It was forecast to be not as windy as Saturday which had apparently kept the gliders safely locked in the hangar, Sunday looked worth a punt on flying and flight testing the now legal SF27 (thank you Ian). With domestic chores done and a speedy drive I was lucky enough to get distracted from the SF plan by stepping straight from car into a Junior rescued from being pushed off line! Fresh SSE and 1600ft gave enough height to explore the windward side of Hembury Hill ridge. Lively thermal-like pockets of rough lift were the reward for 40 mins or so before the guilt at keeping the Junior took me back to plan A and the SF.
With the K21s and DG505 working through the lists with Ron, Simon, James and others, the sun was doing it best to keep the thermal soaring options open. Pete and 230 arrived on the line and learnt the hard way that often in S Easterlies the sink out towards the Hembury ridge can be savage and once low things can be a challenge.
Meantime the SF was rigged and used as a sniffer to help Pete stay up for his 3rd launch…! Rough thermals to 2300ft and a wave like bar out from the south ridge stretched out the flights towards the hour.
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| John Pursey converting Dan Hender to SF27 (Rob Hender) |
The SF was then duly handed over to the Juniors to give them a chance to try something different. An all flying tailplane and a cockpit big enough for Josh F who along with Dan and Charlie successfully ticked off another type.
After a wet week and a wild Saturday, Sunday was a sign things are on the up!
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| BGA Ladder flights 21 March 2022 |
