13 Logbook 2009

Date

Pilot

From

Task or Route

T/O

Land

Time

Kms

IGC

Pics

02-Feb

176

O Binder

Ostheim

Local

13:01

13:23

0:22

C of A Test flight by Oliver Binder.

05-Mar

177

Rob

Ostheim

Local

09:39

10:56

1:17

100

Test flight after new fuselage

07-Mar

178

Steve

Rob

Dunstable

Local

14:28

15:29

1:01

08-Mar

179

Rob

Dunstable

M40 O/R

10:57

12:24

1:27

4500 base, but very windy

12-Mar

180

Rob

S Bowles

Dunstable

Local

14:07

15:25

1:18

Hill soaring only

13-Mar

181

Steve

Rob

Dunstable

Local

12:20

12:29

0:09

Check ASI

13-Mar

182

Rob

Steve

Dunstable

Local

15:48

16:18

0:30

ASI fixed, powered approach and go-around

14-Mar

183

Steve

D Starer

Dunstable

MEM-DID-ENS

10:40

15:24

4:44

244

15-Mar

184

Rob

P Shrosbee

Dunstable

Local

15:33

16:48

1:15

Starter problem, missed the soaring

20-Mar

185

Rob

P Hunt

Dunstable

PIT-BED

14:03

16:55

2:52

138

SE, assisted launch, compass swing, blue and weak

21-Mar

186

Rob

Dunstable

LEZ-ENS

12:09

15:19

3:10

137

Blue and weak, terrible viz

22-Mar

187

Steve

G Lynn

Dunstable

GRW-GRL-OXN

10:45

14:57

4:12

221

210, 64.53, 1.7, 310/14

24-Mar

188

A Hobbs

Dunstable

YTT-GWD-CHB-LYV

10:27

16:22

5:55

453

411, 88.75, 2.3, 310/14

28-Mar

189

Rob

R Berry

Dunstable

14:32

16:20

1:48

Extended local, v windy and heavy showers

29-Mar

190

Rob

R Berry

Dunstable

CWA-BRY-CNW-NOS-DUN-WCB-DUN

11:39

17:16

5:37

522

Post strange weather feature, neverless excellent conditions with 5kts to 5500, weaker beyond Severn as usual. Some nice streets.

04-Apr

191

Steve

T Rose

Dunstable

SHO-TAL

11:16

16:21

5:05

411

After the SHO tp, went to play the wave over Radnor to 7000'. Magic!

05-Apr

192

Steve

P Rackham

Dunstable

ENS-SAX

11:31

16:38

5:07

425

Not a great day, slow start, slow finish, but a nice run out to Norfolk and back.

13-Apr

193

Rob

Steve

Dunstable

WEC-LON-GTW-DUN-BOZ

12:02

16:41

5:39

527

Remote started from WEC from a gloomy DUN. Conditions excellent in W, so ext set task (LON-EVE, 321k) at LON and to GTW, then added another 90k in late evening convergence to Sywell

18-Apr

194

Steve

A Harrison

Dunstable

KES-NOS

11:57

15:41

3:44

137

20-Apr

195

T Pridgeon

Dunstable

NYM-ABN-TOW

13:44

17:44

4:00

302

Blue to 1,500. Told Tom we'd start if > 2,000 ASL so grovelled off to the W as just got that. Once in the Oxford area cu popped at 4,500' and we ran out as far as Nympsfield in good conditions before coming back via STS. Nice reward for perseverance...

21-Apr

196

Rob

Dunstable

MEM-OAK-GRF-PAP

13:02

18:13

5:11

420

Murky but strong start. Ran off end of cu at Oxford, downhill glide into MEM but vis. 100km+. Gave up on task and returned to better air and crap vis. to the E. Good run in and out of GRF but the last 60Km home required patience. A day of many parts.

22-Apr

197

Rob

Dunstable

MEN-EDE-CHN

12:27

17:28

5:01

437

Blue trip to Newmarket for good cu conditions to 5000', then blue from Lakenheath to M1. Cu again, initially good then weak around last TP. Good task for the available wx.

25-Apr

198

Rob

Dunstable

AND-PET-DUN-PET-CHV

12:16

18:51

6:35

662

Dry air between two weather features in low pressure and 20kt flying produced stunning conditions. Lots of good streeting. After completing declared 350km at 101kph added a further 300km!!

26-Apr

199

Steve

Dunstable

YOR-BED-BOT

10:30

16:46

6:16

663

653k @ 107.6kph Similar air to the day before but even drier. Some spreadout and a few weak patches but mostly 4kts+ up to a max of 6,500ASL. Stunning vis as could see English Channel from Northampton! ATC at Doncaster were friendly after we gave them a blast from the transponder. Probably could have done another 100-150Km on OLC but tired after the week's flying.

