was digging the alternate brakes really deep and the wing dropped below horizontal. My bowels gave a little shudder and then the outside third of my wing collapsed. I thought a heard someone scream from the walkway but it turned out to be me. I swung through, correcting the collapse on the way and all was good. Note to self: when doing wing overs, be mindful of the load on the outside wing. If it's coming through too fast, it will go a little floppy.
A few punters were launching from Watt St and Waynus was getting ready to launch from Strezzie. Tony Barton had a paying customer in the tandem and I had been flying for over 2 hours at this stage so I decided to land.
Headed for the park with heaps of height. Went nice and deep into the park and made a nice landing near the footpath.
All up I flew 2 and a half hours. Combined with Monday's adventure, I've covered 4 hours this week.
I think it's safe to say that I'm back!!
