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Defying Newton 2

This page follows Defying Newton and it also documents powered ultralight (and similar) operations at Newton Peveril in Dorset, England.

I took these photos in mid-May, 2019, on a sunny day with a chilly easterly breeze. If you travel a quiet country lane on such a day, be alert to a sensation of time shifting backwards — or perhaps sideways to a ‘vintage’ parallel dimension — and when you sense it, watch for a brightly painted aircraft, possibly with one or both wings folded, shaded by trees beside a dirt track leading to a brick country home.

Theo started with a Wasp 229-B3 standard Rogallo hang glider, moving on to the 1975 Birdman Firebird, then the 1977 space-age looking Birdman Moonraker. He then side-tracked to powered flight.

Simon, another hang glider pilot from the early days, flew this slick machine later in the afternoon.

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Tim’s Kitfox is the type with extra span and under-cambered wings enabling shorter take-off and landing rolls and slower flight.

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Gary cut his head (somehow) when crawling under a wing that we both failed to rig because of an inadequately repaired batten pocket. Fortunately, he had a second aircraft ready, so he carried on with maintenance work needed on that and consequent check flight.

The pilots experienced moderate turbulence and sink on final approach where the wind curled around and over the trees that border the airstrip.

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