Dan Welch from Nympsfield put out his usual call advertising an April wave camp at Lleweni Parc in Denbigh, North Wales and as has become the norm the NHL pilots outnumbered the Nym gang 10:3,
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| Team NHL awaiting soaring conditions |
Hopes were high, bolstered by an epic Saturday forecast for a day of good thermal flying. The northerly wind however had other ideas, obviously it hadn't read the forecast and arrived with a few extra knots in its tail and a thick band of overcast which delayed launching until well after lunchtime. Well expect for the self launching buggers who got away early and motored off south to the good looking clouds in the distance. Even the turbo guys struggled to get away from the crosswind winch launches and needed multiple attempts. There was mixed success amongst our gang with flights ranging from a couple of hours to a couple of minutes.
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| M5 Matt from ENW (James Hood) |
Meanwhile the Eagle demonstrated the virtues of trying for lift within the airfield curtilage as the modest launch was almost entirely dedicated for lift searching and the final turn on to approach was at an equally modest altitude...Stopping on spot in the west end parking bay made up for the excitement modest duration of the flight. Denbigh in a NNW blowing in off the sea and along the hills was seeming like a bad choice...
So the team had lots to discuss, the weather forecasts were all very certain of the wind direction for the days to come. Sunday briefing gave rise to some wild plans for adventure which majored on venue choices and Llanbedr came out top of the list. Calls to tug owners and the Llanbedr airfield looked promising. With no immediate flying on offer, Team Eagle took the best 4 x 4 by far on a mass trip to Barmouth and Llanbedr airfield to survey the terrain and appetites were whetted but evening forecasts and tug pilot returns made it seem a pipe dream. Monday briefing with the stalwart Dan led to the inevitable decision to decamp and head south. Dan who had made the call to arms with the Denbigh trip and energise the NH team was fantastic enough to stand and wave us off as the convoy drove off...
