Milk Hill - White Horse
NB. ALL our flying sites are MEMBERS ONLY!
Please make sure that your membership is up to date. If not, kindly join now and become a new member of Thames Valley Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club.
Wind Direction / Details
SSE-SW (best direction is S to SSW)
South facing escarpment.
Restrictions
Excellent site for all year round flying. This site is suitable for all levels of pilot.
Sensitivity
English Nature owns and regulates our use of this site. Our licence specifically prohibits unaccompanied flying - as a public body they are particularly worried about accidents (they receive a copy of all our accident reports). Your companion needs to be somewhere within sight. The penalty for flying unaccompanied is a £50 levy, half to Oxfam and half to English Nature.
There are lots of horses in this area, often ridden by inexpert riders. As horses are easily spooked by low flying gliders. Never fly low over horses.
It always helps to take time to stop and talk to other people using the tracks, preventing problems developing.
Location
OS Grid Ref SU 100 637, Landranger 173, Pathfinder 1185.
What3Words: ///lavished.contained.animates (https://what3words.com/lavished.contained.animates)
Directions as for Milk Hill.
Parking
As for Milk Hill. There is no separate parking.
Access
As for Milk Hill, then along the path around the back of the bowl and through the gate onto the south facing escarpment. From this point keep at least 20 metres away from the fence line to avoid disturbing nesting birds.
Take Off
Approximate elevation 250m/755’ AMSL.
Anywhere along the slope to the west of the eastern boundary shown on the map. Keep at least 20 metres away from the fence line to avoid disturbing nesting birds. It is not permitted to take off or land past the fence shown on the map and especially the eastern end of the hill towards the White Horse or Walkers Hill. Do not launch from the spur on or close to Walkers Hill!!
Landing
There is no designated top landing area.
Slope land within the boundary marked on the map and at least 20 metres away from the top fence line. Note the fence has been removed of recent years so assume that boundary from the scrub.
The Bottom landing is along the south-facing track to the right of take-off, and before the farm buildings. Note that there is no agreement to use the private track from the ruined farm buildings to the road.
Do not launch east of the hill past the boundary fence (as shown on the map) which is towards the White Horse.. If you do land out whilst on an XC ensure you bunch up your glider and walk back to the launch area. Do not launch on or near the White Horse!!
Hazards
The site is shallow and only really works in thermic or strong wind conditions. Care should be taken when ridge soaring the site in strong conditions as pilots have experienced turbulence from the fields in front of the hill. The ant hills catch lines and are a trip hazard when reverse launching. In a SE/SSE wind direction there is turbulence and rotor around the White Horse and near the spur at the east end of the ridge if flown at hill height or below.
XC
With Lyneham class D CTR/CTA airspace and ATZ deactivated this provides many options for the XC pilot. Check NOTAMs for any changes in airspace as this could change and ATZ is only temporarily deactivated.