20 July, hang glider out of action (more on that another day) so decide it's time for an evening flight on the PG.

Missed my morning practice session, so turn up at 3.30 at the LZ and ask Craig to see me through a couple of test launches. Those go OK, I decide that I can give the real thing a go; turns out we'll go to Nudo, Erik's there as well as Craig. Andrea says he'll see me off but in the end says to me "just get Erik to keep a look out". What with that and the flat radio battery... well, wasn't much supervision anyway... got too high for that.

Erik indeed sees me off at 5.25pm, I wasn't sure it was a good one and sat down too quickly but he said it was fine. Then off to the Brusciatta, where I slowly find a thermal and climb out to maybe 1200m or so, enough to get back over launch. Already feel satisfied with that but there's more to come. Looks like the bowl is working all the way round to the summit, so round I go, soaring the thermal dynamic lift off the face, round in front of the summit but as high as the "tabellone". After a while I cruise round again to the Brusciatta, again well over TO height.

At the "Y", it's working again, and my Sonic vario starts to scream... turn hard, lean hard, and up up up I go. I get to the inversion layer, which turns out to be 1700m (no altimeter, that was Craig and Erik's high point too, next time I'll take the GPS 12 to give me that and ground speed) and then after floating around there in the abundant lift go for Sasso. Get there high and climb up and down some, never really getting much below the TO there, once up to 1400m or so. Climb up with both Craig and Erik: what a crack to be able to shout to the other pilot in a thermal! Fun...

After an hour or so I decide that it's time to head out, and get down. However, the PCL landing field isn't the easiest in an Easterly, and there are houses and a ditch to slalom; I get a bit nervous, go real short - again - and end up dropping the last two metres and doing a PDL or whatever it's called. Well, roll over on the ground, chute over my head and crash. But there's no aluminium to break... So all goes well, I'm down, another 1h15 minutes PG airtime, went higher than Craig will get for years back in the UK, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

BTW, the Edel Atlas did everything I could want at this moment - climbed great, turned well, trusty and stable. Don't think I've been ripped off there.

8:25:35 PM