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Corton flyable?? yes it was

Tue 9th Mar 2010 22:26 Author dnash

Two pilots enjoy silky smooth sky at Corton this sat, Tim D worked out the stresses of his car battle to the east coast from Colchester with a few beats of Cortons cliffs while Dnash notches up his first hour long soaring flight, how could this day be missed by so many especially in this age of technology full story click page icon below left.

With mobile phones, free minutes, face book and twitter Wind and weather forecasts and local weather stations how any pilot can miss such a day is a mystery.
setting aside personal issues like those pilots that had to work or were ill etc. what happens to the pilot who is able to fly but doesn’t. We live in an ever increasing technological age with information at the fingertips helping us make choices. surely pilots of today are spoiled for choice. A quick check of XC weather, BBC tide tables followed by a chat via mobile to see who else has spotted that “epic” day ahead, surely then our sites should be brimming with eager pilots queuing to launch.
But on this epic day just two pilots make the most of perfect conditions. One idea is that these Aids to determining flying days are actually holding us back, they allow us to over analyse data knowing exactly what makes a perfect day and promoting, in us, a resignation to come out for anything less. Gone are the days of hopeful pilots driving to the hill in the morning and “sitting it out”
I recently created a face book page called Corton flyable. The idea being that I living near the site, could stand on the cliff, see it was flyable and text the “wall” of this page which would then trigger a free text message to all subscribers of the page. What a great concept, free flying notices direct to your phone.
Even more recently I realised that it was totally useless. It was in fact a flyable day and I did text the page. No more than a minute later I received a phone call from a keen Suffolk hill pilot “it’s working I thought I am providing a service” I was wrong in fact he was ringing to tell me he was already there and rigging. To my dismay he informed me that he would always travel out even if it looked marginal.
I now realise that it is not technology that we need but simply an urge to fly and an acceptance of the fact that a few wasted journeys to a site is a small necessary down payment that will in return pave the way to much more flying and much less wasted opportunities.
PS Other social networking sites are available.