Weekend may not be a total right off

[gary stenhouse]

I think tomorrow it may be possible for a window to fly but maybe not worth the bother.
However Sunday may well be an ok day on Blease fell though as per usual it will have to wait until Saturday night or Sunday morning to make my choice.

Cheers Gary

[gary stenhouse]

Well today is a no hoper but i think tomorrow could be quite good at Tinto south but as per usual we will have to wait until later or the morning to see if its worth the drive

[gary stenhouse]

Well i think final decision where in the morning but do think it will be flyable somewhere tomorrow but not 100% sure where.

Picking john miller up at 9.00am at moor farm cramlington so if you are interested let me know

[gary stenhouse]

well what can you say when its only January and your thermaling all over the place. today was not just a flying soaring day it was a full blown flying day to get you primed ready for the spring.

a very good day out and why sometimes when there a lot of you driving to the big hills is worth it, yes TP is ok but not if there was 10 pilots there.

cheers Gary

[ron freeman]

Sorry Gary got to disagree ! Hownam law would of been great today, 4x4 to the top and only 1 hour away.

Tinto, great site for summer Xc's but a bloody long drive for winter flying 260mile return 5hrs total crackers !

[ron freeman]

?

[gary stenhouse]

The problem is hownam SW face is not a great soaring site and it was looking very windy for hownam. Also for me it takes just under 2 hours to get to hownam from blyth. Also it is tough going for my van to get up there as not always without for food off road tires. Until you fly Tinto south in winter then its hard to judge as i have 3 times now and each time have had 3 hours plus quality flying. So very good value for money as 3 hours flying is quite rare to get other than been board out your brain going back and forwards on a 400m ridge line

[brian day]

2 hour ball ache drive and a long walk to the top or a 2 hour 20min easy drive with a short walk up the face,,,,comparatively small soaring site to a huge one....or,,, there's always titters.

No brainer for me, there are times Hownam is the choice of place to be, but not yesterday and as for titters,,,,,small dangerous and next to useless. But that's just my opinion.

I got more flying yesterday than I've had in total since last June, hardly a normal year,,,,,but the mojo is returning,,,,,now where's the advert for the zeno?

[ron freeman]

and as for titters,,,,,small dangerous and next to useless. But that's just my opinion.

Very surprised to hear this Brian ! I guess its a given you won't be back again..

I've flown this site regular for a very long time HG & PG and it has produce some great height gains, very good XC's + some great convergence flying for our members. I also use it for training and it has signed off many CP's.

Big hill flying is easy compared to small hill flying which takes a lot more patience & skill.

[davidporteous]

Agree totally Ronnie......in the old days many a good height gain and to the coast thrice that I remember.....with 5 grand to burn off at cloud base, also once in convergence flying up and down the coast until boredom set in, landing at Newton by the Sea.
Proximity of the coast the only trouble for XC ....obviously!!
Very punchy thermals at times....you guys on PGs deserve a medal flying titters in rough conditions.
Is driving to the top still allowed these days?

[ron freeman]

Hi Dave, good to hear from you. Yes you can drive to the top to drop your kit off then park at the bottom.

Because paragliders can soar in much less wind and also fly much slower than a hangglider it makes the flying much less turbulent

I dont like flying in fresh winds with strong thermals and when your on a hangglider flying a lot faster than a paraglider ! It does get very exciting at times..

[gary stenhouse]

the beauty with choices and when there was very little choice then titters is fine lets be fare paragliders now have just about broken every record on Northumberland site over hangliders. I have flown tp to the coast and one of the last people to do so with chris foster. done 78k from east hill beaten all records. though you cannot put 10 people flying tp safely on a winter soaring day.

I believe the last time Bob southerland flew TP on a hg he felt like he was going to die.

when was the last time was tp flown with a proper hg I am talking something with full double surface 13-1 glide angle etc, as early HG had less performance than current PG.

saying all the above you can only be glad we don't turn up when your there as it would have mad your training day almost impossible.

the main thing is can happily fly in strong and rough conditions without a problem but if you can do that with more ground clearance I will.

there no medals for flying small sites in turbulent conditions unless there is going to be a climb out

[brian day]

Will I be back Ronnie?

I doubt it, but would never write it off.

I really don't know how you all flew hangies there, the thought scares me!

The landing area is small and dangerous with turbulence from the trees and hedge especially in summer.
Punchy thermals could cause disaster low down with a slope littered in large boulders hidden in bracken.
The take off areas covered in heather ready to grab and break your lines.

I would say it is quite a safe site to get blown back on,,,,that's about it.

I've had one reasonable flight there,,,,to say that,,,,,what I mean is,,,,I was so pleased to get a thermal and get away from the place after a few low level almost collapses that I managed a small xc.

That day, to my knowledge, over the last 15 years is the only time anyone has had an xc from the site, with Chris and Gary making the coast and my little flop over the back........that's some patience you must require to fly there!!!

If the gauntlet is down though,,,,,I may well just pick it up!!!!

[John Wallis]

Got to agree with you Brian. Tittlington always had a reputation for being rough while flying hang gliders. Trevor Birkbeck flew it once calling it an evil little shit hole and never returned. Ronnie got tipped into the hill and broke his ribs and he knows the hill better than most. We all flew it until Cross Fell was discovered and with 8 miles of usable ridge old Titters was confined to the bin. A lot of it is probably to do with where you live and the drive time? I've never flown a paraglider at Titters so can't comment. I did one XC from there to Berwick and like Dave said flew the sea breeze over the back of the hill but got to say these are rare occurrences. Almost as rare as Xcs from East Hill

[ron freeman]

Brian, in the 15 years of flying how many times have you tried to fly there ? I bet its not many.. so you cant say its taken a lots patience to get one XC's

Sites like Crossfell on a good day will blow anyone away compared to Titers
but you have to decide if you like a challenge or go for the big sites and enjoy the big lift.

John, like Brian you have not flown Titers that much, when Crossfell came along you never came back.

When I broke some ribs on Titers that was my fault ! you were there and saw me training doing pylon racing practice for the British HG team I was pushing the limit flying fast and low and very close to the ridge and a small thermal drop me onto the face and that was it, nothing to do with the site it could of happend on any site.

[John Wallis]

John, like Brian you have not flown Titers that much, when Crossfell came along you never came back.

I rest my case.

[ron freeman]

Brian, in the 15 years of flying how many times have you tried to fly there ? I bet its not many.. so you cant say its taken a lots patience to get one XC's

Sites like Crossfell on a good day will blow anyone away compared to Titers
but you have to decide if you like a challenge or go for the big sites and enjoy the big lift.

John, like Brian you have not flown Titers that much, when Crossfell came along you never came back.

John, you forgot the rest of the post, I rest my case..

[davidporteous]

We did used to be laughed at by visiting clubs/pilots for the pimples we soar.
But they also said 'If you learn to fly in Northumberland you can fly anywhere'.
Truism....including the Alps etc.
Why Ronnie did so well in the British team, etc etc etc.

[gary stenhouse]

think the cheviots have given some of my most rewarding flights because they are so challenging and know i could of done better with a bit more experience.