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All info correct at time of editing. Check for current prices/conditions.
Flying microlights
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 My nephew at Barton Aerodrome, about to take to the air in
the aircraft I started in. This is the type of aircraft I used to fly, although the weather and
money considerations made it hard to get up as often as I would have liked. A bit like my social
life, really. What! Who said that???
A lot later....
A video, of a
flexwing flight (me in the back chair)(12Mb)
Want to know more? Then try BMAA.
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Paragliding
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Circa 1995-ish
I spent a day with Tony
Delaney of Airborne. This
is what they got up to on Anglesey. To paraglide, or not to
paraglide.....
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Well, I suppose it had to happen eventually.
26th August. It all started like this........
Oooops!!!!
NOT my fault! (Everybody says that, eh?)
I followed my Instructors directions. Bang.
'Course, it's only later that I find out that he's not insured
:(
Said that I was flying at my
own discretion (not even E.P.
qualified let alone C.P.), not
under his school instruction.
So he takes your money......
Went to Irwin Mitchell solicitors. Not recommended. If you're in this
kind of hole yourself, try to get a solicitor that's interested in YOU and
your case, and of course, try to make sure he's competant.
As an aside, if you learn with
Airborne, and want to fly
elsewhere in the UK, you'll have
to start over with the BHPA, as
most sites need BHPA
qualifications. He has NOTHING to
do with the BHPA, and that British
Paragliding and Hang-Gliding
Council of his means NOTHING!
I've learnt some lessons. Novices should only fly school canopies. If
you buy one, do NOT buy anything more than a DHV-1! Ensure that the school
is insured. Ensure that the instructors are regularly kept informed of new
and updated methods of training. Try to ensure your instructors are
competent. "But he seems a nice chap" doesn't cut it!
In other words,
fly with the BHPA.
My accident was unusual, and rare (you know,
S.H.). Car journeys are fraught
with more danger, so I'm saying if you fancy a slice, GO FOR IT! You won't
regret it.
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Paragliding
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| I'm with the
Bollington
Paragliding Club, operating out at Barton
Aerodrome (foot and mouth immune!) Saturday and Sunday morning, 0700 - 0900.
Unusually, for an outdoor activity, it's fairly
weather proof. Most week-ends we will fly. Like this...
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Here's an old one. A wonderful shot. Please feel free to
download. Greg tells me it's probably a Harley 288. No date yet, though.
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£2.00 per flight (don't quote me), using club canopies.
What a cheap way to stop your feet from growing roots. A fun day
will normally cost me £4. Followed by the Barton Breakfast of course. An excellent
introduction for potential hill flyers, I'm surprised more pilots don't start
this way.
Want to know how to make
a weak link? Here's mine.
Photo 1,
photo 2.
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Diving
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I
try to do diving. I started about 30
years ago, and have let it slip, due to
my accident. I'm concentrating on
flying, but intend to get back to it
once I've gotten my PPL. (Gotten my NPPL,
and have run out of money - blame the
Council Tax.)
Here's
a shot taken in the Blue Planet Aquarium, in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. It's a big fish
tank, with sharks, rays etc. Ginger took this shot through the plexiglass
tunnel. I'm
the handsome one on the left, holding a shark's tooth. The other ugly is my
mate, Dave C. Sand sharks and rays are your companions, here.
Diving without either your fins or knife is strange.
Mail to: blueplanetaquarium@compuserve.com
All for £30
(BS-AC member) or £40 others (these were the prices, then. Get the new ones). Highly recommended, the friendliness and
competence of the people there
has to be experienced. Great!
I'm a member of the British
Sub-Aqua Club (Divernet), but if you want to start diving,
I would try (good luck) to find any other option. An independent club
(MDG in Chorlton, for example) would be a
good idea, or try the Sub Aqua Association for a list of the 'opposition'.
Joining a club means you get to meet good
people, and to socialize with them (more beer.....!). The weather recently has kept
us all indoors in the UK, but for some,
diving abroad (you know who I
mean...Sprout! :)that's not a problem, lucky bleeders!
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Diving clubs: Mine,
Hartford Sub-Aqua Club The web
site is not allowed to carry any 'frivolous' material, so don't blame the Web
Master for a boring site, it has to be "professional"!, blame the committee! Diving IS fun, but sometimes you have to remind
some people of that. A kick up the ars* should do it.
A question... If you return from a deep dive to the pub, should
you drink beer propelled by nitrogen?
Ahhhggggggghhhhh!
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Radio control modelling.
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I have a small electric car, an
electric boat and I fly several
model planes. Planes include the Multiplex Cargo (electric), Twin Jet (electric), Balsacraft Spitfire (electric),
Easy Pigeon (electric glider), and a Crazy Sparrow . Quiet and peaceful. I am building a Bird
Dog of about 83" span, with a
Webra 61F.
Highly recommended. No running costs for electric (or minimal, at least). Boats include a scale tug of
Smit Duitsland, and a pond skimmer. Too much to put here, so I've linked to a
separate
page.
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Kayaking
Tried it. Love it. Here's a fun trip. Get into the canal, paddle for a
couple of hours, turn around, and hit every pub on the way back. Feet on
roller-skates. Reet good
fun! Won't ever sell my boat. This one is me (in the background - red top,
black cap)
Tips:
Don't buy a boat unless you sit in it first. Plastic for rough stuff,
fibreglass isn't so hot, these days.
Good place to buy -
Brookbank Canoes, Stockport. (No, I'm not on commission!) |
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The Quartermaster
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This is an
item I picked up on the net, I was so moved to think that these may be the
last words from these lads, it's the least I can do to keep them for
posterity. This is what can happen when courage and skill just aren't
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The sound clip that plays is a distress message transmitted by the
yacht "Quartermaster" during the 1994 Auckland to Tonga regatta. A violent storm
resulted in the largest search and rescue operation ever mounted in the South Pacific when
the crews of a large number of yachts were rescued by New Zealand, French and Fijian
ships, guided by aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The crew of
"Quartermaster" were not among those who survived the storm.
Click here for sound
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