The forecast for Wednesday was far from clear, it certainly started nice and bright so a pitch inspection was done and it was decided that, with care and moving the launch point during the day we should be able to winch launch. There was virtually no wind so we set up for a southwesterly take off, we started of with a Junior and the two K21s, we were all ready to fly but we had problems with misting canopies inside and out, but with a lot of rubbing and patience we were able to keep the canopies clear.
Mike Fitz and John Street were first to launch by luckily finding a clear bit of sky, Mike enjoyed his flight, his first this year. John Sillett was next to launch but had to delay his flight due to almost complete low cloud cover which had suddenly appeared.
It looked as if the cloud was not going to disperse any time soon so it was off to an early lunch.
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| John Street and Mike Fitz polishing canopies (Mark Courtney) |
It looked as if the cloud was not going to disperse any time soon so it was off to an early lunch.
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| Nick Harrison getting comfortable in the back seat (John Street) |
By 1:00pm the cloud base had improved so full height launches were possible, at this time the weather was getting better and as there was a growing number of required flights we got the Perkoz out and Nick Harrison enjoyed sampling the back seat.
As the afternoon progressed it became apparent that extended flights were to be had on the South Ridge. Chris Warnes started the soaring with a 16min flight. This prompted other Wednesday regulars to stay up longer,- not that we are a competitive lot, we just like the chance to stay up! Dave Clements managed 18min, John Street managed 27min, Robert who is not usually competitive landed early due to the sudden return of the low cloud and this was the same excuse that Peter Warren and Sue used for an early exit from the ridge.
We managed 20 flights today and everyone flew, not to bad for a day that that promised little. - John Street.
