The wind sock was showing more west than the forecast so we resigned ourselves to a day of circuits. First launch proved that assumption to be false as Martin S found scraps of weak lift along the ridge. After that most flights managed double digits with Tony P/Peter E setting the bar at 20 minutes. Following that a few 18 and 19 minute flights were recorded. With Tony on the log it was commented that it seemed unlikely anyone would match Tony’s flight time.
Colin B towed the Vega to the launch point and headed skyward. After half an hour folks started to scan the sky for signs of the Vega. There was even discussion about the state of the Vega trailer. Quarter of an hour later Colin reappeared in the circuit with a 47 minute flight under his belt. He reported he only returned because of deteriorating visibility (the low sun combined with a grubby canopy). He popped of the ridge at one point to sample a favourite thermal source (large agricultural building north of the ridge towards the gibbet) to pick up a 3 knot average thermal up to cloud base – remarkable!
End of the day
27 launches (1,900′ in the K8 and 1,700′ in the K13) of which half were double digit flight times.
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