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Latest flying reports - 2008Recent flights at BMGC |
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Link here to: 2007 Flying Reports
 
Tuesday 6 May
There was wave mid a.m. which Bo and a visitor flew the first launch, then weak thermals seemed to disrupt the system so we waited till mid p.m. to tow out into a promising cloud street extending from Mynydd buchan towards the firing range.
Bank Holiday weekend
Well bit of a disappointing weekend but at least it was warm and
pleasant for just relaxing around the club. Not sure what happened
Saturday but I did see some gliders being towed into the south bowl
when I passed by on my bike! Wind was a fresh SE.
Tuesday 8 Aprilarr tal. @11.30 for Keith to tell me that monday held at least 5 soarable hours but the sky was improving fast which i put down to a "mini" ridge between the trough and the approaching front to the west. Towed out at 12.30 NNW by Keith into good lift at 1100' from which i circled away. Potent shower in the Cwmddu valley avoided and the showers kept fortuitously well away all day. Thermic lift was strong at between 5 and 10 kt with 6kt+frequently seen on the lx1000's averager. The combination of Mike Tomlinson's gizmo audio interfaced to my lx was superb , with supreme sensitivity and a vocal range at least as good as Diana Ross'. Cloud streets(2) were extremely strong (avoided in the darkest bits due to possible electric discharge) and the valley of dead air between them allowed the opencirrus to fly on for ages in wave like smoothness surrounded by a truly awesome cloudscape from 6200' amsl. Landed at 1530 electing to return to ground after one of the best early spring flights i can ever remember from Talgarth. p.s. lucifer will try to authorize a further release of heat from the embers to ensure a repeat condition.
Saturday 5 AprilWell what a great day was had by all? Over 25 flights today amassing a total of about 45 hrs! Three greedy pilots, Tim Barton, Mike Codd and me, did over 5 hrs each. The brisk Northerly was quite turbulent on tow and was a sure indicator of wave. Sre enough after a short time Tony Crowden in the K21 got to about 8500ft in the Beacons and then a bit later me and Geville Earl got to 7500ft QNH before it completely clouded over and ended our fun - so we thought. The second part of the day couldn't have been more different, great climbs of up to 5kts and the cloudbase had lifted to 5000ft amsl. Not sure why the big change but must have been a weak front or trough passing through. I'm sure those with more knowledge will know. The conditions looked very local however and I only ventured up to 25km from site. Those out included - tony Crowden, Mike Entwhistle, Robin Howarth, Tim Barton, Tony Murphy, Robbie the Chairman, Greville Earl, Anne Crowden, Mike Codd, Tony Bartlett, Alan Cridge (our man from the north!), Geoff King, Steve Archer, John Horley, Mike Hutchinson. At the end of the day "Doc" Saundby gave an excellent lecture on instrument flying.
Ahhh now for a beer or two!
Thursday 3 AprilAs mentioned on the 7.55AM Radio 4 weather (Honestly!), mountain waves were present from the word go! Classic bars as far as the eye could see to the NW gave several of us great views from above the tops. It was Geoff Stinchcombe's first flight in the club K6 and in wave..... his face afterwards was a pleasure to see. Also up there was Mike Rossiter, Robin Howarth and Robbie in the K21 with a visiting pilot from Usk.
I will add a couple of photos to make you jealous!
Monday 31 March
Average kind of day with Rhona and Mike flying and some visitors with a
duo discuss from Hus Bos who rigged then derigged. Jill Banks did
aerobatics with Don G in the K21 and managed to fly about a mile
inverted! Rhona was concerned to see this glider near her with a
peculiar attitude until she realised it was inverted! Jill flew a
couple of loops and went solo again yesterday so setting herself up for
the season ahead. Clive flew both days and has promised to get his
bronze this year!! [again!]
