Kalo Chorio dreamin’

Not having been to Kalo Chorio for ooh, over a year now, we had been curious as to the state of affairs regards the landing area.  I had heard from one source that there was currently no safe landing for that site, but that negotiations were in place to bulldoze a new landing.  Knowing the Cypriot approach to hard work, I wondered when this might come about and whether I would still be alive then, never mind on the island!  With that in mind, as well as the desire to see with our own eyes what was available now, my friend and I set off to take a look.  I was amazed how much had changed, both for the better and for the worse.  The house which was started a year ago was, to my surprise, finished and lived in!  However, it wasn’t all bad news, far from it.  A larger field to the south and west of the old one was ripe for the landing and, despite having our gliders with us, my buddy and I decided to wait for another day, since our visit was a little late on and I had Elena and Kyle with me and didn’t want to keep them waiting.  Apparently, no one has flown this site for some time, which I find a little strange, because the options, to me and my friend seemed better now than a year ago.  It had been described to me as having ‘no safe landing’, though no answer to the question, “did you fly it?” was forthcoming from my informer.  I was puzzled!  Nevertheless, it’s official, KX is once again ‘on the menu’!

Curium magic

I was on the beach swimming with Kyle and Elena in the early evening and very pleasant it was too!  After 7.10, I decided that it was worth trying the evening soaring plan and sent out an SMS to my good friend Mano and went up to the top.  Once there, I sent another, saying, ‘Looks like a top to bottom, so I’m going now!’  Moments later Mano arrived and as usual, not packing his glider or disconnecting from the harness, he was set up and off first.  I was away right behind him and, noticing he was staying up at the east end, I followed.  It was looking like a ‘who can stay up longest’ contest and actually, there was plenty of lift available, but mostly all in the same place – quite a small area.  We know each other quite well and have a good deal of trust in the air, so this was not really a problem for us.  We worked the lift very well and stayed up for about 25 minutes, mainly at the east end cliffs.  One more glider and I am sure that we wouldn’t have managed this.  Once high enough we did a beat back toward take off and I headed back toward the east again to top up.  On looking round, Mano was nowhere in sight, surely he hadn’t gone down?  No indeed, I saw a figure on the take off and deduced that he must have top landed.  Naturally, as much as I may have wanted to land on the beach, I now decided I would top land too!  I clawed plenty of height on my way back and, staying out away from the hill seemed to be the most economical route, so that’s the one I took.  My phone beeped a message at me from inside my pocket, ‘no time to read that now’, I thought!  I arrived quite high and applied copious amounts of brake until I was about four feet off the ground at the front of take off.  I knew I’d never get back up there if I went round for another run, so I hauled down on the brakes and stalled at that height and dropped as if jumping from a low wall, my wing dropping behind me and just brushing the tree.  “Doing some free fall?” came the sarcastic jibe from the top landing master just behind me, “Yep” I replied.  I checked my phone, the sms read, “For me it was a top to top, but I don’t know if you will manage the same!  :-)))”.  I laughed and we packed up and went down for a drink at Chris’ BBC.

Zached

Zach came round to borrow the washing machine, so in return, I borrowed him to use as tandem ballast.  Unfortunately, while trying to get the wing laid out on the top, we got a slight dragging and scratched his knee, after which we went down to the sand pit to try it again from there.  On reflection, it would seem to be the best place to fly the tandem from, although if there is not enough lift you don’t tend to make it back up to fly above the hill, as was the case this time.  Still we had five minutes of beating back and fore and good ol’ Zach wasn’t so put off that he wouldn’t do it again, so maybe I’ll use him for practice a bit more sometime.  Conditions looked ok to fly some more solo or even tandem, but I felt we ought to go back and sort his ‘dobie’ out, so off home we went.  Maybe I’ll fly some more later, perhaps another nice evening flight, we’ll see!

Evening delight

Seconds!  After a bit of Messenger discussion with Mano, we decided to go give Curium a second look.  It was a little strong when we got there, yet still it seemed to be calming down almost by the minute.  There would be occasional gusts, which caused us to recall the folly of recent weeks (see Thrills and Spills - 21 June 09).  Finally, it seemed to be consistently within acceptable limits and we got our gliders ready.  Take off was easy, penetration not a problem, not even very much turbulence to trouble us.  We were able to get quite high, maybe about 120m and I made it out over the edge of the water at least once and returned to the hill with height to spare.  We each top landed and took off again and, despite the fact that it was clearly becoming weaker, there was still ample lift to return to the take off area.  We played some more and then top landed again, before calling it a night.  Not five minutes after we had both landed, the wind sock was looking decidedly lack-lustre and possibly getting back to land at take off might have been a challenge at that point.  So, a fitting end to an average day then, another 25 minutes flying in not unpleasant conditions.  I took some pictures, but in the fading light, they are not worth uploading, so you’ll just have to imagine it I’m afraid.  If you’re a regular reader of this blog, that should not be hard!

Bitu’s maiden flight at Curium

The first of many I’m sure.  Bitu was over for the chance to fly and we knew from the outset that conditions were going to be fairly fleeting, so time was very much of the essence.  Mano and I arrived just as it was getting buoyant and we each had a short flight and top landed before Bitu and friend Lynsey arrived.  It was getting stronger by the minute, no chance of giving Lynsey a tandem flight today I’m afraid, so we wasted no time getting Bitu off.  He executed a pretty good launch first time and having been briefed to stay out away from the hill as it was getting stronger, he had a flight of around 10 mins, then landed below.  I took off and had another short flight, landing back on the top again and thrashing my glider down on top of Mano, with the words, “I wish I could claim that was deliberate, but alas it was not!”  So, a short day today then, but maybe we’ll do better next time, we’ll see!  Some photos below, courtesy of Lynsey:

 

Hey Wayne

I arrived at Curium, just as it was beginning to switch on, to find Wayne and Sean in a ‘huddle’ talking northern to each other, clearly bonding well.  They had both flown, but gone down,as it was a tad light up to that point.  I assessed that it was eminently ‘stop-up-able’ and so set up ready to go.  The glider came up well, though I was swung around earlier than I had intended, but no drama!  I went off.  Lift was pretty abundant and it wasn’t hard to get above and enjoy the air.  I flew for about 5-6 minutes, then top landed to see if I could coax the lads into the air.  Sean had to be getting away, but Wayne decided to give it a go.  It was a little bit gusty for him, but with Sean anchoring him he was soon away. I went next and this time I timed it better and was able to hold the wing under control and choose my moment for launch, not that the moment really mattered that much, since it was becoming lifty-er by the minute.  We flew for several minutes and it began to get stronger again, no white caps, but ‘lines’ out to sea.  I shouted to Wayne to keep well forward and demonstrated the line to take.  He heeded and we both played some more.  Penetration seemed to be getting slowly harder and I decided to go toward the sea to see if I could get there with height.  i was alarmed at just how hard it was to get there, needing nearly max speed bar to make it and just sit stationary over the shoreline.  I waited a bit to sink, took a photo or two and looked back to see what Wayne was up to.  He was high and applying Big Ears.  I was of mixed opinion whether this was wise, thinking that penetration would be first priority.  i then devoted my attention to getting myself safely on the ground as the small white caps were now building.  On landing, vertically again, I turned and brought the wing down and looked for Wayne.  I was concerned that he was nowhere to be seen and, not having his phone number I could not call him to make sure he was OK.  I bagged the glider and walked back up, meeting Wayne at the top.  He had been forced back and landed on the top behind the ruins, not ideal, but he obviously managed it very well and was unharmed, so all ended well.  All in all a tad over 20 minutes flying today and again almost caught out by fast changing conditions, but no harm done.  Some pics below: 

