June 2010
Monthly Archive
Saturday, 12th June 2010 (UK)
Geoff writes: not a bad forecast for today, and though it was cloudy in the morning, the sun came out. I didn’t go to the Peaks yesterday, because the forecast for today was that it would be too windy – in the event, it was fine up there, and I think some long XCs were done from Mam/Lords – certainly a lot longer than my fairly pathetic 12km!
Instead, I went to Long Mountain, where there was a bunch of other pilots too (Andrew, Mick, Michaela, Dennis and Lynda, Kevin, Graeme, Glyn, etc.). In spite of the sky, nobody was getting very high, and I waited a while, launching when some big clouds were passing over. Unfortunately, my harness was wrong, and I struggled to get in it, by which time I’d realised I’d launched at the wrong time anyway, so landed.
I waited a bit longer, then took off when it seemed like others were maintaining. It was pretty rough, and had gone north really, but I managed to climb out, after getting quite low and scratching back up, and left the ridge – on my own, the others in the climb turned back. I was probably only on the ridge ten minutes or less. During the climb out I heard gunfire, gradually getting louder as I got closer to the people who were firing off shotguns in a field below me. I went right over them, which was a bit disconcerting, but I guess they weren’t aiming at me. Or if they were, they need more practice.
The flight was difficult. Three times I got to around 2200′ ATO, but couldn’t get any higher than that, though there was no inversion. Because I was struggling a bit, I was concentrating on the climbs and the clouds, and not really noticing exactly where I was (this is only the second time I have flown Long Mountain). I cross winded it to go to a cloud which wasn’t working, then headed back downwind, but found nothing and landed near the stone circle just north of Corndon, hardly any distance. In retrospect, I should have just tried to get to Corndon, which does take a north wind, and I might well have got up from there. I could have made it on a glide if I hadn’t tried the cross wind option first.
Interestingly, about ten minutes after I landed, the sky to the north, where I’d come from, was more or less completely blue, though there was still good cumulus development downwind. This is probably the reason why I struggled in the climbs, the air was changing, I was right on the edge of it, and the thermal activity was reducing. Or, equally likely, I was just thermalling badly, and not coring it well enough. One of the problems of going on your own is that you can delude yourself you made the most of the day, since you have no-one to compare it with, whereas in reality you probably really cocked it up.
One mistake I did make was that I should have launched sooner, and got away sooner, when the clouds were better.
The retrieve was easy, as usual. The first car I hitched after walking to the raod stopped for me, took me a short distance, then another ride took me to Chirbury, where Michaela picked me up.
And this post illustrates one of the iron laws of flying XC:
the number of words required to describe a flight is inversely proportional to the number of kilometres flown.
Or, more simply:
the shorter the XC, the longer the description.
Friday, 11th June 2010 (UK)
Geoff writes: the forecast was northerly, maybe NW, and quite strong. But sunny after early morning. It seemed to be stronger in the Peaks, so I decided not to go there. By lunchtime, it was cloudy, west and light, so Dave Thomas and I managed to fly a while at the Long Mynd, getting about 500 feet ATO. Then it did go NW, still cloudy, but hints of blue in the distance, so we went to the Lawley, where the wind was fine when we arrived. The blue was coming in, it was very thermic, there were birds everywhere. But also the wind was picking up. We took off, and I had my first ever – and very short – flight at the Lawley, letting myself get low, not wanting to get too close to the spine back that is the Lawley. The wind did seem to be picking up more, and I was getting rotor off some trees low down, so rather than scratch behind the trees, I went and bottom landed. Dave flew a bit longer, but as the wind picked up, he decided to go and land in front – going backwards at times in the gusts.
So a frustrating day, but at least we flew.
Oh, and happy birthday Judith. She’s not 40 yet…… and no doubt will be celebrating that tonight.
