Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 11th April 2021

 As we look forward to the resumption (finally) of two seat flying tomorrow, today was the last restricted to licenced solo pilots only, and hence only a small band of happy wanderers appeared at the airfield.  

Despite a promising RASP forecast (N-NW’ly 10 gusting 15 kts, Cu potential good at 1000 very good by 1300, cloudbase 2,700ft agl rising and viz unlimited) it was decided that the Duty Instructor should launch first to ‘test the met’.  Well, as the photo shows, cloudbase of 3,000ft was achieved by 1115 local with climbs averaging 4-6 kts (a pity that the Duty Instructor didn’t take a radio to report this) which prompted Peter Howarth (Astir) and Andy Davey (Zugvögel) to get aloft as well.  Pushing north, they found conditions variable, with some large blue holes, but also cloudbase and energy increasing, such that both Peter and Andy (and later Phil Hardwick) achieved climbs to 5,000ft plus.

By 11:15am the Met Flight was nearing cloudbase at 3,000ft.

With intelligence suggesting that conditions to the east were not due to improve until later, setting off at 1130 Rich Roberts (Discus) at first went west to Liskeard, before reversing course to head for Somerset, using waypoints in north Devon to keep him clear of sea air from the south and, after 2 hours in the air, deciding en-route to declare Wells (instead of Taunton) as his turn-point.  Once rounded, he romped back using thermals kicked off by the northern edge of Dartmoor to return a little before 1600 having covered 307 kms (Gold Distance).  He was unable to claim the award, however, because he ‘failed to finish’ over the BRT turn-point (that being the hangar; not the landing area) but was nonetheless content, not only in having consciously headed the ‘wrong way’ to start with, and then amending the flight plan mid-flight, but also in finding some ‘stonking climbs’ en route!  

 Track of Rich Roberts’s 307km flight to Wells and return.

Lesser mortals (if that isn’t a discriminatory term) stopped at Roadford Reservoir or Okehampton near which Peter Howarth took some stunningly clear photos of Meldon Quarry and Reservoir, the size of the quarry making far greater impact from the air than can be appreciated on the ground.

 Peter Howarth’s stunningly clear image of Meldon Quarry and Reservoir.

 Peter Howarth’s view of the Tamar Valley – Tavistock is on the left.

 Peter Howarth on approach in Astir FCJ.

So despite there being only seven launches, the average flight time was 1 hr 49 mins (three flights being longer than 2½ hrs) to the immense satisfaction of all pilots involved.  Thanks once again go to Ray Boundy who logged and kept good order on the ground whilst the others ‘did aviating’.  Overall, however, having turned up early to get the equipment out, remained behind at the end to put the hurdle fence up, and just managing to squeeze a quick 307kms in between (with frozen toes by the end of it!) our Man of the Match Award for today must surely go to Rich Roberts: well done, Rich!

Martin Cropper