Flying microlights

A video,  of a flexwing flight (me in the back chair)(12Mb)

Want to know more? Then try BMAA.

Paragliding

I spent a day with Tony Delaney of Airborne.  This is what they got up to on Anglesey.

To paraglide, or not to paraglide..... 

Well, I suppose it had to happen eventually. 26th August. It all started like this........ Oooops!!!! It was NOT my fault! (Everybody says that, eh?)

I followed my Instructors directions. I was looking at him (Ned) on the hill, he was looking at me. He radioed me to do another 360. Bang.

'Course, it's only later that I find out that he's not insured  :( 

Said that I was flying at my own discretion (I wasn't even E.P. qualified let alone C.P.), and that I was not under his school instruction (so what was that £530 I paid him for, then?).

So he takes your money, sells you unsuitable kit (years later, I found out that I shouldn't have been flying this DHV-2 glider, after about an hour's worth of top to bottoms)......Where's this bloody "duty of care?"

Last year, I learned that he sold a novice a DHV-3!! God Almighty! That WILL kill him faster than mine!

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 competent. I had a personality clash with my brief, and he shafted me. He was taking money from the opposition!!!!!(image to prove). Most unsatisfying, and unprofessional.

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! But it (BHPC) does look a bit like the BHPA, doesn't it?

I've learnt some lessons. Novices should only fly school canopies, or good novice gliders. If you buy one, do NOT buy anything more than a DHV-1 initially! 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.

I now fly with the BHPA, and Bollington Paragliding Club at Barton Aerodrome, Manchester.

My accident was unusual, and rare (you know, Sh** Happens.). Car journeys are fraught with more danger, so I'm saying if you fancy a slice, GO FOR IT! You won't regret it. I've been flying at Barton since the splash, without so much as a stubbed toe!

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.

£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 a breakfast at Tesco (cold plates - eat fast) or Castle in the Air. An excellent introduction for potential hill flyers, I'm surprised more pilots don't start this way. Really.  It is the easiest, most convenient and safest way to learn. Why?

Easy; just turn up in the car park on time - ish.

Convenient; you want conveniences? There is a heated, flushing toilet in the tower!

Safe; how many times have you heard lads getting blown off the hill? To another? And another? 'Hmm. I'm not going to carry this bag down, I'll fly it.' Seen that a few times. WE just drive off the field! You're not spending that much energy to make you fly when the conditions aren't right. At any time, the decision to fly is finally yours (with our CFI's OK, of course). No peer pressure. No rush. No big steps.

Want to know how to make a weak link? Here's mine. Photo 1, photo 2.

Recent trip to Morocco to get my hill endorsement (.pdf 1.6Mb).

Back to top

Diving

  I try to do diving. I started about 35 years ago, and have let it slip, due to my accident. I'm concentrating on flying. (Got my NPPL, and have run out of money - blame the Council Tax. Couldn't afford to pay it on the first of the month, so they took me to court and forced me to pay more!??????)

Above is 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 Plexiglas 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!

Diving clubs: My old one, Hartford Sub-Aqua Club 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!

Back to top

Radio control modelling.

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)

Me and the guys 'n' gals at Anglesey.

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!) But I'm a member of Manchester Canoe Club. Link

The Quartermaster

Click here for sound

Back to top