With Stewart Henshall being called back to the non-virtual world, Dan Hender stepped up to select and lead today's task - It was a 206km ridge running task in Austria starting and finishing at Noestch.
Simon is blown away with the realism of the VR Oculus Rift S, And it all worked out well thanks to Dan's briefing and shepherding.
Happy New Year to all our DSGC Blog readers- J&P
Another go at the high-speed technical slalom course in the Slovenian Alps for more practice using flaps and some newbies on the task. There was a practice run first for familiarisation, with most in the Diana and David Clements tried out his new Ventus3.
Dan Hender showed the route to Simon Leeson, and Stewart Henshall had an attempt to beat Dan's leading time on the task. For the less experienced at the task, the key section again proved to be getting the maximum climb from the low gate at TP7 to the high gate half way up the mountain at TP8. But all seven pilots picked up some new tips. - J&P
Today was a repeat of the Salzburg task from last week as not many of the Regulars had been available just before Christmas and others were keen to improve speeds second time around, and it was the first Alpine adventure for Simon Leeson.
It was a really close finish with everyone within a couple of minutes despite using slightly different routes, but Chris Warnes clinched the 1000pts by taking one extra thermal to cloudbase just before final glide. And Simon was blown away with the Alpine scenery - just wait till he gets the VR working!
Come and join us - it's great fun and the sun is always shining in Condor. - J&P
Task 00T16 - Xmas Baby Bimble!
56km NH2 - Watchford Farm - Axminster - Farway Common - NHL.
Granau Baby only - single class.
Which means no PDA.. :joy:
Normal ‘No PDA’ screenshots are needed.
Wind 280/3kts
Very strong wide thermals to 5000’ (yes this is Christmas fantasy weather - enjoy while you can..!)
Winch Launch.
Start and turn waypoints are 1000m radius cylinders. Finish line at NHL 1000m (180 deg).
No altitude constraints.
Turnpoints visible from 10km, so navigation won’t be a problem (for once!).
Exeter airport is closed today, so we won’t be disturbing them.
Since it’s Christmas, Q will be free - which means we can pop into both GA fields for a cuppa and a mince pie.
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| Some of the Grunau grid |
With a swift Q to get going again, the field attempted to catch Pete who was rapidly disappearing to the South. Having turned Axminster and starting to head into wind (3 knots) the Kilometres took a lot longer to pass.
There was quite a sticky patch at Farway Common where all decided to stop for tea and mince pies.
Everyone enjoyed the gentle cruise around East Devon -a pleasant change from fast racing, thanks Stewart for the task. - J&P
Following a short Christmas break, the Condor racers were keen to take on a longer than normal task. With North Hill airfield too wet and windy the sunny skies of Condor were a welcome alternative.
The task was straightforward 213kms- out and return to Salisbury Cathedral and there were 9 starters including guest Ben (Condor mate of Stewart).
The start was a little delayed due to some technical difficulties, but Dan Hender raced ahead as normal, with Stewart explaining the local airspace to Ben. Everyone was in a Discus2a loaded with water and the conditions were at times quite good with 5-6 knot averages, but there was a considerable variation of thermals in the settings, to keep everyone on their toes.
Simon Leeson got a better view of the spire than he would have liked and made an estimate of its height, all made the turn. Geoff Lawrence had an internet moment but continued in stealth mode. Chris Warnes had to pop off for tea near Yeovilton, but will have another go tomorrow.
Dan thought that he had it in the bag at the finish line, but was pipped at the post by both Stewart and Ben running in very fast to take 1st and 2nd places, all at about 117kph.
Well done to Geoff Lawrence now using the 'get high, stay high' policy completed his longest flight with no penalties. - J&P
Your veteran Wednesday blogger would like wish all club members and Wednesday flyers a very happy Christmas and a more flyable new year and a special thank you to the club officials who are doing such a fantastic job for the club.
