Category Archives: Flying reports

Flying report 19/10/14

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Final Turn in K21What a day’s flying!

The forecast told us that it was going to be an interesting day with a very stiff breeze from the south west but the turn-out of members was very good with many of our new and junior members on site early.

Daily briefing was underway by 0920 and everyone was out on the field immediately afterward. Due to the challenging conditions, only the club’s K21 was employed with a 2-crew rule all day. Launches were very impressive if a little rough. On one occasion, an expertly driven Skylaunch delivered the K21 to 1950 feet above the airfield.

The enthusiasm was notable, the launchpoint crowded to the point that Control had to ask members to move out of the way to afford a better view of the operation. With only 1 aircraft in use, the operation was a continuous cycle of launch, soar and retrieve. Although the golf buggy decided it had had enough by early afternoon, we pressed on with the tractor to the end of the day.

Despite a single-line, single aircraft, dual-crew operation, we flew everyone in 18 enjoyable flights and provided some valuable experience for our new members.

Flying Report Tuesday Oct 7th 2014

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We had a great day today after a slow (but expected) start. We had a glimmer of blue sky at 9am and the sky quickly cleared to clear blue with a few cumulus dotted about. It stayed like this for the rest of the day with no showers.

We started flying at around 11am. with a brisk S.W. breeze giving us launches to around 1800 – 1900ft. It was thermic from the start although difficult to centre in because of the wind. We kept both of the 2 seaters very busy all day with the K18 doing duty as the single seater.

Considering the strength of the wind we had some very good flights in challenging conditions with the wind gusting up to about 25kts. One flight of particular note was by new member Daniel F. who managed 20mins on the second flight of the day and just to prove it was not a one off managed another good flight in the afternoon. Well done to him. All this after only 8 previous flights and he did the take off and landing !!!!

We had about 20 members on the flying list and everyone flew. Overall a very good day that I think everyone enjoyed, many thanks to Allan who again worked very hard all day. No problems, just a great day.

Statistics are as follows,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Total Launches……,,,…….24.

Total Flight Time………….4hrs. 54min.

Longest Flight……………..32min…….Well done to Bob H. in the K18 but closely followed by Phil P (and Bob) in the K21 and in 3rd, place Daniel F. with 20mins.
lots of other flights well into double figures.

Average flight time………12mins. This included a couple of cable breaks by the K21.

Steve P.

Flying Report Tuesday 30/9/14

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We had a great day with better weather than expected. It was warm and dry all day and thermic from early afternoon almost until we finished flying at about 17-30 so we had another long day. Although the thermals did not go very high they were good enough for some really good long flights. We are now down to 2 x 2 seaters as C.B.W. has gone into the workshop for her annual check but we were able to make good use of her until she was de-rigged at lunch time. For most of the afternoon the launch point was empty as all the remaining 4 club gliders were in the air and as soon as one landed it was quickly turned around and re-launched.

Everyone flew and we all had a good day with no problems, we were a little late starting because of some early mist but it cleared very quickly at about 10-30 and we lost no more time.

So the statistics for the day were,

Total Launches………………..31. This was very good in view of the start time, length of flights and glider availability.

Total Flight Time……………….9hrs. 10min.

Longest Flight………………….1hr. exact, well done to Ken M. he could have stayed up longer but came back so others could enjoy the weather. Well done also to Tony M. and Humph who also had good long flights, there were several other who also had well over half an hour who I am sure could all have all stayed up longer.

Average Flight Time………….17mins. This is also good as it included quite a few simulated cable breaks and other short flight exercises. Well done to Alan B. for managing to stay in our field !

Overall a great day, well attended and enjoyed by everyone, must remember to re-stock with Doughnuts, all gone !!!

Steve P.

Flying report Thursday 28th August 2014

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We were lucky with the weather yesterday getting pretty well what the forecast predicted. We were very busy from early on and by lunch time there were 27 cars in the car park.
The wind was in the S.W. all day which was much better than the easterly on Wednesday.

