Friday 6th to Tuesday 10th October 2017
Posted: 10/10/2017 20:36
Friday 6th. A light to moderate NW'ly slowly backed into the WSW over the course of the day, the initially sunny skies being dotted with Cumulus by late morning, the thermic conditions persuading 5 private owner to launch and allowing 11 of the day's 28 ATs to yield flights of over 30 minutes. The most productive period was between 1130 and 1445 hrs, when 6 pilots exceeded an hours flying time and Steve Thompson in his Discus did an O/R to Guisborough via the Tontine and Battersby Junction. Originally intending to make the trip using hill lift, Steve found the thermals strong and frequent enough to allow his 92 km flight to be successfully completed within an overall flight timeof 3:09. DG800 pilots Ian Bullous and visitor Craig Lowrie both had around 2:20 each while remaining local, with Mike Wood in the Ka8, Tony Drury in his DG300 and Phil Lazenby in the Discus all having between 1:15 and 1:30 in the air, with Phil venturing as far as Boltby, Easingwold and Ampleforth. The longest of the day's 2 seater flights saw Andy Parish and Phil Hancock have 49 minutes in K21 JVZ while Will Blackburn was kept busy with 7 First Flight pupils.
Milfield Report.
Friday started bright and sunny, and blue, but small cu were forming by the start of launching. However, yesterday’s wave was not to be repeated and we had to make do with isolated, and at times ragged, thermals that clawed their way to 3000′.
DS2 has been packed away in anticipation of an early departure, but breezy westerlies are forecast
Saturday 7th. A cloudy, light to moderate WSW'ly airstream that led to rain in the early afternoon, restricted flying to 9 winch launches, flying coming to an end just after midday. The morning's flying saw Robin Hutchinson take the first launch of the day solo in K21 JVZ and have 55 minutes of hill soaring while, later, Steve Thompson and D Lewis had 1:06 in the DG500. The latter was the only flight to exceed an hour with a group of visiting Scouts having to be content with only 2 real glider flights, the onset of the rain resulting in the rest of the group experiencing gliding in virtual reality on the simulator. Just missing out on a > 1 hour flight was Polly Whitehead with 56 minutes in her ASW24.
Sunday 8th. A light WNW'ly wind opened the day's flying, the direction slowly backing into the WSW by the end of the flying day, a day characterised by warm sunshine and some thermal activity, cloud base eventually reaching 3-3,500' asl. 33 ATs were flown off runway 24, with most of the club fleet utilised and 4 private owners launching. 3 of the latter posted the longest flight times, with Duncan Pask in his LS10 having 1:23, Kelly Teagle 1:21 in her Kestrel 19 and Darren Lodge with 58 minutes in his LS8. The 2 seaters were busy with 6 Scouts and 4 First Flight pupils, with Lindsay McLane taking one of the latter for 51 minutes in the DG1000, recently returned from Milfield, while Chris Knapp topped the duration list in a club single seater with 48 minutes in the DG303.
Monday 9th. Another light wind day, with the wind again from the WSW, saw 13 ATs flown in addition to 4 Falke flights, with flying commencing around 1030 hrs and continuing until around 1620 hrs. Martyn Johnson in his DG600 was the only pilot to exceed an hour, his take off time of 1350 hrs leading to a landing some 2 hours later, during which time Martyn explored as far as Topcliffe and Boltby. 8 of the day's flights did however exceed 30 minutes, with Ron Beezer and Mr Frost having 45 minutes in K21 KLW, John Carter and Mark Newburn 42 minutes in the DG500, Jerry Murphy 40 minutes in the Discus and Will Blackburn taking J Rushton, one of the 3 First Flight pupils of the day for 40 minutes in K21 JVZ.
Tuesday 10th. A light to moderate SW'ly blew all day so the day's 17 ATs took off from runway 24, landings being either on 24 or 20. A high, thin overcast indicated that wave was present and this proved to be the case, although climb rates were slow, typically < 1 kt , with the wave unmarked at flying levels. Nevertheless, most of the day's 17 ATs found and utilised the wave lift as it covered relatively large areas of the sky with only the last two flights of the day failing to exceed 30 minutes due to the wave collapsing. Earlier, with the wave weak but consistent, 10 flights exceeded an hour. Martyn Johnson in his DG600 and Albert Newbery/Stuart Heaton in their DG1000 shared the longest flight time of the day, 3:15, with Martyn also claiming the highest height, 7,300' asl as 7 private owners launched. A number of pilots climbed to over 5,000' asl including Will Blackburn who got to 6,600' asl with one of the 4 First Flight pupils of the day in the DG500 , David Campbell, 6,300' asl in Astir DPO, Alan Beaumont, 5,200' asl solo in the DG500 and George Rowden in K21 JVZ, 5,300' asl, with John Tayler acting as safety pilot on George's return to flying after a hip operation. Apart from David Campbell, who had just over 2 hours, all the other pilots mentioned had between 1 and 1:30 hrs air time, this also being the case for Andy Tyas in DPO, Roger Burghall and later, syndicate partner Tor Taverner in their ASW20, visitor Dave Hartley in his Centrair 101 and Andy Parish and Mrs Hartley in JVZ. The day was also one of good visibility with the Humber esturary being clearly visible from 4,000' asl.
This blog describes a snippet of life at the Yorkshire Gliding Club. Why not take a flight and try it yourself, or we can teach you to fly as a full club member.