Happy Landings and best wishes for the New Year - John Street
The Tuesday afternoon race was 220kms in Austria with a ridge run but needing a few thermals at strategic points as well, Salzburg - Aschau Vale - Zell-am-See - Salzburg, with Jill Harmer finishing marginally fastest at 118kph, (thanks to missing the start at the first attempt and having to restart and Stewart marking some good thermals.)
With no "real" flying on Wednesday due to incessant heavy rain at North Hill, there was a callout for another Condor race (where the sun always shines). So another task in the Austrian Alps - 203Kms centred on Innsbruck.
7 racers lined up including John Davis in his brand new Ventus 3, Stewart Henshall in ASG29, Dan Hender in JS1 and David Clements, Chris Warnes, Pete Harmer and Matt Howard in Antares18. The task needed some careful topping up from the ridge lift to cross some valley gaps. With Stewart and Dan having flown the task in a Eurobattle comp last week, they were keen to explore the optimal routings, with a tricky col to climb over on the final glide. -
Happy Christmas to all our DSGC Blog readers - J&P
A day of sunshine and showers was forecast and that is how the day turned out. With a keen group of members present hangar doors were being opened before 9 and both K21s, a Junior and the Perkoz were soon having their daily inspections completed.
Meanwhile Peter Field as Duty Instructor had walked the field and determined that whilst winch launching would be possible caution would be needed around the winch run, and especially in the event of any rain, to ensure minimum damage to the field surface - so the Pawnee was also brought out to allow aerotow launching as and when needed.
Launch point (Mike Sloggett)
With blue skies around the airfield it was soon on with the flying list with training and check flights being completed by various instructors - Well Done to Liam Vile for re-soloing after a break from gliding for several years.
Liam Vile - solo again (Mike Sloggett)
Alongside instructional flights various members took the Junior or a K21 solo to retain currency.
A decision by the Club Treasurer to allow aerotows at reduced price, to limit the use of the winch in view of the damp airfield surface was (unsurprisingly) popular with a steady queue of gliders taking advantage of same.
With just enough members to keep going through lunch flying continued to make the most of the good weather with only limited stops required during the day to allow the odd shower to pass over or round North Hill. The afternoon saw various instructional and solo flights completed - with Charlie Stuckey cleared for solo aerotow in the Perkoz.
Perkoz (Mike Sloggett)
By late afternoon and with everyone having flown, a rapidly setting sun and some light rain was enough to suggest that it was time to put the gliders and ground equipment away.
Thank You to everyone who helped others get into the air today - particularly to Team Hender who between them during the day did long stints on the winch, running the Launch Point Vehicle and cable retrieve, and also to James Smart who as stand in DLM for much of the day ran an efficient launch point to the benefit of all. - Mike Sloggett
The regular Sunday evening task was NH2 - Dunkery Beacon - Mudford Gate - NH2, and the thermals were set at fairly realistic Devon weather conditions and with the newly available K6cr glider Dan Hender was right at home.. Stewart Henshall also flying a K6 led off quickly, with Matt Howard in K21 and they raced up to Dunkery Beacon, Stewart turned for Mudford Gate, but Matt opted for a cloud to the north, got low over the high ground of Exmoor and landed.
Approaching Dunkery Beacon
The second wave with Dan Hender, Simon Leeson K6, David Clements K21, Chris Warnes Blanik, John Davis K21 and Geoff Lawrence K21 got high and then followed on at a more sedate pace.
Dan started picking up the pace after Dunkery Beacon and made some progress in catching Stewart. After the turn at Mudford Gate, the clouds proved more tricky and Stewart missed at climb at Tiverton allowing Dan to go steaming past to win the task at 75kph.
Well done to everyone for completing the task, with the K6s and David Clements with no penalties. - J&P
A forecast transient ridge on Thursday gave hope for some flying all day, but there were delays first thing with canopies still too cold to clear in the damp air.
