It was a warm and sunny Friday morning at Denbigh and the forecast was not at all promising for the Vale of Clwyd due to the warm stable air mass. However for the gliders with turbos it was suggested that conditions to the west and south would be good, so a 200k task was set and the turbo gliders launched as soon as Cu was visible on the distant hills. With the Tug U/S, winch launch was the only option and and the prospects of finding any lift within gliding range for the non turbo pilots was looking pretty slim.
First to launch was Rodney Witter in his super little 13.2 m Silent 2 electric glider followed by Dan and Chris in the Arcus M and DG1000 M. JB in the Ventus Ct launched next followed by Phil and Nick in the Duo Discus DD3.
Much fuel was spent (and noise generated by all except Rodney) getting to Lake Brenig (Task Start point) in the distant hills and on arrival the promised thermals were almost non existent and very broken. The options were to keep searching for a climb or just set off on task and hope for the best. JB adopted the 'press on regardless' method and sledged south east as far as possible into a little valley and the sun soaked town of Corwen which looked obliged to offer some thermal sustenance. Forty five minutes later having supped from every wisp of lift on offer he finally accepted failure and succumbed to the iron thermal to escape. Meanwhile DD3 had been searching in vain for a decent climb to set off on task and eventually decided to abandon the task return to Denbigh for a nice cup of tea. The Arcus and DG1000 both faired better and eventually turned the Long Mynd.
First to launch was Rodney Witter in his super little 13.2 m Silent 2 electric glider followed by Dan and Chris in the Arcus M and DG1000 M. JB in the Ventus Ct launched next followed by Phil and Nick in the Duo Discus DD3.
Much fuel was spent (and noise generated by all except Rodney) getting to Lake Brenig (Task Start point) in the distant hills and on arrival the promised thermals were almost non existent and very broken. The options were to keep searching for a climb or just set off on task and hope for the best. JB adopted the 'press on regardless' method and sledged south east as far as possible into a little valley and the sun soaked town of Corwen which looked obliged to offer some thermal sustenance. Forty five minutes later having supped from every wisp of lift on offer he finally accepted failure and succumbed to the iron thermal to escape. Meanwhile DD3 had been searching in vain for a decent climb to set off on task and eventually decided to abandon the task return to Denbigh for a nice cup of tea. The Arcus and DG1000 both faired better and eventually turned the Long Mynd.
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| Snowdon shrouded in cloud with sea mist in the distance (JB) |
After a second noisy climb to 3000ft, JB eventually found a stonking climb near Lake Bali and headed north to Snowdonia to play in a weak sea breeze convergence. The views were spectacular with the sea to the west hidden under a blanket of sea mist.
JB couldn’t quite get to Snowdon peak which was shrouded in cloud so set off south again with renewed enthusiasm to Vyrnwy dam on Lake Efyrnwy (they don’t like vowels in wales!).
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| Clwyd hills from the southwest (JB) |
On the way back a small diversion was required around the Jubilee Tower on Moal Fameau for a last low level wave at the walkers before landing. Four hrs of flying for 4 litres of petrol seamed a fair compromise! - JB
