YGC Blog

Friday 25th.  The airstream had turned more cloudy and, with the centre of the high closer, wind speeds were less.  Consequently, although the wind was still in  the W, the hill lift was soft and gentle ( marginal) and the only wave slot within reach was down wind of the site.   14 winch launches were flown in the morning with 14 ATs in the afternoon.  In all 9 private owners flew, with most of the club fleet also utilised.  ATing allowed access to the down wind wave slot but this proved to be somewhat fickle, closing up intermittently, but climbs to around 7000′ were to be found.  One of the visitors from Nymsfield had 3.3hrs in his Discus while Colin Troise had 2.8hrs in his DG600.  12 of the flights exceeded an hour and 5 Trial Lesson pupils were flown,  David Everett flying the club Discus had just over an hour while Andy Parish/C Wallace had just under an hour in the club K21.   Wave  conditions prevailed in Scotland where Andy Wright flew 332 km on a scenic tour of the Cairngorms from Aboyne, with extensive cloud cover and weaker wave preventing a longer flight. 

Saturday 26th.  With the anticyclone centred close by it was a good day for sunbathing with hardly a cloud in the sky and very light winds, but soaring conditions were definately hard to come by.    The club 2 seaters were however fully utilised with a visiting group of Scouts, 4 Trial Lessons and ab initio pilots.  32 ATs were flown off runway 24 with landings on 20 and 5 private owners flew.  There were 3 Falke flights and a single flight on the  simulator, the 8 yr old daughter of one of the Trial Lesson pupils.  Johnathon May/Steve Ball stayed up for 2 hours in their Duo Discus turbo, the turbo being particularly relevant today, and Jamie Davis 52 minutes in the club DG303, but generally flights were in the 15-30 minute range.  The visitors from Nymsfield set off home well pleased with an excellent week’s flying.

Wednesday 23rd.  With the same ridge of high pressure extending up from the SW, the 10-15  kt W’lies continued with accompanying hill lift and wave.  The lighter winds than Tuesday allowed AT as well as winching with 13  and 18 launches respectively. 13 private owners flew including the visitors from Nymsfield as well as all the club fleet .  20 of the flights exceeded an hour with many being multiple hours.  Dean Crosby flying his standard Cirrus visited Cow Green and other points west in his flight of 6.4hrs while not far behind was visitor Graham Morris in his ASK 27 with a 6.3hr flight in which he got to 16,500′ asl, the highest if the day.  Alison Mulder, also visiting from Nymsfield, flew the club Discus to 1200′ short of her Diamond height after establishing a very low point (just above hill top level)  following her abandonment of a slow winch launch.  John Ellis and Dave Ashby used the wave for long cross countries with John abandoning a 500 km attempt after falling out of the wave near Pontefract but still  flew 440 km in his Nimbus 3 and Dave 374 km in his ASW22.  A cold Phil Lazenby took the club Ka8 to 8000′ in his flight of just over 2 hours.  Meanwhile back at Sutton,  6 Trial  Lesson pupils experienced good hill and wave soaring with Bob Beck taking a keen & adventurous Ms Saunders for a 1.1 hr flight in the K21, including some requested aerobatics and Ken Duxbury flew the Astir for 1.25 hrs and the Rotax Falke had a single flight.

