Wednesday 14th to Thursday 15th October 2020
Posted: 16/10/2020 20:06
Wednesday 14th. High pressure centred to the north of the UK led to a continuation of the NE'ly flow, now light to moderate, and also showers coming in off the North Sea that deposited 2.5 mm or rain. In spite of this, flying was possible and 13 AT launches resulted off runway 02, with all the subsequent landings on the same runway. The visiting Army pilots were thus able to stretch their wings as it were and fly in three of their gliders, K21 HVT, Duo Discus KPE and DG1000T YVN, albeit not for very long as there was no significant lift to be had. The two longest flights, 20 minutes by Army pilots T Clark and P Wright in KPE and 19 minutes by compatriots Davison and Palmer in HYT, were both the result of tows to around 3,000' QFE, with tows to 2,000' QFE delivering flight times of 14-15 minutes. Army flighs numbered 6, First Flight pupils 2 with the balance by YGC members, while the Falke made a significant contribution to the day's activities with 5 sorties.
Thursday 15th. A 6-10 kt N'ly continued to blow as the High Pressure remained in charge, showers still coming in off the North Sea which were heavy at times, with a batch around lunch time leading to a suspension of flying and an accumulation of another 2.0 mm of rain. The consequent 3 hour break in flying meant only 7ATs were flown off runway 20 with everybody landing back on the same runway except for Army visitor Mr Cockburn who landed K21 KLW on runway 06 at the end of his 13 minute solo flight. His flight time was typical of the day, as again useable lift was non-existent, with only John Carter and the day's only First Flight pupil staying up for more than 20 minutes, the result of a tow to 3,000' QFE. YGC's K21s KLW and JVZ shared the flying duties with the Army's K21, HYT, while towards the end of the day the Falke flew a practice cross country with TPs at Thirsk, Harrogate North and Wetherby South. Speaking of cross countries, Richie Toon recently successfully completed a goal flight from John O'Groats to Land's end without recourse to an engine. So well done to him. The 1400 km was completed in 2 weeks at a maximum height of around 6 feet, so there was no problem with a number of low bridges encountered en route. The return trip back home was more problematical as Ritchie found the various railway companies involved very unsympathetic to having his push bike on board.
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.