With Peter Smith and Mark Layton busy on the winch launch with check flights /simulated failures, on the first aerotow, Mark Courtney reported some orographic cloud foming on the west ridge. As the morning wore on there was still plenty of clear air out to the west, but cloud lowered to 1500ft over the airfield.
Most people flew, but not quite everyone unfortunately.
The regular Tuesday and Friday races were supplemented this week with some of the Wednesday regulars taking to the virtual skies.
On Tuesday and Friday, the task was a slalom sprint in the Slovenian Alps practising energy conservation with fast flying using flaps in a Diana. There were 12 narrow gates in the 110km route at varying heights to suit the terrain - some only 300/400ft high, and a tortuous route to follow.
The key to getting an efficient race was to convert speed and ridge lift into height at the right time, with out having to waste energy s-turning to gain height, or using airbrakes to dump it.
With two runs on Tuesday and another two on Friday, everyone was getting the hang of it with Stewart Henshall, Dan Hender, Chris Warnes and David Clements recording the best times of just under 30 minutes, with Jill and Pete Harmer, Geoff Lawrence and John Davies taking a slightly more leisurely route.
On Wednesday, it was a task up and down the Rhone valley with a very technically challenging aerotow to start, most of us were flying Discus 2a with Matt Howard in a EB29. It was another task where getting the energy spot-on was key to a good time. Chris had a slight advantage as he had tried it out last week. - J&P
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A promising forecast certainly drew a crowd with hanger unpacked and DIs largely done by the time I arrived as duty instructor shortly after 9:00am. Despite the gentle northwesterly wind, the field was laid out on the north side to try and get the longest run.
John Sillett joined me as a masked backseat driver and the likes of Ashley Thomas and Trevor Russell were given checks to go solo and the Juniors kept busy with the list of those wanting to keep current. The Perky was used to amuse those current and the DG505 allowed Barbie and Mike to keep to their household bubble and fly.
After being flown it was nice to fly myself and enjoy nearly an hour at the end of the day in that sweet spot twixt 600ft and 700ft on the ridge. There have to be some perks for instructing...
With largely benign conditions and some leeway on cards I hope most got the flying they wanted and went home with a smile, I know I did! Thanks to all, apologies if not mentioned. - John Pursey
The Condor Regulars on both Tuesday and Friday's tasks in the Alps learnt a bit about using flaps, with the gliders of choice being a Diana 15m and Antares 18m respectively.
The jury was out on the Diana on Tuesday as the task on the France / Swiss border was rather tricky anyway, but on Friday the Antares proved quite popular with a very fast ridge run in the Swiss Alps, with everyone completing the task at more than 200kph, and James Hood joining in with ASG29. - J&P
No flying today but down in the woods, Chairman Nick, Paul Medlock and Stirling Melhuish and his son Jake were winching tree trunks up from the depths of the woods, loading them onto a timber trailer and stacking them in the bottom of the new paddock.
More of AD's great carving skills (Peter Smith)
AD had some time on his hands and created a seat in one of the stumps. Will be a nice spot when it has all been cleared and it dries up.- Peter Smith
After an enforced break due to weather and lockdown, I am glad to be reporting on Wednesday's flying. With the splendid effort on Sunday's flying it was going to be a hard act to follow, the forecast for Wednesday was far from inspiring but you never know! We set up the field for a west / southerly take-off with very little wind to start with and an overcast sky, expectations were not high, but with the prospect of all getting currency again and some pre-solo instructing by John Sillett there was plenty of enthusiasm.
The teamwork to help others to get into the air today was evident from first thing with four two-seater gliders and two Juniors being brought out of the hangar and the winch set up in the North East corner of the airfield, all well before 09:00am. Both the two-seater and solo flying lists were very full - a combination of end of lockdown combined with a sunny weather forecast.
Gliders were soon being walked down to the South West corner of the airfield, with the brisk cross wind suggesting some interesting flying conditions. The first flight of the day confirmed the circuit in the ‘down’ side of the wave to the North East. As various Instructors got back in the air, the high sink rates on the circuit focused the mind with many turning in early and landing up the airfield.
