Day 3 - So caravan cushions and random soft items tried behind Dan’s parachute seemed to pass the ground test so the K6 was towed out early with hope for 5hrs. RASP had the Duo off to Rutland Water via Tuxford Jnct. Last night beer and wiring questions had the Eagle on a day of gentle rides with Ben “I can’t feel my legs” given the front cabin to start. Dan did a great job outflying the multitude of para plungers locally with increasingly poor visibility until the cushion fix proved to be still not good enough! Another good landing (Dan mentioned at the morning briefing for his excellent sideslip the previous day).
Ben showed the cobwebs had been blown away and landed very cleanly- Team NHL in the points! Several Eagle rides with locals and a final short hop with the new winch driver had me in the throng of paragliders as the warm front high cloud made the day appear dead but not as the duvet boys showed some local phenomena meant it was gently getting better.
The Eagle rides (John Pursey)
DD3 was now under power to get back, Dan was on the cider and Ben was talking to the AA to find out why towing an Eagle had killed his van. My short hop with Camphill Nigel turned out to be great fun as duvet dodging turned into an absorbing 2 and half hours taking thermals and ridge (wind was 285 10kts) as the Eagle outdid the para plungers and enjoyed gentle ridge and “thermals “ in 10kts of wind.
Discussing the learning points (John Pursey)
An excellent day in many ways, Dan learning the importance of cushions, Phil the importance of having fuel on board and me a reminder that evening flights with a hill and gentle wind can be great fun as the local topography pushes the air up -Paragliders outflown, Nigel’s numb bum and an open bar meant AXJ needed to return. Jokes that Dan still had time to do 5hrs before proper dark failed to get DRE from its lair and the lure of the bar called! Rain forecast so fingers crossed. - John Pursey
