Wednesday 9th August 2017
Posted: 10/08/2017 16:47
With our Pawnee off-line, and the Super Cub away for its inspection, towing duties fell to our Eurofox. The conditions were not kind!
It was a north-westerly day at Sutton Bank, and north-westerlies are not our favourite wind direction, owing to the likelihood of the wind causing rotor over the airfield during the launching phase, coupled with increased sink over the south slope on approach.
Both of these were experienced in the three aerotows for the club's K21s, all of which clocked up less than twenty minutes each. Both of the attempted flights of the DG1000 were abandoned during the launch, first by John Carter because of lack of launch speed, and second by Bill Payton because of the rotor causing vertical deviation between the tug and the glider. Bill's flight (of 56 seconds!)was the signal for launching to cease, pending some decrease in the wind - unfortunately, this didn't happen.
Prior to this, both Paul Whitehead and Rob Bailey had launched in their own gliders, to record times of three hours fourteen minutes, and two hours thirteen minutes respectively, both flights being around the ridges north of the club and up and around Carlton Bank.
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.