Friday, 11th June 2010 (Slovenia)
Judith 11 Jun 2010 | : Competitions, Flying
72km task, in windy conditions, but with turnpoints in the valley of death behind the Stol ridge. I was completely exhausted from the day before, hadn’t slept well, should have had more water the night before and said no to the last glass of wine. I tried to sleep on the bus and in the grass while waiting for the minibus, but as usual with me, when I want to sleep, I can’t. On launch I was trying to blag some ProPlus from others, but no one had any. The sky looked good and it seemed ok. I decided that I probably wasn’t fit to do another 4 hour flight, so decided to race a bit more and try to keep up with a gaggle that would help me on the way and get me round the tight spots, so I would just have to cope with the head wind and not other issues. So I raced off the end of the ridge, just to find the little ridge above Kobarid not working. Lots of us bombed in the same field at 13km, with some really big names not much further.
Some people went back up to free fly, but I needed a rest day, so decided to go for a lovely slap-up birthday lunch and a much needed siesta. In the evening the house lads had organised a surprise get together at the camping for me, which Matt Church accidentally let slip two days before. It was a really lovely meal in good company and we stopped off at the Kobarid fiesta on the way home. There was a stage on the main square with live music, stalls, food, etc. It was great to see the locals at play. They’re really into ballroom and everyone was dancing in the street. Fun to watch, but a bit surreal to see people doing the cha-cha-cha to Pink Floyd’s ‘Brick in the Wall’.
Thursday, 10th June 2010 (Slovenia)
Geoff 11 Jun 2010 | : Competitions, Flying
I’m getting a little frustrated at not getting to goal, when everyday at least 90 others do… Today was the day, I hoped. Problem was that the forecast was for more wind. They couldn’t send us into the mountains, so the task was a turn point flight to Tolmin, Kobarid, part way back to Tolmin and back to Kobarid.
I got a great start and was off. I got stuck on the first ridge, but then managed to get up and glided most of the way to the turn point without having to turn much. On the way back, I hit the headwind… I managed to get a thermal with DT and we got to cloudbase at 5500′, but it had drifted us back over the mountain and going forward I was only getting 8km/h on speedbar. So I lost all the height I had gained in the first place, and it was just wasting task time. I was on bar most of the way, but had to top up with height sporadically (always thermalling away from the next turn point). Everyone else just overtook me, until there was just a little group of us stragglers left at the back. I eventually got back to Kobarid, bagged the two turn points there and jumped onto the ridge to go back towards Tolmin. The lead gaggle had landed ages before, when the conditions were still very sunny. When I got back to Kobarid, the high cloud had come over and I thought that would be it. However, I did get back up and flew out towards the turnpoint. I missed a climb others were in, and that just allowed me to collect the final turnpoint, but then I was too low to get back to goal.
I tried to get another thermal, but it wasn’t to be. A flight over four hours, 7km short of goal and landing 10 minutes before the land by time, so I wouldn’t have made it in even if I had got the thermal. Ruth got in with 2 minutes to spare, Malc Davies with 28 seconds!
BBQ at Scottish/Northern Irish lads house later and then I collapsed into bed completely exhausted and with aching knees from using my speedbar so much.
Thursday, 10th June 2010 (UK)
Geoff 10 Jun 2010 | : Boring stuff, Work
Geoff writes: well, the forecast was right – today was rubbish, cloudy and windy, with a few bits of rain here and there, so yet another, tedious, work day. Tomorow is northerly, but probably too strong for Llangollen, so either a short 15 minute drive to Sarn, or a long 2.5 hour drive to Lord’s Seat. Lord’s is definitely the better site; on the other hand, I have a 100% record of going XC from Sarn (though I have only flown it once, earlier this summer!). At Sarn, I’ll probably be on my own, or just with one or two others. At Lord’s, there will be dozens of pilots, lots of people to fly with and lots of markers. Lord’s is easily soarable whilst waiting for a thermal, Sarn less so, and has some large trees right in front which can cause rotor in strongish winds. So if they were equidistant, no contest, Lord’s every time. But it is a long drive there.
