Dartmoor Gliding News- Sunday 28th February 2016

Gusts. What are they all about? You’be got a perfectly good synoptic chart showing isobars, and a pressure gradient from which you can pretty well deduce the likely direction and strength of the wind. And then someone throws in ‘gusts’ – one minute the wind is a pleasant breeze which should generate wave, the next it’s a howling gale..!

These, plus the fact that the wind was 30-60o more across the runway than predicted (ie. 030 round to due north) did for us this morning. Which was a shame since, after an early and enthusiastic start, it had to be accepted that conditions were out of limits for trainees to gain any benefit. That did not stop Roger Appleboom, however, from getting airborne in his K-6CR to enjoy two flights each a little short of 30 mins in thermals up to 3,100ft (well marked cumulus cloudbase).

Having called a halt to proceedings by returning to the gliders to the trailer park was rather like attempting to put a tiger back in its cage – it was very keen to get back out! The wind was not predicted to moderate until 2pm however, and so it turned out.

The leap back into action was, as you might have guessed, rapid and efficient. Everyone went straight to their places and, from 3pm, we resumed with a launch rate of 4 per hour until sunset a little after 6pm. All those who wanted to fly did so, many regaining currency and all benefitting from the challenge of the northerly crosswind. Some (Richard Roberts – also K-6CR) found weak wave running NE-SW over the field, whilst Introductory Flight Pilot Pete Howarth kept one of the K-13s aloft for 10 mins on more than one occasion in thermals.

Nick Woodmansey, who flew with Pete Howarth today.

 We managed to fly both our visitors, Nick Woodmansey (with previous flying experience) and George Kerr (see photos) and, on returning the gliders to the hangar, were enormously grateful just to have got into the air again and enjoyed the view from above.

George Ker, who also flew with Pete Howarth.

Thanks go to Barry Green and Heather for winching and driving retrieve respectively, and to the cast of characters Ed Borlase, Dave Downton, Roger Green, Paula Howarth, Peter Harvery and Chris Owen who each played their part to the full.

Crepuscular light from the SW towards the end of the afternoon.

Martin Cropper