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Day 7 John O'Groats

Mobile telephone coverage in the N. of Scotland does not seem to be as good as in some other parts of the country. It was pouring with rain here when I woke up and I couldn't bring myself to ring the team until quite late in the morning in case the weather was bad there too. When I did, both the team's mobiles were unavailable for a long period - quite worrying. The marvels of modern technology came to the rescue however - although Andy's aerial Tracker wasn't working the one in the Land Rover was so I checked up on FirstNet's website and there they were, parked just beyond Helmsdale, the final leg half done. The ability to track a vehicle with such accuracy from anywhere in the world goes beyond even James Bond!

And there they stayed, for quite some time.

Eventually they came back on air, and Andy described his flight so far. Off at 8am. into quite a different airmass - the clouds were low and the wind had been from the north, leaving the air cold. Flying along the coast on the lee side of the hills in cold clear air it soon became very rough - typical 'Spring Thermal' conditions, with small, powerful thermals and heavy sink. Unable to climb above the worst because of the low cloudbase Andy just had to ride it out. He is a Marine though, and used to a bit of up and down. Even in these conditions he was able to fly with his hands in his lap, not needing to use the controls.

The landing in Helmsdale proved to be quite hard in some heavy sink but after checking everything over Andy took off again and soon turned North across the moors. When John o'Groats was in sight he came down to refuel so that he would have enough to take a few pictures of the finish, then carried on to the end, still making 50kph. over the ground. A big 360 over the town to check the wind speed then he carried on to Duncansby head, the extreme point of the land there. Despite my request to the crew to impress upon him that he must stop when he got to the coast, he flew out over the sea beyond the lighthouse to get a good turnpoint photograph looking back towards the land, the lighthouse perfectly in sector!

Landing back on the point there was no-one to impress except a few seagulls and a man walking his dog, but the flight was done - and very successfully. Both wing and paramotor had behaved impeccably, they were very lucky with the weather and confident all the way because of the support from the paragliding and military weather providers, and the other Service support was superb. Many thanks all round, and especially to Andy's ground crew for their dedication to the task and cheerful assistance along the way. I hope their heads are not too sore tomorrow! And of course I am sure Andy is most grateful to his main sponsors, Firstnet and Minorplanet for making the flight possible, all those who have contributed directly and indirectly to Barnardos, Mike Campbell-Jones for conceiving, developing, perfecting and manufacturing the Reflex and Vortex and especially, especially, Kate Phillips for enduring all the single minded dedication to these crazy things that we flyers do.

Land's End to John o'Groats by paramotor - 1200km. in just over 6 days.

Colin Nicholson.

Day 6 Thursday 14th September 2000 And a World record to claim!

The flight today turned out to be the hardest and yet the most rewarding so far. It started off with a fine Scotch mist, usually known as drizzle, so a big fried breakfast at the nearby transport cafe was in order. By 10am. the weather had started to lift and with the wing and engine checks completed Andy was ready for take off when things brightened up by 12. A smooth downhill reverse launch and easy climb out over the power lines and he was on his way. Cloudbase was low, with whisps of cloud at 2000' but steady progress was made past Kinross only for Andy to go missing. The battery pack on the airborne Tracker Unit had been playing up, and the ground crew lost touch. Going on to Perth they sat and waited for Andy who soon appeared, carrying on up the A9 to Pitlochry where he came in for his first fuel stop drenched from a rain shower. With forests beyond the town and a golf course with all the greens sloping out of the wind a large field nearby was chosen that allowed a perfect into wind take off The leg was 76km. flown in 1hr. 45minutes, followed by a 1 hour turnaround and take-off before 3.00pm.

The flight on through the Pass of Killiecrankie and Blair Atholl was into steadily stronger headwinds as the retreating front had left a westerly wind that was funnelling along the valley. Through Glen Garry towards Drumochter the groundspeed dropped at times from 12-15kph. to zero, and Andy was thinking of landing to re-fuel and consider his options. Low down the winds funnelled more, so he crabbed up the slope against the NW headwind and persevered, eventually reaching Dalwhinnie at 5.30pm. The team had been able to keep up with Andy all the way up the A9 so he chose a landing field and directed them to it to come down with wind socks already in place - only to find two massive Highland cattle lurking in the field, with horns over a metre across!

A quick 20min. turnround and Andy was away down the valley now making some 65kph but he decided to head straight across the Monadhliath mountains to Inverness, avoiding the headwinds along the next section of the valley. The scenery was magnificent, the evening light stunning and half way across it was time to change the fuel tanks. We had fitted a reserve tank to the Vortex and Andy had developed the routine of half emptying the main tank then switching to the reserve, then back to the main. Sometimes the valve changeover cut the engine but the Vortex is easy to start in the air. Usually.

