After no flying yesterday due to the wind strength and direction a reasonably optimistic forecast was given for the possibility of flying today. On arriving at the airfield it was certainly windy, but with the wind going straight down the field which provided further optimism about some flying taking place .
The North Hill Cafe was soon busy with hearty breakfasts being eaten, no doubt ahead of members experiencing the likely chillier conditions at the far end of the airfield . With a lowish cloudbase thwarting any immediate plans to fly the Clubhouse gradually filled with members and after a delayed briefing the decision was made to get both K21s out of the hangar and also to re-rig the DG505 after it’s latest expedition ‘up North’.
DG505 has returned form expedition to Portmoak (Mark Courtney)
With Launch Control and the winch already set up, the three gliders were walked down to the other end of the airfield where a blue flag was already showing how brisk the wind was - the good news was that the wind strength was steady and not gusting. All that was needed now was to find out what the actual flying conditions were like - so after no other volunteers stepped forward a met flight was flown by
Mike Sloggett and James Flory who returned reporting a straightforward launch and no immediate dragons in the circuit or on the approach and landing.
Mike and James worked their way through the flying list providing members with the opportunity to experience ‘interesting’ flying conditions whilst Mark Courtney and Simon Leeson took the DG505 on ‘wave hunting flights’, flying straight back from the top of the winch launch to the West of the airfield - unfortunately despite their best endeavours no wave was to be found on this occasion.
After a short lunch break the flying continued in the afternoon in similar conditions with Mark and Simon helping out in the back seat to ensure that everyone had at least one flight. By late afternoon the three gliders had been flown to the East end of the airfield, with gliders and ground equipment put away.
The latest flying day when balancing risk vs reward paid off with a number of people having great experience flying in ‘interesting’ conditions - thank you to all who helped others to get into the air today. - Mike Sloggett
