PARAGLIDING
September 1995.
 

Myself and two friends, Bob and Keith (the Three Muckateers) take a holiday to Olu-Deniz in Turkey to learn to paraglide. On arrival we are informed that due to not having the basic minimum BHPA qualification of "Elementary Pilot", the British instructors are unable to provide us with tuition. I then decide to learn to fly on a tandem and enlisted a local pilot, Marco to teach me. After an hour's journey up the precarious mountain road by landrover we reach the lower (South) launch site at 5,500 ft. near the summit of Baba Dag.
 
The landing zone, Olu-Deniz beach as seen from the 5,500ft launch site.
Marco
my instructor
Gliders laid out ready on the Lower South facing launch site. (5,500ft)
Assistance required to launch a
Tandem due to a strong wind on
the Upper (North) launch site.
(7,000ft)
Lower North take off (5,500ft).
A committed launch is required
as just over the edge is a quarter
of a mile drop.
 
After takeoff Marco hands me the brake lines and teaches me how to control the glider during the flight back down to the beach.
Flying over
the top of
Baba Dag
at 7,500ft
Just clearing the mountain at around
5,000ft and about to descend through cloud.
3,500ft
and moving out over Olu-Deniz.
2,500ft over the beach.
The landing area is the strip
of beach between the bars
and the sunbeds.
Changing position in the harness
from seated to standing, then
into the final approach before
flaring to land.
   
On arriving back in the UK Bob and I continued our training and gained our Club Pilot's licence, returning to Turkey in 96 to fly solo from Baba Dag.
Down to approx.
4,500ft
Bob flying below with Fethiye
in the back ground.
Bob out over
the sea.
     
1,800 ft over the bay.
Over a Turkish Guillet just before landing.
Right:- After losing height from the 5.5k launch site it looked certain I was going down. I was about to take the decision to fly away from the mountain when luckily I managed to connect with some weak lift. As I circled the core, the thermal increased in strength as it gained height, and I climbed on up and out above take-off reaching almost two and a half thousand feet above launch. Unfortunately the decending air of the high pressure front over the area put a lid on the lift and after an hour of intense flying in extremely turbulent and bumpy conditions, fatigue set in forcing me to fly out over the sea into smoother air before returning to the beach for a well earnt, "ice cold beer"
  
Yeeehaaaa!
7,810 ft above sea level.
 

L to R. Bob Torry, Jomo, Keith Calvert, all serving on Green Watch, Basildon at the time. Although Keith was the only one of us to fly solo from Baba Dag in 95, he never pursued the sport any further. Bob is currently learning to fly micro-lights and I dabbled briefly in accuracy parascending before embarking on a hang-gliding course that unfortunately, due to being so busy with other things, has been put on hold for the time being.

The Three Muckateers
 
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