Dartmoor Gliding News - Wednesday 14 May 2025

Wednesday Forecast.  "It looks like there may be some weak wave early morning until around 10 am, which may extend to 10,000 ft or so.  Wind is easterly 10 kts and increasing with height, but perhaps not enough to make it workable. From midday onwards, the thermals take over with cloud base to 6,000 ft, all afternoon until early evening.

Potentially a good day for Silver Height, using thermals in the mid-afternoon onwards.

Chart-wise, the current mixed weather will subside, leaving a strong high pressure north of the UK, giving us generally light easterly winds, with full sun for the next few days."

With that full forecast, the day looked good.  But first, there was a winch cable to change.  Readers might have noticed an increase in cable breaks recently.  So it was time to change the cables.  The most pressing was that on the left-hand drum of the auto winch.  The Sunday Soarers, in amongst showers and Friends and Family flights, had removed the cable from the drum.  So it was the Wednesday Wavers job to reel a fresh cable on the empty drum first thing.  It's quite an engineering challenge.  Mike Bennett took charge, and the newly dragooned tiny trailer supported the bar and drum of new cable.  It worked a treat, and in next to no time, both cables were changed.

I had a few tasks on the club gliders to perform while that was going on.  Also, for many it was the last day at the club before setting off on the club expedition to Aston Down (Cotswold Gliding Club) on Sunday.  John Allan arrived and got his trailer out of the glider rack and departed early for Aston Down. Others were checking trailer tyre pressures and that everything is secure inside their trailer.  Others checked lights and turned their trailers around for an easy departure on Sunday.

The Duty Instructor's trusty steed for the day.  K-13, FGR.

The first launch was at a 1117 with Ray Staines departing for 37 minutes of training with the Duty Instructor, Mike Jardine.   

First up is Ray Staines to continue his refresher training.

Ray gaining height to the northeast of the airfield

Ray treated Mike to a great view of Mary Tavy

Phil was the duty Basic Instructor today and he welcomed our first visitor, Mary Phelps to the airfield.  They flew in the Puchacz for an introductory flight.  After they landed Mike Bennett took the K-8 up for 18 minutes.  While Phil escorted Mary and her husband off the field Peter and Gavin made use of the Puchacz for some instructor training for Gavin.

Visitor Mary Phelps ready for a flight of adventure with farmer Phil

Phil safely returns Mary to earth

Harvey Hunt went up for an extended soaring flight (41 minutes) to continuing his training.  Mike revelled in the simplicity of a long training flight vice the normal three launches and landings.

Harvey keeping in the thermals with coordinated turns

Overhead Brentor Church (Michael de Rupe) 

Training complete, Peter and Gavin handed the Puchacz back to Phil so he could fly our second visitor of the day, Daisy Smith, who came to the airfield with her mum, from Plymouth.  The flight was a fifteenth birthday present, but life got in the way and Daisy turned sixteen!  Mum and Daisy were pleased that the first day they booked turned out to be so glorious.  Daisy and Phil enjoyed an initial soaring flight and a circuit on their second flight, which satisfied daredevil Daisy.  The description was attributed to her by her mum, not DGS!  True to form Daisy really liked the winch launches.  We hope she lets her friends at Devonport High School for Girls know all about it.  Come back soon.

Phil checks that Daisy is securely strapped in the Puchacz

All smiles from the Smiths after Daisy's flights with Phil (acting as an honorary Smith in this photo!)

Malcolm and Robin extracted the Twin Astir from its T-hangar at the east end, and Malcolm made a short soaring flight before taking Robin aloft for a flight of just over an hour.  It was then Neal's turn for a spot of training with Mike.  Again, they got away first time, clocking up 21 minutes and then a further 48 minutes on a second flight.  All good progress in Neal's Pilot log book.