28-Apr

200

Rob

G Greenwood

Dunstable

DEV-TOD

14:23

17:25

3:02

262

Good in places but went to widespread showers at the end.

01-May

201

Steve

M Jenkins

Dunstable

FWL-LEH

11:02

15:51

4:49

335

Good & improving run downwind to Feltwell, then running x-wind into increasing spreadout & top-cover. 2 x EB28 glides under 8/8, til eventually reaching Cranwell, trying to recycle, but arrived too early, so had to engine burn to climb to restart at Leadenhall.

02-May

202

Steve

S Astley

Dunstable

SUT O/R

11:33

18:52

7:19

553

Reasonable run north, patches of spread-out, ok coming south til through Doncaster (helpful controllers), then the overcast glook set in. Spent forever in the Saltby area, unable to get more than 1.5 kts. Eventually Stefan Astley took the salvation climb at Corby to allow us to tiptoe home. Last climb at Bedford was at 1830.

03-May

203

A Nash

Dunstable

BVT-WPL

11:26

18:21

6:55

632

Unstable NW with spreadout and variable high cover. Declared BVT-NYM-WPL, 600Km. Good climbs as far as Salisbury then thick top cover and much damper air going in and out of Bovington; big grovel but recovered and went N. over danger area (low for weekend). Cirrus went away after Lyneham and 5kt averages to 5K with some streeting along track. Deep cu with a few snow/hail showers around Welshpool: stayed high and ran some impressive clouds with not much happening underneath. 20Km past the Mynd on the way home caught an energy line which gave us a theoretical glide at the Cotswold Edge. Short top up at Kidlington as was pretty dead after.

05-May

204

Dunstable

ENS-GRM-ROS

12:01

18:43

6:42

323

Strong WNW flow in warm sector. Launch to FL55, climbed up nr. BIC, then into wind. 2,000' of burn at Enstone but only weak wave and fell into convection. Pushed slowly into wind with lots of lenticular clouds but not much action, finally contacted in lee of Malverns up to 5K. Tried to go upwind but no lift; got back into Malvern primary and stuck with 0.5kt which improved past 7K to go to just under 12K. Wind 290/50+. Found a few more weak ripples behind the Bk. Mts. then turned for LGC. Groundspeed 210kts to start, so home in no time at all.

08-May

205

Steve

I Reekie

Dunstable

ILS-BAN

12:20

17:16

4:56

200

Demonstrating to Ian Reekie flying backwards, quite effective in 30kt wind. Did a version of DID-BIC sort of, with a little bit of wave at Banbury at the end. All a bit too "sporty

09-May

206

R Berry

Dunstable

DEV-KLY-THE-GRA

11:42

17:16

5:34

517

Good air under thick cirrus. Could see it was thinning so set 500Km up/down/up wind task. Didn' t look great when we launched but was going to 4K+ and quite strong. Nice energy runs and the odd 5Kt climb made fairly short work of the first three legs but fell apart after the last good climb at Lakenheath. 15-18kts SW made the last 70Km a bit of a grind under increasing top cover. Have convinced Ryan that East Anglia can be very good in the right conditions!

10-May

207

Steve

G Lynn

Dunstable

EVE-THA-LEI

10:21

15:06

4:45

362

With Gill. John Reed did the assisted tow amidst the launch direction uncertainties at LGC. Set off too early, had to light up at Thame and return to restart, after which "no problem". Nice first Bindering leg, some good climbs, only slowed down around Leicester. Good company

17-May

208

Rob

Dunstable

STC-BED

12:26

14:06

1:40

124

Small window between rain and spreadout. Very windy. Short engine run at the end to avoid embarrassment on a tight final glide.

20-May

209

Rob

Dunstable

SAX-DID-LIT

11:06

18:45

7:39

622

Narrow slot between trough over Midlands and London TMA. Excellent non circling run to SAX, but then spread and big gaps and weak thermals around Oxford. A couple of good climbs encouraged us on to LIT, slow last leg into a 15 knot wind but just about squeezed it.

21-May

210

T Sage

Dunstable

LKD O/R

10:56

18:19

7:23

652

Low, weak and showery to start. Improved past M4 but made mistake of going north of danger areas where it was weaker. Low base nr. Yeovilton but crossed fingers and pushed on - rewarded by much stronger/higher conditions until about 25Km short of Liskeard. Eventually contacted on the way back over Plymouth then another good run along convergence until it blued out. Just ground up enough height S. of Andover to cross to Reading where it was still active. Long, slow downwind final glide to finish. With Tom Sage who gave much needed moral support in sheared thermals. Never been to Cornwall from LGC before!