Norfolk GC Easter Exped Week Stats Notes by Ian and Jan Atherton Below are the stats for the NGC exped week. Despite some `challenging' weather which allowed only limited launching on a couple of days the exped was a great success, with all the NGC pilots coming away inspired by the opportunity to experience flying in this beautifully rugged environment. Good Friday, March 21 - Day 1 3 flts, total soaring 1:24, average flt time 28mins, longest flight 51mins - Tim Highton with John Clarke in K13. There was 1hr 14minutes available flying time. Saturday, March 22 - Day 2 4 flts, total soaring 3hrs 33mins, average flt time 53mins. Longest flight 1hr 23mins Paul Wilkinson with Ian Atherton in K21. There was 2hr 27minutes available flying time. Easter Sunday, March 23 - Day 3 10 flts, total soaring 12hrs 47mins, average flt time 1hr 17mins. Longest flight 2hr 34mins visitor from Lasham. There was 5hr 52minutes available flying time.
Easter Monday, March 24 - Day 4 16 flts, total soaring 17hrs 51mins, average flt time 1hr 7mins. Longest flight 2hr 11mins club member Ralph Johnson in Dart 17. There nearly 8 hours soaring available, broken by a heavy shower in the mid afternoon. Tuesday, March 25 - Day 5 9 flts, total soaring 11hrs 35mins, average flt time 1hr 17mins. Longest flight 2hr 52mins club member Mark Fisher. There was 6hrs 46minutes available flying time.
Wednesday, March 26 - Day 6 2flts, total time 4hrs 26mins. Average flight time 2hrs 13mins. Longest flight 2hrs 42mins Ian in the ASW20. Maximum available soaring time at least 5 hours! Thursday, March 27 - Day 7 There was a total of 21 hours & 5 minutes soaring over 12 flights, giving an average flight time of 1:45. Thermic conditions lasted over 5 hours, with the ridge still soarable well after we'd packed up. What a great day! Friday, March 28 - Day 8 Only 2 flts, 1hr 10min total flying, average flight time 35mins. Longest flight of the day John Roche-Kelly flying with Ian in the K13. Total available soaring time about 1hr in between showers! Saturday, March 29 - Day 9 Scrub! No flying due to poor weather.
Sunday, March 30 - Day 10 Ian and Jan flew the K21 for 1hr 20mins flying mainly in thermal, Cloud bases were just over 3000ft QFE. We left in the late afternoon and the club was still soaring with some very long flights to be had.
Overall stats:
Stats exclude Day 10 soaring (due to incomplete data as we left well before the end of play), The week provided significant ridge and thermal soaring opportunity. Overall, between Day 1 to Day 9, 58 flights were made culminating in 72 hours and 35 minutes soaring with an average flight time in excess of 1:15 per flight. The shortest flight was 13 minutes due to a rapidly approaching rain shower. The longest of the week was 4 hours 14 minutes flown by local
Comments from NGC pilots:
"I have to say that given my previous experiences with flying in Scotland, this was much more challenging & will remain my preferred hill site!"
Expedition notes by Ian Atherton and Jan Atherton
Sunday 30 March
Another good flying day as the showers that were forecast for Wales
didn't materialise. Light SW wind which allowed the Cwm Du ridge to
work, but it was sometimes spoiled by 6kt ave thermals going right up
to cloud base which reached 5000' AMSL in the afternoon. We only
managed 15 flights as a lot of `the regulars' were missing (you should
know by now that Talgarth generates it's own weather so you shouldn't
believe the general forecast). Jill Banks managed to get her second
bronze leg with a flight of an hour and twenty minutes. Mike Tomlinson
and Brocky disappeared for a couple of hours in the K21 to get Mike up
to speed in the a/c in preparation for him to start his Xcounty
coaching. I risked life, limb and a divorce by giving Anne her annual
check! Luckily she passed so our marriage is still in tact!
