Saturday 9th to Tuesday 12th December 2017
Posted: 13/12/2017 11:15
Saturday 9th. Another cold, but flyable day, produced 21 ATs off runway 24, all in either the club's or our Cambridge GC visitor's 2 seaters, a light to moderate WNW'ly slowly backing into the SW as the day progressed. The lack of any lift meant flight times were directly related to launch height, with Derek Smith and John Shaw having 38 minute and then 34 minute flights in the DG1000 off 4,000' tows. Graham Evison with visitor D Jokinen had 36 minutes in the same glider of a lower tow, completing the list of flights of longer than 30 minutes, with Jim Mclean and Paul Whitehead getting close with 28 minutes, again in the DG1000. Some pilots retreated from the cold conditions on the airfield, preferring the more benign conditions to be found in the simulator room.
Sunday 10th. Early brightness was replaced by a thickening overcast that produced some light snow, the light to moderate NE'ly wind slowly backing into the NW. The conditions were not conducive to flying so a non-flying day resulted.
Monday 11th. The depression responsible for Sunday's heavy snow over Mid-Wales and the Midlands had departed to the east, leaving the site with sunny skies and a light of moderate NNW'ly that slowly backed into the NW. Flying got under way around 1230 hrs with the first of the day's 8 ATs, which were all flown in either JVZ, YGC's K21 or HTV, the Cambridge visitor's K21. The lack of any lift resulted in only 2 flights exceeding 30 minutes, in fact no one else exceeded 20 minutes. The exceptions were John Carter whose flight with Mile High pupil, Steve Mottram, lasted for 34 minutes, while John and visitor Chris Barrot had the same time off a lower tow.
Tuesday 12th. Another sunny, but cold day led to 14 ATs off runway 20, as the light SE'ly veered to become SSE'ly and strengthened slightly as a front approached from the west. In the absence of any lift it was again a 2 seater only day, the day's Mile High pupil, Leslie Gallagher, producing the only flight in excess of 30 minutes, this being 37 minutes under the tutelage of Paul Whitehead. Only one other flight exceeded 20 minutes, Les Rayment taking one of the other 2 First Flight pupils of the day for 21 minutes in K21 JVZ. The main point of interest of the day, apart from 2 Falke flights, was a land out at Bagby by Andy Parish and visitor Vikram Giri in K21 JVZ. This was a pre-arranged land out so that the resulting AT retrieve soon had the glider and pilots back at site.
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.