22-May

211

Steve

P Hurd

Dunstable

LIT-SAN

10:04

15:45

5:41

363

23-May

212

Steve

A Gibbs

Dunstable

WAT-HIN

10:53

13:22

2:29

150

24-May

213

Rob

Dunstable

TAL O/R

11:47

17:26

5:39

369

Nice first climb to 3800' over LB, then weaker and weaker to Ledbury before reaching clouds over the Black Mts. One special climb to 5000, 1000 more than all around. In and out of TAL then a second bite, this took us half way to Hereford above base in a small convergence. Malverns, Breedon Hill, Broadway provided climbs to cross the Severn then climbs in the blue actually improved for the run home. Excellent viz made up for the poor thermals.

26-May

214

Rob

J Jeffries

Dunstable

MON-HAE-BRE

11:12

18:08

6:56

478

290/25 all day, a real grind to Montgomery but with showers to the N and W, a good TP. Showers filling the route to Brecon so edged E towards Shobdon to circumnavigate. Great run along Black Mts and on to Brecon, then a street took us at c 5000' across the Forest of Dean to the Severn, rain to S and low wet cloudbase. What seemed an isolated low base soggy cu over Stroud, in fact turned out to be a "sea breeze" style phenomena with 5000+ on the N side and 3000' on the S, this took us over Brize and on to Chalgrove without height loss, exhilarating.

29-May

215

Steve

H Deutschenb

Saal

Altfeld - Dornberg bei Sontra

11:02

17:11

6:09

424

Declared 588k, had to cut short as runs into wind were too awkward, surprising lack of streeting. P2 Hermann Deutschenbaur who spoke not a word of English, which probably increased workload unnecessarily.

30-May

216

Steve

G Paul

Saal

Holzbronn - Geiersberg

11:49

15:53

4:04

342

Lucky to get something in, as forecast was poor. In the end, we were cut off halfway up the second leg by top cover encroaching from the east. Graham Paul was easy to understand, useful as a substitute final glide calculator and great company.

31-May

217

Steve

A Manwaring

Saal

Ingelfingen-Gunzenhausen-Sinsheim

11:14

17:20

6:06

513

Well done to Topmeteo for forecasting conditions east-west to the South of Nurnberg. Smashing flight. Fantastic views 2000' over the centre of Wurzberg.

02-Jun

218

Steve

P Wimmer

Saal

Pforzheim - Muhlhausen - Altfeld

10:03

19:26

9:23

772

10am launch to 4500', glide out to the circuit at Bad Kissingen & first thermal on the hills, then slow improvement off down south until rapid change of airmass in the Rhine Valley, with much lowered cloudbase & scroffly climbs. Improved coming back north on 300k leg to the north of the Thuringerwald, where, once again, the TP proved unfriendly, & I thought that our delays there would cost us the day. Turning back south again in the late afternoon, we were kept going by the Rhon Mountains & a much nicer TP at Altfeld, with a big high black-bottomed line of cloud running parallel with the turn. After that it was weak & feeble with a diversion to Schweinfurt producing nothing until 2kts at the SW edge of the city at 7pm placed us on glide for Weissbier and Jagerschnitzel. P2 Peter Wimmer, very helpful & a lot of good advice.

03-Jun

219

Steve

G Glazebrook

Saal

OLC

11:03

15:20

4:17

261

Broken thermals, windy, blue in task area, so abandoned for a 4 hour meander

05-Jun

220

Steve

R Puritz

Saal

Sinsheim - Allesberg - Schillingsfust

11:00

17:02

6:02

534

Set off under 8/8 & initially 2 kt cliimbs but , as per Topmeteo, improved as we went south. I can do this task-setting stuff myself now :-) Great run east, until task setting failed in eastern TP being selected under 4500' Nurnberg airspace.

11-Jun

221

T Pridgeon

Dunstable

TAL-MYN

12:52

17:12

4:20

432

Just managed to get away by following a gust front to Bicester - 9kts up at 100kts in front of the rain followed by 7kts down and thermals like rotor. Good run to Talgarth with no showers and convergence over the Forest of Dean. Bit blue on the way to the Mynd but good run home until Banbury, where base was 2,000' lower. Took cloud climb for large margin on glide which was just as well as rained on heavily and could only just see enough to land back at LGC. Fun day with wind 250/20 round to 320/15 later

12-Jun

222

Steve

P Stammell

Dunstable

WOB-EDE-GRW-MAN

10:53

15:16

4:23

363

Largely blue & low going out to the east, but it did work in the blue, even over infamous Ely. Conditions improved on next 2 legs + we had cu up to Rutland Water, where we considered continuing North. Pleased we didn't as the day was being cut off from the SW as we returned.

