May 2010
Monthly Archive
Sunday, 23rd May 2010
My take on the forecast today was that it would be hot and SW for most of the morning/early afternoon and then it would move slowly round to the west. For once RASP and the MGC agreed on thermal strength and both said that the thermals would really kick off from 3pm, so we planned to do some house jobs and gardening and then go out as soon as it came on at the Long Mynd. There were people ground handling and taking a punt from lunchtime, but it was way south. By 2pm little cumulus were forming, so we got ready and went out.
As we were driving up the Long Mynd, we could see Kai, Steve Nash and Malcolm Davies climbing out. All got high, but then hit big sink, so top landed. That was it for a while. Steve tried, but the hill wasn’t playing. All the time, the cumulus were getting tantalisingly closer, so I waited. At one point I walked down the slope for some last minute pre-flight preparations, and the walk up back the hill had me soaking with sweat. It was so hot!
I wasn’t worried when 4pm passed, as the clouds were getting better. As soon as I saw a bird I lobbed off, only for it to fly off and me to sink down. I was kicking the trees over the bottom landing field, but was determined to get back up. The bird had thermalled there, so there was lift… I just had to work it! I found the bubble further out from the hill and climbed back up to a hundred feet above launch height and then top landed while everyone else was jostling in a weak thermal to the south of launch. The big boys (Steve, Kai, Malc, Mal Grace and Rich Worley) climbed out while others top and slope landed and I thought I had missed the bus when I saw Frank working a little bubble beneath the others. I launched and Frank and I worked it together, but it was weak. He headed out front and hit the real core. We climbed in sometimes ear popping speeds of 4.28 m/s (averaged) and caught up with the other guys. I pulled out to go on glide at 6000-odd feet. As we passed 4500′ the temperature actually got pleasant, and I was only wearing a t-shirt and jacket!
When we got to near base, Frank and I went on glide, first in different directions and then joining together. As we were high, I started to think about the best thing to do with the day. There was a good street ahead of me but it seemed to get raggedy three clouds in front and it was nearly 5pm. I did a test of the wind strength upwind and realised that, unlike normally, I could actually penetrate into wind. So I decided to try for the women’s out-and-return record. Unfortunately, my Garmin 76 had decided to play silly-buggers again and I had to reset it on the hill, so I lost my Long Mynd waypoint and forgot to set it again before I launched. This meant I had no idea how far I was from launch, as I couldn’t work out how to get it to reverse the route whilst I was thermalling. I have flown over the terrain many times, so I knew that once I was near the quarry on Wenlock Edge I would be about 15km away. When I got to the far edge of the cloud I was under, I headed back, planning to use the lift I had just used to get me back part of the way. Next was a big, black, scary looking cloud which I was sure would let me just cruise under it, lift all the way, and then back to the Long Mynd. It wasn’t to be… the cloud didn’t give me a beep! I sunk out just short, at Stretton!
I landed on a ridge, having seen how many power lines there are coming out of Stretton in the bottom of the valley, just next to Richard Worley. Geoff came to pick us up, but we got a lift with Jade and friends instead. Steve, Malcolm and Kai made it back to the Mynd, and then did some serious triangle stretching in front. And Frank carried on and did over 45km. Excellent flying!
I’m really pleased that I attempted and out-and-return, because if you don’t try it in these circumstances – light winds, late on and with reasonable clouds- when will you?
Saturday, 22nd May 2010
Geoff writes: ESE forecast, so off to the Malverns. We arrived about noon. A bit more wind than we expected, but nowhere near being blown out. People started launching, but no-one got high, everyone was on the ridge. We decided to wait until it got a bit better, rather than launch and spend hours ridge soaring before getting away. Also, it was a blue day, and we did hope that cumulus might begin to develop later.
A couple of gaggles eventually left, one very large, with what seemed like dozens of gliders in it. But whilst they managed to maintain, they never seemed to get more than 1500′ or so ATO, and just drifted back with that. There seemed to be an inversion at about that height, and that was confirmed by people who slope landed, rather than going with it.
And that was it for a few hours, every now and then one or two going, but never getting any height. Those who had gone and not got far started coming back for a second go.
We still didn’t launch, becoming more convinced that this was a late day. Eventually, at 3.30, I launched – by then Judith had more or less decided to have a day off. I climbed out fairly soon with a group of ten or so, but about half of them decided to go back to the front, including Martin and Frank. I stuck with it, and about five of us left the hill. It was slow going, still blue, the cumulus never reached us.
