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  3. Lion’s Head

Lion’s Head

The peak of Lion’s Head is 669 meters (2,195 ft) above sea level. It is a dramatic backdrop to the City of Cape Town and is included in Table Mountain National Park. Lion’s Head is a consistent and beautiful site to fly, offering a panorama of Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles. While this site has a Basic-rating, it is challenging in stronger wind and must be treated with the utmost respect.

Requirements

  • Valid SAHPA Membership and Basic Licence with at least 55 flights.
  • First 4 flights under supervision from an instructor or Sport-rated local pilot. Logbook must be co-signed after each flight.
  • SAN Parks Activity Permit.
  • All foreign pilots wishing to fly Lion’s Head must be in possession of a Foreign Pilot Permit.

Weather

  • West (W) to South South West (SSW)
  • thermic lee-side in light South-East.

In the afternoon, Lion’s Head heats up and generates a thermic, upslope breeze. The best flying conditions are typically from 3pm during South-East wind-shadow conditions. In a South-West wind, the wind diverges around the peak, which causes a strong increase in wind-speed at both take-off sites. The wind is usually cross from the left (South) at the upper launch and very strong, and crossed from the right (West-South-West) at the lower site.

Geography

  • Bottom Launch: 400m ASL
  • Top Launch: 450m ASL
  • Airspace Ceiling: 1200m ASL
Lion's Head

How to get there

Drive up through Cape Town and take Kloof Nek road up to the pass between Lion’s Head and Table Mountain. At the circle, turn right to Signal Hill and continue until the road levels out. You will find a gravel carpark to the right of the road. The path to the launch is on the left as you reach the carpark.

HG: get permission to drive a 4×4 up to the launch site from SAN Parks office (right-hand side of Signal Hill Road on way up).

Launch

Lower launch is reached after a 10 minute walk up Lion’s Head, where the path narrows from a jeep-track width into a hiking track. It is a challenging launch through a grove of endangered Silver Leaf Tree (Leucadendron argenteum) from a short net-covered runoff. Be meticulous in your layout and pre-flight checks. This is where to launch on Lion’s Head when the wind is South West 5-20 km/h.

Upper Launch is reached after another 10 minutes of brisk walking. It is NOT on the top of Lion’s Head; rather, it is below the cliffs on the North-West side. It is a rocky netted launch site that is both steep and loose underfoot. The wind usually cross the launch from the left, making good ground-handling and committed launch techniques essential for a safe take-off. This site is typically used when the wind is South to West-South-West, 5-20 km/h. Be aware of several steel fence poles about 20m below the end of the take-off mat.

Landing

On the Edgar Lipsett Oval, at the Glen Country Club (it is a bit short for Hang-gliders). The field is rented by the Camps Bay High School from City of Cape Town. Don’t land there if school sports are being played on the field. The Glen Paragliding Club has landing rights, and you will be expected to become a member if you land there regularly.

The Camps Bay High School field (above the main road, to the left of the big swimming pool) can be used as an alternative if it is empty. The lower slopes of Lion’s Head may only be used to slope-land in an emergency.

The City of Cape Town has appealed to pilots not to land on the beaches (Camps Bay, Clifton, Glen) during the busy summer months.

The hang-gliding alternative landing is at the Greenpoint lighthouse in Mouille Point.

Landing Pattern

Do not overfly the tennis courts. Our presence overhead can be disruptive to matches. The Glen Club paragliding section has an agreement with the Glen Club not to overfly the courts. Please help us maintain friendly internal club relations by abiding by this rule.

In South Westerly conditions, Lion’s Head can see a lot of combined tandem and solo pilot traffic. Contribute to order on landing by flying the pattern. Set up upwind of landing in the general area of the Maidens Cove Tidal Pool. At the appropriate altitude, fly crosswind on the South Westerly side of the field before turning downwind to enter the field to make your base and final turns. Once you’ve landed, bunch your glider and pack on the side. The landing box pattern orientation will vary based on the wind direction. Regardless of the wind direction, do not overfly the tennis courts or The Bungalow restaurant.

The Lion’s Head landing pattern direction in South Westerly conditions. Do not overfly the tennis courts or The Bungalow Restaurant.

