Black Mountains Gliding Club

Wave - Sunday 16 December 2007

Seven members were airborne, towed into good lift at around 1200' by John Price in the Neath tug (thanks Pricey). At first there was quite a lot of cloud and Talgarth seemed to be the only place we could see that wasn't 8/8ths, but as time went on it cleared beautifully.
There were no height records - Greville did best with 7,300' QNH - but it was lovely up there - see Robbie's photos which I've posted on the Forum - they are in the album 'Sunday 16th December'.
It was quite cloudy at first, and as far as we could see Talgarth was the only place in the area with reasonable slots and not under 8/8ths. Later on it cleared beautifully.
Let's hope for more of the same next weekend.
Not many members came to fly - did some go to Usk to fly the K21 I wonder?
Anne Crowden

Sunday 11 November 2007

There was NW wave again on Sunday, as well as the ridge and Beacons going well. Best height was Tony at FL115 and almost everyone who flew had enjoyable wave flights to various altitudes, including Andrew Staniforth in the Junior experiencing wave for the very first time. Prolonged showers towards the end of the day curtailed flying and some of us had to de-rig in the wet!
Anne Crowden

Friday 9 November 2007

A lovely wave day! More cloud than forecast but that didn't stop Cold Finger Cridge in his Sie going to gold height, and John Poland in the club Junior to silver. Congratulations both. Eleven members flew with several reaching FL125 (I know about Robbie, Brockie and two Mikes - there were probably more) and Tony managing FL145 west of Shobdon. With wind speeds of 55kts at FL120 and 70kts at FL140 it's no wonder the Sie flew backwards at one point!
Anne Crowden

Wave - Monday 6 November 2007

Quite difficult to contact wave and once in it wasn't a lot easier as it was shifting around a lot with weak climbs and a lot of cloud floating about. Nice flight though up over Radnor Hills and then down into the Brecon Beacons.

Well the [midweek flying] system seems to works ok and a handful of us turned up for a bit of flying thanks to Keith Richards for towing us all out. those out incl Tony & Anne Crowden, Martin Brockington, Adrian Thomas, Mike Rossitor, John from Rhayader (why does your last name always elude me?) and Laurie Jarret.

10-15kt NW wind so ridge working ok. Quite difficult to contact wave and once in it wasn't a lot easier as it was shifting around a lot with weak climbs and a lot of cloud floating about.

Adrian, Martin Brock and myself managed to contact the wave and I eventually worked it to 9000ft QNH over the Radnor Hills where it then suddenly closed in. I flew down to the Beacons later but only managed to contact very small patches of wave lift and eventually dropped back down thro the clouds.

All good fun though - have a look at the photos i've uploaded.
Martin Pingel

Saturday 3 November 2007

Despite poor weather there was quite a bit of activity. There was next to no wind or lift but i think we eventually filled up one sheet of flights, and most of them quite high tows (i took 2 to 3000ft at great expense!) so the treasurer was a happy bunny.

Had my annual check flight with John Clark in the K21 which is always good fun. We got a tickle of wave lift but not enough to pull us away and then we did some stall recognition, a sort of spin entry and then a loop, finished off with a simulated line break and "sort that out Martin" situation - i hadn't flown the K21 before but what a nice glider it is - if you haven't flown it yet i'd recommend it - it loops beautifully.

People out included John Clarke as Inst 1, John Horley doing a stirling job tugging, Geoff and Julia (lovely soup for lunch), Geoff ? who was flying the K13 solo (sorry can't remember your last name), 3-4 air ex flight, a glider pilot from Dallas Texas who managed to grab a flight with John, Anna Baik doing stalls and spins, deliberately i assume!, Robbie, Keith, Martin L & Lesley, and Clive M

Tour of Mid Wales: 17 October 2007

Had a great flight today (see photos) Talgarth - Builth - Rhayader - Machynlyth (how do you spell that?), Barmouth - back down to Aberystwyth, Aberaeron and return via Mike Tomlinson's house, Llandovery, Black Mountain and Pen y fan. Bit of thermal, wave and sea breeze as well as sea thermals and a fair bit of magic lift (£1 per litre) - wow what a flight, you really should have been there.

