News
At Airworks..
Why
Choose Airworks?
Airworks Paragliding School endeavours to give you the best
quality teaching environment possible. To achieve this, we keep
our classes small with the highest instructor to student ratio possible.
This is a crucial factor to ensure fast progression and above all
- maximum safety.
Red
Ribbon Club
Airworks' Red Ribbon
Club is managed by Bernard. It is open to all new pilots, whether
or not you trained with Airworks.
The club meets every
Sunday morning at Airworks and runs several trips away each year,
aimed at helping to ease pilots into the club environment and to
show them the delights of flying different sites across the UK.
Himalaya
Trip - Paragliding in India Oct 08
We are just back
from yet another awesome flying trip to Bir in the Himalayas. The
reliability of this place never fails to amaze. We lost a whole
2 days from the month we were there and flew to over 12000' every
day for the last two weeks!
We are now taking
bookings for October 2008. Book now before it fills up!
SIV
- Over water training in Annecy May 2009
The 2008 SIV course
filled up within a week of being advertised!
The next course we
plan is in May 2009.
We are now taking
bookings for 2009. Book now before it fills up!
Red
Ribbon Club - Open PG Competition 29/10/06
Some of those involved
in the first-ever Airworks Red Ribbon Club Open PG Competition held
at West Firle on the South Downs on 29th October 2006.
(From L to R standing:
Lucho Zuidema, Paul Midgley, Chris Aegerter, Diana Purdie, “Windy”
John Lancaster, Bob Brooks, James Chapman. L to R seated: Rob Sanderson,
Bernard Tagliavini.)
Overall Open Class
Winner: Paul Midgley; 2nd
place: Owen Latham with his 9yr-old daughter Millie, on their tandem; 3rd place:Lucho Zuidema.
Overall Red Ribbon
Club Class Winner: Cally Dresser; 2nd place: Rob Sanderson; 3rd
place: Chris Aegerter.
The slightly unusual
format of the competition allowed pilots of vastly differing levels
of experience to compete in a light-hearted fashion, side by side.
A variety of tasks were run simultaneously during the day, which
pilots could choose to try as and when they (and the conditions)
were ready.
Himalaya
Trip - Paragliding in India Oct 06
We are just back
from yet another awesome flying trip to Bir in the Himalayas. The
reliability of this place never fails to amaze. We lost a whole
2 days from the month we were there!
Himalaya Report
SIV
& Skiing in Roquebrune Feb/Mar 06
A little marred by
the weather, we still managed to do loads of SIV and find time to
ski with the USA Olympic Mens Slalom Team, and fly at Sospel- see
below for last year's report.
Himalayas
Trip - Paragliding in India Oct/Nov 05
We are just back
from yet another awesome flying trip to Bir in the Himalayas. The
reliability of this place never fails to amaze.
Every day we were
there, someone flew 100 km or thereabouts!
Once again, we took
four staff and sixteen customers, many of whom had flown absolutely
zero hours since qualifying, several were repeat offenders from
previous years.
Most of us broke all
our personal bests. Everybody wants to go again!
Himalaya
Photo Album
All in all, so much
fun that we are now taking bookings for next years Himalayas
trip :
If you are interested
in any of the above Himalayas trips, call Airworks on 0044
(0)1273 858 108 for more details.
Andrew
Beresford writes:
Close
to the top of the world
The impending onset of our Winter might seem to be a good enough
reason on its own for making the journey to fly the Himachal Pradesh
region of India: it is quite a transition in every sense.
In a space of twenty four hours everything changes for the better:
a benign climate, superb scenery and huge numbers of really friendly
people in a vast space. Oh! And the flying. Mind you, there is a
big brown hole called Delhi airport to cross and a longer-than-I-like
road leading from it. If you can organise a flat tyre as an excuse
for standing at the edge of a major highway and experience the swirling
mass of people, bikes, rickshaws, banged-out lorries, mules, dust
and dung then so much the better. But that’s India. Shutting
one’s eyes might keep this out of mind along with other conventions
such as dual carriageways with traffic going both ways on each,
but it is hard to ignore the local predilection for continuously
using the horn. Maybe it’s because brakes rarely work....
Everything about the comfort of our familiar Downs gets swept
away on arrival at base. The main landing field is on the edge of
Chowgan and, at 1420m, seems fair enough at the time of site briefing.
The abundant Buddhist prayer flags decorating the outfield don’t
seem out of place at this stage but they become close familiar friends
for a lot of (mostly non UK) pilots. Albeit a few trees and bushes
are scattered around it and, with the local resident monastery cricket
games within it, one’s mind has a certain focus. Anyhow this
field looks a better bet than the alternative one further out of
the village and inconveniently draped with power lines around its
margin.
Fifty minutes later we have driven continuously uphill on a track
road to arrive at the Billing takeoff. The landing field is now
difficult to spot but, having reached 2460m, this is not too surprising.
It is now well over 2 km away and hazed below various inversions.
