Saturday 16th to Sunday 17th July
Posted: 27/07/2016 21:41
Your scribe has been on holiday for a week so, with a lot of catching up to do, the daily reports may be a little less detailed than usual.
Saturday 16th. A moderate to fresh W'ly, with gusts into the high 20 kts, produced a good hill soaring day, with thermal and some excellent wave to add to the fun. The day's launch total was 40, comprising 37 winch launches and 3 ATs, with flying starting at around 0930 hrs and continuing until the last landing at 1812 hrs. The eminently soarable conditions led to 23 flights of over an hour and a further 10 over 30 minutes. 3 pilots had over 5 hrs flying, with visitor Justin Wills disappearing for 5:30 in his Antares, YGC's Darren Lodge having 5:06 in his LS8-18 in which he climbed to 10, 000' asl, while Paul Whitehead spent his 5:25 flying his Ventus 414 km around Ripon/Pontefract, Barnard Castle, Pontefract and Aysgarth, his best height being 11,000' asl. Other pilots to contact the wave included Fred Brown and Chris Booker who reached 8,500' in K21 KLW, Fred repeating the exercise later with Bryn Evans in the same glider, while Andy Parish and Martin Joyce got to 7,500' in the DG1000. Graham Evison, one of the 10 private owners to launch, climbed to 10,972', while Nick Gaunt climbed to 18,300' in his LS7, his dive of the top of the winch launch ensuring a low point and consequently a gain of 17,400'. Ian Johnston flew his DG300 to 9,500' in a flight of 3:40 while Tony Druy set the ball rolling off the first flight of the day, taking his DG303 to 6,500' in a flight lasting 3:15. Pride of place on the day, however, must go to Nigel Burke who recorded a Diamond height gain as he took his DG600 to over 18,000', all heights being asl, so congratulations Nigel. More mundanely, 7 First Flight pupils were flown, while Steve Ogden, 1:21 in the Discus, Andy Hatfield with 1:40 in Astir KRN, Conrad Thwaites with 1:18 in the Discus and Mike Wood with 1:25 in the Ka8 all strove to be top of the solo, club aircraft duration list.
Sunday 17th. The westerly flow continued, albeit a little less windy than Saturday, the moderate wind only gusting into the low 20 kts. Nevertheless it was another good hill, thermal and wave day, the 30 launches of the day again being split between winch, 3 launches and 27 ATs. 9 private owners launched, contributing to the 13 flights to exceed an hour, with a further 12 exceeding 30 minutes. Those who contacted the wave were rewarded with climbs to between 8 and 10 thousand feet. Rob Bailey in his ASG 29t and Chris Teagle in his Nimbus 2 also took the opportunity to fly cross countries, Rob covering 234 km with TPs at Harrogate North, Stanhope, Harrogate North and Ripon and reaching 9,800' asl in his flight of 4:17, while Chris flew 143 km with TPs at Northallerton, Garsdale Head, and Boroughbridge and reached 10,300 ' asl in his flight of 3:05, Rob supplying the following photo.
Later in the day, the lenticulars became a marked feature and Phil Lazenby took the following photo from near his house.
Other pilots to record their flights on the ladder included Kelly Teagle who reached 9,600' asl in her Cirrus and Martyn Johnson who, having no oxygen, limited his climb to 8,300' asl in his DG600 while staying aloft for 3:16 off a winch launch. Fred Brown flying his Ventus topped the duration stakes with 4:40, while Les Rayment in his Ventus had 3:53. Those pilots flying club gliders recorded some more moderate flight times, with Robin Hutchinson and Mark Walton having 1:40 in the DG1000 and John Carter and Bryn Evans having 1:32 in K21 KLW off the first flight of the day. Mark Newburn, on the other hand, recorded 2:51 in Astir DPO. The club 2 seaters were busy all day with members and 8 First Flight pupils.
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.