Fantastic flying today!

[AlastairW]

Hot of the press..... Just spoken to Andrew Maltby on radio, who has flown from Cross Fell to Hexham..... he is still in the air as I type!!!

BriLLiant flying Andrew!

look forward to hearing all the details this evening...

Is that why you didnt come to the pub last night??

Me?
I have been sat at home laying floor trim and cutting the grass.....

[Neil]

I had a nice day at TP
I could have stayed at home and put myself on spin in the washing machine it would have been the same difference

[AlastairW]

Just returned from the pub with Andrew Maltby and his support team..... He eventually landed at Acomb, just North of Hexham... I reckon just short of 43k.

An excellent flight! Well done Andrew......

Mind you.. my grass looks wonderful....

[John Watson]

Excellent flight Andrew, was this your'e first XC in a paraglider?

[ron freeman]

Anybody flying hg's today ? teaching in the Cheviots and the sky looked epic ! coast to coast Xc's

[Sad Northerner]

Maltby....

.....can I call you Mavrick?


Ali

[John Wallis]

.....can I call you Mavrick?

You might as well he got called a lot worse today

Really good club day out at Crossfell everyone buzzing at the pub tonight even a couple of hang gliders nearly got to Alston

[gary stenhouse]

fantastic flying andrew looks like theres some competition in the club now.
where were the big guns hiding then as i would of thought that half the club would of been at cross fell?
come on gutherie where were you ? lying in bed waiting for another cup of tea, at least i have a good excuse.

you wonder why i am up so early? bed has become my torcher chamber the longer i am in it the worse it gets. the demons come out at night and just keep on sending the same signals through my body(little bastards)

not to worry hopefully not long before i have to feet firmly on the ground then shortly afterwords back in the air.

[gary stenhouse]

http://www.pgcomps.org.uk/xcleague/xc/d ... -05-07.igc

they say the early bird gets the worm well burkit certainly did with a 101k flight out of the lakes landing at durham

[ron freeman]

ALSTON on a hangglider... paraglider at Hexam which way did you go John via Penrith...

[Dave Hume]

Anybody flying hg's today ? teaching in the Cheviots and the sky looked epic ! coast to coast Xc's

8 hang gliders at Cross Fell Ron. Wendy and John Wallis got to Alston, Miller did a big triangle out front.

[brian day]

Brilliant flight Andrew, total respect my man!
Next time I might have the balls to commit rather than just bottle out when the big sink hits I see you didn't get the big sink to bad though! But just for the next time......the walk back aint too bad

[Chris L]

Good job Andrew Fantastic XC
Wish I'd given Bewaldeth a miss and went to Cross-Fell looked great

[Andrew Maltby]

Really enjoyed the flight. Yes it was my first xc on a paraglider, all the tips and hints from everyone over the last few months came together to make it a good one. Even better was Tyne valley air traffic control(alistair) co-ordinating my retrieve by Peter and John, who were there within 5 mins of touchdown

Thanks everyone for all your comments.

MAVERICK!!!!!!!!!!!! (helmet being printed up as i write!)

[AlastairW]

It was fun..... I received a phone call from Julie, Johns wife asking if I could raise Andrew on Radio.... no chance I thought.... run upstairs, grab the radio, lean out of the bedroom window, and lo and behold there is Andrew loud and clear, about 900ft above Hexham race course!

On the phone to Wallis, who being a man of little faith was sat in the pub in Whitfield waiting for Andrew to land!!

At one point I had Andrew on the radio, and John on the phone, at the same time.

Almost made up for not flying!!

[gordie]

Great flight Andrew, credit definitely due. Interesting looking at your trace and the way it seems to emulate the terrain, presume it classic British xc flying with thermals triggering with aid of the wind.

I remember watching you fly on the back of Clough in light thermals one day when I was teaching you, and it was obvious you had a natural feel for the glider (which was a bit dated) and the air you your flying in. Coring week lift it was great to see a good pilot discover an even easier way of thermaling. Admittedly all this was to Mr Wallis's disgust whilst he walked up the hill yet again. But it was clear you knew and could feel what you were doing.

So with the best xc flying time of the year ahead of us I look forward to you, Misking, Wallis and the rest of the reformed! pilots showing us mere paragliding mortals how it should be done.

[ron freeman]

Its quite noticable that the former HG pilots are doing the buisness with paraglider XC's....well done Andrew.