Shenington expedition week: 29 Sept - 7 October 2007

Overall a 'below par' week by Talgarth standards mainly due to the unusually light winds experienced the whole week. That said, we still had some good Ridge, Wave and Thermal flights with soaring on 4 out of 9 days – 2 of which were days when silver duration was possible, and as usual everyone there had a good sociable week.

Sat 29th
Travel day – we arrived at 5pm. Weather had been poor until 4pm but was now flyable with a light easterly (3kts on the windsock!) giving very weak wave over the Cwmdu Valley. I was invited by Duty Instructor Don Puttock to help with check flights for the Shenington Exped pilots that had arrived earlier…good to see some old mates again. Stats: 7 launches, 6hrs 16mins total time flown, average flight time 56mins.

Sun 30th
Wind 090/10kt (virtually no wind on field due to being in lee of Black Mountains). A very easy and gentle wave day with a tow to 2500ft QFE putting you straight into wave. 1-2 knots to 7500ft QNH (6500ft QFE). The wave stretched from Crickhowell to Hay-on-Wye. Stats: 30 launches, 45hrs 30mins total time flown, average flight time 1hr 31mins. Longest flight 4:37. Over 5 hours was possible.

Mon 1st
Scrub. Low cloud and light drizzle. Went into Abergavenny for lunch and then did some fettling, followed by an early retirement to the Farmers Arms for beer and grub!

Tues 2nd
Scrub. Low cloud and light drizzle…again. Went out for day to Welsh National Cave Centre. Tonight Mary Meagher provided a cook-in lamb roast for 25 at the club.

Wed 3rd
Poor weather again but some flying was possible, no soaring. The pilots who arrived on Monday got check rides with Bo Nielsson. Stats: 6 launches, 1hrs 24mins total time flown, sled rides from 1500ft tows.

Thurs 4th
A misty start quickly developed into a good soaring day. Wind westerly at 5 knots gave 'soft' ridge lift most of the day along the main ridge from Hay Bluff in the NE down to the South Bowl. Good thermals popped off and most pilots soared with the many local buzzards during the afternoon. Tonight we visited The Old Barn at Three Cocks where we had an excellent meal. Stats: 28 launches, 47hrs 10mins total time flown, average flight time 1hr 41mins. Longest flight 3:44. Over 5 hours was possible. 2 Bronze legs were completed by local pilots.

Fri 5th
A beautiful day with excellent visibility. Unfortunately virtually no wind or thermals due to low inversion and 5000ft thick isotherm layer. Lots of flights but sled rides only, except for 'Snoopy' the T21 who, piloted by club chairman Robby Robertson, teased us by hanging in the slightest of lift on Ydas gaining the longest flight for the day at 46 minutes. Tonight was Bo's leaving bash at The Castle Inn – We hope to see him again at Talgarth next season, after he slums it at Omarama, NZ until April.

Sat 6th
Looked a lot like the previous Sunday, but the wave didn't quite materialise. However, weak thermals and very soft ridge lift on Mynynd Troed meant that most pilots got some soaring out of a tricky day. Tex Mex at the Honey Café tonight to finish the holiday with fajitas and burritos! Stats: 31 launches, 18hrs 12mins total time flown, average flight time 35mins (several local ab initio circuit training flights brought the average down). Longest flight 2:12.

Sun 7th
Travel day – not promising so we set off home early…hoping for more wind on our next visit!

BMGC Task Week 2007

As always, the event was fully subscribed with 16 competitors. This year, the weather cooperated and we flew every single day and had a dry week throughout. Tasks set varied from closed circuit speed circuits to a tour of the local castles. Our new K21 was worth its weight in gold and many early pilots had there first taste of the joys of cross country soaring along with the usual landouts! It was pointed out that every one of the 4 landouts by Bo in the K21 had a female pupil in the front seat....the significance of this caused much speculation round the barbeque in the evenings!