10km. from the nearest road over boggy heather mountains 2500' high is not a good place to have engine failure. Kicking the foot start became harder and harder and the engine wouldn't fire even with both feet. A quick squirt of the priming bulb made no difference and Andy's quiet confidance was heading towards a less desirable mental state. Down to 300' above the tops circling to land he checked the fuel taps one last time and felt his hand brush against the ignition switch - aaargh - he must have knocked that off when he changed the valve before! Switching back on the engine fired immediately, just before he was committed to landing. The rest of the traverse over the hills in an incredible setting sun must have been supremely enjoyable for him!

Just after 8pm. Andy came in to a field beside the retail park in Inverness, the windsock already in place again. Total distance for the day about 170km., leaving just 145km. to do - and an unofficial world record in the bag. Andy had now flown further than anybody else by paramotor in one series of flights, and in many fewer days.

The Vortex was proving to be a very reliable, economical and easily managed engine. The unit Andy was flying had just come back from France where it had flown some 650km. in very demanding conditions in the European Championships, with many hard climb-outs and rapid stops and starts. Travel that far on a motor bike and you would expect to have some repairs to do! Andy was now much more used to the new trimmers and speed system on the Reflex and was able to cruise in level flight at 50kph. airspeed on reduced power, pulling in the trimmers and slowing down for better lift when coming in to land - the wing is a really professional piece of kit and is flown completely hands free to enable photographic or other tasks to be carried out much more easily.

Colin Nicholson.

Settle to Kirkbridge Day 5 Wednesday 14th September 2000

I was wrong about the Girl's School - the term had started! Lt. Colonel Nigel Mussett, commander of the school CCF directed the team to a field where they pitched their camp, and invitations to breakfast were extended.

Their site was very close to the village church however, and the bells rang very loudly every quarter hour. As some wag said, the notice in the girl's dormitory reads 'if you can't sleep call for a mistress' but they didn't miss their alarm at 5am. - Beep beep BONG...beep beep BONG...

There was some discussion about the route to take from here, Dean Crosby recommending skirting the pennines to the East, but the wind had dropped a little and with a rather out of wind uphill take off Andy set off for Kendal and the M6 to Penrith. At least he would have no trouble with routefinding. Slight westerly headwind to begin with, then steadily improving until he landed at the end of the railway at Penrith to meet a very welcoming chap with a ceramics studio who plied him with coffee and cakes until the crew arrived, then rang the farmer for him to obtain permission for the launch.

An easy downhill launch was followed by a 65kph. groundspeed straight away, increasing to 70kph. He was becoming used to the rather unusual method of re-tuning the Vortex in flight and his legs were now 2hrs.5 then 2hrs.15 mins. per tankfull at an airspeed that maintains level flight. Andy had been in regular contact with the RAF Low Flying Unit who had said that they were keeping his route clear but he was bounced on the way to Penrith by 4 Jaguars. He gave them a swift call to be told that there were some Hawks and a couple of Tornados on the way, so he climbed to above 2000' to be out of their way.

Up until now Andy had been keeping accurately to his planned route and waypoints but the wind was becoming increasingly favourable so he altered his course slightly and headed straight for Falkirk. The route sounds a bit like the Scottish football results from here! Although the ground was bumpier the air was smooth and the wind due southerly, so he made good progress below cloud at 2500' AGL.

With Glasgow and the Clyde visible to the West, Edinburgh and the Forth to the East the day's flying ended with the river crossing at Kirkbridge. The landing options either side of the river were not so good and the other side was a mass of power cables so Andy crossed the river at 2500' to fly into a rainstorm. He said the cold rain near cloudbase felt more like hail, and was pleased to find the golfcourse at Tally Allen, next to the Police College. Waving to the golfers (to secure landing witnesses) as he came in to a nearby field he then headed for the 19th. tee to be offered a drink by his witness. Walking back to the road a vehicle pulled up and Andy's parents from Perth greeted him.

The 5 crew booked into a room at the local Travel Lodge, and a call to the Low Flying Unit at Uxbridge confirmed that the next day looked better than the weather charts predicted. The Navy Met. Office agreed, and they had enough fuel now to complete the journey so things looked promising.

Settle to err Settle Day 4 Tuesday 12th September 2000

The weather did not look so good this morning in Manchester so I rang Wendy Windblows on Shining: gusting 12-21 mph, average 16, WSW, cloudbase 3700' ASL. Not too bad, so I rang the Team in Settle where they were sitting under a murk.