We had several visitors who all had a good time and we did manage to get everyone flown but it did mean flying until quite late. Welcome to Graham F. who has joined after a trial lesson last year and to Rob, a young man who lives fairly locally and had a couple of flights with Allan, he is seriously thinking of joining us and learning to fly.

We only had one shower and that was at lunch time, it was heavy and lasted around 30 mins but the sun soon came out and dried things out very quickly. It was overall a good day but I am sorry that some members had to wait until the end of the day to get their flights in. We will do things differently next time.

The thermals were very weak for most of the day but there were some good flights and it was still thermic at nearly 6pm. Best flight of the day was by Geoff W. and Mark P. who managed a very creditable 30mins. Bob H., Stewart A., George S. all did very well with extended flights and Phil P. and Chris B. had a good flight in the Barge, from the ground it looked like they were impersonating a helicopter !

As I said earlier a very busy day especially for the 2 seaters, details are below,

Total Launches…………..43.

Total Flying Time………….6 hrs.

Longest Flight…………….30 mins.

Average Flight Time……….8 min. (which included several S.C.B’s).

The Doughnuts all went early on, must remember to buy another couple of packets next time.

Proof that we're actually on a hill: The clouds were passing below the airfield.

Proof that we’re actually on a hill: The lunchtime clouds were passing below the airfield.

Steve P.

Flying report Good Friday 2014

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An interesting day today with thin cumulus capping thermals at 4,500ft.

The NE wind made a relatively simple decision to set up down at the western end of the field. Much thanks go to those who walked the club aircraft down there. Winch launch heights were around a respectable 1,400 feet given the shorter cable run. Most pilots had little difficulty finding their first thermal and climbing away except for one Standard Cirrus pilot who set the record for the shortest flight of the day. Thankfully he climbed away after a relight.

There were a number of private aircraft flown such as a Duo Discus, a couple of ASW24s, a Sport Vega, and a Cirrus. There was also a Discus B present but we’re not entirely sure who’s it is.

At one point we had an entirely empty launchpoint having launched all of the club fleet on training and solo details and all of the privateers.

Mike C completed a 300km+ task in his LS8, Barry K & David B completed a 300km+ task in their Duo Discus and Sharon K went round a 200km+ task in her ASW24.

Surely there will be no argument this year over who get’s the “first 300k of the year” trophy.

In terms of club-ship flying a K18 was flow around a 43km “local” task and several high and/or long K13 flights were made.

A great start to the Easter Bank-Holiday Weekend.

Flying Report 15/4/14

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The best day of the year by far today. Warm sunshine, a good easterly giving excellent launches, thermals from the first flight until the last (at 6pm ! ) going all the way to 5000′. A stonking day.

There were loads of really good flights and I am sure they could all have been longer but as there were a lot of people on the flying list everyone came down after a reasonable time so others could have a go. A few notable flights were…..

50mins. By John H. He has been away for over 5 months and did really well, flying like it was only last week he last flew.
24 mins by Ben S. right at the end of the day, a good solo flight and a brilliant hangar landing to finish it off.
27mins. by John G. in the K21. First flight of the day in very weak lift in a glider he has only flown a couple of times before.
60mins. by Phil Pa. and Nick J. in the T21.

Statistics are…..

Total Launches……………..36.

Longest Flight……………….1hr. 6mins. Well done to Phil Pi. and Chris B. closely followed by Tony M. at 1hr. 2min. (see above).

Total flight time……………..15hr. 7mins.

Average Flight Time………..25mins. !!!

A really good day with Hot Cross Buns for a change as it is Easter, thanks to Pete M. for toasting that lot and putting the butter on. Best day of the week and certainly the best day of the year so far. Thanks to everyone who helped set up and stay to the end and do all the jobs needed to keep us flying.

And finally can someone sell Alan D. a sun hat next time he comes to fly, looks like you could fry eggs on his head. Yes the sun is very strong at this time of year.

Steve P.