13-Jun

223

Steve

M Bird

Dunstable

BRE-CHK-SOA

11:20

17:43

6:23

521

Fairly straightforward apart from bad air coming up the Severn Valley both ways & a period of struggling nr Talgarth (thank you K21). Really nice to fly with former 13 partner, Mike Bird.

14-Jun

224

D Cornelius

Dunstable

TOD-CCC-HLM-TOD

09:48

18:14

8:26

847

Fairly straightforward to start with. Almost a TP too far at CCC as base was down with a lot of spreadout but a good energy line along the tops of the Brecons in and out. Good on the Borders but, of course, the best weather was in the Cosford exclusion zone. A fair amount of cycling near HLM with some long glides. Doncaster no problem: even allowed me another 1,000' when I asked in a pleading voice... Once back S. of Leicester, open skies & pleasant.

17-Jun

225

Rob

Dunstable

Mengen

via Folkestone

08:01

18:24

10:23

880

EURO 2009 - Climb/glide NE around TMA for a 6000' start at Folkestone. First lift actually over the sea just short of French coast with a SW wind. Reasonable cu for first few hours, then it went blue and weak with a lot of high level cirrus. Reached the Luxemburg border after 5.5 hours of soaring, then resorted to climb/glide for the rest of the trip.

20-Jun

226

O Binder

Rob

Ostheim

Local

11:51

12:02

0:11

Test flight

20-Jun

227

O Binder

W Binder

Ostheim

Local

13:00

13:15

0:15

Test flight

21-Jun

228

Rob

O Binder

Ostheim

Local

10:25

10:37

0:12

Test flight

21-Jun

229

Rob

O Binder

Ostheim

Local

10:55

11:08

0:13

Test flight

22-Jun

230

Rob

O Binder

Ostheim

Local

17:22

17:32

0:10

Test flight, new engine working well.

23-Jun

231

Rob

Ostheim

Sisteron

Wasserkuppe-Rhine Gorge-Bourg-Grenoble

11:21

19:35

8:14

887

Strong NE'ly wind made for an interesting take-off, climbed to 4000' cb over the Wasserkuppe to attempt a flight to the French Alps. Serious upper low lay to the SE covering S Germany and the Alps. Progressively better run around the North and West of the Frankfurt TMA. Once in France less organised but decent cu stopped under a plume of high cloud thrown out of the upper low to the East. Tiptoed past Dijon and after a 60km glide collected a smooth 5kt thermal over the Saone. A mini mistral made for an awkward route to the E of Lyons and it's morass of airspace. Some rotor like thermals at the end of the Jura eventually permitted entry to the Alps through the Grenoble portal. Quite late now and with little lift on offer we took a short engine run for a simple final glide into Sisteron. A fascinating flight.

24-Jun

232

Rob

Sisteron

Tete l'Estrop-Bardoneccia-Coulomp Gorge-La Jarjatte-Sisteron Town

13:06

19:06

6:00

441

Late start at 1pm due to yesterday's exertions. Climbed away from La Motte, then 10,000' south of Seyne. Parcours not too good so pushed N towards St. Crepin. Spent 1h15m on 10km of ridge between 6-7,500', in the company of many others who'd been suckered into there! Eventually broke away and got to 12,500'. Quick run to Bardoneccia, then S to La Mure, up the Parcours, across to the Pic de Bure then home.

25-Jun

233

Rob

Sisteron

Le Chevalier-Megeve-Aosta-Bourg St Maurice-Mont Aver-Coupe S-Col de l'Arche

11:02

18:00

6:58

688

First to launch at a very un-Gallic 11am. Working to c.7K locally, 8.5K at Seyne. Parcours cloudy again so went via Barcelonette and the Col de Vars; base 10K and slowly rising. Nearly made the same mistake as yesterday but went N of St. Crepin for a climb by Briancon. 11.5K @ Bardoneccia gave a 50km glide across the Maurienne and past Courchevel. Tried the northern route but was no good - went round the south of Mt. Blanc with fantastic views. Cu-nims starting to sprout in Italy so turned Aosta and worked back slightly to the west. Convergence N of Briancon with 13,500' base. Ran down to edge of Nice airspace to see cloud almost at sea level on the Italian side, from 12K on the French side. 'Laid an egg' on the Coupe, then a 115Km/180kph final glide from the Col de L'Arche. A proper mountain day at last!

25-Jun

234

Rob

P Hunt

Sisteron

Grande Autane-Aubignosc

18:13

19:58

1:45

155

Pleasant evening flight to show Pete some of the French Alps.