The bunkhouse accommodation the previous night turned out to be a Godsend - thunderstorms and pouring rain, and they had room in the dry to lay their maps out and prepare the journey ahead - many thanks to Dean Crosby for the suggestion.

While they were on the ground the task for the day became one of finding fuel for the support vehicles. All very well for Andy to be tanking up the country at 40mpg. on his paramotor but there were reports of the M6 being blocked at times and the whole area becoming dry. There was supposed to be a garage in Penrith that had fuel, but some studying of the map got them to Tebay service station and they were able to fill up there.

Meanwhile the Westerly winds had swung round to NW, and become straight headwinds for Andy - Wendy on Whether Fell reported 14-26 mph. NW at 1700', cloudbase now down to 2500' and rolling over the tops. Andy decided to re-route through the valley to the West, had a very easy take off but found he was only making 10-12mph. headway into the 30mph. wind - not helped by his having disconnected the speed system! It was a bit rough under the forming clouds, nothing the Reflex could not take in its stride (still flying hands off the controls) but after some time he decided to land and wait for an improvement. Andy's landing witness was the local farmer who was initially concerned by his arrival but soon became very happy for Andy to use her field when she understood what was in progress.

The Naval Weather Centre at Northwood have been very supportive of the flight, and although they normally work on a slightly larger scale tomorrow they are reported to be basing their forecasts around the attempt! They are also pleased to receive realtime live weather reports from the course - Wendy might have a new customer!

Looking for some cheaper accommodation a friend of mine suggested the school at Giggleswick. Perfect - 5 Marines in a girls' boarding school - we might never see them again!! After a bit of ringing around we got them a place there, but I forgot to tell them that the term had not started yet.

Colin Nicholson

Paramotorist beats petrol shortage! 12th September 2000

Paramotorist Andy Phillips is currently attempting a world record distance flight from Lands End to John o'Groats by paramotor, on behalf of the children's charity Barnardos.

He left Land's End on Saturday, reached Bristol on Sunday and yesterday flew from Bristol to Settle, north of Halifax in Yorkshire - 215 miles in 5 hours on about 25 litres of fuel.

His support crew from the Royal Marines Reserve forces are struggling to keep up with him, queuing for fuel where they can, and at the moment (12.38pm) are looking for fuel in Settle.

The situation looks critical - he is due to head for Gretna Green this afternoon, then past Glasgow to Perth, but his support team may not be able to get through Southern Scotland!

He is flying with a GPS based Tracker system that sends reports of his position back to base every half hour. Will the blockade defeat this attempt??

Colin Nicholson, Stockport.

Day 3 Bristol to Settle

Andy set up at 8.30 this morning just N of Bristol and took off to chase a 7 knot tailwind to Worcester. On landing there he was shortly visited by members of the local constabulary who had been called out to look for the pilot who had 'parachuted' from his plane. A description of the attempt followed and they duly left, clutching some sponsorship forms for the local police station.

In order to make best use of the tailwind Andy climbed to 3000' and made a best (ground) speed of 90kph for the next leg, flying in a 42-45 kph. following wind to 6 km. short of Bakewell. One of the support vehicles had to go elsewhere so the remaining vehicle was unable to keep pace with the flight because they could not use the 'leapfrog' technique as before. Whether the team were becoming concerned about the fuel shortage in the NW I don't know, you don't see tanks queueing up for diesel at a garage so they presumably have their own supplies in the military, but Andy was able to improve considerably on the fuel consumption of the Vortex by adjusting the mixture in flight to the optimum cruise setting. Dominic Marroco from FirstNet wanted to come out and lend support but remained trapped in Leeds by the fuel crisis!

I rang the support vehicle in the late afternoon to find out where they had got to and was given a brilliant demonstration of the Tracker unit Andy is carrying. The vehicle was driving up the M1 near Sheffield when I asked, and they said 'hang on a minute' - and then read out the O/S grid reference of a point just North of Tony Delaney's house in Hebden Bridge - an Airborne invasion by the Marines! Andy carried on and ended the leg just short of Settle.

I gave Dean Crosby at Active Edge a ring and he suggested they could stay at the Dalesbury Centre overnight. Just as well, because by the time the support vehicle arrived torrential rain had started and they navigated their way to the bunkhouse by the lightning flashes.

On my map Andy had covered 215 miles, 345km. from Bristol to Settle, in three hops in the day. I shall get the exact figures and times tomorrow, but it was a good day indeed. And quiet in the air - Andy only saw one light aircraft and a helicopter all day. It was quite rough over Froggat and Curbar Edges in the Peak as some big clouds built up, but nothing too alarming.

