Wednesday 19th to Saturday 22nd February 2020
Posted: 22/02/2020 20:53
Wednesday 20th The wind had become a moderate SSW that slowly backed into the SSE and an overcast sky meant a limited ceiling. However, a mixture of 6 winch and 6 AT launches, the former mainly in the morning and the latter in the afternoon, produced 1 flight of over an hour and a further 3 over 30 minutes. Tony Drury flying the DG303 was the >1 hr pilot having 1:21 off a winch launch and flying the W'ly ridge as far as Boltby. Boltby was also furthest north both the two K21s got, although the information to hand does not allow me to ascribe pilots. Nevertheless, contenders are Bruce Grain and Nigel Burke in JVZ with a flight time of 36 minutes, Albert Newbery and First Flight pupil Patrick Sanderson in KLW with a flight time of 34 minutes and Albert again in KLW, this time with John Dore, with a flight time of 32 minutes.
Thursday 20th. An active cold front crossed the site around 0930 hrs, precipitating 3.3 mm of rain and leaving a legacy of low cloud, showers and a moderate to fresh, gusty W'ly, this having been preceded by a moderate SW'ly as the rain fell. The combination of rain, low cloud, showers and wind strength meant it was a non-flying day.
Friday 21st. A moist airstream again prevailed, driven on by a moderate to fresh and gusty SW'ly, peak gusts being in the mid 40 kts. Bits and pieces of rain for most of the day were a minor inconvenience as the wind strength again prevented any flying.
Saturday 22nd. The wind had become an even stronger WSW'ly, classified as fresh to strong, with peak gusts around 50 kts. As if this wasn't enough, frequent heavy showers from around lunch time added to heavy rain in the early morning, the combination depositing another 13.5 mm on an already wet airfield. In spite of it being a non-flying day, a goodly number of members turned up to a member's Forum to hear a summary of activities in 2019 and plans for 2020 from Chairman Dave Latimer, plus the opportunity to ask questions. This they did, with the meeting coming to a conclusion after an hour and a half, the Board being congratulated on dealing with a difficult year in 2019.
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.