26-Jun

235

Rob

Sisteron

Egletons

Nyons-Aubenas-Le Puy-Egliseneuve d'Entraigues-St Augustin-Egletons

11:14

16:32

5:18

396

Storms forecast in the Alps today: Montlucon target on the north edge of the Massif. 1115 launch into a congested sky, worked west via the Chabre. Base <6K by Nyons but climbed to 7.5K in front of cloud in a mix of shear & orographic wave. Big CBs in Rhone valley sucking out the convection, 60Km glide out in dead air to Aubenas in the foothills: just scraped away in reluctant lift as the whole area went bang. Only route left was NW; 7K base but over a 4-5K plateau around Mont Mezenc. Made it to lower ground by Le Puy but boxed in by lines of storms either side: found a small gap between two anvils into the blue near Brioude. Just got away under a newly-formed convergence between the blue and the rain, like a seabreeze in the middle of France. Ran NW as far as Puy de Sancy but overcast/rain with cloud on the ground beyond. Used the edge of a line of cu-nims as far as Egletons but no hope of progressing northwards so landed just before the rain. Fascinating survival flight over new territory.

27-Jun

236

Rob

Egletons

Le Blanc

Brive La Gaillarde-La Trimouille-Saumur Chateau-La Trimouille-Le Blanc

13:37

18:41

5:04

501

A bit soggy in the morning but OK by 1330. Ran out of the high ground to Brive (more 'AGLs'!) then a moderate leg to Limoges. ATC wouldn't let us into their zone as there was gliding going on: cries of 'but we're a glider!' fell on deaf ears. Once through an area of spreadout, over the last bit of high ground and into the Loire Valley, conditions became excellent with 5kts to 6,000+ in places. Turned Saumur under a classic looking sky, finished the task at Le Blanc, added another 50Km to make the 500 and landed there amid much parachuting.

28-Jun

237

Rob

Le Blanc

Autun

Nevers-Epinac-Dijon Darois-Montchanin-Autun N-Autun S

12:58

19:01

6:03

505

After a sleepless night in a town centre dump, set off eastwards in almost blue conditions towards Autun. Made rather heavy weather of it until past Issoudun, where there were decent cu. Avord was inactive, allowing a straight track to Nevers. After that the ground rose and the base fell, with increasingly congested cu & heavy spreadout. This cleared once in the Autun valley and we followed a minor convergence to N of Dijon, then back south to Montceau. It was very spreadout near Autun but we managed to push the distance over 500 again and finish with a straight-in over the local hill and a runway inspection. Lovely little airfield.

29-Jun

238

Rob

Autun

Reims Pru

Dijon Darois-Chalons sur Marne-Chateau Thierry-Vitry le Ville-Reims Prunay

12:26

18:00

5:34

438

1230 launch to get away from the heat. Conditions not bad running N but Dijon ATC not very helpful. Gave the nuclear weapons facility at Valduc a wide berth, then large cu with rather difficult cores until passing Chatillon, where it improved slightly. By Brienne/St. Dizier we were talking to ATC (not much help, again) and a trough line forming to the E was suppressing the thermals to the W. Eventually got to the edge of the trough near Vitry but couldn't use much of it because of airspace. Climbed again over the vines of Epernay, did an o/r to the Paris TMA in very reluctant thermals, then a run along the trough line to finish. Very buggy today.

30-Jun

239

Rob

Reims Pru

Dunstable

Laon-Bapaum-Cap Gris Nez-Folkestone-Ridgewell-CAS-DUN

11:41

18:01

6:20

507

Managed to get customs clearance (by phone!) and file a flight plan for the UK. 1145 launch to 6K. Once in the convection near Laon, not too bad: 4,500' and 3kts but slowly deteriorating as we went NW. Made the mistake of getting a clearance through Cambrai military zone, which they changed their minds about some time after we had committed to it! That wasted 1/2 an hour. Finally managed to leave the frequency and drop off the radar, leaving a scrape away from 1,200' as the only option. After that 1,500-2,500AGL in the blue, lit up 20Km from Boulogne. First climb in the UK not far from Ridgewell then OK back to LGC. Great trip spoilt only by the undercarriage collapsing in the rollout.

23-Jul

240

O Binder

Ostheim

12:45

12:55

0:10

Test flight after undercarriage work

25-Jul

241

Rob

Steve

Dunstable

12:57

13:07

0:10

Test flight at LGC

25-Jul

242

Steve

B Hutchings

Dunstable

EAR-NWK

13:44

17:16

3:32

319

pm start for a straightforward & enjoyable 300k, although slow going NW up past Peterborough.

