Thursday 25th to Friday 26th January 2024
Posted: 27/01/2024 10:23
Thursday 25th A light to moderate SSE'ly that eventually veered into the S brought low cloud and periods of rain from 1000 hrs to there was no flying.
Friday 26th. An overnight cold front left the site in a moderate and at times moderate to fresh W'ly, so it was a winching day off runway 24, with 23 launches flown. Moderate wave influence was experienced, with a number of pilots climbing to over 3,000' asl (2,100' QFE) and excursions north to as far as Thimbleby. 15 of the day's flights exceeded 30 minutes with 7 of these exceeding an hour. Graeme Cooksey/Tony Kirkby set the ball rolling with 46 minutes in K21 JVZ off the first flight of the day, with Steve Thompson in the Discus having the first >1 hr flight. His 2:23 included a best climb to 3,300' asl in the home bowl, visits to High Paradise Farm and the forward ridge, with the majority of the flight undertaken at 700' to 1400' QFE. Bill Payton in Astir DSU had the longest flight of the day, 2:41, in which he went a far north as Thimbleby. via Black Hambleton, visited the forward ridge and climbed to 3,700' asl in the home bowl, the best altitude of the day. Other pilots to climb to 3,000' asl or above included Fred Brown/Mark James in the DG1000, 3,300' at Black Hambleton, Graeme Cooksey/Steve Morgan also in the DG1000, 3,400' in the home bowl and George Rowden in the Discus, 3,100' asl in the home bowl. All the above had > 1hr flights, as did Chris Handzlik in Astir DPO and Paul Whitehead, also in DPO. Paul, off the last flight of the day in JVZ, gave Neil Paveley a simulated low cable break, the resultant low point of 100' QFE being followed by a steady climb to 1,300' QFE, the flight lasting 27 minutes on a good hill soaring day at Sutton.
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.