Bath, Wiltshire & North Dorset Gliding Club May Update

24th May

More from the VGC Rally

Stuart Flying Bluebird. Pictures taken by Justin Wills

24th May

T21 pictures courtesy of David Camp, look away if flying without a canopy scares you !

22nd May

Pictures from the “VGC National Rally” at the Park.

Good evening fellow aviators. Last week BWND hosted the “VGC National Rally”. The event was a great success and Geoff P took some sensational pictures that he asked me to put on our Blog to share with you all. The Soaring season is off to great start and will only get better as we progress into the Summer. See you in the skies fellow aviators.

Kind regards.

Damien.

19th May

Portmoak Expedition Thursday 19th May

A day with strong thermals to about 6000ft, but badly broken by the wave. The easy option therefore was a float around the Highlands in nice smooth air. M3 got to around 13,000ft, but I’ve not spoken to everyone yet. The image above is Loch Tummel from about 8,000ft.
Alastair

18th May

Portmoak Expedition Wednesday 18th

Congratulations to Steve Lambourne on his Gold Height today. We all flew and some of us managed to transition into wave from the ridge and thermals. The image above is of Loch Earn from 18000ft. Expecting a thermal day tomorrow.

15th May

VGC Rally Kicks Off

Yesterday the National Vintage Rally started at the Park under sunny skies and rather splendid day was had by all with Justin Wills soaring for 4 and a half hours covering 130 Km between Halesland, Salisbury and the Park and in his Rhonebuzzard (apologies if spell wrong) and justifiably being awarded a bottle of bubbly for the best flight of the day.

Thanks to all the club members who have made this possible, we also did 50 launches and had a fabulous fish and chip supper in the clubroom after flying.

14th May

Portmoak Expedition Day 1

Portmoak Day 1 gave us a surprise wave day. By late morning, the Bishop was working and there were some thermals. A climb to 3500ft then allowed the classic transition to wave. The wave only went to 7300ft, which was fortunate as my oxygen was in the trailer.
Alastair

9th May

Soaring Saturday

A cold front cleared through a little earlier than forecast on the morning of Saturday 7th, leaving behind a crisp, clear blue sky and a light north-easterly. The cumulus started to organise while the private gliders rigged, only three club gliders (FUY, JKW and LPM) making a showing.

Although tricky to get away from the winch, by the early afternoon those that did were rewarded with long flights and high cloud bases. James managed over four hours and 5000′ above The Park in JKW, bagging a Silver Height (congrats James), while the conditions and slow trade for the instructors enabled FUY to soar over 4500′ to the north, with a clear view of the Severn Bridges and South Wales.

Once JKW returned and the hangar was packed, it was time for a cold one in the bar!