Although since Delhi we ascended some 1 km to get to Chowgan, this
vast mountain range abruptly tears out of the plain we are overlooking.
Not many miles behind us there is a 5200 m peak which is surrounded
by other white pretenders. The horizon ahead is possibly more than
50 km away but the haze cloaks some of the enormity of the region.
To either side, the ridges we will be flying are clearly in sight.
They look ordinary enough and one readily imagines the strong but
consistent thermals that spill off them during most of the day.
However the reality is that this edge of the Himalayas probably
has an average inclination of 30 deg and is deeply dissected by
ravines and valleys such that any given slope can be pitched at
some 60 deg or just be a huge vertical face. The nice flat plain
below has some ‘streams’ running through it but later,
on close inspection, they are seen to be river beds containing boulders
the size of trucks. This is no gentle rolling place. It is dramatic
and uncompromising. Carelessness or recklessness could certainly
result in very serious walkouts.
All that being said, the first flight confirms that this is a
safe area for paragliders provided that sensible respect is given
to its nature and that a few essential adaptations to are made to
flying behaviours: We are urged to land “hot and fast”
in order to deal with the thinner air and the thermic conditions
to be expected on landing. And then we are away. Well, not alone
because are several pairs of watchful Airworks eyes to get us away
and to observe all the individual flying styles. This is a good
place to correct mistakes and ramp up the learning curve in a way
that is inconceivable on our Southern sites. We all got thrown around
a little in the thermals but soon learnt to keep these events under
some control. At least with good height above ground level there
is some extra time to deal with recoveries as compared with 50 m
above the Dyke.
Tutors also come locally. Himalayan Griffin vultures are superlative
masters so at ease as to preen themselves where paragliders struggle
to stay on station in a core. Their rate of ascent is extraordinary
and so difficult as to be impossible to follow. Perhaps they are
a little too laid back thus explaining one observed entanglement.
(The bigger bird pulled his reserve and both landed safely.) These
HGVs with their 2 m wingspans are sought out as thermal markers
and for the sense of superlatives they engender. According to Mark
“The Eagle” Edwards there is also a group of local feathered
hooligans ready to visit mayhem on particular decorative patterns
of wing. Luckily, mine is somewhat plainer and hopefully won’t
be physically or decoratively modified. At least by birds.
We were a friendly group of some dozen billeted on the edge of
Bir in purpose-built accommodation in rural surroundings. It is
partly run by Debu Choudhary who is now a comps veteran at the age
of 26 having started flying when he was 14. When not on business
or competitions he flies this area and is noticeable for landing
on a sixpence in the field after the last 200 m of his flights comprising
a vertical descent of amazing tumbles that make the Russian State
Circus look like a float on a river. One time his seat board broke
with a loud crack. My own try at a spiral was distinctly pathetic
by comparison although Hairy Dave did admit that he thought I would
have found it “interesting” however I don’t think
he worried for too long.
The Hindu Festival of Light, Diwali, culminated on November1st
with Chris “Pataka” Craven exploding fireworks in competition
with locals. We think he won by a blast but thankfully not on the
scale of the September event at Patna. [An aside from the Daily
Excelsior of Jammu and Kashmir: “Chocolate bomb, Chain Cracker,
(Kali Pataka, Loose Cracker) "Dhani Patakas", Dodoma,
Seven shots, Rocket Bomb, "Garland Patakas", "Star
Bomb" etc. shall not be sold by wholesaler crackers dealers.”
(sic) Sounds like a take-away!] Anyway, we were stoked up each morning
with a hearty breakfast prior to being driven up for a cup of chai
at the top. There, a surprising number of familiar faces from other
British clubs were seen. Along with many Russians and others, they
would ponder the moment for launching according to judgement and
experience. In the thinner air this process is about commitment
not difficulty.
Once launched, it was a matter of seeking the best lift and try
to emulate successful pilots achieving a kilometer above takeoff.
During our time this was about the best for any pilot because of
the inversions but that was no bar to prevent lower airtime pilots
from graduating to other ridges and flying the locality for a few
hours. A hop of 1 km to the next one soon became the norm but the
more experienced created for themselves the possibility for running
the ranges off to the West. Subject to conditions, there were daily
trips of 35 km to Palampur and beyond to Dharamsala. Dharamsala
is another 25 km beyond Palampur and it has been the headquarters
of the Dalai Lama since the imperialist Chinese take over of Tibet
forty years ago.
It is a political fact of life that the Indians are paranoid about
security in the region for Kashmir is nor far away. This means that
you will not easily find good maps, certainly not modern ones, and
those you can get are original British surveys of India. These are
adequate for orientation but possibly unnecessary because of the
near miraculous emergence of any form of transport when landing
out. I guess that 40% of our landings were ‘out’ and
some of those that were ‘in’ might better have been
‘out’ (of sight) as trees and cows bore silent witness.
Almost before landfall (no pun intended) a school of children comes
as if from nowhere to besiege you with interest and some degree
of respect. They are totally enthusiastic about our experiences.
