After having a brilliant day flying in Blue card conditions and getting used to thermalling in turbulence, Simon Minson (Who sent me solo last weekend) required assistance in a field near Exeter. How could I refuse to 'help'. Guy and I went to the rescue :)
A post by hrf on the old DSGC forum
For the few of us that were flying in those fun conditions, did you notice that all those wonderful cloud streets went a bit soggy round about the M5? (Simon obviously did).Jill and I had to resort to a 30hp thermal towards the Exe valley. Two minutes later we were off up the street again to Crediton. On the way back I had a look at the cloud shadows - a good way to assess the sky when at cloudbase - and I could see that the six cloud streets, from south coast to Tiverton, thinned a bit at around the M5.
With a 25 knot wind blowing over Dartmoor, wave was the obvious culprit. So back east of the M5 we started to explore the thinning in the streets from the downwind side. Fairly easily, but patiently, we climbed up in front of quite scrappy cumulus. Things improved, our cloud 'ridge' became more defined. Lift increased from 2kts to 4kts and we left the climb at FL62 about 3.5 miles southwest of North Hill, with the base of the airway approaching fast.
Later analysis of the atmosphere put a bit of 'up' where we were with vertical speeds up to 200fpm between 4500' and 14000' AMSL, and a corresponding bit of 'down' just a bit further west down to ground level. Just downwind of the peak of Dartmoor there was lift at 200fpm between 8000' and more than 26000', and 300fpm between 13000' and 21000'.
Slightly further south, and directly downwind of the Dartmoor peak, there were two large areas of lift, one over the west shore of the Exe estuary and another just west of Sidmouth.
A post by pharmer on the old DSGC forum
Simon Leeson and I got to Credition and back in the DG-505. Was a very good flight in brilliant conditions!
I would of liked it if it was not as windy!!!! I could of soloed then!
James Hood
A post by jhood on the old DSGC forum
