Ground handling

In the afternoon the North wind was too strong for the main site so we drove to a gentle hill just past the town of Karnare. We spent about an hour and a half doing some ground handling and practicing reverse launches. The wind was quite gusty so it was tricky to keep the wing balanced over head. At first we didn't hook in and just held the A and D risers to practice controlling the wing. Then I started to practice using the A and C risers to do the same thing but noticed a big difference. Pulling the C risers kills the wing quickly and it made life a lot easier when a strong gust of wind comes along. We got strapped into our harnesses after a while to hopefully try some full reverse launches. A reverse launch is when you strap into your harness then twist round to face the glider and pull one of the risers over your head. It means the risers are crossed as you face the wing. The idea is to step backwards and raise the glider above your head, control it using the brakes then untwist to face forward and launch. It is used if you are on a small take off site where you might only have a few steps to make a good take off, or the wind is quite strong. It's good because you can see the wing coming up and you have more control of it. You can kill it quickly if it's not rising up evenly. I managed to do it ok a couple of times but I was tired and getting a bit pissed off with the gusts of wind coming in different directions which makes it harder. We packed up and then all went for dinner in a tiny family run business in a small town up the road from Sopot. I think the restaurant was actually someone's house. One of the guys said it was like going for dinner in a council flat in Castlemilk, which wasn't too far from the truth!! But the restaurant was lovely and dinner was fantastic - apart from the tongue, I'm not too keen on that I couldn't help thinking its like kissing a cow! The other students from sky nomads were also there, about 20 of us in total and we had a really good laugh. I've just got back and I'm absolutely knackered, I'll sleep well tonight!

Dinner was great!