FOOTLAUNCH

The Club meeting Wednesday 10^th November is back at 'The Plume of Feathers'.

Star attraction - a flight simulator (you can fly to anywhere you like) in many types of aircraft.

Nick has been to Rhossili and back already. Nick(Rigid Man) is going to bring all the gear, and let everyone play with his joystick!!!!!!!

The Club Christmas Meal this year is again at 'The Plume of Feathers' on Saturday 11th December 2004. Last year’s meal etc. was great - it’s Fancy Dress again and the theme is 'Outlaws'. Menu/price not resolved yet.

Jonno Rann is compiling Malvern Tapes 3 – ‘The Rann Years’. Please can you send any flying footage to Jonno.

The November Club Trip to Whitsand Bay/Rame Peninsular, has had to be moved to January. We (Rigid Man) had got the tides wrong for Nov 20th and most of the sites there (there are many) need to be flown 3 hours either side of low water. New date will be announced shortly.  

Also please everyone send in any outstanding entries for the 'Go4it' table so we can sort out trophies.

Fellow footlaunchers,

Another successful club trip with several dependable members attending even though the forecast was very good for fish: JB, DB, DE, DE, CS, and nice to see Gordon out. NC (yes that’s ME) remained at base camp to coordinate vital weather forecasts and relay these to the front line troops. When the main advance had been made I attended and almost flew from that excellent secret southerly hill (500feet 5 miles long) you only find out if you attend Malvern members only..

Chris did some excellent flyng on Sunday and top landed twice before the wind got too strong.

Saturday was dry all day and fun was had on the Orme.

Nick

 ... may have done some excellent flying but you forgot to mention he also did and excellent crash.  Now I know why I have an airbag on my harness.  The really bad bit is that I suspect DB has it all on video... :-(

Chris

Airtopia’s Montenegro Trip by Howard Woodward

Montenegro is a small country, part of the former Yugoslavia, due to become completely independent in about 18 months time. The flying site at Becici has been flown for many years by eastern European pilots but Robin Brown was probably the first UK pilot there, discovering the site during his winter tour of Eastern Europe.

As a holiday destination it has many advantages. For paragliding it has a 2400ft top to bottom with a tarmac road direct to take-off. Landing is on the beach or on the hotel lawn; however this is not a coastal soaring site. The lift is thermic, so for low air time pilots thermal flying practice was easy. Once height was lost it was easy to fly out in smooth sea air and pilots could practice wing-overs and tight 360s etc. Acro queen Orla Dunn treated us to a spectacular flat spin, a suprise to us all, including Orla; her scream clearly audible on the beach several hundred feet below.

Serious XC flying is possible from this site but it seemed, from my limited XC experience, that careful planning is needed due to the terrain over the back. Hugo Makin achieved the best flight buzzing off northwards towards Tivat, never below 4500ft, then returning to land on the spot on the beach. Some days a back wind blew, which converged with the anabatic flow and although a bit lumpy, gave loads of lift over the beach. This convergence provided several pilots with a height gain of 3,000ft above the beach, a big surprise and bonus when you thought you were on your way to the deck…Once again Hugo showed off and landed on the posh beach of Sveti Stefan to the south.

Others made tentative out and returns, but I think after a few more trips some good XC flying will be made from Becici. The current XC record we think is 35km by a Slovenian pilot.

This holiday was a organized by Airtopia, so it was CFI Robin and instructor Hugo on radios for the three guys still under training, and also acting as club coaches for the low airtimers. I was the driver but still managed loads of flying every day. In fact we flew for 15 of the 17 days we were there.

For non flyers this is as good as it gets. Most flying holidays are a disaster for partners who don’t fly but this is a beautiful resort with nice hotels. Budva is in the same bay as Becici, and is a busy resort with beach, bars and restaurants. A noddy train takes tourists along the coast line; pedalos, jet ski’s and water skiing are also available. Pilots land on the beach so little reunions happen all day!

Montenegro currency is the Euro and almost everything is cheap except minibus hire which is so expensive we drove the Airtopia minibus through Europe for transport and for transfers from the airport.

This is a story in it’s self. Robin, Hugo and me drove together for 45hrs and never had a cross word! One drove, one slept and one read the map. Robin was best at driving Hugo map reading, sleeping was my special skill.

In Becici two Montenegro guys fly tandems for the tourists, price wise a little out of reach for local people.

Robin did his bit for English-Montenegro relations by taking a member of hotel staff up in his tandem each day. Strangely the first to fly were most attractive young ladies and by the end of week two, he had the night porter strapped on the front!