It helped enormously that there was a group of us, though as the first group gradually fell by the wayside, I caught up with a couple of others past Hereford.
My maximum height was only 3900, with a height gain of just 2800, and I don’t think anyone – at least whilst I was flying – got higher than that. So it was a very difficult day, and I honestly doubt if I could have done this on my own.
I landed just near Hay Bluff, having managed to fly right to the end of the day, at about 6.20pm, though I did take off late. 51km in total, so quite pleased with it on what was not an easy day.
And a brilliant retrieve from Judith, who, having decided not to fly, was already waiting for me as I walked out to the road. And this in spite of not being in radio contact from the air.
Friday, 21st May 2010
The forecast today was making my head hurt. I just didn’t get it. There was really high pressure (1033Mb) slap bang over us and no wind. RASP was giving crap thermal strength, but the MGC was giving a 4/5 rating. Mick suggested the Gyrn, which seemed like a really good bet in terms of the hill (possible to have multiple attempts from there, rather than a one chance site like the Wrekin, or to some extent, the Malverns) and steep (unlike Bache). In the end I asked weather guru extraordinaire, David Thomson, for some assistance and I got a fantastic briefing. Like he says, you need to look at the bigger picture! And the bigger picture included where the air was coming from – the Caribbean, so a very saturated airmass. At 9.30am the Malverns weather station was giving 74% humidity. And, as he pointed out, if you could get up to the clouds, it would be great… the problem was getting there; so a big hill, away from sea breezes, was essential.
As we drove past Corndon a big monster of a cloud was sitting above it, but near Welshpool there was lots of high cloud. As we approached the Gyrn, there was blue sky and cumulus. We met Martin and Kai there and Mick was already doing tandem flights with friends. There didn’t seem to be much thermic activity, but there was a little wind. Kai, Martin and Geoff launched and went up for a while, but I bombed in the bottom landing. Geoff was flying over all our heads until he had to slope land when it switched off. Luckily I got a lift back up with Mick and Glyn and we went right up to the top launch.
It wasn’t very good for ages (Mick and I thermalled up and top landed, Kai got not much on the bottom ridge, people went down and got back up), but then the sky started to change, and the clouds started to grow properly. I thought Kai was down in the bottom landing and I decided to go for a punt. As I flew out I could see about 15 crows circling, so I shouted to Geoff to launch as I few over him. The crows dispersed as I flew to them, but the thermal came good. I climbed to 3800′ in a sometimes rough, sometimes fine, thermal, which the others all joined. Kai was skimming the landing field, but patiently worked weak lift until it got established and he zoomed to cloudbase. I left the lift way before then. Over the back were black monsters and rain, but pushing out worked well and a cloud street was developing in front of me. Mick decided to push forward first with the intention of doing an out-and-return, but then changed his mind and decided to fly home to Llanymynech. He hit a convergence line and cruised nearly all the way there. If only I had stuck with him!
The rest of us tried to do triangles and having never attempted one, it was a really good exercise for Geoff and me. We watched Kai and Martin blast off on their posh gliders, but we plodded along, just enjoying the views and trying our best to fly here, there and everywhere. I fell short, as did Kai, but Geoff and Martin got back, although Geoff’s isn’t big enough for a FAI triangle. Still, a really fun day and very enjoyable flying. I am sure they’ve done big flights at the Malverns, but it’s not guaranteed that we wouldn’t have gone down and at the end of the day, all of us had a nice flight at the Gyrn, and you can’t ask for much more really…
Thursday, 20th May 2010
Judith 20 May 2010 | : Archery
The forecast wasn’t great and we decided to save ourselves for the potentially good four days to come. Of course, the forecast was wrong as usual! Rather than going to Acton Scott working farm to see Tom, as we have been planning to every Thursday for weeks, we decided to go out flying instead. The sky got better and better, but there seemed no wind.
An orange Niviuk glider was making impressive attempts at getting up on the Long Mynd, but was struggling to get above launch height. He had to slope land several times and walk back up and then went down to the bottom after a heroic scratch. Turned out it was Ben Henson.
