Flying on both days of a weekend – what a shock to the system. The biting cold NEly didn’t deter a good turnout but did mean the south side of the caravan was a favourite gathering place when not launching gliders. Phil was kept busy running between two sets of instructor checks and flying the Janus with Carol. I was also kept busy seeing if folks who hadn’t flown for a few months could remember which bits to waggle. When it came to flying the terms “interesting”, “challenging”, “lively” were to be heard and, my favourite from Jim C – “sporting”.
Only slightly extended flights were the order of the day until Jim tried the ridge lower than most an squeezed out just under half an hour. A little later Chris K connected with a thermal and stayed airborne for 48 minutes. With the wind picking up the single seaters were put off-line. With everyone else only getting circuits it looked like Chris’s crown was safe until Carol and Chris B made a bid in the Janus but came up 7 minutes short. About 14:00 the grey opened up and the sun came through, the cloud streets appeared but the clouds were so flat – like biscuits rather than cup cakes. Surprisingly, they were working with climbs up to 4,300. Sadly only Carol and Phil in the Janus and James W, with me as ballast, in a K13 were able to take advantage of the soaring window. Sorry Chris, you lost your crown as Carol & Phil as they clocked up over an hour.
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