Wednesday 29th April to Friday 1st May 2026
Posted: 02/05/2026 15:19
Wednesday 29th. A moderate E'ly blew under clear blue skies, the strong inversion making any thermal activity weak and height limited. Flying was limited to 4 ATs in K21 JVZ and 2 XC Falke flights off runway 06, with the only glider flight over 30 minutes being the 31 minutes flown by Andreas Rieder with the day's only First Flight pupil. This resulted from a high tow and a weak thermal that helped maintain height for a while, with the other 3 glider flights having between 17-20 minutes. Steve Thompson's 20 minute flight from a 2,000' QFE tow, solo in JVZ, also benefited from a weak thermal. The Falke flights were an O/R to Bridlington and a tour of the North Yorks Moors via Hutton Le Hole, Churchhouses and Carlton Bank.
Thursday 30th. The moderate E'ly flow and clear blue skies continued to limit soaring opportunities and consequently enthusiasm for flying, with the day's launch total being 3 ATs off runway 06. Some weak wave over and just to the east of the site enabled Andreas Rieder/Ian Miskin and Andreas/Steven Carroll, both in K21 JVZ, to maintain their release height of 2,000' QFE for a while before landing after 22 and 14 minutes respectively.
Friday 1st May. The wind had become a light to moderate SSE'ly bringing in warmer air, with the temperature locally reaching 23C, but thermal conditions remained weak and as a result, all but 2 of the day's ATs off runway 20 did not extend beyond 30 minutes, with 15-25 minutes being the norm for 2/2,500' QFE tows. The exceptions were Derek Smith/Ian Miskin's 31 minutes in K21 KLW off a 3,500' QFE tow aided by some patches of reduced sink on the southern ridge, and Ian's later 1:13 flight in Astir DSU, the result of operating between 3,200' and 2,100' asl with the help of 5 off, max 1 kt thermals. Paul Whitehead/Jim McClean took the Falke for some touch and go's at Bagby, while later in the day, an unknown pilot(s) flew an O/R in the Falke to the vicinity of Goathland.
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.