The day began with overcast skies and steady rain, with the promise of the weather changing. However, the decision was made to get the equipment out regardless and prepare for the possibility of improving conditions. The club fleet was readied early, including both K21s, the Junior, and the Perkoz (the DG505 was brought out later in the afternoon once the weather began to improve.)
The first launch took place at 10:44 with a met flight flown by Mike Sloggett and Joel Roulson as passenger. Cloudbase at that time was approximately 1000 feet, which limited soaring opportunities but allowed for early flights. Conditions remained stable through the morning with limited lift, but the operation continued steadily with instructional and local flights all while the cloudbase was lifting.
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| Paul Medlock completes CFI approval for Basic Instructor (Mark Courtney) |
Congratulations to Paul Medlock for passing his acceptance flights with Mark Courtney after completing his Basic Instructor rating with Simon Minson RE at the weekend.
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| Cloudbase rising (Mark Layton) |
By around 2:00pm, the weather began to improve, with thermals starting to develop and cloudbase rising. This marked the beginning of the soarable period of the day. Several private owners took the opportunity to launch their gliders, making the most of the window of good soaring conditions.
One of the most notable flights came from Kevin Fairburn in his DG100, who managed to stay airborne for 2 hours and 12 minutes, the longest flight recorded on the day. Other private owners also had successful soaring flights during this period.
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| Paul Summers waiting for a cable (Mark Layton) |
In total, 28 club flights were completed. Among the success was Joel Roulson successfully completing his red card checks. The day also included several trial flight participants, several of whom experienced their first ever glider flights and left with very positive feedback.
Despite the challenging start to the day, the club managed to run a full flying program, with progress made in training, good soaring achieved in the afternoon, and a solid number of launches completed. = Joel Roulson
