Looking out from Bache hill.There was some dispute about the forecast today. The BBC said west, Metcheck and XC weather said SSE, the pressure charts said SW. It was all a bit confusing really. We settled on Bache after a bit of a phone-round. The usual suspects turned up and Michaela, Wayne, James and Graeme were all there.

It wasn’t brilliant when we got there but improved as we were flying. It was getting increasingly strong in the air and I tried to push out into the valley, but got low. The others were getting low as well, so I top landed and got my ballast. As I got my harness on again I was wondering if I had made a big mistake, but I found a lull and got off again. I got to 850′ ATO without turning and then got a thermal which took me, Graeme, James and Geoff up to base and over the back. We glided downwind and James headed off NE into the sunshine, but didn’t seem to find anything. Graeme went north into shaded ground and Geoff and I headed NNE to a ridge in sunshine which had knobbly ground in front of it. It worked and we both got a climb out, whilst Graeme landed. It was broken but we worked it and got back up. James meanwhile had found a good core and was thermalling over us. We got back up and then went on a glide to a ridge which was into wind. On the way I spotted Corndon ahead and we could see the Long Mynd in the distance.

I got to the ridge very low and Geoff was even lower, not having the same glide as me. I spotted a buzzard thermalling out of a ploughed field and dived over to him. We thermalled together for 3 rotations and then he flew off, but he had shown me the drift in the thermal, which I worked until I got high again. Geoff didn’t manage to get into it and had to land on the ridge.

James was ahead of me, but had got low and I saw him landing near Newtown. I had got firmly established in the thermal by this time and took it over the ridge into the Newtown valley. I spotted Sarn in the distance to the east. I looked around for a source/trigger and flew to a ploughed field with a good cloud above it. I hit one of the roughest thermals I have ever been in. I got tossed around and at one point I thought I would spin the glider. I got so scared I flew out of it. Then regretted it, told myself to pull myself together and that there would be a nice smooth core on the other side of the horrible stuff. I dived back in and sort of found the core. It was drifting very fast and I stuck with it, cruising past Clatter to the west. The thermal drifted me into an area of high top cover. There were still cumulus beneath it, but they were raggedy and no sun on the ground. The good sky was way to the east of me and I couldn’t make it there. I flew to the darkest bit of the clouds and then tried a ridge. It had trees and a gully beneath it and there were bubbles of lift on it, but I didn’t have the height to work them. I landed on the ridge near New Mills – 44km. Very, very happy with my flight.

I walked to the main road and hitched back to Newtown and had missed the last Church Stoke bus by 4 minutes. There’s a train station but no useful trains in Newtown, so Geoff came to collect me later.

I was really pleased because I listened to Kai’s podcast again last night and tried to put into practice the things he recommended. They all worked. I was also really inspired by his chat about flying to different sites and when I could see Corndon, the Long Mynd, Sarn and Clatter in the distance it really motivated me, so thanks to Kai!

Geoff’s comments: a classic, pre-warm frontal day – the air before a warm front is often really good, but you need to get the timing right, so it doesn’t catch you up. We flew quite well today, the four of us getting to base with the climb out from launch (base was, I think, about 2600 ATO, though we did get higher than that up the side of the cloud). We all glided off, and Judith and I went for a small ridge, into wind, in sun – a classic trigger which worked. I got there pretty low (the disadvantage of a 1/2 glider) but was pleased to get the low save. I think, though, that we messed up the climb a bit, losing it well before base – we should have got another 1000 feet or so out of it. Another glide, to another trigger (another small ridge into wind) which also worked – but this time I really was too low, and didn’t really get in it; Judith got there first, and a bit higher, and worked it really well and got up. I landed at 20k, she did 44k. An excellent flight! Back on the ridge, the wind had picked up, too strong for PGs, and got very cloudy. Wayne did manage to do 15k on his hang glider, though, in a very poor sky.

Tracklogs etc. at http://www.judithmole.net/xcs/flights.html