The weather over the weekend had been hot, but good, and the forecast for today was light westerly winds, so I wasn't surprised when I called Green Dragons' flight line at 07:00 and was told yes we will be flying today.
The journey on the M25 motorway was troublesome as usual, with some showers on the way, and I was wondering if someone had got it wrong at the Metrology office. After almost 2 hours on the road I got to the flying school around 09:30 where I met 3 hang glider pilots who were going through the registration process.
My joy of having Andy our instructor totally dedicated to Hang Gliding was short lived when I found out that they were day 1 Elementary Pilot students and most of the morning would be spent on introductory theory and the hang simulator, oh well at least we'll be flying in the afternoon.
The morning went well, with me having an opportunity to get reminded of the theory of flight, safety and weather conditions.
We had a lunch break around 13:30, while Andy got an update on the weather and checked the local flying sites to see which would be suitable for the afternoon's activities. Andy came back from the office and called us in to have a look at some of the sources used for weather checks and how the information is used, unfortunately the latest updates wasn't good, with the wind dropping to almost nil.
We decided to have a look at the sites anyway, and check the conditions locally ourselves. It turned out the wind had dropped, and the direction was constantly varying, so no go for launch.
We end the day with the students recapping on the day, while I rigged the stubby hang glider to take some photos, as a local newspaper is doing a story about my challenge.
No flying today, but at least I still gained some knowledge that hopefully will keep me safe when I start flying on my own, and I didn't get charged for the day, as I didn't get to fly (thanks Andy).
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