Cautionary notes

  • Lion’s Head is part of the Table Mountain National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the last remaining sites of critically-endangered floral species. Please do not damage or destroy vegetation.
  • Only launch at the two designated launch sites. Do not pioneer a new launch site. Do not launch from the path or the very top of Lion’s Head.
  • Don’t leave valuables in your car.
  • Lion’s Head has complex weather systems; please ask the locals for advice. You may contact The Glen Paragliding Club for experienced pilots to brief you.
  • When it is soarable, the strong venturi effect at both launch sites can be hazardous.
  • Ensure that your takeoff is directly into the wind and that the conditions are within your capabilities.
  • Penetration into the wind becomes difficult beyond either takeoff site. Begin your soaring flight with very short tacks, back and forwards, until you have established the limits of the venturi effect at each side of the peak.
  • If you are blown over the back of Lion’s Head, try to fly around the side as much as possible (not directly behind the peak). Turn and run for the end of Signal Hill or Green Point if possible.
  • If your forward penetration is low, overfly the landing field before beginning your descent. There is usually no gradient; sometimes, the wind can be stronger at lower levels. Don’t give up your altitude, hoping to find less wind closer to the ground; this is rarely the case.
  • When the wind turns southerly, the spine which runs down Lion’s Head to Camps Bay High School generates lift on its windward side, and sink on the leeward side, so fly to the left of the spine to reach the landing field; otherwise, you’ll be forced to slope-land.
  • In Berg wind conditions (prevailing NE wind), it may be tempting to sneak off Lion’s Head in a thermic cycle. This is a VERY BAD IDEA because the hot, dry, and descending air will try to mix with the cool, moist sea air, making conditions very unstable on the way to the landing field. There should be a shear layer between the two air masses with violent lift and sink.
  • Lion’s Head is also popular with speedflyers; however, please take note of SACAA General Notice GAD#001-2021, which requires speedwing pilots to have a paragliding license and be members of SAHPA.

Caretakers

SAN Parks Activity Permit

All pilots flying in Table Mountain National Park must hold an active TMNP My Activity Permit (Level 2 – Hang-gliding and Paragliding). The TMNP My Activity Permit must be renewed annually.

Activity permits are available for purchase from the South African National Parks offices in Tokai. Day permits are available from the Tandem Flight Instructors at the Signal Hill launch when present and time permitting.

Additional Micro Meteorology Notes

When the SE wind blows over the Cape Peninsula, it is disrupted by the mass of Table Mountain. The wind is deflected upwards and only returns to the surface far out in Table Bay. This creates a ‘wind shadow’ in the area between Llandudno and the Cape Town Harbour. As the SE increases in strength, this wind shadow will shrink to protect only from Camps Bay to Green Point, and finally, it breaks down completely (usually when the SE is over 50km/h), and the wind tumbles down over the Twelve Apostles. The size of the wind shadow can be clearly observed by the patterns on the Atlantic Ocean. A wind line forms in ideal conditions, marking off the end of the SE and the beginning of the calm bubble of sheltered air.

There is usually a gentle reverse wind (NW) blowing in the wind shadow, created by the pull towards the low pressure on the lee side of the mountain. As long as you fly within the wind shadow, you’ll be fine, but heaven help you if you fly too high or out of the bubble. The SE wind blows you out to sea and is extremely strong and turbulent, as you are in rotor from Table Mountain. There should be at least a 1km margin area of smooth ocean around the landing field at The Glen Country Club.

If there are squalls on the water inside the wind line, where the water should be smooth, don’t fly – the wind shadow is breaking down. If the cloud begins to pour off Table Mountain through any of the Twelve Apostles, conditions are beginning to deteriorate. Cloud is usually dropping off the front face of TM by this time too. The furthest Apostles can be whited out; more than that, and you’ll end up in the sea. If you get caught in a dissolving wind shadow, try to retreat to the shelter of Lion’s Head, landing on the slope in the main bowl or on Clifton Beach.

Watch the progression of the wind line and the speed with which it is changing. If the wind-line has moved onto Whale Rock at the end of the curve of Camps Bay beach, then it is too close and not flyable anymore.

IN SOARING CONDITIONS (SW), the picture changes completely. At sea level, the air is dense (especially if cold), and you’ll have a lower flying speed than at inland sites. The lower launch will seem becalmed, with very gentle wind. This illusion is because of the site being at the separation point. If you can pull up your glider and ground-handle it above your head, it is very strong. If your glider can pull you strongly back UP the slope, then collapse it and pack away. It will be incredibly strong once you escape from the separation point.

Top Launch is too strong to launch from and crossed in soaring conditions. The silver-leaf trees always whistle in the venturi as you walk up, but if they are thrashing around, it is unflyable. If there are white horses on the sea, it is too strong to fly. If there are cat-paws on the water, parallel to the wind, wait.

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IMPORTANT: The SAHPA Site Guide is not a substitute for a detailed site briefing from an instructor or experienced local pilot. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and relevance of information contained herein, pilots are reminded that the SAHPA Site Guide is based on a volunteer effort to make information freely available to the community and thus information may be out of date. Pilots are still required to use their discretion and common sense, and validate the information with each club.

Many of the sites described in the SAHPA Site Guide are privately owned. The landowner reserves the right to limit access to the site.