With the full fleet in use, the gliders were being retrieved quickly, and James Smart and Sally Hender ran an efficient double act at the launch point.
Ron Johns and Guy Adams took advantage of the DG505’s performance to push out to the North East and successfully contact the wave getting to 2,600ft and easily achieving the longest flight of the day with 31minutes.
The wind strength decreased significantly and flying continued through lunchtime, to enable some pilots to enjoy a second flight. During the day the Pawnee and Falke VG were given airings by various pilots.
The short day meant that gliders were flown home before the canopies started misting so they could be washed and put away.
After a month of lockdown and this weeks poor weather, members certainly made the most of today. As ever thank you to all those who helped others get into the air - 56 flights in total. - Mike Sloggett
And in the evening members listened in to the Zoom webinar on SPL licensing given by Pete Stratten BGA, and there was also a rerun of the recent DSGC 100km navigation exercise on Condor, welcome back to Matt Howard after rebuilding his PC.
This weeks challenge for the regular racers was the Gold badge, with successful completion for David Clements, John Davis and Jill Harmer, (others had already achieved this level), and also some practicing for the Diamond badge.
It was a North Coast cliff run for the Regular Sunday evening Condor racers with a long aerotow to practice, and a tricky thermal return to North Hill.
Stewart's briefing
103km - Minehead Harbour - Lighthouse Keepers Cottage - Bull Point Lighthouse and return.
Wind 010/14kts - moderate thermals, cloud base ~3500’.
Club class With PDA.
Aerotow towards start to 5800' QNH.
Start below 1200’ QNH
Finish above 1000’ QNH
An energetic run along the cliffs. All doable - but care is needed in sections, particularly on the return. If in doubt stay high..
The aerotow with take you North under the airway - to just North of the M5. From this point you have enough height to reach the ridge West of Minehead. Set an MC of 4.1 and follow it on the glide - go straight!
NB - the parts of the Cardiff CTA stepping down during the glide - first 4500' and 3000' over Minehead.
After we have finished the cliff run we can follow up with - Escapology II ..! Get back to North Hill. It can be done with a little care.
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| 103Kms Cliff run |
John Davis running from Minehead
Great fun for all, and some great speeds too, thanks to Stewart for setting the task.
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| Well done all |
Come and join us - Fly, Spectate in Condor or watch a live stream in Discord, or just listen to the banter - it's great fun, and the weather is superb. - J&P
Another week of expeditions, races and badge flights in the Alps for the Condor Regulars, and this time with the correct landscape for the Silver Badges - well done all.
Pete Harmer in a Grunau Baby
Congratulations to Dan Hender for overall 13th (out of more than 50) in the UK Junior Gliding e-Winter Series from just 4 out of the 6 races. - A great first effort at competition flying. Well done also to Stewart Henshall who is consistently at or near the top of the weekly races in the Norwegian Cup.
Pete Harmer cruising a wave bar in a Cirrus
Come and join us - Fly, Spectate in Condor or watch a live stream in Discord, or just listen to the banter - it's great fun, and the weather is superb. - J&P
Stewart's Briefing:
" 116km - NH2 (North Hill N) - TAU (Taunton) - CWC (Crowcombe Court) - LAG (Langport) - BWE (Bridgwater East) - WLS (Wells) - HAD (Halesland)
Wind 230/12kts - strong thermals, cloud base ~4500’.
School class :weary:
No PDA :exploding_head:
Winch launch.
Start below 4000’ QNH
Finish above 1500’ QNH
All TP's 1000m radius, 360 degrees. Turnpoints will only be visible within 2000m.
Task start 1 min after stop join.
Start window 30 mins.
