Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th June 2021
Posted: 10/06/2021 11:17
Monday 7th. A trough affecting the area was forecast to produce thundery showers in the afternoon, but while they formed as forecast, they were all well to the south so didn't affect flying. This didn't commence until early afternoon off runway 20, as the light to moderate ESE'ly slowly veered into the SSW. 8 ATs were flown, predominately in one or other of the K21s, with Charlie Frenchville and Julian Pratt sharing the majority of these. Best flight times were a function of launch height, with the Bruce Grain/Charlie Frenchville combination having 23 minutes in both KLW and JVZ. The veering of the wind into the SSW even meant that at least one flight did a few beats along the into wind portion of the main bowl.
Tuesday 8th. A light to moderate SSW'ly slowly veered into the W becoming light later in the day. Extensive patches of Cirrus in an otherwise blue sky contributed to a late start of convection, but a number of cross countries were flown by some of the 7 private owners who rigged. In all, 34 ATs were flown off runway 24 with 20 used for landings. Paul Whitehead in his Ventus and Steve Thompson in his Ventus flew the same 161 km task with TP's at Doncaster NW and Ripon, reporting soft conditions on the southern leg with improved on the way back north and cloud base around 5,000'. John Ellis in his DG800 went west, visiting Ripon, Pateley Bridge and the area around Middleham, while Andrew Cluskey in his Shark went east, almost getting to the coast at Staithes before going south to the northern outskirts of York. The above flights contributed to the 7 that lasted more than an hour, with Steve Hunt in his ASG29, Andrew Wilmott in his ASW19, and Albert and Martin Newbery being the other contributors to this statistic. Messrs Pratt and Wiseman shared flights of 54 and 53 minutes with John Carter in K21 KLW, with Chris Knapp having 43 minutes in the DG303, contributing to the list of 8 flights to have between 30 and 60 minutes soaring.
Wednesday 9th. A light SSW'ly that veered into the WSW over the course of the day was accompanied by warm sunshine and some good looking Cumulus before extensive Sratocumulus developed in the afternoon. The conditions did not tempt anyone to venture too far, with John Ellis's O/R to Ripon in his DG800 and Fred Brown's trip to Boroughbridge in his Ventus summing up the days's major ventures. Duncan Pask in his LS10 and Thomasz Rusin in his DG300 joined John and Fred in having more than an hour in the air while local soaring. The list of those having between 30 and 60 minutes soaring was headed by the syndicated T21, with Nick Gaunt sharing a 49 minute flight with Mike O'Neil and a 56 minute flight with Tom Wiseman off the last flght of the day. Dave Cambell and Dave Key had 46 minutes in K21 KLW to head the club 2 seater duration stakes with no flying in club single seaters.
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