Day 9 Spring Task Week

Final day of the task week, Phil Sillet running the airfield, and after Tim's successful task setting yesterday he agreed to set todays. Weather was strong easterlies, blue with it looking much better in the west.

Tim set us multiple choice turnpoint task for mere mortals was TIB-HTN-THE-BSE-RAT-TIB, and for himself and the other pundits TIB-GRL-TIB.

In the end it turned out to be particularly difficult soaring conditions locally, with around 2knts to about 2oooft, and a 15knt north easterly wind. Pete Ryland had the best chance motoring inland to Honington before setting off on task to Olny. A few lucky pilots caught the duty thermal drifting towards HTN which did punch up through the inversion to about 2400ft on occasion, but no brave souls pushed out any further.

James flew his first flight in the Cirrus, also doing the longest flight of the day around 2hrs 45mins.

So thanks to all who participated, for those that flew XC please get your flights on the ladder - with or without traces - it all helps justify keeping our open airspace. www.bgaladder.co.uk

Well done to Pete Ryland winning the Spring Task Cup with a flight yesterday to Silverstone scoring the highest for the week. The Cup is presented at our annual dinner dance, and I understand Pete was the last winner some years ago, so he may be presenting it to himself - There was a suggestion we tape up his engine for the next task week to give the rest of us a chance!

Thank you to Ian, Don and Tim as weather and task setters, also Pete who was on standby for task setting and advising on ladder queries. And to Mick and the weekend duty teams for allowing us to hijack the briefing.

Proposed Summer Task Fornight from 25 July to 9th August.

Spring Task Week - Saturday

A good turn out of club members again, and Tim ran the day, including setting the tasks. Although the weather was not great - strong easterlies, at last we have some tasks attempted!! Pete Ryland winning the day with a trip to Sailverstone, returning to Honington before abandoning task. Paul Wilkinson did Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds before landing ar Rougham for an aerotow retrieve.

Flight of merit today was Dave Rusbridge in the club Astir turning Newmarket for a field landing somewhere near Brandon, thereby completing his first 50k for bonus points and completing his Silver for even more points!!

Spring Task Week - Friday

I was not around, however Mick ran the day and Don set some tasks. Only really soarable locally, however Will flew about 140k locally.

Spring Task Week - Wed & Thur

No tasks over Wednesday and Thursday due to poor weather. Mick ran the airfield and some local flights were made.

Day 4 Spring Task Week

Briefing at 10am today, with a presentation for Rachel and Eddy on their 25th wedding anniversary. The weather started very wet but with the clearance expected midday and soarable if windy conditions to follow, the task was set as East Dereham, Fakenham. Operation Snoopy was also put forward.

So after lunch, we took the K21 and tug out to the launch point on the church runway, and with wind blowing 15-20knts started operations. Mick flew with Paul T, Paul Woodcock and Mike Bean. Mark completed EDE PIK undeclared and Pete Ryland launched in the DG for Crowland and Snoopy, (so someone took the challenge - and Percy had a nice flight to Brandon and back!).

The weather certainly looked impressive and reported climbs of 4-5knts with cloudbase around 5000ft. However the wind was very strong - up to 20knts at surface, 28knts at height.

We had visitors from Wattisham who brought along the RAFGSA's Duo Discus XL and did some cross country flying towards Wattisham and back.

Day 3 Spring Task Week

Bank Holiday Monday, and a slower than usual start to preceedings. Briefing at 10am, the forecast was poor for the east, but there was a chance of some thermal activity. Ian set us a pilot assigned task ie. choose a variety of local turnpoints and turn up to 4.

In addition Operation Get Snoopy was launched. Percy Penguin currently resides behind the club bar, and Crowland have Snoopy. The challenge is to take off at Tib, land at Crowland and swap Percy for Snoopy.

Unfortunately the top cover didn't really clear well enough for the thermals to properly generate. Eventually flying off 08 (we changed ends a few times before getting started!), Will set up and drove the winch to start and I flew with Paul Thompson for a couple of winch training circuits, Tim H did some aeros in the K21 and a couple of trail lesson aerotows were also flown. Others also out included Mick, Mark, Jenny, Wilco, Ian, Mike Watson with Tony tugging.

So no scoring tasks today. With thunderstorms expected overnight everyone senisbly derigged. However there is a clearance expected midday tomorrow, so breifing at 10am with Don doing our weather and task setting.

Day 2 Spring Task Week

Blue with tops of climbs about 3000ft locally, however those that were brave and tasked saw 4000ft in places.