Better day

Both internet and the available signs were telling me that Curium was a goer today.  I went along about 2.30 and found Christakis there with a student (Costas) and a Brit holiday-maker called Wayne both doing top to bottoms.  The wind seemed a little light, but flyable nonetheless, so I prepared to have a go.  Mano turned up and proceeded to prepare too.  Wayne had gone, but had been spooked about getting too close to the hill and as a result had gone down.  Mano and I decided to locate one car at the bottom and so we brought Wayne back up top.  Wayne went first and seeing he was getting established, Mano followed and I went last.  Costas seemed to be having a bit of drama getting airborne, but he made it eventually.  After a while Manuel top landed and so did I.  By this time, Mark had arrived and he set up too.  Mano drove my car down and exchanged it for his own, before heading for home.  I flew again with Mark and Wayne soon went down.  Mark and I were having to work for it now and pretty soon it was becoming hard work.  Mark landed in the bondu and I squeezed a few more beats before making a bee-line for the beach while I still had the height!  First flight about 30 minutes, second about 20, so a cool 50 mins in the air today – happy days!

Evening on bare Stav

Demetris had been telling me about the good flying to be had in the summer evenings at Stavrovouni and so, it occurred to me that tonight might be a good evening to sample a bit of it.  We arrived at the landing field around 6.20 pm and headed up the top.  Apparently, there had not been much breeze the evening before and the guys had still managed a fair soaring flight.  Demetris took off first and I went next.  We were flying for about 15 minutes before Mano managed to get airborne, choosing instead to tangle the ‘Forbidden’ wing in the bushes, how I chuckled as I watched him wrestle with it from above!  I had 50 minutes flying around, taking some nice evening soaring pictures then, seeing Demetris heading for the bottom landing field, I followed, since the conditions were weakening.  Demetris reported over the radio that the landing was turbulent, so I prepared myself for a bumpy ride.  In fact, it was not too bad, just a few little bumps and I was down.  I looked up and there was now sign of the crazy Iti.  I looked at Demetris and shrugged, looking at the hill.  “He’s top landed”, came the response.  Well, I was shocked and horrified!  This ‘forbidden’ wing has been causing enough controversy lately, so to top land at Stav on it was just taking the piss!  Doesn’t the man realise that this killer wing could squash him like a bug?  I imagined the reaction of the ‘old school’ types that fly these Cypriot hills and, well, it just didn’t bare thinking about!  So it was, that we all enjoyed our flights and all faces were saved at the end of the day.  Oh Stavrovouni, what a gorgeous hill you are.  I can full understand the reasoning behind becoming a monk and living up there, making and drinking your own wine and watching the sun going down, hiccupping!  A paragliding monk – now there’s a thought!

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Curium grasping

Mark and I arrived at Curium earlier today, for fear that it would get too strong too soon, as in recent days.  I flew a total of four flights, including one flight on the ‘forbidden’ Trango.  I managed to top land on the Trango, but not on my own beloved Artik.  First flight, I went too far along the west cliffs and ended up landing down near the Sunrise café.  I had two more flights on my own wing and one on the ‘forbidden’.  All in all, not over-inspirational, but at least it was flying I guess!  I went home for a cup of tea with some guests.

Mark executes a sweet take off

Missed out!

I went along to Curium today.  When i got there it seemed borderline weak.  I got ready as Christakis took off to test the air.  No sooner was my glider out of the bag, but the wind increased dramatically and it was very soon way too strong to take off.  Chris was having a really bad time on a basic glider and said after that he’d had a closure.  It didn’t improve, however a few minutes later I did get some good news, in the form of this free ticket for Alice Cooper’s ‘Terror Tour’ show in Limassol on Sunday, procured by my good friend Mano.  Great result, Fan-freakin’-tastic!  I’m really excited about the show now and cannot wait!

Maybe we’ll fly tomorrow, we wait and see!

Afterthought

Oh – I almost forgot; two short top to bottoms today in really crap air.  Not pleasant at all, nothing to write home about.  Oh and thanks to Kirsty and Scott for the lift back up!  (Total of about 5 mins air time).

Max chat

I finally got my car back just in time to make it to Curium before it became unflyable.  Manuel had already gone and Demetris and Christakis were just leaving.  It was strong, but there were clearly launch-able moments.  I set up, took off and was flying around for about 20 minutes and high over the beach.

Heading for the beach approaching Max chat

I stayed around the beach area a little too long and, on returning to the hill, found no lift and quite a lot of sink.  Unfortunately, this situation conspired to put me on the deck near the wind sock.  Seeing that Elena and Kyle were not yet back, I decided to hike back up the hill to relight at the sandpit.  On the way up I saw Carlo ‘the Falc’ setting up on the top take off.  It was evidently a little strong up there, so I decided there was no point walking the extra 25 metres to get there, so upon reaching the ‘pit’, I rested a minute or two and then set up.  I saw that Carlo had had at least one failed attempt, and was not now in a position to take off, so I went.  Once in the air I found I was climbing immediately and soon was at 170 metres plus.  I used the bar to get me away from the hill and continued up and slightly forward.  By completely standing on the bar I was able to slowly advance forward until I was over the BB Café at 150m.  I had to hold the speed bar on in order to remain where I was and on looking to the hill I could see that Carlo was still trying.  I sent a message to him saying simply, ‘You really don’t want to be taking off right now!’ and I saw him check his phone and then promptly back off.  I don’t like telling people not to fly, but if he’d taken off, even assuming he could achieve maximum speed on his glider, he would have been going first up, then backward in no time.  I took comfort that he hadn’t done so.  I was finally sinking above the beach, knowing that all I had to do to come back to the car park was to ease up on the bar.

Got my buddy back, working like new

This I did and was surprised to find that it didn’t seem anywhere near as strong near the ground and yet I still wasn’t penetrating.  I touched down vertically and held the wing up for a moment, while I chose my moment to pounce.  I turned and brought her down in a second, holding the rear riser to stop the wing from reinflating.  All in all about thirty minutes of mostly gale hanging, though under control and with more pleasure than fear.  Truly flying on the edge of what is comfortable, and yet it was quite good fun and especially nice to be out over the sea, even if only for a minute or three.  The rest of the pictures:

Finally an entry

Manuel and Sevag had been flying earlier in the day, but it was blowing a gale again by the time I finished work and got there, C’est la vie!  I called for Mark and we went down there about 7-ish I guess.  it was better, still a tiny bit on the strong side, but getting better all the time.  Manuel took off first on the super duper 2-3 rated UP Trango.  I had Kyle with me, so I saw Mark off next.  Manuel kindly landed at the bottom so that he could watch Kyle and I could fly, so we picked him up and came back up.  He folded the glider up while I flew for about 15 minutes.  Hey, it may not be much, but we were all relieved to fly at all after such a long lay off!  I landed on the beach car park and we all recovered to our vehicles and then off home.  Nice to be in the air again!

Fookin’ weather!