One flight Robin forgot his vario, luckily the young lady on the front had natural flying ability. She squealed when in rising air, giggled on a glide, and was silent when going down (Editors note – too much information!!).

One of the local tandem pilots wore knee and elbow pads, but no helmet so I did my usual "not shy to say something" but apparently “he never lands on his head, so it would be a waste of money”.

On the last Sunday when everyone had gone home the three of us wanted one last flight. We set off to take-off, but an hour earlier I had been stung by a hornet. On the way up I turned into a blind strawberry. Robin and Hugo thought I was going to die, so decided it wasn’t worth abandoning a decent flying opportunity. Then it looked like I may survive so they reluctantly took me to hospital where I got a jab in the ass that was as painful as the hornet sting.

We found the people of Montenegro very friendly it was an absolute pleasure to have such nice people around, the waiter in our favorite restaurant kindly refereed our knockout Buckeroo competition. Amazingly Buckeroo is not as popular as chess, although similar (it has horseys in both) but unfortunately Dave Ogle was unable to transfer his chess skills to Buckeroo and let us down badly in the final. A Montenegro waiter winning by a shovel in the final.

We met a few Serbian pilots in Becici all of them from the EOL club in Serbia and we were invited to visit on our way home so we packed up and drove 10 hours to Kraljevo arriving on the Monday evening. Our Serbian friends turned out to meet us. The next day the entire EOL club took the day off to take us flying, meeting at the EOL club house. We then drove to the mountains where we climbed into the clubs old 4x4; 15 people in the 4x4, 15 gliders in the trailer. Light thermic flying over spectacular mountains, very remote. Hugo shouted at me for going the wrong way in MY thermal when everyone knows I turn right when thermalling.

As the thermals died in the evening we all squeezed into a tight landing spot.

The fantastic guys from EOL got the Serbian Jamie Oliver doing a BBQ and beer for us. We just left 6000 quids worth of kit at the side of the road to be picked up later by our friends.

Holidays that end on a high note are best. To meet so many friendly generous kind people, and a great day's flying topped off with a BBQ, I thought I had died from the hornet’s sting and gone to heaven.

We said goodbye and promised to return. Sadly the bad roads had ruined the shock absorbers on the minibus so we spent the next few days inside a mad kangeroo. This made me sleep like a dog, and somewhat amusingly made Robin as sick as a dog.

I will return to Montenegro and to Serbia, both having huge potential. Robin is also in the process of buying a property in Montenegro and also hopefully buying a bit of mountain to make a better take off…watch this space.

Go4it 2004

Bryan Hindle  77.8 70.7 62.9  43.2 15.1 14.1 11.9 9.1  8.3        7.0 320.1km

Ian Smallwood 43.1 26.9 24.3 20.4 17.8 16.2 148.7km

Nigel Dewdney 55 18.5 12 9.2 6.8 5.4 106.9km

Tim Crow 31.0 25.2 22.3 78.5km

Dave J-H 47.2 23.2 70.4km

Chris Smith 33.9 7.3 6.2 47.4km

Frank Trunks 35.7 35.7km

Graham Shand 26.0 6.2 32.2km

Carolyn Dewdney 9 9.0km

Brian Pilchar 7.0 7.0km

Rules

1.    UK flights only.
2.    No infringement of airspace.
3.    Must have Pilot rating or be under instruction from one on the day.
4.    Flights between 01/12/03 to 30/11/04.
5.    Co-ordinates for T/O and landing required plus distance from point to point in Kms as a

check. Flights will be scored to nearest 100m.
6.    Defined flights (BHPA rules) Coordinates for turn points in addition. Double distance
       awarded provided 60% of flight outside ridge lift.
7.    Stone's throw award for smallest flight submitted (or known about) provided
       distance 5km or greater (previously 3 miles).

8. The best newcomer to XC flying (as voted by the committee) will win a voucher worth

£120 for Airways Ltd.

9. The top pilot for the year will be known by the moniker “Skygod” for the next year – so remember, that’s Monica Skygod for the next year.

ADVERTS:

Harley Sirocco (medium) 75-95kg. Very good condition, little used. ACPUL 12A rated. £150

At that price ideal for winter flying or for ground handling practice. 01452 500806

Garmin Geko 201 GPS – ideal for flying. Small, lightweight and waterproof. Brand new boxed. Unwanted gift. Offers?

Alan 01452 504000