Steep coastal hill, covered in grass, scrub and shale S-SE
100' / 30m PG: Novice (with conditions) HG: Advanced
Overview map Site map
Sydney's Northern Beaches. On the southern face of Long Reef Point, 45 minutes drive from the city. Park in the car park on the northern side (near the golf club) then walk along the path past the lookout and around to the southern side. Please do not walk across the golf course. Alternatively, use the Long Reef beach car park and walk along the Greenlink track. There are parking meters in both car parks.

Landowners

Public land

Contact

Northern Beaches HGC, Brett Coupland (0409 162 616)

Responsible

Northern Beaches HGC
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Long Reef SE

A relatively straight ridge facing SSE with a steep to very steep slope. The ridge runs from beach level at the western end, up to the crown of the headland and then turns slightly south east down to sea level at the eastern end. It is covered in a mixture of tussock grass, low bush, exposed rock and shale. Little to no trees survive on the ridge due to the salt air. This is a good site to build up your paragliding hours with easy ridge soaring and great views down to Manly. Not often flown by hang gliders as it's a fair walk to carry your kit. Contact a club member before flying.

Takeoff

This is a cliff launch for hanglider pilots who may need wire assistance.

PG: A grassy area part way along the walking track on the southern face. The grassed area is at best level and at worst slopes backwards away from the ridge. In order to launch you will need to be a few steps down the steep 'goat track' that goes directly over the edge. There is space for only one pilot at a time. If other pilots are present, they can hold your leading edge up which will simplify things, although experienced pilots regularly launch here un-aided. Because the hill rises towards the east, pilots flying eastwards tend to be lower and "hug" the cliff, those flying west are usually higher and often pass out to sea. This is opposite to the normal right of way rules but the pattern helps everyone to stay up.

Landing

A planned landing on the beach to the South West is the easiest option. If you should get low then it is possible to bomb out on the various narrow bits of sand and tidal rock shelf in front of the takeoff. However at high tide the rock shelf is covered by shallow water. You will be able to stand, but the wave action means you could lose your kit. When landing towards the main beach, there is a low spur which intersects the beach. Crashing into the spur is not recommended. There is a sandy beach out at the point on which you can also land, however there is some compression around the point.

PG: Top landing is relatively easy, however do NOT drift too far back as the rearwards sloping nature of the land means that some rotor is present behind the launch. You can avoid this by setting up your landing to touch down in front of the path. Lose height at the lower western end of the ridge near the beach then approach the launch along the ridge from the west. If you should get 'blown over the back', make distance towards the west away from the higher ridge and land in the golf course. You will not be popular with the golfers but you should be OK.

Flight

Lower Level of controlled airspace is at 2500'.

Hazards/Comments

This site is a favorite with model aircraft or RC flyers. More of an annoyance than a serious hazard, however please try and keep relations amicable with these fellow 'flyers'.

PG: The two main hazards with this site are the launch and the small areas to land below the launch at high tide. If you choose to scratch here in light conditions at high tide, you will probably get your gear wet. On launching, the steep slope means that your wing will quickly overshoot attempting to fly parallel with the apparent wind coming up the face. You need to be prepared to check it early. The normal approach is to just kite the wing and walk backwards up the slope a few steps back onto the level ground before turning and taking off. However should you fail to control the overshoot be prepared to become airborne facing backwards. In light to moderate conditions launching is relatively easy, however good ground handling skills are required in strong conditions. Novices are encouraged to get some help with their first few launches from this site. By having another pilot hold the leading edge of the wing up, the need to be standing down the slope is reduced and thus the chances of the wing overshooting is negated. When the wind is from the west of south conditions become more gusty and the lift becomes uneven. It is strongly recommended that novices do not fly this site in these conditions.