Is there any end to this windy weather?  Must be great for the hangies, but it ain’t no good for us ‘floppies’!  We went up to Pomos/Pachyammos yesterday, in search of potential sites and in hope of finding some flying weather.  No such luck on the weather front, but we did find a place or two with distinct potential for flying and landing on the beach.  Maybe we’ll try them out if we ever get an end to this terribly strong wind.  On the bright side, I think I invented a new sport – ‘Kite swimming’!

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Another staggering 5 minutes in paradise

It is what it says on the tin!  Bye bye to Sorin and Julia – a real pleasure meeting you and we’re looking forward to our next meeting with you both – take care!

Late flight

Mark and Mario and I went out about 7pm and on my arrival it was still a little strong, but dropping steadily, but with the same constraints as the last couple of weeks; stronger over to the east and bumpy to the west/take off area.  Notwithstanding that, Mark went first and made a good go of it, Mario next and I went last.  Alas, by the time I was airborne, Mark was on the deck and Silvy picked him up soon after that.  Mario landed after about 15-20 minutes and I landed at the top a minute or two after that, so that I could drive down and pick him up.  We came back up and Mark and Silvy departed, while Mario and I considered another flight, but darkness was falling and the wind didn’t quite increase enough to give us full confidence, so we decided that discretion would be the better part.  I attempted to take a couple of pictures, but the fading light meant that they left a bit to be desired.  Here are a couple of the better ones:

Tandem pics

Today was another uninspiring day, I had two flights of about 5 minutes duration each, landing at the bottom both times.  It was westerly, strong for most of the day and quite turbulent as well.  I had not long since eaten my dinner (plus seconds and a coke float) so I didn’t enjoy the bumps very much.  Nevertheless, it’s nice to get ones feet in the air, even if only for a short time.  Here are the pictures from Wednesday’s tandem:

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Last blast

When I arrived at Curium about 5pm the take off was showing a light, easy breeze for launching, but out at sea white caps were many and impending.  Mario was there and together we watched and waited for the sea to look more stable and the trees on the top beside the ruins to indicate calmer conditions.  After a little while we saw what we were waiting for and I went to try out the air.  It was buoyant and fairly smooth, but still a little strong.  I could just make it over the sea, but on the second flight out there I returned via the wrong route and arrived back at the hill too low and in some turbulence.  I didn’t quite make it back up and landed on the sand opposite the beach car park.  I had wanted to lose enough height to land back at the top to let Mario fly, but alas I had overdone it and ended up too low, leaving me no option but to bottom land.  When we returned to the top the breeze had completely died – such frustrating conditions!  Another 10 minutes Curium time for my log then – sigh!

Air to air and first pax

Probably the best conditions for flying for a week or two, but we really had to work for it and be patient.  How I long for the easy buoyant days we sometimes get here.  Knowing my luck, they’ll really start to kick in just as I have to leave for a few months! :-(After we had waited for a good couple of hours, we were finally rewarded with a flight of reasonable strength and length.  Sorin (AKA Mario – above) and I were soaring together for a few minutes and lift was fairly plentiful.  This has been the first time in days I have felt comfortable taking my hands completely off the controls and operating my camera and even the phone.  When Sorin went down it was light and smooth enough for me to be able to top land, so I bundled my wing and drove down to get him.  When we came up, we also brought Julia and set up the tandem.  After a couple of attempts on the top, I decided that the sand pit would be a better idea.  I was only really anxious about the time and the conditions becoming too weak.  The wing came up sweetly enough, but clearly I need a little more practice with the brakes.  It’s necessary to pull a bit more than on my solo wing.  We shuffled to the right and got underneath it and ran forward just a couple of steps and we were airborne.  We were able to climb just above the ruins at one point, but height was lost almost as quickly as it was gained.  We milked it for about ten minutes before the inevitable lighter conditions started to direct us downslope.  The landing was fine, except that I had neglected to fully brief my passenger on the landing phase and she didn’t quite get the undercarriage down in time and landed on her bottom (protected adequately by the airbag harness).  I remained on my feet and the glider just drooped to the floor in front of us.  All in all a successful endeavour for a first attempt methinks!  I can work on the finer points for style on my subsequent forays into the realms of tandem-ing.  One of the better days since our friends have been here I think.  Approximately 50 minutes solo and 10 minutes tandem – cool!

Bullets and rockets

Around one o’clock I went for a look at Curium, to find conditions a little weak.  Sevag and Sean had both flown and gone down already and Sevag was at the bottom as I arrived.  I collected him and brought him back up.  On our return it seemed a little better, so I took off immediately after Sean and we both remained in the air for about 5 minutes before landing in the sand pit below.  Sevag in turn, brought us back up and this time it seemed better still, so I prepared to go again.  I was able to get high enough this time to top land after a few minutes and myself and then Mario took off again, this time lasting about 20 minutes in the air, before we too got drilled to the ground.  When we hit sink it was sudden and violent, meaning that you could go down rapidly and unexpectedly almost anywhere, not very inspiring conditions at all.  Sevag and Sean both left and Mario and I remained at the top for a little longer.  Eventually I tried again, by this time it had become quite strong.  I thought that all I had to do was get in the air and I was sure to stay up.  I suppose I was right, but to be truthful, when I did get up, I found that I didn’t really want to stay up, it was very turbulent and I didn't feel at all secure, hence I landed after about 10 minutes, with a total of about 40 minutes airtime today.  I decided to call it a day, but later decided to go check it out once more about 6.15pm.  On my arrival, Mario had just landed after a half hour flight in perfect conditions.  It would appear he got the best flight of the day!  I picked him up and knew that it was probably already over, but was happy for him that he finally got one decent flight.  It looked potentially so good for today, so this was all quite disappointing.  never mind, maybe tomorrow?

Sunset delight

The message said that ‘Mario says it’s good at Curium’.  A quick look at the trees suggested – still a bit strong.  Still, about fifteen minutes later I decided to look anyway.  As I arrived, I saw I was alone, though at a closer look I saw Mario and Julia on the beach car park, Mario had obviously been brushing up the ground handling – good stuff!  It was already looking quite light at the top, but the trees on the hill to the east were just moving, which was a good omen.  I raised the wing and ran forward, encountering weak lift, so I made a ginger turn to the right.  This produced a tiny bit more, so I turned and flew back through it.  Net result – I passed by take off about the same height or just above.  Over to the east side, things were a little better and lift was present up to about 100m above and maybe as far out as the bottom sand pit.  I knew that it was going to involve work to get back to the take off area, flying into wind and sink, nevertheless I was sure it would be possible.  I overflew the take off a couple of times, just to satisfy myself that it was comfortably within range.  I could see Mario in his car watching and hoped he would come up to join me, but I knew it would be a close call and a potentially short flight if he did so.  After about fifteen minutes I flew back to the top landing area with good height and approached deep in, to milk the height and also to give myself enough of a final leg in which to land.  About four to five feet above the ground I eased on progressive amounts of brake in the smooth evening air, calculated both to slow my groundspeed and to maximise my sink over the sloping ground.  Ultimately I stalled the wing just an instant before my feet touched the area just to the front left of the mat and the wing fell asymmetrically, out of the now almost still air and dropped onto its right tip on the mat.  A very pleasantly smooth and surprisingly easy 15 minutes soaring again, most unexpected in the circumstances.