Those who launched late on Thursday had great fun in the wave that set up in front of the main ridge and, for those brave enough to venture out into the valley, climbs up to 9500ft above Builth in the evening sun. Many pilots also had there first site of the new Eurofighter who entertained us around Hay on Wye. Impressive and noisy!

We did'nt break any speed records (or gliders!) this year but the general view was that it was a great fun week and that is what it is about at Talgarth! Special thanks must go to the Launch Dragon, Julie King and to Sue Clark who handled all the scoring. Without these ladies, the Task Week would not have worked. Thanks again!

Roll on 2008!

Great Weekend at BMGC 28/29th July ............(But where was everyone?]

Soaring conditions were very good on Sat, considering all ‘our’ rain. The field was a little sodden under foot but fine for gliders and the tug.
Wind was S/W 15 & the S/W bowls plus down to the scree ridge were working all day.
With 27 launches, 4 to 6 K thermals and cloud base over 3000' QFE, soaring conditions were great. There were 4 flights longer than 3 hrs and 2 exceeded 4hrs.
Sunday was forcast for rain in the morning but was sunny virtually all day. ONLY 9 launches (4 private gliders), but with 4000' QFE cloud base and 6 to 8 k thermals, plus wind at 330/10 knts the main ridge was working all day. One flt was for an hr, 3 for over 2hrs and 1 for 4 hrs.
Tony C in his LS6 did over 260 XC via Shrewsbury and the Beacons, and Gerry M went I know not where. I did the Talgarth triangle (1st time ) in just under 2 hrs ( not very good I will admit in a Discus), but a huge blue hole around Burley Gate made it unreachable for over half an hour. Have only done 2 successful XCs before.
I ( gingerly) soared Pen-y-Fan ( mind the rocks - OUCH ), always a special treat for me.
Come on BMGC pilots . Put away the waterproofs, paintbrushes and other distractions, get your "bums in the air", there's superb soaring to be had at OUR club. NB Pilots who were away at competitions are forgiven for not turning up!

Tim Barton ( tongue in cheek)

PS. Local conditions on Monday 30th were brilliant. Wind was 330/10, the main ridge was working all day plus Pen-y-Fan, cloud base was over 4000' QFE and average thermal climbs of 7.2 & 8.2knts were achieved.
Stamina was needed, any solo pilot could've flown for 8 + hrs.
Well done to Mike Codd who soared Pen-y-Fan for the 1st time solo. What a buzz for him, who needs heroin ?

Wave - Thursday 12 July 2007

SW wave contacted at the scree slope around 1800hrs on Thursday 12 July in ASW20 464. Max height 7500 above site. Huge lenticular downwind over Madley .... was I brave enough? Naaaaaaaaaa!

9th July:- weekend flying

The weekend was good. Lots of cross-country flights including some who tried for the new 100K triangle trophy (TAL-LEO-BUG), including a Skylark 4 and a big Nimbus - the latter of which finished the task then went on to do more.
We all considered the last two weeks pretty poor for gliding, but Les Hey (a BMGC member from Yorkshire) flew 35 hours, did plenty of X/C and flew wave up to the airway.

XC Wednesday 6 June 2007

TAL - LLA - CWS - BSW - TAL --311Km [ LLANGOLLEN - CWMBRAN SW - BRECON SW ]
Nice visit to Talgarth where the weather looked best for the day (apart from southdowns).
I was hardly ever out of range of a gliding club or airfield

Wave Thursday 17 May 2007

It was all down to timing! Those who launched first caught the northwesterly wave and had good flights before the cloud came in. Mike Ashton made 9,000' QNH and Tim Barton reached 7,500'. I'm not sure what others did, especially as it cleared spectacularly in the late afternoon with beautiful wave clouds over the mountains.

Wave to FL85 - Wed 2 May 2007

Sat overhead the field for three hours yesterday at FL85. wave lasted all day from Hay Bluff to Llangorse , and was quite strong ( 4-5 up) from 2500 to 7000 ft.

