Friday 6th to Monday 9th May 2022
Posted: 10/05/2022 15:29
Friday 6th. An overcast day with a light to moderate SSW'ly that slowly veered into the WSW and strengthened to moderate led to mixed activity with 4 winch launches and 9 ATs being flown off runway 24 , the majority of landings being on runway 20. Winching didn't start until after midday, following a morning of ATs and ended just after 1500 hrs. Two of the winch launched flights managed times of > 30 minutes, with Les Rayment taking a Day Course member for 33 minutes in K21 KLW and Ian Pattindale/Conrad Kawalec having 31 minutes in K21 JVZ. The morning ATs led to somewhat better outputs with I flight of over an hour and 6 over 30 minutes. Dave Thompson was the >1 hr pilot with 2:04 in the DG303 with the best of the rest being the 50 minutes enjoyed by Les Rayment and the day's Day Course pupil in K21 JVZ off the last flight of the day.
Saturday 7th. A light to moderate NE'ly meant operations off runway 06, although runway 02 was also used for both take offs and landings. A relatively low overcast at around 1,800' QFE slowly rose but remained in place, limited soaring opportunities, although there were some weak thermals around. Bruce Grain/Frank Maczka topped the flight times with 35 minutes in K21 KLW, with Bruce/Ivan Maczka having 32 minutes in the same glider, these being the only flights in excess of 30 minutes. Tomer Altman and Amelia Forrester were the only pilots to fly solo, Tomer having 26 minutes in KLW and Amelia 15 minutes in K21 JVZ, while the Covid backlog of First Flight pupils was reduced by 6 with Chris Collingham and Simon Altman providing the instructional support.
Sunday 8th. A light to moderate S'ly started the day, slowly backing into the SE as the day progressed so operations were off runway 20. The day provided some thermal activity that encouraged 11 private owner launches and a number of cross countries with 17 of the day's 28 launches yielding flights of 30 minutes or over, 8 of these being over an hour. Bill Payton, flying his DG1000 solo had the longest flight of the day both in terms of duration and distance. Bill's 2:35 flight was the result of visits to Masham, Sutton Bank and then 8km SE of Malton before going NNE to Guisborough West returning to site via Carlton Bank. Bill also had the highest climb rate of the day with a 3.8kts average. Darren Lodge in his LS8-18 completed the 100km Sutton/Pocklington/Rufforth triangle, finding conditions en route somewhat variable after a late start to thermal activity, while Chris Teagle in his Kestrel turned back to site after progressing to a spot half way between Sutton on Forest and Foston. Similarly, Dave Latimer in his Ventus 3M returned from a point some 11km SW of Pocklington. The only flights in club gliders to have around an hour saw Steve Thompson/Keith Davy have exactly an hour in K21 JVZ, with Andy Tyas having 59 minutes in the Astir and Adam Sayer having 56 minutes in the same glider.
Monday 9th. A high overcast from a slowly approaching Atlantic front was present all day, restricting thermal activity, as a light to moderate SSE'ly slowly strengthened to become moderate to fresh and from the S. The day's 16 ATs off runway 20 were initially behind the Eurofox but the Pawnee took over as the wind strengthened. Some early flights found some weak wave and lift off the White Horse ridge, the latter tending to strengthen as the wind increased and all but 2 of the 11 flights after midday lasted longer than 30 minutes. The longest flight, 2:36, was by Steve Thompson in his Ventus. Steve garnering weak wave lift to a maximum altitude of around 6,100' asl. Steve's expectation of stronger lift closer to the Pennines was not realised, so having flown to 7 km north of Wetherby, Steve turned for home, using his engine to ensure an arrival high enough to get established in the wave he started out from. Steve also explored the southern ridge lift to beyond Oswaldkirk, turning back some 12 km SSE of site. No one else climbed above their release height, but Bruce Grain/Julian Pratt in K21 KLW, had the only other flight of over an hour, 1:11, as they utilised the lift on the White Horse ridge, maintaining a height of around 700' QFE for the latter part of their flight. Others to use this lift were Bruce/Barry Stephenson with 49 minutes in K21 KLW. Dave McKinney/Adrian Funnell with 43 minutes in K21 JVZ and Chris Knapp with 41 minutes in the DG303. A day course pupil was given a combined total of 1:05 from his 3 flights while the day's 3 First Flight pupils amassed 1:30 of flying time.
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.