Neal on his way up to 3,500 ft AGL

Running parallel to the runway

Robin and Malcolm in the Twin Astir, shortly after launch

What of the solo pilots?  Strangely, the Astir CS77 wasn't used today, with pilots preferring the K-8, with Steve Lesson soaring for 55 minutes and John Smith for 26 minutes.  Once Phil had finished the trial flights, Mike Bennett and Peter took the Puchacz for a 44-minute soaring flight.  Mike Jardine then flew with Alasdair in the K-13.

On his third attempt, Alasdair got to go soaring

I had waited and waited until I could see that the anticipated convergence was forming just to the north of the site.  Although Skysight had forecast it being overhead at 1730 the southerly sea breeze was effectively holding it to the north of the airfield.  Judging that it could only get further away I took a launch in the K-8 at 1648.

Malcolm checks the glider on approach while I watch the convergence forming behind him

I didn't reach the convergence over Blackdown after the winch launch and turned back to the airfield.  Despite the sea breeze, there was still some cumulus that I worked at the north west and then at the south east of the airfield.  This allowed me to build enough height so that I could push north, deep over Blackdown.  I connected with the lift and spent 10 minutes climbing 2,700 feet to cloud base. 

This was Skysight's forecast this morning of the convergence at 1730

A radio call from FGR resulted in the K-13, with Mike and Alasdair, joining beneath me and climbing to 2,600 ft AGL.  By then, I was pushing north-west under the convergence to the A30.

Heading for Roadford Lake

Approaching cloudbase, it was 4,200 ft QFE here.

The brightness of the moors seen from under the convergence shadow

Reaching Roadford Lake

Making good progress under the convergence, at the A30 I turned left and headed to Launceston.

Following the A30 towards Launceston, currently overhead Lifton

When I broke out from under the convergence, I entered sink.  I reversed course and headed back to the convergence and then towards the airfield.  Not losing much height, I decided to head out into the blue and aimed for Tavistock at a high-speed cruise, for the K-8 at least, of 65 knots, trying to burn off height.  I flew around Tavistock, and I headed back to the airfield.

The Tamar Valley and the River Tamar snaking out to the Hamoaze and then to Plymouth Sound

Gavin's view of Tavistock during his circumnavigation of the town

After I circumnavigated Tavistock, time was pressing on, to give other members a go.  It was time to land the K-8.  However, I was still at 2,700 ft QFE.  So there was only one thing to do; full air brake all the way down to high key and join the circuit.  On approach, which had a bit of a tailwind, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a welcoming party waving and clapping as I crossed the boundary fence, pleased that I had made it back to the airfield.  Cheeky chappies!

Gavin crosses the boundary fence and brings GDK safely back to the airfield to rapturous applause

Analysis of my flight on SeeYou showed my high point as 5,778 ft AMSL with a height gain of 4,637ft (an easy Silver height if I hadn't already got it).  I flew for 55km at an overall L/D (glide ratio) of 29:1.  Not bad for a K-8.

Interestingly, the wind direction changed throughout the flight.  My first thermal to the north-west of the airfield was in a south-westerly wind direction, the second to the south east of the airfield, the wind was southerly, and the main climbs under the convergence were in a south-easterly.   South of Liftondown I climbed in a thermal with no drift at all.

My route as shown on Flightbook

The last training flight for the Duty Instructor was to wizz DB around the sky before Alasdair took a launch in the K-8.  Alas, although the convergence was still there the gentle southerly and then westerly sea breeze kept it just out of Alasdair's reach.  Better luck next time.

Look at that glorious sky once I had landed. 
Obviously not glorious enough to keep "teenager" Malcolm off his phone!

The Wednesday Wavers had a perfect little day.  Wave, thermals, and convergence gave us 21 flights and just over nine hours in the air.  The average flight time for the Wednesday Wavers today was 26 minutes.  Great stuff.  Oh, and my flight of 1 hour 6 minutes earned me "Man of the Match".  The change of cables had proved very worthwhile, as we did not experience any launch failures throughout the day.

Gavin Short