Friday 30 March 2012

Ridge running at Talgarth

Yesterday the light NWly produced lift along the NW ridge, which combined with thermals kicking off the top made for an exciting day, particularly with the number of gliders having fun. Good look out was essential! Simon P found that his training came in handy when FZA's ASI packed up on tow and he had to land without it, which he managed without incident.



KCZ on tow





Working the ridge





The Black Mountains



Sundog



Landing east

Thursday 29 March 2012

Booker goes boating

Wednesday was another surprisingly summery day so after a quick look at the ridge the team went boating. No shipwrecks but a couple of groundings, since the river is quite low. This was followed by a very welcome afternoon tea at the River Cafe, Glasbury (lemon tart recommended).


And for those of you who don't believe the tales of easterly wave, here's a pic from Sunday, Richard in 2A somewhere over the Black Mountains.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Start the day with a bang



Another beautiful morning at Talgarth and KCZ is about to go and explore the Northern ridge.
We took advanage of the calm conditions with some early morning RC Cub flying. Symeon made an excellent job of flying the Cub around and his request to "do a loop from here" seemed harmless enough at the time.

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Booker flies high at Talgarth

Those of you sitting at home looking at the blue sky and the chart showing light easterlies will have spotted the fact that this is the perfect synoptic for easterly wave. So far the wave has appeared reliably every day. The reason we have not reported on our exploits is that there has been no time, we have been too busy exploring and enjoying fantastic views of this amazing landscape from 8000ft. We've done so much flying that our CFI has declared tomorrow a rest day so that we are rested and ready for when the wind turns westerly and we switch to ridge running.

Here are some pics of what you have missed.


Talybont Reservoir


Typical glaciated landscape



Looking north up the Cwmdu valley, Myndd Troed (1998 amsl) on the wingtip


There was also a small birthday celebration which included a spectacular cake. No hangovers were involved.


Booker Grids up under summer sun

The high pressure persists and whilst not ideal for cross country soaring is still providing lots of good weather to get yourself ready for the season. Now is the time to ensure you are fully current and if relevant check that all is OK with your glider.

Over the weekend, several people arrived for Denis' excellent FOG lecture on 'Achieving Your Goals in Gliding' and then stayed on to put some of the ideas into practice.

Monday saw a mini grid lined up ready for the day!

And what's happening at Talgarth? - rumours are that they have been flying in easterly wave to 7,000 feet and that a few people had hangovers following celebrating a certain members birthday! Perhaps they would like to comment on the truth or otherwise of these rumours.




Tuesday 20 March 2012

Team Outing

How important it is to keep a weather eye open. Yesterday was exactly as billed,
possibly better. Soarable by 10:30 and working till 15:30 4000ft cloudbase 6kt
thermals. Jon G, Mike C, Alan J, Nils W, and myself completed 300s taking in FMA AVE and
NPT. Geoff T, John H, David F, and possibly others I didn't see all had a good time too.

Let's hope this augurs well for the season.

Jim

Saturday 10 March 2012

Gliding brain power



This morning about 20 club members attended William Parker's lecture on field landings and gliding safety. There were lots of observations and questions. After the lecture a number stayed on to share past experience and discuss the challenges and finer points of picking fields.



The lecture also included a demonstration of the new Booker Gliding Club brain mapping system that will be available for pilots to use prior to a flight. This equipment is now available for use in the briefing room. As the photo shows, William bravely volunteered to show us all how it worked.






Monday 5 March 2012

Ridge day and soaring xc for the DuoDiscus

7 day operation got away to a great start with our first course member enjoying a rough but soarable first day of their course under good streets to 4,000ft.

The strong north westerly (330 degrees, 19kts gusting 28kts) was enough to encourage the Duo Discus and K21 out to the ridge early in the day.

In the afternoon, Jim White and John Herman set off to the ridge but the sky looked too inviting so a task was set for Bicester to see what they were up to.

Bicester from the DuoDiscus

Late on in the day layered lenticulars were in evidence over Winter Hill





Sunday 4 March 2012

7 day a week operation starts on 5 March

Keep an eye on the weather forecast for those good soaring days, typically after the passage of a cold front, as from Monday 5 March the club goes back to a 7 day week.

Saturday 3 March - spring showers

After a wet morning the members made good use of the unstable air for soaring flights. and the aerobatics course had fun too. A heavy hail shower provided an excuse for a tea break, then back out for more flying. Jim found his newly refinished ASW27 at the end of the rainbow.




The day finished with a well attended AGM with plenty of positive reports about the club and its future. Many thanks to the Committee for all their hard work, and the many members who give their time for their club.