Yesterday's ad-hoc day was scrubbed but Tuesday looked on with RASP showing some hopeful stars. 230, DD3, CLM, JB, KMV and HMS lined up for aerotows - Thanks to Barbie Fairclough for tugging.
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| The grid (Rowan Smith) |
CLM
"RASP said yes! Pete Startup set the group task which was the 300km to Wantage out and return. With a cloud-base of 2500 it didn't feel like a 300K day but I'd taken the day off and all my gliding chums were game so I threw caution into the wind and went for it.
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| Glastonbury being set up (Rowan Smith) |
The Somerset levels were consistent in proving to be challenging but I managed to get over them without any low points. Flew over the Glastonbury Festival site that is getting setup for next week. Normally the high ground, going East, after the level is much better. Instead it was blue and low. It was hard going around the task and the thermals challenging to find and inconsistent. After turning Wantage, coming back was even harder than going. I knew it was going to be challenging getting home over the Levels so before I left the high ground I got as high as I could before setting off. I felt I was doing everything right, and was confident I'd get home. Then after Bridgewater the options for home started to look a bit dire. I pushed on but found nothing and before it was too late I backtracked and landed at Westonzoyland fixed and flexy wing airfield.
They were very pleasant and apparently I was the first glider to land there to the members' knowledge. Ian Mitchell kindly can with the Pawnee and after a 20 minute tow I was back at the club. Overall a hard but adventurous day, worthy of a day off." - Rowan Smith CLM
KMV
"Quick couple of hours in the LS, before lunch with the wife -great being on holiday" - Stuart Procter KMV
230
"Another "I got round - eventually" flight. Found it all quite scrappy really with a mix of unreliable Cu and some blue, and while I never had any real low points, it never felt that high either! Nice to be able to cross the Somerset Levels for a change." - Pete Startup 230
DD3
"Egged on by Nick we declared a somewhat ambitious 500k o/r to Grafham Water. Unfortunately the weather or piloting skill did not come up to expectations and after a quick calculation 60k short of Grafham said we would get back to North Hill at 8.00pm! We abandoned and flew home more in hope than expectation eventually making it in the late evening blue. Not sure either of our bones are that enamoured of 6.75 hours in a glider these days :-)" Phil Morrison DD3
HMS
"A conversation at North Hill, late 2021: Pete S: “I would love you to do a 300 in that”. Me: “Give me the day, and I will do it Pete”. And so it turned out, but this was not quite the day I had in mind! After I landed I was just a melted, dripping pool of a pilot in the seat - I have never been so tired after any flight of any kind. The day was full of challenges. Firstly getting across the Somerset Levels, which nearly didn’t happen - endless scratching under ‘yesterday’s clouds’ for sub 1 kt climbs. Then an almost entirely blue sky across most of Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, thermals that had to be constantly worked to stay in, let alone centre, lines of horrendous sink, and another nerve-wracking transit of the Levels to get home. The club pundits all agreed it was a tricky day. No disagreement here! Very, very glad to have this one done..! Diamond goal ticked off.
Some food for thought: Yes, I do have an aviation background, but there is no way that I would have reached this level of performance with so little actual gliding time without flying and racing in Condor over the last couple of years. This is just my opinion of course, but perhaps the evidence speaks for itself."- Stewart Henshall HMS
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| Stewart and Pete discussing the task (Rowan Smith) |
Well done to Stewart Henshall for completing Gold Distance and Diamond Goal NH2 - WAN -NH2 306kms
