Managing club: Southern Hang Gliding Club · Access: membership
Site briefing
Planning information for Devil's Dyke
Take-off
Hang gliders: take-off areas are the paddock, the southerly part of the main area near the fence adjoining the paddock, and the area to the north of the paraglider take-off. On busy PG days, launch from the area north of the paragliders and land/re-launch from the paddock.
Paragliders: take-off is in the main area in front of the car park, or in the bowl in northerly winds.
Rigging: leave at least a 50 ft strip in front of the car park for public access and viewing. Paragliders should not be left opened in the main take-off area. If you are not clipped in, mushroom and move to the rear of the area. The main HG rigging area is the paddock — when HGs are present this is exclusive to them; park a maximum of two deep, adjacent to the fence and clear of the footpath. The bowl SW of the fort is unrestricted for HG and PG, but beware leaving canopies or gliders unattended (cows).
Landing
Top landing: hang gliders may top-land behind the bowl and in the paddock, or in front of the pub if it can be done without risk. Paragliders may top-land anywhere except the HG paddock when HGs are present; exercise caution in N–NNE winds as rotor off the upwind ridges and the modeller's bowl can affect the whole top-landing area, especially to the rear of the hill.
Bottom landing: land in the designated packing area in the large field below take-off, beside the road, or as close to it as skills allow and walk the last bit. Landing elsewhere in the large field is acceptable only if it is not in crop; HG pilots should seek an alternative when the field is in crop (the area beside the gate tends to be least overgrown).
Access and parking
National Trust pay-and-display car park (busy at weekends; no gate, no code). Do not park in the alleyway by the side of the pub (by the toilets). Use the lay-bys for bottom-landing retrieves — do not drive into the fields or onto the hill. You risk a ticket if you park on the roadside leading up to the Dyke.
Devil's Dyke is on the South Downs, 5 miles NW of Brighton. Take the A2038 off the Brighton Bypass (A27) and at the roundabout take the exit signposted 'Devil's Dyke'. After half a mile, take the left fork (also signposted).
Local guidance
Hazards and cautions
High-voltage power lines approximately halfway to Truleigh. Fence immediately below and out of sight of the take-off area. Fence between the paddock and the main launch. Various sunken pathways and earthworks. Power lines on the northern boundary of the fields immediately to the north of the road.
Airflow: The site is often affected by sea-breeze encroaching from behind the hill, which can cause abrupt and severe turbulence — sometimes preceded by a burst of good lift. Often it will produce dangerous and turbulent air. Great caution is advised at these times. The sea breeze can also arrive from around the Truleigh end (a more westerly direction). When the wind is off to the west, airflow becomes very turbulent off the bowls and ridge to the west — do not get pushed into the aero-modellers' bowl. In northerlies, expect rotor at the rear of the paddock and in the strip between the pub and the fence to the west; the take-off can sit in wind-shadow with a steep gradient. NNE puts the whole take-off in serious wind-shadow with severe rotor. Penetration problems are often experienced when top landing at the back of the paddock if the wind is moderate in strength and off to the west. The Dyke valley (the deep coombe behind take-off) is full of rotor and sink — avoid being blown back over the pub or trees into it, and turn south behind the bowl in good time — and beware getting caught in 'hoover valley' just before the power lines on the ridge run to Truleigh.
Forecasts are planning aids, not safety clearance. Check current observations, official airspace and NOTAM information, local rules and your own experience before every flight.