Sat 2nd February

After the heavy snow and strong winds of Thursday afternoon and evening, a reasonable group of members ventured up to North Hill on the "passable with care" local road report. But there was a bit of work to do before we could get the gliders out of the hangar.....

Digging out the hangar (Mike Horwood)

The snow drifts had blown across the field piling up around the hangar, clubhouse and trailers.....

Snowdrifts (Rob Hender)

.....But it did mean that the field only had a light covering of snow left, and the K21s and Junior were readied for flying, with aerotowing the only real possibility.

Ready to go (Mike Horwood)

The wind was northerly across the field, but quite light initially and James Hood and James Flory were first up, with Stu Procter in the Pawnee.

Next to launch was Nick Redfern in the Junior, but the wind had suddenly picked up from the north and a transient wave bar had appeared over the field.

Junior launching  with a wave bar over the field (Mike Horwood)

The tow was very turbulent and Nick found a small amount of lift on the North ridge to extend the flight, but the wave bar disappeared downwind.

A lovely snow scene over the Blackdown Hills (Nick Redfern)

 On taxying back up the field the Pawnee  struggled with the crosswind and the slippery surface.

Operations were suspended for a cuppa, whilst checking the wind actuals and forecast, but the gusty crosswind was here to stay and it was decided to call it a day. Nick Jones returned from the Regional Chairman's get together with news of how the other local clubs are faring this winter.

So just the two flights in the gorgeous sunshine, and Karen King missed out on her 1:1 training session with Peter Smith. But on the bright side, Ian has confirmed that the Pawnee is available for use tomorrow with the lighter Southwesterly wind forecast prior to its Annual. - J&P