Wednesday, 9th June 2010 (UK)
Geoff writes: yet another rainy day here. I went and visited my family in the Cotswolds. Thursday is rubbish, cloudy and windy. The sun might finally reappear Friday afternoon.
Wednesday, 9th June 2010 (Slovenia)
Judith 10 Jun 2010 | : Competitions, Flying
There were no storms last night, but the sky was overcast and when it cleared, it was full of cumulus. They assured us it was unlikely to storm and not too windy, so we set off up the hill. On the bus, we came up with a new variation on categories, and managed to name 48 out of 50 US states.
On arriving at the top, it was clagged in. We couldn’t see ahead at all, and one free flyer took off in cloud and had to spiral to get back down to land. So we all waited. Out of the sun it was really cold and we all got out our extra layers and got damp sitting around. At 12 o’clock they called a zig zag task with a landing field in another village where free food was laid on next to the goal. We could occasionally see pretty big clouds towering in most directions when the clagg temporarily lifted. The task was duly delayed while we waited for conditions to improve. We were told it would be at least an hour, so Cris took a group of us on a guided nature tour, with the first stop looking at bear prints. There was some discussion about whether they were deer, dog, teddy or baby bear prints, but further on we found the real thing. Then we went on to a dew hole and found sunbathing frogs and a grass snake. Finally, we searched under stones and found loads of scorpions.
Back up at launch Cris introduced us to his newly invented game of ‘How low will you go?’, a concept he is keen to pitch to Radio Four. The wind had been picking up and it was a little breezy on launch. Next to us on the ridge was a big black cloud, so at 3.30pm, they decided to call a revised task. The start was changed to a turnpoint further to the west and the window opened at 4pm.
I still wasn’t that convinced of the conditions. Cloud base was low, and people were popping in and out of the murk very shortly after taking off and it was windy and still some big clouds around. Watching some of the R10s launch in the wind was scary, they come up so fast and so twitchy, that at least some of the big boys were dragged or needed multiple attempts at launching. I waited until 10 minutes before the race start, by which time the wind had lulled and lots of people had cleared off, and launched easily. I got as high as cloudbase permitted and turned with the mob for the start.
What a glide! It was lifty all the way along. Mal Grace chose a great line in the valley and I followed him, we managed to cruise along while others were having to thermal on the way. We flew over and topped up in lift on the ridge and then went on a long lifty glide at the turn point 17km away.
Turning back, Malcolm Davies and I chose a good line again and got to Kobarid without problem. By this time there was sun in the Kobarid valley, but the valley behind, where the next turn point was, was completely shaded with black cloud. We struggled to find a good climb on the ridge where we were and people started to radio in about possible rain and cunimbs. David flew over to me and shouted that he thought that the task might be cancelled so we started racing to the next turn point. We got to the ridge above Kobarid which was in sun, but David and a bunch of others got the thermal out, but I couldn’t find it and was then seduced by another climb further out in the valley. I did a classic bit of dithering, until Matt Church came past me and I decided to follow him instead.
We glided into the valley of death (it’s 71% covered in trees), and I hit the ridge just a little lower than Matt. He soared up, while I started a long slide down the ridge. I hate flying without landing options, so had one eye firmly on the only really good landing area in the valley which I made after a nails-in-your-palms glide. The task never was cancelled.
It wasn’t a happy landing field (except Mal, Andy and me), with lots of good guys having landed there after missing turn point four and then a glide into goal. Turned out later that the lead gaggle had made a bad decision and landed significantly short. The not so racy racers have therefore managed to make up some ground.
We got a lift to Claudi’s hotel at the goal and were provided with some excellent goulash and beer. The pilot parties have started, so updating might be slightly more difficult. And an update on Ian, the injured pilot… he had a stable compression fracture, is in a brace and out of hospital today.