Monday 30 April 2007

I hear that a pilot in big wings from a big southern club climbed from 1000 to 10,000' at Talgarth, then flew to Anglesey to climb to almost twice that height on Monday. He didn't get all the way back home though!

Monday 30 April - E Wave to FL134

Several wave flights today in the Easterly wind.

Flight report from Adrian Thomas:its only boring wave, conditions very good, at FL134 a few miles north of Brecon.

I couldnt fly as launching had to stop after 3 pm due to .turbulence and excessive wind strength.

Wave on Saturday 28th April 2007

Again the weather forecasts didn't reflect our local conditions. Yesterday's gliding forecast summed up with `Excellent for training, golfing and BBQ's'. While all this was true, we were enjoying local easterly wave all day at Talgarth.

We took low tows into very strong lift (I had 11 knots on the averager) which slowly reduced with height, the majority of those few who flew topping at about 8,300' QNH. Tony Crowden and Mark Fisher in K13 and our CFI Martin Langford in Cirrus ZC (along with a `foreign' Fournier motorglider) did the best as far as I know with 9,200' QNH by thermalling the last bit under Alto Cu. Strange!

Alex Jenkins had the most interesting `descent' in Mini Nimbus 878 with his vario showing 11.5k UP with full airbrake (and he has powerful trailing edge brakes).

Visiting pilots, course members and some club members had pleasant flights during the week too with thermal, wave and ridge days. All we need is a sea breeze front and convergence zone for a full house.

Sunday 22 April: K21 goes to the Beacons

The forecast was not exciting. For most of the day the actual was reduced to soaring the south bowl. After spending all day fitting insulation to the south wooden extention & regularly looking up at the standing lenticulars. I wanted to fly.

At 16:45 Tony B & I took a 3000’ tow above Llangorse lake in the hope of contacting the wave. We headed towards a blue hole which began to close. No wave. Teased by the sight of a well defined edge running parallel with the beacons we pushed forward in hope. Now down to 2’500 we turned and headed back closer to the club. Above the south end of Llangorse ridge we found enough lift to return to 3,000’.

Encourage by Tony's determination we pushed further towards the beacons. And Hey presto we went up. +2, +3, +4, +5 knots. We soared the edge all the way down to & beyond Pen Y Fan.

There were different height of cloud edge, like steps to heaven climbed to 7’200’ QFE, where we basked like seals in the sun. We could have gone higher, mindful of the time we headed for home. We enjoyed 1hr. 20mins.

What a nice glider! What a nice flight! What a nice landing Tony! What a nice day!

Wednesday 18 April 2007

Good looking day and I managed Bidford and back via Ledbury and Leominster - bit of a struggle at times as some of the clouds were fake ones and didn't work!! The shobdon sink hole nearly dragged me down again but I got a real beauty (5 up average for 2000ft) low down at the end of the Golden Valley which got me back nice and safely. I want to go out again today but I really must get on with some work dammit!

Saturday 17 March - 12K over Builth

Westerly wave all day in strong W-Nw wind. Lots out flying down Cwmdu valley up to 8500QNH. I managed to get up towards Builth and contacted another wave system, which got me to 12000ft QNH but had to pull out 'cause of approaching front and 'cause I hadn't taken my oxygen mask (oops). Lots out at Usk chattering away on the radio all day! Landing approach was "sporting".

Saturday 11 March 2007 - Gold heights over the Cwmdu

A grim looking start with a wind trying to go from South to Southeast. Much doom and gloom among pilots early as they wondered if it was even worth flying.

The K13 reported wave to 3500 on the first flight and I launched in the Junior at 11:20, eventually getting to 9300 from a single steady 2kt climb over the end of the Hermitage valley. I felt there was more height to be had, possibly a better primary wave bar upwind, but at this time gliders were struggling on the ridge, and I had to get back to let someone else fly. Wind at height about 40kts, but in the wave, ultra smooth.

More gliders got into the wave later and Geoff King achieved his gold height.

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