An Epic Day With a Not So Epic Landing!

The week that lead up to this weekend suggested two potential days of flying, but as the weekend neared, the forecast wind strength was on the increase!

When I arrived at the Dyke I spotted Chris T. already flying having had just returned from Truleigh Hill. Other pilots readied their gliders; a refreshing sight to see the hill full of hang gliders! The wind was strong and blew from north of northwest. I quickly rigged and checked over my glider. I was eager to capture some more Dyke video footage so attached my camera to my helmet then headed to launch. Nicos in front of me on his Aeros Target launched first and I quickly followed.

Probably due to the greater efficiency of the Sting [not my piloting skills], I found myself at least 100 feet above Nicos as we both arrived on the north facing ridge, both headed towards Truleigh. Before I crossed the Pylons, I topped up my height and while doing so, noticed Nicos had passed beneath me! It seemed to take forever to reach Truleigh Hill but I made it and arrived just above the top of the hill.

Truleigh Hill worked well and its bowl shape seemed to suck in all the little thermals and funnel them upward! For the first time ridge soaring, I realised that the beeps coming from my vario signalled the presence of a thermal. As I had Truleigh Hill all to myself, I decided to practise some ridge thermalling and started a series of left hand 360s. My vario beeped throughout most of them but due to the wind drift, I had to leave them to avoid drift over the back! Once back in ridge lift, I repeated the entire process. I soon found myself over 1,000 feet above take-off and my continued 360s. My height had attracted the attention of sail planes and hang gliders alike and they all descended on me with expectation of a climb reward!

With extra air traffic in the vicinity, I headed East back towards the Dyke and I managed to lose all my height in the process. As I approached the Dyke ‘bowl’, my vario squeaked and I connected with another thermal. Straight away I started a series of right hand 360s [Dyke rules] and when something mentally clicked, I developed a picture of the thermal and continued to climb within it. I drifted over the back and reached an altitude of 1,220 feet above take-off. The thermal then seemed to fizzle out and when my vario beeped no more, I decided to glide back to the Dyke top landing. I pulled on my VG, pointed my toes and began an upwind glide back to the Paddock.

After what seemed like an eternity of gliding upwind, my height had been depleted and I realised there was a chance that I would not reach the Paddock! The earthworks were just in front of me and it quickly dawned on me that if I continued on this track, I would either land in the ditch or just on top of the earthworks - both were undesirable options! Unfortunately I had left my alternatives too late and with insufficient height, I performed a quick S-turn to ensure I'd land behind, but clear of the earthworks. I pulled on speed and set up for a landing, then at 10-15 feet above the ground, I hit rotor and dropped hard on the deck for a crash landing! After a quick self-diagnosis I realised I was okay, but when I looked at the left upright it had cleanly snapped in two. Damn! Oh well, that's what you get for being stupid! In hindsight I should have landed well back in the large field and dismissed the paddock landing option. I could have flown again if I'd done this, but having no spare upright with me, my flying was over for the day