Two brilliant Tuesdays when I had to be at work, followed by a third, when I could skive off! What a run of exceptional weather unless you are a gardener or farmer!
Saturday 21st May began with spectacular thermals when I was tugging. I reported on the radio at least 7 knots in the Gissing area, as I regularly saw the VSI showing 1000 t0 1300 ft/min. A few listened and had a launch. I was itching to get gliding myself, so thanks Steve for doing the afternoon stint. By the time I launched it was surprisingly difficult to make progress. I take off my hat to Paul Gould for hanging on in those conditions for a Silver 5 hours!!
Rasp was already showing Tuesday 24th to be the best day for a week, and the predictions of a post cold front classic day kept on coming right up to Monday night. The wind strength was the only dampener on the optimism of a superb 500k day. So arriving at about 10 am I was unsure of the excellence of the day, but already quite late for a 500. I was really surprised to find no other glider pilots there champing at the bit for a launch. I had already resolved to offer to tug only 1 or 2 if there was no other tuggie on site. No need to worry! I was on my own.
I spent a while talking to Phil and Mick and reduced my original plan of Hereford and back to Bicester, with a downwind start to Bungay to assess the streeting strong wind.
Easy climb off launch to 3500 feet, so I set off downwind and arrived at Bungay at 3700 QNH then into wind, failing completely to find the lines of lift, so another start, this time more cautiously, arriving at Bungay at 4700 with a 20 kt wind behind me.
Then into wind. What a slow slog it was! after an hour and only at Knettishall made me decide that the task was not achievable. However, the lift slowly became more reliable and I just kept on going, joining a good street and getting to the now 5500 cloudbase west of Honington. Much better, but realised that Bicester could not be achieved by anything like the 4pm turn back time I had planned. Gransden passed at 4pm and then great progress as the wind eased to be past Milton keynes at 5 pm, having difficulty keeping below the 5500 airway, and so arriving at Bicester at 5.17.
Lovely view East, but no photo of Bicester as it was in evening shadow!
I was thinking that a technical or real landout was inevitable, but on the downwind home journey, the thermals just got bigger and smoother, with regular 4 or 5kts. No need to get to cloudbase, but I indulged myself at St Neots at 6pm with a climb to just over 6000.
What a brilliantly clear afternoon! From just after Bicester the Lion at Dunstable, MK of course, and other towns like Northampton were clear. I reckon at least 60 NM visibility. What a blast! I only saw one other glider nearby between Bicester and Gransden, and then none at all. Yet the thermals kept on going, now with an Australian or South African look to them, a long way apart, no streets, and over 6200 feet bases. Last one was at 6.30 3 to 6 knots at Newmarket and home to upset the wind buggies using our runways.
Turned out to be half a day of superlatives, though the Dunstable and Hus Bos boys had a whole classic day with a 750 by Robin May in his EB28 starship and seven 500s, notably 2 in ASW20s in 15 m mode.
Where were the rest of you?? Not everyone had to work!
Sorry, I could not get the blogger to put the photos in the right place.
Anyway the top one is looking at the Dunstable lion from about Buckingham. Next Arrival back at ten to 7.
The third is Bungay and the coast.
Ladder entry is here:
Peter
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