The sun was blazing down at Aston Down but I didn’t quite get there as I had left the trailer at Rivar and taken Farah instead. We landed ten miles short at Westonbirt Arboretum.
Sunday 1st November
Wednesday 28th October
A beautiful last Wednesday in October – almost shirt sleeves weather – with the entire club fleet online and no less than four instructors offering training and entertaining a youth group who came along so fly with us. The cloud base soon lifted after Bob’s brief sojourn ‘on top’ after which there was hardly a pause in launching. The day ended with the brilliant setting sun dictating right hand circuits until it’s rays faded behind a distant cloud bank, at which point the waiting Puchacz canopy misted over in the most dramatic way in less than two minutes.
There were brief opportunities to soar, but few flights lasted more than twenty minutes, so what was the point of it all? Well half a dozen youngsters who deserved something special went away smiling. A few new members got a step closer to going solo, while those further along honed their skills. Everyone enjoyed the day and it raised another £400 or so to brace the club coffers against expense of the coming winch rebuild.
Saturday 10th
The grey sky looked unwelcoming, with low clouds scudding across an amorphous vault in the brisk east wind. So those present set to, ever hopeful, washing gliders and cleaning canopies. But when airliners inbound for London were seen beneath a high overcast it emerged that there was at least some clear air. The weather check flight launched to 1400 ft through an opportune gap, leaving the winch cable dangling from the cloud deck. Conditions above cloud were smooth and clear and flying between the ‘cotton wool’ one encountered broad tracts of wave-like smooth lift. The strong crosswind made it more interesting, holding station close to the airfield whilst planning the best route back to the circuit between the clouds.
And so flying proceeded with check flights for all but the most seasoned aviators in these unusual and challenging conditions. I think it is fair to say that much was learned about keeping clear of cloud and cross wind landings in a strong wind gradient, but most particularly by the driver who demonstrated an accomplished slow roll with the cable trailer.
Golden October!
With patches of mid morning blue sky peeking through the mist and the forecasters promise of blue thermals to 3000 ft later in the day, a few of us put away the coffee flasks and rigged, but without too much conviction. Although Jim G had cried off instructing on account of an attack of shingles he put in a brave appearance, supervising the airfield and doing anything that didn’t involve sitting down. Having shingles is a real pain in the a**e, but even more so if they happen to be on your a**e. Get well soon Jim!
Any kind of soaring is welcome in early October, so after Paul P had defied gravity for more than half an hour in the Ka8, there was a rush to get airborne. Those who did discovering widespread lift beneath dark patches in the murk. The promised blueness never yielded anything but sink and mid afternoon cloud base was somewhere above 2500 ft, but the upper visibility was too poor to discover exactly where it was. Nonetheless visibility at lower levels remained quite good, so safe aviating was possible. Star of the day was Peter Ellison who held the flying instruction together, delivering a half day course and several trial lessons, before disappearing in the ASW15 only to reappear after 5 pm as the airfield was being shut down.
Motorway Junction at Hungerford North
Hungerford from Hungerford North – it’s out there somewhere.