26-Jul

243

Steve

I Tinker

Dunstable

11:55

13:29

1:34

Crappy day, engine burn at HAL

31-Jul

244

Steve

Dunstable

LOU-GRW-EDE

09:54

15:43

5:49

524

10am launch high to glide away from the encroaching top cover, gave us a good run into Lincs. Coming back south, the top cover was clearly going to be a problem, but we were lucky that it thinned as we approached GRW. Into East Anglia, while it looked poor at times, we had some good climbs out & back. Ed & I did half hour stints, so not a difficult flight

02-Aug

245

Steve

A Hobbs

Dunstable

CHC-TIB-DRL

09:58

17:13

7:15

610

Early launch above cloud to first thermal at 2000', soggy low first leg but some surprisingly good shallow climbs, improving on the run eastbound, then poor conditions after BSE, and v difficult tracking across the streets to the NW. Reasonable run home from the last TP

03-Aug

246

Rob

R Berry

Dunstable

DOC-DIS-EDE-STS AAT

09:38

15:16

5:38

379

Excellent conditions in East Anglia with cloudbase 6000' at Diss and a 7kt av climb to go with it. A good run followed before running into overcast abeam Mildenhall. It remained soarable but weak under the overcast so slow return to Dunstable.

07-Aug

247

Rob

S Astley

Dunstable

Lasham

AYL-WES-DID-BUL-LAS

13:31

16:15

2:44

276

1500 cb at Dunstable but improved rapidly westwards with 3 to 5kt averages to 5000'. Good practice task of 257.9k @ 112.24kph.

08-Aug

248

Rob

Steve

Lasham

LA5-OXF-WIS-NOS-WH2-LA7

13:00

17:39

4:39

427

Open Class Nationals Day 1 - Good forecast but poor start and slow run to Oxford. Finally got in the groove near Abingdon and had an excellent run out to Wisbech with a couple of 7kt climbs along the way. Average run home 7th for the day at 109.13kph.

09-Aug

249

Rob

S Astley

Lasham

LA2-IWE-FRO-THA-AND-LA7

13:48

17:37

3:49

337

Open Class Nationals Day 2 - Excellent run towards Iwerne Minster, flew awhile with Phil Jones. No real problems probably should have flown faster at times. 111.06kph for 6th. (Winner did 123kph)

11-Aug

250

Rob

S Astley

Lasham

CAC-CHB-STU-WES-MAR-LA5

14:30

18:21

3:51

218

Open Class Nationals Day 3 - Great run with virtually no turning until a few km short of the Compton ridge. Failed to spot the inevitable invasion of sea air into Somerset levels and had to work hard in a few weak thermals to get round Westbury. Interesting results with the early starters having less trouble with the sea air and consequently getting faster speeds. 10th for day at 82.9kph but up to 3rd overall as the leaders all struggled.

13-Aug

251

Rob

Lasham

CAC-SIL-GRW-NOW-WH2

13:40

17:16

3:36

341

Open Class Nationals Day 4 - Another frustratingly poor run up to Didcot, I must be missing something in this area? Anyway once away, a superb run followed towards Grafham with a deep climb over Bedford that peaked at 9kts followed by 10km at base. Finished 3rd at 104.45kph

14-Aug

252

Rob

Steve

Lasham

LA5-SAL-FRO-AYL-BUB (Landout Thame self retrieve)

11:40

15:56

4:16

301

Open Class Nationals Day 5 - Good run to Salisbury though not very high, great sight of 12 open class all cruising ahead and low level at one point. Last decent climb at Salisbury then the sky filled in with just odd bit of brightness towards Frome. Found ourselves down to 600' agl before struggling away with John Tanner in HLX. Finally cloubase of 2100' at Frome. Things did improve slightly going East and away from the invading clag. Reached and held cb of around 3300' near Didcot for a few km, then total overcast led to a slow descent and technical outlanding near Thame. Finished 7th with 239 of 338 km completed.

16-Aug

253

Rob

Lasham

CAC-LBN-BGC-SIL-OVE (Landout Newbury self retrieve)

13:16

18:19

5:03

308

Open Class Nationals Day 6 - Set off in weak low level convection, struggled away from low point of 1400' near Hungerford and had a goodish run to MK area, where there should have been a good climb, this struggled away from 1100' at Cranfield. After that a pretty good run and kept high until finding a 4kt climb near Finmere to put us in the frame again but it was now very weak down past Oxford and Didcot. Finally exhausted all possibilities at Greenham Common and motored back. 5th on the day. Finished 4th overall, missed 3rd by a mere 10 points. Managed to beat Phil Jones in 3rd but was beaten by Ian Ashdown who flew just 7.1km further and with that an extra 20 points and bumped us off 3rd place. Argh.

16-Aug

254

Rob

Lasham

Dunstable

via Newbury and Benson

19:06

20:15

1:09

114

Re-position back to bumpy Dunstable. Some wave found around Thame.

