We were expecting a foggy start but North Hill was sticking out the top in glorious sunshine, calm wind with just some cirrus clouds. The grass was very wet from the overnight moisture. The light wind was forecast to start from the north west and then veer during the day to easterly, so we were expecting an end change at lunchtime.
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| Ready for the first launch (Dave Clements) |
The two-seat and single seat lists got going quickly, but in the very light wind, the launches were not that high and most had short circuits. Throughout the morning some low-level cumulus started to appear but with no useful lift, and the cumulus were seen to be moving westwards with an increasing wind shear at 500ft.
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| Changing ends completed (Mark Layton) |
Just as we were considering lunch, the light surface wind swung round and a lunch-time end change was perfected. Following a short break, flying resumed at the west end, but within an hour a thick patch of cirrus covered the sun, and a chill in the air was apparent. The moisture in the grass almost instantly settled on all the gliders and so at 15:15 everything had to be walked back to the hangar with dripping wet gliders and canopies.
Gordon Bonny in K13 and James Smart in Junior shared the longest flight award for 7 minutes. Chris Woodward resoled after a couple of years, and son Dave Woodward who has recently joined us from Yeovilton was cleared solo and flew K21, but unfortunately missed out on a planned Junior flight. We welcomed Alistair Worsley who has moved to Exeter from Cheltenham having flown some training flights at Nympsfield.
Unfortunately some missed out on flights due to the early finish. 25 flights in total. - J&P