Flying Report 13/4/14

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It turned out rather well today. It was a cold start in the westerly breeze but flat-ish looking cumulus clouds formed into orderly rows and wave was encountered early on. One ASW24 pilot climbed to over 5,000 feet in wave while those who were encountering thermal lift were considerably lower.

Some cross-country flying was attempted with mixed results. Wave influence on the otherwise often abundant thermals made tasks tricky. At least one cross-country pilot had to fire the turbo to get home.

We also entertained many visitors today. Some just enjoying the sunshine and the airfield spectacle and others partaking in trial gliding lessons with us. Visitors came from across the region as well as the nearby village of Wilmcote.
130114Towards the end of the day, we heard one pilot flying from Aston Down on the radio informing his home field that he would be a “little late” home as he was at 10,000ft in wave overhead the Black Mountains.

Putting a K21 Away.With over 40 launches and 24hours logged flying time, we were packing the hangar and de-rigging private aircraft late into the day.

Flying Report 9/4/14

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It was a shame we had to change days at short notice but it really was well worth it. We had a really good day with strong thermals for most of the day, the field had dried out very well after Monday’s heavy rain apart from a few soft spots. George and I managed to find one of them on the retrieve from the far end after a S.C.B.

There were plenty of excellent flights almost from the first launch and it only went flat after 3-30pm. It was warm and sunny as well, the only downside was a cloudbase of about 3000′ for most of the day. We had a good turnout with 18 names on the flying list before the briefing. We had 5 gliders out and they were all kept busy for most of the day.

The grass is starting to grow as well, a good sign things are warming up.

Total Launches…………….32.

Total Flight Time…………..10hrs. 05mins.

Longest Flight……………… 1hr. 07min. Well done to Pete M. and Phil Pa. Allan and Howard also managed 1hr 05min and Tony M. did his usual hour. There were lots of other flights of half an hour or so.

Average Flight Time………..18min. Excellent as we did several cable breaks as well.

A really good day and everyone had a good time with good flights, the Swallows are back so it’s wing bag time gain. Spring is really here.

Steve P.

P.S. Apologies to Bob and Sharon for the change of day (the weather has no respect) and to Phil C. who missed Mondays email.

Flying Report 1/4/14

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Today turned out to be a really good day after a slow start. The day started with light drizzle and low cloud and things did not look promising. The one good thing was that the wind was very light and variable and so we were able to set up outside the clubhouse.

At around 11-45 a nice blue hole appeared in the cloud and we launched to find the cloudbase, it was 1100` and rising rapidly, it was also thermic although very weak.

After that we did not look back and flew until nearly 6pm. The thermals did stay weak but it was very warm and sunny and I think everyone had a good day. A few congratulations are in order, well done to John G. for re-soloing after a long break, especially satisfying as John had been coming down for the last few weeks and been unable to fly for various reasons. Well done to George the Poet for insisting on doing cable breaks on a very difficult day and coping extremely well with everything I threw at him and finally I had the privilege of flying with Phil P. who had not flown since last October ! I can assure everyone he has not lost one jot of his skill, of course he also had the longest flight of the day, surprise, surprise.

So onto the statistics,

Total Launches…………..40.

Total Flight Time………….4hrs. 51mins. (Lots of simulated cable breaks in there as well).

Longest Flight…………….21mins. (As above, well done to Phil but closely followed by David S. in the K18 with 20mins and Geoff G. and Roger H. in the T21.).

Average Flight Time………7min. (Would have been a lot more but for the cable breaks.)

Thanks to everyone who came and stayed even though it looked very grim early on and apologies to Bob H. for the weather not clearing up soon enough for him to fly.

See you soon, Steve P.

Lenticular Clouds 16/3/14

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Nick J took this photo of lenticular clouds to the south of Snitterfield on Sunday.

Due to SOAGCs location within the country, we do not often see lenticular clouds edge-on like this. We do contact wave from the Welsh mountains.

Lenticular Clouds over Snitterfield

Lenticular Clouds over Snitterfield

The clouds were dissipating as the wind conditions changed but some pilots reported weak wave and wave influence on the (admittedly weak – it is March) thermals.