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| NH2-TAU-CWC-LAG-BWE-WLS-HAD |
Homework done, another group of Condor Racers took to the air on Sunday evening, and at North Hill it was booming. Heading off down track conditions started to get a little interesting - but then it was the Somerset Levels after all. Stewart had breezed round the task on his practice run, but true to form, the Levels became more than a bit tricky low down today, and even Dan struggled.
But it was a good navigation exercise and true to life remember Pete Startup always says 'Don't go near the Levels', except when there's any East in the wind(PS edit). - J&P
This week, the DSGC Condor Racers have explored more locations in the Alps.
Dan took part in the UK Junior Winter Series in Slovenia, Stewart competed in Norway, and we flew the Silver distance flight in Blaniks in Switzerland, - well Stewart did it in a Grunau Baby!
Silver distance in a Blanik
John tried out New Zealand and was suitably impressed.with the landscape. On Sunday we are planning a navigation task ending up at Halesland.
Exploring New Zealand
Come and join us - Fly, Spectate in Condor or watch a live stream in Discord, or just listen to the banter - it's great fun, and the weather is superb. - J&P
After exploring some ridge running in the Alps recently, Sunday's task was an expedition low-level on the Nympsfield Ridge. Nympsfield - Bath Racecourse - Nympsfield.
The grid lined up with Simon Leeson and James Hood joining in for the first time, and totalled 9 gliders plus spectators. Stewart Henshall gave a detailed briefing to help those who had not had time to do the homework.
Winch launching at Nympsfield
A small glitch with the task and hosting was quickly sorted and then they were off. Simon and James immediately headed off south in their ASW20's. The other pilots took it a little slower testing out the conditions on the ridge. Dan Hender found a thermal just after the -less than 1500ft start- and got to a dizzy height before setting off direct for the TP at a fast speed.
Gathering before the start
The return leg was much trickier with everyone conserving height as much as possible and finding the view very different at 800ft or below, there were even some landouts.
Those who managed to creep back along the ridge then had to spend some time gaining height as the finish was set at above 1300ft QNH.
The race was won by Dan Hender at 103kph, with Chris Warnes 2nd place at a creditable 88kph, and Simon Leeson at 80kph.
Lead and follow
Thanks to Stewart for shepherding along the way, (and spending more time outside his cockpit taking photos). I suspect those who landed out will have another go at the ridge again. The benefit of Condor - practice, repeat and improve! Come and join us - the DSGC racers / expeditions on Tuesday, Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings. - J&P
A race in Slovenia along a 139km ridge apart from TP2 was 20kms behind the ridge.
I flew the Junior Nationals on Condor. 35+ Junior competitors lined up at 8pm, for an 8.20pm start. I was first through the start gate in my EB29R, needing to finish quickly as I have my mock exams early (8.30am) the next day.
Taking the handicap into account I came third overall with an average of 204kph, in 40mins. This gave me 977 points, meaning I am now 3rd on average points on the leaderboard. (It also meant I didn’t get into trouble with mum and dad!!!) - Dan Hender
Today's task was to cross the Vercors Massif and finish at the foot of the Alps. Romans - Sisteron - Saint Crepin 179kms. Glider of choice for most was the LS4a, with Geoff Lawrence trying out his Pegasus and Pete Harmer opting for a Genesis.
Geoff's Pegasus
Chris Warnes, David Clements, Geoff Lawrence and John Davis sped off and found a good thermal just after the start, Pete and Stewart Henshall were a little slower to start and missed the good thermal, and had to make a dirty dash for the ridge to get some lift. Gaining height on the ridge wasted a lot of time and the racers were long gone down track. There was careful ridge running to Sisteron,but before the turnpoint a thermal was needed and fortunately one appeared in the right place just in time.
Pete in the Genesis
The run to Saint Crepin was downwind, but lift was found on most of the jagged spurs to enable a finish. Well done Chris with another fast time.
Stewart outside the cockpit taking photos
Nice little task that wasn't quite as straightforward as we had expected, but the scenery was fantastic. - J&P