I hate days like these. It’s just a lottery whether you launch at the right time or not, especially when there are only a handful of people out. You sit there baking all day and think of all the useful things you could be doing, whilst sitting under a fantastic sky you can’t get up to. We’ve been there too many times before… So we stayed at home and did the garden and then watched the sky cloud over. We gave up on the idea of flying at 2.30pm and drove over the Long Mynd to do some archery, stopping to chat to the die-hard keen guys on the hill.
Archery was good. We did lots of checking and taking photos (a good way of looking to see if alignment between shoulders and elbows is right, etc.). We shot until a blister on my finger stopped play.
Wednesday, 19th May 2010
Judith 20 May 2010 | : Archery, Work
I really like flying, but hell, it was nice to have a day off.
I heard the rain in the night and there was no sun shining through the curtains to wake us up, so we had a nice lie in and then caught up with last week’s letters, emails, bills etc. All of life’s mundane stuff. By afternoon we were out on the archery field and having a really good session. I am getting used to my bow and am working on my accuracy, and I am pleased with the results.
In the evening my parents came back to see us on their way home from Ireland and took us out for a slap up curry.
Tuesday, 18th May 2010
Geoff writes: a less successful day today, though we did fly.
The forecast was very light SW, so we went to Elan Valley, along with Mick and Hayley, and Graeme and Odette. Elan is an extremely sensitive members-only site (lots of nesting birds, including red kites), very beautiful, and a really good place from which to go XC when it is light. We’ve been a few times before, but never flown it on the PGs (though I have on the hang glider), usually it is too windy.
We were racing to get there before the approaching front, but as we arrived, it was still sunny, with some nice cumulus developing. On launch, the wind was all over the place, and two very strong dust devils came through within about ten minutes. We decided to wait a little while, which was a mistake, since the front was approaching extremely fast, and within another 15 minutes or so, the sun had gone.
And that was it for a couple of hours, with the wind going more westerly too (ahead of schedule). We repeatedly tried, along with locals Steve and Piers, but didn’t get up. Eventually, one by one, we flew over to the more westerly facing ridge, the wind picked up, and Piers and Steve got up there, as did we all later on. Once you were above ridge height, it was easy to stay up, in thermals, and maybe a bit of wave or convergence from the two valleys feeding into the site. It was quite bouncy though. I got to about 1000′ ATO, and was still climbing, and briefly considered going XC, but there was no sun at all, it was getting late, and after hanging around all day my motivation was gone.
Still, we did get a reasonable flight, in the end, at a stunning place.
Monday, 17th May 2010
Geoff writes: another good day at the Long Mynd, with plenty of people going XC. However, today most of the flights were relatively short (as far as I know), with one exception (see below).
The wind was WNW, a bit gusty at first (but it got lighter throughout the day), with a great sky. Judith and I left together (after she did some stunning scratching to avoid going down) and were joined by another glider. And David Thomson, down from Scotland, had already left just a few minutes before us. We climbed out to base very nicely, in quite a strong thermal, topped up a bit further on, then went on a glide, where we found more or less nothing. David landed before Wenlock Edge; I landed just beyond; and Judith slightly further. Kai overflew her after she’d landed, but only got to Cleobury Mortimer, with the other person who left with us, so it seems it wasn’t that good at that point. We rushed to get back to the hill for another go, but it still took us a couple of hours to get back. In the meantime, Dave Thomas had left.
We launched again, and David and I left again, separately. I bombed even closer to the Long Mynd, at Craven Arms, and David landed just after Ludlow. A few others went at different times too, including Jazzy Jeff on his hang glider, and Roy Dade who landed near Ludlow for his first XC, but as far as I know nearly all flights were quite short, with the exception of Dave Thomas who landed at Tewkesbury – a brilliant flight. So the potential was there, but it was certainly a harder day than the previous two. Also, since the wind got lighter throughout the day, triangles were possible, and at least one was done, by Dave Jackson-Hobbs.
My flying might not be that brilliant at the moment, but my hitching is – in fact, it’s so good, I don’t even need to use my thumb or my glider pilot sign. After my second flight I was standing on the pavement phoning Judith, not bothering to hitch, when a couple pulled up and offered me a lift right back to launch – they weren’t going there, but they’d seen me hitching after my first XC today, and recognised me, so decided to give me a lift this time. Wonderful! And a nice end to what was, for me, a pleasant day, in spite of not going very far at all.
Tracklogs up as usual, on XC flights page.