Saturday 9th April 2011

Blue sky, warm day, very strong easterly wind. Would there be wave? The atmospheric soundings gave mixed messages – strong inversion ( good ); wind strength not increasing with height ( bad ); wind direction changing significantly with height ( bad ).

So, how did the day turn out? The early flights were of short duration with several pilots reporting some patches of reduced sink rates, large smooth areas, some turbulent areas.

In my mind this all added up to one thing; weak wave that no one had recognised in the air. So, I took a launch in my Jantar 1. Just upwind of the airfield there was indeed a little turbulence followed by some reduced sink. Turning across the wind I could follow this reduced sink and, in fact, conditions improved. Initial climb rates were very low ( 0.2 knot average ) needing some very accurate flying but gradually the climb rates got better. Best climb rates were 2.1 knot average with long wave bars running from Burrator Reservoir in the south to just short of Meldon Reservoir in the north. The system topped out at 4760 feet above the airfield ( 5580 feet above sea level ). After some very enjoyable sightseeing, I pulled the airbrakes to return to the airfield for a much needed cup of tea and a total flight time of 2 hours 8 minutes. Very satisfying.

The 19  metre Jantar1 looks purposeful while waiting to be towed to the launch point.

Other pilots followed my lead and found the wave, with several flights over an hour and most pilots having soaring flights. Strangely, everyone seemed to think that the wave system stopped at 2000 feet!

Thanks once again to the winch drivers who gave very good launches all day despite the gusty conditions.

A very good day.

Steve