Managing club: Wessex Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club
Site briefing
Planning information for Portland East
Take-off
All available launch areas are from a flat cliff top. Your wing will be in rotor until inflated over your head. Inflating the wing can be difficult. You will then be pushing out directly over a vertical drop. You need to know the wing is fully inflated and flying correctly before pushing forward, it may be necessary to get someone to push you off. If pushing someone else off make sure you can let go of the harness well before you get to the cliff edge. People have died after hanging on too long.
Landing
Top landing: Back on take-off works well if the wind has any north in it. If the wind is due east or south of east, treat it with caution and land well forward. The first take off (the narrow strip between the quarry pit and cliff) does not have a lot of room if the wind is anything but light. To the South there is a lot more room but do be aware of potential rotor and watch out for boulders.
Bottom landing: Below take off is a long track. This is a disused tramway and provides a useful halfway down landing option. Below this track options for a safe landing are very limited if they exist at all. If you are going down on this site, accept it and set up early for the tramway. There is a lot of open space on the northeast side of the island. This land belongs to the MoD. There is no bottom landing to the south of take-off.
Access and parking
From Weymouth follow signs to Portland. Once on the island follow signs towards “The Bill” until you see a left turn sign posted “Young Offenders Institute” and “The Grove”. This is just after a petrol station. Follow this road past the YOI until at the end of the road turn right into the car park. There is a radio aerial in the car park.
Park in the car park (///washroom.orchids.orbited) within marked bays.
Local guidance
Hazards and cautions
Immediately behind the first take off there is a very large quarry. Being dragged whilst ground handling could be unpleasant so be careful and use assistance if necessary. This is a cliff site. Bottom landings require a lot of skill and some luck. If you miss the track beneath there are virtually no other options other than dense sharp scrub or the sea. Neither are good for you. Normal precautions apply with respect to rotor during launch. Changes in weather conditions can be rapid and dramatic. Beware of orographic cloud forming.
Forecasts are planning aids, not safety clearance. Check current observations, official airspace and NOTAM information, local rules and your own experience before every flight.