21-Aug

255

Steve

P Jones

Dunstable

Cambridge

STN-RAT

09:31

12:03

2:32

185

Wind 235 up to 27 kts. Bands of showers, turned Rattlesden, and then the only energy line clear of rain was too far south, leading us into airspace. Turned back looking for a way out of the rain, and called up Marshalls who took us in, just before the rain hit. Kindly wouldn't take a landing fee as they saw it as an emergency. Other than running downwind, there weren't other options.

21-Aug

256

Steve

P Jones

Cambridge

Dunstable

13:08

14:07

0:59

23-Aug

257

Steve

R Brimfield

Dunstable

MCH-BVR-WEC

10:16

15:02

4:46

335

Couldn't quite make declared TP at Syerston. Then strong headwind coming south.

27-Aug

258

Rob

R Broadbridge

Dunstable

NAW-BAN-ENS-MUR++

12:22

16:37

4:15

299

Completed Juniors Task and part of the alternative (BED-OLN-BIC). Quite windy under a solid inversion at 3500' and not particularly strong.

29-Aug

259

Rob

A Roch

Dunstable

BIB-CAM-RUS-WSL-MOR

13:05

17:50

4:45

371

Completed Juniors Task plus MOR for 371k.Flying wind of 270/20 compensated by a 5000' cb East of the M1. Tendency to spreadout and not much sun after Cambridge, but each sunny area produced strong lift. Continued West to Moreton cb dropped to 4000' and lift weakened to 3-4kts but still a very good day.

04-Sep

260

Steve

M Davis

Dunstable

STC-WSL

09:58

14:02

4:04

131

Fun on the ridges, but just couldn't make any progress into wind once off the ridge. Anticipated streeting didn't happen.

05-Sep

261

Rob

M Till

Dunstable

LRI-GRW-DUN-WEC

10:31

16:01

5:30

312

Approaching front revealed wave to the West, so after soaring to Edgehill used the engine to climb above cloud and flew in wave over the Cotswolds reaching 8500' a couple of times. Then flew task and held on Dunstable ridge until main area of cloudiness passed through then did a short x/c to Wescott and back. Strong winds, 260/18 below and 320/24 above cloud.

06-Sep

262

Steve

G Lynn

Dunstable

LEZ-UPW-SOH-BGC

10:14

13:34

3:20

212

Conditions generally weak under top cover, which only dissipated at GRL on the way back. My thanks to Marshalls for being understanding (again) - climbing away from lowpoint in their circuit. A good run from GRL to Bedford, then it all went dull again under 8/8.

10-Sep

263

S Moredecai

Dunstable

LBZ-RIV-EYE

11:41

14:53

3:12

316

Was going to go into E. Anglia but saw 8/8 coming from that direction so went downwind instead. Didn't look classic but lots of good energy lines and when you did stop there was 4-5kts in very tight cores. Some blue patches and the odd bit of spreadout but nice for September. Base up to what looked like 5,000'ASL at EYE and northwards but it was only worth using to 4-4.5K.

13-Sep

264

Steve

Dunstable

POP-ENW-BUT-ENW-BUT

08:32

16:18

7:46

564

Motored to Popham for start at 4k, then ran the ridge under instruction from Ed. Lovely ridge, apart from weak at Eastborne. Then we get to end of task, and Ed says we SOAR home, which he did mostly, showing astonishing patience.

20-Sep

265

Steve

Dunstable

CVN O/R

10:54

14:50

3:56

338

Blue to start with under Ac & Ci but the odd thermal turned up. Much better past Stratford, 4K & 3-4kts a bit soft in and out of Craven Arms but excellent from Worcester back to Turweston: 5,000' & 4kts+. Lovely day for end of Sept.

24-Sep

266

Rob

M Bolton

Dunstable

BIC-DID-CNW-NPT

12:52

16:40

3:48

253

Slow to start, influenced by high cirrus which created blue and weak areas. Occ 4kts in the better areas, 3900' best altitude. Pleasant day out for late September.

02-Oct

267

Steve

Rob

Dunstable

GRM-BUG-BWL-DUN

10:38

17:10

6:32

424

A couple of long engine climbs to get somewhere around the Severn, then Robin & I explored the fairly weak wave out to the Welshpool area, up in the lovely warm sunshine, max ht 11500'. Final glide back from Clee Hill with a strong wind up our chuff. Super flight. See synoptic and Sat Pic >

04-Oct

268

Rob

Dunstable

LBZ-MUN-SKE-DUN-CHN-DUN

11:36

16:22

4:46

449

Band of mid level cloud delayed the start of convection locally, so glid out from 1000m start. Once past Cambridge it was excellent with 4kts/4,000'+ & nice streeting on into-wind leg, bit spreadout on way home. Went to Chipping Norton & back after finishing for c.450Km overall. Would have been a good day in June, never mind October!

