Any London based speedflyers?

I am in the same boat as you since I live near Peterborough. I was thinking about a trip up to the peak district one weekend. I am looking for a friendly site close by too and I hope i find one. I may have to go coastal.

Chris

Hi, I'm in Cambridge and looking for somewhere to go ridge soaring or just mess about. The closest so far I've found is a good 2 hours drive in the Malverns. Is there much closer?

Jos

I am thinking about getting a Spitfire and keeping my Bobcat 16.5. As for size you should probably check the manufacture website for wing loads. I want a Spitfire because I like Swing and the Spitfire is very light with a compact harness that doubles as a rucksack. The Bobcat and included harness is heavy and bulky not to mention it's design tends to make it soar. The swing will soar but you would need a lighter pilot with a larger wing. With my weight I need the 16.5 Bobcat to soar. I wouldn't get anything smaller than a 15 meter Swing for myself because the higher the weight coupled with a smaller wing surface means a high wing load (stress on the wing) and faster steeper glide angle. At your weight I would not go above a 15 meter. The guys I flew with up north were on Swings and Hellfires. None of them had a wing over 13 meters, weighed about the same as you and were fighting to keep them close to the ground. Most speed wings want to keep as close to ground as possible to get that speed sensation you get. Thats why they are nicknamed "tree kickers". I wanted and a 13 meter Spitfire but my weight would make that too dangerous and the wing would be loaded too high and the speed/glide generated would make the wing VERY ground hungry. My goal is to make the Bobcat a windy day soaring wing and have a Swing Spitfire my tree kicking, sheep scattering, boulder dodging wing. Besides, after lugging my "heavy" Bobcat back up the hill after every flight I knew I needed something different. Research a little more and even contact Mark with Zen Speedflyers since he would know more than me and sells speed wings. He is very cool and will chat with you and give you good advice without trying to force anything you don't want down your throat. He is always talking people out to the hill to tryout demo wings to see if they are a fit. I like my Bobcat and it soars like a champ but it feels more like a mini-paraglider than a speed wing. Just compare a Spitfire or Pil Pit to a Gin Bobcat. The harnesses should be the first give-a-way. I just saw a 15 meter Bobcat on eBay UK that sold the other day. You might want to keep an eye out there. Again, because of your weight I don't think you need a "large" wing like the one my fat **** needs. Check out this video:

these two charts seem to suggest either 15 or 16.5... what about the 18?
http://www.gingliders.com/speedflying/comparison.php
http://www.gingliders.com/speedflying/bobcat-spec.php

awesome Chris, will do! On the subject of Bobcat's - i've been checking out the specs on the Gin website and i'm not sure of the size of wing, in general, which would be right for me. Im about 75kg inflight but want a wing primarily for windy ridges (as there is a sad shortage of mountains down here!). Any suggestions? Whats the reason for the swap to the Spitfire?

Ridge soaring is the reason I bought my Gin Bobcat in the first place on the advice of a PG pilot (one of the few friendly one's I have met). He said it would work great for those high wind days when it wasn't safe to fly a normal PG. After getting in contact with Mark (a great guy by the way) I went up for a weekend and had a blast. One flight I put on full trim and soared into a strong head wind to see how good the wing could soar istead of a steep angle of attack hugging the ground. Mark told me that a Bobcat was good at soaring and he wasn't kidding. If you do find or hear of a place that is "okay" to soar let me know. I would be very willing to come down for a weekend and fly with my Bobcat. I am looking to maybe get a Swing Spitfire next but we will have to see. chris_nordin@hotmail.com

Chris

thanks for your comment Chris! I had a quick read of that post, it would be interesting to hear about Dans discoveries on locations on/around the south downs, or even the south coast. the stuff going on up north looks great but not really practical for me on a weekly basis. with so much coastline there must be a discreet spot away from the BHPA where its possible to ride ridge lift on a windy day...?

If you do find any London based speed flyers I would like to know too. I am near Peterborough and have to drive 3.5 hours north to speed fly. See previous forum posts:

http://forum.speed-flying.com/topic/speed-flying-with-zenspeed-flyers-uk

I would love to find a closer place to fly or even soar on windy days that's not so far AND is not reserved for PG'ers only. My speed wing is aching to get aborne again.