[John Wallis]

Coring week lift it was great to see a good pilot discover an even easier way of thermaling. Admittedly all this was to Mr Wallis's disgust whilst he walked up the hill yet again.

I remember the day well Gordie! 90 degrees of sweltering heat and no wind. Maltby arrives late in the afternoon after all the students were spent (Especially me) carrying 3 times up the back of Clough. He takes off on an old tatty glider and hooked a bastard thermal. He got a couple of hundred feet and had a good float around before it passed.

He's a lucky git but he's also a very good pilot. After yesterday the bits between the teeth. He's says he's not competitive (ha ha ha) but he'll be after the number one spot on the club XC league.

As an aside He can fly a 737 but can't work out how to down load his flights from his Competino which I did tonight for him. I couldn't believe how much airtime he's had, no wonder he's doing so well. We had to wear these after we picked him up in Hexham

[ron freeman]

Two years ago I trained a student called David Greenlee (Irish chap) he is a captain for British Airways flying 747's and he tell's me that he can't wait to get home to fly a real flying machine...his Avian Rio hangglider !

In the middle of his training I thought he was really learning fast, then I found out that he was getting in some extra practise flying the sand dunes on Florida beach ! he completed his C.P. in 6 weeks ! different world...

[brian day]

Just compared my flight with your's Andrew, it seems you were a little higher, but not much, almost in the same place and only minutes in front of you, (thanks for asking if I was ok on landing without laughing too loud) even more annoying to me,as I was convinced my track towards Alston would have mirrored my rapid decent onto the top of XFell.
I would be interested in anyone's comments on my decision not to go, but please be gentle, I'm not as thick skinned as some.
But be warned Andrew of a yellow Epi 5 stalking your every move in the future!........I will learn how to do this!!!!!! sooon I hope!

[John Watson]

Brian your'e decision not to go was your'e decision at the time, for whatever reason, maybe you thought it was too windy as I did.
I know from going over the back of Cross fell in a hang glider it can catch you out and be far windier over the back than you'de expect.
So flying a bundle of washing backwards at 20mph does'nt really appeal to me with my track record. Big winds have broken my bones before and I don't want any more, I was really pissed off when I heard Andrew flew to Hexham (but happy for him) But I like you decided not to go and my decision was solely on windy grounds, I think its called self preservation ---- or maybe I'm becoming a right wimp like you

[MadDog]

Spoke to Andrew about his flight last night, said it was fairly boring, it was only when he met Aly Wolf in the Welly and learnt so many new ideas about the home and garden, especially lawn care, its trials and tribulations....this for him made the whole day worthwhile!
He can't wait to do even better one...providing Ally is there to meet him with those little green gloves on.

[John Wallis]

I would be interested in anyone's comments on my decision not to go, but please be gentle

Nice walk out Brian Bet it was a bit boggy walking down there. I knew you were keen to go over the back as you even checked the airspace out with me. Better luck next time.

[Fingers]

Andrew this, Maltby that!!

Bla Bla Bla Bla ....... Give it a rest please.... The guy goes XC every day of the week in his profession if it was not for the practicing air traffic control he would have been at a total loss as to his final approach.

Lets move on please, Andrews done a good flight, congrats on that, the rest of you get over it, try and show a little self control . You'd think the man had succeeded in alchemy!!

Oh nearly forgot.........

I went to Anney the other week.

[ron freeman]

Brian Day, It sounds like to me that you did the right thing, X/Fell is not the ideal place to be going XC when you are new to this sort of flying, as you know its a huge area with some deep valleys, getting low over Alston can be quite scary and turbulant. When JW mentioned it was also windy ! another very good reason not to go.

Andrew Maltby knows this area very well and has been there done it got the ticket (HG)

Be patient and wait for the right moment, sites like West hill, Moneylaws, Hownam law (S.E), Longknowe, Model Ridge, Carlton bank, Wether fell, Jenkin hill, Bewaldeth, Clough, these are all good sites with good get outs if in trouble.

Happy well planned flying

[brian day]

Thanks, it makes me feel a little happier. John, I surveyed the ground and planned my walk out well in advance, that was part of my decision making......a long uphill walk out the back, or pick my spot and take a calculated downhill trog. Landed,,,,as planed on a nice grassy area, 200m NW to track, follow track for 1km S then follow GPS back to take off. The only tricky bit being the last scramble over the rocks to the car! I've been caught out before leaving landing options too late.......not this time....not even a damp tootsie! If I take anything positive home from this flight, it must be a well planned landing and walk out!