The day dawned gin clear and with the forecast for a light S-SSE'ly with
cloudbase around 2,700ft agl there was the prospect, with luck, of wave. And so
a small, but enthusiastic group of Sunday Soarers gathered at the
(unrecognisable) new look rigging area to get the gliders ready for launching
from the west.
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| Early Morning clear skies over the tors |
At which point we should a pause to mention the truly formidable
transformation that has been made to the area around the clubhouse from a scene
resembling a Welsh mining landscape to a neat, orderly and safe space that would
be the envy of many a gliding club, and for which a huge debt of gratitude is
owed to Mike Bennett, Phil Hardwick and their team of helpers (not least of
which was the vibrating roller they hired).
With Pete Howarth on hand as Instructor, today was a great opportunity for
those who had fallen out of currency, namely Colin Boyd, Joe Nobbs and myself,
to get back in the saddle and really get to grips with launch failure
eventualities in conditions which, with almost no wind, were quite challenging.
Thanks, Peter.
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| Colin Boyd ordering his 'post-match' drinks prior to launching with Peter Howarth |
And for those seeking out the wave, such as Andy Davey, Rich Roberts, Steve
Fletcher and Phil Hardwick, the day also proved a challenge as the low wind
speed, coupled with what appeared to be a strong low inversion (haze in the
atmosphere and smoke being capped), seemed to prevent those little tickles and
whips from growing into a recognisable system. There was some thermic activity
to be had, however, as was well marked by the buzzards.
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| Steve Fletcher about to get air under the wings of his Open Cirrus |
Evidence that today was uncharacteristically warm was the fact that shirt
sleeves were the order of the day, as temperatures reached an unheard of 18
degrees Celsius in the gentle breeze.
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Rich Roberts demonstrating that shirt sleeves were the order of the day
as temperatures soared |
At the end of the day as we put the hurdle fence back up, we were happy with
our (genuinely) incident free 25 launches, even if the only soaring was that
done by the temperature..!
PS. Trivia fact of the day: did you know that, at 1.2km long, our runway is
just 100 metres short of North Hill's..? And that with access to the top field,
the tables are turned...
Martin Cropper
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