Thursday 24th.   The wind remained in the W but had declined in strength a little, but with wave again forecast, another good gliding day was in prospect.  In the event the wave was hard to contact, with some of the pilots that did resorting to using  their engines.  Maximum heights reported were around 6000′  and Lindsay McLane reported a 5 kt wind of 315 degrees at this height.  Cross country flights were correspondingly limited in scope but Barnard Castle, Ripon and Masham were among the places visited.  Wave conditions were much better in Scotland and Andy Wright flew his Nimbus 3 out of Aboyne for a flight of  just over 500km, climbing to around 14,000′ in the process.  Bill Payton ignored the local wave and hill soared to Roseberry Topping and back, and with the home ridge producing consistent lift augmented by some good thermals, 18 of the 31 flights exceeded an hour.  The majority of launches were via the winch but there were 4 ATs, one of which resulted in Frank Wilson landing out at Bagby in the club DG303 after his customary 5000′  tow.  Launching was again via a mixture of winch and ATs, 27 of the former and 4 of the latter.  Mike Wood flying a guest in the Falke in the morning, soared engine off well to the east of the site in front of a lenticular around 20 miles in length.  Overall, 14 private owners took to the skies along with the majority of the club fleet, and there were flights for 4 Trial Lesson Pupils.  Flight  times of 2-4 hrs were the norm but visitors Graham Morris in his ASW 27 and Alison Mulder, this time in her LS4, made the most of the day with flights of over 6 hours.  After flying for a couple of hours in his DG600, Martyn Johnson went up for an hour with Andy Parish in the DG500  to successfully complete  his acceptance flight and thus receive his Assistant Cat Instructor rating (paperwork pending).  So congratulations to Martyn.  On the private glider front, David Bradley’s LS8t has departed to its new home at Gransden Lodge while recent additions to the Sutton private owners are Dave Lynch with  a Ka6 and Robin Hutchinson with a Wassemer Wa28.   Welcome and good soaring to them both.  Finally, the club has hired in a golf buggy to assess its suitability for glider retrieves (and possibly encourage all  those  golfers to take up gliding).  If you have the opportunity to drive the buggy on a glider retrieve (please form an orderly queue), the board would like to hear your views on its  suitability. preferably directly or alternately via a discussion on the Forum.

Saturday 19th.   A declining andveering wind that started in the SE and finished in the W brought increasingly poor visibility and extremely limited soaring possibilities under a low cloud base,  but the day was brightened by the presence of visitors from the Stratford GC and the Bristol and Gloucester GC.   22 ATs were flown including 6 by private owners but only the club’s 2 seaters flew and there were no flights of over an hour although a Day Course member and 5 Trial Lesson Pupils managed to get airbourne.  Typical flight times were in the range 10 to 25 minutes, Martyn Johnson taking Day Course member Phil Brassington for 2 flights of 24 and 25 minutes while Rob Bailey flying the K21 solo managed 26 minutes.  He then proceeded to prove it wasn’t a fluke by repeating the feat.   The Falke also had 2 flights.

Sunday 20th.  A light to moderate, initially NW’ly wind that backed into the W, brought a terrific thermic day for the time of year.  43 ATs were flown, 16 by private owners andthe rest in the complete club fleet , with 24 of the flights exceeding an hour and 10 Trial Lessons flown.  The visitors from Stratford and Nymsfield certainly enjoyed the day while YGC pilots John Ellis and Dave Ashby posted cross country flights on the National Ladder.  John Ellis completed a 305 km flight taking in Pontefract, Staindrop & Pocklington in his Nimbus 3 while Dave Ashby visited Pontefract, Catterick & York to clock up 231 km in his ASW 22.  Back at Sutton, John Marsh/J Wilson flying the club DG1000 soared for an hour while E Preston had just over 2 hrs in the club Discus.  The day was rounded off by a AT retrieve back to Pocklingtonfor a visiting pilot.   The good weather extended to Scotland where the YGC’s Andy Wright, flying out of Aboyne, did a 317 km flight in his Nimbus 3.

Monday 21. A 10-15 kt SSW’ly brought in a lot of cloud during the day and some light rain in the afternoon but did provide limited hill soaring on portions of the hill and some evidence of wave with soaring to around 2000′ QFE.  12 ATs were flown with only the club 2 seaters in operation complemented by 5 private owners.  5 of the flights exceeded an hour with visitor Mr Smith from Nymsfield having 1.4hrs in his LS4 and Ian Plant/D Pask 51 minutes in the club K21.   A single Trial Lesson was flown.  The Stratford visitors left for home having enjoyed their long weekend at Sutton.