Thrills and spills

Manuel and I went back for another look at Curium about 7pm.  There was a sinister line across the sea which looked distinctly like trouble and the trees were moving a fair bit, but take off was definitely looking like an easy prospect.  We considered the situation for a few moments, after which the wind seemed to have dropped a bit and, being worried that it would drop off completely, as it did yesterday, we decided to go.  Manuel was first away and, seeing that he was high I decided to nip to the car to get my camera.  My take off was very straight forward and I made my way to where Manuel was happily climbing.  Things were going fine for a few minutes, but then I noticed Manuel was heading down toward the beach and so I followed him.  As we descended, the air was becoming much stronger and speed bar was needed to go forward.  Unfortunately, speed bar alone meant that I was going forward (only just), but up as well.  I looked behind me and could see that Manuel was heading back toward the cliffs and the trees at it’s foot!I was almost convinced that he was going into the trees and the next question was – where was I going?  I had managed to make it almost all the way to the beach, but it was clear that the wind was even stronger the further one went in that direction and I was soon standing on the speed bar all the way and not quite penetrating, occasionally going slowly backward.  I had to make the decision to head toward the bondu area near the windsock, almost certain that I wasn’t quite going to make it there.  I wasn’t descending fast enough, which was the main problem, so I quickly released the speed bar and hauled in Big Ears, before re-applying the bar.  Now I was descending at an acceptable rate and going almost vertically down.  When I got down to the last 20-30 metres I began penetrating forward, so slowly released the bar, with the ears still in, but decreasing the size.  Next second, I was down and, waiting for the hundred metre sprint, was most surprised to find that the wing was hovering above my head with the ears still in.  I hauled the brakes in and the glider dropped to the ground neatly.  I had landed at the west end of the newly and illegally extended field and Manuel, by some miracle had landed at the east end of the same field.  Marios came to pick us up, having just arrived and we headed back for the top of the hill.  On our way out, I saw a guy I recognised, parked and camping at the start of the bondu area.  I had met John last year and he was obviously in the middle of his annual camping trek.  We stopped to say hello to him, before heading back up the hill.  It was near dark now and I decided that conditions would be much better for a flight and so took off and flew for another 10 minutes, while Mario kited his glider on the top.  After 10 minutes in the fading twilight I decided to come in and top land.  A total of fifteen minutes this evening added to the fifteen earlier, made a total of 30 minutes for the day, not too bad considering the conditions I thought!

Crazy strong

After yesterday it looked like it would be strong again today, so it would be best to arrive early to avoid disappointment.  I got there about 10 O’clock and it was already getting a bit gusty.  I took off and headed east, then gingerly west, all around in front of take off.  I could find no really ‘comfortable’ air and so, I just floated around a bit.  I texted Manuel to tell him that it was flyable, but getting stronger.  I had about 15 minutes, then landed on the beach and was kiting and inverting and emptying the glider just as he arrived.  I had misunderstood his message that he had forgotten his ‘car glider’ and therefore thought he wasn’t coming.  We went back up top and had another look.  It seemed very strong to me, but Manuel decided to give it a go.  He managed to find a slight lull and quickly brought the wing up and flew away from the hill.  I got my glider out again as another small lull passed us and lo and behold, when I got the glider ready – gale force!  Always the way!  Mario and Julia had turned up and were resigned to being spectators and then Matteo arrived with his UP Trango, a 2-3 wing and he too set up.  He ended up going down the front of the hill a little and on bringing the wing up he scooped up a large branch, which tangled in his lines.  Luckily, it wasn’t doing any harm, so Manuel and I both called to him to leave it there and go.  Always best to get away from the hill in strong conditions, try to clear the lines well away from the terrain.

He got quite high, but was clearly only just penetrating and soon, same could be said with nearly full speed bar.  No hope at all for me to get off again in these conditions.  Manuel set up again, eager to fly, but there was no way he could make it either.  I must admit I breathed a sigh of relief when he decided to give up.  Better to live to fly another time.  This sport is not just about the physical conditions, but also very much to do with the mental state and sometimes making the correct decision can have a huge impact upon a given outcome.  Another day a little like yesterday then, but today at least I got a flight, albeit short (approx 15 minutes in the air).

Challenging/interesting

Today I had a call from Sevag to say that they were off to look at Dora.  I had told Theo I would be at Curium if it was flyable and anyway, if it was I didn’t want to go too far.  I got there to find it a little light but evidently flyable, so I went for a go.  Moments later Sevag and Christakis arrived, so I top landed for a chat.  Sevag and I took off and flew together for a while.  It was quite bumpy and unpleasant, so when I saw Sevag go to the bottom, knowing there would be the possibility of a lift back up I also flew down.  We came back up and soon were joined by Theo and two friends and then by Marios and Julia.  Chris flew and it was looking slightly smoother, so after a while I took off again, shortly followed by Sevag and then Marios.  We all flew for about half an hour together, until Sevag and Marios bottom landed.  I was having difficulty losing height to top land, but finally managed and made a decent approach and landed on the mat.  Enough for one day was the consensus, as it was getting quite gusty by now.  A total of three fights then, 5 minutes, 25 minutes and 35 minutes respectively.  A quite respectable 1 hr 05 mins flying time in total.  An average day at Curium!  Happy days!

‘Oldcomer’ back

After work I had a call from Manuel to tell me that a Romanian guy who used to fly Curium was visiting and they were going there together.  I said I wouldn’t be coming, but then decided a little later that I would go take a look.  On my arrival, Manuel was kiting at the top, while the visitor, Marios had just flown down.  His wife Julia offered to keep an eye on Kyle if I wanted to fly and Manuel said he’d be around too, so I decided to have a little fly.  It was fairly good, in that it was possible to gain height and play around the take off area and top land easily, so I had a quick five minute tester flight and landed back on top.  Manuel went off next and had a little buzz around and then Marios reappeared from below.  Soon, conditions were looking quite good for soaring, so I went off again and immediately climbed quite high.  Once Marios took off I led him along the ridge and he managed to soar for ten to fifteen minutes or so.  It wasn’t hard to get quite high at first, so I explored along to the east end.  After that it started to drop off quite quickly and Manuel top landed.  A few minutes later I was struggling to stay up, so went and topped up at the first decent source I could find then, without delay, scurried back to take off, landing a couple of paces to the right and just below the take off area.  Good thing I did, because that was definitely my last opportunity.  In the next couple of minutes the wind dropped right off, so I bagged the glider, thanked Julia and Kyle and I said goodbye, before heading for home.  Around 20 minutes airtime I would guess and a pleasant evening into the bargain.