The people are an example: simply put, they make one ashamed of
the manner of treatment that some of their compatriots can experience
back in modern Britain. After a little gentle negotiation you have
a “means of transport” at your disposal to whisk you
off to Bir or Baijnath. The latter is a local hub networking many
bus routes across the region and give you another world of experiences.
Where else would you see an upright raj-moustached figure sitting
in the seat in front holding a 1910’s blunderbuss as if it
were a shopping bag? Certainly not in America. One way or another
it’s not difficult to get back to base and share the day’s
experiences. There are some snags about the busses: how to interpret
the Hindi squiggles as names of places is one. According to story,
a couple of years ago one unfortunate seeking urgent relief behind
the bus stop late at night got comprehensively munched by something
with large teeth. It is better to ask about those directions and
also avoid the resident troupe of monkeys. Once on the bus, the
next snag is that you can expect to be pressed very close against
skinny old men with no teeth or sleek young college ladies just
out of school. Just think about the day’s adventures if you
prefer.
The area is full of colourful character and positive experiences.
Yes, there were some problems, especially for some Eastern European
pilots who were either poorly trained or overly ambitious about
their abilities. The place demands the safe hand of experience for
first trips and it is more fun anyway when in company. We had a
number of approaches during our own debriefings in local cafes from
individuals who appeared to have little idea about what they had
come into. Heaven knows what they did when in need of support and/or
without insurance. Their outlook in those circumstances would prove
to be very grim indeed.
Thanks to the Airworks crew we had a great experience overall
and assistance when difficulties arose. It’s a “must
do”. As they put it on eBay: “Would buy again. Thanks
A+++++”.
©Andrew
Beresford 2006
This article may be freely reproduced provided that it is done so
in full and is not incorporated within a publication for sale.
Airworks
Forum - May 05
We have just set up a
smartgroup forum to help us communicate with everyone. This works
as an e-mail forum, a calendar and all sorts of other functionality
that I haven't had time to investigate.
How new members can join
AIRWORKS smartgroup:
Click
here or go to http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/airworks and
join the Group or New members can email airworks-subscribe@smartgroups.com
Monaco
SIV Feb 2005
Despite this winter's aberrant
weather, we flew two successful SIV courses, with everyone completing
all of the SIV requirements of their Pilot rating. As well as the
usual sunbathing, we had a few cool days, even getting snow on the
beach for the first time in 25 years! However, every cloud having
a silver lining and all that, we got some REALLY good skiing at Greoliers
- 50 cm of fresh powder and only just over an hours drive away. Those
that didn't like skiing took to their (hired) snowshoes and explored
the stunning beauty of the Maritime Alps in its winter coat. 
One of the most stressful moments for us was when Barbera 'The
Navigator' Innwater (name changed to protect identity,) on not hearing
any instructions to the contrary, decided to continue in a straight
line until most of the way to Africa. Fortunately there was an onshore
breeze, so she only missed the beach by about 500m. The worst part
was that she was on a glider we'd lent her...
This occured on her first flight, but like everyone else, she was
confidently stalling and recovering her glider by the end of the
trip.
It is great to watch pilot's confidence in themselves and their
equipment improve during an SIV course: Mere assymetric deflations
hold so little fear that they become almost routine and the full
frontal is almost a non-event. The really good part about doing
SIV training in Monaco is that you have a frame of reference, unlike
Olu Deniz, where you often cannot see the ground at all, the visibility
is so poor. This frame of reference and the air's clarity help you
to establish how much height you are losing in any manouever and
so establish whether you are improving your skills and also helping
to build a database of safety heights below which, in the real world,
you would elect to deploy your reserve, rather than struggle to
fix a problem for which you have insufficient height.
The next
group of pilots were of a far more hydrophobic disposition, and
after almost a week of unhydrated flight it became too much for
our inimitable Bin Hairy Dave to bear. He determined that he would
SAT his brand new Mustang, because it was soooo easy... What he
forgot however was that even Mustangs cannot glide at 20:1 and so
perfomed a near perfect demonstation of a water landing, which the
group would otherwise have missed.
Another
interesting and often entertaining element of Monaco is that many
European manufacturers choose it to develop and test their latest
creations, so it is not at all uncommon to witness lunimaries of
the free flight world tuning their wings and turning as yet unbadged
creations into crumpled tissue and back into gliders again.
Omega 7?? (Competition prototype Omega 6)
Himalayas Trip - Paragliding in India Nov
04
We are just back from another awesome flying trip to Bir in
the Himalayas. 33 flyable days out of the 35 we were there!
We took four staff and
sixteen customers, many of whom had flown absolutely zero hours
since qualifying... We left with twenty very experienced pilots!
Most of us broke all
our personal bests. Everybody wants to go again!
>>Photo
Album
If you are interested in
any of the above trips, call Airworks on 0044 (0)1273 858 108 for
more details.
>For more information
visit our paragliding
holidays and trips page.
|
