I came, I soar, I went.

It's been a while since I posted - something to be expected I suppose - since it's the back end of the year and this is a blog that's mainly about gliding and soaring. It seems that Golf Oscar Delta (GOD) had decreed September 2nd to be the end of summer because the weather hasn't been up to a great deal since (on weekends, anyway). The prevailing southwesterlies have been anything but, and there has been much rain. We have a year-round operation however, so there has been some flying - just nothing really notable, the odd 20-30 minute flight to maintain currency, maybe something a little bit longer on a half decent ridge day. I did get to enjoy couple of hours of hill-soaring cross country with an experienced pilot, which was an eye opener - making it all the way out to Guisborough SW and back at around 1000'. I've been waiting for some of the famous North Yorkshire wave though; although it only ever seems to show itself midweek - but finally, the ...

There's not too much to write recently. September should have offered up some still good flying days and it all started well with my first cross country flight which took place on the 2nd. Despite two more trips to the airfield over the month, the only things achieved were lunch, some light socialising and depletion of the bar stocks by a little bit. It wasn't until the 30th that I managed to get my next flight of the month - with just a 33 minute sample of some weak frontal wave in the DG-303 before it fell apart (the wave, not the glider). My FAI booklet thingy was returned to me a few days ago, duly signed, dated and stamped by the BGA to show that I had achieved bronze and cross country qualifications. It seems I managed to achieve the cross country endorsement before I completed the bronze... Sunday 1st October was a duty day at the airfield, but no flying could take place due to the low cloud that seems to have been a feature of the past month. A group of us ...

I'm a bit lot late in writing this entry, but a few weeks ago and immediately following on from getting my Bronze/XC qualification, I had a little adventure. It was another first for me, so I had to make sure I documented it for posterity 😃 September 2nd was already looking good when I'd checked the RASP forecast a few days prior, and it each day that passed, it continued to look like a soarable day with low strength winds, so off I went to the club. There's one aircraft I hadn't flown yet; the DG-303. I asked the CFI if I could make the conversion (despite having only one 20 minute flight in the Discus) and he agreed. It seems to be an aircraft that doesn't get flown all that much, so it's good to have the option. I read the flight manual, had the obligatory brief, and set the aircraft up on the flight line after lunch. The forecast had been for cloud bases up to 5,000ft in the afternoon and all the evidence was that the weather was cooperating, s...

I'm pleased to finally be able to say that I have completed both my Bronze badge, and cross country endorsement! The skills test was the last hurdle, but having spent a little more time practicing and enhancing my knowledge in a couple of areas, I have done it and I am now a glider pilot! The check flight itself was slightly unusual, having been a cross country tow from Pocklington back to Sutton Bank - but we needed to get the glider home and this felt like the most efficient way of doing it, and it also meant that the trip was not wasted fuel for the tug. Unfortunately, it's almost the end of the gliding season here in the UK (although there may be a few good days left, let's hope!) so the question is, what next? I definitely need to practice my cross country flying when conditions permit, and I may have a stab at the silver badge next year. Perhaps a bit of motor glider training over winter?

I have just tasted my first competition flying experience; and where better to do so than in a competition specifically for two-seater gliders? This is an annual meet run by the Wolds Gliding Club at Pocklington, a mere 45km from Sutton Bank as the glider flies. We didn't enter to win. Rather, our club entered our DG-1000 so that early cross country pilots or those who haven't competed can gain experience of the environment and how it all works - both on the ground and in the air.  In a slight role reversal, I took the back seat for my flight and the instructor sat up front. The plan was, he would fly most of the task, but whilst doing so explain what was going on. The two-seater competition format is a little different to the usual. Rather than having a set task, there are options - there are upto 5 turn points and you can turn back after any one of them - so five tasks in total of increasing length which you can score against, depending on how far you want to push out...

It's been a while since I have had any noteworthy experiences to post about, and the time to post them. We haven't really had a lot of calm weather recently - what we've had hasn't been a problem for flying and has even been enjoyable for the most part, but much of it has seen launches and landings occurring on our short runway and we've even had a few winching days.  All of that has really meant that it hasn't been the right time to move into a different type of glider. To do that for the first time needs a pretty benign day so as not to unnecessarily increase the workload. Finally, a day came when we were using our long grass strip and the wind was pretty negligible and without any significant crosswind component to it.  I could have just flown the club Astir again, but it was in use, and in any case - I didn't really feel as though it would achieve anything. I can't go cross country yet and the cloudbase wasn't really suggesting a...

After my venture towards the pennines in the club motorglider the other week, I was invited to fly again with the instructor in his own private machine (a Super Ximango), so that we could go and see some more of Yorkshire and pick up some navigation pointers. It would be again a learning exercise but also a bit of a sightseeing exercise - the main purpose was just to see some of the main towns and landmarks that are considered local flying. I plotted a course on Saturday evening; with turning points at Breighton, Beverley, Bridlington Scarborough, Full Sutton before passing over York, back to Rufforth airfield. I marked up my map with headings and 5-mile markers to each TP. I added rough timings based on 70 knots, but we all know that gliders don't fly in a straight line at a constant speed, so this was more just to make sure the flight didn't go on too long. In all, the route just over 100 nautical miles. I purposely routed to the coast for some sight...