The sun was out early, but the grass was rather damp, and there was a light westerly wind and the usual Thursday regulars. By the time the launchpoint was set up, some of that orographic cloud was developing on the west ridge, although it was perfectly clear to the south.
There were a few exploratory launches finding cloudbase at 950ft at times, but the orographic was fairly thin and tending to form in streets. The K13 and one of the K21s was on the solo list with the Junior, whilst training continued in a K21 and DG505.
The forecast was going for a band of rain on a cold front reaching North Hill by 14:00 so there was a plan to fly for as long as possible. Reports from those flying were that there was no sign of the rain upwind, but the rainfall radar display was still convinced.
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| Dark clouds gathering (Mike Sloggett) |
For a short time, while the front caused the wind to veer, the ridge started to work and Geoff Lawrence managed the longest flight of the day in the Junior of 17 minutes. Tom Sides tried out a few back seat flights with Ron, and Hans Jenssen was signed off for winch driving.
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| For a time it started to look a bit wavy (Jill Harmer) |
The rain suddenly arrived and it was a push back to the hangar after 32 launches.
Well done to Chris Warnes who successfully passed his Bronze exam. Just after dark the Junior LRD arrived back from Tim Dews, thanks to Robert Lee for collecting it. - J&P