High and smooth, hunting with the hawk

I arrived and assessed as flyable, maybe a little bumpy/strong rather like yesterday.  I sent out messages to the usual suspects that it looked quite good.  Alas, my partners in climb were busy, so I had to fly alone.  I waited several minutes, making sure there were no gusts imminent and chose my moment well.  The wing came up sweetly and beautifully under control, not a hint of rush to overfly.  I turned and walked forward and stepped into the usual elevator, being pushed slightly left and up.  As I tracked left further it became smoother and smoother.  I was able to take some nice pictures of the amphitheatre and ruins.  I sent messages out announcing that it was smooth, but this didn’t seem to entice my friends out either.  I would just have to enjoy the sky on my own.  I managed to fly to the west a little way into the bowl, but was conscious of the risk of rotor there, so didn’t go too far or deep in.  There was a very deep and positive lift band and this caused the glider to pitch and yaw a little bit at times, but to be honest this just made the ride more fun.  A couple of times in some places I was able to sit a couple of metres above an object almost motionless.  One such place was just above the east end of the ruins walls and I sat here for a minute or so wondering if I had the nerve to attempt a wall top landing.  The count was made, the vote was in and the result – no, I would leave it for a much smoother day.  I saw our friend the falcon and decided to buzz him a couple of times, but after creeping up on him and sitting on his tail a few times, I actually began to feel sorry for the bird and so called it a day.  When I had been flying for just under an hour I began to think of top landing while I still could, to avoid a hot walk back up.  Obviously, it was already quite strong by now and landing on top was going to be a challenge.  Nevertheless, I succeeded and was very pleased with myself and bagged the glider happily.  I headed home, pleased with my flight.  Here are a couple of the more interesting photos from today’s flight:

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Threes up

Just a tight little threesome at Curium, one Greek Cypriot, an Italian and a Brit.  I had a flight for about 15 minutes and top landed, then flew for another 25 minutes and bottom landed on the beach car park.  It was a pleasant enough change just to be able to reach the beach car park.  In all honesty, it wasn’t the most enjoyable flying I’ve ever had, not the worst, just not great.  Manuel had a big closure apparently, that everyone else heard.  Evidently, I must have been far away or otherwise engaged in my own flying.  I recall thinking at one point, “This is just flying for the sake of flying”.  When it gets like that, I have to ask myself why I’m doing it.  As it happens, we have a barbecue to attend this afternoon, so after a Frappé coffee with Sevag, Mano and Chris, I decided to leave early.  I have no doubt that it would be getting better later, but I am happy with my dose of flying for the day, forty minutes in the saddle is plenty today.

Instrumental

Well, for the first time in a while now the forecast had a letter S in it, so I decided to go and check it out.  I called Sevag and Manuel, but they were both busy.  Sevag said he would be along as soon as he got free.  I flew for about 20 minutes then top landed.  Sevag arrived just as I was in the process of sending him a text saying it was better than yesterday.  We chatted for a while then flew together for about forty minutes, after which I top landed again and waited a bit.  A final flight with Sevag and I had notched up a total of about 1 hour 20 minutes.  The conditions got progressively better during the course of the afternoon, but sadly I couldn’t stay any later (and neither could he).  I have no doubt that things were at their best just as we left, but we would have to leave it there.  My GPS vario has been broken for a week or so now, so sadly I have had to resort to this back up device for recording flight times:

Added underneath were the letters PTO and on the other side; +20mins = 1.20.  Hopefully, I’ll manage to get my instrument repaired before too much longer, pending Flytec actually responding!

West

It’s been west for so long now I cannot remember the last time it wasn’t.  That is not unusual for this time of the year, but lately the conditions have been very bizarre as a result.  Today was no exception, moments where it was easy to get above take off, others when you would sink like a stone and no real way of telling which was coming next.  I arrived and it looked a tiny bit strong, but flyable.  I brought the glider up and kited easily, whilst chatting to a visitor.  After take off, I thought it was going to be quite easy, so set about writing an SMS to send to a couple of people.  Before I had even written it, I began to struggle and had to abandon the message.  Fifteen minutes later I was on the ground near the bottom pit.  I walked up, drove back and got the gear and came back up for another look.  It seemed a little better, so I decided to try again.  It certainly was better and I immediately got above take off and for a few short minutes believed I would be able to stay there.  Little by little it got lighter again and very soon I was once again working much harder than I would have liked.  This flight lasted 20 minutes, making a grand total of 35 minutes flying time today.  Oh well, yes you’ve guessed it… tomorrow’s another day!

Smooth

I sent a message asking if anyone was flying and Sevag answered that he was on his way.  I set off and Kiki and he arrived just as I was setting up.  It seemed very slightly on the light side, but, since the trees near the ruins were moving a little I guessed it must be doable.  I soared around quite easily and was quite high when Manuel arrived.  Sevag had some height, but seemed to be struggling a little bit at times.  Conditions were odd once more, since the wind was again very westerly.  We all flew for around the hour mark – 55 minutes for me and again conditions made it such that it was not by any stretch of the imagination boring.  I top landed at the end of the flight.  The wind on top was very unpredictable and extreme caution was necessary to avoid a nasty surprise.  Both Manuel and Sevag landed down below, since that is where their cars were.  As I was packing up, Shuie texted me to ask if it was still flyable, as he was just on his way!  I called him and, learning that he was four or five minutes out, said I’d wait.  When he arrived it was looking very weak indeed and we both doubted that we’d be able to stay up.  I suggested he could try and if he went down I’d come and fetch him, since I’d had my fill.  He accepted the offer and Roger C, having just arrived watched with some surprise as he made it along the ridge and climbed to a good and steady height.  Seeing him established fairly high, I decided to go too, to keep him company.  Roger kindly offered to drive my car down and parked it beside Panicos’ ICV.  Shuie and I had some fun, flying in close proximity and I attempted to tap wing tips with him, but we never quite managed it.  After about 30 minutes I decided to land on the beach while I was confident I could still make it.  Shuie joined me a few minutes later and we kited and ground handled a bit together.  1 hr, 25 minutes for me today in nice air with good company.  Some pictures:

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Disappointing

Arrived Curium around midday(ish) just as Manuel was kiting a bit.  After some deliberation he went and fairly quickly dropped below.  I drove his car down to pick him up.  After a few minutes it seemed better, so I tried.  I managed to scratch around for ten minutes, before suffering the same fate.  We both had further attempts, but each resulted in a rapid top to bottom.  Oh well, you can’t win them all I guess!  Another 10 minutes in the log book.

Newcomer

Sevag phoned me to say that Christakis, a student and he were at Curium, it was light and expected to get better in about an hour.  I set off and joined them, along with Manuel, who had recently arrived too.  I met two English people, who announced that they were paraglider pilots too and the husband offered to help lay out my wing.  I told them it was a nice site when it’s working and the wife replied, “When it’s working, yes, but it doesn’t seem to be very good now”.  Seemed alright to me, so off I went and immediately climbed above take off.  It continued to improve, and I top landed to chat to Sevag before he launched.  Soon he and Manuel were in the air and I rejoined them.  After a few minutes it became a bit ‘snotty’ in places and Sevag bottom landed.  Manuel landed on top and soon I was struggling to maintain anything approaching a consistent height.  There was plenty of lift, but it was quite gusty by this time and I would gain and lose 20 minutes in a matter of a couple of seconds, making it very difficult to approach the top to land.  Still, I eventually managed to do so and we all went down to the Sunshine café for a frappé coffee.  I met a new pilot in the making, thanks to Christakis, named Costas, welcome my friend!  Since the cloud was building in the direction of Dora, I think that the guys had decided not to bother going there.  I had already decided on a more domestic plan anyway and so headed off home.  15 minutes first flight, 20 the second, making a cool 35 minutes so far today.

