'An unspectacular but pleasant day...'
A good forecast but with an expedition 'up North' no surprise that North Hill was relatively quiet for a Sunday. However as members arrived slowly but surely there was soon enough enthusiasm to start getting gliders out and kit readied. With just the 2 K21s and a K13 needed for training flights and with a Junior to keep solo pilots happy flying was soon under way and although the sun shone bright the top cover cloud restricted the heat getting through to the ground so it was a morning of pleasant extended circuits.
A good forecast but with an expedition 'up North' no surprise that North Hill was relatively quiet for a Sunday. However as members arrived slowly but surely there was soon enough enthusiasm to start getting gliders out and kit readied. With just the 2 K21s and a K13 needed for training flights and with a Junior to keep solo pilots happy flying was soon under way and although the sun shone bright the top cover cloud restricted the heat getting through to the ground so it was a morning of pleasant extended circuits.
 |
| A colourful launchpoint |
The
Junior members continued to get 'stuck in' on both ground school skills
and progressing their flying experience and a group from Exeter
University, brought up by Liam to see for themselves what gliding is all
about, also seemed to enjoy themselves in the air and on the ground.
As the day progressed it was evident that just like any other gliding day if one happened to launch at the right time then there were the odd thermal or two available for those who could make best use of same. During the afternoon the wind strengthened and became more Southerly so that the South ridge was useable in places not necessarily providing great lift but certainly, for those pilots skilful enough to make best use of the conditions, enough to delay the inevitable return to the landing area.
As the day progressed it was evident that just like any other gliding day if one happened to launch at the right time then there were the odd thermal or two available for those who could make best use of same. During the afternoon the wind strengthened and became more Southerly so that the South ridge was useable in places not necessarily providing great lift but certainly, for those pilots skilful enough to make best use of the conditions, enough to delay the inevitable return to the landing area.
Paul M (DG100 HMS), Peter Sm. ( Lak19t 1 UP), John S. (Pilatus B4 CVV) and William/Mike R. (K6 DQS) all had suitable fun in their own gliders.
With an enforced lunch break due to the overall lack of numbers to keep the flying going no surprise that the end of day flying stats were not as high as previous weeks. Nevertheless by the end of the day everyone who wanted to fly had done so - with gliders needing to be washed before being put away a sign that the flying conditions are starting to change...
Stats for the day:-
Nearly 30 launches (winch and aerotow) for a total of just over 17 hours flying time. - Mike Sl