08-Oct

269

Rob

Dunstable

GAI O/R

12:00

16:08

4:08

345

Another amazing October day. Took a couple of cloud climbs to cross gaps and thermal structure a bit odd at the northern end of the task but apart from that, no problem. Was handed from one RAF field to the next on the way south but lucky to have Robin as radio operator! Can't last that much longer, can it...?

10-Oct

270

Rob

Dunstable

GOR-LA4-SWS-BOB-HAL-BNW

12:32

16:54

4:22

318

Glide out over cu to a first remarkbly smooth and strong climb near Princes Risborough to cb not much more than 2000agl. Climbs consistent and some good streeting particularly Lasham to Swindon and Halton to Bicester, cb eventually reached 3400'asl. Another remarkable flight for October.

18-Oct

271

Rob

R Berry

Dunstable

LIT-BIC

11:38

16:03

4:25

257

A Sc sheet cleared Dunstable around 1130, convection started immediately with an initial cloudbase of 3700' and 3kts. Excellent run out to Littleport and back to St. Neot's (Cb now 4400') then it became almost blue and extremely weak but there was just enough in the day to complete the task. For me 1750kms in October.. what's going on?

25-Oct

272

Rob

T Pridgeon

Dunstable

Cotswolds-CWA

08:08

13:07

4:59

185

Very windy W'ly airstream made a wave foray worth a go. Unfortunately, embedded weak showers made departure from Dunstable awkward with the allowed airspace not quite high enough to get on top. Contacted first usable wave over Moreton in the Marsh. Had to stop at FL105 (airspace), boundary to N allowed FL145 but climbed weakened here so headed on from 11000'. Wind now 54kts so a lot of height lost. Found a couple more climbs but wave soon collapsed in a morass of cloud. Again cornered by airspace, note the 1000' plummet. The odd cu below proved unsoarable churned up by a 35kt wind. All very interesting nevertheless.

07-Nov

273

Steve

R Berry

Dunstable

Bromyard-Silverstone

10:00

12:37

2:37

185

Aircraft airing

17-Nov

274

Rob

A May

Dunstable

Chalgrove

13:31

15:51

2:20

126

Aircraft airing, a few real thermals in a strong wind

27-Nov

275

Rob

Steve

Dunstable

Malvern-Newent

11:13

15:10

3:57

268

Nice gap in the weather, showers to the S, spreadout to the N. Double climb to reach FL85 just S of Banbury. Connected with a W'ly wave train and climbed to 10000' just E of the Malverns. Extremely cold, -7 at 10000'. See Sat Pic

04-Dec

276

Rob

N Tillett

Dunstable

Moreton-Brize Norton

11:31

14:39

3:08

180

Ahead of approaching front, West wind but no wave, just about hung onto the Dunstable ridge for an hour or so.

05-Dec

277

Steve

R Harris

Dunstable

Stow-Broadway

10:57

13:59

3:02

190

Much motoring out to the Evesham area, wind was too far south, and was just on the way home when we had a nice 2000' climb in the Chipping Camden area.

10-Dec

278

Rob

J Jeffries

Dunstable

Gloucester-Chinnor-Halton

08:00

14:19

6:19

247

Set off for a wave flight. 400' climb in wave over Cotswolds and that was it, looked promising but wind was dropping. Hung onto ridge at Cheltenham for a while, Chinnor was working quite well, Halton was only just working.

27-Dec

279

J Craig

Dunstable

PRS-NYM-EVE

10:33

14:36

4:03

294

Motored out to CHN and contacted weak wave, ran down the ridges to NYM but wave interference meant we got there below the airfield. Played around for a bit then short climb to contact some decent stuff over the Severn. -13C @ 12,000', went home due lack of feeling in feet.

442:43

33463

Time

Flts

2009

Rob

228:20

17252

Steve

184:01

13508

200:43

16994

442:43

103

33463

Engine TT (hr)

24:00

E/G

5.42

2008

No Flying in 2008

Time

Flts

2007

Rob

239:18

18007

Steve

144:18

10904

217:23

17038

437:50

33174

Engine TT (hr)

18.09

E/G

4.06

2006

Time

Flts

Rob

196:51

15525

Steve

147:23

10678

146:49

12279

356:32

27606

Engine TT (hr)

16.29

E/G

4.52

Total

Time

Flts

Rob

664:29

156

50784

Steve

475:42

112

35090

564:55

102

46311

1237:05

278

94243

Engine TT (hr)

34.38

9.90

14.10

Euro 2007

50:02

3326

Rieti 2007

46:07

4092

Euro 2009

62:40

5398