Christmas Eve Flight

HIMUPNORTH

HIMUPNORTH

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Gary
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Managed to get a flight in on Christmas Eve. I had planned to get high above the Cairngorms however the dense air and the higher upper wind made it difficult at height so I had to be happy with a stooge around the Valley. There is so much water that I needed to keep a certain height so I could glide free of trouble which prevented me getting as close up to some of the better features as I would have liked.

#1 A frozen field with a handful of cows sitting on the grass. Even though they are sitting you can still see their shadows.



#2 is the flood plains of Strathspey. The river to the right floods the fields every winter.



#3 is a close up of the drain junction



#4 is a view I have shown you before but in August when I flew in shorts. No such luxuries this day. I had fleeced salopettes, a Rab High Mountain down-filled jacket and hand warmers in the gloves.



#5 This is a view of Andrew getting ready. From the left you can see; his car, old caravan, motor, Andrew & wing. Poor Andrew tripped on launch and broke his prop. He did not have the tools to change the prop so never flew that day.



#6 is Feshie River from the South looking North. The field to the right of the river is the Feshie airfield where I took off from.



Not as good a set as I had hoped for the day, and had I stayed on the ground I would have bagged so many good shots, but a man has to fly :D
 
Great stuff. What I like about these is the fact the the muted winter colours change them and almost make them military like.....

Well done.
 
These are great - I could look at your shots all day long and never get bored :)
 
Lovely set HuN ... nice way to see the festivities in ... if you like being cold and aloof ... sorry ... aloft ... :D

I do like the way you tell a story with the shots too ... from taking off to the route round ... and even your mates mishap... (y)


:p

 
photostar_1 said:
Christmas eve eh? Didn't happen to spot a bloke in a red outfit, did you? fab shots BTW.;)
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The coincidence and timing of this is worrying me.

Where WERE you at approximately 3:45 am on christmas morning? And do you have a penchant for mince pies, and not sweeping your magic dust up after yourself?
 
:D

... Couldn’t fly high so he had to stay low... yeah right, good cover story... just in case you where spotted right Hun? ;)

-


Breathtaking images Gary, I mean that literally as well.. It must have been freezing up their. I'd love to see image number four large one day, incredible clarity you've achieved, are cold frozen days better for clarity? ...anyway it looks as if I could see up to 50 miles in that shot, superb.
 
Morning guys. As usual I am astounded by your reactions - and unbelievably pleased. If I could have gone higher (and might have had Andrew managed to take off) I am sure the photos we would have achieved would have been awe inspiring. As it is I am reasonably happy with what i got but had to push the ISO way up to get a decent shutter speed.

I wore jeans and a tshirt under fleece lined salopettes and a Rab jacket (down filled) with hot pouches in my gloves so was as warm as toast. When I landed I had a slightly sweaty back I was so warm :)

Good point about clarity Adam and a BIG subject.

For best clarity we need either returning polar maritime or arctic maritime air. This means the air has been over the arctic or atlantic and is pollution free. Usually a front (rain) clears up any residual particles in the air. Once the front passes this clear air is left.

In this case we had a steady period of such air which was displaced by a continental high leaving us here in the North blessed with high clarity for about 48 hours with fairly low winds. Eventually the high pressure sucked up all the particles from the more polluted south destroying the clarity.

Next week we return to a Tropical Maritime airstream which will be milder but will clear the air again as it comes from the atlantic but will also bring a lot of moisture which will reduce the effective visibilty.

In short days like Christmas Eve are few and far between!
 
Superb! (y) It's the last one that really does it for me.

Although of course, I'm more interested in that caravan your friend Andrew has... ;)

We can only dream of such clarity down here in the smokey South.
 
Lovely shots, even though I get vertigo if I stand on tiptoes.

2 & 3 look almost like fractal images.
 
LOL at you Andrew.

This caravan would have been the foreunner to that tube thing you held up half of the Welsh homeowners club with. It is actually the "control" for the gliding club - see! I am agreeing, caravans are useful. :D

I have shots from Wales and the Lakes that show you get great days too!
 
As always Gary, the shots are astounding, I always enjoy seeing these not just because of the different perspective but also your take on it.

I'll have to give you a shout next time I'm visiting the folks!
 
Great stuff, the perspective is so different you could look at these for hours
 
HIMUPNORTH said:
For best clarity we need either returning polar maritime or arctic maritime air. This means the air has been over the arctic or atlantic and is pollution free. Usually a front (rain) clears up any residual particles in the air. Once the front passes this clear air is left.

...and other stuff
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Interesting stuff, I thought as much. If you want good light then you've got to grab those moments when you can... inspiration efforts indeed mate. (y)

If I ever get up to you, I'll time it with a northerly wind and defiantly in the summer. :LOL:

(In the Hope that offer of a ride you made ages ago is still open that is. :) )

..I'd have to take some big fat brave tablets though. :eek: ...scary.
 
Great Pics HuN of Bonnie Scotland....

Do you ever fly over Balintore and take pics.....my sister lives right on the Harbour there...

Keep posting pics like this I love em:)
 
Oldboy - In my early flying career (before I added a motor) I flew along the ridge at Balintore and nearly ended myself :eek: With the bombing range at Tain flying there is a weekend only possibility and to be honest if flyable at the weekend I head for the mountains inside the rest of the "Highland Restricted area" which is pretty much out of bounds all week.

Adam - Would love to take more people flying but aware that it is uninsurable for passengers. This said I have taken a fair few people into the air and some of my friends have even trusted me with their children. Must look out a photo of me landing with a 16 stone passenger who would not put his legs down for landing and we had to skid in - you can see the dust being thrown up from my heels :LOL:
 
Forgot about the Bombing Range....I know when I am up there the Jets fly overhead on Full Power climbing and the noise is deafening....Sounds like a wise decision to stay away HuN
 
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