Friday 3rd to Saturday 4th March 2023
Posted: 05/03/2023 12:38
Friday 3rd. Another day of light to moderate N/NNE'ly winds and overcast skies as the high pressure remained in place. The overcast affected release heights at times, but some patches of lift were found, enabling some flights to briefly arrest their descent and extend flight times. The first 3 flights of the day were for First Flight pupils, with Jesper Mjels giving his pupil a 20 minute flight having been able to climb to 2,400' QFE before release before a slow descent to their landing. The first flight of the day was off runway 24, but this changed, with all subsequent take offs being from runway 02, runways 02 and 06 being used for landing. Bruce Grain, with the day's 3rd pupil, found an area of lift over the A170 just to the NNE of the site, maintaining 1,000' QFE for a while and extending their flight time to 22 minutes, the best of the day. Later, Albert Newbery, flying K21 JVZ solo, found lift in the same areas and had a flight of 17 minutes off a 1800' tow, while Bruce Grain test flew K21 KLW after its return to site. At the end of the day, the DG500 was de-rigged and put in its trailer ready to be taken down to North Yorkshire Sailplanes for its ARC. The day's launch total was 7 with Konrad Kawalec and John Forrester each having a flight in Astir DSU.
Saturday 4th. The high remained in place but had shifted slightly, so the wind was now a light to moderate WNW that slowly veered into the NNW. Cloudy skies were again the feature of the day, although a brief sunny interval developed around midday before the overcast re-established. Take offs were from runway 24, with most landings back there, although runway 20 was used on occasion. K21 JVZ was used for most of the flights, with the DG1000 and Astir DPO also in service. The day's 2 First Flight pupils had the day's longest flights, with Jesper Mjels having 30 minutes with his pupil, a launch to 2.400' QFE being followed by a spell at 5-700' QFE soaring the southern end of the main bowl. George Rowden's 23 minutes with the other pupil, came courtesy of a patch of lift over Gormire, that was strong enough at one point to produce a climb from 900-1100' QFE. The Falke was also flown, but the highlight of the day was junior Ivan Malzka's first solo in K21 JVZ, so well done, Ivan, while new Junior William Knights had his first 3 flights in JVZ.
This blog describes a snippet of life at the Yorkshire Gliding Club. Why not take a flight and try it yourself, or we can teach you to fly as a full club member.