FIRST TIME VISTOR?
If you have ever been a member of the Norfolk Hang (and Para) Gliding Club, and feel you Have something to contribute, Please don't be shy. Go to the JOIN UP page, to create an account. Don't worry about code or anything. Put your content where you feel best suited. I can always tidy it up later for you.
If you would rather email me direct then please use my hot mail account
ku.oc.liamtoh|88343csp#ku.oc.liamtoh|88343csp
This is an attempt to document the history of NORFOLK HANG GLIDING CLUB.
Started in dec 2006 it is assumed that it will take a fair while to get some interesting material within these pages.
WHY?
Cos its important! Hang gliding activities in East Anglia have been going on for over 30 years. It will continue one way or another for many years to come. Now is the time to get the history written, before to many people chuck all there bits and pieces in the bin, or pop their cloggs.
to quote somebody or another.. " without history there is no future"
It is important to document the pioneers activities, their names, and their experiences. Some of it wont make "NICE" reading. Conflicts will be described, alongside horror stories. These thing happen. But they pale into insignificance against the joys of flying at 5000ft over the East Anglian countryside, the friendships formed and the shear pleasure of free flight.
It is hoped that members from different eras of the club will summit material.
Time will tell:-)
I suspect that to start off with, it might all be a tad untidy… that can be sorted later. For now, we need to generate some content.
I also suspect that there might be one or two inclusions that some might, well how shall we put it, get up the arse about. life's like that you know.
Oh, yeah. one more thing. sorry about the spelling.. I'll tidy it up as i go along :-)
A Random Page : Double Surface Developments
Double Surface Developments
Before the Lakes adventure, I had shared a few trips up north with Graeme Baird of the Dunstable club, an extremely energetic go-for-it experienced pilot. He thought nothing of motoring 180 miles to Carlton Bank (at 90 mph) on the chance of just a day's flying. He flew a UP Comet, and was trading up. After my Mam Tor experience, I thought I was ready to trade up too, and said I would buy it. We met at Dunstable early one morning for my first flight. It was nearly my last. Wooster was there. The wind was already up to 26 mph. It would soon be too strong, but I thought I would be able to "pull on speed" for safety with a high performance kite such as this. Immediately after launch the kite started to hurtle around the sky in a series of radical high speed turns. In complete panic I tried to fly away from the hill - my first thoughts were that the kite was rigged wrong somehow. However, my friends on the ground could see I was grossly over-controlling the kite, but they couldn't do anything about it, and probably thought I was a goner. By the time I had rumbled that less speed was the answer I was well down the hill and plonked the kite down into scrub in the bottom landing area. Wooster helped with the carry up, but by then the wind was even stronger, and nobody was keen to watch me have another flight. My log book says flight time: 1 minute.
I went through with the purchase, incredibly, and four days later tried another early morning flight with Graeme there again for some guidance. This time I logged 20 minutes (to our combined relief) but - "top landed in bushes". Dunstable was never an easy site for me. The photo album picture caption was "My new Comet - could I handle it?". I knew I desperately wanted to.
The magnificent beast was a WING not a sail (like the Scorpion). It had a double surface leading edge for 50% of the wing chord with mylar insertsto make a mouth-wateringly smooth top surface, and numerous pre-formed aluminium battens to create a genuine aerofoil wing section, not just a sail profile. The cross tube (so exposed on the Scorpion) was concealed within the leading edge to reduce drag, and was floating - allegedly to confer good flight handling. Yes, at 30+ kilos it weighed more than the Scorpion but, well, I would just have to learn how to lift the damn thing. A week or two after, I took it to Mere.
