Pre Frontal Wave

I'd finished fixing the tailskid on the Nimbus (a perenial problem). The sky was beginning to show signs of the odd cumulus forming with wave bars showing higher up. The K13 was doing a steady business and the Junior was ready for a launch when Dave D asked if I fancied a flight in his Grob.

It seemed like an ideal opportunity to see if it really was waving before the warm front arrived. With the engine throttled back to make it more like glider we took a few turns in the rapidly forming and dying thermals to climb from 1500 ft up to cloudbase just around the 2500 mark and then pushed on toward the SW. Over Chiltern Park there was definately a wave hole which allowed a slow climb to just over 3000. The hole then gradually started to fill in with rapidly forming wave shaped clouds which in turn allowed us to climb to nearly 4000.

When we first had joined the wave it was possible to see over the cloud beyond the wave hole and gave the feeling we would soon be able to look down on cumulus organized around the wave.

This was just not to be and although it was possible to climb in the odd disorganized lift it became obvious that having an engine would save us from becoming embedded in the rapidly approaching front.

Eventually discretion proved the better part of valour and opening the throttle enabled us to climb out of the rapidly forming cloud and retreat downwind to a more sparsely cloud populated sky.

Very shortly after landing the sky became totally overcast.

Thanks Dave D for an enjoyable time in the air when it had been the last thing on my mind today.

Friday 6 March

A good day which coincides with my day off, can't be bad. Scraping frost off the car was a good sign, and so it proved, a sky full of big cu and a cloudbase of around 3800ft. The first rig of the season and I'd managed to leave the GPS aerial at home, so I contented myself with 2 hours or so of locally soaring in excellent conditions, getting used to my glider again, not having flown it since our trip to Aboyne last October. Jim Z12 and Dave 918 did Buckingham-Chieveley and Glyn G1 went to Membury and back.

Meanwhile back at base there was plenty happening, including Craig converting to the K18 after 4 solos in a K13, good progress.

Wednesday 4th March

The barometer showed it should be stormy but it looked so tempting outside I took a peek at RASP and decided I could risk a flight starting around 12.00 and finishing by 14.00.

With such a low pressure the clouds should have grown and thrown.

I reckoned I'd have time to get in a Buckinham Church/Chievely and back before the deluge.

How wrong can one be. The day just kept going.

It was a steady trip making sure I didn't get anywhere near all those waterlogged fields. But most enjoyable all the same. I even managed to get round the TP's this time.

Thanks to Peter Wyld for his loan of a GPS mouse which mean't my IPAQ could at last tell me how much height I needed/or had in hand. The trace is on the ladder.

Jim's Monday

Here's Jim "Z12" White's report of his first March cross country flight:

The weather came up pretty much as expected. Thermals started before midday but the climbs were weak and fluky. Set Marlborough - Chieveley to fly into a stiffening breeze with a start at cloudbase 3000ft above Booker. Conditions improved significantly on task to give average 3kt climbs and good streeting which allowed runs of about 30k and a 38k final glide. Flew a bit zig zag but did the 130k in 1h 32m which was satisfactory for early March. Max altitude achieved was 4234amsl. Cloud spread out from about 3pm.

Weekend update

We were all too busy over the weekend to report the news. Saturday began with Denis Campbell's thought-provoking talk on the different ways of assessing situations and making decisions. The rest of the day was very busy with over 50 flights under an unpromising sky which proved surprisingly soarable, Dave Bundock kept a Pegasus in the sky for nearly 2 hours. There were a number of acvhievements, including Henry Ross converting to the Discus and Steve Williams becoming a full cat instructor.

In the evening the AGM was very well attended, and 4 new committee members were elected, John Herman, Steve Williams, Emily Todd and Adrian Hegner. Our new chairman is Geoff Tabbner, replacing Roland Wales who is standing down to enjoy a well-earned break. After the meeting we retired to the Live and Let Live for a meal and more discussion.

Sunday started dull but the skies cleared and became very soarable for a time, although the northerly crosswind combined with runway 35 being closed meant that less experienced pilots were unable to fly solo. We welcomed new course member Nick, who came for a trial lesson on Saturday and was so impressed by our well-organised operation and the excitement of flying that he immediately signed up for a course and came along to continue his training.

Now March is here and the sun is warmer we are looking forward to more good soaring

Saturday 21 February....

.......and spring was in the air for Booker's glider pilots, with over 50 launches and at one point three tugs working to meet the demand. Mark Wolfe (pictured) converted to the Junior and John Portwin completed his Bronze flight test.

As well as the usual mix of trial lessons and instructing, various aerobatics sorties were flown, including one by Rob Kehr who has really taken to this branch of flying. And a number of private owners took the opportunity of blue skies and sunshine to rig and get some air under their wings.

Next Saturday we will have another in our series of 'winter' lectures, this one by Denis Campbell on Cross Country Error Management, not to be missed.

Saturday 14th February

Whilst others were thinking of St. Valentines Day....restaurants to book, flowers to buy, cards to write, the stalwart glider pilots of Booker went along instead to Jim White's presentation on Cross-Country Met. Here we learnt about jetstreams, coriolis effect, weather systems, the Rossby Wave and what it all means in terms of predicting soaring conditions. A fascinating insight into a topic that the more you learn about, the more you realize just how little you know about the subject.

Meanwhile Gerry Leach decided to adopt the ostrich approach to flying but couldn't find any sand to stick his head in so used the Pawnee instead under the expert guidance of Jon Gatfield who looks like he was timing how long Gerry could maintain this position.

Inspecting the piste

The overnight frost has solidified the lying snow, still 3in deep, and it looks as though we wouldn't get off the ground before the hedge, so Graham's aerobatics course will today consist of briefings on the flight envelope and the figures to be flown - after the thaw.

Winter Wonderland- 4th Febuary

Camouflaged K13




The Snows effect on a 152's C of G.......

Gliding Cancelled

Monday - No flying activity to report! (Pictures from Shelagh)