There's discretion, valour, and downright foolhardiness. And, with the Met
Office issuing strong wind warnings for Sunday from Thursday on, and MeteoGroup
suggesting 20 kts gusting 35, today feel into the latter category.
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| The scene outside the clubhouse just before this year’s AGM – 6:30 pm Sat 9 April 2016. |
But just how
strong was the wind at Brentor? A determined team of Sunday Soarers decided to
brave the elements as far as the launchpoint at the east end to discover what
our recently installed weather station was actually reading. 11.9kts. There are
times when you glance down at the instrument panel and think, 'that's not right'
– but you carry on flying with your eyes out of the window.
 |
| The overworked anemometer atop the weather station. |
But as the
launchpoint rocked on it's chassis as another gust went through, none of us
could tolerate 11.9kts as a reflection of the truth. There followed a frenzy of
action as Dave Downton attempted to retrieve the manufacturer's manual from the
internet, whilst others adopted the 'prod first, ask questions later' approach
(see photo) that comes from close acquaintance with the IT age. Eventually, via
a circuitous route no-one can remember, we got the display to read in knots, and
update frequently, whereupon it did, indeed, vindicate the decision not to fly,
with a gust reading of 31.9kts!
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| The overworked anemometer atop the weather station. |
And so we returned to the clubhouse, where we were treated to a presentation
by Peter Howarth on (the temporarily forgotten art of) thermalling: entering,
sharing and leaving of same precious commodities. Which provoked an interesting
discussion, ranging from sharing thermals between gliders of different
construction and Rules of the Air, to how to centre and maintain a good lookout
whilst doing so. That said, it was difficult to hear Peter's presentation at
times due to the wind drawing a partial vacuum through the white hot logs in the
wood burner, as the wind strength continued to increase (as predicted).
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| Clouds scudding up over the moor in the strong wind from the south-east. |
In the afternoon, we continued to fettle and brief for next week's exped to
the Long Mynd – hashtag #excited!
Martin Cropper
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