Tuesday 22nd.     A moderate to fresh WSW brought in low cloud in the morning andflying was also delayed by having to change the disc brake pads on the retrieve brake on the winch, but the sight of sunny wave slots in the Vale of York brought an early queue of eager private owners to the launch point.  A lack of YGC members, no doubt put off by the BBC weather forecast of very strong winds across N England, meant that only one club launch resulted but 10 private owners took to the skies, the majority being visiting pilots from Nymsfield.  What the day lacked in launches it made up for in duration withthe 11 launches generating around35 hours of flying, most of this in wave at 10,000′ plus where flying winds were around 55 knots. The single flight of the day in a club glider saw Ian Plant & Frank Wilson take the DG500 to 12,500′ where the climb was broken off as no oxygen was available.   Contacting the wave initially proved difficult with wave slots in the vicinity of the site  small and transient but  most pilots managed it.  Several pilots visited local turning points including Hawes, Wetherby & Harrogate.  While climbs to between10,000′ and 13,500′ were the norm, Ritchie Toon got to 17,000′.  The good wave conditions were also present in Scotland where YGC pilot Andy Wright climbed to 23,250′ in the AboyneWave Box with the wind being 85 kts at this height.  An unusual visitor to Suttonwas a jet Ranger Helicopter that landed in the morning , no not Lindsay McLane going upmarket from his autogyro, but a commercial aircraft that is engaged in transporting stone around the North Yorks Moors.

Thursday 17th.  The light to moderate, cloudy, airstream continued turning more into an E’ly,  but the cloud broke up sufficiently in the afternoon to allow thermals to develop.  9 ATs were flown in the K21, including 5 Trial lessons, with flight times typically in the 15-30 minute range.  The better soaring conditions mid afternoon allowed Andy Parish and Mo Fay to have 53 minutes soaring in the K21.  The Falke was also in use with 2 flights.

Friday 8th.  A weak front brought low cloud and patches of drizzle in the morning on a light ESE’ly flow.  No gliding was possible but the Falke had a single flight and a prospective new member has a flight on the  simulator.  The airstream slowly dried out after lunch allowing 5 ATs off runway 20 and another Falke flight.  2 Trial flights were flown, including the prospective new member, but with a solid overcast for most of the afternoon flight times were in  the 15-20 minute range.  However, Rob Bailey flying the K21 solo, found some bits and pieces of weak lift as the overcast briefly thinned and partially broke to get himself 27 minutes in the air.

A week’s holiday in South Wales in glorious weather means another catch up Blog so here goes.

Sunday 6th. A light to moderate SW’lythat slowly backed into the S brought reasonable soaring conditions before the rain arrived late in the day, with7 of the 18 ATs generating flights of over an hour.  5 private owners flew as well as the majority of the club fleet with Jesper Mjelshaving 5.5hrs in the club DG303 and Jon May taking R Coupe for a 1.25 hr flight in the DG500.  Trial Lesson flights were popular with 6 pupils introduced to gliding.

Monday 7th.  The start of the September course saw a moderate wind  from the SW, resulting in the first 2 flights of the day being by winch before the wind dropped and the remaining 33 flights launched by AT.  Peter Wright, one of the course members on his first ever flight in a glider , was taken to 8000′ in wave by Mike Woods and many other pilots also contacted.  17 of the flights exceeded an hour with Jesper Mjelsagain winning out on the endurance stakes with a flight of 6.26 hrs, this time in his own Pik 20, so flying expenses were somewhat more reasonable.  9 other private owners launched as did all the club 2 seaters plus 3 of the club single seaters.  Ian Plant/Michael Aylmer had just over an hour in the K21 and Mr Thwaites had just over an hour in the club Discus.  A single flight was done by the Falkeand there were 2 flights with Trial Lesson Pupils. 

Tuesday 8th.  A warm, cloudy, damp, moderate S’ly airstream that freshened and slowly veered into the W late in the day, saw an initial AT, then winching off runway 20 and soaring on  the S’ly ridge.  9 launches were undertaken , 1 by a private owner and the rest by the club’s 2 seaters before  conditions worsened putting an end to flying for the  day.  Typical flight times were in the 30-40 minute range  but R King flying his Kestrel stayed up for 2.5 hrs, and John Marsh/David Moran had 43 minutes in the K21 and there was 1 Falke flight.

Wednesday 9th.  A light to moderate WNW’ly airstream brought good thermal conditions and as a result 38 ATswere flown with14 private owners and most of the club fleet taking advantage of the conditions while 6 Trial Lesson Pupils experienced the thrill of soaring.  A number of private owners ventured away on cross countries with Andy Wright recording the longest distance, 228 km on an O/R to Tuxford in his Nimbus and Sam St Pierre putting up the fastest circuit of the local 100 km triangle in his DG200, 86.4 kph, and  thus putting himself in the running for the trophy he presented to the club in 2007.  Phil Lazenby, meanwhile, showed a power pilot guest how to fly just under 150 km without an engine in his DG1000t.  Bill Payton, flying his Ventus put up the longest flight of the day, 7 hrs while Andy McCann had 3.9 hrs in the  club DG303 and Ian Plant/D Meran just under an hour in the club K21.

