Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 5th May 2019

“Not Happy,” Pete Howarth fumed; “Not happy at all,” he reiterated, “There I am down the other end of the airfield and first the K-13 launches straight into a thermal, and the following six launches, all on different gliders, then all get away as well..!” Which indeed was true: in our first seven launches the shortest flight was 42 mins (K-13 training flight), and the longest 4hrs 3 mins (Roger Appleboom's perambulation of Devon in his K-6) and all points in between.

Early morning grid under a promising sky.

The soaring started early: exactly as predicted on RASP, in fact, and our local soaring flights included a Silver Height for Dave Westcott, 1 hr limited flight to 6,000ft by Malcolm Wilton-Jones, 36 mins by Ed Borlase in K-6 G-CEWO (his longest yet on type), 58 mins by Allan Holland in the K-8 (“Never before have I known such lift so strong...I had 10 up all the way around..!”) and re-qualification to solo flying for Jo Knobbs.

Roger Green’s view from his ASW-20 of Meldon Reservoir, which is just south of...

Roger Green’s encounter with Castle Drogo
(in foreground, clad in poly sheeting)
and the Teign valley, looking south-east.

The accolades, however, need to go to our cross country crew: Steve Fletcher (to 6,000ft+ - see his Facebook post), Roger Green and Richard Roberts (again) who, using the light north-westerly and dynamic (but not over developed) conditions, generally ventured north to Okehampton, west to Holsworthy – where they played with the sea breeze front - and then either south to Plymouth or back home, each of them completing flights of 100km plus (see Richard Robert's account on the 'How I did it' page of the DGS Website).

Steve Fletcher in his Open Cirrus approaching Plymouth from the north
(note Saltash and Tamar bridges on extreme right).

So, out of 23 launches in total, 50% were in excess of 30 mins duration, 4 of those being greater than 2hrs 30 mins. Many pilots exceeded 5,000-6,000ft (but only one for the first time - well done Dave Westcott (last seen searching for a willing OO!))

 Rich Roberts’s Discus, in which he flew 345km yesterday,
followed by 106km today.

Our thanks, however, must go most sincerely to unseen heroes – namely Rick Wiles and Scratch Hitchens who boldly set forth on Star Wars Day to set up the airfield up for a westerly airflow before most of us were even up..! Yes, having attended Saturday night's Stars Wars BBQ, the pair were up with the lark moving (and in Scratch's case welding) machinery to ensure that the Sunday Soarers would enjoy the Force - which we certainly did..! Thanks, fellahs.

...Okehampton, as seen by Richard Roberts.

Rich also captured this view of Ed Borlase in his K-6 negotiating Pitland’s Corner,
the junction between Chillaton and Lydford.

But what of Mr Miffy, marooned on winch island, while sending all and sundry into the sky? Well, on return to the launchpoint Pete Howarth not only climbed straight into a 1 hr flight in the club K-8, but later in the afternoon bagged 50 mins (to 3,000ft+) in the cherry-red cherub K-6 G-CEWO..! So not such a glum chum now then, eh Peter..!

Pete Howarth about to embark upon a 50-minute flight in K-6 G-CEWO.

Martin Cropper