Pinnacle Hill West


Red, no landing.  Purple, no overflying.

Malvern Hills General Site Rules apply to this site

Grid Reference

Pinnacle Hill West  SO768421  (notam site ref 4.002)

Wind Direction

WSW - WNW ( 240° - 300° )  Best W

Height

357m ( 1173’ )  516’ TTB

Extent of site

1.5 miles to the south and 2.4 miles to the north. However, flying north of the Worcester Beacon is severely restricted.  See map for details.

Hazards

There are few places to slope land and there are many trees to clear to get to the bottom landing so you may need to make a quick decision to push out.

Be aware that you may encounter rotor from the quarry side of the car park which is to the north end of the take off. The quarry can’t be seen from the launch so it is worth while looking at it from below in the Kettle sings car park to familiarise yourself with its location.

Other local sites take this direction and so it is advised to look at those first before flying on this side of the hill.

The Malverns are in an intense military low flying area. If flying midweek then pilots must notify Military Air Traffic, see the CANP section on the Safety page.

The Malverns Hills are a “Spineback” ridge so beware of flying your glider in strong winds; getting blown back could be fatal. NEVER GO OVER THE BACK AT LESS THAN 500 ft ABOVE TAKEOFF, IN ANY WIND, DUE TO ROTOR.

Many of the paths are bridle-ways so pilots must be extra vigilant to avoid spooking horses.

Capacity

2 or 3 pilots flying at any time.

Access

Via the B4232 (Jubilee Drive) running North-South on the West side of the Malverns between the Wyche Cutting and British Camp. Take path (See map)

Parking

Gardiner’s Quarry Pay & Display. WR13 6DN. Annual parking passes can be purchased. Parking fees go towards hill maintenance including tree clearance.

Take-off area

Just below the rocky outcrop and for a further 40m north.

Landing areas

PG field

The square field in front of the Kettle Sings Tea Room and the one further out. See map

HG field

Barn Field. The long field running north south with a barn in the right corner. Due to the trees upwind a severe wind gradient is normally encountered when going into this field. Orchard Field. Not visible from take off it is south of an old orchard next to the railway. Exit across foot bridge at station or on Albert Rd (track) under the railway. DO NOT LAND IN ANY FIELDS SOUTH OF EVENDINE LANE due to influential landowner being anti free flying.