Thursday 15th to Monday 19th March 2018
Posted: 21/03/2018 14:17
Thursday 15th. An Atlantic front provided 8.6 mm of rain and plenty of low cloud as a moderate to fresh E'ly blew, this slowly backing into the ENE and declining in strength to moderate, the conditions resulting in a non-flying day.
Friday 16th. Yesterday's front remained in place so it was again a non-flying day, with another 11.8 mm of rain falling as the moderate to fresh ENE'ly continued to blow around an anticyclone over Scandinavia, the air temperature steadily dropping during the day as cold polar continental air began to make inroads west.
Saturday 17th. The front that had plagued the site over the last couple of days had moved off to the west being replaced by frequent and heavy snow showers in a cold air mass, the temperature struggling to 0.2 C, with the. at times, fresh and gusty NE'ly wind contributing to a wind chill of -14.7C. The first tranche of visitors from Booker were replaced by their successors, the warm welcome from YGC staff and members being in sharp contrast to the ambient conditions on the airfield.
Sunday 18th. The cold air mass remained in place leading to an ice day, the temperature never getting above 0C. The cold air was fed in on a moderate to fresh/fresh ENE'ly that still contained a few snow showers, the skies remaining cloudy all day. The wind's gustiness and strength, plus the low cloud base and snow showers precluded any flying.
Monday 19th. Yesterday's cloudy skies were replaced by generally blue ones, these containing some nice streets in the moderate and gusty NE'ly wind, this backing into the N as the day progressed. The conditions were deemed suitable for flying which got underway around 1200 hrs and continued until around 1615 hrs, 8 ATs being flown off runway 02. Limited thermal activity provided some soaring, with the visitors from Booker in their Duo Discus making the most of the conditions. Thus Richard Crockett had 40 minutes with Bob Smith before he and Simon Phelps had 30 minutes. YGC's Derek Smith and visitor John Hubbersley had 32 minutes in K21 KLW, completing the list of flights to reach or exceed 30 minutes.
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.