Saturday started well, with calm winds and blue skies, although the forecast for the day was for rapidly increasing southerly winds, a lowering cloud base and some rain. It looked like most members were indeed deterred by the rather dreary forecast, and by 08:15, a grand total of just four club members were in the clubhouse. The main topic of conversation was, of course, the weather, with Andy Batchelor’s pessimistic outlook being challenged by Dave Perriam's more optimistic and positive predictions.
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| K21 ready - Eurofox ready (Andy Batchelor) |
By 08:30, Team Optimistic were pulling ahead, with the arrival of the Duty Tuggie (Stu Proctor) declaring conditions were suitable for aerotowing and Duty Iinstructor James Flory announcing that the field was useable for aerotow. Given the low numbers, the EuroFox and a single K-21 was prepared, and at 0938, Alan Turner took to the first flight of the day to do his EuroFox Aerotow conversion with James. With Peter Smith arriving and offering to help with instructor duties, a second K-21 was readied, with conditions now being at the upper end of yellow card and trending to blue card conditions. A short pause in operations ensued to allow some low cloud and light rain to pass through, but this quickly passed and, with some lift evident on the south ridge , members were able to make the most of extended circuits. While the air aloft was generally smooth, the same can’t be said of the sub 300ft conditions, which were challenging on both take off and landing.
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| Good to see the sun again (Andy Batchelor) |
By 11:00, the increasing southerly crosswind and turbulence at low-level brought the days flying to a close. All that came and had wanted to fly did so and were grateful for the opportunity to do so. A win for Team Optimistic! By midday, everything was washed down and packed away, and everyone adjourned to the cafe for a very welcome lunch. A great effort by everyone present to grasp what we could from the day. Thanks to all. - Andy Batchelor
