Newcastle Hang Gliding Club

We drove up to manilla on thursday night, and awoke to a rainbow, and high cloud covering the sky. Thankfully, the cloud broke up a bit over the next few hours and a bunch of hang glider pilots made our way up to the top of the hill.

With the paraglider pilots all on the North East launch, and light cycles coming straight in on all launches, Conrad & I decided to set up on the West launch where we hoped for better chances once the sun had passed overhead. Pete, Richard and Nigel decided to go back down to their cabins for beer.

Unfortunately, as the sun passed overhead, to the west, clouds came in from the west, eventually bringing rain, which was a good chance for Conrad to wash his glider, and us both to have some lunch. After the rain had cleared, paraglider pilots started to turn up and look around, some eventually laying out their canopies. A couple launched, then the sun came out. Eventually the sun had been on the face for about an hour, and the shade was about to return, so after a hang check from Vic, I followed Contrad off for my first flight from Mt Borah.

We went straight around through the gap to find some broken lift to play in for ten minutes. At least I played for ten minutes. Conrad landed at Godfrey's at least a quarter of an hour after I did.

The next day, I awoke to similar conditions, though with more defined North Easterly wind, although still only light. the North East launch was called as the place to be, which meant fighting for room amongst the dozens of paraglider pilots there for the Stat of Origin. We hangies made our own space at the top corner of the astroturf, and called Keepit as a goal.

Conrad launched first again, and I had time to see him screaming away from the bowl to the left way low. "Didn't you like it in the bowl Conrad?" I asked on the radio. "Don't go there" came the reply.

Just then I was wondering how I was going to get past the paragliders laid out in front of me not seemingly ready to launch, though I was, when someone yelled out "Hang Glider Launching" and magically my path was cleared in the blink of an eye. Thank you whoever you were!

I saw Conrad circling up over the bombout, the same place we'd found broken lift the day before, so went to join him, and found some weak lift and cirlcled the other side of it from him. I kept falling out of it, then noticed conrad had headed out further. Later I found out he'd just changed direction, a move which saw him get up. He called to me on the radio to turn right, when I was going left. I heard the call, but stupidly hadn't turned the raido up enough to make it out, so kept fighing the fight I was in, rather than looking for a new one, and eventually succombed to the bombout for another ten minute flight.

Pete sent his car down with a driver to bring me back up, and then when I was just about ready to go back up, Nigel launched, followed shortly by Pete, both of who followed me rather than Conrad and found the bombout. Conrad was now up at base waiting for someone to come play with him. I told him that I'd refly, but it took so long for me to get back on top again, that by the time I was heading back up the hill, he was already over Keepit at base just hanging out getting cold. By the time I was ready to re-launch, he'd made it most of the way back and landed just short of Manilla.

Adrian from Stanwell Park was next off, and managed to scratch around and get above the hill for a while before falling down to the bombout.

My relaunch was accomplished by me being the one to scream out "Hang Glider Launching" which worked just as well as the first time. Pete followed me off almost immediately, followed a short time later by Nigel. Pete and I managed to fight a thermal for a small while, but we both ended up back in the bombout, he a couple of minutes before me.

The next day morning looked even more rainy, so Flo & I decided to bring forward the second part of our trip and headed up to the Sunshine coast where, no flying was planned, or happened, but after the rains left a couple of days later, we enjoyed the warm weather and the beaches, Ausralia Zoo and Glass House Mountains.

Watch this video on Youtube


Watch this video on Youtube


Watch this video on Youtube


Watch this video on Youtube