Thursday 10th.  A light and variable wind under anticyclonic conditions provided another day of  good soaring.  27 ATswere flown by the majority of the club fleet and 8 private owners  with17 of the flights  exceeding an hour.  The good conditions tempted a number of pilots on cross countries with Andy Wright completing a 419 km O/R to Thrapston in his Nimbus, Phil Lazenby a 189 km flight in the club Discus, cementing his hold on the club ladder trophy, and Chris Teagle did a 158 km flight in his LS6C.  Andy Wright’s flight was the longest of the day at 5.5 hrs while Phil Lazenby’s 3hr Discus flight was the longest in a club single seater.  The 2 seater accolade went to Albert Newbery/Andy McCann who toured the Gliding clubs of Yorkshire in their flight of 3.6hr in  the club DG1000.  3 Trial Lesson Pupils also sampled the conditions and there were 3 Falke flights.

Friday 11th.   An anticyclonic airmass with a  light and variable wind was again a feature of the day, but with more cloud  present and the inversion lower making soaring more difficult, no cross countries were registered on the National Ladder although there was plenty of local  soaring.  27 ATs were flown, 7 by private  owners and the balance by flights utilising the majority of the club fleet while the Falke was also  busy with 4 flights.  10 of the glider flights exceeded an hour with Colin Troise having 4hrs in his DG600 and Dave Ashby/Mr Aylmer 1.1 hrs in the club K21. 

Saturday 12th.  Anticyclonic conditions continued with 43 ATs flown but the increasingly difficult soaring conditions resulted in only 3 flights exceeded an hour, one of these being by Rory O’Conor who manfully struggled around his declared task under low/blue conditions before abandoning  the task after 121 km and returning to Sutton.    8 other private owners took to the skies as did  all the club fleet apart from the DG303 and there were 4 Falke flights and 4 by Trial Lesson Pupils.  Mr Dawson flying his SB5E had 1.4 hrs aloft and John Marsh/Mark Hillier had 52 minutes in the club K21.    Up at Aboyne, YGC club members Dave Latimer and John Ellis finished 3rd and 11th in the Mountain Soaring Competition so congratualtions to them.

Sunday 13th.  An overcast day with a moderate wind from the N’ly quadrant brought limited flying, never mind soaring opportunities, with the result that only 4 ATs were flown giving flight times  in the 10-15 minute range.   The Falke was however busy with 8 flights and there was a single Trial Lesson pupil.

Monday 14th.  A moderate NNE’ly airstream brought in a lot of low cloud preventing any glider flying although there were 2 flights in the Falke.

Tuesday 15th.  The same moderate  NNE’ly airstream persisted but with less low cloud, allowing 16 ATs to be flown off runway 02, all in club gliders and including 5 with Trial Lesson Pupils.   Typical flight times were in the 15-20 minute range but on the last flight of the day Andy Parish and Rob Bailey managed 24 minutes in the club K21.   The club Rotax Falke  continued its busy period with 5 flights. 

Wednesday16th.  The same moderate NNE’ly airstream brought low cloud and drizzle am but dried up sufficiently to allow 8 ATs off runway 02 in the afternoon before light drizzle again returned just as all the equipment was put away and the hangar doors closed at the end of the flying day.  Only one of the club K21s and the DG1000 were flown but the Falke contributed an additional 3 flights including one with Dick Cole/Andy Parish.  Dave Wright, a PPL flying out of Durham Tees Valley, so enjoyed his Trial Lesson that he immediately had another flight and intends to join the club, while another Dave, Dave Pearson, a glider pilot from Vancouver Canada who is holidaying in the area, fulfilled his stated ambitions by flying the simulator, the Rotax Falke and the DG1000.   In spite of the generally overcast skies some lumpy (wave?) lift was to be found but only sufficient to extend flying times, with the result that these were generally in the 10-15 minute range.  However, Alex May flying Alan Gordon in the club K21, one of the 2 Trial Lesson pupils of the day, managed to stay up for 21 minutes.