Thursday 27 MarchToday turned out to be very good and probably even better than last Wednesday. Light NNW wind backing throughout the day to west but the thermals at times were a solid 5-7 average all the way to cloudbase which varied between 4 to 5,000 AMSL. I managed to get to shobdon, then back into the Beacons
One flying report's not enough to say how pleasantly surprised we all were by the improving conditions today...... it was still booming at 4 pm. I'll certainly confirm Martin's averager readings of 5to7 kts , and for the last hour i didn't even look for lift - just pointed towards any old vaguely promising section of sky and flew at 60-80kt in the 17 M cirrus without bothering to circle much at all. Hopefully this might just be the forerunner of a a better summer where global warming works for rather than against. Surely there's got to be a balancing factor in the overall equation to make up for all the regulatory Eurocrap we're enduring.
Please note the correct use of apostrophes( c.f.computer americrap)...........oh there i go on my orange box again.
Tuesday 25 MarchA bright day and no disappointments today. Virtually everyone had gone home after the miserable weekend, and there was a maximum of 3 or 4 gliders at any one time flying in the abundant NW ridge lift and thermal that was on offer. Wind was NW backing to W, with the ridges from Llangorse up to Hay working and also in the Cwmdu valley later.Wave looked a possibility but no-one contacted any. A wonderful day's flying and the only reason to come down after 2 or 3 hours was the cold. Mark Fisher
Monday 24 MarchA truly miserable day with poor visibility, frequent hail showers and howling winds. After a few brave souls flew out of desperation the kit was eventually put away and we closed the hangar doors just before 5pm... Then it happened.... a thin blue line of sky appeared on the horizon.... The sky opened up and within minutes the cloud cleared the hill and classic ridge conditions presented themselves.
The thoughts of those resigned to derigging in the cold suddenly turned to soaring.
A tug pilot was located and the hangar doors were opened.
Easter weekendThe Easter XC comp was a great success with 2 scores being entered on Monday. The bottle went to second placed Gerry and Chris as the winner is a non drinker. Gerry and Chris clocked up a 40k triangle in K13 amassing 290 points with the winner scoring 350 points with a 70k zig zag in a Nimbus 2C.
There were plenty of visitors around over the Easter weekend, it’s a pity
the weather wasn’t more co-operative, but we did get at least one new
country member from the flat lands and it all looked very pretty waking up
to the white scenery on Sunday morning.
Wednesday 19 March 2008
Those also out included Robbie, Geoff Stinchcombe, Tony C tugging, Tony Bartlett, Martin Langford (he who must be obeyed!), John Scott, John Horley, John ? oh hell my minds gone blank again, you know John from Rhayader who practically lives on site! and two pilots from Usk enjoying themselves.
Oh, and finally for those interested the K21 is up and running. GAZPA
is having no problems getting it airborne so long as the field doesn't
get any wetter.
Tuesday 4 March
Sunday 2 March
An amazingly good weekend, especially considering the bleak forecast from earlier in the week.
On Sunday a fresh westerly provided excellent ridge soaring conditions all the way up to Hay Bluff and back.
Cloud base increased to nearly 4,000 QNH with some nice big blue gaps opening up in the afternoon.
Later in the day there were also thermals and several cloud streets stretching upwind towards Brecon.
Pilots out flying their own gliders included Mike Entwisle, Alex Jenkins, Mike Tomlinson, and Geoff King in his shiny new DG - Nice landing for your first flight on type Geoff.
Saturday 1 March
looking east from Hay Bluff (1 March 2008) RR
What a day....apart from being St Davids day! There was a good turn out at the club with I believe about 20 launches. Westerly winds 25-30kts at 2000ft 7/8ths cloud cover with bases at about 3000ftQFE. The main ridge was working well, the Cumdu ridge was working and also the Llangorse ridge.
Saturday 1 March
A decent day which lasted longer than the forecasts suggested , in which all the club gliders were in use (xcept K21) and there were about 22 a/tows.
Saturday 1 MarchSaturday 1 March was great fun with a strong westerley and lots of promise of wave. Lots of wild ridge flying on the main ridge, in the Cymdu valley and on the Llangorse ridges but unfortunately no wave to talk of although we could see some lovely lennies over England. Mike Tomlinson got highest but about 6 of us had a great time. Robbie Robertson
Wednesday 27 February
6 of us out flying today, Geoff Stinchcombe solo in the K13, Martin
Brockington, Mike Tomlinson, Robbie Robertson, John Horley and myself.
