About this flying site
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Devil's Dyke paragliding site and weather forecast
South Downs, Sussex. Live seven-day flying weather, launch directions and site information for Devil's Dyke.
Altitude193 m
Launch directionsN, NW
Coordinates50.8857, -0.2130
AreaSouth Downs, Sussex
Managing club: Southern Hang Gliding Club · Access: membership
Flying profile
Best Workable Not recorded
Devil's Dyke is a hill site in South Downs, Sussex with a recorded launch elevation of 193 m. It works best in northerly and north-westerly winds, and can also work in westerly winds. Pilots fly it for ridge soaring and thermal, using foot launch.
- Terrain
- hill
- Lift
- ridge soaring and thermal
- Launch
- foot launch
- Cross-country
- Not recorded
When the wind is wrong for Devil's Dyke
The nearest site we have rated for each wind direction Devil's Dyke doesn't cover.
Bo-Peepnorth-easterly wind, 25 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 183 m · NE launchHigh and Overeasterly or south-easterly wind, 27 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 76 m · E, SE launchMount Caburnsoutherly or south-westerly wind, 19 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 137 m · S, SW launch
Site briefing highlights
Short extracts from Southern Hang Gliding Club and ParaglidingEarth. Read the full guide before you fly.
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.
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.
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).
Local weather notes
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Flight rules
MEMBERS-ONLY SITE. Register with the Southern Hang Gliding (and Paragliding) Club (SHGC) for DAY or ANNUAL membership before flying. Permission to fly any SHGC site is sensitive, and can be easily lost.
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.
- Exact launch
- Launch GPS
- 50.88572, -0.21278
- What3Words
- ///limitless.spout.storming
- Emergency
Check current site guidance
Paragliding sites near Devil's Dyke
Ditchling Beacon8 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 222 m · N launchMount Caburn19 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 137 m · S, SW launchNewhaven Cliffs22 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 55 m · S launchFirle22 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 165 m · N, NW launchBo-Peep25 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 183 m · NE launchHigh and Over27 km away · Southern Hang Gliding Club · 76 m · E, SE launch
Forecasts are planning aids, not safety clearance. Check current observations, official airspace and NOTAM information, local rules and your own experience before every flight.
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