Mick and Ben H. flew the K21 on task to Honington return, however conditions were not good and so they locally soared. On returning they went to collect Jenny from a field towards Honington. Well done Jenny for going for it on a difficult day. Ben had his first taster of field retrieves, luckily this was a nice one in an easy place to find!

Adrian completed Honington return in his ASW19 and Steve FH completed the same task in his ASW20, both entering their first flight on the BGA ladder.

Paul Wilkinson and Mark declared larger tasks going out towards Cambridge and Rattlesden, Mark landing at Rattlesden, but Paul completing the task with one turn point missed.

Ian launched around 3:30 and did a quick out and return to Newmarket - proving the task was possible and doing his fastest task of the year at 72kph.

But flight of the day was Peter Ryland going to Northampton and a landout at Grafham Water.

Mention also for Harley who converted into the Astir. And Simon who flew for over 4 hours in his Mosquito (longest flight of the day).

42 launches and half a dozen flights of over 2 hours. A good day had by all.

Spring task week starts

...and we have good weather! It was great to see so many people turn up for an early start - Simon Ully and Jenny Novak both beating me to the hangar at 8:15 this morning!

Ian's forecast was for pretty good weather south of us, and so a multiple choice task was set. First turn point Rattlesden, then a variety across to Northampton West.

Quite a few declared 300k, Norman, Tim D, Ian, Bob, Dave T all setting out with big plans. With an easterly wind (completely different to forecast), cloudbase of about 2500ft, and the scent of the maltings wafting across the airfield, it started to go blue, and then top cover gradually killed the 2-3knt thermal activity around the airfield by about 3pm. Tim Davies getting the best of the day with completing TIB - RAT - DEP - TIB

Part of the task week is to encourage people to achieve something for themselves, however big or small, and so I should mention Simon Ully who flew his first flight in his new Mosquito, Dave Rusbridge who planned his silver distance (even though conditions meant the flight wasnt really on), and all those who rigged and flew where they would not have normally bothered.

Ray and myself were duty team, flying some trial lessons and a few check flights. JRK brought along family friends to fly, and I flew with a lady who had been bought the flight for her 80th birthday 6 months ago!

We filled up 2 pages of the logsheet, with flight times varying from a few minutes on check flights to over 2hours for the guys going XC.

So a good day, and a nice start to the week. Thanks to all who turned up, flew, helped out. See you at briefing tomorrow 9:30am.

Leading the Ladder

Some good soaring was available this weekend if you were prepared to work for it. Several ladder entries, mostly via the Rattlesden inter-club league meet. Back at TIB Will Day went round the President's Triangle twice...but the man of the moment is Pete Ryland who claimed the first 300km+ flight to be flown from Tibenham this season and the highest scoring ladder claim of the year so far! Well done Peter.
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http://www.bgaladder.co.uk/dscore.asp?FlightID=20302

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http://www.bgaladder.co.uk/

Poor piss planning

Having been on duty on Saturday while nobody at NGC was making use of the weather that allowed huge flights in the rest of the country - nothing was going to stop me flying on Sunday.

I arrived at 10 and was rigged pretty quickly thanks to Jo Hoy's patience. The forecast wind and the actual wind suggested pushing straight into wind was the best option so I declared Crowland Bridge o/r for 189km as RASP had looked "a bit funny" - I think this was probably a sign of streeting and occasional over development and later wave influence as the wind went more NWly.

Launching at 12:15 into a 2kt climb to 3,000 was enough to call a start and begin pushing up wind - as always the first good energy line ran straight towards Old Buckenham - so I called them on 124.40 and was allowed through - obviously too windy for meat bombs.

The fist need to climb came a few k short of Scoulton where 4kt average took me quickly to 3,500 and then it was off following the energy with the pull ups and slow downs under the cu keeping me high thought the 20kt head wind was knocking down the xc speed. At this stage I realised I should have put water on and thinking of water - oh f**k no pee bags!

At Wisbeach I had enough height to run in and make the turn lowish at about 1,500' and start what was promising to be a quick romp home - but 5kt 12km out had to be taken so I turned at a very conservative 3,500' - making the first leg 1hr 30m for 62kph.

The return leg was a breeze - after topping up 15km after the turn to 4,700' the next glide was 50km to the edge of D208 with an achieved L/D of 100:1. Arriving at the Danger area at 2,700' I needed some extra to take me over the top, and another 5kts to 4,000 left me 1,000 over a 3kt M/C final glide - most of it at Vra as it was rough - the leg taking 40m for 152kph and an overall speed of 88kph.

Any lessons to learn?

1) Preparation - there were pee bags in the trailer
2) Water - you can always dump it - can't dump it if it isn't there
3) Optimism - I feel that the minimum I should have declared was 300km

Ladder Posting here