Westerly and strong

It had looked quite promising earlier in the day.  By afternoon it was getting very strong indeed, but near our house the trees suggested it might be flyable.  On my arrival, there were a few whitecaps on the sea, but it was clearly launchable on the hill.  I sent out messages telling a few people that it might be good soon.  Well, that was a bit of a stretch to be honest!  It was flyable for sure, but very intimidating air at times.  I was in the air when the other two arrived.  Manuel was soon flying and I wandered over to the east cliffs and into the up elevator.  I began to get a bit spooked when I started going up quite fast, so I pulled in ‘Big Ears’, but continued slowly climbing.  I tweaked a bit more line and pulled the ears even larger and edged forward and eventually began to slowly sink.  Once I was sorted I looked behind me to see Mano above the cliffs going slowly backward and looking decidedly uncomfortable.  For some obscure reason I found this extremely funny and couldn’t stop laughing at his predicament.  I should add that he was not in any particular danger, as there was always the escape to the east of the stables area, but still he did not look too happy and neither would I have been in his place.  He recovered his position and we both made it back over to the take off area, where sinking air was in abundance and we both top landed to chat with Shuie.  Shuie looked a little worried to hear our stories, but we persuaded him that it wasn’t that bad and OK to fly so long as he exercised caution and kept away from terrain.  He went off and so I felt that perhaps I ought to fly too for morale support, since I had dragged him there.  We all flew again and gradually the lift was decreasing, but the extreme westerly direction meant that the area in the main bowl was just a little unstable and full of sink.  Manuel made it back to take off to top land, but I did not have enough height before attempting it and sank like a sack of potatoes.  I had to make a rather sudden unexpected, unconventional choice of landing site, but managed to get myself and glider down safely nonetheless.  Once on the beach, Shuie and I enjoyed a bit of ground handling for a few minutes, before calling it quits.  All in all I reckon I had about forty minutes flying today in very interesting (if unnerving) conditions.  Some more pictures:

Three top to bottoms in two days

It’s been frustrating during the past couple of days.  Yesterday I flew top to bottom twice, once around midday and again around 1630, after a visit to Epilas to show Steve the site.  Conditions were not really very good for Epilas either, a bit light and slightly off the hill.  I am sure that it would have been possible to fly the site, but it was just not very inspiring, so we decided to leave it this time.  I suppose I must have notched up all of about 5 minutes flying time yesterday!  Today, I went to Curium, to find it quite light, but tantalisingly marginal.  At one moment it looked just about soarable, at another it would die off completely.  I met an English visitor there, called Kerim or similar.  He was just returning to the top to fly, having been monitoring the site for some of the day.  I decided (against my better judgement) to give it a go, despite a distinct lack of lift or appreciable wind.  Need less to say I went down, but only after eking out a 10 minute flight, milking any lift I could find at all.  Finally I landed in the scrub near the sand pit.  After I had walked up to collect the car and then driving back down for the glider I set off for home, pausing at the top for a last check.  I was quite frustrated again, to discover that it was now feeling much better.  Frustrated, since I had just got off the phone to my wife, assuring her that I was on my way home!  A quick call back to her and I was back in the air, swooping and buzzing the take off area in absolutely perfect air, lovely and smooth and steady.  It was one of those evenings when one can easily set up and top land.  This I did and stood kiting in comfort for a few minutes, whilst chatting to one of three local guys who had stayed to watch me fly.  I love talking to people who show an interest, so I chatted with this guy for a couple of minutes, then took off again and flew a little bit more, before top landing again and packing the glider away.  I estimate my time in the air today at around 25 minutes, so slightly better than yesterday.

Chasin’ the draggin’ & high as a kite

Went along to curium around midday, but it was quite weak, the direction being shown as W – WNW at around 11mph.  As a rough rule of thumb we can double that figure for Curium.  Something strange was definitely happening.  In the space of a few minutes it had picked up quite a bit and Manuel was off.  I had unpacked the glider and it was steadily on the increase.  I was aware that it was pushing my limits, but was envious of Manuel , already high up in the sky on his own.  I set up in ever increasing conditions and went for it.  I was dragged back even before the wing was properly up and before I knew it, was back to the barrier, hands raised as far as I could reach - ‘Fook’, as was suggested to me later!  I felt the gust coming and dabbed the brakes, while skipping up onto and over the barrier, spinning in the air and killing the glider dead on the edge of the road.  I was highly fortunate that nothing had been coming along the road and hurriedly bundled the wing up before someone did!  Feeling ever such a slight lull I hurried back to try again, with a similar result, except this time I was able to drop the wing well before the barrier.  By now the gusts were strong and quite frequent, but typically unpredictable.  I elected to carry down to the sand pit and hastily set up there.  I thought I was in with a shout, was the glider must have caught a line somewhere and the other side was gusted up, the whole thing ending in a pile of tangled rag and string.  It was even too strong there now so, seeing that Mano had landed I decided (better late than never) that enough was enough.  I walked down the hill with the glider, but was still tempted into a  bit of foolishness near the bottom of the slope.  To cut long short, it was a fiasco and I ended up untangling my lines from the thistles and brambles and walking down to the bottom seething at my own stupidity.

I came back around 1630, the white caps having decreased and within about half an hour it had dropped enough to get off.  Mano had once again arrived and we both got ready.  This time I hurriedly took off, half worried it would pick up again and I would once again miss the window.  It didn’t increase and we both got away.  I had a fairly epic ride, reaching 255m above the middle café.  I was able to fly quite far out over the sea and do wingovers and even a very small spiral, coming back into the elevator several times to climb up again and repeat the process.  I tried to track west and was doing quite well up to the end of the bowl before the wall leading to ‘Zapalo point’, but any attempt to progress further was met with nothing but sink.  I think maybe I could have made it to the point, but it would have been quite low and dicey, so I decided not to go there.  I flew for about an hour and ten minutes, before landing on the beach right next to my car, which Manuel had kindly driven down.  I was so pleased to have got any flight at all after the lunch time fiasco, but such a good one was a great bonus.  It’s also quite some time since I had flown for over an hour at Curium, something I don’t do much now, unless something a bit extraordinary happens.  Nice flight, good company – good day!

North of the mark

A little family trip up north presented a rare opportunity to fly this, arguably the best flying site on the island.  I tracked easily upwind along the ridgeline as far as St Hilarion castle, then back along the ridge again, making enough height to almost make it out over the sea.  This was easily the best flight I’ve had from here and it’s always a pleasure to fly the hill as well as a privilege to fly alongside Ozgur and Piers.  Total 25 minutes in the air.  Here are a few pictures:

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Bizarre wind

Similar wind again today.  I got about 15 less than comfortable minutes before bombing out and landing on the beach near to Panicos’ ice creams.  It’ll be good to get away and maybe fly elsewhere in the next few days.

Ups and downs

Two little trips out today; first one in the morning seemed ok at first, but soon turned a little light and I dropped onto the beach near the Kourion café.  Later, I managed another short and unexciting flight, this time managing to top land.  Nothing thrilling, the air was quite turbulent, up elevator, down elevator etc.  A grand total of 25 fairly duly minutes in the air today!  (posted 26th).

