Monday 14th to Wednesday 16th July 2025
Posted: 17/07/2025 15:56
Monday 14th. Low cloud delayed the start of flying until around 1400 hrs with the 3 subsequent ATs off runway 20 being the day's total, they all being flown in the DG500. Flight times increased from 20, via 28 to 33 minutes, the shorter times reflecting some weak thermal activity, with the 33 minutes for Andreas Rieder/Ryan Parker being the result of hill soaring the home bowl between initially 800' QFE and finally 600' QFE.
Tuesday 15th. An Atlantic low brought a day of low cloud, a strengthening S'ly wind and the first significant rain for quite a while after a bright start to the day. The rain arrived around 1400 hrs, and lasting into the early hours of Wednesday, eventually amounted to 24.2 mm, but it was the low cloud that forestalled any opportunity to fly before the rain arrived.
Wednesday 16th. A light to moderate N'ly slowly backed into the NE and declined to light, with the skies providing sunny intervals that produced some 3-4 kt average peak thermals and a cloud base of up to 4,000' asl. These conditions resulted in 15 of the day's 30 launches off runway 02 leading to flights of over 30 minutes with 7 of these lasting an hour or more. The day saw 3 XC's, with the Falke visiting the Trimdon and Staindrop areas and Nigel Burke in his DG808 flying 119 OLC kms with TPs at Pocklington and Burn. Bob Calvert's flight in his Discus 2ct was the longest of the day in both time, 5:03, and distance, 239 OLC kms, Bob visiting or near to Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Ripon, Masham, Burn, Goole and Carlton Bank. before returning to Sutton and Bob also took some cloud climbs, the highest to 7,200' asl. Other > an hour pilots, who all flew locally, included visitors Martin Holloway/Clive Thomas in their DG1000t as well as Bob Johnson/Jim Bereira in the same glider, visitor Graham Holloway in his DG200-17, Konrad Kawalec in his Discus t and Andreas Rieder/Steven Carrol in K21 KLW off the last flight of the day.
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.