Thursday 3rd.  The day dawned with a wet W’ly airstream, the rain continuing until early afternoon by which time some 10 mm had fallen.  Following the cessation of the rain, a slow brightening occured, but too slowly to allow any flying to take place.

Friday 4th.  The W’ly airstream remained in charge, with early brightness promising a flying day, but the rain returned at around 11am and continued until mid afternoon, depositing another 11 mm onto a wet airfield.    As happened on Thursday, the subsequent improvement in the weather came too late to allow any flying to take place.

Saturday 5th.  Casual early visitors to Sutton would have been surprised to see all the gliders out and DI’d by 0830 hrs, a collection of marquees, tents and gazebos outside the clubhouse, a traction engine trundling up and down around the hangars and a large car park marked out alongside runway 20.  The occasion, an open day organised with the help of the local Rotary Club  as a culmination to a series of events to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Yorkshire Gliding Club.    Compared to the  previous 2 days, the weather cooperated reasonably well, initially providing a 10 kt WSW’ly that slowly went into the W and strengthened to 20 kts, although a  spell of generally light rain around lunchtime led to a temporary cessation of flying.  A goodly crowd of visitors turned up, with over 20 taking to the air, with the earth bound ones being both educated and entertained by a running commentary of events at the launch point as well as by the collection of stalls and fast food outlets.    Flying started with a couple of ATs off runway 24 before the strengthening wind led to the introduction of winching, a further 47 launches resulting.   As well as the winch launched gliders, both the club Rotax Falke and a visiting Ximango took to the air, although the soft nature of the rain soaked airfield was amply demonstrated by the latter aircraft having to be manually pushed out of a particularly boggy section.   Rory O’Conor treated the crowd to a self launching take off in his DG 800 and also managed the longest flight of the day, 4.2 hrs.  All the club’s 2 seaters were kept busy with Trial Lessons and club flying, and the Astir, DG303 and Ka8 also flew, David Cambell having 1.3 hrs in the latter.  The Vintage Gliding Club members attending Slingsby Week at Sutton, also contributed to the day’s spectacle with flights by a Kite, Sky, Skylark 2, Ka6 and Ka7, the latter putting up the longest 2 seater flight of the day at 1.2 hrs with Mr Merrit and Derek Taylor on board.  Not to be outdone, the Sutton based syndicate’s T21 made 7 flights with passengers, courtesy of pilots Mike Wood, Brian Wise and Nick Gaunt.  The day was completed by an evening buffet and thanks are due to all those who planned the day and all the volunteers who turned up to ensure everything ran to plan.  Perhaps the finest sight of the whole day was the Kite, built in 1935, virtually motionless as it soared the main bowl,  evocatively linking those early pioneering days  at Sutton Bank with the present.

The recent non-appearance of the YGC Blog was due to my absence crewing for son Paul at the Grandsden Regionals.   This catch-up blog will of necessity be brief.

Thursday 20th.   A strong and gusty S’ly that veered into the SW  delayed launching until mid afternoon and 7 winch launches were ultimately flown, 2 by private owners and the rest in the club 2 seaters.   S Black in his DG300 had 1.5 hrs and Andy Parish/Martyn Johnson 38 minutes in the club DG1000. 

Friday 21st.  A fresh SW’ly brought in some showers and allowed a mixture of  2 ATs and 8 winch launches to take place.    3 private owners and the club 2 seaters again shared the flying with 4 trial lesson pupils flown and Les Rayment/A Wagstaff having the best flight of the day, 1 hr in  the club DG1000.  There was 1 Motor Falke flight.

Saturday 22nd.    The SW’ly airstream persisted but much  better soaring conditions prevailed, allowing 36 ATs and  Rory O’Conor to complete a 509 km O/R to Bury St Edmunds.  Flights over 3 hours were common with S Black having 5.9hrs in his DG300. Nick Gaunt/Nigel Burke spent 4.7 hrs in the club DG1000 on an 300 km O/R while Andy McCann had 3.2 hrs in the club DG303 during which he flew to Burn and back clocking up his Silver distance in the process.  Well done Andy.    The Motor Falke was busy with 4 flights  and there were 7 trial lessons with all the club fleet in action.

