First flight in control of the tandem

My first flight was as a tandem passenger - but this time being given the controls to learn to pilot the glider. It was pretty reassuring to have Steve right there - ready to take the controls should he need to. I gradually gained confidence in making turns and flying ridge soaring beats up and down the cliff face. We even flew out over the sea for a while then back to the ridge to get more lift again. What a beautiful place to learn.

At this point I still wasn't sure how I was going to manage take-off's or landings, having barely been able to launch the glider when groundhandling. Steve was merciless and insisted on making me practice groundhandling at every opportunity - also constantly telling me how important it was to practice pactice practice. I could see the sense in this but was getting a bit fed up with being dragged around by an un-cooperative glider. For the most part it seemed a pretty hopless cause as even when I did get the wing up, it would inevitable drift off to one side and collapse. But despite the groundhandling hassles, being able to control the tandem was pretty cool and I at least felt that at some point I would be able to fly.