Dartmoor Gliding News-Sunday 29th August 2021

Waiting for the wind to settle into its predicted NE’ly direction was, well, like watching the proverbial.  Having DI’ed the club K-13 and rigged all the privately owned single-seaters that wanted to fly, by 1131 there was nothing left to do but…launch!  And by 1134 we had a glider in a field.  Launching into the northerly crosswind, Martin Cropper and Ray Boundy were lured by a cloud downwind which failed to deliver and, on turning back to the airfield found nothing but 5-6 kts sink, making a return to the home airfield impossible.  Martin therefore decided to make use of the height available to land the K-13 in the field just south of the airfield boundary, with no damage or injury caused.  

Ed Borlase launching in his K-6 for a Silver C duration attempt.

"That glider's very low..."
Ed's view of K-13 DMX having landed out in "Dick Toop's" field.

Three hours later, and thanks to retrieve crew Phil Hardwick, Chris and Karon Matten the glider was back on the hangar hardstanding re-rigged and ready to go…  Meanwhile other members of the team kept the operation alive, notably by getting Ed Borlase into the air in his K-6 for a potential five-hour Silver C duration flight.  His first attempt lasted 9 minutes, so was only 4 hours 51 minutes short of the goal (subsequent launches being slightly shorter), which probably says more about the weather (actual) versus weather (forecast) than Ed’s flying ability.  And with K-13 DMX temporarily grounded, instructor Peter Howarth stepped into the breach to fly our visitor, Angus Allen in alternative K-13 airframe HXP.

Visitor Angus Allen in K-13 HXP.

As the afternoon drew on it appeared that the upper air had taken the hint, but the windsock stubbornly refused to settle into an easterly sector, creating turbulence in lee of the trees and frustratingly uninspiring launch heights.  Through sheer perseverance and a bit of luck solo pilots Andy Davey (Libelle JEU) and Peter Howarth (Astir CFJ) eventually won through, in Peter’s case to an astonishing 3,000ft agl in 55 minutes airtime.  In the two-seater Ray Boundy also struck lucky (only partly by using the thermal marked by Peter) with a commendable 26-minute soaring flight to 1,800ft, providing much needed and justified compensation for the unexpectedly foreshortened version earlier in the day..!

 Ray Boundy in contemplative mood prior to a 26-minute soaring flight.

 Pete Howarth in his Astir surveys the sky as Malcom Roberts gathers the cable...

 ...and launches for a 55-minute flight.

 Pete's view of the airfield as he approaches 3,000ft.

Andy Davey  launching his Libelle...

...and away he goes!

Today was a day when although the forecast (especially RASP) was very promising (5 Stars by 1300), the weather failed to match that potential, leaving those who flew grateful for achieving what they did against, rather than with, the odds.  In addition to the retrieve crew, thanks go especially to Phil Hardwick and Malcolm Roberts who assisted but did not fly (due to the crosswind vs. Twin Astir) and to Peter Howarth for taking our visitor to 2,800ft and giving him a go on the controls, whilst the Duty Instructor was fending off a herd of heifers in a nearby field!

Martin Cropper