Early pitch inspection by myself and Martin Woolner confirmed that we could winch launch without any damage to the field. From the very first launch it was clear that the sky was full of energy, a real mix of wave, thermal, ridge and convergences, fortunately the strong wind was right down the airfield.
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| Dramatic sky (Mark Courtney) |
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| Mark Courtney and Robin Willis-Fleming (Dave Weeks) |
Two private gliders rigged, Pete Startup Discus and JB in his Ventus, both enjoyed 2.5 hours each and had tales of strong lift and broken wave.
The only person to brave the blue card conditions in a Junior was Robert Lee, I take my hat off to you sir, having flown the first flight of the day in the K21, behind the Pawnee, I can say that I would not have enjoyed it in such a little light aircraft!
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| Good lift (Mark Courtney) |
Training flights were called down after 40 mins to enable us to try and get through the flying list, unfortunately the wind really picked up after lunch so the toys were put away, sorry to those who dipped out.
The launch point was left all alone on the airfield waiting patiently for JB to land, he did eventually and that was also put to bed.
Today was not particularly busy, but the small team worked like a well oiled machine, thanks to Hans Jenssen for winch launching ( the winch was shaking in the wind) and for Pete Harmer for towing, (another aircraft I did not want to be in today!).
The Flarm log had a wobble when both 230 and JB were logged as landed when in fact they had not, they were simply standing still at height or going backwards! I did note at one time 46kts at 2700ft.
Today was not for the faint-hearted, however these days very often offer more in terms of hunting for lift and handling skills than benign days. Highly recommended! - Mark Courtney.