Exclusive party in the up elevator at sunset

So it seemed to be calming down.  Question was, ‘had it died altogether’?  Answer; no.  I arrived and was at first unsure whether to sms people to let them know it was flyable, for fear that it would suddenly pick up and be too strong again.  I need not have worried, the take off was very easy and I was off very smoothly and without stress.  I sent a message to Manuel to tell him that it was quite smooth and he replied with one word; ‘Erimi’.  I flew along to the east cliffs, found the elevator and pressed the ‘up’ button, so that he would see me there as he approached.  He duly arrived and did indeed see me.  A few minutes later, Manuel was also in the air.  We were able to get over the sea – just, since the wind was quite strong.  I managed a few wingovers, nothing special, just a little opportunity for easy height (around 145m) and some playtime and forty minutes worth of airtime.  By the time we both landed it was dusk, but still flyable.  I toyed with the idea of getting the tandem airborne, but was too lazy to deal with the walk back up.  Who knows, it was that smooth by now, we may have even been able to top land!  Well, we’ll never know now, the opportunity is gone.  Still, a good end to a reasonably productive day.

Feasibility

It was far too strong by the time we arrived at Curium for us to fly, so I asked Manuel if he fancied helping me out as ballast on the tandem for some ground handling.  Keen as always to do anything connected with flying, Manuel agreed and so we went to the bottom sand pit area to attempt to bring up the wing.  We succeeded in getting the glider up neatly overhead and running forward a couple of times, so I asked him if he minded if we just went to the top of the sand.  “Why not!” he agreed and so we went up there and brought it up again.  It comes up so easily, not in a dissimilar manner to a solo glider, the only tricky part being that the pilot has a dead weight attached to him, which adds to the drag time in reacting and getting underneath the wing.  Of course Manuel, being a pilot himself, understood instinctively what to do and which way to move.  The next step would be to try the same thing again, but with a non-flyer, or just to go for it and try from the top, or maybe the sand pit.  I am confident now, that I can get the glider overhead with the minimum of fuss, it’s just a matter of making another party understand what is required of them and then we can go for it and get airborne.  I am really looking forward to getting started now, but I will have to wait until the paperwork is all in place before I can begin in earnest.  Stage one – mission accomplished!  Thanks Mano!

Sandy launch

It was a little breezy today.  Steve was at Curium and texted us, so I went along to check it out.  He was just walking down to the sand pit and I assessed the top.  It seemed just about doable with care from the top, so I decided to give it a go.  In fact, there HAD been a brief lull, but I procrastinated and missed it.  So I followed Steve and then Shuie down to the sand pit.  Steve was in the air and Shuie was set up when I arrived there.  He went off after a moment’s preparation.  Both he and Steve had got off quite neatly and tidily, so I had no reason to expect anything other myself. I got ready and, without hesitation went for it.  Glider came up swiftly and sweetly, but after one failed attempt on the top, I applied a little extra brake here.  I was lifted up about 6 feet and immediately spun around.  As I eased up on the brake I went forward, but was already in a roll toward the left, so instinctively corrected with opposite brake in a fiendishly measured amount, with the result that I swung swiftly and low over the sand pit and then out into clean air.  All I could think was, “Forget the ground, just fly the glider” and everything just happened instinctively.  I was very pleased indeed with the outcome and was amazed that there had not been even an instant of panic, just like I was cornering a little tightly on a bend – very controlled and smooth.  Very pleased indeed!  Not so sure if it looked that slick, but it seemed good to me anyway.  We all flew for about 45 minutes, it was getting stronger.  Like all good flights in reasonably strong conditions, this one ended in a wingover over the sea and landing on the car park, neatly laying the glider down gently on the gravel.  Just as I was on the in to wind leg to do my little wingy, the phone rang and, like a fool I tried for a moment to answer it before coming to my senses and turning.  As a consequence, I turned into wind a tiny bit low, though still with enough height to clear the road, causing a motorist a moment of consternation I have no doubt and he slowed down to make sure we didn’t meet.  No problem though, I floated across with about the height of a double decker bus plus a little bit.  We all sat and had a Frappé in Chris’ BB café.  Pleasant afternoon’s flying.  Back on top I met a guy called Malcolm, who had emailed me to say he was going to be over for a short break.  Hopefully get to fly with him tomorrow! Thanks to Shuie for a few extra little shots on my camera phone, including the one below.  For the uninitiated – it’s an old old RAF tradition to leave some ‘extra’ pics on a camera if left unattended.  It’s kinda like an unwritten law!

Aerial ballet

It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, as they say.  The day looked like a complete write off, raining earlier on (in late May – what’s all that about?)  Around five pm things started to look much brighter and I thought I detected a little movement in the trees, but it didn’t seem to be constant.  Still, I decided to go and have a look anyway and, boy am I glad I did!  It was a little light, but flyable and Manuel rang to ask the $64 000 question, “How flyable?”  I told him I’d let him know in about 5 minutes time.  Once in the air, it was clearly much better than recent days, very smooth, although not great amounts of lift, but plenty in which to stay comfortably in the air, so much so that I was able to operate the telephone easily whilst flying.  Mano was convinced and announced that he was coming.  A guy was there with his family, taking photos, so I informed him that Manuel, ‘the bird’ was on his way and would be taking off soon.  He waited.  Sure enough, Manuel duly arrived and took off and we flew together for several minutes, me doing my pitched manoeuvres and wingovers, Manuel doing his wall landing tricks over at the ruins.  We had a deal of fun, playing in the smooth air and I even had a go at landing on the wall, but couldn’t quite master it, so decided to give it a rest and just enjoy the buoyant air while it lasted.  I flew for about 45 minutes, with a couple of top landings into the bargain, then decided it was time to go and fetch some food from the Indian take away, before my lovely wife wasted right away.  This was every bit the long awaited smooth flying day we’ve all been hoping for for some time now.  A really pleasant change, after the rough air we’ve been experiencing of late.  So glad I took the chance on it!

Unremarkable

Another unremarkable 25 minutes soaring at Curium.  It looked easterly at first, both Sean and Sevag had flown and bottomed.  I arrived around 3pm and it seemed to be a little stronger, so I announced (very tongue in cheek) that I was off to Paramali if anyone fancied joining me.  The predictable reply was, “What?  Are you going there in your car?” from Christakis.  I hunted around the west cliffs for lift and just made it around the headland, but way too low and it was obviously never going to take me higher, so I limped back to the main bowl, arriving very low indeed.  I almost touched down at one point, but flew out from the hill and was fortunate to scrape back up on the middle and east side.  From here I found more and more pockets and it became stronger, but never very comfortable for me, so in the end I top landed after a flight of about 25 minutes.  Having taken delivery yesterday of the tandem wing, I imagined flying dual in these conditions and what it would be like to share a not very good day with a passenger.  Certainly, the launch would have been simple enough, but the flight might not be so much fun!  Christakis top landed a few minutes later and then Sevag landed down below.  As I was about to leave, Steve arrived and he too eventually flew and I set up to go again.  But even as I did so, the wind just completely dropped to nothing, the day was over and Steve sank to the bottom.  Well, for a day that was so ‘unremarkable’, I appear to have remarked quite a lot really, but never mind, maybe another day will offer better.  For the immediate future; storms are expected and possibly (even) more rain.  We’ll see!

More reconnaissance

A little more hunting and we were able to find the top of Mathikoloni take off.  It is certainly a very promising hill to fly from, the more pressing concern would be the apparent lack of a good landing field at the bottom.  There are a number of possibles, but only that, no real  perfect flat field to land in.  Maybe, with really good conditions it would be possible to fly far out into the valley and find a good flat area to land, but as yet it is alluding us.  After that we returned to Curium, where the wind was a little gusty, but really not very strong or consistent.  Manuel flew just briefly, but then went down.  I couldn’t really drum up a lot of enthusiasm for a similar flight and so went home for a little while.  When I got back, nobody really wanted to go anywhere, so I came back out about an hour later and conditions looked very slightly better.  In fact they weren’t a lot better, still quite gusty and unpleasant but I managed a number of beats and finally gained enough height to be able to top land again about 20 minutes later.  Not been a great week for flying, but never mind!

