Sunday 11th to Tuesday 13th August 2024
Posted: 15/08/2024 14:59
Sunday 11th. Early Cumulus soon disappeared to leave clear blue skies as a light to moderate SSE'ly blew. 17 launches were flown off runway 20 with 10 flights of over 30 minutes resulting, 6 of whom were over an hour. Rob Bailey put his 256 km flight around Sutton, Tontine, York E, Masham, Garsdale Head and back to Sutton on the BGA ladder reaching the best altitude of the day, 4,500' asl, with a number of other XCs flown, most of whom reached similar altitudes. James Prosser in his Ventus ct flew 184 OLC kms with TPs at or near, Wetherby S, Harrogate N and Hawes, but had to resort to his engine to the NW of Thirsk on the way back to site, while Bob Calvert in his Discus 2ct flew 118 km with TPs at or near Wetherby S, Harrogate N and Pateley Bridge. The first part of Jamie Quartermain's flight in his ASW27 did not leave a trace, but he did visit Northallerton and its environs during his 2:20 hr flight, while Peter Crawley's 3:38 in his ASH 31M was completely untraceable. Ben Dawson in his 18m Cirrus stayed local for his 2:03 flight, while the longest flights in club gliders were by Fred Brown/Sanjay Naith in K21 JVZ, 53 minutes and 46 minutes by junior Sam Dawson in Astir DPO. Average thermal strengths peaked around 3 kts on a day with 5 First Flight pupils.
Monday 12th. A few light showers in the morning and overcast skies all day did not produce non-flying conditions, as a moderate S'ly veered into the W and fell light, but did affect demand, with only 8 ATs off runway 20, 5 of which were for First Flight pupils. Flight durations were typically 15-20 minutes, with the possibility of lift on the S'ly facing slopes of the N Yorkshire Moors National Park towards Ampleforth and the SW facing part of the main bowl being investigated. Bob Calvert with one of the First Flight pupils utilised the latter to extend their flight in K21 JVZ to 22 minutes, the best of the day, while earlier Bob, again in JVZ with a First Flight pupil, had 21 minutes due to a 300' thermal climb. Charles Frencheville contributed all three club member flights, a 2 seater ride with Guy Harland followed by 2 flights in Astir DPO.
Tuesday 13th. A light to moderate S'ly slowly veered into the SSW, early bright skies gradually being filled with lowering cloud as a weak front made slow progress from the west. 21 ATs were flown off runway 20, including 5 for First Flight pupils and 2 for private owners. Only 3 flights managed to exceed 30 minutes, Andrew Wilmott in his ASW19 having exactly an hour as he soared locally to a maximum altitude of 4,000' asl with a best average climb rate of 2.1 kts. The other 2 extended flights were by Bruce Grain/Eamonn Dowler who had 40 minutes at 5-600' QFE soaring the SW'ly part of the main bowl and by Fred Brown/Steve Thompson in the DG1000 who found some inconsistent lift on the S'ly ridge that extended their flight to 32 minutes. This latter area of lift was favoured by the majority of pilots with flight times from 25 to 28 minutes, the latter by Fred Brown/Chloe Thompson in the DG1000. Malcom Morgan, on the other hand, while flying Astir DPO, found an area of lift just to the W of Kilburn strong enough to maintain his height at 1,400' QFE for a while before retreating to the White Horse ridge at 900' QFE and then landing after 27 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.