Given good weather tomorrow Andy is aiming at Gretna Green and on to Perth and a welcome from his parents who live nearby. The forecast winds do not look as good as today, a word with Wendy might be in order.

Colin Nicholson

Hopping across the moors - Land's End to John o'Groats day 2

RAF Culdrose were as good as their word and provided the weather for Andy to take off early this morning, with light crosswinds along the route. An uneventful 65km. hop across Bodmin moor and down to re-fuel some 15km. East of Launceston, then 80km. a bit N of Dartmoor to pick up the M5 and re-fuel at Wellington, just short of Taunton and the last leg in silky smooth conditions 100km. to Yate, NE of Bristol.

The last 100km. were flown in around 2 hours or less, the whole 240km. taking 5.5 hours in the air. The Vortex engine behaved impeccably, and Andy is beginning to get the hang of leaning the engine out in flight to improve the fuel economy. The new trimmer system lets the Reflex fly at full speed all the time with loads in reserve and with the engine hardly getting warm. Tomorrow he says he will try the new technique Mike CJ has been working on for leaning the mixture by a much greater degree and improving consumption by some 30%.

The rig is fitted with an overhead reserve fuel tank and sight guage, but the tank changeover involves operating a valve - if done a bit clumsily the engine cuts out, but the in-flight foot start is so easy to operate and the Solo engine with the new magneto system fires so easily that it is not a problem to re- start in flight.

Most of the flight was done today in cross or slight headwinds at between 500' and 1000', but for the final leg Mike advised Andy to fly higher to pick up a tail wind. For the leg to Bristol Andy climbed to 3500' and found a slight tailwind. 5 miles before Yate he saw a couple of bonfires burning below him and took a compass bearing on the smoke so that when he came in to land he was able to make a perfect into wind touchdown.

Andy's ground speed for the day varied between 45 and 60kph. on the Minor Planet Tracker GPS. This device transmits a 3-axis position by radio to the ground where the day's flight can be printed out at the end. In normal road use it transmits every couple of minutes but this is hungry on the batteries so Andy has set it to send every half hour. The Distress and Diversion lads wanted Andy to carry a transponder so that they could follow him at Air Traffic Control in West Drayton, but Andy did not want to open those floodgates so politely declined. The Tracker system would seem to offer many advantages to foot launched fliers, especially in competitions, so it is being watched carefully. There are problems with the transmission from the air, but they should not be insurmountable.

Just before he set off for Land's End Andy's two children contracted chicken pox, and his wife was not happy about him setting off on such a selfish jaunt. He is staying overnight at the Royal Marines Reserve base in Bristol, then tomorrow he is aiming for Tewkesbury to give his wife a hug before departing North with a tailwind all the way.

I managed to get in touch with the team just before they bedded down at 9pm. for an early start. Andy had discovered a better way of folding maps, this being one of the most demanding tasks in the air, and was practising his origami. He was interested to discover how tiring this sort of flying can be, and is going to try 'power napping' tomorrow, to keep his concentration up. On the ground, that is.

Colin Nicholson

Day 1 - 9.9.2000, Land's End to Bodmin Moor

Those involved in the previous attempt advised Andy that it might just be a good idea to fly from John o'Groats to Lands End! The weather projections looked promising for the S-N flight however, and with the team on standby at their base in Bristol they were alerted for the attempt on Tuesday. Wednesday morning it was discovered that the rules governing the road testing of military vehicles had changed and the support team had been grounded! Some fancy footwork followed and they set off in increasingly worse weather for the coast. The projections kept changing, but all agreed that come Saturday the weather would improve, so some extended ground handling shrouded in the secrecy of the sea fog gave Andy time to become happy with all the equipment he is carrying and sort out the new riser system and speed bar set up.

10am, the winds light and variable, sea fog dispersing but no sign of the media coverage so Andy set off from a perfect launch site sloping gently into wind down to the sea. Flying (with permission) through St. Just airspace he set course for the first leg. With a ground speed of 56-57kph initially, rising to 62-63 as he became used to the speed system, Andy reached Indian Queens, NW of St. Austell in 1hr. 10minutes and 65 kilometres. He came down for a fuel stop with several kilometres of unfriendly looking quarries ahead! The hardest part of the flight Andy said was changing the maps - he is flying with OS maps as well as Air maps, and flew completely across one sheet. The Reflex is designed to be flown hands - free, and he let go of the normal controls after launch, not touching them again until he came in to land. With the weather closing in for the time being they made a day of it, the prospects for Sunday looking good.

Colin Nicholson.

08.09.00 With low cloud across the South West of England the team are looking for a launch opportunity within the next two days. Local press, Sky News, Carlton TV and the Daily Mirror have shown interest in the challenge.