Wednesday 16th to Saturday 19th January 2019

Posted: 19/01/2019 21:14

Wednesday 16th.  The WSW'ly wind continued to blow but had moderated somewhat compared to Tuesday, now being light to moderate.  Some light rain in the morning delayed the start of flying until around 1445 hrs but thereafter, 6 winch launches were flown of runway 24, generating 1 flight in excess of an hour and 2 in  excess of 30 minutes.  The first flight of the  day saw John Carter take K21 JVZ up solo to check out the hill soaring conditions, while the > 1 hr flight was flown by Bill Payton and Peter Robinson in the DG1000, with the ridge being flown as far north as Black Hambleton,  a further venture north to the Tontine being deemed a little too ventusome under the day's conditions. The rest of the day's flights were flown in  JVZ, with Derek Smith and Nigel Burke having 36 minutes and John Carter and Tony Kirby having 33 minutes.

Thursday 17th.  The passage of an overnight front left the site with a clear blue sky and a initially fresh NW'ly wind that ruled out any chance of flying.  The wind, although staying in the NW, did slowly moderate during the day but never sufficiently to allow any flying to take place.

Friday 18th.  A front slowly approaching from the W spread a veil of high cloud over the area during the morning, the cloud thickening and lowering as the day progressed but never coming low enough to affect flying, the wind being a light to moderate ESE'ly.  Tony Drury took the first of the day's 2 First Flight pupils up in K21 JVZ on the first flight of the day, this being followed by 5 other ATs off runway 20, with the occasional landing on runway 06, all the day's flights being in JVZ.  3 of the day's flights managed to equal or exceed 30 minutes in duration, using what was probably a hydraulic jump downwind of the southern ridge, between the White Horse and Ampleforth.  The lift was best exploited by Martin Joyce who had 54 minutes, although never getting above his launch height, while Paul Whitehead had 30 minutes with the 2nd of the day's First Flight pupils and  then 35 minutes with Peter Robinson.

Saturday 19th.  The slow moving front of Friday arrived at site during the evening of that day and deposited a layer of snow.  However, this was not the reason for Saturday being a non-flying day, the reason being the post frontal cloud that shrouded the hill all day.   The conditions also adversely affected the attendance at the second of the YGC Winter lectures, but those that did attend John Carter's introduction to the features of the S80's instrument, fitted to most of the club's gliders, were rewarded with a succinct and informative presentation.

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.

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