Martin Pingel
Sunday 17 February
No wind but cold and sunny. 8 launches today.
Saturday 16 February
It was a lovely day on site - sunny with clear skies, and despite very
little wind low down there was weak easterly wave. 21 launches today.
Can't really add much to Anne's report except
a few photo's to give you an idea of the sort of day it was. Note the
sharp line of the inversion which was at about 1500ft AMSL. Lift was
very odd and open to some discussion. We had a light 6kt wind from
around 110-120 and yet the turbulence at times was more akin to a
30kt wind. Sink was off the clock at times and the lift was best
described as erratic. We were flying the lee side of Ydas and the
burnt patch using very weak shifting wave which appeared to be broken
up by lee side thermals being triggered by the very cold air
descending off the mountain. Most of us struggled to stay up for
longer than 45 minutes and had two attempts. But fair do to Mike Codd
he seemed to suss it out better than anyone else and stayed up for
1½hrs, which was no mean feat - well done Mike.
Tuesday 12 February
Back by popular request another talga flight report.
Kieth and John Price flew to the midlands to get his paperwork signed off but not until Adrian and Mike bla bla had rigged the big cirrus and Kieth towed me on a wave chase into the cwmddu where 1-2kt of lift to ...eventually.....4200qfe at the scree slope. Mike Rossiter (Bla bla)
Sunday 10 February
So you thought it would be only sledge rides today at Talgarth?
Wednesday 6 February
What a beautiful day it was. Moderate NW wind dropping throughout day and slightly backing. Blue, yes blue, skies with some weak half knot thermals up to about 3500ft QHN. Although I did get a rogue thermal at 3.5 knots for about 1000ft. People out included John Horley in IS32, Robbie, Don G doing aerobatics in the K6!!!, Jeff (from Bridgend), and myself who cruised around enjoying the views for nearly 4 hours - ahh what a life!
Keith did the tugging expertly as usual, so all in all a good day but
shame so few turned up.
Mike flew the k6 also and spent nearly half an hour trying to stall it in what could only be described as an exercise in earth repulsion, Nearly 900 hours flying and it was the first time i've flown a 6..........quite a delightful experience.
Wednesday 30 JanuaryNo wind at first and then rain so those that had turned up were looking a bit bemused as it wasn't supposed to be like that. Any way by mid day it opened up and we all got airbourne into the mod WNW wind. Small amounts of cloud floated around at about 3000ft QNH. Ridge working well from Bluff all way down Cwmdu and there was some weak wave over Bronllys, which i managed to get into, up to 6000ft
Those out included John Horley, Robbie, Don G, myself, Robin. Keith
flew off in his Europa. Others around incl Tony C, Mike Rossitor and
Adrian Thomas.
Sunday 27 January
Amazing, another flyable day although it wasn't quite as good as
yesterday.
Saturday 26 January
Good days flying with wave up to 10,200ft QNH. Quite a few out including Mike Codd, Gerry, The Crowdens, Richard Robbins, Clive, Don G, John H and Some visitors from North Hill. A few of the Usk guys were out and we could all hear the Shobdon pilots in the wave as well.
Martin Pingel
Sunday 6 January
Lots and lots of pilots out enjoying the average conditions. Plenty of
check flights, training flights and privateers enjoying the SW
light/mod wind which increased to fresh and backed to SSE throughout
the day. Got a little crowded on the spine back at times and a bit
congested on the airfield on at least one occasion but otherwise
everyone had a good day without any mishaps. Many thanks from all to
John Price (and John Horley) for the tugging, and especially John Price
who must have had an "interesting" flight back through the Beacons in
deteriorating conditions.
Link here to: 2007 Flying Reports  
Updated: 6 May 2008 MF |