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Sunday 13th March 2005 Not having flown since last November I was anxious to get out again. Wendy Windblows (weather station) was telling me that it was a WNW at about 9mph average so it was ideal for Rybury, a little bowl near Marlborough, Wilts. I got there at about 12:45pm and took a walk up to the top. I'm glad I'd been going to the gym to prepare myself for the coming season because although I was pretty tired by the time I got up to the top I would probably have been a pile of jelly otherwise. I stood on the hill talking to some of the local pilots, Richard B, Bob J etc while assessing the wind conditions. It is a fairly small hill and there were enough pilots in the air to raise a slight concern. The main saving grace was that at times the wind was quite strong and allowed the pilots to move away from the hill to create more space. The strong wind though meant that launches could be interesting. I was concerned that after my flying break I wouldn't be prepared for the conditions.
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I set up on the hill and tried to pull my big ears. Because my canopy was inflated due to the wind strength, the ears didn't want to come up properly and the glider twisted sideways and flew into the ground. I flew it back to the correct way up and decided to inflate without the ears in. I chose a lull in which to do so and got off the hill nice and cleanly.
I then had two very
good flights of 1hr 25mins and 1hr 15mins. A very nice way to get my feet
into the air again. The hill did feel very crowded at times and it was
essential to keep a vigilant eye on the other pilots but there were no
incidents. The day was very grey and overdeveloped and there was no chance
to get away from the hill. Later on, the wind started to get lighter and
lift became more difficult and one by one most of the pilots landed. I
wanted to milk it for all it was worth and stayed airborne for as long as
possible and in the end there was just me and an Epsilon pilot sharing the
airspace and hugging the hill for the little lift that remained.
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At the end of the day, Richard B. (Coach and trainee instructor for my club) asked if he could have a go at ground handling the Cage and as on previous occasions we had spoken about the possibility of doing this in suitable conditions I let him. I talked him through the basic principles of handling the Cage and how to launch and land in the event that he flew it (deliberately or not). I was very impressed that he grasped the principle very quick and controlled the canopy well on the first inflation. He even walked it up a small hill. The wind at this stage was very light and I suggested a small flight (more of a bunny hop) from the top of the hill into the little col. He did this admirably and then re-inflated the glider for another go. he again walked it to the top of the hill and again launched. Both launches were forward launches due to the wind conditions and he had a little trouble with the chin piece of his face helmet hitting the hang strap. This was something I'd pre-warned him about. This time he tried for a soaring flight with an immediate left turn but the wind was too light to sustain him. He turned back again and slope landed about 40-50ft below take off and I went down to assist him in packing away.
 
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He says it was a "strange sensation" to fly the Cage and he didn't quite get the knack of the landing flare but he didn't have any real trouble at all. He would like to try again when there was a bit more wind. After a quick drink at the Barge Inn, I couldn't have asked for a better start to the season.
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