Tan Hill closed until further notice (Updated 10th Apr 2012)

There are calves on the hill and they are not to be disturbed so please do not fly this site until further notice. Usually a few months.

Bank Holiday Site Closures

Please remember that Rybury and Uffington are both CLOSED (according to the terms of the site agreements) on bank holiday weekends. This means NO FLYING at either site on 6-9 April; 5-7 May; 2-4 June; 25-27 August. Also, a reminder: when flying Milk White Horse, please take off and land only on the western shoulder of the ridge as shown in the sites guide. DO NOT take off and land near the top fence, or along the S-facing slope towards the horse. Natural England are watching!

Caution when flying other clubs sites

When flying other clubs site under our reciprocal agreements, please ensure you are familiar with and comply with the relevant site rules. The following is an extract from an email addressed to our club:

There is a problem with pilots arriving at Butser who claim to be Thames members or brought to the site by a Thames member. Like most sites it is a delicate arrangement we have with the landowners. Some of these pilots are flying without knowledge of the site rules.
... Last weekend there was tension between the club and the Meon Valley Soaring Club as their airspace was being infringed. We have been warned that any incidents will result with a flying ban.
... It is the duty of the first pilot on the hill to call the farmer who owns the landing fields for permission. This wasn't done until 2-30pm when a SSC member made the call only to receive an sarcastic comment in reply , but he didn't say no.. This time!!

Please don't be the one to upset any of these finely-balanced site agreements.

Uffington Agreement Signed

At last we have a formal agreement with the National Trust to fly Uffington White Horse. It is a sensitive site and we do not want to upset them - especially at the outset - and it can get very busy on summer weekends. Read the sites guide, and be aware:-

* it is closed to us on Bank Holidays and weekends during the school summer holidays (dates to be advised later). Go to Combe Gibbet instead!

* pilot rating required. Emphatically no red ribbons

* obey the car parking rules - and pay!

* paragliders only :-( Maybe hang gliders later, but only PGs while they get used to us. It is a long carry-up anyway

Maybe I have forgotten something, but read the sites guide!

Alexander KW

Airspace crossing negotiated - P106 Harwell

CONDITIONS: The crossing service has been negotiated by the controlling club: Thames Valley Hang Gliding Club. The crossing service is available on the condition that pilots are flying in a competition organised by the controlling club. For the purposes of this agreement the British Paragliding XC League is considered a competition, but this does mean that a flight using this service has to be entered in the XCL with GPS evidence, this will enable the flight to be checked to verify the conditions were met. Pilots must have recieved a briefing beforehand on using the service. Flights will be policed through the British Paragliding XC League (http://www.pgcomps.org.uk/) Service will be available from 1st April to 30th September. Initially, the service will only be used by pilots using Thames Valley Sites. No flights to be made at night (This doesn't apply to us anyway as we can't really fly at night!). No Photography of the establishment.

PROCEDURE: 1. On the day you will need to contact one of the named TVHGC Club contacts with your approximate time zone of crossing, who will then phone Harwell and activate the crossing service. Richard Westgate (07974208076) Richard Bungay (07778966887) Mark Jones (07977237798) 2. When crossing the P106 area you must not fly over or within the area contained by the boundary fence of the nuclear establishment or in such a manner that would force you to land or fall within this area in the event of an accident, failing to find lift or hitting strong sink. 3. Don't take any photos in the area. 4. When you have completed your flight you MUST submit it to the XC League and you MUST upload a tracklog that shows at least the crossing of P106.

Hopefully this crossing service will be of a great benefit to XC flights from our sites as it effectively reduces the size of P106 from 4nm (7.5km) diameter to just 2km greatly widening the corridor in which we can transit through. It will also make it easy to head for Didcot power station which is a well known thermal source/trigger. Please take great care when using this service that the correct procedure is followed to ensure it's continued availability to us. Please find here a copy of the agreement from the CAA. Thanks to Rich Westgate for his work in getting this agreement put in place.

Rybury CLOSED on all bank holiday weekends (Updated June 2011)

Rybury, a highly sensitive site, is closed all bank holiday weekends, including Bank Holiday Mondays.

Milk Hill (Reminder June 2011)

The narrow triangular field below the road is closed 1st April to 31st August because of the butterflies. Outside that time pilots can land in it if they wish (especially if flying back towards their cars parked at the bottom by the barn), but do not fly right to the pointy end; there is a sensitive nest site in the scrub by the gate so please land 100 metres short of the gate. Please also remember only 5 pilot cars are allowed in the top car park, if it's full drop off your kit quickly then park tidily at the lower barn. On your way up the track remember 10 mph max.

Combe Gibbet (Updated April 2012)

Combe Gibbet is now Open until 1st September 2012.