Sunday, July 30, 2006

My Airwave Calypso hang glider

Airwave Calypso hang glider partially riggedYesterday I picked up my Airwave Calypso hang glider from a member of the Suffolk Coastal Floaters hang gliding club. It is a used glider, but is in very good condition, and I am looking forward to flying it in the Autuum.

I had the oppoutunity of rigging up the Airwave hang glider, and Phil one of our club members also checked it out for me, and gave it a thumbs up.

I have 2 days booked with my hang gliding instructor Tony Webb of Lejair in Norfolk next month where I will be converting to a chest release which will allow me to fly with the Suffolk coastal floaters hang gliding club. Not having my own glider has meant that I haven't flown a hang glider since I qualified as a club pilot in december last year, so I will be using the 2 days to polish up my skills and get used to the chest release and harness which I should get before my scheduled training in August.

My next update will be in August when I've had my training so check back then for more details of how I'm getting on, or subsribe to my hang gliding blog by entering your email address in the box provided to recieve an email when my next update is posted.


Phil checks out my Airwave Calypso hang glider

Monday, July 03, 2006

I haven't given up!

Anyone visiting this blog recently might wonder from the lack of updates, if I had given up on this project! Far from it, the dream is still alive and kicking in my mind, however due to busy family and work commitments I haven't been able to do anything recently.

I have purposely refrained from unnecessarily posting on this weblog, as I want it to reflect a true picture of how the project evolves, the ups and the downs, the progress and the lack of progress, so that in the future anyone wanting to embark on their own adventure could have an idea of the realities of life. In my dream when I conceived this idea, it didn't take this long for everything to fall in place!

I had been saving up for a glider over the past months, and was hoping that by the end of next month, I would be able to get one, but unfortunately for me, I've had to divert the funds to a more urgent family project. I have however booked, and will still be attending some additional training with Tony Webb of Lejair hang gliding school at their Norfolk base, and all things being equal, will get my glider this Autumn.

Even though summer will be over then, I will still be able to get some flying in, and Autumn in the UK, is actually a good time for a low air time pilot to gain experience, as the air is much smoother (without the thermals), thus the pilot is more relaxed and can concentrate on developing those skills he learnt during training. It will be cooler, but at least I can dress warm. Unless something major happens before August, my next update will be during my Norfolk training trip.