Yes, there was flying at Tinto South yesterday evening (Thursday). Six paragliders got into the air, I was the only Wingbeat representative.
I turned up in my slightly unsuitable small sports car, wedged in alongside my paraglider. I thought it wise not to drive my old Nissan X Trail as the last time I parked it the rear brakes were on fire (little problem with a seized handbrake/ drum/shoes issue).
Sunny but slightly too windy on arrival at 18:30. Sweated up the hill with my lightweight ozone mojo 2 pack and chatted with the other guys there who included Len (Dutch) and Prc.....mk (who knows how to spell his name?).
Big and small sheep (think the latter are known as lambs) were in the usual landing field so the decision was taken to keep clear of them. Into the air at about 19:45 when the wind reduced.
I let the more experienced pilots take off first. One guy dealt with the conditions by strapping on a small kid for extra weight.
Must have still been fairly windy as I left the ground when only half way through turning around from my reverse launch. Everyone headed all the way east along the ridge to the highest point ('ski jump'?) and some were at 3000ft only on ridge lift. Everyone then headed forward well out in to the valley towards Dungavel finding buoyant air - various suggestions later about sea breezes meeting with prevailing winds...... So everyone had an hours flight, coming back above the tinto ridge and returning along it, landing back near to their parked cars.
Ok, not quite all of that is true.
Mainly the 'everyone' bit.
Everyone did get all the way east along the tinto ridge but one of us (possibly me) wasn't quite as high. I soared back and forth along the front of the high ridge gradually gaining height. It was quite choppy at the east end, Len had a brief asymmetric collapse there.
After 20 minutes in the air I managed to search out sink or maybe a significant drop in wind speed and descended rapidly to the foot of the hill, doing my best to memorize the landscape as I was about as far as possible from the designated landing area and would need to forge a route back overland.
Certainly I had successfully achieved the aim of not worrying the sheep.
Google Maps put my location as still in Scotland.
On the plus side I may be able to log it as an XC flight. Anyway I feel much fitter after that 4O minute walk back through the tundra carrying my featherlight equipment and watching the sun sink below the horizon.
Honestly I'm not scared of being alone, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark......
I found that the other guys had politely hung around to check that I returned safely. But maybe they were just waiting the requisite time to confirm my death in the wilderness and then take my car.......
Stephen
