The Final Straw - Suffolk Hang Gliding 2018

Hang gliding is truly amazing flying sport which allows people to access affordable aviation. A lot of people don't actually realise the extent of the soaring flights that can be achieved on these simple cost effective aircraft. This video features the Suffolk Hang Gliding Club, which is based at a farm strip off the A120 between Ipswich and Diss. Club pilots regularly fly cross country to Great Yarmouth and other Suffolk coastal towns. Last year the longest flight glided all the way to Hunstanton on the North Norfolk coast just by using thermals. In fact the cumulative total distance the club flew in 2018 was over 2000kms and this year (2019) someone flew to Northampton!

Although the flying is amazing in itself, it is the people - the members of the club - that make the sport in Suffolk so good and so much fun. This is a little tale about how the order of winchman is selected when we fly. However, there is a twist to the story... one time I left the camera rolling in the background to record the antics involved in 'pulling straws'. I took my eyes away for 30 seconds to turn the sound recorder on that I had in my pocket and when I looked up a straw had been pulled. I didn't know at the time what had happened but had a sneaky suspicion that they weren't just pulling straws but my leg as well! It wasn't until I reviewed the footage at home that the truth was revealed. As with every good story there is a happy ending because one of the conspirators didn't succeed in going cross country and ended up as the winchman himself. So remember Darren - cheaters never prosper ;)

If you want to learn to hang glide in East Anglia then there is a great school that visits the area every year. They are called Le Jair and operate from Norfolk in August and September www.lejair.co.uk/

Music by: Madpix Project - My Brother