Things were looking good, forward launch and I was off. I circled around and took a few pictures I had promised the farmer. He was trying to research his crop density, before heading northeast. Then my camera packed in and rewound its self.

I flew over the meandering River Earn and then turned and headed for the village of Abernethy, flew past it, then down to the river Tay and followed it down to Newburgh, my wife's home town. I planned to land in a field on the edge of Newburgh and call on the assistance of my father-in-law to get back to my car, but there were a few people and a dog in the field so I decided to fly on. I crossed the Tay at Newburgh passing over Mugdrum Island. Below me a water skier and a chap out on his jet sky were having fun, but not as much as me. The Tay estuary is approx a mile wide at this point, but I did have a safety net in the form of Mugdrum Island. Once across I few west skirting the edge of StMadoes, heading back up stream before crossing again, the Tay is a bit narrower at this point so not so risky.

After crossing I flew on following the Rhynd road, not much more than a single-track road. At this point I had good height and had a fantastic view over Perth and the golf course on Moncreiffe Island.

I was now starting to think about my fuel level and turned for home. I cut over the edge of Moncreiffe Hill and then not wanting to spend too much time around the motorway I headed round the far side of Bridge of Earn. I could almost see my car now, which was probably not much more than a mile away then everything went quiet. I had run out of fuel. Thankfully I was well up and had a choice of landing sites.

With the engine off, the canopy seemed more responsive and flew very well. It seemed to hold its height and I had plenty of time to think what I was doing. A large stubble field was below me, right on the edge of Bridge of Earn. Down I came, as I got closer to the ground I realized how fast I was going. I had about ¼ brake on leaving the rest for the flare. I landed on my feet but quickly ended up on my arse. There wasn’t much wind but I got its direction wrong by about 130o.

I was met by 4 kids and a chap in his early twenties. They asked all the usual questions and I was the hero of the moment. I was offered a cup of tea, which I declined, needed a beer, but I did accept their kind offer of a bicycle to go and collect my car. So off I went on this bike, which was about 3 sizes too small, to collect my car some two miles away as the roads went.

What a great flight, what a great sport and what a great day!