Mathikoloni

Went up to a potential new site near Mathikoloni, north of Limassol.  We figured out how to get to the top, but a second vehicle would be necessary.  After we found our way and noted that it was clearly not easterly, we headed back down and looked at Curium.  PJ was there and just pulling his glider out of a bush.  We helped give a few pointers and he made a couple of flights from top to bottom.  His glider is very dated and doesn’t look terribly easy to control on the ground, I don’t know what it must be like in the air!  Manuel and I each had some flights, I flew a couple of times and top landed (the second was more of a running slope landing!)  On my third flight, the air was really horrible, not badly turbulent, just lots of patches of sink and the glider did some weird things under normal handling, so I had to tone down my inputs and fly much ‘flatter’.  After a few minutes I decided that I was not enjoying it very much.  I could not figure out what was causing the crappy air, what direction it was coming from.  Logic said it was west, but at times it seemed like flying in lee or rotor.  After a couple of attempts to get back to the take off area, thwarted by the sink to the immediate east, I decided that I’d had enough and went down to land on the beach (while I could still make it).  Not a great day – just 35 minutes in the air, though it was entertaining at first hanging in and scratching, as well as exploring a new possible site.  Always tomorrow I guess!

Double outing

I was gagging to get out of work, cos the conditions looked brilliant – moderate breeze with an good easterly element in it.  I got to Curium a little late and was amazed to find it clearly soarable (ideal for the students), but nobody there.  I sent out messages and soon found that Christakis, Andros and Sevag were at Dora and independently Steve and Sean were making their way there too.  Manuel called and said he was tied up in work with a customer, so I decided to motor up to Dora too.  Chris and Andros were cruising around take off and conditions looked fair, so Steve went off, then I saw Sean off and Sevag went and I got off last, Chris and Andros by this time back on the top.  There was plenty of lift to go around and Sevag and Sean were very pleased to land on the top.  At the end of the day we all had flights of varying length, myself around 20 minutes and we all got back on top, so that was a bit of a result.  As I left there I had a message from Shuie saying he was at Curium, so I called in there on the way back.  By this time Shuie was nowhere to be seen, but it was eminently flyable, so off I went.  I flew high and got out over the sea around 130m, and Shuie saw me and hurried back up top.  Sadly, it had become quite strong and I was fortunate to land back on top.  Unfortunately Shuie never did get off again as it was now strong and gusting.  Manuel turned up a few minutes later, but alas it was all over at that point.  We watched Eddie launch in slightly gusty conditions on his rubber band and scaffolding contraption.  Nevertheless he is quite well skilled and was still enjoying it when we all left some 20 minutes or so later.  All in all, quite a good result, despite the frustration of wathing the easterly conditions whilst in work.  Work is the only real down side about being out here – really!  Ah well, see what tomorrow brings I guess!

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Ho Hum

I went along to Curium to find Sevag just going down to the bottom and Manuel away to fetch him back up.  I flew, finding it a little gusty, but generally moderate westerly.  The air wasn’t snotty, nasty and yet neither was it pleasant, it was just.. well OK.  There was the usual region between the take off and the east cliffs to soar back and forward a little bumpily, never really getting very high, just flying for the sake of not being on the ground.  After about five minutes Manuel reappeared on top, signalling to me that he wanted to chat, so I top landed and bundled the glider.  We talked for a while and then I went home.  A bland kind of nothing day in flying terms!  Another five minutes in the log book.  Could have been an hour no doubt, but not much pleasure to be had, so enough for today.

Now we’re cookin’

Finally, the weather seems to be turning for the better!  I went out briefly today, for my fifteen minute flying fix.  It was a little unpredictable, perfectly soarable one minute, suddenly quite light the next.  The secret, if there was one, was to monopolise on the buoyant times and keep your height as much as possible, otherwise the bottom landing would be calling you.  I managed to fly a couple of times, top landing and taking a short break in between.  Quite a pleasurable afternoon, but unfortunately cut short, as I had promised not to stay too long.

Sneaky soar

Just two short flights tonight – total of 15 minutes in the air.  Sadly I couldn’t stay any longer due to other tasks/responsibilities.  It was a bit weak at first and so I landed at the bottom.  I bundled up the glider and was brought back up by Panicos the Ice cream vendor – such a nice guy!  A little later and it was getting a wee bit stronger, strong enough to take off and float around near the top.  After only a few minutes I landed back on top and went home.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll have more time to play!

Back for more

About sixish I got a message from Steve declaring that Curium was strong but flyable.  I arrived to find him getting his kit out and quickly prepared mine too.  Within a few minutes we were both up and enjoying the smooth buoyant air.  We took it in turns to go out over the sea, Steve managing to get considerably further than me.  I got out over the marker buoys (I’m guessing that they mark about 100m into the water) with about 140m ASL and had room to do some monstrously huge wingovers, possibly my most adventurous yet, before returning to the hill still with height to spare.  After a couple of top landings and relights I landed back where I’d started and Steve landed on the beach beside his car, Lorraine having driven down to wait for him.  I bundled up my glider, very satisfied to have flown again in probably the best conditions of the day.  Ten minutes later, the wind dropped completely and it would have been impossible to stay up – very good timing indeed!  This outing brought my flying time up to about 2.5 hours today.  The earlier flights were getting a bit tedious, but this last flight of the day was certainly not!

Good the bad and the crazy!

I thought I’d seen everything.  Actually, that’s a very conceited thing to say, of course I didn’t, but I have seen some very mental things, however today I saw one more very stupid thing!  I am not even going to mention the culprit’s name, as that would be unfair, as I am sure that today’s episode was just a case of temporary insanity!  So, this person decided that he was going to lure birds of prey (well, presumably the resident Kestrels/falcons that hunt on Curium), by means of a piece of meat trailing from a looooong line dangling behind his harness.  He said that he was going to do this and I naturally assumed he was joking, so when I saw him flying with about a 5 metre line dangling behind him I thought he’d broken a line on take off and was flying close trying to warn him.  I saw this line trailing along the rocks and scrub a couple of times and truly thought we were in for tears.  It wasn’t until I top landed and chatted with some of the other guys that I was informed what was actually going on.  I remarked to Al, that the birds (well, the vultures anyway) would certainly be following him, as they would be expecting him to die first!  Then there was the student who had to take some avoiding action, when this person squeezed him too close to the hill, forcing him to crash land, rather luckily in the sand pit.  The student in question was rather fortunate to get away with just a bruised knee after a rather heavy slope ‘arrival’ – well done there mate!

Anyway, not to dwell on the downside too much, the day was a relative success, with at least one qualified CP – well done to Andy (sorry if there were others, but well done everybody for some good training).  It would appear that our little club is going to profit from one or two new members out of this course, so thanks are due also to Al and Mike for their efforts and of course, the course itself is not yet over, with another few days still to run, it could prove very worthwhile indeed!  I flew for around about an hour and a half, merrily snapping and watching the fun.  Photos below: 

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