Dartmoor Gliding Society Club News: Dartmoor Gliding News-Chicklade Out and Return Attempt Sunday 3rd April 2022 Steve Fletcher

Having been watching the forecast for the weekend all week I decided that Sunday looked best for my 300km attempt. Arriving at the airfield nervous but prepared with food, drink chart and 2 charged batteries I went through the flight plan with Richard Roberts. An out and return to Chicklade.

I took off at 11.44 when the clouds and thermals looked to be developing. I struggled at first to get any height off the 900 ft launch near the airfield but eventually got away and set off towards the North of the moor where the clouds looked better and eventually got a decent climb to over 3000 ft near Lydford.

Looking up the M5 towards Cullompton

Setting off across the Northern part of the moor with some decent cloud streets I got a decent climb to about 4500 cloud base NW of Exeter. Cloud base was around 4000 to 4500 for most of the flight. The wind was all over the place. NNW at Brentor and NE for the main part all the way to Chicklade. I noticed that North Hill they were launching from West to East, Still I thought, that would help my way back,(little did I know that it wouldn’t) so I tracked on. The route took me North of Exeter and South of Yeovil and Yeovilton. The coast on my right I could see Weymouth and Portland.

Chesil beach in the distance

I got another good climb East of Yeovil, very turbulent 6 to 8 up and then another one East of Yeovilton. The area around Yeovil was starting to over develop so I was wondering whether I would even get to Chicklade. I pressed on and got a good straight glide to the Chicklade turn point but then struggled again for lift. I was within reach of The Park gliding club and started to track towards it when I noticed a Discus high up to my left.

Cloud cover was now over 90% so I joined the discus and got another good climb to cloud base around 4300’. The wind was now NW about 9 knots so slowing me a bit. Tracking back south of Yeovilton and Yeovil the sky had over developed and I was running out of height and with little chance of lift started to look for a good field. I still had plenty of height at this time so looked well ahead. I saw a very large field off to my left when I was at about 2500 ft so I knew I had somewhere to go but it did have a slight slope so I thought it would be better to look for another.

The viz looking ahead to the east now was pretty awful, not much of an horizon and overcast. It was at this point that sods law came into force, Battery 1 decided to go too low to power everything, so I switched to Battery 2, but that was completely dead (this turned out to be a loose connection that must have come loose during the flight, probably during one of the turbulent thermals). I turned everything off and just kept power to the Oudie. But my options were now running out, there was no lift so I decided it was definitely time to put my out landing practice into good use. At about 2000 feet I saw a narrow field ahead, clearly grass. It looked to be close to a barn and a minor road and looked quite flat but it seemed to have a track running down the middle of it. Getting closer I could see that there were no obstacles or stock and it pointed east west so I could land straight into wind which was now a westerly further impeding my progress. Flying around all looked good and I decided to land to the right of what I thought might be a track. On the approach I could see that it was in fact a mown strip but committed to landing on the grass to the right I kept to plan A.

Happy to be down and safe

Nice Field

The field turned out to be smoother than parts of Brentor. On getting out I realised the field was a farmers air strip. At this point I learnt that landing out in the lovely county of Somerset brings you in touch with lovely people. Using 'what 3 words' I quickly informed my retrieve crew (Richard and Gavin) where I was and phoned Susan to say I would be a bit later that planned!

The clouds then started to part and a low sun made a pleasant late afternoon and evening as various people came to say hello, have a chat and offer help, about 9 visited me with their dogs whilst out walking. The owner of the field came over and introduced himself, a lapsed pilot himself with a Robin in the Barn which actually wasn't a barn but a small hangar!.

I was really cold at this point, although I had 2 jumpers on, I had left my coat behind, he quickly offered me a spare coat he had in his truck and after pleasantries disappeared only to reappear 45 minutes later with his lovely wife who had made a flask of hot coffee for me. Such lovely people.

Total flight time was 4hrs 3mins and a distance of 210kms.

The Retrieve in pictures