David Jesty gets his 3rd Diamond

David Jesty has recently got his 3rd Diamond, the 5000 meter height gain. Here is his story.

Back in the summer I accepted an invitation to join some of the North Hill pilots on their October trip to Portmoak near Edinburgh for six days of flying.

Five of the six days were flyable with often a combination of ridge, thermal and wave. The wave was often very weak and gentle (unlike Brentor's usual offerings!) One day produced 50kt winds at flying height allowing a hovering flight to take place in the wave but pushing into wind very difficult. Generally one could fly for as long as required, dependant mainly on how cold it was.

The best day was the Wednesday which started out blue and very cold. The CFI warned about the dangers of a very crowded ridge although he hoped that some blue wave might start up during the day. The first hour or so consisted of ridge flying: a mentally exhausting operation keeping eye on the other 14 gliders. A slight shudder of the wings announced the arrival of very weak wave and a slow climb ensued, helped by watching the other gliders marking the good and not so good lift.

Once up at 9000' I moved upwind to find stronger lift. The inevitable sink concentrated the mind, but each time it was fairly easy to find a new wave. The P600 airway creates a bit of a problem (you have to duck under it) but once out the other side you're clear up to FL195. A comment from Pete Startup a few days earlier about the local wave hotspot sent me west to the very cloudy Loch Earn area rather than east to Dundee where a classic rotor cloud was sitting. Flying along a nice wave slot the lift was fairly consistent but never booming. I headed to an area where there was a thin lenticular above the rotor.

At 12000' I donned the very fetching oxygen cannula and searched for the best lift. This was easily found and a continuous 3-4kt climb ensued, breaking off at just over 19000' being careful not to get pushed up into the airspace that was now very close above. The air temperature was well below -20C and with very cold feet I carefully descended, having to get below cloud base to avoid icing, then a down-wind dash for home.

There are more writings about the week on the North Hill website (DSGC) blog and, for any who might be interested, my flight log is on www.bgaladder.co.uk

David Jesty