Sunday 23rd.  The wind was now a strong S’ly that moderated during the day and 15 ATs were flown by 3 private owners and the club’s K21s and DG500.  David Latimer/James Ewence shared the longest flight of the day, 1.4hrs in the club DG500 and there were 7 Trial Lessons.

Monday 24th.  A cloudy day with a light and variable wind and rain towards evening meant there was no glider flying but the Motor Falke managed a single flight. 

Tuesday 25th.  A WSW airstream brought reasonable soaring conditions and 26 ATs were flown by 5 private owners and a mixture of the  club dual and single seaters.  Lindsay McLane spent 5.3 hrs aloft visiting the East Coast from Spurn Point to North of Scarborough before worsening conditions in advance of a front led to a return to Sutton.  Closer to base, David Hill had 1.2 hrs in the club DG303 and Bob Beck/D Task 42 minutes in the club K21, while there were 8 Trial Lesson pupils.

Wednesday 26th.  A thoroughly wet and miserable, SSE’ly airstream meant no flying was possible.

Thursday 27th.  A light to moderate SSW’ly  airstream brought much better flying conditions with 43 ATs flown, 13 by private owners and the rest in virtually all the club fleet, while the Motor Falke chipped in with 2 flights.  Bill Payton/Stuart Heaton flying their DG1000t had 2.5 hrs, Sue Aherne  1.5 hrs in the club Discus and Mike Wood and Guest, 33 minutes in the DG 500.  Mr Dews, a visitor from Pocklington, was given a AT back.  6 Trial Lesson pupils were flown and the day was rounded off with flights for 8 evening visitors.

Friday 28th.  A showery, moderate to fresh SW that veered into the W saw the winch deployed and 8 launches flown.  David Cambell flying the club Astir had 1.5 hrs and Andy Parish/M West 29 minutes in the K21 while C Hoare/D Clews, flying their Janus landed out.  A number of attendess of the forthcoming Slingsby Week arrived on site.

Saturday 29th.  A fresh to strong W’ly brought textbook hill soaring conditions with wave also present before rain spread in during the evening, but late enough to allow 50 winch launches to be flown, 27 by private owners and the rest by virtuall all the club fleet.  Many of the SlingsbyWeek attendees took advantage of the classic hill soaring conditions, with many long flights.  Mr Corny flew his Ka6 for 6.8hrs while Dave Hill added to his annual solo hours with 1.5 hrs in the club DG303.  Andy Wright contacted the wave and reached just over 14,000′ but bemoaned the fact that the wave structure and conditions precluded cross country flying.

Sunday 30th.  The previous day’s W’ly was replaced by a light to moderate S’ly with some soaring potential.  Accordingly, 37 ATs were flown with 23 by private owners and the balance in the club K21 and DG500.  J Haigh flying his LS8 flew for 2.2 hrs while Mike Wood flew guest P Rose for 55 minutes in the privately owned T21.

Monday 31st.  A moderate to fresh S’ly  brought reasonable soaring conditions and 87 ATs were flown, the most flown in a day for a very long time at Sutton.  31 of the flights were by private owners and the balance by virtually all the club fleet.  The longest single seat flight of the day was by P Hampshire in an LS3 while the 2 seater honours went to L and G Merrit who had 1.7 hrs in a Ka7. 

Tuesday 1st September.  The wind was now a moderate to fresh SW’ly that initially brought strong thermals and latter in the afternoon heavy showers.  40 winch launches and 10 ATs were flown, with John Haigh having 2.6hrs in his LS8, one of the 8 private owners to take an aerotow.

Wednesday 2nd.  A light to moderate S’ly that slowly went into the SE produced moderate thermals that faded as the cloud thickened ahead of an approaching front and rain fell from around late afternoon.  26 ATs were flown by a variety of gliders ranging from a Falcon 1 to and LS8 and a variety of tugs, the club Pawnees being complemented by a Grob.  15 of the flights were by private owners with only the club K21 and DG500 in use these being used for 3 trial lessons and guest flights, one of the guests being Geoff Kay.   John Haigh flying his LS8 had 3.2 hrs while Ian Plant/D Whyte had 45 minutes in the club K21.  An early morning Ballon ascent from the site ended with a collision with some overhead wires  east of Bilsdale Moor on landing,  but fortunately, no serious injuries resulted although the air ambulance took some of the occupants to hospital as a precaution.