How to lose 2000' in less than 8 minutes...
Gliding is a hobby that keeps on giving you that little bit more to do.
When I first started out just over a year ago, the thought of being able to do my own landing or take-off seemed like a million years away, but those milestones quickly passed. Thoughts then turned to solo flight, and with confidence and experience growing, that too came and went; the first one wasn't much more than an extended circuit and all a bit nerve wracking. Fast forward to now and I'm disappointed with myself if I don't manage to stay airborne for at least an hour.
The more I've learnt about the sport, the more I've come to realise what's possible and so now, merely being able to fly just represents the start of the journey - I wish I'd understood earlier that gliding offers the chance for long cross country flights for personal achievements, competitive flying and aerobatics amongst other things. One of the reasons I've taken up writing this blog is to try and get the word out there a little bit more. I want more people to realise that this is something they can get involved in, it's accessible, friendly and has a lot to offer and it can be enjoyed as an occasional thing, or it offers something up for those who want ever greater challenges.
This past weekend, I've managed to squeeze in a couple more firsts. Taking a launch at just after 11am and with the aim to stay airborne for a couple of hours, I took a sandwich with me and managed to stay in flight long enough to enjoy it - missing out on my 2 hour goal by just three minutes. The first part in an unmarked area of wave which I soared between around 2,500' and 3,300', and the second part in pleasantly smooth thermal. Unfortunately, as you can see from the trace below which shows the end of the flight, I was rather caught out by the 'down' wave which had me dashing back to the airfield at 60kts with -6 showing on the variometer. For a moment I didn't think I'd make it.
The second flight, only taken because it had been declared "the best part of the day" by a recently landed pilot, offered up a similar time - 1:54. I managed a height of around 4,200' in the local area - which is probably at least equal to my best so far. Launching at around 4:30pm, the thermals simply stopped working a few minutes too early, I perhaps made the mistake of leaving an area of nil-sink to try and figure out how the club Discus was staying higher than my Astir, but he landed just two or three minutes after I did, and we were the last flights home.
All in all, another day with a solid performance and two good flight times - and it was nice to see a good turnout of members in the bar (on a Sunday night!) after the hangars were packed.
Next weekend looks like it will be rained off, so it might be a case of taking a weekday off work to get my next flying fix.
When I first started out just over a year ago, the thought of being able to do my own landing or take-off seemed like a million years away, but those milestones quickly passed. Thoughts then turned to solo flight, and with confidence and experience growing, that too came and went; the first one wasn't much more than an extended circuit and all a bit nerve wracking. Fast forward to now and I'm disappointed with myself if I don't manage to stay airborne for at least an hour.
The more I've learnt about the sport, the more I've come to realise what's possible and so now, merely being able to fly just represents the start of the journey - I wish I'd understood earlier that gliding offers the chance for long cross country flights for personal achievements, competitive flying and aerobatics amongst other things. One of the reasons I've taken up writing this blog is to try and get the word out there a little bit more. I want more people to realise that this is something they can get involved in, it's accessible, friendly and has a lot to offer and it can be enjoyed as an occasional thing, or it offers something up for those who want ever greater challenges.
This past weekend, I've managed to squeeze in a couple more firsts. Taking a launch at just after 11am and with the aim to stay airborne for a couple of hours, I took a sandwich with me and managed to stay in flight long enough to enjoy it - missing out on my 2 hour goal by just three minutes. The first part in an unmarked area of wave which I soared between around 2,500' and 3,300', and the second part in pleasantly smooth thermal. Unfortunately, as you can see from the trace below which shows the end of the flight, I was rather caught out by the 'down' wave which had me dashing back to the airfield at 60kts with -6 showing on the variometer. For a moment I didn't think I'd make it.
The second flight, only taken because it had been declared "the best part of the day" by a recently landed pilot, offered up a similar time - 1:54. I managed a height of around 4,200' in the local area - which is probably at least equal to my best so far. Launching at around 4:30pm, the thermals simply stopped working a few minutes too early, I perhaps made the mistake of leaving an area of nil-sink to try and figure out how the club Discus was staying higher than my Astir, but he landed just two or three minutes after I did, and we were the last flights home.
All in all, another day with a solid performance and two good flight times - and it was nice to see a good turnout of members in the bar (on a Sunday night!) after the hangars were packed.
Next weekend looks like it will be rained off, so it might be a case of taking a weekday off work to get my next flying fix.
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